"Spaced" Races And "Fresh" Horses Are Killing The Sport

[kentuckyrosesinmay]

Originally Posted by Five Star Derek

This thread just makes me think about how the career of Afleet Alex would have turned out if he had not been injured in the Preakness (yes he was injured in the Preakness). Tim Ritchey was training him like an old time trainer and it seemed to be working. Improving bone density, tendons, muscles and the overall horses foundation was part of his theory. Everybody thought he was nuts but he didn't cave in to the pressure. It's not easy to do. I'm also wondering if anybody has read the late Tom Ivers book "The Fit Racehorse". It dealt with a lot of this. I can't say I bought into everything that Ivers said in the book but a lot of it seemed to make sense and it made you think.

Yes, I agree with this...and I actually love the way Ritchey trained Alex. There definitely seems to be a postive correlation between the way Ritchey trained Alex, and Alex's bone density. I must read that book by Tom Ivers.