Race Horses Work Out. Training Thoroughbreds. Kentucky Derby
Like 3 Dislike 0 Published on 6 May 2013
Thoroughbred race horses working out on training track. The Preakness Stakes, Kentucky Derby and The Belmont Stakes are the 3 Triple Crown jewels sought out by top 3 year old thoroughbred race horses every year in the United States of America. American Pharoah wins the 2015 Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Belmont and the Breeder's Cup in 2015. This is also known in the horse racing world as the grand slam! This horse is not American Pharoah, but is working a half mile at a training center in Central Virginia. This thoroughbred race horse in the video is not going to make it to the Kentucky Derby, but the few three year olds who do are among the best in the world.
Most of the three year old champions who make it have already proven themselves as two year olds. There is a lot of controversy about training and racing two year old thoroughbreds, but the people who are against the practice are not equine physiologist, or veterinarians knowledgeable in this field. Starting to train horses young, while their bones and soft tissue are growing, actually gives them a stronger foundation making them les prone to injuries. There are lots of studies, such as the Dr. Nunamaker bucked shin study, that prove early conditioning of the horse, properly, at a young age is advantageous for racing on American dirt surfaces.
The problem with soundness in the United State is because of poor breeding practices and running high speeds on dirt or sand surfaces. Can you imagine how much better American Pharoah would have been if raced on grass or a prefect all weather surface?Not all dirt is created equal and some tracks have better kept surfaces than others. Ultimately grass is the best natural surface to protect the horse of the injuries created by the hard and unforgiving sand. Dirt tracks do not absorb the impacts and vibrations that the horse's joints need them to. The benefit of the grass is the root system itself. The grass' root system provides a cushion of invite impact distribution down into the ground. A properly hydrated turf course is the best surface in preventing high speed thoroughbred horse racing injuries. Unfortunately this is not a reality in the U.S.A. since the turf is a seasonal racing surface and requires more maintenance and money than dirt racing.
Older horses and lightly trained horses don't have the bone density that is needed to take the impact created at racing speeds. Improperly conditioned race horses working to fast and too early in their training are setting up for a catastrophic injury. Some of the soundest and sturdiest horses are being worked out as yearlings. Yearlings come in all different shapes and sizes. There are mature yearlings that were born in April and there are some very immature yearlings that were born in January so careful consideration needs to be taken when deciding how far to push a young thoroughbred along. Working out a horse is relative to their ability and stage of training. Earlier when I wrote about yearlings being worked out, this doesn't mean 3 furlongs in 36 seconds. A yearling working out can mean a two minute lick since. An advanced yearling working at a 2 min/mile pace is enough to create the impact needed for conditioning joint strength and bone density. Hearts rate monitors are highly recommended when starting horses young to determine their level of conditioning without guessing when to move forward or faster in their training. These yearlings never really see racing speeds until their two year old year, as they shouldn't. Speed is relative to the horse's ability. While one horse can run a mile in 1:36 at 90% of his ability, another horse maybe all out working 100% at this pace.
We are all not so lucky to get an American Pharoah, Kentucky Derby Winner, Preakness, Belmont or Breeder's Cup winner in the barn, but we can try training thoroughbreds to be the best they are genetically designed to be. Subscribe, like and share Race Horses Work Out Training Thoroughbreds.
Check out the 5 Keys To Race Horse Speed here: https://youtu.be/0zEhtzgP4ko