Fivefivefiftyfive

            For my next post, I chose Fivefivefiftyfive, since she is a true “Charles Town racehorse”. Since January 2 of 2009, the little bay mare with the star has raced 40 times, only three times venturing away from Charles Town: twice to Laurel Park, and once to Delaware Park.

            Fivefivefiftyfive was born on March 24, 2004, in New York. Bred by Steve Peskoff, she is by American Chance out of the Out of Place mare Social Place.

            American Chance was born in 1989 and had a profitable racing career, including a win in the Turfway Prevue Stakes at two, wins in the Jersey Derby (Grade 2) and Lafayette Stakes (Grade 3) at three, and at five wins in the Forego Handicap (Grade 2) and Don Bernhardt Stakes. In all, his career record was an impressive 37-10-8-4, with earnings of $847,977. American Chance died of colic while at stud duty in Argentina in 2004, the same year Fivefivefiftyfive was born. American Chance sired 31 stakes winners from his 10 crops.

American Chance

            Fivefivefiftyfive’s dam, Social Place, was bred in Florida in 1999. She raced 28 times with a record of 28-3-8-5 and earnings of $86,815.

            Fivefivefiftyfive has a mostly American pedigree with a few horses from Canada, Great Britain, Ireland and France. Some of the better horses in her pedigree include triple crown winner, champion and Horse of the Year Seattle Slew, champion Hail to Reason, champion and Horse of the Year Dr Fager, champion Riva Ridge, champion and Horse of the Year Damascus, American-born but French-raced champion Alleged, English triple crown winner and champion Nijinsky, champion and Horse of the Year Tom Fool, champion and Horse of the Year Native Dancer, champion and Horse of the Year Sword Dancer, champion and Horse of the Year Buckpasser, champion Hoist the Flag, champion Northern Dancer, and champion and Horse of the Year Nashua.

            Not exactly matching her illustrious pedigree, Fivefivefiftyfive is a small, rather average looking bay mare. She goes about her job with a workmanlike air, marching quietly around the paddock with her head down, as if she has done the routine so many times, it holds no excitement to her. Once she is on the track however, Fivefivefiftyfive is a worthy competitor.

Fivefivefiftyfive at Charles Town

            Instead of providing a career recap, I will simply recall my experiences with Fivefivefiftyfive. I have seen her race at least twice, the last time being a chilly night in February. Still fuzzy from winter, the petite mare broke from the two hole but finished a rather disappointing fifth under jockey Ramon Maldoando, sprinting 7 furlongs on the 19. However, even as she returned, Fivefivefiftyfive held her head high with ears pricked, as if she knew that this was not the end of her racing career, and that she would find the Winners’ Circle again soon. And she did, on May 08, though I was not there to see the victory.           

            I cannot recall the exact date of the other time I saw this bold little mare race, which may have been as far back as 2009. All I can remember is that she performed with the same dignity of a racehorse that knows her job, and can turn in a classy performance every time.

            In all, the bay daughter of American Chance has raced over 60 times, and earned over $120,000, more then decent money for any claiming horse. Her race record stands at 63-8-11-7, according to pedigree query. She has not raced since June 2 at Charles Town, when she finished 2^nd going six furlongs. She is currently owned and trained by Raul A. Garrido.

Introductions: What This Blog is About

            I figure that I might as well begin blogging by explaining what the point of this blog will be. It is not to write about and admire the champions of the sport, though I love the graded stakes winning racehorses as much as the next racing fan, I feel that they get more then their share of time in the spotlight. Instead, this blog will be to celebrate the true warriors of racing, the supporting cast to the very few who reach the pinnacle of the sport. These horses are called claimers.

            I am a teenage horse racing enthusiast. You could call my “local” racetrack Charles Town. It’s the only one I’ve ever been to, and while I admit that I fantasize about one day attending the Breeders’ Cup Races or the Kentucky Derby, I do find a certain charm in Charles Town. With its narrow little dirt racetrack, grandstand painted in rust and cream, and paddock set well below where the bettors stand, Charles Town is rather unique. Though it was originally a dumping ground for the country’s worst Thoroughbreds, Charles Town has never given up its quest to be recognized in the racing world, and now it has, with the Grade 3, 1 million dollar Charles Town Classic, run in April each year.

            But the horses that capture my imagination are not the pricy stakes winners that arrive each for the Classic, instead, they are the quiet, workmanlike creatures populate the cheap claiming races day in and day out. All around the country, these horses run relentless, changing owners, trainers and jockeys frequently, in a thankless job that actually gives us the industry of Thoroughbred racing. Without these horses, the whole world of racing would crumble. Any fan knows that betting largely supports the industry as the largest source of income. Without the cheap races held daily for horse players to bet on, this source of income would be gone. Why? Simply because not all Thoroughbreds are good enough to run in and win stakes races, no matter how pricy the pedigree. There would not be enough quality horses to fill daily cards of 7-9 stakes races, and the sport would simply fall apart.

            With these horses churning along steadily, they provide a product for horse players to test their handicapping skills. In turn, the money goes into producing and marketing the stakes races and the horses that compete in them. It’s a vicious cycle, and often thankless job for the claimers for make horse racing possible.

            But now, I will be profiling the journey of some of these said horses. It’s disheartening how many times these horses change hands, and how many times they lose races- and it’s questionable why some of them keep running well past the typical retirement of stakes horses, age 4 or 5, well into their “twilight years” for a racehorse of 8 or 9, or sometimes even 12. Often enough, when their racetrack days are done, these horses just fade away, never to be heard from again. But these horses deserve recognition when they are on the track, and now, hopefully, some of them will get it.

            I will be writing about horses that raced at least once at Charles Town Races and Slots in West Virginia while I was in attendance. I hope you enjoy the look at the pedigrees and careers of some of these gutsy steeds.

          

 Note: Often, past performance data is sketchy and may not always be 100% correct. I will try my best to provide accurate information for each horse. Owner change data is not available either, unfortunately.