Movie headphones are extra.

Benoit & Associates photo.

Curlin arrived safely at Santa Anita yesterday and there was much rejoicing. Your intrepid reporter (I kill me) thought it would be a good idea to look into how a horse gets from Belmont to Santa Anita with a minimum of fuss.

"Tex" Sutton did the honors yesterday but there are a few providers in the industry.

H.E. Sutton Forwarding Company LLC provides a caretaker service for those that wish to transport their equine cargo for race day. They provide handlers and arrange for the pick up and delivery of the horse. They can accommodate a few private handlers as well if the owner wants to send them along.

They can pick up from almost anywhere but usually fly out of their gateway hubs of New York and Lexington. One would van to these spots and then board the flight. The cost for shipping a horse, depending on location, is roughly $5000.

Since they have the racing calendar, Sutton Forwarding can arrange for their aircraft with plenty of notice and usually will schedule something ten days out.

Kalitta Charters II provides the aircraft, a specially modified 727-200. The interior can be configured for up to 21 stalls. Padded walls and hanging hay racks, plenty of leg room and you don't get charged extra for a blanket.

Kalitta charges, roughly, $11000/hr for their 727 and the flight from New York to LA can take six hours. Sutton Forwarding has a contract negotiated with Kalitta and the details were not disclosed.

The 727 is a relic from the Johnson administration but it is a pilots airplane. Fast and maneuverable albeit highly inefficient. Kalitta is responsible for providing the crews and the maintenance(a lot of maintenance). All crewmembers undergo biannual, in house training, approved by the FAA. These guys fly everywhere and anything; if it fits, it goes. When the military needs to ship stuff, they call these guys and others like them.

A good friend of mine was a navigator on a C-130 during the first Gulf War and he remembers flying into a forward area, the crew thinking they were hot shit for being the first ones there, and seeing Kalitta taking off, having already delivered their cargo.

Other providers use FedEx for their shipping needs and I would imagine that UPS is involved somewhere as well. These aircraft though are not dedicated horse shipping aircraft. The horse is placed in a rigged up stall and is thrown in with whatever cargo is going as well.

Dr. David Marlin, in his book, Equine Exercise Physiology indicates that horses may expend twice as much energy in transport as they do just standing in their stalls. Dehydration, respiratory infections and turbulence are all risks associated with the air transport of horses. Hit a pocket of clear air turbulence (CAT) and if your horse freaks out, it could be dangerous.

Dedicated handlers and a streamlined process are part of what makes Sutton Forwarding the first call for many trainers.

Curlin better use his miles before they expire.