We finally have a TRIPLE CROWN winner!

[BUTCH1]

Well..yes.

These horses have a shockingly better standard of living than 99% of the world's humans do. These horses have better health care than anyone here in the USA has. These horses have better retirement plans than ANYONE here.

To put it another way: these owners spend millions analyzing the shit their horses take.

These horses take shits that are worth more than you will ever be worth.

It's no surprise that I'm the only one that's mad about it.

Horseshit, the average cost per year to keep and train a thoroughbred is $50K/year and no, there is no reason to analyze horse-poop unless the animal is ill and it's needed for diagnostics. Should we be outraged at the amount of $$ that gets spent on house-hold pets as well?. At the end of the day animal care has ZERO to do with the health-care boondoggle that exists and your the ONLY one who seems to be upset about it. Lighten up a bit, this horse put a huge smile on millions of faces as he drove his way to a historic win, maybe you could give zero fucks and that's fine, you are certainly entitled to your opinion but there is no need to go all "Debbie Downer" over it.

 

[BUTCH1]

"i bet he dies a death better than %99.7 of humans on the planet! i'm so jelly of this horse right now RAAAAAGGGEEEEEEE"

~ tsavo

Yup, yea, eventually he will get too old for stud purposes but with the insane amount of $$ he has/will generate for his owner anyone suggesting he will be taken out back and "shot in the head" is an idiot.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

Yup, yea, eventually he will get too old for stud purposes but with the insane amount of $$ he has/will generate for his owner anyone suggesting he will be taken out back and "shot in the head" is an idiot.

you really need to stop with pretending race horses at any point live a life of luxury. don't call me an idiot for trying to educate your ignorant ass.

horse racing is all about money. when a horse isn't producing money, it's liquidated. that means it's sold off to a knackery, aka glue and/or dog food factory.

many successful horses are quickly cycled to maximize profits - aggressively milked to harvest lots of sperm, then euthanised early to avoid the costs of upkeep, transportation to and from the southern hemisphere every year, et cetera.

 

[jagec]

This might have meant something in a time where your average American received better health care than a HORSE.

Than a RACEhorse? This has never been the case. There is a reason that it is called the "sport of kings".

 

[BUTCH1]

you really need to stop with pretending race horses at any point live a life of luxury. don't call me an idiot for trying to educate your ignorant ass.

horse racing is all about money. when a horse isn't producing money, it's liquidated. that means it's sold off to a knackery, aka glue and/or dog food factory.

many successful horses are quickly cycled to maximize profits - aggressively milked to harvest lots of sperm, then euthanised early to avoid the costs of upkeep, transportation to and from the southern hemisphere every year, et cetera.

I don't need you to "educate" me on anything, yea, I know it's an "industry" and horses that don't perform don't get the "A" grade plan like AP does but they still have enough value to be sold as just horses to someone who wants just a horse and has no plans to race it. Look at the past history of triple-crown winners and tell me when you find one that was euthanized shortly after milking it for all the sperm they could, that may be a possibility indeed for another horse but a TC winner?, please, he is beloved at this point an he will die of old age.

 

[techs]

Race horses don't breed directly with mares. It's done by harvesting their sperm. Think of the movie, A Boy and his Dog.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

Look at the past history of triple-crown winners and tell me when you find one that was euthanized shortly after milking it for all the sperm they could, that may be a possibility indeed for another horse but a TC winner?, please, he is beloved at this point an he will die of old age.

the last triple crown winner was affirmed in 1978. so no, no previous triple crowns were milked dry and terminated, just like no roman emperors have walked on the moon.

 

[futurefields]

fuck horse racing

 

[MongGrel]

at least the plates and figurines are much easier to take care of than the real thing!

Well, she has one of those too....

 

[MongGrel]

So does he go out to stud now, or will he compete in more races?

Depends on the owners I guess, the Travers is at the end of Summer, even Secretariat and Man O' War lost there.

Graveyard of Champions.

Saratoga Race Course

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saratoga_Race_Course

"In 1941, Whirlaway became the only horse ever to win the "superfecta" of the United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing and the Travers."

 

[mrjminer]

I lost at the track yesterday. #1 horse screwed my superfecta omgz

I read they are going to stud American Pharaoh for an estimated 22-30 million overall, but the same page of the paper said that the owner wanted him to finish racing out this season, too.

 

[smackababy]

I just don't get horse racing or the hype behind the triple crown. Sure, it hasn't happened, but it really isn't a huge feat of athleticism on a human counterpart. Unless you're a degenerate gambler (which, strangely, I would probably classify as), horse racing doesn't particularly offer much in terms of excitement.

But, what do I know, I spent my weekend watching soccer and running a 5k in the rain at 8AM. =(

 

[brianmanahan]

Well, she has one of those too....

welp, so much for that

 

[MongGrel]

welp, so much for that

Pistol is a good horse, for a horse.

I've ridden him a few times, but it causes much friction in our relationship, to put it mildly.

 

[ManyBeers]

you really need to stop with pretending race horses at any point live a life of luxury. don't call me an idiot for trying to educate your ignorant ass.

horse racing is all about money. when a horse isn't producing money, it's liquidated. that means it's sold off to a knackery, aka glue and/or dog food factory.

many successful horses are quickly cycled to maximize profits - aggressively milked to harvest lots of sperm, then euthanised early to avoid the costs of upkeep, transportation to and from the southern hemisphere every year, et cetera.

Look know-it-all ..stfu.

In the fall of 1989, Secretariat was afflicted with laminitis—a painful and often incurable hoof condition. When his condition failed to improve after a month of treatment, he was euthanized on October 4 at the age of 19.[38] Secretariat was buried at Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky, given the rare honor of being buried whole (usually only the head, heart, and hooves of a winning race horse are buried, and the rest of the body is cremated)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secretariat_(horse)

 

[BUTCH1]

the last triple crown winner was affirmed in 1978. so no, no previous triple crowns were milked dry and terminated, just like no roman emperors have walked on the moon.

And Affirmed was alive for 26 years, LONG past his time for any possible stud revenue, he died from laminitis as did Secretariat who was euthanized rather than watching him suffer through a painful, slow death. As for Affirmed's burial, this, " He was buried whole—the ultimate honor for a race horse—at Jonabell Farm, wearing the flamingo pink colors of his original owners, Harbor View Farm." So there you have it, yea, I agree it's a business and sometimes a brutally unfair one but a TC champ is a very, very rare horse, and are afforded the highest degree of love and respect from their owners but I think that's a natural response to a horse that not only brought your stable a "top-flight" recognition but boat-load's of cash as well.

 

[BUTCH1]

Pistol is a good horse, for a horse.

I've ridden him a few times, but it causes much friction in our relationship, to put it mildly.

But at least he's a handsome devil!

 

[Regs]

You can ride me like a horse any day baby. You just got to fed me my caviar and keep my pills refilled.

 

[norseamd]

I've ridden him a few times, but it causes much friction in our relationship, to put it mildly.

You live in the suburbs?

Where do suburbanites keep the horse they own?

 

[BudAshes]

So who do you think is more self aware as an athlete: This horse or Arod?

 

[cubby1223]

I'm glad we have a triple crown winner

Since the triple-crown drought and anticipation was the only thing driving attention to the sport, horse-racing will now no longer make the news reel in coming years

 

[lupi]

OP title seems a bit off as I recall them mentioning during the broadcast that there had been about 11 of them all ready.

 

[xSauronx]

I just don't get horse racing or the hype behind the triple crown. Sure, it hasn't happened, but it really isn't a huge feat of athleticism on a human counterpart. Unless you're a degenerate gambler (which, strangely, I would probably classify as), horse racing doesn't particularly offer much in terms of excitement.

But, what do I know, I spent my weekend watching soccer and running a 5k in the rain at 8AM. =(

this article gets into why this is so hard for a horse to accomplish

http://www.wired.com/2015/06/science-says-american-pharoah-wont-win-triple-crown/

this is just a snippet, but i thought the whole bit was rather interesting

s the animal blows through its glycogen, something else happens: Its muscles produce lactic acid. The enzymes that break glycogen into glucose that the body can metabolize are sensitive; if tissue becomes too acidic, the metabolic pathways can’t function properly. In other words, the horses are running out of fuel and they have a harder time processing the fuel they still have. “They start shutting down,” Thunes says.

After a race is over, a horse’s body gets to work processing the lactic acid and, perhaps most importantly, restoring glycogen reserves. In humans, glycogen recoup takes about 24 hours. But horses take a lot longer—several days, in fact. Trainers make sure their charges drink plenty of water and sometimes even use intravenous fluids to aid that repair process.

 

[JTsyo]

Was AP a descendant of Secretariat?

 

[Linflas]

You live in the suburbs?

Where do suburbanites keep the horse they own?

The ones I know either rent space in a stable or live in the outer suburbs where they have enough space to keep one themselves.