Update and the Belmont

We ended May with a bang winning 4 races in the last half. PUPPYONASTRING (maiden)(Bone Doctors Stable), RUNNIN AWAY (maiden)(Jerry Merritt, Penny Lauer), POINT AFTER (maiden)(owners Charles Parks, Korus Derby Club, Penny Lauer) at Indiana Grand and ICED OVER (AOT) at Belmont Park. We started out well for June breaking another maiden running on the Turf with BOURBON N LIME (Michael Johnson, Dana Smith, Penny Lauer) at Indiana Grand and JOINT TENANT (Penny Lauer) at Churchill Downs which takes him over $200,000 in lifetime earnings. Hopefully the trend will continue if we can get more races to fill.

 

Let us talk the Belmont race tomorrow. It is an absolutely great card to bet on top to bottom. In the race itself I see it as American Pharoah’s race to lose. I think he will win and Muvtaahij will run second. This is the exacta, and one of Pletchers will hold on for third to complete the trifecta. I think American Pharoah will push Materiality out in the first turn a little bit and they will kind of gallop together until about 3/4ths of the race when American Pharoah will just gallop on. Muvtaahij will clean up for second. I do think it is a shame that Belmont cut the attendance off at 90,000. We can’t get fans and now they want to tell them they can not come. They are never equipped or staffed for it even if they only had 50,000. Since they don’t have off track betting anymore in Manhatten, I guess you bet on the computer and watch it on TV.

Have a nice day and may the horse be with you tomorrow.

 

Preakness Today

I think the Preakness Trifecta will be the same, just in a different order. An interesting side bar,  Lucas instrumenting Calumet Farm buying Mr. Z. That would be an interesting press conference if he would beat American Pharoah. He might not beat him, but can affect the race as Mr. Z is going to be out there either near or on the pace.

Baffert could win the three races in the Triple Crown with two different horses, but that is not what he wants.

Good Luck to all!

 

2014- That’s a Wrap

We won races at Churchill Downs, Oaklawn, Beulah, Presque Isle, Mountaineer Park, Indiana Grand, Belterra (formerly River Downs) Saratoga, Turfway Park and Ellis Park. We also placed at Aqueduct, Belmont Park, Keeneland, Charlestown, Kentucky Downs and Hawthorne. Sixteen tracks and over 50,000 miles added to my car odometer.

 

2014 was a good year (not great but good). We always strive to do better. The stable had 33 wins, 30 seconds, 50 thirds and won $1,104,585 in purse money. Trainer ranking was 207 in North America. The major horse this year was MISTER POLLARD winning three stakes. The first was The Indiana Bred 3 yr. old $150,000 Governors Stake (which we also won in 2013) the second was the $85,000 Hoosier Breeders Sophomore Stakes and the third was the $150,000 Too Much Coffee Stakes. He also dead heated for second in the $100,000 Bachelor’s Stakes at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas. He will be named 2014 Champion 3 Yr. Old Colt Indiana Bred and is one of the leading contenders for Indiana Bred Horse of the Year winning $246,000 this year, the most winnings in one year for any horse I have ever trained.

 

We retired our homebred DREAMIN BIG this year after she surpassed $600,000 in lifetime earnings which is the highest earning horse we have ever bred, owned and trained. We look forward to her future offspring as she is now in foal.

 

We also retired another nice homebred, PRIZE WINNER with $265,810 lifetime earnings. She too is in foal and we look forward to her future as a broodmare.

 

We also won the first annual $75,000 Indiana Stallion Auction Stakes (colt division) this year with maiden HOOSIER NEIGHBOR.

 

We also took a small string to Saratoga this year and had a win, a second, a third and two fourths in five starts. We hadn’t taken any horses there for about six years and would like to return this year with a few more.

 

This year we would like to achieve more wins and reach a goal of $2M in purse money. I know we have never done this, but we have some nice young horses and look for the older horses to come back as good if not better.

 

On the personal side, we had our first grandchild (Truman) this past April who was born to our oldest daughter Elizabeth and her husband Luke Sharrett. In April of 2015, our daughter Sara and her husband Justen Turley are expecting a baby boy, who will double the grandchild count for the Lauer’s! Conformation we have entered yet another stage in life.

 

We would like to thank everyone who had horses with us this year. We will continue to do our best and look forward to a successful 2015.

 

 

 

Indiana Thoroughbred Racing Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euDRZuqCOBs&feature=youtu.be

Above is a link to a video that the Indiana Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders put together to help educate and spread the word about the impact racing has on the local economy. We all need to do what we can to help promote our product and to encourage people to get involved and enjoy the sport as much as we do.

Let me know what you think.