An ominous sign?

Yesterday marked my final trip to a farm Open House in the mid-Atlantic region. With my daughter Katie in tow, we made the 129-mile drive to New Freedom, Pa., to Dr. William J. Solomon’s Pin Oak Lane Farm.

In years past, the local calendar was chock-full of Open Houses. Just two years ago, three Open Houses were scheduled on the same Sunday afternoon, creating quite a Mapquest nightmare for me.

This year, there were only four on the schedule – three in Pennsylvania, and one in Maryland. Five farms that stand stallions in Pennsylvania, which previously had hosted a day for breeders to inspect their facilities and their horses, did not have one this year.

Not only was the lack of Open Houses a sign that farms are cutting back on spending (a typical Open House has to cost the farm thousands of dollars, considering the amount of food and beverages needed, plus all the printed materials and the hiring of additional help that day) but the lack of attendance at all four was an ominous sign that mare owners are either not going to breed their mares this year, or have gotten out of the business completely.

The low attendance at the four Open Houses – Ghost Ridge, Northview Stallion Station, Diamond B and Pin Oak Lane – was truly shocking. Imagine if you threw a party, but less than half the guests showed up. That was the feeling at these farms, all of which stand solid breed-to-race sires, stallions with commercial appeal, and interesting new freshman sires.

It was like the curtain had dropped on the 2011 breeding season before it even began.

There have been many reasons tossed out for the lack of attendance at these venues. So far, I’ve heard that

1.) the weather has been so bad, people don’t want to travel

2.) people still are going to breed their mares, but just did not attend the Open Houses

3.) the farms scheduled their Open Houses on inconvenient days for breeders

4.) breeders who were interested in the Ghost Ridge stallions attended its Open House in November, which was basically a chance for fans to see Smarty Jones

5.) breeders were going to scour on-line auctions of stallions seasons for the best possible price and

6.) people in the mid-Atlantic region don’t make up their minds who they are going to breed to until their mare(s) actually foal, which could mean May and June.

Perhaps attendance at Open Houses should not be used as a barometer for the upcoming breeding season. Perhaps there are mare owners who are planning on “business as usual,” without having the need to inspect stallions and exchange pleasantries with the farm manager, his staff, and fellow horsemen. Maybe there are a lot of out-of-state breeders who could not attend, because of the distance involved.

In Pennsylvania, the breeding industry has seen a substantial increase in the number of mares bred since expanded gaming revenue began flowing into the Breeding Fund coffers. According to statistics published by The Jockey Club, in 2004 (the year slots legislation was passed in Harrisburg) there were 1,027 mares bred in the state, a number that soon swelled to 1,603 in 2009. The total number bred dipped almost four percent in 2010, to 1,542, and some have opined it could fall to below the 1,200 level – or approach pre-slots levels – for 2011.

What’s interesting is that, despite the amount of money available to owners at state racetracks (purses at Parx Racing are approaching the $300,000 per day level, while Penn National is approaching $200,000) and breeders through the PHBA’s Breeding Fund (more than $16 million in 2010), some mare owners may be raising the white flag. The costs of maintaining a broodmare through conception through foaling and beyond may have proven too prohibitive for owners to absorb throughout this economic downturn.

Maybe the breeding industry has now hit rock-bottom, and things will begin to rebound next year and beyond. The one bright spot for those that choose to breed their mares this season is that the resulting foals will have far less competition at the racetrack when they finally begin training.

Let’s hope that the lack of attendance at the area’s few Open Houses thus far is not a portend of things to come.

Winter wonderland?

Horsemen in Pennsylvania are understandably upset that both Philadelphia Park and Penn National Race Course have cancelled a slew of cards the last few weeks due to the snowy and icy weather conditions, but this is not a new phenomenon, by any means.

Because both racetracks have dirt surfaces, it is a rare winter, indeed, when live racing isn’t shut down at some point during January, February and March.

While digging through the archives the other day, I ran across an article I wrote in Daily Racing Form from 17 years ago that could have just as easily been written today.

Entitled “Horsemen Struggle to Cope with Freeze,” and dated January 27, 1994, the story describes the angst of Philadelphia Park horsemen over the poor track condition and the loss of racing days, which in turn meant a loss of their income.

“Winter racing is brutal for both man and beast, but the deep freeze that gripped the Delaware Valley this month and forced the cancellation of 10 live cards at Philadelphia Park since January 11 has tested the endurance of the hardiest horsemen,” it began.

The article goes on to say that sub-zero temperatures froze the main track solid the second week of January, and track superintendent Roy Smith said he was “forced to jackhammer holes in the surface so that standing water could be swept into them.”

“I feel very good about the condition of the track now,” Smith was quoted as saying. “It’s got its color back, and I’ve got about a two-inch cushion for training.” But, he added, he was unsure when live action would resume.

Trainer Pam Shavelson, a longtime resident of the Philadelphia Park backstretch, said in the article that the suspension of both racing and training placed a “horrible financial burden” on horsemen.

“There’s no income from purses, yet horses still eat everyday and you still have to meet payroll,” she said.

The bitter cold snap also wreaked havoc with the plumbing in Philadelphia Park’s barns.

“Two pipes burst in my barn – one at both ends,” she went on to say. “One blew at 7 o’clock at night, and maintenance didn’t arrive until 4 a.m. It was a real mess.”

Bursting pipes from the extreme temperatures also created chaos in the barns of J. Michael Rogers, Uriah St. Lewis, Bob Dodds and Bob Camac, the story reported.

Jockey agents were also interviewed, with Jack Servis, agent for Tony Black and Jeff Lloyd, stating that although he was going skiing, he plans on cutting his vacation short to maintain his contacts both at Philadelphia Park and Garden State Park.

“You’ve still got to maintain your contacts and keep the goodwill,” said Servis.

While the name of the racetrack has changed to Parx, and both Servis and Camac are sadly now deceased, one thing has stayed the same – winter racing in the mid-Atlantic region continues to be a problem for track maintenance workers, horsemen, and horses.

Check back in 17 more years, and you’ll likely be reading more of the same.

And they're off at snowy Philadelphia Park.  Photo credit: USA Today.