North American Trainer - Breeders' Cup '23 > Pegasus '24 - issue 70

ISSUE 70 – Breeders’ Cup 2023 to Pegasus 2024 $8.95 www.trainermagazine.com

THE QUARTERLY MAGAZINE FOR THE TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE THOROUGHBRED THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE

JENA

“MAKE SURE YOU’RE SURROUNDING YOURSELF WITH THE RIGHT PEOPLE AND NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE.”

ANTONUCCI DANGERS OF INBREEDING

The necessity to preserve Thoroughbred stallion lines

A NEW LOOK AT LAMENESS

Improved diagnostics lead to targeted treatment plans

STRIDE ANALYSIS TECHNOLOGY

“Big data’s” growth in the racing industry

| OPINION |

GILES ANDERSON PUBLISHER’S OPINION

Our cover profile trainer, Jena Antonucci has certainly had quite a summer to remember. Her victory with Arcangelo in the Belmont Stakes (Gr.1) this past June thrust her front and center into the media spotlight.

When I gave our writer, Ken Snyder, his brief to profile her, I wanted him to come up with some pointers that the world at large wouldn’t know about the trainer who has been the subject of much deserved coverage.

Ken soon reported back to me that she’s an ace shot who loves playing golf but doesn’t drink coffee! While Ken doesn’t focus on these points in his profile, he certainly gives us insight into the way her barn and training work.

I’ve been aware of Antonucci since she started training back in 2010. Because of the sensational Flightline and his trainer John Sadler, there was talk in my office about putting Antonucci on the cover of our Breeders’ Cup issue last year. More about why we were considering her later…

Antonucci has always struck me as a trainer who plays to the cliché line of “putting the horse first.” She trains horses to her program, allowing them to develop in their own time. That’s probably a reason why we didn’t really know much about the May foaled gray son of Arrogate until he won the Peter Pan back in May. I always remember one prominent trainer telling me that the management of owner expectations is the key to a successful training business. This trainer felt that not properly managing owners is a reason why owners can quickly get disillusioned with the sport if a trainer’s view of a horse’s potential doesn’t match up to the owner’s expectations.

As Snyder discovers, dialog with the owner is an important part of the Antonucci program, but the owner needs to buy into the plan that the trainer has outlined for their horse.

So back to last year… Last summer, I got a press release from a new start-up company called horseOlogy, which piqued my interest as a potential profile article. The company described itself as “a minority and womenowned full-cycle thoroughbred training and ownership organization. Founded, owned, and operated by Katie Miranda and Jena Antonucci, horseOlogy is passionate about everything “Ology for horses.”

The release went on to tell me that the definition of ology is “informal, humorous; a subject of study; a branch of knowledge.”

The horseOlogy team’s goal is to bring humor and enjoyment back into the sport of horseracing to make it relatable to the next generation of enthusiasts while respecting the long-steeped traditions.

Well, with Arcangelo, they have certainly achieved that this year.

Wherever your racing takes you this winter—good luck!

ISSUE 70 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM

01

CONTRIBUTORS Sub-Editor Jana Cavalier

Alan F. Balch was hired as the executive director of the California Thoroughbred Trainers in April 2010. His professional career in racing began at Santa Anita in 1971, where he advanced to the position of senior vice president of marketing and assistant general manager, and was in charge of the Olympic Games Equestrian Events in Los Angeles in 1984. He retired in the early 90s to become volunteer president of the National Equestrian Federation of the USA, as well as of the National Horse Show of Madison Square Garden. He remains president of USA Equestrian Trust, Inc.

Advert Production, Circulation/Website Lauren Godfray (1 888-218-4430)

Jackie Bellamy-Zions has been Equine Guelph’s comms manager for the past 10 years and has over 30 years experience in the horse industry as a coach, trainer, stable manager, competitor, judge and journalist.

Cover Photograph Susie Raisher / Coglianese Photos

Des Cronin B.Ag.Sc, MBA is the head of Animal Health and Nutrition at Mervue Laboratories. He plays a pivotal role in formulating and developing high-performance nutritional health products for the equine industry in Ireland and the global equine market.

Editorial Director/Publisher & Advertising Sales Giles Anderson (859) 242-5025

Trainer Magazine is published by Anderson & Co Publishing Ltd.

Bill Heller is an Eclipse Award-winning author who published his 27th book, Fred Hooper – The Extraordinary Life of a Thoroughbred Legend. His other biographies include Hall of Fame jockeys Ron Turcotte, Randy Romero and José Santos.

Tel: 1 888-218-4430 Fax: 1 888-218-4206 info@trainermagazine.com www.trainermagazine.com

Adam Jackson, MRCVS is an equine vet who initially started work in a mixed practice and then began to focus on equine veterinary medicine and surgery. In 2004, he became an equine ambulatory veterinary surgeon and later completed his Master’s Degree in epidemiology of notifiable equine infectious diseases.

North America PO Box 13248, Lexington, KY 40583-3248

Jennifer S. Kelly is an author and freelance turf writer. Her books, Sir Barton and the Making of the Triple Crown and The Foxes of Belair: Gallant Fox, Omaha, and the Quest for the Triple Crown, chronicle the lives and careers of the first three American Triple Crown winners. She also contributes to The Racing Biz, America’s Best Racing, and TwinSpires Edge.

United Kingdom Ground Floor Office, 72 Medstead Road, Beech, Hampshire, GU34 4AE

Alysen Miller is an American-born writer, editor and producer. She has written about racing for publications including The Sunday Times. She launched and produced CNN International’s first dedicated horseracing magazine show, Winning Post. She currently competes in eventing on her retrained racehorse, Southfork.

William Morgan rode under National Hunt Rules and, after leaving university, managed a stud for 23 years. He was TBA vice-chairman, a racecourse steward, member of the BHA Race-Planning Committee, European Breeders’ Fund Trustee, and has written for the European Bloodstock News for 20 years.

Trainer Magazine is the official magazine of the California Thoroughbred Trainers. It is distributed to all ‘Trainer’ members of the Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association and all members of the Consignors and Commercial Breeders Association, the Maryland Horse Breeders Association, the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association, the Alberta Thoroughbred Owners & Breeders Association and the Virginia Thoroughbred Association.

Ken Snyder is a current turf writer for Gallop magazine, and a turf/travel-culture writer for Kentucky Monthly magazine. His work has appeared, as well, in other publications, including The Blood-Horse.

Bernard Stoffel is an equine vet, breeder, researcher, bloodstock agent, owner, dreamer... “I think I’m just a typical racehorse lover trying to live my passion through my different activities, which allowed me to meet many great people all around the world.”

Rachel Tucker is a board-certified equine surgeon and RCVS specialist in equine surgery, working at Liphook Equine Hospital in England. She has a particular interest in poor performance, neck dysfunction and CT imaging, alongside a general surgery caseload.

Trainer Magazine (ISSN 17580293) is published 4 times a year: February, April, July and October by Anderson & Co Publishing and distributed in the USA by Modern Litho | Brown Printing, 6009 Stertzer Road, Jefferson City, MO 65101.

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| CONTENTS |

08

20

48

58

80

ISSUE

70

CONTENTS FEATURES 08 Jena Antonucci – cover profile

Ken Snyder talks to Jena Antonucci the trainer of The Belmont Stakes winner Arcangelo.

20 All legs!

Adam Jackson, MRCVS explains the anatomy of the lower limb and how it can be conditioned to racing alongside Des Cronin’s nutritional perspective.

28 A new look at lameness

Jackie Bellamy-Zions interviews Dr. Judith Koenig on the improved diagnostics available, which have resulted in increased ability to target treatment plans.

34 Following in their footsteps

Jennifer Kelly profiles trainers who followed in their parents’ footsteps becoming trainers and look at the challenges the next generation faces.

42 Preserving the Thoroughbred

Bernard Stoffel, DVM gives his opinion on the dangers of inbreeding and the necessity to preserve stallion lines in the Thoroughbred.

@ t ra i n e r _ m a g

R EGUL A R S 48 Graded Stakes winning owners

Bill Heller features Nutella Fella for Nick and Delora Beaver of Bell Gable Stable, Brightwork for Bill and Tammy Simon of WSS Racing, Secret Money for Richard Nicolai of Fortune Farm, and Therapist for Michael Dubbs.

58 The equine neck

Rachel Tucker, MRCVS reports findings from new advances in techniques for diagnosing neck conditions using CT scanning technology.

Alan Balch – Federalism Redux.

86 #Soundbites

Bill Heller asks “Which other trainer do you most admire on the backstretch, and why?”

64 Barry K. Schwartz

Bill Heller profiles the co-founder of Calvin Klein—on his love of racing and “selling” the appeal of racing to a wider audience.

70 How racing is making strides into “big data”

Alysen Miller reports on the stride analysis technology available, which is putting a great stamp on the racing industry.

80 Strongholds of Satan

A book by William Morgan dedicated to the bygone racecourses of the UK examines the parallels between racing in Europe and North America during the 18th and 19th centuries.

/ t ra i n e r m a g a z i n e

04 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 70

06 View from the CTT

/ t ra i n e r m a g a z i n e

Visit trainermagazine.com to download our current digital editions and access back issues of both European and North American Trainer.

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| CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED TRAINERS |

ALAN F. BALCH

FEDERALISM REDUX

James Madison

A

s if we in American racing weren’t already facing serious threats to our very existence as a major sport, and an exceptionally elaborate interdependent business, now we’re also an example of the present national political dysfunction and irrationality. Just one more sharp dagger.

Over a half-century ago, I spent a previous lifetime in academia—studying government and political philosophy, with an emphasis on American political enterprise and evolution. When I joined Santa Anita, I never thought that I would one day witness at the racetrack the fundamental contradictions of the American founding!

But here we are, courtesy of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA). As you are probably aware, this addition of national government oversight to Thoroughbred racing, which had previously been the province of state-bystate regulation, came by way of its sudden inclusion in a must-pass federal budget bill in the waning days of the Trump presidency. Courtesy of Republican Party Leader Senator McConnell, of Kentucky— whose patrons The Jockey Club and Churchill Downs advocated for it.

There is little doubt that the enabling legislation wouldn’t have been adopted had it been considered on its own merits, absent the cover of the required federal budget.

In any event, the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, adopted at the founding, reads in whole, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

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Since racing had always been regulated by the individual states where it had been held (for nearly 100 years, or even more in some states), its sudden impending regulation by the federal government was bound to raise serious issues of “federalism.”

Way back when American schools required Civics and American Government to be taught—rigorously—we all were expected to learn the basic founding stories: about the original thirteen colonies of Great Britain, the American Revolution, and the Articles of Confederation which preceded the Constitution. Suffice it to say that the age-old tensions between the prerogatives and responsibilities of the individual state governments and those of the national (“federal”) government underpin all of American politics.

Federalism, our system of government whereby the same geographic territory is under the jurisdiction of multiple layers of authority, is at once the genius of our American democratic republic and its potential debilitating weakness. Such a structure requires cooperation—and repeated compromise. It’s been nearly 250 years since our Declaration of Independence. To this day, our founding tensions underlie virtually all our politics and governments … from local school boards to town and city councils, to counties, states, and the federal government.

So, is it any wonder that when consensus in our complex, diverse nation is still so difficult to achieve on fundamental issues of human rights, race and voting procedures, our own (trivial?) questions of how horse racing is to be governed hardly have merited a glance?

Irony has heaped upon irony in racing’s current regulatory quagmire. The contemporary political party that seems to believe in the supremacy of states’ prerogatives as to critical issues of voting and personal behavior—the opposite one from the party that used that same banner to fuel the secession of Southern states igniting the Civil War in 1860—has abandoned it when it comes to racing oversight! Its leadership believes the heavy hand of the federal government is too weighty for issues of life, death and voting, but necessary to wield on regulating racing.

Thus far, trying to use federal law to serve the cause of regulatory uniformity nationwide has resulted in the opposite, at great expense, monetary and otherwise.

The “otherwise” may well include sacrificing basic tenets of due process of law, such as the presumption of innocence for those

accused of misbehavior.

And all of this was so unnecessary.

The Jockey Club and the other prime movers of HISA should have simply engaged in good faith at the outset with the Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI). Its model rules have been developed over decades of interfacing with state racing boards and the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium, which includes trainer and owner representation.

With that approach, the issues now plaguing all of us would be much diminished, if they still existed at all. Bottom line, nobody in the sport wants cheaters. But a relatively few in the sport, it would seem, do still want to decide for and dictate to all the rest of us. Does The Jockey Club actually want a more rapidly shrinking sport? It’s entirely possible, perhaps probable, with all the foreseeable angst.

HISA leadership professes to be open, transparent and willing to consider improvements. If that is so, why won’t it immediately understand the serious threat of “provisional suspensions” to every trainer and owner, and the near-total lack of transparency and timely response when it comes to cases of obvious environmental contamination? That very concept of “provisional” suspension, which came from international nonracing equestrian sport regulation, is indicative of a blindness to the realities of racing which would have never occurred were the ARCI model rules adopted.

Instead of using its expensive public relations machine to continue sending repeated self-serving, congratulatory messages to a skeptical community, HISA should tell all the rest of us how we can go about expeditiously amending its rules to provide for practical, fair and truly transparent governance.

Publius (the pseudonym for James Madison in Federalist Paper #47) wrote this in 1788: “The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.”

As it stands now, HISA’s authority, rule-making, disciplinary practices and governance are perilously close to just that destructive.

Absent judicial intervention, only HISA itself can open the door to necessary reform—before it’s too late.

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JENA ANTONUCCI I KICKING ASS n the media avalanche surrounding Jena Antonucci, after her summer to remember, there is both rich irony and something very telling in one of the three “things you didn’t know” about her that escaped attention: she competed in shotgun shooting events. Those close to her who didn’t know this might say, “That figures,” or “I’m not surprised.” Shooting takes focus and concentration, both of which are in Antonucci’s DNA. The next thing they would say is probably “I bet she kicked ass.”

Her parting words in an interview on YouTube the morning of this year’s Belmont? “Let’s go kick some ass.”

She does not fit the mold of a Thoroughbred trainer.

If “focus” and “concentration” could be scored and put into some kind of competition, she’d likely kick ass in that too.

The two other “things you didn’t know”: she is in her own words a “very good golfer, but without much time to play.” The third thing? She is hesitant to admit that “she doesn’t drink coffee.”

Mold breaker might be an apt description of Antonucci in her handling of success. The example is her response as a small- to medium-size trainer.

“Our number one goal is always wanting to be in the thirty- to thirty-five range, and that’s where we’re focused on staying,” she said. In a purely commercial sense, that’s saying no’ to a flood of potential new business in the wake of Arcangelo’s success.

Were there calls from prospective owners after the Belmont and Travers?

“There have been conversations, but it’s been a ‘onesie, twosie,’ here and there, kind of thing. We’re not looking to be a stable of 150 horses. It’s not who we are. It’s not who I am.”

WORDS: KEN SNYDER PHOTOGRAPHY: DOUG ENGLE, ECLIPSE SPORTSWIRE

09

| JENA ANTONUCCI | Arcangelo with Javier Castellano up win the 2023 Belmont Stakes.

Arcangelo with Javier Castellano up win the 2023 Belmont Stakes.

Antonucci is a horsewoman who rode show horses from age three into young adulthood and then gained not just experience but the right experience with Thoroughbreds. Her first foray was breaking and galloping them at Padua Stables in Ocala, Florida, where she now lives. She was then a veterinary assistant for four-and-a-half years, which gave her valuable horse knowledge on the ground. Exercise riding after vet work gave her knowledge up top astride a horse. All-important management experience, a necessary skill in any racing stable, came through her Bella Inizio Farm she opened in Ocala. (“Bella Inizio,” incidentally, translates as “nice start” in English.)

As if that’s not enough, she operates horseOlogy with co-owner Katie Miranda, a Thoroughbred training and ownership organization that spans raising, training and racing while also offering bloodstock advising, pinhooking, micro-investing and more.

Her start in training was at Tampa Bay Downs in 2010, a year that maybe wasn’t the “nicest.” She won two of eight races and had two second-place finishes.

Things began to take off in 2013 with 288 starters and earnings of $1,067,303. This year, of course, Arcangelo has vaulted her into the stratosphere with his $1.7 million in earnings.

“We’ve kind of been the ‘little stable that could’ for a long time,” looking back at her previous ten years of training.

“One thing I’ve always been very proud of is horses who have been claimed off of us or who went to a different barn [and] haven’t gone on to become big flourishing horses. I think a lot of mid-size trainers deserve to be evaluated in that manner, and it’s something I think we fail in the industry to do.”

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TOP: Goodwin and Antonucci after Arcangelo’s 2023 Belmont Stakes win.

ABOVE: Arcangelo and Javier Castellano win the 2023 Travers Stakes at Saratoga.

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| JENA ANTONUCCI |

She has, perhaps, a more realistic take on win percentages for trainers and how she believes they are misinterpreted by not factoring in stable size. Her website even has a section entitled Statistics Aren’t the Only Indicator of Success. “I think you can have somebody at 20 percent if they have 200 horses and can put a million-dollar horse in to get the win.”

Arcangelo broke his maiden third time out at Gulfstream Park and has been undefeated since then. “I think we get stuck in the headlines of ‘Oh, won first out!’ It’s atypical. It is likely that less than a single-digit percentage of the horse population annually wins the first time out. We set owners up for failure.

“I think we do a consistent job across the board. I’ve had to make a lot of chicken soup out of chicken poo; and with that, I think I have the reputation for being a good horsewoman who is thorough and is trying to find the missing piece or what we can to find a horse’s success level.”

The missing piece for Arcangelo was careful parceling of his potential Horse of the Year talent. Antonucci’s racing campaign gave the horse more time between starts than other trainers might have given the son of the late Arrogate.

Jena with horseOlogy co-owner Katie Miranda.

12 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 70

ABOVE: Arcangelo’s owner Jon Ebbert, Jena Antonucci and jockey Javier Castellano celebrate the 2023 Belmont Stakes win.

“I give a lot of credit to John [Ebbert], his owner, for allowing this horse to have space. I would say most, if not all owners, who saw this talent coming would want a pretty aggressive schedule. I give John a lot of credit for allowing this horse to have the breathing room that he needed and not pressuring me and the horse to pick up races on a tighter schedule.”

Antonucci uses an open-door policy to both involve her team of workers and parcel her own insight and skill as a trainer throughout her string. “It’s impossible for me to be able to put a hand on every leg, every day,” she said. The solution is a barn where everyone— whether foreman, groom or exercise rider--is encouraged to speak up if they feel anything has changed with a horse.

“So many exercise riders that come to work for us—it’s such a relief for them to be able to come and be able to tell what they’re feeling. So many trainers and assistant trainers don’t want to hear it. A rider may not know exactly what it is, but if they’re communicating that something feels different, that’s all we need to know.

| JENA ANTONUCCI |

“I think having a riding background and coming from that avenue into this and not racing per se—and riding for so long—I can see what they’re feeling.

“We don’t ever tell anyone that we don’t want to hear what they have to say.”

There are nuances also in Antonucci’s relationships with owners. “I don’t think we want our clients to go, ‘Whatever you say,’ but I think there’s a balance with the people that believe in us. They know Fiona [Goodwin, assistant trainer].

They know it’s ‘horse first.’ And we’re going to make the best possible results with who we have in our hands.

“I don’t have a problem with owners being tough, but you learn to find a balance with people believing in the program and what we do.”

The intensity she shows to the public in interviews surprisingly isn’t carried into the barn and her help.

“I know she’s focused, and I know that she’s passionate,” said Goodwin, “but she really isn’t intense.” Goodwin has worked for Antonucci from the start of her training career.

“You’re running a business, and you’ve got a job to do, so it’s not all fun and games, but we’re light-hearted in the barn.”

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Input and an open-door policy might be only one factor in the success of the stable. “Balance” is a word used often by Antonucci to describe her management of people. She uses Goodwin as an example.

“I want my assistant to be able to have balance in her life. It’s what provides us with our life and lifestyle, but I don’t want her here till eight o’clock at night, seven days a week.

“I don’t want the crew run ragged either. When we get to lean in and do what we do in a responsible manner and enjoy the experience and relationships and the personality of the horses, I think we do our best work.”

Goodwin confirms Antonucci’s approach. “She doesn’t want the work to consume us to where we get sour and resentful of the job and industry.”

Arcangelo, personality-wise, is a piece of work himself, Goodwin said with a laugh. “He likes to be ‘cheeky,’” an expression from her native Ireland. It means “playful.” “He’s fun to be around. He’ll take a chunk out of you every now and then if you’re careless around him.

He thinks that’s fun—a love bite.”

In one aspect, his personality also parallels that of his trainer, “But when it’s time for him to go to work, he’s very focused and serious about his job,” Goodwin added.

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| JENA ANTONUCCI | Arcangelo

LEFT: Fiona Goodwin, Jena Antonucci & Robert Mallari with Arcangelo after his 2023 Belmont Stakes win.

This year’s Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita will thrust Antonucci and her team back into the spotlight when Arcangelo runs in the Classic. Her advice for other trainers who burst onto the radar with a “big horse,” is to “turn off the white noise, keep doing what you’ve been doing and stay focused on that. Make sure you’re surrounding yourself with the right people and not a lot of people.”

While quantity intentionally will be maintained in her barn, quality is another matter. “Having some opportunity with a higher pedigreed horse or horse that comes in with a little bit more of an ability, our job will be to nurture that and grow that.

Hopefully, we will have more talent to hit the track from those opportunities.”

The task will be the same with any future high-priced, impressively pedigreed Thoroughbred—the same as it is for the least expensive horse in her barn; and it is what drives Antonucci: find the answer.

“I don’t believe people will view me as a ‘one-hit wonder.’”

For those like Goodwin, who has been with her the longest of anyone in the barn, it won’t be a surprise to see her back in the spotlight at some point in time, probably sooner than later.

“If she were in any other business, she would be a success and probably at the top,” said Goodwin. “She knows what she wants, and she goes after it. She does the job right. It’s always her goal to do better, be better, and win races. If you’ve got the horses, you can do it.”

The horses would be the question, as it is for any trainer, large or small. Arcangelo sold for $35,000 at the 2021 Keeneland September yearling sale—a small fraction of the price for top sellers annually at this premier sales event.

She got a fair amount of attention from those at this year’s sale and recognizes she is a banner carrier for many women in general, but especially in racing. “I’m very grateful for what it means to them and their journey. From an old hard boot to a young female, it’s pretty remarkable.”

For Antonucci, it’s competition with no thought about gender.

“Who can train a horse better than the next person?” said

16 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 70

Goodwin. “I think Jena thinks of it that way. We’re not intimidated by any other trainer, male or female. We’re here to win, and that’s it.”

Goals? Antonucci may have something to offer the entire world with this: “I think goal setting should be on how you want to live your life and the accomplishments that come with that.”

Opportunities afforded by Arcangelo come second to his life.

“Whatever opportunities it provides me will be secondary to stewarding him through his career.

“My goals are to continue to work with great people, foster relationships that are around me, have a healthy growing business in horseOlogy, have a healthy business at the racetrack, and make sure that the relationships with the people around me are thriving. Everything else becomes secondary.”

And oh yes, another thing: kick ass.

| FIONA GOODWIN |

FIONA GOODWIN A FAMILY AFFAIR

M

uch of Fiona Goodwin’s Irish accent has been worn away by 27 years in the U.S. Laughter, however, is without accent and nationality; and you hear it often with Goodwin.

It’s probably more often than usual in the wake of Arcangelo’s success.

She has been the assistant trainer to Jena Antonucci for 15 years from Antonucci’s first day as a trainer.

There was poignancy in Antonucci’s attention to Goodwin’s place in win photos after the Belmont and the Travers. It appeared important to Antonucci that her assistant was in a prominent place in the photo and indicative of a close relationship beyond boss-employee.

“We were first friends in the beginning, and we have remained friends,” said Goodwin. “I would say I’m as close as anybody to her.”

The “business relationship” in the barn is also a close one.

“We’ve been doing this together so long, I know exactly how she trains, what she expects and what she expects of me.”

Goodwin and Antonucci first met at Saratoga when Goodwin was in James Bond’s barn where she had worked for 10 years as a forewoman. Before Bond, she worked in the barns of Nick Zito, Mark Hennig, Eddie Kenneally and Linda Rice. And those are only the ones she can recall, she added with a laugh.

“On the racetrack, you work for everybody.”

Goodwin comes from a horse family in County Kerry and is one of sixteen children—ten brothers and five sisters. (She is fourth in the birth order.) Her father was a showjumper, and the family always had horses for that event. A brother is also a showjumper, and two others are jockeys—one in Ireland and the other in England as well as Sweden, Italy and Norway.

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Surprisingly, Goodwin had no interest in Irish racing growing up. “I was more into show horses.”

That changed when she visited a brother working at a horse farm in Franklin, Kentucky, near Kentucky Downs. The visit became permanent when she started riding at the farm. When her brother left to go to the Fair Grounds in New Orleans and a job with trainer Eddie Kenneally, she went with him.

“You can’t go anywhere alone when you’ve got ten brothers,” she said with a laugh.

“I’d never been on the racetrack. He was going there, and I thought, just let me go along. I actually started grooming, which I wasn’t a huge fan of.” Shortly after, she exchanged her rub rag for reins and exercise riding. “Been on the racetrack ever since.”

Today, she shuttles back and forth between Antonucci’s stable at Saratoga, Gulfstream and Antonucci’s Ocala, Florida operation. Currently, there are twelve horses at Saratoga and “sixteen, maybe seventeen,” she said, at Gulfstream. Arcangelo is already at Santa Anita, the site of this year’s Breeders’ Cup where he will run in the Classic.

The Antonucci stable is a family affair, of sorts, for Goodwin.

Her husband, Robert Mallari, is an exercise rider and is Arcangelo’s regular workout rider. He has been with the horse at Santa Anita since transport from Saratoga and has worked for Antonucci almost as long as his wife.

Goodwin will rejoin him there in mid-October, return to Florida, and then go back to Los Angeles for the ten days leading up to the Breeders’ Cup. “Going to the Breeders’ Cup, a big horse changes everything— recognition, everything. It would be nice to have ten more.” She said it, of course, with a laugh.

FOR SALE – TAPETA FARM

Tapeta Farm is a truly magnificent 197 acre private setting with rolling hills, vistas, and horse training improvements, which are second to none. A true horseman will appreciate what two-time Breeders’ Cup winning trainer Michael Dickinson has meticulously designed, constructed, and maintained here at Tapeta.

The 196 acre estate is designed as a training mecca with six different training surfaces, including: “Summer”, which is best utilized at that time when most other turf surfaces are harder; “Main Tapeta”, 7 furlongs with its long uphill gallop; “Tapeta Round”, a 4 furlong warm-up track on Tapeta surface; “Boomers Hill Turf”, 5 ½ furlongs uphill gallop for conditioning; “Noah’s Arc”, good even with 2 inches of rain; and “Normal”, which is best utilized under normal conditions. Also included is a modern 40 stall barn and a separate facility called the Tapeta Performance Center featuring a vibrating platform, salt room, cold-water spa and an eight horse Eurociser. Adjacent to the Performance Center is a swimming pond (with central dock) and extensive paddocks of varying sizes.

There are numerous trails, both wooded and fields, throughout the property for allowing the horse to relax and unwind. Tapeta is also accented by a beautiful 4,500 sq. ft. updated English Manor House situated on a hill overlooking the upper waters of the Chesapeake Bay. North East, Maryland allows for access to numerous racetracks that one will not find anywhere else in the United States. $5,995,000

For inspection please call:

A. John Price Cell: (302) 379-6318

Office: (410) 885-1606

Email: ajohnprice100@gmail.com Direct: (302) 378-1979 www.PattersonPriceLand.com

| VETERINARY |

Better understanding the appropriate levels of exercise and training while the horse’s body grows and develops has been a topic of research for many years. Although it has been shown that young, growing horses are well-suited to adapt to conditioning, it is vital that continued research is performed in order to develop thoughtful and strategic training methods to promote healthy, fit and sound horses with long careers and lives.

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| LOWER LIMB CONDITIONING |

H

orses’ limbs consist of dozens of muscles, bones, tendons, ligaments, and joints that allow the horse to move as well as support its body weight. The limbs function to provide thrust and movement while absorbing impact and bearing weight. Most of the horse’s weight is supported by the fore limbs, while the propulsion of the horse is provided by the hind limbs. In addition, the horse has two apparatuses referred to as the stay apparatus and suspensory apparatus. The stay apparatus allows major joints in the limbs to lock so that the horse may rest and relax while standing. The suspensory apparatus is designed to absorb shock, carry the horse’s weight, and prevent the overextension of joints.

Finally, the hooves are important structures that maintain support and traction as well as provide additional shock absorption.

WORDS: ADAM JACKSON, MRCVS

Since the cardiovascular system provides blood supply throughout the body, by responding to various stimuli, it can control the velocity and amount of blood carried through the vessels, thus, delivering oxygen, nutrients, hormones, and other important substances to cells and organs in the body. It plays a very important role in meeting the body’s demands during exercise, stress, and activity.

Exercise is used to increase the body’s ability to withstand repeated bouts of similar exercise with less impact. With a strong and healthy cardiovascular system, there is an improved ability of the musculoskeletal system receiving oxygen, thus, allowing muscles to better their capacity to use oxygen and energy. However, the adaptation period for each of these physiological systems do differ as the cardiovascular system adapts faster compared to the musculoskeletal system. This is often an overlooked consideration when developing training programs for horses.

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| VETERINARY |

Bone is a specialized connective tissue, and together with cartilage forms the strong and rigid endoskeleton.

Multiple studies have shown that exercise while growing can provide lifelong benefits; however, it must be done with care and knowledge.

It is important to understand the various functions, structures, and adaptive processes of the horse’s musculoskeletal system such as bone, articular cartilage, tendons, and ligaments in order to develop appropriate training regimens.

exercise of an adolescent can lead to beneficial changes to its bone morphology.

Bone remodeling is a different process, in which old and damaged bone is renewed, which enables the bone to respond and adapt to changing functional situations. Bone remodeling is usually a coordinated relationship between bone resorption and bone formation. This process occurs throughout the horse’s life with the renewal of primary, damaged or old bone. Osteoclasts absorb old and damaged bone, and the osteoblasts form new bone and lay down new bone matrix until the earlier absorbed bone is replaced. In those animals with musculoskeletal disease or damage, there is an imbalance of osteoblast and osteoclast activity. With the knowledge that osteoblast activity to make new bone takes months while osteoclast activity of removing old and damaged bone only takes a few days to two weeks, bone that is being repaired is at a high risk of further injury as bone removed has not been completely replaced. Multiple studies have shown that exercise while growing can provide lifelong benefits; however, it must be done with care and knowledge.

Bone

Bone has many important roles that involve locomotion, the storage of minerals (especially calcium and phosphate), soft tissue and vital organ protection, and the support and containment of bone marrow. Bone is a specialized connective tissue, and together with cartilage forms the strong and rigid endoskeleton. The bone is continuously altering through two processes called bone modeling and bone remodeling, involving four cells referred to as osteoclasts, osteoblasts, osteocytes and bone lining cells.

Osteoblasts secrete bone matrix in the form of non-mineralized osteoid, which is then mineralized over a few weeks to form a bone matrix. Osteoclasts are involved in resorption of bone as this process occurs faster than the formation of bone. When the bone surfaces are not in the development or resorption phase, the bone surface is completely lined by a layer of flattened and elongated cells termed bonelining cells. Osteocytes are derived from Bone remodeling process osteoblasts and are highly specialized to maintain the bone matrix. They are designed to survive hypoxic conditions and maintain biomineralization of the bone matrix. Osteocytes also control osteoblastic and osteoclastic activities allowing bone remodeling.

The function of bone modeling is to alter and maintain shape during growth. As the horse grows and develops, bone modeling occurs with the acquisition and removal of bone. While the young horse grows and develops, bone modeling allows the bone to endure strains from everyday work and exercise. The adult skeleton undergoes a minimal amount of bone modeling. Due to the presence of the high frequency of bone modeling in young horses, their skeletal strength is highly influenced by strains to their bones during exercise and daily use.

With this knowledge, it has been concluded and confirmed that short-term dynamic

22 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 70

Feel confident in their comfort EQUIOXX® (firocoxib) HAS MORE SAFETY DATA THAN ANY OTHER NSAID.1,2 For a horse, joint disease means living in the shadow of its former self. EQUIOXX helps them escape the shadows with up to 24 hours of pain relief in just one dose.1 Talk to your veterinarian about EQUIOXX. To explore the full Free To Move joint health portfolio visit THEARTOFHORSE.COM

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION: As with any prescription medication, prior to use, a veterinarian should perform a physical examination and review the horse’s medical history. A veterinarian should advise horse owners to observe for signs of potential drug toxicity. As a class, nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs may be associated with gastrointestinal, hepatic and renal toxicity. Use with other NSAIDs, corticosteroids or nephrotoxic medication should be avoided. EQUIOXX has not been tested in horses less than 1 year of age or in breeding horses, or pregnant or lactating mares.

1 2

EQUIOXX product labels and FOI summaries and supplements Kvaternik V, Pollmeier M, et al, Pharmacokinetics and metabolism of orally administered firocoxib, a novel second generation coxib in horses. J Vet Pharmacol Ther. 2007;30(3):208-217.

EQUIOXX® is registered trademarks of Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health USA, Inc. ©2023 Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health USA Inc., Duluth, GA. All Rights Reserved.

US-EQU-0392-2022-B

Articular cartilage

In addition, many studies have shown that exercise of a dynamic nature in moderate distances, such as that achieved in the pasture or prescribed short-distance high-speed work is beneficial to musculoskeletal development and may prevent injuries when entering race training. It has also been observed that long slow work does not increase bone strength. Below is a summary of the young horse response of the various types of exercise.

Articular cartilage is a highly specialized connective tissue found in joints with the role of providing a smooth, lubricated surface of articulation and to help transmit loads with a low amount of friction. The articular cartilage is a hyaline cartilage (flexible and strong tissue providing a smooth, slippery surface) with a dense “ExtraCellular Matrix” (ECM) consisting of specialized cells called chondrocytes, collagen and proteoglycans. These components help to retain water in the ECM that is required for the joints mechanical properties. As age increases, hydration of the matrix does decrease, resulting in stiffness. Chondrocytes are residential cells in articular cartilage that play a role in the development, maintenance, and repair of the ECM. They do respond to a variety of stimuli, including mechanical loads, growth factors, hydrostatic pressures, piezoelectric forces (formation of electric charge with force). Because of the lack of blood vessels, lymphatics, and nerves as well as being a harsh biomechanical environment, there is a limited capacity to heal and repair. In addition, chondrocytes have limited potential for replication, thus, have limited healing capacity; and chondrocytes survival depends on an optimal chemical and mechanical environment.

Maintaining joint health is vital, which requires the preservation of healthy cartilage tissue. Inactivity of joints is detrimental to articular cartilage; thus, regular movement of joints and dynamic loads is needed to provide a normal articular cartilage structure and function. Biochemical responses of the cartilage to exercise are not nearly as well known compared to bone. While the confinement of young horses stunts joint development, excessive straining of cartilage can also reduce joint development. It has been observed that pasture access was optimal for the development of joints and the confinement or excessive sprint exercise (12–32 sprints of 40 meters for 6 days a week for 5 months) causes detrimental effects on the joint and may be deemed as unnatural exercise. It is also thought that exercise is needed well before two years of age to allow cartilage thickening as well as the avoidance of confinement. It can be concluded that further studies are required with respect to level of exercise and type of exercise in order to achieve healthy cartilage tissue as there is clearly a fine line between frequency and intensity of exercise.

TYPE OF EXERCISE

RESPONSE OF BONE

Joint structure

Pasture access

• Increased mineral content of bone

Trotting

Sprinting

Bone

• Greater deposit of bone minerals when carrying weight compared to no weight

Synovial membrane

• Greater bone strength • Greater cannon bone circumference • Greater bone mineralization

Articular cartilage

Articular capsule

Bone

Joint cavity containing synovial fluid

• Greater altered bone shape Treadmill

• Greater bone density • Greater impact strength on cannon bone

Endurance training

• No change in bone density

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© ANATOMY & PHYSIOLOGY – OPENSTAX COLLEGE.

• Greater cannon bone circumference

| LOWER LIMB CONDITIONING |

The horse has no muscle below the knee and hock therefore relies on tendons and ligaments which transmit forces to stabilize the skeleton and allow body movement.

Due to the variation of activity of tenocytes in young horses, both a lack of exercise and excess of exercise can impair tendon make-up.

Tendons and ligaments Tendons and ligaments are distinct but closely related tissues that have unique and important roles in musculoskeletal function and musculoskeletal disease. Tendons and ligaments are dense, fibrous connective tissues that connect muscle to bone or bone to bone, respectively. These tissues transmit mechanical forces to stabilize the skeleton and allow body movement. Tendons and ligaments consist mainly of collagen type I as well as small amounts of collagen III, IV, V, and VI. There are also various proteoglycans in tendons and ligaments that both organize and lubricate collagen fiber bundles. The elasticity of tendons and ligaments is due to the large amount of type I collagen. During locomotion, the tendon decreases energy cost to the horse by acting as a spring to store and release energy while stretching and recoiling in the stance and swing phases of each stride. Tendons and ligaments have blood vessels and nerves that allow the homeostasis and response to injury.

Tenocytes are tightly regulated by a series of growth factors and transcription factors that allow the synthesis, maintenance, and the degradation of the tendon extracellular matrix. Tendons are elastic, but tearing may occur if there is excessive loading on the tendon and the repair of collagen is a slow process. In addition, tendons have crimp morphology where the tendons buckle in a state of relaxation and act as shock absorbers. Unbuckling of the tendon occurs during loading. This crimp morphology may be disturbed if an injury occurs and also is reduced in older horses.

Due to the variation of activity of tenocytes in foals and young horses, it has been observed that both a lack of exercise and excess of exercise can impair tendon make-up and subsequent functionality. With the current data and research that has been gathered, it can be concluded that if horses take advantage of spontaneous exercise when in the paddocks (which they often do), the developing tendons may benefit and be at a lower risk of injury when racing training starts.

Conclusion It is clear that further research is needed in order to ascertain the optimal amount and type of exercise that is needed in order to provide a strong musculoskeletal system and functional performance.

However, it has been shown that prescribed exercise during the growth of the horse can increase the longevity of the horse’s health and performance. It has been observed that confinement and the lack of loading can result in weaker tissues and the loss of function of bone, tendons, ligaments and articular cartilage. However, it must also be recognized that medical attempts to alleviate pain so that a horse can continue to train through an injury can greatly increase tissue damage which is detrimental to the horse’s health and career. It is far more beneficial to provide an adequate amount of time for the injury to heal, thus, putting the horse’s health and wellbeing as a top priority.

PHOTOGRAPHY: ADOBE STOCK, DAVID BETTS PHOTOGRAPHY, GALOPPFOTO.DE, ECLIPSE SPORTSWIRE, SHUTTERSTOCK

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| NUTRITION |

WORDS: DES CRONIN B.Ag.Sc, MBA

BONE DEVELOPMENT IN YEARLINGS FROM THE SALES RING TO RACING – A NUTRITIONAL PERSPEC TIVE aintaining the equine skeleton is vital to ensure optimal development of the young growing horse, minimize risk of injury in the performance horse, and promote longevity and soundness.

The skeletal development and health of a young horse begins in utero and ensuring the broodmare receives the correct intake of key nutrients will be critical to the growth of the unborn foal. Producing high-quality milk places a significant drain on the mineral reserves of the mare. Maintaining mineral intakes during peak lactation is vital to ensure the foal receives the best nutrition to support the rapid skeletal development in the early weeks and months of growth. During this time, bone formation, body size, and muscle mass greatly increase. Risk of defective bone and related tissue formation increases with one of more of the following:

M

• Poor diet with the incorrect balance of energy and nutrients in the daily ration

• Inadequate amounts of calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) • A reversed Ca:P ratio • Low zinc (Zn) or copper (Cu) in the diet • Low vitamin D Feeding a young horse for a maximum growth rate is undesirable because bone hardening lags greatly behind bone lengthening. At 12 months old, the young horse could reach about 90 to 95% of its mature height but only about 75% of its mature bone mineral content.

Ideally, young horses should gain weight at a rate that their developing bones can easily support. Growing bones and connective tissues don’t have the strength to support rapid weight gain from overfeeding, especially energy. Rapid weight gain can also make other skeletal anomalies worse. In these cases the risk of developmental orthopedic disorders (DOD) and unsoundness increases.

DOD and unsoundness can also occur during uneven growth.

For example, switching an underfed, slow-growing horse to a good diet that allows quick growth (compensatory growth), increases the risk of DOD. Foals between the ages of 3 and 9 months of age are at greatest risk of DOD. Fresh forages, for example grazed grass, usually provide enough major minerals such as calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) for the growing horse. However, there can be significant variation in calcium and phosphorus levels in all forages but particularly preserved forages (hay and haylage). Forage analysis should always be undertaken to determine mineral composition.

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For young fast-growing horses, the diet must supply the quantities of calcium and phosphorus needed for normal bone formation. In terms of Ca:P ratio, the ratio must be positive in favor of calcium. Horses are much more tolerant of high-dietary calcium than other species. For practical purposes, a good guideline would be to keep the ratio Ca:P between 1.5 to 1 and 2.5 to 1. Grains (e.g., oats) contain 10% of the calcium level found in typical forages. Grains are poor sources of calcium, both in terms of the amount of calcium supplied and their effect on Ca:P ratio in the diet. Where grains are fed, supplementation will be necessary to balance the diet.

While some forages may contain adequate calcium and phosphorus, they will typically supply less than 20% of the daily requirements for trace elements. Supplementation of trace elements will generally be necessary to support normal bone development.

Where concentrates are fed (especially low levels), supplementation may still be necessary to balance the overall mineral and trace element intake. Nutritional advice should be sought to ensure the horse’s diet is correctly balanced. To meet the carefully balanced requirements of key minerals, it is advisable to supplement the daily rations of growing horses and young horses entering training with an appropriate nutritional product.

Make sure that the supplement used contains the correct ratio of calcium and phosphorus, as well as other key nutrients such as vitamin D and chelated trace elements (copper, manganese, and zinc) to support normal bone development.

Supplementing branch chain amino acids in the diet ensures that growth is maintained. Lysine plays a key role when protein concentrations in the body are low. Vitamin A supports collagen formation, which is a key component of the supportive structures of joints (tendons and ligaments). Vitamin D3 is added to enhance calcium absorption.

Although growth rates slow after the age of two, they are still juvenile in their skeletal development with some growth plates, such as the shoulder and stifles, yet to completely close. Although they may look like fully grown adults, it is still important to meet nutritional requirements especially if starting training and work. With the addition of exercise and training, a young horse’s nutritional needs change. The added forces from groundwork on the long bones and increased requirements of other nutrients like electrolytes need to be considered.

Finally, horses all grow and develop at different rates because of factors such as genetics. Some youngsters will need more support for longer periods of time than others, so it is important to manage accordingly.

Approved by FDA under NADA # 141-458

Equioxx® Tablets (firocoxib) 57mg

Brief Summary: This information is not comprehensive. Before using Equioxx ® (firocoxib) tablets, please consult the product insert for full prescribing information. The product insert may be obtained from your veterinarian or by visiting www.equioxx.com.

CAUTION: Federal (USA) law restricts this drug to use by or on the order of a licensed veterinarian.

Indications: EQUIOXX Tablets are administered once daily for up to 14 days for the control of pain and inflammation associated with osteoarthritis in horses.

Dosage and Administration: Always provide the Client Information Sheet with the prescription. The recommended dosage of EQUIOXX Tablets is one 57 mg tablet administered orally to horses weighing 800 – 1300 lbs, once daily for up to 14 days. For ease of administration, EQUIOXX Tablets may be given with food.

The overall duration of treatment with any firocoxib formulation in horses, including EQUIOXXTablets, Injection or Oral Paste, should not exceed 14 days. Please see the package insert for EQUIOXX Injection or Oral Paste for appropriate prescribing information for those formulations.

Contraindications: Horses with a hypersensitivity to firocoxib should not receive EQUIOXX Tablets.

Warnings: For use in horses only. Do not use in horses intended for human consumption. Store EQUIOXX Tablets out of the reach of dogs and other pets in a secured location in order to prevent accidental ingestion or overdose.

Human Warnings: Not for use in humans. Keep this and all medications out of the reach of children. Consult a physician in case of accidental ingestion by humans.

Precautions: Horses should undergo a thorough history and physical examination before initiation of NSAID therapy.

Appropriate laboratory tests should be conducted to establish hematological and serum biochemical baseline data before and periodically during administration of any NSAID. Clients should be advised to observe for signs of potential drug toxicity and be given a Client Information Sheet with each prescription. See Information for Owner or Person Treating Horse section of this package insert.

Treatment with EQUIOXX Tablets should be terminated if signs such as inappetence, colic, abnormal feces, or lethargy are observed.

As a class, cyclooxygenase inhibitory NSAIDs may be associated with gastrointestinal, renal, and hepatic toxicity. Sensitivity to drug-associated adverse events varies with the individual patient. Horses that have experienced adverse reactions from one NSAID may experience adverse reactions from another NSAID. Patients at greatest risk for adverse events are those that are dehydrated, on diuretic therapy, or those with existing renal, cardiovascular, and/or hepatic dysfunction. Concurrent administration of potentially nephrotoxic drugs should be carefully approached or avoided. NSAIDs may inhibit the prostaglandins that maintain normal homeostatic function. Such anti-prostaglandin effects may result in clinically significant disease in patients with underlying or pre-existing disease that has not been previously diagnosed. Since many NSAIDs possess the potential to produce gastrointestinal ulcerations and/or gastrointestinal perforation, concomitant use of EQUIOXX Tablets with other anti-inflammatory drugs, such as NSAIDs or corticosteroids, should be avoided.

The concomitant use of protein bound drugs with EQUIOXX Tablets has not been studied in horses. The influence of concomitant drugs that may inhibit the metabolism of EQUIOXX Tablets has not been evaluated. Drug compatibility should be monitored in patients requiring adjunctive therapy.

The safe use of EQUIOXX Tablets in horses less than one year in age, horses used for breeding, or in pregnant or lactating mares has not been evaluated.

Consider appropriate washout times when switching from one NSAID to another NSAID or corticosteroid.

Adverse Reactions: The safety and effectiveness of EQUIOXX Tablets was established in a relative bioavailability study comparing EQUIOXX Tablets and EQUIOXX (firocoxib) Oral Paste. Therefore, additional field studies were not performed to support the effectiveness of EQUIOXX Tablets.

In controlled field studies, 127 horses (ages 3 to 37 years) were evaluated for safety when given EQUIOXX Oral Paste at a dose of 0.045 mg/lb (0.1 mg/kg) orally once daily for up to 14 days. The following adverse reactions were observed. Horses may have experienced more than one of the observed adverse reactions during the study.

IRELAND

Table 1: Adverse Reactions Seen in U.S. Field Studies with EQUIOXX Oral Paste: Adverse Reactions Abdominal Pain Diarrhea Excitation Lethargy Loose Stool Polydipsia Urticaria

EQUIOXX n=127

Active Control n=125

0 2 1 0 1 0 0

1 0 0 1 0 1 1

In these field trials, EQUIOX X Oral Paste was safely used concomitantly with other therapies, including vaccines, anthelmintics, and antibiotics. The safety data sheet (SDS) contains more detailed occupational safety information.

To report suspected adverse events, for technical assistance, or to obtain a copy of the SDS, contact Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health USA Inc. at 1-888-637-4251. For additional information about adverse drug experience reporting for animal drugs, contact FDA at 1-888-FDA-VETS or online at www.fda.gov/reportanimalae.

Animal Safety: The safety of EQUIOXX Tablets was supported by a relative bioavailability study comparing EQUIOXX Tablets and EQUIOXX Oral Paste (see CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY, Relative Bioavailability Study), pharmacovigilance information, and target animal safety data for existing firocoxib containing products in horses. No additional target animal safety studies were conducted with EQUIOXX Tablets.

In a target animal safety study conducted to support the approval of EQUIOXX Oral Paste, firocoxib was administered orally to healthy adult horses (two male castrates and four females per group) at 0, 0.1, 0.3 and 0.5 mg firocoxib/kg body weight (1, 3 and 5X the recommended dose) for 30 days. Administration of firocoxib at 0.3 and 0.5 mg/kg body weight was associated with an increased incidence of oral ulcers as compared to the control group but, no oral ulcers were noted with 0.1 mg/kg. There were no other drug-related adverse findings in this study.

In another target animal safety study, firocoxib was administered orally to healthy adult horses (four males or male castrates and four females per group) at 0, 0.1, 0.3 and 0.5 mg firocoxib/kg body weight (1, 3 and 5X the recommended dose) for 42 days. Administration of firocoxib at 0.1, 0.3 and 0.5 mg/kg body weight was associated with delayed healing of pre-existing oral (lip, tongue, gingival) ulcers. In addition, the incidence of oral ulcers was higher in all treated groups as compared to the control group.

Clinical chemistry and coagulation abnormalities were seen in several horses in the 0.5 mg/kg (5X) group. One 5X male horse developed a mildly elevated BUN and creatinine over the course of the study, prolonged buccal mucosal bleeding time (BMBT), and a dilated pelvis of the right kidney. Another 5X male had a similar mild increase in creatinine during the study but did not have any gross abnormal findings. One female in the 5X group had a prolonged BMBT, bilateral tubulointerstitial nephropathy and bilateral papillary necrosis.

Tubulointerstitial nephropathy occurred in one 3X female, two 3X male horses, and the 5X female horse discussed above with the prolonged BMBT. Papillary necrosis was present in one 1X male horse and the 5X female horse discussed above. Despite the gross and microscopic renal lesions, all of the horses were clinically healthy and had normal hematology, clinical chemistry and urinalysis values.

In another target animal safety study, firocoxib was administered orally to healthy adult horses (three females, two male castrates and one male per group) at 0, 0.25 mg/kg, 0.75 mg/kg and 1.25 mg/kg (2.5, 7.5 and 12.5X the recommended dose of 0.1 mg/kg) for 92 days. An additional group of three females, two male castrates and one male per group, was dosed at 1.25 mg/kg for 92 days but was monitored until Days 147-149. There were treatmentrelated adverse events in all treated groups. These consisted of ulcers of the lips, gingiva and tongue and erosions of the skin of the mandible and head. Gross and microscopic lesions of the kidneys consistent with tubulointerstitial nephropathy were seen in all treated groups. Papillary necrosis was seen in the 2.5X and 12.5X groups. In addition, several 12.5X horses had elevated liver enzymes (GGT, SDH, AST and ALT). One 2.5X horse had increased urine GGT and urine protein levels which was due to renal hemorrhage and nephropathy. Gastric ulcers of the margo plicatus and glandular area were more prevalent in the 2.5X and 7.5X groups, but not seen in the 12.5X group. The group of horses that were monitored until Days 147-149 showed partial to full recovery from oral and skin ulcers, but no recovery from tubulointerstitial nephropathy.

Storage Information: Store at room temperature, between 59º- 86 º F (15º - 30º C). Brief periods up to 104º F (40º C) are permitted.

How Supplied: EQUIOXX is available as round, beige to tan, half-scored tablets, containing 57 mg firocoxib. EQUIOXX Tablets are supplied in 60 and 180 count bottles.

1 McCann ME, Rickes EL, Hora DF, Cunningham PK et al. In vitro effects and in vivo efficacy of a novel cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor in cats with lipopolysaccharide- induced pyrexia. AmJ Vet Res. 2005 Jul;66(7):127884 2 McCann ME, Anderson DR, Brideau C et al. In vitro activity and in vivo efficacy of a novel COX-2 inhibitor in the horse. Proceedings of the Academy of Veterinary Internal Medicine. 2002. Abstract 114, p.789.

3 Data on file Made in France.

EQUIOXX® is a registered trademark of Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health USA Inc. ©2023 Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health USA Inc. All Rights Reserved.

US-EQU-0381-2022 Ref: 0 053 920787 / 0 053 920791 11-2018

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| VETERINARY |

A NEW LOOK AT

LAMENESS

28 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 70

WORDS: JACKIE BELLAMY-ZIONS (INTERVIEWING: DR. KOENIG) PHOTOGRAPHY: ECLIPSE SPORTSWIRE, ONTARIO VETERINARY COLLEGE, DAVID BETTS PHOTOGRAPHY

P

revention is the ideal when it comes to lameness, but practically everyone who has owned horses has dealt with a lay-up due to an unforeseen injury at some point. The following article will provide tools to sharpen your eye for detecting lameness, review prevention tips and discuss the importance of early intervention.

It will also begin with a glimpse into current research endeavouring to heal tendon injuries faster, which has obvious horse welfare benefits and supports horse owners eager to return to their training programs. Dr. Judith Koenig of Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) spends half of her time as a surgeon and teacher with a strong interest in equine sports medicine and rehabilitation, and the other half as a researcher at the OVC. Lameness is a huge focus for Koenig, whose main interest is in tissue healing. “I think over the past 20 or 30 years we have become very, very good in diagnosing the cause of lameness,” says Koenig. “In the past, we had only radiographs and ultrasound as a diagnostic tool, but by now most referral centers also have MRI available; and that allows us to diagnose joint disease or tendon disease even more. We are much better now [at] finding causes that previously may have been missed with ultrasound.”

Improvements in diagnostics have resulted in increased ability to target treatment plans. With all the different biologics on the market today, Koenig sees a shift in the management of joint disease with more people getting away from steroids as a treatment.

The following list is excerpted from Equine Guelph’s short course on lameness offered on TheHorsePortal.ca. It outlines the different diagnostics available:

Stem cell therapy When asked for the latest news on research she has been involved in, Koenig proclaims, “I’m most excited about the fact that horses are responding well to stem cell treatment—better than I have seen any response to any other drug we have tried so far!”

Koenig has investigated the use of many different modalities to see if they accelerate tissue healing and has studied which cellular pathways are affected. Two recent collaborative studies have produced very exciting findings, revealing future promise for treating equine osteoarthritis with stem cell therapy.

In a safety study, Koenig and her team at the Ontario Veterinary College have shown equine pooled cryopreserved umbilical cord blood, (eCB) MSC, to be safe and effective in treatment of osteoarthritis.

“These cells are the ones harvested from umbilical cord blood at the time of foaling and then that blood is taken to the lab and the stem cells are isolated out of it,” explains Koenig. The stem cells are then put through a variety of tests to make sure they are free of infectious diseases. Once given a clean bill of health, they are expanded and frozen.

The stem cells harvested from multiple donors of equine umbilical cord blood, [eCB, (kindly provided by eQcell), MSC] were compared to saline injections in research horses. “This type of cells is much more practical if you have a cell bank,” says Koenig. “You can treat more horses with it, and it’s off the shelf.”

There were no systemic reactions in the safety study. Research has also shown no different reactions from sourcing from one donor or multiple donors.

In the second study, 10 million stem cells per vial were frozen for use in healing OA from fetlock chips in horses that

METHOD

USES

NERVE BLOCK Using an anesthetic agent (a drug that causes numbness, such as carbocaine) in one area of the leg

Helps determine what area is causing the lameness

RADIOGRAPHS Also called X-rays Allows veterinarian to see the bones

Looks for injury or changes to the bone, such as fractures, evidence of arthritis, calcification

ULTRASOUND Allows veterinarian to see the soft tissues such as muscles, ligaments and tendons

Looks for issues in these areas, such as a lesion on the tendon Small fractures may also be seen on ultrasound

CATSCAN Advanced form of X-ray that gives a highly detailed picture of the bone Can produce a reconstructed 3-D image

Can help with a quicker and more detailed diagnosis and may help guide a more appropriate treatment plan

MRI Can create detailed images of soft tissue and bone

Can be used to get a clearer picture of what’s going on in the knee, hock, lower limb and hoof capsule

ARTHROSCOPY Considered a diagnostic surgery; a small camera called an endoscope is placed through a small incision and used to look at a joint

Can be used to evaluate and treat problems with the joint, such as small chip fragments and osteochondrosis dissecans (OCD) fragments

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ABOVE: Diagnostic MRI imaging of a fetlock with osteoarthritis.

TOP LEFT & LEFT: Researchers at the Ontario Veterinary College performing MRI imaging on a horse in the OVC Health Sciences Centre.

were previously conditioned to be fit. After the fetlock chip was created, exercise commenced for six more weeks, and then osteoarthritis was evaluated by MRI for a baseline. Half the horses were treated with the pooled MSC stem cells, and the control group received saline before another month of exercise.

Then MRI and lameness exams were repeated, and arthroscopy was repeated to score the cartilage and remove the chip.

Lameness was decreased and cartilage scores were improved in the group that received stem cell therapy at the time of the second look with arthroscopy.

Many diagnostics were utilized during this study. MRIs, X-rays, ultrasounds and weekly lameness evaluations all revealed signs of osteoarthritis in fetlock joints improved in the group treated with (eCB) MSCs. After six weeks of treatment, the arthroscopic score was significantly lower (better cartilage) in the MSC group compared to the control group.

“Using the MRI, we can also see a difference that the horses treated with stem cells had less progression of osteoarthritis, which I think is awesome,” says Koenig. “They were less lame when exercised after the stem cell therapy than the horses that received saline.”

This research group also just completed a clinical trial in client-owned horses diagnosed with fetlock injuries with mild to moderate osteoarthritis changes. The horses were given either 10 million or 20 million stem cells and rechecked three weeks and

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six weeks after the treatment. Upon re-evaluation, the grade of lameness improved in all the horses by at least one. Only two horses presented a mild transient reaction, which dissipated after 48 hours without any need for antibiotics. The horse’s joints looked normal, with any filling in the joint reduced.

There was no difference in the 18 horses, with nine given 10 million stem cells and the other nine 20 million stem cells; so in the next clinical trial, 10 million stem cells will be used.

The research team is very happy with the results of this firstof-its-kind trial, proving that umbilical cord blood stem cells stopped the progression of osteoarthritis and that the cartilage looked better in the horses that received treatment. The future of stem cell therapy is quite promising!

Rehabilitation Research has shown adhering to a veterinary-prescribed rehabilitation protocol results in a far better outcome than paddock turn out alone. It is beneficial for tendon healing to have a certain amount of controlled stimulation. “These horses have a much better outcome than the horses that are treated with just being turned out in a paddock for half a year,” emphasizes Koenig. “They do much better if they follow an exercise program.

Of course, it is important not to overdo it.”

For example, Koenig cautions against skipping hand-walking if it has been advised. It can be so integral to stimulating healing,

| A N E W LO O K AT L A M E N E S S |

DR. KOENIG IS A BIG BELIEVER IN CROSSTRAINING, EXPOSING HORSES TO DIFFERENT TYPES OF FOOTING AND PROVIDING TIME TO REST AND RECOVER. IT IS ALSO IMPORTANT FOR THE HORSE’S “MIND” TO SEE SOMETHING DIFFERENT.” as proven in recent clinical trials. “The people that followed the rehab instructions together with the stem cell treatment in our last study—those horses all returned to racing,” said Koenig.

“It is super important to follow the rehab instructions when it comes to how long to rest and not to start back too early.”

Another concern when rehabilitating an injured horse would be administering any home remedies that you haven’t discussed with your veterinarian. Examples included blistering an area that is actively healing or applying shockwave to mask pain and then commence exercise.

Prevention and training tips While stating there are many methods and opinions when it comes to training horses, Koenig offered a few common subjects backed by research. The first being the importance of daily turnout for young developing horses.

Turnout and exercise Many studies have looked at the quality of cartilage in young horses with ample access to turn out versus those without. It has been determined that young horses that lack exercise and are kept in a stall have very poor quality cartilage.

Horses that are started early with light exercise (like trotting short distances and a bit of hill work) and that have access to daily paddock turnout, had much better quality of cartilage.

Koenig cited research from Dr. Pieter Brama and similar research groups.

Another study shows that muscle and tendon development depend greatly on low grade exercise in young horses.

Evaluations at 18 months of age found that the group that had paddock turnout and a little bit of exercise such as running up and down hills had better quality cartilage, tendon and muscle.

Koenig provides a human comparison, with the example of people that recover quicker from injury when they have been active as teenagers and undergone some beneficial conditioning.

The inference can be made that horses developing cardiovascular fitness at a young age stand to benefit their whole lives from the early muscle development.

Koenig says it takes six weeks to regain muscle strength after injury, but anywhere from four to six months for bone to develop strength. It needs to be repeatedly loaded, but one should not do anything too crazy! Gradual introduction of exercise is the rule of thumb.

Rest and recovery “Ideally they have two rest days a week, but one rest day a week as a minimum,” says Koenig. “I cannot stress enough the importance of periods of rest after strenuous work, and if you notice any type of filling in the joints after workout, you should definitely rest the horse for a couple of days and apply ice to any structures that are filled or tendons or muscles that are hard.”

Not purporting to be a trainer, Koenig does state that two speed workouts a week would be a maximum to allow for proper recovery. You will also want to make sure they have enough access to salt/electrolytes and water after training.

During a post-Covid interview, Koenig imparted important advice for bringing horses back into work methodically when they have experienced significant time off.

“You need to allow at least a six-week training period for the athletes to be slowly brought back and build up muscle mass and cardiovascular fitness,” says WATCH VIDEO: Koenig. “Both stamina and muscle mass “Lameness research need to be retrained.”

– What precautions The importance was stressed to check do you take to start training after time off?” the horse’s legs for heat and swelling before and after every ride and to always pick out the feet. A good period of walking is required in the warmup and cool down; and riders need to pay attention to soundness in the walk before commencing their work out.

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Footing and cross training With a European background, Koenig is no stranger to the varying track surfaces used in their training programs. Statistics suggest fewer injuries with horses that are running on turf, like they practice in the UK. Working on hard track surfaces has been known to increase the chance of injury, but delving into footing is beyond the scope of this article.

“Cross training is very important,” says Koenig. “It is critical for the mental and proper musculoskeletal development of the athlete to have for every three training days a day off, or even better provide cross-training like trail riding on these days.”

Cross-training can mitigate overtraining, giving the body and mind a mental break from intense training. It can increase motivation and also musculoskeletal strength. Varied loading from training on different terrain at different gaits means bone and muscle will be loaded differently, therefore reducing repetitive strain that can cause lameness.

Hoof care Whether it is a horse coming back from injury, or a young horse beginning training, a proficient farrier is indispensable to ensure proper balance when trimming the feet. In fact, balancing the hoof right from the start is paramount because if they have some conformational abnormalities, like abnormal angles, they tend to load one side of their joint or bone more than the other. This predisposes them to potentially losing bone elasticity on the side

they load more because the bone will lay down more calcium on that side, trying to make it stronger; but it actually makes the bone plate under the cartilage brittle.

Koenig could not overstate the importance of excellent hoof care when it comes to joint health and advises strongly to invest in a good blacksmith. Many conformational issues can be averted by having a skilled farrier right from the time they are foals.

Of course, it would be remiss not to mention that prevention truly begins with nutrition. “It starts with how the broodmare is fed to prevent development of orthopedic disease,” says Koenig.

Consulting with an equine nutritionist certainly plays a role in healthy bone development and keeping horses sound.

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FOLLOWING IN THEIR FOOTSTEPS: LESSONS IN BUSINESS & TRAINING PASSED BETWEEN GENERATIONS

Norm & Mark Casse during morning workout at Churchill Downs.

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WORDS: JENNIFER KELLY PHOTOGRAPHY: BENOIT PHOTOS, ECLIPSE SPORTSWIRE, KELLY AVANT PHOTOGRAPHY, THE BRYANTS, THE MANDELLAS

The story of horse racing is one of families. Usually, the conversations focus on the equine kind, sires and dams, and what the generations listed in each horse’s pedigrees bring to the athletes at the center of the sport. The human side of racing also features the age-old tale of family legacies as knowledge and experience gained by one inspires the next to join the fray.

W

hether the name is Hirsch or Veitch, Bryant or Casse or Mandella, the training side of the sport has its share of families passing both knowledge and experience down to the next generation. Summers spent mucking stalls and caring for horses allow parents to share hard-earned expertise with their children, and, in turn, move them to follow in their footsteps. Their journeys to striking out on their own may mirror the ones the previous generation undertook, but the challenges that each face are ones that reflect the changing times within the sport.

The Mandellas As the son of a blacksmith, Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella grew up with horses, seemingly destined to make his life about their care and training. He assisted his father Gene on their California ranch and learned to break and ride horses from an early age. Dreams of being a jockey turned into time in the saddle as an exercise rider and then years in the barn as a trainer, finding success with horses like Dare and Go, Kotashaan, Omaha Beach, and Beholder. When it came to his two children following in his footsteps, the California-based Mandella, who has been training for nearly five decades, found son Gary eager to join the family business, but the fatherly side of the Hall of Famer tried to dissuade his son from going that route.

“We were walking out to the parking lot one day, and I asked him, ‘What are you going to do when you finish school?’ And he looked at me and said, ‘I’m going to do what you do, Dad,’” Mandella shared. “I couldn’t chase him away. I wanted him to get a real job. He didn’t like the idea and worked for me.”

Gary, on the other hand, followed through with his father’s request that he go to college and even tried broadcasting for a time. “I feel very fortunate that people tried to open my eyes to remind me what else was out there, that I could look into something else and try this, try that,” the younger Mandella reflected. “But I knew before I turned 16, that it was going to be hard to get away from [training].”

His foresight about that career choice came from years growing up with horses right outside his window. The family had a small farm where his dad would send horses for some downtime, meaning that the younger Mandellas were working with and caring for these athletes from their earliest years.

“I woke up, and every window that I looked out of my bedroom, I saw horses,” he remembered. “Just helping take care of them there and having the opportunity to be around them all the time made [me] want to be a part of that.”

Those experiences working with his dad and his horses on their family property as well as on the racetrack brought Gary Mandella the background he would need when he decided that

a trainer’s life was for him. “My father’s always been more of a lead by example than make a big speech kind,” the younger trainer observed. “He showed me, expected me to pay attention, and was always clear about what the priorities should be.”

The Bryants George Bryant started his career in the saddle, riding Quarter Horses for more than a decade, but, when age spelled the end of that career, he parlayed his lifetime with horses into training.

Based in Texas, he worked first with Quarter Horses and later Thoroughbreds, retiring in 2021 as son George Allan Bryant faced a fight for his life.

Diagnosed with stage four oral cancer, the younger Bryant battled through surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, coming out of the experience determined to follow through with his goal of becoming a trainer like his father. He had delayed starting his career until the elder Bryant stepped away, instead working as a racing manager for HDT Allied Management, hosting the Horse Racing Destination podcast, and serving as a member of the Texas Thoroughbred Association.

His decision to open his public stable and start his training career was a long overdue one in the eyes of the elder Bryant: “He’s been ready for quite a while now, [but] it was up to him to make the decision. He really didn’t want to go into training until after I retired.”

“I didn’t want to compete with him,” George Allan Bryant shared about his decision to defer his training career. Though he did not start his own stable until 2022, the younger man watched and learned from his father, always accompanying the elder Bryant to the barn and riding horses at an early age.

This hands-on education prepared the younger Bryant so well that he passed his trainer’s license test on the first try, and then got on social media to share that he was ready to open his stable.

He got his first client, Mike Powers, not too long after that.

Now, his barn at Sam Houston Race Park in Houston counts 20 horses, with the elder Bryant by his son’s side as his assistant, building on the determination that got him through his fight with cancer and pushing him forward.

The Casses Mark Casse’s own roots in racing come from his father Norman, one of the founders of the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company whose Cardinal Hill Farm in Marion County, Florida, gave Mark hands-on time with horses from his earliest years. As a 12-yearold boy, the future Hall of Famer accompanied his father to the 1973 Kentucky Derby and decided to become a trainer after watching Secretariat’s record-breaking performance. It was during those formative years that he learned what it took to become a trainer.

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LEFT: Richard & Gary Mandella BELOW: George Bryant & George Allan Bryant

ABOVE: Norm Casse’s Southlawn exercises before the 2023 Kentucky Oaks.

“You learn from many places. I was running my dad’s training barn when I was 15,” Casse recalled. “I learned from grooms, from hot walkers, from exercise riders. You learn because you love it.”

In 1979, six years after that fateful encounter with Secretariat, Casse got his first win at Keeneland in Lexington, Kentucky, and his first stakes win at Sportsman’s Park near Chicago at just 18 years old; but success at the highest level was still to come. In the late 1990s, he moved his base to Woodbine in Toronto, Ontario, and added racing north of the border to his resume. In the meantime, his oldest son Norm was growing up surrounded by family in the sport, with both of his grandfathers and then his father all involved. But his love came more from his childhood in Louisville, Kentucky, growing up with all things Derby.

“I just fell in love with horse racing just because I was here and how much the Derby meant to the community,” Casse shared.

Much like his dad, Mark’s encounter with Secretariat, Smarty Jones’s Triple Crown run in 2004 spurred the younger Casse’s desire to become part of the sport: “There was just something about that horse in particular that just really excited me, and it was [then] that I decided that’s what I wanted to do.”

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The younger Casse was in his early 20s when Smarty Jones came into his life, playing baseball at Bellarmine University with an eye on what was next: “I figured that I wasn’t going to be good enough to be professional by any means, but I always thought maybe I would be a coach.” After graduating from Bellarmine, Norm joined his dad’s stable in 2006, getting an in-depth education about training horses after years where his focus had been outside of racing.

“I was behind the eight ball when I first started,” Norm observed. “The intention was always going out on my own, but I knew it was going to take at least 10–12 years before I was going to be comfortable and ready.” Before he went out on his own in 2018, the younger trainer managed strings at American racetracks like Saratoga and Keeneland while the elder Casse focused on his Canadian stable—experience that mitigated the growing pains other trainers face when starting their own stables.

With his first Kentucky Oaks starter, Southlawn in 2023, Norm Casse continues to build on the lessons learned working with his Hall of Fame father and finding success in his own program with horses like Pretty Birdie and Rhyme Schemes in his barn.

The challenges of the business and sport For the Mandellas in California, the challenges are two-fold. A declining population of horses and the rising costs of maintaining a stable make that circuit a tough place to race.

“There’s just [not] near the number of stables here as there used to be,” the elder Mandella observed. He let Gary know that the option to leave California and train elsewhere was there, but “[Gary] decided to stay put.”

According to the younger Mandella, the purse money that tracks in California have to offer has not kept pace with what tracks backed by casinos have to offer. Because of that, plus the higher cost of living in the state, the circuit lacks a middle. The state’s racing scene is still strong at the top, as evidenced by the success of West Coast horses coming east, but the inflated prices of real estate and feed make it harder to maintain a barn of allowance and claiming horses.

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The younger Mandella has his own stable but shares a barn with his father as well. The two work together, as the Hall of Famer has scaled back his operation, happy to have his son on hand to help guide both stables through the implementation of HISA (Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority) regulations and the growing dependence on technology.

“I’m lucky I have had this barn for 49 years, and I’ve got some great people that work for me,” the elder Mandella shared. “Having him along with it makes it possible for me to get through all of this new stuff.”

Technology makes it easier to communicate with owners and to work with larger ownership groups like My Racehorse, which the Mandella barn has found success with; but it also opens up another set of challenges for the sport. As Mark Casse pointed out, social media has made sharing information, like win percentages, easier, which can be a double-edged sword.

“Everybody wants you to win at a high percentage, and that’s a challenge; and then any little move, any little thing that goes wrong or right shows up on social media, which is tough,” he observed.

Additionally, social media has also led to continued scrutiny from many different directions, especially in light of the recent charges against Jorge Navarro and Jason Servis. “It’s the reason why I have pushed so hard for HISA,” Casse shared. “I want my kids who choose to make this their business to be able to do the right thing and to be on a level playing field.”

For the father-son Bryant team, the biggest difference between starting in the 1980s and in the 2020s is the cost of labor, supplies, and the horses themselves. “It’s gotten to be pretty expensive,” the elder Bryant observed.

“When I started, a bale of hay was probably $1.50, and now it’s $20.”

To succeed, “you got to be pretty business smart, and you have to have owners that pay you good,” he said, a sentiment echoed by Gary Mandella.

“This is one of the few businesses where you post bills for services rendered as opposed to pre-billing,” the trainer observed. “When you’re operating with a high overhead, it can be stressful. You have to manage that stress so that you’re just taking the horses in consideration as individuals.”

Balancing the needs of the horses with the needs of the business remains a vital part of the job of horse trainer. While each considers what their horses need, they also need to look beyond the day-to-day care and maintenance to the evolving issues of bringing both new owners and new horses to their barns.

Gary & Richard Mandella Mark Casse

The search for the next big thing High up on the list of challenges for trainers is bringing in both new owners and new horses to their barns. The advent of social media as well as the rise of partnerships and microshare syndicates means that the way that the sport conducts business has changed and the men and women who make their living in it must adapt as well. While the opportunities to work as a private trainer for one or two owners may be fewer, these father-son tandems must navigate the continuing evolution in both recruiting owners and finding horses to train.

For George Allan Bryant, social media has allowed him to reach potential owners in ways that his father could not in earlier decades and has enabled his nascent barn to grow. “I can advertise my horses and business much easier,” the younger Bryant shared.

Hall of Famer Mark Casse has also seen a change in this era of instantaneous communication. Over his 40-year career, he primarily relied on phone calls to keep his clients informed, yet the 21st century has taken the phone to a new level. “The way we communicate now is much different. Now I would say that 95% of owners get updates when their horses work or when they run,” he observed. “I get a lot of texts and emails and those kinds of things. I still have lots of phone calls, but it has definitely changed.”

Pickens & George Allan Bryant

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RIGHT: Lane Way ridden by Mike Smith wins the 2023 Eddie D Stakes on Awesome Again Stakes Day at Santa Anita Park for MyRacehorse and Richard Mandella.

Alongside the changes in how owners access information about their horses and potential trainers, the rise of syndicates like MyRacehorse and Commonwealth, both of whom boast Kentucky Derby winners in Authentic and Mage, has changed the sport, opening up opportunities for more people to get involved in owning horses, but also helping to mitigate the rising costs of owning and training horses. That also leaves racing with two distinct groups calling the shots.

“I feel like the game right now is moving toward you can either afford to have all of your horses yourself and call all of your own shots, or you need to be a part of a big partnership where there’s truly no stress; you bought your piece, and everybody else handles everything,” Gary Mandella shared.

“They tell you where to be, where to show up, and you can either make it or not. It’s all handled.”

Though such new approaches to ownership open the sport up to people who might not have been able to participate otherwise, it does lead to one trend that has troubled the sport over the last three decades as the majority of the sport’s highest earners tend to be in the barns of only a few.

As the younger Mandella pointed out, “Part of the selling point of these big syndicates is you can’t get in with Bob Baffert if you buy a horse yourself for $20,000 as a yearling; but if you spend $20,000 on share of more expensive horses, then you get access to Baffert or Brad Cox or Todd Pletcher. And again, now too many of the horses are in the hands of too few, and that hurts.”

For the elder Casse, these ownership groups bring a definite upside to the sport: “It would be my opinion that syndicates have introduced many people to our sport. As things go on, some of them feel the need to go ahead and branch out and do a little bit more on their own. I think they’re great for our sport.

Norm & Mark Casse

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“There’s so much to learn about our sport, and if you try to get into it on your own, it’s very difficult. But those syndicates are good for learning.”

In the case of the elder Mandella, working with MyRacehorse has streamlined his responsibilities, allowing him to step away from attending sales and focus more on selecting the horses he will train. “The owners all tend to have bloodstock agents and managers now,” Mandella shared. “I try to not interfere with that and just hope they send me some horses.”

Syndicates like MyRacehorse will bring Mandella and other trainers out to their bases in areas like Aiken, South Carolina, and allow each to select the horses they would like to train. In the case of the younger Bryant, he even started his own syndicate, Passion Racing, to offer potential owners the chance to invest in horses he trains. He also works with his owners like Adam Blick of Blick Racing, attending sales and offering his feedback on potential runners.

For trainer Norm Casse, his focus is on the two types of clients he works with, those who buy from the sales and those who claim horses. When it comes to buying horses, “I have professionals that represent me at the sales to find new horses, and I trust their opinions.” On the other hand, he is more involved with the selection of the horses he claims. “I have certain types of horses that I like, and looking at past performances, I can decide which horses would be successful in our program,” he shared. “I like claiming horses using common sense, and it’s really as simple as that.”

When it comes to adding clients and horses to their barns, the elder Casse has not seen as much of a change in recent years. Rather than actively recruiting, “I think most trainers just let the results speak for themselves and hope that owners will come,” he said.

“There’s so much more information out there for people to gather, but you still get a lot of recommendations from other owners.”

Instead, he makes the best of the sales, working with clients like Charlotte Weber of Live Oak Stud to pick out potential racers. “I like it because if I don’t do a good job, get good horses, the only one to answer to or be upset with is myself,” the longtime conditioner shared. “I enjoy picking out horses, and I have a real good memory of the horses I’ve trained; and I try to duplicate that.”

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LEFT: George Allan Bryant introduces River Derby Bryant —the next generation of Bryants—to Moro Mafia.

“The better we can make the sport look, the more chance we’re going to get people to come here,” he observed.

The evolution of the sport in the era of social media and syndication add new demands to their jobs, but these father-son tandems remain committed to the sport they have loved from their earliest days. Though the pressures of training these equine athletes and maintaining the business side of the game may test these conditioners, they are all open to the idea of their own children deciding to join their ranks.

Advice for the next generation

What the current trends in ownership and horse selection create is a challenging environment for the sport as a whole, where success at the top levels mirrors what’s happening in other sports.

As the younger Mandella observes, “One of the great selling points of horse racing is that it is truly the only major sport where you can try to win a championship without spending the most money.

There’s such a strong concept in baseball, basketball, football and hockey, where somebody comes in and either increases their budget or buys a team and changes the concept.”

“None of these sports have a story like California Chrome or Real Quiet or Sunday Silence—horses that were bought for so little money and were able to take down horses that were seven figures and owned by some of the richest people in the world.

Where else can you partake in that?”

Echoing his son’s thoughts, Richard Mandella sees a need for racing to restore a balance between the business and the sport: “that part needs to be addressed and always paid attention to so that we don’t get too far to the business side and get too cold about it. This is meant to be an escape for people in real life working in offices, running businesses, and having all of those headaches. Racing is supposed to be a way to get your mind on something else and have some fun.”

George Allan Bryant’s advice is to stay on top of the bills and expenses that come with caring for these athletes and maintaining the communication necessary to work with the owners. “You’ve got to take care of your bills,” he observed. “But this is also a people business as much as it is a horse business. Your phone is always on.”

Norm Casse too echoed that aspect of the job: “The main thing I learned is how to deal with clients and owners. I never have a problem communicating with the owner because my whole life, I’ve been listening to somebody do it.” With apps like The Racing Manager, Casse and other trainers can quickly communicate with everyone associated with a horse, another avenue for keeping their clients in the know as their horses develop and progress.

For Mandella, the key to bringing in a new generation to the training business would be to show his son the ropes much as his father did. “I would warn him that this is a business that has economic risks to jump into for sure,” he said. “But also, I would give him as much support as I possibly could.”

At the center of all six trainers’ time on the track are the equine athletes that make the demanding schedules and daily stresses worthwhile. For all three families, the focus remains on the horses and their care and development, all seeking not just success on the racetrack but the connection with the animals in their care.

“You’ve got to really know your horses and pay attention to all of the little things,” George Bryant shared. “Take excellent care of your horses. The better care you take of them, the healthier they’ll be and the faster they’ll run for you.”

Midlantic December Mixed & Horses of Racing Age TUESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2023  TIMONIUM, MARYLAND

40 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 70

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ISSUE 70 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM

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| OPINION |

DANGERS OF INBREEDING AND THE NECESSITY TO PRESERVE SIRE LINES IN THE THOROUGHBRED BREED 42 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 70

WORDS: DR BERNARD STOFFEL, DVM

PHOTOGRAPHY: GALOPPFOTO.DE, JOE CANTIN

Inbreeding is the proportion of the genome identically inherited from both parents.

Inbreeding coefficients can be estimated from pedigrees, but pedigree underestimates the true level of inbreeding. Genomics can measure the true level of inbreeding by examining the extent of homozygosity (identical state) in the DNA of a horse.

A

mechanism to examine genomic inbreeding for breeding purposes has yet to be developed to be used by all breeders but once available, it must be considered as a tool for breeders.

Breeding of potential champion racehorses is a global multibillion sterling or dollar business, but there is no systematic industry-mediated genetic population management.1

Inbreeding in the modern Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred horse has low genetic diversity relative to most other horse breeds, with a small effective population size and a trend of increasing inbreeding.2 A trend in increased inbreeding in the global Thoroughbred population has been reported during the last five decades, which is unlikely to be halted due to current breeding practices.1 Ninety-seven percent of pedigrees of the horses included in a recent study feature the ancestral sire, Northern Dancer (1961); and 35% and 55% of pedigrees in EUR and ANZ contain Sadler’s Wells (1981) and Danehill (1986), respectively.1 Inbreeding can expose harmful recessive mutations that are otherwise masked by ‘normal’ versions of the gene. This results in mutational load in populations that may negatively impact on population viability.3 Genomics measured inbreeding is negatively associated with racing in Europe and Australia. The science indicates that increasing inbreeding in the population could further reduce viability to race.

In North America, it has been demonstrated that higher inbreeding is associated with lower number of races.2 In the North American Thoroughbred, horses with higher levels of inbreeding are less durable than animals with lower levels of inbreeding. Considering the rising trend of inbreeding in the population, these results indicate that there may also be a parallel trajectory towards breeding less robust animals.

Note that breeding practices that promote inbreeding have not resulted in a population of faster horses. The results of studies, generated for the first time using a large cohort of globally representative genotypes, corroborate this.1,3

Health and disease genes It is both interesting and worrisome to consider also that many of the performance-limiting genetic diseases in the Thoroughbred do not generally negatively impact on suitability for breeding; some diseases, with known heritable components, are successfully managed by surgery (osteochondrosis dessicans, recurrent laryngeal neuropathy, for example), nutritional and exercise management (recurrent exertional rhabdomyolysis), and medication (exercise induced pulmonary hemorrhage). This unfortunately facilitates retention of risk alleles in the population and enhances the potential for rapid proliferation of risk alleles if they are carried by successful stallions.1

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| OPINION |

Sadler’s Wells

Types of inbreeding Not all inbreeding is bad. Breeders have made selections for beneficial genes/traits over the generations, resulting in some inbreeding signals being favored as they likely contain beneficial genes for racing. Importantly, examination of a pedigree cannot determine precisely the extent of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ inbreeding. This can only be determined from DNA analysis.

Historic inbreeding (arising from distant pedigree duplicates) results in short stretches of DNA identically inherited from sire and dam.

• This may be considered ‘good’ inbreeding.

• It has no negative effect on racing.

• The horse may be carrying beneficial mutations

that have been maintained from distant ancestors through breeders’ selection.

Recent inbreeding (arising from close pedigree duplicates) results in long stretches of DNA identically inherited from sire and dam.

• This may be considered ‘bad’ inbreeding.

• It is negatively associated with racing.

• The horse may be carrying harmful mutations that have not yet been ‘purged’ from the population.

© NORTHER DANCER PHOTO COURTESY KEENELAND ASSOCIATION

BELOW: 97% of pedigrees of the horses included in a recent study featuring the ancestral sire, Northern Dancer (1961).

Obviously, in terms of breeding, it’s always possible to find examples and counterexamples of remarkable individuals; but the science of genetics is based on statistics and not on individual cases.

44 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 70

| INBREEDING |

Foundation stallions

KEY Name of mares

197 oriental stallions were introduced into the UK in the 17th/18th century and interbred with the British mares. Out of all 197, only three of those stallions’ male tail lines made it into the modern Thoroughbred.

© GODOLPHIN ARABIAN BY GEORGE TOWNLY STUBBS, 1756-1815.

Sire lines Analysis of the Y chromosome is the best-established way to reconstruct paternal family history in humans and animal species.4 The paternally inherited Y chromosome displays the population genetic history of males. While modern domestic horses (Equus caballus) exhibit abundant diversity within maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA, until recently, only limited Y-chromosomal sequence diversity has been detected.5 Early studies in the horse indicated that the nucleotide variability of the modern horse Y chromosome is extremely low, resulting in six haplotypes (HT).4,5 However, this view has changed with the identification of new genetic markers, showing that there is considerably more genetic diversity on the horse Y chromosome than originally thought. Unfortunately, in Thoroughbreds, the male gene pool is restricted, with only three paternal lines remaining.5 The Institute of Animal breeding and genetics of the Veterinary Medicine School at Vienna applied fine-scaled Y-chromosomal haplotyping in horses and demonstrated the potential of this approach to address the ancestry of sire lines. They were able to show the microcosmos of the Tb-clade in the Thoroughbred sire lines.

It is interesting to note that more than half of the domestic horses in the dataset (76 of 130) have a Y chromosome with a Thoroughbred “signature”. These includes Thoroughbreds, Standardbreds, many Thoroughbred-influenced breeds (warmbloods, American Quarter horses, Franches-Montagnes, a Lipizzan stallion and the Akhal-Tekes.) 4 The General Stud Book shows that Thoroughbred sire lines trace back to three founding stallions that were imported to England at the end of the 17th century.5 Now, the heritage of the Thoroughbred sire lines can be better understood using Y chromosome information. It is now possible to clearly distinguish sublines of Darley Arabian, born in 1700 (Tb-d) and Godolphin

Male tail line of the female line Male tail line of the male line

Arabian, born in 1724 (formerly Tb-g, now Tb-oB3b). The third founder, Byerley Turk, born in 1680, was characterized by the Tb-oB1 clade. According to pedigree information, only few of the tested males trace back paternally to Byerley Turk, which are nearly extinct.

There are now 10 different Y chromosome sub types known in the Thoroughbred. Two come from the Godolphin Arabian, five come from Byerley Turk, and three come from Darley Arabian.

Even if genetic analysis shows that there was an error in the stud book recording of St Simon’s parentage and that horses descending from St Simon should be attributed to the Byerley Turk lineage, probably 90% of the current stallions are from the Darley Arabian male line. So, there is a true risk that we could lose a major part of the Y chromosome diversity.

BELOW: The Godolphin Arabian.

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| OPINION |

| INBREEDING |

Conclusions and solutions We should do everything we can to ensure that Thoroughbreds are being sustainably bred and managed for future generations.

With the breeding goal to produce viable racehorses, we need to ask ourselves, are we on track as breeders?

If inbreeding is negatively affecting the chances of racing and resulting in less durable racehorses, will this continue to affect foal crops in the future? How can we avert the threat of breeding horses that are less able to race? If the ability to race is in jeopardy, then is the existence of the Thoroughbred breed at risk?

International breeding authorities are studying the situation and thinking about general measures allowing the sustainability of the breed.

Breeders: What can individual breeders do to produce attractive foals that are safe from genetic threats? How do you avoid the risk of breeding horses that are less fit to race?

There is no miracle recipe, and each breeder legitimately has his preferences. An increasingly important criteria for the choice of a stallion is his physical resistance and his vitality, as well as those of his family. It is often preferable to avoid using individuals who have shown constitutive weaknesses, or who seem to transmit them.

The use of stallions from different male lines can make it possible to sublimate a strain and better manage the following generations. The study of pedigrees must exceed the three generations of catalog pages.

In the future, genomics—the science that studies all the genetic material of an individual or a species, encoded in its DNA—will certainly be able to provide predictive tools to breeders. This is a track to follow.

Trainers: Trainers should be aware of the danger of “diminishing returns,” where excessive inbreeding occurs. Today, when animal welfare and the fight against doping are essential parameters, it is obvious that trainers must be aware of the genetic risks incurred by horses possibly carrying genetic defects.

Together with bloodstock agents, trainers are the advisers for the owners when buying a horse. Trainers already know some special traits of different families or stallions, but genomic tools might become essential for them too.

Sources: 1. G enomic inbreeding trends, influential sire lines and selection in the global Thoroughbred horse population. Beatrice A. McGivney 1, Haige Han1,2, Leanne R. Corduff1, Lisa M. Katz3, Teruaki Tozaki 4, David E. MacHugh2,5 & Emmeline W. Hill ; 2020.

Scientific Reports (2020), 10:466, doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-57389-5 2. I nbreeding depression and durability in the North American Thoroughbred horse Emmeline W. Hill, Beatrice A. McGivney, David E. MacHugh; 2022.

Animal Genetics (2023), 00:1–4. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/age 3. F ounder-specific inbreeding depression affects racing performance in Thoroughbred Horses. Evelyn T. Todd, Simon Y. W. Ho, Peter C. Thomson, Rachel A. Ang, Brandon D. Velie & Natasha A. Hamilton; 2017.

Scientific Reports (2018), 8:6167, doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-24663-x 4. The horse Y chromosome as an informative marker for tracing sire lines.

Sabine Felkel, Claus Vogl , Doris Rigler, Viktoria Dobretsberger, Bhanu P. Chowdhary, Ottmar Distl , Ruedi Fries , Vidhya Jagannathan, Jan E. Janečka, Tosso Leeb , Gabriella Lindgren, Molly McCue, Julia Metzger , Markus Neuditschko, Thomas Rattei , Terje Raudsepp, Stefan Rieder, Carl-Johan Rubin, Robert Schaefer, Christian Schlötterer, Georg Thaller, Jens Tetens, Brandon Velie, Gottfried Brem & Barbara Wallner; 2018.

Scientific Reports (2019), 9:6095, doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-42640-w 5. I dentification of Genetic Variation on the Horse Y Chromosome and the Tracing of Male Founder Lineages in Modern Breeds. Barbara Wallner, Claus Vogl, Priyank Shukla, Joerg P. Burgstaller, Thomas Druml, Gottfried Brem.Institute of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Depart. 2012.

PLOS ONE (April 2013), Volume 8, Issue 4, e60015, www.plosone.org 6. N ew genetic evidence proves that the recorded pedigrees of the influential leading sires Bend Or and St. Simon were incorrect.

Alan Porter; ITB 2021 7. E ight Belle’s breakdown: a predictable tragedy. William Nack; ESPN.com 2008 Special thanks to Emmeline Hill for her help in the completion of this article.

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| PROFILES |

Nutella Fella and Junior Alvarado win the 2023 Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga Race Course.

GRADED STAKES WINNING OWNERS 48 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 70

NICK & DELORA BEAVER – BELL GABLE STABLE NUTELLA FELLA

W

hen Nick Beaver married Delora, he told her, “One of these days, I’d like to have a horse or two or three.” She replied, “You better make enough money to pay for it.”

He did exactly that – with her help. “When I came out of the [U.S.] Navy, I worked with a labor contractor,” Nick said. “I worked for them for about 10 years. Delora said, ‘Move out on your own.’ We haven’t looked back since. Now we have five companies.”

And horses. Since 2017. “I claimed a horse for $5,000 on a Thursday or a Friday,” Nick said. “By Sunday, we had three more.”

Nick Beaver grew up in racing, literally. His mother was a waitress in the clubhouse at Waterford Park, which is now Mountaineer Park in West Virginia. “I never had a dad,” Beaver said. “My mom raised four boys on her own. I was the youngest.”

In 2019, the Beavers decided to buy a pricey yearling at the FasigTipton Mid-Atlantic Sale. “We looked at 10 or 12 yearlings,” Beaver said. “We focused on Maryland Brando, a colt by Flatter out of the More Than Ready mare Apple Cider. “The reserve was going to be $100,000,” Beaver said. “We bought him for $250,000.”

WORDS: BILL HELLER PHOTOGRAPHY: ECLIPSE SPORTSWIRE

| G R A D E D S TA K E S W I N N I N G OW N E R S |

Beaver decided he needed another trainer for such a nice horse and reached out to Gary Contessa, a successful trainer in New York who had recently left the business. “I had a bunch of claimers and barely made enough,” Contessa said. “I had enough with the Department of Labor.”

Beaver reached out to Contessa: “I asked him if he would decide what to do with this horse. Gary came down to Delaware. This horse dragged Gary back into the business. I asked him what it would take for you to train this horse. He said, ‘Being your private trainer.’

I asked Delora. She said, ‘That works.’ He became our trainer.”

Maryland Brando made a spectacular debut at Delaware Park, August 2, 2021, winning a maiden race by 11 ½ lengths. Maryland Brando then finished 10th in the Gr. 3 Sanford Stakes at Saratoga and a distant fifth in an allowance race in Delaware. Given a long time to recover, Maryland Brando returned in an allowance race at Laurel Park, April 14, 2022. He finished seventh by 20 lengths.

Things got worse. “One day, he got loose on the track,” Beaver said. “He ran through a fence and had to be euthanized. I cried. It was horrible. It was gut-wrenching.”

Then the Beavers went to the 2022 Keeneland September Sale.

Instead of spending $250,000, they invested $12,000 to purchase Nutella Fella, a son of Runhappy out of Kristy’s Candy

by Candy Ride. “He was in book six,” Beaver said. “It was really late in the sale. Nobody was bidding on him. He came out and looked good. Delora said, ‘Don’t go over $30,000.’ We get to $12,000. We got him. We were ecstatic. We liked Runhappy.”

Contessa said, “He’s the spitting image of Runhappy. Looks just like his father.”

In 2023, Contessa switched from Bell Gable Stable’s private trainer to general manager with the stipulation that if one of their horses was good enough to race in New York, Contessa would train him.

“Nick grew up in a racing family,” Contessa said. “He was sleeping in the tack room. He’s a very passionate man about the game. He’s a good guy—a very smart guy.”

When Nutella Fella made his debut in a maiden race at Delaware Park on July 26, Richard Silliman was the trainer.

And both Silliman and Contessa had a challenge. “He had no issues in the gate early in his training,” Beaver said. “One day in the gate, he freaks out. Something triggered it. He was a nutcase.

He was flipping backwards before the gate. He became a nightmare. We worked with him. The Delaware gate crew tried using voice commands. They got him to walk into the gate.”

Nutella Fella’s final work before his debut revealed he had another trait—a very good one. “Our horse comes through the turn and almost collides with other horses,” Beaver said. “Then he got dirt kicked in his face. The minute that dirt hit him in the face, he became possessed. It made him mad. He took a hold of the bit. He went right past them.”

Contessa came to Delaware Park for Nutella Fella’s debut: “He was a handful in the paddock. A handful in the post parade. A handful at the gate. He did everything wrong. He broke dead last.

And he won going away.”

The margin under Kevin Gomez was 2 ¼ lengths.

“Nick said, ‘I want you to take him to Saratoga and run in the Hopeful,’” Contessa said. “I picked him up and took him to Saratoga. He was really bad in the gate.”

A field of 10 contested the $300,000 Gr. 1 Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga on September 4. Junior Alvarado took the mount off Nutella Fella’s impressive final work, three furlongs in :34 4/5 breezing. Bettors weren’t impressed and sent him off at 54-1.

Nutella Fella literally walked out of the starting gate. “It was the same way at Delaware,” Contessa said. “He’s pulling Junior and I said, ‘ We might be okay here.’ He’s 100 percent racehorse.’”

Yeah, but he was at least seven lengths behind the horse in next-to-last on the backstretch.

Alvarado’s ride was masterful, cutting inside of horses then angling out at 45-degrees to the far outside. Nutella Fella did the rest, winning by a length and a half.

At 54-1.

“We made so much money,” Beaver said. “We bet him to win and place.” Everyone in his family made money.

“People don’t believe this horse,” Delora said. “I get it. He has to prove it. We know he’s a good horse. We’ll see if he’s the real deal.”

Nick (center, blue jacket) and Delora (center, black dress) celebrate with connections after Nutella Fella and Junior Alvarado win the 2023 Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga Race Course.

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| PROFILES |

PHOTOGRAPHY: ECLIPSE SPORTSWIRE

Brightwork ridden by Irad Ortiz, Jr. wins the 2023 Spinaway Stakes.

BILL & TAMMY SIMON – WSS RACING BRIGHTWORK

B

ill Simon, the former president and CEO of Walmart, quickly learned the difference between Walmart and racing. “There’s no everyday low pricing in horse racing,” he laughed.

Simon was at Walmart from 2006–2015. “Do I miss it?” he said. “I miss the people. But I don’t miss a million and a half people reporting to me. When I left Walmart, I was looking for something to share with my wife Tammy. She grew up on a farm in North Carolina.”

Thoroughbreds seemed like a good fit. Success came surprisingly quickly.

“We’re very methodical,” Simon said. “I try to work with good people.”

He certainly has two good people—his trainer John Ortiz and his bloodstock agent Jared Hughes. Oritz said his connection with the Simons “has been life-changing. They’re so supportive. They make me better, not only as a trainer, but also as a person.”

Ortiz knows he’s working with a remarkable person.

Born in Manchester, Connecticut, Simon graduated from the University of Connecticut, earning a Bachelor of Arts in economics and an MBA in management. While in college, he made his first trip to a racetrack, going to Saratoga Race Course.

He served in the U.S. Navy and Naval Reserves for 25 years, receiving commendations for combat service in Grenada and in Lebanon as part

50 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 70

of a multinational peacekeeping force. At Walmart, he was instrumental in the company’s pledge to hire any returning veteran.

Before Walmart, Simon worked at several global companies including Brinker International, Diageo, Cadbury-Schweppes, PepsiCo and RJR Nabisco. He developed and launched Smirnoff Ice in the United States.

In the public sector, he was secretary of the Florida Department of Management Services, dealing with health care benefits, human resources, the Florida retirement system, facilities management and real estate from 2002 through 2004.

From 2018–2020, he served as chair of the Defense Business Board for Defense Secretary James Mathis. He is currently a senior advisor to the investment firm KKR and is the founder and president of WSS Venture Holdings.

Because of his vast experiences, Simon felt it unnecessary to hire a top-tier trainer and is very happy he chose Ortiz and Hughes. “I’ve already done a lot of things in life,” Simon said. “I traded spreadsheets and profits and losses statements for pedigrees and Racing Forms. It starts with two years trying to figure out where we could operate in this business. We started with claimers as everybody does. Then we focused on buying young horses.”

He’s delighted he has Ortiz and Hughes on his team: “I’m learning from Johnny and Jared. I have some things to teach them, too. I know how to run a business. This is a

| G R A D E D S TA K E S W I N N I N G OW N E R S |

BELOW: Brightwork ridden by Irad Ortiz, Jr. wins the 2023 Adirondack Stakes.

BELOW: Bill and Tammy Simon with Barber Road.

© COURTESY BILL SIMON

hard business. We grow together. Jared is a good horseman. John is an incredibly intuitive horseman. We have a better chance because we’re doing the work together. A lot of it is good, hard work.”

The work has paid off. Bill and Tammy found two relatively cheap stars. Barber Road, named for a road in North Carolina, cost $15,000. He broke his maiden in a $30,000 claimer. Simon told Molly Rollins in a March 8, 2022 story in the Blood-Horse, his rationale for the drop-down after Barber Road finished a distant fourth in a maiden special weight debut: “We knew he was special, but we thought, well, you know a $15,000 weanling running in a $30,000 maiden claimer—no one is going to take him; so why not give him a really good blow against an easier crowd and get things started? And that’s what we did. You have to be brave to take a $15,000 horse running for $30,000.”

After a 6 ¼-length romp in a starter allowance, Barber Road took the Simons on the 2022 Kentucky Derby trail, finishing second in the $200,000 Lively Shively Stakes, second in the $250,000 Smarty Jones Stakes and second again in the Gr. 3 Southwest Stakes. He was beaten just a half-length when third in the Gr. 2 Rebel, and finished second again in the Gr. 1 Arkansas Derby.

That led him to the 2022 Gr. 1 Kentucky Derby. He rallied from far back to finish sixth. “We had a huge Kentucky Derby party,” Tammy said. “It was really a neat thing for everybody. It was great.

That meant so much to me and my family.,” Barber Road finished seventh in the Belmont Stakes and most recently was fourth in the Gr. 3 Blame Stakes at Churchill Downs, June 3. He’s made just under $800,000.

The Simons’ undefeated two-year-old filly Brightwork, who upped her record to four-for-four by winning the Gr. 1 Spinaway Stakes at Saratoga September 3, cost $95,000 and has already earned $444,051. She’s never been the favorite in any of her starts, including a five-length romp in the Gr. 3 Adirondack Stakes before the Spinaway.

“I kind of like not being the favorite,” Tammy said. “That little filly has been amazing. To watch her come down that stretch at Saratoga—it was such an incredible feeling. Her breeders were also there with us. I turned around and every one of us was crying.

It was John’s first Gr. 1 and our first Gr. 1. It was really special.

She’s a diva. She knows she’s special.”

Her husband said he wasn’t too nervous before the race: “Whenever I get nervous, Johnny tells me in poker, you don’t know what other people’s hands are, but you know your hand. I loved my hand.”

After the Spinaway, he said of her half-length victory at Saratoga, “I never imagined we’d win at a place like that. Holy cow! I’m excited to see what she does next.”

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| PROFILES |

PHOTOGRAPHY: COADY PHOTOGRAPHY, ECLIPSE SPORTSWIRE

Tyler Gaffalione rides Secret Money to victory in the $1 million Big Ass Fans Music City at Kentucky Downs.

Sue’s Fortune winning the 2018 Adirondack Stakes.

RICHARD NICOLAI – FORTUNE FARM SECRET MONEY

B

efore he began in Thoroughbred racing, Richard Nicolai was a devout harness racing fan. Born in Pleasantville, New York, north of Yonkers, he spent many nights at Yonkers Raceway and Roosevelt Raceway. “I was always a horse lover—all kinds of horses,” he said. “I owned a few saddle horses. I rode.”

After getting married, he moved to Long Island, where he began and ran a business of manufacturing light fixtures for 35 years. He spent many nights at Roosevelt Raceway, which once hosted the top level of harness racing in the country. “I was there every night,” Nicolai said. “I had dinner every night at the Cloud Casino. It was so exciting to be under the lights. I loved everything about it.”

Then he got more involved, first by jogging horses, than training them on and off for three years. He had a chance meeting with legendary driver/trainer Billy Haughton one night at Wolverine Racetrack in Michigan. “I walked up to him, and we talked about racing for hours,” Nicolai said. “I learned so much from Billy Haughton. I was just a little guy with a couple of horses, and he treated me with respect. I’ll never forget it.”

Ten years later, he got involved with Thoroughbreds, first with partners. His second Thoroughbred, Not So Fast, won the 2000 Stymie Handicap for trainer Bruce Levine. Not So Fast would post 10 victories, eight seconds and five thirds from 38 starts, making $318,777.

52 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 70

When he retired in 2019, he was happily able to devote himself exclusively to his horses. “The horses take all my time,” Nicolai said. He is happy to share that time with his wife, Lynn, their son Adam, an oral surgeon, and his daughter Hope, a dentist. “My wife loves it,” he said. “She comes to the sales and to the races. The kids are always watching our horses.”

He named his stable Fortune Farm, and he was the sole owner of Sue’s Fortune, a daughter of Jump Start out of Democrat Taxes by Catienus, who’s three victories in six starts included the 2018 Gr. 2 Adirondack Stakes at Saratoga for trainer Jeremiah Englehart. She was also second by threequarters of a length in the $139,000 Jersey Girl Stakes. She earned $221,700. “She’s a home-bred,” Nicolai said. “I still have her mother.”

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His partnership with long-time friends Bob Hahn and Matt Hand reached a high point with Secret Money, a Good Samaritan filly out of Awesome Humor by Distorted Humor, which they purchased as a two-year-old in May 2022, for just $40,000.

Secret Money won a lot of money when he captured the $1 million Gr. 3 Big Ass Fans Music City Stakes by one length at Kentucky Downs, September 2. Brendan Walsh is her trainer.

Hahn was euphoric, watching the race from his home in Hilton Head, South Carolina: “My wife and I were screaming. We scared the neighbors. We’d never even been in a million-dollar race.”

He thanks his grandfather for his love of racing. “I was the designated go-along to make sure that he had company,” Hahn said. “We went to Monmouth, Aqueduct and Keystone.”

He’s delighted with his partners: “Richard and Matt are the greatest guys to work with. They’re honest as the day is long. We all had our separate ways and decided to put our heads together.”

Nicolai said, “Bob is a breeder, as I am. He had a few good horses over the years. Matt is younger than us. He’s a very smart guy, very analytical and a great partner. We just bought two nice Street Sense fillies for $375,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sales.”

Nicolai said a lot of his success has been thanks to Travis Durr at the Travis Durr Training Center in St. Matthews, South Carolina: “He looks for yearlings for me. He starts with hundreds of horses and sends me a short list. That’s how we got Secret Money.”

Secret Money has three wins and a third from her first six starts with earnings of $740,311.

“We bought her very cheap,” Durr said. “We did the right thing by her. And it paid off. She’s a real nice filly.”

Durr said he and his wife, Ashley, who helps run the training center, have known the Nicolais, Richard and Lynn, for about 12 years: “In the past few years, he’s been doing more and more.

He’s kind of stepped up and bought up, not relying just on home-breds. He’s trying to get a better horse. He’s got a lot of patience. He’s a great guy, a family guy. He’s got a lot of trust in us. We’ve gotten close to him and his wife. They’re like family.”

Nicolai now has 25 broodmares, half a dozen weanlings, four yearlings and six racehorses. “I’m a partner on another eight horses,” he said.

Walsh has done a great job with this filly. “We were looking for a good trainer with a good reputation with turf horses,” Nicolai said. “I’ve sent him several turf horses. We’ve been together for three years. I have good partners and a great trainer.”

And he loves horses as much as he ever did. “First of all, I love the competition. I got very interested in breeding and pedigrees.

I study pedigrees. I have so much fun seeing how horses turn out. I enjoy that. My wife enjoys that, too.”

Secret Money’s 1st win, at Keeneland in April 2023.

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| PROFILES |

PHOTOGRAPHY: ECLIPSE SPORTSWIRE, COGLIANESE PHOTOS

Therapist ridden by Javier Castellano, wins the Gr. 1 2023 United Nations Stakes at Monmouth Park.

MICHAEL DUBB – THERAPIST

M

ichael Dubb’s near 50-year voyage at Saratoga Race Course has been unique and complete. In 1973, at the age of 17, he slept in a van because he couldn’t afford a room to attend the races the following day. In 2021, the 65-year-old multiple leading owner in New York, who watches the races from his box seat, saw the opening of his Faith’s House, a daycare center at Saratoga Race Course for the children of backstretch workers that he built and donated so those children had an option other that sleeping in their parents’ car or spending their summers apart from their parents. Faith’s House is named for his mother.

Twenty years earlier, Dubb donated the materials and built Anna House, a daycare center at Belmont Park named for the daughter of late owner, Eugene Melnyk, who contributed $1 million to start the program. Anna House was the first program of any kind offering daycare for children of backstretch workers.

Dubb has contributed renovations for both facilities.

Michael Dubb’s legacy won’t be the races he won, but the lives he changed. “It means a lot to me, more than winning races,” he said. “In racing, you need a foundation to win races. These kids needed a foundation for their lives.”

His would be a good one to emulate.

The van he took to Saratoga was the same one he used for his fledgling landscaping business. “I bought my first landscaper when I was 16,” he said. “I slept in the van for a couple summers at

56 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 70

Saratoga. I was in my van at Congress Park, and I got to listen to Richard Nixon resigning that August (1974).”

In 1985, Dubb began The Beechwood Organization, which has become the largest New York developer of family and multifamily attached housing. Beechwood has built more than 10,000 homes in 80 communities in New York City, Long Island, Saratoga Springs and North Carolina. Professional Builder magazine said Beechwood ranked 54th out of 240 housing giants and number 3 in New York in 2023. Dubb’s son Steven, is now a key player in Beechwood.

Dubb, a lifelong Long Islander, has spent much of his life giving back. He built homes for Long Islanders after Superstorm Sandy.

The American Cancer Society, the American Jewish Committee, Family Service League, Mid Island YMCA/Jewish Community Center, Rockaway Development & Revitalization Corporation, Suffolk YMCA/Jewish Community Center, Tilles Center and Networking Magazine have honored Dubb for his philanthropy and community service.

While he has been a partner of top Thoroughbreds Monomoy Girl, British Idiom and Uni, he’s an astute horseman who has made a ton of claims—none more impressive than Therapist.

“He’s a pleasure,” Dubb said. “I competed against this horse for many years. I tried claiming him for $25,000, but I lost the shake. They put him in for $50,000. I got him. He’s just a hardhitting older New York-bred horse. I’m fortunate to own one.”

Exactly three weeks after Dubb lost his $25,000 claim on a shake, Dubb claimed the eight-year-old gelding for $50,000 on June 20 at Gulfstream Park when he finished third as the 2-1 favorite. Switched from Geoge Weaver to Mike Maker, Therapist won a starter allowance on synthetic by 4 ½ lengths and the Gr. 2 Pan American on turf at Gulfstream.

| G R A D E D S TA K E S W I N N I N G OW N E R S |

Sent to Churchill Downs, Therapist was a wide eighth in the Gr. 2 Louisville Stakes. At Ellis Park, he was second by a head in a $160,000 stakes.

In the $600,000 United Nations at Monmouth Park, July 22, Therapist won his first Gr. 1, scoring by a length and a half in the mile-and-three-eighths stakes under Javier Castellano. In his last start, Therapist finished eighth in the mile-and-a-half Kentucky Downs Turf Cup. Dubb can live with that. Therapist’s U.N. score earned $360,000—more than seven times what Dubb paid to claim him.

Of course, all his claims weren’t as successful.

At Anna House and Faith’s House, all the children are given the tools to be successful. “We give them confidence to compete,” Dubb said.

Dubb conceived the idea of Anna House after Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey told him that backstretch workers’ kids were sleeping in cars. “It just wasn’t right,” Dubb said. “We recognized the need for daycare. I worked with NYRA to find a location. It took about 18 months. We got Anna House built in seven weeks.”

More than 1,000 kids have passed through Anna House, which offers 365-daycare from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. There are programs for infants from 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. and a school-age program from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Parents of the families are asked to make a “very small donation,” Joanne Adams, the Belmont Child Care Association executive director, said. “We write grants to assist us, and corporations help us.”

Asked of Dubb’s ongoing contrib utions to both Anna House and Faith’s House, Adams said, “It’s hard to imagine any of this without Michael.”

She continued, “He has a big heart. He cares about the people around him. He has shared his early life and what he did and how he worked hard to get where he is. He’s just a very caring person, exceedingly bright. He understands business, and he understands people. He’s happy when the people around him are happy.”

Dubb says of both daycare centers: “They’ve exceeded my wildest dreams, to see how incredibly happy the children are.”

BELOW: Therapist with jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. and led by owner Michael Dubb after their 2023 Pan American Stakes win on Florida Derby day.

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| VETERINARY |

EQUINE NECK CT ADVANCING DIAGNOSTIC PRECISION IN RACEHORSES WORDS: RACHEL TUCKER, MRCVS PHOTOGRAPHY: LIZ LAMONT/ESW/CAL SPORT MEDIA, LIPHOOK EQUINE HOSPITAL

58 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 70

| THE EQUINE NECK |

When considering neck disorders in the racehorse, we most commonly think of severe conditions such as acute neck trauma and cervical vertebral myelopathy (Wobbler Syndrome). These represent the most severe end of the scale of orthopedic and neurologic injury to the neck; and a diagnosis, or at least prognosis, is usually clear. However, neck conditions encompass a far wider range of clinical presentations.

A

t the milder end of the scale, signs may be subtle and easily missed, whilst still being responsible for discomfort and reduced performance.

The recent ability to perform a computed tomography (CT) scan of a horse’s neck represents a major advancement in our ability to diagnose neck conditions. Timely and accurate diagnosis allows efficient and targeted treatment, the ability to plan schedules and improvement in welfare through the provision of appropriate treatment and earlier return to function. In neurologic cases, an accurate diagnosis facilitates risk management for both the horse, their handlers and riders, while improving safety for all.

As conditions and injuries of the neck are being better characterized using CT, new medical and surgical treatment options are being developed, giving the potential for improved outcomes and fewer losses from the racing industry.

This article summarizes how CT is being increasingly used by vets to diagnose conditions of the neck and how it is revealing previously unknown information and providing exciting new treatment opportunities.

Presentation

these horses might have an acceptable range of motion of their neck under most circumstances, but they suffer pain or restriction in certain scenarios, resulting in poor performance. This may be seen as tension through the neck, resisting rein contact, a reluctance to extend the neck over fences, or they may struggle on landing.

Riders might report a feeling of restriction or asymmetry in the mobility of the neck. In addition, these horses may be prone to forelimb tripping or show subtle forelimb lameness.

Any condition, which causes injury or disease to the spinal cord or nerves within the neck, also causes a specific range of neurologic signs. Compression of the spinal cord is most commonly caused by malformations or fractures of the cervical vertebrae, or enlargement of the adjacent articular process (facet) joints. This results in classic “Wobbler” symptoms, which can range from subtle weakness and gait abnormalities, through to horses that are profoundly weak, ataxic and uncoordinated. This makes them prone to tripping, falling, or they may even become recumbent.

BELOW: Adaptation of a human CT scanner to allow imaging of the horse’s neck.

Conditions of the neck can cause a range of signs in the horse, which are wide-ranging in their presentation and variable in their severity. The manner in which these conditions present depends on which anatomical structures are affected. Issues affecting the bones, joints and/or soft tissues of the neck can all cause neck pain, which can manifest in a number of ways. Cases of neck pain can be severe, resulting in a horse with a rigid, fixed neck carriage, an unwillingness to walk and struggling to eat, perhaps due to a traumatic event. Neck fractures are thankfully uncommon but can be catastrophic.

More moderate signs might be displayed as a stiff neck, with reduced range of movement and resentment of ridden work. There may be pain on palpation of the neck and changes in the neck musculature. Increasingly, we are seeing horses with far more subtle signs, which are ultimately revealed to be due to neck pain and neck pathology. Typically,

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| VETERINARY |

A turning point in our diagnostic ability and understanding of neck dysfunction has been the recent adaptation of human CT scanners to allow imaging of the horse’s neck. A number of equine hospitals across the United Kingdom and Northern Europe now offer this imaging modality. We have been providing this service at Liphook Equine Hospital since 2017, with over 150 neck scans performed to date.

The CT procedure

Peripheral nerve deficits are uncommon but become most relevant if they affect the nerves supplying the forelimbs, which can result in tripping, forelimb lameness, or local sensory deficits. This lameness might be evident only in certain circumstances, such as when ridden in a rein contact. This lameness is difficult to pinpoint as there will be no abnormality to find in the lame limb, indeed a negative response to nerve and joint blocks (diagnostic analgesia) will usually be part of the diagnostic process.

Horses can present with varying combinations and severities of neck pain, neurologic signs and peripheral nerve deficits, creating a wide range of manifestations of neck related disease.

Diagnosis A diagnosis of neck pain is based on careful static and dynamic clinical examination and may be supported by seeing a positive response to treatment. Neurologic deficits are noted during a specific neurologic assessment, which includes a series of provocation tests such as asking a horse to walk over obstacles, back up, turn circles and walk up and down a hill. Confirming neck pathology as the cause of signs can be difficult. Until recently, radiography has been the mainstay imaging modality.

Radiographs are useful for assessment of the cervical vertebrae and continue to play an important role in diagnosis; however the complex 3-dimensional shape of these bones, the large size of the neck and an inability to take orthogonal (right-angled) x-ray views means that this 2-dimensional imaging modality has significant limitations. High-quality, well-positioned images are essential to maximize the diagnostic potential of radiographs.

A computed tomography (CT) scan combines a series of x-ray images taken from different angles around the area of interest to create a 3-dimensional volume of imaging data. This data is presented as a grayscale image which can be viewed in any plane and orientation. It provides excellent bone detail, and post processing techniques can provide information on soft tissue structures too. Additional techniques can be employed such as positive contrast myelography to provide greater detail about soft tissue structures. Myelography delineates the spinal cord using contrast medium injected into the subarachnoid space and is indicated in any case showing neurologic signs suggestive of spinal cord compression.

Neck CT is performed under a short general anesthetic. Scans without myelography typically take less than 20 minutes to complete. The entire neck is imaged, from the poll to the first thoracic vertebra. The procedure is non-invasive and low risk, with anesthetic-related complication presenting the main risk factor to the procedure. We have not encountered any significant complications in our plain CT scan caseload to date. Horses showing ataxia, weakness and incoordination (Wobbler’s), undergo CT myelography which adds around 20 minutes to the procedure. These horses are exposed to a greater level of risk due to their neurologic condition, the injection of a contrast agent and the increased chance of destabilizing a more severe lesion during the procedure.

CT is revealing more detailed information about ways that spinal cord compression can occur in Wobbler cases, about compression of spinal nerves resulting in forelimb gait deficits and precise detail about fracture configurations. It gives us detailed images of articular process joint disease, intervertebral disc disease, developmental conditions and anatomic variations. It is also revealing information about rare diseases such as vertebral abscesses or spinal neoplasia. As our caseload and confidence in

ABOVE: Sagittal and transverse CT myelogram images of a young racing Thoroughbred showing neurologic (Wobbler) signs. The left image shows narrowing of the spinal canal at the base of the neck (arrow). Additionally, the right image shows a fracture of the articular process of the 3rd cervical vertebra in the mid neck, which was not visible on x-ray.

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| THE EQUINE NECK |

LEFT: Dorsal CT image of a yearling Thoroughbred with an articular process fracture of the left 4th cervical vertebra (arrow).

Innovations in treatment

the imaging modality grows, we are learning more about the value of CT in examining more subtle neck conditions. We are also bringing the benefit of a more accurate diagnosis, allowing precise targeted treatment and a better ability to provide a prognosis about outcomes—likely progression or safety factors. CT myelography allows circumferential imaging of the spinal canal and yields significantly more information than traditional x-ray myelography. As a result, we hope to enable better case selection of horses that may benefit from Wobbler surgery, with the goal of resulting in improved success rates of the surgery.

New treatment options are emerging as a result of our more accurate diagnoses of neck pathology. Of the first 55 horses which underwent neck CT at our hospital, we were surprised to discover that 13 (24%) had some form of osteochondral fragmentation within the articular process joints of their neck. Some of these horses were young Thoroughbreds, bred to race but showing Wobbler signs. These tended to have convincing CT evidence of type 1 CVM (Wobbler Syndrome) and osteochondrosis affecting their neck. Others had fragments which were larger and more discrete, with evidence of articular process joint enlargement/ arthritis but no other bony lesions. These horses were typically older and of a range of breeds and uses.

In those horses presenting with signs of neck pain but no neurologic deficits, surgical removal of these fragments was proposed. Following further consideration and cadaver training, we have begun to offer this surgery for horses that fit the appropriate criteria and have surgically accessible fragments We have performed arthroscopic or arthroscopic-assisted fragment removal from eight articular process joints in six horses to date.

ABOVE: Transverse and sagittal CT images showing loose bodies of bone/cartilage within the articular process joint between the 5th and 6th cervical vertebrae. These were surgically removed to relieve signs of neck pain in this horse.

ABOVE: Transverse and sagittal CT images showing a single bone fragment and arthritis of the C5/6 articular process joints in a 4-year-old horse.

The arrow shows narrowing of the foramen which contains the C6 spinal nerve. This nerve contributes to sensory and motor innervation of the forelimb.

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| VETERINARY |

| THE EQUINE NECK |

The cervical vertebrae of the horse.

ANATOMY OF THE CERVICAL VERTEBRAE No intraoperative or postoperative complications have been encountered; and five of six horses showed complete resolution of neck pain. In the sixth horse, full recovery was not anticipated due to the presence of additional neck pathology, but partial improvement occurred for two years Fragment removal has relieved signs of neck pain and stiffness and caused improved performance in these horses.

Two procedures that are emerging to treat spinal nerve root impingement are a targeted peripheral nerve root injection and a keyhole surgical procedure to widen the intervertebral foramen.

Nerve root injection is performed in the standing sedated horse under ultrasound guidance. Surgery is performed under anesthesia, using specialized minimally invasive equipment to widen the bony foramen using a burr. This surgery is in its infancy but offers an exciting treatment option.

Additionally, CT gives us the ability to better plan for fracture repair, improves our case selection for Wobbler surgery and more accurately guides intra-articular injection of the articular process joints.

Summary Computed tomography is transforming our ability to diagnose conditions of the horse’s neck. The procedure is low risk and now widely available in the UK and other parts of Europe. It is driving the innovation of novel treatment options with the goal of improving outcomes and reducing losses to conditions of the neck. Our CT findings are posing new questions about neck function, pain and neurologic disease and is an active area of ongoing research.

The neck consists of seven cervical vertebrae which form a gentle S-shaped curve to link the skull at the poll to the thoracic vertebrae of the chest. Its primary functions are to protect the spinal cord, support the heavy weight of the head and to allow a large range of movement so that a horse can monitor his environment and run at speed, both being vital to this prey species.

The first (atlas) and second (axis) cervical vertebrae are highly adapted to allow head mobility. The third to sixth vertebrae are very similar in shape, whereas the seventh is shortened as it starts to show similar features to the vertebrae of the thorax. The typical cervical vertebra consists of a cylindrical column of bone (vertebral body) articulating with adjacent vertebrae via an intervertebral disc.

Running along the upper surface of this bony column is a bony canal created by the vertebral arch. This canal protects the spinal cord and associated structures that run through the center. Above and to the side of the spinal canal sit the paired articular processes, and below and to the side sit the transverse processes. These are bony prominences to which muscles attach.

The soft tissues of the neck are complex and intrinsically linked to the forelimbs and entire axial skeleton.

The articular processes also form the articular process joints (facet joints) which create an additional two joints between each vertebra. Although highly adapted, these joints are similar to others in the body consisting of cartilage-lined surfaces, a joint capsule and joint fluid. The joint surfaces are oval in shape, approximately 3-4cm in diameter and sit at an oblique angle to the neck. They provide important additional support and mobility to the neck.

Cross section through a vertebra (C7).

Articular process

Spinous process

References: • Schulze N., Ehrle, A., Beckmann, I and Lischer, C. (2021) Arthroscopic removal of osteochondral fragments of the cervical articular process joints in three horses. Vet Surg.;1-9.

•S wagemakers J-H, Van Daele P, Mageed M. Percutaneous full endoscopic foraminotomy for treatment of cervical spinal nerve compression in horses using a uniportal approach: Feasibility study. Equine Vet J. 2023.

•T ucker R, Parker RA, Meredith LE, Hughes TK, Foote AK. Surgical removal of intra-articular loose bodies from the cervical articular process joints in 5 horses. Veterinary Surgery. 2021;1-9.

•W ood AD, Sinovich M, Prutton JSW, Parker RA. Ultrasonographic guidance for perineural injections of the cervical spinal nerves in horses.

Veterinary Surgery. 2021;50:816–822.

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Transverse process

Vertebral canal

– Joint surfaces

Vertebral body

| ADVERTORIAL |

W H AT I S C O M P U T E D TO M O G R A P H Y? Computed tomography helps veterinarians make diagnoses and trainers make decisions. CT scanners take hundreds of x-ray images rotating around the target and create an exact 3D digital rendering. The diagnostic power is in the ability to scroll through the 3D rendering slice by slice, at any angle you choose. Specialists at the Mid-Atlantic Equine Medical Center have spent the past year gathering valuable clinical data on the axial skeleton of the equine athlete.

What can it do: • Small stuff: Tiny P1 fractures and early condylar and coffin

• Fracture prognosis: Two simple condylar fractures may have

• Hard to see spots: Small bones of the knees and hocks, the

When to use it:

fractures: scrolling slices one at a time the tiniest cracks, even bone sclerosis patterns that precede cracks, become clear. suspensory origin, non-displaced cracks in the sesamoids: difficult to evaluate properly on x-ray but clearly imaged with CT. CT is also far superior for finding abnormalities of the skull, teeth and sinuses.

• Cartilage: Arthroscopic surgery has typically been required

to evaluate joint cartilage, but by injecting the joint with radio-opaque contrast (sometimes called “dye”) we can detect cartilage lesions or damage on CT.

• The neck: CT imaging of the neck has unearthed a host of abnormalities previously not visible with conventional x-rays.

From narrowing of the intervertebral foramina with associated nerve root impingement to intervertebral disc mineralization and disc prolapse, CT imaging of the neck is revolutionizing the diagnosis and treatment of neck conditions affecting the equine athlete.

• Surgery: CT guidance enables accurate fracture reconstruction and precise placement of screws in difficult locations.

vastly different outcomes based on trauma unnoticed on plain radiographs. CT enables more accurate prognostication critical for planning the horse’s future.

Think of CT as a microscope; use it when you have localized where the problem is, and you just can’t see it on radiographs.

What sets the Mid-Atlantic Equine CT scanner apart: Image quality and a standing horse.

Two main types of CT are available: • Cone beam (x-ray beam is a cone, producing image distortion) • Fan beam (beam is a thin blade) Image detail is far superior with fan beam CT; the main reason Mid-Atlantic Equine upgraded to a fan beam system from the robotic CT. Most fan beam CT units are small and require general anesthesia. The CT scanner at Mid-Atlantic Equine is a Canon large bore CT mounted on a computer-controlled platform, allowing true exquisite CT imaging in a standing horse (foot to forearm or gaskin, nose to base of the neck C5/6 or 6/7). Under anesthesia imaging of elbows, shoulders, thoracic spine, chest, back, pelvis, sacroiliac region, hips and stifles can also be obtained.

Medical care so advanced it almost makes you wish you were a horse.

We offer every type of medical care your four-legged athlete could ever need. With board-certified specialists in all fields we provide everything from upper airway, arthroscopic and laparoscopic surgeries, to internal medicine, complex fracture fixation and advanced diagnostic imaging, including bone scans, CT scans and MRIs – all in one place.

It’s enough to make a human jealous.

800.724.5358 40 Frontage Road Ringoes, NJ 08551 www.midatlanticequine.com

70 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM 63 TO SEE MORE PLEASE CLICK HERE TO VISIT OURISSUE YOUTUBE PAGE

| PROFILE |

BARRY K. SCHWARTZ

ABOVE: Barry K. Schwartz, wife Sheryl and trainer Linda Rice, celebrate Voodoo Song and José Lezcano winning the 2018 Fourstardave at Saratoga Race Course.

64 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 70

WORDS: BILL HELLER PHOTOGRAPHY: BARRY SCHWARTZ, NYRA, SUSIE RAISHER / COGLIANESE PHOTOS

W

hat is more exciting for an owner and breeder than a two-year-old colt with talent? Former New York Racing Association Chairman of the Board and CEO Barry K. Schwartz’s New York-bred colt El Grande O certainly gives him reasons to dream.

Off a head loss in the Funny Cide Stakes at Saratoga on August 27th, El Grande O dominated five rivals on a sloppy track at Aqueduct September 24, scoring by 8 ¼ lengths as the 3–5 favorite in the $125,000 Bertram F. Bongard Stakes under José Ortiz.

Linda Rice trains the son of Take Charge Indy out of Rainbow’s Song by Unbridled’s Song who has two victories, three seconds and one third from his first six starts with earnings of $204,000.

El Grande O is Schwartz’s 26th Thoroughbred to win more than $200,000—a list that includes his top earners Boom Towner, Voodoo Song, The Lumber Guy, Kid Cruz, Princess Violet, Three Ring and Fire King. All of them earned between $700,000 and $1 million.

Now 81, Schwartz and his wife Sheryl still reside at their farm, Stonewall Farm, in northern Westchester County, with a second home on the ocean in California. Schwartz keeps busy playing the markets and running his horse stable.

The Calvin Klein years It seems like forever since he and his childhood pal Calvin Klein, took Calvin Klein Inc. from a $10,000 initial investment to a global operation, which they sold for $430 million smack in the middle of Schwartz’s four-year reign at NYRA. Schwartz and Klein, who both lived in the Bronx and had fathers who owned grocery markets in Harlem, went into their first partnership when they were nine, reselling newspapers and collecting bottles. “We’d go to the newsstand when the papers came in early evening,” Schwartz said. “We bought them for a nickel and sold them for a dime. We’d go to all the hotels, especially in the summer. On a good night, we’d make $3 apiece.

That was a big deal then.”

When they began Calvin Klein Inc., they rented room 613 in the New York Hotel in Manhattan. The front door was open and faced the elevator. Calvin had the six women’s coats he had manufactured with Barry’s investment.

One morning the elevator stopped on the sixth floor. One passenger walked out while another noticed the coats and got off. That passenger was Don O’Brien, the general manager of Bonwit Teller, one of New York’s most fashionable stores.

Schwartz was home when Klein called him with great news: “You’ll never believe this. I got a $50,000 order from Bonwit Teller!” Schwartz replied, “Who’s Bonwit Teller?”

He figured it out, and Calvin Klein, Inc. went onto incredible success.

| BARRY K. SCHWARTZ |

It didn’t last. When Schwartz departed out of utter frustration from battling politicians and their inept decisions, racing in New York was never the same. It was almost like it was a mirage—a wonderful mirage.

But it was real. It was Camelot at Aqueduct, Belmont Park and Saratoga.

That he did this while he continued to operate Calvin Klein, Inc. is remarkable. To do it, he had to commute 30 to 45 minutes through New York traffic every morning. And he did NYRA pro bono.

Why? Because he cared deeply about racing, specifically New York racing. Schwartz’s goal at NYRA was straightforward: “to make New York racing No. 1 in the world.”

Schwartz, who had been a member of the NYRA Board since 1994, was approached by acting CEO and Chairman of the Board Kenny Noe, who had decided to retire in the fall of 2000. “I was excited to be asked,” Schwartz said. “I was flattered. My two biggest supporters were Kenny Noe and Dinny Phipps (head of the Jockey Club). Dinny pushed for it. I was kind of flabbergasted, but I was thrilled. I got really energized. It gave me purpose, something to sink my teeth into. I went gangbusters, all in.”

Klein backed Schwartz’s decision. “The best thing that happened was that there was a long time before I took over,” Schwartz said. “I could work out the schedule I’d have to use. I spoke with Calvin about it. He thought it was a good idea. He always said, ‘If you’re near a phone, what’s the big deal?’”

So he did both. “At NYRA, my first two years were wonderful,” Schwartz said. “My first two years were a honeymoon. The next two years were just horrible.”

On the first day Schwartz took over NYRA and the three racetracks it operates—Belmont Park, Saratoga and Aqueduct— Schwartz went on NYRA’s new website, which had been designed by his son-in-law Michael, and asked fans and bettors what changes they wanted NYRA to make.

BELOW: Barry K. Schwartz with childhood friend, co-founder of Calvin Klein Inc. and designer, Calvin Klein on 7th Ave, New York in the mid-70s.

The NYRA years In the four years Schwartz served as Chairman of the Board and CEO of NYRA from October 2000, to October 2004, racing in New York reached a pinnacle, a shining example of how racing should be operated— when fans and bettors mattered; when the right people in the right positions made the right decisions.

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LEFT: Barry K. Schwartz’s El Grande O wins the 2023 Bertram F. Bongard Stakes at Belmont at the Big A.

LEFT: Barry & Sheryl with 1999 Acorn Stakes winner, Three Ring.

Then he made the changes, empowering fans, bettors and handicappers because he has always been a fan, a bettor and a handicapper.

This was a seismic shift in racetrack management, giving the people who support racing with their hard-earned cash every day a chance to impact the process.

“On the website, we asked fans what they wanted,” Schwartz said. “We did that several times. Everybody loved that. The bettors could participate in the process.”

Bettors had never been asked that.

“It was genuine,” Bill Nader, former NYRA senior vice president, said. “He cared. He knew they cared. They shared the passion. It was a mind-blowing experience. It was exceptional, and I thought it was great that he heard their voice, that he gave them a seat at the table. He listened to what they said. He wanted to grow the business. He wanted to improve the business. Without consulting the customer, how do you do this?”

That initial fan survey on NYRA’s website received more than 4,000 responses. Schwartz responded by immediately making changes. Uniform saddle cloth pads—the 1 horse is red, the 2 horse is blue, etc.— made it easier to follow horses during a race.

Claims, when someone purchases a horse that had just raced, were announced to the public. Barry also instituted a shoe board displaying each horse’s shoe type before every race.

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A couple months after those changes, Schwartz said, “It really is true: talking to the fans is important. I’m going to continue involving the fans as long as I’m here.

Without them, there’s no sport.”

On his first day, he promoted Bill Nader from Simulcast Director to Senior Vice President of Racing and watched Nader become one of the most respected racing officials in the world, serving as director of racing in Hong Kong for 15 years before becoming the president and CEO of the Thoroughbred Owners of California, June 21, 2022.

Schwartz said, “Bill was grossly underpaid. I didn’t want to lose him. When I reviewed the personnel and salaries, this guy was so underpaid; and I wound up signing him to a three-year contract.

I wanted to make sure that he stayed. He was really close to me.

When I got my people together, Bill was clearly the smartest guy in the room. He was the best guy I had.”

Nader told Schwartz, “Wow, I’m thrilled, but I’m surprised.”

Schwartz responded, “No, I’ve been watching.”

Nader’s appreciation of Schwartz’s support and impact hasn’t subsided more than 20 years later. “From day one, he just got behind me. That’s a huge amount of trust. He made me. He was the one person that changed the course of my life, providing me with the opportunity at NYRA. Six years later, the door he opened for me at NYRA led me to Hong Kong. He changed the path of my life, and I will be forever grateful.”

Schwartz didn’t take long to help all his employees in the first year. “NYRA got $13 million from Nassau County because NYRA had been overbilled for taxes,” Schwartz said. “I gave everybody a five-percent raise and a five-percent Christmas bonus. It was a big deal for the employees. They had never gotten a Christmas bonus.”

| BARRY K. SCHWARTZ |

There was a new vibe at NYRA, and you could feel it. “What differentiated Barry was Barry was a New York guy,” top jockeyturned TV commentator Richie Migliore said. “He created his success through hard work. He was as comfortable shooting pool in the jockey room as he was in the boardroom. I remember him beating Jorge Chavez, who thought he was a really good pool player. Barry smoked him.”

Trainer Michael Hushion, Sheryl and Barry Schwartz with jockey John R. Velazquez after The Lumber Guy wins the 2012 The Vosburgh Stakes.

Breeders’ Cup 2001 There were many shining moments during Schwartz’s four years, perhaps none more important than supervising the 2001 Breeders’ Cup at Belmont Park just weeks after the tragedy of 9-11 had left a city and a nation broken.

Like every other person in America, Schwartz remembers vividly the horror of 9-11 unfolding: “I was home in New Rochelle, getting dressed and ready to go to the farm. We were building our house there. It was in the very beginning. I saw the first plane hit. I told Sheryl, some idiot just flew his plane into the Trade Center. A few minutes later, I’m driving to the farm, and we hear about the second plane hitting. We spent the whole day at the farm. It was a safe haven at a very scary time. Sheryl’s brother got my kids out of the city.”

Belmont Park, in Elmont, Long Island—just 12 miles from “ground zero”—had already been selected to host the 2001 Breeders’ Cup on October 27, less than two months later; and no one was quite certain if that was still going to happen. “We had conversations with everybody,” Schwartz said. “I was in the same camp as Dinny. I thought it was very important to show New York was alive and well.”

Breeders’ Cup President D.G. Van Clief Jr. issued a statement saying, “Obviously, on the morning of Sept. 11, the world changed, and it certainly changed our outlook on the 2001 World Thoroughbred Championships. But it is very important for us to stay with our plan. We’d like it to be a celebration and salute to the people of New York.”

Schwartz leaned heavily on Nader to get it done. “It was challenging,” Nader said. “We literally worked 18 hours a day.

There was the normal preparation. Then the security side.

Nobody minded the extra hours. We wanted to be sure we didn’t miss a thing. It was the most rewarding race day of my career because of what it meant. We were beat up. We were sad. We were down. There was a clumsy period of what to do. What is appropriate? The uncertainty of running the Breeders’ Cup at Belmont? For horse racing fans, it meant a lot that they could return to the track and feel good, feel alive. I believe it was the first international event held in New York after 9-11. For me, I’m not sure there has been a better day of racing than that.”

On October 11, Sheikh Mohammed al Maktoum’s private 747 arrived at JFK International Airport from England. On board, were three of Godolphin Stable’s best horses including Arc de Triomphe, Juddmonte International winner Sakhee and major stakes winner Fantastic Light. They were accompanied by two FBI agents, four customs agents and three carloads of Port Authority police. There were no incidents, and the European horses settled in at Belmont Park. The day broke sunny. There were shooters on the roofs of many Belmont Park buildings carrying AKA assault rifles. “They were very visible,” Schwartz said. “We had sharpshooters on the roof. I went up to the roof, and the guys were just laying down with rifles. It was scary.”

Nader said, “Seeing the snipers on the roof, I thought, how are people going to handle this? Once the races began to flow, it became one of the greatest events I’ve ever been involved in.”

At the opening ceremonies, dozens of jockeys accompanied by members of the New York State Police and Fire Departments lined up on the turf course, each jockey holding the flag of his country. Following a bagpipe rendition of “Amazing Grace,” Carl Dixon of the New York State Police Department sang the national anthem.

Hopes for an all-positive afternoon disappeared before the first Breeders’ Cup race, the Distaff, when Exogenous, who had won the Beldame and Gazelle Stakes, reared and flipped while leaving the tunnel, slamming her head on the ground. The filly was brought back to Hall of Fame trainer Scotty Schulhofer’s barn but died several days later. Her death was only two years after Schwartz lost his brilliant filly Three Ring when she fell and hit her head in the paddock and died in front of Schwartz and Sheryl before her race.

The climax of the day was the $4 million Breeders’ Cup Classic matching the defending champion, Tiznow, against Sakhee, European star Galileo and Albert the Great. In the final sixteenth of a mile, Sakhee took a narrow lead on the outside of Tiznow, who responded by battling back to win the race by a nose.

Announcer Tom Durkin captured the moment beautifully, shouting, “Tiznow wins it for America!”

America had won just by running the Breeders’ Cup as planned. That made NYRA, Schwartz Nader, and the rest of their team, winners, too.

Breeders’ Cup 2002 – the pick six scandal A year later, a day after the 2002 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Arlington Park in Chicago, Nader’s quick actions saved racing from further embarrassment when three fraternity brothers from Drexel University were not paid on their identical six winning $2 pick six tickets worth a total of more than $3 million.

Nader hadn’t even attended the Breeders’ Cup that Saturday, but he was at Belmont Park the following morning when he noticed something strange about the pick six, which had just six winning tickets from a single place, Catskill (New York) Off-Track Betting. “I asked Jim Gallagher to get the configuration of the tickets,” Nader said. “I looked at it, and I said, ‘Oh, man, this is a real problem. This is a scam.’ Catskill had made up just one-tenth percent of the pick six pool. The tickets were the same ticket six times. And the singles were in the first four races with all the horses in the last two.

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| BARRY K. SCHWARTZ |

“Back then, you didn’t get paid until the weekend ended. I called Arlington Park. I begged them not to pay it. The guy said, ‘Okay, Bill. I won’t pay them until you tell me.’ Then I called the TRPB (Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau).”

The tickets had been altered after the fourth race to list only the winning horse. Subsequently, investigators found that the fixers had tested their scam twice before the Breeders’ Cup. Additionally, they also had been successfully cashing counterfeit tickets of uncashed tickets all over the East Coast. The scam had been exposed before the cheaters got paid.

Racing’s image took a big hit from this, but it would have been much worse if Nader hadn’t acted. “It meant a lot,” Schwartz said.

“If it came out after it was paid, it would have been disastrous.”

Backing José Santos Seven months later, Hall of Fame jockey José Santos, who had won the 2002 Breeders’ Cup Classic on 43–1 Volponi for Hall of Fame trainer Phil Johnson, also won the 2003 Kentucky Derby on Funny Cide. A week later, the Miami Herald broke just about every journalism standard there is, alleging that Santos had used a buzzer to win the race from a single phone interview with Santos, whose English was pretty good but not 100 percent; and a single photo the Herald deemed suspicious. This created national and international headlines that Saturday morning, and Santos learned the bad news that morning at Belmont Park, when he was having breakfast with his son, José Jr., at the backside kitchen.

Schwartz responded immediately for NYRA. He got the “suspicious” photo blown up, and it showed conclusively that what looked like an object in Santos’ hand was just the view of the silks of Jerry Bailey riding Empire Maker behind Funny Cide.

Besides that, Santos would have needed three hands to carry his whip, the reins and a buzzer.

“NYRA defended me 100 percent as soon as it came out,” Santos said 20 years later. “They did everything to clear my name.”

A hearing in Kentucky two days later confirmed how ludicrous the allegations had been—mistakes the Herald paid for in Santos’ successful lawsuit against the paper.

Schwartz’s legacy Schwartz’s biggest contribution at NYRA was lowering takeout— the amount of money taken from people’s bets—which, in turn, increases handle, allowing corresponding increases in purse money. Schwartz’s simple logic, which he had used his whole life at Calvin Klein, Inc., dictated that if products aren’t selling, you lower the price. That couldn’t penetrate many of the blockheads in the racing industry who still have failed to grasp this simple concept. When Schwartz left, the takeout was increased and handle declined.

“He came in with a different lens than anyone before him,” Nader said. “He looked at it as a retail business. How do I grow the business? That was retail sales. In our business, it was betting.

I think that’s why he really connected. He came in as an owner, breeder and fan. That was the added dimension he brought. That was something we had never seen before. Suddenly, the business was growing.”

The numbers showed that. When bettors get more money returned in payoffs, they bet more—a simple process called churn.

Through intense lobbying, Schwartz got the legislature to reduce the takeout on win bets from 15 percent to 14—one of the lowest in the nation; from 20 to 17.5 percent on two-horse wagers, and the takeout on non-carryover pick sixes from 25 percent to 20 and

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ABOVE: Barry & Sheryl’s grandchildren Jordan and Cooper Ferdman.

then to 15. “It took a long time to get the bill passed,” Schwartz said.

“It passed 211–0. I personally lobbied in Albany to explain how lowering the takeout was good for everybody. Once I convinced them, they endorsed it. It passed both houses, and Governor Pataki signed it. I had a good rapport with him. He’d come to my house at Saratoga every summer. I got along very well with him.”

The impact of lower takeout was immediate. It began at the 2001 Saratoga meet, and handle rose 4.9 percent to a record of $553 million. Attendance at the 36-day meet broke one million for the first time. At the ensuing Belmont Park Fall Meet, handle rose 28 percent. In its first full year with lower takeout in 2002, handle increased at NYRA by $150 million when compared to 2000—the last full year with higher takeout. Schwartz felt it was just a start.

“My goal is for this to be so successful I can keep lowering it,” Schwartz said in a 2001 article by Michael Kaplan in Cigar Aficionado. “With a 10 percent takeout, the size of our handle will become enormous.”

Such thinking was revolutionary to how business had been done at America’s racetracks. “Business got tough, so racetrack operators all over the country raised their takeouts,” Schwartz said in Kaplan’s article. “You don’t do that. Where I come from, you lower your price when business is bad.”

In 2023, Schwartz was asked why racetracks around the country haven’t lowered takeout: “The people who run racetracks just don’t understand the sport.”

Schwartz certainly does.

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| INDUSTRY |

WORDS: ALYSEN MILLER

PHOTOGRAPHY: GALOPPFOTO.DE, STRIDEMASTER, TROJANTRACK

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nless you’ve been living under a rock, you may have noticed many male soccer players wearing what appears to be a sports bra during training and matches. This is not a political statement, a show of solidarity with their female counterparts, perhaps; nor is it the latest fashion craze. Rather the bras are, in reality, GPS tracker vests. Containing a small Global Positioning System gadget, they allow team managers and trainers to collect and analyze players’ individualized GPS data in order to make informed decisions about tactics and training.

Like all big-money sports, the top soccer clubs now employ legions of data nerds to crunch the numbers on all aspects of their players’ performances. English Premier League soccer club, Arsenal, uses the STATSports system to gather physical data on all their players, from the under-12s to the men’s and women’s first teams. Marketed as “the most advanced wearable tech on the market” (that’s the famous bra), it records some 250

separate metrics, including accelerations and decelerations, average heart rate, calories burned, distance per minute, highspeed running, high-intensity distance, max speed, sprints and strain. The statistics are available live during training sessions so coaches can make real-time adjustments where necessary.

And it goes beyond wearable tech. Players at last year’s World Cup in Qatar were able to get insights into their on-field performance through FIFA’s own player app. Physical performance metrics were collected through a highly accurate in-stadium tracking system, including multiple cameras located around the pitch. These included distance covered at various speed thresholds, number of actions above 25 miles per hour (about 40 kilometers per hour), and maximum speed—all displayed on positional heat maps. Thanks to this data, we know that Kylian Mbappé hit a top speed of 35.3 kilometers per hour (about 22 miles per hour) against Poland in the round of 16. Impressive for a two-legged athlete, even if he won’t be giving the likes of Flightline or Baaeed a run for their money.

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StrideMaster captures its data with use of a device about the size of an iPhone that is slipped into the saddle cloth.

Soccer is following in the footsteps of baseball and American football by embracing “Big Data.” Not only does this enhance teams’ abilities to play and train, it adds another dimension to the spectator experience. Who doesn’t want to know how far their favorite player ran? Horse racing, by contrast, still relies on a mathematical speed model, Timeform, developed in the 1950s.

“When you look at other professional sports, racing’s a fair way behind in terms of how we measure the athlete,” says David Hawke. “Basically, we don’t measure the athlete in a biometric sense at all, whereas most other professional sports measure their athletes in competition, when the athletes are at their highest output and highest exertion. And this is the crucial point.” Hawke is hoping to change all that. He is the managing director of StrideMaster, a system that combines GPS and motion capture technologies to produce detailed insights into the horse’s performance.

“When we developed the technology, back in 2010, it was essentially technology for race day: tracking horses, getting all their times—all the normal race track performance information that punters might want to see,” he explains. In the course of gathering this information, Hawke accumulated a treasure trove of biometric data. In 2018, he joined up with Dr David Lambert.

Kentucky-based Dr Lambert is an expert on equine physiology and the founder of a company called Equine Analysis Systems, which leverages this understanding of how the horse moves to select elite, high-performance Thoroughbreds.

He is looking for the top one percent, the cream of the crop.

Hawke’s idea was to take this hypothesis and turn it on its head; in other words, to find the one percent “who were in trouble.” In this way, by identifying the horses that are trying to cope with a problem, vets and trainers would have a crucial data point which could be used to help prevent injuries before they happen.

So how does it work? Here comes the science part. Essentially, every horse has a unique stride “fingerprint.” Thanks to Hawke’s data, we not only know what that fingerprint looks like, but also when the horse deviates substantially from that fingerprint.

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WHEN YOU LOOK AT OTHER PROFESSIONAL SPORTS, RACING’S A FAIR WAY BEHIND IN TERMS OF HOW WE MEASURE THE ATHLETE. BASICALLY, WE DON’T MEASURE THE ATHLETE IN A BIOMETRIC SENSE AT ALL.” The first step is to collect high-resolution data of the horse at the gallop. This is because, as prey animals, horses are disinclined to show lameness at the walk or trot (the traditional way of assessing a horse’s soundness). “The forces that are at play when a horse is going at 40 miles per hour compared to when it’s being trotted up at five miles per hour are completely different,” says Hawke. “The price that the horse pays for going fast is that it gives up autonomy over a number of things,” he continues. “It gives up autonomy over its breathing, for example. It becomes a mechanical breather. It also gives up autonomy over its footfall.

If it’s got a raging foot abscess at the walk or the trot, it will decide not to put its foot down. But at the gallop, it can’t do that.

It has no choice over when it puts each foot down. So the only option it’s got left to manage an issue that’s impacting it is postural change: it’s going to hold itself differently; it’s going to use different muscles to try and take the pressure off.”

| S T R I D E A N A LY S I S T E C H N O L O G Y |

To capture these changes, samples are taken from three axes: the vertical, the longitudinal and the medial. This data is captured by a device about the size of an iPhone that’s slipped into the saddle cloth. These samples are then broken down further: “We split the stride up into three parts,” Hawke explains. “We have the hind leg stance phase, which is the primary propulsion and power source for the horse. Hind leg spring function is absolutely critical to a good stride, so if anything’s wrong at the back end, that immediately gets transferred to the front end on the corresponding diagonal. Then we have the forelimb stance phase. And then we have the flight phase, or the collection phase, when the horse is off the ground. The flight phase is where the horse is making most of its postural adjustments in the air. So if it’s got a problem it’s managing, it’s trying desperately to accommodate that problem during the stride. And then when it goes into the air, it’s trying desperately to get itself ready for the next stride to do it all over again.”

The system is capable of detecting minute variations in the horse’s stride that are effectively invisible to the human eye. “From an observational point of view, humans can’t detect these sorts of changes that we’re picking up. It’s simply happening too fast,” he says. The sample rate in StrideMaster’s sensors is 800 hertz, or 800 frames per second. The human eye, by contrast, cannot directly perceive more than about 60 frames per second. “That enables us to look at the stride in a very high level of detail,” he says.

Hawke has accumulated so much data that it’s no longer necessary to have historic data on an individual horse in order to make a judgment about its soundness. Rather, there exists an “ideal” fingerprint for different categories of horse: “We have a Gp.1 fingerprint, we have a Gp.2 fingerprint, right down to a $10,000 claimer fingerprint, to use the American parlance,” he explains. In other words, soundness can be assessed against an ideal archetype. If a horse is more than two standard deviations outside of this ideal, that is considered an adverse change that the system then flags for the attention of the trainer.

So how is this “deviation” measured? “We’re tracking two or three things that are important: we’re tracking the amount of power they produce, and we’re tracking the amount of vibration they produce,” Hawke explains.

Vibration is, essentially, any rapid change in acceleration. That is what is most likely to cause injury. Think of the horse as a four-cylinder engine, with the legs as the pistons. Each piston—or leg—moves in a set rhythm.

As long as this rhythm is maintained, vibration will be kept to a minimum.

But changes in rhythm (for example, because the horse is managing a problem) generate vibration which, in turn, generates damage. The sounder the horse, in other words, the less vibration. But with great power

StrideMaster’s GPS tracker.

comes the potential to generate huge amounts of vibration.

This explains why most of the horses that get flagged are competitive horses in whatever cohort they’re in. “They’re not horses that are running 20 lengths down the track,” says Hawke. “Generally, those horses are not producing enough power or vibration to get themselves into trouble.

[The good horses] will always find a way to go fast,” he says.

While Hawke sees the technology primarily as an injury prevention tool, he acknowledges that its potential is broader than that: “From a social license point of view, that’s where the pressure is: to manage these injury rates and welfare outcomes better than we have been. So that’s the primary focus,” he says. But the same technology could, in theory, be used to identify future elite performers: “When you compare, say, a Gp.1 horse to a low-rating handicapper, what we see is increased deviation from optimum,” he explains. “To take a metric at random: gravity. The acceleration of an object toward the ground caused by gravity alone, near the surface of Earth, is called ‘normal gravity,’ or 1g. This acceleration is equal to 32.2 ft/sec2 (9.8 m/sec2). If you drop an apple on Earth, it falls at 1g”.

“The Gp.1 horse will be much closer to that 1g than the lower rating handicapper,” he explains. “[The lower-rated horse] is not as efficient. They’re losing power in all directions. They’re going up and down more, they’re going side to side more. Whereas the elite horse actually generates surprisingly less power, but it’s all pointing down the road in the right direction.”

Hawke is keen to emphasize that he is not marketing a diagnostic tool. Rather, trainers should see this technology as another tool in their toolkit: “When the trainer gets the information, either they come and seek more information or talk to their vets about what’s going on. The vet can review the stride on a stride-by-stride basis. And when we get down to that level of detail, we can actually, on most occasions, give some indication of what quadrant the problem is emanating from.”

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ABOVE: TrojanTrack takes video data of 52 different parts of a horse at 120 frames per second. This is then converted into biomechanical data: joint velocities, accelerations and angles which can then be compared to a horse’s healthy baseline movement to track any deteriorations or imbalances.

But what if you could identify such problems without even galloping the horse?

Stephen O’Dwyer thinks he has a solution. O’Dwyer is the founder of Irish start-up TrojanTrack, which uses video cameras to record the horse at the walk and, from there, identify any variations in its movement. “We take video data of 52 different parts of the horse at 120 frames per second,” he explains. “We then convert those parts into biomechanical data: joint velocities, accelerations, angles. And then we can compare that to the horse’s healthy baseline movement to track any deteriorations or imbalances that might be creeping in.” But wait. Horses are prey animals. Won’t they naturally try to mask any injuries at the walk? “Horses are herd animals, so rather than show any sign of injury, they try to hide it as much as possible, and that means compensating on a different limb or something like that,” O’Dwyer acknowledges. “But because we’re tracking 52 points, we’re able to pick up any tiny deviations, tiny nuances that won’t be picked up by the human eye.

“In talking to a few of the vets, they say that when the horse is in its walk, it’s at its most comfortable,” he continues. “And because they’re in their most comfortable state, they won’t be trying to hide their injury as much.” O’Dwyer plans to incorporate trot movements in the future.

Like Hawke, O’Dwyer sees his technology primarily as another arrow in the trainer’s quiver, rather than a diagnostic tool. “It’s hard for the trainer to pick up on the whole horse at once,” he

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explains. “They might be staring at one limb while the hip isn’t moving, and they’d have to walk by again and check the hip, and then they’re not looking at another limb. We look at all four limbs landing, the hip movement as one of the limbs is landing.

So it’s the whole package of the horse in one to really show the trainer exactly what is going on.”

O’Dwyer acknowledges that the technology is still in its nascency. He is currently running customer trials a couple of yards in Ireland while he tries to drum up the next round of investment. StrideMaster, meanwhile, has been adopted by racing authorities in the United States and in Hawke’s native Australia. But any technologies that can help spot potentially catastrophic injuries before a horse hits the track must be taken extremely seriously by an industry that can, at times, feel like it is operating on the razor’s edge of public acceptability. As Hawke says, “The first priority is welfare because we have to look after the animal. If we’re not seen to be looking after the animal, the whole game’s in trouble.”

It seems like it is only a matter of time before racing joins the ranks of other sports in embracing Big Data. Says Hawke: “If I walked into a major football club and said, ‘Who here’s got expertise in biometric sensor analysis,’ half the football department would put their hand up because they’ve been doing it for 20 years. But the information can be used in so many different ways in terms of performance, breeding and training techniques. We’re just scratching the surface.”

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| RACING |

P E N N S Y LVA N I A’ S

DAY AT THE RACES OVER ONE MILLION IN PURSES The 22nd annual Pennsylvania’s Day at the Races at Parx Racing took place on Monday, August 21 and featured 13 PA-Bred races worth over $1 million in purses, highlighted by seven $100,000 stakes.

Each of the 13 races represented a different winning breeder.

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WORDS: AVERIE LEVANTI PHOTOGRAPHY: AVERIE LEVANTI PHOTO

T

| PA DAY AT T H E R AC E S |

he lid lifter on the PA Day card featured a $60,000 maiden special weight for 2-year-old fillies. Dewey Doit, a daughter of Coal Front bred

by George Elser’s Elser Farms Corp, held off the rally of heavily favored Ringer Card for a gate-towire 2¼ length score in the 5½ furlong contest. Dewey Doit was a first-time starter purchased by Tilted Shamrock Racing Stable for $85,000 at this year’s OBS June Sale, and she secured the 2,000th career victory for trainer John Servis.

The second race featured juvenile colts and geldings going 5½ furlongs for a $60,000 maiden purse. The longest shot on the board at 17-1, first-time starter Notice of Action took them gateto-wire for an easy four-length victory. Bred by Bryan Minnich, the son of Hoppertunity was purchased for $15,000 as a yearling

by AJ Hawthorne.

In the third race, Twist Her broke through in her third start to take the $60,000 maiden for 3yo+ fillies and mares over 7 furlongs. The daughter of Uptowncharlybrown went to the post as the odds on favorite and romped by 9½ lengths for breeder Richele Grieb.

The fourth race featured a purse of $70,000 for 3yo+ filly and mare allowance runners over 6½ furlongs. Closing from 13 lengths last in the field of 11, Warrior’s Ransom circled the field and drew away for a powerful 8¾-length score. The 3-year-old daughter of Warrior’s Reward was bred by Warrior’s Reward LLC. In the fifth race, a $60,000 maiden for 3yo+, last year’s Pennsylvania Nursery runner-up Veeson finally broke through in his eighth start to win the 6-furlong contest by a length. The son of Il Villano was bred and owned by Mr. and Mrs. Chuck Russo.

Stakes action kicked off in the sixth race with the $100,000 Dr. Teresa Garafalo Memorial Stakes over 6 furlongs for fillies and mares. The second longest shot in the field at 12-1, Kate DeMasitrained Mia Tosca rallied from fourth place to sweep by the dueling pair of favored Golden Tabby and Gunfyre Gal to post a 1¼-length upset. The 4-year-old daughter of Animal Kingdom out of Queen Scheherazade was bred by Blackstone Farm LLC and captured her first stakes win in the Dr. Teresa Garafalo Memorial.

The riders up call and trophy presentation were made by Frank Farry, State Senator from Bucks County.

The Marshall Jenney Handicap was conducted over 5 furlongs on turf. Talented Man dueled with Fore Harp through the early stages before putting that rival away. Confronted by odds-on favorite Witty turning for home, Talented Man gamely held off his rival for the duration of the stretch to post a head victory.

The 4-year-old son of Talent Search bagged his first stakes victory for breeder, owner and trainer Michael Moore. The riders up call and trophy presentation were made by Kathleen Tomlinson, State Representative from Bucks County.

The first leg of the 2023 PA-Sired, PA-Bred 2yo Stallion Series for fillies kicked off with the $100,000 Miss Blue Tye Dye Stakes over 5½ furlongs. Third-time starter Jody’s Ruby rallied inside frontrunner One Eyed Jackie and stablemate Sirani to post a 1¼ length maiden-breaking victory for trainer John Servis. The daughter of Talent Search out of the Broken Vow mare Mary Cole is bred and owned by Gilman Hallenbeck, and she’s a full sister to Hallenbeck’s stakes performer Uncle Ernie. The riders up call and trophy presentation were made by Shelby Labs, State Representative from Bucks County.

LEFT: Buy Land and See – 2023 Storm Cat Stakes winner.

BELOW: Twisted Ride – 2023 Banjo Picker Sprint Stakes winner.

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| RACING |

The $100,000 Banjo Picker Sprint at 6 furlongs featured a rematch between Twisted Ride, Uncle Ernie, and Beren, the top three finishers from the Page McKenney Handicap in April. Twisted Ride sat off the early pace of longshot Magicnthemoonlight before taking the lead approaching the quarter pole. Approached

by Beren at the head of the stretch, Twisted Ride fought gamely to the wire to post a half-length victory over his old rival, with Uncle Ernie another seven lengths back in third. The victory was the fifth of the year and fourth career stakes victory for the son of Great Notion. Bred and owned by Kasey K Racing Stable, Twisted Ride is also owned by Final Turn Racing Stable and Michael Day. The riders up call and trophy presentation were made by Christina Sappey, State Representative from Chester County.

The other half of the PA Stallion Series kicked off with the $100,000 Whistle Pig Stakes over 5½ furlongs featuring a field of 10 colts and geldings. The early pace was set by first-time starter and longshot Chilling Hassle. Still maintaining the lead BELOW: Neecie Marie and connections – 2023 Mrs. Penny Stakes winner.

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| PA DAY AT T H E R AC E S |

into the stretch, he was overtaken by a wide rallying Gamboling Ghost, who ended up drawing clear by three lengths at 8-1 odds. The gray son of Weigelia was no worse for wear only 12 days following his maiden-breaking effort at Presque Isle. Bred by Cindy Bartkowski and Scott Bunker, Gamboling Ghost was purchased for $9,500 as a yearling by owner and trainer Jason DaCosta.

The $100,000 Storm Cat over a mile and 70 yards featured the heaviest favorite of the day in the form of five-time stakes winner Nimitz Class. The Arrowwood Farm bred and owned colt broke from the gate at 3-5, but he proved no match for the streaking Buy Land and See. Disregarded at 5-1 off a third-place effort in the Hard Spun Stakes at Presque Isle, Buy Land and See initially sat off frontrunner Allevare before taking control by the half mile fraction. The gray son of Cairo Prince only continued to add to his advantage, turning into the stretch with a 2½-length lead before finally coasting 3¼-lengths clear of Nimitz Class at the wire. Bred and owned by Joe Imbesi, Buy Land and See’s Storm Cat victory over the dirt followed up his victory in the With Anticipation Stakes over the grass at Penn National in June. It was his sixth lifetime stakes victory.

Wrapping up stakes action was the $100,000 Mrs. Penny over 1 1/16th miles on the grass. Featuring a field of 13 fillies and mares, the wide rallying Neecie Marie closed from 10th in the early going to take the lead from frontrunner Princess Runaway in mid-stretch. The daughter of Cross Traffic cleared away to a 2¼-length victory over In a Spin and Eight Danzas to notch her first stakes victory. Bred by Jon Marshall and purchased by Milam Racing Stable for $25,000 as a yearling, the 3-year-old Neecie Marie is now 4-for-6 lifetime.

A $70,000 allowance race over 6½ furlongs closed out the 13-race card. Rallying from second-last, Keithsendshelloooo split rivals in the stretch to win going away by 3¼-lengths for his second career victory. Bred and owned by Uptowncharlybrown Stud LLC, the 3-year-old gelding is sired by the namesake stallion.

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| RACING |

STRONGHOLDS OF SATAN A SURVEY OF THE BYGONE RACECOURSES OF BRITAIN

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WORDS: WILLIAM MORGAN

| S T R O N G H O LD S O F S ATA N |

The first of the series of limited edition books was published in 2022 and concentrates on the populous southeastern counties of England. Its 1,032 pages contain a wealth of information and images. Excerpts from the book are published below with the full book available to purchase via trainermagazine.com/sos.

M

ore than just a racing enthusiast’s reference work, Strongholds of Satan—this sumptuous and highly entertaining book also reveals the social history behind the events and the impact of the local geography on the way they were run, and how changes in both altered the way that the sport evolved. It’s a big book, in its scope and in its physical dimensions, and readers will be sure to find many fascinating nuggets of information and amusing stories in its meticulously researched pages.

The book combines sport, geography and many contemporary sources to reveal the impact of horse racing on society and uncover the traces it has left on the landscape.

Racing expanded at the same time as Britain’s empire, from the 17th century onwards; and British colonists took their national sport with them. There was racing at Salisbury, on the Hampstead Plains of Long Island, from 1665, in Australia, in Jamaica in the 1760s and around Sydney from the early 1800s.

Racing in the U.S. was even carried in the British Calendar for a short while, replaced by Jamaica, reflecting the comparative importance then given to those places.

There are interesting comparisons to make between the sport’s histories, particularly in the U.S. and Britain, and the often uneasy interaction between governments and racing, generally due to gambling, which soon exploded in many forms. A law of 1710, making bets over £10 ($12.50) unrecoverable, fanned the flames rather than dampening them and, as one of several acts to “restrain excessive gaming and gambling”, a further law came in 1740 forbidding any race under £50 ($62.50), with fines of £200 ($250) (half to the informer, as there was no police, half to local charities), for breaches and, for a few years until the clauses were repealed, it even set weights in races.

This executed many fixtures but was soon being honored more in the breach and was effectively ignored by 1800. This led to a strange court case at Rochdale, northwest England, in September 1821 after a meeting nearby. A £5 ($6.25) match was won by one Mr. Pilling and witnessed by a man named Edge, who promptly tried to resuscitate the 1740 law to net £100 ($125). Edge brought the losing owner as his witness, and it was undefended.

The judge, however, wanting doubtless to keep his court intact from a rowdy crowd, inquired of Edge whether the winner was a stallion or a gelding. Edge had omitted to notice and was declared non-suited, causing much mirth. The act was later revoked.

The drinking and gambling could cause trouble, including a full-scale riot at Lincoln in 1831. No less than 500 men were operating gaming tables on the course, but what incensed the locals enough to attack the booths is not known, presumably wide-scale cheating. When these were set on fire, the occupants

broke up their own tables, seized the legs and “would have mastered the foot people, had not fifty gentlemen and fox hunting farmers taken the field against them. Many would remember to the day of their death the thrashing they got,” reported the local press.

Racing was denounced by non-conformist preachers particularly (hence Strongholds of Satan), and local religious groups took children on “bun and squash” outings to keep them from the sports. But Dr. Arnold, the famous reforming headmaster of Rugby School, complained it took much less time to raise money for the rugby steeplechases than it did for Christian missionaries.

When steeplechasing gained popularity in the 1830s, Oxford and Cambridge undergraduates enthused, despite attempts to forbid them from riding. Lord Minto, nom de course Mr. Rolly, later governor-general of Canada and Viceroy of India, proudly claimed not to have a book in his rooms and wore silks under his gown before dashing off to ride a winner.

Most have just gone racing for a good time, and it was one of the few places all classes mixed. King George IV went to Egham races in the 1820s in a simple open carriage and could be approached by pretty much anyone. At Hampton, as much the Londoners’ and gipsies’ meeting as Epsom, the Sporting Life noted: “No one would think of going to watch the racing,” adding: “If the materials of the ladies’ dresses were less costly than those worn by the denizens of Belgravia at Ascot and Goodwood, they made up for it in loudness of colour.

BELOW: American jockey Tod Sloan walks in front of the stand at Lincoln, 1899. His style, riding shorter than English jockeys—though not as short as today—was derided as “a monkey up a stick,” but he and his fellow American “imports” soon had every jockey riding in a similar fashion due to their success. Sporting Sketches

LEFT: Wye in Kent, SE England, a photograph melded with a contemporary painting of this rural course, c.1860, now farmland.

A later course, notoriously dangerous, finished the riding career as a jockey of Gr.1 Prix de l’Arc winning trainer, Sir Mark Prescott.

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A blind man was once asked what his idea of red was, and he stated that the nearest thing to which he could compare it would be the ‘sound of a trumpet.’ Had the blind man in question been at Hampton on Thames, he would have stood a chance of having his afflictions increased and becoming deaf as well as blind, as every shawl or bonnet he met with would have constituted to his heated image a separate blast.”

The railways, increased populations in cities and slightly more frequent holidays, however, caused there to be mobs going from meeting to meeting, causing trouble, especially at fixtures that mushroomed around big cities. In 1855 there was a large fixture near what is now central Birmingham, when there was a full-scale riot.

There was a depiction of the Battle of the Alma in the Crimea at the Theatre Royal in Britain’s second largest city, but a large number of spectators, “including the riff-raff of the town,” decided to enact the scene on a bigger scale.

Seven thousand grouped in the valley and 4,000 on the hill, armed with posts from the course and flags adorning the stand for banners. As in the real battle, the “Russians” were driven from their hill, which was taken and retaken three times.

There was no orderly withdrawal, however, as the battle raged into the town, pausing only for the main race, itself held up because of interminable objections to one horse or another.

Harrow and district, now an enormous suburb of London, was a hotbed of early steeplechasing, with the first big owner, Jack Elmore, owner of Lottery, the first real Grand National winner in 1839, living there. Nearby Hendon and Kingsbury in the 1860s, however, played host to meetings described as “vicious.” Letters to The Times probably influenced the Jockey Club, which by osmosis had become very powerful rather than omnipotent, seeking to head off trouble.

BELOW: A “card shark” using his accomplice as a table to lure the unwary into some game of chance and probably a tipster trying to excite the crowd, both at the Oaksey Steeplechases, circa 1910. Gloucs Graphic

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ABOVE: A steeplechase won by the great Lottery, the first winner of the Grand National in 1839, at Notting Hill in West London in 1837, drawn by Henry Alken. The course had been the scene of one of the first mass protests to assert access rights when the proprietor tried to close a footpath.

ABOVE: The last steeplechase at Notting Hill in 1841, portrayed by Henry Alken, shows the circuit fence to prevent non-payers from viewing the races, amidst the local industries. The course was soon to be developed for building, an example of the fate of many courses in Britain and the U.S.

| S T R O N G H O LD S O F S ATA N |

ABOVE: One of hundreds of aerial photos in the book clearly shows the circle that was the Rochdale racecourse in NW England, 170 years after the last fixture. It was a case laughed out of court after a race here in 1825 that ended the last attempt by the government to set prize money levels.

RIGHT: Fifty-six years after the Hurst Park course by the River Thames closed and was partly covered in houses, this image shows the line of the parade ring appearing in a very dry summer of 2018.

Its solution was to insist on races on the Flat from 1870 be worth £50 ($62.50), clear of deductions [about £7,000 ($8,750) now], which increased by 1876 to £100 ($125), whose equivalent would make many British courses today blanche. The first enclosed course had been formed in 1824 at Leeds in northern England, and the Hippodrome at Notting Hill in west London lasted a few years from 1837, but most tracks only raised money from gentry occupying the stand.

How “park” tracks came into existence New courses were designed to raise the necessary funds as many faded away, the “park,” using the word’s original meaning to enclose, forcing everyone to pay. Many big races, however, required considerable fees to enter, so it was not necessarily an owners’ bonanza. Jumping meetings, though there was pressure to raise money at major courses, were not so regulated by the separate National Hunt Committee, and small fixtures were adding as little as £40 ($50) up to World War II. The Committee, incidentally, had been formed in 1863 to try and regulate a sport seen as having become ever more corrupt.

These initiatives did not achieve their political objectives, despite several of the worst offenders finishing for commercial reasons just as Glasgow Radical MP George Anderson, who had no course locally but attacked anything he regarded as a social evil, introduced a bill in 1878 forcing courses within 12 miles of London’s center to be licensed. Some meetings were foiled by local magistrates refusing alcohol licenses. The fate of Kingsbury, which closed in December 1878, was strange. A branch of the Shaker movement occupied the stand, but they were so cold over the winter they gradually dismantled it, burning the wood to keep warm. The reasonably respectable Croydon in south London read the runes and moved out to Gatwick (now the airport).

The government recognized games of skill, rather than pure chance, and sought to regulate, rather than ban gambling. It forbad the recovery of bets in 1845 because courts were clogged with such cases, and, with 150 betting offices in working-class London alone, these were outlawed in 1853, leaving accounts ISSUE 70 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM

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RIGHT: Lester Piggott’s father and grandfather were leading jump jockeys; and Lester enjoyed riding over hurdles and won the Triumph Hurdle, the top race for four-year-olds, then at Hurst Park on the south side of the River Thames, in 1954. He is riding much shorter than other jump jockeys and actually shorter than he did on the Flat at the time.

and on-course the only ways to bet legally on racing—the situation until 1960. Betting thrived to the extent that Richard Ten Broeck, the owner of Lexington, thought it worthwhile bringing horses to England and running a stable because he could get much bigger bets on in Britain than the US. The Anti-Gambling League attempted to nobble gambling on courses. In 1896 it prosecuted Robert Dunn, bookmaker and Hurst Park shareholder, and won but lost a test case in 1897 from Kempton Park. An Act of 1906 outlawed all betting in streets, leading to many underground operations, but the League failed again when it prosecuted bookmakers on the slopes outside Alexandra Park in north London. It had tried, supported by three bishops, to close “Ally Pally” on the grounds it had no license, but that too failed.

A rising menace to racing everywhere nowadays is the animal rights movement. It has a long history in Britain. The best known hunting scribe of the 1830s, Charles Apperley, “Nimrod,” lambasted the newly fashionable steeplechasing and in 1867 the SPCA (later RSPCA) took the rider of a horse killed at the “sensational” water jump at Croydon to court, but the local magistrate gave the charity a flea in its ear.

Such were rare events, however, would that was the case today.

The British Government has since concentrated on taxation, Winston Churchill’s betting tax of 1926, scrapped by 1930, a similar levy in 1966, the change to a profits’ tax in 2001 (causing BELOW: Kingsbury, the stand; after this most disreputable of fixtures in north London closed in 1879, the edifice was occupied by members of the Shaker movement, who gradually dismantled it to burn the wood to keep warm over a very cold winter.

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stakes to quadruple, protecting government revenue), the foundation of a weak Tote in 1928 (thanks to Churchill) and legalising betting shops in 1960 all interventions over the years, the last the most significant.

It was very different in America, where by 1910 almost all gambling was outlawed, consolidated by the 18th Amendment.

Luckily, 21 states allowed racetracks in the 1930s, since when money has ruled, the advent of slots and casinos from 1978 in the U.S. and in Britain the ability to gamble on nearly anything all chipping at racing’s income.

Churchill’s role in racing is interesting. Reviled for his 1926 tax, he later owned horses with great success, winning a Classic and having a runner in the Washington International. His war record and the status that age often bestows made him a much-cherished

| S T R O N G H O LD S O F S ATA N |

LEFT: Sir Winston Churchill looks on with pride after his own Colonist II had won his owner’s “own” race at Hurst Park in 1951—a year in which he again became prime minister.

terminals only the first step if they have their way. To Mark Twain is attributed (probably wrongly): “History does not repeat itself, but it rhymes.” What does history tell us? Firstly, legislation against gambling that does not exclude racing will hurt the sport and the courses, obviously enough, perhaps—even certainly— fatally in the case of some of the latter. Secondly and perhaps more importantly, legislation will fail to achieve its aims almost completely. It failed when gambling required a physical presence, so how any legislator thinks gambling can be controlled as many MPs intend in the internet era is beyond comprehension. It is one of many aspects of life where the nation state is proving powerless in the face of internationalization.

ABOVE: For over 150 years, racegoers were transported across the River Thames to Hampton and then Hurst Park races on barges like this, which would make the health and safety officials blanche nowadays.

Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News

sight at racecourses up to the year before he died. His American grandfather Leonard Jerome, a founder of the American Jockey Club, had, with August Belmont, built Jerome Park, (location of the first Belmont Stakes), and later was a founder of the Sheepshead Bay track.

The Jockey Club largely concentrated on technical issues, closing several courses on safety grounds, but not interfering in prize money issues. Several tracks were used as military depots in the Great War and to pay for restoration they reduced prize money, causing the Life to bemoan in 1919, if courses did not put up more money, there would be no owners, breeders or horses within a few years. Plus ça change... This occurred again somewhat after the World War, with courses lost but huge crowds afterwards, which gradually faded.

When the government and the Jockey Club came together after betting shops were legalized, which everyone realized would reduce attendances, the Club infamously failed to secure racing’s future and obtain a fair return from bookmakers, also rejecting a pari-mutuel system. Since then, commercial dictat, including urban development, has seen the end of even successful courses, much as in the U.S. That could be set to change.

For the first time in over a century, latter-day Andersons are now legislating on moral grounds, with limiting stakes on betting

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| #SOUNDBITES |

WORDS: BILL HELLER PHOTOGRAPHY: NICOLE MARIE, ECLIPSE SPORTSWIRE, BENOIT PHOTO

#SOUNDBITES Which other trainer do you most admire on the backstretch, and why?

# Brendan Walsh There are a lot of trainers on the backstretch that I admire for different things. Some are good with stakes horses. Some of them are good with young horses. There’s almost too many to mention. I don’t really want to name one.

# Bret Calhoun Wayne Lukas never ceases to amaze me. He’s out there every morning. He’s at the sales and still competing at the highest level. He’s a guy that amazes me.

# Peter Miller There are a lot of them I admire. Here in Southern California, I admire Richard Mandella and John Sheriffs because they limit the number of horses they take. I can’t do that. I’m a horse junkie. I admire Brad Cox and Steve Asmussen because they run such a huge operation with success at all levels.

That shows a lot of organizational skills as well as horsemen skills. They also know how to delegate.

I don’t even know how they do it. You can also throw in Todd Pletcher and Chad Brown. I’m at 80 horses, and I’m at my wit’s end!

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# Gary Contessa That is a no-brainer: Wayne Lukas. He revolutionized the entire racing industry, and people took his lead. He came to the East Coast, and he showed us how to talk to clients; showed us how to develop young horses; and showed us what a barn should be like. Look at the history. What trainer in America has developed more good trainers than he has? Nobody. He’s developed horses and people.

# Todd Fincher The ones I admire the most are the ones who started in the grass roots and worked their way up and became successful. Most of those guys have a true love of horse racing. It’s not an easy profession.

It’s an unending job. Those guys that fought through adversity are the ones that I admire most.

# Larry Rivelli Wesley Ward—because he’s one of the very few jockeys that have become successful trainers.

A lot of them tried and failed. He didn’t.

He’s at an elite level.

# Ron Moquett There’s a lot of people you admire for different reasons.

Probably the older guys like Bernie Flint, Jinks Fires and Wayne Lukas. They’re forever evolving. To be involved in this business for so many years and compete at a high level, it’s impressive. They do it year after year.

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