Cross Breeds

How can i find pictures of my retired racehorse?

I have a retired race horse that i now ride in jumping and dressage. I'm looking for pictures and maybe articles about him online but i have found nothing. I have found some stuff about his sire though. His name is Lion at the Gate and you can look up his pedigree on http://www.pedigreequery.com/. All i know is that he was raced in seven races, one of which he placed first and another he placed 3rd. So i would really like to find some pictures. Any suggestions? Thanks:D

Public Comments

1. Your horse broke his maiden (won his first race) on 01/22/06 in the 6th race at Aqueduct Racecourse, so you should be able to get a winner's circle photo. You'll need to contact the New York Racing Association (NYRA) photographer with your request. This is the eMail for the NYRA photographer: acoglianese@nyrainc.com. It would be helpful if you would put "request for winner's circle photo 6th race 01/22/06 Aqueduct" in the subject line of your eMail. Expect to have to pay for the picture, you won't get it for free. On your horse's Equibase page, http://www.equibase.com/premium/eqbHorseInfo.cfm?refno=6878532&registry=T , there are videos available for 4 of his races, including his winning race. You can buy downloads of these videos from Equibase, but you'll need a credit card to do so. Your horse was trained by Donna Bireta, who is currently training at Finger Lakes in upstate New York. This is the contact page on the website for Finger Lakes: http://www.fingerlakesracetrack.com/AboutUs_92.aspx The Racing Office phone number for Finger Lakes is: Racing Office 585-924-1546 . If you call that number and tell them you'd like the phone number for Donna Bireta, they should either give you her phone number or transfer you directly to her stable phone, if she has a stable phone at the track (most trainers do, or at least they used to; nowadays many trainers probably use their cell phones instead of a land-line phone). Call her up and either leave her a message, or if she picks up, tell her directly, that you now own a horse she used to train, Lion at the Gate, and tell her you'd really, really like to get pictures of him during his racing career, and that you'll be happy to send her a self-addressed, stamped envelope or whatever she needs, or pay for prints or whatever. Most Thoroughbred trainers are happy to know that horses they've trained have found a good home after racing, so she will very likely try to oblige you with pictures or anything she has. If the person who groomed your horse still works for her, you might be able to get some pictures or a note about him from the groom. Please, please, please remember to send a thank-you note to anyone who sends you pictures! That makes it more likely that they'll oblige someone else who makes the same request. Your horse is very unusual in that he was not bred by a private person. He was bred by the State University of New York (SUNY) Cobleskill Equine Studies program! This is their webpage for the breeding activity: http://www.cobleskill.edu/academics/agnrschool/agbus/equine/breeding.asp The contact for the department is Dr. Lynn Dunn (518)255-5670. If you call and tell her, or whoever answers the phone, that you now own a horse that was bred by SUNY Cobleskill and you want to get pictures of him and find out as much as you can about what he was like as a foal and young horse, I'd be astounded if they couldn't oblige you with a lot of material relating to him. Again, be prepared to pay for copies of any records, or pictures, or anything else you get relating to him. I hope this helps. You'll have to spend some time on the telephone, and please remember that you're asking people who may be very busy to spend time talking to you, so be patient and be polite. Good luck on getting information and photos of your horse!
2. Do more research... find out who his owners were while he was racing and find his breeders and the farm where he was bred. Contact those people, let them know that you have this horse and would like some pictures of him in his younger racing years. Maybe you could even send them some pictures or video of what he's doing now! Unfortunately, you're not going to find any pictures of him online unless he was pretty famous. You can go to equineline and when you look up his pedigree it should also show his breeders on there. That's where I'd start.