Along The Rails

What makes Kentucky a more prodigious breeding ground than, say, Maine for Thoroughbreds? It’s in the very soil.

There’s a reason why a significant portion of the Bluegrass state, not to mention consequential areas of Virginia, California, and Florida are given over to horse breeding: The minerals in the grass and loam are are just right to build strong legs and joints. Given the attention that breakdowns are given in the media, imagine what the sport would be like with little attention paid to foal-friendly acidity.

Calcium, phosphates and magnesium are what breeders look for to mine a fine horse. The mixture is far friendlier in, say, France and England than it is in Japan, but with chemical help, the soil may be made more sweet for baby-raising. Just don’t tell those Kentucky bluebloods… they rather enjoy the airs that the ground gives them.

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