Hi Cathy, It’s really encouraging to see the attitude change over the past years about care in training and also after care and new careers. I agree that bumping looked really dangerous. And as far as breeding goes, I wish the gene pools didn’t narrow so much. Babies are fragile especially if they are kept working when they are sore or off. I wish we could see improvement in some of the other breeds/disciplines. All in all thought I loved Sovereignty’s gorgeous stride and his fierce determination through the mud. Thanks for your comment. 🤠

Hi Sheila, Thanks so much for your great comment. I agree. The decision to run or not certainly should be in the hands of the people who are involved with the horse. Kudos to them for considering the horse over what could possibly have been a dream come true. Not everyone would decide in favor of the animal. Since I’m a distant observer, I assume that’s what happened. The game horse ran so well in the mud. Thanks for the catch on the race lengths. And the article. I think we might agree that racing, as well as other horse sports, has lots of room for training done intelligently and with consideration for the individual horse. I couldn’t agree more about Flavian Pratt. One thing we know for certain is that horsemen are a passionate group of people. Thank you for reading my stories. Barbara

The schedule of the races making up the Triple Crown is another topic not to be settled here. I am in favor of the historical spacing of the races, you are not, but this debate will not be settled soon, I don’t think. At any rate, the horses that go on to compete in this year’s Belmont Stakes will have an easier time of it since the last leg will be contested at Saratoga at a distance of a mile and a quarter. The typical mile and a half distance is another issue that has been long debated. On that subject, the Preakness distance of a mile and three sixteenths is shorter than the Derby distance, not longer, but I know you were aware of that, your keyboard wasn’t.

Research has led to most Vets, to conclude that early training and racing, done intelligently and with consideration for the individual horse, leads to a sounder racehorse over a longer racing career. Again, every horse is an individual and must be trained in response to that. This article might interest you, Training Young Horses: The Science behind the Benefits, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7916178/, as well as numerous articles that have appeared in the Paulick Report.

Sovereignty’s jockey should have been suspended for breaking the rules, and his refusal to acknowledge his culpability is regrettable. Fortunately, the whips riders are required to use currently have been redesigned to no longer be capable of raising a welt, they leave little physical impact on the horse and are now largely a reminder that it is now time to get serious about running. Flavian Pratt’s ride on Goal Oriented deserves a long suspension, for endangering not only his own horse, but Journalism as well. He certainly destroyed any chance Clever Again had, causing him to be eased.

It looks like I’ve written a short story, so I think that’s enough commenting for me. Thank you for writing your much enjoyed books!