And They're Off!

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The Sport of Kings

The sun blazed down on us as we clambered off the bus at the British National Horse Racing Museum. It was another beautiful, sunny, and warm English day; the second in a row! Our tour guide and ex-jock, Johnny, met us out front with a mostly toothless grin. As we made our way to Newmarket he told us tales of racing, and how his career ended in the Grand National due to severe head injury. Newmarket is where the Thoroughbred and its racing ability got its start hundreds of years ago. The bus pulled up on a gravel lot where rolling fields and white racing railing surrounded us. Horses were everywhere; walking to the gallops in long strains, tearing down the hills, and peacefully jogging with sun shining on their shiny coats. I was immediately taken aback! This type of training center is virtually nonexistent in the US, our tracks don’t have up and downhill features, let alone multiple tracks to gallop on. Not to mention we train our horses on the racetracks themselves, while in England this is prohibited and horses must train at their own barn. It was a spectacular sight when a trainer’s strain of horses came walking down the path in a single file line with matching saddle cloths. Over 4000 horses train on Newmarket’s gallops daily! Johnny explained that each gallop (track) has something different to offer to the horse’s training schedule. There were several gallops meant for slower paced work and one for breezing. Breezing is a type of training where the horse goes for a short distance or the distance of the race at a hard gallop, similar to how they would go in a real race. The group’s favorite was the breezing gallop and watching the powerful athlete gallop up a demanding hill and out of sight.

After staring at the incredible athletes (mainly the horses, but some eyes wandered to the jockey 😉), we went the English National Stud. From there we hopped on their private bus and were escorted around the immaculate grounds by a foaling specialist. The farm only has four stallions standing at stud, so the farm mainly depends on training to pull a profit. Even though we didn’t know the stallions by name, their records and conformation made it clear that these were top horses. The stud farm is going through a transformation of sorts, by hiring and training younger college graduates to re-develop the farm to its former glory. As a racing enthusiast, I was excited to hear that the industry wants a solid education, in addition to passion and experience.

After an eventful return trip on the bus, including trimming most hedges along the pathway, we braked for lunch and began to explore the National Horse Racing Museum. I had a classic English lunch consisting of Dr. Pepper and a BLT (ok, not so classic, but good!), and then dived in to the history of Thoroughbred racing. It amazed me how over hundreds of years, the sport of racing has remained prestigious and respected. What intrigued me the most was the artwork. Throughout most of the paintings the horses were depicted larger than the people, demonstrating the horse’s importance over both the owner and the jockey. What also intrigued me was the sport’s ability to bring people of all classes together, which before the 1900’s was an incredible feat. The museum also had an equiciser, which is a fake horse that by the push of a button does a racing simulation. We all had a turn and managed to remain undefeated in our respective races. Then it was on to Tattersalls, the equivalent of the Keeneland Thoroughbred sales in Kentucky.

My favorite part of the day was visiting the trainer’s yard outside of Newmarket. This yard was smaller than most established yards, with only 22 horses, but they were still in the top percentile in wins. Their training and maintenance techniques were incredible. They mainly focused on the horse’s well-being and happiness, in addition to improving their fitness level to prepare for races. This was done by spending ample time in the paddocks before and after races, having lavender and eucalyptus in their shavings, and feeding a complex diet. Equine nutrition, especially for racehorses and sporthorses has always fascinated me. When done correctly, it is an art. He used honey, garlic (natural fly spray), a special mix of feed with vegetables (antioxidants), beet juice (increase blood flow), and ad lib hay. All these ingredients served a specific nutritional purpose that provided both happiness and good health. That nutritional plan is something I will definitely take back to the states. A happy horse is a fast horse!!

Until Next Time!

Casey Cromer (:

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