The Horsemen's Journal - Summer 2023

HORSEMEN’S

26

Double Decade

Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement Farm in Kentucky celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2023

38

HISA Adjudication System

An in-depth look at the new HISA rules regarding adjudication of alleged medication violations, procedures that seem unrecognizable from the administrative system traditionally used by state regulators

42

Day in the Life

Third piece in multi-part series takes a look at the daily routine and duties of veterinary chiropractor Dr. Larkspur Carroll

MESSAGE FROM THE CEO

LEADERSHIP IS EARNED THROUGH UNLEASHING A TEAM’S POWER

NATIONAL HBPA

3380 Paris Pike

Lexington, KY 40511

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PRESIDENT/ CHAIRPERSON OF THE BOARD

Dr. Doug Daniels

SECRETARY/ TREASURER

Danielle Barber (Interim)

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Eric J. Hamelback

VICE PRESIDENT

SOUTHERN REGION

Rick Hiles

VICE PRESIDENT

CENTRAL REGION

Joe Davis

VICE PRESIDENT WESTERN REGION

J. Lloyd Yother

VICE PRESIDENT

EASTERN REGION

Sandee Martin

How do we properly address horse racing’s many issues that have been highlighted since Kentucky Derby Week—and particularly the equine fatalities? One aspect some in the industry are trying to skirt around is the fact that the Horseracing Safety and Integrity Authority’s safety regulations were in place at Churchill Downs. Those regulations have been in place since July 2022. The HISA Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) regulations—to be administered by the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU)—were not yet implemented and wouldn’t go into effect until May 22.

The reality is the HISA regulations are in place at every Thoroughbred track across the country, with the exception of those in Texas, Louisiana, Nebraska and West Virginia.

Have the catastrophic breakdowns stopped in the states under HISA? Let me be very clear: We cannot fix the issues we have in this industry by creating more regulations. If we continue on the path we are going, we’re regulating horsemanship out of the industry.

I’m not pointing fingers at HISA, and I’m not pointing fingers at Churchill, but it is important to point out to everyone that neither HISA nor any regulation will ever completely stop equine fatalities. Also, it is extremely important to point out that horsemen have completely complied each time new industry regulations were put in place under the previous and current regulatory authorities.

In fact, through compliance from horsemen, we have seen a 37.5 percent decrease in catastrophic injuries since 2009, as measured through the Equine Injury Database. Nothing means more to us than continuing to decrease the number of fatalities.

The most recent stats show 99.8 percent of races run in the United States are run without a fatality. That, friends, is the horsemen being good stewards of the equine athlete.

Unfortunately, that positive message is not out there enough, with many ignoring such relevant statistics to instead focus on the negative. So, where do we point to find real solutions?

As I see it, we need to focus on all aspects of the industry collectively in order to pinpoint an area of commonality. We need to keep peeling the onion layers back until we find something in common.

What is the one undisputed common link in all North American Thoroughbred horses, whether we are referencing a fatality at the track or a Grade 1 winner’s pedigree? They are all registered with the breed registry. The Jockey Club received a certificate of incorporation from the state of New York in 1894. The Jockey Club’s mission reads, in part, “dedicated to the improvement of Thoroughbred breeding and racing.” In the ensuing almost 130 years, it has campaigned as an industry leader.

True leadership, however, does not create an environment where stakeholders feel it is not safe to disagree. Such an attempt to establish total control not only is counterproductive but also leads to an industry being stagnant or falling behind.

Where is the Thoroughbred now as a breed? Are we breeding horses to race, or are we breeding to sell? It should be about racing, but the industry has become more about breeding horses for the commercial marketplace.

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act does make one thing very clear: “Breeders” are included under the definition of a covered person. Rightly so, as it’s their “product” that makes it to the track for racing. Yet, the breeders are not specifically targeted through HISA’s or HIWU’s increased regulations. They are not even directly targeted for assistance in funding. Why is this so? Where is the leadership to increase scrutiny at the sales to protect the consumer? Where are the mandatory post-sale drug and urine samples? Where is the penalty structure to establish protections for the end users? When will periosteal stripping and transphyseal screws and (transphyseal) bridges be considered preexisting injuries?

All of these points and more are concerns on the public auction stage, yet little or no protection is being demanded from HISA or by the very entity defined to improve breeding (of the breed) and racing.

Issues of soundness don’t begin at the racetrack; they begin on breeding farms. But who is monitoring what takes place on farms and auctions before horses go into training? Are we breeding more brittle horses and masking issues?

Not going back too far in history, I focused on a recent comparison to show that the once-plentiful foal crop of 24,941 in 2011 had decreased by 25 percent to 18,700 in 2022. Yet, who continues to make money despite the decrease in our foal crops? The average cost of a yearling increased from $60,025 in 2013 to $88,107 in 2022, far surpassing the rate of inflation.

The same story is true for the average cost of buying a 2-year-old. In 2013, owners could expect to pay an average of $69,577 compared to the 2022 cost of $92,613, but purses in the U.S. have only increased 16 percent since 2012. Also, consider that prior to 2010 only 25 percent of the registered foals were sold at public auction. Today, that number is an astounding 38 percent.

I ask again, are we breeding to sell or breeding to race? If our breed registry has been in charge of leading the industry and focused on improving the breed, I believe there is reason to question its efficacy.

Leaders give all for the team, and leaders engage and empower others to gain strength for a purpose. Leadership, when successful, collaborates with everyone; it doesn’t cater to one segment in the hopes of gaining control to the detriment of others. But that’s where we are.

SINCERELY, ERIC J. HAMELBACK

THOROUGHBRED INDUSTRY EMPLOYEE AWARDS

PRESENTED BY

BE A WINNER!

USA

“What an honor and privilege it is to be the recipient of the Newcomer Award for 2022. There are so many hard-working and well-deserving individuals out there that should be recognized and take part in this unbelievable experience. I would like to urge owners, trainers, friends and coworkers to nominate their unsung heroes in 2023!”

The 2023 awards ceremony is on Tuesday October 17 at Keeneland Race Course.

Johnathan Estrada

TIEA Newcomer Award 2022 winner

SPONSORS

AFFILIATES

BOARD OF DIRECTORS - AFFILIATES

Dr. David Harrington, Alabama

Robert Hutton, Arizona

Bill Walmsley, Arkansas

James Miller, Charles Town

Kim Oliver, Colorado

Chris Vaccaro, Finger Lakes

Jim Watkins, Illinois

Joe Davis, Indiana

David McShane, Iowa

Rick Hiles, Kentucky

Benard Chatters, Louisiana

Jason Uelmen, Michigan

Pete Mattson, Minnesota

Jami Poole, Mountaineer Park

Garald “Wally” Wollesen, Nebraska

Anthony Spadea, New England

Dr. Paul Jenson DVM, New Mexico

Joe Poole, Ohio

Joe Offolter, Oklahoma

Ron Sutton, Oregon

Sandee Martin, Pennsylvania

Mike Dini, Tampa Bay Downs

David Ross, Virginia

Pat LePley, Washington

The opinions, representations and viewpoints expressed by the authors in the articles contained in The Horsemen’s Journal do not necessarily reflect the opinions, representations and viewpoints or the official policies or positions of The Horsemen’s Journal, National Horsemen’s Administration Corporation or National Horsemen’s Benevolent & Protective Association Inc. and its affiliates (collectively “HJ”). HJ is not responsible for, and expressly disclaims all liability for, damages of any kind arising out of use, reference to or reliance on any information contained within this issue. Information in this issue may become outdated due to the rapidly changing nature of the horse industry. The publication of any advertisements or articles should not be construed as an endorsement of any product, service or position unless specifically stated.

The Horsemen’s Journal, Volume 70 #2.

Postal Information: The Horsemen’s Journal (ISSN 0018-5256) is published quarterly by the National Horsemen’s Administration Corporation, with publishing offices at 3380 Paris Pike, Lexington, KY 40511. Copyright 2023 all rights reserved.

The Horsemen’s Journal is the official publication for members of the Horsemen’s Benevolent & Protective Association, a representative association of Thoroughbred owners and

CONTRIBUTORS

Dr. Kimberly Brewer

Rick Capone

Dr. Clara Fenger

Abelardo Morales-Briceno

Jennie Rees

Jen Roytz

Peter J. Sacopulos

Dr. Thomas Tobin

Rob Warren

PHOTOGRAPHERS

A&S Photography

Denis Blake

Coady Photography

Gwen Davis/Davis Innovation

Hodges Photography

Jim McCue/Maryland Jockey Club

NYRA Photo

Jennie Rees

Jen Roytz

Matt and Wendy Wooley

STAFF

Tom Law Editor

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THE FIELD FOR THE 149TH KENTUCKY OAKS, INCLUDING EVENTUAL WINNER PRETTY MISCHIEVOUS ON THE FAR OUTSIDE, STORMS PAST THE FINISH THE FIRST TIME MAY 5 AT CHURCHILL DOWNS.

Claiming Crown Returns to Fair Grounds for 2023

FAIR GROUNDS, NORTH AMERICA’S SECOND OLDEST THOROUGHBRED TRACK AND HOME TO THE LOUISIANA DERBY, WILL HOST THE 25TH CLAIMING CROWN LATER THIS YEAR.

The 2023 Claiming Crown will be staged at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots in New Orleans for the first time since 2011. The eight-race event worth $1 million in base purses will be run Saturday, December December 2, as announced by Claiming Crown founders the National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association and Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA) along with Fair Grounds.

The 25th Claiming Crown marks the second straight year the series has gone to a Churchill Downs Inc.-owned locale. The 2022 races were held for the first time at the company’s flagship track in Louisville after a 10-year run at Gulfstream Park in Florida. Fair Grounds staged a truncated version of the event in 2011 when the Claiming Crown moved from the summer to the late fall for the first time.

The Claiming Crown races are conducted under starter-allowance conditions, meaning they are restricted to horses that have competed at least once for a certain claiming level or less during a designated time frame, in this case 2022 or 2023. Purses for the eight Claiming Crown races will range from $75,000 to $200,000. Additional purse supplements will be available for accredited Louisiana-breds in an arrangement between the Louisiana HBPA, the host horsemen’s association, and Fair Grounds.

Conceived to be a Breeders’ Cup-style event for claiming horses, the

Claiming Crown Through the Years

Claiming Crown was created in 1999 by the National HBPA and TOBA. The program gives Thoroughbred racing’s workhorses, their owners and trainers a day in the spotlight in recognition of their importance to filling out race cards

Claiming Crown Handle

across the nation.

“Big Easy, here we come,” said National HBPA CEO Eric Hamelback, who was raised in the Pelican State and graduated from Louisiana State University. “The Claiming Crown was designed to celebrate our hard-knocking, unsung heroes of the turf. What better place—especially for our 25th running—than New Orleans? Beyond what we know will be a festive atmosphere, the Fair Grounds is iconic in American racing history, first running races in 1838 and with a track surface long acclaimed among the best in the country.”

“We are honored and excited to return to the Fair Grounds and New Orleans,” said TOBA President Dan Metzger. “We would like to thank the Louisiana HBPA and Churchill Downs for their commitment to the event and the owners and trainers who will participate in the 2023 Claiming Crown for their support.”

“We were thrilled with the response to the first Claiming Crown at Churchill Downs and look forward to bringing this wonderful event back to New Orleans,” said CDI Executive Director of Racing Gary Palmisano, who grew up in New Orleans and is the son of the late trainer Gary Palmisano Sr. “Fair Grounds played host to the Claiming Crown in 2011, but there is no denying this event is bigger and better than ever. We are excited to partner with the National HBPA, TOBA and the Louisiana HBPA to make 2023 among the best and the most memorable Claiming Crowns ever.”

The 2023 program will feature eight Claiming Crown races for horses 3 years old and up, with two of those restricted to fillies and mares. Headlining the card is the $200,000 Claiming Crown Jewel at 1 1/8 miles for horses that have started for a claiming price of $35,000 or less in 2022–23. Three other races—all on turf—will offer a $150,000 purse and have a $25,000 claiming requirement. Those races are the Emerald at 1 1/16 miles; its filly and mare counterpart, the Tiara; and the Canterbury Tom Metzen Memorial at 5 ½ furlongs.

The other Claiming Crown races are the $100,000 Rapid Transit ($16,000 claiming requirement) at 6 furlongs; $100,000 Glass Slipper ($12,500 claiming requirement) at 1 mile for fillies and mares; $75,000 Iron Horse Kent Stirling Memorial ($8,000 claiming requirement) at 1 1/16 miles; and $75,000 Ready’s Rocket Express ($8,000 claiming requirement) at 6 furlongs.

The deadline to make horses eligible for the Claiming Crown is November 18, with entries to be taken November 25. Eligibility request forms, along with race conditions, are available on claimingcrown.com.

California Chrome, Songbird Headline 2023 Hall of Fame Class

Eight new members, including multiple Eclipse Award winners California Chrome and Songbird, have been elected to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. The class of 2023 also includes jockey Corey Nakatani and champion Arrogate in the contemporary category; jockey Fernando Toro via the Historic Review Committee; and Pillars of the Turf selections John W. Hanes II, Leonard W. Jerome and Stella F. Thayer. Arrogate, California Chrome and Songbird all were elected in their first year of eligibility.

The 2023 Hall of Fame class will be enshrined at 10:30 a.m. ET Friday, August 4, at Fasig-Tipton’s Humphrey S. Finney Pavilion in Saratoga Springs, New York. The ceremony will be broadcast live online at racingmuseum.org. The event is open to the public and free to attend.

Corey Nakatani, 52, a native of Covina, California, won 3,909 races with purse earnings of $234,554,534 in a career that spanned from 1988 through 2018. His 341 graded stakes victories included 10 Breeders’ Cup races. Nakatani ranks 14th all time in career earnings and finished in the top 20 in annual earnings 16 times, including 11 times in the top 10. A winner of 10 riding titles on the Southern California circuit, Nakatani ranks in the top 10 in overall wins and stakes wins at both Santa Anita Park and Del Mar.

Arrogate posted a record of 7-1-1 from 11 starts while racing in 2016 and 2017. His earnings of $17,422,600 represent the highest total in history for a horse with at least one start in North America. Winner of the Eclipse Award for champion 3-year-old male in 2016, Arrogate was bred by Clearsky Farms and purchased for $560,000 by Juddmonte Farms at the 2014 Keeneland September yearling sale. Trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, Arrogate finished third in his debut in April 2016 at Los Alamitos before winning seven consecutive races, including the Travers Stakes, Breeders’ Cup Classic, Pegasus World Cup and Dubai World Cup, all Grade 1 events.

Songbird was bred by John Antonelli and purchased for $400,000 by Rick Porter’s Fox Hill Farm at the 2014 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale of selected yearlings. Trained by Hall of Famer Jerry Hollendorfer, Songbird raced from 2015 through 2017 with a record of 13-2-0 from 15 starts and earnings of $4,692,000. Winner of Eclipse Awards for champion 2-year-old filly in 2015 and champion 3-year-old filly in 2016, Songbird counted nine Grade 1s among her 12 graded stakes victories.

Fernando Toro, 82, a native of Santiago, Chile, won 3,555 races with purse earnings of $56,299,765 during his North American riding career from 1966 through 1990. Toro won his first race in his native country at age 15 in 1956 and topped the Chilean jockey standings twice. Before arriving in the U.S., Toro won three editions of the prestigious Gran Premio as well as the 1964 Clasico St. Leger, a race in the Chilean Triple Crown series. Based in Southern California, Toro won 80 graded stakes in North America. At the time of his retirement, he ranked in the top 10 in stakes wins at Del Mar, Hollywood Park and Santa Anita.

Stella F. Thayer, 82, a native of Tampa, Florida, purchased Tampa Bay Downs with her brother, Howell Ferguson, in 1986. She currently serves as the track’s president. Thayer was elected the ninth president of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2005. The first woman to hold the position in the institution’s history, Thayer served as museum president until 2014. She has been a museum trustee since 1994.

John W. Hanes II, a native of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, played a key role in the revitalization of New York racing in the 1950s. He was elected a steward of The Jockey Club in 1953 and tasked by the organization to chair a special committee to improve New York’s tracks and quality of racing. Along with committee members Christopher T. Chenery and Harry F. Guggenheim, Hanes secured $109 million to revitalize Aqueduct, Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course. He also helped obtain legislation to establish the management corporation that eventually became the New York Racing Association.

California Chrome was bred and owned by Perry Martin and Steve Coburn. Taylor Made Farm later joined in the ownership, purchasing Coburn’s share. Trained by Art Sherman, California Chrome raced from 2013 to 2017 with a record of 16-4-1 from 27 starts and earnings of $14,752,650. He was voted Horse of the Year in 2014 and 2016 and earned additional Eclipse Awards for champion 3-year-old male in 2014 and champion older male in 2016.

Leonard W. Jerome bought the 230-acre estate and mansion of James Bathgate in what was then rural Westchester County, New York, in 1866. Jerome and August Belmont I built Jerome Park on that land and held the inaugural Belmont Stakes there in 1867. The Belmont was contested at Jerome Park until 1890. Other key races inaugurated at Jerome Park include the Champagne Stakes, Juvenile Stakes and Ladies Handicap. Jerome established the Coney Island Jockey Club in 1879. The organization held race cards at Prospect Park in New York City while constructing Sheepshead Bay Race Track, which opened in 1880.

MULTIPLE ECLIPSE AWARD WINNER SONGBIRD DOMINATES THE ALABAMA STAKES IN 2016 AT SARATOGA FOR ONE OF HER NINE GRADE 1 VICTORIES.

ARROGATE, CHAMPION 3-YEAR-OLD MALE IN 2016, BLITZES SARATOGA’S 1 ¼-MILE TRACK RECORD WINNING THAT SEASON’S GRADE 1 TRAVERS STAKES.

Nominations Open for Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards

ominations for the 2023 Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards are open and continue through Sunday, July 16.

Held in the U.S. for the first time in 2016, the awards are sponsored by Godolphin in association with the National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protection Association, Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, The Jockey Club and Breeders’ Cup Ltd. Godolphin also sponsors equivalent Stud and Stable Staff Awards in Ireland, Australia, Great Britain and France.

Cash prizes totaling $122,000 will be awarded to winners and two finalists in a total of seven categories. In addition, runners-up will receive monetary awards for the first time in 2023. The awards are the Dr. J. David “Doc” Richardson Community Award, Katherine McKee Administration Award, Dedication to Breeding Award, Dedication to Racing Award, Newcomer Award, Support Services Award and Leadership Award.

TIEA also announced the return of category sponsors Churchill Downs, Hallway Feeds, New York Racing Association, Hagyard Equine Medical Institute, National Thoroughbred Racing Association and Keeneland.

Keeneland again will host the awards ceremony Tuesday, October 17, at the entertainment center.

THE 2022 TIEA WINNERS WERE HONORED AT KEENELAND, WHICH AGAIN WILL HOST THE EVENT THAT PUTS A SPOTLIGHT ON THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE SCENES IN THE THOROUGHBRED INDUSTRY.

1/ST Leads $7 Million Investment in MyRacehorse

1/ST Racing & Gaming operates Santa Anita Park, Gulfstream Park, Laurel Park, Pimlico Race Course and Golden Gate Fields. 1/ST Technology encompasses a portfolio of products including 1/ST BET, Xpressbet and AmTote International.

Founded in 2018, MyRacehorse allows prospective owners to review, analyze and purchase fractional shares in racehorses for a single one-time payment of as little as $100. Through the MyRacehorse app, owners can follow the journey of racehorse ownership via updates from the trainer, jockey and analysts with direct and instant payouts of prize money.

The platform currently boasts more than 50,000 active owners and 100 active horses that have won more than 160 races worldwide with earnings of more than $20 million. MyRacehorse is predominantly focused in the U.S. and Australia and recently expanded to the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Experiential Squared, parent company to the global fractional racehorse ownership platform MyRacehorse, recently announced a funding round of $7 million raised from investors led by 1/ST through its 1/ST Racing & Gaming and 1/ST Technology business divisions.

“This is the ultimate strategic partnership; having 1/ST Racing & Gaming and 1/ST Technology as the lead investors not only provides us the capital to accelerate growth but the strategic assets and access to enhance the ownership experience for our 50,000-plus racehorse owners,” said Michael Behrens, founder and CEO of Experiential Squared and MyRacehorse. “1/ST Racing & Gaming and 1/ST Technology are progressive leaders in all aspects of Thoroughbred racing and have been supportive of MyRacehorse since the beginning. The partnership affirms 1/ST’s commitment to growing ownership and further immersing fans in our sport.”

AHC Initiates National Economic Impact Study

The American Horse Council (AHC) is kicking off what could be one of the biggest studies in its more than 50-year history with the 2023 National Economic Impact Study.

The launch of the survey, which is open and runs through September 29, comes on the heels of three years of great change throughout the country for homes, businesses and industries. Rising costs of living, shrinking of assistance and changes in demographics have affected much of the world, including the equine industry.

An economic impact study examines the effect an event or industry has on the economy and usually measures changes in business revenue, business profits, personal wages and jobs. The large, economically diverse horse industry contributes significantly to the American economy.

The purpose of the census is to demonstrate the value of the equine industry in the national economy and state economies by analyzing the direct, indirect and induced economic impacts of horse ownership, recreation and equine-related services.

“The economic impact study is the most effective tool in our advocacy quiver,” said Julie Broadway, president of the AHC. “When the industry needs to take aim at an issue, this data is invaluable in helping us paint the picture of the contributions the industry makes and the breadth and depth of its composition.”

The AHC has conducted numerous national economic impact studies for the U.S. horse industry, including in such pivotal years as 1987, 1997, 2007 and,

most recently, 2017.

“The challenges of the last few years with the pandemic and its economic impacts on all aspects of our industry make the 2023 study all that more important and necessary,” said Dr. Rick Mitchell, chairman of the AHC board of trustees.

Data collected will inform public and private investments in equine-related businesses, equine health care, education, land use decisions, tax policy, tourism, employment incentives and other areas.

New this year are sponsored incentives for individuals and groups who participate in the survey, including a John Deere Z545R ZTrak Mower (valued at $7,500), one year of Nutrena feed for one horse (a $2,000 value), one year of Purina feed for one horse (a $500 value/horse), gift certificates from Trafalgar Square Books (total value $180) and enrollment in the Texas A&M AgriLife Equine Reproductive Management Online Course (valued at $300 per enrollment).

The National HBPA encourages all horsemen to participate in this survey.

For more information on the 2023 National Economic Impact Study, visit horsecouncil.org/economic-impact-study

STRAIGHT NO CHASER, A SON OF SPEIGHTSTER CAMPAIGNED BY THE FRACTIONAL OWNERSHIP GROUP MYRACEHORSE, WINS THE GRADE 3 MARYLAND SPRINT STAKES ON PREAKNESS DAY AT PIMLICO RACE COURSE.

JIM MCCUE/MARYLAND JOCKEY CLUB

Amplify Horse Racing Launches Therapy Partnership with BetterHelp

Amplify Horse Racing is partnering with online therapy platform BetterHelp to offer members of the equine industry one month of free therapy.

The partnership Amplify arranged with BetterHelp will give users a free month of therapy (up to four live sessions with a therapist who is specifically assigned to their individual preferences) and a discount to the platform thereafter. Any future or current equine industry participants or employees of all ages are welcome to take advantage of this confidential service through the use of code 9b8d2 on betterhelp.com/ amplify. Amplify will not know who is receiving therapy and won’t have access to users’ personal data.

BetterHelp offers access to more than 25,000 therapists across the U.S., services in more than 50 languages and support in more than 200 countries. Users can communicate with their therapist via phone, video and live chat and can message their therapist at any time. Therapists on BetterHelp are licensed, trained, experienced and accredited psychologists (PhD/PsyD), marriage and family therapists (LMFT), clinical social workers (LCSW/LMSW) or licensed professional counselors (LPC). All have a master’s or doctorate degree in their

field and have been qualified and certified by their state’s professional board after successfully completing the necessary education, exams, training and practice. While their experience, expertise and backgrounds vary, they all possess at least three years and 2,000 hours of hands-on experience.

“As Amplify encourages more young people to consider careers in the Thoroughbred industry, we want to make sure we are providing flexible resources like BetterHelp to support their mental health and well-being,” said Annise Montplaisir, executive director of Amplify. “Many industry employees have unconventional working hours and travel extensively, making it difficult to schedule a regular therapy appointment, so we’re excited to offer something that can be flexible regardless of schedule.”

Amplify Horse Racing is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that amplifies Thoroughbred industry education, mentorship and career opportunities with horse programs for youth and young adults. The program is designed to create pathways to involvement for newcomers, highlight existing initiatives and create new resources to lead the Thoroughbred industry into the future.

New Vocations Show Raises More Than $175,000

The New Vocations All-Thoroughbred Charity Horse Show presented by Heider Family Stables June 2-4 raised more than $175,000, with proceeds going directly to support New Vocations’ efforts to rehab, retrain and rehome retiring racehorses.

Held at Highfields Event Center in Aiken, South Carolina, New Vocations’ 20th annual show brought together more than 150 retired Thoroughbred racehorses from nine states, showcasing the versatility of the breed. Excited exhibitors, familiar and new, competed in a variety of classes including dressage, hunter, jumper, in-hand, western and pleasure.

“To say we like to support New Vocations and their work with retired racehorses would be a big understatement,” said Scott and Cindy Heider of Heider Family Stables. “Seeing these beautiful animals repurposed is the right and responsible next step. To the dedicated New Vocations staff and all the volunteers, we say a heartfelt thank you for your amazing work. We’re already looking forward to next year’s charity show.”

“I’ll never forget our first show two decades ago, which was the first of its kind,” said Anna Ford, New Vocations’ Thoroughbred program director. “It’s been wonderful to see the event grow and play a large role in our efforts to spotlight the Thoroughbred’s versatility while raising much-needed funds for our program. We are very grateful for the continued support from our sponsors, many of which are Thoroughbred owners, breeders and industry organizations. It is through their support that we are able to put on such a first-class show year after year.”

The show’s highlights included Open Hunter Derby winner Atticus, who reclaimed his title this year. Shown again by Mandy Lynch, the 2003 Indianabred gelding by Bates Motel, registered with The Jockey Club as Sir Hector, had two starts in his racing career.

Winner of the Open Jumper Stake was Sky Full of Stars, shown by Brayden Gault. Registered with The Jockey Club as Platinum of Course, this 2014 Floridabred mare by Awesome of Course had five starts in her career.

Mind Magic, shown by Julie Goodell, won the War Horse In-Hand class. The 2012 New York-bred gelding by Freud had four wins in 58 starts in his career and $107,817 in earnings.

At the show’s exhibitor party, New Vocations also presented several special awards recognizing the following entrants:

• The youngest Thoroughbred competing (Keen Not Mean, foaled March 19, 2020)

• The oldest Thoroughbred competing (Bold Esteta, foaled March 22, 1994)

• The Thoroughbred who sold for the highest price at auction (New Vocations graduate Diamond Bachelor,

• The Thoroughbred with the most career starts (Pharaoh’s City, 80 starts)

• The Thoroughbred with the highest earnings (Gottcha Gold, $933,570)

• The most recently raced Thoroughbred (New Vocations graduate Igottahaveit, January 21, 2023) HJ

$570,000)

NEW VOCATIONS GRADUATE IGOTTAHAVEIT, WHO RACED 131 DAYS PRIOR TO THE ALL-THOROUGHBRED CHARITY HORSE SHOW PRESENTED BY HEIDER FAMILY STABLES, WAS BEGINNER HUNTER RESERVE CHAMPION UNDER FREDA JESSEN.

What is it?

A program to protect your assets in case of an injury or damage to property arising from your equine activities (breeding, racing, sales, training). This is not a substitute for workers’ compensation coverage.

What Does It Cover?

• Liability claims arising from injuries to participants (non-employee jockeys and exercise riders)

• Contractual liability (i.e. hold harmless in Race Track Stall Agreements)

• Premises and Operations liability coverage for all equine operations including breeding, boarding, training, and racing.

How Much Does It Cover?

Each member additional insured has their own $1,000,000 coverage for each occurrence or offense and $2,000,000 general aggregate. Damage to premises rented to you or occupied by you with the permission of the owner is provided with a limit of $50,000. Medical payments coverage applies as well in the amount of $5,000 per person.

Invaluable Earns Claiming Crown Horse of the Year

The mare Invaluable has been selected as the 2022 Claiming Crown Horse of the Year, her name neatly summing up the hardknocking warhorses that populate America’s racing cards largely out of the limelight.

Trainer Mike Maker and owner Peter Proscia’s Paradise Farms Corp. claimed Invaluable, then 5, in the final days of the 2022 Saratoga Race Course meeting with the intention of running in the Claiming Crown last November at Churchill Downs. Mission accomplished. After finishing third in a $10,000 starterallowance at Keeneland Race Course, Invaluable splashed to a 1 1/2-length victory under Luis Saez in the slop over Maoilin in the $109,850 Claiming Crown Glass Slipper at a mile for fillies and mares who had run for a claiming price of $12,500 or less in 2021–22.

The Claiming Crown Horse of the Year is voted on by the National HBPA’s Industry Awards Committee, chaired by Todd Mostoller from the Pennsylvania HBPA. Invaluable will be recognized at the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA) annual awards dinner September 9 in Lexington, Kentucky.

The Claiming Crown—designed to give the blue-collar workhorses their own championship day on the lines of the Breeders’ Cup—is sponsored by the National HBPA, TOBA and the host track with an assist from the HBPA’s state affiliate, in this case the Kentucky HBPA in 2022.

“Invaluable is a shining example of the importance and spirit of the claiming horse,” said National HBPA President Dr. Doug Daniels. “She might not be the fastest horse or the most accomplished horse, but she shows up for work every day and does her best for whatever barn she’s in. Invaluable illustrates what it means to be a claiming horse that thrives in nurturing environments and progresses up the claiming ranks. She is exactly the type of horse the Claiming Crown was designed to honor.”

Invaluable was claimed three times last year and six times overall, including for $50,000 out of her first start in a maiden-claiming race at Gulfstream Park. She has pretty much made money for all her various owners. In an era when many horses only run a handful of times, Invaluable raced 11 times in 2022 between January 23 and December 8 at five tracks, accruing $156,699 with a 3-3-2 record.

The Kentucky-bred daughter of Include became eligible for the Glass Slipper by running in—and winning—an $8,000 conditioned claiming race last April at Oaklawn Park. Maker claimed her on behalf of Proscia for $32,000 five races later at Saratoga.

“We’re very fortunate to have that horse, and I’m grateful to Mike and his team with how well we did with her,” Proscia said. “When we got her, we weren’t quite sure what we had. But she’s developed, and we have a nice horse.”

For her career, Invaluable has earned $370,932 while going 8-6-7 in 29 starts through June 12. She has never competed in a stakes race, with the Claiming Crown run under starter-allowance conditions, albeit with big purses.

“The Claiming Crown is one of our top priorities every year,” said Maker, who also won last year’s $200,000 Claiming Crown Jewel with Keystone Field. “We thought Invaluable was a nice, sound horse that we could point for the Claiming Crown and also the various starter races around Kentucky. One of the great things about her is that she remains eligible to run back in the Glass Slipper this year.”

The 2023 Claiming Crown will be staged December 2 at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. The deadline to make horses eligible for the Claiming Crown is November 18, with entries to be taken November 25. More information is available at claimingcrown.com. HJ

CLAIMING CROWN HORSE OF THE YEAR INVALUABLE WINS LAST FALL’S $109,850 CLAIMING CROWN GLASS SLIPPER AT CHURCHILL DOWNS UNDER LUIS SAEZ.

Somelikeithotbrown winning

Mint Millions. Grace Clark photo

Electrical Shock Procedure Corrects Horse’s Irregular Heartbeat

Transvenous electrical cardioversion once again offered for horses at UC Davis after a decade of absence

Rio, an 8-year-old American Quarter Horse gelding, holds a special place in the hearts of Dr. Alana Alpern’s family. He primarily serves as a pleasure horse for the veterinarian’s children and was bred, born and raised on her family’s farm in Texas. So, when Rio recently became sick, Alpern knew exactly where to take him—her alma mater, the University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.

Rio presented to the Large Animal Clinic at UC Davis having been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, an irregular heart rhythm and a common equine cardiac problem. When Alpern was a student at UC Davis more than 15 years ago, the school was one of very few places in the United States performing transvenous electrical cardioversion (TVEC), a procedure that shocks the heart back into a regular rhythm. Since Alpern graduated in 2007, the school has performed only a handful of TVEC procedures due to a lack of essential equipment.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve performed a TVEC at UC Davis,” said Dr. Jessica Morgan of the Equine Field Service. “But I gained a lot of experience with them in my time as a clinician at the University of Pennsylvania, so we have the right team and equipment to offer that option again.”

In treating Rio, Morgan consulted with Dr. Fiona Wensley in the Equine Internal Medicine Service, the Cardiology Service and the Anesthesia Service— as well as Alpern—about the possibility of TVEC being an option.

“Rio had previously been given the drug quinidine, a medication commonly used for cardioversion, but it failed to correct his arrhythmia,” Morgan said. “Dr. Alpern was looking for an opportunity to try something else, and we agreed that a TVEC was the answer.”

A cutaneous method—placing electrode paddles on the chest—is the preferred method of performing an electrical cardioversion on dogs (and humans), but a horse’s large muscle mass doesn’t allow the shock wave to reach the heart without causing deadly complications. Veterinarians must approach the horse’s heart with electrodes on the tips of catheters placed across the heart through the horse’s veins.

Two catheters were placed in Rio’s right jugular vein—one was advanced into the left pulmonary artery and the other into the right atrium. Their positions were placed with the assistance of echocardiography and confirmed with X-rays of his chest. Rio was then anesthetized, and a shock wave produced by a life

MEMBERS OF THE UC DAVIS EQUINE INTERNAL MEDICINE SERVICE, CARDIOLOGY SERVICE AND ANESTHESIA SERVICE WERE INVOLVED IN TREATING RIO’S IRREGULAR HEART RHYTHM, A COMMON EQUINE CARDIAC PROBLEM.

pack was sent to the electrodes with the intention of stunning the atrium and then allowing it to restart.

The procedure was successful, and Rio’s heart was shocked back into a regular (sinus) rhythm, confirmed by a post-procedure electrocardiogram. A follow-up echocardiogram several days later revealed improvement of previous findings.

“From a cardiovascular standpoint, Rio has a good prognosis for return to athletic function as long as he is able to maintain sinus rhythm,” Morgan said. “He didn’t have any major complications with the procedure, and he hasn’t gone back into atrial fibrillation.”

Rio was placed on medication to reduce the risk of recurrence, and Alpern has a cellphone-based electrocardiogram unit to monitor him at home.

Alpern reported that Rio continued to improve two months later and returned to giving short rides to her children. She remains optimistic about his recovery.

—

Rob Warren HJ

RIO, AN 8-YEAR-OLD QUARTER HORSE GELDING OWNED BY DR. ALANA ALPERN AND HER FAMILY, CONTINUES TO IMPROVE FOLLOWING A TVEC PROCEDURE AT THE UC DAVIS VETERINARY HOSPITAL.

‘OVER-REGULATING AT THE EXPENSE OF HORSEMANSHIP’

HORSESHOE INDIANAPOLIS HOSTS TRACK SUPERINTENDENTS FIELD DAY

BY JENNIE REES

Eric Hamelback, CEO of the National HBPA, told an assembly of track superintendents in June that simply piling on more regulations will not make racing safer and that it is hamstringing the very horsemanship that is needed now more than ever. Hamelback further said that unsoundness doesn’t “just start at the track” and the breeding industry needs to take a hard look at itself as well.

Hamelback spoke at the 22nd annual Track Superintendents Field Day staged June 11-13 at Horseshoe Indianapolis. The event brought together 62 participants representing 40 racetracks and coming from as far away as Saudi Arabia. Conference topics included soil science, turf course engineering, advances in sod, preparing for emergency situations, best practices for track and regulatory staffs, emerging technology (including driverless mowers), hiring strategies and managing the nuisance of Canada geese.

Unsurprisingly, the speakers who attracted the most questions were Ann McGovern, who oversees the Racetrack Safety Program for the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA), and Hamelback. The National HBPA is among the entities challenging the constitutionality of the federal legislation enabling HISA and its broad powers.

While their organizations are at odds over how to best achieve national uniformity while improving safety, Hamelback and McGovern agreed on the importance of the track superintendents and crews tasked with caring for their racing and training surfaces.

McGovern, who has lengthy experience as a racetrack executive, called track superintendents “an unsung hero position.”

“You guys can make or break a racetrack literally,” she said. “Giving you the tools to do what you need to do is extremely important for management to recognize. HISA can help with that.”

McGovern said HISA has contracted with the Lexington, Kentuckybased Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory of Mick Peterson, Ph.D., to do a baseline examination of each track before its racing season begins. Track superintendents in HISA-compliant states are tasked with daily surface reporting and maintenance logs, for which McGovern said they are working on a phone app for convenience.

“We do not want to run your racetrack,” she said. “We do not want to manage your racetrack. We do not want to be track superintendents. However,

we want to gather research data … so that you can do the best job you can with the track you’ve been given.”

Hamelback’s message during his address focused on regulations and new track policies piling on in the wake of the high-profile horse deaths this spring not making horses safer but in fact having the opposite result.

“We’re over-regulating at the expense of horsemanship,” he said. “We cannot just make things safer by creating more regulations. If we continue to force regulations more and more and more based on perceptions, that is literally moving horsemanship away from the industry.”

Horsemanship comprises many facets of the industry, including track superintendents and their crews, Hamelback said. He also pushed back against the perspective that “perception is reality,” saying “reality is reality” and that policy changes should make a difference and not simply be window dressing in an attempt to placate detractors.

“What I advocate for is a reality that is based in science and facts and creates good change for the industry,” Hamelback said. “But what is safety? Safety is a condition. It’s not an absolute. … We all know that working and dealing with horses has inherent risks. There are factors in racing that none of us, no matter how good we are at our jobs, can control. Most of us in this room also understand that there are people out there who don’t care about that as a factor. They just want racing gone. But it’s our job to embrace change, move through the journey to make this environment as safe as possible.

“You track supers know this very well, changing conditions [can be hampered by] lack of resources, funding sometimes,” he continued. “We can have engineers tell us exactly what to do, but we can’t always afford it. [Or] we don’t work for a track that wants to give it to us. But this group better start making that demand. … If it’s an extra tractor, an extra conditioner, an extra set of hands, this industry needs it.”

Hamelback said, to truly make change for the better, the industry must “peel the onion back,” layer after layer, looking at everything that can impact horses’ welfare, including going back well before they arrive at a racetrack. He pointed out that the legislation enabling HISA includes breeders as well as racehorse trainers and owners in the definition of a “covered person.”

“And rightly so,” Hamelback said. “If this is an industry initiative, pushed on us by Congress, everybody in the industry ought to be stepping up.”

UNSOUNDNESS DOESN’T ‘JUST START AT THE RACETRACK’

Hamelback—whose long career includes serving as farm manager and general manager of a couple of America’s top breeding establishments—made it clear he believes the breeding industry must step up and be part of the solution by taking a hard look at how it raises future racehorses.

“Is the industry breeding to race or are they breeding to sell?” Hamelback asked. “We need to be breeding to race. That product that we see out there starts somewhere. Who is managing the breeding industry? We need to get to that point. I’m telling you, as a longtime farm manager, issues of unsoundness do not just start at the racetrack. It also starts at the farm.

“We need to get a better definition of preexisting injuries,” he continued. “Because, to my knowledge, transphyseal bridges, transphyseal screws, periosteal strippings don’t fall into that category as we speak. But those are done on the farms—corrective surgeries with the intent of having a better commercial product. That hurts at the racetrack, in my opinion. … We need more monitoring of the breed from the breed registry. Because as an industry, peeling back the layers, we need to look at all aspects of it.”

As it stands, HISA’s regulations don’t pertain to those breeding and raising future racehorses. Part of that is because HISA says it doesn’t have control over a horse until it has had its first race or first published workout, which HISA has interpreted as being at a licensed racetrack or training facility.

Hamelback said that a “published work” also should cover the timed eighth- and quarter-mile workouts at the 2-year-olds in training sales. He said HISA furthermore should change the regulations so a horse’s reported veterinary records include any procedures done on it as a foal, yearling or 2-year-old preparing to be sold.

McGovern was asked during her address why those areas aren’t covered by HISA.

“Many of the horses at the 2-year-old sales haven’t even been registered [with HISA] yet,” she said. “But that is something that from a legal standpoint we need to look at what our range can be, what we can do. My non-HISA opinion, my personal opinion, is that this is an area that really needs a little bit of oversight.”

Event moderator Nancy Holthus asked McGovern when HISA might regulate corrective surgeries performed on yearlings. Those surgeries “potentially could affect them breaking down during their racing career,” Holthus said. “A lot of times the first to be blamed is the racetrack, and that’s not the culprit.”

Responded McGovern: “I don’t know when, but HISA’s board and the Racetrack Safety Program is aware and has gotten a lot of input from folks wanting to look at certain procedures that are done on yearlings and what happens at the 2-year-old sales. We just don’t have the bandwidth right now, and we have to check if we even have the jurisdiction to do that.”

JOCKEYS: CROP RULE DOESN’T HELP

The June 13 program included a Q&A with Horseshoe Indy riding stalwarts DeShawn Parker and Rodney Prescott, who between them have won more than 10,000 races.

Both jockeys said they believe racing is safer now than at any time in their long careers, which for Parker began in 1988 and for Prescott in 1994. They agreed that a critical factor is for the riders to have a good relationship with the

THAT PERCEPTION ISN’T REALITY BUT RATHER “REALITY IS REALITY” WHEN IT COMES TO POLICY CHANGES THAT SHOULD MAKE A DIFFERENCE AND NOT BE WINDOW DRESSING IN AN ATTEMPT TO PLACATE DETRACTORS.

track superintendent so potential issues with a track surface can be discussed and addressed.

“The 30 years I’ve been riding, safety has come a long way,” Prescott said. “Track surfaces have improved. We’re definitely going in the right direction there. We don’t run as much on a bad surface [as in the past]. Rails have come a long way. Starting gates have come a long way.”

However, both jockeys said the HISA crop rule does not make racing safer for horses and should be changed.

HISA’s rules limit hitting a horse on the hindquarters to a total of six times with the specialized foam-padded crops made out of shock-absorbing materials and weighing no more than eight ounces. Jockeys are fined a minimum of $250 and suspended for a day for striking a horse between seven and nine times, with penalties increasing after that. A horse struck 10 or more times is disqualified from purse money.

“I can’t stand it,” Parker said of the rule. “I actually have [a one-day suspension] coming up because I hit seven times. It was neck and neck to the wire, so I’m trying to win a race [which he did]. Personally, I’ve offered like eight times [as an alternative], but I think six is not enough. The whips we’re using now are pretty much like pool noodles. A couple of years before we were getting fined for not riding hard enough to the wire. Now we’re getting fined because we’re riding too hard to the wire. I feel now we’re not able to ride a race to win.”

Prescott agreed, referencing public perception.

“The whip rule in effect now is designed for the head of the lane to the wire,” he said. “The whip we use is designed for the head of the lane to the wire. They didn’t take into consideration the 2-year-old you’re trying to get to the track in the morning or the first-time starter you’re trying to get out of the paddock and to the pony or to walk into the gate. It’s a tool to get a horse to go forward. From my point of view as a jockey, that’s the one spot we went backward in safety since I started.” HJ

NATIONAL HBPA CEO ERIC HAMELBACK TELLS ATTENDEES AT THE TRACK SUPERINTENDENTS FIELD DAY AT HORSESHOE INDIANAPOLIS

Coglianese

Photo

ADMINISTRATION FEES:

2023 ELIGIBILITY REQUEST FORM

Trainer:

1. *Administration Fee: $200 due by November 18, 2023 for each horse race considered for eligibility.

2. *Supplemental Administration Fee: $1000.00 may be made at time of entry.

OWNER INFORMATION

(One ownership entity per eligibility form)

Name: _________________________________________________

Farm/Company: _________________________________________

Address: _______________________________________________

City: __________________________________________________

State/Prov: ________________ Zip: _________________________

Tel: _______________Email: ____________

“I submit this eligibility request for the above-listed horse(s) in order to make each eligible for participation in the 2023 Claiming Crown, and do so with the understanding that I will be bound by the terms and conditions established by Claiming Crown Ltd. I understand that said conditions are available to me online at www.claimingcrown.com and/or are printed on the backside of this document and are all incorporated herein by reference. Payment is enclosed.”

Signature: _______________________ ______________________

Date: __________________________________________________

[ ] Owner or [ ] Authorized Agent

PAYMENT METHOD

THROUGH YOUR HORSEMEN’S ACCOUNT AT Fair Grounds Race Course OR MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO:

Fair Grounds Horsemen’s Bookkeeper

MAIL TO: Scott Jones, Racing Secretary Fair Grounds Race Course and Slots 1751 Gentilly Blvd New Orleans LA 70119 (504) 944-5515

FOR MORE INFO: Scott Jones Scott.Jones@fgno.com

Emailed nominations must be submitted with a valid credit card number, by the cardholder, and are deemed valid only after the transaction has been processed by the authorized financial institution.

IMPORTANT NOTICE:

Claiming Crown Ltd. reserves the right, in their sole discretion, to: (1) postpone, discontinue, amend, or change the conditions for all or part of the Claiming Crown program; and, (2) to reject the eligibility and/or entry of any horse deemed ineligible or otherwise prohibited from competing in the program. Please return this original with your payment; make copy of both sides for your files.

See second page for important information regarding Claiming Crown rules and regulations which are considered part of this eligibility request form.

3380 Paris Pike, Lexington, Kentucky 40511, (859) 259-0451

2023 ELIGIBILITY REQUEST FORM

All races are limited to 14 starters which have complied with and satisfied the eligibility conditions, and which have been selected in accordance with those conditions.

1. Eligibility Request Forms are subject to the approval of Claiming Crown Limited (CCL). The propriety of the amount of the enclosed administration fee will be determined by CCL, and if any such administration fee is determined to be other than that which is required to be paid in full in a timely manner, the referenced horse(s) may be prohibited from entering and/or starting in a Claiming Crown race in the sole discretion of CCL. The guaranteed purse for Claiming Crown races will be stated prior to the time administration fees are due. Purses will be distributed in accordance with the distribution schedule set forth in the 2023 Claiming Crown Summary of Conditions, which information is incorporated herein by reference.

2. Payment of horse Administration fees make a horse eligible for only the current running of Claiming Crown, and does not satisfy any future eligibility requirements. Purses shall be distributed by Fair Grounds Race Course and Slots (“FGRC” or the “Host Track”) after certification that the purse is distributable in accord with applicable statutes or regulations.

3. Eligibility and Entry to or in Claiming Crown races is valid only upon the acceptance of and compliance with the rules and regulations governing Thoroughbred horse races adopted by the State where the races are conducted, the rules and regulations of the Host Track, the rules and regulations of CCL, and/or compliance with any decision of the state racing officials, and/or officers of the Host Track, and/or CCL regarding the interpretation and application of their respective rules and regulations. At the discretion of the Stewards, the Host Track, or CCL, and without notice, the entry of any horse may be refused. CCL shall have no liability for the actions of any officials or employees of the Host Track or for any matter under the control of such track, its officials or employees. Purses shall be payable to the rightful parties recognized as such by state racing officials.

ADMINISTRATION FEES:

Trainer:

1. *Administration Fee: $200 due by November 18, 2023 for each horse race considered for eligibility.

2. *Supplemental Administration Fee: $1000.00 may be made at time of entry.

4. A horse entered in a Claiming Crown race may be scratched by authorized racing officials for any reason including but not limited to if (i) such horse's equipment malfunctions, is damaged or lost and cannot be remedied within sufficient time, in the judgment of authorized racing officials, to allow the race in which such horse is entered to start at post time for such race, (ii) the horse does not appear “sound” for racing purposes, or (iii) if any other unavoidable event occurs with respect to a horse entered in a Claiming Crown race, or to its jockey, which cannot be remedied within sufficient time, in the judgment of authorized racing officials, to allow the race in which such horse or jockey is scheduled to participate to start at post time for such race. In the event of a scratch under such circumstances, the administration fee may, at the discretion of CCL, be refunded.

OWNER INFORMATION

PAYMENT METHOD

5. CCL reserves the right to limit the number of entries in any of the Claiming Crown races. In the event CCL determines it must limit entries they will be selected in accordance with the Claiming Crown conditions regarding field selection or by such other method as CCL may determine in its sole discretion. The Claiming Crown field selection process is set forth in the 2022 Claiming Crown Summary of Conditions and is incorporated herein by reference. CCL reserves the right to modify the distance of any race to accommodate track and/or race safety. CCL reserves the right to transfer any turf race to the main track, or to cancel any, or all, Claiming Crown races without notice prior to the actual running thereof, without any liability.

(One ownership entity per eligibility form)

Name: _________________________________________________

Farm/Company: _________________________________________

THROUGH YOUR HORSEMEN’S ACCOUNT AT Fair Grounds Race Course OR MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO: Fair Grounds Horsemen’s Bookkeeper

6. In making any application for participation in Thoroughbred racing, it is understood that an investigation may be made by the appropriate authority as to the owner(s) character, reputation, mode of living and financial standing, which investigation may involve interviews with family, personal or business acquaintances.

Address: _______________________________________________

City: __________________________________________________

State/Prov: ________________ Zip: _________________________

Tel: _______________Email: ____________

“I submit this eligibility request for the above-listed horse(s) in order to make each eligible for participation in the 2023 Claiming Crown, and do so with the understanding that I will be bound by the terms and conditions established by Claiming Crown Ltd. I understand that said conditions are available to me online at www.claimingcrown.com and/or are printed on the backside of this document and are all incorporated herein by reference. Payment is enclosed.”

Signature: _______________________ ______________________

Date: __________________________________________________ [ ] Owner or [ ] Authorized Agent

MAIL TO: Scott Jones, Racing Secretary Fair Grounds Race Course and Slots 1751 Gentilly Blvd New Orleans LA 70119 (504) 944-5515

FOR MORE INFO: Scott Jones Scott.Jones@fgno.com

7. Owner hereby expressly and irrevocably grants CCL the exclusive right to use, in connection with the promotion of the Claiming Crown, the name and likeness of the Owner, of any horse eligible and entered, and of any co-owners, jockeys, trainers, grooms, assistant trainers, colors, logos, silks, and any other associated or identifying characteristics, as well as any other matter relating to the participation of the horse in the Claiming Crown. Promotion by CCL may include, without limitation, televising, broadcasting (including but not limited to on-line and web broadcasting in any form, fashion or manner) and/or recording in any manner the races which are a part of the Claiming Crown and the activities incident to them, and broadcasting, exhibiting and/or exploiting the same by any means now or hereafter known, including, without limitation, licensing such rights to others for uses approved by CCL. Owner hereby expressly, irrevocably and perpetually WAIVES on his behalf and on behalf of his agents and employees (including trainers, grooms, exercise riders, assistant trainers and jockeys) any and all rights he or they may have in connection with any matter referred to in this paragraph, including without limitation, any claim to invasion of the right of privacy, right of publicity or to misappropriation, for infringement of trademark, or other intellectual property rights or for any remuneration therefor. Upon demand, Owner shall cause any of the aforementioned persons to deliver releases to CCL permitting it to use and exhibit such material. Owner understands and agrees that CCL reserves the right to use names, trademarks, service marks, copyrights, symbols, logos, slogans, results, still and motion pictures, videos and audio reports, trailers, promos and other identifying characteristics relating to CCL and the Claiming Crown, and that any such use by Owner of any of them is prohibited without the express written consent of CCL (which may be denied for any reason). CCL reserves all rights to advertise the Claiming Crown in any manner deemed appropriate by CCL in its sole discretion. Owners, trainers, assistant trainers, grooms, jockeys and horses shall not display commercial advertising or promotional material of any kind, including but not limited to, product names, logos and/or slogans on clothing or equipment, including but not limited to the jockey’s attire, before, during, or after the Claiming Crown race in which the horse is entered without prior written approval of CCL which may be denied for any reason.

Emailed nominations must be submitted with a valid credit card number, by the cardholder, and are deemed valid only after the transaction has been processed by the authorized financial institution.

8. All claims, controversies and/or objections arising out of or related to the application or interpretation of any rules or conditions of CCL shall be decided solely by the CCL Appeals Board. Information regarding the Appeals Procedure for CCL shall be furnished to any person submitting a written request for such information to Claiming Crown Limited, P.O. Box 910668, Lexington, Kentucky 40591-0668, Attn: Appeals Board. Any person wishing to object to any action or decision by CCL in the application of its rules or conditions must, within thirty (30) days of being advised of such action or decision, submit to the Appeals Board a written Notice of Appeal in compliance with the Appeals Procedure and shall be entitled to an oral hearing upon making a written demand as set forth in the Appeals Procedure. The Appeals Procedure shall not be applicable to matters arising under condition 5 hereinabove from which there shall be no appeal. The appeal process noted herein is the sole appeal venue and process and Owner WAVES THE RIGHT, IF ANY, to file a lawsuit to contest CCL’s decision or any appeal therefrom. Any appeal not postmarked or received within thirty (30) days of being advised of the action or decision of CCL shall be DEEMED WAIVED AND FOREVER BARRED

IMPORTANT NOTICE:

Claiming Crown Ltd. reserves the right, in their sole discretion, to: (1) postpone, discontinue, amend, or change the conditions for all or part of the Claiming Crown program; and, (2) to reject the eligibility and/or entry of any horse deemed ineligible or otherwise prohibited from competing in the program. Please return this original with your payment; make copy of both sides for your files.

See second page for important information regarding Claiming Crown rules and regulations which are considered part of this eligibility request form.

9. Owner agrees to indemnify and hold harmless CCL and its officers, directors, employees and volunteers (or if for any reason indemnification is not available, to contribute to CCL's losses and the losses of its officers, directors, employees and volunteers), to the fullest extent permitted under the law, from and against any and all claims, damages, judgments, liabilities, losses, costs or expenses, including reasonable attorneys' fees (should CCL select its own counsel which it may do at its sole and exclusive discretion), to which CCL and/or its officers, directors, employees and volunteers may become subject or liable as a result of or arising out of directly or indirectly: (i) any action or conduct of any horses owned by or under the control or direction of Owner while on the race track premises, and (ii) any acts, or failure to act by Owner, any Co-owners, or any of their agents, employees or invitees while on the race track premises.

3380 Paris Pike, Lexington, Kentucky 40511, (859) 259-0451

10. Owner hereby RELEASES, WAIVES AGAINST AND DISCHARGES CCL and its officers, directors, employees and volunteers, to the fullest extent permitted under the law, from any claims, losses, obligations, costs and expenses arising from or due to personal injuries or property damages of any kind or description to the person, property or horses owned or controlled by Owner occurring on track premises. Owner agrees that all risk of loss, injury, damage or destruction to persons or property, including but not limited to, the horses brought onto track premises by or at the direction of Owner, his agents or employees, arising from, due to, caused by, resulting from or in any way, directly or indirectly, related to any cause, including but not limited to accident, theft, fire or otherwise, whether or not caused by or contributed to or by or related to any fault or negligence of CCL and/or its officers, directors, employees and volunteers or the condition of the track premises, are assumed in full by Owner, except as to acts or conditions caused by the intentional, or willful conduct of CCL. Owner agrees that the release and waiver and discharge provisions hereof are intended to be as broad and inclusive as permitted by the law. Owner further agrees that the foregoing provisions hereof regarding such release and waiver and discharge shall not be deemed waived or affected in any way by the fact that CCL does or does not, may or may not, in the future carry insurance coverage against claims where loss is caused by or resulting from damage or injury to property, persons and/or horses while competing on the race track, using the training tracks, stables, roads or any other facilities over the race track premises or in transit thereon.

11. Whenever the term "Owner" is used herein, it shall include the owner whose name appears on the reverse side of this form, all owners, co-owners (or lessees) of horses controlled by or in partnership with the Owner, jockeys, grooms, exercise riders, assistant trainers, servants, employees and invitees of the Owner, and their heirs, representatives, successors and assigns. Owner agrees to provide a copy of this Eligibility Request Form to all co-owners of the horses listed.

12. In consideration of CCL's agreement to pay the purses described hereinabove, Owner hereby consents to allow CCL and/or the Host Track to contract with any domestic or foreign licensed wagering entity for the purpose of accepting wagers on Claiming Crown races pursuant to the Interstate Horseracing Act of 1978, 15 U.S.C. sections 3001, et seq. and warrants that no third party or organization has or will be given the right or authority to assert any claim, demand, or cause of action inconsistent with such consent.

13. By signing this form on page 1 of this form, I hereby certify that I have read, understand and agree to the terms and conditions of this Eligibility Request Form including all release and waiver provisions.

OLD FRIENDS THOROUGHBRED RETIREMENT FARM

CELEBRATE S 20THANNIVERSARY

OLD FRIENDS, WHICH HAS EXPANDED TO 236 ACRES OVER ITS 20-YEAR HISTORY, DOUBLES AS A RELAXING RETIREMENT HOME FOR EX-RACEHORSES AND A TOURIST DESTINATION FOR RACING FANS.

By Rick Capone

It seems like just yesterday that Michael Blowen, president and founder of Old Friends, opened the gates to visitors for the first time. While the original plan was to retire stallions, the first official retiree was a sweet mare named Narrow Escape, who happily grazed in a leased paddock at Afton Farm in Georgetown.

After a short stay at Hurstland Farm in Midway, Kentucky, Old Friends moved into its own home named Dream Chase Farm in Georgetown in 2006. Now, more than 160 horses enjoy a peaceful, dignified retirement there.

Old Friends has more than 260 horses on its roster when you also count the horses at Old Friends at Cabin Creek: The Bobby Frankel Division in upstate New York and the Ashton Grove retirement facility, the newest annex just a few miles from the main farm in Kentucky.

For Blowen, a former Boston Globe movie columnist, getting the farm started took hard work, dedication and the belief that his idea—retiring Thoroughbreds that people would come to see—would be successful. However, while the gates of Old Friends officially opened in 2003, a number of things happened before the farm could become more than just an idea in Blowen’s mind.

ORIGIN OF OLD FRIENDS

On a recent cool spring day, Blowen sat in the farm’s gazebo at the top of the hill next to the paddock of Little Silver Charm, the farm’s lovable miniature horse. Dressed in jeans and his trademark green Old Friends jacket and hat, Blowen explained the origins of Old Friends.

The story began on a beautiful sunny August morning in Saratoga Springs, New York, not far from Saratoga Race Course, with Blowen and his good friend Joe Bokan sitting on the front porch of the Washington Inn. At the time, Bokan ran the inn; he now owns it and calls it Anne’s Washington Inn after his mother.

“We’re sitting on that beautiful wide porch and looking out,” Blowen said, “and I’m thinking, ‘Boy, oh boy, I’m going to have my coffee and then go up to the track, and I’m going to watch the workouts.’ And I started thinking about how beautiful the horses are. How exciting it is. And, except for the Kentucky Horse Park, there was no place where you could really go and see the horses.”

Blowen thought back to his days covering movies and movie stars. He was always amazed how people were starstruck when they met their favorite movie star. So, he thought to himself, would the same thing happen if people met their favorite racehorses?

“You know, I’d like to open up a place where people could visit retired racehorses,” Blowen told Bokan. “I’d like to call it ‘Old Friends,’ after the book of beautiful photos and stories about horses by [racing photographer] Barbara Livingston.”

Bokan agreed. “I think that is a great idea,” he said. “You should do it.”

And with that, opening Old Friends became Blowen’s goal. But there would be much to do to go from just an idea to reality.

When Blowen returned home to Kentucky, he began to formulate a plan to create Old Friends. To start, he needed to get permission from Livingston and Eclipse Press, which published the book, to use the name Old Friends. Both agreed.

With the name in hand, he began the process of creating Old Friends. However, while he truly believed in his idea to give Thoroughbreds a peaceful retirement and have people come see them, many people did not.

Still, Blowen persisted.

BIRTH OF OLD FRIENDS

One day he found himself sitting on a bench in Midway, where he and his wife, Diane, lived. He was dejected because he couldn’t get people to believe in the idea of Old Friends.

Betty Sue Walters, who owned an antique shop in town and Afton Farm in Georgetown, saw him sitting there and asked him what was wrong.

“This place is driving me nuts,” Blowen told Walters. “I’m trying to help these horses, and everybody is making it difficult. There’s just nobody that thinks my idea of Old Friends is a good idea. Nobody will rent me a little property. Nobody is interested. Nobody.”

After hearing his dilemma, Walters offered Blowen an opportunity to come visit her farm. He agreed, and when they arrived, she showed him four paddocks he could lease to get things started.

Walters’ offer was the chance Blowen had been looking for, and he readily accepted. Soon, the mare Narrow Escape, who had failed to get a bid at the Fasig-Tipton February mixed sale, became the first official Old Friends resident. She was then joined by one of Blowen’s horses from his racing days, Invigorate. And with that, Old Friends opened its gates.

It’s hard to believe Old Friends

Equine, the Thoroughbred retirement farm in Georgetown, Kentucky, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.

MARY GREENE PHOTO

Afton was a good start, but by 2004, Blowen knew he had to grow the size of his operation, and once again he found himself sitting in Midway, this time on a barstool, thinking hard about what to do next. And, once again, fate stepped in. This time it was Alfred Nuckols, owner of nearby Hurstland Farm.

As had happened with Walters, Blowen explained his situation, and Nuckols invited Blowen to come look at his farm. Nuckols showed Blowen where a few paddocks could be set up for Old Friends. Blowen loved what he saw and accepted the offer. Old Friends now had its second home.

Around that time, the horse racing world was still reeling from the news of the death by slaughter in Japan of 1986 Kentucky Derby winner Ferdinand. An article in Sports Illustrated about the incident contained a list of other American horses in Japan that might face the same fate.

When Blowen read the list, one name in particular jumped out at him: Sunshine Forever. He’d seen Sunshine Forever race and really liked him, and he didn’t want to see that horse suffer Ferdinand’s end. So, he worked with bloodstock agent Emmanuel de Seroux, others who had contacts in Japan and the Japanese Racing Association to try and bring the horse home to the U.S.

A deal was struck, and Sunshine Forever, along with the English-bred Creator, arrived at Old Friends in November 2004 and became the first two horses repatriated to the U.S. from Japan. In 2005, two other horses—Ogygian and Fraise—followed.

Jerry and Ann Moss became early supporters of Old Friends, and they pensioned their stakes-winning stallion Ruhlmann to the farm. Blowen believes the donation of that big-name horse, along with the support of the Mosses, who were well respected in the horse racing community, helped others believe Old Friends was a good place to send their horses.

As more horses came to the farm, once again, Blowen realized he was going to need more space. Old Friends needed a farm of its own.

THE DREAM IS REALIZED

Blowen found a 52-acre farm on Paynes Depot Road outside of Georgetown that was perfect for expansion. In 2006, after securing a loan, Blowen moved the horses to the new property, and Old Friends at Dream Chase Farm opened.

As more horses were retired to the farm and more visitors came to see the horses, people in the horse racing industry began to believe in Old Friends and what Blowen was doing.

In June 2008, Old Friends saw its first major expansion when Blowen purchased the “back 40” acres behind the farm, opening up even more space to retire horses.

The farm also began hosting special events to raise funds, such as Homecoming, which started at Hurstland and is held annually the day after the Kentucky Derby; a Memorial Day celebration to honor horses that died over the past year; and a Breeders’ Cup event when the World Championship races are held in Kentucky.

One thing Blowen always emphasizes is that creating and growing Old Friends couldn’t have been done by himself. It has been a team effort of supporters, volunteers and many others who have helped make the farm a success, and he always gives them credit for their work.

“This whole place is built on the shoulders of everybody who ever worked here,” he said. “And we now have a great team that does all the hard stuff while I get to enjoy the horses every day.”

People in the equine community also began to help early on.

The late Dr. Doug Byars provided veterinary care—now done by Dr. Bryan Waldridge—and local equine hospitals Hagyard Equine Medical Institute, Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital and Park Equine Hospital have offered their medical

IN DECEMBER 2014, SILVER CHARM BECAME THE FIRST KENTUCKY DERBY WINNER TO BE RETIRED AT OLD FRIENDS. HE PREVIOUSLY STOOD IN JAPAN, AND SINCE HIS ARRIVAL, OLD FRIENDS HAS SEEN A BIG INCREASE IN VISITORS FROM AROUND THE WORLD WHO COME TO SEE THE STAR.

RICK CAPONE PHOTO

services. Students from the Kentucky Horseshoeing School in Richmond come out to trim the horses’ hooves and keep the animals’ feet healthy. In exchange, the supervised students get hands-on experience caring for horses while learning their craft.

Tourists and racing fans began visiting the farm in increasing numbers to see such champions as Precisionist, Gulch and Black Tie Affair as well as 2002 Belmont Stakes winner Sarava, the first classic winner to be retired to the farm.

In 2009, Blowen teamed with JoAnn Pepper and her husband, Mark, to open a New York division at their farm—Old Friends at Cabin Creek. Moonshadow Gold was the first retiree at Cabin Creek, located not far from Saratoga Race Course, and next to arrive was Thunder Rumble, who won Saratoga’s Grade 1 Travers Stakes in 1992, becoming the first New York-bred in 125 years to do so. Other horses soon followed. Two others—Commentator, twotime winner of the Grade 1 Whitney Handicap in 2005 and 2008, and Will’s Way, winner of the 1996 Travers and 1997 Whitney—were relocated from Kentucky to Cabin Creek to be closer to their fanbase.

However, there was one horse whose arrival would truly put Old Friends on the map.

THE BIGGEST STAR ARRIVES

Fast-forward to December 1, 2014. On that cold winter day, more than 100 people watched a horse van drive up the hill to the small barn. It stopped, dropped its ramp and out stepped 1997 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner and champion Silver Charm. The onlookers were in awe of the gray stallion. Blowen also looked on with respect as his all-time favorite had arrived home from Japan and would now live in his backyard.

Blowen admits he knew Silver Charm would be a draw, but he never expected the large numbers of people who came to see the horse.

“Silver Charm put us on the map,” Blowen said. “Thanks goes to Robert and Beverly Lewis, who owned Silver Charm and put away enough money to bring him home when he was done in Japan. They also included a $10,000 annual endowment for him.

“Silver Charm was, and is, a superstar,” Blowen added. “People literally come from all over the world to see him, and when we got him, all of a sudden, the number of visitors exploded. He’s been everything to us, and he knows it. He’s a fabulous friend, and I’m honored to see him every day.”

Soon after Silver Charm arrived, two more Kentucky Derby and Preakness winners followed from Japan—War Emblem and Charismatic. Living just down the path from War Emblem was Sarava, the horse that beat him in the Belmont Stakes to deny him the Triple Crown, while next to Silver Charm’s paddock was Touch Gold, who beat him in the Belmont Stakes to deny him the Triple Crown. Blowen calls those four horses the farm’s version of “Old Friends Triple Crowns.”

Old Friends’ growth has continued since Silver Charm’s arrival, both in terms of visitors and area. In 2013 and 2014, Blowen acquired a large tract of land next to the main farm, and the following year he acquired even more land from an adjoining farm, which grew the farm to 236 acres in total. Meanwhile, more and more people come to see the horses. It’s estimated that close to 300,000 people have visited the farm since it opened.

Recognition also has come for Blowen and Old Friends. In 2010, he was awarded the Joe Palmer Award for meritorious service to racing by the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters. In 2014, Old Friends received a Special Eclipse Award for its accomplishments, and in 2018, Blowen was awarded the Galbreath Award by the University of Louisville.

CHAMPION AND DUAL CLASSIC WINNER SILVER CHARM AND OLD FRIENDS FOUNDER MICHAEL BLOWEN HAVE DEVELOPED A SPECIAL BOND OVER THE YEARS.

RICK CAPONE PHOTO

THE FUTURE OF OLD FRIENDS

Today, Old Friends is recognized as one of the premier Thoroughbred retirement facilities in the U.S.

Thanks to a donation by Josephine Abercrombie’s Pin Oak Foundation Inc., the farm’s old tobacco barn is being entirely refurbished. Ultimately, it will be named the Ms. Josephine Abercrombie Center at Old Friends and will include large monitors so visitors can watch races of the farm’s retirees, a feature Blowen has always wanted to have at Old Friends. There also will be displays of Blowen’s collection of racing memorabilia, and the facility will be used to host events such as racing seminars and special presentations by racing personalities.

Two new graded stakes winners also recently arrived at the farm—Lava Man, aka “Coach,” trainer Doug O’Neill’s popular pony horse, and Any Given Saturday, the first horse to be repatriated to the U.S. from South Korea. Both are popular additions to the farm’s roster.

There is talk about possible new Old Friends divisions opening in California and Florida. And, while not affiliated with Blowen’s Old Friends, there is now an Old Friends Japan in Maniwa, Okayama.

There’s no question about the success Old Friends has achieved thanks to Blowen and not just in terms of being a must-see tourist stop for racing fans. Thanks to him and his determination to provide a soft landing spot for racehorses, Thoroughbred aftercare has come to the forefront of the racing industry’s consciousness.

Of course, Blowen is not alone in this endeavor, as other organizations such as Our Mims Retirement Haven, CANTER USA, ReRun and the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, to name a few, have achieved success in helping retired Thoroughbreds. Also, the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance was created to serve as the accrediting body for aftercare organizations that retrain, retire and rehome Thoroughbreds.

Despite all the success and growth, Blowen never expected that his idea for Old Friends—to provide a peaceful, dignified retirement for Thoroughbreds who gave their all on the track to entertain fans and then have people come see those horses—would grow to the extent it has.

“Absolutely not,” he said. “If I had known in advance that it would end up like this, I wouldn’t have had the gumption to try it. It’s overwhelming. My dreams aren’t this big, that’s for sure.” HJ

OLD FRIENDS VOLUNTEER BETH TASHERY SHANNON SHARES SOME TIME WITH HER FAVORITE HORSE, OGYGIAN, WHO CALLED THE FARM HOME FROM 2005 TO 2015.

VOLUNTEER TOM BEATTY FEEDS A CARROT TO HIS FAVORITE HORSE, SWAN’S WAY, WHO LIVED AT OLD FRIENDS FROM 2005 TO 2017.

TOURS ARE A BIG PART OF THE EXPERIENCE AT OLD FRIENDS, WHERE HORSES WAIT PATIENTLY FOR PHOTOSWITH AND CARROTS FROM THEIR VISITORS.

BLACK TIE AFFAIR, THE 1991 BREEDERS’ CUP CLASSIC WINNER AND HORSE OF THE YEAR, WAS ANOTHER OF MICHAEL BLOWEN’S FAVORITE HORSES.

Navigating the Uncharted Waters of the HISA Medication Rules

BY CLARA FENGER, DVM, PHD, DACVIM; ABELARDO MORALES-BRICENO; KIMBERLY BREWER, DVM; AND THOMAS TOBIN, MRCVS, PHD, DABT

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) Anti-Doping and Medication Control Rule went into effect May 22, after legal wrangling postponed its effective date to May 1 and then HISA itself chose to extend the start date to May 22.

Most veterinarians and horsemen remain confused as to what to expect, and despite parsing the regulations over and over for the better part of a year, we are not sure either.

However, given that the safety regulations have been in effect for almost a year and some racing jurisdictions have already put very similar medication regulations in effect as well, we have put together our best thoughts as to what horsemen need to focus on going forward as we all adjust to the new regime.

Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatories

The use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) in the period around a competition is almost ubiquitous in sports.

The aches and pains of high-intensity exercise are well recognized, and not a single person involved in horse racing wants their precious charges to experience discomfort for a single second longer than necessary.

The regulatory community takes the opposite stance—that pain is protective and that masking or blocking pain could actually place the equine athlete at risk of catastrophic injury. In the case of a full NSAID dose on race day, this suspicion was shown to be true in the 1990s, when horses receiving a full dose of Banamine, or flunixin, four hours before racing were at a slightly higher risk of catastrophic injuries than horses receiving other NSAIDs or no NSAIDs four hours before racing.

Of course, no jurisdiction has permitted flunixin or any other NSAID to be administered at four hours before racing for several dozen years, so this risk has long been alleviated. No studies of injured horses have subsequently shown any higher risk with the modern regulation of non-race-day administrations of NSAIDs at 24 or 48 hours.

The most common reason given by veterinarians and horsemen for administration of NSAIDs more than 24 hours before racing is to allow the horse to get a good night’s rest before the race. Like every athlete, horses have muscle soreness and tension, especially as the training pressure is ramped up coming into a race, and this pre-race treatment allows them to be fresh for the race even though there is no residual pain-relieving effect of the NSAID 24 or more hours later. Alternatively, some individual horses experience recurrent exerciseinduced rhabdomyolysis, or tying-up syndrome, and these horses require some protection to prevent tying up on a daily basis.

Threshold vs. Detection Time

Prior to the HISA medication rules going into effect, a 48-hour threshold was put in place by the Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI) for each of the three commonly used systemic NSAIDs: phenylbutazone, flunixin and ketoprofen.

A scientifically accurate threshold permits the rational use of a therapeutic medication at a given withdrawal point. While not completely accurate, the ARCI thresholds permitted any one of the three NSAIDs at 48 hours before racing.

The threshold was determined based on a 95 percent probability of horses administered a medication not exceeding the threshold. HISA uses similar language, but there is no statistically defined threshold determination.

Instead, a small number of horses, in some cases as few as two, are administered a drug, and the last time at which the drug is detected is determined. In the case of NSAIDs, a screening limit is used as the detection limit. If it sounds a little dicey to predict when a horse may test negative using detection times, that’s because it is.

In the case of the NSAIDs, the actual difference in threshold versus detection times is minimal. For example, even with the more predictable ARCI method of threshold determination, the 48-hour withdrawal of flunixin was never reliable.

Most veterinarians and horsemen had long thrown out any guidelines on flunixin and simply added four to six hours to the 48 hours when using flunixin. In addition to the problems with horse-to-horse variability and the inherent 1-in-20 (95 percent) probability of a positive test when relying on the ARCI threshold, flunixin is the poster child for environmental transfer risk, with a number of research papers across the globe demonstrating this effect.

In other words, the horse doesn’t even need to receive flunixin to have a positive test for the medication. The horse simply has to be put in a stall where some other horse at some time previously received flunixin. Flunixin is eliminated in the urine in exactly the same form that it is put into the horse, and it remains stable in the environment for a long time.

So, we know that we have never been able to rely on the guidelines about using flunixin at 48 hours, and there is a risk of a positive test regardless of whether it has been given to the horse or not.

What about phenylbutazone? The ARCI 48-hour threshold was 300 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL), and the detection time for a screening limit of 200 ng/mL at 48 hours was published in the Series 4000 HISA regulations approved by the Federal Trade Commission March 23. However, on that date, HISA apparently changed this screening limit to 300 ng/mL. What this means is that most horses will still clear phenylbutazone below 300 ng/mL by 48 hours, but a few will not. As a consequence, the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium (RMTC) has made a conservative withdrawal time recommendation of 72 hours.

For the third NSAID, ketoprofen, the detection time indicated in the Series 4000 HISA regulations is 48 hours with a screening limit of 2 ng/mL for a standard 10 mL dose administered intravenously. The regulation references a study with 24 horses, but the only available study indicates that the detection time for a group of eight horses was less than 24 hours. What is unknown is at what point horses clear the detection limit of ketoprofen in the urine. This is likely longer than 24 hours. The RMTC withdrawal guidance document indicates that a safe withdrawal is 72 hours. Considering that all of the horses in the study cleared ketofen below the screening limit by 24 hours, the RMTC recommendation is likely to be highly conservative.

The HISA screening limits are effectively the same as the ARCI thresholds for phenylbutazone and ketoprofen, but it drops from 5 ng/mL to 4 ng/mL for flunixin. The RMTC withdrawal guidance on flunixin is 96 hours, effectively an added 48 hours to the previous withdrawal to cover both the uncertainty associated with the lower screening limit and possibly also the well-described random transfer of flunixin from the environment. The RMTC withdrawal guidance adds 24 hours to both phenylbutazone and ketoprofen withdrawals under the previous threshold regulations to cover the difference between a detection time and a withdrawal time. However, based on published studies of both drugs, the 72-hour withdrawal guidance is highly conservative and possibly as much as 24 hours longer than necessary for ketoprofen.

Stacking NSAIDs

A concerning change in the HISA medication rules from the previous regulatory scheme is the stacking violation for NSAIDs. Rule 3312(e)(3) states that where more than one corticosteroid or NSAID is detected in a sample, even where both are below any screening limit, there is a stacking violation.

The concerning issue with this regulation is that several NSAIDs are environmental transfer risks, as are several corticosteroids.

ADJACENT PAGE: AMERICAN RACING IS CONDUCTED OVER MULTIPLE SURFACES AND FOR MANY YEARS HAS BEEN SPOILED WITH NOT HAVING TO DEAL WITH THE SEVERE RESPIRATORY SEQUELA TO EXERCISE-INDUCED PULMONARY HEMORRHAGE THANKS TO THE LEGAL USE OF LASIX.

NONSTEROIDAL ANTI-INFLAMMATORIES ARE GIVEN BY VETERINARIANS AND HORSEMEN MORE THAN 24 HOURS BEFORE A RACE FOR SEVERAL REASONS, INCLUDING FOR MUSCLE SORENESS AND TENSION AND TO PREVENT OTHER CONDITIONS SUCH AS TYING-UP SYNDROME.

HISA also includes the valuable therapeutic dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as an NSAID, an interpretation that is not supported by any science. DMSO is routinely used in a similar fashion to an NSAID in scientific studies at levels in the range of 0.1 percent up to 1 percent added to cell cultures (not actual live animals) to demonstrate various effects. However, no dose used routinely in clinical practice results in this level of DMSO.

The anti-inflammatory properties of DMSO in clinical practice stem from its protective effect against oxidative damage, similar to vitamins C and E, other antioxidants. DMSO also naturally occurs in oats, barley and legume hays like alfalfa or clover. Technically, according to Rule 3312(e)(3), a stacking violation could be called in a horse for the presence of an NSAID below its relevant screening limit and the natural occurrence of DMSO from feed sources. Since both phenylbutazone and flunixin have been identified above their respective thresholds in horses from transfer of these substances from the environment, a horse could actually have a stacking violation without receiving any NSAIDs or DMSO at all.

The background levels of DMSO in all horses, in concert with the environmental transfer concern, especially with flunixin, make treatment recommendations difficult. In theory, using the previous recommendation of 48 hours for DMSO at a dose of 60 mL diluted in a liter of intravenous fluids should not cause a violation. However, since all treatments are reported directly to HISA, such a treatment could direct the regulators to conduct special testing below the screening limits and call violations that would have never been called without the reporting.

Urine levels up to 4.5 micrograms per milliliter are naturally occurring and could potentially be called as a stacking violation, even though it had nothing to do with any DMSO that was administered.

A withdrawal recommendation on the use of DMSO requires predicting the behavior of HISA and the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit rather than simply relying on science.

On the Farm: Out of Sight but Not out of Mind

With the implementation of the most recent portion of HISA, the medication regulations bring a host of problems that will catch most horsemen completely unaware.

First, Rule 3020(b) casts a wide net over who comes under the Authority’s jurisdiction. The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act gives the private Authority jurisdiction over “covered horses, covered persons and covered horseraces.”

The new verbiage in 3020(b) extends jurisdiction to any person “undertaking the activity (activities) that makes them a Covered Person, whether or not they register with the Authority.” This disconcerting regulation means that a groom, farm worker or farm veterinarian are all subject to the HISA regulations, even if they don’t know the HISA regulations exist.

Anyone touching, treating or interacting with a covered horse is automatically subject to HISA regulations. Horses going to facilities in places like South Carolina, where many racehorses travel for layups, will be evaluated and treated by farm managers and veterinarians in ignorant bliss, not knowing what is legal and what is not. Theoretically, this overreach of HISA could extend to penalties and fines.

The scientific and veterinary advisors to the National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association and North American Association of Racetrack Veterinarians pleaded with HISA to remove valuable therapeutic medications from the banned list of medications.

While some adjustments to the banned list were made, other recommendations fell on deaf ears. In particular, two products commonly used for treatment of horses on stall rest, trazodone and fluoxetine, were left on the banned list. These medications are commonly prescribed to keep horses safe in the post-operative period, are well supported by the scientific literature and have fewer side effects than the long-term sedatives reserpine and fluphenazine, which were left on the list for our use.

It is important to understand that banning a substance on the HISA list means it cannot be used under any circumstances in a covered horse—not in the out-ofcompetition period, not post-surgery to prevent a horse from damaging its surgical site, not at all. Add this to the fact that a farm veterinarian or manager completely unaware of this regulation could readily treat a horse with these medications and inadvertently subject the owner and trainer to fines and suspensions as well as potentially prevent the horse from racing for up to 14 months.

No-Lasix Racing

American horsemen have long been spoiled in that, for many years, we have not had to deal with the severe respiratory sequela to exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH). Before the widespread use of Lasix to mitigate EIPH, horsemen were accustomed to dealing with the aftermath of bleeding into the lungs. Sudden deaths in racehorses are rare in all jurisdictions, but when they occur in countries where Lasix is not permitted, the most common cause is severe EIPH.

The hemorrhage that occurs with EIPH is predominantly in the dorsocaudal lungs field, or the top back portion of the lungs. This is the region of the lung that experiences the highest pulmonary blood pressure during high-intensity exercise. With each heartbeat, half of a horse’s entire blood volume passes through the working muscles, and the other half passes through the lungs. Horses are so efficient at moving blood across the lung field that they do not fully

oxygenate their blood when they are at maximal exercise. The equine is unique among species in this phenomenon, which is part of the reason horses are exceptional athletes.

The pressure is so great that essentially all racehorses bleed into their lungs at one time or another during competition. As the pressure mounts, the integrity of the capillary walls fails, and blood passes through the broken capillaries into the alveoli of the lungs. Small amounts of this failure are inconsequential, but as more and more capillaries are breached, the damage to the lungs can be

COADY PHOTOGRAPHY

HORSES AT THE RACETRACK CAN BE TRACKED AND ARE SUBJECT TO HISA REGULATIONS, BUT SO TOO ARE ATHLETES WORKING AT TRAINING CENTERS OR REHABBING AT A FARM.

substantial. Healing occurs by fibrosis, making the lungs less compliant and increasing the chances of worse bleeding with subsequent episodes.

Other than the chronic, progressive lung damage, more sinister sequela to EIPH have been well described.

In the absence of Lasix to mitigate EIPH, pleuropneumonia, a lifethreatening infection of the lungs and thoracic cavity after EIPH, is well described. When substantial blood crosses the broken capillaries into the airways, it can settle into the ventral (bottom) portions of the lungs and become infected with bacteria that the horse is unable to clear.

Abscesses form in the lungs that can then break into the thoracic cavity. The lack of a good blood supply to this structure makes this type of infection very difficult to clear. In the years before widespread use of Lasix in racing, racehorses with pleuropneumonia were commonplace at referral facilities in this country. A study in Venezuela reviewed all horses that died at La Rinconada racetrack over a three-year period. In that review, 29 horses that raced without Lasix died because of pleuritis/pleuropneumonia, and an additional 15 horses had pneumonia or pulmonary abscesses as a complication of EIPH.

With the current HISA restrictions on Lasix in both stakes races and 2-year-old races and a permanent HISA-related prohibition on Lasix in all U.S. racing on the horizon in the next few years, horsemen and veterinarians need to be on the lookout for these new health problems we are already beginning to see.

In addition to using Lasix to mitigate EIPH, the therapeutic bronchodilator Ventipulmin (clenbuterol) has been commonly used in the post-race period for the purpose of helping the horse to remove the blood and racetrack particulates from the airways after racing. Severe restrictions on clenbuterol have made this practice essentially banned. There are few alternatives to clenbuterol for this purpose.

Protecting the Health and Welfare of Our Horses

The HISA therapeutic medication restrictions that ban appropriate care of our horses will make maintaining their health and welfare more complicated. Close and careful monitoring of horses after racing for signs of respiratory disease is critical. Endoscopy after racing to detect EIPH in every horse racing without Lasix is critical. While most horses that bleed show signs, such as swallowing during the coolout period, refusing to drink water, rapid breathing or coughing after racing, not all horses that bleed show these signs. Endoscopy remains our best diagnostic procedure to detect EIPH. Inhaled albuterol is considerably less effective than clenbuterol for moving blood out of the airways, but that may be our only option. Antibiotics to prevent infection of the bloody exudate are warranted in most cases of EIPH.

Ultrasound examination of the caudodorsal thoracic region can show evidence of EIPH both in the immediate post-race period, and once infection takes hold, ultrasound of the cranioventral (bottom) portion of the lungs is necessary to detect pulmonary abscesses, pleuritis and pleuropneumonia. Complete blood counts may be useful but are often unremarkable in these cases. Racetrack practitioners are already seeing these problems in horses racing without Lasix, and every horseman needs to be aware that the incidence of EIPH sequela is on the rise.

Unfortunately, HISA has many of the therapeutic medications that we have used to mitigate EIPH over and above Lasix, such as aminocaproic acid (Amicar), ergonovine derivatives and tranexamic acid, listed as either banned or associated with such prolonged withdrawals that they cannot be used.

Protecting the health and welfare of our racehorses has become extremely difficult in the new world order of HISA. HJ

FIGURING OUT THE HORSERACING INTEGRITY AND SAFETY AUTHORITY’S ANTI-DOPING AND MEDICATION CONTROL RULES REMAINS COMPLICATED FOR VETERINARIANS AND HORSEMEN WELL AFTER THE MAY 22 IMPLEMENTATION DATE.

COADY PHOTOGRAPHY

HISA Adjudication System: It’s not your state stewards’ hearings anymore

By Peter J. Sacopulos, JD

The rollout of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) rules has been bifurcated, with the Racetrack Safety Program starting July 1, 2022, and the Anti-Doping and Medication Control rules becoming effective May 22, 2023.

The implementation of these rules—with some provisions subject to “enforcement discretion,” or clarification by the Authority after their adoption, and absent the states of West Virginia, Louisiana, Texas and Nebraska— has been presented in articles and in the news. While some time and attention have been devoted to the differences between the preexisting and new rules, little attention has been spent on the HISA rules regarding adjudication of alleged medication violations. These rules and procedures are unrecognizable from the administrative system traditionally used by state regulators.

Prior to HISA, the disciplinary process was initiated either by a ruling issued by the racetrack stewards or when an administrative complaint was issued by the state racing commission/regulators. In most jurisdictions, the process included four steps, as follows:

Disciplinary Process Before State Regulators for Ruling Issued by Stewards/Judges

STEP 1

• Licensee receives notice of a violation and is presented with a proposed penalty and the opportunity for a hearing.

• If a hearing is requested, a stewards/judges hearing will be conducted and a penalty issued.

• Licensee can appeal the ruling but must do so within a certain time frame (usually less than 30 days).

STEP 2

If a notice of appeal is filed, an administrative law judge is appointed to conduct a hearing on the merits (witnesses/evidence).

• Discovery process is conducted, and depositions usually are taken.

• Hearing is conducted before an administrative law judge, who then makes a recommended decision to the full state commission/regulatory agency.

STEP 3

Licensee is given an opportunity to argue their position before the state commission/regulatory agency. A decision is made to either accept, modify or reject the recommended decision of the administrative law judge.

STEP 4

Licensee may accept the decision issued by the state commission/regulatory agency or file a petition for judicial review with the appropriate trial court in that state.

• A petition for judicial review asks the court to review the decision issued by the state commission/regulatory agency.

• The trial court can only overturn a decision from the state commission/regulatory agency if the decision is:

• Arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion or otherwise not in accordance with the law;

• Contrary to constitutional right, power, privilege or immunity;

• In excess of statutory jurisdiction, authority or limitations or short of statutory right;

• Without observance of procedure required by law; or

• Unsupported by substantial evidence.

Disciplinary Process Before State Regulators for Administrative Complaint Issued by State Regulators

STEP 1

• Licensee receives notice that the state regulator (commission) has charged them with a violation(s) via the issuance of an administrative complaint. Licensee is presented with a proposed penalty and the opportunity for a hearing.

• Licensee can accept the proposed penalty or contest the complaint and request a hearing.

STEP 2

If a hearing is requested, an administrative law judge is appointed to conduct a hearing on the merits (witnesses/evidence).

• Discovery process is conducted, and depositions usually are taken.

• Hearing is conducted before an administrative law judge, who then makes a recommended decision to the full state commission/regulatory agency.

The differences in the HISA/HIWU (Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit) adjudication system are clear in the case of an alleged medication violation. The HISA rules contain two classifications of medication violations—controlled

medication rule violations and anti-doping rule violations—and the adjudication process differs for each classification type. This is how the HISA/HIWU adjudication system for medication violations works:

• Notification of positive finding with an equine controlled medication (ECM) notice

• The covered person may either provide an explanation and/or admit the violation and accept sanction or request a split sample.

• If the positive is not confirmed, the test is deemed negative, the covered person is reimbursed, and the ECM notice is withdrawn.

• HIWU will issue a charge letter that includes sanctions if:

• Analysis of the split sample is waived;

• The second laboratory confirms the initial positive finding;

• The submitted explanation does not excuse the violation; or

• The deadline to submit an explanation has passed.

• The covered person has seven days to admit violation and accept sanctions or request a hearing.

• An expedited timeline can be requested if the covered person is likely to race within 45 days and if no provisional suspension is in effect.

• If a hearing is requested, the matter is assigned to an internal adjudication panel of up to three members.

• The panel consists of a group of 15 to 20 members selected by HISA and HIWU based on their previous equine regulatory experience.

• The members are appointed on a rotating basis.

• The panel may issue a decision based on written submission from both sides or require a hearing to be held.

• The covered person can request that the written submission requirement be waived.

• If the covered person does submit a written submission, it must be done within seven days of submitting a request for hearing.

• HIWU is then given seven days thereafter to submit its response to the covered person’s written submission.

• The panel then issues a decision within 14 days of the last written submission or 14 days after the completion of a hearing.

• If the covered person wishes to do so, they may file an appeal of the panel’s decision with the Federal Trade Commission within 30 days of the issuance of the decision.

• The FTC then assigns an administrative law judge to conduct a de novo review of the panel’s decision.

• If the covered person wishes to do so, they may elect to request the full FTC review of the administrative law judge’s decision. However, the FTC is not required to conduct another review at this point.

• Should the FTC elect not to conduct another review, the covered person may appeal to the United States Court of Appeals.

A covered person should understand the new HISA/HIWU rules governing adjudication of alleged medical violations and that the prospect of defending an alleged violation is not only different but more costly. A covered person will need to retain counsel as well as an expert witness, and they are required to pay for a translator (if needed) and a portion of the arbitration cost. Also, the covered person is required to pay for a court reporter to ensure there is a record, which is required for purposes of appeal.

Perhaps the most critical difference for the covered person involves the right to review.

No longer may the licensee/covered person appeal a final administrative order to a state court that is in their community or a neighboring community. Instead, the ultimate administrative authority, the Federal Trade Commission,

• Notification of positive finding with an equine anti-doping (EAD) notice and issuance of a provisional suspension

• The covered person may either provide an explanation and/or admit the violation and accept sanction or request a split sample.

• If the positive is not confirmed, the test is deemed negative, the covered person is reimbursed, and the EAD notice is withdrawn.

• HIWU will issue a charge letter that includes sanctions if:

• Analysis of the split sample is waived;

• The second laboratory confirms the initial positive finding;

• The submitted explanation does not excuse the violation; or

• The deadline to submit an explanation has passed.

• The covered person has seven days to admit violation and accept sanctions or request a hearing.

• An expedited timeline can be requested if the covered person is likely to race within 45 days and if no provisional suspension is in effect.

• If a hearing is requested, the matter is assigned to an arbitral body of up to three members.

• The arbitral body is chosen and appointed by Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services and Alternative Dispute Resolution Services from a panel of retired lawyers and judges who have experience in anti-doping and sports adjudication.

• The members are appointed on a rotating basis.

• The covered person submits a pre-hearing written submission within 14 days of submitting a request for hearing.

• HIWU is given 14 days thereafter to submit its response to the covered person’s written submission.

• A hearing is conducted within 60 days of the hearing request.

• The arbitral body then issues a decision within 14 days of the completion of a hearing.

• If the covered person wishes to do so, they may file an appeal of the arbitral body’s decision with the Federal Trade Commission within 30 days of the issuance of the decision.

• The FTC then assigns an administrative law judge to conduct a de novo review of the arbitral body’s decision and issues its own decision.

• If the covered person wishes to do so, they may elect to request the full FTC review of the administrative law judge’s decision. However, the FTC is not required to conduct another review at this point.

• Should the FTC elect not to conduct another review, the covered person may appeal to the United States Court of Appeals.

may or may not accept the covered person’s request for review. If the request for review is denied, the covered person’s right to appeal is directly to a U.S. Court of Appeals. Logistically, this is more challenging. Take, for example, a covered person who has an alleged violation in Texas. They must now pursue an appeal before the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. A person who has allegedly committed a medication violation in Puerto Rico must pursue an appeal before the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston. Also, and significantly, the estimated legal cost for a trip to the U.S. Court of Appeals is in excess of $25,000.

In conclusion, The new HISA/HIWU rules and regulations regarding governing adjudication of medication violations are very different, and the price of due process has gone up—way up. HJ

One. Helping Many.

“TCA’s support of the Thoroughbred Makeover has helped thousands of horses get a solid foundation of retraining after racing.”

Jen Roytz, Retired Racehorse Project

“TCA’s grants provide financial assistance to our food pantry that serves all the backstretch workers.”

Chaplain Humberto Chavez, New York Racetrack Chaplaincy of America

Please consider a donation today.

“TCA’s grants have allowed us to rehome thousands of Thoroughbreds throughout the years.”

Bev Strauss, Mid-Atlantic Horse Rescue

Thoroughbred Charities of America provides grants to approved organizations working to help Thoroughbreds, backstretch, and farm workers.

In the early years, the sport of horse racing seemed simple. There was no simulcasting, discussion of appropriate marketing strategies, super testing or betting via direct computer links. There was no NTRA, THA, TOC, TOBA, UTTA, AQHA or other organizations representing horsemen’s interests.

Horsemen have a habit of taking care of their own. If someone was sick or down on his luck, they “passed the hat,” taking up collections, which is a time-honored tradition among racetrackers.

It was in 1940 in New England that a group of committed horsemen brought into existence what is now known as the National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association. From this meager beginning the National HBPA has developed into an organization representing the horsemen’s interests on a myriad of issues.

Today, there are nearly 30,000 owner and trainer members throughout the United States and Canada focused on a common goal—the betterment of racing on all levels.

With this purpose in mind, we welcome and encourage all horsemen to join the National HBPA, and we urge our members to take an active role in the direction and policies of our organization. It is our members who make a difference.

We horsemen are the National HBPA.

We are Leading into the Future and we are…… Horsemen Helping Horsemen

A Day inthe Life of… …a Veterinary Chiropractor

By Jen Roytz

Early mornings and long days can drive some away from a career in racing, but Larkspur Carroll, DVM, thrives on it. Since high school and continuing through college, veterinary school and her work as a racetrack veterinarian, Carroll has started her days galloping at the track.

MATT AND WENDY WOOLEY PHOTO

BRED FOR THIS JOB

A native of Hot Springs, Arkansas, Carroll grew up in a family steeped in the Thoroughbred world. The daughter of lauded Thoroughbred trainer and champion polo player Delmer “Del” Carroll and his wife, veterinarian and fellow trainer Klobia “Klo” Carroll, the younger Carroll learned from an early age to pay close attention to the subtlest nuances in a horse’s muscling and movement.

Get to Know Dr. Larkspur Carroll

Title Owner of CORE Therapies and AppleRidge Farm

Hometowns Hot Springs, Arkansas, and North East, Maryland

Education University of Maryland (undergraduate in biological science) and Ohio State University (veterinary school)

Licensures and Certifications

Currently licensed in Kentucky and New York; Chi Institute of Chinese Medicine Certification; International Veterinary Chiropractic Association

Specialties Chiropractic, acupuncture, Class IV laser, PEMF

Family Aurea (daughter), Delmer (father), Klobia (mother), Del (half brother), Robin (half sister)

It was in those predawn hours, piloting thousands of racehorses, that she developed a keen understanding and intuition about the subtle movements and biomechanics of the equine athlete. That knowledge, combined with her academic coursework and veterinary experience, gave her a uniquely informed perspective as a racetrack practitioner.

But she felt she had more to offer.

Over the years, Carroll’s practice evolved from a traditional ambulatory racetrack practice to incorporating manual therapies, such as chiropractic and acupuncture. Today, under the banner of CORE Therapies, she focuses exclusively on those modalities for some of the industry’s top racing stables as well as sales consignors and sport horse operations.

After Del Carroll’s passing following a training accident at Keeneland Race Course in 1982, the family settled in North East, Maryland, near Fair Hill. There, Klo Carroll built a thriving mixed animal practice and continued to train a handful of horses each year. At home on the back of a horse, Larkspur Carroll galloped racehorses in the mornings, helped her mother at the clinic and in the barn when not in school and was a regular on the mid-Atlantic region’s horse show circuit.

Throughout her undergraduate studies at the University of Maryland and veterinary school at Ohio State University, Carroll continued to ride at the track while taking a full courseload and earning near-perfect marks as she prepared for an intended career in racetrack medicine.

After graduating from veterinary school, Carroll was selected for an internship with Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky, and it was there that she was first exposed to veterinary chiropractic work. Following that internship, she worked for Dr. Daryl Easley, who at the time was a racetrack practitioner who held certifications in both chiropractic and acupuncture.

“Modalities like chiropractic and acupuncture were not part of my upbringing, which made me a bit of a skeptic, but I wanted to be the best lameness and sports medicine practitioner I could be,” Carroll said. “I wanted to have every possible tool in my toolbox.”

A BUSINESS IS BORN

Carroll went out on her own in 2008 under the banner of CORE Therapies as a sole practitioner with a focus on racetrack medicine, earning her certification in acupuncture that year and the chiropractic equivalent the following year and incorporating both into her practice.

As a sole racetrack practitioner, she was doing everything from lameness workups, scoping, pre-race treatments and chiropractic and acupuncture work to stocking her truck and managing her billing. All of that was in addition to being a new mother and still galloping in the mornings.

Her clients were seeing favorable results from her chiropractic and acupuncture work and were increasingly requesting those services, which made her wonder if focusing on those modalities would allow her not only to support her clients and her daughter, Aurea, more effectively but also to better serve the horses under her care.

“I made the decision to focus exclusively on chiropractic and acupuncture; then the economy crashed,” Carroll said. “I thought it was going to be the end of my career. Instead, as other practitioners were losing business, I was gaining business. For less than it costs to inject a single joint, I could work on the entire body. It became a cost-saver in some people’s eyes, and as medication rules and other rules have become more restrictive more recently, I’ve seen a real change in many people’s mindsets.”

Carroll’s client base has since expanded beyond the racetrack to include sale yearlings, weanlings, foals and sport horses. Her practice also has expanded beyond chiropractic and acupuncture to include pulsed electromagnetic field therapy (PEMF) and Class IV laser therapy, and she’s added several staff members to assist with treatments and recordkeeping.

“So often, a horse is not quite right, but there is no diagnosable lameness or visible issue to treat,” Carroll said. “Maybe the horse isn’t switching leads as

I wanted to be the best lameness and sports medicine practitioner I could be. I wanted to have every possible tool in my toolbox.

—Larkspur Carroll

JEN ROYTZ PHOTOS

MEMBER OF EACH HORSE’S CARE TEAM, WORKING ALONG WITH THEIR OWNER OR TRAINER, ATTENDING VETERINARIAN AND OTHERS TO PROVIDE AN IDEA OF HOW A HORSE USES ITSELF THROUGHOUT ITS BODY AS WELL AS IDENTIFYING ANY ASYMMETRY, WEAKNESS OR LOSS OF RANGE OF MOTION.

CARROLL’S PRACTICE ALSO OFFERS ELECTRO-ACUPUNCTURE, WHICH APPLIES ELECTRICAL CURRENTS TO ACUPPOINTS, MUSCLES AND SOFT TISSUES TO RELIEVE MUSCLE SPASMS AND PAIN WHILE INCREASING CIRCULATION IN THE AREA.

easily as they used to or is pulling to one side or the other. Horses often give us those subtle clues before there is ever a detectable lameness, and the pattern in the body can tell a huge tale. Once you have an overt lameness, you’re in a whole other category.”

In addition to her chiropractic work and other offerings, CORE Therapies recently began providing layup, rehabilitation and refreshing services at Carroll’s AppleRidge Farm in Central Kentucky, which also serves as her practice’s base of operations. The farm includes two barns (one smaller barn for her and her daughter’s personal horses and training/resale projects and a 12-stall shedrow-style barn for her layup and rehabilitation clients), several round pens and small paddocks for individual turnout, an EquiGym and a TheraPlate, with an underwater treadmill coming soon.

WHAT IS CHIROPRACTIC?

The American Association of Equine Practitioners defines chiropractic as:

a form of manual therapy that uses controlled forces applied to specific joints or anatomic areas to cause a healing response.

In its most basic sense, chiropractic helps to restore the range of motion in joints and stimulate neurologic reflexes, which in turn can reduce pain and inflammation, promote a more symmetrical gait and allow for an increase in muscle tone.

“There, we can handle everything from post-surgical care and injury rehabilitation to giving racehorses a break to refresh from the track,” Carroll said. “A fit racehorse is a different animal than most other types of horses. They’re young, fresh and at the peak of fitness. When managing their recovery from an injury or just giving them time off, it is critical to know how to keep them safe and cater to both their physical and mental well-being.”

A DAY IN THE LIFE

While Carroll has galloped in the mornings before starting her traditional workday throughout her professional career, this year she decided to forgo racetrack riding to focus solely on her practice.

“I used to start my day at 4 a.m. to get on a handful of horses before starting my rounds, but now we are working with such a volume of horses—I worked on 50 today, which is a typical day—that I needed to step away from that,” Carroll said in mid-May. “So, I now sleep in until 5:30 and get on my Peloton before work. While I ride a few of my training horses after work each day, I really miss riding at the track.”

After getting ready and helping with morning chores around her farm as needed, Carroll heads to the rehabilitation barn to check in with her barn manager and go over the schedule and treatment list for that group of horses.

By 7 a.m., Carroll is on the road, and after meeting up with her assistant, Chelsea Humphrey, the pair heads to their first appointment. They go nearly nonstop from one client to the next until 5 p.m. or later.

CARROLL CONSIDERS HERSELF A

MATT AND WENDY WOOLEY PHOTOS

MATT AND WENDY WOOLEY PHOTOS

MATT AND WENDY WOOLEY PHOTOS

“Having an assistant who I can dictate findings to during each appointment and who can then log them in our system for both client reports and billing as I drive to the next location is key,” Carroll said.

With clients throughout Central Kentucky and also in Louisville, Carroll organizes her week by regions.

“On Mondays, I work in and around Versailles and Woodford County and also at Keeneland,” she said. “On Tuesdays, I am in Louisville, both at the track and area farms and training centers. On Wednesdays, I go to the Thoroughbred Training Center and my clients in and around Paris, and on Thursdays, it is back to the other side of town, doing Keeneland again, as well as more farms in Versailles and Midway. I alternate every other Friday working in the Harrodsburg and Danville area one week and offering haul-in appointments at my farm the other week for those who are outside of my coverage area.”

Once her appointments are done for the day, Carroll heads back to the farm, checking in once again with her barn manager before riding her personal horses and retraining projects with Aurea.

When the two are done riding and have had dinner, Carroll heads back out to the rehabilitation barn to do evening treatments and night check before heading to bed and doing it all again the following day.

Carroll said when she started CORE Therapies, her practice was roughly 80 percent racetrack clients, with the other 20 percent made up of a mix of sport horse and Thoroughbred sales clients. Today, she says that ratio has nearly flipped.

“The sales consignors and farms in and around Central Kentucky have really latched on to the idea of utilizing chiropractic work as a preventative for not only their yearlings but foals and weanlings as they develop and even their mares,” she said. “They see the cost-benefit ratio. From a business standpoint, the more racetrack work I do, the more I feel compelled to travel. Most go south for the winter, and I used to keep up the licensure and do a lot of traveling in the past, but it’s expensive and takes me away from my daughter, the farm and my other clientele.”

CARROLL’S CORE THERAPIES OFFERS LAYUP, REHAB AND REFRESHING SERVICES AT HER APPLERIDGE FARM IN CENTRAL KENTUCKY, WHICH SERVES AS HER BASE OF OPERATIONS AND FEATURES SEVERAL ROUND PENS AND SMALL PADDOCKS, AN EQUIGYM, A THERAPLATE AND SOON AN UNDERWATER TREADMILL.

Carroll still travels some for her clients, but she has streamlined her approach, leaving after her last appointment on Friday and returning Sunday evening.

“I’ve learned to do it in two days, catching the last flight out on Friday, working like hell on Saturday and Sunday and then catching the last flight back to Lexington Sunday night,” Carroll said. “That way it doesn’t take me away from my weekday schedule, my farm or my daughter more than it has to.”

LISTENING TO THE HORSE

Carroll’s work as veterinary chiropractor places her in a unique role. In the same way that she first explored chiropractic and acupuncture to gain more tools in her toolbox as a practitioner, she sees herself as a member of each horse’s care team, working with their owner or trainer, attending veterinarian and others to offer a clear picture of how a horse is using itself throughout its body, as well as any asymmetry, weakness or loss of range of motion.

“Often if a horse has a physical issue, it creates other secondary issues, which can often muddy a clear diagnosis,” Carroll said. ‘Maybe they’re stiff or locked up in their lower neck or sacroiliac joint because they’re trying to get off of a lower limb issue. If I adjust a horse before its lameness workup, their attending veterinarian is often better able to identify the primary problem.”

Being an initial skeptic herself about the approach that has become her life’s work, Carroll does not take umbrage to naysayers. Often, she says, it is not that such people have had a negative experience with it but rather no experience.

“When vets or other professionals hear terms like a horse having a rib out, it’s a terminology issue,” Carroll said. “The rib is not displaced but rather is not using its full range of motion. That is the basis of chiropractic—to support and/ or restore range of motion. People don’t know what they don’t know, and I was the same way. It’s funny that once I did a deep dive to educate myself about this approach, I ended up dedicating my life to it.” HJ

HORSES RECEIVE CARE USING MANUAL THERAPIES SUCH AS CHIROPRACTIC AND ACUPUNCTURE FROM CARROLL AND HER ASSISTANT, CHELSEY HUMPHREY.

JEN ROYTZ PHOTO

JEN ROYTZ PHOTO

TRADITION OF SUCCESS

Since 1973, Race Track Industry Program graduates have been united by passion–for the horse, for racing, for making their own mark. This passion and drive connects them long after the degree has been earned and careers have been launched. From winning Triple Crowns to running racetracks, managing bloodstock enterprises to calling races, RTIP alumni are leading the industry. Become a part of this legacy.

ALABAMA HBPA

Alabama-Bred Races Set for 2023

What an impact the instant horse racing machines are having on our industry. Even though there is no live racing at Birmingham Race Course, the facility offers the machines, which are legal under pari-mutuel law. Funds are being distributed as required by law. So, again thanks to the Louisiana HBPA and the tracks throughout Louisiana, we have a slate of Alabama-bred races set up for the remainder of 2023 sponsored by the Birmingham Racing Commission.

The $50,000 Alabama Stakes, which includes $15,000 from slot revenue, was to be run Saturday, June 24, at Louisiana Downs. Open to registered Alabama-breds that are 3 years old and up and have never won a stakes, the Alabama features no nomination, entry or start fees. Nominations closed June 12.

Races also are being scheduled for August at Louisiana Downs and October at Delta Downs. We do not have confirmed dates or conditions at this time. The Kudzu Juvenile, with an increased purse of $35,000 guaranteed, and the Magic City Classic, with a $55,000 guaranteed purse, are scheduled for early December at Fair Grounds.

The $30,000 Ken Cotton allowance, sponsored by the Alabama HBPA, was run May 13 at Evangeline Downs. Jason Grudzien’s Liken It won the Alabamabred event for 3-year-olds and up at 6 furlongs. Rylee Magnon trains the 6-yearold gelding by Doc N Bubba G. Diane Harrington’s Fired Up Tiger finished second for trainer Patrick Devereux, and Winalot Racing’s Foolish Steve finished third for David Terre.

The Alabama HBPA continues to pay hauling expenses, up to $500, for horses running in the Ken Cotton and finishing fourth through last. A copy of the hauling bill or gas expenses is required.

Please continue to let us know when you have an Alabama-bred running in open company races and finishing on the board. Supplemental purse distribution funds are available. Notify Nancy Delony by phone at (205) 612-1999 (text or call) or email nancy.m.delony@ms.com.

Nancy Delony

Executive Director, Alabama HBPA

ARIZONA HBPA 2023 Turf Paradise Award Winners

After a trying season of ups and downs, Turf Paradise’s 2023 race meeting concluded on a positive note May 6. This day was filled with action, a large crowd and many fun activities, all while enjoying the Kentucky Derby.

The festivities included a Kentucky Derby party hosted by James Watson, managing partner of CT Realty. Watson announced at the party his intentions to continue the racing operations, including a meet next fall and racing into the future.

The Arizona HBPA would like to congratulate and highlight award winners from the season:

2022–23 Turf Paradise Awards

Quarter Horse Leading Trainer: Eloy Navarro

Quarter Horse Leading Owner: Jose Anguilar Mendoza

Quarter Horse Leading Jockey: Martin Osuna

Quarter Horse of the Meet: Wildroses101

(owner: Ferrari Stables; trainer: Richardo Saldana)

Thoroughbred of the Meet: Truth Seeker

(owner: Carlos Reyes; trainer: Rafael Barraza)

Leading Jockey: Harry Hernandez

Leading Apprentice Jockey: Daylor Berrios-Lopez

Leading Trainer: Justin Evans

Leading Owner: Stable H.M.A.

Officer and Board Member Elections

The Arizona HBPA held its election for new board members and officers this spring. The following is the list of the new board members:

President: Lloyd Yother

Vice President: Mike Pierce

Owners: Freddie Alvarez, Bill Guess, Debi Ferguson, Carrie Fales, Bob Budhoff

Trainers: Kevin Eikleberry, Curt Ferguson, Mike Pierce, Ed Kerlick, Valorie Lund

A special thanks to these individuals for donating their time and energy working to protect and help the horsemen. Please feel free to contact any of your board members with questions or concerns.

Status of Turf Paradise

Turf Paradise’s 2023 race meeting came to an end May 6. Is this the end of Turf Paradise?

Jerry Simms said it is the end for him personally as he will not run another race season. James “Watty” Watson, the track’s new owner, said there will be another meet in 2023–24.

The major concern at this point is the extensive work needing to be done to the facilities to satisfy the HISA safety requirements. The big question is “Who is paying for almost $500,000 in summer projects?” Simms is not. Watson does not want to pay for anything until he closes on the property, which is now projected to be in January 2024. Another concern is whether Watson can get a permit from the state until he is the owner. So, where does this leave Turf Paradise racing?

The Arizona HBPA is working with Turf Paradise and Watson to help resolve these concerns and instill a positive future in Arizona racing.

Arizona Downs Update

As most of you know, Arizona Downs is under contract with The Stronach Group. However, The Stronach Group has made it clear it will not be closing on the deal until things are resolved with Turf Paradise. The Stronach Group’s goal is to be the sole owner of the Arizona off-track betting system, and until the time comes when they control the OTB system, they will not be closing on the deal.

The Arizona HBPA board had a major decision to make May 8 when it decided to rescind its approval for signals to be able to come into Arizona Downs’ OTBs. The board took the stance that if you do not run a live race meet, you do not receive the signals.

The future of Arizona Downs is really up in the air. The track could be closed for some time, or it and Rillito Park may be the only tracks left running in Arizona.

Interest in New Arizona Track

How do we continue our racing tradition here in Arizona? As you look at all the successful racetracks in America, they are all subsidizing their purses with alternative gambling. The only exception is Texas, which has purses subsidized by the state sharing some of its revenue from the sales tax on horse products. To offer decent purse levels, tracks need to be subsidized.

Arizona has a couple of parties interested in coming to Maricopa County and building a new racetrack. Although all of this is in the very early stages, there is interest in creating a thriving racing community in the state.

The Arizona HBPA board will continue working toward finding a solution and feels strongly there will be a future for racing in Arizona.

ARKANSAS HBPA

Trainer Don Von Hemel Retires

In Don Von Hemel’s case, “V” stood for victory. Oaklawn Park and the Arkansas HBPA honored the trainer with a ceremony following the seventh race April 29, the Don Von Hemel Classic. Von Hemel served on the Arkansas HBPA board for more than 40 years.

“He is very dear to the HBPA,” Arkansas HBPA Executive Director Jeanette Milligan said. “He wanted to help horsemen. He believed in our benevolence program a lot, and he was very proud of our medical clinic and our helping horsemen and the people that worked for him pay their medical bills and dental bills. He thought that was very important. Just a very caring person about his fellow horsemen and the people that work on the backside.”

Von Hemel’s retirement was brewing for several months. He had continued to scale back his operation in recent years because of advancing age and to care for his wife of 63 years, Roylynn, who has Alzheimer’s disease. Von Hemel was down to five horses at Oaklawn, all homebreds for country music star Toby Keith’s Dream Walkin’ Farms. Keith is a longtime Von Hemel client.

“This year I thought was a strong tell, when he wouldn’t come out and watch them train and do all that stuff,” said Von Hemel’s youngest son, trainer Kelly Von Hemel. “I thought that kind of said that he was ready.”

Don Von Hemel’s numerous career highlights include:

• Ranking 57th in career victories in North America with 2,568, through April 28, according to Equibase, racing’s official data gathering organization

• Winning a record seven consecutive training titles (1970–76) at Fonner Park in Nebraska

• Setting single-season records for victories at Fonner Park in 1972 (32) and 1975 (38)

• Winning at least one race at 44 consecutive Oaklawn meetings (1975–2018), among the longest streaks in track history— starting with Bold Trap on February 15, 1975

• Capturing 10 training titles (1978, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992 and 1994) at Ak-Sar-Ben in Nebraska

• Winning the 1981 Oaklawn training title

• Winning a March 7, 1984, allowance race at Oaklawn with Win Stat, who set a world record for 1 mile and 70 yards in 1:38.40

• Winning the $100,000, Grade 3 Ak-Sar-Ben Oaks in 1994 at Ak-Sar-Ben and the $200,000, Grade 3 Falls City Handicap in 1995 at Churchill Downs with Mariah’s Storm for longtime client Thunderhead Farms

(Iowans Bill and Margie Peters). Mariah’s Storm overcame a leg fracture as a 2-year-old in 1993—her comeback story inspired the 2005 film Dreamer—to win 10 of 16 career starts and earn $724,895 before making an even bigger mark in the breeding shed as the dam of 2000 European Horse of the Year Giant’s Causeway, later a champion sire in the U.S.

• Winning three Oaklawn stakes races, including the $75,000, Grade 3 Essex Handicap and the $150,000, Grade 3 Razorback Handicap in 1997 with No Spend No Glow

• Winning eight stakes races and almost $1 million with Smack Smack, a Grade 3 winner and Dream Walkin’ homebred

• Being inducted into the Nebraska Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 1991

“He’s a horseman,” said Von Hemel’s oldest son, trainer Donnie K. Von Hemel. “Just grew up around it and could do anything with the horse, ride them, anything. There were several times when I was growing up, we couldn’t get a horse to do something. He would just walk over there, and they would do whatever it was. There’s just a manner around people that develops over time. His mind is just sharp. He doesn’t forget horses, doesn’t forget when he sees one. Patience and just truly a horseman.”

A native of tiny Manter, Kansas, Don Von Hemel cut his teeth under L.O. “Speck” Lane, a well-known local rancher and horseman, before he began training. Von Hemel saddled his first winner in 1956, according to Equibase, and, along with future Hall of Fame trainer Jack Van Berg, eventually became a force on the Nebraska circuit.

“They were very dominant for years and years,” Donnie K. Von Hemel said. “Van Berg was leading trainer for a bunch of years in a row [at Ak-Sar-Ben]. Dad was the first guy that knocked him off there, and then he was leading trainer for several years in a row.”

Don Von Hemel won his first race at Oaklawn on February 15, 1972, and continued to shift his winter focus to Arkansas throughout the decade. His 444 career victories at Oaklawn include 12 stakes, the last coming in 2012 with Now I Know in the $50,000 Dixie Belle for 3-year-old fillies. Von Hemel, in partnership, also bred and co-owned Now I Know, a Grade 3 winner who captured six of seven starts.

In addition to his racing achievements, Von Hemel was instrumental in helping launch the highly successful training careers of sons Donnie K. and Kelly.

“Here in the Midwest, we have the Don Von Hemel training tree,” Oaklawn Senior Vice President Eric Jackson said. “When you look back at all the people he has helped and who are in racing today because of him, including his two sons, we clearly have the Don Von Hemel training tree.”

Donnie K. Von Hemel is the 14th leading trainer by wins in Oaklawn history and a member of the Remington Park Hall of Fame. He has 2,246 career victories overall (No. 87 in North American history), the first coming in 1984, according to Equibase. Kelly Von Hemel has 74 career Oaklawn victories, but he targets Prairie Meadows because of its lucrative Iowa-bred program. A member of the Prairie Meadows Hall of Fame, Von Hemel has 1,572 career victories overall, the first coming in 1985.

Don Von Hemel and his sons would often tag-team horses because of locale. Donnie K., for example, also trained Mariah’s Storm. Sure Shot Biscuit earned the bulk of his $1,025,480 in career earnings for Kelly Von Hemel, but the Iowabred star was a 2000 allowance winner at Oaklawn for Don Von Hemel.

“He’s a legend, especially for us,” said Kelly Von Hemel, who shares Oaklawn’s Elocutionist barn with his father. “When I decided to quit college and

LEADING TRAINER DON VON HEMEL WITH HIS FAMILY AT OAKLAWN PARK

COURTESY

do this, he immediately sent me out on my own, gave me horses, put them in my name. He pushed us and helped us out as much as he possibly could.”

Don Von Hemel and his wife purchased a condominium in Hot Springs in the early 1980s and would live half the year in Arkansas and the other half in Omaha, Nebraska, home to Ak-Sar-Ben, at the time among the country’s most successful racing venues. After Ak-Sar-Ben closed in 1995, Von Hemel and his wife moved to Hot Springs permanently.

“He’s always liked to play cards,” Kelly Von Hemel said. “He’s been a member of the [Hot Springs] Elks Club for 30, 40 years. He’ll stay in Hot Springs. He’s not going anywhere as long as mom’s here.”

Don Von Hemel won two races at the 2022–23 Oaklawn meeting. His Oaklawn stable was overseen by longtime assistant Wade Hinzman. Donnie K. Von Hemel said he will inherit his father’s handful of remaining runners, expecting them to go to Churchill Downs or Prairie Meadows for the summer.

— Jennifer Hoyt

CHARLES TOWN HBPA

Successful Spring Eye Clinic

The Charles Town Horsemen’s Assistance Fund sponsored an eye clinic April 27-28. Presented by the Appalachian Vision Outreach Project at West Virginia University, the clinic provided free eye exams and low-cost glasses to horsemen and members of the community.

More than 100 people participated in the event, with the Horsemen’s Assistance Fund and the Charles Town Welfare Benefit Trust paying for nearly 60 pairs of glasses for the horsemen.

The event also included shelters in the area, as well as the state’s Department of Health and Human Resources, which saw an additional 30 people receive glasses they couldn’t otherwise afford.

The program also diagnosed nearly a dozen people with cataracts and put them in touch with programs that would help pay for their surgery.

Charles Town Classic Set for August

The 15th running of the Grade 2 Charles Town Classic Stakes and its supporting program is scheduled for Friday, August 25, at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races.

One of West Virginia’s biggest nights of racing, the card features the $1 million Classic as well as the Grade 3, $750,000 Charles Town Oaks, $350,000 Robert Hilton Memorial Stakes, $250,000 Russell Road Stakes and the $250,000 Misty Bennett Pink Ribbon Stakes.

West Virginia Breeders Classics

The brainchild of National Football League Hall of Famer and West Virginia native Sam Huff, the West Virginia Breeders Classics is a one-night event with a year-round impact. The West Virginia Breeders Classics includes a gala and golf tournament, with charitable donations made to important local and statewide organizations. The 2023 West Virginia Breeders Classics will take place Saturday, October 14, at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races.

For more info, email wvbcmbn@frontier.com.

IOWA HBPA

2022 Race Meet Award Winners

The annual Iowa HBPA category awards for the 2022 Prairie Meadows race meeting were presented May 13.

Allen Poindexter’s Poindexter Thoroughbreds LLC ran away with the leading owner title at Prairie Meadows. Poindexter won 39 races, 23 more than the next owner on the list, and had an in-the-money rate of almost 50 percent and earnings of nearly $1.3 million.

2022 OWNER OF THE YEAR AND IA HBPA DIRECTOR ALLEN POINDEXTER (CENTER) WITH ITBOA PRESIDENT KRISTAL FREESE AND IA HBPA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR JON MOSS

2022 CLAIMER OF THE YEAR FLEETRIDGE, OWNED BY NBS STABLE AND TRAINED BY JON ARNETT (FROM LEFT, IA HBPA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR JON MOSS, NBS STABLE PARTNERS JOHN BALLANTYNE AND ART NEUHEDEL AND TRAINER JON ARNETT”)

2022 TRAINER OF THE YEAR JON ARNETT (RIGHT) WITH IA HBPA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR JON MOSS

The Iowa HBPA Claimer of the Year, Fleetridge, was haltered out of his first race in Iowa on June 13 of last year. He won his debut for NBS Stable and leading trainer Jon Arnett two weeks later. But it was his effort in the Grade 3 Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap that caught the railbirds’ attention, with a second under Wilmer Garcia at 32-1. Fleetridge ended the Prairie Meadows season with two wins and two seconds from four starts.

The well-traveled Arnett, a winning trainer at Prairie Meadows for more than a decade, emerged as the meet’s leading trainer and earned recognition as the Iowa HPBA Trainer of the Year. Arnett saddled 61 winners last season, garnering more than $1,303,332 in earnings off an amazing 30 percent win rate and a 61 percent in-the-money rate. While his top horses in 2022 were seasonal champions Angel’s Melody and Fleetridge, Arnett sent out multiple winners Oil Money and Uptown Queen during the early part of the meet.

Iowa HBPA News

To keep up to date on news and issues occurring in Iowa, you can find us on our Facebook page, Iowa Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association Inc., or follow us on Twitter @IowaHBPA. You also can sign up to receive our emails at info@iowahbpa.org and visit our website at iowahbpa.org.

KENTUCKY HBPA President’s Message

Spring is the season of rejuvenation, and the Kentucky racing circuit is certainly seeing its fair share of facility upgrades and additions as historical horse racing fuels record purses that continue to attract more horses and trainers to the commonwealth.

For 2023, Churchill Downs debuted its new First Turn, which boasts 5,100 permanent stadium seats with two concourses and an additional climatecontrolled hospitality venue with premium seating for up to 2,000 guests and a ground-level viewing area with rail access.

Churchill Downs has also begun construction on the new saddling paddock with plans to complete it prior to the 150th Kentucky Derby in 2024.

Kentucky Downs cut the ribbon on its new conference center in May with a ceremony that attracted a large crowd of local business leaders and elected officials, including a few legislators who had once voted against codifying historical horse racing machines. This new facility, coupled with the addition of a new 118-room hotel scheduled to open in July, provides an important economic development tool that will benefit the broader community as it attracts conventions, conferences and entertainment events to the area.

Ain’t Life Grand, bred and owned by RPM Thoroughbreds (Prairie Meadows Hall of Famers Peggy and Ray Shattuck), was named the 2022 Iowa HBPA Horse of the Year.

The gelding, stabled in the barn of Prairie Meadows Hall of Fame trainer Kelly Von Hemel, won three consecutive stakes in Iowa last season, earning $360,553. His gallant score in the listed $300,000 Iowa Derby was truly the highlight of the 2022 Iowa Festival of Racing. Ain’t Life Grand followed up that win with an easy tally in the Iowa Stallion Stakes July 23. After running in the Grade 1 Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course, Ain’t Life Grand closed out his season with a win in the Iowa Breeders’ Derby.

HART Silent Auction Set for Festival of Racing

Hope After Racing Thoroughbreds (HART), the local horse rehabilitation/ retraining program, will hold a silent auction on the fourth floor of the clubhouse during Prairie Meadows’ Fireworks Day on July 3. All proceeds will benefit HART by aiding in the placement and retraining of Thoroughbreds when their racing careers are finished at Prairie Meadows.

If you would like to donate items to the silent auction or want to make a monetary donation to HART, please contact the Iowa HBPA office at (515) 967-4804.

Turfway Park is now open for summer stabling to get maximum benefit for the significant improvements made to the track since Churchill Downs Inc. purchased the track. Not only have additional barns been constructed but backside workers have access to one of the finest dorm facilities in North America. These investments, along with a consistent, all-weather Tapeta surface, central location with proximity to numerous tracks in the region and the nearby Cincinnati airport, make Turfway an ideal year-around economic engine for the Northern Kentucky area.

Ellis Park will renew its annual summer meeting with record purses, as Churchill Downs Inc. works to complete much needed facility upgrades at the Henderson track and ultimately open a satellite historical horse racing venue in the neighboring city of Owensboro, spurring more economic development and jobs for Western Kentucky.

When Kentucky’s racing industry and its supporters, including tracks, horsemen, local officials and business leaders, joined together to present a unified front in urging state legislators and the governor to protect historical horse racing, these revitalizations and expansions were the intended and promised results.

Along with our position as the dominant breeding state, we are now seeing Kentucky at the forefront of racing nationally. We can only hope that HISA doesn’t present too much of an obstacle to continued success and a potentially brighter future for Kentucky horsemen. We applaud the support of our state legislators and Governor Andy Beshear and the investments made by our racetrack partners.

The Kentucky HBPA will strive to ensure that their support and investments pay dividends for the state and improve the economics of racing for our horsemen and the quality of life for those who call the backside home.

Good luck in your racing endeavors,

Rick Hiles, KHBPA President

2022 HORSE OF THE YEAR AIN’T LIFE GRAND, OWNED BY RPM STABLES AND TRAINED BY KELLY VON HEMEL (FROM LEFT, RPM’S RAY AND PEGGY SHATTUCK, IA HBPA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR JON MOSS, PAM VON HEMEL, KHLOE VON HEMEL AND IA HBPA DIRECTOR KELLY VON HEMEL

Walsh, Morse Celebrate Big Spring Wins

Walsh joins D. Wayne Lukas (Secret Oath, 2022), Brad Cox (Shedaresthedevil, 2020), Tom Amoss (Serengeti Empress, 2019) and Cox (Monomoy Girl, 2018) as Churchill-based trainers to win the world’s greatest dirt race for 3-year-old fillies in recent years.

Pretty Mischievous reflects impeccable bloodlines, being sired by Spendthrift Farm’s Into Mischief and out of the Tapit mare Pretty City Dancer, herself a Grade 1 winner who sold in foal to Medaglia d’Oro for $3.5 million in 2018.

“You grow up and you dream about stuff like this, to win a Grade 1, especially an Oaks at Churchill Downs,” said Walsh, who began training in 2012. “It’s a long way from Cork in Ireland. But it’s indescribable. It is just exactly what you dream about. But it’s what we’re here for, and it’s why these guys breed these good horses and everybody works so hard. So, you know, it is really supposed to happen when you’ve got horses as good as these.”

The 3-year-old filly division was so deep this spring you could have had a heck of a race just with the horses that didn’t get in the Kentucky Oaks. In fact, that pretty much happened when Taxed and the Amoss-trained Hoosier Philly ran 1-2 in Pimlico’s Black-Eyed Susan the day before the Grade 1 Preakness Stakes. Both fillies were also-eligibles who didn’t draw into the Oaks.

Morse didn’t dwell on Taxed—who finished second in Oaklawn Park’s Grade 2 Fantasy behind Kentucky Oaks favorite Wet Paint—not having the opportunity to run on the first Friday in May.

Horse racing is built on dreams, and a couple came true for Kentuckybased trainers Brendan Walsh with Pretty Mischievous in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks and Randy Morse with Taxed two weeks later in the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes.

A Churchill Downs-based trainer won the $1.25 million Oaks for the fifth

“That was pretty special,” he said after the Black-Eyed Susan, which 11-1 shot Taxed won by 3 3/4 lengths over the front-running Hoosier Philly. “I tell you, I’ve been kind of dreaming that she might run that way.”

The Black-Eyed Susan wasn’t the biggest stakes won by Morse, who captured the Grade 1 Stephen Foster in 2014 with Moonshine Mullin. That also was Morse’s most recent graded stakes victory, with the game changing dramatically in the nine intervening years.

Morse rarely gets the equine equivalent of 4- and 5-star recruits. His stable roster is built on the lines of recruiting from the junior college ranks or finding players who fall between the cracks in the transfer portal.

“Absolutely, it’s hard to compete with these guys who go in and spend millions of dollars on young horses,” he said. “I’m not knocking them; I’d like to be in their position. Most of my better horses have been claimed.”

time in six years as Godolphin’s Pretty Mischievous held off Gambling Girl by a neck. The victory under Churchill’s nine-time leading jockey Tyler Gaffalione was the fifth in a Grade 1 for Walsh, four coming with Godolphin-owned horses. That includes Walsh’s first Grade 1 in the 2021 Clark Handicap with Maxfield.

The Oaks was the highest profile victory in Walsh’s burgeoning career. “It’s unbelievable,” the Irish-born Walsh said. “Obviously, I have had a very close association with them my whole life. I did nine winters in Dubai. I worked for them in Al Quoz as a rider. You know, when you’re there and you’re doing that, it was like working for a team and getting on all stars. ... And it’s just a great opportunity for me to be able to work with horses of this caliber.”

For instance, Morse claimed Moonshine Mullin for $40,000 and later won five straight races with him, capped by Churchill Downs’ Grade 2 Alysheba and the Foster. Morluc, a $50,000 claim in 1999, twice took Morse to Hong Kong for the Hong Kong Sprint, where he lost twice by a head, as well as to less successful overseas ventures in Dubai and Royal Ascot. Morluc had 10 wins and nine seconds (seven of those by a halflength or less) for Morse.

Morse claimed Taxed out of a $50,000 maiden-claiming race last fall for owner Richard Bahde.

“She’s a real nice-looking filly, and I’d seen her train,” Morse said. “Just one of those deals where we got lucky, got her in a shake.”

When Taxed faded to ninth behind Wet Paint in Oaklawn’s Grade 3 Honeybee, Morse took off the blinkers she raced in when claimed. Off that

BRENDAN WALSH CELEBRATES HIS FIRST KENTUCKY OAKS VICTORY

PRETTY MISCHIEVOUS HOLDS OFF LATE RUN FROM GAMBLING GIRL TO WIN KENTUCKY OAKS

equipment change, Taxed finished second in the Fantasy followed by her BlackEyed Susan tour de force.

“She was just always pulling, too rank,” Morse said. “Because every time she ran, she looked like she was going to win and she just didn’t have any finish. As you see now that she’s relaxing behind horses and settling. It’s made a huge difference.”

Morse was the third straight Churchill-based trainer to win the Black-Eyed Susan, following Cox (Interstatedaydream) and Mike Maker (Army Wife).

The HBPA Is You

The HBPA, established in 1940, is an organization of owners and trainers, approximately 40,000 nationally in 23 states and Canada and more than 6,000 in Kentucky. The association is governed by a board of directors consisting of owners and trainers volunteering their time and elected by the membership every three years. The HBPA is committed to working for the betterment of racing on all levels. The HBPA represents owners and trainers on several fronts:

• The HBPA negotiates with each racetrack regarding purse structure, equitable share of simulcast revenues, overall track safety, sanitation and security.

• The HBPA provides benevolence to horsemen in need, education and recreation programs to the backstretch and various insurance packages that include—free of charge to members—fire and disaster insurance. Visit one of the fully staffed HBPA offices at the currently running racetrack in Kentucky for details.

• The HBPA works in conjunction with the chaplaincy program and the Kentucky Racing Health and Welfare Fund to provide support and benefits for horsemen.

• The HBPA supports scientific research and marketing initiatives on a regional and national level to help promote interest in Thoroughbred racing.

• The HBPA is at the forefront in litigation and legislation on issues involving horsemen’s rights with regards to interstate simulcasting, proprietary rights, casino gambling, therapeutic medication, sports betting and many other areas of concern to horsemen.

How Can I Join?

You are invited to drop into the HBPA office to meet the staff and learn more about current projects and how you can get involved in helping to improve the industry. There are no membership fees. Remember that this is your organization. Become an active participant and one of the “horsemen helping horsemen.” To join, all you need to do is fill out our membership card and fax, mail or email it back to us. For more information, please visit our website at kyhbpa.org and click on “Become a Member.”

LOUISIANA HBPA Evangeline Downs

Racing Employees Assistance Program (REAP) is an organization that supports the good work of our Chaplain Dwight Brown and provides financial assistance to horsemen in need.

Taxed provided Bahde with his first graded stakes winner.

“I started out in the bull rings in Nebraska with $5,000 claimers and then I met this man,” he said of Morse, “and he took me to a whole different level. We have had a lot of fun together.”

— Jennie Rees

REAP held its annual fundraiser June 3 in Mojo’s at Evangeline Downs. We would like to thank everyone who supports the event each year. The 2023 Thoroughbred meet at Evangeline Downs began April 7 and ends August 12. The D.S. Shine Young Futurity, with divisions for fillies and colts and geldings, will be conducted the weekend of July 7-8. For additional information, contact the Evangeline Downs racing office at (866) 349-0687.

KENTUCKY SHIPPER TAXED ROLLS TO VICTORY IN THE GRADE 2 BLACK-EYED SUSAN

TRAINER RANDY MORSE (RIGHT) HEADS TO THE WINNER’S CIRCLE WITH TAXED AT PIMLICO

Delta Downs

The 2023 Quarter Horse meet at Delta Downs began April 28 and ends July 15, featuring the $200,000-added Lee Berwick Futurity for 2-year-olds on closing day. The trials for the Lee Berwick, which last year offered a purse of more than $800,000,were to be run June 23-24.

The 2023 Fair Grounds Quarter Horse meeting is scheduled to run at Delta Downs beginning July 27 and concluding September 2. The meet will feature the Sales Futurity September 2 with trials held August 11-12.

For additional information, contact the Delta Downs racing office at (888) 589-7223.

Louisiana Downs

The Backside Benevolence Fund (BBF) will hold its annual Chaplain’s Banquet later in the summer along with the annual golf tournament. Items will be available for live and silent auction at the banquet. The proceeds will help the BBF continue to support the Louisiana Downs Chaplaincy, Thrift Store and backside workers. If you would like to help the BBF, please contact Chaplain Jimmy Sistrunk at (318) 560-7466.

The 2023 Louisiana Downs Thoroughbred meet began May 6 and concludes September 12. Louisiana Downs will host Louisiana Cup Day featuring $450,000 in purses for Louisiana-breds August 5. The meet highlight will be the return of the Louisiana Downs Super Derby with a purse of $200,000 guaranteed. For additional information, contact the Louisiana Downs racing office at (318) 741-2519.

MINNESOTA HBPA Canterbury Park Meet Underway

Canterbury Park opened Memorial Day weekend with great expectations for the meet and for the long-term future.

Chris Merz left his post as director of racing at Santa Anita Park to take the same position at Canterbury, where he has done an excellent job. There will be 54 race days with daily average purse money set at a minimum of $200,000. In addition, beautiful new dorms have been built, and a state-of-the-art lighting system has been installed.

The Minnesota legislative session ended with mostly positive results. The state has agreed to increase funding to the Minnesota Racing Commission so it can absorb the HISA fee. Likewise, racing interests were able to kill a sports

betting bill that would have been harmful to the sport. Sports betting legislation most likely will be back on the table for the next session, and there is cautious optimism that racing will have a better seat at the sports betting table.

A big winner at the capitol was Abijah’s on the Backside, an organization based at Canterbury Park that uses retired racehorses to conduct equine-based psychotherapy. Abijah’s on the Backside will receive $250,000 for each of the next two years as it attends to first responders, many suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder.

The major development at Canterbury Park also continues. Approximately 40 acres of land adjacent to the barn area was sold and will become the home of a 19,000-seat amphitheater that will host A-list entertainers. This will be the only such venue in the Twin Cities metro area, and it will anchor a new entertainment district. The district will include a horse-themed walkway adjacent to a special paddock featuring horses used in Abijah’s on the Backside’s program.

The stable area is also part of the Canterbury development project as it will have four new barns built at the end of this year’s meet. These barns will be adjacent to both the main track and the new training track. Future plans include additional new dorms.

NEBRASKA HBPA

Election Ballots Coming Soon

Election season is currently underway for the Nebraska HBPA board of directors.

Ballots will go out at the end of August and will be opened at the Columbus live meet October 7. Winners will be announced immediately after ballots are counted. Any questions or address changes should be directed to HBPA staff.

Casino construction at both HBPA-owned racetracks will commence in July. The Lincoln casino at the racetrack is currently open, but construction will double the size of the building. The racetrack oval improvements will be completed soon, and the surface will be ready for racing by late summer. Omaha will be under construction for the next year, and the new facility will be open in early fall of 2024.

President Wally Wollesen and the board have created a plan to provide barns on the newly purchased land immediately to the west of the racetrack. Plans include new barns, an RV park, a playground and a golf cart-drivable property. The board hired a consultant specializing in equine properties so a well-thought-out plan could be developed for horsemen. More updates will be provided when available.

THOROUGHBRED RACING ASSOCIATION OF OKLAHOMA

Will Rogers Downs Recap

The 2023 spring Thoroughbred meet at Will Rogers Downs produced two key points: On-track handle was up 5 percent from 2022, and the overall field size experienced a slight gain.

Total handle for the meet was $20,832,887 from 248 races run, four fewer races than in 2022. More than $4.9 million in purses was paid at the meet.

Leading jockey Alfredo Triana Jr. eclipsed all riders with 33 wins, three more than second-leading rider Floyd Wethey Jr. Triana won at a 20 percent clip from the 169 starters he rode and, fittingly, achieved more second- and third-place finishes than any other rider.

Leading trainer Scott Young had another outstanding season with 29 wins, 13 more than runner-up Steve F. Williams. Young’s horses finished in the money at a 76 percent rate from 115 totals starters. Williams earned the leading owner title with 16 wins, 14 seconds and 13 thirds while starting more horses than any other owner.

Adria, a 4-year-old Kentucky-bred filly by Dialed In trained by Lynn Chleborad and owned by Poindexter Thoroughbreds LLC, earned more than her competitors to notch Horse of the Meet honors. She won a $25,000 claiming race and a condition allowance sprint, both in March, then in April registered a classified allowance win and finished third, beaten less than a length, in the $50,150 Wilma Mankiller Stakes.

Remington Park Race Dates

The Thoroughbred fall meet at Remington Park runs from August 18 to December 15. Here are the dates, by month:

Champion Awards Banquet and Auction

The 11th annual Champion Awards Banquet and Auction will be held Friday, August 4, at the Cowboy Hall of Fame to celebrate the 2022 Oklahoma-bred Thoroughbred Champions, hosted by the TRAO. For more information, call the TRAO office at (405) 427-8753.

OHIO HBPA Strong Start to Thistledown Meet

Thistledown’s 2023 100-day live racing meet was off to a strong start with good numbers through the first month.

Average field size for the first month of racing was 7.02 starters per race, up from 6.63 starters per race through the first month of the 2022 racing season.

The average all-sources daily handle of $881,323 for the first month of the 2023 season was up from $846,999 during the first 18 days of racing in 2022.

Average daily purse distribution for the first month of the meet was $199,100, virtually equal to the first month of racing last year when the average was $198,455. By comparison, the average daily purse distribution at Thistledown during the first month of the racing season in 2021 was $142,007. (May 1, 2023, when racing was canceled after the first race, is excluded from the daily average totals.)

Thistledown looks to continue the strong numbers as the biggest days of the meet are still to come, including Ohio’s only graded stakes race with the 89th running of the $500,000, Grade 3 Ohio Derby scheduled for Saturday, June 25, and Best of Ohio Day featuring five $100,000 stakes for state-breds scheduled for Saturday, August 12. The Thistledown racing season runs through October 12.

Favorable Judgment for Ohio HBPA

U.S. District Court Judge Algenon Marbley granted the Ohio HBPA’s motion for summary judgment against Belterra Park in its case for retroactive video lottery terminal (VLT) monies owed from May 2014 through June 2018.

In its March 30 order, the court found that the Ohio HBPA is conclusively entitled to be “trued up” for the 0.95 percent of Belterra Park’s VLT commissions that Belterra Park converted between May 1, 2014, and June 30, 2018. The court found that the parties agreed that the principal sum of these commissions is $2,872,910.45.

The Ohio HBPA has filed a motion for an additional $809,446.13 in pre-judgment interest owed in the case. Once Judge Marbley has ruled on the pre-judgment interest motion, Belterra Park will have 30 days to appeal the final order in the case.

The majority of any funds received by the Ohio HBPA in the case ultimately will be used to increase purses at Belterra Park.

PENNSYLVANIA HBPA

Inactive Accounts at Penn National

The Pennsylvania HBPA announces inactive accounts in the horsemen’s bookkeeping account at Penn National. In accordance with the live racing agreement, Penn National furnished a list of accounts that have been inactive for a period of four years. The names on those inactive accounts are listed below.

Holders of inactive accounts should contact the PA HBPA at P.O. Box 88, Grantville, PA 17028, or by telephone at (717) 469-2970 or fax at (717) 469-7714.

All inactive accounts that remain unclaimed one year after the date of this publication will be paid to the PA HBPA’s Benevolent Fund.

Thomas Reynolds, Robert Silk, Chesterfield Partners Inc., William Tharrenos, William E Devane, Hector Jose Ferrer Rios, Eleuterio Mireles, Holly Delaney, Pinelane Farm, Pop a Top Stable and VanMeter, Roger Estrada Racing Stable LLC, Mario Serey Jr., Lena Wright, Silver Lake Stable, Happy Hour Stable, John Lee and Charles Lo, Mouse House Farm, Allen, Robert O. Hedus, Nicole and O’Neill, William Joseph V. Procopio, Kimberlake Farms and Indian Mills Stock

Farm, Estate of Iris Coggins, Javier E. Gonzalez, Briardale Stable, E.V. Racing Stable, Christ Is King Stables, Taste of Victory Stables LLC, Victor Lebron, Jay L. Armstrong, Emerald Field Farm, JSL Stables LLC, Freedom Racing LLC, Hugh G. Robinson, Kelli Norton, FGF Stables and Meghan Early, Arthur Geller, Luis R. Reyes, Barbara Hopkins, Fat Guys Stable, Apple Tree Stables, George I. Dinos, Lawrence Dilione Jr., Harry Nye and Timothy Wenrich, Carole Star Stables, Matthew Cunningham, Glenn N. Harrison and Paul A. Ross Jr., Seventeen Racing Stables LLC, Spyridon Xenos, Mossvan Stable, Premier Stables Unlimited, Brian McFarlane, William J. Solomon & Apryle Horbal, Banner, John and Cheryl, Troy Langford, Omar Garcia, Christopher Feifarek and Susan C. Quick, Rose Petal Stable LLC, Spring Promise Farm, Fanelli, John and Sitlinger, Mark, Glenn W. and Pamela Bartholomew, Dale Brewer, Thoroughbred Acquisition Group, Gary Barber, Edward M. Ridge, Larry Gorgo, Justice Farm, Bloodlines Racing Partnerships, Ruis Racing LLC, William Paduano and Anthony Szeglin, Lane Farm LLC, Juan C. Fernandez, John William Tittle, Merryman, Elizabeth M. and Ellendale Racing LLC, Northcote Stable, Idalys Villafane, RPS Racing Stable LLC, Ronald J Dandy, David C. George, HP Racing Stables, Turkeyfoot Stable, Taste Of Victory Stables LLC and Rashid’s Thoroughbred Racing, Wounded Warrior Stables, Hickey, Fred and Rohan Racing Stable, Jones Ventures Inc., Teresa Connelly, Nicole Hedus, e Five Racing Thoroughbreds, Justa Farm Racing, Gary W. Brothers, Ross Bryan Farm, Horner, Ellen G. and Tria Pell Dove, Jerzy Boyz Racing II LLC and Peter Donnelly, Wounded Warrior Stables, Burns, Gerald L. and McAbee, Mark, Edgar Neal Jester, Van Sant, Maria Claire, and Salerno, Theresa, Jacks or Better Farm Inc., Battle Lake Racing Stable, Travis Kinnamon, Ian F. Smith, David Dotolo, Dennis Drazin, David Carl Hagemann, Michael Zanella and Charles Reed, Fleming Thoroughbreds LLC, Donnelly, P., D’Antonio and Sons LLC, Eliott Krems, Chemphar Inc., Robert J. Colasanti, George E. Hall, Yellow Jacket Stable, S. D. Stable, Mark Eagan, Efrain Miranda Hernandez, Shanty Irish Racing Stable, Chelsea Dreyer, Wright A. Smith, Sandy C. Smith and Jareb Horton, Enaya Racing, Hidden Acres 4-D Farm, Alejandro Reyes, Floresta, Ramon Nunez, Londonderry Stable, Triple K Stables and Jagger Inc., Joseph Minieri, Lake Lonely Racing, Lee, John, Lo, Charles and Miranda, Efrain, A. Tassone & G. Russo, Shelley Stoneking, Girten, Tim and Brown Jr., Donald L., Starlight Racing, Andrea Betancourt, Ernest Rogers Jr., Randall Kondor, Kyle Anderson, Parlee Jo Ferko, Tom Burton, Jeff Ditty and Gryphon Investments LLC, Dave Pinkney, William Austin, Augustus Tarmin, Danny A. Limongelli and Sola Dei, Gloria Stable, Michael J Harrison, Ginger Hames, Horseplay Racing, Beryl Larue, Map It Out Racing Stable, John Finelli, Gordon Policastro & Kelly Deiter, Cristian Castro, Drawing Away Stable, Michael Sandoval, Amenta Racing Stables LLC, Wounded Warrior, Fred Hickey and Hillcrest Meadows Farm LLC, Steven Bertrando, El Rey Del Cuajo, Leeia Singh, Carlos Cazares-Marron, Claudio A. Gonzalez, Sola Dei Gloria Stable and Larry Rabold, Thomas E. Camuti, Dennison, Gerard and Lane, Daniel Alavicki Farm, Karen Clark and Kelly Lynn Deiter, Dominique Damico, Jodie Pointer.

WASHINGTON HBPA Doug Moore Appointed to Commission

Longtime horseman and former Washington Horse Racing Commission (WHRC) Executive Secretary Doug Moore was recently appointed to the racing commission. Moore filled the position that became vacant when veterinarian

and horseman’s advocate Dr. Everett Macomber retired in December 2022. Upon Moore’s appointment, there was a collective sigh of relief in the barn area at Emerald Downs, knowing that Moore, like Macomber, understood not only the current issues in racing but also the challenges and concerns of owners and trainers in Washington.

“When I first heard that Doug Moore was leaving his position with the commission, I was very concerned,” said MaryAnn O’Connell, WHBPA executive director. “There is nothing better for horsemen and the industry as a whole to have a regulator who fully understands horse racing—not just the rules but challenges faced by all participants, including the horses.

“People with such love and commitment to racing don’t often apply for a regulatory position, so the thought of losing his influence was frightening. I was truly relieved and elated when I heard he was being appointed as a commissioner.”

As a WHRC employee and chair of the Association of Racing Commissioners International Rider and Driver Welfare and Safety Committee, Moore has proved himself to be an advocate for not only the Washington racing industry but also for horsemen. In national meetings, he often respectfully voiced trainer or owner perspective on issues, even in settings where such opinions may not be popular. He affected the regulatory culture in a positive way, which opened the door for greater horsemen participation and influence in rulemaking.

Pat LePley, WHBPA president, also spoke highly of Moore’s efforts as executive secretary.

“Doug went beyond the call of duty with his work in the legislature for the past two years,” LePley said. “Although we were not successful in passing our bill this year, he was instrumental in helping the commission receive budget funding, which reduces the costs of HISA for all racing participants and keeps commission employees involved at Emerald Downs. This allowed for a smoother and more cost-efficient transition to HISA.”

Moore started his career in racing at age 13 riding races at the Northwest Washington county fairs. After graduating from high school, he rode primarily in the Northwest at Playfair, Longacres, Portland Meadows, Salem and Les Bois Park. He ended his riding career as a leading rider and was hired as assistant racing secretary at several racetracks in the Northwest and worked in various positions at Oregon, Washington and Montana tracks. His first position with the WHRC was in 1989 at Playfair Race Course in Spokane, where he served as clocker/identifier. When Emerald Downs opened in 1996, he had performed a variety of official duties for the commission and was promoted to steward in 1999, a position he held for 10 years.

In 2009, Moore accepted the deputy secretary position and replaced the retiring Robert Lopez as executive secretary in 2013. Lopez, like Moore, was appointed to the commission a couple of years after his retirement so the two are working together again, along with Claude Ragle, DVM, to support Washington racing.

Moore said his goal is to continue to support the long-term health of Thoroughbred racing in Washington and particularly at Emerald Downs. He emphasized that without the Auburn racetrack, the future of any racing in the Northwest will be gone.

Amanda Benton will serve as the commission’s executive secretary. Like Moore, Benton was well prepped for the position after serving as deputy secretary for several years. Benton, a 2006 graduate of the University of Arizona’s Race Track Industry Program, transitioned from a barn area position to working for the WHRC shortly after completing her studies. She transitioned from pari-mutuel inspector to steward, a position she held for almost eight years before becoming deputy secretary in the fall of 2016.

No Per Start HISA Fees for WHBPA Members

Emerald Downs opened on the first Saturday in May in conjunction with Kentucky Derby Day for the first time since 2013. Although the temperature was 10 degrees below normal, a festive crowd gathered under ominous gray skies for the 2023 live meet kickoff.

Enthusiastic crowds can be a thing of the past at many tracks around the country, but Emerald Downs stands out as one that continually strives to make the races fun for newcomers and seasoned racing fans, attracting large attendance on many race days. This year will be no different as the season is spotted with promotional crowd-gathering events. While horsemen don’t always welcome the hoopla that comes with days like corgi and bulldog races, they do indirectly profit from the high attendance days.

Through the cooperative efforts of the leadership of the Washington Horse Racing Commission, Emerald Downs management and the Washington HBPA and in the best interest of the future of racing at Emerald Downs, there will be no HISA fees assessed directly to owners and trainers during the 2023 meet.

This was accomplished primarily by the commission and Emerald Downs signing agreements with HISA and taking on and funding duties that otherwise would have been conducted by HISA at a much higher cost.

The commission will operate the safety portion of the HISA rules, which also will allow it to keep many loyal WHRC workers employed. Emerald Downs has agreed to take on operation of the test barn, including post-race veterinary exams under the guidance of HISA. A full training session by HISA was conducted in late May.

Although HISA’s last-minute decision to delay implementation of its testing program created some issues for staffing the test barn for five race days, industry leadership was able to cooperatively make needed adjustments. The transition to HISA will be less disruptive for horsemen as the regulatory and test barn personnel are familiar faces. With HISA implementation occurring after the meet had already started and given the many lastminute adjustments, the WHBPA and Emerald Downs agreed that it was best to absorb the “horsemen assessments” for 2023.

The WHBPA board backed the decision, agreeing that a per start fee, after the meet had already started, would not only be inequitable but might be the “last nail” for many owners and trainers who struggle to keep afloat with fewer race days, high inflation and the cost of living in the Seattle area.

Prior to the 2024 meet, an evaluation of the best method for assessing HISA fees will be conducted and announced before training

begins for the meet. WHBPA Executive Director MaryAnn O’Connell said the board is looking at methods other than per start fees for collecting HISA fees, stating that all covered horses should contribute to the fund, not just those who are creating industry income through handle.

The WHBPA board and staff are appreciative of Emerald Downs management’s willingness to step in and take on the new and monumental task of operating the test barn. Along with the commission, they once again have shown a unique and exemplary effort to cooperatively work together in the best interest of sustaining racing at Emerald Downs. HJ

Featuring the Sam Huff West Virginia Breeders Classic and the Breeders Classics Races

Bob Hubbard Horse Transportation is proud to support the National HBPA (horsemen, owners and trainers).

Over a recent two-month span, trainers, owners, breeders and other horsemen downloaded more than 200,000 sets of DRF past performances

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WHAT IS EIPH?

EIPH (exercise induced pulmonary hemorrhage), also known as “lung bleeding”, is the presence of blood in the airways during or after exercise. It is a silent injury that can go undetected because it occurs deep within the lungs. Only 5% of horses with EIPH show blood at the nostrils. Essentially all horses are affected by some degree of EIPH during intensive exercise.

WHAT CAUSES EIPH?

EIPH is caused by rupture of the fragile pulmonary capillary membrane (PCM) that separates the blood from the airways. Within the lung, both high blood pressure (to meet exercise demands) and high vacuum pressures (needed to inhale large volumes of air) stress the PCM, causing it to rupture and blood to enter the airways.

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