Mystik Dan, a 3-year-old colt from Kentucky, has been training under Ken McPeek at his Silverleaf Hills Training Center in Summerfield since 2023. He was sired by Goldencents out of the Colonel John mare Ma’am and trained by Kenneth G. McPeek. McPeek trained Mystik Dan’s mare, Ma’am, who was later bred with Goldencents, a 2013 Derby winner.
Mystik Dan won the 2024 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, and is one of many winning horses trained in Central Florida. His dam, Ma’am, was trained by McPeek for the first 17 of her 23 starts. She competed in the overlapping border zones of upper-level claiming company and allowances.
Mystik Dan finished second in his debut sprinting 6 ½ furlongs at Keeneland during the October 2023 meet after leading in mid-stretch. He is one of many winning horses trained in Central Florida, including Mystik Dan, who is currently training at Silverleaf Hills in Marion County.
Mystik Dan’s mother, Ma’am, was bought by trainer Kenneth McPeek for the owners and recommended the mating of Goldencents to her. The colt was foaled at his Silverleaf Hills facility, but his conditioner opted to give the colt time following his Triple Crown campaign.
Mystik Dan’s impressive lineage and rigorous training have made him a favorite in the Kentucky Derby and other races in Central Florida.
📹 Mystic Dan’s Journey | Breeding to Winning the Kentucky Derby 2024
#RaisingMysticDan #HorseBreeding Training Brian Hernandez Jr. and trainer Kenny McPeek meticulously trained Mystic Dan, …
Where is Mystik Dan from?
Mystik Dan, a bay colt bred in Kentucky by Lance Gasaway and Daniel Hamby, is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. His name is derived from his father’s first name (Dan) and his father’s first business venture (Mystik Tape). Mystik Dan is a descendant of Darley Arabian and was born on March 4, 2021. He won the 2024 Kentucky Derby by a nose, beating Sierra Leone and Forever Young with a time of 2:03. 34.
Mystik Dan’s dam, Ma’am, was bought by trainer Kenneth McPeek for the owners, who recommended mating Goldencents to her. Goldencents, a two-time Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner, stands for $10, 000 at Spendthrift Farm in Kentucky.
Where is Mystic Dan training?
Mystik Dan, a horse trained by Ken McPeek at Silverleaf Hills Training Center in Summerfield, emerged victorious in the Kentucky Derby by a narrow margin. Sierra Leone, with a local connection, took second place with early race training from David Scanlon’s Scanlon Training and Sales at Reid Nagel’s Oak Ridge Training Center in Morriston. The horse was initially offered at odds of 18-1.
Are the owners of Mystic Dan from Arkansas?
The Gasaways and Hambys, proprietors of the 150th champion, have robust Arkansas affiliations. One of the owners, Sharilyn Gasaway, posits that Mystik Dan’s composure is a distinguishing factor, as he is renowned for his distinctive demeanor.
How much did the owners of Mystic Dan win?
Mystik Dan won the 150th edition of the Run for Roses at Churchill Downs, earning a winning share of $3. 1 million from the Kentucky Derby purse. The horse, trained by Kenny McPeek, became the first trainer since 1952 to win both the Kentucky Oaks and Derby in the same year. Mystik Dan’s trainer, Kenny McPeek, also became the fourth ever to win both races in the same year. This marks Mystik Dan’s second win in a race this year, following his victory in the 2024 Southwest Stakes (Grade 3) on February 3. His career earnings reached $550, 050.
Is Mystik Dan a descendant of secretariat?
Six descendants of Secretariat, including Mystik Dan, Mugatu, Uncle Heavy, Catching Freedom, Just Steel, and Imagination, were victorious in the Derby, while Seize the Grey and Tuscan Gold are not descendants.
Are any horses in the Kentucky Derby related to Secretariat?
Secretariat, the greatest race horse ever, sired over 660 offspring before his euthanization at 19. His most successful descendant was 1992 Belmont Stakes and Breeders’ Cup Classic winner, A. P. Indy. This year, eight of the 20 horses competing in the 149th Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs are five generations removed from Secretariat, all coming from three of his foals: Secrettame, Weekend Surprise, and Medaille d’Or. Secretariat’s legacy remains untouched 50 years after his Triple Crown triumph.
Who trains Mystic Dan?
Kenny McPeek, a trainer with a history of winning Preakness and Belmont races, is considering Mystik Dan as a potential contender for the Kentucky Derby. Mystik Dan, a homebred by Goldencents, is the dual Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner. The Kentucky Derby exacta of Mystik Dan and Sierra Leone will face off in the $2 million Belmont Stakes. Mystik Dan, winner of the 150th Kentucky Derby, is also aiming for a classic double in the Preakness Stakes. In the 150th Kentucky Derby, Mystik Dan held off late charges of Sierra Leone and Forever Young in a thrilling finish.
Where was Mystic Dan raised?
Mystik Dan, a Kentucky-bred son of Goldencents and Colonel John mare Ma’am, was bred in Kentucky by 4G Racing, Gasaway, and Hamby.
How much did Mystic Dan pay?
Mystic Dan, the winner of the Kentucky Derby, was paid $39. 22 for winning the race, $16. 32 for placing second, and $10. 00 for finishing third. In contrast to the majority of US states, which round down to the dime, Kentucky employs a penny breakage system. The next event on the schedule is the Preakness. It should be noted that the victory of Mystic Dan is the only one that matters in this context.
Does Secretariat bloodline still exist?
The Secretariat stud, which had over 650 registered foals at the time of its founder’s demise, has two surviving progeny. Border Run, aged 34, and Trusted Company, aged 33, both celebrated their birthdays on January 1st.
Is Mystic Dan an Arkansas horse?
Mystic Dan, an equine bred in the US state of Arkansas, has become the first horse of Arkansas breeding to win the Kentucky Derby since 1984. This represents a significant achievement in recent years, as no other horse of Arkansas breeding has won the Kentucky Derby.
📹 Why Some Animals Can’t be Domesticated
Why didn’t Africans on Zebra conquer the world? Why don’t we have war bears? Part 1: …
I feel like dogs were such an incredible find for domestication. In today’s world where dogs are mostly kept just for fun, it’s easy for people to forget what they really have to offer- not food or transportation but a dedicated workforce capable of performing complex jobs day-in, day-out, and happily. perusal border collies herd sheep will never not be impressive to me. And even today there are dogs doing vital work in our societies- aiding police and providing medical assistance.
The zebra/horse contrast is especially interesting if you also talk about the other domesticated equine. Asses generally don’t fit the “family friendly” or “friendly” categories – they are usually solitary and they’re notorious for being stubborn, especially when feral – yet domesticated asses, aka donkeys, still happened.
Turns out there are lots of animals that you could domesticate if for some strange reason you wanted to spend the decades doing it. But they never were domesticated or were not until very recently. Belyayev’s foxes for example. The process from Wild Fox -> Domesticated Silver Fox took about 20 or so generations. Easily doable in one persons lifetime. History picked Grey Wolves instead.
There is one misconception about domestication and breeding: Most people don’t go “oh, this animal has great genes, I will breed it with that animal over there.” Most breeding that happens isn’t selecting animals with desirable traits but rather culling animals with undesirable traits. When winter comes and you decide, which part of your herd to butcher, you obviously choose to get rid of the problem animals rather than the well-behaved, healthy ones. And that’s usually the biggest player in livestock genetics.
Cats are a rather interesting example actually, as they weren’t something we purposefully domesticated. The domestication pathway for cats was one whereby cats noticed there were a metric sh*tload of rodents where these bipedal apes lived (not to mention the lack of predators in urban settlements). They then would move in, but due to the limited space, the cats that couldn’t tolerate other cats wouldn’t survive particularly long. By adapting social behaviour from kitten hood (wild cats are only social as kittens, thus things such as miaowing and kneading became social behaviours in adulthood), they where able to become a social species, that could live in dense cooperative colonies (interesting side note: Cats social behaviour’s are rather flexible, with cats living in urban regions tending to be more territorial vis a vis other cats (like they’re wild ancestors), whilst rural cats will share a core territory, even working together in that core territory (defence, care of young…), whilst keeping separate hunting grounds) and tolerate humans. And the humans, noticing these tiny tigers made the pest problems go away, would tolerate, even take care of the tiny tigers, leading to a more mutualistic relationship between the two (further side note; due to cats only being semi domesticated, and the social flexibility mentioned above, cats are perfectly comfortable switching between living with humans and wild lifestyles).
It should be noted that cats do have a sort of family structure; they form communities and colonies and take care of each-other but they don’t hunt together is a big part of what sets them apart from dogs which, ironically, actually makes them more suitable for domesticated then dogs; they hunt small animals, pests, which humans don’t eat, as opposed to dogs which hunt and eat large animals together, which makes them feedable.
Wild horse herd dynamics are as follows: the dominant stallion is not the herd leader, he brings up the rear and fights off predators and fends off challenges from subdominant stallions. The herd leader is the dominant mare who decides where to go and when. She also establishes the social pecking order. This may not be a crucial point for the article but I enjoy imparting accurate information
There is a species of frog called a Microhylid that’s developed a symbiotic relationship with multiple large Spider species. These frogs are small enough that they would make a very easy meal for the Spider, but they live in close quarters with each other with the Spider essentially acting like the Frog’s bodyguard. Why? Because most of the Frog’s natural predators won’t mess with the Spider and will stay clear… and the frog eats ants which are a natural predator of spider eggs. They have a symbiotic relationship. The Spider will tolerate and even defend the frog instead of eating it, and the frog earns its keep by ‘protecting’ the spider’s eggs. Depending on what way you look at it, either the frog has a pet spider that it’s domesticated and trained to protect it…or the Spider has a pet frog that it’s domesticated and trained to protect its eggs. Why am I telling you this? Because that’s basically our relationship with cats. We didn’t domesticate cats. We basically domesticated each other. The cats realized that life was way easier where the humans were… and we benefited from letting them stick around. They got free food and shelter and we got an animal that hunted and killed vermin.
Yes, cats are about as domestic as spiders. Humans never tried to domesticate or tame them. They just walked into humans’ houses and humans said: “You’re cute and you take care of mice and moths! OK, you can stay!”. And they still do that. I know of a few feral cats who just walked into a house and the humans welcomed them to stay.
Correction about horses: when the herd is traveling, the stallion does NOT lead the group. That’s the lead mare’s place. The stallion stays at the back of the group and keeps the stragglers moving, which also puts him in a better position to attack any predators that are coming from behind to attack said stragglers.
I have cats. They live with me and Susan in a nicely sized 8th floor apartment in a City. I am not part of a pack or a herd, I am a littermate. They harass me, yell at me, demand y attention but are always ready to sit on my lap(or chest, or crotch) if they feel I am ill or depressed or stressed. They help my blood pressure, mental health and stress levels without slobbering on me, threatening my neighbors or needing a walk outside. These guys are better than you think…at least to me
I believe the cat was domesticated some 9K years ago, around the time when larger stockpiles of foods, namely grains, were becoming more commonplace and widespread. Rodents would try to infest granaries, cats would hunt them at this new more predictable source, and eventually both humans and cats would become accustomed to each other through exposure and mutual coexistence benefits. We never bred cats or exploited their family structures, we just got used to each other, our living situation is a mutual coexistence, not a dependence, and so cats typically behave as they always have.
The 4 factors are also widely theorized why some societies (such as the aborigine ones of Australia) remained largerly hunter gatherer ones until their discovery due to the lack decent domestication options in native fauna. The Victorians often equated civilization as equalling intelligence, but the development of settled societies after the last Ice Age ended were actually more down to pot luck factors such as local geography, climate and local fauna/flora options available than anything else.
Domesticated cats actually have a funny social heirarchy. They like to live in colonies, with one or two queens/mothers, a few top breeding males, and many younger cats to help with the hunting and defense. Cats interacting with cats is like– their favorite things to do are annoy other cats, cuddle with other cats, groom, and eat. And for those purposes? to them, you count as a cat for the purposes of the Cat Pile.
Have you ever heard the story of the three legged pig? One day a man drove by a farm and saw a three-legged pig. The man went up to the farmer and said, “Excuse me, but why does that pig only have 3 legs?” “Well,” said the farmer, “that pig is very special. One time my wife was cooking something she stepped out of the kitchen and it caught on fire. No one in the house knew about it but the pig, and he saved me, my wife, and my 2 kids.” “That’s amazing!” said the man, but why does the pig only have three legs?” “Well, there was that time the pig saw a big storm coming and we didn’t. The pig ran into the house and dragged us out to the storm cellar. If it weren’t for that pig we would all be dead.” “But still, that doesn’t explain why the pig only has 3 legs.” “And I remember the time my youngest son was stuck up a tree, but I was too far away to hear his cries for help. The pig ran to me and led me to where he was.” “Well, that is a miracle, but how come that pig only has 3 legs?” the man said quite annoyed at this point. “Well,” said the farmer, “with a pig that special… you have to eat ’em real slow.”
The more common plains and mountain Zebras do have social structures, and the fact that many have been tamed and broken to the saddle suggests that someone could have created a domesticated breed had they wished too. ‘Zebra species differ in social behaviour, with plains and mountain zebra living in stable harems consisting of an adult male or stallion, several adult females or mares, and their young or foals’.
There have been documented cases of zebra domestication, and despite the reputation plains zebras do in fact have social hierarchies similar to horses. There are species in Africa and the Americas that meet the domestication checklist that never were, and if we look at the ancestors of domesticated animals, they were just as wild zebras today.
One problem I’ve always had with the whole “friendly” part of this rule: There’s a lot of domesticated animals that certainly don’t qualify as friendly in their wild state: Dogs: are nice, cute, and fluffy. Gray wolves are extremely dangerous, smart, pack hunting predator/scavengers. The theory of how they self-tamed – following human hunter-gatherers, eating their scraps, and coming to trust them as a consistent source of food, etc, makes some degree of sense, but it’s also worth noting that humans have been afraid of grey wolves for the vast majority of history. This, alone, could be a low frequency event. Goats: are kinda jerks even in their domesticated state. Bezoar Ibex are jerks with 1.5 meter long horns and is bloody hard to hunt down. They live on mountains – the faces of which most people would call unclimbable cliffs until they saw the Ibex casually walking up what seems like a vertical wall of stone. Depending on if they see you as a competitor for dominance or a predator, they’ll either smash you with their mighty headbutts (and probably kill you, because your body is not designed for headbutting Ibex) or they’ll climb up on a cliff that you can’t hope to follow them on. (Even if you’re an accomplished mountain climber, you’re not going to match the speed of an Ibex) Pigs are up next, and given that they’d already gotten goats (and thus learned to make fences for things that are pretty good at smashing things they want gone), taming boar is a relatively simple task.
Another argument for horses vs zebras is that horses used to be tiny compared to zebras. We bred big strong horses because they’d be stronger to work the field, faster for travelling and carrying messages, more meat and of course better suited for war. But they started out (if my limited knowledge on horses is correct) as little more than ponies. Not Shetland ponies, but smaller then they are today. Domesticating something small is easier of course as it is less strong and dangerous, and as size increased due to selective breeding so did we breed on obedience. Zebras are as big as the largest horses today. This initial size difference isn’t the main reason but its still something to consider I think. Like its probably a main reason why we did domesticate wildcats and not tigers, because you didn’t need several armed handlers to defend you from a cat.
0:40 – Actually, four species of carnivore have been domesticated: 1) Canis lupus – wolf (dog) – 30,000 years ago (first domestic animal) 2) Felis silvestris – common cat (wildcat and house cat) – 9,000 years ago 3) Mustela putorius – polecat (ferret) – 2,500 years ago 4) Vulpes vulpes – red fox (silver fox) – 50 years ago 2:30 – Cultivated crops are not “just as man-made” as Pop Tarts. Crops are real plants that have been artificially selected for thousands of years (and only recently genetically engineered), while Pop Tarts are a processed food containing many different ingredients.
You know, I’m going to be REAL nerdy here and relate this to something else I read: In the pencil and paper game Dungeons and Dragons, there is a villain race called Mind Flayers: Octopus headed monsters that survive by eating the brains of other thinking humanoids (yuck 0_0). In one book dedicated to studying critters like this in depth (because DnD fanboys will buy anything ^_^), they mention why don’t flayers just ‘domesticate’ herds of people instead of raiding surface settlements to get what they need, and its pretty much because of what you stated: The time and resources necessary to produce sufficient ‘cattle’ is just too prohibitive (they need 1 adult brain per month minimum), so its just easier to raid an area, move on to someplace else while the old area ‘repopulates’, then come back).
So going down the checklist i’m going to try to figure out if Pokemon could be domesticated. Friendly: They jump out of grass to fight anything even if all they do is run away from fights (looking at you abra). Then again we basically have pokeballs which can sort of mind control pokemon into our servitude unless the pokemon really hates us. Also since happiness/friendly evolutions exist then maybe they are kind of friendly? Feedable: Even in gen 1 we could feed pokemon things like Fresh Water and Lemonade… So yeah we can feed them food products, berries, and soda pop. Fecund: ok so legendary pokemon cannot reproduce at all so they are out (no idea how manaphy would work), and with every other pokemon this is basically a non-issue since they reproduce rather quickly. Not to mention that they hatch and grow-up/evolve really fast… and they can basically start having more kids right after birth (well as long as you’ve got a day care center). Family Friendly: Umm… depends on the pokemon? So there are a lot of lone wolf style pokemon such as absol so i’d guess they wouldn’t work so well as you would need a bunch of a single species not just a bunch of individuals. However at the same time there are a bunch of pokemon species that have been shown to exist in small-large groups and even swarms. For instance Beedrill (may not be the most friendly though) have been shown in the anime to sting in a large swarm. However with the new hoard encounters we do see wild pokemon swarming together to try to defeat a single threat so maybe there is some Family Friendliness.
Ye can’t yada yada over the domestication of cats. Cats don’t have the hierarchy like other domesticated animals because domestication of cats was more of a symbiosis where cats eats the rodents that pester farmers instead of humans actively trying to tame them. Although they do have family values as they bring us dead mice as gifts.
I dont think we can even consider cats to be domesticated, strictly speaking. I mean, we dont purpose-breed cats like we do other animals. Compare the variety among dogs to cats. All cats share basically the same proportions, but among dogs there are dozens of breeds that all have dramatically distinct bone structures, among other differences, like ability to smell and overall personality. If future humans dug up the bones of a dachshund and a great dane, would you blame them for thinking these were different species? Neither would I.
The problem with this is that you’re confusing what COULD happen with what DID happen. The reality is that a wide variety of animals were domesticatable. The aurochs was no better than the buffalo for domestication as far as we know – they were wild animals who were big jerks. But people managed to domesticate them anyway. There’s little evidence to suggest that Zebras are any less tractable than the ancestors of wild horses were – indeed, given that many animals (such as cats) have had their behavior changed in major ways, it is difficult to claim that horses are any different. Indeed, people have periodically tried to domesticate Zebra, but the problem is that, in the end, we already have horses, so there’s little value in having stripey ones versus how much of a pain it is to domesticate an animal nearly identical to one you already have. Also, the idea that we wouldn’t domesticate carnivores is problematic because we totally did – dogs and cats are both carnivores we domesticated, and indeed, domesticated very early on. They’re both useful to us for different reasons, but neither are really intended to be food sources outside of emergencies. Still, it isn’t like carnivores are worthless to domesticate – people even work with raptors to help them hunt. Obviously some are probably less useful to domesticate than others, but it is likely that the major barrier for larger predators is probably more life-cycle than viciousness, especially given that people apparently keep various large cats as pets.