Should two-year-old races be placed 10 days apart?

Back in 1952, yes, 70 years ago, I was playing Little League baseball.

I was a catcher back then…and not a very good hitter at all.

After one of the games, I didn’t feel too well as pain began to develop in my bones—especially my back—which cut short my baseball career…yes, all washed up at age nine!

One doctor said it was “growing pains” and, yet another said, after examination and x-rays, “there was evidence of non-paralytic polio and scoliosis.”

I began to think about that recently for our beloved Standardbreds, because, when we had the coveted 2:10 two-year-old list years and years ago for our trotters and pacers, most juvenile horses didn’t seem to be subject to too much in the way of growing pains…at least it wasn’t in any headlines.

While there is a difference of opinion on when a horse reaches full maturity, many believe it depends on the breed with quarter horses and thoroughbreds reaching their fully grown status at age four or five, while Arabian reach their maximum height at six with draft horses maturing to their fullest as late as seven.

While some say that racing two-year-olds is a bit early, a report presented by Kentucky Equine Research, suggests otherwise as, “traditional wisdom,” as they say, shows that thoroughbred and standardbred horses are, as we know, on the racetrack by the age of two.

Since studies show that no horse is fully mature until about six years of age and some don’t reach full maturity until eight years old.

I, of course, am not a veterinarian or qualified as an authority on this subject but, having studied a bit about this subject and consulting with a vet or two, they agree that full maturity regarding the equine skeleton and surrounding muscles, tendons and ligaments has to do with several factors such as genetics, nutrition and stress, among other things.

Studies reveal that one huge factor that plays a significant role in the maturity of a horse is exercise and, from the first time a trotter or pacer is introduced to lines or a jog cart, it’s a matter of only a few months where a youngster is trained down from 3:00 or 2:50 down to the level that a today’s youngster must go to be even in the middle echelon of performers.

Talk about stress, I am not sure who has more—the horse or the trainer—especially when an owner has invested as much as several hundred thousand dollars in a single horse.

I am told that growth plates are a key component here—growth plates being the areas of cartilage that length the bone.

The vets tell me that these plates are susceptible to fractures and it’s not until a later age that they form a hardened bone.

Some are fused at foaling, others at about a year and still others not until much later—like four years.

But make no mistake about it, horses have growing pains, too.

One renowned veterinarian, now semi-retired after a half century of service, believes the standardbred growth ends at four…with some continuing on a bit further.

He said, “I have thought about two-year-old racing and have come to the conclusion that it is the two-year-olds that keep the business going.

“They take the most feed and supplements, they need the most veterinary care, they are in need of the most shoeing and breakup the most equipment and, let’s face it, they are more in danger of breaking down with the owner kind of forced into buying new yearlings in search of that elusive champion.

“It helps keep the breeding industry thriving.

“Yes, it keeps many owners involved…me for one!”

This renowned veterinarian is working on a research project to stimulate growth factors which he hopes will in keeping these baby’s sound.

In the meantime, I see two things to help keep more of these two-year-olds sound and on track.

The first is to start the lucrative stakes season for these youngsters a month later to alleviate the stress on both the horse and trainer.

The second is to schedule their stakes events—the ones with multiple “legs”—10 days apart, instead of seven.

Is this difficult to achieve?

I don’t think so. The Race Secretaries meet every year with laptops and Iphones and some with pen and pencil in hand to avoid conflicts in racing schedules.

It’s a lot to ask both horse and trainer to drop a minute or more from the beginning of training to their first start…especially when we are hoping to see some of the great ones lowering their mark by a mere one-fifth of a second with our $2 on its nose.

by John Berry, for Harnesslink