Otsego 2009 Racing Roster

Our 2009 racers will shake down like this:

1. Doomsday 5yo male - He will concentrate on Grade 3 races of 6 to 8 furlongs.
2. King of the Sea 4yo colt - We see him as a Grade 1 competitor at 8-10 furlongs.
3. Nova 4yo filly - Should compete at the highest levels at 7 furlongs or less on dirt.
4. Union Jack 4yo colt - Top quality stayer on turf at 10 or more furlongs.
5. Kid Flash 3 yo colt - Expecting big things on turf under 8 furlongs.
6. Lady Katherine 3yo filly - Coming along slowly, but looks promising as dirt sprinter.
7. Firefighter 3yo colt - Immature as 2yo. Has tools but will take some time.
8. Emeritus 3yo colt - At this point, Grade 3 or less ability at longer distances.
9. Big Slick 2yo colt - All-surface stayer who looks to have tremendous ability.
10. Mister Fantastic 2yo colt - Probably more of a threat as a 3yo. Likes classic distances.
11. Night Thrasher 2yo colt - Looks like a sprinter, which is a surprise. Ready to race.

Entering our 6th season in 2009, we feel this is the deepest string of racers yet. We feel that any of the top 6 listed above are capable of winning a race at any time.

Breeding pairs and names for 2008

Otsego Farms will be breeding four foals in 2008.

The pairings have all been previously announced, but here they are with the prospective foal names.

War Machine x Sharp Cat
Colt - Ultron
Filly - Domino

Nightwing x Shattered Record
Colt - Shatterstar
Filly - Shatterstar

Vampirical x Shadowcat
Colt - Tombstone
Filly - Feral

Predator x Monsoon
Colt - Sabretooth
Filly - Poison Ivy

We are very excited about the matches we've been able to make. Sharp Cat and Shattered Record were both successful racers and should produce outstanding foals. Shadowcat and Monsoon had modest results on the track but have very solid AR's.

More information will be forthcoming after the foals are born.

Otsego Farms million dollar earners

We've been fortunate enough here at Otsego to have had no less than 7 million dollar winners in our five years of operation. They are....

1. War Machine $12.6 million - All-time great
   
2. Nightwing $6.6 - Our first millionaire
   
3. Union Jack $2.7 - Big earnings potential next season
   
4. Predator $2.4 - Now owned by Zippy Chippy
   
5. Shattered Record $1.2 - Will be broodmare gold
   
6. Nova $1.1 - Fleet filly will earn another million at least
   
7. Doomsday $1.0 - Hopes to bounce back after poor 4yo season
   

Union Jack, Nova, and Doomsday will continue racing next season and will certainly add to their total winnings.

Running style preferences

The horses of Photo-Finish run with one of the following styles.

• Front runner/On Lead
• Stalker
• Mid-Pack
• Come From Behind
• Flexible

Certain styles obviously go very nicely with other horse attributes.

For Sprinters, I prefer a front runner who uses the On Lead strategy. I think you would agree that in a 5 or 6 furlong race with a big field, it's nice to get out front and out of the traffic. Hopefully they have the speed to maintain their early lead.

Conversely, I prefer a Mid-Pack or Come From Behind style for a Stayer. I like them to cruise along freely at a lower effort rating, then make a run at the end while the other horses are tiring.

The style that I least prefer is Flexible. It seems like every Flexible horse I own runs On Lead all the time. Predator, Doomsday, and War Machine all followed that pattern. All three were Flexible, but they all ran as a front runner almost exclusively.

They all were successful racers, but I feel that Predator and Doomsday could have both been much better if they had truly been Flexible rather than running On Lead every race. P and D were both supposed to be good up to 12 furlongs, but the On Lead strategy they employed made them expend too much early stamina, effectively making them both 8 furlong horses at the maximum. Running On Lead did not effect War Machine due to his remarkable stamina.

My next generation horses have the following combinations:

• Big Slick - Stalker / Likes a lot of distance
• Mister Fantastic - Mid-Pack / Classic distances
• Night Thrasher - Stalker / Sprinter

The new abbreviated AR's do not list the running style, so I will not know what Rogue, Bane, and Quicksilver prefer until I race them, then see the rating afterwards in Amanda's Past Performance spreadsheet.

King of the Sea is newest acquisition

We are very pleased to announce the auction purchase of the fine 3yo colt King of the Sea.

King was purchased at auction from Thunder Lodge for $401,000. His current record stands at 18-4-4-3 with career earnings of $705,050.

We have had our eye on this fellow since his debut last season. Frankly, we were very surprised that he was available, but jumped at the chance to own him.

We were bidding in the last minutes against the very horse-savvy stable Under The Weeping Moon. There is no one who understands and can diagnose the raw statistics like DJ. His interest in a horse is a veritable stamp of approval. This fact makes the purchase even more exciting.

Hopefully, we can get King of the Sea into a race yet this season. If not, he'll be ready as a 4yo, dirt, 8-10 furlong specialist in 2009.

Otsego free breedings? Ummm...nope.

It seems that offering free breedings to new players is the politically correct thing to do these days.

Evidently, newbies are such as fragile lot that they require special treatment. In addition to the free breedings, they also receive free horses when they open their doors.

Hmmm, I must have missed out on that deal. I paid for all the horses in my initial batch. I started right at the beginning of a season and bought my horses at the auction. No freebies for me. I don't remember the exact number, but I spent approximately $60,000 of my $200,000 stake on horses. Newbies weren't coddled back in my day.

Don't misunderstand, I love newbies. They are the life blood of the game. New ideas and new personalities are very important for the continuing health of Photo-Finish. I'm just not sure how we have evolved into acting like doting parents for every new player that comes aboard.

It just seems like we're holding their hands a little too much. They need to learn to walk on their own. If they fall and scrape their knees a couple times, so be it. It makes you appreciate walking on your own a little more when you've learned by yourself, know what I mean?

It may seem heartless of us here at Otsego Farms, but we believe in self-sufficiency. Therefore, we won't ever offer free breedings, free racers, or free broodmares. I have been known to sell a horse cheaply on occasion just to help someone out, but that is as far as I go. Just call me Snidely Whiplash. (Anyone remember him?)

Advice however, is always free.

Racer Preview - Big Slick

Big Slick by Troll Tower out of Charon. Will race as a 2yo next season.

We are very optimistic about this chestnut colt who was excellently bred by Joe from Pointgiven Stables.

The sire Troll Tower had a distinguished career with earnings of $7.6 million including a tremendous win at the Dubai World Cup.

Charon had just 12 races in her career, but had 7 wins and 5 second place finishes with career earnings just under one million.

Otsego Farms acquired Big Slick last year in a deal that included cash and a breeding to War Machine, which eventually produced the filly By A nose Jo (War Machine x Secret Status). Banjo was one of just two fillies in War Machine's initial foal crop, the other being Otsego's Rogue.

Big Slick inherited his fathers endurance, he likes a lot of distance. He is a fighter who is at least adequate on all surfaces. Some of his other attributes are:

• Incredibly consistent.
• Recovers quickly.
• Good acceleration.
• Breaks well.
• Good speed. Could set records.

We look forward to seeing Big Slick on the track next season. We anticipate approximately 6-8 races in his first season. Keep an eye on this one.