Ten Days to the Kentucky Derby

If there are no sudden doubts causing a scratch, or illnesses, or injuries, it looks like the field is set for the running of the Kentucky Derby on 4 May.  The field is limited to the top 20 point qualifiers, and the listing below will be by quantity of points only.  So far, jockeys for 18 of the entries have been named.
   Of the top twenty, 19 are colts (Plus Que Parfait is a ridgling) and one gelding, Tax.  Eighteen were bred in Kentucky, with Win Win Win a Florida-bred, and Master Fencer bred in Japan. Considering coat colors, there are 3 greys or roans, 8 chestnuts and 9 bays, dark bays, or browns. The 20 entries represent 18 different stallions, with 2 sons each sired by Candy Ride (ARG) and War Front.  Besides the two sons of Candy Ride, who was bred in Argentina, there are two stallions from Japan represented, as well as one stallion from Great Britain.  All of the dams, but one, are North American bred; War of Will's dam was bred in Ireland.
  Following is the list of the top 20 entries for the Kentucky Derby: the entry's name, sire's name, dam's name, and dam's sire name.  All horses will race on the dirt track, 10 furlongs (or 1 1/4 miles), carrying 126 pounds, the purse is guaranteed at $3 million.  The post position draw for the 145th Kentucky Derby will take place at 11 a.m. (EDT) on Tuesday, 30 April.
   1.   Tacitus   Tapit,  out of Close Hatches, by First Defense
   2.   Omaha Beach    War Front,  out of Charming, by Seeking the Gold
   3.   Vekoma   Candy Ride (ARG),  out of Mona de Momma, by Speightstown
   4.   Plus Que Parfait   Point of Entry,  out of Belvedera, by Awesome Again
   5.   Roadster   Quality Road,  out of Ghost Dancing, by Silver Ghost
   6.   By My Standards   Goldencents, out of A Jealous Woman, by Muqtarib
   7.   Maximum Security   New Year's Day,  out of Lil Indy, by Anasheed
   8.   Game Winner   Candy Ride (ARG),   out of Indyan Giving, by A P Indy
   9.   Code of Honor   Noble Mission (GB),  out of Reunited, by Dixie Union
  10.  Haikal   Daaher,  out of Sablah, by Distorted Humor
  11.  Improbable   City Zip,  out of Rare Event, by A P Indy
  12.  War of Will   War Front,  out of Visions of Clarity (IRE), by Sadler's Wells
  13.  Long Range Toddy   Take Charge Indy,  out of Pleasant Song, by Unbridled's Song
  14.  Tax   Arch,  out of Toll, by Giant's Causeway
  15.  Cutting Humor   First Samurai,  out of Pun, by Pulpit
  16.  Win Win Win   Hat Trick (JPN),  out of Miss Smarty Pants, by Smarty Jones
  17.  Country House   Lookin At Lucky,  out of Quake Lake, by War Chant
  18.  Gray Magician   Graydar,  out of Burg Berg, by Johannesburg
  19.  Spinoff   Hardspun,  out of Zaftig, by Gone West
  20.  Master Fencer (JPN)   Just a Way (JPN),  out of Sexy Zamurai, by Deputy Minister

Photos of five entries, posted in alphabetical order:

Cutting Humor

Improbable

Master Fencer (JPN)

Omaha Beach

Tacitus

Sand Wash Basin Mustangs

Since Mom was a Chincoteaguer and horse crazy, I grew up in love with all wild horses.  Mom was a big reader, and had a huge personal library of Zane Grey westerns, which I avidly read.  Of course, we also had all of Marguerite Henry's books, including Brighty of the Grand Canyon and Mustang, Wild Spirit of the West.  Besides my relatives on Chincoteague, I really loved Annie Johnston - "Wild Horse Annie" - and her fight to protect the wild horses of the western United States.
   I now live in Colorado, and there is a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) area about a 4 and 1/2 hour drive from my current home. The area is located in Moffat County, and is known as the Sand Wash Basin. Sand Wash Basin is the home of one of the few remaining herds of free-roaming wild mustangs in the United States.  It's location is 45 miles west of Craig, past Maybell, and can be entered on County Road 75.
    The Sand Wash Herd Management Area (HMA) is managed by the BLM and includes 154,940 acres of public land; 1,960 acres of private land; and 840 acres of state school section lands; for a total of 157,730 acres. Sand Wash Basin is surrounded by ridges and mesas; the boundary is fenced, except along State Highway 318.  There are no fences within the Herd Management Area. Vegetation includes sagebrush, bunchgrass, saltbush, and pinyon-juniper woodlands.
    Genetic analysis indicates the highest matches to Iberian-derived Spanish breeds, followed by Gaited breeds, then North American breeds, and, finally, Arabian breeds. Coats colors are greatly varied, and the pintos can be dramatic in color  and white placements. Grey and sorrel abound, but one can also see buckskins, duns, bays, and palominos, along with a few roans.
     The original population of mustangs within Sand Wash Basin was 65 head in 1971.  The managed population range is recommended to be between 163 to 363 equines.  The herds had a high population of 455 in 1998.  The BLM has gathered and removed mustangs from Sand Wash Basin in 1989, 1995, 2001, 2005, and, most recently, 2014. They generally try to entice younger horses (aged 1 to 3) to enter corrals baited with sweet feed. The group size is generally kept around 300 head.  There are many herds throughout the Basin - some with as many as 60 members, and a few young stallions with a single mare.
    Camping is allowed in Sand Wash Basin, and there are no fees, but it is primitive, and visitors are limited to a 14 day stay.  Be aware that the area is about 1 hour away from a hospital, and that there is at least a 30 minute travel time to reach basic supplies and fuel for your vehicle.  -  Off road vehicles are currently allowed; BLM is in the process of evaluating the usage of ATVs, etc.
    One basic rule applies:  Do NOT harass the horses.

Colors of Horses Do, Sometimes, Change

Long ago, I had a bay roan mare.  She had produced seven foals before she became mine.  No matter what color stallion she was bred to, she had always dropped a foal that shed out it's baby coat to be a black horse.  I wanted a black baby from this Quarter horse mare.  She was taken to five different stallions, ans stayed for three months each time, but she never got pregnant.  The vet finally shook his head and told me she was barren, and was too old to have another foal.  When our black thoroughbred stallion "came of age" the vet wanted a mare who had been bred before, and who wouldn't fight, for the young stud to practice on and to learn his breeding manners.  My old mare was chosen.  And she became pregnant, to everyone's great surprise.  Since she had produced black offspring in the past, and since this stallion was black, I planned for a black baby.  Stupid me.  She threw a blood bay with a dorsal stripe....  but I loved him dearly.
   The coat color of horses can change over the years, and can vary greatly between seasons.  During the winter, my bay roan mare's body turned almost white, with her black mane and tail and legs, but with a red face and white jaws.  In the summer, she was a copper and white mixed body with a black mane, tail and legs, and a copper face.  
   Our stallion was born a gun metal grey, but when his baby coat departed, he was gleaming black.  The chestnut filly that I purchased as a buy-back from the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company is slowly becoming a sorrel, with a much lighter mane and tail than her body color.  
   One of the most spectacular changes can be seen in the following photos of Mystic Warrior.  His sire is a black Friesian; his dam, seen in one of the photos is a leopard Appaloosa.  Look how his coat changed as he's aged...