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____ i I The R. H. McDaniel Story . Resumed Training Horses in 1941 Rise to Fame Was Slow But Steady I | By Oscar Otis This is the third of a series of articles on the late R. H. "Red" McDaniel, Americas leading trainer from 1950 through 1954. In it Oscar Otis, McDaniels friend and confidant, gives the trainers background, his conditioning secrets and his philosophy of horse racing. CHAPTER in. His career as a rider definitely over, Robert Hyatt McDaniel once again returned to training horses in seriousness in 1941, to pin-point the year. His rise to national fame came gradually and slowly, but nevertheless steadily. It began to gain real momentum eight years ago, and he reached the top, national leadership in 1950, a leadership he did not relinquish until his untimely death this spring. As we started our conversations last winter, McDaniel confided: "Theres a lot of mystery associated with the training of thoroughbreds and Im sorry if I disillusion anyone by saying that if one has a fair understanding of a horse, as an animal personality, is willing to learn from experience as he goes along and follows a few basic principles, perhaps changed only slightly to fit an individual horse, most anyone can be a success training xace horses. • "Im going to reveal all my methods and when Im through, youll see that it might be a lot easier than it looks. To train a public stable, youve got to have patrons, and I make my charges attractive by training for a fee as near actual cost as possible. I charge 0 per day per horse, with the owner paying all veterinary, shoeing and transportation costs, plus jockey fees and such small items as providing his own set of stable silks. Theoretical Profit of 50 Cents a Day "At this 0 per day figure, I estimate a theoretical profit of about 50 cents a day, but it usually doesnt quite work but that way. For instance, I have one groom caring for three horses.. If I lose a horse through claiming or illness, or injury, a groom may be caring for only two, or only even one, until I can get a .replacement. And this brings the* average costs up again. "But by training at approximately cost, I am staking my ability as a trainer to get winners, to earn a living. In other words, I have to make a success of the profession or I wont keep working. "If one follows a principle which I will now outline, one can be successful with at least 90 per cent of the horses which come under your care. And that is to have a horse ready and fit before you start him, even once. And .the horse himself will tell you all the answers you need to know, whether he is actually fit, and whether or not he is healthy, or ill. "I -watch the feed closely and how a horse eats. If he cleans up his oats the chances are he is quite okay. But the instant he goes off his feed, then is the time -to start finding out what is wrong, and to correct it. And I also keep a blood count of all my horses, and whenever the count drops below normal about 9,000,000 red corpuscles per cc , I take prompt corrective measures. . "The routine of a horse coming from the ranch after a rest is always about the same, varying only occasionally, depending upon the length of his stay at the "farm. But I insist on at least four months to get a horse ready. For the first three weeks the horse is on the track every morning for a slow gallop of about a mile. This galloping slowly tones up and hardens his muscles. "For the next five weeks he is galloped every morning about two "miles a day and, toward the end of that five weeks period, the tempo of the gallops are sharpened. Hes then ready for light breezing and, if he has built up a sound foundation from his gallops, the— breezers keep improving him. Then follow some fast breezes, a few real works, and hes ready for the races. If at any time during this routine, the horse goes off his feed, you know youve been rushing him. First Race Most Important "The next most important step is that first race. Get the horse into a field which isnt too tough, try to win it, and if he does, the race wont hurt him. But overmatch him first out and hell try his heart out and just knock himself out. Then hes not much use toyou — if you want to win races. Knock him out arid youll have him right back where he started, on the farm. "Once the horse is fit and racing, hell do most anything willingly. After that, all you have to do is race-him, often with little work in between races, or, if a horse who needs his races well spaced, with a reasonable amount of morning breezes, just enough to keep him fit. "There are only two more steps, the jockey and the condition book. Ive never i .. **» * . it y k " t. ] i » . Patrons Charged 0 Day a Horse Feed Should Be Watched Closely had a contract rider, but always preferred to shop around for the best rider available. I figure the difference between an ordinary rider and ones in the top group is six or seven lengths in a race, between the in-between riders and the best, two or three lengths. All jockeys who ride for my patrons get 10 per cent of all winning moneys, regardless of any scale of fees. To Be Continued.
