AIKEN - Cold weather and frozen tracks may have put thoroughbreds a little behind in preparation this year, but local trainers say Aiken still remains the best place to bring horses in the winter.
This season's temperatures have been especially harsh for local trainers. It's been the toughest winter since 1987, when the training track was frozen for 12 days straight, according to Brad Stauffer, a trainer and assistant with Stevens' Race Stable.
``Every year we do end up having a couple days (of very cold weather), but this year was probably three times the amount of days we have had to struggle to get training done due to the frozen conditions,'' he said.
It isn't the cold weather that bothers trainers, it's the frozen racetrack that results from low temperatures and rain.
While the Aiken Training Track is dragged every day, no one can stop it from freezing, Mr. Stauffer said. And racing horses on a frozen track is a dangerous situation.
``You can't train them on a hard surface and gallop on a hard surface,'' he said. ``You would bruise their feet, and you can cause damage to their bones. You just can't take that chance.''
The end result is a delay in training some days. But retired trainer Mack Miller said the freezing temperatures can be turned into a positive thing.
``You have to wait sometimes. That makes you a more patient trainer,'' said Mr. Miller, who retired in 1995. ``Sometimes you have to wait until 11 a.m. Sometimes, you don't go out at all; they jog around the barns because they need exercise.''
Although the track was frozen for a few days in December and January, trainers were able to work around it, Mr. Stauffer said. The timing helped.
``It would hurt us more now if we had 12 days solid,'' he said. ``We haven't had any since the first of the year, so it really wasn't that critical.''
Are the thoroughbreds ready for the Triple Crown?
``I would say that they are going to be a pinch behind,'' Mr. Stauffer said in an interview in mid-February. ``That is the consensus I am getting from talking to people here. ... There will be trials. The amount of entries may be smaller than normal. You just don't know.''
Still, Mr. Miller and other horse experts call Aiken a perfect place to raise horses, topping locations farther south.
``It's the greatest place I've seen for racehorses in the wintertime,'' Mr. Miller said. ``A lot of sick horses come out of Florida. It's not a very good climate. It's humid and hot. But horses appreciate the distinct change we have.''
Lellie Ward, an international-level rider and trainer, said the weather here allows horse owners to train and compete more.
``The other thing that is absolutely perfect for our sport down here is the sandy soil, which is good for the horses,'' said Ms. Ward, who owns Paradise Farms east of Aiken. ``It is harder up north to compete at certain times of the year because the clay freezes or it turns to mud, or its either too hard or too soft, which is not conducive for good galloping for the horses.''
Overcast, 57 ° Humidity: 93%
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