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OFF TRACK AUGUST 14, 2008 by Jordan Strickler I was reading a column the other day about some of the foreign horses who came over for Arlington Million Day and got to thinking, who gets them over here? It's something that I, and probably most other racing fans, never think about. That led me also to wonder, what else don't I know about my beloved sport? What else makes the wheels turn that we never hear about? I've had various farm jobs in my life, but that is about my extent of "backside" work per se. That is the reason I decided to write this column. Everyone hears about the president of the track, a major breeder, and the head of breed organizations, but no one ever hears about the people who allow the executives to have their jobs. I want to find out who is out there making this sport run, and this gives me the perfect excuse to get out of the office, have a little fun, and maybe inform you and me more about the great sport of Thoroughbred racing. I also figure that since the idea for this came when thinking about the process of shipping horses internationally, that this maiden article might as well be about someone who performs the job. You can decide for yourself whether the following question is a joke: Is it possible to FedEx a horse? Answer: Yes. I got it wrong when I first asked too. The man I was asking was Andrea Branchini and the people at Horse America, an international shipping company located in Lexington, Kentucky. Branchini, a native of Bologna, Italy, said he drifted into the business via his family and grew up watching Ribot and Bold Ruler. But what keeps him in the business is the variety, he says. And what variety there is. There are two main aspects of the shipping business -- importing and exporting. Importation can be completed easily within a week, and the process goes something like this: Owner John decides he want to bring a horse into the United States to race from Europe. He then calls one of Horse America's sister companies in Europe -- S.T.C. Horse France or Horse France Ireland. That company then notifies Horse America, who will start on the paperwork and get the blood samples together from Europe. While the European agents arrange for vanning to the airport, get the flight together, and hire flying grooms -- the grooms that will accompany the horses on their overseas trip -- Horse America coordinates with customs brokers, horse identifiers, USDA veterinarians and staff, along with the horse's regular veterinarian in order to import the horse. After the horse is flown into the country, he will likely remain in a quarantine barn at the respective track until race day. For the big days, like Breeders' Cup or Arlington Million (G1), the people from Horse America will actually go to the track and remain with the horse as a liaison, doing everything from booking the car rentals and motels for the grooms to carrying any equipment the runner might need into the paddock area. All told, the whole importation process on the U.S. end can usually be covered within a week. The European side can take longer due to bloodwork and testing. Exports take a little bit longer. Before Owner John can send a runner (or sport horse) to a foreign country, they will remain in quarantine for 30 days at a local horse farm such as Darby Dan or Hopewell. In the meantime, paperwork and blood work exchanges hands, and a similar situation with scheduling for the imports occurs. At the end of the 30 days, the horse is allowed to leave the country. Flights from Europe generally take anywhere from eight-to-nine hours if there are no delays. The planes that take them overseas can hold up to around 50 or so horses in a plane empty of cargo, or three to a stall on airlines that take horses as well as cargo, such as Air France, British Airways, KLM and FedEx. I'll bet you never knew that that sweater you were sending Aunt Sally in England was on the same flight with a racehorse, did you? Branchini, who speaks three different languages as part of the job, said that some his equine clientele include the likes of five-time champion older mare and 1984 champion two-year-old filly Triptych, multiple champion High Chaparral (Ire), 2001 American and European champion two-year-old colt Johannesburg and multiple Grade 1 winner Powerscourt (GB). I certainly see why he does what he does. The people at Horse America taught me a lot about the international shipping business and I want to thank them for all of their help in my incessant questioning about what they do. Ideas best come to me on sunny mornings when I have a cup of coffee in my hand. Unfortunately, mornings aren't always sunny, and I'm not always drinking coffee. That is where you come in. Send in the name of someone you know who has an interesting job within the Thoroughbred business who might have good story to tell, or maybe just an idea of a profession within the business you are curious in learning more about to Jordan.Strickler@brisnet.com.
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