Hey All,
I know I didn’t post a LOT throughout the season but I just wanted to post a recap of the Emerald Racing Club 2022! I first want to say that ANYONE who has ever even THOUGHT of owning a racehorse should DEFINITELY participate in this program! It is an AMAZING in-depth look at what it really is like to own these amazing athletes and what really goes on behind the scenes!
This year the Emerald Racing Club, over the course of the 2022 race season owned 3 individual horses; Onefineday (KY) (Kantharos x Dina Gold [Seeking the Gold]) 2019 chestnut filly; Tengo Sed (CA) (Stay Thirsty x Maggie’s Secret [Sea of Secrets]) 2019 bay gelding; and Bennyandthechicks (WA) (Sixthirteen x Prayer Be Mine [Lucky Pulpit]) 2018 chestnut gelding. All three of these magnificent animals were a pleasure to have in the barn and all had their very own unique personalities.
Emerald Racing Club 2022 had 11 starts over the season; 3 wins, 2 places, 1 show. I am happy to say that each of our horses brought home a win for us! It was so much fun to see and cheer on our babies and watch them try their hearts out and improve over the season.
Onefineday aka Day, was our very first purchase of the season. She was purchased for $7500 from the ERC trainer Jeff Metz. Prior to us owning her she was sold for $20k in the Oct 2020 F-T yearling Sale in Lexington, KY. She had raced at 6 different tracks and she had 10 career starts with 2 wins, 1 place and 1 show. By the end of the season with us she went to 17 starts, 3 wins, 3 places and 1 show. She ended the season with us at ERC and we sold her privately to another trainer who had plans to continue her racing career. She took a while to warm up. Normally when I would go by her stall, she would be face down in her feed bucket and not very interested in scratches or treats. Eventually she did warm up and was a cute little snuggle bug.
Tengo Sed aka Tengo was a FABULOUS boy and a barn favorite. He was claimed by ERC for $8500 from Turf Paradise. Prior to us owning him, Tengo sold for $5500 at the 2019 AZTBA Fall Mixed sale as a weanling. He had started 10 times with 3 wins and 1 place under his belt. Tengo went to run 2 races for ERC and in his final race (in which he was claimed from us) he had one win for the club. It was a bittersweet day when Tengo crossed that finish line first. All of us in the ERC were thrilled to pile into the Cutwater Winners Circle at Emerald Downs, however our wonderful Tengo was claimed away. He went on to race 2 additional times this year at Emerald Downs in the 2022 season. Tengo was an all-around amazing horse. He was always very sociable and loved visitors and treats and scratches. When we first met him, Tengo really seemed to take to Preston by grooming him.
Bennyandthechicks aka Benjamin was one of the funniest and snuggliest horses I have ever met. Benjamin was claimed for $5000 after a couple failed claim attempts (see below). Benjamin came to us with 12 starts, 1 win, 1 place and 5 shows. By the end of the season with us he had 14 starts, 3 wins, 0 places and 6 shows (again details below). Benjamin was the last horse to run for ERC on closing day and man was it amazing to get that win on the last day of racing for the season! Ben ran for ERC 2 times before the end of the season and was able to secure our 3rd win. He was sold to our trainer Jeff Metz at the end of the season to continue his racing career. Benj was a sweet boy who always liked to snuggle. He was always up for a hug whenever I came to visit.
Between when Tengo was claimed away and we were able to claim Benjamin, ERC had two attempted claims, both that unfortunately were voided by the state veterinarian under new HISA rules that went into effect 7/1/2022. We attempted to claim both Union Bliss and Daniel the Dreamer for $5000 and both claims were voided in post-race vet checks. Subsequently ERC went a chunk of the season with only one horse (Day).
Also, as part of horse ownership, we had our fair share of our horses scratching out of races for a variety of different reasons. Benjamin was one of our first scratches due to ineligibility. While initially Benj came to us as a non-winner of 2, in his last race, due to a positive test result, the first placed horse was disqualified and Benny was moved from second place to the winner, which is how he lost his 1 place and ended up with a win. This unfortunately removed him from the non-winners of 2 category and was scratched. In his second race, which was the last race of the night, Benj was set to run, and within seconds of the gate crashing open, he decided to get fresh and unfortunately flipped in the gate, which was a vet scratch per WHRC rules. Day on closing day was set to run and due to an abcess, she was scratched from running for ERC one last time.
Overall, we had a hard time with races filling this year and our horses not running as often, but it was always fun to watch our horses run and be able to go to the backside and visit with the horses and staff of our barn. I think next year we will participate again. I am always happy to answer questions about our experience and would encourage anyone who is even remotely curious to give it a shot for one season.
Happy Racing!
A