The first thing I tried to track down was his history. Why was he sold? Who were his original owners? What vet records were on file?
I ended up going to the Pedigree Online Thorughbred Database http://www.pedigreequery.com/ , and through the information there found his original breeders at Silver Tree Farm and find his second owner Al Alesso. I also found his exact birthdate 05-07-05.
I looked up Silver Tree Farms on Google, http://www.silvertreefarm.com/Silvertreefarm.com/Home.html and was able to receive their email and talk to the actual breeder. She didn't know much about him, and was sorry to hear that he was in a bad situation, but she varified that he had been sold to this Al Alesso when he was about a yearling, so she didn't remember too much other than a physical description. I was never able to actually get ahold of Al, but did find some information on his training facility, called Starting Gate Training Center, also located in Ocala, Fl. There was a phone number, but no one answered, and it turned out that the center was for sale. $2 million if anyone is curious lol. It's very pretty!
As to who he went to after the race track is unclear. I was told he went to a lady with 50+ horses she could not care for, and then ended up with the girl I bought him from (that is her story). However, I never actually saw proof, and am still trying to find that information. I contacted the two veterinary offices listed on his coggins, hoping something would turn up, however, they never responded back to my calls. :/
Another thing that was unclear to me, was whether or not I actually even had "Northern Texas" the race horse. He has a tattoo, but it is very worn. So, I went to the jockey club website and sent in a Tattoo Query. Within litterally less than an hour, give or take, I had his tattoo number, racing information, racing videos and all sort of cool perks. I spent $5.00, but it was the best $5.00 I've probably ever spent.
I found that his tattoo number is I33369 and that he won $8,055 on track, which greatly differs to the pedigree site that gives only $660 to his name.
Watching the racing videos was AMAZING! Watching my boy race sent chills down my spine...I couldn't beleive it! He was always first out of the gate, but woud slow down half track or a little further....I blame it on bad training, but I could be biassed ;)
Other random information that I don't really understand, is something that sais, "OBS AUG 2006 hip#683 $3500." Could this be his sale? I'm not sure. Also there is another that sais "BC-nominated." I'm in the process of looking both of these up.
The coolest thing I think I found about him, was his pedigree! I was watching Secritariat one day, and out of playfullness went to see if Tex was related...my jaw dropped when he was...
You see, Bold Ruler, his great-great grandfather on both sides, is Secretariat's own father. He also, is related to another great TB by War Relic, the direct son of Man O'War. Now, I've been told, and do believe, that all racehorses are related...but it never stops impressing me. Other great racehorses of note are:
---> Native Dancer, lost Churchill Downs but won Preakness and Bellmont Stakes
---> Dancer's Image, won the Kentucky Derby but was DQ'd due to use of non-steroid pain killers
---> Raise A Native, noted by his obitiuary in the New York Times as "the most influential sire of American Thoroughbreds in the last 20 years."
Colorful ancestory, am I right? :)
Well, his father, Texas Glitter, was pretty colorful too. He has $80,055 in earnings to his name and over $1,000,000 in offspring earnings (almost 1.25% of which are Tex's personal earnings lol.) Texas Glitter's breeding record stoped in 2008, when he died of collic at age 12. (May 17, 1996-unkown 2008)
A picture I found on Google of Tex's Father, TEXAS GLITTER
His Mother, Pam Magus, made $79,692 in earnings with 23 Starts, 8 Firsts, 4 Seconds and 3 Thirds.
Other Random Information:
---> Tex's jockies included David Cardoso and Chin Yang.
David Cardoso has over $4.6million in earnings.
Chin Yang has almsot $10million in earnings.
---> Both Tex's mother and father raced at Belmont Park and Churchill Downs, though not in the Kentucky Derby.
---> Most of the races Texas performed in were "Maiden Claiming" races. Maiden races are for horses that have not won races. Claiming races are races in which all horses have a price, and are then "claimed" by a bidder at the end of the race, regardless of how they did. However, he did enter in a "Maiden Special Weight" which is designed for top quality horses that are expected to do well and win big. When Tex lost, and was entered into the Claiming class, he was in anywhere from the $4,000-$45,000 classes. In these races, the lower the price, the lower quality horse; as his career ended, he went into lower class levels. I haven't figured out how this correpsonds with his ownership records, but continue to research.
Other than that, I don't know much else! But I continue to study and learn, and put the pieces together!! Keep looking for more updates on his history!