Information about racing

[ElPrado]

Bowed tendons, broken cannons, broken pasterns, broken knees, chipped knees (bones), broken withers, broken necks, broken backs, broken shoulders, broken hips. Some of them would require that the horse be killed, because the injury can't be recovered from.

[pfrsue]

Broken bones aside, any significant tendon issue could be a cause to retire a horse; even a minor one will if the horse happens to be a good one and the breeding shed makes more sense than months of stall rest and rehab.

Also, a horse can contract an illness. Look at Lost In The Fog and Devil May Care who both died of cancer. And Uncle Mo this year who isn't retired, but had to be withdrawn from the Triple Crown because of cholangiohepatitis.

Going to Bloodhorse.com and plugging the words "retired", "illness" and "injury" into the search box will give you lots of reasons.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Does the story HAVE to be set in the USA? I'd love to read a story about racing in Sweden with Arabians!

It might also be easier to sell a movie script off a successful book. And speaking of books, you might read Man O' War for some excellent racing background and history.

[ratherrapid]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hv49V2RzgHw

[dreamer]

Thanks for the answers everyone.

I thought the main character would have some sort of track on her farm, so it´s good that not only nig farms have that.

Sailor Kenshin. Yes, it will be set in the USA. I completely understand that I´m not making it easy for myself. But I never do when I write a story. All my stories except one, takes place in the USA. It makes everything more difficult, I know.
One reason, for this script, that I want it to take place in the USA, is that I have an actor in mind for the male main character, and hopefully, when the script is done, he would want to be in the movie.

I´m sure it would be easier to sell a movie script off a book, but I´m going to try to write it as a script. I´m not sure I have enough to make it a book...
I will see if I can find Man O`war.


I will go to Bloodhorse.com and see what I can find. Thanks, pfrsue.

Thanks for the link, ratherrapid. I will check it out.

[ElPrado]

Bloodhorse.com does have a bookstore.

[xfactor fan]

William Nack's book on Secretariat is wonderful. And will give you a look at racing and the families that make up American racing.

[Sailor Kenshin]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hv49V2RzgHw

Awesome!

I have a question or two to add: what sort of treats do race horses enjoy? Carrots, apples, what else?

Anything they should NEVER eat?

[Jessi P]

They shouldnt ever eat chocolate - it tests (supposedly). Nor poppy seed bagels, for the same reason.

[Sailor Kenshin]

They shouldnt ever eat chocolate - it tests (supposedly). Nor poppy seed bagels, for the same reason.

So it's a drug-test risk? Not a health risk?

[Bast]

They shouldnt ever eat chocolate - it tests (supposedly). Nor poppy seed bagels, for the same reason.

So it's a drug-test risk? Not a health risk?

Chocolate shouldn't be fed to small animals. Compounds naturally occurring in chocolate will show up in drug tests:

http://www.xocoatl.org/caffeine.htm

[ElPrado]

The drug test for race horses is extremely rigorous. It can find very small amounts of many substances. These can be found in feed accidentally. Chocolate contains caffeine, which is tested for because it is a stimulant.
Poppy seed would be like testing for morphine. It would be the same as a narcotic.

[Joltman]

I hope this is at the right section of the forum...

I´m writing a story, well two actually, but right now I´m only writing on one, about race horses, and I´m going to try to make it a script.
...

Thank you.

hi Dreamer

Racing is filled with great stories. Go to Bloodhorse and read Steve Haskins articles to get a feel for how alive non fiction can be. Writing engaging fiction requires a knowledge base.

if you want a story line, I have one for you. send me a pm

jm

[Bill from WA]

Hi Dreamer

First of all, I would like to commend you for taking on this endeavor. Stick with it, and don’t be discouraged when things get tough (and they will). Getting the right people to read your script will be a rough go, and you will definitely have to deal with rejection at some point. I have had horses in my life for as long as I can remember, and saw my first thoroughbred race at a recognized track 62 years ago… I’m still trying to figure it all out.
The other posters have offered some great advice, mine is to keep at it, learn all you can, and don’t be disheartened when things don’t go the way you had hoped.
The racing industry is in a constant state of flux, so it’s hard to keep current. You might want to put your story in a historical framework (Seabiscuit, Secretariat, Phar Lap, etc) so that you have some established data to utilize. The most important thing is to develop your characters, make them real, give them some depth, and then bring the racing part along for the ride. The other posters were right on target regarding being authentic. Hollywood doesn’t seem to care about historical fact (portraying War Admiral as being 18 hands tall in the movie, when he and Seabiscuit were almost identical in size, if not in type). I wish you the best of luck, and please embrace the tag that I use at the end of my posts.

Bill

[dreamer]

will try and see if I can find the book on Secretariat. I`m gonna try and find as many books as I can.
I used to have some books by Joanna Campbell, but I´ve sold some of them. I only found one when I checked, but a friend of mine have some of her books and I´m going to borrow hem.

I have the movie Seabiscuit and I will watch it again.

Joltman. Thanks, but I already have a story line.

Bill from WA. The story will be in present time. It is about horse racing, but also about not giving up, fighting for your dream. And of course, there`s a love story I´m going to try to make the story as good as I can, try to make it real.

I have a lot of ideas for books and movies. And I only know how to dream big. That is why I even bother trying to do this.



Thank you for helping me with information, and not teling me I shouldn´t do this because I´m not in the world of horse racing.