In this Issue

Yearling Partnerships | Stable's Leading Owners | Trainer's Message
Woodbine - The Place to Race | Stallion Picks | Facts & Arguments
Leading Trainers | Stakes Winners | Jockey Profile | New Clients
Owner of the Month | Events

This issue is Dedicated in Memory of
John D. Maine (1927 - 2003) and Joseph L. Taylor (1924 -2003)

Another Record Year

Begborrowanddeal wins his second allowance race at Woodbine for owners Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey.

Woodbine, November 29th, $61,600, 2yo, 6f, good 1:10.59

Begborrowanddeal, 122, Bg, 2, by Ghazi - Ransom the Dreamer by Red Ransom. Owner, Kenneth & Sarah Ramsey; Breeder, Kenneth & Sarah Ramsey (KY); Trainer, Reade Baker; Jockey, Husbands, Patrick. $36,960
2nd - La Salle Glory
3rd - Cat Striker

Begborrowanddeal is a two year old gelding by Ghazi out of Ransom the Dreamer by Red Ransom. He raced at Woodbine for owners Kenneth & Sarah Ramsey in 2003 and made quite an impression. Begborrowanddeal broke his maiden in an allowance event the very first time Reade sent him to the races on September 7th. He scored two wins, a second, and was third in the Display Stakes earning a total of $100,559. At the end of the Woodbine meet he shipped to his Kentucky home for a short break. Begborrowanddeal heads to Ocala in January to resume training for his 2004 campaign.

2003 Highlights

Looking back at some of the highlights in 2003, the six stakes winners provided us with the most fun all year. Thanks to Elusive Thought, Real Doll, Alpha Heat, Hour of Justice, Ontheqt and Silver Bird for their winning performances. We had 8 two year old wins of which 2 were Stakes winners. We kept busy with various social functions including the CTHS Awards dinner in June, our Queen's Plate party, the Atto Mile reception, the Pattison International reception, great racing, our Client Appreciation party, and the Sovereign Awards dinner in December. Reade was invited to speak at a number of functions this year including the Toronto Thoroughbred Fan Club, two New Owner Seminars, and he also addressed grooms at the HBPA sponsored school for grooms. We closed the year on a strong note, winning 3 races on the second last day of the Woodbine meet, and ended up sixth in the trainer standings at Woodbine with a 25% win percentage, and 58% (ITM) in the money percentage.

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Yearling Partnerships

In the last newsletter we listed the yearlings we had for sale at the Fasig-Tipton Woodbine Yearlings Sale. We are pleased to announce that we sold all of the yearlings. The best thing about the sale is that 4 of the yearlings were purchased back on behalf of partnerships. The prices of the yearlings were very reasonable and provided a great opportunity for new owners and loyal owners alike, to enjoy the sport with a lower financial exposure. The yearlings are currently in Ocala where they were broke and are being trained for their 2004 Woodbine campaign. In addition to the home bred yearlings, we purchased another two yearlings for partnerships and have a total of eight yearlings training in Ocala. We have named all but 2 of the yearlings so far. Here is a list so you can watch for these yearlings in 2004 as two-year-olds at the races.

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The Stable's leading owners

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Year Ends with Record Stakes Winners, Allowance Wins and Total Wins

New records were established in 2003 including the total wins in one racing season, total stakes winners and total allowance wins. Winning 6 stakes races over a previous high of 3 Stakes in one season, 24 allowance races and 6 additional winners over the previous season for a total of 48 wins. Our best month in 2003 came in August with 11 wins and the second best month was in November with 8 wins. The balance of the wins were spread out over the rest of the year which ran from March to November.

Stable Earnings More Than Double in Two Years

In 2001 the total purse earnings of the horses in the stable was $1,224,322 followed in 2002 with earnings of $2,009,774. In 2003 the total purses climbed to $2,684,218 for an increase over 2001 of more than 200%.

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Trainer's Message

I am very pleased and proud of our success in 2003. In this issue you will see my list of stallions for the 2004 breeding season, as well we focused on our year end stats, highlighting our achievements for this year. At the beginning of each season we set goals to strive for and in 2003 we more than achieved those goals. We won a record of 6 stakes this year. We won a record 24 allowance races, a record total earnings of $2,684,218 and a record 48 total wins for the year. We realize that our success is largely due to the dedicated members of our staff, vet, blacksmith, the patience and generous support of our owners, and the courage and talent of the horses themselves. Located in one of the newest barns at Woodbine, the horses have a wonderful safe environment to live in. Every year we make some improvements and this year we completed the installation of cushioned floors in every stall and we gave the stalls a fresh coat of paint. It cost $28,000 to make the improvements, but it only seems fair to give back to the horses whenever we can. Woodbine continues to be the best facility in which to train and race, in North America. We have stalls available in 2004 for anyone interested in taking advantage of the racing program. WEG is renovating barns over the winter and so the horses that did not go to Florida, will resume training at Woodbine on March 1st. Opening day at Woodbine is April 17th. I'd like to thank my clients for selecting me as trainer, for their referrals, and for providing me with their fine horses which gave me the opportunity to succeed.

- Reade Baker -

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Woodbine - The place to race

Why do so many American owners such as Kenneth & Sarah Ramsey, Live Oak, John Franks, Earle Mack, Josephine Abercrombie to name a few, have horses in training at Woodbine? Aside from the excellent horsemen and the superb facility at Woodbine, the bottom line is that the racing program is very attractive. Here is an overall view of the program.

Woodbine ran 1,567 races in 2002. A similar number is estimated for 2003, as well an agreement is in place with the H.B.P.A. not to cut the number of race days for at least the next five years. Woodbine ran 120 Stakes races with a minimum purse of $100,000 CDN in 2003. No decrease is expected for at least the next few years. The Stakes breakdown is as follows;

• Number of Stakes Races - Foaled in Canada: 35
• Number of Stakes Races - Ontario Sired: 22
• Number of Stakes Races - Open to All: 63

Woodbine's current quota is to run at least 200 Maiden Special Weight (Allowance) races. Actual races of this type run in 2002 was 209. Of these, 40 Maiden Special Weight races were restricted to Ontario Sired horses. In addition, 345 allowance races were run in 2002. Similar numbers are expected for 2003. Of these, Woodbine offers 30 Non-winners of 2 Other Than, allowance races for Ontario Sired horses. With a current quota of 40 Maiden races and 30 Non-winners of 2 races for Ontario Sired horses.

Woodbine has made a commitment to promote the local product with opportunities to run. As demand increases, theses quota's could increase. Although Woodbine does not operate Fort Erie Racetrack, their 2003 schedule included 21 Stakes races. These included 6 Stakes for horses foaled in Canada and 1 for Ontario Sired horses.

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Stallion picks for 2004

Here is a list in alphabetical order of my top sire selections for 2004. The first list is for commercial breeders and the second list is for Breeders who race. I looked for sires that stand for $100,000 or less. While I think it is important to select the right stallion, it is far more important to keep improving your broodmare band.

Note * indicates favourites.

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Facts and arguments

Racehorses need a break after racing and training all year. I think one of the reasons horses are not going through the Triple Crown is that they did not get a proper (non-training) break after their two-year-old campaign. Don't forget, training can be as hard on them as racing. Try your best not to stop on your yearlings once they are broke, but make sure you do stop on them in subsequent years.

If turf racing is easier on horses, why don't European horses run more often than their counterparts do in America?

As breeders, we can be guilty of spending far too much time, money and effort picking stallion seasons rather than improving our broodmare band.

The stallion that you will breed your mare to in 2004 was probably trained daily on Bute, Clenbuteral, Gastrogard and injected on a regular basis with Cortisone plus any number of other performance-related drugs that their vet/trainer could get their hands on. Are you breeding to a truly good racehorse or a pharmaceutical marvel?

It's unfortunate that more successful people in racing won't stand up and give their input on how to improve racing and breeding in the long term rather than silently hiding behind their bank accounts.

The Breeders' Cup Juvenile races should be discontinued. Having a single championship race so close to the end of the year does not allow for a proper rest period for that horse to recover properly to go on to the American Triple Crown. The preps for the traditional graded races that everyone seems to need to get to the Triple Crown occur very early in the calendar year. Instead of single mindedly focusing on whether a horse can make it to July of their three year old year. The industry needs to find a way for brilliant young hopefuls to continue to race as older racehorses.

Labatt Woodbine Oak's - June 20th, Queen's Plate - July 18th, Prince of Wales - August 22nd, Breeders' - September 26th, Pattison Canadian International - October 24th. I wish these were the actual dates for the major stakes at Woodbine in 2004. WEG Management: please consider a proposal like this at some point. The horses of Ontario, like the wines of Ontario, need more time.

I am anxiously awaiting some advertising from the agents who sell horses at auction (especially two-year-olds in training sales) showing the actual percentage of horses they sell that recover their cost plus minimum expenses. I'll probably have to wait a very long time!

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READE TOPS
TWO-YEAR-OLD TRAINERS LIST

The following is a list of Woodbine's leading 2-year-old trainers in terms of win percentage, with at least 25 starters since the beginning of 2002. Compiled by Ron Gierkink, published in the Daily Racing Form.

Leading woodbine trainers
of stakes and allowance wins

Here is a list of the top ten trainers who won the most Allowance and Stakes races in 2003.

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Stakes winners - highlights

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Jockey Profile

Jim McAleney

In following our stable over the past several years, you will have noticed that Jim McAleney rides many of our horses. With good reason, Jim rode 134 horses for us in 2003 and won 38 times, for a win percentage of 28%. In the jockey standings, he was the 4th leading rider at Woodbine 2003, with a total of 112 wins out of 733 starts for a 15% win percentage on the year, and 42% of the time horses ridden by Jim McAleney finished in the money. A veteran rider of 17 years, "Jimmy Mac" was born August 15, 1969 in Fort St. John, B.C. He grew up around horses, attended horse shows and rode trails as a kid. His jockey cousin Peter McAleney encouraged him and in the summer after Grade 10, Jimmy rode his first race at Evergreen Park (a "bush track.") As he remembered it he told me, "It was free experience and it didn't count against the bug." Jimmy weighed in at 90 lbs and had to make up the weight to carry a total of 120 - 130 lbs so he rode in an exercise saddle plus weights. In 1986, Jim went to Northlands Park in Edmonton to ride for a couple of weeks late in the season for Fred Hiltz. After graduation in 1987, it was off to Northlands Park to start his professional riding career as an apprentice or "bug." He had a hugely successful start and at the end of the meets at Northlands Park and Stampede Park, Jim moved to Ontario for the fall Greenwood meet and ended the year winning a total of 160 races. This achievement placed him fifth on the continent and earned him his first of two Sovereign Awards for leading apprentice rider. (In comparison, the Sovereign Award winning apprentice in 2002 won 124 races.)

By the age of 18, Jim was feeling professionally very confident. Then he lost the "bug" and his popularity changed. Now he had to compete with veteran riders for mounts. No weight advantages were allowed. After a few slow years, in 1994, Jimmy made a lifestyle change; the highlight of which was his marriage to Kimberly. Now concentrating on being the best rider he could be, his dedication and focus on improving himself from the inside out started showing results at the track. By 1999 Jimmy was on a successful roll again, doubling his wins over 1998. In 2000 he teamed up with his current agent Mike Luider; Jim says he would not change his relationship with any other jockey-rider combination on the grounds that "Mike does an excellent job. He's an achiever, and he conducts business as a professional. He helps me maintain a nice balance in my life. Things at the track and at home are really good." Jim lives in Ancaster with Kimberly, and their son Cody and daughter Caitlin. Jim values the distance between work and home; he said of this: "(Once there) I can spend time with the family and focus on them alone."

Jim is respectful of the owners and trainers who use him on their horses and especially rewarding is the number of allowance and stakes level horses he rides. Jim is, furthermore, just pleasant to be around: he is polite, well spoken and wise for his 34 years. Although retirement is a long way off, Jim sets personal goals for life-time achievement to maintain focus. He told me, "When I retire I want to do it with zero regrets, and honestly be able to say that I was the best rider I could be. I want to be completely content that I did the best job that I could." Jim likes to keep his weight to between 110 - 112 lbs, his favourite colour is burgundy, his favourite music is country music, and new rock.

Bellini Martini wins a $58,000 Mdn Allow. race on Nov. 21st. Shown here with Peter Ho, Barb and Arthur Barkin (& friend), Janis & Reade and Rob Smithen. Bellini Martini is by Whiskey Wisdom out of Something Light and was purchased at the CTHS 2 yr olds in training sale for the partnership of R. Baker, A. Barkin, L Feigman and R. Smithen for $50,000.

Joyce & Jim McAlpine with Janis, Minnie & Ali at our Owner Appreciation Party.

 

 

 

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