What is going on a "work" and what is not

[Tim Y]

First of all, if you have never had the chance to sit up on the roof with the CLOCKER(s), you are really missing an experience that part of the "lore" that perpetuates the understand of this type of exercise The way they handle multiple stop watches all at once is an art to behold. The weakness I saw in WHO is identified as WHO. They come through the gap and tell the horse identifer "Spectacular Bid working 4 for Buddy Delp," yet routinely carry no identifying numbers and most of the time, no barn colors...There is where potential errors can be made..There is no guarantee that said horse will work right away or after a short warm up, so these guys have to keep a keen eye out

..It is to be noted that it is very rare of the European horses to have "timed" works. A goup of horses from the same barn are all taken out together over the gallops and they work on stamina... I recall Sir Micheal Stute talking at the first Breeder's Cup (I have it on old VCR tape).."What time did my horse work? I wouldn't know or want to know," was his response.

I have never liked drugging horses, but some therapeutic measures make it easier for animals to train effectively without much joint pain and/or dsypnea. There are NO DRUG tests after workouts....NONE. How much of an improved work was pharacolgically produced? wWe are not privvy to that informaation

In the federally printed booklet published by the Canadian Parimutuel Agency (and avilable free to anyone who requests it) are the allowable clearance times of the major THERAPEUTIC drugs..For example p. 86 the clearance itme for prednisone 1 gram, 24 hours, but this is an average of many animals so that an extra 50% of time should be used before running with no detectable levels, Procaine (local anesthetic 1600 mg dose) clears in 48 hours, Procaine Penicllin can hang around for 5 days, Ventolin (Salbutamol opens the lungs, Ventolin) 0.8 mg passes in 24 hours, Volateren 120 hours (anti-infalmmatory), etc..from Scheule of Drugs 2011, Canadian Pari-mutuel Agency (headquarters:1130 Morrison Drive, Suite 100, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K2H 9N6)

When used correctly, these allow horses with known pathologies, to perform at their BEST (when in FORM), and this often is NOT the same condition that a horse is at RACE TIME, although MOST of the therapeutic effects last a bit longer that the chemical remaining in the blood.

Most mature horses rarely have big jumps in workout time...Developing immature animals can as a signal to their increased stamia potential, so it is uncommon for for a 4 5 6 year old animal to have quantum leaps in work time...Onlly NTL sprinters can repeat very fast times usually over very short distances. Atta Boy Roy was the champ at works in the AM with some 6 furlong moves right at 1:09.

Workouts are CONDTIONING exercises. No one knows what lane they are in, what the exercise rider weighs, they no longer tell you who worked in company... The best you can get form them, by inference, is that the animal is SOUND..I am sure people don't want to know how many jumping jacks basketball and baseball stars do before each game, ONLY that they were fit enought to DO THEM repeatedly. Longer works 5 and 6 furlongs give the best examples of what the potential of the amimal will be capable of doing..Of course, top animals run top works (Secretariat's pre Belmont work at 5f was in the mid 59's as an exxample but then he did that ll the time)

If your track of choice has shippers from BUTE venues, be very careful when they come to a non-BUTE jourisdiction. Before it was BOTH outlawed in Washington, NOR when the drug information allowed at race day was published in the Vancouver DRF, a group of us recieved the Seattle racing form to know what horses came back to Vancouver, just off the anti-inlammatory.. In tracking their next start back, these animals hardly EVER performed at the level they did at Longacres.

BLOW OUTS. I only learned of these from the clockers (usually unpublised work moves NEVER printed in the local DRF editions because they occur too late for the printing deadlines). IF an animal does an average or just above average move the morning of the race, it is further evidence of soundness later on. You should DEMAND a copy of them from the racing office to see who blew out, who did not. For that matter, ANYONE who is risking money should have total acess to the steward's list, the bleeder's list, the vet's list and which of the females may be in foal.