2YO ProgrammingHarness & Greyhounds

JayJay

Looking through current and recent noms, it looks like about 17 or 18 two year olds are in the racing window, not an exact figure granted, but in that ball park. A few more are qualifying each week or so at trials.

Then, looking at the programming coming up, noting that it is "flexible, dynamic" and in keeping with the horse population, this is what comes up:

Sept 27th Golden Slipper Open 2yo RBD GP

Sept 27th 2YO Fillies Open PBD HWOE (Same night as Slipper) GP

Sept 29th 2YO Westbred L1/2 NE HWOE $1500 RBD Kellerberrin

Sept 30th 2YO Westbred Maiden HWOE $0  RBD Pinjarra

Oct 1st    2YO Fillies L1/3 NE HWOE $6,000+  PBD HWOE GP

Oct 4th    2YO Open  PBD MW GP

Oct 5th    2YO Westbred Fillies Maiden HWOE $0  RBD Northam

Oct 6th    2YO Westbred Maiden  HWOE $0  RBD  Collie

Oct 7th    2YO L1/2  PBD HWOE Pinjarra

Oct 8th   2YO L1/3  NE HWOE $6,000+ PBD HWOE  GP

And so it goes on. Now realistically., how many of these will hold up, how many will have 5 or 6 runners and how could anyone possibly programme so many races for so few horses. 

Yes, we should have ample opportunity to race 2 year olds, and as an incentive Westbred 2yo's but the Industry can't afford to just give away stakes and bonuses hand over fist with the added insult of negligible turnover to add salt to the wound.

People would rightly be screaming from the rooftops if there wasn't sufficient opportunities  but this is astounding...and it doesn't stop on October 8th, it carries on and on. Is it just "cut and paste" programming with no regard to actual horse numbers, posting more codes each week than will actually have a snowflakes chance in hell of getting up or are we about to get a big influx of 2 year olds into the racing pool?

Programming has been as big an issue as handicapping the last few years, things like the FFA and the Conditioned pace on the same night when all the Open Class horse aren't racing, but this is next level, and hopefully moving forward from January 1st, some renewed common sense will manifest itself going forward.

getthechange

47  westbred 2yos went around in the westbred 2yo heats on 27th August

JayJay

Well, I don't know where they have all gone:

* All races add bonuses to base stake.

Frid Sept 13th GP 2yo Open Fillies for $21,000 5 starters

Sat Sept 14th Bunb 2YO L1/2 for $9360 4 starters

Mon Sept 16th Pinj  2YO Maiden for $9,360  5 starters

Tues Sept 17th  GP 2YO Fillies L1/3 $9360 8 starters

Frid Sept 20th GP 2YO Open $21,000 6 starters (Last metro prior to the Golden Slipper Sept 27th)

Sat Sept 21st  Bunb 2YO Fillies Maiden $9360  6 starters

Mon Sept 22nd Pinjarra 2YO  L1/2 $9360. 9 nominations, Race Cancelled, less than 5 acceptors

Tues  Sept 23rd GP 2YO L1/3   $9360 10 starters High water mark, full field.

Only 6 open 2 year olds took advantage of a $21,000 lead up one week prior to the $150,000 Slipper along with a $21,000 2YO Open Fillies race on the same programme.

LightningJake

Jay Jay, my 2yr old filly was one of those 47 babies that raced in the W/B heats. She is now having a short let up to recharge her baby brain, before having another prep. I presume other babies are doing similar.
You have to remember that these are babies, they have baby bodies & baby minds which need nurturing with plenty if spell time. They are not seasoned campaigner that can race week in, week out.
I do agree, it has been difficult finding races for her that actually stand up, so she can learn her craft.
As an aside, some clubs program the 2yr old races as their 1st race of the meet and others have it as the last race of the meet. Our baby has to contend with a minimum float trip of 2-3 hours to get to a meeting. We had the unfortunate instance of having our other horse in race 1 and her race was the last on the card. I know she has to learn, but she was ropeable & in a foul mood that only a filly can show, when it was finally time to gear her up. Then she had to immediately float home for those 2-3 hours. It upset her that much we chose to race each of them at separate meetings till she learns her craft a bit more. She has been racing a lot better since we made this change. It has doubled our expenditure for the short-term, but it is a necessary evil.

JayJay

No argument from me LJ, I think the entire programming of two year old racing is all over the place since the date change. You can't, as you so correctly point out, have them up for the entire year but the positioning of major races almost demands that from the sales classics through to the Slipper with all the other features in between. Does the programme need condensing?

The placing of the the sometimes 5 horse two year old fillies race as race 10 is all about turnover at GP and nothing about horse welfare.

Markovina

LightningJake said:

Jay Jay, my 2yr old filly was one of those 47 babies that raced in the W/B heats. She is now having a short let up to recharge her baby brain, before having another prep. I presume other babies are doing similar.
You have to remember that these are babies, they have baby bodies & baby minds which need nurturing with plenty if spell time. They are not seasoned campaigner that can race week in, week out.
I do agree, it has been difficult finding races for her that actually stand up, so she can learn her craft.
As an aside, some clubs program the 2yr old races as their 1st race of the meet and others have it as the last race of the meet. Our baby has to contend with a minimum float trip of 2-3 hours to get to a meeting. We had the unfortunate instance of having our other horse in race 1 and her race was the last on the card. I know she has to learn, but she was ropeable & in a foul mood that only a filly can show, when it was finally time to gear her up. Then she had to immediately float home for those 2-3 hours. It upset her that much we chose to race each of them at separate meetings till she learns her craft a bit more. She has been racing a lot better since we made this change. It has doubled our expenditure for the short-term, but it is a necessary evil.

Interesting comments you make 

Going way back , Leo Occonnor who bred and trained the mighty Gammalite , when it was a 2 yr old , and these are both from my brilliant memory , but he said quote , look im sort of ashamed to be racing this horse as a 2 yr old , it should be in the spelling paddock growing/maturing etc , however he said the money on offer in these 2 yr old races is just too good to knock back 

And seeing you mention your filly , foul mood etc , the great G A Lang , Graeme Lang ( Gavs father ) his view would have changed after he got Scotch Notch , but prior to that he didnt rate fillys and mares at all , and he had a talented mare called Lomond , and it got beaten one day at $1.30 , and the press said to him what happened, and GA Lang replied - its a typical blooody mare.

LightningJake

Hi Marko,

I agree wholeheartedly re your comments about racing babies. 

We haven't had a baby horse in about 20 years, having spent most of the intervening time plus prior to that, rehabbing & racing "has-beens".

Living & training in country W.A. (after RWWA's latest industry paper I'm not sure if we are in the Wheatbelt or the Great Southern ????) we have no local trials so she has had to go to Pinjarra for her educational & qualifying trials. A round trip taking some 7 hours in total including time at the track. I am the only trainer in town so she has done all of her race preparation by herself. She has had to learn her fieldcraft whilst racing. 

I really think there should be NO big purse races for 2yr olds. Let them learn their craft. I am aiming my filly at older races.

And yes I agree with the comment about mares, but a filly is what the mare produced so we were stuck with her ????.

Incidentally the Bedouins, a people famous for their Arabian horses would always choose a mare as their preferred war horse. They say, if you make that connection with a mare, they will die for you. With my filly, I think it's more a case of she's more likely to kill me than die for me ????.

Chopchop43

LightningJake said:

Hi Marko,

I agree wholeheartedly re your comments about racing babies. 

We haven't had a baby horse in about 20 years, having spent most of the intervening time plus prior to that, rehabbing & racing "has-beens".

Living & training in country W.A. (after RWWA's latest industry paper I'm not sure if we are in the Wheatbelt or the Great Southern ????) we have no local trials so she has had to go to Pinjarra for her educational & qualifying trials. A round trip taking some 7 hours in total including time at the track. I am the only trainer in town so she has done all of her race preparation by herself. She has had to learn her fieldcraft whilst racing. 

I really think there should be NO big purse races for 2yr olds. Let them learn their craft. I am aiming my filly at older races.

And yes I agree with the comment about mares, but a filly is what the mare produced so we were stuck with her ????.

Incidentally the Bedouins, a people famous for their Arabian horses would always choose a mare as their preferred war horse. They say, if you make that connection with a mare, they will die for you. With my filly, I think it's more a case of she's more likely to kill me than die for me ????.

without the big purse races there are very few incentives for people to then purchase at the yearling sales , the sales classic and westbred classic are the carrot used to dangle to entice people to spend the money they do not just purchasing but the upkeep of a horse for another 12 months with no guarantee they'll even make it

LightningJake

Fair call Chopchop43, but there is the big Animal Welfare issue of racing babies with immature bodies (& minds).

Chopchop43

LightningJake said:

Fair call Chopchop43, but there is the big Animal Welfare issue of racing babies with immature bodies (& minds).

there is to a degree I guess its a horse by horse basis though some are ready some aren't, most trainers should be able to figure that out you'd like to think