Ramsey not one to wrinkle nose at use of rabbit

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Owner Ken Ramsey doesn’t ever want to see a repeat of the 2014 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf, where Dayatthespa set such a slow pace that Ramsey’s Stephanie’s Kitten, closing from the rear of the field, was unable to run her down.

“Dayatthespa, she didn’t run a mile and a quarter – she galloped a mile and ran a quarter-mile,” Ramsey said by phone this week. “From my standpoint, I should’ve had a rabbit in there.”

Rabbits, more politely called pacemakers, are used all the time in European races, and Ramsey sees no reason not to employ them in North America. He has used pacemakers at times for years and is becoming more dedicated to the practice. Shining Copper was a pacemaker throughout last year for Big Blue Kitten, and Ramsey has more and more frequently entered horses in graded stakes strictly to help his late-closing runners. Generous Kitten in the American St. Leger here on Saturday has Rocket Professor as a pacemaker; Oscar Nominated in the Secretariat has Scissors and Tape.

“If we have a come-from-behind horse, we don’t want a soft pace,” said Ramsey. “The great Frankel never went to the post without a pacemaker. History doesn’t record that you ran a rabbit in a race, just that you won the race.”

The problem with using pacemakers in North America is the dearth of jockeys experienced in riding them. Ramsey recounts jockeys on his pacemakers riding to win a race and actually interfering with the horse they were supposed to help.

“Now when I have a jockey on a rabbit, I tell them to do their job and get the hell out of the way,” he said. “You live and learn.”