When the 2-year-old filly Living Magic came up from Maryland to compete in Woodbine's My Dear Stakes last month, there was a notation on her entry and race record that said 'blinkers on'.
The daughter of American Triple Crown winner Justify had raced twice in the U.S. She won her career debut at Parx and finished third in the Astoria Stakes at Belmont Park in New York.
But both her owner, Henry Northhaft, and trainer Phil Schoenthal saw their filly was showing her inexperience in those races, not keeping a straight course, so they elected to fit the filly with a set of blinkers.
Blinkers, cloth headwear with eyeholes and various side of 'cups' to close in a horse's peripheral vision (yes, they can almost see directly behind themselves!), are used by trainers to help a horse focus on their race.
Living Magic zipped to the lead early in the My Dear and won the $134,00 race by three-quarters of a length
“She definitely was green in her first race at Parx,” said Northhaft. “We thought she should run in blinkers next time out, but going into New York off a win, we were not allowed to use blinkers. That’s why we ran with blinkers on today.”
Indeed, Thoroughbreds are a flight animal so sometimes they can shy or spook or be distracted by goings on around them. During the race it could be flags, the tote board or fans.
At Woodbine it is common to see younger horses racing down the E.P. Taylor turf course with their heads turned towards the stands since that grass course is very close to the fans.
Hall of fame trainer Todd Pletcher says blinkers can help keep a horse locked in.
Pletcher, incidentally, added blinkers to the 2022 Eclipse Champion 2-year-old Forte in the colt's ninth career start, the Grade 2 Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga.
Forte was coming off a second-place finish in the Grade 1 Belmont to Arcangelo, Forte won the Jim Dandy by a nose and he is the morning line favourite for Saturday's Grade 1 Travers Stakes at Saratoga.
Pletcher will add blinkers to another Travers starter, Tapit Trice, while Steve Asmussen trainee Disarm will also add the shades.
It is most common to see blinkers on lightly raced horses but sometimes 3 and 4-year-olds will get involved in their races a bit earlier with the addition of the equipment.
On Sunday, Aug. 27 in race 9 at Woodbine, the #3 horse Souper Sinclair, who has finished second, third or fourth in five of her last six races, will wear blinkers for the first time.
On several occasions Souper Sinclair has been making a move into contention only to stall in the late stages. Perhaps the blinkers will help her keep her eye on the prize.
Blinkers off
Many core bettors believe the 'blinkers off' change is even more powerful that blinkers on.
If a horse has been wearing blinkers for several races, or their entire career, the removal of the equipment can initiate a trigger, a cue to a horse that in today's race, you will be able to see all the horses around you.
Horses are competitors, you see it in the field when they are young. So, allowing them to see their competition can serve as a wake up call.
The track program and Daily Racing Form offer statistics from the past two years on trainers and their prowess with blinkers on or off. Anything over 15% is a high number.
In
Race 10 at Woodbine on Sunday, the Simcoe Stakes for 2-year-olds, trainer John Ross will take the blinkers off #9 Valyrian Sky. Ross has a 17 percent win rate, from a small sample, making that equipment change.
The ultimate equipment change
Gelding (or castrating, neutering) a male horse is considered one of the most effective 'equipment' changes in horse racing.
While statistics are not kept on how horses fare in their first race as a gelding, it is believed that betting on such a horse is profitable.
There are many reasons that an owner or trainer will geld their male horse. The horse may be studdish, attracted to female horses or even ponies, a bit too much to concentrate on racing.
Gelding a horse can eliminate some heavy muscle mass in a horse's body or help the horse have a calmer demeanor.
Trainer Barbara Minshall brought Bringer of Rain back from a short layoff on Aug. 19 at Woodbine having had the 4-year-old gelded.
A horse that had shown promise on occasion, he was not doing well this season. In that return race Bringer of Rain was second by a nose at almost 7 to 1 odds.
Earlier in August, Boston Tea Party returned from a layoff of one year for trainer John Charalambous and was racing in a turf sprint as a gelding for the first time.
Boston tea Party, who won first time out in his carer in May 22, had shown promise early in his career and perhaps his interests thought gelding him would be beneficial. It was. He won at 2 to 1 over another first-time gelding, Dream Jereem.
Don't forget to take a look at any late changes a trainer might be making with his runners, it could lead to a nice payoff.
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