Bob Bull

I finally received pictures of Bob Bull! Tom and his wife Lisa were so kind to purchase a disposable camera and fill it with pictures of Bob. I can't believe that the pictures aren't that bad! I am so used to looking at digital pictures that I thought the film would be horrible, but they aren't bad at all. Anyways we get to enjoy seeing Bob get ready for April. I can't thank Tom and Lisa enough!

This is Bob all decked out to run out on the track. Toms wife Lisa is the one riding him. She works out the horses every morning and is a huge part of McSchell Racing. Lisa was a jockey herself a few years back (I will fill you in more on her later) but now runs their horses.

He is currently running 2 miles to get him warmed up for his 5-5 1/2 furlongs (almost a half mile) 1st run in April

Here is Tom giving Bob a bath. Looks like Bob could care less about it. I can't tell if he is really enjoying it or hating it..LOL. I would think after a nice long run in Miami, I would enjoy a wash down.

Here is Bob out on the track with Lisa in their morning run. I know the picture isn't that close but it is still a nice picture of what you see around the track area and it gives you an idea of how wide the track is. If you look a little further above the white barrier you will see green...this is the infield where turf races are run.

Here is Bob looking all handsome in his "racing uniform". If you are wondering what is around his eyes, well those are blinkers. Blinkers stop the horse from seeing the sides to the back of him. A horses eyes are set more on the side of their heads so they can see all around them. If I am right, horses can see all around them except for the tip of their nose and tails.

Tom says he needs to wear these blinkers otherwise he is not very cooperative out of his stall. As Tom put it "if you take him out of his stall without them on, your in for a wild ride!"

He is all saddled and ready to go! Look at him waiting patiently, I think. That look may be also..."Let me out of here!"

We are getting so excited to see him run in his first race! Tom says he is doing really well and has good feelings about Bob. So do we!

I really hope all of you will share in our excitement on the day that Bob Bull races. I will have to check to see if you can streamline the race on the web or you will be able to get the race on HRTV if your TV carrier provides that channel. I will have more details when the race gets closer.

Types of Races/Bob Bull Update

I have recently posted some horse racing terms that you may see in upcoming posts on Bob Bull. Now I would like to shine some light on some different types of races that are run by these magnificent animals.

• Allowance Race: A race which has eligibility conditions to determine the horses that may enter and is not a claimer.


• Claiming Race: A race in which any horse may be purchased at a predetermined price.


• Handicap Race: A race in which weights have been assigned by the racing secretary after evaluating entrant's past races.


• Maiden Race: A race for horses which have never won a race.


• Stakes Race: Highest class of race, reserved for the best horses. Owners have to pay an entry fee or "stake" for these races.


• Derby: Stakes race for three year olds.

In horse racing they will run on one of two surfaces, dirt or turf. If it happens to rain the day of a race you will hear terms like sloppy or soft or yielding and you may see a lot of horses scratched from the race. Some horses can't run in the mud or wet surfaces, they are too slow and of coarse safety becomes an issue. If it is a beautiful dry day you will hear terms like Fast (dirt) or Firm (turf).

Bob Bull update:

Bob has adjusted just fine into his new (old) home and has starting training to run in April. He has put on weight and is around 1000 lbs. Tom says he seems to be very happy he is home and is still pretty "goofy". I will explain more of this in the next few days. I am currently working on Bob Bulls and Toms wonderful story of how Bob ended up back running with Tom.

I will be posting this story in the next few days. Please stay tuned. It is a wonderful story! Unfortunately it will be minus pictures but we are working on that right now. It's a little hard when we are 1500 miles away from each other :) but the pictures are coming!

Horse Racing Terms

I wanted to give some horse racing terms that you may see in upcoming posts about Bob Bull. I am no expert and believe me it took me awhile to learn the terms but I wanted for all of you who don't know or know a little about racing to have some understanding of some of the basic terms you may hear.

As I stated before Bob Bull will be training soon to get ready for April. He had made his 6 hour trip from Ocala FL to Miami and has settled in just fine. I am hoping to have the full story of Bob Bull and how Tom rescued him shortly.

Here are some terms and definitions to get you started.

• Favorite: Horse having the most money wagered on it to win
• Furlong: A distance equal to 1/8th of a mile.
• Length: About 8ft, the length of a horse from nose to tail. At racing speeds a horse travels about 5 lenghts a second.
• Longshot: Entry not well regarded by bettors, resulting in the possibility of longer odds and higher payoffs.
• Pole: Distance marks placed around the track, usually every 1/16th of a mile.
• Post Time: The designated time for the race to begin.
• Scratch: When a horse is withdrawn from a race.
• Starting Gate: A mechanical device which allows each horse to begin a race at the same time.
• Stretch: The straight portions of the track. The first straight way is called the Back Stretch and the Home Stretch contains the finish line.
• Blinkers: A common piece of racing equipment that contains eye cups which limit a horses vision and prevent it from shying from objects or other horses.

Soon, I will also be posting about different kinds of races and about odds and how they work. I am gathering all my information about Bob Bull and Tom to share and will have that up soon too!

I know this was probably a boring post to read but I wanted to make sure everyone has an idea of what I am talking about when I post about Bob Bull and his Spectacular wins!!!! :)

The pictures that I have in this post were taken when we went to Saratoga Springs to watch a few races. My Uncle and Aunt were so nice to take the boys for a few hours since we were visiting and they are only about 20 minutes away from the track. The top picture is of the horses coming down the home stretch just before the finish line. The second photo is of all the horses walking to the starting gate in the post parade.

Have a wonderful weekend!!

My Husbands Dream

I wanted to share my husbands dream with everyone. I am so excited about this for him!!

My husband, Mark, is a HUGE horse racing fan. Maybe HUGE is an understatement, but you get the point. He has wanted to own at least a share or two of a racehorse for a long time now since we can't afford a "whole" racehorse. This was going to be his way to get into the great sport of horse racing.....Here is how his/our story started.

Last year for I was looking into getting him a percent of a racehorse for a Christmas present. A lot of stables now offer percentages or shares of horses to help out with the cost of running and keeping a horse. If you purchase a percent (1% is equal to 1 share) then you are 1 percent invested in the horse for it winnings, claiming price or sold price. Then if there are more shares available then you may purchase more. Trust me, 1 share is not much and very expensive! It is not cheap to run this magnificent animals.

Our journey began when I got this wonderful idea of looking for a stable that we could afford to invest in a percent or two of a horse that would possibly make the track. I looked at so many different farms and stables and didn't have a clue which way to turn. I had so much to learn in a little amount of time (I started in November..Ooops). So what would any person do...turn to the forums. I found this forum called "Pace Advantage" and listed a post about what I wanted and needed. I had many responses guiding me through so many questions and suggestions. They were so nice on that forum to give me the hand that I needed. One man ended up responding to my post and said if I had any questions he would be more then happy to help. This man, Tom Schell, was a huge help to me with learning the ins and outs and answered every single stupid question I had. Tom is a trainer with several horses of his own. He owns McSchell Racing outside of Miami, FL. You will learn more about Tom in the up coming weeks. Well, to make a long story short. Tom and I kept in touch over the past year and needless to say we never found the "right" stable to partner with, until now...

Let me introduce you to my husbands dream..Bob Bull!

This is Bob Bull. A beautiful 4 yr old thoroughbred who has made my husbands life exciting (besides me of coarse). He is also a rescued horse, but I will get into that another time. Tom has given us the opportunity to invest in Bob Bull, but the best part is...Mark now owns 25% of him, not just 1 or 2%. Let me guess you are asking which part does he own? Well we joke and say he owns the ass end, which is good, because I would have to say that is one of the best parts since the hind end is probably the strongest to run and what comes out of it is great fertilizer!

Bob Bull will hopefully be racing in April at Calder Race Track in Florida as long as he is ready to run. He will be training soon and will not run until he lets Tom know he is ready. Of coarse dealing with animals, there is always the chance that Bob will never make the track. If he does, there is always the chance that he will never win. If you ask us though, Bob Bull will be on that track and will blow his competition away! He is beautiful, big and strong like most winners are and our horse is a WINNER! Having a race horse is like going to a casino, you may win but you might loose. You never know. This is a chance my husband says is worth taking. He has told me "It is more exciting then going to our local casino and blowing our money on slots!". He does have a great point.

We are very excited about this and have no idea what will happen or what to expect. Bob may run and never win, place or show, but that is ok because Mark is loving every minute of this and can't wait until the first day he runs. You bet we will be cheering Bob Bull and Tom on!! This horse will be the best ride of his life (again, besides me!).

I will be posting updates on Bob every 2 weeks or more to keep anyone that is interested updated. I hope you enjoy this journey along with us and also learn a little about the great sport of horse racing. I hope you all will tune in!

Please take a minute and take the poll that I have up to let me know if you are interested in learning and hearing more about Marks dream and keeping updated with what is happening with Bob Bull!!
I will also be adding in some facts and information on racing for all to learn.