So, after coming back from my extended hiatus, I seem to have one (1) consistent horse: a two-year-old colt who has run 7 times this year, MSP, never out of the money and only once lower than 3rd.
This leads me to my dilemma: if I run him too much this year, will that ruin his chances of success in the future? Could overracing shorten his 3yo season and beyond? And if so, how many races feels like too many for a 2-year-old?
I was hoping to send him out at least monthly through the end of the year, but my current plan would have him running 12-13 times in his 2yo season, which I’m worried will be too much for him.
He’s at the farm now resting until probably the beginning of August, but I wanted to get people’s thoughts before I sent him off to Saratoga again next month!
My strategy with 2YO’s is to race them every 3-4 weeks but after every 3rd race, they go back to the farm for about 3 weeks. I also try to limit their shipping and not have them running one race in one location, then the next race in another and a third race in another.
I have had so many fall on their face after a great 2yo season that I would go for it. If that colt is peaking now or early next year, I would prioritize the success while it lasts as long as you’re not racing him every two weeks with no rest or injured. I also send horses home after 3 races. I find most of their performances dip after about 3 races/6mo whichever comes first.
I rarely have a 2yo who can race once a month, but when I do I also try to run them every 3-4 weeks if there’s a race that will fit them. I also agree on sending home after 3 races, regardless of age (sometimes my kids can go 4 races, especially if they’re shipping long distance to England or Australia) but 3 races seems to be a safe number.
Thank you all for the advice! I think I’ll keep him at home for an extra couple of weeks just to be safe, keep him at the New York tracks for the rest of the season, and see if he can keep this up with rest at home between races
Same as Rainee. Ive had a few great 2yos that were MSW/MSP at 2 and I was a little conservative. I wish I would have raced them more because they suck at 3
