I’M SO FORTUNATE RIGHT NOW THAT THE PEOPLE THAT I HAVE, MY MAIN OWNERS, I CAN LITERALLY SAY, I LOVE THESE PEOPLE.”
LARRY RIVELLI
STATE BREEDING INCENTIVES
The best options available to breeders for 2025
HOW SANTA ANITA STEPPED UP
Supporting those affected by the devastating LA fires
MANAGING MOODY HORSES
Suppressing unwanted hormonal behavior
In this issue we highlight the different incentives to race and breed on a state-by-state basis. Much of the incentivebased revenue has been off the back of casino revenue; the casino operator needed the racetrack to be in business. A coupling of convenience one might argue.
A point picked up on by our much respected columnist and visionary for the industry—the late Arnold Kirkpatrick.
He wrote this in his spring 2008 (issue 7) column—after two racetracks had recently changed their names to be more casino focused than racetrack:
“Casino operators are businessmen and not sports fans. No matter how much we welcome them—and their money—if they haven’t done so already, it’s not going to take them long to figure out … that racing operations generate a very low percentage of their income and a very high percentage of their expenses. Then, I suspect that we’re going to see a lot more name changes … and I’m afraid a lot of them will not just reverse the order of the priorities in their names; they may just drop the racing part entirely.”
In the following issue, Kirkpatrick quoted the words of Don Clippinger who had recently penned the following in the “All About Purses” issue of the Thoroughbred Times:
“The principle fallacy in a lot of thinking about these devices (slot machines) is that they were authorised to help racetracks and horse-raising enterprises. They were not. They may have the effect of helping the racetracks, but their principal benefit is to the state that permits them and—lest anyone forget—exacts a very high tax on gross revenues …. Slots may be regarded as a benefit to the industry now, but racing must determine how it will stand on its own in the future.”
Kirkpatrick concluded with this view about racetracks that had transitioned to ‘racino’ venues:
“We’re working with a canny, battle-hardened veteran devil, and, like most deals with that ilk, the odds of us coming out on top are pretty long …. And what’s worse, in this era of politicians and prostitutes, we’re climbing in bed with both. So in view of all this, my advice to the racing industry is to treat our relationship as one would treat any other encounter with a “whore”—Don’t fall in love, and always keep one eye on your wallet.”
Fast forward to 2025 and the states which offer the most optimism for racing and breeding to flourish are the ones who have forged the strongest links with their state legislatures —who understand what the industry delivers for income.
Today, racing relies too heavily on its coupling of convenience—with casinos whose very existence is thanks to offering a racing product. The racing industry should never forget this fact and like in any human ‘decoupling’, a price needs to be paid to end that relationship and for racing to start taking control of its future destiny.
Wherever your racing takes you this spring—good luck!
Editorial Director/Publisher & Advertising Sales
Giles Anderson (859) 242-5025
Sub-Editors
Lauren Godfray & Nico Jeeves
Advert Production, Circulation/Website
Lauren Godfray (1 888-218-4430)
Cover Photograph Eclipse Sportswire
Trainer Magazine is published by Anderson & Co Publishing Ltd.
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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.
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.
Jackie Bellamy-Zions has been Equine Guelph’s communications manager for the past ten years, Jackie has over 30 years of experience in the horse industry in the capacity of coach, trainer, stable manager, competitor, judge and journalist.
Dr. Kate Dugher graduated in the UK and completed her internship at The Liphook Equine Hospital. She works as an equine reproduction veterinarian for the world-renowned Goulburn Valley Equine Hospital in Australia; whilst also studying to become a specialist in reproduction with the American College of Theriogenologists.
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. Bill and his wife Marianne live near Gulfstream Park.
Adam Jackson, MRCVS was born in Canada but is now based in the UK where he is an independent vet at Jackson Equine, a modern independent vet practice. Initially, he 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 in epidemiology of notifiable equine infectious diseases.
Jennifer S. Kelly is an author and freelance turf writer. Her first two 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. Jennifer’s work focuses on both the history of horse racing as well as current events, drawing on her deep knowledge and experience.
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 He and his wife, Cassie, reside in Kuttawa, Kentucky.
Dr. Katie Williams, M.Sc (Dist) R. Nutr has worked as an equine nutritionist for over 25 years. In 2023 Katie completed her PhD in Veterinary Medicine Research at the University of Glasgow, UK. Katie studied the inter-professional dynamics between the nutritionist and veterinary professions. Following her PhD, Katie is leading an initiative to set up an accreditation scheme for equine feed advisers and nutritionists under the auspices of the British Equestrian Trade Association and is working on further post-doctoral research including evaluating the provision of nutrition training in the veterinary curriculum. Katie’s areas of research interest also include peri-operative nutrition and fiber as an energy source for the athletic horse.
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. Periodicals postage paid at Jefferson City, MO, and additional mailing offices.
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Send address changes to Trainer Magazine, Anderson & Co Publishing, PO Box 13248, Lexington, KY 40583-3248.
08 All in the Family
Jennifer Kelly profiles the Chicago native Larry Rivelli, a third-generation horseman where lessons learned by his grandfather’s and uncle’s sides have informed his approach to his work and his relationships with owners as he takes his career to a new level.
22 Fuelling the racehorse – time for a paradigm shift
Dr Katie Williams explains how early research results are showing that more fiber and less starch doesn’t necessarily equal a reduced performance for the equine athlete.
30 State Incentives 2025
Ken Snyder provides our annual guide to the different incentives for owners and breeders across North America.
48 Staying close to home
Jennifer Kelly profiles Cynthia McKee with her homebred Fiber Sonde - Holy Pow Wow horses while giving her late husband his due credit for what they built together.
56 Spirulina – new research available!
Jackie Bellamy-Zions interviews Wendy
Pearson and Dr. Nadia Golestani on how Spirulina could offer a promising tool for promoting health and performance in horses.
62 Graded stakes winning owners
Bill Heller profiles the back stories behind owners who enjoyed Stakes success with; Coal Battle (Smarty Jones St), Guns Loaded (Mucho Macho Man St), Cyclone State (Jerome St), Raging Torrent (Malibu St).
70 Suppressing unwanted hormonal behaviors
Kate Dugher gives a veterinary perspective on dealing with hormonal behaviors in breeding stock.
76 There’s more to it than meets the eye
Adam Jackson MRCVS helps us understand the workings of the equine eye and why it is so important to be aware of different eye conditions.
82 The new boys in PA
Cindy Deubler looks at the new stallions coming to the Keystone State.
88 The LA fires
Ken Snyder looks at the role Santa Anita played in supporting those affected by the devastating Los Angeles fires.
06 View from the CTT Alan Balch – In search of...
94 #Soundbites
Bill Heller asks “What advice have you given or would you give your assistant, if he or she decides to go out on his or her own?”
I’ve always thought racing is the world’s greatest sport for many reasons, chief among them the fact that human and animal are united in an athletic contest that mirrors and condenses “real life” in every single race.
The struggle to compete, and to win, with the outcome unknowable in advance. Potentially accessible to and witnessed (and participated in) by the entire range of humanity, from most to least exalted, almost all of which can bet on the outcome. With the resulting winners and losers. And all the possible ramifications of that, financial and otherwise.
Add to that the track’s abundant social life, especially on race days, the beauty and majesty of horses and so many of racing’s settings, not to mention the sport’s sheer entertainment value … it’s hard to believe that it’s struggling to survive in much of America.
Particularly California.
How can this be so? I’m searching for answers. Reasons. And outcomes? Every individual race, after all, presents the same challenge, a search—in microcosm. All of us should also be searching for solutions to the serious problems our sport faces, if it is to endure. Let alone prosper. In this vein, there could be no greater tribute to the late, esteemed, and highly accomplished Ed Bowen, than finally to act with sincerity on his 1991 plea, if it isn’t already too late … that “leadership by narrow vision should be replaced by a sense of common goals.” Nearly thirty-five years ago, in a very important sense, he predicted what has now befallen us, particularly in the Golden State, owing to a pronounced failure to reject the “narrow vision” of our sport’s leadership. Especially since that deficient, occluded vision has now metastasized, with very predictable results.
There can be little doubt than an utter failure to embrace effective strategic planning (including “a sense of common goals” among all of the sport’s interdependent parts) has led California racing to the precipice. Are other major jurisdictions, such as Florida, far behind?
It didn’t have to be this way. In the early 1980s, California and particularly Santa Anita racing were on the crest of a dynamic wave of strong, even recordbreaking business, powered by investments in marketing, management, and new technology. The public companies which owned California’s major tracks were future-oriented. I vividly remember Robert Strub leading lengthy discussions among what have become known as racing’s “stakeholders,” including owner/trainer representation of course, and legislators, to assess our weaknesses and the potential future threats to our success. As a member of Santa Anita’s management myself at the time, I knew first-hand the projected value of our 440 acres; we sought to inspire and elaborate a business plan that would protect the future of racing while at the same time carefully developing the property from its perimeter inward, with training and stabling to be increasingly located elsewhere, principally at Pomona’s protected county property.
The details, plausibility, and ultimate strategic viability of any ancient planning are not what’s important now, in California or elsewhere. What is important is the “sense of common goals” we had then, as opposed to the “narrow vision” which continues to afflict us now, and even threatens our once-vibrant communities in California and Florida particularly.
The Strubs of Santa Anita—Dr. Charles Strub and his son Bob—were known above all else for their unflinching and rock-solid integrity. Some of their positions and
initiatives were unpopular, but they were never shy about expressing the reasons for them, and sharing those reasons and their vision with their interdependent partners in the sport, while always considering counterpoints. Above all, they taught the gospel that Bowen espoused: “The approach that, Without us, there would be no game, stands in the way of progress. It is a simplistic approach, blinkered on both sides, for it is so self-evident in every case that it hardly bears repeating.”
However, that very simplistic and blinkered approach Bowen cited decades ago, wherein track ownership makes decisions in a vacuum, then dictates to everyone else, whether legislators, regulators, owners, trainers, breeders, jockeys, fans, or media, is what has brought us to the edge. Along with their well-documented failures to honor commitments, conflicting and even rival statements from within the same company management, and a revolving door of inexperienced and inexpert “leaders.” Do all successful businesses “win” because they see the future so well, better than their competitors? Consider that the particularly difficult enterprise of racing, in all its aspects, especially risk, is essentially future-oriented—it begins with breeding race horses, with the annual foal crop. That fact alone requires knowledgeable track ownerships to comprehend where racing is headed many years in advance, based on objective evidence. And it mandates sophisticated guidance to tracks by breeders, trainers, and owners, whose own interdependent businesses require understanding of critical trends, that may not be readily apparent to others. Especially to any track owner who chooses to operate and make decisions about their racing enterprises in a vacuum, rather than with an objective, truly experienced strategic team.
When track ownership is apparently immune to the true interests of the human and equine populations on whose backs their profits have been generated … when its highly compensated managers and representatives either pretend to listen to other viewpoints or don’t even try … is it any wonder that all the rest of us are left to search the skies for the answers we seek, or possibly even divine intervention?
In an era of super trainers with even larger owners behind them, the sport of horse racing still has at its foundation a legion of owners and trainers who operate on a smaller scale but nonetheless make big news on the racetrack. These are the men and women who have built their lives around the equine athletes in their care, their knowledge passed down through generations, supporting racetracks at all levels. These are breeders, owners, trainers, and many more who think of themselves as a family, one bonded by the love of horses.
For Larry Rivelli, a third-generation horseman, family is at the heart of his barn. Lessons learned by his grandfather’s and uncle’s sides have informed his approach to his work and his relationships with owners as he takes his career to a new level.
A Chicago native, Rivelli comes by his horsemanship honestly: his late grandfather Pete and uncle Jimmy DiVito both made their livelihoods in the sport. Pete made his life with horses, preferring his education on the track rather than in a schoolroom as early as 5th grade. He galloped horses for Bing Crosby, worked with horses during his stint in the Army, and
then returned to racing in Chicago and California afterward. He trained for Louis B. Mayer, Harry James and Betty Grable, and Lindsay Howard, son of Charles Howard, owner of the famed Seabiscuit. He returned to Chicago for good in the 1960s and spent the rest of his career there.
Son Jimmy followed him into the business as well, his home base also in Chicago. Alongside both worked Larry Rivelli, son of Pete’s daughter Julie and Jimmy’s nephew. While his mother worked, “I stayed with my grandparents a lot. And it was just racing forms and programs on the kitchen table every day. I would read them. My grandfather would read them. We would just go back to the track. The track was eight minutes from the house.”
DiVito put his grandson to work cleaning stalls when he was nine or ten years old; later, he worked with his uncle Jimmy during school breaks, both giving Rivelli opportunities to learn the skills that would serve him when he went out on his own. The young Rivelli always had athletic ambitions at heart – “I either wanted to be a professional football player or a horse trainer,” –leading the state in rushing in his junior and senior years of high school before going on to St. Cloud State University in Minnesota. There, he played wide receiver and kick returner for the Huskies, and after graduation, found his opportunities at the next level were limited. Instead, he turned to the family business.
“ [ Training ] was always just something that I really was enamored with as a little kid. That’s what I really wanted to do, train racehorses, and I think that’s why I’ve been so successful,” Rivelli shared. “It’s just not even a job to me. Being a horse trainer, it’s just a way of life. You either got to love it or you’re not going to be able to do it. You have to have a passion for it.”
With his mother Julie and stepdad Victor in his corner, Rivelli went out on his own as a public trainer, taking out his license in 1999, the year after his grandfather died. He made Chicago his base, staying close to home while building his business and his family.
On the home front, Rivelli has daughter Brittany, a competitive synchronized skater, and son Dominic, a collegiate hockey player, continuing the family’s athletic tradition.
His foundation made the transition from football to training an easy one, a natural progression for a young man who grew up idolizing his famed grandfather and uncle.
Rivelli’s background as a football player and his emphasis on family has inspired his approach to training since he hung out his shingle as a public trainer 25 years ago. His experience as an athlete has cultivated an awareness of the relationship between how a horse feels physically and how they will perform on the racetrack. While such a correlation might seem obvious, first-hand understanding of that dynamic helped Rivelli manage his equine athletes in a manner that emphasizes both fitness and work ethic in his starters.
“If you’ve been an athlete, you’ve dealt with injuries and setbacks and therapy differently than people that, let’s just say, never played a sport,” Rivelli shared. “It’s a sport, and horses get hurt. They want to try to work through these injuries where horses are so much bigger and heavier than humans. And they’re putting all that pressure on about the size of our legs. So, if something goes wrong, I take steps back and time heals everything most of the time.”
Dr. Jean White, an Ocala, Florida veterinarian and part of the Rivelli team, describes the trainer’s approach as one where “he would rather do less and have the horse want to do more. If he doesn’t think the horse can win, he doesn’t want to run it. If it needs rest, let it rest. If it needs its feet fixed, fix them. If it needs us to evaluate it and figure out why, then do that.”
“It’s just like a human being. People go to the gym and absolutely kill themselves every day, and then they don’t feel so great,” she observed. “It’s a different style. It’s a different thought process, a different mentality.”
That emphasis on fitness means the trainer is “a four to six weeks [ between races] guy. Occasionally or situationally, you’ll have something come up sooner.”
“Back in the day [2002-2006 ], I had a turf sprinter, Nicole’s Dream, and she was really, really good,” Rivelli remembered. “They had a boys race and a girls race in Chicago, and they were separated by a week. There was no other races on the planet for her for three and a half months, so I ran her back. And she won. She was an extremely sound horse, too, so it made that decision easier.”
The native Chicagoan prefers to run his horses in winnable spots so that they are not asked to give too much over and over again: “I take pride in running most of my horses. I’m a bad loser, so I won’t run one if I don’t think they can win, really. I’ll take as much time as we need to get them to that point. We’ll even stop on them and back off and send them home and turn them out and bring them back. If something’s not going right during the process instead of getting ready, we’re just going to stop. Horses, they only got so many races in them.”
Instead, the trainer prefers to give a horse time off and only bring them back “when they’re 100% and ready to go. And that’s why he has horses that run ‘til they’re eight,” White shared. “They’re wanting to train, wanting to run.”
Vincent Foglia of Patricia’s Hope, one of Rivelli’s biggest owners, points out what he sees is behind the trainer’s success: “He does the same thing every day, seven days a week. He’s got that set list. He’s always looking at that big sheet. He’s always writing down who’s going to be walking, who’s going to be galloping, who’s breezing. It’s like clockwork. His consistency, the amount of time he puts into it, is very regimented. Very consistent and meticulous. That’s his approach. That’s great. And he always does what’s right by the horse every time. That’s first and foremost.”
That emphasis on consistency and care has helped the thirdgeneration trainer build a solid career in his native racing scene. In 2000, his first full season, Rivelli’s barn had 57 starts and an 8-7-9 record, for 14% win and 42% win-place-show percentages; in 2024, his 25th season, he had 279 starts and a record of 89-4526, for 25% win and 50% WPS percentages. Nationally, Rivelli has been in the Top 50 by wins in 12 out of the last 15 years. His career win percentage of 26% and WPS of 56% reflects his ability to put his horses in the right spots for success. To this point in his career, much of that has been in the Chicago area.
He won his first training title at Arlington Park in 2011, and then was the track’s leading trainer from 2014 to its final season in 2021. Rivelli then shifted his stable to Hawthorne, the lone racetrack remaining in the Chicago area, and won leading trainer titles there for their 2021-2023 spring meets. This native son emphasizes his roots, saying “I’ll still consider myself a Chicago trainer [even] if there are no tracks in Illinois.”
For his winter racing, Rivelli has horses stabled in a private barn at Fair Grounds in New Orleans, one he purchased from former owner Louis Roussel, an acquisition that signaled his intent to make a long-term investment in Louisiana. “The state is thriving as far as races. They got four tracks in the state, and they’re all doing their thing,” Rivelli shared. In addition, he has horses at Turfway Park near Cincinnati and then shifts back to
his home base at Hawthorne the rest of the year. In addition to being on home turf there, the track’s proximity works in his favor as “it’s easier on the help and on yourself,” plus “I [can] ship to Churchill, which is four hours. To ship to Keeneland is three and a half hours, three hours to Indiana. So, all these tracks around us, it’s not a big deal to ship. You ship over a couple of days before or a week before. I like the fact that the horses are all under one roof.”
Staying in this area also helps Rivelli maintain the relationships that he has built with owners like Patricia’s Hope and Richard Ravin, both of whom found ample success at the Windy City’s racetracks. The bonds the trainer has formed with those two owners exemplify his approach to doing business: keeping it all in the family.
Two ownership mainstays in the Rivelli barn include Richard Ravin and the Foglia family, the Chicago-area entrepreneursturned-philanthropists behind the Patricia’s Hope stable. Ravin’s investment in the sport includes both his current racing-age horses in Rivelli’s barn and the broodmares that Dr. White keeps on one of her Ocala-area properties. Both owners have been with Rivelli for more than a decade and count the trainer as more than just a partner in the sport. They are a team, and as the trainer puts it, “these are my guys, and they know that. It’s very rare that you have people like that that are in the game with you, and they are happier for you when we win than they are for themselves.”
An Ohio native who settled in the Chicago area in the 1960s, Ravin retired from the insurance business and got into horse ownership after a chance encounter with a friend who had bought into Nicole’s Dream, one of Rivelli’s earliest successes. Ravin partnered with Dare to Dream Stable in the sprinter and then expanded into breeding as well. He met Rivelli through “the four or five guys that we got together as a horse ownership
group, and they’re the ones that picked him. I didn’t know him. I got to know Larry since we had the Nicole’s Dream and a couple others when we made a couple of purchases early on, back in 2000, 2001. And I’ve been together with Larry ever since.”
The Foglia family got into the ownership game after years of trips to Arlington that became bonding moments for mother Patricia and son Vincent, Jr. Father Vincent founded Sage Products, Inc., a medical supply company in Cary, Illinois. The company’s prosperity allowed the family to start the Foglia Family Foundation, which supports health care and education in the Chicago area. The younger Foglia wanted to expand their love of the sport into ownership in 2010. They met Rivelli when they wanted to claim a horse and immediately hit it off: “I knew he was winning most of the races at Arlington. That was it. I knew nothing. I got a quick introduction to him on the phone because we were going to claim a horse at Gulfstream. We just hit it off. We have similar backgrounds and are real close in age and became friends really quickly,” Foglia remembered.
“He is like my brother that I never had. We are like two very similar people as far as just the way we are and ended up just being a great partnership and an even better friendship,” the trainer shared. That friendship led to a partnership that dominated at Arlington Park. While Rivelli was leading trainer for much of the track’s final decade, Patricia’s Hope was the leading owner. Rivelli also introduced the Foglias to Ravin, which led to the trainer and owners forging a solid partnership behind horses like Gr.3 stakes winner Jean Elizabeth and Gr.2 turf sprinter One Timer.
Patricia’s Hope also has brought Rivelli Breeders’ Cup success. Their Cocked and Loaded was the trainer’s first Breeders’ Cup starter at Keeneland in 2015, and turf sprinter Nobals gave both their first Breeders’ Cup winner with his neck victory over Big Invasion in the Gr.1 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Santa Anita in 2023. The Foglias were also partners in Two Phil’s, second in the 2023 Kentucky Derby behind Mage. They bought into the colt, who became both the trainer’s and the owners’ first Derby starter, on Rivelli’s recommendation.
“I’m tight with Larry. I’m his biggest investor. I’m his biggest owner. And we’re very good friends,” Foglia shared. “The Sagans, who owned [ Two Phil’s], they were trying to sell that horse from the sale on out. They wanted the money. I’m like, should I go in?
He [ Rivelli] goes, ‘Absolutely.’ I said, I’ll take as much as I could get. I ended up getting 80%.”
That trust is at the heart of Rivelli’s relationship with his owners. As Ravin puts it, “First of all, he’s a very loyal guy and he just totally exemplifies honesty, integrity, and character. Those are the type of people I really want to be associated with. When you got a person like Larry, it then becomes a friendship, even more so than the partnership.” The Foglias echo that sentiment, the younger Vincent sharing that the trainer “always tells the truth. He’s always working hard, and he does right by the horse, and he’s honest about everything.”
That honesty translates into a trust that makes the relationship between Rivelli, Ravin, the Foglias, and Dr. White a collaborative effort where “there is plenty of room between the owners and the two of us for somebody to raise their hand and go, ‘Wait. What are we doing? Wait a second.’” White observed. “That is allowed. Every once in a while, somebody goes, ‘yeah, we need to look at the situation differently.’”
In the end, what each appreciates about working with team Rivelli is “the friendship, the team working together, being honest and direct, being upfront, it’s just a tremendous experience,” Ravin shared. “My wife threw a very special 80th birthday party for me down here last year. And there was Larry flying from Chicago, coming down and being there as a surprise. So that’s the person, that’s the relationship, and that’s as good as I can give an example of what a quality person he is.”
Rivelli echoes those sentiments whenever he talks about owners like Ravin and the Foglias. “I’m so fortunate right now that the people that I have, my main owners, I can literally say, I love these people,” the trainer shared. “These are my people. If they said tomorrow we quit, I’d say, ‘All right, where are we going for breakfast?’ These are my guys. And they know that, and I know that. And it’s very rare that you have people like that that are in the game with you, and they are happier for you when we win than they are for themselves. Like me, I’m so happy for my guys, like for Vinnie and his mom and Richard Ravin and when they win, than I am for myself.”
So much of the success a trainer builds over the course of their career depends on the relationships they cultivate with racetrack officials, jockeys, vets, and most of all, owners. As Dr. White shared, the dynamic between Rivelli and his owners can best be summed up with “Vinnie would just [say], ‘okay, whatever you want to do, whatever you think is best, Riv. That’s what we’re going to do.’”
That kind of trust, especially when Arlington closed leaving them without the site of much of their early success, led to a rethinking of their business model and one of Rivelli’s highest profile horses to date.
Rivelli and team may have dominated Arlington’s last decade, but the track’s closure meant Patricia’s Hope, Richard Ravin, and their trainer needed to rethink their approaches to racing going forward. While they have found success after shifting to Hawthorne, they have changed the type of horses they want in their barn. “The game plan for the owners and myself has changed. Whether we’re at Hawthorne or Turfway or Fair Grounds, that’s really not important. It’s all just a matter of what’s running,” the trainer observed. “Focusing our efforts on buying more expensive horses, so to say, or better horses instead of filling the barn with the 20s, 30s, 8s, 12s, because you wanted to have one for each spot. Now we’re looking for the best horses we can get all the time.”
That shift to quality over quantity means a multi-layered approach to acquiring horses, mostly through either private purchases or through sales like the Ocala Breeders’ Sales TwoYear-Olds-in-Training Sale. “Our thing is we really do a little bit of everything,” Rivell shared. “There’s no method to this. There’s no foolproof approach. If we just go to the sale every year, the two-year-old sales, we’re going to get couple, of course. I bought One Timer, who has made over a million dollars, as a yearling for $21,000 on the way out of a sale just walking out. I thought I had a big budget that year. I spent a lot of money. That was the cheapest horse I bought. He was little. He’s put together good, and I liked him. He looked like he would be fast. He grew up into this beauty, and he’s woin over a million dollars. He’s just a real nice racehorse.”
Nobals, on the other hand, “we bought him after he ran, so he was a proven horse.” Rivelli purchased the gelding by Noble Mission out of the Empire Maker mare Pearly Blue for $150,000 from owner/trainer Leland Hayes. “And then at the [2022 OBS ] two-year-olds in training sale we saw Two Phil’s. The breeder gave him to me, said he wants to sell the horse. Patricia’s Hope [the Foglia family] bought the piece that the guy wanted to sell.”
Add in Richard Ravin’s broodmares as well as Two Phil’s now standing at stud, Rivelli and company also “breed a few. [ Vinnie] will be breeding a couple because he stayed in for a percentage on Two Phil’s. So, we’re going to have a lot of action. And you never know where it’s going to come from.”
This new focus brought Rivelli his three most successful seasons to date, including 2023, with $4.9 million in earnings and a win percentage of 31%. “It’s just a coincidence, but it’s funny. The first year we decided to change the motto was the
year we won the Breeders’ Cup [with Nobals] and almost won the Derby [with Two Phil’s],” he shared. “We couldn’t make a wrong move that year at all. It was great.”
As his highest profile horses to date, One Timer, Two Phil’s, and Nobals are the best illustrations of the trainer’s approach to buying, preparing, and racing his horses. All three were acquired in different ways, each catching Rivelli’s attention based on their physical appearance or performance; Nobals’s lone start at Presque Isle at age two prompted Rivelli to pursue buying the gelding. After acquiring the talent comes planning a campaign. Even if the trainer envisions a specific goal for a horse, like the Kentucky Derby or the Breeders’ Cup, he still approaches the season start by start.
Nobals was already a stakes winner prior to his 2023 Breeders’ Cup win, taking the listed Arlington-Washington Futurity at age two and following that with two black-type stakes wins at Turfway at age three, all on synthetic. Rivelli also tested him on turf: his first win at age four came in the Gr.2 Twin Spires Turf Sprint on the Kentucky Derby undercard at Churchill Downs, a three-quarter-length victory that had Rivelli circling the Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita on his calendar. To get there, the gelding went to Horseshoe Indianapolis and won the William Garrett Handicap; to Saratoga, where he was second to Cogburn in the Gr.3 Troy; and then to Colonial Downs for the Da Hoss, which he won by a head, before his trip out west to Santa Anita. Each start was about four weeks apart with eight weeks between the Da Hoss and his win in the Turf Sprint. With Nobals returning for his six-year-old season, Rivelli knows his sprinting star has fewer options if he wants to build toward a second try at the Breeders’ Cup: “For Nobals, for those type of individuals, there are less select races for a five-eighths turf specialist and sprinter. Wherever they’re at, you got to go to.”
When Two Phil’s (Hard Spun – Mia Torri, by General Quarters) landed in his barn in 2022, Rivelli was not thinking about the Kentucky Derby trail until his Gr.3 Street Sense win over a sloppy Churchill Downs surface, his third win in five starts at age two. That 5¼-length win came around two turns, the colt’s second try at 1 1/16 miles after finishing out of the money in the Gr.1 Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland. After that, “we took a little closer order on what races we were going to run him in and stuff like that,” the trainer remembered. “Now, if he had run a third in that race, maybe I wouldn’t have gone the route I went, but he won pretty convincingly.”
Trying for the first Saturday in May “always is in the back of your mind, but when you don’t have the opportunity or you don’t have those type of horses all the time, it’s hard,” Rivelli observed.
“I’ve had one or maybe two. It’s because I know what it takes to have those horses. I could have taken several horses that I’ve made hundreds of thousands of dollars with by running them in other races besides those races and try to qualify for the Derby, but I knew they weren’t good enough, even though other people or other trainers might have gone down that road just for the fact to go down it.”
The Street Sense win showed Rivelli and the partnership, including Patricia’s Hope, that the colt had the potential for a try at the Run for the Roses. To get there, the trainer sent his colt to Fair Grounds, where he was third behind Angel of Empire in the Gr.3 Lecomte that January and then second behind Instant Coffee in the Gr.2 Risen Star four weeks later. Rivelli then sent
his colt to Turfway for the Gr.3 Jeff Ruby Steaks, which Two Phil’s won by 5¼ lengths. Six weeks later, Rivelli was on the backside of Churchill Downs with a serious Derby contender and a barrage of media seeking out the chestnut colt and his Windy City connections.
Two Phil’s and regular rider Jareth Loveberry, another Arlington refugee, entered the gate on the first Saturday of May as one of the four horses with single digit odds, fourth choice behind Angel of Empire, Tapit Trice, and Japanese hopeful Derma Sotogake. Loveberry stalked the pace set by Verifying and Kingsbarns through the first mile and then edged clear by 1½ lengths with three furlongs to go. Mage mounted his bid on their outside, building enough momentum to pass Two Phil’s in the final furlong. Though they were not victorious, “the overall day, with the Derby and with Nobals winning the half milliondollar race, that was probably the best day,” Rivelli shared.
The trainer then broke with tradition and opted not to send Two Phil’s to Pimlico for the Gr.1 Preakness Stakes two weeks later. “We ran in the Derby, ran in the biggest, the baddest race in the planet, and we almost won,” Rivelli reflected. “What do you do now? Okay, that’s done. Horse is doing great. Let’s find spots where we can’t lose. Not what we can maybe win, where we can’t lose.”
That choice to skip the Preakness reflects this veteran trainer’s philosophy about both spotting his horses and timing their starts. The two-week turnaround makes the two races “too close, especially that caliber of race. I know they’ve been talking about backing it up, which I think would be a good thing.”
Instead, Rivelli chose to follow up Two Phil’s second-place turn at Churchill Downs with a jaunt to Thistledown for the Gr.3 Ohio Derby six weeks later. “There’s only so many times he’s going to ask a horse to give a hundred percent of its effort,” Dr. White shared. “He’s much more likely to ship to some other racetracks away from the crowd and ask them to run to 70% or 80% of their potential and leave that 100% for a spot here or there.” The nine-furlong stakes was another tour-de-force performance from the son of Hard Spun. Once again, he laid just off the pace, took over in the stretch, and finished strong, beating second-choice Bishops Bay by 5¾ lengths.
BELOW: Two Phil’s finished a close second to Mage in the 2023 Kentucky Derby for Larry Rivelli which was both his and the owners’ first Derby starter.
“He was spectacular that day. We were so glad to see that he was back, and we was really looking forward to what he was going to do next,” Rivelli remembered. “We were all high fiving on the plane, drinking, partying on the way back. And then the next day, it’s like, ‘Oh, my gosh.’ Hit right in the gut.”
After his Ohio Derby win, the colt started showing lameness in his left front ankle. Radiographs showed that the issue was a fractured sesamoid. The injury was not life-threatening, but it was career-ending. Two Phil’s was retired with a 10-5-2-1 record and $1,583,450 in earnings. He now stands stud at WinStar Farm, with both Rivelli and the Foglias retaining shares.
The veteran trainer was realistic about Two Phil’s injury and retirement. “The prognosis is generally not very good. His was not that bad, but it wasn’t insignificant. If you gave him a year off, he probably could be fine, or you could go back to training him,” Rivelli observed. “Me, like I said, being an athlete, knowing this stuff, you could be fine, but you’re going to lose a step or two or three. What will be the point? What does he need to prove? He doesn’t owe us anything. You always want to do right by the horse.”
With 65 to 70 horses and 30 employees in his barns, with a closeknit group of owners and team that have helped take him to a new level, Larry Rivelli is ready for 2025 and beyond.
For this Chicago native, the name of the game is adapting. “Life throws stuff at you. You got to adapt anyway. And that’s the key to it is, if you can keep adapting, you’re on good footing,” Rivelli shared. “It’s like coaching a football team. You got to keep the players healthy as you can for as long as you can. Meanwhile, trying to win races and be in the right spots where you’re not going to run fifth, sixth, eighth, and put miles on your horse and not make your owner money.”
With racing in his hometown down to one racetrack, this native son hopes that Hawthorne will add a casino to its facility, which will help keep the sport afloat in Illinois as such additions have elsewhere. In the meantime, his fellow Chicagoans Richard Ravin and the Foglia family will be along for the ride with complete trust in the man caring for their horses.
“I have never thought about calling, watching, doing, or anything else with anybody except Larry,” Ravin shared. The retired insurance executive cites his trainer’s best advice about racing – having patience – as the foundation behind his confidence: “If we’re patient and care
about our horses, I think we’ll be rewarded both for doing the right thing because it’s the right thing to do, and we’ll be rewarded by getting the wins that we need to get to make it a viable operation.”
Vincent Foglia, Jr. received similar advice from Rivelli: “Don’t get too excited about one start. Don’t try to rush anything. Do what you think the horse can do. Stay within your limitations of the horse you have and its ability. Relax.” That perspective got the Foglias within a length of a Kentucky Derby. It is an experience that the family behind Patricia’s Hope would be willing to repeat, and they “would only do it with Rivelli. I’ve had people who want me to go in with them on other horses, and I will say, ‘Sure, but who do you want to train?’ Anyone that says different from Riv, I say, ‘I’m out.’”
THE QUEEN ANNE STAKES (1m) STRAIGHT | £750,000
THE KING CHARLES III STAKES ( FORMERLY THE KING’S STAND STAKES) (5f ) | £650,000
THE ST JAMES’S PALACE STAKES (1m) ROUND | £650,000
THE PRINCE OF WALES’S STAKES (1m 2f ) | £1,000,000
THE GOLD CUP (2m 4f ) | £650,000
THE COMMONWEALTH CUP (6f ) | £650,000
THE CORONATION STAKES (1m) ROUND | £650,000
THE QUEEN ELIZABETH II JUBILEE STAKES (6f ) | £1,000,000
For
The trainer’s 2025 does include another possible Derby contender, Murdock (Vekoma-Saucy At Midnight, by Midnight Lute), owned by Carolyn Wilson. “He won first time out by 10. He ran in one of the first two-year-old races of the year in Chicago. And he won like I thought he would,” Rivelli shared. “And then he had a couple of setbacks, and then he had a testicle up in his stomach, and we had to operate. Then he had something wrong with his foot. But he’s a serious horse.”
The year also includes another potential Breeders’ Cup campaign for Nobals, and for One Timer, the new year brings a possible return to Kentucky Downs, the site of his Gr.2 Franklin-Simpson victory and a track that the gelding has run well over.
“He [ Nobals] can run in the race because he’s won the Breeders’ Cup, and he’s a Gr.1 winner, so he probably will get in as long as I spot his races. I probably would either turn him out for a little bit, but he was lightly raced last year, and he’s doing really good. I don’t think I want to campaign him from now all the way to the Breeders’ Cup. That would be one whole year of training,” Rivelli shared.
“One Timer, I’ll probably keep him on the Polytrack and then run him in a Churchill or Ellis race, places like that,” the trainer said. “He’s a little different horse to train, a little different horse to keep going. So, when he’s going good, we’re going to keep him in action.”
As for goals in this new year, short and long, Larry Rivelli is a realist. “Short-term goals is to wake up tomorrow,” the native Chicagoan laughed. “If you start making too many long-term plans in this game, I think it ends up biting you in the ass because you push yourself. It’s like, okay, I got the next three races for this horse, and then tomorrow something happens.”
“The owners I have are great. They’re not sweating, saying ‘we got to run.’ They let me do my thing, which is great. And I think that’s why we’ve been so successful,” he shared. “It’s just a pretty
good team. And my help, the people that work for me. Obviously, none of this would happen if I didn’t have them.”
On race days big and small, his grandfather is never far from his thoughts, especially when Rivelli is getting his picture taken in the winner’s circle. “When I point, is actually I’m pointing to my grandfather,” this third-generation horseman shared. “I used to point up in the sky to him. That’s back at him.”
For Larry Rivelli, racing is all about family, both blood and chosen, and the trust in each other that brings the successes they have all enjoyed. And he would not have it any other way
What does it take for received wisdom to be overturned and new approaches adopted? Revelatory research findings? Social demand for change? Both could actually result in a change to the way racehorses are fed today as welfare and sustainability in equestrian sport are increasingly scrutinized and researchers find ways to feed and manage horses more sympathetically and sustainably.
WORDS: DR. KATIE WILLIAMS PHOTOGRAPHY: ADOBE STOCK, DENGIE HORSE FEEDS, GALOPPFOTO.DE, GERRY WEATHERHEAD, SHUTTERSTOCK
Studies suggest the replacement of a significant proportion of oats with alfalfa had no detrimental effects on performance or muscle tone.
The horse is a herbivore and as soon as we prevent them eating as they have evolved to do, there are repercussions for their health and well-being. The increasing frequency with which ulcers are being diagnosed may account for why the recommendations for the minimal amount of forage a horse requires has increased in recent years. Rendle et al. (2020) cite 1.5% of bodyweight on a dry matter basis which is the level most equine nutritionists would advocate for the long-term health of the horse.
The glandular region of the horse’s stomach contains glands that secrete hydrochloric acid, pepsin, bicarbonate and mucus. The stomach secretes acid continuously; as the horse is a trickle feeder it has evolved to do so continuously and it is important to note that this process continues even when the horse isn’t eating. This is why periods of more than 6 hours without access to forage are a risk factor for ulcers. The volume of secretion has been shown to be around 1.5l of gastric juice per hour although this does vary at different times during the day. Consuming too little fiber and eating materials that are high in starch, means acidity levels increase in the stomach. This not only increases the risk of ulcers but also changes the environment in the stomach sufficiently to impact the microbes that live there. Microbial dysbiosis in the stomach is increasingly being linked to an increased risk of gastric disease, particularly in the glandular region which is now recognized as an inflammatory disease rather than an ulcerative one.
There are other potential health issues to consider too. It has been shown in trials in mice for example, that a low fiber diet increases the permeability of the gut – a phenomenon known as leaky-gut syndrome. When fiber is fermented in the hind gut, one of the volatile fatty acids produced is butyrate and this is the energy used by the colonocytes (gut cells) themselves.
Insufficient fiber and therefore butyrate, can compromise the health of the cells creating bigger gaps between them which allows contents of the gut that shouldn’t pass through, to do so. The racehorse is repeatedly exposed to new and different environments when travelling to different racecourses and encounters pathogens they might have no previous immunity to. Their reduced defensive barriers in the gut mean they are more vulnerable to these pathogens which can result in digestive upsets.
Researchers at the Lab to Field research center in Dijon, France believe so. In work funded by the French government and published in Frontiers in Physiology, they found that Standardbred horses in training fed a third of their total ration as alfalfa with just 7% oats, performed comparably with those fed 33% oats (the remainder of the diet was hay). The horses were monitored over an 8 week period rather than just in a one-off standardized exercise test (SET). The replacement of a significant proportion of oats with alfalfa had no detrimental effects on performance or muscle tone and in fact, altered energy metabolism in such a way as to potentially improve performance and recovery the authors suggest (Martin et al., 2023). Studies back in the early 2000s (Nadeua et al, 2000; Lybbert et al, 2007) showed that alfalfa was more beneficial for horses with ulcers compared to grass forages because it helps counter the increased acidity that occurs when feeding cereals. This latest study suggests that alfalfa can actually replace a significant proportion of the cereals as an energy source too.
Forage provides energy from the fiber it contains.
The pulp fed to horses is actually really low in sugar –less than 5% assuming no molasses has been added back in. This is because the sugar has been extracted for use in the human food industry and the fibrous pulp is used for animal feed.
Alfalfa has really deep roots – about 3 to 4 meters – and the calcium at this depth in the soil is more available for absorption. This means that alfalfa plants can take up more calcium than grass – chopped alfalfa contains between 30 - 50% more calcium than grass forages. Early studies suggest that omeprazole is reducing calcium absorption in the horse as is seen in humans and in Swanhall et al’s (2018) study, they recommend using bio-available calcium sources in the diet to help counteract this effect. Plant based sources of calcium such as alfalfa are much easier for the horse to absorb than inorganic sources such as limestone flour.
Like other plants alfalfa makes sugar when photosynthesizing but it stores any surplus sugar as starch in its roots – the part that horses don’t eat! Grass plants tend to store sugar as fructan in leaves and the stem which is why they supply the horse with more sugar.
The horse is a trickle feeder and has evolved to feed continuously, so it is important to mimic these behaviors within training regimes.
The prevalence of gastric ulcers means it is an issue that needs to be addressed especially when viewed in the context of equine welfare in sport. Two recent studies have again shown how alfalfa has a key role to play in this regard too. The Lab to Field research group demonstrated that clinical success with horses with EGGD was 47.7 times more likely in horses fed alfalfa pellets as part of their ration compared to those on concentrate only rations (Julliand et al., 2023).
In addition, a study published in 2024 showed that a combination of alfalfa, sugar beet and cereal fiber fed alongside the existing ration, aided the reduction in recurrence of gastric ulcers when fed during the healing and post-medication periods. This is key for when ulcer medication is stopped and the recognized rebound increase in acid production can occur (Menzies-Gow and Shurlock, 2024).
A key point from these studies is that the quality of fiber matters. Alfalfa and sugar beet both contain higher proportions of digestible fiber such as pectin and hemi-cellulose, rather than indigestible fibrous elements such as lignin. This means they aren’t sitting in the gut for so long but they are being digested and utilized as an energy source. If fed in chopped forms they
help to increase the amount of chewing the horse does and more chew time might actually be a relatively simple step in the right direction from a welfare perspective. The pros and cons of turning out racehorses have been widely debated but for those where it isn’t (currently) practical, it is surely a positive action to at least provide the horse with high fiber materials to eat when stabled, especially when it isn’t having a negative impact on their performance.
Remember that grass-based forages contain sugar, both simple sugar (glucose, fructose etc) and as water soluble carbohydrates or storage sugars (fructan). 22lbs / 10kgs of hay can provide around 2.2lbs / 1kg of simple sugar and in the region of 4.5-5.5lbs / 2-2.5 kgs of storage sugar. This supplies around 20% of the energy required by a 1100 lb / 500kg horse in intense training. Additionally, forage provides energy from the fiber it contains and so overall, including the contribution from sugar, 22lbs / 10kgs of hay would supply around 60-70% of the horse’s energy needs depending on the quality of the forage.
ACID g/kg (product of fermentation and indicator of acidity)
*data from Dengie customer forage analysis records, the rest from Muller and Uden, 2007
Earlier cut forages tend to be more digestible and therefore supply more energy. These tend to be the wrapped forages in the wetter and colder states and provinces as there just aren’t long enough periods of dry weather to make good hay very often. Why is this significant? The way forages are conserved has changed over the years so now, a more accurate description of many forages previously defined as haylages, would be ‘wrapped hay’ as they are often very dry which has meant that little or no fermentation has occurred. This means the levels of acidity are no different to a normal hay which can be seen from the analysis results in table 1. Using lactic acid levels as a marker of acidity levels shows that most of the wrapped forages analyzed are too dry for fermentation to occur and so the level of acidity is no different to hay.
Concern about using a true haylage for horses with ulcers relates to the increased acidity from the fermentation that occurs. Clearly this doesn’t apply if the forage hasn’t fermented and so a wrapped hay may well be a really useful option for a horse with ulcers. They tend to be more palatable and softer than hay. It is important to know the level of acidity before making the decision to use a wrapped forage and having it analyzed is therefore advisable.
So if the paradigm shift happens, what will a racehorse’s diet look like in years to come?
The basis would be a good early, cut wrapped hay. The daily bucket feed would consist of 2.2-4.4lbs / 1-2kgs of oats with 3.3lbs / 1.5kgs of alfalfa pellets, 3.3lbs / 1.5kgs of chopped alfalfa and 1.1lbs / 0.5kgs of soaked sugar beet. The chopped alfalfa contributes to the horse’s overall forage requirement so if the dry matter of the wrapped hay is around 75%, a 1100 lb / 500kgs horse would need a minimum of 17.6lbs / 8kgs per day to supply 13.2lbs /6kgs of additional fiber on a dry matter basis.
• ESGD risk factors are well established and include too little fiber and too much starch.
• Feeding at least 1.5% of bodyweight on a dry matter basis is the minimum amount of forage required for long term gastric and digestive health.
• Wrapped hays that have not fermented and so are no more acidic than hay are also appropriate to use for horses with ulcers.
• EGGD is still not fully understood but increasingly it is acknowledged by researchers that stress is a key contributing factor.
• Studies have shown alfalfa to be beneficial as an alternative energy source compared to cereals for horses in training.
References:
• Julliand et al (2023) Effect of diet composition on glandular gastric disease in horses. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine
• Lybbert et al (2007), Proceedings of Annual Convention of the AAEP, Orlando, Florida, 2007.
• Martin et al (2023) Effect of high-starch or high-fiber diets on the energy metabolism and physical performance of horses during an 8-week training period. Front. Physiol. 14:1213032. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2023.1213032
• Menzies-Gow and Shurlock (2024) The effect of feeding a commercial feedstuff on equine gastric squamous disease. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science. 133.
• Muller and Uden (2007) Preference of horses for grass conserved as hay, haylage or silage. Animal Feed Science and Technology, 132, (1-2) 66-78
• Nadeau et al (2000) Evaluation of diet as a cause of gastric ulcers in horses. American Journal of Veterinary Research. Jul;61(7):784-90.
• Pratt et al, (2022) Assessment of agreement using the equine glandular gastric disease grading system in 84 cases. Veterinary Medicine Science, 8 (4) 1472-1477doi: 10.1002/vms3.807
• Swanhall et al (2018) Mineral and Vitamin Supplementation Including Marine Derived Calcium Increases Bone Density in Thoroughbreds. Proceedings of the Australasian Equine Science Symposium
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There’s an old saying, “the more things change, the more they are the same.” “Same,” in the case of Thoroughbred breeding, might actually be desirable, as in a leveling off of declining foal crops and short fields not getting any shorter.
Change” is borderline cataclysmic. To wit, the possibility of decoupling racing at Gulfstream Park from the casino poses an existential threat to the racetrack, and dark clouds are beginning to loom over Santa Anita that’s not coming from the recent fires. Still, the industry soldiers on.
It’s ironic that Kentucky, the hub of the Thoroughbred industry in North America, prospers with record-high purses and full to overflowing fields.
On the positive side for breeders and the industry as a whole, sale prices increased over 2023 in the weanling, yearling and broodmare divisions.
Keeneland’s September Yearling Sale, one major barometer of industry health, broke a cumulative sales record on the 10day mark with sales topping $405 million, beating the prior record set in 2022.
Total yearling sales receipts across North America increased by just over 4% year on year with an average price also increasing just over 6% above ’23 averages. With an inflation rate of 2.89% at time of writing (down from the astronomical 9.06% in 2022) breeders could actually spend some of their sales revenues.
Naysayers, however, might snidely ask horse purchasers, “Where ya’ gonna’ race ‘em?”
The answer is states where racing venues operate with breeding incentives, thank you very much. For that matter, one of the states —New York– will boost state-bred incentives by 15% in 2027 in time for renovated Belmont Park. That would be 15% of $42.8 million (the total for 2024 New York-bred races) or a cool $6.4 million in 2027.
It seems, by the way, New York breeders are ahead of NYRA. The state actually experienced a foal crop increase from 1,446 to 1,524 at time of writing with full results not yet in… one of the few states with a plus number last year.
Also in the plus column is Pennsylvania. Foals numbers are projected to remain the same through 2023 to 2024. But with ten new stallions to hit the breeding sheds this year, including 2022 Kentucky Derby-winner Rich Strike, that number will likely increase in years to come. Rich Strike is one of approximately 45 stallions standing in Pennsylvania, according to Brian Sanfratello, executive secretary of the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association.
The Keystone State might be the best place for breeding awards east of Kentucky. Last year, Warriors Reward topped stallion standings with $199,664. Add breeder totals to that and you have $927,518.
Speaking of Kentucky, there was $58.1 million last year in Owners’ Awards, but no stallion owners’ awards. But Kentucky has the Kentucky Thoroughbred Breeders’ Incentive Fund (KBIF). Awards since the fund’s inception in 2005 total over $200 million for winning eligible races.
The KBIF also solves a mystery for most racegoers in the Commonwealth in racing programs. It is common to see purse money added to by the “Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund.” That money comes from a 6% sales tax on breeding to a Kentucky stallion.
Peripheral but important to many small breeders in Kentucky for the coming season has been major stallion stations like Spendthrift Farm and Taylor Made Stallions cutting fees for six stallions and seven stallions respectively.
In total, fee reductions for thirteen damn good stallions went from a total of $205,000 last year to $124,750 in 2025. The cuts enable a wider market of breeders to pass through Spendthrift’s gates and might generate new blood in the sport.
In Florida the absence of a state income tax carries over to horse breeding. Unlike Kentucky, there is no tax on stallion seasons spending; horses purchased from an original breeder are sales-tax exempt; there is no personal state income or individual capital gains tax; and feed/animal health items are tax exempt.
The incentives require a journey into the proverbial weeds with different awards for Gulfstream and Tampa Bay Downs— some bonuses for a maiden special weight and allowance races but not handicap races; a percentage of a gross purse for winning a Black-Type stakes race; and bonuses on open overnight races.
The incentives vary between Gulfstream and Tampa. Suffice to say, according to the FTOBA’s website, Florida breeds“Registered Florida Stallions”—are eligible for “purse and race incentives plus the $1.2 million 2-year-old stakes series at Gulfstream Park.”
My guess is the trainer, jockey, and maybe even some owners just wait till they get their check from a track’s payroll clerk to know what they won.
Louisiana is much simpler. A horse sired by a Louisiana stallion and foaled in the state who finishes first, second or third at a Louisiana track earns a 25% award. (Purses with this award structure are capped at $200,000.) A horse sired out of state but foaled in Louisiana earns 20% for first, second, and third if the race is within the state. A “non-resident” filly or mare, can earn an award of 10% if sired by a Louisiana stallion and racing in the state. It’s win, place, and show for these horses, too. The smallest award is 9% to resident and non-resident mares sired by out-of-state stallions. This includes mares bred back to an out-of-state stallion.
Arkansas might be the easiest incentive program to understand. Stallion awards are to an owner of an Arkansasbred stallion for first through fourth place for any race in North America. Awards are “calculated on the earnings of 1st through 4th place finishes.”
California’s breeding awards are not complicated but vary by race condition and purse size. It’s pretty straightforward (unlike the Kentucky Thoroughbred Breeders’ Incentive Fund) and is available in the state-by-state breakdown of incentives.
BREEDERS AWARDS: Total Breeders Breeding Support - C$911,495
Breeders’ Bonus - Breeders of horses of all ages foaled in Alberta placing 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in all sanctioned races in Alberta having a minimum C$9,000 purse and where entered at or above a minimum C$6,250 Claiming Price. The Bonus will be paid after the conclusion of the Alberta racing season (to be invoiced by the CTHS). Bonuses will not be paid for eligible races that have four (4) or less starters unless it is an Open Stakes Race, the CTHS Sales Stake, or Stakes Race restricted to Alberta-breds. Fund - C$691,495
Breeders of horses of all ages foaled in Alberta placing 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in Allowance races with purses over C$40,000 or Open Stakes races with a purse over C$50,000 across North America will receive a 20% bonus to a maximum payout of C$7,500 per start on the horse’s earnings. The race must have more than four (4) starters. The Bonus will be paid at the end of the Alberta Racing Season. The Bonus is limited to a maximum of C$15,000 per horse in 2025. Any unused funds from this program will be reallocated to the Breeder’ Bonus above. Fund - C$30,000
Foal Incentive Program, Mare Purchase Program and Yearling Purchase Program. Any unused funds from these programs will be reallocated to the Breeders Bonus. Fund - C$190,000
OWNERS AWARDS: Total Owners Breeding Support - C$1,397,495
Owners Bonus - Owners of horses of all ages foaled in Alberta placing 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in all sanctioned races in Alberta having a minimum C$9,000 purse and where entered at or above a minimum C$6,250 Claiming Price (to be invoiced by HBPA). The Bonus will be paid after the conclusion of the Alberta racing season. Bonuses will not be paid for eligible races that have four (4) or less starters, the CTHS Sales Stakes, Alberta Sires Stakes or races restricted to Alberta breds. Fund - C$597,495
Owners of horses of all ages foaled in Alberta placing 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in Allowance races with purses over C$40,000 or Open Stakes races with a purse over C$50,000 across North America will receive a 20% bonus to a maximum payout of C$7,500 per star on the horse’s earnings. The race must have more than four (4) starters. The Bonus will be paid at the end of the Alberta Racing Season. The Bonus is limited to a maximum of C$15,000 per horse in 2025. Any unused funds from this program will be reallocated to the Owners’ Bonus. Fund- C$30,000
To fund the purses of Alberta Bred Restricted Races and to be invoiced by HBPA. Any funding not utilized during 2025 will be added to the Owners Bonus. Fund - C$100,000
Alberta Breeders’ Fall Classic purses (The races will carry a minimum purse of C$60,000 with the BIP funding shortfall being contributed through the race nominations and the purse pool) - C$375,000
Alberta Yearling Sales Stakes Races for 2-year olds and 3 & 4 - year olds - C$160,000
STALLION OWNERS AWARDS: Details of program still to be confirmed. Fund - C$100,000
RESTRICTED RACES FOR 2025: Alberta Breeders’ Fall Classic races restricted to Alberta breds only. Each of the seven races will carry a minimum purse of C$60,000.
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2023: Not Available
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2024 TO DATE: Not Available
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
2025 Mare Purchase Program: Eligible mares purchased at public auctions or digital sales between January 1 and March 31, 2025, and bred to Thoroughbred stallions during the 2025 breeding season can qualify for up to C$5,000 in reimbursement, with additional bonuses for breeding back to Alberta-based stallions.
2025 Foal in Alberta Program: With a cap of 20 mares, eligible breeders can receive C$1,500 upon meeting all program requirements and providing necessary documentation.
2025-2026 Maiden and Open Mare Program: Offers funding of up to C$2,500 for mares bred to Alberta stallions, with a separate payout of C$1,500 for those bred to out-of-province stallions. Eligible mares that have not foaled in 2024 or 2025 can apply, with a maximum of 30 mares being accepted into the program. Yearlings from this program will be eligible for the 2027 Alberta Thoroughbred Sale, with the entry fee covered by CTHS (Alberta).
Applications for all foal and mare programs must be submitted by August 1, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Contact: Dawson Guhle - CTHS General Manager t: (403) 229-3609 e: cthsweb@cthsalta.com w: cthsalta.com
BREEDERS AWARDS: Breeders of certified Arizona-Breds receive 10% of the winner’s share of the purse from Arizona race tracks – for each win in an open or restricted race of any class. 1st 2nd
and 3rd are paid from the Arizona Breeders Fund to certified AZ-Breds and is paid from the ATBA office by monthly.
OWNERS AWARDS: Owners of a certified Arizona-Bred receive 15-25% of the winner’s share of the purse from Arizona race tracks. 1st, 2nd and 3rd are paid from the Arizona Breeders Fund to certified AZ-Breds and is paid from the ATBA office by monthly.
STALLION OWNERS AWARDS: Stallion Awards are paid from ATBA every July 1. It comes from our Arizona Breeders Fund.
RESTRICTED RACES FOR 2025: On a daily basis the commercial race meets in Arizona offer restricted races with higher purses for certified Arizona-Breds. During each racing season multiple restricted Stakes races are offered for certified Arizona-Breds.
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2023: Not Available
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2024 TO DATE: Not Available
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: t: (602) 942-1310 w: atba.net
BREEDERS AWARDS: Breeder Awards are paid annually to the breeder of each properly registered Arkansasbred Thoroughbred foal calculated on the earnings of 1st through 4th place finishes in North America the previous calendar year.
OWNER BONUS: Owners receive a bonus if their registered Arkansas-bred finishes in the top three of a nonrestricted race at Oaklawn Park, excluding stakes and handicaps. $3,000 for 1st, $2,000 for 2nd and $1,000 for 3rd place finishes.
STALLION OWNERS AWARDS: Stallion Awards are paid annually to the owner of each properly registered Arkansas Stallion calculated on the earnings of 1st through 4th place finishes in North America of his registered Arkansas-bred progeny the previous calendar year.
RESTRICTED RACES FOR 2025: Restricted races and restricted stakes races are held during Oaklawn’s live meet. There are five Stakes races with a purse of $150,000 and 1 Stakes race at $200,000.
OUT OF STATE RACE AWARDS: Breeder and Stallion Awards are paid on total earnings of 1st through 4th place finishes in North America.
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2023: 293
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2024 TO DATE: 212 + (to date)
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Visit the atbha.com website for forms and further information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Contact: Deana Echols t: (501) 624-6328 e: atbha@att.net w: atbha.com
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VISIT HISAUS.ORG FOR UPDATED INFORMATION
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EFFECTIVE DATE FOR THE HISA SHOEING RULES AND THE "NON-ENFORCEMENT" GUIDANCE - AUGUST 1, 2022
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BREEDERS AWARDS: 12.5% projected OWNERS AWARDS: 25% projected
STALLION OWNERS AWARDS: 8% projected
RESTRICTED RACES FOR 2025: Yes
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2023: 76
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2024 TO DATE: 6 at date of publishing but anticipated to increase.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Contact: B-J Davidson t: (604) 534-0145 ext. 301 e: cthsbc@cthsbc.org w: cthsbc.org
BREEDERS AWARDS: A monetary award that is paid to the breeder of a registered California-bred Thoroughbred finishing first, second, or third in any race run in California and any Graded Stakes Races conducted within the US. Breeders will receive 75% of the remainder of the total incentive award monies after Owner Awards are paid, with an individual breeder receiving a prorated share of this Breeders Fund. The maximum purse considered earned in any qualifying race within this state shall be $330,000 for a win, $120,000 for a second, and $90,000 for a third-place finish. Breeder Awards are always paid exclusive of nomination, entry and starting fees.
OWNERS AWARDS: A monetary award that is paid to the owner of a registered California-bred Thoroughbred horse that runs in qualifying races in California. Owners can receive at least a 20% bonus for finishing first in an open starter allowance above $15,000 and open non-maiden Claiming Races with a claiming price of $40,000 or greater in Southern California and $20,000 or greater in Northern California. Owner Awards always are paid exclusive of nomination, entry, and starting fees. They are listed in the racing program and will be distributed at the same time as the purse by the paymaster.
STALLION OWNERS AWARDS: Monetary awards are paid annually to the owners of registered California stallions whose California-conceived or California-bred have won a qualifying race or have finished, first, second, or third in a Stakes Race in the state or any Graded Stakes Race within the US during the year.
Qualifying races are any non-claiming races, including maiden allowance and starter Allowance Races, with a purse of at least $15,000, and open non-maiden Claiming Races with a claiming price of $40,000 or greater in Southern California and $20,000 or greater in Northern California also qualify. Stallion Awards are exclusive of nomination, entry, and starting fees. Stallions must be registered by Feb. 15 each year to be eligible for Stallion Awards.
Stallion owners will receive 25% of the remainder of the total incentive award monies after Owner Awards are paid, with an individual owner of a registered California Stallion (as of Dec. 31) receiving a prorated share of the Stallion fund based on the total qualifying earnings of the get during the year.
The maximum purse considered earned in any qualifying race within this state shall be $330,000 for a win, $120,000 for a second, and $90,000 for a third-place finish. The Stallion must be continuously present in California from Feb. 1 to July 15, inclusive, of the year or any subsequent calendar year in which he stood at stud and fathered the participant in the race. If a sire dies in this state in the year or any subsequent year and stood his last season at stud in this state, or was standing at stud in this state on the date of his death or any subsequent year, he shall thereafter continue to be considered an eligible Thoroughbred Stallion regarding a race participant fathered by him in that season.
The California Thoroughbred Breeders Association (CTBA) will help compile data, but it is the ultimate responsibility of the Stallion owner to advise that official registering agency, on or before Feb. 15 of any year, of any and all purses earned during the preceding year that shall be considered in determining the amount of the Stallion award to which the owner is entitled.
RESTRICTED RACES FOR 2025: Racetracks in California are required by law to offer one race per day that is restricted to California-breds. In 2024 that amounted to 329 additional racing opportunities and more than $18.45 million in additional purses for California-breds.
The California legislature has declared its intent that at least 10% of the total stakes purses paid at any race meeting in California be paid on stakes races restricted to registered California-breds. This amounted to almost $3.7 million in 2024 and will grow significantly through the creation of the Golden State Series.
In 2025, California Cup XXXVI will be held at Santa Anita Park on a date to be announced. Part of the funding for California Cup XXXVI will come from the incentive award category, the California-bred Race Fund. 9.5% of the total incentive award monies will be used for this category, with the monies funding the promotion of California-bred races, the supplement of purses for California-bred races, and the creation of new California-bred stakes.
OUT OF STATE RACE AWARDS: The breeder of a California-bred Thoroughbred finishing first, second, or third in a graded stakes race outside of California, but within the United States, will be paid a pro-rated share of the breeders fund.
The maximum purse considered earned in any race shall be $165,000 for a win, $60,000 for second, and $45,000 for a third-place finish. CTBA will help compile data, but it is the ultimate responsibility of the breeder to advise the official registering agency (CTBA), on or before Feb. 15 of any year, of any and all purses earned during the preceding year in graded stakes races outside of this state by horses bred by the breeder. The owner of a registered California stallion whose California-conceived or California-bred get finished first, second, or third in a Graded Stakes outside of California, but within the United States, will be paid a pro-rated share of the Stallion fund with the maximum purse considered earned the same as the breeders above.
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2023: 1661 Report of Mares Bred in California.
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2024 TO DATE: Not Available FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Contact: Mary Ellen Locke t: (626) 445-7800 ext. 236 or 237 e: registration@ctba.com w: ctba.com
BREEDERS AWARDS: 25% Bonus - Certifier Award.
OWNERS AWARDS: 25% Bonus - Owner Award.
RESTRICTED RACES FOR 2025:
• 2 x Restricted Stakes - The Small Wonder Stakes and The First State Dash Stakes.
• 4 x Restricted Open Allowance races - The Peach Blossom, The Sussex, The Tax Free Shopping Distaff and The New Castle.
• 2 x Open races with additional purse bonuses for DCTP horses that run in the race - The George Rosenberger Memorial and The DTHA Governors Day.
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2023: Not Available
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2024 TO DATE: Not Available
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Contact: Vincent Moscarelli t: (302) 993-8986 e: dctp@dtha.com w: DTHA.com
BREEDERS AWARDS: 20% of the gross purse for FTBOAregistered Florida-breds finishing 1st, 2nd and 3rd in Florida races. Win – 12.5% of total purse, up to $12,500. Place – 5% of total purse, up to $5,000. Show – 2.5% of total purse, up to $2,500.
OWNERS AWARDS:
Gulfstream Park – $15,000 added in Open Stakes. $10,000 win bonus for 2yo open MSW winners, plus $5,000 FSS. $5,000 win bonus for open MSW, Allowance, Handicaps. Up to $12,000 added (FBIF+FOA) in open overnights.
Tampa Bay Downs – $18,000 added (FBIF-FTBOA) in all MSW and Allowance races. $25,000 and/or $50,000 added to all Stakes.
Florida Owners’ Awards (FOA) – ~$6m added purse money in most overnight races at Tampa Bay and Gulfstream Park, managed by TBHBPA and FTHA.
STALLION OWNERS AWARDS: 20% of gross purse (up to $20,000) for progeny wins in Black-Type Stakes at Florida racetracks, paid to owners of stallions registered with FTBOA.
RESTRICTED RACES FOR 2025:
Gulfstream Park – Florida Sire Stakes 2yo series with total purses of $1.2 million includes three legs in two divisions (colts/geldings, fillies) in September, October and December. Florida-bred restricted conditions offered year-round in selected overnight and stakes.
Tampa Bay Downs –The Florida Cup offers six $100,000 Florida-bred stakes in March. Plus, two $100,000 FSS 3-years-old & up stakes in December.
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2023: Not Available
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2024 TO DATE: Not Available
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: 2024 Florida combined breeder and open-race incentives topped all regions outside Kentucky.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Contact: Steve Koch t: (352) 629-2160 e: info@FTBOA.com w: FTBOA.com
BREEDERS AWARDS: A Breeders Award is earned when an IL Registered Thoroughbred wins any race in the state of Illinois. The owner’s share of the Breeders Award is 11.5% of the winner’s share of the base purse. The winner’s share of any race in Illinois is normally 60% of the purse. The base purse is the amount put up by the purse account and does not include any funds added by the Illinois Thoroughbred Breeders Fund, horsemen, Breeders’ Cup, etc.
Open Races - In an Open Race, the entire Breeders Award (11.5% of the winner’s share of the base purse) goes to the breeder of the winning horse (the winner’s share in an Open Race may also include part of an owners award, if earned, paid from the purse account).
As an example, we will say that the base purse of an Open Allowance Race is $22,000. The base purse times 60% equals the winner’s share. The winner’s share times 11.5% equals the Breeders Award. Base purse $22,000, X winner’s share (60%) = $13,200 X 11.5% = Award $1,518 Illinois.
STALLION OWNERS AWARDS: Contact carrie.tisckos@illinois.gov
RESTRICTED RACES FOR 2025: In a race restricted to Illinois registered horses, the Breeders Award (11.5% of the winner’s share of the base purse) is divided among the first 4 place finishers, The winner gets 60% of the Award: second, 20%: third, 15% and fourth, 5%. Again, as an example, we will use an Allowance Race, this time restricted to Illinois registered horses. The base purse of this race is $20,000. The base purse times 60% equals the winner’s share. The winner’s share times 11.5% equals the Breeders Award. Base purse $20,000 X Winner’s share (60%)=$12,000 X 11.5%=Award $1,380
The Breeders Award in a Restricted Race is divided among the first 4 place finishers using the percentages as follows: Breeders Award $1,380 X 60% To the Winner=$828 X 20% To Second=$276 X 15% To Third=$207 X 5% to Fourth=$69.
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2023: 69 foaled - 51 conceived and foaled - totaling 120.
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2024 TO DATE: 56 foaled - 52 conceived and foaled - totaling 108.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Contact: Janice Ely t: (847) 253-3670 e: info@itbof.net w: itbof.net
BREEDERS AWARDS: The breeder of a registered Indiana-bred which wins any race at Indiana Grand Racing & Casino earns 20% of the gross purse for all Stake, Allowance and Claiming Races, except when entered for a claiming price of less than $10,000. The breeder of a registered Indiana-bred which wins a race in another state, Puerto Rico or Canada earns 10% of the winners share of the purse for any race, except when entered for a claiming price of less than $10,000. Each out-of-state award is capped at $10,000. You are eligible for an out-of-state award when there is no live Thoroughbred race meet in progress in Indiana (except for Stakes Races), and for 2-year-olds winning out of state prior to July 1 of race meet.
OWNERS AWARDS: ITOBA Stallion Season Auction Stakes Races. Owner’s Awards payable to the owner of an Indiana-sired Horse (IHRC registered IN Sire). Finishing 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in the ITOBA Stakes Races for fillies and for colts / geldings. 1st place bonus $3,000, 2nd place bonus $1,500, 3rd place bonus $500. Total added bonus money for 2 races $10K.
STALLION OWNERS AWARDS: The owner or lessee of a registered Indiana Sire who’s registered progeny have won any races at Indiana Grand Racing & Casino earns 10% of the gross purse for all stake, allowance and claiming races, except when entered for a claiming price of less than $10,000.
Synonymous with the best thoroughbred racing and breeding in the world and combined with generations of entrepreneurial wealth and philanthropy, the Marylou Whitney Farm is a special place with a unique history For 76 years the Farm has been an elegant gathering place for family, Hollywood stars, world leaders, and horse racing elite The 72 acre estate with Elkhorn Creek meandering through it is bordered by the historic Gainesway Farm
Originally acquired in 1782 by the Rodgers family, the main residence today consists of 8,400 SF of a warm and gracious living area complemented by brick sidewalks and a formal rose garden Adjacent to the main residence is a four-car detached garage, and former staff quarters now offices consisting of three rooms, an eat-in kitchen, and three baths In addition to the improvements already mentioned, the farm includes a 2-story brick guest house, 1,950 SF manager’s home with a two-car detached garage, a log cabin chapel, pool house with Olympic size pool and art studio
The farm is fully-fenced for horses and contains a 10-stall horse barn with a shop, office, and feed room plus a 6-stall horse barn, two equipment sheds, and a small run-in shed
All Breeder and Stallion Awards will be paid directly to the winning breeder or stallion owner from the Indiana Thoroughbred Breed Development Program. Awards will not be paid through the purse account at the track.
RESTRICTED RACES FOR 2025: The Governor’s Handicap and Unreachable Star will be contested at $250,000, and the First Lady and Lady Foghorn will be contested at $200,000. Two signature handicap at $150,000 purses and Twenty Handicaps to be contested at $100,000 each.
OUT OF STATE RACE AWARDS: The breeder of a registered Indiana-bred which wins a race in another state, Puerto Rico or Canada earns 10% of the winners share of the purse for any race, except when entered for a claiming price of less than $10,000. Each out-of-state award is capped at $10,000. You are eligible for an out-of-state award when there is no live Thoroughbred race meet in progress in Indiana (except for Stakes Races), and for 2-year-olds winning out of state prior to July 1 of race meet.
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2023: 424
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2024 TO DATE: 343
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Contact: Jessica Barnes t: (317) 233-3119 e: jbarnes@hrc.in.gov w: in.gov/hrc/tb
BREEDERS AWARDS: 12% 1st, 6% 2nd - 4th.
OWNERS AWARDS: 32% supplement for Iowa-bred Races. 40% supplement for Open Races.
STALLION OWNERS AWARDS: Based on the number of Iowabred winners by Iowa stallions.
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2023: Not Available
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2024 TO DATE: Not Available
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Contact: Brandi Jo Fett t: (515) 957-3002 e: itboa@msn.com w: iowathoroughbred.com
BREEDERS AWARDS: Allowance & Maiden Special Weight Races (USA & Woodbine):
• 10% of the winner’s portion of the purse up to $3,000 per race for winning an ALW or MSW anywhere in the USA or at Woodbine Racetrack.
Non-Graded Stakes Races (USA & Woodbine):
• 10% of the winner’s portion of the purse up to $4,000 per race for winning a non-graded stakes anywhere in the USA or at Woodbine Racetrack.
Grade/Group II & Grade/Group III (USA, Canada, England, France or Ireland):
• $5,000/race for winning a Grade II or III anywhere in the USA or a Group 2 or 3 in Canada, England, France or Ireland.
Grade/Group I (USA, Canada, England, France, Ireland, Dubai World Cup Day, Japan Cup Day or Hong Kong International Day):
• $7,500/race for winning a Grade I Stakes anywhere in the USA, a Group 1 race held in Canada, England, France or Ireland, or a Group 1 race held on Dubai World Cup Day, Japan Cup Day or Hong Kong International Day. Kentucky Oaks or Kentucky Derby:
• $50,000 for winning the Kentucky Oaks or Kentucky Derby. Claiming Component (Kentucky):
• $200,000 allocated to the top 20 claiming horses in Kentucky with the most claiming wins in Kentucky.
OWNERS AWARDS: $58,100,000 (2024) OUT OF STATE RACE AWARDS: Yes
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2023: 9040
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2024 TO DATE: 9556 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Contact: Drew Conners (KBIF) t: (859) 246-2040 e: Drew.Conners@ky.gov Jenny McGaughey (KTDF) t: (859) 259-1643 e: JMcGaughey@kta-ktob.com w: KHRC.ky.gov / Kentuckybred.org
BREEDERS AWARDS: 25% Breeders’ Awards paid to accredited Louisiana-breds sired by a Louisiana based stallion finishing first, second or third in any race in Louisiana (purse capped at $200,000).
20% Breeders’ Awards paid to accredited Louisiana-breds sired by out of state stallions finishing first, second or third in any race in Louisiana (purse capped at $200,000).
25% Breeders’ Awards paid to accredited Louisiana-breds sired by a Louisiana based stallion finishing first, second or third in any stakes race outside of Louisiana (purse capped at $200,000).
20% Breeders’ Awards paid to accredited Louisiana-breds sired by out of state stallions finishing first, second or third in any stakes race outside of Louisiana (purse capped at $200,000).
10% Breeder’ Awards paid to foals out of non-resident mares sired by a Louisiana based stallion finishing first, second or third in any race in Louisiana.
9% Breeders’ Awards paid to foals out of non-resident mares sired by out of state stallions finishing first, second or third in any race in Louisiana.
OWNERS AWARDS: Louisiana-breds run for higher purses than open horses in Louisiana.
STALLION OWNERS AWARDS: Stallion Awards are paid based on a stallion’s progeny finishing first, second or third in an allowance, handicap or stakes race in Louisiana or in a stakes race outside of Louisiana.
Stallion awards are paid once a year, usually in the first week of August.
RESTRICTED RACES FOR 2025: 3 restricted races must be offered each day, one of which must be a maiden race. If the race fills, it must be used. We also offer 64 restricted Stake Races.
OUT OF STATE RACE AWARDS: World Wide Breeders Awards paid to accredited Louisiana-breds finishing first, second or third in any race outside of Louisiana on a prorated portion of the $400,000 annual fund set aside for this purpose.
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2023: 784
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2024 TO DATE: Not Available
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Multiple State Bred Days - Louisiana is the only state with more than one State Bred Day. We now have one at each track for a total of four. Louisiana Premier Night in February at Delta Downs, Louisiana Legends Night at Evangeline Downs in conjunction with the 4th of July weekend, Louisiana Cup Day at Louisiana Downs in August and Louisiana Champions Day in December at Fair Grounds.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Contact: Roger A. Heitzmann III
t: (504) 947-4676 e: roger@louisianabred.com
w: louisianabred.com
BREEDERS AWARDS: Class 1 - 3 points, Class 2 - 6 points, Class 3 - 9 points (win) 3 points (place) 1.5 points to (show), Class 4 - 12 points (win) 4 points (place) 2 points (show), Class 5 Open Stakes - 15 points (win) 5 (place) 2 points (show).
OWNERS AWARDS: Purse supplements are paid out on class levels to Manitoba/Saskatchewan-breds for their racing lifetime, must be foal in Manitoba or Saskatchewan, have Canadian papers and meet class level criteria.
Class 1: C$600 (win) C$200 (place) C$100 (show)
Class 2: C$1200 (win) C$400 (place) C$200 (show)
Class 3: C$1800 (win) C$600 (place) C$300 (show)
Class 4: C$2400 (win) C$800 (place) C$400 (show)
Purse supplements are not paid on: Stake Races, Manitoba Restricted Claiming Races and Manitoba Restricted Allowance Races.
STALLION OWNERS AWARDS: Class 1 - 1 point, Class 2 - 2 points, Class 3 - 3 points (win) 1 point (place) 0.5 point (show), Class 4 - 4 points (win) 2 points (place) 1 point (show), Class 5 Open Stakes - 5 points (win) 2 (place) 1 point (show).
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2023: Not Available
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2024 TO DATE: Not Available
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
MB/SK Registered Foal Program - offered in 2024 and 2025: MB/SK breeders with in-foal mares that have not foaled in MB/SK in 2022 and 2023 will be eligible for up to C$4,000. The breeder of the resulting foal will be paid C$3,000 upon registration of the MB/SK foal with The Jockey Club and CTHS National office. Should that same mare produce an MB/ SK bred foal by a stallion registered in the MB/SK program in
2025, the breeder will be eligible for a further C$1,000 when the resulting foal is also registered. An extension to the bred back program can be requested by applying to the MB CTHS office by July 1st.
All foals from this program will have their registration certificates assigned to the MB CTHS until the yearlings are either sold through a MB/SK sale or raced at ASD. Horses not entered or sold in a MB/SK sale will have their registration certificates held by the ASD race office until the end of the horses two-year-old’s race meet at ASD. Two-year-olds may ship to other tracks prior to completion of the ASD meet for a stakes race with approval from the race office and ASD. Registration papers must be returned to ASD after the stakes race if the ASD meet is ongoing. Repayment of program funds will release the registration certificates at any time.
Mares must be registered, and application approved by the MB CTHS office prior to foaling. Each mare is only eligible once for this program. A maximum of 30 mares will be accepted into the program. Members may submit more than 1 mare application to the program, but each individual CTHS member will have priority over any member’s second mare application. Application priority will be based on the date received by the MB CTHS office. If the program is oversubscribed the CTHS and MJC will allow the extra applications to be first in line, the following year waiving the no foal in MB/SK in 20222023 stipulation if they qualify at time of application.
All applicants must be CTHS full members in good standing to be approved into the program. This program cannot be combined with the CTHS Shipping Incentive Program. The CTHS reserves the right to deny any application it deems not in the best interest of CTHS.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Contact: Maddy Derksen t: (204) 832-1702 e: cthsmb@mymts.net w: cthsmb.ca
BREEDERS AWARDS: 22.5% top 3 in all races; additional 7.5% if MD-bred and MD-sired winner of a Maiden Race. Beginning with 2-year-olds of 2025, registered Marylandsired Maryland-breds earn 40% higher breeder bonuses than out-of-state sired Maryland-breds.
DEVELOPER AWARDS: 15% top 3 in overnight races (the developer is the owner of the horse in its first start).
STALLION OWNERS AWARDS: 7.5% top 3 in all races if the horse is by Maryland stallion.
STAKES RACES: Restricted to Maryland-bred / Maryland-sired throughout the year.
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2023: 546
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2024 TO DATE: 456
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Maryland Million program for eligible Maryland-sired horses.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Contact: Cricket Goodall t: (410) 252-2100 e: Info@marylandthoroughbred.com w: MarylandThoroughbred.com / MarylandMillion.com
BREEDERS AWARDS: The breeder of a registered Mass-bred that finishes 1st, 2nd or 3rd in at any licensed pari-mutuel race meetings in any state will receive 25% breeder award.
OWNERS AWARDS: The owner of a registered Mass-bred that finishes 1st, 2nd or 3rd in at any licensed pari-mutuel race meetings in any state will receive 30% owner award.
Owner awards of 10% will be granted on the racetrack purse only for horses that finish 1st, 2nd or 3rd.
Developer Awards (Developer – The owner listed on the racing program for the horse’s first lifetime start) of 20%, Breeder Awards of 25% and Stallion awards of 15% will be granted on the supplemental purse awards and racetrack purses for horses that finish 1st, 2nd or 3rd.
STALLION OWNERS AWARDS: If the horse is by a registered MA stallion, the stallion owner receives a 15% award.
RESTRICTED RACES FOR 2025: There are no scheduled restricted races for Mass-breds at present.
OUT OF STATE RACE AWARDS: $10,000 supplemental purse added to whatever race in which a Mass-bred runs anywhere in US.
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2023: Not Available
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2024 TO DATE: Not Available
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: A supplemental incentive of $10,000 will be in addition to the purse of any unrestricted race in which a Mass-bred horse is entered at a licensed pari-mutuel race meeting authorized by the state racing commission.
This supplemental incentive will be distributed as follows: 60%, 20%, 10%, 5%, 3% and 2% to the first 6 place finishers. Funds will not be redistributed if more or fewer horses are entered.
To become a Mass-bred, foal must be born in Massachusetts and to a mare that has been a resident since Oct 15th the previous year, or be bred back to a resident Massachusetts stallion - Incentive Program (T.I.P.)
To encourage the retraining of Thoroughbreds into other disciplines upon completion of careers in racing or breeding, T.I.P. offers sponsorship for Thoroughbred-only classes and divisions, high point Thoroughbred awards at open horse shows and competitions, a Thoroughbred of the Year Award and a Young Rider of the Year Award.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: e: MTBA@comcast.net w: massbreds.com
Maryland Stallions
BLOFELD Murmur Farm
BOURBON COURAGE Anchor&Hope
CUPID Atlanta Hall Farm
DIVINING ROD Country Life Farm
ENGAGE Northview
FIRST MONDAYS Northview
FRIESAN FIRE Country Life Farm
GALAWI (IRE) Northview
GOLDEN LAD Northview
GREAT NOTION Northview
HOLY BOSS Anchor&Hope
KOBE’S BACK Bonita Farm
LONG ON VALUE K&K Stallions
MOSLER Country Life Farm NOT ABROAD Roland Farm
UNCLE LINO Northview
V. I. P. TICKET Murmur Farm
WARRANT Murmur Farm
BREEDERS AWARDS: The money available from the Breeders Fund for the Thoroughbred breed category shall be divided as follows:
A. 8% shall be set aside and paid to breeders of Minnesotabred horses as Breeders Awards.
B. 20% shall be set aside and paid as Stallion Awards to the owners of the Minnesota-sire at the time of breeding.
The money available from the Thoroughbred Breeders Fund, other than purse supplements earned pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, section 240.135, shall be distributed as follows:
A. “Breeders Awards” shall be paid to the breeder or lessee of a Minnesota-bred horse, as reflected on the Jockey Club physical or digital certificate, that earns purse earnings in any North American pari-mutuel race.
The amount of award shall be a percentage of the total amount available for all awards. Purse earnings earned in any North American race that is conducted outside of Minnesota during the Minnesota Thoroughbred racing meeting shall not count toward qualified earnings. A horse’s earnings in any single race must not be worth more than the winner’s share of the largest purse offered during the Minnesota Thoroughbred racing meeting.
OWNERS AWARDS: Purse Supplements awards are paid out to the owners of the Minnesota-bred horses at the same time as the purse earnings.
STALLION OWNERS AWARDS: Shall be paid to the owners or lessees of the Minnesota-sire of a Minnesota-bred horse that earns purse earnings in any pari-mutuel race. The amount of award shall be a percentage of the total amount available for all awards. Purse earnings earned in any North American race outside of Minnesota during the Minnesota Thoroughbred racing meeting shall not count toward qualified earnings. A horse’s earnings in any single race must not be worth more than the winner’s share of the largest purse offered during the Minnesota Thoroughbred racing meeting. Purse supplements earned shall not count toward qualified earnings in determining Breeders or Stallion Awards.
RESTRICTED RACES FOR 2025: Select MN Bred restricted races will include a purse supplement payment.
OUT OF STATE RACE AWARDS: Minnesota-bred horses may earn awards from purses won in any N. American pari-mutuel race.
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2023: 80
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2024 TO DATE: 82
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: The purpose of the Minnesota Breeders’ Fund is to encourage the breeding and racing of quality horses. Stallion awards promote the introduction of high quality studs standing for the breeding season in Minnesota. The breeders fund also provides money for in state, postsecondary equine research and related education in the form of grants, contracts or other expenditures.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Contact: Nicole Boentgen t: (952) 496-7950 ext. 4 e: nicole.boentgen@state.mn.us w: mn.gov/mrc
BREEDERS AWARDS: Awards are paid to registered New Jerseybreds finishing first through fourth in any race run within New Jersey. 35%* of the purse earnings will be paid if the foal is sired by a registered New Jersey stallion. 25%* of purse earnings will be paid if the foal is sired by an out-of-state stallion or an unregistered New Jersey stallion.
OWNERS AWARDS: A 10%* award will be distributed by the TBANJ to the owners of registered New Jersey-bred horses who finish first through fourth in an open company race run within the State. In addition, an owner will receive a 40% bonus for any New Jersey-bred horse that finishes first through third in any open company race run within New Jersey. The 40% bonus has a maximum award of $15,000 per race and is paid by the horsemen’s bookkeeper.
STALLION OWNERS AWARDS: The owner of the stallion must register said stallion each year with the TBANJ. Stallion owners will receive an award equal to 10%* of the amount that the foals of the registered stallion earn while finishing first through fourth in races run within New Jersey.
RESTRICTED RACES FOR 2025: There were 79 restricted races run in 2024 over 60 racing days.
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2023: Not Available
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2024 TO DATE: Not Available
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: *The maximum award for each finish will be determined annually. In 2025, the maximum first-place award is $10,000, and the maximum award for second-, third-, and fourth-place finishes is $5,000.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Contact: Michael Campbell, Executive Director t: (732) 542-8880 e: njbreds@gmail.com w: njbreds.com
BREEDERS AWARDS: Total: $1,959,431.13
Class A: 1st - $1,945.08, 2nd - $695.47, 3rd - $277.13
Class B: 1st - $1,546.09, 2nd - $552.81, 3rd - $220.28
Class C: 1st - $797.98, 2nd - $285.32, 3rd - $113.69
Class D: 1st - $698.23, 2nd - $249.65, 3rd - $99.48
OWNERS AWARDS: Total: $1,524,000.61
Class A: 1st - $1,549.30, 2nd - $557.00, 3rd - $224.78
Class B: 1st - $1,231.50. 2nd - $442.74, 3rd - $178.67
Class C: 1st - $635.60, 2nd - $228.51, 3rd - $92.22
Class D: 1st - $556.16, 2nd - $199.95, 3rd - $80.69
STALLION OWNERS AWARDS: Total: $522,512.70
Class A: 1st - $797.98
Class C: 1st - $327.38
Class B: 1st - $634.29
Class D: 1st - $286.45
RESTRICTED RACES FOR 2025: 3-4 restricted New Mexico-bred races per day and add additional funds to the purses. Yearround racing at 5 New Mexico racetracks.
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2023: 723
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2024 TO DATE: 687
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: In addition to the incentive awards, purses are enhanced for New Mexico-bred Horses running in New Mexico. There are also what we call 10% Track Breeder Awards for the Breeder of any NM Bred horse that wins a race in New Mexico.
Award monies to be distributed based upon race class as follows:
Class A: Trials, Futurities, Derbies, Allowances, Handicaps & Stakes.
Class B: Maiden & Claiming races of $8,000 and above.
Class C: Claiming races below $8,000. Class D: Maiden Claiming races.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Contact: New Mexico Horse Breeders Association t: (505) 262-0224 e: nmhba@nmhorsebreeders.com w: nmhorsebreeders.com
BREEDERS AWARDS:
New York-Sired* Award (Percent of Purse Money Earned): 1st Place: 40% / 2nd Place: 20% / 3rd Place: 10% Cap per Award: $40,000.
Non-New York-Sired* Award (Percent of Purse Money Earned): 1st Place: 20% / 2nd Place: 10% / 3rd Place: 5% Cap per Award: $20,000.
OWNERS AWARDS: For all open-company races in New York State with a minimum claiming price of $30,000, there are 2 tiers of Owner Awards:
New York-Sired* Award (Percent of Purse Money Earned): 1st through 3rd Place: 20%, Cap per Award: $20,000.
Non-New York-Sired* Award (Percent of Purse Money Earned): 1st through 3rd Place: 10%, Cap per Award: $20,000.
STALLION OWNERS AWARDS: These awards are paid to owners of registered New York-based (at the time of conception) covering stallions. Please note that only New York-bred progeny of New York-based stallions are eligible to earn Stallion Owner Awards. Stallion Owner Awards have been increased to 10% of purses earned from finishes in 1st through 3rd place. All Stallion Owner Awards are capped at $10,000 per horse, per race.
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2023: 1446
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2024 TO DATE: 1524
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: *A New York-sired New York-bred is sired by a registered New York stallion. A non-New Yorksired New York-bred is sired by an out-of-state stallion or an unregistered New York stallion.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Contact: Tracy Egan t: (518) 886-1013 e: tegan@nybreds.com w: NYBreds.com
BREEDERS AWARDS: 2025 Broodmare Awards budget
$4,000,000 - paid to registered Broodmare owners of Ohio registered and accredited foals, 15% of winners share of purse, 15% of 2nd place share of purse, and 15% of 3rd place share of purse.
OWNERS AWARDS: For 2025 Ohio has budgeted $613,000 for supplements, $5,123,000 for overnights and $1,260,000 for Stake Races. These are all reflected in the purses.
STALLION OWNERS AWARDS: 2025 Stallion Awards Budget
$1,200,000 - paid to registered Ohio Stallions of Ohio Accredited foals, 10% of winners share of purse, 10% of 2nd place share of purse, and 10% of 3rd place share of purse.
RESTRICTED RACES FOR 2025: Yes
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2023: 386
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2024 TO DATE: 327
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: In 2025 approximately $12,447,000 is budgeted for breeder awards, stallion awards, the stakes program and supplemented / overnight purse money.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Contact: Holly Chandler t: (614) 779-0268 e: holly.chandler@racing.ohio.gov w: racing.ohio.gov
BREEDERS AWARDS: 34% to breeders of accredited Oklahomabred racing stock horses.
OWNERS AWARDS: 50% to owners of accredited Oklahoma-bred racing stock horses.
STALLION OWNERS AWARDS: 16% to owners of accredited Oklahoma stallions plus at the end of the year the top ten accredited Thoroughbred stallions will be determined and ranked by the amount of the Oklahoma-Bred money earned and those stallions will receive a Stallion Bonus Award.
RESTRICTED RACES FOR 2025: Yes
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2023: Not Available
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2024 TO DATE: Not Available
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Contact: Danielle Barber, Executive Director t: (405) 427-8753 e: Dbarber@traoracing.com w: ohrc.ok.gov
BREEDERS AWARDS: More than C$5 million is available in Breeders Awards in 2025, with a cap of C$200,000 per individual breeder of record. The breeder of record eligible to receive Breeders Awards is the individual, partnership, syndicate,
In 2024, NYRA carded 56 New York-Bred stakes totaling $8.9 Million in purses. Of the 522 total races for NY-breds, 91 were for 2-year-olds.
The NY Stallion Stakes Series, worth $2.3 million, includes two $500,000 races for NY-sired 2-year-olds foaled anywhere.
In 2024, NY-breds ran for total purses of $42,817,000, with the new program anticipated to increase NY-bred overnight purses in 2027 by 15% compared to 2024 purse levels.
NYRA and The New York State Thoroughbred Breeding and Development Fund (NYTBDF) provide up to $650,000 per year in purse bonuses to owners.
Open-company owner awards pay 20% of purse money earned for NY-sired NY-breds and 10% for non-NY-sired NY-breds for 1st- through 3rd-place finishes ($20,000 cap per award).
* Minumum claiming price of $30,000 applies
The New York program pays owners a $5,000 bonus every time a New York-sired New York-bred wins at the maiden special weight or allowance level at NYRA's tracks.
NYRA holds three major events for NY-breds featuring 20 stakes worth $3.8 million. Showcase Days are held in June, August and October.
YOUR RACING PORTFOLIO WITH A REGISTERED NY-BRED . . .
Look for race-ready NY-bred 2-year-olds at upcoming auctions.
Visit our website or call (518) 886-1013
or corporation who is the owner of the dam, properly enrolled as an Ontario Resident Broodmare, at the time of foaling.
OWNERS AWARDS: The Ontario Bred Purse Bonus is paid to the owner of registered Ontario-bred horses earning purse money in Open Races in Ontario. A registered Ontario-bred is eligible for the Bonus in any Open Race in Ontario until it has been claimed. Once a horse has been claimed, it is excluded from the Ontario Bred Purse Bonus program for the rest of its racing career.
A variety of Ontario-sired bonuses are paid to the owners of registered Ontario-sired horses, complete details for 2025 are available at tip.ontarioracing.com.
STALLION OWNERS AWARDS: Stallion Awards are paid to the owner (or lessee) of a registered Ontario-sired in two categories, Stallion Year End Points Awards and Year End Top Stallion Awards. Complete details for 2025 are available at tip.ontarioracing.com.
RESTRICTED RACES FOR 2025: Yes
OUT OF STATE RACE AWARDS: Yes
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2023: Not Available
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2024 TO DATE: Not Available
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
t: (416) 675-3993 ext. 2633 e: tbprogram@ontarioracing.com w: tip.ontarioracing.com
BREEDERS AWARDS: 40% PA-Sired / PA-Breds, 20% Non-PA-Sired / PA-Breds.
OWNERS AWARDS: Up to 40%, varies by track.
STALLION OWNERS AWARDS: 10%
RESTRICTED RACES FOR 2025: 200
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2023: 433 as of 12/31/2024.
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2024 TO DATE: Estimated to be the same as the previous year.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: PA Day at the Races - PARX $1,000,000 in PA-Bred Purses, $1,500,000 in PA-Bred Stakes, PA-Sired / PA-Bred Stallion Series.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Contact: Brian Sanfratello t: (610) 444-1050 e: info@pabred.com w: pabred.com
BREEDERS AWARDS: Percentage of purse money earned for placing 1, 2 or 3 in Texas races; plus (if approved by the Texas Racing Commission) a breeder bonus for placing 1, 2 or 3 in Texas open company races. Also, (if approved by the Texas Racing Commission) Breeder Awards for placing 1, 2 or 3
in out-of-state races when there are no live Thoroughbred races in Texas, unless the out-of-state race (when there are no Thoroughbred races in Texas) is a stake worth $50k or more.
OWNERS AWARDS: Percentage of purse money earned for placing 1, 2 or 3 in Texas races; plus owner bonus for placing 1, 2 or 3 in Texas open company races, plus (if approved by the Texas Racing Commission), a bonus for Texas-sired Texas-breds placing 1, 2, or 3 in Texas open company races.
STALLION OWNERS AWARDS: Percentage of purse money earned for placing 1, 2 or 3 in Texas races.
RESTRICTED RACES FOR 2025: Yes
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2023: 251 Accredited Texas-Breds.
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2024 TO DATE: 137 Accredited Texas-Breds to date.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Contact: Tracy Sheffield, Executive Director t: (512) 458-6133 e: tracys@texasthoroughbred.com w: texasthoroughbred.com
BREEDERS AWARDS: Virginia Breeders earn awards when their mare’s offspring place 1st - 3rd in open races in North America and all races at Colonial Downs.
OWNERS AWARDS: Owners of VA-bred & sired horses earn a 50% purse bonus for 1st -4th place finishes in open races at Colonial Downs.
STALLION OWNERS AWARDS: Awards earned when stallion’s offspring places 1st-3rd in open races in North America and all races at Colonial Downs.
RESTRICTED RACES FOR 2025: Average 2 VA restricted (includes VA bred, sired & certified horses) overnight races per day at Colonial Downs. Restricted stakes for VA bred and sired horses offered.
OUT OF STATE RACE AWARDS: Virginia bred, sired & certified developers earn up to a 25% bonus for open race wins in NY, NJ, PA, DE, MD & 10% bonuses on state bred races. Out of state bonuses are not earned during the Colonial Downs meet.
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2023: Not Available
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2024 TO DATE: Not Available
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Race days at Colonial Downs expand from 27 to 44 days in 2025. Purses will average near $700,000 per day. VA bred, sired & certified developers also earn up to a 25% bonus for wins in open races at Colonial Downs.
Please go to VAbred.org for all program details.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Contact: Debbie Easter t: (434) 977-3716 e: debbie.easter@easterassociates.com w: VAbred.org
BREEDERS AWARDS: Breeders Awards allocated to recipients. Total Breeders Awards $190,826, paid to 1st through 3rd place.
OWNERS AWARDS: Washington-bred 1% Owners’ Bonus Awards. Total Owners’ Bonus Awards $396,199, paid to 1st through 4th place.
RESTRICTED RACES FOR 2025: Emerald Downs is introducing the Washington Showcase, a two-day event on August 2 and 3, dedicated to celebrating Washington-bred Thoroughbreds. Additionally, throughout the 51-day racing season, which runs from April 27 to September 7, Emerald Downs will feature one Washington-bred restricted race per day.
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2023: Not Available
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2024 TO DATE: Not Available FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: t: (253) 288-7878 e: maindesk@wtboa.com w: washingtonthoroughbred.com
BREEDERS AWARDS: 60% to breeders.
Breeder requirements:
(1) The breeder of the West Virginia-bred foal is a West Virginia resident.
(2) The breeder of the West Virginia-bred foal is not a West Virginia resident, but keeps his or her breeding stock in West Virginia year-round; or
(3) The breeder of the West Virginia-bred foal is not a West Virginia resident and does not qualify under subdivision (2) of this subsection, but either the sire of the West Virginia-bred foal is a West Virginia stallion, or the mare is covered only by a West Virginia accredited stallion or stallions before December 31 of the calendar year following the birth of that West Virginia-bred foal.
OWNERS AWARDS: 25% to Owners.
STALLION OWNERS AWARDS: 15% to sire Owners.
RESTRICTED RACES FOR 2025: $800 ,000 in purse monies are allocated for more than a dozen WV accredited Stakes Races during the year, including the Robert G. Leavitt Memorial Stakes for 3-year-olds; the Sadie Hawkins Stakes for fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up; the Frank Gall Memorial Stakes for 3-year-olds and up; and the West Virginia Futurity for 2-year-olds.
The WV Breeders Classics held annually on the 2nd Saturday in October pays out almost $1M in purses for WV bred and/or sired horses.
Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races currently offers 5 races per day that are restricted to accredited WV bred and/ or sired horses.
WV Bred horses can go through their conditions twice, once in restricted WV-bred races, and then again in open races at West Virgina tracks.
Mountaineer offers 1 race per day that is restricted to accredited WV bred and/or sired horses.
A minimum of 14 WV Stake races per year including the WV Futurity are offered for accredited WV foaled and/or sired horses.
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2023: Not Available
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2024 TO DATE: Not Available
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: In 2023 the WVTDF distributed over 4 million dollars to participants. The Supplemental Purse Award program also pays breeders, sire owners, and WV resident owners up to 10% of a winning horse’s earnings for that particular race. Claims must be submitted to the WV Racing Commission within 15 days of the purse being awarded. (WV Code 19-23-13)
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Contact: Arlene McCanns t: (304) 728-6868 e: wvbreeders@gmail.com w: wvtba.com
BREEDERS AWARDS: 40% to breeders of accredited Wyomingbred racing stock horses.
OWNERS AWARDS: 40% to owners of accredited Wyoming-bred racing stock horses.
STALLION OWNERS AWARDS: 20% to owners of accredited Wyoming stallions standing in the state of Wyoming at time of service to mares producing Wyoming-bred racing stock horses.
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2023: 200
NO. OF REGISTERED FOALS IN 2024 TO DATE: 222
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: The Wyoming Gaming Commission granted 52 live race dates in 2024 to three (3) permittees that host the races throughout the state. Live meet purses are attracting horsemen from all across the country to come race in Wyoming with over $6.7 million being paid to horsemen in 2024.
The breeders program has seen dramatic growth with over 710 broodmares and 90 stallions currently, who must permanently reside in the state, and are producing racing offspring to participate in the lucrative state bred program. In 2024, over $8.5 million was awarded to owners, breeders and stallion owners who participated in the Wyoming Breeders Awards Program with 2025 estimated at reaching a record over $9 Million.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Contact: Brande Koltiska t: (307) 265-4015 e: brande.koltiska@wyo.gov w: gaming.wyo.gov
The information published has been compiled from either breeder organization websites or directly from breeder organizations in good faith. While every effort has been taken to publish accurate information, we strongly recommend that you check with the individual state / province on the eligibility of your stock for racing or breeding purposes. No responsibility is assumed for errors, omissions or any consequences arising from them.
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Of the twenty-seven states that are currently home to Thoroughbred racetracks, twenty also feature state breeding programs, incentives meant to reward breeders for keeping their bloodstock close to home and owners for racing their horses in their birth state. The money generated supplements purses and enables both groups to invest more in the places they call home.
For Cynthia McKee and Beau Ridge Farm, benefits like the West Virginia Thoroughbred Development Fund have allowed her and her late husband John not only to put down roots in their childhood home but also to flourish, building a program that has brought them success in the breeding shed and on the state’s racetracks.
Cynthia McKee’s roots in West Virginia racing date back to the opening of Charles Town in 1933, long before the breeder/owner/ trainer herself was born. Her father Charles O’Bannon was a 14-yearold boy watering the horses that pulled the starting gate when the racetrack opened and worked his way up to track superintendent, a position he held for more than 40 years. For the O’Bannon family, the sport and the equine athletes were a way of life, making McKee’s lifelong devotion to both a natural progression.
“My dad was the track superintendent, and my mom, she worked part-time in the admissions. I just grew up around horses and I liked them,” she recalled. “I guess I was five or six, and I got my first pony. My dad did a lot of stuff with the 4-H Pony Club around here.”
From there, McKee graduated to show jumping, “but I couldn’t make a living with show horses. I wanted to stay with the animals and the racing was the only way to do it.” First, she galloped horses and then went to work for Vincent Moscarelli, who along with his wife Suzanne bred and raced horses in the state, their Country Roads Farm producing Gr.1 winners Soul of the Matter and Afternoon Deelites for Burt Bacharach. It was Moscarelli who gave McKee a chance to take charge of his barn when he went away for a few days. “He came back, and he said he really thought he’d leave again because I’d won quite a few races,” she recalled. “He did it again the following year. But by then, I had started dating John [McKee].”
Raised in Kearneysville, John McKee graduated from Charles Town High School, served in the Navy, and then returned to the area to raise and breed Black Angus and Pinzgauer cattle. He started training racehorses in 1969 and bought the original Beau Ridge Farm near Bunker Hill in the early 1970s. By the latter part of the decade, he was racing in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and his home state. He met the former Cynthia O’Bannon through the racetrack when her hunters happened to be stabled in his barn:
“He said to me one day, he said, ‘Wouldn’t you rather have your two horses on a farm somewhere and you could move your jumps out there? I’d really like to have some more stalls. They just don’t
have any more stalls. You could just move your horses up there and set your show jumps up in that field,’” she recalled. “I moved my show horses up to his farm and he raced horses in my stalls. And I guess that’s how it started because I was up there every day taking care of my horses and riding.”
From there, John McKee and Cynthia O’Bannon were partners in breeding, owning, and training horses, making their home at Beau Ridge and taking turns traveling to tracks like Atlantic City to race their horses. They later moved to Kearneysville, where the couple built a three-furlong training track and a breeding program that has become quite the juggernaut for the Mountain State. In addition to their 170 acres, the McKee’s greatest investment to this point has been the stallion Fiber Sonde.
Bred by Aaron and Marie Jones, Fiber Sonde is a 2005 foal by Unbridled’s Song, sire of Arrogate and Liam’s Map, out of the Storm Cat mare Silken Cat. An incident with a fence left the colt with a broken shoulder, keeping him off the racetrack; John McKee then bought the two-year-old prospect at the Keeneland November Sale in 2007 for $8,000. The couple opted not to race him and instead sent him to stud at Beau Ridge. The gray stallion went on to become a superstar, topping the state’s sire list from 2018 to 2023 and finishing second to Juba in 2024 despite the 20-year-old’s fertility issues.
“We can only breed him once a day, and I try to be very selective with him,” McKee shared. “I don’t breed too many outside mares, but the people that supported us from day one with him, I still let them breed some. Indian Charlie is a really good cross with him, so we’ve bought a few Indian Charlie mares over the years. Distorted Humor also is a good cross with him. Those mares are going to come first.”
The most notable successes for the Fiber Sonde pairing with an Indian Charlie mare include four of his foals with the mare Holy Pow Wow: Late Night Pow Wow, Muad’dib, Duncan Idaho, and Overnight Pow Wow. Racing for Javier Contreras and Breeze Easy, Late Night Pow Wow became the son of Unbridled’s Song’s only graded stakes winner when she took the Gr.3 Charles Town Oaks in 2018 and the Gr.3 Barbara Fritchie at Laurel the following year. The mare also had five black-type stakes wins, including the Cavada, one of the nine stakes on the West Virginia Breeders’ Classic card.
Local trainer Jeff Runco purchased both Muad’dib and Duncan Idaho for owner David Raim. The former was second in the 2022 edition of the Gr.2 Charles Town Classic and won the Sam Huff West Virginia Breeders’ Classic Stakes the same year in addition to two other black-type stakes victories. Duncan Idaho captured the WVBC Dash for Cash Stakes this past October.
The McKees also bred Overnight Pow Wow, a 2021 foal that Cynthia convinced her husband to keep rather than sell as they had done with other Fiber Sonde-Holy Pow Wow foals. “He was more for selling than me,” Cynthia reflected. “I don’t like selling them.” Her instinct to keep the filly has reaped rewards, though John McKee, who passed away in early February 2023, missed out on Overnight Pow Wow’s thrilling start to her career.
The now four-year-old amassed eight wins in 11 starts in 2024, including a win in the WVBC Cavada against older fillies and mares in addition to her two black-type wins at their home track.
The success of the Fiber Sonde-Holy Pow Wow’s pairing made the mare’s untimely death in late December a bitter pill for McKee.
“The only thing I could tell you is, when that mare died, it liked to kill me,” she shared. “I cried for a week. I was going to sell everything and move to Charleston, South Carolina, and retire on Folly Beach. Then I got to thinking about Fiber Sonde and our many other mares. This is home.”
Beau Ridge is also home to five other stallions, including Redirect, another unraced prospect that could pick up where Fiber Sonde leaves off. McKee’s Direct the Cat, who has two WVBC stakes victories already, is a daughter of Redirect out of the Fiber Sonde mare Cat Thats Grey, another WVBC winner who has also become a producer for Beau Ridge: her 2022 colt, Im the Director, won last year’s West Virginia Futurity and her 2017 gelding, Command the Cat, was black-type stakes placed. A son of Gr.1 winner Speightstown out of the Seattle Slew mare alternate, Redirect stands for the same stud fee as Fiber Sonde, $1,000. That fee remains unchanged for 2025, allowing both to stay competitive in a state where the breeding reward program is such a draw.
“To me, the money is in the development fund awards,” McKee said. “So, the more [mares] I can get to them, the better.”
The state of West Virginia currently boasts two Thoroughbred racetracks, Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races, located near Charles Town in the state’s eastern tip, and Mountaineer Casino Racetrack and Resort, in Chester, near New Cumberland in the Northern Panhandle. These two racetracks hosted 285 race days in 2023, with 2,300 races total and an average field size of 7.4 horses.
Both tracks currently have casinos in addition to their racing facilities, their revenues providing more than $1 billion in funds for purses since the state legalized video lottery machines in 1994 and then added table games in 2007. The state also sets aside $800,000 in purse money for more than a dozen state-bred stakes, including the West Virginia Futurity for two-year-olds at Mountaineer, the Sadie Hawkins Stakes for fillies and mares three years old and up
at Charles Town, and the Robert G. Leavitt Memorial Stakes for three-year-olds, also at Charles Town. Both racetracks write one to three races per day for accredited state-breds as well.
Additionally, the West Virginia Thoroughbred Development Fund, established in 1983, incentivizes breeders and owners to not only breed in the state, but also to race there, paying a percentage of the accredited horse’s earnings at the state’s racetracks. Each year, breeders get 60%, owners 25%, and then 15% goes to the owners of the winning horse’s sire. To qualify, the horse’s breeder must be a resident or keep their breeding stock in the state, or the sire must be a resident of the Mountain State.
The Supplemental Purse Awards program, also known as the 10-10-10 Fund, distributes up to 10% of the winner’s share of the purse to the owner, breeder, and/or sire owner of an accredited state bred and/or sired winner. In all, the WVTDF awards up to $5 million to breeders, owners, and sire owners of state-bred or -sired horses that earn money at the state’s two racetracks. For Beau Ridge and McKee, this kind of money not only rewards their bloodstock investment in the state but also allows them to concentrate their racing there.
“We get around a large check in February every year. If that horse makes a penny and it’s by my stallion, then I make a penny. It’s based on your horse versus what other horses earn,” McKee shared. “The purses come here and there, and then the development fund, you get this big chunk of change all at one time. I tried to put enough away that I could operate for five weeks without having to touch any savings. Because you know in this business, you can be on top of the world one minute and you’re bottom of the heap the next time.”
In a state with a population of 1.77 million, one that has sustained racing for more than 90 years, the Thoroughbred Development Program shows that “at even one of the smaller racetracks, that you can be successful,” McKee observed. “You don’t have to be on the center stage to be successful. Do we make the money they make in New York and California? No. But even the little man that’s only got one horse, he’s going to get that check in February, too.”
No matter the size of the operation, whether it’s Beau Ridge with their six stallions, 30 mares, and racing stable of about 35, or a smaller operation, the state wants them to breed and race there and programs like the WVTDP enable that grassroots investment that keeps these circuits going. “Most are investing it all back in the industry, and they’re excited to be a part of it,” McKee said. “A lot of them pay all their bills off then. It wipes the slate clean, and we can play again.”
Between Mountaineer and Charles Town, the Mountain State will see upwards of 280 days of racing in 2025, with at least one race written for state-breds each day. In addition to the plethora of racing days and the WVTDF, the West Virginia Breeders’ Classic card provides stakes opportunities for state-breds each autumn; modeled on the Maryland Million, this special night of racing was the brainchild of the late Sam Huff, former NFL player and breeder. All of these encourage stables like McKee’s close to home rather than traveling to Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, and beyond: “I haven’t [raced elsewhere] much lately because of the breeding program. I mean, I almost lose money going out of state,” the trainer shared.
John’s death in 2023 has kept the former Cynthia O’Bannon at Beau Ridge more than ever. This native daughter remains focused on the sport in her home state, putting her time and energy not only into promoting the breeding program that sustains her but also continuing the program that she and her late husband spent years developing.
When Cynthia O’Bannon met John McKee in the late 1970s, they developed a partnership that lasted nearly 50 years. By the time the couple decided to build a life together, he had purchased Beau Ridge and started investing in bloodstock, determined to breed good horses and then race them. From there, the couple would take turns traveling around the Mid-Atlantic, starting horses at racetracks in Maryland, New Jersey, and Virginia.
In later years, they consolidated their racing to their home state and brought on stallions like Fiber Sonde, building their broodmare band to capitalize on their pedigrees. The couple became involved with the West Virginia Thoroughbred Breeding Association, John serving as a past president and Cynthia now occupying the same position. John’s passing at age 83 left both his wife and his farm bereft of the guiding hand that had been at the helm for so long.
“When he first passed away, I wanted to go to bed and pull the covers over my head. I couldn’t do it,” McKee shared. “But I had all these horses. I had employees. I had to go. And thank God that I did. Because if I would have sold everything, probably two or three months later, I’d be so damn bored, I wouldn’t know what to do.”
Crediting her late husband as her training mentor, Cynthia McKee continues running Beau Ridge and their racing stable, wearing the mantle of owner-operator, saying that “I just found that it’s easier if I do it myself.” She oversees 12 full-time employees between both facets of her business, which includes not only boarding many of the mares that her stallions cover but foaling them as well. She has also focused on cutting down the farm’s broodmare band: “There were 60 some mares here when he passed. I do have it down to 30. I’d like to cut it down to about 20 mares and maybe 20, 25 in training.”
Though she downplays her training skills – “I always tell everybody John’s a better trainer. I’m a better caretaker” – McKee had her best years as a conditioner yet in 2023 and 2024, earning $829,141 and $972,117 and finishing with a win percentage of 22% and 20%, respectively. This comes on the heels of her husband’s best years in 2020-2022, three seasons where they earned more than $1 million each year. She won two West Virginia Breeders’ Classics in 2023, with No Change taking the Onion Juice and Direct the Cat winning the Triple Crown Nutrition Stakes, and then four in 2024, with Catch the Humor, Direct the Cat,
No Change, and Overnight Pow Wow. As the 2025 racing season begins, she looks forward to more from Overnight Pow Wow and Direct the Cat plus several two-year-olds, all aiming to make this year’s Breeders’ Classic night another banner night for Beau Ridge.
“With these two-year-olds, getting them ready, you got to let them tell you, you can’t rush them too much. You got to let them tell you when they’re ready to move on. You might think they’re ready to work, and they might not even know what that means. So, you got to work with the horse a little bit and let them know what’s going on,” she shared. She aims to give each horse three weeks between starts, though “sometimes you have to do it in two, depending on how the condition books fit you.”
With six stallions, including a life changer in Fiber Sonde and a promising successor in Redirect, standing at Beau Ridge, a band of broodmares that continue to produce runners, and a stable full of established winners like Overnight Pow Wow and up-andcoming two-year-olds, Cynthia McKee is “not ready to hang it up quite yet.” She carries on, running the show while giving her late husband his due credit for what they built together. This horsewoman, though, “just [does] it. I get up in the morning and I just go, and I do as much as I can that day. There are times that I’m glad I’m busy because there are things that happen that you just feel like going to bed, pulling the covers over your head, and crying. But I can’t stop long enough to do that.”
“The main thing that kept me going is the horses, like Fiber Sonde. I couldn’t put him somewhere. I couldn’t do that. He built this farm. This is his home. He built this and [Holy] Pow Wow, and Ghost Canyon. They’ve given us everything, and now they got some age on them. What am I supposed to do? Boot them somewhere? I just kept thinking about that,” McKee reflected. Instead, she keeps going, planning, and racing, proof that staying close to home, thanks to the support of programs like the West Virginia Thoroughbred Development Fund, can sustain the sport as much as deeper pockets and larger stables have. Beau Ridge and Cynthia McKee show that long-term sustainable success in the sport of horse racing takes many forms and benefits from investment at all levels, a reminder of the many ways that men and women across the country and around the world make their living caring for and competing with these equine athletes.
Elevating performance and seeking the competitive edge is what makes equine supplements a billion-dollar industry, but what makes the difference between a supplement that simply creates ‘expensive urine’ and a nutritional supplement that could actually have an impact?
Associate professor at the University of Guelph, Wendy Pearson and Ph.D. candidate Dr. Nadia Golestani, answer this question and more in their quest to develop quality nutraceuticals with positive equine health benefits. Their latest study on Spirulina reveals potential for expediting recovery after intense exercise. It also holds promise supporting joint health and optimizing performance through enhancing oxygen delivery in the bloodstream.
After becoming a DVM, Dr. Nadia Golestani began to pursue her goal of becoming an animal nutritionist, enrolling in the University of Guelph’s Master of Animal Biosciences program under the supervision of Dr. Wendy Pearson.
After attending Pearson’s lectures on exercise physiology, Golestani developed a good understanding of the controversy surrounding antioxidants and the lack of research as to whether they were good for exercise performance or not. For her Master’s, Golestani examined inflammatory response of cartilage during exposure to nutraceuticals that could potentially have a role in equine joint care.
Golestani had her eyes opened to the potential of Spirulina after reading a book named Spirulina World Food. It was a gift from accomplished medicinal chemistry consultant, Ralph Robinson, which accompanied an award for Golestani’s research in equine nutrition and physiology.
Golestani wanted to explore ways Spirulina could be used in exercise physiology. Her Ph.D research, under Pearson, set out to study the effects of Spirulina as an antioxidant and how it could potentially modulate inflammation after high-intensity exercise in horses. It was made possible thanks to the support of Robinson, owner of Selected BioProducts (Herbs for Horses) Inc., and funding from Equine Guelph.
The blue-green algae is gaining popularity not just in human athletes but in equine ones as well. The nutritional profile contains C-phycocyanin and Beta carotene and 60 – 70% amino acids. It has vitamin B, iron, vitamin E and essential fatty acids, particularly gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) plus many more vitamins, proteins and minerals.
Golestani’s study focused on C-phycocyanin and Beta carotene in Spirulina with their potential antioxidant effects. New data shows antioxidants can be a double-edged sword with the capability of reducing inflammation as this may actually interfere with natural tissue adaptation after the rigors of exercise. Golestani’s study is looking for the best applications for Spirulina to optimize equine performance without interfering in the natural tissue adaptation process.
Some inflammation is normal after exercise and protects structures as they recover from the workout. Only when inflammation becomes excessive, does it become a concern in disrupting recovery.
“Transient inflammation is good and needed for recovery. Inflammation challenges the tissue, and the tissue responds by becoming stronger,” says Pearson. “What isn’t good is chronic, sustained inflammation. We want to see if we can do something about the way tissue responds to an exercise bout, without interfering with transient inflammation.”
Golestani explains, when a horse undergoes exercise, their ATP (adenosine triphosphate) producing mitochondria are working hard. One of the natural byproducts is Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS are highly reactive molecules containing oxygen), which is good unless they are produced in excess, leading to oxidative stress. When there is an imbalance between the production of
ROS and the body’s ability to detoxify them with antioxidants, this is when chronic oxidative stress can trigger vicious cycles of inflammation. Oxidative stress can also lead to cell death and therefore dysfunction and disease. Maintaining balance between ROS production and antioxidant defenses is essential for cellular health.
Golestani sums up, “Strenuous exercise, especially when it is high impact, is going to stress the horse’s joints and increase oxidative stress. Imbalance can damage the cells, proteins, lipids in the joint tissue and may lead to early onset of arthritis.”
Pearson adds, “Moderate intensity exercise is very good for protecting cartilage structure, but when you have repeated bouts of strenuous or very high intensity exercise it can tip the scales to more breakdown of cartilage than you have time to resynthesize. Tissue breakdown occurs when synthesis can’t keep up, that’s when you start to see declining structural integrity of the tissue.”
‘What is adequate recovery time’ becomes the million-dollar question with no definitive answer, given a multitude of variables including the starting fitness level, type of activity, intensity of work, and other factors specific to each horse as an individual. This is where talented horse trainers excel. They can pick up on a change of behavior in the horse in a workout even before physical signs of stress and adjust the training program accordingly.
Golestani researched the antioxidant effects of Spirulina, by looking at biomarkers associated with inflammation. In her study, biomarkers were measured before and after exercising horses that were given a Spirulina supplement against those who were not.
Results showed that exercise caused a temporary increase in nitric oxide (NO), a marker of oxidative stress, shortly after activity. This rise was discovered in both blood plasma and the synovial fluid. Horses given Spirulina had lower NO levels during recovery, indicating better management of oxidative stress. In joint fluid, NO levels increased 24 hours after exercise but were better controlled in the Spirulina group, with lower levels observed later in recovery. This signifies not only the potential for quick recovery from exercise but also properties that could promote joint health.
Another inflammation marker, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), was also measured. PGE2 levels in the blood peaked eight hours after exercise and were higher in horses that received Spirulina, suggesting a stronger initial response to exercise. In joint fluid, Spirulina-supplemented horses showed lower PGE2 levels early in recovery, which may help reduce inflammation in joints over time and lower chances of early onset of arthritis.
A key finding was that Spirulina boosted levels of Resolvin D1 (RvD1). “RvD1 is so important in resolving the inflammation and promoting the clearance of inflammatory cells and for tissue repair,” said Goestani. RvD1 is a bio active lipid mediator derived from omega-3 fatty acid. Horses receiving Spirulina had consistently higher RvD1 levels in their blood and joint fluid during after exercise.
The rise in the RvD1 biomarker highlights how Spirulina has the potential to enhance this natural resolution pathway and its potential to protect against inflammation, speed up recovery and promote cartilage protection.
Pearson echoed the dramatic increase in Resolvin D1 in the horse’s receiving Spirulina to be pretty strong evidence that it could protect horses from bouts of transient inflammation from becoming chronic and contribute to faster recovery after exercise.
Horses fed Spirulina in the study also had higher hematocrit levels, which means their blood could carry more oxygen, translating into potentially enhanced performance. They also maintained higher glucose levels during recovery, providing more energy. Eight hours after exercise the control group had a drop in glucose, but the group fed Spirulina did not. Retaining glucose stores post-exercise is especially helpful for performance horses that need sustained energy and endurance during training or competition.
Importantly, there were no negative effects on cartilage biomarkers, further suggesting Spirulina may also promote joint health during recovery.
“Buying a quality product requires looking beyond the label,” says Pearson. “There are so many products on the market today that it is virtually impossible for even somebody like me, who spends my life looking at nutraceuticals, to look at a label of one product and tell the difference between that and the product on the shelf right next to it.”
Looking for third party quality assurance can be one indicator on the label that the product has some validity. Examples include:
ISO 22000 (The International Organization for Standardization): Provides standards to ensure the quality, safety, and efficiency of food products.
HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points): A systematic preventive approach to identify, evaluate, and control hazards that are significant for food safety.
CCP (Critical Control Point): A step in the manufacturing process where control can be applied to prevent, eliminate, or reduce
ABOVE & LEFT: This study highlights Spirulina’s potential as a safe and natural dietary supplement for managing inflammation, protecting joint health, and supporting recovery in equine athletes.
a food safety hazard to acceptable levels including: properly mixing ingredients to ensure uniform distribution and prevent contamination, applying heat or other sterilization methods to eliminate microbial hazards and ensuring the final product is packaged in a way that prevents contamination and preserves quality.
NASC Quality Seal (The National Animal Supplement Council):
The NASC Quality Seal is a mark of quality assurance for animal health supplements in the USA.
GMP Certification (Good Manufacturing Practices): This certification ensures that the products are consistently produced and controlled according to quality standards. It covers all aspects of production, from the raw materials to the hygiene of staff.
UFAS (Universal Feed Assurance Scheme): This scheme is specific to the UK and ensures that animal feed and supplements are produced to high standards of safety and quality.
BETA NOPS (Naturally Occurring Prohibited Substances): This certification is particularly important for competitive horses. It ensures that the supplements are free from substances that are banned in equine sports.
Most importantly, Pearson implores horse owners to find out if the manufacturer has invested in research on the particular product they are marketing. “Lots of companies will talk about the fact that they’re science based, but if you peel off a layer or two, you find that in fact the science they’re talking about is science other researchers have done on ingredients that show up on the label on their product.”
Pearson emphasizes the importance of manufacturers conducting research of their products in the targeted species that supplement is created for. She takes a moment to lament the vast number of supplements on the market with no significant research behind them. It is much cheaper for companies to use anecdotal reports or sponsor a top rider to promote their products than conduct double blind studies with valid evidencebased results.
“The research is expensive,” says Pearson. “We are lucky to have funding from Equine Guelph for our latest study on Spirulina. If consumers prioritized purchasing products with research behind them, manufacturers that are not yet doing research on their products would have an economic reason to do so.”
So, horse owners have a bit of homework to do if they want a quality product and not just ‘expensive urine’. Asking to see the research on the product you intend to buy is the best bet for purchasing a product that is likely to deliver on its claims.
Pearson recalls when she started researching nutraceuticals for horses in 1997, “The word was not even well-known back then. It simply wasn’t a ‘thing’ at the time.” We have gone from whisperings of feed additives and ‘novel’ ingredients being the work of ‘witch doctors’ to the common place practice of adding supplements to feed.
“There is a night-and-day difference with upwards of 80% of horse owners adding something to their horses’ diet; whether that something is electrolytes or nutraceuticals or herbal supplements,” says Pearson. “These products can be really helpful in improving health, but they are not intended to be an opportunity for horse people to start to self-diagnose and self-treat disease.”
Pearson tells horse owners to always work with their veterinarian. “This is a very important point. Where these products are best positioned is when it’s in conversation with the vet; not that all vets are experts in nutraceuticals, but they are all experts in animal health and specifically animal disease.”
Potential problems arise if horse owners end up delaying treatment of a potentially serious problem by reaching for a
LEFT: Spirulina may protect against wear-and-tear on joints, helping reduce the risk of arthritis and supporting long-term joint health in active horses.
BELOW: Dr. Golestani’s study showed Spirulina helped improve oxygen delivery and energy reserves in horses.
supplement rather than calling their vet. Pearson cautions, “Using these products can potentially delay proper veterinary care when they’re not used properly.”
#1 Consult your veterinarian before adding supplements to your horse’s diet.
#2 Buy from a company that conducts research on their products and doesn’t just claim to be ‘science-based’.
Enhanced oxygen delivery and energy boost: Spirulina helped improve oxygen delivery and energy reserves in horses.
Support for joint health: Spirulina supplementation reduced markers of oxidative stress and enhanced inflammation resolution without damaging joint cartilage. This suggests Spirulina may protect against wear-and-tear on joints, helping reduce the risk of arthritis and supporting long-term joint health in active horses.
Faster recovery after exercise: Horses given Spirulina recovered more effectively after intense exercise, as seen by enhancing the production of pro-resolving molecules like Resolvin D1 (RvD1).
This makes Spirulina a practical addition to the diet of horses involved in regular training or high-intensity work.
These findings highlight Spirulina’s potential as a safe and natural dietary supplement for managing inflammation, protecting joint health, and supporting recovery in equine athletes. Further research is needed to confirm long-term benefits, but this current study provides evidence that Spirulina offers a promising tool for promoting health and performance in horses.
If you are responsible for a horse, it is important to stay current and always be open to learning! A pioneer in online equine education, Equine Guelph at the University of Guelph offers flexible online courses in Equine Health and Nutrition for everyone.
BENEFITS:
• horses under stress of training competition and travel
• before and after vaccinations
• horses with loose stool
• replenish good bacteria; before, during and after antibiotics
• available in powder or paste
• veterinarian formulated and recommended
Talk about a power lunch. Five years ago, Mark Davis, owner, and president of an electric power company and a restaurant owner, had lunch with horse-obsessed 14-year-old Gillian Guerra, and instantly dived into horse racing, even though he’s allergic to horses.
His partner Craig Dado, a long-time executive at Del Mar and Santa Anita before starting his own company, tells the story of the lunch which got Davis into racing: “I got a call from Gillian’s dad. He was a chef at Mark’s restaurant. Gillian worked there, too. He said, ‘I’ve got this daughter who’s horse crazy. She loves horse racing.’ He said, ‘What can I do?’ I said, “Okay, let me set something up.”
Dado went to trainer Doug O’Neill’s barn and ran into Steve Rothblum, a former trainer who is now a bloodstock agent for O’Neill. Dado takes up the story “Steve and I are tight. I said, will you have lunch with this girl?” He does and another gentleman is there. It was Mark Davis. So the meeting goes well. All of a sudden, Mark pops in and said, ‘I want to buy a horse for her.’
They claimed a horse for Gillian. The point is Mark loved what Steve did for her and said, ‘I want to buy horses.’ Then he writes a big check. That’s where Raging Torrent came from. Mark is head over heels in horse racing. He’s buying a farm in Kentucky. Gillian is now a freshman at the University of Kentucky. He’s paying her way through college. He’s an amazing, generous person.”
Asked about paying Gillian’s college costs, Davis described the concept of paying it forward, being nice to someone because someone was nice to him; “When I was 16, someone did something for me. She helped me with the horses five years ago. She’s a pretty special girl.”
Gillian said, “I’m eternally grateful for him. He saw I had a passion for it.”
Davis does, too. He didn’t let his allergy to horses stop him from having more than a dozen horses on his California farm, including three Clydesdales: “We got the first Clydesdale, Becky, when she was pregnant. The sire is a Quarter Horse. We might be starting a new breed.”
Davis named the nine-month-old foal Pegi for his company, the Precision Electric Group, Inc., with offices in Seattle and San Diego. Davis’s love of Clydesdale is immense: “They are gorgeous. They are so beautiful.”
Thoroughbreds are too, and Davis has more of them than he ever imagined: “It got a lot bigger than I thought it was getting. We bought five horses at the Keeneland Sale, two with Jeanie Buss, one of the Lakers owners. Jeanie never owned a horse other than with her family.”
Davis’s horses have taken him to Dubai, which is where he expects Raging Torrent to make a start, and possibly South Korea: “I’m still learning, because I’ve only been in racing for five years. I’m 71 years old. I don’t have to work very hard. I like doing all this stuff. It’s worth trying.”
Raging Torrent is why. Purchased for $75,000 as a two-year-old, he upset likely Sprint Champion The Chosen Vron by a head in the Gr.2 Pat O’Brien at Del Mar. After finishing seventh from the rail in the Gr.1 Breeders’ Cup Sprint, he captured the Gr.1 Malibu by a length and a quarter on opening day at Santa Anita, December 26th.
The two victories were especially meaningful to Dado, who was an executive at Santa Anita and Del Mar for 30 years: “It was pretty surreal to be in the winner’s circle for both the Pat O’Brien and the Malibu. I’ve been there presenting the trophy.”
Dado started working as an intern at Santa Anita in 1990 and worked his way up to executive roles there, from 19912000, and at Del Mar from 2001-2021.
Along the way he started Great Friends Stable in 2007: “I was Chief Marketing Officer at Del Mar and I wanted to bring fans into the game as new owners. Let current fans into the game. It’s very different from My Racehorse. We only have 20 shares.”
He left Del Mar in 2021 to start his own company in San Diego, Sports Injury Central. “It’s a media site helping gamblers and fantasy players with updated injury status and how it’s going to affect the outcome of games. My partner, David Chow, was the team doctor for the Chargers. We thought there was a void in the market, especially football. It’s very challenging but it’s a lot of fun watching the company grow. We had 750,000 people come to the website.”
He called Raging Torrent’s victory in the Malibu “Amazing. I worked at Santa Anita for 10 years. Opening day was always the highlight.”
ourteen years ago, Alabama grocery owner Robert Norman needed a new direction in his life: “I went through a divorce, something I really didn’t want. We actually had just bought a new home. I had two young sons. I went to stay in an apartment in downtown Thomasville by the railroad tracks. I was flipping through channels on TV. On TVG, they were doing a story about Union Rags (2012 Belmont Stakes winner). I said, ‘You know what? This divorce stuff is negative. I’ve got to do something to get out of this.’ I watched that story.”
FThen he went on the internet and learned all he wanted about Thoroughbred racing: “There’s a lot of stuff you can google.”
He found a partner and bought a Louisiana-bred. “It became a passion,” Norman said. “I guess we just thoroughly enjoy horse racing. Me and my ex-wife get along very well now. I named an Arkansas-bred for my ex-wife. We focus on the regional market: Oklahoma-bred, Texas-bred, Louisiana-bred.”
His star Louisiana-bred Secret Faith had a tremendous year in 2024 with six victories and a second by a head in seven starts for trainer Jayde Geiner. Racing against state-breds, she won five stakes by margins of three-quarters of a length, 14, 6 ¼, six and 7 ¼ on December 29th. Purchased for $75,000, she has already earned $367,022.
But she’s not the stable star. Norman’s Kentucky-bred, Coal Battle, purchased for $70,000, upped his dirt record to fourfor-four by taking the $250,000 Smarty Jones at Oaklawn Park, virtually wire-to-wire by four lengths on January 4th for trainer Lonnie Briley, who posted his first million-dollar year in 2024 ($1,055,476), his 34th year of training.
Norman recounted their connection: “My brother Mark, who also bought a few horses, was doing some googling and noticed a training center in Opelousas, Louisiana. The person who owned the training center recommended Lonnie. We wanted somebody who was honest. I have two trainers, Jayde and Lonnie, and I could not ask for better trainers. They let us get involved. It’s made it a very fun family business.“
And he knows all about family business. He majored in accounting at Troy University, and his first job was at a grocery warehouse. Then he made a dream come true for his father. “My dad had brain surgery when he was 21. He passed away at 52. His dream was to be in the grocery business. Mark and I just went and did it. He was alive when we had the first store.”
One store, Norman Food in Thomasville, Alabama, has grown into eight and includes ones in Mississippi, Florida and Georgia.
When Norman wants to get away from groceries, he turns to racing. “What horse racing does is vacations. We go to Lone Star Park or we race in Houston and go down to Galveston. We like to go to the Ocala Breeders Sales and we stop at the beach. We know all the best steak houses. We’re simple people, but we thoroughly enjoy it. You’ve got to take the good with the bad. It is a roller coaster of emotions.”
Briley is deeply appreciative of Norman’s perspective: “He’s a great guy, a good person. If you run 1-2-3 in a race, he’s happy. He loves the game. He likes to go to the sales. He’s a friend, more than an owner.”
Norman and Briley saw the Smarty Jones Stakes as the first important step in Arkansas to get on the Kentucky Derby trail. Norman said, “I slept good the night before the race, but the night before that, I didn’t hardly sleep at all. I just tossed and turned all night. My son Drew and I drove over eight hours to Oaklawn. I think he relaxed me. My step-son Logan was there too. My other son Nathan missed it. He stayed home. We were all excited about Coal Battle. I thought he looked good in the race. Reading the pace was very important. Juan (jockey Juan Vargas) did an excellent job.”
Briley was very surprised Coal Battle vied for the early lead: “Normally, we take him back. Vargas just couldn’t hold him. The fractions were slow. In the stretch, Vargas told me he just grabbed the bit and he was gone.”
In a post-race TV interview, Briley said early in the race he thought, “I’m going to kill that jockey.” Of course, he was much more appreciative of the rider, who’s ridden Coal Battle in five of his six starts, afterwards. Then he spoke of Coal Battle: “He’s a gutsy little horse. Don’t know if it’s sunk in yet. No. It’s crazy for the little guy, you know.”
A lot of people are rooting for the little guy’s horse. In his previous start, Coal Battle had won the $100,000 Springfield Mile at Remington Park. At the end of the Smarty Jones Stakes, the announcer called him “The pride of Remington Park.”
Coal Battle certainly gets around. He’s also raced at Evangeline Downs, Kentucky Downs, Keeneland and Delta Downs. “He’s easy to train,” Briley said. “He’s easy to be around. He’s run on slop, turf, muddy and fast tracks. The horse will run anywhere.”
At Churchill Downs on the first Saturday of May?
Of course, the phone started ringing after the Smarty Jones Stakes. “We have got calls about selling him,” Norman said. “Lonnie gets more calls than me. I got one last night. We’re going to let things calm down. As of right now, the decision is not to sell.”
Only Thoroughbreds could bring together Rich Mendez, a music executive from Puerto Rico who believes he was conceived at Saratoga Race Course; Sheila Rosenblum, a ballet prodigy from Switzerland; and Joey Platts, a Wyoming cowboy and oil and gas industry executive. Guns Loaded did that when he captured the $145,000 Mucho Macho Man Stakes by a neck at Gulfstream Park on January 4th.
“We’ve been very blessed,” Mendez, who founded Morplay Racing with his son Josh and partners Randy Hartley and Dean DeRenzo, who said. “It’s been an amazing ride so far, and it taught me a lot because you never know when that next one comes.”
Mendez’s uncle, Victor Sanchez, was a jockey. “My uncle has been here at Gulfstream Park for 52 years,” Mendez said. “My mom used to walk horses at Saratoga with my dad. The story is I was conceived somewhere at Saratoga Race Course. I’m sure it was in a barn somewhere.”
It didn’t take long for Mendez to fall in love with horses: “I’ve always loved horses. The smell of being around the barn. It intrigued me. I just always loved watching the big races on TV. You always saw the white-haired trainer, Bob Baffert. He was a rock star.”
Mendez would work with rock stars in his career as a music executive at Rich Music, an independent record label he founded with his son Josh in 2007.
After purchasing his first property in Ocala, he met Harley. Then DeRenzo. Harley and DeRenzo let Mendez into their pinhooking operation. They, in turn, joined Morplay Racing.
At the September 2022 Keeneland Sales, Harley and DeRenzo landed an Iowa-bred colt named No More Time for $40,000. Racing as a two-year-old for trainer Jose D’Angelo, No More Time finished second in his maiden debut then won a maiden by 6 ¾ lengths.
No More Time made his three-year-old debut in the Macho Mucho Man Stakes and finished fifth. He rebounded to win the Gr.3 Sam F. Davis Stakes by a length and a quarter, Morplay’s first graded stakes victory, and then finished second by a neck to Domestic Product in the Gr.3 Tampa Bay Derby.
D’Angelo trains Guns Loaded, an $800,000 purchase at Keeneland. He too, finished second in his maiden debut and also won his maiden in second start. Stepping up to stakes company, he won the Macho Mucho Man.
Mendez said, “I love the fact that he is winning. My trainer and I, we’ve got a unique relationship. My trainer has become a really good friend. We talk probably three or four times a day.”
D’Angelo said, “I’m very happy to train for them. They have a lot of confidence in me. At the end of the day, you need good horses to be a good trainer.”
Sheila Rosenblum’s Lady Sheila Stable employs three talented trainers, D’Angelo, Linda Rice and Brad Cox. Two of them have her horses on the early Derby trail, Guns Loaded, trained by D’Angelo, and the undefeated, four-for-four New York-bred Sacrosanct, who is trained by Cox. “It’s your reason to wake up early every single day,” Rosenblum said.
“You have a dream: be there in May. It’s very rare to have two possibilities on the same path for the Derby. It would be so amazing to me.”
She’s on an amazing run. Besides Sacrosanct, she and partners own the undefeated four-for-four New Yorkbred With the Angels, who is trained by Rice.
Rosenblum had a whiff of the Derby trail nine years ago when Matt King Coal finished fourth by 2 ½ lengths in the 2016 Wood Memorial. He didn’t make the Kentucky Derby, but he earned $662,650 in his career from just 13 starts.
Lady Sheila Stables top earner was La Verdad, the 2015 Eclipse Champion Female Sprinter who won 15 of 21 starts and earned $1,458,100. La Verdad died on May 10th, 2020, from complications with colic. Just six days earlier she had foaled a healthy colt by Into Mischief. Dancing, not horse ownership, seemed her destiny. Born in Basel, Switzerland, she spent years at the Royal Ballet School in London, then the School of American Ballet, the associate school of the New York City Ballet in New York City: “I went there as a ballet dancer when I was 14 and I stayed.”
She would turn to modeling, working with the wellknown agencies Wilhelmina and Ford, and then to horses: “My family didn’t like animals but I turned it into a way of life.”
She founded the all-female Lady Sheila Stable more than 10 years ago: “That was a dream come true from my ex-husband. He wanted to buy a dressage horse for me. I had this wonderful idea to get a couple of Thoroughbred yearlings. And he did. And that’s how it started. It’s the most humbling sport and profession. It’s been lovely. I’ve met a group of wonderful people.”
She is a board member of the March of Dimes, an advocate for children’s rights and is deeply committed to after-care for horses: “I’m very pro aftercare, especially New Vocations. We are all involved with them.”
Now, she is officially on the Derby trail with two horses: “The Derby is my son Erik’s birthday. All I can do is pray.”
She is realistic: “I don’t have the numbers others do. I have a handful. I’ve now spread my wings to breeding. It’s something I’m sticking to with a passion.”
Joey Platts’ passions are horses and rodeos. Born in the small town of Lyman, Wyoming, Platts won a silver belt buckle in team roping. His wife Wendy was Miss Rodeo Wyoming in 1981. They keep rodeo horses on their 30-acre farm in southeastern Wyoming near the Utah border.
Platts bought his first Thoroughbred from Becky Thomas of Sequel Stallions in the early ’80s, and they are still working together four decades later.
Looking for a tax write-off for his heavy construction business, the Platts claimed Lusty Latin for $62,500 after he finished second by a nose at Hollywood Park on November 29th, 2001. The following year, after finishing third in both the Gr.3 El Camino Real Derby and the Gr.1 Santa Anita Stakes to Came Home, Lusty Latin took the Platts to the Kentucky Derby. Lusty Latin finished 15th, way behind War Emblem. Lusty Latin would go on to finish his career with six victories, six seconds and nine thirds in 50 starts, earning $439,729.
Three men with ties to racing longer than four decades, Al Gold, the majority partner of Gold Square LLC, Dr. Michael Lee and George Messina, celebrated Cyclone State’s emphatic 3 ½ length victory in the $150,000 Jerome Stakes at Aqueduct, January 4th, his third straight victory in his stakes debut. “They’re great guys,” Cyclone State’s trainer Chad Summer said. “Michael brought his wife and three girls to the track. They had a great time in Times Square. He’s a guy who just loves the game. George has a trainer in his family. We’ve got a lot of people on this horse’s back. It’s been a great ride.”
Cyclone State’s victory was the first graded stakes score for both Lee and Messina, who are related through marriage. Gold’s horses, however, have been in the national spotlight many times.
Though he grew up near Monmouth Park in New Jersey, his first visit to a racetrack came in upstate New York. His family routinely spent vacations in the Catskills at the then-famous
Grossinger’s Hotel in Liberty, N.Y. and at the Concord in nearby Monticello. When he was 16, he overheard men talking about a horse they liked racing that night at Monticello Raceway. Gold went to the track that night, cashed a bet and never looked back. “A lifetime of enjoyment for me,” Gold said. “That got me addicted to it. You just walked into the place, and it was electric, Monticello. Everybody looked so happy.”
Later in his life, he frequented Monmouth Park: “I went 90 minutes before post time. I just loved it so much.”
He made his career in the family business of real estate: “I never really liked it. I needed the money to get horses and go to the track.”
He bought his first Thoroughbred in 2004. He named several of them uniquely: My Italian Rabbi, Meet the Mets, Geaux Mets, Full Court Felicia, Who Hoo That’s Me and Howard Wolowitz for a character in the TV comedy The Big Bang Theory.
But he gave his best horse a serious name, Cyberknife, because that device helped him survive prostate cancer. He learned the bad news on December 7th, 2020, his 65th birthday. A cyberknife is a robotic radiation therapy device. Despite its name, a cyberknife is part of a noninvasive procedure which delivers radiation to cancer cells without damaging other healthy issues or cells. “There’s a more accurate name for it now,” Gold said. “Fortunately my doctor caught it earlier. Cancer hit me in three more spots, but I get a blood test every three months. A shot every six months. My last tests have been clear.”
He hoped Cyberknife, a $400,000 purchase at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Selected Yearlings Showcase, would tell others that prostate cancer can be treated and is no longer a death sentence.
Trained by Brad Cox, Cyberknife gave Gold his first Gr.1 stakes victory in the 2022 Arkansas Derby; a start in the Kentucky Derby finishing far back, and another Gr.1 win in the Haskell. He also finished second to Epicenter in the Gr.1 Travers and second by a head to Horse of the Year Cody’s Wish in the Gr.1 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. Cyberknife earned $2,137,520 with five victories, four seconds and one third in 13 career starts. Gold sold Cyberknife’s breeding rights to Spendthrift Farm, and he entered stud in 2023.
Asked about his best moment in racing, Gold said, “When my kids, Dayna and Bryan (now 37 and 34), are there with my wife Holly and they are smiling and happy, like when we did the walkover for the Derby.”
Lee, his wife Jennifer, and their three children, Emma Claire, Annalise and Ellie, 20, 18 and 16, enjoyed visiting New York City and, of course, the victory in the Jerome. “Super exciting,” Lee, a 50-year-old ear, nose and throat doctor in Mobile, Alabama, said. “We watched the race from the rail in the winner’s circle. Cyclone State took over. It was exciting. The kids enjoyed the attention.”
Lee’s grandfather, Willys Rhodes, was a trainer in South Mississippi: “He had a small track and a barn. I used to go out there and train horses that would ship into the Fair Grounds. My uncles helped train a few horses. I was probably around 10. It always starts with the love of animals. The people surrounding them are super entertaining. The whole atmosphere. It’s hard to understand if you’re not in it.”
Lee and Messina have partnered on several horses: “George’s son, Trace, is an assistant for Brad Cox. I met Al through Steve Margolis. He trains for me in New Orleans. We met at the sales. Al and I both kind of hit off. Through Trace, I got to know Chad Summers. Al had some horses with Brad at the time. At Saratoga, we hung out with Chad and Al. At the Keeneland Sales, they approached us. We said Al doesn’t usually do partnerships, but we all knew each other.”
Lee’s been smiling ever since: “We’re having a great time with this horse.”
Messina has a catering service in New Orleans which started in 1961 and now does all the catering for the Fair Grounds.
“My interest in horses started when my dad had a restaurant close to Jefferson Downs,” Lee said. “Horsemen from Fair Grounds stopped there. Owners, too. We put up pictures. My dad owned a couple of horses. My wife’s grandfather, Willys Rhodes, was a breeder, owner and trainer, all Louisiana-breds. In 1997, we put together a group, all family members, 18 of us. We bought a horse, Skyy Me Up.”
Skyy Me Up won three of nine starts in 1997 and ’98. “We bought a couple more horses,” Messina said. “I stayed in the game.”
He had more luck as a partner on T.B. Track Star, who captured the Gr.3 1999 Lone Star Derby.
He’s delighted that Lee is his partner: “Mike was part of Skky Me Up. Mike had a love for the horses just like I did. He did well with his medical practice. We decided to partner up. We were lucky that Al asked us to partner with him on Cyclone State. I’ve owned horses, but I’ve never been on the Derby Trail. It’s beyond my wildest imagination.”
The desire to suppress unwanted behavior in the horse can present for many different reasons. The behaviors that we are talking about can be anything from poor performance to hyper-excitability, distraction, discomfort on girthing up, not responding to the jockey, bucking, rearing, squealing, kicking or aggression.
Often it is assumed that overt behaviors are hormonally driven; however, it can be easy to discount many other possible causes of these behaviors, especially those that are related to pain. A full clinical examination by a veterinarian is always warranted when considering unwanted behavior in the horse in order to appropriately identify the cause and consider the most appropriate treatment options.
Common causes of abnormal/unwanted behavior can include:
• Musculoskeletal pain (lameness)
• Gastric ulceration
• Dental disease
• Poorly fitting tack
• Stress
• Hormonal influence
• Learnt behavior
There are also many reasons for normal and abnormal behaviors that can be associated with the reproductive system. Some of these could be identified as undesirable behaviors when associated with performance.
Horses are seasonal long day breeders and are influenced by daylight length. This means that the majority of mares have inactive ovaries in the winter and do not exhibit estrus behavior during this time. In comparison, in the summer months, they exhibit a reproductive cycle that lasts an average of 21 days. They spend, on average, 5-7 days in estrus, ‘in season’, and 14 days in diestrus, ‘not in season’.
In the spring and autumn months the mare undergoes a transitional period. During this time, estrogen concentrations are variable, and estrus behavior can be seen irregularly. Whilst stallions are also affected by seasonality, they still exhibit reproductive behavior all year round.
ABOVE: Unwanted hormonal behaviors can include; hyper-excitability, distraction, not responding to the jockey, rearing, squealing, kicking or aggression.
ABOVE: A mare’s reproductive cycle can also be influenced by artificial light.
The mare’s reproductive cycle can also be influenced by artificial light and therefore, it is worth considering that performance horses who are exposed to stable lights beyond the normal daylight hours in spring, autumn or winter may cycle for a longer period of the year or even throughout winter.
Timing of puberty in the horse is varied and affected by both genetic and environmental factors. Not only by age but also by time of year in which they were born, body condition and social cues. Puberty in fillies is usually at around 12-19 months compared to colts at around 10-24 months, however, there are wide variations from these reference ranges.
Normal estrus behavior occurs under high estrogen and low progesterone influence. Commonly associated behaviors include receptivity to stallions/geldings, vocalization, increased frequency of urination and presentation of hindquarters in a wide based stance.
Normal diestrus behavior under a dominant progesterone state includes repulsion to the stallion and can occasionally be associated with aggressive behavior to other horses. During pregnancy, the mare will also be under a dominant progesterone influence and is unlikely to exhibit estrus behavior particularly in the first trimester. Later in gestation, a peak in testosterone and estrogen levels may be associated with changes in behavior.
• Ovarian pain
Many mares will show an obvious reaction upon rectal palpation of the ovary when close to ovulation, suggesting that the dominant follicle/ovary can sometimes be tender at this time. Comparatively, humans often describe some ovarian pain around the time of ovulation. Therefore, it can be assumed that some mares could also experience discomfort around the time of ovulation.
Other possible causes of ovarian pain that can occasionally occur in normal cyclicity include ovarian hematomas and hemorrhagic anovulatory follicles. It is also a consideration that external pressure placed onto the lumbar region close to the ovary around the time of ovulation could rarely elicit a painful response in some individuals.
• Vaginal pain
Vaginal pain has occasionally been associated with conditions such as vaginitis and pneumovagina. These conditions describe inflammation and/or air in the vagina. These are most commonly associated with poor perineal conformation and can be evident in some performance mares.
If vaginal pain is suspected due to poor perineal conformation, then placement of a caslicks vulvoplasty may prove to be beneficial. If concurrent infection or urine pooling is suspected, then further intervention may be required.
• Reproductive tumors
Reproductive cancer affecting the ovaries is one of the most common causes of cancer in the mare, the most common being the granulosa theca cell tumor (GTCT). These are generally locally invasive and are unlikely to cause any further health problems if the affected ovary is removed. They are often identified with a change in behavior. On rectal examination a common finding would be to identify one enlarged and one small ovary.
Depending on which reproductive hormones the tumor secretes is likely to influence the associated behavior. This can include stallion-like behavior, aggression, persistent estrus behavior or complete absence of reproductive behavior. The severity of this often depends on the stage at which this condition is identified. Other types of ovarian tumors are less common but depending on if/which hormones are secreted will dictate which hormonal behaviors are associated. It is suspected that occasionally there could be ovarian pain associated with some of these cases particularly when the ovary is very large in size.
• Mares
To have the most successful outcome in controlling reproductive hormonal behavior in the mare, it is important to understand whether the unwanted behavior is being exhibited all year round or just in the summer months and whether it is related to a particular stage of the estrus cycle.
Whilst it is commonly assumed that most behavior problems are associated with the mare being in season, occasionally some mares can show unwanted aggressive behavior under the influence of progesterone – when they are not in season.
Furthermore, it can be tricky to interpret this when trying to link hormonal behaviors to performance based unwanted behaviors and these signs can often be very individual. Keeping records of behavior versus stage of the reproductive cycle can help to try and decipher whether reproductive hormones are likely to be playing a part in the unwanted behavior. However, this does require careful monitoring and, most likely, multiple reproductive ultrasound examinations.
The other consideration is that unwanted behaviors are related to reproductive pain or abnormal hormone production due to pathological conditions of the reproductive tract as previously described.
• Progesterone/Progestins
Progesterone is the dominant hormone produced by mares in diestrus. There are a multitude of systemic progestin (progesterone-like medications) available for use in horses in injectable and oral formulations.
Altrenogest is a synthetic progestin commonly used to suppress estrus behavior by acting as a progesterone agonist. This means that the horse is likely to exhibit normal diestrus behavior for that individual whilst it is being administered. Altrenogest is molecularly very similar to the anabolic steroids trendione and trenbolone. Occasionally the product may contain trace levels of these anabolic steroids. Therefore, its use for horses in training is to be taken with extreme caution and withdrawal times adhered to. It is banned for use in racing thoroughbreds in some countries.
There is also evidence to show that altrenogest can exhibit a reduced stress response and sedative-like effects in some horses, particularly mares. This effect may be beneficial in anxious individuals in training circumstances. However, arguably, dependent on the individual, a reduced stress response could have either a positive or negative effect on performance.
Injectable progesterone applications have been used in racing thoroughbreds with appropriate clearance times before racing. These are often available in oil-based preparations which are commonly associated with injection site reactions and therefore, many trainers avoid administering these within 3 days of racing.
Upon cessation of progesterone supplementation, many mares will present with estrus signs 2-7 days after treatment, as this mimics normal luteolysis at the end of the diestrus phase. Therefore, the timing of administration and cessation of progesterone/progestin treatments is a crucial consideration when being used for the prevention of estrus behavior.
• Intra-uterine devices (IUDs)
IUDs have been historically utilized to mimic early pregnancy in the mare with varying success. These require an ovulation to act upon to extend the life of the corpus luteum by blocking the hormonal release that normally brings them back into season. Therefore, they are only useful once the mare is already cycling.
Glass marbles have been the most used IUD historically; however, these are no longer recommended due to multiple evidenced side effects including risk of glass fragmentation in the uterus. The use of PMMA spheres or magnetic devices such as the iUPOD would be a preferable and safer alternative if an IUD was going to be used. Interestingly, in the author’s experience speaking with clinicians who have administered these devices, there is surprisingly positive client satisfaction despite the inconsistent and variable evidence of the success of these devices in the literature.
• Oxytocin
Administration of the hormone, oxytocin, at specific time points when the mare is in diestrus can extend diestrus by up to 60-90 days. This technique is evidenced by multiple studies. For optimal success, reproductive ultrasound would be used to identify ovulation and carefully plan the timing of injectable administration.
However, some studies have also evidenced successful extension of the diestrus phase without known timing of ovulation. The major downside of this technique is the need for administration of multiple injections/multiple reproductive examinations to time ovulation.
• Immunological approach
Gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH) is a hormone produced by the brain that is responsible for stimulating follicle growth in the ovaries and activation of a hormonal cascade to bring the mare into estrus.
GnRH vaccinations generate an immune response against GnRH, suppressing the hormonal cascade and ovarian activity and therefore, estrus behavior. An equine licensed product has previously been available in Australia. However, this is no longer in production. We have the option of a swine formulation, Improvac®, which has commonly been used in equids off license.
Major drawbacks for the use of this are common adverse injection site reactions, risk of anaphylaxis and concern over extended length of ovarian suppression. Therefore, this option would not be recommended in mares with a future breeding potential.
• Surgical approach
Ovariectomy is a treatment option for hormonal behavior in mares. The ovary is the only supply of progesterone in the horse but is not the only supply of estrogen.
Ovariectomy has been associated with good client satisfaction in many cases to resolve unwanted hormonal behavior. However, in some mares, whilst removal of the ovaries would prevent cyclicity, it can occasionally result in persistent estrus behavior in the absence of progesterone produced by the ovaries. This is also a permanent option that will remove breeding potential.
The techniques discussed so far are not exhaustive and there are many other methods that have been used to affect cyclicity or hormonal behavior including pregnancy, induction of diestrus ovulation, GnRH analogue medication and infusion of intrauterine medical grade plant oils.
There are a few medicated options for hormonal manipulation in males. Progestagen administration e.g. oral altrenogest administration can quieten stallion like behavior in males but is banned for use in racing and training in some countries’.
Immunization with off license GnRH vaccines such as Improvac®, suppresses pituitary-gonadal hormone production aiming to cause a ‘chemical castration.’ However, results can be variable, particularly in mature stallions. As mentioned previously with mares, the downside of these vaccines are injection site reactions, risk of anaphylaxis and risk of prolonged sterility in future breeding animals.
Occasionally nutritional supplements have been used with effect in stallions such as L-tryptophan, a precursor of the neurotransmitter serotonin. This has induced calm and fatigue-like behavior in a number of species.
Synthetic preparations of calming pheromones based on an equine appeasing pheromone produced in perimammary gland secretions of lactating females have also been used with such success. Of course, the use of these to calm behavior vs the desire to generate an athletic performance animal is a consideration and results are likely to have wide individual variation.
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The horse’s eyesight has evolved to scan its environment rather than picking up sharp details, in order to survive from predators. As a prey animal, the horse’s eyes are eight times larger than a human’s eye; however, this makes them more vulnerable to injury and disease that may be catastrophic. Horses develop many of the same eye problems as humans such as glaucoma, corneal ulcers, cataracts and other issues.
Vision is provided by light entering the eye, which is made into an image by the brain through various complex biomechanical and physical processes.
As light enters the eye, it is targeted to the retina by the cornea and the lens bending the light. This light reaches the sensory tissue at the back of the eye. In fact, the retina or nervous tunic is made of cells that are extensions of the brain coming off the optic nerve. The retina consists of 2 types of photoreceptors called rods and cones. The rod cells are more light-sensitive, thus providing night vision, whereas the cones are less light sensitive but provide visual acuity and the ability to see color. The optic disc in the retina does not contain photoreceptors and is the
location the optic nerve leaves the eye to transmit the visual information to the visual cortex of the brain.
Because the horse’s eyes are positioned on the side of the head, the range of vision is roughly 350 degrees, thus, allowing the horse to spot potential predators. Due to the positioning of the eyes, the horse has two blind spots that include in front of the face and behind its head extending over its back and behind the tail.
The horse has both binocular and monocular vision. Monocular vision means vision in one eye only and binocular vision means seeing with two eyes. 65 degrees of the 350 degree vision consists of binocular vision while the remaining 285 degrees is monocular vision. As a result, the horse has a smaller field of depth perception compared to a human. The horse must raise or lower its head in order to increase its range of binocular vision. By introducing a bit and making the horse hold its head perpendicular to the ground, the binocular vision becomes less focused on distant objects and more focused on what is immediately in front of the horse. Show jumpers and jump jockeys allow the horse to raise its head a few strides before a jump so that the horse can properly assess the jumps to allow appropriate take-off.
Horses’ eyes have evolved to allow them to have good vision in dim light and due to this evolution they have better vision on slightly cloudy days compared to sunny, bright days. There are two particular structures that allow them to have superior night vision, which include a high proportion of rods to cones (20:1) and the presence of the tapetum lucid.
The horse’s large pupils allow a large amount of light to enter and the size of the retina allows a high number of cells to be involved in the capturing of light. In addition to the rods and cones, the horse’s tapetum lucidum is a reflective structure in the back of the eye that bounces light back to the photoreceptors for a second time, thus further increasing the ability to capture more light. Ultimately, this structure allows greater night vision.
Interestingly, horses have also evolved structures to protect their eyes from photic damage during bright sunny days. The pupil has the ability to significantly constrict in order to reduce the amount of light entering the eye. In addition, there is a structure referred to as the corpora nigra, which is a bulbous structure extending from the iris into the space of the pupil that acts as a shade.
Horses have dichromatic vision; therefore, they are not color blind but they have a smaller spectrum than humans typically do. Horse’s dichromatic vision means they see in the green-blue spectrum and the ocular variations based upon them. They cannot distinguish red and are often thought to have a redgreen color blindness. The horse’s color vision must be taken into account when designing obstacles for horses to jump.
There are three layers to the eyelids that include a thin layer of skin covered in hair, a layer of muscles that allow the opening and closing of the eyelid and the palpebral conjunctiva, which lies against the eyeball. The horse also has a third eyelid, also known as the nictitating membrane which has the function of protecting the cornea.
Non-pigmented third eyelids are more susceptible both to solarinduced inflammation and to squamous cell carcinoma. Therefore, careful scrutiny of this structure is important. Prominence of the third eyelid may be a result of inflammation caused by solar-induced inflammation or conjunctivitis (inflammation of the conjunctiva). Inflammation and neoplasia should be differentiated on the basis of clinical appearance. For example, squamous cell carcinoma has a plaque-like appearance and erosion. Conjunctivitis is the inflammation with thickening and reddening of the transparent membrane that lines the eyelid and eyeball. Any suspected tumor should be excised and undergo histopathology to determine if it is indeed neoplasia or a type of inflammation. Other neoplasia that may occur in the eyelids are melanomas or periocular sarcoids.
Entropion is the inversion of the eyelid margin and lashes. Often seen in foals as a consequence of either anatomical imperfection or of dehydration and debility, it is the inward rotation of the eyelid that leads to the rubbing of hair in the cornea leading to keratitis. Later onset entropic is usually a consequence of a traumatic injury and can result if primary repair of an eyelid laceration has not been performed.
Trauma to the eyelids may result in bruising or a laceration. If bruising has occurred, a warm compress may be helpful if the horse will tolerate it. If a laceration has occurred it should always be repaired.
The horse has a pair of nasolacrimal ducts that carry lacrimal secretions, or tears, from the eye to the nasal cavity.
Keratoconjunctivitis sicca is a deficiency in the acqueous portion of the tear film and is relatively rare. If it occurs, it is a result of damage to the facial nerves or direct damage to the lacrimal gland or duct. With the lack of tears the cornea appears dull and lacklustre and may lead to corneal ulceration. It is often associated with a mucopurulent eye discharge as well as pain and inflammation. This condition can be managed with regular cleaning and the application of a tear replacement solution.
Acquired stenosis/occlusion of the lacrimal drainage system may be a consequence of infectious, trauma, neoplastic or inflammatory disease within the drainage system or external to it. It is often presented with epiphora (tear overflow) or a mucopurulent discharge if infection is involved. Following treatment of the underlying cause, the goal is to re-establish the drainage system with flushing of the duct with saline solution, or a combination of steroid, antibiotic (if required) and saline solution.
The sclera is the white of the eye which is the relatively tough outer layer of the eye and is covered by a thin mucous membrane, referred to as the conjunctiva, and runs from the edge of the cornea and covers the inside of the eyelid.
Conjunctivitis is the inflammation and swelling of the conjunctiva and includes a primary conjunctivitis or a secondary conjunctivitis. Primary conjunctivitis is inflammation caused directly by irritants, chemicals, toxins and bacteria. However, conjunctivitis may be secondary to another ocular disease such as disorders of the lacrimal system, eyelid problems, and keratitis. In addition, conjunctivitis may be a non-specific symptom of other systemic diseases such as a respiratory viral infection. Conjunctivitis presents with a reddened inflamed conjunctiva with mold, purulent, serous or a combination of these discharges. The horse will have discomfort of the eye with this ailment.
Conjunctival foreign bodies are often acute and unilateral and caused by organic material resulting in excessive tearing, inflammation of the conjunctiva and ocular discomfort.
Conjunctival neoplasia is most often a squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) as this tumor usually affects areas of epithelial transition such as the mucocutaneous junction of the eyelids. The extent and appearance of the lesion is variable but SCC should always be considered especially in those horses lacking pigment in those areas. The symptoms range from mild ocular discomfort with discharge to plaque-like and cauliflower-like masses without ulceration.
The cornea is the transparent front part of the eye that covers the iris, pupil and anterior chamber. It is a domed-shaped structure that acts as the eye’s windshield protecting the eye from insult such as an infection. Along with the tear film, it provides a proper anterior refractive surface for the eye, in fact, it contributes twothirds of the refractive power of the eye. Congenital problems of clinical significance are rare in horses but acquired corneal problems as a result of trauma are common in horses.
Traumatic keratitis due to lacerations or penetrating injuries are common and in most cases involve full thickness penetration, acqueous loss and iris prolapse. This condition presents with sudden
and severe pain accompanied with excess tearing and blepharospasm (involuntary tight closure of the eyelids). The extent of the damage to the cornea can be determined by the use of fluorescein dye. If the wound is not repaired quickly then the iris may become incarcerated and the restoration of the normal eye anatomy is difficult.
Abrasions to the surface of the cornea is a common condition seen by equine practitioners. Some simple scratches heal quickly while others may become more complex, involving fungal or bacterial infections resulting in a protracted recovery.
Corneal ulcers are a defect in the surface of the epithelium of the cornea that involves the underlying stroma. They are often described as sores on the cornea. It is important that they are diagnosed and treated promptly as there is potential that the horse’s vision may be affected. The clinical symptoms are often ocular discomfort with excessive tearing, squinting or blepharospasms. Discoloration and swelling of the cornea and the eventual development of blood vessels around the ulcer and an irregularity of the cornea. The depth of the ulcer must be established and it may range from superficial to deep.
Liquefactive stromal necrosis (melting ulcers) are not an uncommon condition in the horse and may present acutely or as a progression from a corneal ulcer. It should be deemed as an emergency because corneal perforation may result. This disease may be accompanied by uveitis.
Corneal foreign bodies are usually organic material and present with blepharospasm, excess tearing and pain. Various illuminations, magnifications as ophthalmic stains may be used to identify it and aid in removal.
Bacterial keratitis is often seen after a corneal injury especially if an ulcer is present. The horse will demonstrate acute eye pain with serous discharge that quickly becomes mucopurulent or purulent. The clinical appearance is not usually diagnostic and cultures and scrapings should be taken from the edge of the ulcer. This procedure ensures the correct selection of treatment and pain relief.
Mycotic keratitis is uncommon in the UK but with the changing climate it may become more prominent. This type of keratitis is a result of fungal growth so tends to occur in climates supportive of this type of growth. Diagnosis is based on the history, clinical appearance and the demonstration of fungal hyphae and positive fungal culture. This disease may be a consequence of inappropriate drug therapy (such as corticosteroids) or from previous corneal trauma. Following the identification of the fungus, topical treatments can be used but may take weeks to months.
The uveal tract consists of three parts that include; The choroid which is the tissue layer filled with blood vessels; The ciliary body that is the ring of tissue containing muscles that change the shape of the lens as well as producing the clear fluid that fills the space between the cornea and the iris; The iris which is the colored part of the eye.
Persistent pupillary membranes are vascular arcades and developing tissue of the eye that fail to atrophy as the eye matures. These are very common in horses and usually have no consequence and no treatment is needed.
Cysts may arise in various parts of the uveal tract and are not uncommon in the horse. Irrespective of their origin, they may vary between pigmented to unpigmented and are smooth, round and do not invade neighboring tissue. No treatment is required except on rare occasions when they interfere with the horse’s vision.
Neoplasia of the uvea is not common but may arise and are often melanomas that are locally invasive but without cellular malignancy.
Blepharospasm, photophobia (brightness causes pain) excess tears Anterior chamber hypopyon (milky white fluid)
Eyelid oedema
Mild oedema making cornea dull
Chemosis (eye irritation)
Miosis (pupil constriction can be intense)
Low intraocular pressure
Inflammatory cells in the vitreous
Immobile or partially mobile iris
Posterior synechiae (adhesions)
Secondary cataract formation
Lens subluxation or luxation
Retinal detachment
Shrinkage of the globe
Trauma of the iris may result from direct trauma, or a secondary consequence of corneal perforation or a whiplash injury. Any uveitis that is caused by trauma can be treated medically. If there is an iris prolapse, then the iris is placed back into the anterior chamber provided they are not contaminated. Any foreign bodies must be removed and any hyphaema (bleeding in the anterior chamber between the cornea and iris) is usually left to be resorbed naturally.
Uveitis is inflammation of the uveal tract and can cause eye pain and alterations in vision. There are many causes of uveitis that include trauma, lens-associated uveitis, general viral infections (such as equine viral arteritis) and bacterial disease (such as Rhodococcus equi in foals). However, many situations of uveitis are an immune-mediated uveitis often referred to as equine recurrent uveitis (also known as moon blindness). Uveitis may present as an acute or a chronic condition.
This disease can be treated medically often with the use of a subpalpebral or nasolacrimal lavage system. In addition, the patient should be placed in a quiet fly-free and dust-free environment.
The lens is a clear curved disk that sits behind the iris and in front of the vitreous of the eye, which bends light as it enters the eye to develop an image. The horse’s lens is large and minor opacities associated with embryonic remnants are common.
Cataracts are the most common lens abnormality to be encountered causing an opacity of the lens. Cataracts may be acquired from trauma or post-inflammation situations. However, cataracts may be congenital commonly seen in Arab and thoroughbred foals. These opacities can be classified in various ways:
• Age of onset – juvenile, senile or congenital
• Cause – post inflammation (uveitis) or trauma
• Location – cortical, capsular, nuclear, polar, equatorial
• Stage of development – immature, mature, hypermature
Most cataracts cause no obvious visual deficits unless they are dense and obstruct the visual axis, in which cataract surgery may be considered.
The acqueous humor is a transparent water-like fluid similar to blood plasma but containing low protein levels. It is secreted from the ciliary body (a supporting structure of the lens) and fills both the anterior and posterior chamber of the eye.
Glaucoma is a pathological elevation of the intraocular pressure resulting in the optic nerve becoming damaged. Primary glaucoma in horses is exceptionally rare while secondary glaucoma is uncommon but may occur after anterior segmental inflammation. Often there is little to no pain but an enlarged globe and raised intraocular pressure with the lack of pupillary light reflex may be seen. Treatment may be attempted if the vision is present with various medications to reduce the intraocular pressure. If the horse is blind it may be left without treatment.
Good eye care is vital as the horse relies on its site to receive a great deal of information on its surrounding environment. Even with the horse holding its head forward it has remarkable peripheral vision but the horse’s vision is a little blurrier and less colorful compared to humans. In addition, both the strengths and weaknesses of the visual abilities of the horse must be seriously considered when looking at various techniques for training.
A Kentucky Derby winner … a Canadian champion … Hall of Fame pedigrees … dazzling racing careers – the Pennsylvania stallion roster has been enriched with the addition of nine new stallions for the upcoming breeding season. Pennsylvania stallions offer breeders added punch – in addition to their runners earning more through the state’s lucrative breeders program, their offspring are eligible for the rich PA-Sired, PA-Bred Stallion Series stakes.
Lola Cash and Built Wright Stables’ Alejandro offers a Hall of Fame pedigree as a son of Preakness-winning two-time Horse of the Year and leading sire Curlin out of the only daughter of Preakness-winning Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra.
The first foal out of Gr.1-winning juvenile filly Rachel’s Valentina, a daughter of Preakness-winning champion and top sire Bernardini, Alejandro earned $453,836 in a 35-start career as he competed at 11 different tracks, won four times and placed in 16 others over five seasons. Victories came at Churchill Downs, Fair Grounds, Oaklawn Park and Remington Park, at distances up to 1 3/16 miles.
Rachel’s Valentina was a Gr.1 winner of the Spinaway, and recorded seconds in the Gr.1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies and Gr.1 Ashland Stakes in six career starts while earning $738,800.
Rachel Alexandra was named 2009 Horse of the Year and champion 3-year-old filly after wins in the Preakness, Haskell and Woodward, each over males, the Gr.1 Kentucky Oaks by more than 20 lengths and Gr.1 Mother Goose by 19 1/2 lengths. A 13-time winner with five seconds in 19 starts, she earned $3.5 million and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in her first year of eligibility in 2016.
Curlin, a notable sire of sires, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 2014.
Bay, 2018, Curlin—Rachel’s Valentina, by Langfuhr
Standing his first season at Mountain Springs Farm, Palmyra, PA
STUD FEE: $1,500 LFSN; a free lifetime breeding award is included if paying $3,000 to send two mares.
Pennsylvania-bred champion 3-year-old and sprinter of 2021, Susan Quick and Christopher Feifarek’s seven-time stakeswinning homebred Beren stands his first season alongside his sire, Weigelia, at WynOaks Farm.
In 2021, he raced at least once a month from January through November, won seven times, five in stakes – the Gold Fever and Paradise Creek (by 10 3/4 lengths) at Belmont Park, the Crowd
Pleaser (by 9 1/2 lengths going 1 1/16 miles) and Parx Summer Sprint (by 6 1/2 lengths) at Parx, and the Danzig at Penn National – and was second in the Steel Valley Sprint at Mahoning Valley Race Course.
Racing through age 6, Beren’s richest victory in 35 career starts came in the 2022 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash. Eleven of his 12 wins were at distances from 6 to 7 furlongs. He also ran in 17 consecutive stakes and finished fourth or better in 14 times. His nine stakes-placings included a third in the 2023 Gr.3 General George at Laurel. Beren retires with earnings just shy of $1 million ($944,890).
He is out of Quick and Feifarek’s homebred millionaire Silmaril (by Diamond). His third dam is graded stakes-winning Kattegat’s Pride. The family includes graded stakes winner Chip and millionaire Smooth B.
Bay, 2018, Weigelia—Silmaril, by Diamond
Standing his first season at WynOaks Farm, Delta, PA
STUD FEE: Private Contract
Bred on the same cross as Gr.1-winning millionaire Connect, one of the nation’s leading young sires, Curlin’s Wisdom enters stud after a career in which he was a stakes-placed runner of $455,853 from 29 starts.
The dark bay son of Curlin was a model of consistency at 2 and 3. In 15 straight starts, from October 2021 through December 2022 while racing at Aqueduct, Belmont Park and Saratoga, he finished in the top three 13 times and was fourth in the other two. He was second in the $250,000 Empire Classic Stakes at 3 in his stakes debut after three straight wins, from 1 mile on the turf to 1 1/8 miles on the main track.
His dam, the winning Rockport Harbor mare Whisper Wisdom, is a half-sister to two stakes winners including Curlin’s son Connect, winner of the Gr.1 Cigar Mile and the Gr.2 Pennsylvania Derby. Connect has sired the likes of Gr.1 winner and $2-million earner Rattle N Roll.
Dark Bay / Brown, 2019, Curlin—Whisper Wisdom, by Rockport Harbor Standing his first season at Cabin Creek, Gettysburg, PA
STUD FEE: Private Contract
A top-10 nationally-ranked sire with two crops of racing age, Medaglia d’Oro’s graded stakes-winning son Enticed moves to Pennsylvania and immediately jumps into second on the state’s 2024 stallion earnings list. Bred and raced by Godolphin, he previously stood at Darley’s Jonabell Farm in Kentucky.
Now owned by a syndicate, Enticed has four stakes winners in his first crop, including graded winner Visually, winner of Santa Anita’s Gr.3 Senorita Stakes. His runners in 2024 earned more than $3.2 million, for an average of $31,879.
Enticed’s first crop of 2-year-olds put him solidly in the top-10 on the freshman sires list in 2023, with 23 winners and earnings of more than $1.2 million. Daughter Shimmering Allure, who made her stakes debut in Gr.1 company, earned $239,095 while winning Aqueduct’s Tempted Stakes and finishing second in the Gr.2 Demoiselle Stakes.
Enticed was a graded winner at 2 and 3 who earned $595,680 in seven starts. He won the 1 1/16 mile Gr.2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at 2 over Tiz Mischief and Promises Fulfilled, and finish third in the Gr.1 Champagne Stakes in his second start after winning his debut at 6 furlongs at Saratoga. At 3 he won the 1 mile Gr.3 Gotham Stakes by daylight and finished second in the Gr.2 Wood Memorial.
His dam, $1,666,500-earner and six-time stakes winner It’s Tricky, won eight of 14 starts including three Gr.1s – the Coaching Club American Oaks, Acorn and Ogden Phipps. She is also the dam of graded stakes-placed 2-year-old filly Enliven. Second dam is graded winner Catboat.
Dark bay or Brown, 2015, Medaglia d’Oro—It’s Tricky, by Mineshaft
Standing at Mountain Springs Farm, Palmyra, PA
STUD FEE: $5,000 LFSN
Royally-bred Imposing, out of Tapit’s champion daughter Untapable, is the first son of Hall of Famer Gun Runner to stand in the region.
Gun Runner, the 2017 Horse of the Year and champion older dirt male, ranks as one of the top stallions in the world today, with more than $22 million in progeny earnings in 2024 alone. Counted among his four Gr.1 winners last year are Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Sierra Leone.
Gun Runner won six Gr.1s including the Breeders’ Cup Classic, and amassed $15,988,500. Imposing’s dam Untapable earned the Eclipse Award as champion 3-year-old filly in 2014 when she won six of seven starts, all graded stakes, five Gr.1, including the Breeders’ Cup Distaff against older mares as the favorite. She earned of $3,926,625 from 20 starts.
Second dam Fun House, a daughter of Gr.1 Breeders’ Cup Turf winner Prized, was a graded winner of $432,922. She was named Broodmare of the Year after also producing Gr.1 winner and sire Paddy O’Prado. The family includes multiple graded stakeswinning millionaire Red Route One, a son of Gun Runner out of a full sister to Untapable.
Imposing was unraced due to injury.
Bay, 2021, Gun Runner—Untapable, by Tapit
Standing his first season at Cabin Creek, Gettysburg, PA
STUD FEE: Private Contract
Undefeated juvenile Magic Spoon is the first son of champion 2-year-old Good Magic to stand at stud in the region. The chestnut 4-year-old is one of 20 stakes winners by one of the hottest young sires in the world today. With just three crops to race, Good Magic is already the sire of Kentucky Derby winner Mage and Preakness winner Dornoch, plus 10 other graded winners. The son of Curlin ranked in the top 20 nationally by progeny earnings in 2024.
A member of Good Magic’s second crop, Magic Spoon captured Santa Anita’s Golden State Juvenile Stakes over 11 rivals at 7 furlongs as the favorite in only his second start. In his debut he produced a great closing kick - flying at the end to get up after a troubled trip to break his maiden at 6 furlongs over Santa Anita’s main track. He was sidelined by injury after his stakes victory and retires with earnings of $136,350.
Magic Spoon is out of stakes-placed Canadian Mistress, a full sister to $389,420-earning stakes winner Frontier Warrior (by the Gone West stallion Canadian Frontier) and half-sister to $237,213 stakes winner Midnight Ruler.
Chestnut, 2021, Good Magic—Canadian Mistress, by Canadian Frontier
Standing his first season at Cabin Creek, Gettysburg, PA
STUD FEE: Private Contract
Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike becomes the latest classic winner to stand in the state. The son of Gr.1 Travers Stakes winner Keen Ice and grandson of Curlin enters stud with career earnings of $2,526,809 in 14 starts.
The chestnut burst onto the racing scene in spectacular fashion in the 2022 Kentucky Derby. The longest shot in the field of 20 –getting in last minute after a late scratch – he rallied from more than 17 lengths back, weaved his way through the field, caught favorite Epicenter in deep stretch and edged away. He earned his way into the field when third in his previous start, the Gr.3 Jeff Ruby Steaks over Turfway Park’s all-weather track.
Rich Strike won or placed in four stakes, three graded. From the end of his juvenile campaign until his final start in May 2023, he raced exclusively in stakes. He missed by a head to the year-older Hot Rod Charlie in the 2022 Gr.2 Lukas Classic Stakes at Churchill and finished fourth behind Epicenter (in a three-horse photo with Cyberknife and Zandon for second) in the Gr.1 Travers Stakes as well as behind Flightline in the Gr.1 Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Out of Canadian champion 3-year-old filly Gold Strike (by Smart Strike), Rich Strike is a half-brother to graded winner Llanarmon and to the dam of graded-winning Pennsylvania-bred millionaire Neecie Marie.
Chestnut, 2019, Keen Ice—Gold Strike, by Smart Strike
Standing his first season at Mountain Springs Farm, Palmyra, PA
STUD FEE: $6,500 LFSN, special consideration for PA foaling mares.
Canadian champion older horse of 2023, Tyson stands his first season as the property of Darryl and Jill Myers’ new Thoroughbred operation, Stone Jug Ranch, in Dillsburg.
Graded stakes-winning miler Zozos, the first son of major sire Munnings to stand in the region, has been acquired by Rodney Eckenrode for the Equistar Training and Breeding roster.
A millionaire with seven wins in 15 starts, from 6 furlongs to 1 1/16 miles, Zozos excelled as a miler. His victories at the distance came in the Gr.3 Ack Ack Stakes and Knicks Go Overnight Stakes at Churchill Downs and Ellis Park’s Hanshin Stakes.
Zozos made his stakes debut at Fair Grounds in his third start, the 2022 Gr.2 Louisiana Derby at 1 3/16 miles, and finished second to Epicenter, who would later win the Gr.1 Travers Stakes. That effort earned him a berth in the Gr.1 Kentucky Derby (he finished midpack). He ran third in the 2024 Gr.1 Churchill Downs Stakes at 7 furlongs, missing second by a neck to Gun Pilot, and retired with earnings of $1,011,463.
On the board five times in seven starts his championship season, four in consecutive graded stakes, the son of leading sire Tapit counted wins in beyond a mile in Gr.2 Seagram Cup and Gr.3 Dominion Day and a third in the Gr.2 Eclipse, all over Woodbine’s synthetic track. He traveled to Saratoga for his main track debut in the Gr.1 Jockey Club Gold Cup and ran third, less than 3 lengths behind Bright Future. In his first start in 2024 he was second in the Gr.2 Eclipse. Tyson retires with a record of 10-4-1-2 and earnings of $378,548.
From the dynamic family of Broodmare of the Year Better Than Honour, the most expensive broodmare ever sold (at $14 million), he is out of the winning Smart Strike mare Honouring, a full sister to Gr.1-winning juvenile filly Streaming and stakes winner Treasuring and a half-sister to three other stakes performers. Her half-sisters include the dams of Gr.1 Belmont Stakes and Gr.1 Travers Stakes winner and champion 3-year-old Arcangelo, and multiple graded stakes-winning sprinter Cezanne.
The rich family history boasts additional Belmont Stakes winners Jazil and champion 3-year-old filly of 2007 Rags to Riches, as well as Irish champion Man of Iron and multiple graded winners Casino Drive and Greatest Honour.
Gray/Roan, 2019, Tapit—Honouring, by Smart Strike
Standing his first season at Stone Jug Ranch, Dillsburg, PA
STUD FEE: $3,500, or $2,500 for multiple bookings, with special consideration for PA foaling & stakes-producing mares.
His dam Papa’s Forest is a winning daughter of Forestry who earned $233,593 while racing from 2 to 6. Her other foal of racing age, $334,948-earner Emerald Forest, is the current 7-furlong track record holder at Louisiana Downs after zipping 1:21.07 in 2021.
Zozos’ third dam Barbara Sue, a half-sister to Gr.1 winner and sire Super May and four-time graded winner and sire Ide, raced through age 8, won five stakes, and produced graded winner Diamond On the Run and additional stakes winners Tropical Blossom and Barbette.
Dark Bay / Brown, 2019, Munnings—Papa’s Forest, by Forestry Standing his first season at Equistar Training and Breeding, Annville, PA STUD FEE: $2,500 LFS
It began with a call from the Rose Bowl, the relief center for victims of the Los Angeles County fires rampaging through hills and neighborhoods. With that facility also serving as a command center for firefighters and first responders, it was quickly apparent it could not also accommodate victims. Which facility could?
A call to Pete Siberell, director of community service and special projects for Santa Anita, was the answer.
Santa Anita was a racetrack one minute and the county’s largest relief center the next. Actually it took 60 minutes to transform the venerable racetrack to a relief center… the biggest in Los Angeles County.
The speed of this transformation was so incredible it may have come from an unseen hand behind the thousands of hands that volunteered to aid the fire victims. Three days from the beginning of the fires on Tuesday, January 7 to that Friday, Santa Anita had begun executing a crisis plan; erecting tents and stacking supplies of food, water, and clothing; and assembling and equipping a temporary medical center.
On Saturday, Los Angelinos came through the lot to get what they needed. One-hundred thousand Los Angelinos.
“The cars were backed up from the main gate all the way onto the ‘two-ten’” [Interstate I-210],” said Jodie Vella-Gregory, vice-president of industry relations for 1/ST, the ownership entity of Santa Anita.
On Sunday the numbers were more than Saturday’s 100,000. From Monday through Friday the quantity of relief supplies required warehousing at the end of the week. An estimated 400,000 persons came through the gates at the racetrack.
The word “pivot” takes on a huge meaning applied to what Santa Anita achieved. “I don’t think anyone is ever prepared to take on hundreds of thousands of people over the course of a couple of days, but there isn’t a better team that could pivot and get that done like the team at Santa Anita,” said Vella-Gregory.
The first task was cancellation of that week’s racing after the fires began. “Yes, we could have raced that weekend. The air quality levels were good enough. There was nothing that was stopping us from racing, but it wasn’t about a massive chunk of change to not race for an entire weekend. We had to take care of our horses, the people, the community, and that was the decision.”
Wednesday, the teams at Santa Anita went into “crisis mode,” as Vella-Gregory termed it. “We weren’t sure the fires were contained. We were getting all of these alerts that they were
spreading. We weren’t sure if the fire was going to be coming towards Santa Anita.”
“We were having hourly, half-hourly calls giving us the status on everything with all of our teams, our security teams, and everyone, monitoring the situation and how close the fire was to Santa Anita and if we needed to evacuate the horses and the backside workers.”
In addition to monitoring conditions threatening to the area, the teams developed a crisis management plan. “We started taking on food and water. We started saving water in the tankers (used to water the racetrack’s surface) because we heard there was probably going to not be a lot of drinking water.”
Once forecasts indicated safety for the area, Santa Anita began taking care of nearby communities. With the help of the Allen G and Friends Foundation, there were more than enough donations by the next Friday afternoon, January 17.
“We were open from like seven [a.m] to eleven [p.m] every day,” said Vella-Gregory. The crowds were responding to social media as well as local Los Angeles media that came daily to cover relief center crowds and operations at the racetrack.
Vella-Gregory, like everyone with 1/ST and the racetrack, did whatever was needed. It’s a safe bet that most if not all executive
offices at Santa Anita were dark with occupants outside in the south parking lot. “Everyone was so entrenched in what needed to be done.”
“Somehow, I became part of the hospitality team,” she said. “So I was serving food. I made sure that the meals were set up for the backstretch workers and then, I was just on the front lines, either handing out food, handing out drinks, handing out supplies, whatever was needed. I just made myself an available body.”
She credits the speed of transformation from racetrack to relief center to Santa Anita’s experience with big events, both racing and non-racing.
“We have an incredible events team. We have an incredible hospitality department. And we have an incredible racing team. All of those teams literally just pivoted, and we all came together. We said, ‘this is the plan’ and we executed it.”
“There was a ‘Yes, let’s get it done’ mentality that took hold of Santa Anita personnel.”
That extended to the following Saturday, January 18 when donations required warehousing because of both volume and future needs. “A lot of people are going to be displaced and not have a home for months. Who knows how long a rebuild will be,” said Vella-Gregory.
“We want to make sure that there’s still supplies and things for people when they have a place to take it. We want to make sure this is a long-term sustainable setup for people, because obviously the need for things isn’t just for a couple of weeks. It’s going to be for months and years to come.”
Santa Anita also served fire fighters and other first responders. “We took three hundred Santa Anita carved sandwiches that we’re known for to the Rose Bowl where the firefighters were stationed. And then we also went to Sierra Madre for National Guardsmen working at an emergency operating center.”
The tasks and time spent were actually beneficial in their own way, putting focus for Vella-Gregory on what to do next and not the overall catastrophe hitting the Los Angeles area.
“When I had a second and it started sinking in the first time, I got emotional and cried three or four days after,” she said.
She herself experienced the fire and the danger. “I could see the fire from my apartment in Pasadena. I evacuated the first two nights.
“I’ve never seen anything like it. It was like one-hundred mile-an-hour winds but with fire. I grabbed my passport, my grandmother’s jewelry that I had, a change of clothes, and I just started driving to a friend’s house. I didn’t want to take up a hotel room that someone else might need.”
She described driving as terrifying and what she saw as “apocalyptic. “You’re driving and there’s like a fifteen-foot tree in the middle of the road--not a branch but a full-on tree. Massive gates and things had flown off of homes, just things that you never expect to encounter when you’re driving on a highway.”
Santa Anita as a relief center may have been a haven in more ways than physical safety for Vella-Gregory. The experience has given her more appreciation for those she works with.
“I don’t think I’m biased because I’ve worked with a lot of different people. With the team here it’s, ‘What do we need to do? How do we get it done?’ And it gets done. There’s just a lot of pride that goes into it, and it’s like a duty, you know.”
“A lot of people from the racing industry have reached out and sent donations. Craig Bernick, president/CEO of Glen Hill Farm, has something called a ‘CC’s wish list,’ and that is for donating new products and items in crisis situations. Glen Hill has sent about seven or eight pallets of supplies to California from Chicago,” said Vella-Gregory.
“We’ve had a lot of other people like Doug Cauthen of Three Chimneys in Kentucky raising money for fire relief and this crisis. The thinking is, ‘You know, we could just donate to the Red Cross, and, of course, the Red Cross needs it, but ultimately, we would like to support the family unit that we all are a part of right now.”
“We would do this a million times over,” said Vella-Gregory, adding that “there is pride in working for 1/ST because we’re doing what is right and are at the forefront of what is the best for safety and health of the horses and many other things. We put in the money, the time, the expertise, and we make great hires.”
“We have a standard to uphold.”
Recognition may come for what the people at Santa Anita Park did for its community and citizens. Accolades, “good press,” and even goodwill were not on the list of things to keep in mind when 16,000 homes (again, at time of writing) are gone. In fact, it was not on anyone’s mind at all. The job was caring for victims, many of whom came from neighborhoods that no longer exist with nothing but the clothes on their back.
Santa Anita racetrack chaplain Eli Hernandez, who ministers to backside workers, would tell you there is a principle in the Book of Luke in the New Testament: “give and it will be given back to you.”
May it be so for Santa Anita.
THEY OPENED
The touching statement above was made by Santa Anita racetrack chaplain, Eli Hernandez, commenting on the tracks’ role as a relief center in the Los Angeles County fires.
He knows the racetrack well after ten years of service. “Santa Anita is bigger than horse racing, bigger than just making money. Santa Anita is about caring, about helping, about when you’re down and out, reaching out and helping you get back up.”
Management at the racetrack works closely with Hernandez and his ministry. Most of his congregation—hotwalkers and grooms—live on the grounds and escaped the fires. Some exercise riders may not have had the same good fortune. “A lot of the exercise riders live outside the gates.”
Hernandez has been responsible for marshaling resources like Helping Hands and the Foothill Unity Center (who are warehousing overflow donations brought to Santa Anita) as well as the racetrack.
“Helping Hands delivers the food, water, vegetables, eggs, bacon, lunch meats and things like that every Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Foothill comes mainly on Friday.
“We set out our tables, we set out chairs, we put our bags out there, and we just give out the vegetables and other food. But more than anything we are listening ears, letting them know that ‘Hey, we care.’ We really do care.”
Santa Anita is a partner in other areas as well. “From a person that has a cold to somebody that has pain in their chest, we’re going to do something about it. We’re going to take you to the emergency room. We’re going to make sure that you get picked up from there. We’re going to follow up with you. We’re going to take you to the pharmacy. We’re going to do what it takes.”
“It’s not me, individually. It’s not the corporate department that does it. We’re a team together, from security to the chaplaincy to the hotwalkers and grooms.”
Hernandez is quick to point out that Santa Anita has a clinic on the grounds for workers. “We have a dentist. We have a night doctor. And it’s here, here at Santa Anita on the grounds that’s paid for by the racetrack.
There is also a continuous flow of donations aside from food.
“We always have blankets. We always have clothes, and they’re available all the time. It’s for whosoever. And that’s just to let them know, ‘You know what? We’re here for. you.
“There’s a lot of new individuals that come in—‘You have any blankets? You have sleeping bags?’ And we say, ‘Yes, right here in my office’ I have tons of sleeping bags. They’re good to start their game.”
Hernandez’ commitment to his ministry and serving the backside workers is set within a culture Santa Anita has developed over the years.
“If Santa Anita weren’t like it is, I wouldn’t be working here.”
What advice have you given or would you give your assistant, if he or she decides to go out on his or her own?
My assistant is probably going to do that within the next year, Kinnon LaRose. I sat down with Kinnon a number of times. The advice I’ve given him is twofold. As it pertains to clients, you have to communicate as much as you probably can. I email all my clients once a week and give an update on their horses. I’m readily accessible on the telephone, and if anybody calls and I don’t answer, I call right back. I think communication is the key to someone that’s starting out because you’re offering the client something a lot of the bigger trainers can’t possibly do, which is really managing their investment in the Thoroughbreds. The second piece of advice is that you have to constantly be tending your horses, not only in the barn but also as you’re planning races for them. You can’t not go out there on a daily basis. If you take days off it’s going to catch up to you.
I would say the major thing is that they are ready to make a commitment, a complete and 100 percent commitment to the profession and what they want to accomplish because it’s a very difficult and demanding profession. So make sure that you’re ready for it.
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First, don’t go on your own too early. Take plenty of time to learn from other people’s mistakes. Make sure you surround yourself with good people. That goes for staff and owners.
I would have to tell them as assistant to find
Listen to the horse. The horse will tell you everything. Patience is everything. Run them when they’re ready to run.
Be honest with owners. It’s a tough business. There are pressures with making payroll. Just be honest.
The key is finding good horses to train. Take care of every horse you get, but if you want to go to the next level, you’ve got to get better quality horses. The racetrack life is tough. It’s a lot of hard work, but it’s pretty cool when it all comes together.
With the return of the Virginia-Maryland circuit, It makes
Virginia-Certified Owners
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Open Maidens: Purse $75,000
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Open 1x/NW2: Purse $80,000
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