by Ken Weingartner, Harness Racing Communications

Ken Weingartner, media relations manager for Harness Racing Communications, spent six weeks last year following foaling activity at Perretti Farms in central New Jersey. On May 12, 2007 he was present for the birth of a colt out of Worldly Beauty, by Rocknroll Hanover (see related articles at bottom of page). One year later, Weingartner visited the colt, since named World Of Rocknroll, for this update.

Freehold, NJ — The little boy is turning into a man.

When World Of Rocknroll was born, he came up to my chest. Now, I come to his. OK, that might be a slight exaggeration, but he’s certainly no longer looking up to me. I’m awed by his growth and physical development.

Maturity-wise, World Of Rocknroll is like a teenager. Compared to a few other yearlings I saw during my visit, he seems like a fairly well-behaved young man, which makes me proud. World Of Rocknroll is about to have his feet tended to by farrier Jim Sammons, who has several busy days ahead of him.

HRC’s Ken Weingartner and World of Rocknroll shortly after the colt’s birth.

“Right now we’ve got 140 yearlings and over 100 babies on the ground,” Sammons says as he begins his work on World Of Rocknroll. “They get their feet done every month. We start looking at them at about two weeks (old). That way, if there are any corrections that need to be done early, we can get it over with. In the long run, if you get it done early, you don’t have problems later.

“We try to get that out of the way in the first three months for the ankles, or fetlocks. Then you’ve got about six months to do the corrections for the knees. But for the feet, and the way they stand, we want to get them as early as we can.”

I ask him how my boy looks. Sammons keeps month-to-month notes on each horse, with a positive grade being recorded as “GTD,” which means “good to date.”

“This one looks pretty good,” Sammons says, happily. “They can change so much from one month to the next. This time of year, they can gain up to four pounds a day, which puts a lot of bearing on their feet and legs. That added weight can shift. Correction, to get them right and get them ready for the (yearling) sale, it’s an every-month job.”

Horsemen, and most race fans, are familiar with the old adage, “No foot, no horse.” Many casual observers, though, most likely are unaware just how much care each yearling’s feet receive and how it can affect so many areas of the horse’s well being.

The yearlings will be shod for the first time about two months prior to their sale. The second time will be approximately two weeks before the sale.

USTA/Ken Weingartner photos

World Of Rocknroll, a year later, has grown into a handsome yearling.

“We start at birth to prep them so when they get to the sale their feet are nice and straight, their legs are nice and straight, and we don’t have any problems,” Sammons says. “The better they look, the better they stand, the better they race.”

When the work on World Of Rocknroll is completed, I walk over and give him a pat on the head, rubbing his star. I doubt he has any memories of our first meeting, but that’s OK because I have enough for the both of us.

I wrote after his birth, “If a future champion can be picked by how quickly he gets to his feet, this colt is in good shape.”

To me, it looks like he still is.