The skinny on milkshaking

The Pennsylvania Racing Commission has issued its formal policy on Alkalinizing Substances (milkshaking).  In a nutshell, horses will be selected at random 2 hours before a race, and samples of saliva, blood or urine will be collected.  Samples may also be taken after a race.

Samples will be tested post race and be deemed "positive" when a high metabolic alkalosis is determined above the following levels:

(1) The regulatory threshold for TC02 is 37.0 millimoles per liter of plasma/serum, and;

(2) The decision level to be used for the regulation of TC02 is 37.0 millimoles per liter of plasma/serum plus the measurement uncertainty of the laboratory analyzing the sample.

(3) Upon a sample being called positive, the Commission shall not be responsible in any manner in determining the source or physical condition of the horse that may have caused a high alkalosis level. It
will be incumbent upon the trainer or owner to provide any mitigating evidence at the Stewards hearing as to a high alkalosis reading.

Penalty:

The recommended penalty for a first offense of a high alkalosis reading is a fine of $1500 (fifteen hundred dollars), a suspension of 30 (thirty) to 60 (sixty) days and loss of purse.

That's the story, folks.  It'll be interesting to see how many horses test positive for milkshaking; now all the Commission needs to do is develop a reliable testing method for shock waving and Epogen use and the playing field might get leveled ... just a little.

A Phantastic Phall at the Pha

First, here’s the good news. Every Saturday in September, and also on the first Saturday in October, Philadelphia Park will be offering cards chock-full of stakes and giveaways, a welcome change from the usual Saturday fare that is offered to fans and handicappers.

Now, try this on for size. The powers that be at the Bensalem oval have decided to name this time period the “Parx Phall Phestival.” Hmmm … okay … is this really a “Parx” event? Isn’t that the name of the glitzy stand-alone casino that faces Street Road? Isn’t the racetrack named Philadelphia Park? And come on … “Phall” is so very much like the word “phallic,” which we all know is another name for a man’s … ahem … piece of equipment. And the attempt at alliteration – it would work much better if the word “Philadelphia” was in there somewhere, wouldn’t it?

Okay, now that I’ve voiced my opinion on Parx’s Phabulous and Phantastic Phall Phestival, here are the details on the Saturday racing:

* Saturday, September 6 – Labor Day – “Smarty Jones Day”

For those of you still in love with Smarty Jones, the track will present the $300K Smarty Jones Stakes, plus the $250K Turf Monster Handicap, with total purse offerings of the 10-race card approximately $1 million.

* Saturday, September 11 – Pennsylvania’s Day at the Races

This will be a day entirely devoted to Pennsylvania-breds, and a welcome change from last year, when the Pa. Horsemen’s Association decided to conduct its Owner’s Day celebration on the same card. There will be 10 races all for Pa.-breds offered, including four stakes.

* Saturday, September 18 – Owner’s Day

Ten races, including the $250,000 PTHA President’s Cup, with total purses over $700K.

* Saturday, September 25 – Pennsylvania Derby Day

The $1 million Pa. Derby, which is still a Gr. 2 event probably due to the size of the purse, tops the 11-race card, which also features the $250K Turf Amazon Handicap.

* Saturday, October 2 – Cotillion Handicap Day

Ten races, with a total value of $1.5 million, are on the agenda, including the Gr. 2 Cotillion, the $250K Gallant Bob, and the $75,000 Alphabet Soup Handicap for Pa. breds.

From the picture vault

We did some digging around in the picture vault this past week, and came up with a few gems.  Thought some of you might like to see them.  All of them were snapped by yours truly.

Here's Bob Baffert leading Silver Charm to the track for a gallop in preparation for the 1997 Kentucky Derby:

The next couple of photos were taken at Claiborne Farm in October, 1992.  Here's Mr. Prospector, one of the best sires in the last century, and they graciously brought him out for me:

The next one is the great Numbered Account (left), who distinguished herself both on the racetrack and as a broodmare.  This was also taken at Claiborne Farm in October, 1992, in the pasture they keep for retired mares.  She wasn't that friendly, and was obviously the boss of the bunch.  Standing next to her is another great runner and broodmare, Obeah, the dam of champion Go For Wand.  She was very sweet:

And finally, here's Obeah by herself.  The picture isn't that great - back in those days there wasn't such a thing as a digital camera, you had to take off a few shots with the Kodak film and pray everything came out okay - so the shadow kind of hides her.  But I will always remember this day and how accommodating everyone was at Claiborne, especially farm manager Gus Koch.  Both Numbered Account and Obeah are dead now, as is Mr. Prospector.  This will always be a cherished memory for me.

News and notes on a hot summer day

It's been a while since our last blog post, and that's due to the fact that we took a much-needed vacation down the Jersey Shore, recharging the batteries and actually being able to read an entire book. 

Now back in the saddle, so to speak, we decided to make this first post of July a hodge-podge of information, some light reading for a very hot July day:

* Millionaire and track record-setter Sir Shackleton, who stood his first season in Pennsylvania this year at Gayle Gerth's Dana Point Farm in Lenhartsville, had the first winner from his first crop on June 24 when Sir Fox captured a maiden special weight at Prairie Meadows.  Sir Shackleton, a son of Miswaki-Naskra Colors, by Star de Naskra, stood his first three seasons at Castleton Lyons in Kentucky before being moved to Pennsylvania for 2010.  He stands for $2,500.

* Queensland, Australia-based Merlo Downs Stud will stand Canadian Gr. 1 Grey Breeders' Cup Stakes winner Changeintheweather (Gone West-Meteor Colony, by Pleasant Colony) in 2010 for his first season "Down Under."  The son of Gone West originally retired to his breeders' farm at Kentucky-based Pin Oak Stud in 2004 and stood there for two seasons before being relocated to Barbara and Ron Rickline's Xanthus Farm in Gettysburg, Pa. From his first crops he has sired 47 winners from 71 runners who have notched 130 wins and over 280 placings including (from his first crop) stakes-winning 2-year-old Cold Trial and stakes-placed 2-year-old Ovechkin. Changeintheweather, a winner of $441,247, was sold outright to Merlo Downs Stud. He stands his 2010 season there for a fee of $5,500.

* Gr. 1-placed and multiple stakes-winning sprinter Talent Search, a son of Catienus who stood his first season at Diamond B Farm in Mohrsville, Pa., serviced a book of more than 60 mares, according to Diamond B's owner Glenn Brok.  That is an outstanding number for a first-year sire in Pennsylvania, and obviously breeders were attracted to Talent Search's blistering speed on the racetrack and his excellent conformation and pedigree.  He stands for $2,500.

* We learned last month that the graded stakes-winning sire Turnofthecentury, a son of Holy Bull, was euthanized earlier this spring at Justaplain Farm in Cochranville, Pa.  Owners Helen and Gert Stearns said the gray was only servicing a few mares each season.  Still standing at Justaplain is Knockadoon, whose daughter Be Before broke her maiden on the Belmont Park grass on May 29.

* Was fortunate enough to visit Chip and Barbara Wheeler's WynOaks Farm in Delta, Pa. on June 27, and saw some beautiful Weigelia babies, as well as Weigelia himself.  The Wheelers said they are very impressed with his first crop of foals, and he serviced a book of nearly 30 mares this season and last season.  Weigelia was a hard-knocking millionaire who raced for six years, made 48 starts, and won 13 times, including eight stakes.  He stands for $3,500.

Aristocracy and Equines

As a follow-up to our listing of Pennsylvania’s thoroughbred farms in 1947, we discovered that one of them not only has a very interesting history, but remains nearly intact as it was 63 years ago.

Back at the end of World War II, Glencoe Farm – later named Doe Run Farm - was the breathtaking 350 acre estate in Unionville owned by Esther Driver du Pont Thouron and her husband, Sir John Rupert Hunt Thouron.

Lady Thouron, as she was known, loved thoroughbred racing, as did many members of the du Pont family – William duPont, Jr., Allaire du Pont, Marion duPont Scott, Jane du Pont Lunger, and Alice du Pont Mills. Among the horses Lady Thouron bred were Burma Road, who won the 1944 American Grand National, and Royal Vale, who won the 1953 Massachusetts Handicap, as well as Royal Governor and Ben Lomond.

Lady Thouron was known for her philanthropy and her sportsmanship. She helped build the clinic and hospital at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine's New Bolton Center, while in 1966 her contribution to the industry was recognized by the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association who awarded her their Lady's Sportsmanship Award. In 1960, she and Sir John established the Thouron Scholars Program of student exchanges between the University of Pennsylvania and leading universities in the United Kingdom.

At Doe Run, located off Route 841 and Thouron Road, there is a magnificent main house that was built in the 1930s, plus five other homes, including an 18th century farmhouse. A bank barn and two stone stables with 28 stalls each, plus a smaller turnout stable with 12 stalls, housed Lady Thouron’s thoroughbreds, and there are acres of lush pastureland.

A passionate horticulturist, Sir John Thouron developed what were originally open fields and created a series of extraordinary gardens—an Alpine garden, a cottage garden, a water garden, various formal gardens, and extensive herbaceous borders. Supporting these gardens were two large professional greenhouses with many rare orchids.

The Main House at Doe Run

The stables at Doe Run

Pastures at Doe Run

According to his biography, Thouron was known internationally for Doe Run. “Uniquely, Mr. Thouron had a myrtle standard, grown from a myrtle sprig taken from the wedding bouquet of Queen Victoria, in whose wedding his grandmother was an attendant,” his biography stated. “A superb plantsman, Mr. Thouron was the first to produce a clear yellow clivia, described by White Flower Farm as ‘one of the holy grails of the plant world.’”

Lady Thouron died in 1984 at age 76, and Sir John Thouron died in 2007 at the age of 99. Upon his death, 220 acres of Doe Run, encompassing most of the original buildings and gardens, was offered for sale by Christie’s for $15 million.

The property was purchased by Richard Hayne, the founder and chairman of the Urban Outfitters retail empire. Hayne, who is listed as number 317 on the Forbes list of the 400 Richest People in the United States, is said to have an interest in horticulture and gardening, and earlier this year began making extensive renovations at Doe Run, including changes to the main house and to other associated residences on the property.

Interestingly, a nearly 60-acre parcel of the original Doe Run, located across the road from the main property, was purchased by Hayne last year from disgraced financial advisor and alleged Ponzi scheme mastermind Donald Anthony Walker “Tony” Young for $3.5 million. According to a report, Hayne may turn the acreage into a creamery.

(Thanks to Sheilagh B. for guiding us to the information on Doe Run).

A few laughs with Uncle Miltie

Last week, we listed some thoroughbred farms that were in existence in Pennsylvania in 1947, right after the end of World War II.  Thanks to the curiosity of one reader, Holly (see comment in previous post, "A Trip Down Memory Lane") we learned that the old Zimmerman Farm in Wayne could now be Rohanna's Golf Course.

Some other interesting facts were discovered by yours truly about Point-of-View Stud Farm in Yardley, Pa., which was located on 200 acres on Langhorne-Yardley Road.  According to the Lower Makefield Historical Society:

"Point of View Stud Farm was where million dollar winning race horse 'Uncle Miltie' was trained on a quarter mile race track. Uncle Miltie won the Champagne Stakes and Wakefield Handicap in New York at the age of 2 and the Lamplighter Handicap at Monmouth Park at the age of 3."


We looked up the pedigree and race record of Uncle Miltie, since his name did not ring a bell as one of thoroughbred racing's millionaires, and we found that he did not win $1 million on the track.  Uncle Miltie won 12 of 27 races and just over $85,000, but he did indeed capture the Champagne, Wakefield and Lamplighter Stakes, and was second in the Sapling and Choice at Monmouth Park.  He was foaled in 1948, a son of Heather Broom (by The Porter) and was out of Twink-Mo, by Mokatam, and bred by Point-A-View, which was owned by Joseph J. Colando.

Uncle Miltie was named after the comedian, Milton Berle, and trained in 1950-51 by Dr. Andrew Charles Colando, Sr., the son of Joseph and Esther Colando. Uncle Miltie had been the winter-book favorite for the Kentucky Derby, but was injured and never entered in the "Run for the Roses."  According to an obituary written by Dr. Colando's daughter, Caroline, Life Magazine had prepared a big spread on Uncle Miltie, but it was never published. 

In Time magazine, on April 23, 1951, Uncle Miltie's status among the nation's top 3-year-olds was acknowledged:

"It was a tough week for the experts, who thought they had the Kentucky Derby winner all doped out. When ten of the nation's best three-year-olds paraded to the post in New York's Experimental Free Handicap No. 2, the horseplayers, agreeing with the experts, made Joseph J. Colando's blaze-faced bay colt Uncle Miltie an overwhelming odds-on (7-20) choice to come galloping home with the $18,500 purse.

With Battlefield and Big Stretch unwilling to try again against the horse that had beaten them in a six-furlong conditioner five days before, the Colando colt seemed to be a cinch. But the mile-and-a-sixteenth Experimental was an entirely different matter. Starting in the outside post position, and carrying top weight of 126 Ibs., he never made it a race. Uncle Miltie finished eighth, five lengths (i.e., 4½ & a nose & a head) behind the winner, King Ranch's Sonic, which carried only a feathery 105 Ibs. The time: 1:44 2/5.


Even so, Uncle Miltie might well be a tough horse to beat on Derby Day. At Experimental No. 2)'s distance, 2½ Ibs. is roughly equivalent to a length; on that basis, the experts were still inclined to string along with Uncle Miltie. Next chance to clear the Derby's clouded crystal ball: Jamaica's Wood Memorial this week, when every entry (except maidens and fillies) will carry the same weight (126 Ibs.)."

While it never published that big feature, Life Magazine did cover Uncle Miltie's exploits on the racetrack, including the following excerpt from the May 7, 1951 issue:

"If you read the sports pages, you may have notice the weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth this spring about a race horse named Uncle Miltie. It seems that Uncle Miltie, an unfashionably bred colt whose mother was worth only $600 and whose father was never even allowed to talk to the better mares on the farm, had turned into one of the more promising 3-year-olds of the season. The sportswriters were aghast at the thought that a colt bearing such a name as Uncle Miltie might win the Kentucky Derby. As a writer in the New York Times put it, great race horses are supposed to have names that 'ripple resonantly off the tongue' - and the case of Uncle Miltie was enough to set all bygone breeders of horses 'spinning in their graves.' Well, I note now that Uncle Miltie has been pulled out of the Derby.  Could this poissibly be because of his ugly name?" 

Here is a photo of Uncle Miltie from Life's archives:

Here's another photo of Uncle Miltie from Life Magazine:

Another little tidbit on Uncle Miltie - his dam, Twink-Mo, was one of the first broodmares acquired by Joe Giangiulio, who founded Castle Rock Farm in West Chester, and the father of Peter Giangiulio, former president of the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association.

Uncle Miltie wasn't much at stud, with his best being Our Hope, a foal of 1957 bred by Joseph Colando. Our Hope finished first in the 1961 Whitney Handicap, but was disqualified for "roughing" Kelso in the stretch.  From Uncle Miltie's 40 named foals, 36 started (90 percent!), 27 were winners (68 percent), and he had an average earnings index of 1.06.

It's not known what state Uncle Miltie was foaled in, since The Jockey Club only lists him as being bred in the United States.  However, there's a good chance that the Derby prospect was foaled right at Point-A-View Farm in Yardley, Pa.

As for Milton Berle, the comedian, he was known to have a fondness for betting the ponies ... and in some published reports, may have gambled away the bulk of his earnings at the track!

A trip down Memory Lane

The other night, I pulled the 1948 American Racing Manual off the shelf and began browsing through it. Back in those days, the ARM was chock-full of good information, great writing, and contained many advertisements – a far cry from the modern ARM, sadly.


As I flipped through the yellowed pages, I came across a section entitled “Thoroughbred Breeding Farms.”

“More than 1,000 Thoroughbred breeding farms are now in operation in the United States,” the opening paragraph began. “Of the forty-eight states only two, Maine and Vermont, report no farms. The amount of money invested in the breeding of thoroughbreds in the United States – in land, buildings, stallions, mares and equipment – cannot be accurately computed, but it is a tremendous sum. It ranks high among the country’s leading industries.”

I went to the section for Pennsylvania farms, and herein follows the listing of the farms in operation in 1947. As you can see, only one – Erdenheim Farm – has survived. Perhaps others still do, but under different names and ownership. Most interesting to me was the fact that Yardley contained a stud farm – Point-a-View Farm – a 200 acre operation with a training track and two stallions. If any readers know where Point-a-View was once located, and what occupies that land now, please drop me an e-mail. I would also be interested in the history (and fate) of the other farms in Pennsylvania, too.

AVONWOOD FARM – Wayne, R. D. 1; owned by Charles E. Mather II; Igino Petrondi, manager. Three mares.

BLUE STONE FARM – Paoli; 176 acres, owned by W. Ellis Johnson. Five mares; stallion, Robespierre. One-half mile training track.

CHESTERBROOK FARM – Berwyn; 730 acres, owned by Mrs. J. Packard Laird. Ten mares; stallion, Constitution. One mile turf track and four mile steeplechase course.

ERDENHEIM FARM – Chestnut Hill; 450 acres, owned by George D. Widener. Five mares. One mile training track.

FAIR ACRES – Westtown; 300 acres, owned and managed by Crawford L. Twaddell. Ten mares; stallion, Wizard’s Play.

GLENCOE FARM – Coatesville; Route 4; 350 acres, owned by Mrs. E. DuPont Weir; J. E. Ryan, manager. Six mares.

HAPPY HUNTING FARM – West Chester, R. D. 2; 170 acres, owned by Thomas McKelvey. Twenty-seven mares.

HENRY FARM – Devon; 135 acres, owned by Dr. Charles F. Henry. Twelve mares; stallion, Pasteurized. One-half mile training track.

HILDACY FARM – Media, Palmer Hill Road; 50 acres, owned and managed by Cyril G. Fox. Two mares. One-half mile turf training course.

KILTALGARTH FARM – Ambler; 103 acres, owned by Mrs. John Cadwalader; Henry Cadwalader, manager. Five mares, stallion, Modest Lad. One-half mile schooling course.

MAPLETON STUD – Malvern, R. D. 2; 171 acres, owned and managed by David Dallas O’Dell. One mile turf training track; hurdle, brush and timber courses.

POINT-A-VIEW STUD FARM – Yardley; 200 acres, owned by Joseph J. Colando, Stephen G. Colando, manager. Twelve mares; stallions, *Vejete, Heather Broom. One-half mile training track.

THORNCROFT STABLE – Paoli; 180 acres, owned by Edwin S. Dixon, Jr. Ten mares; stallion, The Clown.

VALLEY FORGE FARM – Valley Forge; 300 acres, owned by Mrs. J. R. Tindle; R. M. Tindle, manager. Four mares.

ZIMMERMAN FARM – Waynesburg, Route 2; 118 acres, owned by George L. Zimmerman; James B. Zimmerman, manager. Seven mares; stallion, Lancework.

A picture of Erdenheim Farm today.