Hokkaido Horse Racing Story.

Chapter 119: What I Saw at Claiborne Ranch

April 27, the morning before the Kentucky Derby draw.

Kitano was invited to visit Claiborne Ranch with another owner of a horse that had qualified for the Kentucky Derby.

Most of his meager knowledge of American horse racing concerned the Kentucky Derby.

Of the 23 horses buried at Claiborne Ranch, five are former Kentucky Derby winners.

Mejiro Sakuya's mother and father were gold diggers and were also part of the glorious history of Claiborne Ranch.

Without much hesitation, Kitano accepted the invitation.

In addition to tracking down the traces of legendary horses, he also hopes to gain a glimpse into the business practices of horse breeders outside of Japan.

As part of the Kentucky Derby promotion, the race officials will broadcast the two owners' trip to Claiborne Ranch live.

The ranch sent a staff member named David to accompany us on the tour.

On the way to Claiborne, Kitano asked him about the operation of the ranch.

“First, you have to be more patient with the fools in the industry – that’s what the Aga Khan is saying, of course.”

David made a playful joke.

After the atmosphere became lively, David continued, "You have to make sure your horses receive the best care possible, including shelter, food, water, and all the facilities they use. Saving on these will only lead to greater losses."

Kitano could be said to have some understanding of this.

Shrugging his shoulders, David continued, "Many people think Claiborne is an old-fashioned old-fashioned guy, but in fact, we have never relaxed our pace of keeping up with the times."

"More than just a smart enough brain, a ranch that's not too old, and of course a little bit of luck."

He smiled and held up three thick fingers.

“That’s the secret to Cliburn’s success.”

After arriving at the ranch, Kitano immediately recognized another invited horse owner.

Of course, he didn't know the other party before, nor did he know any information about the other party.

However, the bright silver Lamborghini Urus next to the blond man was enough to reveal his identity.

"You are too slow!"

Shaking his watch impatiently, the blond man strode towards Kitano and David.

"Hello, Kitano."

Kitano was still hesitating about how to start when the American horse owner who called himself Jasper gave him a hug in a somewhat bold manner.

"Hello, Mr. Jasper."

Kitano nodded somewhat nervously.

He still wasn't good at dealing with overly enthusiastic people.

After shaking hands, Jasper took Kitano aside and boasted about the business empire he had built in the Bay Area.

"Cough cough!"

David coughed a few times and pointed to the Kentucky Derby staff who were debugging the live broadcast equipment.

"Gentlemen, let's begin the tour!"

Jasper pumped his fist and shouted, "Of course, we can't wait to see the horse kings!"

"Then the live broadcast is about to begin. Three, two, one."

After confirming that the display and radio were normal, David, who was walking at the front of the group, led the way while introducing the history of Claiborne Ranch.

Although David tried his best to make the introduction lively and interesting, his not-so-great eloquence still managed to turn this introduction into a boring textbook sermon.

Fortunately, the road to the cemetery was not too long, and Kitano soon saw the tombstones of those great racehorses.

"The first person we can see is the Reviewer. He is..."

David's hypnotic explanation was still going on, but the two horse owners had already started the self-guided tour mode.

Jasper walked among the tombstones and took many check-in photos.

Kitano stood in front of the gold digger's grave with his hands clasped together in a serious manner.

Of course, let's skip the wishing for Meguro Sakuya to win the Kentucky Derby. After all, her record during the Gold Diggers' horse racing era wasn't great either.

With a casual clap of his hands, he ended what looked like a proper visit.

After the cemetery, David led the two to tour the ranch facilities.

“This is the heart of Claiborne.”

David pointed to a low, unremarkable black house.

"About 150 foals are born here every year, and depending on the season we can have 400 to 550 foals at a time."

Walking around to the other side of the low building, David's voice suddenly became a little empty: "This is our breeding barn, where everything started."

He knocked on the barn wall again and said, "We use a material called 'polytrack' as padding here. Its mixed material can effectively absorb and cushion, avoiding most accidents caused by collisions during the breeding process."

"Although the cost is much higher than ordinary cushioning materials, you know—"

David turned and blinked.

"Saving money on this will only make you lose more money."

After that, he picked up the stud book and introduced, "Normally, there are about ten stallions working each breeding season. However, our workload is not heavy, and the usual breeding volume is only between fifty and seventy times."

Jasper curled his lips in disapproval, while Kitano, who was a veterinarian, nodded.

From a health perspective, this is also a relatively reasonable breeding number.

Exceeding this number will not only easily cause damage to the stallion's reproductive organs, but also cause significant pressure on their endocrine system.

Walking out of the low house, David pointed to a barn-like building not far away.

"That's what we usually call the Penstall Stud."

Kitano noticed that Jasper beside him suddenly became excited.

After entering the stables, Jasper walked towards the first stable without hesitation, reaching out and stroking the layers of nameplates outside the stable.

Kitano looked inside the stable.

In terms of hardware, the semi-open Penstall stud stables are nothing special, and even look much inferior to the stables that Nishiken has just put into use.

However, the schedule of dispatches posted on the wall of the stable aroused Kitano's interest.

In addition to grazing and breeding, there are also arrangements that are not common on Japanese ranches, such as meeting visitors and light exercise.

David proudly pushed open the fence of stable number one and said, "We keep them at a certain weight even after retirement. This has obvious benefits for their health."

Runhappy, who lived in stable number one, was sleeping soundly on the hay bedding. When he heard the noise of the fence opening, he just moved his ears slightly and ignored it.

But when David took out the mints from his pocket, runhappy quickly stood up from the bedding with drooling.

"Like most ranches in the U.S., we also use mints as rewards to motivate them."

As he said that, he threw the mint into runhappy's mouth.

"Usually this works, but there are exceptions."

He pushed runhappy's head that was sticking out from between the bars, indicating that he had no extra mints.

After several failed attempts, runhappy closed the fence with his mouth in annoyance.

"Well, how about we look somewhere else?"

David pulled the latch of the fence with an embarrassed look on his face and walked to the next stable.

"Mr. David, can you tell me how many people are needed to maintain a ranch like this?"

At the end of the visit, Kitano asked this question.

"Of course!"

David smiled and continued, "Sixty full-time employees, two veterinarians, a senior hoof trimmer, and a manager."

“And that’s just Claiborne’s part.”

　Thanks to Mei Luxin for the 100 Yuebi reward, thanks to Si Yi Fei for the 2000 Qidian coins reward, thanks to Ye Ming Shura for the 500 Qidian coins reward

　　Thank you for your support

　　Ciallo～(∠ω<)⌒★
　　
　
(End of this chapter)