Ydo Some Yearlings Have 7 Furlong Works?

[Stephen Saratoga]

Its child abuse. In real life, the majority of yearlings are bought in September and broke in November and December. Maybe its just me, but I'm hesitant to even work a yearling. Definitely wouldn't work them more than 3/8ths and that wouldn't happen before week 16.

If I could get some feed back on what other players think, then that would be great. I'm not saying I'm right, maybe I should start getting them ready.

[Ryen Hanna]

I'm not entirely convinced it's a bad thing; as long as you're not overworking them, distance can be a good thing. It can help build different muscle groups than a 2 furlong mad dash might. Personally, I'd rather see them gallop 7 furlongs than sprint full-out for 4.

That said, I haven't sent any of my yearlings any further than 5 furlongs. Something does indeed just feel wrong about sending these youngsters 7 furlongs - it's probably a psychological response to the fact that that's the longest option we have for workouts. However, we have no evidence to prove that it's a bad thing yet...as long as they're used responsibly, I don't know that there's necessarily a problem with it.

[Stephen Saratoga]

I agree with your thoughts. But I also look at it like this: The first 7 furlong race is around week 3 or 4. So if you work a yearling 1/4 mile in week 14, 3/8ths week 16, and get those 4,5, and 6 furlongs in their first few weeks as a 2yo. Then they could get those first few distance races offered.

But also, we are still experimenting and who says that a yearling can't benefit from long works. I guess we will all find out soon enough.

[Sarah Chase]

I'm guilty of working yearlings as early as Week 5, chalk it up to my impatience. I'm fully prepared to accept any possible consequences, so we'll just see. In the meantime, I'm focused on getting my older horses through their seasons safely.

[Ryen Hanna]

Haha, me too Sarah. I've been working them every other week since week 5. I keep telling myself to back off, but...I'm just so impatient and so excited about them!

[Laura Ferguson]

My problem, though, is that the 7 furlong workout times, at least to me, don't necessarily look like the horse is "galloping" - Goliath just worked it in 1:23.84, which is a sub 12 seconds per furlong pace. Most of the 2 furlong dirt works are in 22 and change or 23 and change. Similarly, most of the 7 dirt furlong works are in 1:24 and 1:25. When you look at the 7 furlong races, most of those have recently been run in 1:24 or 1:25, so, at least on paper, these 7 furlong works look to be done at around race pace. When you're doing your workouts at race pace (and especially when you're running the distance you're going to race at), at least when you're a human, that's a hard, hard workout. Maybe it isn't an all-out sprint, but I'd say it's closer to that than an easy gallop.

I will also agree that 6 and 7 furlong workouts probably help to build endurance, but I really think they're intended to build endurance for say, a 1 1/4 or a 1 1/2 mile race, rather than a 6 or 7 furlong race.

As I put in an earlier post, since we begin racing 2yos in Week 1 (which also doesn't happen in real life), and if my understanding is correct that next year 2yos will need two workouts before they can run, then, by necessity, some horses are going to have to get those two workouts as yearlings. I plan on working my sprinters twice, and only twice, as yearlings. Anyone with a pedigree indicating they want a mile or more are going to wait until they turn two. I think it will be interesting to see if any patterns arise next year as to what works better than others in terms of a workout schedule.

[Carolyn Eaton]

I'm very uncomfortable doing long works with my babies. I gave everyone a 2f workout week 8, they'll get a 3f workout week 12, those starting to race week 1-2 as 2yo's won't be worked again - just started, the others will be worked every 4 weeks until 3-4 weeks before their first start. We'll see how that works, and I'm sure I'll tweak it for next year.

[Kelse Mccann]

I must say when workouts first came i worked out my horses alot, but now since reading everyone elses methods ive basicly stopped using workouts unless my horse is in the middle of a long break due to not being able to find races, the only horses ive ever worked 7f are steeplechasers and 4 furlongs is the limit with yearlings, most of mine do 3 furlongs, i wouldnt dare 7 i just think thats mean

[Stephen Saratoga]

You have to have 2 works before they can run? I missed that rule. That doesn't mean you have to work yearlings, though-right? As long as 2yos have 2 workouts before their first start. Where would I go to see this in writing-One of my friends said something about it, but I didn't know what they were talking about.

[Laura Ferguson]

The Steward had said something about it - not sure if it is still how it's going to play out, or if it is in writing somewhere.

But, yeah, if this is the case, the 2yo will need just two works before he or she races - it doesn't matter if those works happened at one, or two or three (assuming you don't debut the horse until it turns age three), just sometime. None of my route-bred yearlings are getting a workout until they turn two.

[Erin Sanderson]

I'm guilty of being a little workout crazy when those came out. I gave my yearlings a couple two furlong breezes, and have worked them up to four furlongs. Most of them probably won't work again this year until at least week 15 or 16, if at all. I'd rather them be fresh for racing in Week 3 or 4.

[LaDonna King]

in real life, workouts are necessary. work outs build stamina, bone density, etc. short workouts build speed. short workouts alone with no long works build thick muscles....like quarter horses. longer distances are needed to build LEAN muscles. every time a horse runs, it gets stress fractures. rest is required to repair those fractures. there's a cycle. this cycle is required to build bone density. if you take a horse that has not had any workouts and enter it into a race, you take a very high chance of breaking that horse down because its bones are fragile. on the otherhand, if you take a horse that's overworked and enter it into a race, you have a high chance of breaking it down too because the stress fractures haven't had a chance to repair themselves. small fractures happen in every race, that is why it's never a good idea to run back to back to back weeks. in real life, each horse is evaluated individually and put on a training schedule to suit it's needs...they are not all the same and not treated the same. some horses have naturally dense bones(still need workouts, just different distances/speeds). i really don't know how real life workouts/training will equate in the sim---only the steward knows. it's all trial and error right now.