In the Thoroughbred business, nobody is as welcomed, loved, revered, treasured — all that and more — as the Big Spender.

The biggest Big Spender in the history of the sport/business has been and still is Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai. He has brought hundreds of millions of dollars to breeding and racing worldwide and in addition has established the Dubai World Cup, the richest series of races in Thoroughbred history.

Still, hardly any of us know anything about his day job, which is to be the ruler of Dubai. A recent story in the “Washington Post” provides a lengthy report of how things are going in that other area of the Sheik’s life.

(This may fall into the category of things that you’d just as soon not know, so click on that link with care.)

Sort of relevantly, this brings to mind a memory from three decades ago, and after you’ve read the “Washington Post” story, you'll see the connection.

J. Robert Fluor, chairman of the board of the giant Fluor Corporation, was a major player in the California Thoroughbred industry back in the 1970s. Among other things, he owned El Rancho Murrieta, one of the state’s leading breeding, boarding and training farms. (It now lies under scores of houses in Murrieta.)

I was pleased to have Fluor as a client at that time. He was a nice man, surprisingly gentle for a captain of industry whose company built refineries all over the Middle East.

One day shortly after he and his wife, Lillian, returned from a trip to Iran, she excitedly informed me: “We stayed with the Shah. He is such a sweetheart!”

That was in 1978, the year before the people of Iran emphatically expressed their opinion of their ruler.

Anyway, whatever may be happening in Dubai, the Sheik has certainly been a sweetheart for our industry. Long may he rule and spend!

Leigh Ann,

Isit Still Legal foal: Desire To Wager, Can We Bet Yet, Arnolds Folly, Off Track Wager

It is good to hear from both Ginny and Larry; I wonder if Barbara ever checks in any more. Maybe a non-controversial subject will stimulate some communication.

I have two 2009 colts who need names. The first is sired by Game Plan and out of Isit Still Legal by Wild Deputy. The second is also by Game Plan and out of Gone Western by Muqtarib (by Gone West). Both colts are very nicely conformed and should be runners so I’m hoping to get some good names. One of my favorite names of all times was Antifreeze. She was sired by It’s Freezing and out of I’m Really Smokin.

Let’s see if any of the clever people out in cyberland can come up with good names for my colts!

Hello Ginny,

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted here. Go to the “editor’s blogs” and there is quite a bit of info, be it mostly sad news. I was not aware that 7 horses have had to be put down in the first 9 days of racing. That’s got to be some kind of record for any track doesn’t it??

I think it would help if the editor would put articles of interest on the community section as Don did to keep the conversations going. Anyway, hope you are doing fine in NM. I have retired from the horse industry after 45 years. It has been good to me and I have made a ton of friends. It certainly is not the same as it was years ago when farms were plentiful and full of horses, race meets flourished with full fields. There is just not a lot of good news from CA racing except the new rule that will go into effect for the Cal-Bred maiden program. Maybe this will stimulate the interest in Cal-Bred foals at the sales.

I’ll try to keep up better after I return from a month fishing and a little R and R.

I am totally outraged that Hollywood Park is going to go under. But at least TOC shows interest in buying Santa Anita.

Who is going to save Del Mar and Golden Gate?

Saturday’s Preakness Stakes was OUTSTANDING, with awesome performances by two very nice horses.

This table is remarkable: Filly Drives Preakness TV Ratings Up.

To second Eric’s comment, I suggested those possibilities last year in “Voices.” Now that we are in these extraordinarily tough times, we really need to address these issues.

I see that the Breeders’ Cup is lowering their ticket prices but still, we are asking our customers to invest around $30 to $40 for parking, admission, form and program before they can start possibly losing their money. The casino costs nothing to park and walk in the door. Now if I were the individual looking for a gambling environment, I am going to choose the one that leaves me with more of my bankroll intact.

The major sports are now seeing a drop in attendance. Wonder if racetracks take notice that these sports are reducing ticket prices. I also wonder why one or two major tracks do not experiment with free admission, free seating (lots of empties every day), etc. Maybe try it for a few weeks prior to a big scheduled weekend racecard, like Gold Cup. If it works, think of the Gold Cup as being the focus of a free day with a chance of hitting a guaranteed huge Pick 6 pool.

Endless possibilities.

Just read where Mine That Bird is the cover boy for the new issue of “Sports Illustrated.” This is such a great storyline for readers of “SI” (mostly non-horse people, I would guess) that it should and very well could give our industry a boost.

I hate to sound like a broken record on this forum, but I must send kudos to the Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC) for their proactive leadership approach they’re providing for California racing. The recent “Strategic Planning For The Future” all-day workshop and their handling of the paymaster “funds transfer” action during the Santa Anita meet are both excellent examples of thinking outside the box and taking the bull by the horns. This all took place after a successful negotiation with TVG last fall over fees.

With the recent cancellations of racing due to the lack of entries at both Golden Gate Fields and Hollywood Park, the industry in California is nearing a “life support” status. I’ve already shipped one of mine to Prairie Meadows, where I’m running for $5,000 more in purses for the same class with cheaper training fees and an Iowa owner’s license costing me $10 — yes, $10.

The Strategic Planning workshop addresses much of the above-mentioned, and the TOC has my full support. Congratulations to Drew Couto and the TOC for all their visionary efforts and on behalf of all the beleaguered owners in California, keep up the good work and help us turn the corner.

The Blood-Horse reported the following at the April 24, 2009 CHRB meeting: “…board members said they are open to waiving provisions of its 2006 synthetic track mandate when considering the construction of new tracks, converting artificial surfaces to dirt, or allowing the use dirt tracks for periods exceeding four consecutive weeks.”

Bravo to the board for showing excellent judgment on the “racing surface” matter. Hopefully this will jump start a significant allocation of racing dates for Pleasanton Racetrack possessing one of the best dirt surfaces in the country.

Looking at the Derby possibles, what a list of quality horses, the Mafaaz guaranteed spot is really interesting.

First off, it won’t take shrewd connections very long to seek an offer not to run and allowing that 21st horse in the field or an offer to enter and not run, thus eliminating the 21st horse. They do have the only guaranteed spot in the gate.

In regard to Don Sandri’s post, Amen to it all. I have been hauling horses from Northern California being given away due to career-ending injuries or not being able to handle the surface at an alarmingly increased rate from the days of the dirt track. My clients send them to a rescue facility but there are a larger number being taken to the auctions by other haulers and ending up on their way to Mexico or Canada, that might as well be considered a fatal breakdown and they would be luckier if it had been.

Another consideration is the limit of hours during which the breakdown is considered fatal. There are horses breaking down and by the time the diagnosis and decisions are made they are not being destroyed until after the time has expired. I would think that all horses euthanized due to track-occurring injuries should be considered in the statistics.

I’m sure that it was a hard decision for R.L. to leave his hometown but almost everything he ran won first out on the dirt so good for him. As Don said, he was the leading trainer for years when I first moved North and is indeed an icon. With the out-of-state trainers gone and the loss of the trainers who relocated when they couldn’t get stalls, I would expect it to be a tough task to fill a regular 5-day-a-week card, at least until the fairs start.

Golden Gate Fields canceled racing this Thursday. They could not fill the card. Pretty sad but not a surprise at all.

They can’t fill because many horses have shipped out or experienced career-ending injuries. I had one that just couldn’t handle the track. Finally, out of frustration/reality, I shipped to Turf Paradise. In his first start, I triple jumped him, went off at 48-1 and got beat two necks after leading all the way only to get caught the last six jumps.

You either handle the Tapeta or you don’t and a much higher percentage of horses don’t handle the surface versus a dirt surface. That’s why longtime Northern California trainer icon R.L. Martin shipped out.

Remember field size was significantly up when the Tapeta first opened? Those days are gone now that the reality of performance and injury is clearly understood.

Regarding injury stats on Tapeta — yes there is a measurable reduction of horse deaths caused from racing but that does not factor in the large number of career-ending injuries that occur while training on the surface.

Don't feel bad. Ruidoso is $450 entry and 5% commission, minimum $250 and our consignor is minimum $400 commission. So for New Mexico-breds the cost is $1,100 for the sale plus sales prep of $25 per day. I realize that is less than in California but it still hurts breeders. The only thing we have seen this year was a foal share offering from one farm that has taken a good mare of ours off our hands and it will cost us nothing for a 2011 foal. That free foal hopefully will only cost us for sales prep and a year of care. Our costs start when the 2011 foal is weaned. The farm is getting a 2010 foal and paying the stud fee and all the expenses for the mare and 2011 foal until it is weaned. That was a nice help for us this year.

Heritage Place in Oklahoma is $600 entry fee! No help from the sales company there either.

It would be nice if all the breeders’ organizations would come up with incentives for both breeders and buyers. I see Keeneland designates that a horse was sold there at times on television. Maybe sale companies should rebate fees to those who win races or give out even more for stakes winners. To get buyers, wine and dine them. Some buyers need incentives just to attend the sale. Sales stakes should be worth more than $100,000. Maybe commissions should be waived for horses selling for less than $2,000. There are many good ideas, but sales companies do not want to lose their share either.

At least here we run a lot of stakes worth $125,000 for NM-bred horses. Open stakes are only $50,000. All purses are higher for state-bred races. Maybe that is why our sale here is only for registered NM-breds. Our state-breds are true state-breds, no outside stallions or mares. That is what really helps us the most. Emphasis is on the state-bred horse, not outside. Even with the Quarter Horses, the state-bred is extremely valuable and competitive in Grade 1's with the best in the country.

It looks like the proposed CTBA (Northern California Yearling) Sale at Pleasanton will be $800 to enter: $300 at entry and $500 minimum commission. Hard times for breeders. I see the only savings to be a smaller van bill for NorCal-based yearlings. Maybe owners will be “do it yourself” agents. Like Pat Hurley said, there must be some way to cut costs for CTBA and those wishing to sell at a local venue.