racing after pregnancy

brooke · Postby **brooke** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 5:47 pm

if a filly is missmanaged and bred to early due to certain circumstances. but pedigree, conformation, temperment etc lead to possible promising career. what are the chances of her having a shot at the track after foaling. and running as a 4 yr. old? anyone have any stories experience with such things? I know it happens in QH racing but what about in TB's?

bcassidy · Postby **bcassidy** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 7:08 am

I don't have any first hand experience on this one. I have heard of and seen top class fillies being put in foal and Raced while still being pregnant. I think the logic is that the pregnancy can actually help a top race mare perform at a an even higher performance level-----obviously something is going on with the hormones!
If you were to bring them back after delivering a foal that would have to be a very special case--in my opinion. I have never heard of this but something tells me someone has tried it before. It would have to be a very unique set of circumstances that would lead me to doing this as it seems like a potentially big waste of time and money. JMHOs

Rick · Postby **Rick** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 7:53 am

Iron Maiden foaled Iron Reward before returning to the races and winning the 1947 Del Mar Handicap.

madelyn · Postby **madelyn** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 9:43 am

Umm. Was the filly bred at 2? Foaled at 3? The numbers wouldn't work otherwise because by the time you weaned the foal the filly would be nearly 5. Her milk would need to dry up and all that.

Either way, I would say it is a VERY risky proposition with little potential.

JimP · Postby **JimP** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 1:06 pm

Hi Guys,

Brooke I had a 2 year old filly that got in with her half brother before leaving for the track. Didn't think too much about it just thought she was carrying more weight than she needed. Trainer had hard time getting weight off of her as well. Lo and behold she produced a nice filly. She went back into training after weaning the foal. She won a race at Retama Park before chipping a knee.
She just delivered her second "planned" foal the other day.

brooke · Postby **brooke** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 4:15 pm

the particular mare im talking about will be able to race this fall if i decide to go ahead with training. the downside is she is 4, the upside in my opinion is the fact that she was a very late bloomer. I do my own training so im not paying added trainers fee and i haul of the farm and dont stable at the track. surely there are more cases of this happening, i just cant seem to find them. physically, would there be anydown sides?

summerhorse · Postby **summerhorse** » Fri Mar 31, 2006 12:13 pm

It isn't that it is impossible it is just that most people don't bother once they are on the producing trail. But there was a picture of a mare, stallion and their foal in the TB times a year or two ago who were ALL racing at the same track (the stallion had since been gelded). So yes people do return them to the track after foaling esp. if they decide maybe they aren't such a good broodmare prospect for whatever reason. Once the baby is weaned there is no reason at all to she can't be put back into training. As long as she is sound I don't see that 4 is too "old". We have geldings (and some horses and mares) running into their teens at some tracks.

madelyn · Postby **madelyn** » Fri Mar 31, 2006 1:23 pm

The issue is not perception, it is the racing secretary. If the tracks near you routinely write maiden races for 3 and up with no restrictions, go for it. I know here, an unstarted 4 yo maiden only has five shots to break its maiden. THAT'S why most trainers here won't take them... at all.

Nessa · Postby **Nessa** » Fri Mar 31, 2006 3:23 pm

summerhorse wrote:It isn't that it is impossible it is just that most people don't bother once they are on the producing trail. But there was a picture of a mare, stallion and their foal in the TB times a year or two ago who were ALL racing at the same track (the stallion had since been gelded). So yes people do return them to the track after foaling esp. if they decide maybe they aren't such a good broodmare prospect for whatever reason. Once the baby is weaned there is no reason at all to she can't be put back into training. As long as she is sound I don't see that 4 is too "old". We have geldings (and some horses and mares) running into their teens at some tracks.

I think that happened at Woodbine.