Howard Hamilton

This is even more true in the Sport of Kings. Here at Saratoga the best compete with the best and this is what makes the spectacle so interesting. Todd Pletcher has already established himself at the top of the trainers standing. After two weeks into the six week meet, he leads with seven winners. Surprisingly keenest competition is not being offered by Robert Frankel or Richard Dutrow Jr but by the suspended Scott Asmussen whose charges are now being shepherded by his assistant Scott Blasi.

The Jockey's championship is a much closer affair. Garrett Gomez, ( the west coast jockey who now plies his trade in New York ), along with Edgar Prado and Carnelio Velasqquez are at the top of the standings with eleven winners. My favourite, Johnny Velasquez is in sixth position with only eight winners. I fear that he is still savouring that shoulder injury which sidelined him for months earlier in the the year.

In fact it was his injury that prompted Todd Pletcher to use Garrett Gomez as his 'go to rider' He has, of course, now established himself as a top rider and is eagerly sought after by trainers with live mounts. In fact, he took the opportunity on Sunday- with all the top riders off to Monmouth and Delaware-to ride three winners which propelled him to the top of the Jockey's standings.

Reputation

Saratoga continues to live up to its reputation of being the "graveyard of favourites" three howling favourites- FLOWER ALLEY, ARTIE SCHILLER and SONGSTRESS have already bit the dust in major stakes races. Ironically both FLOWER ALLEY and ARTIE SCHILLER were beaten by horses imported from South America.

ARTIE SCHILLER, last year's breeders cup mile winner, was soundly beaten out of the frame by Venezuelan bred REMARKABLE NEWS.

FLOWER ALLEY, who ran second to SAINT LIAM in the Breeders Cup Classic last year, had his wings clipped by the Uraguayan importee INVASOR.

INVASOR is turning out to be the LEROIDESANEMAUX of 2006 and his consistent performance has commanded a lot of respect Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin who is having a fantastic season for the Shadwell Camp,was ecstatic about INVASOR'S performance and was heard to remark:"He's gone from Uraguay horse of the year to horse of the year in America.''

The first two weeks at Saratoga have not been without high excitement. A history making heat wave spawned impromptu mid-afternoon squalls July 28 and 29. This played havoc with everyone's best laid handicapping plans.

On Wednesday ( August 2 ) a brutal heat index of 107 forced the cancellation of a full card for the first time in 138 years at the fabled Spa.

Apart from the excellent races - if you can survive the low percent (less than 30%) of winning favourites — there has been much commentary on the frequency with which horses are breaking down. Both Del Mar and Arlington Park have been reported as having an abnormal amount of injuries. In the first eight days of Del Mar's current meet 12 horses were vanned from the track and seven had to be euthanized. In training sessions their have also been reports of serious injuries. At Arlington Park reports are that 14 horses were euthanized during the first two months of the current meet.

At both tracks trainers have laid blame on the condition of the racing surface.

Horses injured

This explanation some pundits claim to be a dubious one since the construction and maintenance of race tracks today is much more sophisticated than it was decades ago when break downs were rarer. In fact an analysis of the breakdowns show that a significant amount of horses also become injured when running on the turf.

What causes so many horses to break down? This is a question that has received much attention especially since the injury to BARBERO in the Preakness.

Thoroughbreds are today undeniably more fragile than they used to be.

Most breeders raise horses to sell them at auction, and they look for pedigrees that emphasise speed and precocity because this is what the marketplace wants. They no longer breed for soundness and durability. The breed is further compromised by the wide spread use of Lasix (bleeding) and Butazalidin (pain/unsoundness).

These medications allow unsound horses to succeed at the track, go to stud, and pass on their infirmities to their offspring.Years ago this was a point of contention in discussions with one of America's outstanding breeders —- Ogden Phipps. The manifestations of his fears are now coming to light. It would be interesting to get some commentary on the obvious deterioration in the quality of today's thoroughbred.