By Bobbie Lieberman
from MODERN HORSE BREEDING, May/June 1993
(photo by Anne M. Eberhardt)
The blaze-faced chestnut filly stole our hearts on that first Saturday in May back in 1980. Genuine Risk was the genuine article - one of only three fillies in history to win the Kentucky Derby. She proved she had class and consistency when she finished second in the Preakness and Belmont, in the process becoming the only filly to compete in all three Triple Crown races.
Genuine Risk retired a star, and was sent off to do what most wellbred classic winners do - produce babies.
When she was bred to Secretariat in 1982, the thought of a foal from two Derhy winners was breathtaking. But the foal was stillborn in the spring of 1983, and few guessed that this would be the heginning of a perplexing pattern of losses that would run the gamut of breeding misfortunes.
But this tale has a happy ending. It took countless covers, assorted stallions and 11 years, but Genuine Risk has her foal.
On the afternoon of May 15, about the time the field was loading into the starting gate for the 118th running of the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore, Maryland, veterinarian Jim Becht, DVM, slipped a bolus of 15 units of oxytocin into Genuine Risk's sleek chestnut neck. Within minutes the mare had broken out in a cool, damp sweat, a sure sign that labor had begun.
The foaling crew waited quietly, and within 20 minutes two front feet and a nose could be palpated at the cervix. Becht gave her a smaller dose of oxytocin, and the delivery was completed in textbook fashion. From first dose to foaling, 35 minutes had gone by, and Genuine Risk at age 16 was the mother of her first live foal.
For Genuine Risk, the risks were genuine.
According to reports filed with the Jockey Club, Genuine Risk was barren in 1984 and '85; she was not covered in 1986; she was again barren in '87 and '88; she slipped in 1989 and '90, and again in 1991. Almost everything that could go wrong, did go wrong, from a too-long umbilicus to placentitis.
Then, in the spring of 1992, on her second cycle, Genuine Risk conceived to the cover of Rahy at Three Chimneys Farm, and lo and behold, she stayed in foal. The months clicked by and everything was amazingly, miraculously, perfectly normal.
Although it looked like Mother Nature was running her course quite nicely this time around, the mare's caretakers were taking no chances. About eight weeks before she actually foaled (and a month before she was "due"), Becht began performing transabdominal ultrasound scans of the mare. This enabled him to record baseline values for the fetal heart rate, positioning of the foal and thickness of the placenta and uterine wall.
"We wanted to characterize the amount of allantoic and amniotic fluid," said Becht. In addition, he was watching for free-floating bodies in the allantoic fluid, which are known to increase about 10 days before foaling. Becht was also keeping an eye on aortic diameter, which is thought to be correlated with fetal size.
For the first two weeks, Becht scanned the fetus twice a week. He then increased the frequency to once a day and finally, when Genuine Risk was inching past 340 days gestation, twice a day scans became the norm - once early in the morning and again at 5 p.m.
Although Genuine Risk had gone beyond the average gestational length of 342 days, neither the staff of Three Chimneys nor her veterinarian were concerned. The "average" gestational length is just a guide - few mares consult the tables and besides, it is the fetus that indicates when he is ready for birth (see "Preparation For Birth: Who Gives The Signal?" MHB/Jan93).
The foal's heart rate had been holding steady in the 60 to 72 range for about five to six days, when on Saturday afternoon it abruptly dropped to 40. But what concerned Becht even more was that it had become arhythmic - and it had never been that way before.
"This indicated fetal distress," said Becht. The foal simply wasn't getting enough oxygen, and the dams of such foals tend to abort them pretty quickly. "It was obvious that we had to do something." Without delay, they put Genuine Risk on a van and took her - accompanied by her entire crew - straight to nearby Rood & Riddle Veterinary Hospital.
When she arrived at the hospital, Genuine Risk had "four fingers dilation" - sufficient to meet the criteria for induction. In went the oxytocin, and out came the foal, with familiar voices and faces there to assist - broodmare manager Gary Bush, Tom Clark and Joey Mattingly.
Although Rood & Riddle veterinarians remained in the background during the foaling process itself, they sprang into action to evaluate the newcomer. The clinical team included internist William Bernard, DVM, internist/cardiologist Johanna Reimer, DVM, and surgeon Rolf Embertson, DVM.
An EKG of the foal immediately after foaling confirmed that the heartbeat was irregular, but it became normal within a few minutes and leveled off near 100 beats per minute. Oxygen and fluids administered to the foal shortly after birth were soon discontinued when it became obvious that here was a strong, healthy youngster.
The chestnut colt with three stockings, star and stripe stood at 6:30 p.m. and nursed at 8:10 p.m. To bolster Genuine Risk's own colostrum, the foal was given additional compatible frozen colostrum to ensure a high immunoglobulin level. At 18 hours of age, his IgG level was 1100 mg/dl.
At 11 p.m., mare and foal were vanned back to Three Chimneys; by 11:30 p.m. that night Genuine Risk and her new baby were back in their stall.
Three Chimneys manager Dan Rosenberg and communications director Margaret Layton fielded dozens of media requests and interviews, and the headlines trumpeted, "It's A Boy!" and "Special Delivery" from coast to coast. Taking full advantage of his celebrity status, the foal kept his face in the news.
Early Sunday afternoon, he began showing signs of colic. Although the neonate had passed a fair amount of meconium, by 4 p.m., an ultrasound scan of his abdomen revealed distended loops of intestine. It was time for another trip to the hospital.
There, additional radiographs and sonograms were consistent with a high meconium impaction. Since the foal continued to nurse and play, veterinarians opted for conservative treatment with mineral oil and fluids aimed at increasing gut fluid content enough to move the mass along.
But at 3 a.m. on Monday morning, the foal showed signs of severe pain, and his heart rate shot up to 120. With the day-old foal under general anesthesia, surgeon Rolf Embertson removed a baseball-sized impaction from the large colon.
"He came through it well," commented Becht. "He was a very strong foal, and that was in his favor."
Who said this would be easy?
This time, the duo stayed in the hospital a while longer. Within a few days, the foal was bouncing around the stall; mare and foal returned for the second time to Three Chimneys that Thursday. A new media photo opportunity was set, with the owners, Bert and Diana Firestone, scheduled to meet the foal they have waited for so long.
Upon their homecoming, mare and foal were turned out in a grassy paddock. The new mom enjoyed a roll in the fresh grass, and both spent time soaking up the sunshine.
"Jenny is super - a tremendous mom," said Becht. He said that her behavior toward the foal was much like a maiden mare's - quite protective. Although she was tired after labor was induced, when her baby nickered she rose up and began to nuzzle her newborn with obvious affection.
Already Genuine Risk and her foal have graced the cover of The BloodHorse and Thoroughbred Times and have been featured in the national news. They have been an inspiration to pregnant women and women with fertility problems. Three Chimneys has received 50 to 60 calls a day since the foal was born, with many people calling to suggest names for the youngster.
The Firestones are tickled pink with their flashy baby. And who can blame them? Perhaps they have another classic contender coming up. But most importantly, they've proven that the breeding business, with all of its uncertainties and heartbreaks, will ultimately reward those who stay the course.
