Byline: DAN HOWLEY Staff writer
SARATOGA SPRINGS -- If War Emblem took to flying the way he takes to running, the hype-o-meter for today's Travers Stakes would have been on high.
But War Emblem trainer Bob Baffert announced Tuesday that he would pass up the Travers and run his colt in the Pacific Classic at Del Mar on Sunday because he didn't want to fly the horse across the country for the second time in a month.
Based in California, War Emblem won the Haskell at Monmouth Park in New Jersey on Aug. 4.
``Double shipping is a tough thing to do,'' Baffert said. ``If I could beam him up there, I would run in the Travers. (But) it's a long ship.''
Although racing fans don't dwell on it, the transportation of horses is an aspect of the sport that trainers don't take lightly.
Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas has always taken a personal interest in his airborne animals, who travel via cargo planes and independent horse carriers.
``There's a lot of little wrinkles to doing it,'' Lukas said. ``Usually we send a groom on the airplane, but I travel with the better ones all the time. I stand right there with them the whole way.''
Lukas said every horse is different when it comes to air travel.
``Most of them are just like people,'' he said. ``Most of them travel good, and occasionally you'll get one that doesn't.''
Lukas said that shipping a horse from the East Coast to the West Coast is more difficult than vice versa.
``For some reason, it takes them more time to get acclimated,'' he said. ``A lot of things enter into it. I think maybe the altitude, maybe the water -- you really have to pay attention.''
But generally, Lukas said, transporting horses has come a long way and rarely causes serious problems.
``As far as air travel goes, they've got it down pretty much now to where all the horses travel pretty good,'' he said. ``It's one bale of hay for coach, and two is first class.''
Arthur Amaya, a one-time assistant to Hall of Fame trainer Allen Jerkens, has been a certified equine flying specialist near Belmont for 15 years. That means he flies with horses to ensure their safety and comfort.
He also knows about precious cargo, having accompanied War Emblem on his return flight to California after the Haskell.
Amaya said War Emblem traveled on FedEx cargo and that another horse was the traveling companion for the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner.
``The pony keeps him company,'' Amaya said. ``It's just like me and you traveling together as friends. They feel safe together. They are buddies. The pony is there to keep him calm.''
Amaya, who includes Sunday Silence, Pegasus and Lemon Drop Kid among his charges, said he's there to keep them watered, fed and safe.
``Their stall in the plane is like a metal container, and there is not enough room for them to stretch out,'' he said, ``so sometimes one horse might lean against one side of the stall and scramble to his feet. That's when we go in and expand his area to give him a little more room.''
Amaya said the horses are checked every 15 minutes to make sure they haven't gotten a leg caught and are standing quiet.
Like A Hero, an entrant in the Travers, was flown from California for the Haskell, where he finished third behind War Emblem and Magic Weisner, and was vanned to Saratoga a few days later.
His 31-year-old trainer, Beau Greely, said he hasn't had any problems transporting horses on airplanes.
``I've been lucky,'' he said. ``It's pretty much like you sitting in an airplane seat. Not that big of a deal. I probably get more nervous flying than they do. They get on (the plane); they are in a stall. It takes a little out of them to do it, but they don't get nervous.''
Greely said horses sometimes get a little dehydrated and are given vitamins after flights.
Dr. Ted Hill, a longtime chief veterinarian at Saratoga before becoming a jockey club steward a few years ago, said transporting horses by van is largely safe.
``They have professional drivers who don't stop fast, and they don't turn fast,'' Hill said. ``Most horses are very good shippers, except the occasional one that frets and gets very nervous. The horses are confined. They have enough room to be comfortable, but not room to fall down. They can get jostled, but if they hurt themselves it's normally very minor.''
Experts agree that dehydration and heat are larger concerns when horses are transported by van rather than via airplane.
Greely said that a groom travels in the van with the horses and that vans are familiar to racehorses early in their careers.
``Like when they are yearlings, they practice getting into the vans before you take them to horse sales,'' Greely said. ``That's when they learn. It's kind of like teaching a horse to go into the starting gate. It's all part of their training. The groom sits with him, and probably drinks a lot of water himself.''
Lukas said he has a four-hour limit on van transportation.
``And if the forecast calls for the kind of heat we've been having up here, we travel at night,'' he said.
Joe Koscuik, 74, is an agent for Tex Sutton Vans, a horse-flying company based in New York with a 727 airliner designed for the domestic flight of horses. Koscuik also operated a horse van company for more than 40 years.
``It's a 727 and it carries 18 horses,'' he said. ``There are slow times, but we are real busy around Triple Crown time, and when horses are being moved to Florida.''
Koscuik explained that vans carrying the horses are backed up to a special ramp, and the horses are walked up the ramp to their stalls in the aircraft. He said the horses stand three abreast, much like passengers are seated when they fly, and there are six rows of stalls to accommodate 18 horses.
``We have a crew of six people aboard as horse handlers,'' Koscuik said, adding that the cost to fly a horse cross-country is about $3,700. ``They keep fresh feed for them and lots of water to drink. Usually, they're all right.''
Koscuik said Lukas has always had a reputation for taking care of his horses.
``We used to call him D. Wayne on the Plane,'' Koscuik said. ``Lots of times he'll fly. He takes good care of his stock.''
