Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt

Pimlico, home of the Preakness

The NBC Sports Group will program 6 ½ hours of coverage May 18 and 19 surrounding the Preakness Stakes (gr. I), the second jewel of Thoroughbred racing’s Triple Crown for 3-year-olds.

Read more: http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/69820/nbc-plans-6-12-hours-of-preakness-coverage#ixzz1vDVu7dkZ

Photo: Skip Dickstein

Larry “Thumber” Jones

Larry Jones has been a looming presence on the backside of Pimlico Race Course during the week leading up to the May 19 137th Preakness Stakes (gr. I).

A largely built man wearing a long-sleeve T-shirt with his nickname “Thumper” emblazoned on the front and cowboy boots with “Thumper” stitched up the back, Jones cruises the barn area in a red golf cart, watching horses come and go.

Jones (not related to the trainer of the same name) has a specialty niche within the horse industry. He provides chiropractic services to help horses with back issues, which he says is a large number of the equine population.

Among his clients is trainer Doug O’Neill, who is sending out Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) winner I’ll Have Another in the Preakness. Jones is justifiably proud of his role within the success of the Derby winner, but also is ready to provide his services to any horse that he deems is suffering unnecessarily.

Jones, who along with his wife, Laurie, operates a rehabilitation ranch in Texas, believes a lot of the physical problems, especially those relating to the back, are treated incorrectly with medications rather than using his methods.

“They (veterinarians) want to inject the hocks and stifles; they want to put a band-aid on it,” says Jones, who is in his early 50s. “I don’t care about anything except these horses. My heart is with these horses.”

“Thumper is incredible,” says O’Neill. “He’s an amazing horseman. He is one with the horse. He just loves people. He is a wonderful asset for me. He is just great guy.”

As his practice has evolved, Jones has also begun mentoring others in the field of equine chiropractic. One of his first pupils was Reo King, who is now based in Southern California and handles most of O’Neill’s horses. Jones mainly works with Quarter Horses now but is called in by clients such as O’Neill for big events. He was with I’ll Have Another throughout Derby week and has also been there throughout Preakness week.

Spending time with Jones on the backside provides a quick lesson in equine physiology. He explains how working on the horse’s back helps ease tension and other problems within their extremities, even demonstrating the limberness of Lava Man, the 11-year-old gelding who earned more than $5 million and is now a specimen of fitness as he serves as a track pony for O’Neill.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he could put his front leg behind his head,” Jones jokes of Lava Man’s flexibility.

Raised within the rough and tumble horse country of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Jones was a professional hockey player before an accident ended that career and launched a new one.

Jones said his spine was a mess after he fell on a broken hockey stick and he underwent back surgery. He was still in pain and efforts to treat it were unsuccessful until he began receiving treatments from chiropractor Dr. D. K. Ladell in Calgary.

“I couldn’t sleep; I couldn’t do anything,” Jones recalls. “I ended up walking into this guy’s office. My spine was dislocated all over. I walked out 12 days later smiling.”

Jones believed that the same treatments used on him could be used on horses, and he became a practitioner, starting with horses trained by Calgary-based George Cummings.

While his practice has met with skepticism, particularly from within the veterinary community, Jones said his techniques are more beneficial and successful than drugs to treat back pain.

“I get results,” said Jones, who has plied his trade in 13 different countries and treated Quarter Horses, hunters and jumpers, Calgary Stampede “chuckwagion” horses, and Thoroughbreds. “If you don’t get results, you aren’t going to last doing anything.”

Jones said the bottom line with allowing back issues in horses to remain unchecked or treated incorrectly is that it has an effect on the success of the animal.

“A horse that is in pain is not going to perform well,” he said. “If you take care of the pain, you have a happy horse.”

Read more: http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/69832/equine-chiropractor-asset-to-oneill-team#ixzz1vAiTZcES

Photo: Skip Dickstein

Bodemeister (right) and I’ll Have Another in the Kentucky Derby.
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Most horse racing fans are hoping that Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) winner I’ll Have Another can take a second step toward a Triple Crown, a feat that has not been accomplished since 1978. And while the son of Flower Alley   has a solid shot to do so, it’s the Derby runner-up that certainly appears to have the upper hand in the $1 million Preakness Stakes (gr. I) May 19 at Pimlico Race Course.

Though I’ll Have Another ran him down in deep stretch in the May 5 Derby at Churchill Downs, all signs point to Bodemeister being the one to beat in Preakness 137. The Empire Maker colt, who set a wicked pace in the Derby before falling 1 1/2 lengths shy, is once again expected to be on the lead—only this time there doesn’t appear to be any speed-burners to force him into the rapid fractions he went through in the Derby. With the 1 3/16-mile Preakness being shorter than the Derby, five-time Preakness-winning trainer Bob Baffert in his corner, and the pace factor potentially being softer, Bodemeister seems like a logical choice on Saturday.

Preakness oddsmaker Frank Carulli certainly thinks so, as he installed Bodemeister as the 8-5 morning-line choice in a field of 11 3-year-olds. I’ll Have Another was pegged as the 5-2 second choice. In all, six of the 11 horses entered in the second leg of the Triple Crown ran in the Derby two weeks ago, including four of the top five finishers. Went the Day Well (fourth) and Creative Cause (fifth) are hoping a better trip in the Preakness will be the difference that pushes them into the winner’s circle this time.

Daddy Nose Best (10^th) and Optimizer (11^th) also return from the Derby, while the new shooters include locals Tiger Walk, Teeth of the Dog, and Pretension. New York shipper Zetterholm and Dale Romans trainee Cozzetti round out the field. Romans won the 2011 Preakness with Shackleford.

Though Bodemeister is likely to go off as the favorite, as he did in the Derby, it should be noted that no Derby runner-up has won the Preakness since 1993 when Prairie Bayou accomplished the feat. Interestingly, Bodemeister’s jockey, Mike Smith, was aboard that day for his lone Preakness victory.

Bodemeister, owned by Zayat Stables and Mike and Tiffany Moreno, had his breakout race in the April 1 Arkansas Derby (gr. I) when he romped by 9 1/2 lengths in his fifth start, doing so in wire-to-wire fashion. He wasn’t expected to take the early lead in the Kentucky Derby, but did so confidently under Smith and took a three-length lead into the stretch before being collared late.

Bodemeister will break from post 7, just as Lookin At Lucky   did in 2010 when he handed Baffert his most recent Preakness score. The Hall of Fame trainer also won this event in 2002 (with War Emblem), 2001 (Point Given), 1998 (Real Quiet), and 1997 (Silver Charm).

Baffert did not commit to running Bodemeister in the Preakness until he was sure he could handle the quick two-week turnaround.

“He never took a step backward (after the Derby),” Baffert said May 17. “He bounced out of it pretty well. He’s a pretty tough horse. He filled out nice and seems to be doing good. I think if he was going to bounce he would have bounced in the Kentucky Derby off the Arkansas Derby. He is a pretty fit horse so he can handle what we have thrown at him.

“The horses that ran in the Derby are going to be the biggest threats. I really don’t know that much about the new shooters. I really haven’t looked at it. But when your horse is one dimensional it is hard to worry about your rivals.”

Reddam Racing’s I’ll Have Another attempts to become the first horse to win the Derby and Preakness since Big Brown   did it in 2008. He is undefeated in three starts this year, having scored the Robert B. Lewis (gr. II) at odds of 43-1 and the Santa Anita Derby (gr. I) before his 15-1 Kentucky Derby upset. Based in California with trainer Doug O’Neill, I’ll Have Another shipped from Churchill Downs to Pimlico on May 9 and has shown the same kind of energy he did during Derby week.

O’Neill is expecting another winning effort. He has maintained all week that the chestnut colt will not be too far off the pace.

“He looks fantastic; great energy,” said O’Neill, who will saddle his first Preakness starter. “He’s maintained his beautiful, long stride. We’re just very happy with each day that goes by.

“The great thing about I’ll Have Another is that his first step out of the gate is very quick. If Bodemeister is going to get an easy lead, we’ll just push him. Somewhere in mid-race, hopefully we can take a little breather. Somewhere around that three-eighths (pole), we’ll have to go after him and hopefully have a good stretch duel and end up on the winning end again.”

Jockey Mario Gutierrez, who rode the perfect race in his first Derby start, will also have his first mount in the Preakness.

Team Valor International’s Went the Day Well and Heinz Steinmann’s Creative Cause—both 6-1—are the two most logical upsetters if Bodemeister or I’ll Have Another don’t get it done. Went the Day Well, a maiden winner at Gulfstream Park on March 3 and the Vinery Racing Spiral Stakes (gr. III) winner three weeks later at Turfway Park, appears to be a rapidly improving horse who might pack the right kind of closing kick to make a winning run. He was 17^th after six furlongs in the Derby before beginning his big move, and was forced seven-wide into the stretch under John Velazquez before finishing 2 1/2 lengths back of the winner.

Went the Day Well is trained by Maryland-based Graham Motion, who seeks his first Preakness victory after falling a half-length short with Animal Kingdom a year ago. Velazquez, who was aboard Animal Kingdom that day, is also trying for his first Preakness success.

“I think if he had broken better in the Derby he would have laid a lot closer, like he did in the Spiral,” said Motion. “I don’t think he’s a one-run horse. Certainly, he’s not a horse that needs to drop out of it.”

Trainer Mike Harrington took Creative Cause back to California after the Derby, where he was beaten three lengths after a wide trip. He made the trip to Pimlico on Wednesday, his third cross-country voyage since November. The son of Giant’s Causeway  , if he breaks cleanly, is expected to be one of the horses that races in a stalking position behind Bodemeister. A three-time graded stakes winner, the colt has still never run a bad race in nine career starts. Joel Rosario will keep the mount.

“He was tired the first few days (after the Derby) but the last couple of days he has been his old self,” Harrington said. “At the hundred yard mark (of the Derby) he was third and I thought he was going to run third. But two horses ran past him in the last 100 yards.

“(Bodemeister) beat my horse less than three lengths. He will be the favorite but that doesn’t mean he’s invincible.”

The other two Derby starters, Daddy Nose Best (12-1) and Optimizer (30-1), will need to raise their games significantly to have any chance of pulling off upsets. The good news is that their trainers have plenty of winning experience in this race.

Bob and Cathy Zollars’ Daddy Nose Best is trained by Steve Asmussen, who won the Preakness in 2007 with Curlin   and 2009 with Rachel Alexandra. He has given the mount back to Julien Leparoux, who was aboard the Scat Daddy   colt for his two grade III wins this year.

Bluegrass Hall’s Optimizer is trained by D. Wayne Lukas, who has saddle 36 Preakness starters, including winners Codex (1980), Tank’s Prospect (1985), Tabasco Cat (1994), Timber Country (1995), and Charismatic (1999).

Tiger Walk, Teeth of the Dog, and Pretension, who will break from inside posts, respectively, are all local horses hoping to pull off major upsets. Two-time Preakness winning rider Kent Desormeaux will have the mount on Tiger Walk, who was fourth in both the Gotham (gr. III) and Wood Memorial (gr. I) in his last two starts. He is trained locally by Ignacio Correas.

Teeth of the Dog was third in the Wood Memorial for Michael Matz  and has a string of works at Fair Hill Training Center since that last race, which was his stakes debut.

Pretension could flash some early speed for local trainer Chris Grove. The Bluegrass Cat   colt won a local stakes at Pimlico in his last start on May 5.

Zetterholm has won three consecutive races at Aqueduct for trainer Rick Dutrow Jr., but the New York-bred will be getting a stiff class check. 

Cozzetti, who likes to do his best running late, was a distant fourth in the Arkansas Derby and third in the Tampa Bay Derby (gr. II) prior to that. He enters the Preakness off a bullet work at Churchill May 14 for Romans.

$1 million Preakness Stakes (gr. I, Race 12, 6:18 p.m.), 3YO, 1 3/16 Miles (Dirt)

Read more: http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/69833/bodemeister-ill-have-another-clash-again#ixzz1vAi8Qsai