ruler ( 1777 – 4 february 1806 ) was a british thoroughbred racehorse .

he won three of his five starts , including the two-mile st. leger stakes in 1780 .

he was bred and owned by william bethell .

ruler ( horse )

bold ruler is the first horse to have been given radiation therapy for cancer .
for everything you need to know about horse racing . free horse racing tips from professional punters and betting secrets to increase your horse racing profits .
all the latest horse racing form , betting odds , news , breeding , jockey and trainer information for military ruler . military ruler is a gelding born in 2011 september 8 by universal ruler out of general ' s delight
iron ruler was sired by tertian out of the dam bon trio iron ruler was foaled on 01 of august in 1998 .
vegas ruler was sired by casino prince out of the dam dancer vegas ruler was foaled on 11 of october in 2011 .
all the latest horse racing form , betting odds , news , breeding , jockey and trainer information for universal ruler . universal ruler is a stallion born in 2004 september 3 by scenic out of rulings
tycoon ruler was sired by last tycoon out of the dam sweet delight tycoon ruler was foaled on 29 of october in 1999 .
the training of racehorses , simply expressed , is maintaining a horse in the best condition to run . exercise and feeding programs and knowledge of the individual horse are factors involved . a good trainer selects a jockey who suits the horse and , perhaps more important , enters the horse in suitable races . a trainer of a horse for a classic race not only must develop the horse into peak condition but must time the development so that the horse reaches its peak on a certain day , which is the most difficult art of all .
all the latest horse racing form , betting odds , news , breeding , jockey and trainer information for hard ruler . hard ruler is a filly born in 2014 november 14 by all too hard out of legislature
all the latest horse racing form , betting odds , news , breeding , jockey and trainer information for pompeii ruler . pompeii ruler is a gelding born in 2002 october 19 by genuine out of west with night
iron ruler has a 7 % win percentage and 7 % place percentage . iron ruler ' s last race event was at ipswich .
tycoon ruler has a 16 % win percentage and 34 % place percentage . tycoon ruler ' s last race event was at caulfield .
vegas ruler has a 9 % win percentage and 41 % place percentage . vegas ruler ' s last race event was at warwick .
if a horse’s race record is anything to judge his progeny by , you can expect the first of victorian stallion jungle ruler’s yearlings to be as hard as nails .
iron ruler is a 18 year old bay gelding . iron ruler is trained by a a swindley , at doomben and owned by mrs a s clarke & p j ford .
horse racing at the galway race course , ballybrit , county galway , connaught ( connacht ) , ireland .
bold ruler was by claiborne’s epoch - making stallion , nasrullah , and his dam was the classy sprint mare , miss disco , by the great broodmare sire discovery . just short of a championship at 2 , bold ruler was the horse of the year at 3 , topping a formidable crop that included round table , gallant man , and iron liege . at 4 , bold ruler remained near the top and was named champion sprinter , but bowed to round table as horse of the year .
bruechert is relying on a tried - and - true formula in standing jungle ruler at stud .
ruby ruler has managed to win 1 race in her career so far . on 13th may 2011 at timaru , ruby ruler scored her most significant win to date , getting the money in the
ruby ruler has concluded her racing career , last running on the 6th jul 2012 at ashburton .
price said that he ' d been monitoring the gelding closely in the past week and although x - rays had cleared the horse there was an area of swelling on the horse ' s off - front leg that troubled him .
tycoon ruler is a 17 year old brown horse . tycoon ruler is trained by g marconi , at mornington and owned by ms f marconi , rancho ranch p / l ( g & mrs p marconi ) , c & mrs m marconi , j & mrs l marconi & g & mrs t barclay .
organizations have long criticized horse racing . activists have sought to expose horse doping , institute a ban on horse whipping by jockeys , limit the number of races a horse ( especially three years old and younger ) can run in a season , and eliminate dirt tracks in favour of safer synthetic surfaces . two notable tragedies in the early 21st century helped propel calls for reform : the shattering of bones in one of kentucky derby champion barbaro’s legs just seconds after the start of the preakness stakes in 2006 ( the horse was euthanized eight months later ) and the death of three horses during production of the tv series
ruler of france made a successful debut in handicap company when landing the nursery at gowran park this afternoon .
when bold ruler died in 1971 , the search began for his successor - for the one throughbred stallion whose bloodlines would most faithfully perpetuate the qualities that made bold ruler the most influential sire in recent racing history .
meanwhile sheikh mohammed pledged to
lock down
goldophin ' s moulton paddocks stables and test every horse at its newmarket operation .
france galop is the organization governing french horse racing . the organization was created in 1995 from the merger of three horse racing authorities : the société d’encouragement et des steeple - chases de france , the société de sport de france , and the société sportive d’encouragement .
jungle ruler will stand at bombora downs stud in 2015 for a fee of $ 2 , 750 inc gst .
iron ruler ' s exposed form for its last starts is 0 - 0 - 6 - 0 - 0 .
tycoon ruler ' s exposed form for its last starts is 0 - 6 - 9 - 1 - 8 .
vegas ruler ' s exposed form for its last starts is 0 - 6 - 3 - 5 - 1 .
pompeii ruler has had 22 starts for eight wins and six placings and more than $ 2 million in prizemoney .
in france the first documented horse race was held in 1651 as the result of a wager between two noblemen . during the reign of
the trainer at the center of a major horse doping scandal has been charged with multiple breaches of the rules by the british horseracing authority .
knowledge of the first horse race is lost in prehistory . both four - hitch chariot and mounted ( bareback ) races were held in the
maudlin magdalen enjoyed the mile trip in bellewstown once more as she prevailed by half a length from ruler of france .
ruler of the world is from the outstanding sire producing family of a . p . indy & duke of marmalade .
an improving colt who clearly appreciates a distance of ground , ruler of the world is now unbeaten in three starts .
…from the late 18th century , horse racing in kentucky has roots as deep as those of the hardy perennial bluegrass that has long nurtured the thoroughbreds raised on the state’s famous horse farms , especially in the lexington area . frontiersman daniel boone was responsible for introducing colonial legislation in 1775 “to…
“this horse ( jungle ruler ) is the same . he hated losing , hated horses getting in front of him and i’m already seeing that in his babies in the paddock . whether it be at the feed bin or whatever , they just hate losing . ”
the news that spring hopeful pompeii ruler was heading to the paddock after fears that the seven - year - old was on the cusp of further leg problems was tempered slightly yesterday when trainer mick price was told the horse was a realistic chance of racing again .
bold ruler wintered in florida that year , exchanging blows with calumet farm ' s incredibly talented gen . duke , often called the horse time has forgotten . many people believe that gen . duke was the fastest horse ever produced by calumet , and considering some of the other horses produced by the famous farm , the triple crown winners citation and whirlaway to name just two , this is quite a compliment .
a discussion concerning the museum at the racetrack in saratoga springs , new york , from the documentary horse power : the national museum of racing .
secretariat , sired at the close of bold ruler ' s stud career and certainly his best son as a race horse , was expected to fill the job . but although secretariat has turned out to be a solid sire , his offspring have had only modest success .
the current race record for hard ruler is 3 wins from 10 starts with prizemoney of $ 46 , 724 . 00 .
the current race record for military ruler is 5 wins from 31 starts with prizemoney of $ 311 , 700 . 00 .
iron ruler’s last race event was at 07 / 02 / 2007 and it has not been nominated for any upcoming race .
iron ruler career form is 2 wins , seconds , thirds from 28 starts with a lifetime career prize money of $ .
tycoon ruler’s last race event was at 16 / 10 / 2004 and it has not been nominated for any upcoming race .
vegas ruler’s last race event was at 09 / 03 / 2018 and it has not been nominated for any upcoming race .
in 1966 , bold ruler became the first stallion with progeny earnings of over us $ 2 million in a single season .
after winning the flamingo stakes , and running second to gen . duke in the florida derby , bold ruler headed to new york . in april , bold ruler won the wood memorial from gallant man , and it was on to churchill downs .
from 1791 provided a standard for judging a horse’s breeding ( and thereby , at least to some degree , its racing qualities ) . in france the
paddy twomey ' s ruler of france made it three wins from three visits to ballinrobe when making all in the apprentice handicap .
bold ruler quickly became mrs . gladys phipps favorite horse . she went as far as to have a st . christopher ' s medal braided into his forelock before each race , and she wasn ' t even catholic . when bold ruler won the futurity at belmont , it was not his winning performance that caught the attention of charles hatton , but rather his behavior . as he wrote in the daily racing form :
as camelot is led away from his box , the horse rears up , his forelegs rising into the air in what appears to be a mating call .
aidan o’brien has indicated ruler of the world will now been given a break , following his fifth place finish in the irish derby .
tycoon ruler career form is 5 wins , 4 seconds , 2 thirds from 32 starts with a lifetime career prize money of $ .
bold ruler is profiled in chapter 8 of avalyn hunter ' s american classic pedigrees 1914 - 2002 ( 2003 , eclipse press ) .
seattle slew traces to bold ruler through his sire , bold reasoning , a son of boldnesian , who was a son of bold ruler . bold reasoning won eight of 12 starts . boldnesian and bold reasoning both died early in their careers as stallions . syndicate owns rights
mongolian warrior and ruler genghis khan created the largest empire in the world , the mongol empire , by destroying individual tribes in northeast asia .
vegas ruler is a 6 year old bay gelding . vegas ruler is trained by r j hilton , at texas and owned by r hilton , mrs r hilton , mrs d white , s white , mrs m irwin , mrs k belford , k hobbs & j dieckman .
bold ruler is the 24th book in the thoroughbred legends series from eclipse press . it was written by edward bowen and published in 2005 .
the now 11 - year - old horse is certainly stamping his mark on his earliest progeny , with ‘eight of every 10 yearlings’ sired inheriting his distinctive grey colouring .
the use of anabolic steroids is now prohibited at all times for any horse registered as
in training
under the care of a trainer licensed by the bha .
—involve jumping . this article is confined to thoroughbred horse racing on the flat without jumps . racing on the flat with horses other than thoroughbreds is described in the article
this entry was posted in bloodstock and tagged argentina , artemis agrotera , colic , fusaichi pegasus , haras vacacion , haskell , hill ' n ' dale , homeboykris , laminitis , roman ruler , rule , ruler on ice , shuttle stallions by paulick report staff . bookmark the permalink .
after the belmont and it ' s resulting layoff , bold ruler ' s wins included a six length romp in the jerome handicap , as well as victories in the queen ' s county handicap and the ben franklin handicap , carrying 133 pounds in one and 136 in the other . in a muddy vosburgh handicap , bold ruler shattered the great sprinter roseben ' s fifty year old track record with his nearest rival ten lengths behind . finally , bold ruler beat both gallant man and round table in the trenton handicap , despite carrying 130 pounds , earning horse of the year honors for the 1957 season .
i have been involved in british horse racing for 30 years and have deep respect for its traditions and rules . there can be no excuse for any deliberate violation .
colourful racing silks are a familiar element of horse racing , and their introduction dates to the formal organization of the sport in the 18th century . though they primarily serve an aesthetic purpose in the modern sport , their original use in racing was to allow spectators to distinguish one horse from another during races in an age before television and public - address systems . to this day horse owners must register a unique pattern and set of colours ( worn on the jockey’s jacket and helmet cover ) with a regulatory board .
( 2011–12 ) , a drama about horse racing . ( the deaths and subsequent outcry among many viewers helped lead to the abrupt cancellation of the show after just one season . ) such events—augmented by the changing interests of the global sporting public—contributed to the continuing decline in the popularity of horse racing through the first decades of the 21st century .
after race at ballinrobe tue , 23rd jun , 2015 ( 1st ) he is a nice horse and jack gave him a good ride . he came well recommended . p twomey
over the course of his career , roman ruler earned $ 1 . 2 million with five wins from 10 starts . his major victories included the haskell and and g2 dwyer for owner fog city stable and trainer bob baffert . roman ruler began his stallion career at hill ‘n ' dale in 2006 , shuttling to the southern hemisphere frequently during the offseason . his best offspring in the u . s . include belmont winner ruler on ice , multiple g1 winner artemis agrotera , g1 - winning juvenile homeboykris , and multiple graded stakes winning millionaire rule . overall , roman ruler has sired 50 stakes winners .
vegas ruler career form is 3 wins , 7 seconds , 4 thirds from 34 starts with a lifetime career prize money of $ 61 , 906 .
this entry was posted in bloodlines archive , bloodstock and tagged aidan o ' brien , ballydoyle , coolmore , dawn approach , epsom derby , galileo , horse racing , investec derby , lane ' s end weekender pedigree , ruler of the world , ryan moore , sadler ' s wells , thoroughbred by frank mitchell . bookmark the permalink .
although he got several runners , including secretariat , who won at 10 furlongs or more , bold ruler was better known as a sire of precocious 2 - year - olds . his progeny earned a reputation for unsoundness , many being big - bodied horses on fragile legs , driven by that generous bold ruler heart .
al zarooni , who has admitted using the banned substances in error , faces charges relating to the use of prohibited substances , keeping medication records and conduct
prejudicial to horse racing
.
i can assure the racing public that no horse will run from that yard this season until i have been absolutely assured by my team that the entire yard is completely clean .
. written by racing historian jim bolus with illustrations and commentary by noted equine artist richard stone reeves , the book was released by the blood - horse , inc . , in 1994 .
after race at leopardstown thu , 9th jul , 2015 ( 1st ) i ' m happy with that . conor gave him a good ride and the horse seemed to enjoy it . p twomey
the late natal sire , stronghold , has also got off to a strong start with his first crop . the danehill horse has had four winners , to date , from just seven runners .
' ' raja baba in 1976 and roberto in 1977 had spectacular first years , but nothing like this , ' ' says bill oppenheim , whose statistical analyses of sire trends in racing update , a newsletter , are widely considered the most thorough in the industry . ' ' as a race horse , seattle slew may rate a pound lower than secretariat , but in his speed and brilliance and style slew was bold ruler ' s truest descendant . at this rate , he could be the next bold ruler . ' '
son of nasrullah beat the talented clem in a fiercely fought suburban handicap . giving away a remarkable twenty five pounds , bold ruler caught the lightly weighted clem at the half mile . at the top of the stretch , bold ruler was ahead by two , but clem made a run on the outside , catching and passing him . bold ruler gamely fought back , when most horses would have quit , and regained the lead in time to earn a trip to the winner ' s circle . after one more win in the monmouth handicap , in which he carried 134 pounds , bold ruler badly injured his fetlock , finishing seventh in the brooklyn handicap .
modestly bred and foaled at boorowa’s newhaven park in 2003 , jungle ruler amassed a cult following in his incredible 115 - start career for mornington - trainer peter white .
the bold ruler handicap was inaugurated in 1976 . it is currently a grade iii stakes for ages 3 and up run over 7 furlongs on dirt at belmont park .
bold ruler was blessed with speed and courage that allowed him to succeed despite infirmities , from a tender mouth to chronic arthritis and soreness . during his title year , when he was also voted champion 3 - year - old male , bold ruler set or equaled four track records and was able to stretch his speed to 10 furlongs .
the first progeny of jungle ruler hit the ground with a grey thud in september of 2013 , with 49 mares supporting the consistent stallion in his maiden season at stud .
slewpy has won three of his six starts , including the empire stakes for new york - breds , and may be sent to california to face landaluce in the hollywood futurity . better horse in barn ?
at stud , bold ruler was even more impressive , siring such champions as speedwell , queen empress , successor , bold hour , bold lad , bold bidder , boldnesian , vitriolic , wajima , what a pleasure , and most importantly the 1973 triple crown winner and two time horse of the year secretariat . he led the american sire ' s list eight times , and seven of the ten kentucky derby winners of the 1970 ' s traced directly to bold ruler in their tail male lines . bull hancock found his offspring to share a unique trait :
on the night of april 6 , 1954 , two foals were born on claiborne farm , one about a half hour after the other . the first was round table , who later earned over a million dollars and was named horse of the year in 1958 . the second was bold ruler , a skinny , accident prone colt who overcame numerous injuries to become a champion himself .
horse racing is one of the oldest of all sports , and its basic concept has undergone virtually no change over the centuries . it developed from a primitive contest of speed or stamina between two horses into a spectacle involving large fields of runners , sophisticated electronic monitoring equipment , and immense sums of money , but its essential feature has always been the same : the horse that finishes first is the winner . in the modern era , horse racing developed from a diversion of the leisure class into a huge public - entertainment business . by the first decades of the 21st century , however , the sport’s popularity had shrunk considerably .
glory boy came through in the final half furlong to collar ruler of france and win by half a length in the seven furlong two - year - old maiden at listowel .
we will be locking down the moulton paddocks stables with immediate effect , and i have instructed that i want a full round of blood samples , and dope testing done on every single horse on that premises .
…out of town for the horse races—as they do by the thousands in june for the derby on epsom downs and the royal week at ascot near windsor and in july for the goodwood races in west sussex . …
arguably the world ' s most sought - after stallion , the powerfully built horse takes it all in his stride as he parades in the luxurious surroundings of his irish home at the coolmore stud in county tipperary .
jungle ruler will stand his third season at bombora downs stud in 2015 and bruechert is confident his popular grey can again attract a quality book of mares , despite his unconventional background .
bold ruler is profiled in chapter 22 of abram hewitt ' s sire lines ( 1977 , the thoroughbred owners and breeders association ; updated and reprinted by eclipse press in 2006 ) .
during the next season , bold ruler won the toboggan handicap and the carter handicap , carrying 133 pounds in each , before he met gallant man in the metropolitan mile . bold ruler , giving up five pounds , ran second , and was forced to redeem himself with a five length victory in the stymie handicap . then , in his greatest effort , the brave
after race at killarney tue , 12th jul , 2016 ( 1st ) leigh seemed to use his head and gave him a very good ride and the horse seemed to put his head down and try there . p twomey
one major type of thoroughbred horse race is the handicap race , in which the weights horses must carry during a race are adjusted in relation to their age ( the more immature the horse , the less weight it carries ) . in this system , a two - year - old , the youngest racer , competes with less weight to carry than a horse that is three years or older . in general , a horse is reckoned as being fully aged at five years and is handicapped accordingly . there are also sex allowances for fillies , so that they carry slightly lower weights than males . weight penalties or allowances are also provided on the basis of individual horses’ past performance . such handicaps may be set centrally where racing is so controlled or by individual tracks , the goal being to render all horses as nearly equal as possible by establishing what is called racing form . the handicap race thus represents an outright repudiation of the classic concept that the best horse should win . instead , handicaps are assigned with the specific objective of giving all the horses in a race an equal chance of winning .
however , it is appropriate to charge the trainer with breaches of the rules related to medication records and conduct prejudicial to horse racing related to these horses , and therefore the trainer now faces 15 counts of these charges .
the bha said there has only been one other case of anabolic steroids being found in a tested horse in recent years , which was when british trainer howard johnson allowed horses to run under the substances in 2008 and 2009 .
there has been no shortage of compelling horse racing storylines in recent years but patch could top them all when the one - eyed underdog sets off in the kentucky derby for the first leg of us thoroughbred racing’s triple crown .
they love it and every horse here has the ultimate care . they get the best feed , best attention , fantastic stables and facilities , best land in the world to graze on ,
adds o ' loughlin .
it has been named champion british owner eight times , including last year , while dubai ruler sheikh mohammed and his family have also taken the title on multiple occasions going back to the 1980s .
' ' the horse had injury problems in the past after he had troubles with a suspensory ligament , but this time i just thought i ' ll ease him up and send him to the paddock , ' ' he said .
bold ruler ' s owner , mrs . gladys mills phipps of the wheatley stable , was one of the most successful owners of thoroughbreds in the nation . her horses were trained by the great sunny jim fitzsimmons , who had conditioned the only sire - son triple crown winners , gallant fox and his son omaha , for the belair stud . mrs . phipps kept her stallions and broodmares at claiborne farm , which was owned and run by her close friend bull hancock . bold ruler was by * nasrullah , a european champion at two and a leading sire on both sides of the atlantic . his dam was miss disco , a stakes winning daughter of the leading broodmare sire in america , 1935 horse of the year discovery . in fact , the horse of the year in 1954 was native dancer , who was out of the discovery mare geisha .
once the penny dropped ruler of the world showed a good turn of foot to wear down manalapan in the three - year - old maiden and give aidan and joseph o’brien a double at the curragh .
unlike the bevy of blue - blooded gallopers entering australia’s stallion ranks this season , jungle ruler never won a group 1 race . in fact , he never won a black - type race full stop .
in the next of the classics it was a different story . at pimlico , bold ruler beat the kentucky derby winner and won the preakness stakes by two lengths . then came the belmont stakes , where gallant man avenged his own derby loss by winning in 2 : 26 3 / 5 . bold ruler ran a game third , and it was later discovered that the effort had strained his heart muscle .
federal hill gained the lead at the break , and held it until the top of the stretch , where iron leige took over . federal hill faded to fifth , passed by round table and bold ruler as gallant man moved past iron leige . then came the famous incident in which bill shoemaker misjudged the churchill downs finish line and began to rise in the stirrups . he realized his error instantly , but it was too late . he threw off gallant man ' s momentum just enough for iron leige to nose them out . bold ruler was fourth behind round table , the horse foaled only a half hour before him in the broodmare barn at claiborne .
while he may not have the glamorous cv some of his hunter valley counterparts boast , bruechert said that as a victorian stallion , jungle ruler’s vobis eligibility gave him an edge on his new south wales counterparts .
employed by the ruler of dubai ' s prestigious godolphin operation - - sheikh mohammed bin rashid al maktoum - - trainer mahmood al zarooni has been summoned to attend a disciplinary hearing in central london on thursday .
there ' s excitement and nerves in the air . o ' brien , whose four derby winners include last year ' s hero ruler of the world , has indicated australia is the best he has trained .
the third traditional sport , horse racing , is in many ways the most exciting . young boys and girls race cross - country over various distances up to 20 miles ( 32 km ) , depending on the ages of their mares and geldings . …
when x - rays were taken , it was discovered that bold ruler had been running with a two and a half inch bone splinter lodged in his tendon , and had probably been in a great deal of pain for some time . he had also suffered arthritis , nerve problems , torn back muscles , and a heart problem during his career . when the bone splinter was detected , the game horse was sent back to his birthplace to begin his stud career .
bold ruler led the american general sire list eight times ( 1963 - 1969 and 1973 ) , more than any other stallion in the 20th century ; he also led the juvenile sire list a record six times .
. horse racing , both of chariots and of mounted riders , was a well - organized public entertainment in the roman empire . the history of organized racing in other ancient civilizations is not very firmly established . presumably , organized racing began in such countries as
as you approach the stud from the small nearby town of fethard , the hedges begin to take on a more manicured look . the navy blue branding of the coolmore empire is everywhere - from the staff ' s jackets to the horse lorries and water buckets .
ruler of france showed no ills effects of his defeat at killarney yesterday when winning the the celtic steps the show at killarney racecourse rated race at killarney today , under an enterprising front - running ride from jockey leigh roche .
connor king continues to chip away through his claim and the former champion apprentice moved to within seven winners of that 95 winners mark when steering the paddy twomey trained ruler of france to win the leopardstown handicap at leopardstown today .
once upon a time there was a brave young prince named bold ruler , who became the greatest stallion of his time . he led the american sire lists for eight years in the 1960s and ’70s , and his sons and grandsons dominated until new fashion pushed them aside . with the rise of a . p . indy as a sire of sires , this male line has rebounded after four generations , but bold ruler survived in other important ways .
bold ruler pops up in other prominent spots , too . besides bold reasoning , boldnesian sired canadian leading sire bold ruckus , as well as the dams of smile and skywalker . raja baba got is it true , who sired
mrs . phipps was out at the gap to get him [ bold ruler ] and lead him down that silly victory lane they had there . and she must have weighed all of ninety pounds , and here is this big young stud horse - and she walked right up to him and held out her hand , and he just settled right down and dropped his head so she could get ahold of the chin strap , and bold ruler just walked like an old cow along that lane and she wasn ' t putting any pressure on him to quiet him down or make him be still . it was one of the most amazing sights i ' ve ever seen . it was incredible to me because anyone else reaching for that horse - and he was hot ! - you ' d have had to snatch him or he ' d throw you off your feet or step all over you . but not with her . for her he was just a real chivalrous prince of a colt . he came back to her and stopped all the monkeyshines , ducked down his head and held out his chin , and here was this little old lady with a big young stud horse on the other end and he was just as gentle as he could be .
sundridge . he is a full brother to stakes winner nasco and the good steeplechaser independence . bold ruler ' s half sister foolish one ( by tom fool ) is the second dam of 1982 st . leger stakes ( eng -
bold ruler died of a tumor on june 12 , 1971 , after cancer treatments failed , and was buried near nasrullah and miss disco in the claiborne farm cemetery . his obituary began
the king is dead . . .
bold ruler is one of 205 stallions whose accomplishments at stud are profiled in great thoroughbred sires of the world ( 2006 , the australian bloodhorse review ) , a massive reference work written by jennifer churchill , andrew reichard and byron rogers .
in which those who bet horses finishing in the first three places share the total amount bet minus a percentage for the management . the pari - mutuel was perfected with the introduction in the 20th century of the totalizator , a machine that mechanically records bets and can provide an almost instant reflection of betting in all pools . it displays the approximate odds to win on each horse and the total amount of wagering on each horse in each of various betting pools . the customary pools are win , place , and show , and there are such specialty wagers as the
winning racehorses has always been best expressed as “breed the best to the best and hope for the best . ” the performance of a breeding horse’s progeny is the real test , but , for horses untried at stud , the qualifications are pedigree , racing ability , and physical conformation . what breeders learned early in the history of horse racing is that crossing bloodlines can potentially overcome flaws in horses . if , for example , one breed is known for stamina and another known for speed , interbreeding the two might result in a healthy mix of both qualities in their offspring .
the same historical progression was followed for wagers , with the bets in early ( two - horse ) races being simply to win and modern bets being placed on the first three horses ( win , place , and show ) . from private bets , wagering was extended in the 19th century to
…against children , were replaced by horse races in which fleeter steeds were handicapped , a notion of equality that led eventually to age and weight classes ( though not to height classes ) in many modern sports . although the traditional sport of boxing flourished throughout the 18th century , it was not until 1743…
stallion groom robert broderick says :
galileo is a very quiet horse , he ' s very easy to handle . he ' s very professional in his job - that ' s what makes him so good in my eyes . he ' s just a gentleman to have anything to do with .
bold ruler was the sixth and last of jockey eddie arcaro ' s record six preakness stakes winners . the others were whirlaway ( 1941 ) , citation ( 1948 ) , hill prince ( 1950 ) , bold ( 1951 ) and nashua ( 1955 ) .
now , however , there are indications that bold ruler ' s successor as a sire may have arrived in the form of a great - grandson who brought a bid of only $ 17 , 000 when sold as a yearling in 1975 . outstanding racing career
it was a case of déjà vu as ruler of france repeated the front running tactics that carried him to a narrow success at killarney last week when again coming out on the right side of a short - head verdict in the featured urltoken handicap at ballinrobe .
owner : wheatley stable breeder : wheatley stable winnings : 33 starts : 23 - 4 - 2 , $ 764 , 204 futurity stakes , preakness stakes , bahamas stakes , flamingo stakes , wood memorial , queens county handicap , stymie handicap , carter handicap , suburban handicap , toboggan handicap . u . s . 3 - yr - old champion male ( 1957 ) u . s . horse of the year ( 1957 ) u . s . champion sprint horse ( 1958 ) leading sire in north america ( 1963 - 1969 , 1973 ) u . s . racing hall of fame ( 1973 ) . ( close )
during bold ruler ' s first two years of life , he developed a reputation for being accident prone , and bull hancock had such a hard time keeping him in good condition that he was kept in a back paddock so that farm visitors wouldn ' t see him . as a yearling , bold ruler came close to losing his tongue in a barn accident , and as a result , he always had a sensitive mouth . not long after that , he just missed breaking a leg in a tangle with a water trough .
he was built similarly to his sire , being a big , leggy horse , standing 16 . 1 hands with a great shoulder , powerful hindquarter , and a distinctive long , sloping hip going down to a straight hind leg . this conformation still appears in the gene pool , especially through the seattle slew line .
a champion horse can earn millions in prize money . but that ' s nothing compared with what it can make at stud . as sea the stars - one of the greatest thoroughbreds of all time - retires at the peak of his career to an irish stud farm , what does the future hold for him ?
jack kennedy had some formidable forces in the saddle in conor hoban and sean corby chasing him down , but the kerry teenager again displayed his strength and skill to get ruler of france home by a head and a neck in the urltoken kateappleby apprentice handicap at ballinrobe .
a . p . indy was a suitable scion to bold ruler , being inbred 4x3 to him through boldnesian and secretariat . secretariat wasn’t such a genetic dud after all , becoming a vastly influential broodmare sire through a . p . indy , storm cat , gone west ,
so while a . p . indy brings this male line back to prominence , it doesn’t mean that bold ruler’s influence was nearly extinct . his great genes were weaving their way down through the generations , passing on the brilliant speed and gameness that make a true thoroughbred .
notable are the horse - racing venues at laurel , bowie , and pimlico , the latter the home of the annual preakness stakes ( may ) . baltimore has a professional baseball team , the orioles , and gridiron football team , the ravens . restaurants present a plethora of cuisines , but the traditional gastronomy of maryland tends to…
color : br ( usa ) breeder / owner : wheatley stable 33 - 23 - 4 - 2 , $ 764 , 204 . won : futurity stakes , preakness stakes , bahamas stakes , flamingo stakes , wood memorial , queens county handicap , stymie handicap , carter handicap , suburban handicap , toboggan handicap . u . s . 3 - yr - old champion male ( 1957 ) , u . s . horse of the year ( 1957 ) , u . s . champion sprint horse ( 1958 ) , leading sire in north america ( 1963 - 1969 , 1973 ) u . s . racing hall of fame ( 1973 ) ( close )
bold ruler made his first season in 1959 at claiborne alongside nasrullah , who died that may . he was an immediate success , topping the leading sire list first in 1963 , through 1969 , and picking it up again in 1973 when his son secretariat won the triple crown .
after a brief fertility scare , secretariat produced a first crop of 28 foals . he got off to a good start when his first crop included the g1 winner dactylographer ( william hill futurity ) . secretariat’s 16 crops included 22 graded winners , including champions risen star ( belmont stakes ) and lady’s secret ( horse of the year ) .
the group of three year olds that were aimed at the kentucky derby in 1957 are considered to be one of the most talented group of colts in modern history . they included gallant man , gen . duke , bold ruler , round table , clem , barbizon , and federal hill .
named foals . he was often categorized as a sire of precocious juveniles that did not train on or stay despite siring bold bidder , gamely , lamb chop , secretariat and wajima , all champions at 3 or older and all winners of major races at 1¼ miles or more . bold ruler is a
fusaichi ruler ( usa ) gr / r . c , 2003 { 4 - r } dp = 13 - 4 - 17 - 0 - 0 ( 34 ) di = 3 . 00 cd = 0 . 88 - 0 starts , 0 wins , 0 places , 0 shows career earnings : unraced
some of bold ruler ' s other sons , notably bold bidder , raja baba and what a pleasure , have been outstanding sires , but have fallen short of capturing all the brilliance and dominating influence of their father , whose offspring made him the leading sire in the country eight times between 1963 and 1973 .
you can pick the bold rulers out on their conformation . i see the same musculature as nasrullah . they all had an extra layer of muscle beside their tail running down to their hocks . it is a good sign when you see it in a bold ruler . it means strength and speed .
road ruler ( usa ) gr . h , 2002 { 1 - x } dp = 5 - 8 - 6 - 3 - 2 ( 24 ) di = 2 . 00 cd = 0 . 46 - 15 starts , 4 wins , 2 places , 5 shows career earnings : $ 81 , 596
legondary ruler ( usa ) dkb / br . m , 1998 { 11 } dp = 10 - 5 - 15 - 0 - 0 ( 30 ) di = 3 . 00 cd = 0 . 83 - 9 starts , 1 wins , 1 places , 0 shows career earnings : $ 5 , 050
universal ruler ( aus ) b . h , 2004 { 3 - i } dp = 6 - 0 - 7 - 5 - 0 ( 18 ) di = 1 . 12 cd = 0 . 39 - 12 starts , 6 wins , 0 places , 0 shows career earnings : a $ 306 , 950
bold ruler ( usa ) dkb / br . h , 1954 { 8 - d } dp = 26 - 8 - 8 - 11 - 1 ( 54 ) di = 2 . 38 cd = 0 . 87 - 33 starts , 23 wins , 4 places , 2 shows career earnings : $ 764 , 204
unfortunately , none of these grandsons made a strong mark at stud , and their role was taken over by raise a native’s sons mr . prospector and exclusive native , and others . nothing did more to push bold ruler’s male line out of favor than the stud career of secretariat , which was below his lofty expectations .
alomas ruler ( usa ) dkb / br . h , 1979 { 9 - h } dp = 13 - 10 - 6 - 1 - 0 ( 30 ) di = 6 . 50 cd = 1 . 17 - 13 starts , 7 wins , 4 places , 1 shows career earnings : $ 498 , 883
it is a depressing town in many ways , where stable staff on the minimum wage service horses worth hundreds of thousands for men ( and i suppose a few women ) worth millions , or billions in the case of sheikh mohammed , ruler of dubai . in one sense , he is ruler of newmarket , too , with his vast darley stud farm and clutch of subsidiary studs , stretching across 2 , 000 - plus acres . he has just spent £600 , 000 on a new cricket pavilion close to the gallops , and his subjects are grateful . without sheikh mo ' s millions , newmarket would be far more bedraggled than it is .
in 2007 and 2008 , suspensory ligament problems thwarted the stayer from winning the cox plate . pompeii ruler ran third to fields of omagh in the 2006 cox plate and went on to win twice at group 1 level , in the 2007 australian cup , run that year at caulfield , and the 2009 queen elizabeth stakes at randwick .
roman ruler ( usa ) dkb / br . h , 2002 { 8 - h } dp = 12 - 7 - 11 - 0 - 0 ( 30 ) di = 4 . 45 cd = 1 . 03 - 10 starts , 5 wins , 2 places , 1 shows career earnings : $ 1 , 220 , 800
classic sire roman ruler died in argentina on monday , reports urltoken . the 15 - year - old from the first crop of fusaichi pegasus developed laminitis after severe colic , and was unable to be saved . the grade 1 haskell winner had stood at haras vacacion in buenos aires since 2015 , resultant of his success as a shuttle stallion in that country .
the winner with a dramatic finish was ruler of the world , a half - brother to the international racing star duke of marmalade ( by danehill ) , who won g1 races in england , france , and ireland . he comes from a top - class family made famous at lane ' s end by leading sires a . p . indy and summer squall .
the line faded with one major exception . in 1977 boldnesian’s grandson seattle slew , by bold reasoning , won the triple crown and went on to sire greatness . he led the sire list in 1984 , when his son swale won the derby and belmont . in 1992 his son a . p . indy was horse of the year and reigned as leading sire in 2003 and ’06 . a . p . indy’s top sons and grandsons include
hat an odd town newmarket is . a town that runs on expensive horseflesh and cheap alcohol . a town of nightclubs and early - morning gallops , with the same very thin men sometimes managing to attend both .
a one - horse town with 3 , 000 horses ,
as residents like to say . and certainly the only place where i have ever seen , in a bookshop in the high street , a calendar devoted to ferrets .
as racing became big business , governments entered wagering with offtrack betting , which was very beneficial to racing in australia , new zealand , and france and less so in england and new york city . in the united states , illegal bookmaking offtrack became the province of organized crime . legal offtrack betting parlours proliferated during the late 20th century but were less prevalent in the 21st because of the growth of online gambling and the general decline in horse racing’s popularity .
his first crop of offspring are 2 - year - olds this year . only eight of them have raced , but they have earned more than $ 650 , 000 , getting seattle slew off to the richest start of any first - crop sire in thoroughbed history . three of them - landaluce , slewpy and slew o ' gold - have prompted these early comparisons to bold ruler .
bold ruler stands at the head of one of two three - generation chains of preakness stakes winners in american racing history . after winning the preakness in 1957 , he sired 1973 winner secretariat , who in turn sired 1988 winner risen star . the other such chain begins with 1945 preakness winner polynesian , who sired 1953 winner native dancer , in turn the sire of 1966 winner kauai king .
7 . contrary to popular myth , catherine died a fairly mundane , uneventful death . given the empress’ shocking reputation , it’s perhaps not surprising that gossip followed her wherever she went , even to the grave . after her death on november 17 , 1796 , her enemies at court began spreading various rumors about catherine’s final days . some claimed that the all - powerful ruler had died while on the toilet . others took their lurid storytelling even further , perpetuating a myth that has endured for centuries : that catherine , whose lustful life was an open secret , had died while engaging in a sex act with an animal , usually believed to be a horse . of course , there is no truth to this rumor . though her enemies would have hoped for a scandalous end , the simple truth is that catherine suffered a stroke and died quietly in her bed the following day .


the texas ( gray ) wolf ( † canis lupus monstrabilis ) is a possible extinct subspecies of gray wolf , distinct from the texas red wolf ( canis rufus var . " rufus " ) , whose range once included southern and western texas and northeastern mexico .

it is darker than its more northern cousins , and has a highly arched frontal bone .

as of 2005 , it is considered a valid subspecies by msw3 , though it is classed as either a synonym of c. l. nubilus or c. l. baileyi by the united states fish and wildlife service .

texas wolf

get instant insider access to exclusive texas history content and a free texas almanac .
america’s ‘other wolf’ was reintroduced to the wild after a last - ditch roundup in texas .
texas will have to watch the recovery from afar . wendy connally of tpwd’s wildlife diversity program says the agency considers the red wolf extirpated in texas with no plans for recovery here .
uploaded on june 15 , 2010 . published by the texas state historical association .
glynn riley , a government trapper who witnessed the red wolf’s final days in texas , sees something wild and majestic in the red wolf . he is known for saying that “a mountain with a wolf on it stands a little taller . ”
at one time , there were two species of wolves in texas : the southeastern red wolf ( canis rufus ) and the once more widespread gray wolf ( canis lupus ) . the favorite among southwest conservationists is a subspecies of the gray wolf called the mexican gray wolf ( canis lupus baileyi ) .
texas was wolf country and the wolf is as much a part of texas natural history as the armadillo . but while armadillos are thriving , the future of the mexican wolf in texas is not secure . in the late 90s , mexican wolves were released into the greater gila area into arizona and eventually new mexico . these wolves have struggled to survive for a variety of reasons - - most of them because of conflict or perceived conflict between humans and wolves .
copyright 2018 texas wolfdog project . all rights reserved . privacy policy website design by keystone resources .
what did texas lose when the red wolves were carried away ? some might say good riddance .
the texas gray wolf was classified as subspecies canis lupus monstrabilis in 1937 by biologist edward a . goldman . it became extinct just 5 years later in 1942 .
our guide reminded us several times that the greatest enemy of the wolf is man . wolves have been hunted to extinction in many regions ( including texas ) . the destruction of the wolf population has been a huge conservation issue for decades .
wolf / wolfdog assistance : if you need assistance with a wolf or wolfdog , see our wolfdog help page . if you are thinking about a wolf or wolfdog as a pet , please read this page .
releasing wolves in texas will not be an easier sell than it was in new mexico and arizona . still , there are many reasons why wolves should be released in texas , and especially in big bend country . the first reason is that wolves belong in the lone star state . they are part of the natural heritage of texas , and should be returned to their rightful place .
status though the texas gray wolf is considered by many to be a distinct subspecies , other versions of wolf taxonomy recognized the subspecies as belonging to either canis lupus baileyi or canis lupus nubilus . as stated above , they became extinct just 5 years after first being recognized as a separate subspecies .
in the canid family , the red wolf seems to suffer from middle child syndrome .
some folks in southeast texas still report seeing red wolves or something like them roaming the prairies and marshes of the area . certainly , some red wolf genes would have been passed down through the years so that a little bit of the red wolf still lives on in the coyotes of the bayou country .
after the red wolf roundup , a captive breeding program was set up at the point defiance zoo in tacoma , wash . the breeding program was expanded to zoos across the country , and in texas , fossil rim wildlife center in glen rose , the texas zoo in victoria and the fort worth zoo have captive red wolves and participate in the program .
habitat it could once be found from southeastern new mexico throughout central texas , all the way down to the mexican border and into louisiana .
originally listed as endangered march 11 , 1967 . mexican gray wolf listed as an endangered subspecies april 28 , 1976 . reintroduced population of mexican gray wolf listed as experimental nonessential in portions of az and nm on jan . 12 , 1998 . minnesota population reclassified as threatened march 9 , 1978 . currently extirpated from texas .
why is there a dog at a wolf sanctuary ? evidently once the label “wolf” is slapped onto a canine it can be incredibly difficult to remove , even if it is incorrect .
so , of course , with less than two weeks left in texas , one of my main missions was to meet some wolves face to face .
distribution in texas . the gray wolf formerly ranged over the western two - thirds of the state , but now is extirpated over all of the west , including texas . the last authenticated reports of gray wolves in texas are of two males , the skulls of which were donated to sul ross state university . according to james scuddy , one wolf was shot december 5 , 1970 , on the cathedral mountain ranch , 27 km south of alpine , brewster county . the other was trapped several days before december 28 , 1970 , on the joe neal brown ranch located at about the point where brewster , pecos , and terrell counties meet .
in south central texas the wolf hunt survives as a living fragment of a wild past . dogs , pickup trucks , campfires and an occasional howl in the desolate night are the background for hunters ' tales of wily predators made even more clever by civilization
mexican wolves once roamed across west texas , new mexico , arizona and northern mexico . after a century of persecution , poisonings , trapping and a great deal of ignorance , the last wolves were recorded in arizona , new mexico and in texas in 1970 . all three of these remaining mexican lobos were killed .
every donation , no matter the size , helps tremendously . to financially support saint francis wolf sanctuary ,
saint francis wolf sanctuary is a 501 ( c ) ( 3 ) nonprofit charity in montgomery , texas , whose mission is to rescue and provide a loving , exceptional home to non - releasable wolves and wolfdogs , and to educate the public about these animals .
photo of captive mexican gray wolf m968 at sevilleta courtesy of the u . s . fish and wildlife service
in 1962 , an austin college professor named howard mccarley sounded the alarm about the red wolf and its unexpected spiral toward extinction . he pointed out that what people thought were wolves were actually coyotes or wolf - coyote hybrids .
the wolf’s howl helped reveal the dire situation . in the mid - 1960s , biologists went in search of the red wolf in places across the southeast where the wolf was thought to live . they drove back roads at night playing taped wolf howls — a sound the wolves can’t resist answering — and listened for a response . the choruses of answering howls came from both wolves and coyotes , and they focused in on the howls that were distinctly wolfish .
a mountain without a wolf on it , then , must stand a little shorter , and a state without a wolf , well , will have to settle for the long - faded howls of a misunderstood creature of the night .
the injustice of removing wolves with the desire of making this permanent has been a tragedy on many levels . that last wolf wandering across brewster county had to wonder what was happening .
where have all the others gone ?
it must have wondered . yet that was not the last wolf to die in texas . sul ross state university ( srsu ) in alpine , texas , picked the wolf ( also known as the lobo ) as their mascot as early as 1924 when there still had to be a number of wolves wandering across the borderlands . the first lobo mascot was given to the university in 1925 . it was kept in captivity and appeared at games . history does not record what happened to this individual .
the extirpation of the wolf over most of its former range released predator pressure on such big game as deer , which in part created a serious problem of overpopulation of this game animal in several localities in texas . that wolves play a valuable role in the economy of big game animals is frequently overlooked .
additionally , many of the wolfdogs who wind up in sanctuaries were once pets . the legality of owning a wolfdog varies from state to state ( and in texas , from county to county ) .
gray wolf . the gray wolf ( canis lupus ) , popularly called the
loafer
or the
lobo ,
once flourished in texas but is now practically extinct there . the male of this large , doglike carnivore weighs some 130 pounds and reaches six feet from tail - tip to nose . the gray wolf is an intelligent social animal with powerful jaws and a distinctive mournful howl . its young are born in late winter in litters of five to fourteen , after a sixty - three - day gestation period . the lobo typically dens in a crevice of a rocky bluff ; the rugged eastern edge of the llano estacado afforded a favorite location . the geographical range of the gray wolf was confined to south and west texas , southeast new mexico , and northeast mexico . the lobo , styled the marathon runner of texas fauna , can reach speeds of twenty - two to twenty - eight miles an hour for the first two miles , and thereafter trot at eleven or twelve miles an hour for the next five to eight miles . thus it can outrun its prey in an extended chase .
the second and last lobo mascot arrived at srsu in 1966 . reports say this wolf arrived from tucson and was given the name sully . they later discovered that the wolf was a female and was thereafter referred to as miss sully . i remember seeing miss sully in a small cage on the main drive through the campus . the cage had virtually no shelter , and was small and confined . in my eyes , this was a terrible way to treat any animal . miss sully died in 1974 . some coward decided they didn’t even like this one captive wolf in texas and they threw poisoned meat into her cage . no doubt miss sully died a horrible death and the killer was never brought to justice . she deserved better , as did the thousands of wolves in west texas that went before her .
the fish and wildlife service considers the red wolf a distinct species , though its taxonomic status isn’t completely clear and debate is ongoing .
all of us at texas wolfdog project hope to provide current and potential new owners with the information and resources to better care for their wolfdog and / or wolfdogs they may share their life with in the future .
not far from the urban sprawl of houston , nestled among rural farms and untouched fields , lies what is known as the best kept secret of montgomery , texas : a safe haven for wolves and wolfdogs alike .
the coyote is the trickster in native american lore — clever and highly adaptable . the gray wolf is a cunning , fearsome creature . the red wolf is … what , exactly ? the problem was that red wolves had mostly died off before anyone could study them in the wild . the red wolf is somehow considered less “wolfy” than the gray wolf , yet it’s more than just a large coyote . like other wolves , red wolves live in small packs . they feed on rabbits , raccoons and nutria ; they are elusive and generally avoid humans .
the wild population now clocks in at 100 to 130 animals , with 175 more in captivity . reintroduction of the red wolf stands as a true conservation triumph — it was the first predator restored after being declared extinct in the wild and paved the way for future wolf reintroductions .
all copyrighted materials included within the handbook of texas online are in accordance with title 17 u . s . c . section 107 related to copyright and “fair use” for non - profit educational institutions , which permits the texas state historical association ( tsha ) , to utilize copyrighted materials to further scholarship , education , and inform the public . the tsha makes every effort to conform to the principles of fair use and to comply with copyright law .
for generations , wolves have evoked hatred and fear in people . it was government policy to eradicate red wolves until people realized there were hardly any left . passionately persecuted with gun , trap and poison , they almost disappeared . once , red wolves roamed as a top predator across the southeastern u . s . , from florida to texas and as far north as pennsylvania . by the 1960s , through predator control and habitat loss , they were reduced to a sliver of marginal habitat in the bayou country along the gulf coast . in texas , the red wolf had its last stand .
of course , it isn’t all bleak . while wolves have yet to be reintroduced into the wild in texas , other parts of the united states , such as yellowstone national park , have enjoyed huge successes in their programs .
they were dismayed by what they found . the red wolf no longer roamed its familiar territory . the biologists determined that the only red wolves remaining were hemmed in along a stretch of coast in southeastern texas and southwestern louisiana . it seemed to be an unlikely final redoubt for the forest - loving wolf — coastal prairies and marshes that are a stone’s throw from houston , galveston and beaumont , in the shadow of one of the most industrialized areas of the country , an area of rice farms , cattle ranches and oilfields .
our human woman - chasing wolves come well by their names . the male wolf has an exceptionally strong sex drive , and before his lifetime mate has arrived on the scene , he will sometimes go prospecting among the young ladies of the nearest domestic canine community . in red river county in northeast texas the offspring of one of these clandestine trysts had all the physical characteristics of a wolf but the head of a bulldog . wolves have been known to break into shacks housing female dogs in heat , spend long happy hours under the texas moon and leave their female friends with gaudy , purple memories . earl needham knows a man who mated a wolf with a black and tan , a hound dedicated with every fibre of its being to the slaughter of wolves . the offspring was a house divided .
he didn ' t know whether to hunt himself ,
says needham ,
or hunt himself !
a 1970 texas parks and wildlife department survey of red wolves , using a hand - cranked air - raid siren on the back of a pickup to elicit howls , found at least 100 wolves , mainly in jefferson , chambers and liberty counties .
it is this adaptability , this extrasensory survival instinct , that makes the red wolf so formidable a quarry . even when 40 or 50 hounds jump a wolf , the odds remain strongly in the wolf ' s favor .
some people say the dogs has the same chance the wolf has ,
says needham ,
but experience has showed that ' s just not true .
the wolves will sometimes relay the dogs . with the pack in hot pursuit , a second wolf will cut across the trail and take the whole pack of hounds with him . after an hour or so at a 15 - to 20 - mile - an - hour pace , the second wolf will hand the pack back to the first wolf , now well rested . after four or five hours of this , the hounds will be so exhausted that they will lose all chance of making a kill . sometimes three or four wolves will separate a hound from the pack and make a kill of their own , first nipping the dog ' s hamstring to immobilize him and then applying the coup to the dog ' s throat .
saint francis wolf sanctuary could always use an extra set of helping hands . if you want to help make a difference we have multiple positions available . see our
the gray wolf is a close relative of domestic dogs . its thick fur ranges in color from creamy white , reddish - brown , to shades of gray and black . gray wolves are the largest species of wolf and range between 50 - 90 pounds and 4 - 5 feet long . adult males are larger than adult females .
wolves bark , whimper and growl , too , but it’s the howl that fascinates us . in texas , the red wolf’s howl echoed for the last time across the forests and plains more than 30 years ago , when biologists rounded up the final ragtag group of wolves in a last - ditch effort to save the species . today , the howls of wild red wolves can be heard only on a marshy peninsula of eastern north carolina , where they were reintroduced after being declared extinct in the wild . this past summer i joined about 30 people there for a red wolf “howling safari” and heard their wild call .
the hero of this melodrama set to music is , of course , the noble wolf , and no one respects the tawny reddish animal more than earl needham .
he is the galliest critter and the smartest critter you ever seen , and it takes a mighty smart hound dog to keep up with him ,
says needham , who speaks in a wondrously clear and simple texas twang that would have gladdened the ears of george bernard shaw .
you could live on a acre of land with a wolf family for years and years and you ' d never even know they was there .
one reason is that the wolf does not hunt near his den , lest he give away the whereabouts of his defenseless pups . says needham :
sometimes i ' ll get a call from some rancher that wolves is chewing up his turkeys or his sheep , and will i come out with my hounds and catch him . first thing i do is i don ' t even bother looking for the wolf within three , four miles of that ranch . if a wolf is killing on a ranch , that means his den is nowheres near .
saint francis wolf sanctuary is growing thanks to the amazing support of people like you , and will need to relocate by 2019 . for more info and to help , visit our
gray wolves were once found throughout north america . historically , gray wolves were found over the western 2 / 3 of the state . today , none remain in texas . its status in mexico is unknown , and it may be extirpated ( no longer exists in mexico ) .
the saint francis wolf sanctuary is the only facility of its kind in the area , and houses fifteen gorgeous animals ( as of september 2015 ) , all with varying degrees of wolf and dog in them . it’s truly a unique haven for these animals : a place where they are given lives as close as possible to those they would have in the wild .
it’s been a rough journey for america’s “other wolf , ” full of cliffhangers and near - catastrophes . as a species , it has been to the brink of oblivion and back . today , the red wolf is an endangered species success story , though many challenges still stand in the animal’s way . this year marked the 25th anniversary of its reintroduction into the wild .
in the case of the wolf , a few of the traits they look for include muzzle shape , forehead slope , ear shape , and , of course , that distinctive eye color .
to understand wolf hunters like needham , one first has to throw out all previous conceptions of hunting . wolf hunting is a visual and an auditory experience , an affair of the senses . no shots are fired , and there is no ridiculous stomping through jungles and forests . mainly , wolf hunters spectate . in the absence of train whistles they drive their pickups to the outback , sound loud police sirens across the night , listen for answering cries from wolves and then release their hounds as close to the wolves as possible , all in the hope of starting a
race ,
the long run that may take wolf and hounds 100 miles in diminishing circles before the quarry goes down in a frenzy of snapping teeth or , as is more commonly the case , until the wolf gets away . while this is transpiring , the hunters sit alongside their pickups , drinking coffee , telling wolf - and - bull stories and reveling in the cacophony of a pack of hounds hot on the scent .
that is the real reason we are here ,
says burly earl needham .
the sounds and the hounds .
red wolves , lanky predators native to the southeast , are smaller than gray wolves and larger than coyotes . their coats aren’t truly red but range from tan to black with reddish highlights . in texas , red wolves lived in the eastern part of the state and gray wolves in the west .
two issues , however , continue to plague the red wolf recovery . the coyote continued its eastward march and since the mid - 1990s has taken up residence near the red wolf . the constant crush of coyotes is like that throbbing headache that won’t go away . worried about hybridization , wildlife managers have been sterilizing the coyotes and putting them back as placeholders to keep other coyotes out .
just take a look at this fabulous video by sustainable human about the long - term influence wolf reintroduction has had on yellowstone . yes , they have actually changed the geography of the park .
answer : though all of our animals are fed a balanced raw diet , if that cannot be properly maintained by any potential adopters or owners , texas wolfdog project recommends a high quality , grain free kibble for normal , everyday feeding . some wolfdogs , usually high contents , can be intolerant to certain grains / processed foods .
our tour guide helped to dispel some common myths about wolves ( myth # 1 : wolves are openly aggressive toward humans ) , as well as provided a brief history lesson , explaining how dogs came to be . he also talked a bit about the modern laws regarding the ownership of wolfdogs , which vary by county in texas .
needham ' s own wolf dogs come in all shapes and sizes , for the test of a wolf dog is not his pedigree but whether , when the issue is joined , the hound will tangle willingly with the slashing teeth of a wolf . as needham puts it ,
some hunters won ' t use anything but a registered dog ; the pedigree got to be three feet long . but that paper don ' t run that wolf . trial and error is what you use till you got the right dog . i ' ve used all kinds of hounds : walkers , julys , blue ticks , triggs , black and tans , goodmans and what we call ' potlickers , ' mixed breeds . they cost me about $ 150 apiece , and if i get one good dog out of every coupla dozen i buy i figure i ' m lucky .
after a dog has learned how to hunt wolves , he must be kept in shape , like any other athlete , and the only way to keep him in shape is to keep him running wolves .
it ' s like trainin ' a fighter to fight ,
says needham .
you got to have those dogs hard as arn to catch wolves . so you got to hunt ' em . they won ' t exercise , and if you don ' t hunt ' em for a few weeks they get fat and sloppy and short in the wind .
the discerning reader already will have noted a strong similarity between wolf hounds and baseball pitchers , in matters other than appearance . both can function like machines so long as they keep in motion , but as soon as they stop for any appreciable length of time they stiffen up and become useless . fay autry , a county commissioner in east texas , learned this the painful way and is still paying a stiff price in smart remarks by his friends . autry ' s dogs had spent four hours catching a wolf and working it over , and now the animal was presumed dead . autry had roped the wolf and dragged it out of the brush when he noticed that one of his dogs was lagging behind as though injured . he let go of the wolf to administer to the dog , and when he turned around the
dead
wolf was gone . not one of the dogs in the pack had deigned to give chase .
they were so tired and sore ,
said the rueful autry ,
that they wouldn ' t even look for the trail .
needham had a similar experience . a wolf , certified dead by a coroner ' s jury of wolf hunters , was pitched over a barbed - wire fence toward needham .
that wolf came down on his four feet and took right off into the cedar brush ,
needham recalls .
lucky i had one big old dog left with enough energy to go catch him again . the rest of my hounds had cooled out .
to any but close friends , these insinuations about the dogliness of a man ' s pack would be fighting words , but these men are old hunting partners , and no blood is drawn . soon the hour , the wind and the temperature are deemed correct , and the hunters file out , load their pickups with hounds and listen to commander in chief earl needham ' s final words of advice , spoken in a pure texas idiom :
y ' all go to whar you blowed the sireen the other night . carl , you know whar you blowed the other night ? we goin ' up to ernie bee ' s and listen . i ' m just gonna go back in on that hill so if they howl i can turn loose on ' em . and y ' all ' ll know whar we at if we don ' t come down outa there now ?
in a cloud of exhaust fumes the convoy of dog - carrying trucks takes off into the black texas night , and another wolf hunt is on . till dawn it continues , like a battle , with needham deploying his troops , reassembling his dogs , sending his hunters far up backcountry roads to sound their
sireens
and occasionally joining them all around a camp - fire , there to chew some coffee and some fat . observing this frustrating night , when not a wolf is heard or seen but only miles and miles of wolf tracks that might have been made by phantoms , an outsider gets the impression that the prospect of executing a wild animal is just a peg to hang the evening on , a texas way of staying up all night with the boys and getting away with it .
characteristics on average , they had a small to medium build . though they were not quite as small as the mexican wolf . most were of a rather dark color , though some specimens have shown that they were occasionally white .
answer : 12 - 18 years , though this can largely depend on the dog breeds in the mix and the wolf content . either way , wolfdog ownership is a serious commitment for several years / the duration of their life .
the red wolf program broke new ground again when it started a program called pup fostering , where captive - born pups are placed in dens with wild litters and raised as wild wolves — an innovation that helped increase the population .
answer : there is no simple answer for this because this greatly depends on the individual animal and the amount of wolf that has been inherited . generally speaking , your lower content or animals that express more dog like traits overall will be more easily adaptable to home type living , possibly even being inside full time without any incidents . an animal that has inherited and expresses more wolf like traits , tend to require an owner experienced with these behaviors as well as proper containment and enrichment outside . short , supervised sessions in a “wolf proofed” environment is usually the extent of a higher content wolfdogs inside time due to their nature to investigate with their mouths , despite all attempts to curb this behavior .
public outcry for establishing populations of mexican wolves in the american southwest actually began in texas . in the 70s , rick lobello , an employee at big bend , began gathering support for the release of the species in the park . that has yet to happen , but a debt is owed to rick for starting the process . now is the time to do this .
but the ultimate offense against the code of the hunt is the dog that gets too smart , the so - called
cutting dog .
he ' ll chase that wolf with the rest of the pack for a while ,
says needham ,
till he figures out the pattern the wolf ' s runnin ' in . wolves usually run in circles , five or six miles around , and they keep passin ' the same checkpoints over and over again during the race . now this smart dog ' ll dope this out , and he ' ll find a spot where the wolf is crossin ' and lay there waitin ' for him , and when that wolf comes by the dog ' ll take out after him ahead of the pack . now we consider that downright unfair . we try to make the race equal to all the dogs , and this cuttin ' dog is cheatin ' because he ' s not makin ' the whole race . so we get rid of him .
the wolf sanctuary itself is not a huge complex . you can see most of the enclosures without moving , if you’re standing in the right spot . as a result , the tour is more heavily geared towards educating visitors and introducing them to the animals .
while all the organizations participating in urltoken share the common goal of recovering the mexican gray wolf , individual groups can , and sometimes do , differ in their approaches to specific issues . © 2016 - view our privacy policy - contact us : info @ urltoken
the ever - adaptable coyote had been increasingly taking over territory from the shattered red wolf . red wolves had lost their foothold so badly that they were interbreeding with coyotes . and in the delirium of disaster , the resulting “hybrid swarm” was threatening to overtake the species .
habits . the gray wolf inhabits forests , brushlands , or grasslands , preferring broken , open country in which suitable cover and denning sites are available . formerly , wolves occurred commonly in the grassland plains of the buffalo on which they relied for their chief food supply .
part of the reason it has become so easy to ban or regulate wolfdogs is because there is no usda approved rabies vaccine for wolfdogs crosses in the united states . this is used as leverage against owners to ban , regulate or otherwise deny vet care to many wolfdogs . avoiding the use of the words wolf , hybrid , wolfdog or wolf mix on any paperwork could save your animals life . finding a vet that will provide your wolfdog with all the proper vaccinations ( including rabies ) as well as a legal rabies certificate is extremely important .
each of the animals comes with its own story . some were brought here from the houston area , while others come from as far away as alaska . each has found a safe , secure home under the attentive care of the volunteers at the saint francis wolf sanctuary .
with homo sapiens slowly vanishing from the landscape , wildlife has moved back in . wildcats and gophers abound , blackbirds blot out the sun in flights of tens of thousands , roadrunners and larks and hawks wheel about . the armadillo , once a rare sight , considers the area around flatonia to be his levittown and provides the wolf with a steady staple of diet . sometimes hunters will find as many as 50 vacant armadillo shells around wolf dens . but few men share the wolf ' s enthusiasm for the flavor of the
poverty pig .
says hunter bill stulting :
we barbecued a armadiller once , but it was a old one and the longer i chewed it the bigger it got . i threw it away .
on wolf hunts at night one sees armadillos gnawing away at roots in the fields ; they look like miniature knights of yore all dressed for the lists but , unlike knights , they are easily frightened . sometimes their first reaction to danger is a jump straight up in the air , right out of the terrytoons , followed by a 50 - yard dash that would do credit to bob hayes .
andrew sansom , former tpwd executive director , says he led an effort to get red wolves released on matagorda island in the 1990s . he liked the idea of having the wolf back near its final stronghold , but federal officials , pointing to the threat of coyotes , thought differently .
then , he went on to discuss the different phenotypes ( science word of the day ! a phenotype is a fancy word for a physical trait , like eye color ) that help the volunteers determine whether an animal is a wolf , a dog , or a mix of the two .
it has been argued that the lobo ' s impact on the frontier range was a good one because it reduced the numbers of old , weak , and infirm animals . this view was likely true when the lobo ' s main prey was the buffalo . by the late 1870s , after hide - hunters had reduced the southern buffalo herd to near extinction , stockmen introduced herds of the domestic cow . the lobo ' s role then changed dramatically . the wolf apparently liked the best available cows as well as the sick ones . stockmen complained bitterly . it was not unusual for a rancher to find a prime cow missing ten pounds of flesh from a rear loin . furthermore , the wolf had a reputation for blatant overkill ; once , eight cows were found dead or dying , and evidence suggested that a single wolf had been there . recent books have confirmed that the lobo killed beyond its needs .
answer : wolfdogs are any cross of a wolf bred to a dog , a wolfdog bred to another wolfdog or a wolfdog bred to a dog with varying amounts of wolf heritage . the majority of wolfdogs being produced now are from wolfdog to wolfdog pairings . pure wolves are not as common for private ownership breeding in recent years . wolfdogs are purposely bred and sold by breeders in many states across the united states . wolves are not pulled from the wild for stock . most foundation animals have been captive bred and raised for over 40 years , dating back to the fur farms in the 60’s and 70’s .
answer : this is also a question that would be dependent on the individual animal’s temperament and experience with children . texas wolfdog project generally advises that wolfdogs should not be in homes with children under 12 . due to the size of most wolfdogs , sometimes heightened drives and resource guarding , placing an animal in an experienced home or one without kids is usually the best option for all parties involved , especially if that animal has never previously been raised around or exposed to younger children .
at one point , several red wolves got it into their heads that when needham loaded his hunting dogs into his truck and drove off into the night the safest place to be was right there at the camp house , the jumping - off spot .
i ' d come back from huntin ' all night , without a sign of any wolf , and my dogs ' d be all whupped out , and we ' d find wolf tracks all around the camp house . while we was off huntin ' ' em , them scouns was back there tryin ' to dig under the fence and get the dogs ' dinner .
earl needham , a middle - aged cattleman from the little cow town of flatonia , texas , is in no immediate peril of being mistaken for a werewolf , though even his best friends would have to admit that there are points of resemblance . at night long strings of empties rattle through flatonia , and when the engineers whistle for the crossing there often is heard an answering call from out on the range . the wolves of texas , after all these years , are still inclined to think of the night trains as brethren , and their answering howls easily could be taken from the sound track of a werewolf movie . no hair grows on earl needham ' s face when these cries are heard across the prairie , but in other respects he is likely to emulate our movie hero . carefully remembering to open the door first , needham rushes into the night , jumps into his pickup truck , drives out to his camp house , assembles his pack of hounds and rides to the hunt .
wolf hunters can tell exactly what ' s going on during a hunt by the sounds made by their dogs , by what they call the dog ' s
mouth .
we got all kinds ,
needham says ,
and you just have to learn to tell ' em apart , one by one . we got dogs that on a cold trail they may be bawlin ' , wailin ' and squallin ' . then they get on up there close to that wolf and they ' ll begin to chop a little bit , shorter barks . they ' re changin ' their mouth now , and you can tell from this how things are goin ' . course , there ' s different mouth dogs—some of them are squallin ' mouth dogs till they start runnin ' , but a squallin ' mouth dog don ' t usually give as much mouth when he starts to runnin ' a wolf . there ' s chop mouth , coarse mouth , fine mouth , horn mouth that sounds like a horn , and bawlin ' dogs . we got a dog that ' s a goose - mouth dog and another one is a turkey - mouth dog : talk , talk , talk , talk , like a old turkey gobbler . we got dogs with high screamin ' mouths that gives a lot of mouth , very loud , and they scare a wolf and make ' em move out and tire their - selves . when my dogs take out after a wolf , i can tell each dog and what he ' s doing and what his mouth means . you get to know ' em . it ' s just like you listenin ' to a crowd of people and you can recognize different voices .
with time running out , the government took desperate and drastic action : it decided to remove the red wolves and put them in captivity with hopes of reintroducing them into the wild someday . despite the hope and intent of the endangered species act , wildlife managers decided to make the red wolf extinct in the wild in order to save it .
the gray wolf eats animals ranging from mice to cows and spends around one - third of its time in search of food . it becomes engorged by eating a fifth of its weight at a single meal , then goes three or four days without food . though it usually runs in packs , pioneer texans also noted that the lobo hunts in pairs . the female snaps at a cow ' s nose , while the male watches for an opportunity to dart in and sever the victim ' s hamstring . because the gray wolf often eats its victims alive , one stockman called it the
cruelest predator .
in the 1880s in dakota country , theodore roosevelt called it the
beast of waste and desolation .
the demise of mexican wolves in texas was complete by 1970 . in that year , two were killed in december at separate locations in brewster county where big bend national park is located . under natural conditions , wolves fed on a large variety of animals , with deer making up a large percentage of the total . opportunistically , they will feed on just about anything , including rabbits , squirrels , birds and reptiles . when natural game is scarce , wolves may take livestock , but in a functioning , healthy ecosystem this is the exception , not the rule .
as if the poor hound dog doesn ' t have enough problems , he is expected to follow a code of ethics as strict and inflexible as the rules for admission to the junior league .
silent trailing ,
for example , is a major breach of the code . a silent trailer will jump a wolf track and go off in quiet pursuit , single - o , leaving the pack far behind . if he catches up to the wolf , he won ' t be able to make the kill alone and may well pay the supreme penalty for his rashness . the proper behavior for a dog that cuts a wolf ' s trail is to bark bloody murder , thus bringing the whole pack into the chase and improving the odds . the converse of the silent trailer is the dog that begins barking just for the sheer dizzy joy of being out in the country of a pleasant evening .
we call this kind of dog a babbler ,
says needham .
he shoots off his mouth for nothin ' and drags the whole rest of the pack with him .
a smart wolf will run straight for a hole in a barbed - wire fence in the dead of night ; the hounds will come caterwauling up , slam into the barbed wire , then waste time trying to find the hole . in the meantime , the wolf has come back through the fence via another hole . wolves even have learned to run along the highway , a most unnatural place for so wild an animal . the pavement does not hold scent as well as brush , and auto fumes make it hard for the hounds to pick up what little scent there is . wolves will run through herds of cattle , confusing the issue still more , or take a shortcut through a backyard , mixing scents with the local watchdogs .
in 1973 , congress passed the endangered species act , and the red wolf was one of the first animals listed . the first goal was to protect the wolves in their remaining territory , and the government started trapping coyotes to prevent the red wolves from being genetically swamped . the effort didn’t work . the wolves were surrounded by an ever - encroaching sea of coyotes .
wolf dogs are trained and treated like scholarship athletes at ucla . needham ' s own pack runs from 15 dogs up ; the number is always changing , because hounds are killed by wolves and new dogs are brought in and others die when they get to be about 6 , old age for a working wolf hound . needham has no stomach for training his own dogs ; he has found the necessary techniques too offensive to his own gentle nature .
the way they train dogs to fight wolves ,
he says ,
is they ' ll catch coyotes in traps and they ' ll tie the coyotes ' mouths , which is cruel , and i ' ve never been able to do anything like that in my life . then they ' ll turn the coyote loose and let the young dogs catch him and kill him . when the dogs learn how to do that , they ' ll let one coyote go without his mouth being tied , and then the dogs ' ll learn a little more . they get some of those hounds so highly trained they ' ll tear through a screened wire so they can get at a wolf .
“red wolves , which are big - eared and short - coated , slender , spindly , stilt - legged for coursing through the southern marshes or under tall forests , have always impressed observers as being rather rudimentary and unemphatic for wolves , ” writes edward hoagland in his essay “lament of the red wolf . ” “behaviorally they resemble gray wolves ; ecologically they are more like coyotes . ”
these wolfdogs are sold as pets to individuals who do not have a full understanding of what they are getting themselves into . often , the owners realize very quickly that wolfdogs do not make ideal pets . they have the wary instincts of a wolf , dislike feeling trapped indoors , and may not easily trust humans . as a result , they are often abandoned , through no fault of their own .
seriously , there aren’t words to express the beauty of these animals . she made three whole passes , and seemed to love having her back scratched — her leg even motored a little , like my pups at home . it was definitely possible to see her more wolf - like traits , though . her long , athletic legs , narrow chest , and those yellow - tinted eyes are a dead giveaway .
“it seems like you’re going backward , ” says david rabon , coordinator of the red wolf recovery program for the u . s . fish and wildlife service . “you’re given this new piece of legislation to go out there and save the planet , save these species . and one of the first things you do is go : ‘we’ll extirpate them in the wild . ’” but , he added , it was the right thing to do .
soon the excuse may be gone . civilization , that implacable enemy of hunter and hunted alike , is approaching flatonia ; a freeway is inching across from san antonio to houston , and earl needham reckons that it will pass
right behind my dog pen .
nothing would kill wolf hunting faster than an uncrossable modern turnpike . earl talked to the authorities about this encroachment on his constitutional right to foray all over the country in search of the red wolf ,
and i told them they ' re agonna have to build them a underpass for my dogs to run .
then , with the look of a stubborn old texan digging in for a long range war , needham added :
yes sir , that ' s all they are to it !
with his code of ethics , his faithful hound dogs and his chili pateens all going for him , needham would seem to be the favorite .
also like major league pitchers , wolf hounds are expected to perform as specialists , not as all - round stars . their job is to find , chase and kill wolves , and nothing else but wolves . and if their attention wanders off to other forms of wildlife , they are sent back to the minors . to chase anything but wolves is called
trashing ,
and a dog that
trashes
is subjected to stiff punishment .
a lot of hunters will whup the whey out of a dog that trashes ,
says needham ,
and i ' ve even known ' em to shoot their own dogs in the tail with a light load of no . 7 shot from a . 410 . it ' s like a sharp spray , but the noise scares ' em , and pretty soon they learn that they ' re gonna get hurt if they open on anything but a wolf trail .