Gordon Elliott

The Tetrarch

Muahahaha wrote: »

Just as an aside- is there a reason behind using actual covering by a stallion rather than artificial insemination. Like is the mare always in heat or only at certain times of the year? Would breeders do some tests to check the mare is ovulating at the correct time before covering?

Naturally the mare's breeding season is probably from April to September, but a few hundred years ago it was decided 1st January was the birthday of Thoroughbreds (1st August in southern hemisphere).
This allows fair racing e.g. 2yo v 2yo, 3yo v 3yo, and 3yo+, 4yo+.
It is an advantage to have a foal born as close as possible to 1st January as it will have a maturity advantage against, say, a foal born on 20th May.
The gestation period of thoroughbreds is 11 months.
The breeding season starts on 15th February, so in theory, the earliest foals will be born on the following 15th January.
Increased lighting will bring forward the mare (simulate spring/summer), and I think they can be injected to start ovulating (I'm no expert).

Why no artificial insemination?
There are advocates of it: mares does not have to travel; less risk of infection; and probably loads of other reasons.
I am against it, not because I want to be standing around gawking at a stallion and mare mating as another poster fantasised, but because it would allow unlimited covering by a stallion.
The advocates say you can put limits in place to stop that.
For a long time the limit was 40 mares a year for a stallion. Now some cover 250+ mares.
Many stallions "shuttle" to Australia, New Zealand, South America to continue the good work in the southern hemisphere breeding season. This started in the 1970/80s and is now standard.

The stallion farms compete against each other for business.
They will push to increase the business for their stallion, and in time break the limits, and reduce the variety in the breed.
Believe me, we do not need less variety in the breed.
In my data Northern Dancer (1961) produced 519 offspring ("children"); 19,159 grand-children; 95,190 great-grandchildren.
How can Northern Dancer have so many descendants? 198 of his sons went to stud as sires (in my data).

In 2021 the Jockey Club in the USA limited stallions to 140 mares a season.
Now a group of USA stallion farms have banded together to try to have that overturned in court.

marty whelan

12 months suspension, 6 suspended

CH3OH

12 month ban 6 suspended and 15000 costs
Harsh

Beechwoodspark

Light enough sanction?

Wonder will the rumoured other photos be leaked now

Drip fed over the coming months?

Beechwoodspark

CH3OH wrote: »

12 month ban 6 suspended and 15000 costs
Harsh

Anything but ...

That's a pretty light ban I would think.

JimmyCorkhill

Can an assistant train the existing horses under the assistants name and enter them in races under his name?

The Mig

Think it’s fair myself

Shemale

As expected, onwards and upwards.

Andrew00

Sean Worried Memory wrote: »

That's a pretty light ban I would think.

Light? Would ya stop. More than enough

Shemale

He should have got a kick in the bollox too

Bobeagleburger

6 months. He'll be happy enough with that. Probably fair enough.

Coneygree

Don Cossack bar will be hopping tonight, onwards and upwards.

Beechwoodspark

Coneygree wrote: »

Don Cossack bar will be hopping tonight, onwards and upwards.

Those pics still to leak to public....

I says

Fair punishment now let’s move on. I only hope to Jesus that’s the end of this sordid saga.

fryup

CH3OH wrote: »

12 month ban 6 suspended and 15000 costs Harsh

drop in the ocean for him..he's a millionaire isn't he?

famagusta

fryup wrote:

drop in the ocean for him..he's a millionaire isn't he?

Anything but

The Tetrarch

fryup wrote: »

drop in the ocean for him..he's a millionaire isn't he?

Everyone is a millionaire in racing, according to a few posters.

I says

The Tetrarch wrote: »

Everyone is a millionaire in racing, according to a few posters.

How do you become a millionaire owner?
Start with a billion.

The Tetrarch

As I suggested in post 532, the IHRB would use Rule 272.
I expect a thank you from them for helping them out.

krustydoyle

Common sense has prevailed.. Move on now

CH3OH

Crazy that RTE consider that this deserves the first item on the Six one news.

The White Wolf

6 months is long enough to leave his Stable in dire straits so the punishment is enough.

fryup

I says wrote: »

Fair punishment now let’s move on. I only hope to Jesus that’s the end of this sordid saga.

well that's up to a certain scorned lady

I says

krustydoyle wrote: »

Common sense has prevailed.. Move on now

Correct Davy stockbrokers next nothing like a bit of insider trading allegedly, and no mass hysteria what a wonderful balanced, fair and just society we live in.

Coneygree

The White Wolf wrote: »

6 months is long enough to leave his Stable in dire straits so the punishment is enough.

Not at all, he lives on the yard for God's sake, he'll be there every day.

Odelay

Coneygree wrote: »

Not at all, he lives on the yard for God's sake, he'll be there every day.

What do you want them to do? Close his yard??

Dav010

I’m not into horses nor horse racing, but I’m bemused by this whole event.

It is my understanding that the horse died of natural causes, and that there is no suggestion of ill treatment whilst alive. In fact, I read that GE’s facility is excellent and the animals well cared for, So this guy is being publicly flogged, punished, his reputation irrevocably tarnished, his staff’s livelihood put in jeopardy, because of a picture of him sitting on a dead horse? How can that be?

What about the pictures on the panorama special on that Dubai guy’s daughter, or the Saudi Arabian Prince who the CIA said ordered the butchering of an innocent journalist? I see he recently sponsored the richest horse race on the planet, it’s not ok to sit on a dead horse, but the raving authorities have to problem with crimes against humans?

Beechwoodspark

Good statement from Gordon

The only drawback is he doesn’t address the other rumoured awful photos/videos

That could come back hard on him

Coneygree

Odelay wrote: »

What do you want them to do? Close his yard??

Oh no I'm delighted, the damage to his yard will be kept to the bare minimum.