Hot Names Wilt as Fairplex Opens

The most pressing question being asked on opening day at Fairplex Park in Pomona on Thursday was this: What effect does heat have on horses?

Do they run slower when the temperature soars or faster to get back to the shade of the barn?

An exhausting scientific survey--a couple of minutes with a couple of trainers and a couple of jockeys over a couple of cold ones--proved inconclusive.

Racehorses, it appears, are no different than people. Some like it hot. Some don’t.

“When it’s so hot and the horses are hot too, I feel like I’m going to die,” said Victor Espinoza, whose 23 victories made him the leading jockey at the 1996 Fairplex meet.

The opening of the 59th Los Angeles County Fair meeting was not especially uncomfortable, but it was warm enough for some in the wagering crowd to check for horses with hot names.

The first race, for instance, a $5,000 Appaloosa trial, featured a 4-year-old filly from the Wagon Wheel Ranch named Hottest. Unfortunately, she wasn’t and wound up third.

The final event on the 13-race card was a six-furlong affair that saw a 3-year-old gelding named Blazorama go to the post. The California-bred gelding held the lead but faded faster than the setting sun and finished fourth.

In between, Fairplex Park, which last year enjoyed a record handle of more than $103 million and average attendance of 15,132, staged two $50,000 features--the Foothill Stakes and the Buttons and Bows Stakes.

Given the general coloring of many sun-baked fair-goers, the former featured two betting possibilities: Crimson Look, with Fernando Valenzuela aboard, and the second-favorite, Golden Bronze, ridden by Matt Garcia.

So much for the tanning theory.

Golden Bronze could manage no better than fourth as favored The Texas Tunnel, conditioned by Bob Baffert and ridden by Kent Desormeaux--the top trainer and jockey in the just-concluded Del Mar meet--ran off to a two-length victory, covering the 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:16 2/5. Emailit, under David Flores, was second and Spaghetti Dancer, with Danny Sorenson aboard, finished third, another 1 1/2 lengths back.

Crimson Look, meanwhile, lived up to its name, finishing an embarrassing eighth in the field of 10 3-year-olds.

So, how does a trainer keep a horse cool enough to win?

“When it gets really hot, you hose them off a couple of times and maybe walk them and put a fan on them,” said assistant trainer Eoin Harty, who saddled The Texas Tunnel because Baffert is in Kentucky. “This horse had a fan on all day.”

Water can also come into play. Too much can’t be good, sloshing and gurgling around in there as they turn for home. Too little is equally bad. A dehydrated horse is a non-starter.

“Not too much, not too little,” Espinoza said. “It depends.”

It’s an inexact science, this horse racing business.

The 6 1/2-furlong Buttons and Bows for 2-year-old fillies was a one-horse affair, Scott Stevens bringing Code Love home in 1:18, three lengths in front of Espinoza on To Little J D, with Mamaison Miss third under Martin Pedroza.

Horse Racing Notes

Thursday was the first day of an 18-day meeting. Among the more significant races during the meeting are the $110,000 Barretts Juvenile for 2-year-old colts and geldings on Sept. 20, the $110,000 Barretts Debutante for 2-year-old fillies on Sept. 21, the $100,000 Las Madrinas on Sept. 26, the $100,000 Pomona Derby on Sept. 27 and the $100,000 Pomona Invitational Handicap on Sept. 28.