Racer Report Cards - 2009

With the season almost complete, I've looked at each of my racers and graded them on how they've performed this year.

All of them, with the exception of Big Easy and Nova will be returning as racers next season.

Grades are as follows:


BIG EASY (9-2-1-3 $300,000) - We knew when we acquired him that this would be his last season before retiring to stud, so we weren't expecting miracles. We hoped however, that he would perform competently and with dignity. He has definitely done that.
GRADE: B

DOOMSDAY (9-2-4-3 $310,000) - After a sub-par 2008, we thought he might not even be racing at Otsego Farms this year. He has come through with flying colors though by hitting the board in every race. Based on his resurgence, another racing season beckons for Doomsday in 2010.
GRADE: A

KING OF THE SEA (6-2-2-0 $340,000) - King was beset by injury and chronic soreness in 2009. In spite of that, he performed at a high level in most races. He'll be back in 2010, but will be limited to 6 hand-picked races.
GRADE: B

NOVA (8-3-1-1 $547,500) - Nova had another solid season with all 100+ power-speed numbers with the exception of one at 99. She stretched out to 8.5 and 9 furlongs and performed very well at the longer distances. Retiring at season end to become a broodmare.
GRADE: B+

SITIO ESTRATEGICO (4-1-1-1 $67,800) - Mid-season pickup who performed well in four races. A Grade 3 router who can perform well if placed appropriately. Racing again in 2010.
GRADE: B

UNION JACK (10-3-4-2 $1,415,000) - Jack was his usual solid self in 2009. While not a match for the very top horses, he can handle almost anyone else. He'll be competing again next season as a 5yo.
GRADE: A

CANDLE OF LIFE (6-0-0-3 $28,000) - This horse has ability, we're convinced of that. He's not Grade 1 material, but we think he can pay his way, therefore he'll be back next season.
GRADE: C-

KID FLASH (7-2-2-2 $272,900) - The Kid was very consistent in 2009. He may move up to an occasional Grade 1 race in 2010 after showing good speed that topped out at a 113 PSR. Has been in-the-money in 11 of his last 12 races.
GRADE: B+

SEVEN MEMORY (3-1-0-1 $48,500) - We liked this fellow so much, that we sold stable favorite Lady Katherine to make room for him. He is illustriously bred, by Memcay out of Deja vu and has shown speed and courage in his brief stay at Otsego. He'll be back.
GRADE: B+

STOWAWAY (3-2-1-0 $92,400) - Another mid-season acquisition that looks to good to be true. This horse has great talent and we were very surprised at being able to get him so economically. We see him as a Grade 1 sprinter/miler next season.
GRADE: A

BIG SLICK (6-0-2-1 $47,200) - This horse came into the season with a "can't miss" tag on him. He looked superb in his first race, finishing 2nd in a field of 19. He was injured in his next race and has not been the same since. Our trainers say he has the tools, so we'll give him a long rest and he'll come back as a 3yo in March 2010.
GRADE: D

MISTER FANTASTIC (1-0-0-0 $0) - We gave this late maturing colt one start, just to see where he was at. It was all we needed to decide to shelve him until 2010. We hope he'll surprise us next season.
GRADE: Incomplete

PSR Update

With the statistics for 74 races in the books, here is the breakdown of Power Speed Ratings for Otsego Farms so far this season.

To date, 62% of all starts have resulted in a PSR of 90 or higher. Incredibly, 34% of starts have been over 100. The record in the 25 races with PSR's over 100 is 25-10-8-4.

PSR	RACES	PERCENT
120+	3	4%
110-119	6	8%
100-109	16	22%
90-99	21	28%
80-89	9	12%
70-79	7	9%
60-69	5	7%
50-59	3	4%
40-49	4	5%
30-39	0	0%
20-29	0	0%
10-19	0	0%
Below 0	0	0%

In a side note, Nova recently had a 99 PSR. That is the first PSR of less than 100 she has had in over 2 years.

She will be retiring at the end of this season and joining the ranks of Otsego broodmares. She will initially pair with the outstanding miler Big Easy. This looks like a tremendous match. The introduction of Big Easy's turf abilities may broaden the foals chances to compete on both surfaces. Nova has run strictly on dirt in her career.

If this pairing produces a colt, the name will be Big Bang. If it is a filly, it will be Quasar.

Change in plans....

We had thought to retire Doomsday at season end. But, this fellow has performed so well this season, he has earned himself another go around.

Last year, while I was still trying to run him in accordance with his AR to some degree, he had a record of 11-0-2-2. I came within a hair's width of selling him on a couple occasions.

This year, I decided to formally and permanently drop him to Grade 3 races at 7 furlongs or less and he has responded magnificently. With his win today, his 2009 record to date is 9-2-4-3 with earnings of $310,000. That is enough to earn him a stall for next season.

Our other racer in weeks 43-44 was Stowaway, the white 3yo we purchased earlier this year. Also winning today, Stowaway has a record of 3-2-1-0 since he joined our stable. We are very high on this horse and plan on stepping him up to higher grades next season.

Broodmare available

Monsoon has been made available via the sales page at the BUY NOW price of $150,000.

She is by Storm Cat out of Kazzia.

Monsoon has some attributes that lead me to believe that she may produce competitive sprinters if matched with an appropriate stud. They are:

1. Keeps going, doesn't let up.
2. Very consistent.
3. Front runner.
4. Good acceleration.
5. Breaks well.

The entire AR can be viewed at the sale page.

Monsoon produced a nice foal for me last season with Predator as the stud. Frankly, I was happy enough with the foal to keep Monsoon and breed her again, but I have decided to retire Nova and move her into the breeding operation. That makes Monsoon expendable as I only have plans for three broodmares, and they will be Nova, Shattered Record, and Shadowcat.

Otsego Farms T-Shirt hits the street!

You may have seen the link on the right to the Otsego Farms store. It was put together as a bit of a joke although the products are real enough.

My wife surprised me for my birthday by buying a T-shirt and a sweatshirt with the Otsego Farms logo. Needless to say, they are now my favorite pieces of clothing. That's me modeling the shirt. Oops, looks like I didn't get my face in the picture. Lucky for you.

New race card - An opinion

I think I like it.

No, I'm sure that I like it.

The old system needed to be overhauled for the following two reasons:

1. Unrealistic in that you had no idea who might show up for what race.
2. Tedious for Laurie, who had to manually process all of the scratch/transfer conditions.

The blind card led to several problems, the most severe of which was the myriad conditions that Laurie had to deal with. As owners searched for the small fields, the scratch conditions got very complex and tangled. I'm sure Laurie had to revisit each race several times, wrestling with the logic and trying to finalize the field. Now that the fields are open for scrutiny, the scratch instructions will be limited to primarily track conditions, lightening Lauries load considerably.

Also, the blind card could cause consternation for owners expecting an appropriate field for a G3 race only to find an unexpected ringer entered in the small pursed race. With the open card, if you see a horse you don't want to face, you've got time to reschedule.

Plus, It's how it's done in real life and I'm always a fan of realism.

So....I'm liking it.