I was at teh Breeders Cup races this weekend.

My wife and I were remarking after The Classic how fortunate we were that no horses were injured. And then we saw a curious thing. A horse ambulance was passing us. We were at the top of the stretch with many photographers after the race. We had thought all the horses had passed. Then I said, "Oh no, George Washington." I looked through my zoom lens and sure enough they were setting up the tarps to shield the crowd from the horse's discomfort. We still did not know what had happened, though.

We said to ourselves: "why?"

Why should the Coolmore connections race this beautiful turf horse on a track that has been deluged with water for more than two days?

On our way out we passed his groom. We asked him how George was. He told us that he had to be put down since he broke his leg. The groom was in shock.

This was sad. I was at the Preakness when Barbaro broke down. That was tough. Barbarao we all now was a beautiful specimen. A courageous animal.

George Washington was a similar champion. During the saddling in the paddock before the race I had fallen in love with him. I had been a fan of Street Sense and Hard Spun all year. I also respected Curlin. Lawyer Ron was a beautiful colt I had cheered for in the previous year's derby. However, coming around the paddock turns waiting for the "riders up" call, I had been taken by this coly from England. He was the sweetest of the bunch. At that time, I did not know much about him. I unfortunately would learn more. I can see where he got his name, Gorgeous George. It fit him well.

My heart broke that day.

I had watched Indian Flare collapse in front of me with a broken pelvis after a race at Saratoga Race Course this summer. The horse had broken it at the start of the race -- and still had the strength to make it around the track. Talk about courage.

I had heard about horses breaking down at Belmont with tragic regularity during the fall meet and trainers complaining to no avail about the hard track. Rags for Riches, the filly Belmont Stakes winner, was injured on the track. Tiz Wonderful was injured as well.

Now this.

I love the sport of horse racing. I know the Polytrack is intended to reduce the incidence of injuries. I know many tracks will never chance to the surface, or at least say they will not.

Things like this give you pause.

Without the horse this nation would not exist. It could never have been settled like it was. Certainly not as quickly. We owe the horse a great debt.



George Washington Euthanized
By BETH HARRIS – 2 days ago

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5giS3t88...efRwMgD8SHTSOG0

OCEANPORT, N.J. (AP) — Barbaro's owners endured more tragedy at the track when the colt they bred broke down Saturday in the Breeders' Cup — the second year in a row thoroughbred racing's big event was marred by a fatal accident.

On a day when even casual fans tune in for the sport's version of the Super Bowl, European star George Washington broke his leg in the stretch and was immediately euthanized.

Jockey Mick Kinane pulled up his mount at the rear of the nine-horse field as Curlin dashed to a 4 1/2-length victory on the sloppy track at Monmouth Park.

George Washington fractured his cannon bone — "a hopeless injury," said Dr. Larry Bramlage, the on-call veterinarian.

It's the type of tragedy that occurred twice last year.

In the Breeders' Cup Distaff, Pine Island broke down and was euthanized and Fleet Indian sustained a career-ending injury at Churchill Downs.

And then there was Barbaro, the Kentucky Derby winner who broke his leg early in the Preakness and was euthanized eight months later.

Roy and Gretchen Jackson, who spent millions of dollars trying to keep Barbaro alive, were the breeders of the European colt. And, indeed, George Washington helped make their Derby win with Barbaro extra special by winning the 2000 Guineas — the opening leg of the English classics — the same day.

"When you're at the extreme, extreme things happen," said Curlin's trainer Steve Asmussen. "At this level, they are going for all they can and then a little bit more."

As George Washington skittered a few steps while lifting up his injured leg, workers rushed to him and surrounded the 4-year-old colt with brown screens that blocked the view of the crowd. The horse ambulance quickly appeared and maneuvered into position as 41,781 fans watched in silence.

The workers managed to load George Washington into the ambulance under the cover of the screens.

"He broke one sesamoid (bone) and then dislocated the ankle to the side. That destroys the blood supply, which makes this such a difficult injury," Bramlage said.

George Washington was fifth at the half-mile pole, then dropped back to seventh before getting hurt in the stretch.

"Typically these injuries occur in the last part of the race," said C. Wayne McIlwraith, another on-call veterinarian working the event. "They are more fatigued, so they have got less support to the joint."

Kinane slid off near the colt's neck and held the reins as help moved in.

"He did well to stay up. He was brave," Kinane said. "He stayed up on it. He saved me."

The Classic was just George Washington's second race on dirt; his first was in last year's Classic at Churchill Downs, where he was sixth.

"He could have had trouble with being less coordinated on (dirt), as he's used to racing on grass," McIlwraith said. "We talk a lot now about investigating the cause of these fractures, minor incoordination or just not landing on the leg exactly the same way as a horse that's completely used to that surface does."

George Washington wasn't even supposed to race anymore. He was retired at the end of last year with plans to go to stud, but was found to be infertile and put back into training.

For Irish trainer Aidan O'Brien it was one of the worst days of his career. Before George Washington went down, his other horse, Dylan Thomas, faded to fifth in the $3 million Turf as the wagering favorite.

George Washington won six of 13 career starts and earned more than $1.4 million racing mostly in Europe for owners Susan Magnier of Ireland and Englishmen Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith.

Commentary: Bye George
by -
Date Posted: 10/30/2007 9:13:30 AM
Last Updated: 10/30/2007 3:49:26 PM

http://opinions.bloodhorse.com/viewstory.asp?id=41750

I’ve only worked in the Thoroughbred industry for two years, so I don’t pretend to know the history of horse racing to the extent of most people I encounter each day in my profession.

But I do know one thing: the sinking, nauseating feeling that came while standing by the rail to watch the Breeders’ Cup Classic - Powered by Dodge (gr. I) and hearing the shouts, “Something’s happened to George Washington!”

My mind was racing as I watched the horrible scene unfold in front of me: photographers running away from the victor and toward the tragedy; John Magnier’s adult son covering his face with his hands; the screens going up around George. I knew it was over—I knew his fate.

I witnessed a similar scene just a few weeks earlier when Dream of Angels reared up in the Keeneland paddock and fractured his skull on the rubber brick pathway.

This tragedy reopened those wounds, and the images I’d tried to erase from my mind.

That same feeling of sickness came rushing back. I was devastated over an animal I had never known, so why did it feel so personal? George Washington meant everything to Europe; he was their Barbaro figure—a hero.

I looked around from the seats to the press box and saw indifference. Cold, hard stories were filed, and people went about their way.
By people, I mean Americans. We were enthralled on the backstretch when George had graced the track to stretch his legs a day before the race. But where were we when he faltered and his ankle gave out? Where was our grief?

George Washington, an Irish-bred son of Danehill, was the winner of four group I races. A multiple champion in England and Ireland, he was bred, ironically, by Roy and Gretchen Jackson’s Lael Stable, whose Barbaro broke down in the 2006 Preakness (gr. I).

I talked to many Europeans—fans and journalists alike—on Breeders’ Cup day who were distraught, calling the sight of George on the track one of the “worst things they’d ever seen.”

There’s nothing more painful than watching a grown man sobbing for an animal that meant the world to him, or a dumbfounded groom carrying the blanket that George would never again wear back to the barn.
When George went down, my mind flashed back to his majestic presence in the paddock—the sheer beauty and grace he exuded, right down to the long whiskers on his chin that made him look even more distinguished somehow. I saw with my own eyes why he was nicknamed “Gorgeous George.”

Yet all I gathered from most everyone else around me was an attitude of disregard for a European champion.

Dave Johnson, the emcee of the post-Breeders’ Cup breakfast, didn’t mention George’s fate when he remarked on what a “great Classic” it had been. Don’t get me wrong—Curlin was terrific. But to me, a race where a horse’s life was claimed can’t be called “great.”

I think we (again, I mean Americans) dropped the ball on this one. Just because George didn’t win our Kentucky Derby or our Classic, should he receive any less respect? We were hanging on every piece of news when it came to our beloved Derby winner Barbaro after his devastating injury.

Did we suddenly forget that racing isn’t always about the mountaintops? No matter who it is going down on that track, we should show compassion for a life lost. I know death is part of the game, but I didn’t realize the lack of compassion and regard for another’s tragedy until I saw it firsthand.

The Breeders’ Cup is, after all, a day of international championships. We invite runners from overseas who put it all on the line to provide for more exciting competition, yet where were we when a harsh reality needed to be faced and reconciled?

If we want Europeans to keep returning for the Breeders’ Cup, we need to show respect—rejoicing in the wins and being there for the losses, too. Otherwise, why are we in this?

I was told how reverent Churchill Downs officials were at last year’s post-race breakfast toward Pine Island and Fleet Indian, who were euthanized and injured, respectively, during the 2006 Emirates Airline Breeders’ Cup Distaff (gr. I).

But the same respect for George never came.

So now we move on, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t look back. Above all, I think we need to raise our glasses to George—a horse we didn’t know well, but one who meant so much to people on another continent. Here’s to you, George—you deserve it.

View the George Washington Slide Show

Esther Marr is a staff writer for The Blood-Horse

The concept of the Elite isn't all bad.

rla:

Why do you have to be so cryptic?

Why can't you just say what you mean?

Are you actually afrai to communicate?

Are you actually so vulgar as to be suggesting that George Washington was not an "eilte" horse?

George Washington's connections were devestated by the loss.

Perhaps they should have thought about the potential for injury a little bit before the race.

He was a turf horse. He had no prep races on dirt. His only other forray on dirt he finished sixth.

This track was miserable with its sloppy surface.

It was no place for a turf miler champion like George.

George's legacy lies at end of the dirt track

The poignant public death of a fine racehorse could see Breeders' Cup go synthetic, reports Greg Wood

Monday October 29, 2007
The Guardian

http://sport.guardian.co.uk/horseracing/st...2201029,00.html

You don't forget a sight like George Washington's final moments at Monmouth Park. He pawed at the slop on the dirt track with his shattered, flapping right leg, as if trying to work out why he could not feel the ground. Then, as the screens went up, he stood and waited to be put out of his misery. You don't forget that, however much you might want to.

Yesterday a subdued Aidan O'Brien explained: "He broke his cannon bone and misplaced a joint so [having him put down] was obviously a straightforward decision. The bone had gone through his skin so there was no chance of surgery."

Of his "stud flop" who gave him four Group One victories and won more than £800,000 in prize money, the trainer said: "He was an unbelievably talented horse. He had a big attitude and a big ego. He believed he was the best and he knew he was the best. He was just one of those freaks that don't come along very often, he was a natural athlete."
Saturday night gave us the most negative image that our sport can ever produce - a dying horse, right in front of the grandstand. And there is no doubt that it will happen, from time to time, for as long as horses are raced. Accepting it will happen, though, is very different from allowing it to happen, and whenever horses compete, be it for a selling race at Cartmel or the $5m (£2.5m) Breeders' Cup Classic, we need to be satisfied that the risks to both runners and riders are as low as possible.

In the case of dirt racing, this is a case that is increasingly difficult to make. It is a fact that synthetic surfaces are taking hold across America, where horses tend to be trained on the track too, and the experience of every venue that has replaced its dirt is that the attrition rate has dropped significantly.

George Washington, as some were quick to point out, might have broken down on Polytrack too. We can never know for sure. But what we do know is that it is less likely he would have died. The statistics are compelling, and the fact that George's luck might have run out anyway is no reason to ignore them.

The drenching rain only underlined this problem. The spectacle of horses running on sloppy dirt is a miserable one in any case, and with many runners unable to act in the conditions several races were effectively over before they had turned for home. The dirt surface, which does not take water nearly so well as an artificial one, was largely to blame.

One of the best things about the Breeders' Cup is the way it moves around the country, and while the NFL, for instance, has long since stopped staging the Super Bowl in the chilly north, the Breeders' Cup, rightly, does not discriminate on grounds of climate. It is inevitable, though, that sometimes the weather will intervene.

Overall, the Cup has been a marvellous development for world racing, but it needs to keep innovating if it is to continue to prosper. So here, perhaps, is a moment when the Cup itself can set the agenda, for the benefit of the sport as a whole.

The Breeders' Cup has already taken one significant decision by awarding next year's event to Santa Anita, which races on a surface called Cushion Track. It could, and should, result in a strong European challenge throughout the card, rather than primarily in the turf events.

The 2009 event, however, has yet to be awarded, with tracks in the running thought to include Woodbine in Canada, which races on Polytrack, and Churchill Downs, in American racing's conservative heartland and the home of the Kentucky Derby, which does not. It is therefore in the power of the Cup to decide that artificial surfaces are the future, and that the future needs to be embraced.

If Saturday proves the beginning of the end for dirt at the Breeders' Cup, George Washington will not have died in vain.

I don't know much about the particulars of race Horses or other performance horses
but I do recognize and appreciate the qualities of championship. Being an elite horse is
more than ok and so is being an elite person...they are not all robber barrons...

Again you obfuscate?

I asked if you were suggesting that George Washington was not an elite horse.

By all measures indeed he was.

This thread was celebrating the life of a champion turf horse who met his unfortunate fate as he was raced on an off track on a surface to which he was not accustomed.

The issue is not his championship status though, but rather the loss suffered.

No one has said anything on this thread about robber barons...and the like...

I was and am joining in the Celebration of this champion horse...I did fail to express a
sense of loss and I do empathize with those that experienced loss from re-processing the memory...
one of my default settings screened it out which is ok...I do, frequently enough, allow myself to
experience such loss...

Thank you for your expression.

I do appeal for you to communicate in a more genial and less automated, machine like manner. As I have often said, you do have valuable things to say, but they seem to get lost in your effort to overdo the vocabulary.

Peace.

He was out of Native Dancer on his mum's side.

A magnificent colt.

If anyone wants some of his photos the before the Classic --- please let me know. Send me an e-mail.

George Washington (horse)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington_(horse)

George Washington

Upload / Commons Upload
Sire: Danehill
Grandsire: Danzig
Dam: Bordighera
Damsire: Alysheba
Sex: Stallion
Foaled: 2003
Country: Ireland
Colour: Bay
Breeder: Roy and Gretchen Jackson
Owner: Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith
Trainer: Aidan O'Brien
Record: 14: 6-1-4
Earnings: $1,475,816
Major Racing Wins & Honours & Awards
Major Racing Wins
Railway Stakes (2005)
Phoenix Stakes (2005)
National Stakes (2005)
2,000 Guineas (2006)
Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (2006)
Racing Awards
European Champion Two-Year-Old Colt (2005)
European Champion Three-Year-Old Colt (2006)
Infobox last updated on: August 5, 2007.

George Washington (January 3, 2003 – October 27, 2007) was a racehorse foaled on 3 Jan 2003 at Coolmore Stud by champion sire Danehill out of Bordighera, also the dam of the high class colt Grandera. Bred by Roy and Gretchen Jackson of West Grove, Pennsylvania who owned and bred the 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro, and who also own the Barclay Tagg trained Showing Up, George Washington was trained at Ballydoyle by Aidan O'Brien. George Washington suffered a very serious leg injury running in the Breeders' Cup Classic at Monmouth Park on October 27, 2007 and had to be euthanized.

[edit] Two-year-old career
George Washington's debut was in a maiden race during the 2,000 Guineas meeting at Newmarket on May 1, 2005. This ended in defeat, finishing third behind League Champion over 5 furlongs (1,006 m).

Victory followed in his second race at the Curragh three weeks later, this time over 6 furlongs (1207 m). Another win came in the Group II Railway Stakes, again over 6 furlongs (1207 m) at the Curragh.

The Group I Phoenix Stakes was next on the agenda, and George Washington won by 8 lengths from his stablemate Amadeus Mozart, despite having been slightly hampered at the start.

His final race as a two-year-old was in the National Stakes in September, another Group 1, and although victorious he failed to impress many, winning by just 2 lengths as a long odds-on favourite. Although he was declared to run in the Dewhurst Stakes the following month, he was withdrawn just minutes before the race after the ground was deemed unsuitable.

For his performances, George Washington was voted the 2005 Cartier Award for Two-Year-Old European Champion Colt.


[edit] Three-year-old career
His first target as a three-year-old was the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket, which was to be his first outing of the season. Aidan O'Brien was attempting to win the race for a fourth time, having previously won with King of Kings in 1998, Rock of Gibraltar in 2002, and Footstepsinthesand in 2005. "George" started as 6/4 favourite and won the race impressively, beating subsequent Epsom Derby winner Sir Percy by 2½ lengths.

Breakdown of 2000 Guineas runners since the race

Placing Name Subsequent race(s) and placing Location Distance
2nd Sir Percy 1st in the Epsom Derby Epsom 1 mile 4 furlongs (2414 m)
4th Araafa 1st in St. James's Palace Stakes, Irish 2,000 Guineas, and 2nd in QE2 Various 1 mile (1609 m)
6th Final Verse 1st in Listed race and injured since Goodwood 1 mile (1609 m)
7th Amadeus Wolf 5 High placings in 5 Group 1 sprints Various 5/6 furlongs (1006/1207 m)
9th Asset 2nd in Jersey Stakes Ascot 7 furlongs (1408 m)
11th Killybegs 2nd in Celebration Mile, 4th in Queen Elizabeth II Stakes Goodwood, Ascot 1 mile (1609 m)
12th Red Clubs 5th in Haydock Sprint Cup and Nunthorpe Stakes, 1st in Group 2 Diadem Stakes Haydock, York, Ascot 5/6 furlongs (1006/1207 m)
13th Frost Giant 1st in Group 3 Curragh 1 mile 2 furlongs (2012 m)

Disappointment followed in his next race, the Irish 2,000 Guineas, where he finished second, beaten 2 lengths by subsequent dual-Group 1 winner Araafa, who had been fourth at Newmarket. George's trademark finishing acceleration was blunted by the heavy ground conditions, and following the race it emerged that he had torn his foreleg muscles, accounting for his loss.

Due to the 2,000 Guineas form holding up, "George's" rating has been lifted, and his performance in the 2,000 Guineas officially remained the 2nd best performance by a 3-year-old in the 2006 season, beaten only by his own win in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot.

'George's' comeback in the Celebration Mile was a somewhat disappointing one, finishing 3rd behind Caradak and Killybegs, but he missed the break badly under new jockey Michael Kinane, starting some 8 lengths behind the eventual winner Caradak, and finishing only 1 length behind him at the finish.

The day before his main seasonal target, the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, heavy rain arrived and 14 mm of rain fell on Ascot racecourse. He was very easy to back (or saddle), and his place as favourite seemed somewhat uneasy. However, half an hour before the race, lots of money came in for him to cement his place as favourite, and was sent off at odds of 13/8. Two pacemakers were deployed by Ballydoyle, and an incident occurred during the race between one of them and Frankie Dettori's mount Librettist. "George" was travelling very easily throughout the race, and jockey Michael Kinane didn't even have to ask him a question, scoring easily by a length and a quarter.


[edit] Breeders' Cup Classic
A tilt at the Breeders' Cup Classic at Churchill Downs had been decided upon about 2 weeks before the world famous event. A dominant miler, a victory in the Breeders' Cup Mile would do very little for his stud fee. Despite being by a predominantly-turf sire Danehill, his dam is Bordighera, who also foaled Grandera, a victor of a Group 2 on dirt in Dubai. Kinane was declared to ride, provoking memories of the infamous dropping of the reins on Giant's Causeway at Churchill Downs in the millennium year.

'George' travelled brilliantly throughout the race, cruising up just behind the leaders before the final turn. He came wide to make his challenge, but was bumped by the eventual winner Invasor and lost momentum. Kinane reported that his stamina simply ran out, but the fact that he travelled so well on dirt was thought to boost his stud fee and also attract support from American breeders.

Despite calls from jockey Mick Kinane and various members of the press for 'George' to stay in training, he was officially retired and was due to stand at Coolmore's Ireland base for a fee of €60,000.


[edit] Fertility problems
On March 10, 2007 it was reported that Coolmore had suspended George Washington's stud career due to fertility problems. The decision was taken to replace him at stud with Holy Roman Emperor, a three-year-old colt who was being prepared to run in the 2,000 Guineas. Like George Washington, Holy Roman Emperor was sired by Danehill, and was also trained by Aidan O'Brien. He had been a leading two-year-old in 2006 and was second favourite for the Guineas before the surprise announcement of his retirement.


[edit] Return to training
On March 25, 2007 it was announced that George Washington had returned to training at Aidan O'Brien's stable. He was initially entered for the Tattersalls Gold Cup in May but his return to the racecourse eventually came in the Queen Anne Stakes at the Royal Ascot meeting at Ascot Racecourse on June 19. He pulled hard going to the start in the early part of the race but eventually settled to finish in a close and fast-finishing fourth place behind Ramonti.

His second race of 2007 came in the Eclipse Stakes at Sandown Park on July 7th. He finished third, one and a half lengths and a head behind Notnowcato and the Epsom Derby winner Authorized. Authorized and George Washington raced with the majority of the field up the far rail and Authorized won that race by a head; Notnowcato raced alone up the stands rail in search of better ground and beat them both.

George Washington was euthanized on the track following an open fracture to the cannon bone and both sesamoid bones in the right front fetlock while running in the Breeders Cup Classic at Monmouth Park on October 27, 2007, over a very muddy or "sloppy" track. According to Dr. C. Wayne McIlwraith, the on-call veterinarian, George Washington had cut off all blood supply to his ankle but was quoted that no studies had been performed regarding a relationship between injuries and sloppy tracks. All other races that day were incident free.

Having been pulled up at the sixteenth pole, George Washington was then euthanized on the track at the request of trainer Aidan O'Brien. It was only his second start on dirt and his only start on a sloppy track.