Cross Thoroughbred Racing Facility Info Page

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Cross Thoroughbred Racing Facility
Information Page

This is where you'll find all of the information you may need in order to make the most of of the roleplay. This will also help for those of you who may not know too much about horses, racing, or just want to get a few ideas.

Directory
_{Tour of Cross Thoroughbred Racing Facility
Basic Thoroughbred Information {colors, height, markings}
Description of Racing Terms and People}

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Tour of Cross Thoroughbred Racing Facility

Located at the base of the Allegheny Mountain Range is a long, well-packed dirt driveway leading to a cozy little one-story home that is at first hidden by trees. At the mouth of the driveway, placed right beside the main road, is a sign. The silhouette of a galloping horse is placed beneath elegant, white writing.

Welcome to the Cross Thoroughbred Racing Facility

The one-story house seen when you first travel down the long driveway belongs to the facility owner, Aiden Cross. With ivy climbing up the walls of the faded brick walls, it seems to fit with the scenic area. Beyond the home are a tidy, wide stableyard and several buildings. Not far from the largest building is a white fence that you presume to be the pasture. In the distance, there is plainly more to see.

The forest-covered mass that is the Allegheny Mountains is a beautiful sight. Clouds start to converge at the top and trees span as far as you can see, from the top of the mountain range all the way down to the edge of the facility. A small lake meets with a ridge at the foot of the mountains, reflecting the glorious scene. A dock goes out twelve feet into the lake, allowing anyone to dip their feet in during the summer. It makes for a great view whatever the season.

The Bunkhouse

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A massive, two-story bunkhouse sits at the edge of the stableyard, a solid structure of wood fashioned much like a lodge. A large porch with an awning provides a great place to relax, especially on warm summer evenings. Inside, soaring ceilings and an open layout leave the place feeling larger than it is. The lobby provides a great place for some downtime. With a stone fireplace and a TV hung on the wall above the mantle, the lobby is most definitely the gathering area. Two couches, including a loveseat form a rather large C shape, while a wood-and-glass coffee table located in the middle completes the shape into an E, leaving table access from every side.

Near the entrance to the bunkhouse are two separate staircases. On the wall on the left side is a little stained-wood sign that announces the left staircase leads to the Girls' Wing. Mirrored on the other side is a sign that says that the right staircase is the Guys' Wing. Travelling up either staircase will lead to a long hallway with five rooms on each side. The rooms are somewhat small and bare, guests are free to rearrange furniture and add decorations to their liking. The rooms all feature a bed, closet, nightstand, and wardrobe. Any other furniture desired must be provided by guests. Additionally, each bedroom has a small bathroom with a bath/shower stall.

The Stables

The large structure beside the pasture and across from the cabins is the stables. With thirty stalls on both sides and a long, wide aisle in the middle, the stables are beautiful. The aisles are kept clean by the grooms, as is each stall. The stall doors are a solid, heavy wood that won’t splinter or break and the stalls are spacey, featuring 14x16 feet. Located at the back of the stables are two rooms. One is the tack room, organized well and smelling of the cleaning oil and leather. The room beside it is the feeding room, keeping containers of all horse feed that are sealed shut to prevent going to waste.

Additionally, there is a separate building that is connected to the back for the breeding operation. An especially large stall is for a mare and stallion to share under supervision. This is the largest with 25x27 feet and is bedded down with more straw. Three other stalls stand along the back for broodmares and their foals. A small pasture separate from the big pasture is there only for mares and any foal up to a yearling.

The Pastures

The larger pasture is for horses that aren't with foal and are older than a yearling. With plenty of juicy grass and shade from trees available, the pasture is a great place for the horses to run around and relax. Grooms regularly check for poisonous plants and to clean the pastures. Located periodically around the pasture are water troughs that get cleaned and filled often. Occasionally in early spring or when it has rained a lot, lower land floods with water and becomes quite muddy. With four foot high fences, most horses are discouraged from jumping and the structure is built from a sturdy wood material promised to endure horses, though the fences are inspected often, just in case.

The smaller pasture for broodmares and foals up to yearlings is much the same way. High, strong fences and plenty of grass for grazing. Trees provide shade and the grounds are cleaned regularly to remove manure and any plants that may be harmful. This pasture is less likely to flood when rain has fallen.

The Practice Racetrack

The practice racetrack is an essential part of this facility. This is a great place to breeze experienced racehorses to keep them in top physical form and to teach the incoming racers the way to run. The racetrack is much the same as the one at Cedar Creek Downs. The track is dirt with a distance of a mile and is marked regularly with poles to name distances. The dirt is often a dry yet soft, loamy mixture of both sand and dirt alike. It is regularly maintained for the safety of horses and riders alike, churned up to prevent the soil from becoming hard-packed. There is a small set of gates movable, holding up to four at a time.

It is the same size and consists of dirt that is maintained regularly to ensure it is safe for the horses. There are movable starting gates as well as the poles marked off for distances and times. Though mainly used for practicing, this also serves for small races between jockeys and horses wanting to see who runs best. For those just wishing to work their horse out, ask a trainer to watch and time you.[/size]

Cedar Creek Downs

Cedar Creek Downs is the town's local racetrack open to races two days during the week and open all weekend. Horses, jockeys, and trainers frequent the track in the morning to work out, regardless of whether the track is open for actual races or not.

The track is similar to the one at Cross Thoroughbred Racing Facility, but larger. The track is made up of a well-draining soil with a distance of a mile and a quarter and has a chute on the clubhouse side that gives gives a bit of extra room. The gates can hold up to twelve horses, though there is an extra gate that can hold an additional four horses.

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Basic Thoroughbred Information

Here, you will find the basic information on the Thoroughbred, the main breed used in this roleplay. Most of this will just be general information to guide the creation of and assist in roleplaying any horses in the roleplay. This is a good place to start for those of you that have little knowledge about horses or would like to be accurate.

The colors accepted by the Jockey Club as described on the Official Jockey Club website are as follows:

Bay:

The entire coat of the horse may vary from a yellow-tan to a bright auburn. The mane, tail and lower portion of the legs are always black, unless white markings are present.

Black: The entire coat of the horse is black, including the muzzle, the flanks, the mane, tail and legs, unless white markings are present.

Chestnut: The entire coat of the horse may vary from a red-yellow to a golden-yellow. The mane, tail and legs are usually variations of coat color, unless white markings are present.

Dark Bay/Brown: The entire coat of the horse will vary from a brown, with areas of tan on the shoulders, head and flanks, to a dark brown, with tan areas seen only in the flanks and/or muzzle. The mane, tail and lower portion of the legs are always black, unless white markings are present.

Gray/Roan: In order to reduce the number of corrections involving the colors gray and roan, The Jockey Club has combined these colors into one color category. This does not change the individual definitions of the colors for gray and roan.

Gray: The majority of the coat of the horse is a mixture of black and white hairs. The mane, tail and legs may be either black or gray, unless white markings are present.

Roan: The majority of the coat of the horse is a mixture of red and white hairs or brown and white hairs. The mane, tail and legs may be black, chestnut or roan, unless white markings are present.


Palomino: The entire coat of the horse is golden-yellow, unless white markings are present. The mane and tail are usually flaxen.

Dominant White: The entire coat, including the mane, tail and legs, is predominantly white. This is exceedingly rare.[/blockquote]

Additional information about Thoroughbreds

The average Thoroughbred stands between 15.2 and 17.0 hands (between 62 and 68 inches), though the average height is about 16 hands (64 inches).

A quick note about hands:
A hand is the measurement used to figure out how tall a horse is and is measured as 4 inches per one hand. It is shown like this.

15.0 hands, which equals 60 inches evenly
15.1 hands, which equals 61 inches evenly
15.2 hands, which equals 62 inches evenly
15.3 hands, which equals 63 inches evenly
16.0 hands, which equals 64 inches evenly

To clear up confusion, 15.4 is 16.0 hands. Because a hand is four inches, you are saying 15 hands (which is 60 inches), plus the additional inches seen after the decimal. 15 hands and 2 inches = 15.2 hands.
If a horse is 15 hands and a half inch, just write 15 and one half hands, please. This will minimize confusion.

The Thoroughbred has a well-chiseled head on a long, triangular neck, higher withers, deep chest for a large heart and lungs, a short back, deep hindquarters, a lean body, and long, thin legs. Thoroughbreds are "hot-blooded" horses, which means that they are often high-strung with tons of energy and spirit. They tend to excel at speed, though some prefer distance.

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Dangers of Racing

Racing has its own dangers, both for horses and jockeys alike. A 1,200 pound racehorse galloping at close to 40 MPH is dangerous alone, but adding several other horses to the mix increases the chances of an accident.

Common non life-threatening injuries include pulled muscles, bowed tendons, tendinitis, or anything includes the muscles, tendons, and ligaments. If not given time to rest, these ailments may force a racehorse to retire.

Fractures are the most well-known injuries as they often gain the most publicity. Unfortunately, fractures most often occur in the leg and, because a horse cannot walk around on three legs and it is highly expensive to pay for a surgery that may not fix the problem, most horses tend to be euthanized. There are cases horses have had minor cracks or hairline fractures and were given excellent care, enabling them to retire and live out their days as studs or broodmares, but this isn't an extremely common occurrence.

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People Involved in Racing

The jockey is a well-known profession in the racing industry. Jockeys are the people that ride the racehorses during races. A common misconception is that a requirement about racing is height. It is often believed that a jockey has to be short in order to race.

In actuality, the most important thing is weight.