Thoroughbred Times

THOROUGHBRED

TIMES 速

INSIDE THE WORLD OF INSIDE RACINGTHE WORLD OF RACING

July 21, 2012, $6.99 For daily news delivered via e-mail, sign up for THOROUGHBRED TIMES TODAY. Go to ThoroughbredTimes.com and click on TODAY to set up your FREE subscription.

Volume 28 Number 26 July 21, 2012

INSIDE THE WORLD OF RACING 2008 Mercer Rd. Lexington, KY 40511, P.O. Box 8237, Lexington, KY 40533 Phone: (859) 260-9800 Website: www.thoroughbredtimes.com

Officers Chairman: Norman Ridker President and Editor: Mark Simon msimon@thoroughbredtimes.com

Editorial Managing Editor: Tom Law tlaw@thoroughbredtimes.com Senior Writer: Frank Angst fangst@thoroughbredtimes.com Staff Writer: Joe Nevills jnevills@thoroughbredtimes.com TODAY News Editors: Myra Lewyn mlewyn@thoroughbredtimes.com John Cooney jcooney@thoroughbredtimes.com Assistant TODAY Editor: Patrick Reed preed@thoroughbredtimes.com Internet Content Editor: Nicole Russo nrusso@thoroughbredtimes.com Copy Editor: Deanna Bowden dbowden@thoroughbredtimes.com Research: Kerby Collins, Melissa Humphrey Bloodstock Editor: John P. Sparkman ormonde1@gmail.com Contributing Editors: Don Clippinger, Stanley Gillman, C.P.A., Kenneth Marcella, D.V.M., Bill Mooney, Mary Fleming Simon, Denise Steffanus Correspondents: Ben Baugh, Denis Blake, Mike Brunker, Michael Burns, Colin Cameron, Bob Ehalt, John D. Ferguson, Greg Forde, Teresa Genaro, JoAnn Guidry, Phil Janack, Dick Jerardi, Tom Jicha, Jenny Kellner, Jerry Klein, Reg Lansberry, Todd Lieber, Rob Longley, Ed Madary, Cynthia McFarland, Neil Milbert, Steve Myrick, Rich Rosenblatt, John Scheinman, Steve Schuelein, Larry Stewart, Bob Wisener

Advertising Advertising Planning & Coordination: Kari H. Simon ksimon@thoroughbredtimes.com Advertising & Electronic Media Manager: Emily Alberti ealberti@thoroughbredtimes.com Area Sales Manager: Scott Rion srion@thoroughbredtimes.com Advertising Account Executives: Hal Moss hmoss@thoroughbredtimes.com Jennifer Lapasnick jlapasnick@thoroughbredtimes.com Alana Abbott aabbott@thoroughbredtimes.com Shelley Sutherland Ritter sritter@thoroughbredtimes.com Classified Advertising: Renee McClendon rmcclendon@thoroughbredtimes.com Shelley Sutherland Ritter sritter@thoroughbredtimes.com Copywriter: Laura Foster TODAY Production Supervisor: Shelli Baker sbaker@thoroughbredtimes.com Art and Production: Jeanette Vance (Art Director), Laura Lacy (Production Manager), Betty Gee, Charlotte Valdez, LaDonna Murphy Business and Accounting: Judy Faulconer, Nicole Elliott Buyer’s Guide Sales: Wendy Young wyoung@thoroughbredtimes.com Information Technology: Alan Johnson Multimedia Production: Gregory Charkoudian Consumer Marketing Manager: Agnes Matic Marketing and Fulfillment Specialist: Angela Flamand

Contact information THOROUGHBRED TIMES Editorial Office Phone: (859) 260-9800 • Fax: (859) 260-9812 e-mail: letters@thoroughbredtimes.com THOROUGHBRED TIMES Advertising Office Phone: (859) 260-9800 • Fax: (859) 260-9815 e-mail: ads@thoroughbredtimes.com Statistics provided herein are compiled by Thoroughbred Times Co. Inc. from data supplied by Jockey Club Information Systems Inc., Daily Racing Form Inc., and Equibase Co. Data provided or compiled by Jockey Club Information Systems Inc. generally is accurate, but occasionally errors and omissions occur as a result of incorrect data received from others, mistakes in processing, and other causes. The Jockey Club Information Systems Inc. disclaims responsibility for the consequences, if any, of such errors but would appreciate it being called to their attention. Information as to races, race results, earnings, and other statistical data for races run subsequent to December 31, 1990, was obtained from Equibase Co. and is utilized only with permission of the copyright owner. Such information for periods prior to January 1, 1991, was obtained from Daily Racing Form Inc. Information pertaining to pedigree and production records contained herein is copyright the Jockey Club Information Systems Inc. Information pertaining to Ragozin speed figures was obtained from Ragozin Thoroughbred Data and is used only with the permission of copyright owner.

All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by this copyright may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the written permission of Thoroughbred Times Co. Inc. THOROUGHBRED TIMES reserves the right to refuse submitted advertisements. Manuscripts, art work, and photographs are welcome at sender’s risk. Payment for such material is made upon publication. To ensure return of submitted material, it must be accompanied by postage-paid return reply envelope.

THOROUGHBRED TIMES, P.O. Box 8237, Lexington, KY 40533, (859) 260-9800; Fax: (859) 260-9812; e-mail: letters@thoroughbredtimes.com For subscription inquiries or change of address: THOROUGHBRED TIMES P. O. Box 37185 Boone, IA 50037-0185 Telephone: (800) 678-8022 Fax: (515) 433-1013 Visit us online: www.custmag.com/tht Allow 4-6 weeks for address changes to take effect.

© 2012, Thoroughbred Times Co. Inc.

THOROUGHBRED TIMES

July 21, 2012 3

Inside Life’s lessons learned at the track

18

PhotosByZ.com/THOROUGHBRED TIMES

Vic Zast

An essay on how racing is passed along from one generation to the next, and Saratoga’s place in the firmament

26

Wolf at racing’s door

Jack Wolf has managed Starlight Racing to the top in numerous races around the country

The Breeders’ Cup looks for a home 9 PhotosByZ.com

The poor economics of hosting the event has caused some tracks to opt out of the bidding process

The state of promotional money

13

How racing is benefiting in some states from the use by state boards of funds from racinos to promote racing

Racing

16

• California owner B. J. Wright ties his stable to charitable endeavors • Cancer survivor Garry Simms caps miraculous meeting at Churchill

30

• The nasal strip controversy: Why they actually work • Stem cells aid in recovery from injuries, but patience required • Dealing with fewer horses on the same amount of acreage • New products for the barn and track

Terry Lovingier is on a roll in California Catching Up With Steve Cauthen Departments Letters Viewpoint Guest Commentary News Hoofprints of the Century Calendar of Events Marketplace Register

42

On the cover: Charlie Zast, photo by Vic Zast 6 7 8 9 39 40 41 41

THOROUGHBRED TIMES (ISSN 0887-2244) is published biweekly, plus a special issue in the first week of December, by Thoroughbred Times Company, Inc., 2008 Mercer Rd., Lexington, KY 40511. Periodicals Postage Paid at Lexington, KY 40511-9996, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to THOROUGHBRED TIMES, P.O. Box 37185, Boone, IA 50037-0185. Subscription rate for 27 issues is $69.00; 54 issues is $124.00; Canadian and foreign air, add $50.00 extra

4 July 21, 2012

37

Marie Perdue

Health Care and Management

THOROUGHBRED TIMES

To get daily news …

Visit us at www.thoroughbredtimes.com or subscribe to our free daily e-newsletter, THOROUGHBRED TIMES TODAY, by going to our website. TODAY has news, stakes reports, full stakes results, maiden and allowance winners, and much more

per year payable in U.S. funds; KY residents add 6% sales tax. Please allow four to six weeks for new subscription to begin. Single copy price is $6.99.

Publications Mail Agreement No. 40612608, Registration No. R126851765. Return Undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Pitney Bowes, P. O. Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2, CANADA. Printed in the United States.

AN

Evening

FOR THE

THOROUGHBRED

13th ANNUAL TRF SARATOGA GALA SUNDAY, AUGUST 5, 2012 • SARATOGA CITY CENTER HONORING OGDEN PHIPPS Recipient of the 2nd Annual Earle Mack Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation Champion Award in recognition of his outstanding efforts and influences to Thoroughbred racehorse welfare, safety and retirement.

Join us in Saratoga on the eve of the FasigTipton Select Yearling Sale, our theme this year will celebrate the food, fashion and flair of

New York, New York.

Dinner and Dancing Plus, our exciting auction of unique experiences and top stallion seasons.

Last year’s Saratoga Gala was a sell out, so don’t delay.

HOSTED BY

Tom Durkin & Carolyn Conley

T HOR O U G H B R E D R E T I R E M E N T F O U N D AT IO N fo r t i c ke t i n fo r m a t i o n c a l l 5 1 8 . 2 2 6 . 0 0 2 8 • b u y o n l i n e a t w w w. t r f i n c . o r g all proceeds to benefit the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, Inc .

Letters

to the editor

Salix debate Kudos to Mary Simon for her outstanding article in the June 9 issue titled “Added obstacle” about the hotly debated and controversial subject regarding the increasing usage of Salix (commonly known as Lasix) in the Thoroughbred industry. The article had interesting historical perspectives, was non-biased, and raised several provocative questions.

Just as the practice of traditional medicine in this country has followed an overly exaggerated pharmaceutical approach, the Thoroughbred industry has found itself in a similar situation. The overzealous administration of pharmaceutical drugs to the Thoroughbred racehorse is now daily practice.

As a cardiologist, I have employed Lasix on a day-to-day basis to treat human cardiac conditions such as hypertension and congestive heart failure for years. So, I can certainly attest to both the bright side and the dark side of pharmaceutical interventions. While pharmaceutical drugs are life-saving in emergent situations, we must be aware of their inherent risks. For example, properly prescribed pharmaceutical drugs are the fourth-leading cause of death in America today, behind heart disease, cancer, and stroke.

In the equine, there is a similar downside. Horses competing after dosing with

6 July 21, 2012

intravenous Salix, in order to prevent exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage and bleeding into the lung with exercise, are known to have fewer career starts than those not taking the diuretic. This practice comes with ostensible risk. I, myself, have known the heartbreak of sudden death in a three-year-old filly moments after receiving intravenous Salix just months ago at Gulfstream Park.

On June 13, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission voted 7-5 to pass a ban on race-day Salix for equine contenders in graded stakes races. This landmark decision is a progressive step in the right direction. Alternative means of protecting the equine from exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage must now be considered as a total ban of race-day Salix may be in our future.

More research needs to be done and our group has just recently published two studies. The first study publication explores the attenuation of inflammatory mediators in the equine. The second paper measured equine blood levels of coenzyme Q10—a vital nutrient with remarkable physiological, antioxidant, and biochemical properties.

The later study of CoQ10 has subsequently opened the doors to a third investigation (in progress) that will evaluate the possibility that a higher-dose Q10 with additional nutraceutical support may at-

tenuate exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage. As scientists and physicians, we owe it to our horses to develop safer and more efficacious ways to reduce their suffering while protecting them from further harm from the risks of intensive exercise.

Stephen T. Sinatra, M.D. Manchester, Conn.

Added confusion “Quality is consistency” is one of my favorite tenets. Without a racing czar, everybody tries to reinvent the wheel.

Why oh why didn’t Churchill Downs adopt the “Win and You’re In” concept for the Kentucky Derby (G1)? They should use their seven 100-point races, plus the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1), as “Win and You’re In” races and use their very confusing point system to determine the next 11 entrants and also-eligible entrants.

Churchill management said its marketing survey showed that 83% of sports fans did not understand what horses must do to qualify for the Kentucky Derby. Congratulations, next year’s survey will show that 99% will not understand the system.

Jay O. Belden, D.V.M. Bayard, Neb.

The best revenge It was with regret I read of J. Paul Reddam’s decision to export I’ll Have Another to Japan for stud duty. Immediately, Ferdi-

THOROUGHBRED TIMES

nand came to mind. His fate has weighed heavily on my heart as it has on the hearts of so many other lovers of horses.

I’ll Have Another is special to me because I fell in love with him early on.

That little chestnut made me look like a genius at our Kentucky Derby (G1) party when I made my case for him in front of our many knowledgeable, skeptical friends. They looked at me a little differently after that race. For that I will always be grateful to him. He followed that gigantic effort up with a thrilling Preakness Stakes (G1), proving his mettle and quality to the world, so I thought.

When he was retired before the Belmont Stakes (G1), I was sad but also relieved that Mr. Reddam was considering his welfare first. There was scuttlebutt that his scratch from the Belmont was tainted somehow. I didn’t really care as long as the horse was safe. I was looking forward to watching his American- and preferably Kentucky-bred foals pick up where he left off. I even had pipe dreams of visiting him at whichever farm he ended up going to.

The way I understand it, American breeders were not interested enough in him, citing his low sales prices and conformation flaws. Granted, I thought he was a little straight behind, but it did not interfere with his beautiful way of getting over a track. He wasn’t the most stunning of yearlings, but this ugly duckling grew into an eagle.

Considering his accomplishments on the track, his tactical speed, his good mind, and obvious grit, I figured he would be a hot commodity. Wrong. He is headed for Japan.

No doubt he will have the best of everything over there in the hands of an excellent horseman, but still, it’s sad that we let him get away. It’s also kind of scary to think of what might happen to him if he doesn’t pan out as a stallion. I hope that Mr. Reddam has somehow provided a safety net for this horse in the event he is a flop in the breeding shed.

What I really hope for I’ll Have Another is that he follows in the hoofprints of my other favorite horse in the world, Sunday Silence, who also couldn’t get any respect from American breeders and went on to have a legendary stud career in Japan.

The best revenge is massive success.

Ganbatte kudasai, I’ll Have Another.

Lani Morris Whitesville, Ky.

Viewpoint MARK SIMON

Mack’s maxim Field size alone does not make better racing for juveniles ONE OCTOBER MORNING a number of years ago, the late Mack Miller was watching one of Paul Mellon’s two-year-olds work at Belmont Park. His visitor suggested that the colt might be a good one, having shown promise in a stakes. Miller, who was noted for taking his time with horses, shrugged it off.

“The best thing about a two-yearold,” Miller remarked, “is that they turn three.”

Education was a big part of Racing Hall of Fame trainer Miller’s regimen, and he gave his young Thoroughbreds a foundation that would enable them to develop into successful mature runners. For Miller, it was a means to an end; he was most interested in the races they would run on Saturday afternoons as three-, four-, and five-year-olds, on grass as well as dirt—the ones with the big purses, prestige, and the valuable trophies. He understood that lessons learned in the mornings were essential for success in the afternoons.

That, of course, was a different era, back when good horses actually had careers that lasted more than a dozen starts, and when time and foundation were viewed by the best of horsemen as crucial building blocks. But regardless of era, the education of juveniles remains important, to the youngsters themselves and to the sport overall. Studies have shown (albeit counterintuitively) that horses that compete at two generally race longer than those that do not.

And longer, more productive careers among the sport’s stars help build name recognition and ultimately serve to create a larger, more involved fan base.

So it was with interest we read that the New York Racing Association has decided to limit the size of fields for juvenile maiden races at Saratoga this summer. Maiden races for twoyear-olds will now have a maximum of eight starters for sprints and ten for two-turn events. In theory, this is being done to allow babies to gain valuable early experience in smaller

fields, and hopefully to provide for better racing in the fall.

“The catalyst behind limiting the field sizes in maiden races for juveniles was twofold,” P. J. Campo, NYRA’s vice president and director of racing, said in a release. “The smaller fields are expected to produce more cleanly run events while also creating the opportunity to showcase more high-quality races during the meet and beyond. We expect this change will strengthen NYRA’s juvenile stakes and allowance programs by helping horses gain the experience they need to compete successfully at higher levels.”

The question here is whether the decision to reduce field size in maiden races is a meaningful one, with an eye toward safety and development of young stock ... or merely a symbolic gesture that will have little or no ultimate impact.

Large field sizes today are hardly a concern. The average North American field in 2011 was 8.0 starters; average for a maiden special weight was 8.5, second highest behind the 8.7 for maiden claimers.

At Saratoga last year, 61 maiden special races were carded for juveniles at distances of seven furlongs or less, and only 41% of the time did the field have more than eight starters. In two-turn maiden juvenile races the field size exceeded ten just 27.2% of the time.

So, if size was not really a problem, were there an undue number of incidents in juvenile races? Not at Saratoga in 2011. In those 61 races, encompassing 605 starters, not one horse fell or was pulled up.

According to Equibase charts, the majority of difficulties occurred at the start. Of the 67 trouble lines that involved one horse affecting another, 41—or 61.2%—came in or right out of the gate. (“Steadied” or “blocked” in traffic accounted for 16 incidents, or 23.9%.) Clearly, chaos and misbehavior at the start was a significant problem for these youngsters.

Will reducing field size be an important factor in solving that problem?

Were Mack Miller here to voice an opinion, he’d likely encourage NYRA to consider other measures— such as better-educating juveniles by requiring more gate-training sessions in the mornings, and making the process of obtaining a gate card more difficult. He might also suggest instituting “training races,” such as the qualifiers used with Standardbreds, or something akin to the Aiken Trials. Such contests would provide emerging racehorses the opportunity to run around the track and get the feel of competition without being whipped or unduly pressured.

Many trainers today would not embrace this concept on the grounds that a training race would take too much out of their horses … believing that a given runner only has so many races “in him” to begin with. But if the goal of NYRA is to make racing safer for developing young horses, training races can be effective.

Additionally, if NYRA really wants to make a meaningful statement regarding two-year-old racing, it could reduce or eliminate the use of whips in these contests.

In today’s climate of heightened scrutiny surrounding our sport, we need to get serious about addressing the concerns of fans and the general public. These days, that public increasingly cares about safety, medication issues, and aftercare for retired Thoroughbreds. The solutions we come up with should respect those concerns; they should be meaningful, transparent, wellthought-out, and easy to comprehend.

Limiting field size unto itself, while not a bad thing, is not an endall solution, and as Mack Miller might have told us, there are other, more effective measures to consider as well.

Mark Simon is editor of THOROUGHBRED TIMES. His email address is msimon@thoroughbredtimes.com.

COLDWATERSPA PROMOTES HEALING & PREVENTS INJURY

THOROUGHBRED TIMES

ODYSSEY PERFORMANCE is your Complete Equine Exercise and Rehabilitation Solutions Partner CONTACT US FOR YOUR FREE INFORMATION PACKAGE & DVD

Toll Free: 1-800-765-7004 Email: sales@horseexerciser.com “Odyssey, Home of the Worlds Leading Selling Horse Exerciser”

www.horseexerciser.com July 21, 2012 7

Guest Commentary EARL OLA

We must change the environment What industrial fitness and our unsound racehorses have in common FOR THE FIRST four to five months that a new overweight employee is working on the loading dock at a busy feed store, he will lose weight, gain overall physical fitness, and gain strength when loading trucks with 50pound feed sacks and hay bales. Because this strenuous work is the same, repetitive physical effort day after day, after the initial dramatic weight loss, assuming the diet stays the same, that person will slowly regain the weight he has lost—unless he is exercising vigorously before or after work—and his overall fitness will decline.

Industrial fitness is where a person or an animal becomes fit for one task and one task only. Once that fitness level for that one daily task is reached, the body’s overall fitness level decreases. Human sports performance science has learned that this applies to every track and field athlete who makes the mistake of training the same way every day.

Modern human track science has learned to radically improve race times and improve soundness in track athletes by employing what is called cross-training. Cross-training is the proven modern concept of working on various parts of the body with totally different strength and conditioning techniques that increase the body’s overall physical fitness and strength while increasing soundness.

Almost all champion track athletes employ uphill training, plus a weighttraining program, designed to increase their total body strength, not just their legs. They also add cycling and swimming to their overall training program.

Champion swimmers employ weight training, resistance training, cycling, long-distance running, plus repetitive sprints to increase leg speed. Professional football players are able to increase their athletic performances with uphill running, repetitive sprint training, weight training, aerobics, martial arts, dance, and gymnastics.

No modern elite-level athlete would consider trying to get themselves race fit and physically strong enough to stay sound without a variety of overall body conditioning. If all a human 8 July 21, 2012

track athlete did was run, his performance would deteriorate after a certain period of time just like the overweight employee working on the loading dock of a busy feed store. Human track athletes have learned that even though they race left turn only, to strengthen both sides of their body and to balance their stride lengths, they must train both ways around the track. Sprinters work many repetitive speed intervals on flat, straight surfaces. A part of their training is leaping into the air, calisthenics are employed, and stretching, warming up, and warming down are also important parts of training. Another part of their day is spent taking long walks.

One of the many reasons American Thoroughbred racing has the world’s highest breakdown percentage is because our typical training system is one-dimensional and inappropriate for developing the racehorse in a way that will get them race fit and keep them sound. It is exactly the same destructive program as industrial fitness. Our racehorses do the same thing, week after week for their entire, far-tooshort, far-too-unsound racing careers.

Do industrial fitness and crosstraining apply to American Thoroughbred racehorse training? Yes. The basic modern American Thoroughbred training schedule is a breeze or fast workout once a week done at a fraction of the race distance, followed by a day of hand-walking around the barn for 30 minutes, followed by five days of galloping 11⁄2 miles. It is less than seven minutes of actual daily training and less than ten miles of training per week, with a physically destructive half-tree exercise saddle on top of an orthopedically incorrect saddle pad, ridden by an unbalanced seat exercise rider, left turn only, on a slanted-for-drainage, unnatural composite dirt or artificial surface racetrack, and on the same surface on the same slant every day.

On the days they get to the training track for exercise, they are out of their barns for an hour then right back into their far too small, fully enclosed, limited ventilation, double-row racetrack stalls, breathing in for 23 hours,

seven days a week, dust-filled, bacteria- and virus-laden air. There is no variance in that program, the exact same conditioning program week in and week out for their entire race career. There is no hill work, no flatsurface training, no variance in training surface, no race-specific repetitive speed work, no balancing work, no riderless work, no right-turn work, just the same physically inappropriate training routine throughout their entire, far-too-short racing careers. For 99% of America’s Thoroughbred racehorses, there is no vital long walk in the afternoons.

A clocker at a racetrack who is doing a study on the number of times claiming horses actually get to the training track has found that the cheaper the claiming horse, the fewer times per week the horse sets foot on the track in the mornings.

The bottom-level claimers are lucky to see the track one day per week. Their entire daily exercise is 30 minutes tied onto a walking machine.

Exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH) is a rare occurrence in foreign-trained and -raced Thoroughbreds, and in some countries any racehorse that bleeds twice is ruled off for life; this is a very rare occurrence overseas.

EIPH is far too prevalent in America and is caused by a totally inadequate training system, the wrong exercise saddles and saddle pads, unbalanced exercise riders, and the ingestion of dust, virus, and bacteria into their lungs, all of which contribute to overly high and unnecessary physical and mental stress levels in our racehorses that are the direct cause of nerve compressions that cause EIPH. The pro-race-day medication Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association in its magazine The Horsemen’s Journal calls it scientific proof that 82% of sudden deaths in Thoroughbreds are caused by EIPH. A thorough and complete study would in all likelihood show that most of those deaths are in cheap claimers and who get to the training track only a few days per week, their

THOROUGHBRED TIMES

joints injected with corticosteroids, and they are racing on the performance-enhancing drug Salix. Those EIPH-induced sudden deaths are caused by a lack of appropriate physical conditioning, inadequate housing, and stress caused by continuing to race unsound, sometimes sick Thoroughbreds whose bodily organs are malfunctioning from continued drug use over time.

Salix would not be necessary if our American racehorses were physically conditioned to endure racing’s pressures and if they were turned out when soreness or sickness first appeared instead of injecting their joints and filling their bodies with painkilling drugs, anti-inflammatory drugs, drugs to help them breathe, the overuse of antibiotics, and the performanceenhancing Salix. The so-called science the pro-drug groups quote is flawed science—if it can even be called science—and it can be disproved.

The provable scientific truth is that it is impossible to remodel a horse’s heart, lung, bone, ligament, and cartilage densities in the seven minutes the American racehorse actually trains on the track. It has been scientifically proven by equine exercise performance research to be impossible. Science has proven that American body suffer from industrial fitness and a lack of cross-training.

Cross-training for a racehorse would include right-turn training to balance and strengthen both sides of the body on a variety of training surfaces, with balanced seat exercise riders; a variety of training such as hill work, riderless work, swimming, and basic dressage work; plus long, relaxing daily walks. Without employing a cross-training concept, it is not possible to get a racehorse race fit and not bleeding, and to keep it sound and mentally happy. Unlike the flawed science presented by the pro-drug groups, all of this is provable, correct equine performance science.

Earl Abraham Ola is an equine exercise consultant, Florida farm owner, and international racing consultant. olae@bellsouth.net

In the news

Jersey Shore or more familiar ground?

Monmouth Park wild card of sites being considered for 2013 Breeders’ Cup

BY FRANK ANGST

PhotosByZ.com

B

REEDERS’ CUP LTD. is expected to choose between a pair of familiar sites and a bit of a wild card when it announces the location for the 2013 Breeders’ Cup World Championships.

The Breeders’ Cup board met on June 28 and considered presentations from Churchill Downs and Santa Anita Park, which between the two tracks will have hosted five straight Breeders’ Cups through this year, and Monmouth Park, which hosted the 2007 event. A selection announcement is expected this month or in early August.

Churchill offers plenty of big-event experience, thanks to its annual six-figure on-track crowds for the Kentucky Derby (G1) and Kentucky Oaks (G1), a site in the middle of the country, and a modern facility with plenty of luxury boxes and seating. In recent years, the addition of permanent lighting has added flexibility for Breeders’ Cup and its television partner, which returns this year to NBC and the NBC Sports Network.

While there are never guarantees on weather, Santa Anita may offer the closest thing to it. The Southern California track typically delivers beautiful sunshine that complements afternoon racing. Nearby Los Angeles provides world-class hotels and restaurants and enthusiastic racing fans.

After Santa Anita was selected for the 2012 Breeders’ Cup, track owner Frank Stronach said the event is important to the California racing industry.

“Our team looks forward to the challenge of building on the success of 2008 and 2009 with the 2012 Breeders’ Cup,” Stronach said.

California and Kentucky also both offer potential tax breaks for Breeders’ Cup.

Monmouth Park was soaked with rain for its only foray as Breeders’ Cup host in 2007

And they’re a brand new board. I’m interested to see how far out they award these events,” said Bob Kulina, president of Darby Development, which operates Monmouth for the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association.

Kulina was referring to Monmouth’s current operational situation, which changed this year when the state entered into a lease agreement with the Horsemen’s Association, putting the track under private leadership for the first time in more than 25 years.

“I have a feeling they’re looking to announce these venues a little further out, 2014 and 2015 are out there,” Kulina said.

make sure host sites are able to deliver the kind of customer experience that we aspire to. We want to be the Ritz-Carlton and the Four Seasons of racing events. So partnering up with sites that share those goals and have facilities that will enhance the experience of customers will be a big part of that equation.”

Kulina estimates Breeders’ Cup would have a $40-million impact on the local economy. He said despite the rain many remember about the 2007 event, the track is proud of its efforts with the Breeders’ Cup and would love to return the event to Oceanport, New Jersey, in the next few years.

“We’d just like to be considered for whatever rotation may develop out of this,” said Kulina, who added that Monmouth saw jumps in on-track attendance, simulcast outlets carrying its signal, and simulcast handle on its signal before and after hosting the Breeders’ Cup. “The Breeders’ Cup has had so many different changes. The last few years it’s been at Churchill and Santa Anita and it hasn’t been back on the East Coast since 2007 when it was here with us. It gives us credibility as a horsemen’s organization taking over a track. We’re kind of a unique business model in the industry and it would be a positive, positive thing to do.”

Politics in play

Breeders’ Cup officials do not discuss the site selection process. Owner and breeder Satish Sanan, a Breeders’ Cup board member, raised concerns about Monmouth in a radio interview with Steve Byk on June 27. He called the 2007 Breeders’ Cup “one of the most un-enjoyable” he has had, citing seating issues, hotel issues, and the weather.

Long-term goals Sanan also said he was uncomfortable awarding Breeders’ Cup has taken its World Championships the event to a track owned by a horsemen’s group to tracks like Monmouth, Arlington Park, Woodbine, Monmouth’s selling points that has not supported race-day medication reform. and Lone Star Park, but in recent years has favored Monmouth would bring the Breeders’ Cup close to the known commodities of Churchill, which has Breeders’ Cup will not allow race-day Salix in twothe New York metropolitan area for the first time year-old races at this year’s World Championships hosted the most times at eight, and Santa Anita, since 2007. Monmouth officials would be willing to and will phase out Salix from all its races in 2013. which will welcome the event for a sixth time this provide temporary lighting—or could even add perKulina said Monmouth ownership is not opposed year. But last year, Greg Avioli departed as Breeders’ manent lighting at the track, if needed. to following the Breeders’ Cup’s guidelines.

Cup president and was replaced by Craig Fravel.

Monmouth is the best New York-area option. When When Fravel took the position, he said developing “Our attitude is that it’s a Breeders’ Cup event, and Santa Anita was chosen for the 2012 event over Belthey’re going to want it somewhere under those cirlong-term goals for the site selection process would mont Park and Churchill, the New York Racing Asso- be a priority. cumstances; it might as well be here,” Kulina said. ciation expressed interest in the 2013 event. But “We need to develop criteria for what we’re really “It doesn’t reflect our position on [Salix.] We’re defiNYRA recently experienced a leadership upheaval in looking for in host sites,” Fravel said. “We want to nitely for strong medication rules and uniform testthe firing of Chief Executive Officer ing procedures. [Salix] is a whole other By the numbers Charles Hayward and a state governissue. It’s the one medication where The three finalists for the 2013 Breeders’ Cup are the only sites to host the World Championships since it switched to a ment takeover of the organization’s there’s room for disagreement on either two-day event in 2007. A look at the Monmouth Park totals from that year and the averages for the two years each that Churchill Downs (2010 and 2011) and Santa Anita (2008 and 2009) have hosted the two-day card. There were 11 board for a three-year period. side of the issue. On all of the other Breeders’ Cup races in 2007, 14 in 2008-2010, and 15 in 2011.

Breeders’ Cup officials, working medication issues, we’re very much in Average handle Average attendance with NBC, are looking at the first or favor of strong rules and a level playing $200-million 120000 110,087 110,087 120,000 second weekend of November for field for everybody.” $167,685,282 $154,506,052 $147,227,784 91,542 100000 100,000 91,542 the 2013 event. They may announce Santa Anita will host the races this 150-million 80000 80,000 69,584 sites for future years in addition to year, featuring the revised medication 69,584 100-million 60,000 60000 policy, and the Kentucky Horse Racing 2013.

40,000 Commission has approved a rule that 40000 “We’re a brand new company, 50-million 20,000 would begin phasing out race-day medwhich is kind of strange for a track 20000 0 00 ication from listed and graded stakes that has been here for 60 years, and SA Mth CD Mth SA CD races in 2014. we’re going to pursue the event.

00000000

$164,691,822

$154,506,052

$147,227,784

50000000

00000000

50000000

0

Churchill Downs 2011, 2010

THOROUGHBRED TIMES

Santa Anita Park 2009, 2008

Monmouth Park 2007

July 21, 2012 9

In the news

Sudden and confusing Death of Arcadius shows difficulty of predicting heart ailments Brian Crowley and Arcadius

BY MATT RYBALTOWSKI

10 July 21, 2012

Tod Marks

M

UCH LIKE Seabiscuit and his jockey, Red Pollard, Brian Crowley needed Arcadius as much as the accomplished Thoroughbred needed his rider.

Both had overcome adversity. Before coming to the U.S. in 2010, the Irish jockey suffered a broken neck and spent an extended period away from steeplechase racing. The oft-injured Arcadius provided Crowley with his first win on American soil and later helped give Racing Hall of Fame trainer Jonathan Sheppard his 1,000th career steeplechase victory, in the 2010 Helen Haskell Sampson Hurdle Stakes.

There was reason why Crowley formed a close rapport with the eight-year-old Giant’s Causeway gelding.

Away from the track, Arcadius had a playful side, earning a reputation for whipping around in circles at a moment’s notice. An unsuspecting rider could easily be thrown to the ground or, as Crowley puts it, could be “eating grass” if he wasn’t aware of the gelding’s penchant for quirkiness. When it came time for performing, however, Crowley said Arcadius always exerted maximum effort whether it was in training, jumping, or commencing a rally down the stretch.

This was never more evident than during the $150,000 Calvin Houghland Iroquois Hurdle Stakes on May 12 in Nashville, an event recognized as Grade 1 by the National Steeplechase Association.

Flawless with his jumping, Arcadius settled close behind two-time defending winner Tax Ruling for the majority of the three-mile race.

When Arcadius took the lead before the 16th of 18 hurdles, it was one he wouldn’t surrender. Crowley was so confident in his horse that he didn’t use his whip after the final hurdle.

As Arcadius crossed the finish line a length ahead of Divine Fortune, a large burden was lifted off Crowley’s shoulders. It was the most impressive performance of Arcadius’ career and Crowley’s most significant win ever. The 31-year-old jockey eased Arcadius about 100 yards past the finish line, turned around, and posed with owner Ed Swyer for a photo.

Crowley left for a post-race weigh-in, while Arcadius was taken to a cooling station by the inner fence feet from the winner’s circle. Then, out of nowhere, Crowley heard a gasp from the estimated crowd of 25,000 fans at Percy Warner Park.

“When I turned around, Arcadius was on the

ground,” Crowley said. “I didn’t have a chance to thank him for everything. I never had a chance, you know. It was a shock.”

Though members of the Iroquois’ equine medical staff tried to cool Arcadius’ body temperature with close to a dozen bags of ice and revive him with an IV, the gelding was pronounced dead within minutes.

Rare death Monty McInturff, D.V.M., a veterinarian with the Tennessee Equine Hospital, diagnosed Arcadius with a “ruptured pulmonary artery in the area of a shallow aneurysm.” The rupture caused massive hemorrhaging in the soft tissue around the base of Arcadius’ heart. A necropsy performed by Bruce McLaughlin, D.V.M., of the Tennessee Department of Agriculture’s C. E. Kord Animal Disease Laboratory, confirmed the findings.

“The histopathology, or the microscopic examination and analysis of the tissues, confirmed that there was a thinning of the margins at the site of the rupture, which is consistent with an aneurysm,” McInturff said in a statement.

THOROUGHBRED TIMES

Nearly two months have passed since the tragic death. Deaths among Thoroughbreds from the rupture of the pulmonary artery are rare—so rare that one of the nation’s foremost equine cardiologists has found it difficult to research published case studies on the subject. The cause of the rupture was not apparent in the initial or final necropsy, which also found no evidence of a condition that predisposed the artery to rupture. While medical personnel responded quickly to try to save Arcadius when he lost blood pressure after the collapse, there is virtually nothing that could have been done differently to have prevented the outcome.

The case underscores efforts worldwide to learn more about the sudden death of racehorses from heart-related fatalities. A study published in the Equine Veterinary Journal found that less than 10% of sudden deaths among Thoroughbreds sampled from 1972 to 2008 in four countries could be attributed to cardiac failure. Though such deaths among flat racing horses can be ascribed to disorders of the electrical rhythm of the heart, according to Tim Morris, director of Equine Science and Welfare for the British Horseracing Authority, a dearth of information exists on jump horses.

As a result, the authority has commissioned a long-term study on postmortem examinations of jump horses involving deaths not attributed to musculoskeltal injuries.

“It is too early to begin to report any results,” Morris said.

JoAnn Slack, D.V.M., an assistant professor of cardiology and ultrasound at the New Bolton Center at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine, used the analogy of the stretching of a balloon to describe Arcadius’ death.

An aneurysm, Slack said, is just a dilation of a ves-

Lost in battle Arcadius was not the first of his kind to succumb to a heart attack on the racetrack. At least two other noted steeplechasers of the past decade were similarly lost.

All Gong (GB) (1994-2003), champion steeplechaser of 2000, and winner of the 2000 Breeders’ Cup Steeplechase and 2002 Iroquois Hurdle. He collapsed while finishing fourth in the Royal Chase for the Sport of Kings Hurdle at Keeneland.

Best Mate (1995-2005), three-time winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup (2002-2004), winner of ten jump stakes in England and Ireland, and first or second in 21 of 22 starts, except for his final race, and an earner of $1,668,166. He collapsed near finish of William Hill Haldon Gold Cup at Exeter.

tured pulmonary artery before a race may discover only a small number of cases. An ultrasound machine owned by veterinarians for reproductive purposes could be used for detection, Slack said, but only ones more advanced than the average machine could produce reliable results. The procedure costs around $300 to $500 and could be time consuming if the practitioner is inexperienced.

Tough loss Inside the jockeys’ tent after the race, Crowley buried his face in his hands for close to a half-hour.

He was not the only rider with tears pouring down his face. One by one, each jockey offered a hug and words of support.

“Every one of us are very, very close,” said Darren Nagle, who finished second aboard Divine Fortune. “Brian’s my best friend. I knew him from

Ireland; we came over here together. The two of us have done great over here. For that to happen is just a tragedy.”

Iroquois officials provided Crowley with Arcadius’ shoes from the race, which he plans on placing inside a glass commemorative box. Swyer, Arcadius’ owner, has had preliminary negotiations with the city of Nashville to build a statue of the fallen horse at Percy Warner Park before the renewal of the Iroquois in 2013, according to Sheppard.

“He gave his life in winning the race,” Sheppard said. “Both Ed and I think it will be a proper way to memorialize him.”

Matt Rybaltowski is a correspondent of CBSSports.com, primarily covering Vanderbilt University and the Tennessee Titans, based in Nashville, Tennessee.

sel or a small ballooning outside the wall of the heart. When the vessel burst, the horse bled into the sac that envelops the heart.

“Your heart is trying to beat within the sac, it’s kind of like your heart is surrounded by a balloon,” Slack said. “The balloon can only stretch so much as the blood fills it. At some point it can’t stretch anymore and it puts pressure on the heart. The heart can’t fill normally, you can’t get blood out to the rest of the body, and you die of heart failure.”

No warning signs There is no correlation between the type of death suffered by Arcadius and steeplechase racing, according to Slack. A pleasure horse with a ruptured pulmonary artery could realistically die out in a field at rest, she said.

With temperatures in the 60s and overcast skies, the conditions of the race did not play a factor in the fatality. Neither did drugs. A blood sample taken from Arcadius after the Iroquois did not detect any presence of drugs.

Arcadius’ death marked just the fifth time a horse had died at the steeplechase in the past 19 years and the first time a horse died in the event’s signature race since 2001. In that race, Rowdy Irishman collapsed near the final turn and was pronounced dead upon McInturff’s arrival. The track veterinarian diagnosed the two-time Iroquois winner with an aneurysm, but a necropsy was not requested by the horse’s owners.

In England, the rate of heart-related sudden deaths is also comparatively low. Of the 39 fatalities at the Grand National Steeplechase since 1954, only four have been due to heart-related conditions. In an eight-year period from 2001 to 2008, the risk of sudden death in jump races in Victoria, Australia, was only 0.29 per 1,000 starts, according to the aforementioned study published in the Equine Veterinary Journal.

“In horses, the definitive cause remains obscure, but could be explained by a weak or damaged vessel which bursts during or shortly after fast exercise due to increased blood pressure,” said Eleanor Green, D.V.M., the Carl B. King Dean of Veterinary Medicine at Texas A&M University and a member of the task force. “Events like these challenge veterinarians to continue equine research efforts to advance the health of the horse through discovery of new knowledge about disease causes, prevention, and treatment.”

Preventive measures that could identify a rupTHOROUGHBRED TIMES

July 21, 2012 11

In the news

The future of Canada’s classics is in doubt

BY ROB LONGLEY

T

HE CANADIAN Triple Crown is a mess.

In fact, if the threats of Woodbine Entertainment Group President and Chief Executive Officer Nick Eaves are to be believed, the 153rd running of the Queen’s Plate Stakes, which was held on June 24 at Woodbine, could be its last. The second jewel, the Prince of Wales Stakes on July 15, will be looking for a new home next year because its host, historic Fort Erie, will shut its doors on December 31.

And with the troubles surrounding the first two legs, it hardly matters what happens to the Breeders’ Stakes, held in August, at Woodbine.

The battle between the beleagured horse racing industry in the country’s most populated province and the Ontario Liberal government is beyond the stalemate stage, which led Eaves to make the bold declaration moments before post positions were drawn for this year’s Plate. In a measured yet emotional address, the man who oversees Canada’s showplace racing operation for both Standardbreds and Thoroughbreds turned the buildup to the Plate into a somber affair.

Canadian Triple Crown Queen’s Plate, Woodbine, 11⁄4 miles, Polytrack, June 24 Prince of Wales Stakes, Fort Erie, 13⁄16 miles, dirt, July 15 Breeders’ Stakes, Woodbine, 11⁄2 miles, turf, August 5 “If we find ourselves on the first of April without an operating model that allows Woodbine to compete in the province’s gaming strategy, we aren’t able to operate and there can’t be a Queen’s Plate,” Eaves said. “It’s not a threat; it’s a practical reality. It would be a tragedy if the 153rd Queen’s Plate was the last Queen’s Plate. Look at the history and the tradition of the event. Look how it stacks up against other Canadian icons. It would be inexcusable.”

Hyperbole? Not if you’ve been following the crisis that has brought racing in Ontario to its knees.

The panic began in March when the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp., the government agency that oversees all legal wagering in the province, announced an overhaul of its operations. Central to the plan was to end the partnership with the Thoroughbred and harness tracks in Ontario that began in 1998 and had generated about $1-billion per year for the provincial treasury. In its place, the government outlined plans to expand gaming in other venues, including online wagering, the introduction of several new slot venues away from racetracks, and consideration for a full casino in downtown Toronto. The announcement, made by Liberal Finance Minister Dwight Duncan, broadsided the racing industry as it came without warning or 12 July 21, 2012

consultation.

Eaves and Woodbine management had chosen to stay out of a war of words hoping that some backroom negotiations would prompt the government to reconsider its position. With the March 31, 2013, deadline to end the program approaching too quickly for anyone’s liking, Eaves felt he could no longer hold back and chose the highly visible occasion of Canada’s most beloved race to issue his threat.

While only the naive would believe that this year’s race, won in gate-to-wire fashion by threeyear-old colt Strait of Dover, was the last, the Plate as currently configured is likely doomed for radical change. The $1-million Canadian ($978,342 U.S.) purse that has been offered for the past decade is as good as off the table and the future of breeding in the province a question.

Fort Erie gone Some 90 minutes down the Queen Elizabeth Way in Fort Erie, there was no need for a threat from track operators as it has already been announced that the border track will cease operating at the end of the year. With competition from full casinos on both sides of the border in nearby Niagara Falls, the Fort Erie slots were not producing to the government’s liking and a steady decline in pari-mutuel wagering had left current ownership teetering on the edge of survival.

So while Eaves’ message may have carried an element of posturing, a tit for tat to the government’s ludicrous claim that the slots program “subsidized” racing, there is little doubt that the landscape of the racing scene will change dramatically by next year.

By Eaves’ estimation, Woodbine’s operating revenue would be slashed by 50%.

“As a result of the government’s current position, premier race events such as the Queen’s Plate as well as day-to-day horse racing are in jeopardy,” Eaves said. “We can’t keep operating. It’s not possible.”

Compounding the frustration of the folks at Woodbine and those who race there is the recent prosperity the Thoroughbred product has been enjoying in comparison to some of the more lucrative racing jurisdictions in North America. Helped by frequent exposure on the TVG network and an increased profile in New York, weekend cards at Woodbine have routinely topped $4-million in handle.

With the government’s plan to expand gaming in the province—including putting slot machines in bingo parlors, plus the possibility of legalized sports wagering—horse racing will be under siege of even more government-operated competition.

THOROUGHBRED TIMES

Ed DeRosa

Triple threat

Fort Erie opened in 1897 and in 1951 came under the umbrella of the Jockey Club Ltd., which also operated Woodbine and Greenwood. It is across the river from Buffalo, New York

“We are committed to the people in the [horse] industry, but there comes a point when it’s health care and education or horse racing,” Duncan’s spokeswoman, Aly Vitunski, said in reaction to Eaves’ statements. “If that race can’t survive without the funds, maybe there just isn’t a market for the race anymore.”

Racing’s response With such a cloudy future, horsemen in Ontario are at a loss as to how they should proceed. You hear more speaking about “exit strategy” rather than what stakes payments should be made.

Count the country’s top trainer, Mark Casse, in that group. The Indiana native has called Woodbine home for the better part of the past decade and during that time has recruited U.S. owners such as John Oxley to get in on the Canadian action. But Casse, who has won four Sovereign Awards as the country’s top trainer, wonders if he will be able to keep that up.

“I could see us cutting back our Woodbine operation by 75%,” Casse said shortly after the slash of the Slots at Racetracks program was announced. “[The proposed cutbacks] aren’t going to affect us this year so much. But it’s no different than going out and recruiting hockey players. I need to know where we are going to be playing.

“We have kind of been pointing to and trying to buy Canadian-breds, but with this, they aren’t going to be worth anything. The owners have discussed it with me, most definitely. They’re concerned.”

The final Prince of Wales to be run at 115-yearold Fort Erie, which has hosted the second jewel of the Canadian Triple Crown since 1929, will be devoid of sizzle. One reason is Strait of Dover has decided to pass on the race because his trainer, Danny Vella, said the colt does not race well on dirt.

So the Prince of Wales will leave Fort Erie with barely a wimper, not to mention the uncertainty of where it might be run in the future. Woodbine would be the logical choice, but how serious could a Triple Crown be viewed if all three races were contested at one venue?

Once racing’s partner—and perhaps even savior— the government is now racing’s competition.

“How are we expected to compete when the referee is also our opponent?” Eaves said.

Reaching out How states use gaming revenues to promote racing

BY FRANK ANGST

MOMENTS AFTER SHOWING Union Rags draw off to victory in the Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2), a new film offers a sweeping view of the hilly Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, farm, where the eventual Belmont Stakes (G1) winner was born.

The film, An American Love Story, tells the tale of Union Rags and owner-breeder Phyllis Wyeth, who sold the colt and then, after dreaming he would achieve greatness, purchased him back as a two-year-old. While entertaining, it also excels at highlighting the industry’s many sides: vision of passionate breeders, beautiful farms, exciting auctions, and heart-pounding racing.

With millions of dollars pouring into state breeding funds from added gaming, states and breed associations are reaching out to potential new Thoroughbred breeders and owners, fans, and political leaders, who often make decisions on the future of such funding. The Union Rags film was produced by the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission and can be seen at www.trackpackpa.com. It appears to be connecting with people, as more than 4,000 have called attention to it on Facebook or Twitter.

Promotional mandate The Trackpackpa site may be the best example of efforts to market the sport and industry at the state level. The Association of Racing Commissioners International said about half the state commissions have promotion in their mandate and a slight majority of states who regulate breed funds are mandated to promote racing.

Getting the message out has never been more important.

• Owners and breeders may find entering the game at the state level an attractive option, especially in states that are rich in purses and breeder bonuses bolstered by added-gaming revenues.

Competition between states is furious.

• In terms of reaching local fans, new outlets are needed as many newspapers have discontinued regular coverage of the sport.

• Reaching political leaders, typically the task of breeder organizations, is important to ensure the continued flow of money into the industry.

Indiana Director of Racing and Breed Development Jessica Barnes said when added money began to flow, a sweeping advertising campaign in industry magazines and other outlets was launched two years ago highlighting opportunities in Indiana.

While the state has cut some promotional funding since then, Barnes continues to advertise strategically to reach out to people at every opportunity, and use e-mail blasts to promote the estimated $12.6-million available for Thoroughbred breeders this year.

“We also get a lot out of our Signature Stakes program,” Barnes said of the four $200,000 races offered at Indiana Downs and Hoosier Park.

“People see those races and they want to know how to get involved.”

Promoting jobs In 2011, the New York State Thoroughbred Breeding and Development Fund launched a targeted advertising campaign to encourage breeders to bring mares to the state for foaling.

In terms of reaching political leaders, owners, breeders, and trainers in the Pennsylvania Equine Coalition worked to halt a planned $72-million raid this year on the Race Horse Development Fund. The fund already has seen some of its money— expected to be $49-million this year—diverted to the state’s general fund. With the raid blocked, Thoroughbred breeders can expect breeder bonuses similar to the $18.6million received in 2011.

Pete Peterson of the equine coalition said many state leaders were receptive to their message, which emphasized jobs. He said it will require a continued effort to justify funding.

“There are a lot of misconceptions about our sport,” Peterson said. “A lot of people think of it as a hobby for the well-to-do. We emphasized the number of jobs tied to racing and breeding in the state. We talked about the importance to have farmland and open spaces in Pennsylvania. A lot of it is just meeting with legislators and educating them about how all of this works.”

According to economic data from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture released in 2010, the value of the racing industry more than quadrupled from 2001 through 2008 as added money flowed. The overall value of the equine industry increased 380% to $3-billion, with employment more than tripling to 41,100.

Fan outreach While the equine coalition works to get the message out to politicians, Trackpackpa.com focuses on potential new fans and participants. The site offers travel ideas built around trips to the tracks, casinos, and sights nearby the state’s racinos. New York State Thoroughbred Breeding and Development Fund Executive Director Tracy Egan thinks the industry has natural ties to tourism.

Egan has worked with tour groups to include trips to Saratoga Race Course and Thoroughbred farms. She is working with state breeders to develop a 2013 contest that will promote racing and sightseeing at the tracks tied to the New York-bred Triple Crown, Belmont Park, Finger Lakes, and Saratoga Race Course.

“We at the fund believe that the attributes of our racing venues cry out for cross-promotion with tourism,” Egan said. “It really is a beautiful state.

People tend to think it’s just New York City. The Big Apple Triple should not just be about the horses and the three races. It is a wonderful selection of New York where the three races are run. Belmont Park on Long Island, where the beaches are fantastic or you can take the train into the city; Finger Lakes, with all of the outdoor activities in that region and its THOROUGHBRED TIMES

wineries; and, of course, Saratoga Race Course and all of the history in that area.”

Big pie States like Pennsylvania are receiving significant contributions from revenues generated by added gaming. In 2011, the Pennsylvania Race Horse Development Fund received $275.8-million. Of that money, $18.6-million is committed to Thoroughbred breeder incentives. Indiana breeders will be eligible for about $12.6-million in bonuses this year, and New York, which in 2011 paid out nearly $8.57million in breeder, stallion, and owner awards, will see revenues grow with the addition of the Resorts World Casino New York City at Aqueduct. In the first six months of operation, the new casino generated $2.53-million for New York breeders.

Even states without added gaming are working to promote the sport. The California Marketing Committee is a collaborative effort by the state’s tracks and leading industry groups to promote the sport.

Funded by a 0.25% handle deduction from each of the state’s satellite wagering facilities, the most visible effort of the group is the popular website www.calracing.com, which targets fans, owners, and breeders.

Still, as Barnes noted, specific funding for promotion is not always set aside and sometimes faces cuts. Jeff Cannizzo, executive director of the New York Thoroughbred Breeders Inc., said continued commitment to reach fans and potential owners and breeders is needed.

“Our industry does the worst job at developing both of them,” Cannizzo said last year at a New York Senate Standing Committee on Racing, Gaming, and Wagering hearing.

Cannizzo would like to see more off-track wagering sites available in the state that are run by NYRA. He estimates the state’s equine breeding business is worth $2.5-billion annually and includes 43,000 acres in 50 different counties. He said with surrounding states making a commitment to the industry, it is important for New York to do the same in order to compete for farm owners, breeders, and horses.

July 21, 2012 13

Milestones Obit

An exercise rider—shall we say, a rather large exercise rider—shows up at the barn of Loyd “Boo” Gentry one morning at Payson Park looking for a job. As the story goes, according to a reader, Gentry replies, “What do you think, we train elephants here?”

Gentry didn’t train elephants, but if he did they might have achieved the same high level of success as the Thoroughbreds he conditioned over a six-decade career.

Gentry, who died in Lexington on July 1 at the age of 87, reached the top of his profession when he saddled Proud Clarion to victory in the 1967 Kentucky Derby. A native of Covington, Kentucky, who grew up surrounded by horses in Kentucky and Indiana, Gentry was the son of successful jockey Loyd Gentry Sr. and the nephew of Olin Gentry, celebrated manager of Col. E. R. Bradley’s farm.

Gentry earned his nickname holding on to the pants of his father and uncle as a child.

He took out his training license after serving in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II and his career was linked to a variety of racing’s most prestigious stables and figures

Leading international jockey Frankie Dettori was selected to carry the Olympic torch at Ascot racecourse as it made its way around England in early July.

Dettori, serving in his role as ambassador for the QIPCO British Champions Series, was slated to carry the torch while aboard multiple steeplechase stakes winner Monsignor.

“It is an honor and a privilege to be invited to carry the Olympic flame, especially at a track that holds such happy memories for me,” Dettori said. “I’ll be watching when the flame reaches its final destination and the Olympic Games can begin.”

Dettori famously rode all seven winners on the Champions Day program at Ascot on September 28, 1996, including the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (Eng-G1) with Mark of Esteem (Ire). He won two races at last month’s Royal Ascot meeting, taking the Gold Cup Stakes (Eng-G1) with Colour Vision and the Chesham Stakes with Tha’ir.

14 July 21, 2012

Sued Walt Disney Pictures and Buena Vista Entertainment, makers of the 2010 film Secretariat, filed a lawsuit seeking a declaratory judgment to resolve claims against the film companies from the estate of Charles “Chic” Anderson, the CBS announcer who called Secretariat’s record-setting wins in the 1973 Triple Crown. The estate claims Anderson’s publicity rights were violated when his voice was used without authorization.

Suspended Trainer Anthony Agilar became the fifth horseman in Louisiana to face a suspension for the painkilling drug dermorphin on June 30. Extracted from the skin of South American frogs or produced synthetically, dermorphin is believed to have 30 to 40 times the potency of morphine, and can cause excitability in horses.

Benoit & Associates

Sold Multiple Grade 1 winner Turbulent Descent, from Blinkers On Racing Stable and others to Coolmore Stud. The four-year-old Congrats filly will be turned over to trainer Todd Pletcher for a 2012 campaign.

THOROUGHBRED TIMES

Died Pennsylvania-based jockey Thomas Clifton, 43. Clifton launched his career in 1994 and rode the winners of 2,016 races.

Died Grade 2 winner Millionreasonswhy during a training accident at Sagamore Farm in Glyndon, Maryland. The three-year-old filly was warming up for a workout when she was frightened by a deer, threw her exercise rider, and crashed into a rail on the six-furlong training track.

Adam Coglianese/NYRA

Laura Lacy

Scheduled The 42nd annual Eclipse Awards ceremony are set for Saturday, January 19, at Gulfstream Park, with a “Miami Chic” theme with black-tie attire optional.

Bidding farewell Dual classic winner I’ll Have Another was honored in the Betfair Hollywood Park winner’s circle on July 7, with regular rider Mario Gutierrez wearing owner J. Paul Reddam’s silks.

I’ll Have Another, who is going to Japan to stand at Big Red Farm, also was paraded in front of the grandstand.

Benoit & Associates

Proud Clarion in the 1967 Derby

of the 20th century. Gentry was head trainer for Capt. Harry F. Guggenheim’s Cain Hoy Stable in South Carolina during the 1950s. In 1955, over a nine-day period, Gentry won the Blue Grass Stakes with Racing Fool, Derby Trial Stakes with Flying Fury, and Kentucky Oaks with Lalun. He also won the 1969 Kentucky Oaks with Hail to Patsy.

Gentry went on to train for a number of other prominent owners. He trained Kauai King as a two-year-old before giving up the promising colt in order to train privately for John Galbreath’s Darby Dan Farm. Kauai King won the 1966 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes.

Gentry captured the Kentucky Derby in 1967 with Proud Clarion for Galbreath. He also was renowned for training Darby Dan’s Graustark, who was undefeated until suffering an injury during the 1966 Blue Grass Stakes and after retirement became a successful sire.

Hong Kong Jockey Club

Different kind of run

Caulfield and Shook

Loyd Gentry

Gray day at Darley

Courtesy of Darley

“He was so good; he was not a specialist,” Darley America President Jimmy Bell said.

“Short. Grass. Long. Dirt. Pick your best five horses—he could run with any of them.”

A 21-year-old gray son of Great Above, Holy Bull is the sire of champion two-yearold male and successful sire Macho Uno, as well as Grade 1 winners Flashy Bull, Confessional, Bishop Court Hill, and Pohave.

Herrera dies after accident

Breakthrough (West) Chantal Sutherland became the first female rider to win the 11⁄4-mile Hollywood Gold Cup Handicap (G1) when she guided Game On Dude to a 11⁄2-length victory in Betfair Hollywood Park’s signature race for the handicap division on July 7. It marked the second straight year trainer Bob Baffert saddled the top two finishers, as Richard’s Kid rallied for second, with Kettle Corn third.

Breakthrough (East) Trainer Kathy Ritvo secured a milestone victory in the East when she became the first woman to saddle a Suburban Handicap (G2) winner. Ritvo sent out Mucho Macho Man to an eye-catching, 21⁄2-length victory on July 7 at Belmont Park to put in a claim as one of the East Coast’s top older horses.

PhotosByZ.com/THOROUGHBRED TIMES

In two separate announcements a day apart, racing officials in New York and California said they want to reduce the field sizes for two-year-old maiden races. They cited safety concerns and the potential to bolster allowance and stakes races for young horses, and the changes will go into effect at the Saratoga and Del Mar meetings.

Field sizes at Saratoga for two-year-old maiden races will be limited to eight starters for sprints and ten starters for two-turn races. At Del Mar, field sizes in juvenile maiden races will be limited to ten.

The Saratoga meeting will mark the beginning of a new New York Racing Association policy reducing maximum field sizes in juvenile maiden races. NYRA Director of Racing P. J. Campo said the changes could improve juvenile allowance and stakes races while improving safety.

“The smaller fields are expected to produce more cleanly run events while also creating the opportunity to showcase more high-quality races during the meet and beyond,” Campo said. “We expect this change will strengthen NYRA’s juvenile stakes and allowance programs by helping horses gain the experience they need to compete successfully at higher levels.”

In California, Del Mar and the Thoroughbred Owners of California agreed to limit field sizes in two-year-old maiden races. Races that attract 16 or more entries would be split into two divisions. Trainer Bob Baffert said the change makes sense for horsemen trying to develop young horses.

“I have been trying to get Del Mar to do it for years,” Baffert told the North County Times. “It’s a great idea. Young horses can’t develop as well in large fields.”

The riding community lost another of its colony when Jorge Herrera tragically died as a result of a spill on July 5 at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton, California. The Jockeys’ Guild reports that five Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse jockeys have died since 2008, and 152 riders have died since 1940.

On July 8, jockeys, track employees, horsemen, and friends gathered in the winner’s circle at the Alameda County Fairgrounds to remember Herrera. The track, which last suffered a jockey fatality in 1975, also ran a race in Herrera’s honor.

On July 5, Herrera was aboard Morito in the eighth race, a maiden claimer, when the four-year-old gelding clipped heels and stumbled, throwing the 33-year-old rider. Herrera, who had won 55 races since 2004, suffered head injuries in the fall and was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

Upset Bridge jumpers may have been considering their many jump options in the New York area on July 7 after previously undefeated Agave Kiss tired dramatically in the stretch of the Victory Ride Stakes (G3) at Belmont Park and finished fifth.

Because $330,239 of the $373,378 wagered in the show pool was bet on 3-to-10 favorite Agave Kiss, Emma’s Encore paid $61 to show, runner-up Jamaican Smoke paid $18.60 to show, and thirdplace Tu Endie Wei returned $25.60.

Vassar Photography

Smaller fields by design

First winner Gary Rothstein/Equi-Photo

At age three in 1994, Holy Bull won just about every race but the Triple Crown events in securing Horse of the Year honors. Eleven years later, as if to make up for that oversight, his son Giacomo scored a victory in the 2005 edition of the Kentucky Derby (G1).

Those memories came swirling back on July 8 when Darley announced that the champion racehorse and successful sire would be retired from stud duty at Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum’s Jonabell Farm in Lexington.

Holy Bull was undefeated as a two-year-old and put together one of the most memorable three-yearold campaigns in recent history, winning five Grade 1 races and eight graded stakes overall en route to divisional and Horse of the Year honors. His five Grade 1 wins in 1994 included scores against older horses in the Metropolitan Handicap and Woodward Stakes, as well as victories in the Florida Derby, Haskell Invitational Stakes, and Travers Stakes.

THOROUGHBRED TIMES

War Pass, champion two-yearold male of 2007 who died in late 2010 after returning to Kentucky following Southern Hemisphere stallion duty, sired his first winner on July 8 when Java’s War won a one-mile, maiden special weight race on turf at Ellis.

War Pass, who stood at Lane’s End in Versailles, Kentucky, won the 2007 Bessemer Trust Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1).

Retired So You Think (NZ) will return to the Southern Hemisphere for stallion duty at Coolmore Australia after suffering a pulled muscle in his hindquarters while preparing for the CoralEclipse Stakes (Eng-G1) on July 7. The six-year-old by High Chaparral (Ire) proved a sensation in Australia by winning back-to-back editions of the Tatts W. S. Cox Plate (AusG1) and three other Group 1 races. So You Think won five Group 1 events in Europe.

July 21, 2012 15

Racing

Win for Wright is win for charity

BY STEVE SCHUELEIN

B

Benoit & Associates

J. WRIGHT, a Kentucky boy who made good in California, shares his racetrack earnings with those not as fortunate.

“This enables us to send more money to Peru,” Wright said after Jeranimo became his first seven-figure earner with a victory in the $300,000 Shoemaker Mile Stakes (G1) on June 30 at Betfair Hollywood Park.

Although Wright was ecstatic about the six-yearold horse scoring his first Grade 1 victory—and trainer Mike Pender, jockey Garrett Gomez, and the Florida breeding industry also applauded—indigenous South Americans in the Amazon jungle benefited most greatly.

“I’ve supported a charitable foundation, House Of The Children, with the stable’s winnings,” Wright said. “The money is used for the Rainforest Flow project, which protects rainforests and builds water supply systems from streams to villages. Each village costs $400,000, and we’ve done three.”

Wright thinks the good karma created by his generosity has lifted his stable.

“A shaman from one of the Peruvian villages sent me these ceremonial beads for good luck,” Wright said of the red beads he sported on a chain around his neck. “I started wearing them at Santa Anita last fall, the week we swept the Oak Tree Mile [Stakes] (G2) and Oak Tree Derby (G2).”

Wright, a 74-year-old resident of Pasadena, has used water to make the world a better place. He was able to enter the sport as an owner through the profits generated by LifeSource Water Systems, a residential and commercial water filtration company he joined 28 years ago and of which he remains chairman.

“Our horses have been on LifeSource Water, too,” pointed out Wright of another reason for the stable’s health and success. “Our water has no chemicals, chlorine, or carcinogens—just good natural water with all the natural minerals.”

Wright has shifted most of the work in running the company to his son Jay and daughter Cherie

Jeranimo wins Hollywood’s Shoemaker Mile 16 July 21, 2012

Harris, who are co-owners, and son-in-law Mark Harris, who is president.

That has permitted Wright, a gregarious man with a white goatee and self-deprecating sense of humor, to focus on his burgeoning stable. He began to upgrade seven years ago with Pender and hit the Southern California circuit like a raging flash flood the past two years.

The surge began with Jeranimo winning the 2010 Strub Stakes (G2) on synthetic Pro-Ride at Santa Anita, the first of four Grade 2 scores for the Floridabred son of Congaree.

Jeranimo added three more Grade 2 wins on turf—the 2010 San Gabriel Stakes, 2011 Oak Tree Mile, and 2011 Citation Handicap—before the Shoemaker score.

Another major stakes winner emerged for the stable last year in Ultimate Eagle, who climaxed a string of Owner-breeder B. J. Wright is a native Kentuckian who heads a water business in Southern California four straight wins with the Oak Tree Derby and Hollywood Derby (G1)— the latter Wright’s first Grade 1 score. Ultimate training with Pender. Boat Trip, a promising threeEagle is expected back this fall after undergoing year-old by Harlan’s Holiday the pair owns, won surgery for removal of bone chips from an ankle his third straight race in the Tsunami Slew Stakes this spring. on the Hollywood turf on June 22.

Wright was also elated over Jeranimo’s victory He also owns two broodmares that he boards at because it was a “Win and You’re In” race for the Rick Taylor’s Special T Thoroughbreds in Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) on November 3 at Santa Temecula, California.

Anita.

“I like the home-field advantage,” said Wright, Kentucky roots weighing more immediate options such as the Wright grew up in Shelbyville, Kentucky, moved Eddie Read Stakes (G1) on July 21 at Del Mar and west in 1961 after a stint at Transylvania Univerthe Arlington Million Stakes (G1) on August 18. sity, and sold encyclopedias before he entered the Wright added he has no plans to retire the horse water business. at the end of the year.

Wright traced his passion for racing to his Ken“As long as he is healthy and wants to run, we want to let him run,” Wright said. “We like to race.” tucky roots.

“When Man o’ War died, the state of Kentucky went into a state of depression, and the dynamics of Winning team that affected me,” Wright said.

Wright credited Pender with developing Jeran“A small breeder named Jane Hinkle whose famimo from a $70,000 purchase at the 2008 Barretts ily bred Cox’s Ridge wrote a column about racing Equine Ltd. May two-year-old sale into a Grade 1in our local paper and that piqued my interest, too. winning millionaire.

“And now here I am, 50 years later,” concluded The pair goes back a long way. Three decades Wright, looking triumphantly at the sky. ago, Wright coached an unbeaten Pop Warner League football team in Glendale that included his Rainforest flow son and Pender as the quarterback. www.houseofthechildren.org Their paths crossed again unexpectedly in 2005 A not-for-profit organization headquartered in Los Angeles that when Pender left a career as a high school teacher partners with local governments in the Amazon to promote the to begin training at the same time Wright was preservation of tropical forest ecosystems and cultures by empowering indigenous communities to be stewards of their own fulooking for a bright young trainer to quarterback tures. his upgraded stable.

Wright and Pender enjoyed their first stakes sucGoals: cess with Polonius, who won the Pasadena Stakes • To bring safe drinking water and sanitation systems • To educate children and families about health and hygiene at Santa Anita and the Will Rogers Stakes (G3) at practices Hollywood in 2008.

• To make each project self-sustaining Wright owns six horses by himself and another • To establish a global teaching and learning center in the fields of water and sanitation trio in partnership with Jim Hirschmann, all in THOROUGHBRED TIMES

Shegeki Kikkawa

Rainforest Flow benefits from stable’s success

Racing

Battling back Career year after trainer’s fight with cancer

M

in 2007. But the victory by Blueeyesintherein was the second straight for Simms in the Debutante.

Last year, he won with Flashy Lassie, who at 17.60-to-1 odds was the longest shot in the field.

Simms’ résumé includes only two other blacktype triumphs. He won the 1994 Cincinnati Trophy Stakes at Turfway Park with Nasty But Worth It. And he won the 2010 Budweiser Select Cradle Stakes at River Downs with Tanzana. His horses have earned $314,241 this year through July 7, and his career-best single-season earnings were $402,114 in 1996.

ULTIPLE MYELOMA is a relatively rare form of cancer. It occurs in approximately 2,500 out of 100-million people each year, and involves groups of abnormal plasma cells that accumulate in bone marrow and prevent the production of normal blood cells.

“It’s a condition that is treatable, but not curable,” said trainer Garry W. Simms, as he sat in his office in Barn 45 on the Churchill Downs backstretch. Simms was diagnosed with the disease in January 2010. Since then, he has undergone 15 radiation and 60 chemotherapy treatments.

Hardscrabble start The myeloma is centered in the mid- to lower Simms grew up 11⁄2 miles from Churchill Downs, portions of Simms’ spine, and has caused the crum- in the projects area of Louisville, a rough neighborbling of three vertebrae. The vertebrae have been hood. Simms’ father was a preacher and a carpenreinforced with infusions of cement, and the 60ter. His mother worked at Sears, Roebuck and Co. year-old Simms has un“My parents didn’t have dergone two bone a whole lot,” Smith Simms’ five marrow stem cell transsaid.

Circle Unbroken, 2012 Bashford Manor S. (G3) plants. He no longer Neither was a horse Blueeyesintherein, 2012 Debutante S. (G3) Flashy Lassie, 2011 Debutante S. (G3) needs a walker or a pair racing fan. “My Tanzana, 2010 Budweiser Select Cradle S. of canes to get around. mother’s 90, and she’s Nasty But Worth It, 1994 Cincinnati Trophy S. But his height has still never bet a dollar shrunk three inches—he on anything,” Simms now stands an even six feet. Simms has regained said. “But I was a neighborhood kid. I’d run some of the 70 pounds he lost from what used to be around, sneak under the Churchill Downs fence. I his 220-pound frame. There was a time when the was six years old when I saw my first Kentucky marrow transplants made him so sick that his wife, Derby. That was 1958 [Tim Tam’s year].”

Diane, would offer him a cracker, and, “I couldn’t Simms played high school basketball, got into his stand the smell of it, never mind eat it,” Simms said. share of street fights, and briefly tried amateur boxSimms’ Thoroughbred training career spans seving. He owned a bar/nightclub called the Cue Club on Louisville’s Berry Boulevard when a Teamsters eral decades, and he is well on his way to his best union official, Lon Fields, first got him involved in year ever in terms of both stakes winners and earnracing. ings. On June 23, he sent out the two-year-old filly “We became partners in a horse, and the trainer Blueeyesintherein to win Churchill’s $112,200 told us, ‘Bet all you want, we’re going to win Debutante Stakes (G3). Seven days later, he won today,’ ” Simms said. “The horse got beat the length Churchill’s $109,800 Bashford Manor Stakes (G3) of the stretch. The next time, he told us the same with the two-year-old colt Circle Unbroken. thing, and we got beat even worse. The trainer was Sweeping the major juvenile events at the an old guy, a character. He carried a gun. You could Churchill spring-summer meet is not an unprecesee the handle sticking out of his pocket. dented achievement. Steve Asmussen did the same

THOROUGHBRED TIMES

Reed Palmer/Churchill Downs

BY BILL MOONEY

“Well, the trainer took me home for dinner. He told his wife to get out the album with winning photos. The album didn’t have 15 pictures, and this guy had been training 40 years. I told Lon, ‘I’ll train this horse. I can figure this out.’ He said, ‘You don’t know nothing about horses.’ I said, ‘I’ll read books about it. I’ll learn.’ ” Since then, Simms has established a niche with young horses, many obtained for bargain-level prices. He bought Tanzana privately for $25,000.

He purchased Flashy Lassie and Blueeyesintherein for auction prices of $4,000 and $10,000, respectively. And he purchased Circle Unbroken for $92,000 at Keeneland in September 2011.

All four have gone on to triumph in six-figure stakes. “I know the Kentucky consignors,” Simms said. “I know who’s shooting straight and I know who’s shooting around the corner.”

The cancer issues remain. As does Simms’ optimism. “I’m leaning toward running Blueeyesintherein and Circle Unbroken in that pair of $100,000 juvenile stakes at Mountaineer on August 4,” he said.

“We’ll duck the heavy heads at Saratoga. I’ve got three children and a grandchild. I’m living life as it comes. And I’m having a ball doing it.”

July 21, 2012 17

Photos courtesy of Vic Zast

Like Father, Like Son,

Like Grandson Saratoga through the eyes of experience and inheritance

BY VIC ZAST

C

HARLIE ZAST has spent three of his four August 1’s at Saratoga Race Course. He missed his first August 1 because the nurses at St. Vincent’s Hospital wouldn’t let him leave for the track on the day he was born. Every August 1 since 2009, he has been at the Spa, sitting high up in the clubhouse with me, his grandfather “Papi,” in row J of section J, where the view is panoramic, or up close to the action at the rail, atop his dad’s shoulders or crouched low, peering through the legs of railbirds, where the view is at ground level.

Charlie, dressed in a T-shirt and shorts and clutching a toy horse in his fist, as if it and not he was the cargo, arrives in a red Radio Flyer wagon.

He is a full-blown horse racing person, not simply a passenger along for the ride. Alert as a jockey in the gate, Charlie knows that the runners parade to the post from right to left when Sam the bugler blows his horn and knows where to look for the start of a race when the bell sounds. He is the only student in

Ms. Melissa’s preschool class at 82nd Street Academics in Queens, New York, to have mastered his numbers from saddlecloths. He uses binoculars.

“How do you know on which horse to bet?” asks one hardcore horseplayer who sees Charlie with betting slips. Charlie answers, “I’m an aminal expert.” He shares his selections with anyone who’s interested. Nevertheless, his picks aren’t all that scientific or intuitive. It’s the number three or number eight that he favors—the cursive bulges in the forms of the numbers a tad more artistic to him than the four or seven, although he doesn’t admit it.

Unlike his almost four-year-old boy, Jon Zast hasn’t spent all his 38 birthdays at the races. Still, he’s witnessed more horse racing than most people twice his age. Jon notched the entire summer before entering his senior year in high school by working as a “gold coat” at Arlington Park. He’s taken in a baker’s dozen Breeders’ Cups, one Preakness Stakes (G1), and five Belmont Stakes (G1), and, of course, the 120th Kentucky Derby (G1) won by Go for Gin, a couple days after his 20th birthday. The night before the big race, baseball great Stan “The Man” Musial played “Happy Birthday” on the har-

monica for him as TV announcer Jack Buck and baseball Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench sang the lyrics at a Louisville party.

Jon began to take Charlie to the racetrack to keep Charlie busy. Their early drop-ins at the Oklahoma training track for the morning workouts, strolls through Claire Court, and occasional stops at the Saratoga harness track, which Charlie calls “the slow horses,” became, in effect, life’s lessons. How one teaches your children the ways of the world is a choice that depends on perspective. But there are few methods better than an immersion in horse racing to explain risk, disappointment, and how most things are unpredictable.

Besides being a conscientious parent, my son, Jon, is an excellent handicapper. Only recently, however, did he master the crucial skill of money management—the last lesson of lucrative horse betting. That it’s taken him this long to arrive at this crucial level confirms that the game, like the game of life, can’t be learned overnight. The lengthy process causes me to wonder why racecourses spend money hosting horse racing classes. I would let people pick horses using a program and a hat pin until they figured out

August remains horse racing’s proper time. Up in Maine, they call tourists “the summer bothers.” But, in the city of “Health, History, and Horses,” a couple hundred miles west, visitors are called “August people,” and they’re treated with greater esteem.

18 July 21, 2012

THOROUGHBRED TIMES

Saratoga 2012 that there was a better way. Bewho don’t find it moving at a snail’s pace. The former believes the cost of ginners would have fun and July 20 to September 3 engaging in risk is small in compariwould soon seek the step-up. On (dark Tuesdays) son to the thrill it provides. The latter the other hand, I learned the 267 Union Ave. finds betting wasteful and frivolous. ropes from a mentor. So did Jon Demographic information is meanand so will Charlie.

Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 ingless for identifying the potential My love for the sport runs so Grandstand, $3; horse racing fan. deeply that I was at old Latonia Critics of laissez-faire patriarchy in Covington, Kentucky, on the clubhouse, $5 might find it irresponsible, considerSaturday that Jon made his First (518) 584-6200 ing all the loftier traits they value, Holy Communion in Wilmette, but of the characteristics that serve Illinois. Shortly thereafter, I inwww.nyra.com to define me, my involvement with doctrinated my new Christian horse racing may be one that I’m warrior in the sinfully seductive most pleased to pass on. I believe sport that led me away on his holiest day. Jon became the game provides a unique opportunity to teach young my racecourse companion by age seven and, by age people that, despite an occasional failing, they can be eight, knew as much about horse racing as he did about happy. You have only a dozen or so years to impart your baseball and cars, and more than he knew about God. values to your children, instill them with priorities, and When Jon turned nine, I dispensed with the lesson teach them about how to behave. Then they become about the birds and the bees with a visit to Spendthrift somebody else’s child—most likely a ward of their Farm during breeding season. I have a faded snapshot friends. Eventually, they return to you with fully develof Jon holding the reins of the champion Affirmed. He oped opinions that are drawn from experience. If you’ve met Seattle Slew that day face to face, too. “The stud is done your job right, regardless of what those opinions the sire is the daddy,” I explained hesitatingly, “and the are, they become adults you admire and want to spend dam is the mare is the mommy.” When I got to the end time with. and said, “That’s how babies are made,” he said, simMy younger daughter, Biz, is getting married at the ply, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Fasig-Tipton auction grounds in Saratoga Springs on When Jon was a little older, I convinced him to pick up discarded betting tickets off the grandstand’s littered July 28. My older daughter, Annie, who like Biz is a longshot player, will rush home from watching the Jim macadam at Hawthorne and Sportsman’s Park. I’d pretend that one from his stack was a winner and gave him Dandy Stakes (G2) to get dressed for the ceremony. I have given my children identity and a lifetime of fun, to a buck for his find. In my way of thinking, this little say nothing of the awe of their friends. A day at the white lie was a valuable lesson in how work pays off. races is often the excuse for us to bond. This past April, You ascend to a place of inclusion in the sport of kings my entire family booked reservations for November’s by absorbing its subtleties, mostly by following examBreeders’ Cup. I’ve never missed a Breeders’ Cup. ple, and by working at grasping its nuance. Sooner or Never. How did I get so devoted? later, you become one of us.

About 55 years ago, I worked as a stock boy in a Buffalo, New York, supermarket that was owned by my HE HORSE RACING UNIVERSE has rules of Uncle Stan. Stan was an unhealthy, silver-haired dapper behavior, a language that’s as foreign to the New man with a résumé that included being a bootlegger and Testament as Hebrew is to Koine, a history steeped in marathon dancer. It was the pre-tech era when betting fable and larceny, and a culture that’s uniquely demowith bookies was the only way to wager if you weren’t cratic. An individual’s opinion, regardless of the creat the track. dentials he possesses for expressing it, is no better than By the same method of deduction that led me to figure anyone else’s. Horse racing takes a generation to learn, out that sending Jon off to pick up discarded betting slips thus the reluctance of our sound-bite society to respond would enable me to bet on the races, Stan understood to marketing, the little there is of it. The peristalsis is that I could help him keep the secret of his horse gamnearly invisible. Nevertheless, some never take to the bling away from his wife, my Aunt Ann. While he club. manned the checkout counter, Ann managed the produce People who enjoy horse racing delight in its diversity. department, not too far enough apart to keep tabs on each People who don’t see a fringe population that they don’t want to interact with. People who enjoy horse racing find continued on page 20 the pace of the game leisurely and productive. People

When Jon turned nine, I dispensed with the lesson about the birds and the bees with a visit to Spendthrift Farm during breeding season.

“The stud is the sire is the daddy,” I explained hesitatingly, “and the dam is the mare is the mommy.” When I got to the end and said, “That’s how babies are made,” he said, simply, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

T

Saratoga on TV Date

Stakes

Time (EDT)

Network

August 11

Fourstardave H. (G2)

6-7 p.m.

NBC Sports Network

August 12

Adirondack S. (G2), Saratoga Special S. (G2)

6-7 p.m.

NBC Sports Network

August 18

Alabama S. (G1), Sword Dancer Invitational H. (G1)

5-6 p.m.

NBC Sports Network

August 25

Travers S. (G1), King’s Bishop S. (G1), Test S. (G1), Ballston Spa H. (G2)

4-6 p.m.

NBC

September 1

Woodward S. (G1), Forego S. (G1), Bernard Baruch H. (G2)

5-6 p.m.

NBC

THOROUGHBRED TIMES

July 21, 2012 19

from page 19

other. Stan would send me, then a freshman in high school, to run his bets to his bookie under the guise that I was delivering groceries to a customer who couldn’t carry her own home.

Stan’s bookie sat in the window of a gin mill. He was thick, like a bullfrog through the neck and the shoulders, and his rheumy eyes were hooded in mystery. He had arms the size of a wrestler’s and legs with the heft of railroad ties, and a waist, not hard and washboarded, nor soft and rounded like an elder’s—because he was barely in his 30s—but big enough to deserve a wide belt. The belt dipped an inch or two in the middle from either side of his frame like a cozy hammock or a clothesline that is burdened with wet laundry and you could see the notches he’d used a few meals back, if you dared stare—before he became a rounded mound of an ebony man, an imposing presence.

“Two, two, if come, four, four in reverse, two dollar place parlay” was the mysterious mantra I repeated to him daily, as he sat in a scarred bentwood

rare you became lightheaded by breathing in. Entering the gates, you were transported to another realm by acceding to mimicry, subservient to a style that prevailed over self-satisfaction. As the meet carried on, you believed that each day meant something more fleeting than the one before, so when the bugler played “Auld Lang Syne” after the last race on the last day, the haunting refrain brought tears to your eyes. It is only now, with the season stretched thin over the end of July and the start of September, that four weeks are insufficient.

Back then, in the 1960s, the tomatoes were locally provided to the Wishing Well restaurant—ripe because it was their time. The corn on the cob was picked from farms on the same day the cook stripped an ear from its husk and you swathed it in butter and bit in. In the evenings, horsemen from Kentucky, the Carolinas, and Florida downed sidecars and rusty nails at the Spuyten Duyvil. On a slow night, the owner—a former Harlem chorus line girl—would allow a fat man to spring into a handstand and tap dance on the walls from an upside down position, while, at the piano bar, a

I recall a winner’s circle drawn in chalk and a station near the current walking ring where you could stand to write postcards

S

that NYRA would frank and send to your friends. The horses were paraded only eight times a day through a tunnel cut into the building to get to the racetrack

chair, his weight pushing the chair back on two legs, his lips uttering nothing while moving to the rhythm of a metronome, a filter-tipped Kool bobbing up and down in his mouth, scattering ashes on his shiny shirt, the smoke licking the space above in short bursts like an Indian’s signals. The image was mesmerizing. The language was music, a verbal hieroglyphic that made me feel cunning.

Eventually, my sister Genie, three years older than I, began driving me to Fort Erie. The quaint border track, now threatened with permanent closure, was the track at which Puss n Boots, on the lead in a grass race, jumped over the rail and went swimming in the infield lake, where I first saw Northern Dancer race, and where the Prince of Wales Stakes, the second jewel of the Canadian Triple Crown, is held. On my very first visit at age 12, I won a bet on a 53-to-1 shot named Olantangy.

A few years later, when I left home for college, I found myself 250 miles east in Saratoga Springs.

My discovery made me feel I had entered heaven.

T

HE 24 DAYS OF SARATOGA as I knew them at age 18 had a country fair flair, but a country fair flair in which royalty gathered. The air felt so 20 July 21, 2012

Horse racing, a sport on the brink of insignificance, has made many mistakes on its way to relative oblivion, although not understanding that less is more, when champagne is served, may be the biggest.

Regardless, the upcoming Saratoga racing season will be my 46th straight. Undoubtedly, a day will come when a thirst for greed overtakes an appreciation of scarcity, and then the Saratoga season will begin on the Fourth of July and end at Labor Day. But, when that day arrives, only fools with a poor understanding of Webster’s, who believe that the word “season” can be used to describe any string of days, will still call it that.

Whatever the number of days, total immersion defines Saratoga as horse racing’s ultimate experience.

Streets are named after horses. Traffic signs warn drivers to let them cross thoroughfares at will. The newspaper is wrapped in a pink-printed tip sheet.

Even motels have horse-referenced names such as Thoro-bred, which, except for a misplaced R, just might constitute the cleverest pun ever written.

Saratoga Springs hosts the National Museum of Racing; it houses the sport’s Hall of Fame. Book signings by Turf writers take place almost every evening. Jockeys pause to sign autographs when walking to the saddling enclosure and silks room.

They donate their time to tend bar or drive go-karts or play softball for charity. When journeyman Dean Mernagh sings “New York, New York” at the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund karaoke night, women, who stand six inches taller than he, hyperventilate.

chanteuse named Ida performed. There was Mother Goldsmith’s for eggs and lox in the morning to cure a hangover. Such delicious indulgences have decreased, not increased, on the stretch-out.

Still, August remains horse racing’s proper time.

Up in Maine, they call tourists “the summer bothers.” But, in the city of “Health, History, and Horses,” a couple hundred miles west, visitors are called “August people,” and they’re treated with greater esteem. Indeed, Saratoga Springs, a Victorian town where the architecture conflicts with the conduct, may be the only place left on earth in which someone who plays the horses has a loftier status than a person who doesn’t.

How, then, did Saratoga horse racing become popular? Well, the answer might be found in the ambience. Some gamblers early on decided that for horse racing to thrive it would have to be held for a social purpose. Today, nearly 150 years later, it’s not the $930,000 in daily purses, not the 48 stakes races or 35 graded stakes, nor the stellar cast of horses, jockeys, and trainers in repertoire that elevates Saratoga beyond other racecourses— it’s the nature of what’s transpiring, the act of history in the form of a party repeating itself.

THOROUGHBRED TIMES

ARATOGA’S MOST RECENT RACE meet extension occurred two summers ago when the season moved from 36 days to 40. Charles Hayward, then chief executive officer of the New York Racing Association, which operates the track as a not-for-profit organization under license to the state, tried to place a positive spin on the move’s greedy underpinnings. Hayward declared, in an Albany Times Union news interview, “The expansion was a measured decision that reflects the overwhelming demand for racing that we have from horsemen in Saratoga.” He could have said instead, “Even a bad day of business at Saratoga is better than a great day of business at Belmont Park.”

Nevertheless, stretching a boutique meet into a long pull was not Hayward’s most egregious misconduct. The track executive was unceremoniously relieved of his privileged position on the eve of this past Kentucky Derby for being involved in a coverup of $8.5-million that NYRA kept from bettors despite a change in the law that required the association to distribute the money. When the decision to fire him came out, Hayward was alone in his Saratoga Springs home, an exiled recluse. For a guy who wanted nothing more in life than to get closer to the game and managed to become one of its leaders, this was the basement in a long run at NYRA’s helm that was fraught with politics and stress.

Hayward’s ill-advised decision to hide what he did from the government became a convenient excuse for the state to suggest a premature end of its 25-year franchise agreement with NYRA. Within weeks of the underpayment disclosures, casino revenues that were mandated by law to be shared with the association were withdrawn from payment and challenges were made to its authority over two continued on page 22

from page 20

hires from within to replace Hayward and General Counsel Patrick Kehoe, a second NYRA higher-up-made-scapegoat, to avoid further disruption. The name of Churchill Downs Inc., a hybrid casino and racetrack operator, was floated about like a duck on the pond of the infield as a possible replacement to run Saratoga, Belmont, and Aqueduct. Residents of Saratoga Springs cringed, knowing that the venerable racecourse’s charm was at risk if it fell into carpetbagger hands. The most embarrassing indignity came when Gov. Andrew Cuomo, pursuing his own agenda, packed NYRA’s board of trustees with political appointees, in effect taking over control.

Attendance at Saratoga has slipped almost every year for the past decade.

NYRA hasn’t been in the black since 2003. Not entirely its own fault, the franchise waited ten years to benefit from legislation that would funnel money from a casino at Aqueduct to its purse account and operating coffers. There has been a decline in amenities and improvements during the waiting period and oldtimers notice it. Newcomers simply believe it’s a curiosity—a place that’s seen better days and needs to be visited before going under the wrecking ball.

The clubhouse, a vision of the old world with its wooden floors, overhead fans, and white linen tablecloths, has lost grace. Two cubicles, euphemistically referred to as skyboxes because they are air-conditioned, invade forgotten nooks of the building like shoeboxes in which hamsters are buried. Many of the red and white awnings have turned pink and white. Paint drippings, which have been haphazardly allowed to descend on the edifice’s cast iron steps, reveal a tendency to hire workers without the capability of artists, revealing a laissez-faire oversight.

Saratoga Springs, a Victorian town where the architecture conflicts with the conduct, may be the only place left on earth in which someone who plays the horses has a loftier status than a person who doesn’t

There’s been another recent development that’s as damaging as cancer.

Horse racing interests have taken to disparaging their product by publicly telling taxpayers how unpopular the sport’s become and how it can’t compete with casinos. By pulling pranks such as walking a tombstone up the steps of the Capitol Building in Albany, New York’s horse industry leaders believed they could move the Legislature into favoring them with the fulfillment of promises. All the unsightly grandstanding accomplished was to turn off the public by painting the sport as a loser.

Hayward told the press at the start of the 2010 season that people who come to Saratoga don’t pay attention to the negative posturing of politicking.

But his threat to close the track when he didn’t get a reaction from the state to pay NYRA what it was legally owed, an inference he later denied, sent chills up the back of hotel keepers and restaurant owners who saw business slipping away as a result of the slip of tongue. What Hayward failed to comprehend was the importance of romance. How people perceive situations is more powerful in marketing than facts.

N

O DOUBT, THERE WERE DISAPPOINTING business periods, operational difficulties, scandals, and troubles in my day. But they were obscured by the spectacle’s exotic definition, the racecourse’s huge crowds, recurring success of its equine heroes, and the varnish of cool. Although 22 July 21, 2012

THOROUGHBRED TIMES

seems there’s a dedicated effort to further estrange the fans from the horses and that wouldn’t sit well with anyone.

What has a buffet added to make breakfast at the track a unique repast? How has allowing men in shorts and collarless shirts in the clubhouse promoted the idea that a clubhouse seat should command premium pricing? Have too many changes been made for the sake of immediate profit-taking without reference to changes, which over time will enhance the experience? I believe so.

He is the only student in Ms. Melissa’s preschool class at 82nd Street Academics in Queens, New York, to have mastered his numbers from saddlecloths

continued on page 24

Saratoga always has shunned a contemporary resonance, it has seen changes in my time that Jon and Charlie don’t realize. In other words, Charlie will engage a Saratoga that Jon didn’t when I led him to the track on his initial pilgrimages.

Last summer, NYRA unveiled a grand plan for Saratoga that would challenge my ideas of constancy. This was to be the year in which Hayward and Paul Roberts of Turnberry Consulting, the British firm that helped Ascot Racecourse in England to modernize, were to offer for a vote to the board of trustees on a $100-million plan that would rearrange the racecourse grounds in ways that would present Jon and Charlie with their own Saratoga experience.

The overall vision was to restore Saratoga’s historic fabric with a series of ideas that included a new walking ring with stepped terracing—one that enabled the fans to see the horses instead of the backs of well-heeled horse owners and their friends.

The plan involved building new administration offices and jockey quarters at the far west side of the walking ring. It called for moving the west clubhouse entrance farther north so it would be closer to Big Red Spring and for sprucing up the Carousel Restaurant. Roberts and Hayward disagreed on what it should be. Hayward wanted a sports bar.

Two summers ago, NYRA added an out-ofcharacter building so a New York City businessman could operate a couple outposts of popular Manhattan restaurants. The historic preservationists were uncommonly quiet. But NYRA officials, operating in a typical haughty way, said they were within their rights to erect the structures on racecourse grounds in any form they wished and without anyone else’s approval, rationalizing that it was a temporary building. I asked Jon, who besides being an adman is an architect, what he thought of the building. He just shrugged. My other children often bet and watch races on television from the bar that’s in front of the new complex. They love the action (and the hamburgers).

When you fall in love with something because it has a certain look or feels a certain way, it becomes difficult to remain in the same state of rapture when it changes. But a world without change is impossible and, furthermore, feeble. I try to not dwell on a past when the picnic grounds were used as a saddling area. Given modern-day realities, even the possibility of having the horses walk through the crowds is ridiculous. But sometimes it THOROUGHBRED TIMES

July 21, 2012 23

from page 23

I’d pretend that one from his stack was a winner and gave him a buck for his find. In my way of thinking, this little white lie was a valuable lesson in how work pays off. You ascend to a place of inclusion in the sport of kings by absorbing its subtleties, mostly by following example, and by working at grasping its nuance. Sooner or later, you become one of us

The History and Art of 25 Travers

by Vic Zast

24 July 21, 2012

Before me, people recalled a Saratoga that featured the Grand Union Hotel, the Arrowhead Inn, and Newman’s Lake House, where blackjack was played and famous entertainers such as Bing Crosby, Sophie Tucker, and Joe E. Brown performed. They tell of walking the horses from the train to the track for $3 a head and of riding to the races in four-in-hands. Before them, Saratoga held the memories of John W. “Bet a Million” Gates playing faro at The Club House, Man o’ War being upset by Upset, and Arnold Rothstein fixing the Travers. Memories become dust, sweet nostalgia.

I remember the backyard with trees wrapped with numbers. There were narrow dirt paths circling their trunks.

Owners, trainers, common fans, and horses were at equal advantage of participating in the prerace preparations. As for the racing, Saratoga scheduled a steeplechase race every day—usually the third race. On Saturdays—the biggest days—the infield was open to patrons. Workers put down planks at the quarter pole and the public was allowed to cross over. Races at a mile on the main strip began in what is now a parking lot from what was then called the Wilson chute. The horses would dash for almost two furlongs in a northeast direction before heading north on the backstretch and completing their journey. Jon and Charlie have never witnessed a mile or a 11⁄16-mile race on the dirt at Saratoga.

I recall a winner’s circle drawn in chalk and a station near the current walking ring where you could stand to write postcards that NYRA would frank and send to your friends. The horses were paraded only eight times a day through a tunnel cut into the building to get to the racetrack. Sundays were dark. The Whitney, Alabama, Travers, and Hopeful Stakes highlighted the meet’s Saturdays, and you’d wait on the news of which horses would run in each as if the whole world depended on it.

Often, the trainers would decide at the very last minute, wanting to learn first how their charges had fared since their most recent start a week ago. In the week prior to Onion beating Secretariat at 11⁄8 miles in the Whitney Handicap (G2), he broke the track record for 61⁄2 furlongs on Tuesday and had a hard one-mile workout on Thursday.

With a nod to gavage, the compacted season enabled horse-owning families to reside in Saratoga Springs the entire month of August.

The exceptionally rich closed their mansions in Newport, Rhode Island, at the end of July and opened their mansions on North Broadway when the racing began. The merely rich rented homes or stayed in the few motels that provided a proper address. Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt lived in the house that I own on 5th Avenue. The New Warden Inn was a popular hotel on Broadway for seasonal boarders. Everyone, including the jewel thieves, knew where everyone was by reading the “Cottage List.” For a nickel, a burglar could haul in $10,000 by reading the newspaper.

On any given day, horseplayers could find horses on the race card that were owned by men of genuine stature with longstanding sporting inclinations, not snack food promoters and automobile salesmen who made their decisions to race on the basis of an operating statement. To see the following day’s fields, you’d visit the news shop on Broadway at 11 p.m. because THOROUGHBRED TIMES

that’s when Racing Forms arrived from New York on a Greyhound bus. It was better having to wait for the information than to have it at the end of the previous day’s races because the wait added intrigue. As the clock ticked, conversation kept people engaged on their porches with their neighbors, transistor radios, and Long Island ice teas. Horse racing, in general, but Saratoga racing, specifically, is about anticipation.

J

ON HAS SAID ONCE OR TWICE that he wants a racetrack that affords him a sense of remove. He enjoys the feeling that he’s in a place that not everyone approves of—a place where wholesomeness gives way to daring and secrets abide. The racecourse was scary to me when I started to go. I felt like an innocent child taking a walk on the wild side. But the perception that I was in a place that wasn’t meant for me, consorting with dubious characters, stoked my desire.

Conversely, the practice of leaving a newspaper on an empty seat to reserve the spot without fear that anyone would take it, which was the custom of my youth as opposed to reserved seating, reveals a different emotion. In my day, the racetrack was, in effect, a trust-dependent, code-specific institution with country-club manners.

And the code was shared wider than any entertainment—baseball, football, and basketball included.

As my boy becomes a man in the game, the Saratoga that he and Charlie and Charlie’s children will know will reflect the crass, market-based society that we, as Americans, seem fond of. The racecourse will reflect an even more obvious personality of separatism between those who have and have not. If money to build skyboxes becomes available, they’ll be built. The Carousel Restaurant may not become the sports bar that Hayward envisioned, but one of the many state-run casinos that Cuomo imagines. The idea that something should change to improve the experience has given way to change for the sake of making more money. Fewer people than ever know the difference. As for me, all I want is a Las Vegas water show set to music like the one that they have at the Bellagio—a spectacular infield event to keep people in their seats until the stakes race goes off, like the flight of the flamingos at Hialeah Park.

Time is impermanent. The original image of a place never really goes away, often wrapped up in the memory of people who were there when you knew it—my sister Genie and her first husband, Tom, Ted and Dorothy McClellan, assorted schoolmates from college, and Crafty Brittell in my formative years— mostly gone in the sense of their presence, although not in their influence. The flip of a calendar page simply blurs out the details you don’t care to recall.

As they grow old, Jon and Charlie will reminisce about the golden days—hearing me dole out advice as if I knew what I was talking about, taking delight from the rare times I hit on the truth. My son and his son will maintain a spoken record of what precisely took place when history was made or imagined. They’ll remember my wife laughing each time she hit a $1 exacta. They’ll recall dining at Hattie’s and dancing at Siro’s, Charlie up in his father’s arms being bounced to the beat of a bad local band, my daughters passing him around as if love was a polka, smothered in attention and made to feel one with us, as it’s supposed to be with family.

Vic Zast is the author of The History and Art of 25 Travers, a finalist for the Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award sponsored by Castleton Lyons and THOROUGHBRED TIMES, and the keeper of the “Saratoga Diary” for www.bloodhorse.com.

No more need for pen and paper – handicap a race right on your iPad! Highlight, circle, make notes, write comments, underline — it’s all available at the touch of your finger.

iPPs by Equibase Available from iTunes

equibase.com (859) 224-2860 (800) 333-2211 821 Corporate Drive, Lexington, KY 40503

Wolf’s pack

BY JOE NEVILLS

S

OMETIMES, THE EFFORTS of a small, focused group can produce amazing things.

For Jack Wolf’s Starlight Racing, it has produced an Eclipse Award winner, four Kentucky Derby (G1) starters, more than 50 stakes wins, and a strike rate at auction that would make just about anyone in the industry envious.

With six investing parties and about 25 horses in training, Starlight Racing is a tight-knit group compared with many ownership syndicates, focus-

Courtesy of Keeneland

Ownership syndicate Starlight Racing succeeds with tight partnerships

ing on quality over quantity, both among its members and horses. That quality is apparent in the partnership’s position among the top 40 owners in North America by 2012 earnings, with $798,200 through July 4.

“It’s such a capital-intensive business, and I like to spread my risk and the risk of the partners,” said Wolf, the managing partner. “I actually like having partners. It’s a lot more fun to go to the races, and if you have any luck or success, it’s fun to experience that with your partners.”

The seeds for the current version of Starlight Racing were planted in 2000 when Wolf, now 63, retired from his job as a hedge fund manager and

was looking for an activity to share with his wife, Laurie. Wolf, a Louisville native, had owned a few claiming horses with a friend in the mid-1980s, but the responsibilities of work and family prevented him from doing more in racing.

To get back into racing in a substantial way, the Wolfs hired bloodstock agent Barry Berkelhammer and purchased six yearlings at that year’s FasigTipton Kentucky selected yearling sale.

One of those yearlings turned out to be Harlan’s Holiday, a three-time Grade 1 winner who was the post-time favorite in the 2002 Kentucky Derby, finishing seventh.

The Wolfs began to take on partners in 2002, and

Starlight Racing’s best Take the Points

26 July 21, 2012

Adam Coglianese/NYRA

Octave 13-4-7-2, $1,660,934 Daughter of Unbridled’s Song was a twotime Grade 1 winner. She sold for $4million at the 2007 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky fall mixed sale.

THOROUGHBRED TIMES

16-4-3-1, $943,590 The son of Even the Score was a turf specialist who won two Grade 1 races.

He stands in Saudi Arabia.

Bob Coglianese/Gulfstream Park

Ashado 21-12-4-3, $3,931,440 A two-time Eclipse Award winner, the daughter of Saint Ballado won seven Grade 1 races and sold for $9-million at the 2005 Keeneland November sale, a then-world record for a broodmare prospect.

22-9-6-1, $3,632,664 From Starlight’s first crop of yearlings purchased at auction, the son of Harlan was a three-time Grade 1 winner. He stands at WinStar Farm.

Keeneland Association/Bill Straus

PhotosByZ.com

Harlan’s Holiday

New addition

Stable’s juvenile Shanghai Bobby wins the Track Barron Stakes in June

had two additional investors in three yearlings they purchased. One developed into two-time Eclipse Award winner Ashado, and the second was Grade 1 winner Purge.

“Everybody says how lucky I am, but those were the luckiest two guys, because I had probably another ten horses on my own that year, and those three are the ones that cleared the table,” Wolf said.

Wolf met one of the key cogs in Starlight’s operation in 2003 when he was introduced to Donald Lucarelli at a surprise party on Lake George in upstate New York. Lucarelli and his wife, Barbara, had owned Standardbreds earlier, but like Wolf, they had to give it up for other responsibilities.

“We talked horses all night and had a lot of common interests,” Lucarelli said, “so I asked him, ‘If this

“We’re looking for somebody who’s looking to get into the business for the experience. That’s really the reason that I’m in, because the economics can be difficult to rationalize.” thing comes down, would you consider taking on another partner?’ Naturally, he was looking to spread his risk at that time. We sold our business in 2004, then sat down with him and Laurie and came up with a game plan. He explained all the risks and rewards of being in the horse business and I was all for it.”

DONNA BARTON BROTHERS added another title to her already distinguished résumé earlier this year when she was hired as the chief operating officer for Starlight Racing.

The retired jockey and current on-air personality joined the ownership syndicate in April, and handles the group’s partnership development and client relations. With the yearling sale season under way, Barton Brothers has been attracting and arranging investors for the next generation of Starlight runners.

“It’s been a little bit harder work than I expected,” she said, “especially because I went from doing the Triple Crown to preparing for our first sale in July and trying to get our partnerships together by then. It’s been hard since the Preakness [Stakes (G1)], but really since the Belmont Stakes (G1) to get our ducks in a row before we hit that first sale on July 10.”

Barton Brothers says the position is a “labor of love” and praised Starlight for being a quality operation.

“Starlight Racing, the way they do their partnerships, first of all it’s been a remarkably successful business plan,” she said.

“Second, I’m never afraid to show anybody the fine details of the way they charge or expense anything. I feel like everything is done the way it should be, and it’s an association that I’m proud to be a part of.”

With only a few months on the job, Barton Brothers has already made a strong first impression.

“Donna’s gotten a lot of positive responses,” said Jack Wolf, principal partner for Starlight Racing. “Her exposure on NBC has helped. People respect her and like her.

I’d rather talk to her about going to a syndicate than talk to me.”

Taking the position with Starlight gave Barton Brothers yet another hat to wear, on top of on-air roles with NBC Sports and Television Games Network, working with her husband, bloodstock agent Frankie Brothers, and a burgeoning writing career.

However, Barton Brothers noted that her position with NBC is her priority. In addition to coverage of Thoroughbred racing, her credits with the network include other equestrian events.

“Everybody understands that my work for NBC comes first,” she said. “There’s never a tug of war there. I never Courtesy of NBC Universal/Steven Freeman photo

Adam Coglianese/NYRA

Donna Barton Brothers settles in as COO have to explain to anybody that I’m tied up doing an NBC show right now.”

In August 2011, Barton Brothers released her first book, Inside Track: Insider’s Guide to Horse Racing, which details for beginners some of the basic “hows” and “whys” of the sport in an easy-to-digest format, right down to the best way to complain about a horse’s losing trip.

Though completing the book took about four years from the first keystroke to the finished product, Barton Brothers said the majority was written in about three months, then sat on her computer until she decided to finish it before someone else puts out one like it.

“My impetus for writing the book was just because this was a book that I felt needed to be out there for years,” she said.

“Finally, one day I said, ‘Okay, nobody’s going to write the book.’ I had picked up a couple of different books along those lines, and based on those books, I wrote my table of contents before I ever wrote a page, and my table of contents never changed. From that perspective, it was just like filling in the blanks. I’d write a chapter head and write about it.”

Barton Brothers is now in the process of writing her second book, an autobiographical work providing a first-person account of the sport’s inner workings.

The inspiration for the project came from literary agent Helen Brann’s urging to read The Memory of it All by Betsy Blair, an actress and one-time wife of Gene Kelly.

“When she told me that she wanted me to write a book about horse racing and my experience in horse racing, I just was not willing to do that, because I just thought there were so many more interesting people than me and the books don’t sell well,” Barton Brothers said. “When she had me read this book, I got what she meant. She wanted for somebody to take you behind the closed doors of horse racing, to tell you what it’s all about, to really let the reader be the camera on your shoulder in seeing how it all plays out, and you don’t need to be the star of the book for that to happen.

“I get questions all the time about what it’s like to be on a horse and go that fast, and how a jockey gets mounts, and I think, ‘This is why she wants the book written,’ because people just don’t understand that stuff, so I’m working on it. It’s taking me a lot longer than the first one.”

—Joe Nevills

continued on page 28

Starlight Racing’s best Algorithms

Courtesy of Keeneland

Patricia McQueen

Hilda’s Passion 14-8-2-0, $739,493 Daughter of Canadian Frontier was a sprint standout and set track record at Gulfstream for seven furlongs in winning Inside Information Stakes (G2). Sold for $1,225,000 at the 2011 Fasig-Tipton November sale.

THOROUGHBRED TIMES

3-3-0-0, $301,500 Son of Bernardini won the 2012 Holy Bull Stakes (G3). Sidelined from Kentucky Derby trail due to injury but is expected back this fall.

Bob Coglianese/Gulfstream Park

Purge 15-6-1-2, $905,434 Son of Pulpit excelled at New York tracks, winning the 2005 Cigar Mile Handicap (G1).

He stands in the Philippines.

Keeneland/Coady Photography

Monba 10-3-0-2, $669,034 Winner of the 2008 Blue Grass Stakes (G1), the son of Maria’s Mon now stands at Penn Ridge Farms in Pennsylvania.

July 21, 2012 27

PhotosByZ.com

PatLangPhoto.com Keeneland/Coady Photography

“The benefit of that is that everybody watches the races together,” Barton Brothers said, “so everybody gets to watch the races together and enjoy them as a group—enjoy the wins and absorb the losses.”

from page 27

Lucarelli soon became one of the managing partners of Starlight, and handles much of the bookkeeping responsibilities for the partnership.

“As far as I’m concerned, I’m living the dream that a lot of guys wish they could live,” he said.

“Jack and Laurie really gave us an opportunity to get in with their partnership. I don’t know what my future would have held if I’d done it differently, but I know this has been a very positive experience for us and our family.”

Getting in While Starlight has a small group of investors, it is by no means a closed shop. The syndicate is in the process of raising capital, and has hired retired jockey and television broadcast personality Donna Barton Brothers as its chief operating officer to help attract new investors.

For those interested in joining the syndicate, the first thing it’s going to take is money. Because Starlight is a high-end racing operation with a very select number of members, the capital needed to in-

28 July 21, 2012

vest is relatively high compared with those with more members.

“It’s not for everybody,” Barton Brothers said.

“Starlight is pretty high-end. It’s a boutique-ish type of racing syndicate. The minimum amount to invest is more than most people can afford, and certainly more than I would be able to afford.”

Like a yearling at the sale, prospective members are vetted by Wolf and the other partners to ensure that they will jell with the group, agree with the syndicate’s philosophies, and understand the potential risks associated with the venture.

“A lot of us attend the races, so the first thing we like to do is just sit down and get to know you and explain the risks that are involved,” Wolf said.

“We’re looking for somebody who’s looking to get into the business for the experience. That’s really the reason that I’m in, because the economics can be difficult to rationalize.”

And just what is Starlight Racing’s philosophy?

“Our philosophy is that we buy yearlings,” Wolf said. “Some people would rather buy ready-made horses or horses out of the two-year-old sale. We

THOROUGHBRED TIMES

send most of them to Todd Pletcher and normally take our time getting them there. We try to get the horses placed in a spot where they can hopefully become stakes-placed or winners. When the horses show us they’re not of that caliber, we’ll tend to put them in claiming races or find people for a private transaction.

“The good ones, we normally will try to sell as a stallion prospect or a broodmare prospect after their three- or four-year-old year. That’s basically our game plan. If you’re somebody that’s wanting to have a horse you buy as a yearling and race until it’s ten, then you probably don’t want to be in our partnership.”

Investors that do tick off the right boxes can expect to have a cohesive group to join in the ownership experience.

“The benefit of that is that everybody watches the races together,” Barton Brothers said, emphasizing that the group looks for for team players, “so everybody gets to watch the races together and enjoy them as a group—enjoy the wins and absorb the losses.”

Auction block The launching pad for Starlight Racing’s success has always been the yearling sales.

Each year, Starlight purchases from nine to 15 horses in the mid to upper segment of the market.

Bloodstock agent Frank Brothers has worked with Starlight since 2009, replacing Berkelhammer.

“I think that the reason that we’ve had success is we’ve consistently, from the get-go, attended the three major yearling sales,” Wolf said of the FasigTipton Kentucky July, Fasig-Tipton Saratoga, and Keeneland September yearling sales. “I’ve been to every one of those three sales since 2000. The consistency of going to the sales, knowing who you want to deal with, what type of stallions you want to buy, the pedigrees. The comfort level of those three sales has been beneficial.”

Wolf said he will often take a yearling’s pedigree into consideration last when checking out potential purchases, instead focusing on athleticism, balance, conformation, and potential two-turn ability.

While Wolf has been active in the yearling market for more than a decade, he has not embraced the two-year-old market with the same vigor, preferring to control a yearling’s development. Wolf sends the newly acquired yearlings to J. J. Pletcher’s Payton Training Center in Ocala to get them started.

“Through the years, I’ve bought two horses in the two-year-old sales and haven’t had any luck,” Wolf said. “It’s just something that I became comfortable with. We like to get them as yearlings so we can break them the way we want to break them, and get them on schedule the way we want to.”

Looking ahead Starlight Racing is in the midst of yet another successful year, with a pair of three-year-olds that caused a stir during the spring season.

Algorithms grabbed headlines in January when he won the Holy Bull Stakes (G3), becoming the first horse to defeat champion two-year-old male Hansen. Algorithms emerged as one of the top contenders for the Kentucky Derby, but his campaign was derailed when a popped splint forced him to scratch the morning of the Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) and undergo surgery. The

Education and aftercare Jack Wolf has been involved with several programs to enhance the lives of the human and equine participants in the sport. He and his wife, Laurie, are on the board of directors for The Race for Education, a scholarship program for family members of racing industry participants and those interested in becoming a part of the business.

Along with fellow owners Paul Saylor and Johns Martin, the Wolfs sponsor the Ashado scholarship, which awards $6,000 per year for four years to an outstanding female student looking to pursue a career in an equinerelated field. The Wolfs also contribute 1% of the earnings from Starlight racehorses to the organization.

“I think they really care about the people in the industry as much as the horses,” said Elisabeth Jensen, president and executive director of The Race for Education. “Often, a lot of people are very concerned about the horses day to day, and the welfare of the

Bernardini colt is currently under the care of J. J. Pletcher preparing for his return.

“He’ll be back this fall,” Wolf said. “We’re going to take a little more time on him than the normal cat.

We probably won’t see Algorithms back to the track until the middle of August, but he’s doing well.”

Wolf said that Hutcheson Stakes (G2) winner Thunder Moccasin will be returning soon from a spring breather for a summer campaign.

With those two horses, along with Heavy Breathing, who finished third in the Vinery Racing Spiral Stakes (G3), Starlight had an active season on the Triple Crown trail. However, Wolf said the syndicate’s major goals have evolved over the years to more realistic objectives.

“Everybody else would say to win the Kentucky Derby, and that may have been one of my ultimate goals when I was getting started, but that’s not

horses, and the long-term care of the horses, but a lot of times, the individuals that actually work in the industry day in and day out taking care of the horses don’t really get a lot of attention from the people in the industry, and I think the Wolfs really care about the people that it takes to run the industry from a hands-on side, but also the young people that want to have a future in the industry.”

Jack Wolf is also active in the post-racetrack careers of equine competitors as the president of the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, a not-for-profit organization launched earlier this year with the goal of serving as an accrediting and fund-raising body for aftercare facilities. Launched in February, the alliance already has received backing from such groups as Breeders’ Cup Ltd., the Jockey Club, and Keeneland Association, and Wolf said the organization is close to establishing permanent funding.

really it now,” Wolf said. “I think the goal is to buy good horses, to have good people as our partners and have a good time, to continue to compete at the graded stakes level and just watch these horses develop. Those are realistic goals, but to have a Breeders’ Cup or a Derby as the ultimate goal, really is not it anymore. We’ve run in four of those Derbys and three or four Oaks and a number of Breeders’ Cups, and man, you’ve gotta be lucky to win that Derby. To make that your ultimate goal is a little bit crazy.”

Regardless of the race’s level of prestige, Wolf said that the thrill of victory is a hard habit to kick.

“The thing that keeps you coming back is that last 30 or 40 yards of the race,” he said. “I guess we’re all just action junkies, but that’s the biggest part of it—being in a position to win in the last 30 or 40 yards.”

Prep for Success Building Million-Dollar sales horses! The Keeneland September sales topper, the top weanling in Ocala, and the top yearling at Fasig-Tipton were all prepped or raised on Body Builder.™ And the list goes on and on…

Nearly 2/3 of million-dollar yearlings were raised and prepped on Body Builder.™

Shouldn’t that tell you something?

Call now or contact your local distributor

Natural ve Alternati lic o b a to An s id ro Ste

e to Now is the tim pping start sales pre weanlings and yearlings

1b

s ottle = 1 horse = 2 month

The first and still the best after 21 years!

11% DISCOUNT PROMO CODE TT12

www.equiade.com • 1-800-413-3702 • 201-568-5551 THOROUGHBRED TIMES

July 21, 2012 29

Horse Health & Management

BY DENISE STEFFANUS

RIPLE CROWN hopeful I’ll Have Another wore a nasal strip for every start in his seven-race career, in which he posted five wins and a game second. With New York being the only state to ban the butterfly patch worn just above the nostrils, the big question leading up to the Belmont Stakes (G1) was how the dual classic winner would fare without his nasal strip.

I’ll Have Another was scratched from the Belmont with a tendon injury the day before the race, so we’ll never know how racing without a nasal strip may have affected his performance. But Howard Erickson, D.V.M., Ph.D., at Kansas State University, who participated in the yeoman’s share of the nasal-strip research, thinks it may have made a difference.

“It’s hard to say, but it might have,” Erickson commented. “That horse was trained more for longer distances … I’ll Have Another might have had an edge in the Belmont anyway, but I think the Flair nasal strip might have protected his lungs and prevented bleeding and improved gas exchange, but we’ll never know that. I think [the nasal strip] certainly could have improved his stamina.”

T

How nasal strips work When a horse breathes in, it creates a vacuum that both draws in the soft tissues right behind the horse’s nostrils and may suck blood out of the capillaries of the lungs, worsening bleeding. If the nasal passages are held open by a nasal strip, the theory is that a horse will have to exert less nega-

tive pressure (vacuum) on its capillaries to breathe in.

Ed Blach, D.V.M., one of the developers of the nasal strip, explained in an interview in 2000 the significance of keeping the nasal passages open.

“From a physics standpoint in a very simplistic example, if the airway radius is one inch and it reduces itself by one-tenth of an inch because of the collapse, the multiplier effect it has on the other factors calculates to a 37% reduction,” Blach said.

“Basically, you don’t have to affect a significant measurement difference to have a fairly significant effect on pressure.”

Not a performance enhancer Controversy persists about whether the commonly used diuretic Salix is a performance enhancer. That same question now arises about nasal strips because of their ability to delay fatigue. Do they enhance performance?

“It returns them to normal performance rather than performance enhancement,” Erickson said.

“You have the nasal passages collapsing and very negative pressure, and that results in more transmural pressure and bleeding into the lungs. If you have blood within the lungs, you don’t have good gas exchange.”

Erickson explained that wearing a nasal strip enables a horse to run as it would if it were not bleeding.

“Horses are obligate nasal breathers, unlike human athletes who can breathe through the mouth as well,” he said. “So nasal strips are actually more beneficial for the horse than they are the human athlete.”

The only racing jurisdiction that bans nasal strips is the New York Racing Association, which governs Thoroughbred racing only. Standardbred racehorses in New York are permitted to wear nasal strips.

After nasal strips first were introduced at the 1999 Breeders’ Cup in Florida, NYRA already was casting a wary eye on the new piece of equipment.

Then-NYRA President Terry Meyocks asked racing official Ted Hill, V.M.D., to look into them.

One primary concern was that collapsing nasal passages may be nature’s way to prevent dirt and other particles from lodging deep within the horse’s lungs when it breathes in. Meyocks was concerned nasal strips might interfere with these natural defenses by holding a horse’s nasal passages wide open.

“That was on the list of questions we had about the product,” Hill said. “I think that was discounted pretty quickly.”

Hill said their key concern at the time was the manufacturer’s claims of effectiveness without ample supporting studies. Today, NYRA’s concern

Horse Health & Management in this issue

30 July 21, 2012

Healthy Horse: Aiding the healing process

Farm Management: Fewer horses on same acreage

Product Spotlight: For farm and track

(32)

(34)

(36)

THOROUGHBRED TIMES

Benoit & Associates

What exactly is a Flair nasal strip?

The Flair nasal strip is a 4x6-inch butterflyshaped patch that is attached over a horse’s nasal passages about one inch above the nostrils and held in place by a special adhesive. The patch material resembles a cross between cardboard and duct tape. The strip’s spring tension holds the horse’s nasal passages open to maximize air flow

is how to regulate nasal strips. If they are a highly effective piece of equipment, as the manufacturer claims, regulations should require a horse that races wearing a nasal strip to wear a strip each time it races. On the other hand, if a nasal strip does not significantly affect performance and therefore does not need to be regulated, the manufacturer needs to concede it has no more impact than a tongue tie or a figure-eight noseband. “We can’t have it both ways—it either is significant or not significant,� Hill said. “What was really the case is that if we were going to treat nasal strips like blinkers or a bar shoe, which have to be announced to the public, what were we going to do if a horse came to the paddock and [the nasal strip] fell off and it couldn’t be put back on?� Hill said. “Should we disregard it, should we scratch the horse? That was never resolved. So we decided we just weren’t going to allow them.�

Hill said the ban on nasal strips has not been an issue with trainers, and until I’ll Have Another’s intention to

run in the Belmont without a nasal strip, it had not come up for discussion. “I don’t remember a single trainer ever coming to me or any of the other stewards saying they wanted to use [a nasal strip] or wanting to revisit it. So it became a nonissue,� he said.

Hill said any horseman who wants to open the discussion about lifting the ban on nasal strips needs to petition the New York State Racing and Wagering Board and NYRA to reopen the discussion. “We’d be happy to do that,� he added.

Speaking personally as a veterinarian and not as a steward, Hill said if he were a trainer or owner, he did not know if he would use nasal strips, but he has no objection to them. “I’m not totally convinced by the research,� he said.

Pricey strip Prior to the 1999 Breeders’ Cup, nasal strip manufacturer CNS Inc. distributed 4,000 samples of nasal strips to trainers throughout North America. About 30 horses went post-

ward in that year’s Breeders’ Cup wearing the strips, including all horses trained by D. Wayne Lukas.

After the marketing blitz, nasal strips went on sale at tack shops for $60 for a six-pack. These one-timeuse strips continue to fetch from $10.50 a piece in Kentucky to $13.50

a piece in Florida. While they cost about the same as four elastic racing bandages, several trainers who were asked about the price felt it was too high for the product, while others felt $10 was a small price to pay for reducing bleeding and potentially increasing a horse’s stamina.

Nasal strip studies Researchers at Kansas State University designed four studies to test the manufacturer’s claims that nasal strips decrease the work of breathing and reduce exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH, or “bleeding�). Additional studies were conducted at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the University of California-Davis, Michigan State University, and Kentucky Equine Research. With the exception of the early study at the University of Illinois (researchers there concluded nasal strips had no effect), all studies supported the manufacturer’s claims.

The studies conducted by Kansas State looked at a variety of aspects: • Researchers compiled statistics for 400 racing Thoroughbreds at Calder Race Course in Florida. Horses wearing a nasal strip had a win percentage 3.4% higher than horses that did not wear a strip. Horses wearing a nasal strip also had a 15% decrease in the interval between races (23 days) compared with the race-to-race interval before wearing a nasal strip (29 days). The study was published in 2007. • A small treadmill study of only six Thoroughbreds exercising at near-maximal effort until fatigue observed how horses fared while wearing a nasal strip alone, while medicated with the bleeder medication furosemide (Salix) alone, and while medicated with furosemide and wearing a nasal strip. The researchers found that wearing a nasal strip was as effective as administering furosemide when it came to delaying the onset of fatigue. • Researchers conducted a similar high-speed treadmill study on five Thoroughbreds.

Cells washed out of the horse’s airway (bronchoalveolar lavage) showed that horses wearing a nasal strip bleed less into their lungs. However, the study also concluded, “... there was no further reduction in EIPH when wearing [a nasal strip] and medicated with furosemide.â€? • Seven horses exercised on a high-speed treadmill with and without a nasal strip showed horses wearing a nasal strip had a significant reduction in red blood cells recovered from their lungs.

Studies at other institutions: • U.C.-Davis: At Golden Gate Fields, 23 racing Thoroughbreds administered Salix four hours before they raced were divided into horses wearing a nasal strip and those without a strip. The mean red-blood cell count in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid in horses with severe bleeding was significantly reduced when they wore a nasal strip. • Michigan State: Six horses with and without nasal strips were exercised on a highspeed treadmill. Horses wearing a nasal strip had a reduced vacuum exerted on their airway when breathing in, leading researchers to conclude that nasal strips probably reduce the work of breathing. • Kentucky Equine Research in Lexington used eight Thoroughbreds on a high-speed treadmill for its study comparing nasal-strip use and Salix. Nasal strips reduced the work of breathing, and the researchers concluded that the energy spared by nasal strips could benefit muscles of locomotion.—Denise Steffanus

FLAIRÂŽ :;907: 9,+<*, 3<5. )3,,+05.

WITHOUT DRUGS Are you doing all you can to protect your horseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lungs from bleeding?

WITHOUT

WITH

Nasal passages collapse without extra support, UHVWULFWLQJ DLUĂ&#x20AC;RZ

Spring-like action gently holds nasal passages open to LPSURYH EUHDWKLQJ

FLAIR Nasal Strips

FLAIR Nasal Strips

FLAIR Strips are proven to*: Â&#x2039; 9LK\JL S\UN ISLLKPUN ,07/ Â&#x2039; 4HRL IYLH[OPUN LHZPLY Â&#x2039; 9LK\JL MH[PN\L Â&#x2039; :OVY[LU YLJV]LY` [PTL *Abstracts available on our website. <:( -3(09 ^^^ -SHPY:[YPWZ JVT

THOROUGHBRED TIMES

July 21, 2012 31

Horse Health & Management Healthy Horse brought to you by

Aiding the healing process Stem cells help, but patience is still required

G

IVEN ENOUGH time, the body is very good at healing itself. Given

the helping hand of regenerative medicine, it can heal even better.

Once the stuff of imagination and sci-fi novels, stem cell therapy is now used regularly to treat an array of injuries in equine athletes. It is especially helpful in treating early arthritis in a joint, as well as early tendinitis, such as the condition that ended I’ll Have Another’s history-making

At Fox Run Equine Center in Apollo, Pennsylvania, veterinarian and practice owner Brian Burks, D.V.M., has been using adult stem cell therapy since 2003.

Burks notes that using adult stem cells from the animal to be treated avoids any moral and ethical debate.

There is no use of embryonic or fetal stem cells and the adult cells are typically injected right back into the same animal from which they were collected.

“Fetal and embryonic cells can become truly anything, including, possibly, cancer cells,” Burks said.

“That’s what we don’t want to happen, so we use adult stem cells because they are more predictable.

It’s best to inject them right into the injured joint or tendon; they home in to the damaged area. If we’re injecting a tendon, we use an ultrasonic-guided technique to make sure 32 July 21, 2012

Courtesy of MediVet

Triple Crown attempt.

we get the cells in the right place.”

Typically, the sooner an injury can be treated, the better the prognosis for recovery. With tendinitis, the acute inflammatory process needs to subside before stem cell treatment.

This may take several weeks.

“If you let the horse get bad, the success rate is going to go down,” Burks said. “You can improve the situation and make the horse feel better, but it might not be usable. For example, if a horse has some ringbone and you catch it early, you have a better chance of success because ringbone is notoriously difficult to treat. I think more people are realizing, ‘Let’s not wait on this, let’s get it done.’ ”

When an owner opts for stem cell therapy, the veterinarian usually has two sources for collecting those cells: bone marrow and adipose (fat).

“The problem with bone marrow is that it’s a little painful for the animal and there are not necessarily as many stem cells in bone marrow as in fat,” Burks explained. “It also takes longer [about three weeks] to culture bone marrow stem cells than those found in fat. The problem with stem cells in fat is that they are mostly ‘arrested’ and dormant, so they must be activated.”

The process One method that has been developed of activating stem cells uses a

THOROUGHBRED TIMES

unique process that incorporates platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and five wavelengths of light-emitting diodes (LED). While some veterinarians like to use bone marrow, Burks prefers using that technology to stimulate the cells collected from fat.

The first stage of stem cell therapy is for the veterinarian to collect blood from the horse to make PRP, which utilizes platelets (cell fragments that secrete growth factors) to stimulate healing and fight inflammation. The blood is then spun in a centrifuge to separate out the platelet-rich components, resulting in the PRP, a concentrated source of naturally occurring proteins.

The next step is to collect adult stem cells from the horse. Burks prefers to make a surgical incision and collect adipose from the horse’s rump back toward the tail. If a horse is especially thin and fit, as is the case with some Thoroughbred racehorses, the veterinarian may have to make an incision in the groin area instead and this requires general anesthesia.

Once the necessary 40 grams of fat are collected in a sterile container, the material is processed inhouse, where it goes through an enzyme process and is centrifuged several times. The PRP already made from the horse’s blood is then added to the stem cells and the combined mixture is put through the LED process to fully activate the cells. The activated stem cells can then be injected into the injured or damaged area.

Stem cell therapy generally consists of one treatment (although that one treatment may involve multiple injections). If the situation requires additional therapy, the veterinarian will usually wait at least three months.

“Sometimes we use all the stem cells depending on how many sites need to be injected,” Burks said. “If you get a high cell count, you can bank these to be frozen in a special cryogenic process. These stem cells can be stored for future use as long as

20 years, which is certainly the length of that animal’s lifetime.”

As for healing time, the horse needs anywhere from three to six months’ time to get the full effect from stem cell therapy. Burks emphasized the importance of this healing time, even though the injured area will show significant visible improvement before that time is up.

“If you get a high cell count, you can bank these to be frozen in a special cryogenic process.

These stem cells can be stored for future use as long as 20 years, which is certainly the length of that animal’s lifetime.”

“A tendon will look better fairly soon, but it still needs time to heal,” he cautioned. “I’ve seen people put a horse back to work after a month just because the treated tendon looks good, but that’s not what you want because the horse will likely break down. Stem cell therapy isn’t an end-all-beall treatment. You still have to give the horse time to rest and heal.”

The traditional way of treating a tendon injury involves cold hosing and sweating the injury over a period of time during which the horse is only handwalked. The downside to this method is that while the tendon heals, it does so by forming scar tissue.

“If you just let the tendon heal on its own, you get a mish-mash of scar tissue, which is bound to tear later when put under pressure,” Burks noted.

“The reinjury rate in horses that had tendinitis with a bad lesion is as high as 60%. With stem cell therapy, that reinjury number is down to around 20% because you get better fiber alignment and healing without all the scar tissue.”

THOROUGHBRED TIMES

July 21, 2012 33

Marie Perdue

Horse Health & Management

Managing fewer horses Strategies on saving money in tough times

BY CYNTHIA MCFARLAND

ANY HORSEMEN and farm owners continue to look for ways to reduce costs in their operations.

Since the economy took a nosedive in 2008, last summer’s healthy yearling market and a strong 2012 two-yearold sales season seem to indicate the horse industry is on the rebound. But the fact remains that many farms have fewer horses today than they did four or five years ago. This may be because of fewer clients boarding and/or breeding fewer mares, but the bottom line is farms have fewer horses on the same amount of acreage.

While this might not seem like a positive scenario it offers opportunities for different management strategies.

M

34 July 21, 2012

THOROUGHBRED TIMES

Gradual evolution At Bridlewood Farm, a longtime Ocala operation, there has been a gradual change since original owner Arthur Appleton died four years ago.

The farm is owned by Appleton’s family, and George Isaacs continues to manage the 872-acre operation.

“I don’t think anyone could say they haven’t had to tighten their belt over the last few years,” Isaacs said. “I’ve reduced my workforce in relationship to the number of horses we currently own. My workforce has probably been cut in half, going from about 55 employees to about 25 or 26.

“We’re reducing our stock little by little and have still maintained a fair number of client horses. We have a horse population of around 300. In the heyday, we have had as many as 500 horses. It’s been an evolution since Mr. A passed in 2008. It’s just a

What to do with excess land … ◗ Lease acreage ◗ Plant other crops on land ◗ Consider making hay ◗ Use as opportunity to repair paddocks ◗ Sell to raise capital

One thing Isaacs won’t cut corners on is pasture management.

“We’ve always fertilized the property. Horses are livestock and although it’s a different kind of farming, you’re still raising a crop, so you have to address the nutritional needs of your soil.”

Improve pastures Too many horses on pasture has been a common problem for farms, but having fewer horses on the same amount of land raises different considerations. It’s still important to look at how those horses are using that land.

“You may have had two acres per horse before and now have three acres or more per horse, but you still need to be conscious where horses are

grazing and Congratulations and good luck to the buyers of every horse spending time in the pasture,” said Bob from the Halcyon Hammock consignment this season.

Coleman, Ph.D., extenSincere thanks to my valued investors and also to the sion horse specialist at the also underbidders and potential buyers who visited my University of Kentucky.

“We tend to do the same consignment and inspected horses. A heartfelt things we’ve done in the past, but THANK YOU for your business and support. half the number of horses on a pasI wouldn’t be here without you. ture than usual can make a big differ—Hal Hatch ence. You also need to pay attention to the horses’ needs and pasture to make sure they go together. For example, lactating mares are Consistently among considered ‘working’ and their dietary needs are the leading OBS different from open mares.” consignors year after year.

Coleman notes that horses show preferences for certain areas in a pasture, even in a large field, and can be hard on the sections they prefer.

“Two horses on a small pasture can really take out a section of grass if that’s where they prefer to graze,” he said. “Horses like succulent, short grass because it’s more palatable than longer, tougher grass. Unless you encourage the horses to stay in one area, they are going to pick and choose and go ture than horses where they want to go. You might need to designate can realistically THOROUGHBREDS grazing areas with temporary fencing or move keep down by grazing.

BRONSON, FL horses around from pasture to pasture to help them This can present prob352-817-6489 use fields evenly and let any overused areas have a lems if the grass is of chance to come back.” higher quality than horses actually need. Typically, people only think of this as a problem in Even with fewer horses on a pasture, the early spring, but it can also watch grazing patterns and rotate as become an issue later in the year. necessary so horses don’t overgraze “As we go into late summer and early fall, we may get a lot of forage available and preferred sections and cause damage some horses will overconsume,” Coleman explained. “The high-soluble carbohydrate levels in lush grass may cause founder if horses are not gradPreferred areas in a pasture will have higher ually adjusted to it or eat too much. Horses can eat horse traffic and these are the areas where weeds more than you might think in a short period of time. tend to encroach. Coleman recommends talking to You might need to adjust the amount of time horses the regional county agent for advice on herbicides have access to pasture simply because they can to use in your area and the safety precautions you overeat easier when there is an abundance of grass.” should take for a specific product. After treating a Having fewer horses can provide an ideal opporfield with herbicide, follow the label directions as tunity to do maintenance on pastures. to when it’s safe to let horses graze that pasture.

“This is a good time to fix things because there’s When a pasture isn’t being used for grazing, it less pressure on the pasture. This allows you to rest may be tempting to just let it grow and wait until land when necessary and keep horses off it for a the end of the season to mow, but Coleman says while. If you have weedy spots, you can treat them this isn’t a good idea. with herbicides and take care of business while you “This will just leave a big mat [of cut grass] and can. If you need to drag pastures, you can keep can damage the grass underneath when you do cut horses off the field for at least two weeks or it. If grass is getting ahead of you because you longer.” (Many veterinary parasitologists recomdon’t have enough horses grazing it, consider makmend keeping horses off recently dragged fields for ing hay out of it. You can harvest it and remove it several weeks so they don’t pick up parasite larvae from pasture by making bedding hay or perhaps a that has been spread over the grazing areas by neighbor has cattle and wants it for hay. You might breaking up manure piles.) be able to turn it into a marketable product and use It’s not a good idea to dump muck on pastures the land more productively.” where horses are grazing or open pastures that will be grazed in the near future. To control parasites, Regular maintenance Coleman advises spreading only composted maEven when you do have horses on a pasture, regu- nure on pastures. lar mowing helps maintain a healthy stand of grass.

And finally, just because you have fewer horses “When grass gets ahead of horses and goes to doesn’t mean you may not need to fertilize. seed, the horses don’t like it as much,” Coleman “You can still do a soil test and be judicious as to said. “You want to mow the whole pasture to a when you fertilize,” Coleman said. “You want to height of about four inches and keep horses off it maintain stand vigor and this is good to do in the until the grass is six to eight inches high. Try not to fall. In the spring, many people fertilize to speed up let it get shorter than three to four inches on the production of forage, but when you fertilize in average over the whole pasture.” the fall, this will increase stand vigor, which keeps It’s important to be aware of the nutritional qual- plants healthy and growing. This will help you have good grass come next spring.” ity of pasture, especially when you have more pasCynthia McFarland photo

gradual contraction of our number of horses to get down to more manageable numbers.”

While the number of employees working with horses has been reduced, Isaacs says his maintenance team hasn’t really changed. “We’ve always had basically five guys on our maintenance crew; they’ve done a remarkable job maintaining the property.”

Bridlewood Farm always has had a good-sized stallion roster, standing as many as 14 stallions, but for the 2012 season, it had seven stallions, including Put It Back, sire of 2012 stakes winners Yara, It’s Me Mom, and Partyallnightlong. Put It Back has stood at Bridlewood since starting his stallion career in 2002 and is currently Florida’s leading active sire by percentage of stakes winners from foals.

“Standing stallions has always been a nice little income stream for us and we plan to continue doing that,” Isaacs said. “With a lot fewer mares being bred in Florida, people are really gravitating to the horses they consider the top horses. The horses that aren’t the ‘flavor of the month’ are having a very hard time breeding many mares at all. I’ve talked to other breeding sheds and I don’t think anyone is proud of the number of mares they’ve bred this year. It’s just the nature of the Florida breeding program this year.

“It used to be you could take a $2,500 to $3,500 [stud fee] stallion with good conformation and a good race record and you could get 80 to 100 mares to that horse, but those days are long gone.

That really changed when the general economy and the horse market collapsed in 2008.”

Isaacs says he has explored other income streams for the farm.

“We leased pastures to a group of polo horses from South America this year and will probably start leasing some barns for people to train out of.

It’s not rocket science. I’m just trying to create income streams that don’t interfere with the daily work of the farm, but bring in a little income and, most importantly, maintain the property.”

The farm has started putting up its own bahiagrass bedding, since there is plenty of grass for this purpose.

“We utilize that and it works out real well,” Isaacs said. “Environmentally, it’s a good program; it helps keep the pastures nice and weed-free and is a cost-effective way to bed your horses.”

HHALCYON AMMOCK

THOROUGHBRED TIMES

July 21, 2012 35

1

Product Spotlight 1. INJURY RECOVERY Game Ready (CoolSystems Inc.) is a best-in-class recovery system for horses that helps speed recovery from acute injury or postoperative pain. The system uses ACCEL technology to set a new standard in recovery, synergistically combining active compression and cold therapies in a revolutionary treatment system that gives the power to accelerate the body’s natural repair mechanisms. Game Ready is so effective it is the choice of top riders and veterinarians. For more information, contact Game Ready; (510) 868-2126; www.gameready.com.

2

2. SUPPLEMENT System Saver was developed to address our most common needs with one supplement.

The idea was to combine cartilage protection and anti-inflammatory action while targeting our most common and frustrating conditions such as: arthritis, asthma, immune-mediated disorders, chronic dermatitis, joint and health maintenance, and more. For horses, dogs, and people. For more information, contact System Saver; www.systemsaver.net.

3. CANDY Chocolate horses, salted organic caramels, habanero truffles, and fresh raspberry are some of the Belgian chocolates offered by Unbridled Chocolates, a special New England shop.

Fresh ingredients and fantastic combinations to satisfy everyone’s chocolate palate. Open every day and available online. For more information, contact Unbridled Chocolates; (603) 876-4700; www.unbridledchocolates.com.

3

4. ULTRASOUND SYSTEM The UltrOZ Elite Therapy System is the most effective, longest lasting, and convenient means of providing low-intensity therapeutic ultrasound for the maintenance of competitive athletes and for treatment of debilitating injuries such as tendon or muscle tear, fracture, and splints. For more information, contact UltrOz; (888) 202-9831; www.ultroz.com.

5. FEED SUPPLEMENT Developed by a naturopath and homeopath doctor, Debra Baginski, Gooseberry Natural Feed products are specially formulated to provide horses with complete and balanced nutrition in a wholesome, condensed format with a simplified delivery system. Gooseberry is changing nutrition perceptions and is committed to the future of the horse. For more information, contact Gooseberry Natural Feed Inc.; (410) 848-8222; www.gooseberrynaturalfeed.net.

4 5

6. HOOF KNIFE SHARPENER The Save Edge Diamond Knife Sharpener features an electroplated, industrial diamond-grit surface that will never wear out, even with heavy daily use. Unlike whetstones that can become rounded, which decreases their effectiveness, diamond sharpeners remain flat. This unique honing surface has been combined with Save Edge’s durable handle that enables it to be held at the proper angle for honing. The broad blade and rounded corners result in efficient sharpening of hoof knives and other cutting edges. For more information, contact Save Edge, 360 West Church St., Xenia, OH 45385; (937) 376-8268 or (800) 828-8298; e-mail: info@saveedge.com; www.saveedge.com/farrier.html.

6

7. BUG SPRAY Best Shot Pet Products International announces the release of its popular all-natural Bug Spray in a handy four-ounce spray bottle. Perfect for travel in the tack box or trailer, on the desk in the barn office, or taking with you on a trail ride, golf, camping, fishing, or hiking, this convenient insect repellent keeps all kinds of flies and biting insects off horses and dogs for six to eight hours and is safe for you, too. With no alcohol or pyrethrins to irritate the skin, the soothing natural Best Shot Bug Spray can be applied between the legs, on the face, and even on the face and neck with a pleasant, non-greasy feeling. Using a proprietary blend of proven natural repellents, this spray can be used with Frontline or similar chemical treatments on dogs and horses without any conflict. For more information, contact Best Shot Pet Products International; www.bestshotpet.com.

7 8

8. JOINT CARE Bev’s Equine Joint Fix-It relieves muscle pain, relieves joint pain, and relieves ligament and tendon stresses and strains. Bev’s Equine Joint Fix-It also works on hematomas. For more information, contact Bev’s Equine Products; (772) 232-8200; www.bevsequineproducts.com.

9. EQUINE PROGRAM The Equine Academy at Lexington Catholic High School combines a first-class, faithbased academic environment with its unparalleled setting in the heart of the Bluegrass.

It provides a unique blend of educational, practical, and extracurricular experiences for students with a lifelong passion for the horse, as well as for those being introduced into the equine world. For more information, contact Sarah Coleman; (859) 277-7183 ext. 319; www.lexingtoncatholic.com.

Information for Product Spotlight is supplied by manufacturers and distributors and is presented for the benefit of the reader. THOROUGHBRED TIMEs makes no endorsement of items appearing in this section and accepts no responsibility for the claims of manufacturers and distributors.

36 July 21, 2012

THOROUGHBRED TIMES

9

Western

Loving life Lovingier on an awesome roll thanks to Awesome Gambler

BY STEVE SCHUELEIN

A

WESOME IS ONE of the most overused adjectives in the English language, but it is an appropriately prominent part of the vocabulary of Terry Lovingier.

The stock of the California owner-breeder has skyrocketed this year, largely because of the success of stallion Awesome Gambler and his accomplished daughter, Grade 1-winning Willa B Awesome.

Lovingier, who is in the oil business, hit an equine gusher at his Lovacres Ranch in northcentral San Diego County and is loving every minute of his awesome run.

“It doesn’t get any better than that,” Lovingier said recently sitting at a table in the Directors’ Room at Betfair Hollywood Park while enjoying an afternoon at the races with his wife, Barbara, brother Lonnie, sister-in-law Jan, and father, Russ.

“We watch them grow up,” Lovingier said of the joy of spending much of his time at the recently built 650-acre farm. “Racing is great, but I love raising the babies. That gives me the most enjoyment.”

Lovingier, 55, lives in coastal Seal Beach but usually spends four days a week at the ranch he started in 2005 that is within a two-hour drive of his home and is located eight miles from Warner Springs and 28 miles east of Temecula.

“I had a farm in Murrieta, but the government claimed it through eminent domain to build a sewertreatment plant,” Lovingier said. “I took the money and bought the new place, then an old cattle ranch owned by Linda Templeton, a partner in many of my horses.”

Lovingier has

Terry Lovingier owns the 650-acre Lovacres Ranch in north-central San Diego County

developed Lovacres, a labor of love, into one of the fastest-rising success stories in California breeding.

Dotted by 200 oak trees and partitioned into mostly five-, ten-, and 20-acre pastures, Lovacres is bustling with a growing population.

“We have 60 to 80 broodmares— about 40 of my own—and break about 100 babies each year,” Lovingier said of the facility that includes two barns and a sixfurlong training track. “We got the synthetic [surface] from Santa Anita when they removed it a couple of years ago and use it on our track.”

Dorothy Mischka and Gregorio Rincon oversee most of the workload at the ranch, but Lovingier lives in a large ranch house on the property and is a hands-on owner.

“I just enjoy taking walks at the ranch,” he said.

“It’s a slice of heaven,” Barbara said.

Awesome stallion

Benoit & Associates

Lovacres became even more heavenly with the arrival of Awesome Gambler, who heads a lineup of five stallions that includes Bushwacker, Rio Verde, Time to Get Even, and Grace Upon Grace.

The young stallion, whose first crop are threeyear-olds, attracted national attention this year when Willa B Awesome captured the coveted Santa Anita Oaks (G1) and with the arrival of several precocious two-year-olds.

“I knew his owner, Pete Walski, from earlier days in the Quarter Horse business,” Lovingier said.

“Awesome Gambler bowed a tendon at Del Mar and Pete decided to stand him here. Pete is still the majority owner, and I’m a partner.

“I loved him from the first moment I saw him,” Lovingier said of the eight-year-old by Coronado’s Quest. “He was a big, strapping horse, about 17 hands. I always thought if he reproduced himself, he would be a premier stallion, and he has been able to do that to a high degree.”

The highest degree has been achieved by Willa B Awesome, a chestnut out of Cause I’m Tricky, by Nineeleven, a pensioned stallion once campaigned continued on page 38 THOROUGHBRED TIMES

July 21, 2012 37

Your Horse has GREAT

Potential!

Don’t miss the DEADLINE...

Q Entries

Close:

August 17, 2012 Q Late Entries Close:

September 17, 2012

Q Auctioneers: Scott & Cris Caldwell Q All Yearlings passing thru the sale ring are eligible for the ATBA Sales Stakes Q Filly & Colt Divisions Q 10% to winning sale consignor

ATBA

FALL YEARLING & MIXED

SALE

T H U R S D AY , O C T O B E R 18, 2012 WESTWORLD • SCOTTSDALE, AZ

For consignment forms or information contact: ARIZONA THOROUGHBRED BREEDERS ASSOCIATION

P. O. Box 41774 • Phoenix, AZ 85080 (602) 942-1310

•

38 July 21, 2012

Fax (602) 942-8225

•

e-mail: atba@att.net

by Lovingier. In addition to homebreds, Lovingier also has been active at Kentucky sales to expand his broodmare band.

Willa B Awesome has won five races, four of them stakes, in 14 starts thus far, for earnings of $593,896 with trainer Walther Solis. None will be better remembered than her nose victory under Martin Pedroza in the Santa Anita Oaks on March 31.

“For me, that was number one as a Thoroughbred owner,” Lovingier said. “It’s really a thrill to win a Grade 1 with a horse you bred and raised. They’re like your children.”

Lovingier forged close emotional ties Willa B Awesome gives Lovingier his biggest win as an with Willa B Awesome because he saw owner and breeder with victory in Santa Anita Oaks her foaled.

“It was 4 a.m., and she weighed 145 The elder Lovingier moved the family to Califorpounds,” Lovingier said. “She stood up within 30 nia, where Terry—the youngest of five—was born minutes and had a sense about herself from the and raised. “I grew up in Lakewood, near Los Alamistart.

“She was an absolute sweetheart,” said Lovingier, tos, and spent a lot of time there,” Lovingier said.

“We always had Quarter Horses. I rode one in the who saw the star filly grow up in a pasture adjacent backyard, which was five acres, and still ride today.” to his ranch house. “I could go into the pasture with His father continued to race Quarter Horses at a glass of wine and she was always nice and loveyLos Alamitos. dovey. Horses don’t get any sweeter.”

The younger Lovingier entered horse ownership Willa B Awesome has been all business on the in 1986 with the Quarter Horse Pines Time, who track. won the 1986 Lassie Handicap at Hollywood Park.

“I don’t know if she’s the most talented filly, but she has the most blue-collar work ethic that sets AWESOME GAMBLER, a 2004 chestnut son of her apart.”

Willa B Awesome is owned by Lovingier in a Coronado’s Quest out of Wedding March, by partnership with fellow Southern Californians Phil Deputy Minister, stands at Lovacres Ranch in Daniels, Patsy London, and Duke Winters.

Warner Springs, California, for a fee of $5,000. He Lovingier owns most of his homebreds in varying is 18th nationally on the second-crop sire list. partnerships involving a list of 15 to 20 individuals.

Awesome Gambler is also represented by River Awesome Gambler made six starts at two and Kiss, another filly who has been stakes-placed four three, winning two races, including the 2007 Alydar times. Lovingier said that Willa B Awesome probaStakes at Hollywood. bly would make her next start in the $200,000 Fleet Treat Stakes at Del Mar on July 28.

Lovingier expects several of Awesome GamLovingier and Solis shared a nostalgic memory bler’s two-year-olds to make noise at Del Mar. of Pines Time, who brought the pair closer toThree homebreds—Awesome Annie, Awe Golly gether. Solis, at that time an aspiring Quarter Molly, and Awe’ Some Kitten—finished second, Horse jockey, met Lovingier through trainer Caefourth, and fifth, respectively, in the open Cinsar Dominguez and galloped the filly for the neoderella Stakes at Hollywood Park on June 16. phyte owner. Solis now owns a ranch seven miles from Lovacres.

Success breeds success Lovingier bred Quarter Horse star Streakin Awesome Gambler’s yearlings include a full Flyer—winner of the 1996 All American Futubrother to Willa B Awesome named Willie B Awerity—whom he sold as a yearling. He made the some that Lovingier and Solis already rave about. switch to Thoroughbreds in 1996 with My Miss His current stud fee is $5,000, but Lovingier said Ilse for trainer Laura Pinelli. that may change next year.

“I enjoy the Thoroughbreds more,” Lovingier Lovingier has about 25 horses in training on the said of the shift. “There is more of a market. In Southern California circuit, divided among Solis, Quarter Horses, there is no in-between market.

Gary Sherlock, and Doug O’Neill.

He’s either real good or not. In Thoroughbreds, “The biggest thing is that I’m a Cal-bred you can go all over the country and find a good breeder, I love racing in California, and I’m athome.” tached to this circuit,” Lovingier said. “I have great Lovingier, who earned a degree in civil and enrelationships with Walther, Gary, and Doug. And vironmental engineering from University of CaliI’m glad to see my dad, who is 92, get to see Willa fornia-Irvine, continued in the family oil business. and be part of her success.”

He is in maintenance and refinery, owning Lovco Russ Lovingier grew up in Seiling, Oklahoma, Construction Inc. that does environmental cleanup, and remembers riding a horse to grade school civil, and structural work, and has a site that recy“when nobody ever heard of a school bus.” The cles asphalt and concrete. family patriarch had a brother, Calvin, who was a Lovingier, father of three and grandfather of four, jockey at bush tracks. Russ entered the oil business has delegated most of the responsibility of running there and got into Quarter Horses, buying a ranch the oil company to his son, Matt, freeing time for in Texas and racing them. himself at the ranch to pursue an awesome life.

THOROUGHBRED TIMES

Benoit & Associates

from page 37

Hoofprints of the Century From the archives of The Thoroughbred Record & THOROUGHBRED TIMES ®

®

brought to you by

25 years ago

Fifty years ago, Nymphe’s Bully wasn’t much of a racehorse—he won five of 81 starts, mostly in claiming company—but he was a heck of a housekeeper

A winner—almost 5,000 times over— Perhaps Mack Miller said it best when he commented, “Jack Van Berg, in my mind, is the finest horse trainer in the world.”

Van Berg, the all-time leading trainer by winners, on July 13 was just one victory short of saddling his 5,000th. On July 12, he sent out High Kick to win the Lorelei Stakes at Louisiana Downs for number 4,999. This feat puts him well ahead of second-place Dale Baird, who has close to 4,700 winners, and far ahead of Hirsch Jacobs, whose 3,569 winners kept him at the top for years.

(According to Equibase, Van Berg presently ranks second on the all-time winning trainers list with 6,412. Dale Baird went on to saddle the winners of 9,445 races before his death in 2007. ...

Van Berg’s 5,000th victory came on July 15, 1987, when Art’s Chandelle won a $10,000 claiming race at Arlington Park.)

THOROUGHBRED TIMES, July 17, 1987

Bonjour ... and goodbye!—Eight of the better two-year-old prospects clashed in the 70th Tremont Stakes before 44,098 fans on July 7, and in a slam-bang finish Patrice Jacobs’ Bonjour, with Manuel Ycaza pushing and shoving, got up to any rate, he improved greatly on the score by a nose in the exceptionally fast Western Coast during the winter and time of 1:04 for 51⁄2 furlongs, only a fifth when he came East, he was a superlative of a second slower than the Aqueduct racing machine. record. ...

Two weeks ago, this four-yearNear Man, the favorite, was secold son of Hard Tack defeated ond after cutting out a burning the best field that could be pace. Delta Judge finished third, mustered in the Brooklyn and Tom Cat wound up fourth.

Handicap. ... Curiously, (Bonjour eventually won nine Seabiscuit was a castoff from of 62 career starts and four the Wheatley Stable and was stakes. He was solid, but nowhere purchased by his present owner near the best chestnut campaigned for a reported $8,000. ...

by Patrice Jacobs [later, WolfPatrice Jacobs —Charles E. Brossman son]. That would be Affirmed, Sam Goldstein/NYRA The Thoroughbred Record, 1978 and 1979 Horse of the Year July 17, 1937 and member of the Racing Hall of Fame.)

The Thoroughbred Record, July 14, 100 years ago 1962 The wrath of Sloan—In condemnation of English riding in the last Epsom 75 years ago Derby, Tod Sloan severely criticized Seabiscuit comes of age—Saturday, English jockeyship recently on the July 10, was a grand day for racing, with ground that the men lacked skill and large crowds and good horses on the courage. Sloan said in an interview: major tracks demonstrating once more “It is surely a reflection on the horsethat Thoroughbred racing has become the manship of Englishmen that eight of the nation’s most popular sport.

20 jockeys in the Derby were either At Empire City, New York, the popular American, French, or Colonial. I can’t Seabiscuit, owned by Mrs. C. S. Howard, imagine anything worse than the horsestrengthened his position as a star in the manship of the English boys. Some I handicap division when he won the wouldn’t allow to ride exercise; others $20,000 Butler Handicap under top ought better to be chefs’ assistants in the weight of 121 pounds. It was his kitchen of a restaurant. fifth triumph in eight starts this “It isn’t only that they have year and boosted his earnings no skill, but they have no nerve. They are afraid to for 1937 up to the comfortseize an opening, to take the able sum of $82,025. slightest risk. They just jog The famed “glorious clialong the safest way they mate of California” must can. have done wonders in devel“I don’t think English oping the latent qualities of horses are as good as they Seabiscuit, or it may be he Tod Sloan W. W. Rouch & Co. are in France. The French do just improved with age. At THOROUGHBRED TIMES

Hal Bergshoh/NYRA

50 years ago

less work on the training grounds and more on the racecourse. In France it is nothing for a horse to run 30 times in a season. If a colt runs in half a score of races here [England], everybody says he is being overdone.

“This coddling of jockeys and horses is not doing English racing any good. ...”

To this attack by the man who introduced the “American seat” to England, Lord Lonsdale—one of Great Britain’s noted racing authorities—responded: “It is not want of pluck or nerve that prevents our English boys from riding as well as their predecessors. The fault lies in the adoption of the unnatural ‘American seat,’ with the absurdly short leathers. ... The position of the jockey is so unnatural that he has to be of abnormal physique if he is to ride properly. It is impossible for a jockey sitting crouched in this abominable way, to display the horsemanship with which a man like Mornington Cannon used to win races.”

The Thoroughbred Record, July 20, 1912

July 21, 2012 39

Calendar of Events

■ TWO-YEAR-OLDS

Ontario Matron S. (Can-G3), Woodbine, $150,675g, 3&up, f&m, 8.5f.

Kilboy Estate S. (Ire-G3), Curragh, $83,958, 3&up, f&m, 9fT. Jebel Ali Stables & Racecourse Anglesey S. (Ire-G3), Curragh, $67,813, 2yo, a6fT.

26 July Best Pal S. (G2), Del Mar (run 8/5), $150,000g, 6.5f, $150.

25 July Lake George S. (G2), Saratoga, $200,000g, 3yo, f, 8.5fT.

28 July Adirondack S. (G2), Saratoga (run 8/12), $200,000g, f, 6.5f.

Saratoga Special S. (G2), Saratoga (run 8/12), $200,000g, 6.5f.

Stakes Nominations

2 August Sorrento S. (G3), Del Mar (run 8/8), $150,000g, f, 6.5f, $150.

■ THREE-YEAR-OLDS 21 July Prioress S. (G1), Saratoga (run 8/4), $300,000g, f, 6f.

22 July Breeders’ S., Woodbine (run 8/5), $502,250g, Canadian-bred, 12fT, $1,000.

23 July West Virginia Derby (G2), Mountaineer Race Track and Gaming Resort (run 8/4), $750,000g, 9f.

28 July National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame S. (G2), Saratoga (run 8/10), $200,000g, 8.5fT. Monmouth Oaks (G3), Monmouth (run 8/11), $100,000g, f, 8.5f, $100.

2 August La Jolla H. (G2), Del Mar (run 8/11), $150,000g, 8.5fT, $150.

4 August Betfair TVG Alabama S. (G1), Saratoga (run 8/18), $600,000g, f, 10f.

Woodford Reserve Lake Placid S. (G2), Saratoga (run 8/19), $200,000g, f, 9fT. 6 August Smarty Jones S. (G3), Parx Racing (run 9/3), $350,000g, 8.32f, $700.

8 August Secretariat S. (G1), Arlington (run 8/18), $500,000g, 10fT, $800.

Ontario Colleen S. (Can-G3), Woodbine (run 8/25), $150,675g, f, 8fT, $150.

9 August Del Mar Oaks (G1), Del Mar (run 8/18), $300,000g, f, 9fT, $300.

■ THREE-YEAR-OLDS AND UP 21 July Alfred G. Vanderbilt H. (G1), Saratoga (run 8/5), $400,000g, 6f.

Honorable Miss H. (G2), Saratoga (run 8/3), $200,000g, f&m, 6f.

26 July Clement L. Hirsch S. (G1), Del Mar (run 8/4), $300,000g, f&m, 8.5f, $300.

28 July Fourstardave H. (G2), Saratoga (run 8/11), $500,000g, 8fT. 1 August Sky Classic S. (Can-G2), Woodbine (run 8/19), $251,125g, 10fT, $250.

2 August John C. Mabee S. (G2), Del Mar (run 8/12), $250,000g, f&m, 9fT, $250.

4 August Philip H. Iselin S. (G3), Monmouth (run 8/18), $150,000g, 9f, $150.

5 August Longacres Mile H. (G3), Emerald (run 8/19), $200,000g, 8f, $250.

6 August Turf Monster H. (G3), Parx Racing (run 9/3), $350,000g, 5fT, $700.

8 August Play the King S. (Can-G2), Woodbine (run 8/26), $200,900g, 7fT, $200.

9 August Rancho Bernardo H. (G3), Del Mar (run 8/19), $150,000g, f&m, 6.5f, $150.

Upcoming Stakes 21 July Betfair King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. (Eng-G1), Ascot, $1,601,200a, 3&up, 12fT. King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. Sponsored by Betfair (Eng-G1), Ascot, $1,550,000, 3&up, 12fT. Eddie Read S. (G1), Del Mar, $300,000g, 3&up, 9fT. Betfair TVG Coaching Club American Oaks (G1), Saratoga, $300,000g, 3yo, f, 9f.

Delaware H. (G2), Delaware, $750,000g, 3&up, f&m, 10f.

Virginia Derby (G2), Colonial, $600,000g, 3yo, 10fT. Transformers & Rectifiers Summer Mile S. (Eng-G2), Ascot, $160,120a, 4&up, 8fT. Virginia Oaks (G3), Colonial, $150,000g, 3yo, f, 9fT. Arlington Oaks (G3), Arlington, $150,000g, 3yo, f, 9f.

The Minstrel S. (Ire-G3), Curragh, $74,271, 3&up, a7fT. Final Fling S. (SAf-G3), Kenilworth, $16,477, 3&up, f&m, 9fT. 22 July Darley Irish Oaks S. (Ire-G1), Curragh, $516,667, 3yo, f, 12fT. Grosser Preis von Berlin (Ger-G1), Hoppegarten, $226,800, 3&up, 12fT. Nijinsky S. (Can-G2), Woodbine, $301,350g, 3&up, 9fT. Sanford S. (G2), Saratoga, $200,000g, 2yo, 6f.

Prix Eugene Adam-Grand Prix de Maisons Laffitte (Fr-G2), Maisons-Laffitte, $170,014, 3yo, 10fT. Prix Robert Papin (Fr-G2), Maisons-Laffitte, $170,014, 2yo, 5.5fT. San Clemente H. (G2), Del Mar, $150,000g, 3yo, f, 8fT. Ibis Summer Dash (Jpn-G3), Niigata, $1,025,028, 3&up, 5fT. Toyota Sho Chukyo Kinen (Jpn-G3), Chukyo, $1,025,028, 3&up, 8fT.

40 July 21, 2012

ZODIAC CALENDAR July 1-2:

Thighs

July 17-18:

Breast

July 3-4:

Knees

July 19-20:

Heart

26 July Jockey Club of Turkey Meld S. (Ire-G3), Leopardstown, $74,271, 3&up, 9fT. Tyros S. (Ire-G3), Leopardstown, $61,354, 2yo, 7fT. Copa ABCPCC-Regional (Brz-G3), Hipodromo Cristal, $33,232, 3yo, a8f.

July 5-6:

Legs

July 21-23:

Stomach

July 7-8:

Feet

July 24-25:

Kidneys

July 26-27:

Reproduction

27 July Cougar II H. (G3), Del Mar, $100,000g, 3&up, 12f.

July 12-13:

Neck

July 28-29:

July 14-16:

Arms

July 30-31:

28 July Diana S. (G1), Saratoga, $600,000g, 3&up, f&m, 9fT. Canon Gold Cup (SAf-G1), Greyville, $119,400, 3&up, 16fT. Champions Cup (SAf-G1), Greyville, $83,580, 3&up, 9fT. Thekwini S. (SAf-G1), Greyville, $59,700, 2yo, f, 8fT. Premier’s Champions S. (SAf-G1), Greyville, $59,700, 2yo, 8fT. Jim Dandy S. (G2), Saratoga, $600,000g, 3yo, 9f.

San Diego H. (G2), Del Mar, $200,000g, 3&up, 8.5f.

Sky Bet York S. (Eng-G2), York, $160,240, 3&up, a10.5fT. Gold Bracelet (SAf-G2), Greyville, $23,880, 3&up, f&m, 10fT. Bletchingly S. (Aus-G3), Caulfield, $121,775, 2&up, 6fT. Prix de Psyche (Fr-G3), Deauville, $104,848, 3yo, f, 10fT. Princess Margaret Juddmonte S. (Eng-G3), Ascot, $80,060a, 2yo, f, 6fT. 29 July Haskell Invitational S. (G1), Monmouth, $1,000,000g, 3yo, 9f.

Prix Rothschild (Fr-G1), Deauville, $393,180, 3&up, f&m, 8fT. Bing Crosby S. (G1), Del Mar, $300,000g, 3&up, 6f.

Grosser Dallmayr-Preis-Bayerisches-Zuchtrennen (Ger-G1), Munich, $200,880, 3&up, 10fT. Molly Pitcher S. (G2), Monmouth, $200,000g, 3&up, f&m, 8.5f.

Amsterdam S. (G2), Saratoga, $200,000g, 3yo, 6.5f.

Hokkaido Shimbun Hai Queen S. (Jpn-G3), Sapporo, $947,800, 3&up, f&m, 9fT. Royal North S. (Can-G3), Woodbine, $150,675g, 3&up, f&m, 6fT. Oceanport S. (G3), Monmouth, $150,000g, 3&up, 8.5fT. Taylor Made Matchmaker S. (G3), Monmouth, $150,000g, 3&up, f&m, 9fT. Prix de Cabourg-Jockey Club de Turquie (Fr-G3), Deauville, $104,848, 2yo, 6fT. 31 July Bet365 Lennox S. (Eng-G2), Goodwood, $224,168a, 3&up, 7fT. Bet365 Gordon S. (Eng-G3), Goodwood, $88,066a, 3yo, 12fT. Bet365 Molecomb S. (Eng-G3), Goodwood, $64,048a, 2yo, 5fT. 1 August QIPCO Sussex S. (Eng-G1), Goodwood, $480,360a, 3&up, 8fT. Veuve Clicquot Vintage S. (Eng-G2), Goodwood, $96,072a, 2yo, 7fT. 2 August Artemis Goodwood Cup (Eng-G2), Goodwood, $160,240, 3&up, 16fT. Audi Richmond S. (Eng-G2), Goodwood, $96,072a, 2yo, c&g, 6fT. i-Shares Lillie Langtry Fillies’ S. (Eng-G3), Goodwood, $88,132a, 3&up, f&m, 14fT. Polar Cup (Nor-G3), Ovrevoll, $83,423, 3&up, a7fT. 3 August Honorable Miss H. (G2), Saratoga, $200,000g, 3&up, f&m, 6f.

Tanqueray King George S. (Eng-G2), Goodwood, $160,240a, 3&up, 5fT. Coutts Glorious S. (Eng-G3), Goodwood, $88,132a, 4&up, 12fT. RSA Thoroughbred S. (Eng-G3), Goodwood, $88,132a, 3yo, 8fT. Oak Tree S. (Eng-G3), Goodwood, $88,132a, 3&up, f&m, 7fT. 4 August Whitney Invitational H. (G1), Saratoga, $750,000g, 3&up, 9f.

Prioress S. (G1), Saratoga, $300,000g, 3yo, f, 6f.

Clement L. Hirsch S. (G1), Del Mar, $300,000g, 3&up, f&m, 8.5f.

Nassau S. (Eng-G1), Goodwood, $296,444a, 3&up, f&m, a10fT. Grande Premio Roberto e Nelson Grimaldi Seabra (Brz-G1), Gavea, $117,507, 4&up, f&m, 10fT. Grande Premio Major Suckow (Brz-G1), Gavea, $100,634, 3&up, 5fT. West Virginia Derby (G2), Mountaineer Race Track and Gaming Resort, $750,000g, 3yo, 9f.

Seagram Cup S. (Can-G3), Woodbine, $150,675g, 3&up, 8.5f.

Grande Premio Joao Adhemar e Nelson de Almeida Prado (Brz-G3), Gavea, $36,448, 3yo, f, 8fT. 5 August Grande Premio Brasil (Brz-G1), Gavea, $680,938, 4&up, 12fT. Henkel-Preis der Diana-Deutsches Stuten-Derby (Ger-G1), Dusseldorf, $518,400, 3yo, f, 11fT. Alfred G. Vanderbilt H. (G1), Saratoga, $400,000g, 3&up, 6f.

Prix Maurice de Gheest (Fr-G1), Deauville, $327,650, 3&up, 6.5fT. Grande Premio Presidente da Republica (Brz-G1), Gavea, $112,686, 3&up, 8fT. Best Pal S. (G2), Del Mar, $150,000g, 2yo, 6.5f.

Associacao Brasileira de Criadores (Brz-G2), Gavea, $45,560, 4&up, 15fT. Leopard S. (Jpn-G3), Niigata, $1,081,714, 3yo, 9f.

Kokura Kinen (Jpn-G3), Kokura, $1,081,714, 3&up, 10fT. Irish Stallion Farms EBF Give Thanks S. (Ire-G3), Cork, $100,104, 3&up, f&m, 12fT. Lanwades Stud Scandinavian Open Championship (Den-G3), Copenhagen, $89,650a, 3&up, 12fT. Grande Premio Jose Paulino Nogueira (Brz-G3), Gavea, $40,977, 3yo, 8fT. 8 August Sorrento S. (G3), Del Mar, $150,000g, 2yo, f, 6.5f.

9 August Ballyroan S. (Ire-G3), Leopardstown, $74,271, 3&up, 12fT.

THOROUGHBRED TIMES

July 9-11:

Head

Thighs Knees

Weaning: Thighs, knees, and feet Castration: Feet

Current Meetings Arapahoe Park—May 26-Aug. 19 Arlington Park—May 4-Sept. 30 Assiniboia Downs—May 6-Sept. 23 Calder Race Course—Apr. 9-Nov. 30 Canterbury Park—May 18-Sept. 3 Colonial Downs—Jun. 2-Jul. 28 Del Mar—Jul. 18-Sept. 5 Delaware Park—May 12-Nov. 3 Ellis Park—Jul. 4-Sept. 3 Emerald Downs—Apr. 13-Sept. 23 Evangeline Downs—Apr. 18-Sept. 8 Fair Meadows at Tulsa—Jun. 14-Aug. 4 Fairmount Park—Apr. 3-Sept. 21 Finger Lakes Gaming and Race Track—Apr. 20-Dec. 7 Fort Erie—May 6-Oct. 30 Gillespie County Fairgrounds—Jul. 7-Aug. 26 Hastings Race Course—Apr. 14-Oct. 14 Hipodromo Camarero—Jan. 1-Dec. 31 Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races—Jan. 3-Dec. 29 Horsemen’s Park—Jul. 13-Jul. 22 Les Bois Park—May 2-Aug. 11 Louisiana Downs—May 4-Sept. 23 Marquis Downs—May 25-Sept. 8 Monmouth Park—May 12-Oct. 7 Mountaineer Race Track and Gaming Resort—Mar. 2-Dec. 21 Mt. Pleasant Meadows—May 5-Oct. 15 North Dakota Horse Park—Jul. 14-Aug. 22 Northlands Park—May 4-Oct. 13 Parx Racing—Jan. 1-Dec. 31 Penn National Race Course—Jan. 5-Dec. 29 Portland Meadows—Jul. 15-Dec. 8 Prairie Meadows—Apr. 20-Aug. 11 Presque Isle Downs—May 15-Sept. 29 River Downs—Apr. 27-Sept. 3 Ruidoso Downs—May 25-Sept. 3 Sacramento—Jul. 11-Jul. 22 Saratoga Race Course—Jul. 20-Sept. 3 Thistledown—May 4-Nov. 17 Woodbine—Apr. 6-Dec. 16

Upcoming Meetings Cassia County Fair —Aug. 17-Aug. 18 Columbus Races —Jul. 26-Sept. 9 Ferndale —Aug. 15-Aug. 26 Hoosier Park —Aug. 1-Oct. 27 Remington Park —Aug. 10-Dec. 9 Santa Rosa —Jul. 25-Aug. 12 The Downs at Albuquerque —Aug. 11-Nov. 11

Sales Closing Dates 3 August—Fasig-Tipton fall mixed and horses of racing age sale, held October 9 in Saratoga Springs, New York 17 August—Fasig-Tipton Kentucky fall preferred and open yearling sale at Newtown Paddocks, held October 22-24 in Lexington, Kentucky 17 August—Fasig-Tipton Kentucky fall selected mixed sale at Newtown Paddocks, held November 5 in Lexington, Kentucky

Events 26 July—Department of Veterinary Science Continuing Education Program: Stress of Weaning seminar, University of Kentucky Diagnostic Laboratory Auditorium, Gluck Equine Research Center, Lexington, KY. For more information, contact: Jim MacLeod; E-Mail: jnmacleod@uky.edu; Website: www.ca.uky.edu/gluck/EdCEseminar.asp.

6 August—Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association Pedigree and Conformation Clinic, Saratoga Springs, NY. For more information, contact Amy Bunt; Phone: (859) 276-2291; E-Mail: abunt@toba.org; Website: www.toba.org.

9 August—Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association Ownership seminar, Saratoga Springs, N.Y. For more information, contact Amy Bunt; Phone: (859) 276-2291; E-Mail: abunt@toba.org; Website: www.toba.org.

30 August—Department of Veterinary Science Continuing Education Program: Equine Leptospirosis seminar, University of Kentucky Diagnostic Laboratory Auditorium, Gluck Equine Research Center, Lexington, KY. For more information, contact: Jim MacLeod; E-Mail: jnmacleod@uky.edu; Website: www.ca.uky.edu/gluck/EdCEseminar.asp.

27 September—Department of Veterinary Science Continuing Education Program: Equine Piroplasmosis seminar, University of Kentucky Diagnostic Laboratory Auditorium, Gluck Equine Research Center, Lexington, KY. For more information, contact: Jim MacLeod; E-Mail: jnmacleod@uky.edu; Website: www.ca.uky.edu/gluck/EdCEseminar.asp.

MARKETPLACE Employment HORSES FOR SALE

Your

RACEMARE FOR SALE - $4,500

EQUINE MANAGER WANTED

Ad

4YO UNBRIDLED ENERGY filly Winner in 2012; half-sister to 2 SWs Family of CONVEYOR (G1) KY-Bred • Sound & ready to go.

626-622-6563 or 626-419-1128 Brian ranchogonz@yahoo.com

Could Be Here!

Renee McClendon

(859) 260-9800, ext. 7172

HUMANE MULTI-BREED EQUINE SANCTUARY seeks experienced horse professional to manage the care of 85 animals near New York’s Capital Region. Ability to utilize humane and progressive handling techniques, administer medications/bandages & drive a horse trailer necessary.

Housing & other benefits. Salary based on experience.

Send résumé info: Thoroughbred Times, PO BOX 8237, Lexington, KY 40533 Blind Box: 327

Real Estate

Silks

FOR SALE - Glenwood, GA

CUSTOM RACING APPAREL

S WEET WATER H ORSE T RACK & T RAINING FACILITY 56 Acres in Central Georgia ■ Barrel arena w/covered concert stage ■ 3⁄4-mile track with starting gate Two barns located on the property; 24-stall & 16-stall ■ Concession stand ■ Press Box ■ Bleachers

Contact West - 904-635-5740 sweetwaterhorsetrack.com

THOROUGHBRED TIMES

“Show Your True Colors”

Year Round Great Weather! $750,000 Reduced $299,900

107 Hilltop Rd. Berlin, NJ 08009

WWW.DALYSSILKS.COM Since 1974 VISA

®

(800) 22-SILKS (74557) Fax: 856-768-6410 Lifetime Guarantee

T DAY

®

8,000

Over subscribers and growing!

Get your FREE subscription TODAY! www.thoroughbredtimes.com/today-signup

MasterCard

THE REGISTER

Entry closing: Deadline for advertising is 12:00 noon Eastern Time on Friday, 16 days prior to cover date. Pre-payment must be received prior to entry deadline. MasterCard, Visa, American Express, personal check/money order accepted.

BROODMARE FOR SALE

EQUIPMENT FOR SALE

SILKS

TRAINER AVAILABLE (cont.)

11YO CANDY STRIPES mare o/o blacktype female family. $2,000. (229)322-0586.

MARCIELLA - 2005 mare sired by PROUD CITIZEN. Excellent health and conformation. $2,200. 518-225-6143 HTR Racing

FOR SALE: Single Horse Hyperbaric Chamber. Towable oxygen chamber with viewports on a dual axle gooseneck. Used for treating racehorses. Includes loading ramp and locking toolbox. Fully mechanical, nothing electronic.

Completely operational and turnkey. New: 250K Asking: 80K obo. 701-575-8205

STITCHES BY CHLOE. Silks, blinkers, helmet covers, saddlecloths. Custom embroidery: shirts and hats. Cathy Morse. (800)464-3840. New Website: www.stitchesby chloe.com. sttchsbychloe@hotmail.com

Trainer seeking a few horses to train. Reasonable rates.

Based in Tomball, TX (Suburb of Houston). Contact Maurice Black at mauriceblack7975@att.net or (281) 713-4415.

HORSES FOR SALE GRINDSTONE 2YO filly o/o IRGUN mare, proven producer. Sound, correct, should mature to 16+h. Ohio Registered $10,000. Negotiable (740)972-8752 / ivekcmac@yahoo.com Mares i/f to Indiana stallion Star Cat and New Mexico stallion IRISH ROAD. Pedigrees available upon request.

575-278-2793 or cedarcreek@bacavalley.com

RACING PROSPECTS New Mexico-bred 4YO filly; maiden. Raced sound. Granddaughter of STORM CAT. $5,000. 505-290-7828 or buggybecky@hotmail.com New Mexico-bred yearling filly by To Teras (UNBRIDLED’S SONG). All papers current. $6,000. 505-290-7828 or buggybecky@hotmail.com

STALLION FOR SALE Prices slashed on sons of A.P. INDY, STORM CAT, GONE WEST, KINGMAMBO and MACHIAVELLIAN. 903-9866110

ART JOYCE CANADAY EQUINE ARTS. Original oil and watercolor paintings serving the racehorse industry. View paintings: www.JoyceEquineArts.com. Joyce Canaday (323)429-0005; joyceequinearts@yahoo.com

BOARDING/SALES PREP BOARDING FARM Barren/maiden mares at $18/day.

Now accepting horses for Sales Prep - reasonable rates.

Complimentary van to shed. 859-230-9245

BREAKING & TRAINING TRAINER AVAILABLE stabled at Turfway Park. We specialize in the selection, management and training of your equine athlete. 859-516-3276

FACILITY FOR LEASE FOR RENT: HORSE FARM - 58 acres, with 20-stall barn (with skylights, automatic waterers in stalls, large hay loft) and 8-stall barn, 15 fields/paddocks with automatic waterers, mobile home, Jessamine County, KY, near Champion’s Golf Course, near Keeneland. Rent: $2,500/mo.

Available: July 1, 2012. Call Meg: (859) 421-5253, email: fatss83@aol.com

FARM FOR LEASE Horse Farm Available in NY: 150 Stalls, Barns, Swimming Pool. Broodmare Barns with special foaling facility.

Located in Monticello, NY - 80 minutes from NYC. Farm needs repair, owner will give concessions. 718-387-0702

HEALTH PRODUCTS Bev’s Equine Bleeders Answer - A New NATURAL Product. Proven to stop or dramatically improve performance horse bleeding. Administer Orally. www.bevsequine products.com or 772-232-8200

INSURANCE Equine and Farm Insurance! INDEPENDENT EQUINE AGENTS. Ask about free colic surgery. New low rates!

Marla Moore: (800)346-8880; (502)245-6878; www.marla moore.com

REAL ESTATE Upstate NY - 43 surveyed ac. 30 minutes to Saratoga. Pond, stream, woodlot, rolling flat, 100% road frontage. Can sell as 43ac / 26ac / 17ac. $4,000/ac. Owner - 518-366-8399

SALES PREP SALES PREP!! sales prep!! SALES PREP!! sales prep!!

SALES PREP!! sales prep!! SALES PREP!! sales prep!!

SALES PREP!! 859-516-3276

SHIPPING & TRANSPORTATION SANTA FE HORSE TRANSPORT. Based in Ocala, FL. Weekly runs to/from Florida, Louisiana, Texas. (352)3907788; www.SantaFeHorses.com

STALLS FOR RENT

TRAINER WANTED

STALLS FOR RENT Ocala - DFR 5/8 Mile Track, Underwater Treadmill, Walker & Starting Gate. And much more!

904-317-4885

TRAINER WANTED for my 3 runners after Prairie Meadows ends Aug 11th, on a 70% basis to trainer. Al Clough 641-722-4200

TRAINER AVAILABLE

TRAINING CENTER

CHARLES TOWN BASED TRAINER has openings for a few more horses to race at Charles Town and other MidAtlantic Tracks. Fred Chinn: (304)279-1924 SUFFOLK DOWNS Gaming approved. Purses up. Stalls available. Excellent care with high percentage trainer. www.MichaelMckenzieRacing.com. 617-448-0978.

WinningHorses@gmail.com

TRAINING CENTER FOR SALE Owner Financing. 60 Acres, 5/8 Mile Track, 106 Stalls, 5/4 2-story w/Pool, TurnKey. Cash price $1,200,000 Call for information 352489-6694.

$1.25 per Word ($25.00 ($25.00 minimum) minimum)

ADVERTISERS’ INDEX Big Dee’s (www.bigdweb.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Breeders’ Cup (www.members.breederscup.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15, 17 Claiborne Farm (www.claibornefarm.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Equiade (www.equiade.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29 Fasig Tipton Co. (www.fasigtipton.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11, 23 Golden Eagle Farm (www.goldeneaglefarm.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Indiana Horse Racing Commission (www.in.gov/hrc) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43 Jockey Club (www.equibase.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 Keeneland Association (www.keeneland.com/sales/default.aspx) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Kentucky Horse Racing Authority (www.khrc.ky.gov) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 New York State Thoroughbred Breed & Development Fund (www.nybreds.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 Odyssey Performance Limited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Realty USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation (www.trfinc.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Washington Thoroughbred Breeders Assoc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37 WinStar Farm LLC (www.winstarfarm.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88 Vet Spotlight Flair, LLC (www.flairstrips.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 Vibralung, Inc. (www.vibravm.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30 Healthy Horse MediVet (www.medivet-america.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 Farm Management AquaTrak Equine (www.aquarakequine.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34 Halcyon Hammock Farm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35 Western Arizona Thoroughbred Breeders Association (www.atba.net) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 Hoofprints WF Young (www.absorbine.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

THOROUGHBRED TIMES

July 21, 2012 41

Catching UP with STEVE CAUTHEN

that he had a crowd of supporters in Canada and he was very loyal to them. the line, Steve Cauthen’s phone He’s kind of like me, you know? Support was one of the things that carried me through the Triple Crown. I had a great, close-knit rings off the hook. family that always supported me.

I saw you went up to Belmont Park to sign autographs with The good news for racing is that Alydar’s rider, Jorge Velasquez. What was that like? the most recent jockey to win the We’re great friends. We keep in touch. I keep in touch with him more than most guys, but still though, you don’t talk to him Triple Crown, aboard Affirmed in much more than at Christmas and here and there. So yes, it was great just hanging out.

1978, graciously answers those We had a great time and it was really satisfying to see all the fans. We signed for two hours and there were still people waitcalls. He enjoys talking about the ing—we couldn’t get to everybody. But it’s great to see that a lot Triple Crown and Thoroughbred of people really care, and remember. They’d talk about how much it affected their interest in the game. One of the things that racing in general. made me feel the best about [winning the Triple Crown]—obviously it was great winning it because that’s what you’re trying to After this year’s Triple Crown do—but the fact that it probably attracted so many people to the series, THOROUGHBRED TIMES Sesport. A lot of them may have been casual fans before but may have become more than just a casual fan after the Triple Crown. nior Writer Frank Angst caught How are things going, and are you still running Dreamfields farm? up with Cauthen at his DreamYes. It’s mainly breeding. I had a little training operation going, but when the economy got tough it wasn’t viable having a fields farm in Verona, Kentucky, facility that far from Lexington, where obviously a lot of the where he breeds and raises Thorhorses are. I still breed horses. I have about 20 of them on the farm, eight to ten mares and young horses. I own the horses or oughbreds. have partners on all of them.

What are some of the things you enjoy most these days?

Can you describe the three weeks leading up I work around the farm and luckily I’m not too far from my to this year’s Belmont Stakes (G1) following golf course, Triple Crown [Country Club], so I can sneak off and I’ll Have Another’s victories in the first two play some golf pretty regularly. There’s obviously a Triple Crown races? I’m guessing you receive lot of stuff always going on around the farm. calls from all over.

I have three daughters so I stay busy with them, I get floored by how many calls I get, from all First win in 1976 running them around to various things. They’re all around the country, England, all around the world. at River Downs dancers, so we attend a lot of dance competitions, The interesting thing is that when a horse has a recitals, and school functions. chance to do it, you’ll hear people talking about it in Obviously I also follow the racing year. I look at Won 2,794 races the grocery line. You know, people who might not the pre-Derby races on through the season to try to typically be talking about racing. It’s a good thing for make breeding decisions and see what is going on, the sport.

Youngest jockey what is selling, and what is not selling.

Obviously, being one of the few that’s still around to win the Triple Have your daughters shown interest in horses?

Crown that’s done it, it’s nice to see that it does still draw Recreationally they all ride. But they’re into dance that interest. It’s been great to hold the title [most reand that stuff more. cent jockey to win Triple Crown] all these years, but I know you once represented Turfway Park. Is Inducted into Hall obviously there were people that did it before me and of Fame in 1994 Turfway going to make it? there’ll be somebody that does it after me. I’d love to I used to be their PR guy but they don’t do much see a good horse come along and excite people again. of that anymore. Everything changed when the So you think it’s going to happen again? riverboats came [to nearby Indiana]. They didn’t feel like it I do. We’ve seen a lot of horses come close. I think I’ll Have would be worth doing heavy advertising because it wasn’t payAnother would have had a great chance if he’d been all right. I ing off. They’ve cut back so far. They’re owned by two casino really do. He had that stoutness, that desire. He had the fight. companies, so they’ll hang in there as long as there’s some He was a fighter and that carries you a long way. chance of getting gaming.

Did you have any special affinity for Mario Gutierrez, who They are struggling. It’s sad to see. Through the [previous like you, was a young jockey going for a Triple Crown? owner] Jerry Carroll years, and even a little bit after, they were I was struck by how well-spoken he was and what a great temgiving away $225,000 or $250,000 [in purses] a day. Now they’re back to about $90,000 a day. It’s sad. perament he seems to have. I really liked his humbleness. I liked

Adam Coglianese/NYRA

ANY YEAR a Triple Crown is on

Date of birth: May 1, 1960 Birthplace: Covington, Kentucky Residence: Verona, Kentucky Family: Wife Amy and three daughters Top races won: Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes. Won ten classics in Europe including Epsom Derby twice, St. Leger Stakes three times, Two Thousand Guineas, Irish Oaks twice, Irish Derby, French Derby

Did you know?

Cauthen cut an album called, “… and Steve Cauthen Sings too!”

42 July 21, 2012

THOROUGHBRED TIMES