Published:
April 27, 2009 03:55 pm EDT
Brent MacGrath has told the Atlantic Post Calls that if the purses were lucrative enough, he would've raced Somebeachsomewhere this campaign as a
four-year-old.
“He just seemed to get better with every start,” MacGrath told the Atlantic Post Calls. According to the report, MacGrath admitted he would like to have seen Somebeachsomewhere continue his racing career.
“The truth of the matter is that there is not enough money for aged horses to race for,” said MacGrath. “It came down to a financial decision.”
MacGrath's comments have come in an Atlantic Post Calls column regarding this past weekend's Cape Breton Horsemen’s Association 2008 awards ceremony.
(With files from Atlantic Post Calls)
Tags
Lets not forget who owns the
Lets not forget who owns the horse.
Sure, all fans like to feel like they own their favourites - let's get real, we dont pay the bills , we don't take the risks.Salute a great horse, thank the connections and move on !!!
Enough!! I can't wait until
Enough!!
I can't wait until the next stakes season starts so we can move on. I like the stud barn scenerio better than the race them until they break down scenerio. I question who the real selfish people are in this situation.
I agree that it is a
I agree that it is a business 1st and I wouldn't blink to retire what will be the cornerstone of my racing stable to stud to earn far more than what he could on the track.
No Brainer.
I guess what I faled to state was how big to purses need to be in order to have some keep racing. 1 mil, 2 mil???? If you have a SBSW it's all about breeding dollars. Purse dollars cannot come close.
Those who wish SBSW could keep racing.
Well you will just have to be content to see 10 of his offspring race in the NA CUP or Meadowlnads Pace 3-4 years from now. It should be exciting.
I wonder how those who
I wonder how those who question the decision to retire the great Somebeachsomewhere would have acted if they had owned him and it was their money on the line? It's so easy to sit back with absolutely no stake in the horse and state that it's sad that money prevented him from racing at four. Harness racing is a business first and foremost. Anyone who says otherwise is out of touch with reality. The Schooner Stable did what they had to do and before long we'll get to watch the sons and daughters of 'The Beach' as they make their way to racetracks all over North America.
How big do the purses need
How big do the purses need to be to keep the older horses around.
100k? 200k? 500k?
Yes the 2 and 3yr old purses are lucritive due to horses being nominated to stake races.
The nominations are numerous becuase you really don't know 100% how your horse is going to turn out.
Since there seems to be a want for the horses (I didn't say need) then is it possible to create Breeder's incentive races or a staked series to nominate at a young horse to for the rest of it's racing career. These races could also be supplemented to.
If this were be successful then the fans would want to come out and this in return would feed harness racing hence creating now a need for the business.
Example
Currently
WEG has the Canadian pacing Derby/ Spring Pacing Championship/Classic Pacing Series.
There is NO Canadian Breeders for older horses...hmmmmm?
The Meadowlands has the Breeder's Crown/ The Presidential / Calssic Pacing Series also / WR Haughton / US Pacing Championships /
Would it take that much to tie these together with incentives and purse bumps due to nominating your horses at a young age (a nominal fee) or is the breeding business just too rewarding to risk racing your star pupil in?
There is a reason Gallo Blue Chip is the richest pacer of all time..
He was a gelding.
-John Thomas
At least Dr. Moore will be
At least Dr. Moore will be representing the maritimes with Shadow Play this summer. And prehaps with car dealerships taking such a big economic hit, the money available to aged pacers might seem more attractive. But Beach is denied the opportunity to have a shot at them, just like he was denied the opportunity to win the Little Brown Jug last year. At least now we know the reason. $$$$$$$$$$$$$.
Mike Horsman
Some "TRUE" horseman go a
Some "TRUE" horseman go a life time without having a good horse. To bad this horse will never race again because of "GREED".
Arthur Hemeyer
I love harness racing far
I love harness racing far too much to let a money decision retire sound/healthy a weapon like SBSW. What a jolt for the industry when we really needed it. We'll take what he gave us graciously however. Thanks for the memories to a monster of an equine athlete.
How sad is that. We cannot
How sad is that.
We cannot see a great horse race again because of money. Once again the almighty dollar rules. I understand that it made more sense for the owners of the "Beach" to retire him and believe they looked after both their best interests as well as the "Beach's" but I still believe it is a sad statement, everything relates to money.
I'm sure there are many of us(fans) that would love to see this wonderful horse race again.
Perhaps we can only dream that he will one day race against his half brother, Auckland Reactor.
For now all we can do is look forward to his off spring and hope that one of them have his speed, personality and grace on the racetrack.
Marie Stoyles-Moura