Bold Ruler and cancer

[mary syers]

Back in the 70's Bold Ruler had cancer in his nasal cavity. He was treated--radiation? and covered one more season of mares before he was euthanized. He has had two champion sons that also died of cancer Victrolic and Secretariat (yes, if you read the interviews from Claiborne about the time he was euthanized for founder, some of the management said he had cancer). I've always suspected that the Bold Ruler line carried a bloom P53 gene. Now we have Lost in the Fog with cancer and a close Secretariat line. What do the rest of you think and know? Any more Bold Ruler's with cancer? Mary Syers

[Pan Zareta]

He was treated w/ cobalt at the Auburn Univ. vet school during the fall of 1970 & went into a remission of 6 mos. or so - enough to stay in service all or most of the breeding season of 1971. Singh & Wajima came from that final crop.

I've heard ever since he died that Secretariat had cancer, but I don't recall reading anything about it in coverage of his death in the trades. Was this something that came out later?

[hpkingjr]

I was a second year student in vet school at Auburn in 1970. Claiborne paid for a small barn to be constructed for Bold Ruler. They also sent a groom who sat outside his stall during the day to watch over Bold Ruler and care for him. His radiation treatment was not given at the vet school because we did not have a radiation unit with enough power to treat his tumour. They had a big unit on the main campus at the physics department I believe and and he was sent over there for his radiation treatments.

We were offically forbidden from direct contact with Bold Ruler. Like that could stop us. We would wait until his groom went home at night and then we would slip in like a bunch of barn cats. I can remember brushing him and leading him around the stall on a shank. He was undergoing treatment at the time and he was meek and easy to handle. It is my understanding that he was not always so well behaved. Of course it was not breeding season and he was receiving radiation treatments. I do not remember how long he was down at Auburn but it seems like it was 4 to 6 weeks. The mass shrank enough for one more season of about 50 mares if memory serves me. (a full book back then was 40 mares) Now they cover that many in 2 or 3 weeks.

We all knew he was special and treated him accordingly. That was a big year for me, the Rolling Stones with Chuck Berry as their opening act for $7.00 in Auburn and Bold Ruler up close and personal. I have maintained a soft spot in my heart for Bold Ruler ever since. As for the Stones, Bold Ruler had the better set of lips.

[LSB]

what a great post, hpkingjr. I really enjoyed reading it.

[louis finochio]

Cancer runs in different families, I believe it is the combo of the mare and the stallion that turns on the cancer gene.

I have had many friends that have passed on from cancer, some of their children did not have cancer but their children did.

Stress will harm the immune system and will let the free radicals in the back door. I have seen this happen to people that have stress from their jobs.

When a stallion that has produced offspring with cancer is mated to a different mare, their will not be any cancer, as the mare will not be the carrier of that cancer gene.

[Shammy Davis]

Hi Mary. Nice to see you post. Cancer in equines is not something you see a great deal of information on, at least, until some high profile horse like LITF, BR, Big Red, etc. is diagnosed with it. It is certainly interesting to me that Clairborne would conceal the diagnosis related to SECRETARIAT. BOLD RULER's illness wasn't. I'm not sure that he was syndicated though. I think the Phipps were the sole owners though I'm not exactly sure. I would guess that the cost of treatment for the mainstream horse farmer is cost prohibitive when lacking insurance, but it is definitely a topic I'd be interested in. Bloom P53 gene?

[Pan Zareta]

Bold Ruler had the better set of lips.

GREAT story. Thanks!

[mary syers]

Shammy,
Try this article, it explains the p53 control gene better than my poor explanation.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fc ... ection.107 Mary Syers

[Secretariat73]

Back in the 70's Bold Ruler had cancer in his nasal cavity. He was treated--radiation? and covered one more season of mares before he was euthanized. He has had two champion sons that also died of cancer Victrolic and Secretariat (yes, if you read the interviews from Claiborne about the time he was euthanized for founder, some of the management said he had cancer).Mary Syers

Okay, you're going to have to prove this one to me about Big Red having cancer. What interviews are you referring to? Is there any way to access them now?

[summerhorse]

They did a full autopsy on Secretariat and nowhere was cancer mentioned that I've ever seen. Maybe you are thinking of Easy Goer? Who died from something else but was found on autopsy to be full of hemangiosarcoma?

[mary syers]

Seth Hancock was quoted in the Blood Horse shortly after they put Secretariat down, as saying that they knew he had cancer and that was why he foundered. Long time ago, but I remember it because of the Bold Ruler cancer and the Victrolic cancer. Mary Syers

[louis finochio]

Mary: If a TB has a small hairline fracture that is not noticeable when he gallops or walks and the trainer keeps training and racing him, will the TB eventually breakdown ? Thanks Louis>

[mary syers]

I think it would depend on where the fracture was and how bad the resulting break would be. Even a small bone chip is extraordinarily painful and so is shin bucking which is really small semi-circular fractures in the cannon bone. So I can't imagine a horse being sound with even a small hairline fracture. Personally, I think most break downs at the track involving bone are the result of impatience. Failure to give the horse enough time with the right kind of exercise to totally remodel and therefore strengthen the bone. Rule of thumb is 120 days at work that includes regular full speed sprints that stress the bone. The literature says these sprints need to be as short as an eighth of a mile, though I think I'd rather trust a good trainer than the literature. Mary Syers

[Lucy]

Seth Hancock was quoted in the Blood Horse shortly after they put Secretariat down, as saying that they knew he had cancer and that was why he foundered. Long time ago, but I remember it because of the Bold Ruler cancer and the Victrolic cancer. Mary Syers

I thought he foundered due to cushings? I'd heard those two diseases are often connected; is there a connection between cushings & cancer, as well?

[mary syers]

Cushings is a treatable, although expensive, disease in horses. Wouldn't they have had Secretariat on the treatment? I don't know for sure. I just remember reading the words. Maybe someone with better connections can ask. Mary