The idea that Bold Ruler ever stood in California — and especially at a ramshackle place like Hemacinto Stables — is, to put it gently, ludicrous.

As long as I’m on the subject of great sires dying at Claiborne Farm, I’ll throw this one in as a bonus.

Visitors to Claiborne Farm used to be told the story of the death of *Nasrullah, the sire of Bold Ruler. *Nasrullah was a vicious, dangerous horse, and, the story goes, when he was found lying dead in his paddock, his long-suffering groom walked up to him, placed his foot on his side, and said, “There, you miserable son of a bitch, I’ve finally got you where I want you!”

I’m listing the ones we believe are available, and their auction prices. Prices that the horse trader will need will obviously be higher. Please contact me by email if you or someone you know are able to BUY AND PICK UP/TRANSPORT very soon a horse (SCTR has no space/funds), and I’m happy to put you in touch with their owner or intermediate their purchase.

• Chachacharlie (breeding stallion by Indian Charlie): Sold for $50 at auction
• Save (breeding stallion by Silver Charm): Sold for $50 at auction (very lame, left hind infected and swollen, very thin) 
• Swiss Address (breeding stallion by Swiss Yodeler): Sold for $50 at auction (in poor condition)
• Rose Cafe (grey mare, likely in foal to Chachacharlie): Sold for $75 at auction
• Princess B. (open mare): Sold for $110 at auction
• Bejing (likely in foal to Chachacharlie): Sold for $75 at auction (one eye missing, poor condition) 
• Even Taler (1996 mare, likely in foal to Chachacharlie): Sold for $75 at auction
• Lochanara (1986 mare? Possibly in foal to Chachacharlie): Sold for $100 at auction
• Unnamed 2006 bay colt (Compelling Sound - Whisper Wildley): Sold for $185 at auction
• Yearling colt, chestnut, pedigree unknown: Sold for $110 at auction
• Bay mare, 7yo, pedigree unknown: Sold for $175 at auction
• Chestnut mare, 10yo, pedigree unknown: Sold for $75 at auction
• Dark bay mare, 10yo, pedigree unknown

Please help if you can. These horses are very unlikely to find good homes otherwise in the next 24 hours.

I’ve watched a lot of races from Australia on TVG as I’m sure you all have. They race double the horses in a race than we do, yet I have never seen one break down. Is it because they race just on the grass, less starts, or is it that their trainers are better horsemen? I have been told by reliable sources that the Irish horsemen are just better horsemen all the way around than what we are.

The state of Washington suffers from debt like most states, but nothing like California. We didn’t suffer the drop in home sales as a lot of states did, because The Hanford Project opened 5,000 new jobs and those people need places to buy. I do know that Emerald Downs is low on horses with 350 empty stalls on the backside. For the first time in history, they have invited the Quarter Horses to hold one of their Challenge races at Emerald, with the possibility that if all goes well the Quarters may be permitted to run during the 2011 meet. Now before you jump to the conclusion that the Quarters are going to take over, consider what is best for Washington racing. Make the track profitable or close the doors. It works out very well at Portland Meadows, and two breeds may survive.

Most Thoroughbred sales this year have taken a hit with the economy the way it is. I don’t know the answer for the sale at Emerald, but it has to be a plus. I attended the Ruidoso Quarter Horse Select sale last week and it was way up. The average I think was over $35,000 with three horses bringing $300,000 or more, seven head over $200,000 and 31 head over $100,000. There are 1,002 head going in the Heritage sale this weekend, and about 530 in the Los Alamitos sale the first weekend in October. We’ll see if the trend continues or not. These are the biggest sales for yearlings in the Quarter Horse business. The Eclipse Sale in Texas was down however.

I’m just one that enjoys watching and having been involved with both breeds, and I would like nothing better than to see them both flourish.

Racing needs to take place across the country, not just in California.

But I don’t know when the bad news has ever been this bad. That observation is prompted by a story today in the “New York Times,” headed, “With New Casino, Funds For Tracks.”

When I saw the heading, I thought it would be more bad news for California, since the industry here is seriously threatened by the increases in purses in states with subsidies from slot-machine gambling. Since Southern California tracks compete with those in New York for the best horses, increases in purses there is bad news for tracks here.

But as I read on, the story took a turn in an even more threatening direction, reporting on a trend that carries the real possibility of the end of horse racing as we know it.

As you’ll see when you read the story, some of those Eastern tracks that have fattened purses with slot-machine money are in danger of losing it, and some that had hoped for that money aren’t going to get it.

Just about every state is in deep financial trouble, none as deep as California. One of the places states are already looking for financial help is subsidies for racetracks. With fewer and fewer people interested in horse racing, subsidies for tracks and breeders would generate very little support among the general public, if the general public knew about them.

(Teacher layoffs or help for Thoroughbred tracks, owners and breeders? Not a tough choice.)

California’s Thoroughbred industry is fortunate to have significant support in the state’s Legislature, but I doubt that that support runs so deep that it could withstand a serious attack. The industry’s main argument — in fact, probably its only argument — in favor of those subsidies is that it provides thousands and thousands of jobs.

With no slot machines in California, the state’s tracks don’t get significant subsidies (in fact, I can’t think of any), but the state could reimpose a tax on handle, which used to amount to millions of dollars and whose removal was a major victory for the state’s industry.

Most vulnerable, probably, is the state’s incentive awards fund, which might be hard to defend if somebody in the Legislature (or a governor) decided to go after those millions — especially since it would be pretty hard to prove that it’s doing much good.

Taking away slot-machine subsidies very well would kill thousands of jobs, but that’s what the “Times” story tells us is happening in those Eastern states. Desperation is the enemy of wisdom.

I guess that if Eastern tracks go under, it will free up some horses to come to California, though they wouldn’t be top-of-the-line. If New Mexico and Louisiana cut tracks out of slot subsidies, that would help more.

Gee, maybe we can find some good news here, after all, if we look hard enough.

It’s time we put to use technology, currently available, to identify the source of virtually all catastrophic breakdowns—the bone.

I would like to see the CHRB initiate a pilot program using the latest technology to scan horses after entry and prior to racing for bone structural soundness. If a horse shows a bone micro fracture level above a healthy standard, the horse is scratched and placed on a vets list until he scans normal.

Additionally, let’s order all track vets to disclose to the stewards any bone or soft tissue injury that could potentially compromise any horse’s ability to complete a race sound of limb if entered.

Let’s see how many in a controlled study along with vet disclosure experience a catastrophic breakdown in a race over a period of time.

You know I do this once in a while, but what I just read about Burna Dette should not surprise anyone. As you already know, there are owners and trainers who knowingly do this sort of thing: get rid of horses that are totally useless by putting them where they can rid themselves of a problem as fast as possible. In this case, it was more than obvious that they knew that she had a major problem and were hoping that she would at least finish the race on all four; as we know, she did not.

It is truly sad that we do not have enough eyes to see what was happening before this tragic event. When she was entered, someone in the racing office should have noticed the circumstances involving this horse (everything that you laid out so well), should have rung a bell. Her entry should have been voided and the track vet should have looked into the reasons for her being there and dropped so suddenly and no works.

How asleep at the wheel does the racing industry have to be? If we cannot see this kind of thing, how can we expect the public to keep accepting us on these terms?

On a day that symbolizes all that is America we find a story of a sport, so relevant to our history, on life support in California because of a Governor and legislature totally unconcerned over its demise.

Horse racing in America is “mom” and “apple pie.” And like any endangered species, if we lose it, we lose a part of American culture that helped define us as a nation.

Repeal the “Indian Gaming” stranglehold in California and allow a great sporting tradition to compete on a level playing field.

Suffice to say that Stronach and his bunch should be slapped with a fine and suspended for conduct detrimental to racing.

Santa Anita, being the place I received my first racing license in 1969, is a treasure. I would hate to see it go under, but perhaps it is time to think about letting it go and refusing to issue any racing dates to current management.

Los Al has always expressed interest in a major Thoroughbred meet; the TOC looked on the verge of being ready to take over Santa Anita before the courts put Stronach back in charge. It certainly wouldn’t be easy, not the stabling and training facilities we now have, but in the big picture might be worth considering if there are no legal obstacles to deal with. There probably are, there always is, but with his attitude towards the good of racing we might have to be making these moves in a few years anyway.

It’s not, in my opinion, worth putting up with this petulant stand he is taking. At a time we should all be pulling together, he is trying to put the final nail in.

While obviously a pretty shrewd businessman, he did after all buy a bunch of tracks, run up huge debt, get it reduced to a minimal amount and regain control of the properties that make a profit. So.....how can he not see that the real problem is regaining the owners and by doing that we have to get more money in their pockets first, not his. If we can build up the owner ranks, we will have fuller fields generating bigger handles and a more exciting venue for the public which will then put more money in his pockets. Geez.