NEWS
Freshman Sire Blog: Zen proves to be good karma
Posted: Tuesday, May 10, 2011 7:26 PM
John Egan's Freshman Sire Blog appears weekly as part of the 2011 Freshman Sire Contest presented by Markel and Thoroughbred Times
by John Egan
The 2011 Kentucky Oaks (G1) and Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) are now in the record books. I could not make it to Churchill Downs on the Friday, but was in attendance on Saturday and therefore part of the record crowd of 164,858. I was delighted that so many people turned up to the Kentucky Derby this year and it gives encouragement that there is life in our sport after all.
For this, I can only assume that we must be most thankful to Zenyatta.
The biggest cheers during the post parade on Saturday rung out for Pants On Fire, ridden by Rosie Napravnik and Mucho Macho Man, trained by Katherine Ritvo. I do not think it any coincidence at all the largest crowd in Derby history was there driven by the exploits of one of the greatest racing mares we have seen and this was clearly shown by the support of the women involved in the Derby this year.
Another number to be impressed by is the 1,305 entrants in the 2011 Freshman Sire Competition presented by Markel and Thoroughbred Times. The Freshman Sire page has been revamped this year and it is easy to get your overall and monthly earnings and rank.
I encourage you all to regularly check the Freshman Sire page as the two-year-old racing scene will certainly begin to heat up through May and into June. This page will regularly update with the big news to follow on the top juveniles and their sires.
The Freshman Sire Facebook page is also seeing a number of hits and I hope that this will continue to be a good source of information on a daily basis.
On the day when Animal Kingdom took the first leg of the Triple Crown, Half Ours, a son of Unbridled’s Song, had his second winner this year as Backdoor Kenny won in impressive style at Arlington Park. The Unbridled’s Song sire line is a good source of precocious talent and Half Ours has made a good start with his first runners.
Again, on the first Saturday in May, Hard Spun recorded his first winner also. Mabroor was purchased at the 2010 Keeneland September yearling sale for $300,000 by Shadwell Estate Company, Ltd and has rewarded that investment with a perfect start to his racing career.
The 2011 Freshman Sire Competition entries are closed and the yearlong competition is underway. At some point this year we should expect to see the winner of the 2012 Kentucky Derby run. If the sport of horse racing can keep its momentum rolling from 2011 to 2012, it will be a great year to be following the two-year-olds.
Previous Freshman sire blog posts:
Spring at last
It's a marathon, not a sprint
Alright son, you're nicked!
Remembering Rags to Riches
Is 2011 a safe bet for a Darley double?
What is your name? What is your favorite color?
A change of pace
Small victories
Spin around
The passing of a legend
About John Egan
A native Londoner, John Egan has been a racing enthusiast from a very young age and even owned interests in Thoroughbred racehorses with his parents. After graduating from University with a business degree in 1997, John spent three years working in the London insurance market before pursuing his desire to work in the racing industry. He began work as an assistant to a trainer and was predominately based at Wolverhampton racecourse in England. After a spell in training, John then went to work for Lord and Lady Lloyd Webber's farms of Watership Down in England and Ireland before relocating to Kentucky and Lane's End Farm in 2002. After two years at Lane's End, John decided to combine his experience in the horse and insurance industries and became an equine insurance agent, which he did for three years, before making the transition to underwriter for a large multi-national insurance company. In 2008, he became underwriting manager of the Lexington office of Markel Insurance Company, which was opened in October of that year with the primarily focus of writing Thoroughbred equine mortality insurance.
With the launch of the Lexington office, John has become actively involved in Thoroughbred media to help promote Markel. He appeared on the Horse Racing Radio Network's Saturday morning show in 2009 and 2010 to discuss horses on the Kentucky Derby trail. In 2009, John also began a freshman sire competition and created a newsletter with that competition called The Freshman. That contest caught the eye of THOROUGHBRED TIMES and a partnership was formed to present the Freshman Sire Contest together in 2010. The partnership continues with the 2011 competition also being presented by Markel and THOROUGHBRED TIMES.
John lives in Lexington and is married to Melissa, who is a small animal veterinarian.
Follow the conversation at The Freshman Facebook page. For the page, click here.
READER COMMENTS
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Posted by: Pat, Los Alamos, NM on May 11, 2011 at 07:20 PM
A Zenyatta bow to you, John! She's a phenom the depth of which we haven't plumbed. I anticipate only good things from her ambassadorship.
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Posted by: Liz, San Diego, CA on May 11, 2011 at 04:48 PM
Thanks for giving kudo's to the immortal Queen Z. I can tell you that I wanted nothing to do with racing before Z came along. I was so horrified by what happened to Barbaro and Eight Belles that I swore off racing. Then along came Z. She is just the thing that racing needed and then some. And her team set such a great example of what to do to bring the fans back to racing. Thanks for giving credit where it was due!
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Posted by: Ann, Collierville, TN on May 11, 2011 at 01:36 PM
John, really enjoyed your giving a nod to Zenyatta, recognizing her being such a good ambassador for the sport, even now in her retirement.
Also, because of your background in England and obviously with connections and experience of the sport in Europe, would love to hear your take on and comparisons to how other countries handle the drug issues being talked about in the U.S. right now and the pressure to remove the raceday drugs. In particular, would like to know if there are different conditioning methods of the horses to keep them from the bleeding that is so often cited as the reason for the heavy use of Lasix in this county. My contention is, if horses elsewhere in the world can race without those drugs, then surely they can here! Would really like your perspective since you are knowledgeable in both parts of the world. Or, perhaps you could do a post on this subject. In any event, would appreciate a heads up if you do talk about this subject. Thanks again.
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