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WINTER 2018

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THE HORSEMEN’S JOURNAL CONTENTS | WINTER 2018 | VOLUME 65/#4

DEPARTMENTS

Message from the National HBPA

FEATURES

16 One for the Record Books

Healing Horses and Humans

The 20th renewal of the Claiming Crown shatters the event’s handle mark at Gulfstream Park

The Thoroughbred Makeover showcased the versatility and talent of Thoroughbreds after leaving the track

A Vital Purpose The Man O’ War Project brings veterans and horses together to treat PTSD

Industry News

Tackling the Lameness Problem A collaborative study on joint injections between the National HBPA and veterinarians is bearing knowledge

43 12

HBPA News

Research & Medication Update

Affiliate News Hitting the Threshold of Common Sense The time for screening limits to guard against environmental transfer is now THE HORSEMEN’S JOURNAL

WINTER 2018

MESSAGE FROM

THE CEO NATIONAL HBPA 3380 Paris Pike Lexington, KY 40511 P (859) 259-0451 F (859) 259-0452 racing@hbpa.org www.hbpa.org

PRESIDENT/ CHAIRPERSON OF THE BOARD Leroy Gessmann SECRETARY/ TREASURER Lynne Schuller CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Eric J. Hamelback VICE PRESIDENT EASTERN REGION Stephen Screnci VICE PRESIDENT SOUTHERN REGION Rick Hiles VICE PRESIDENT CENTRAL REGION Joe Davis

s I watched an amazing day of racing during

usage of digital data. Horse racing is no different, and in my

the Claiming Crown on December 1 at Gulf-

opinion the industry may depend even more on data than any

stream Park (see page 16 for a full recap), I

other sport or gaming enterprise. Because of this, our National

could not help but think about the future of

HBPA convention in March 2019 will have a heavy focus on data

our industry and how we, the National HBPA and its affiliates, can and should help to shape that future. Many of you may

and statistics. Read more about the convention on page 12. Thus, owners need to be prepared to secure their proper

have seen The Jockey Club press release in October regarding

rights to what is their intellectual property—and on which our

Equibase and the deployment of GPS systems at Woodbine,

industry is now based. The time to do this is now, while the

Golden Gate Fields, Laurel Park and Pimlico for automated

systems are being created. It is not a stretch for me to say I am

tracking and timing. Note that the initiative involves tracks

very concerned about this topic, and I believe on behalf of all

whose owners are represented by the HBPA (Woodbine), the

Thoroughbred owners, as their representatives, we need to take

Thoroughbred Owners of California (Golden Gate Fields) and the

a stand for owners’ proprietary rights to the GPS data, which

Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association (Pimlico and Laurel Park).

will be collected in the not too distant future. To my knowledge,

This issue involves all owners, regardless of their representa-

owners either individually or through their representatives (the

tion. It is my opinion this change represents a critical point in

horsemen’s groups) have never officially authorized or been

our racing’s future. We are at a crossroads with the switch to

asked to authorize (as they routinely are for video footage)

digitized past performance data collection from our current sys-

anyone to collect, archive and use the record of their property, in

tem, which relies on human Equibase employee chart-callers.

this case, the racehorse.

Moving forward, Equibase, which is known as the “official

At the very least, I would hope we initiate looking at having an

database of the Thoroughbred industry,” will be able to collect

intellectual property attorney investigate what rights our owners

all races (and training workouts) and possibly even sales

might have in this case. Again, in my opinion, if we as horsemen’s

performances in a digital format. We are all well aware that the

groups fail to take even this initial step, it could be seen as an

entire Thoroughbred pari-mutuel industry is predicated on the

abandonment of fiduciary responsibility to our owner members. I

use of this information, thus the collected data and statistics

certainly feel the HBPA, the TOC and the THA should work together

will be “owned” by Equibase, a partnership of The Jockey Club

on this matter, which I feel is absolutely critical to establishing

and the Thoroughbred Racing Associations of North America,

owners’ interests in the industry. Many of you are aware I have been

the trade association of racetracks. I feel it is my job to make

“preaching” this fear for some time now, but at this point, I feel we

all owners aware that they have, until now, neither claimed nor

are at the crossroads and we need to do something about this now,

retained any proprietary rights to the records of their horses’

when there may be a real opportunity to assert owners’ rights to the

performances, thus meaning owners have neither access to, nor

digital data that sustains our industry.

any commercial interest in, the data collected by Equibase. VICE PRESIDENT WESTERN REGION J. Lloyd Yother

As you likely know, digital data is the motherlode of 21st

SINCERELY, ERIC J. HAMELBACK

century sports. Whether you are looking at analytics, marketing or fan involvement, each avenue turns to the presentation and

THE HORSEMEN’S JOURNAL

WINTER 2018

CONTRIBUTORS THE

AFFILIATES

NATIONAL HBPA WOULD LIKE TO THANK ITS CORPORATE

SPONSORS

BOARD OF DIRECTORS - AFFILIATES Dr. David Harrington, Alabama Robert Hutton, Arizona Bill Walmsley, Arkansas David Milburn, Canada Randy Funkhouser, Charles Town Kent Bamford, Colorado Dave Brown, Finger Lakes Stephen Screnci, Florida Eddie Essenpreis, Illinois Joe Davis, Indiana David McShane, Iowa Rick Hiles, Kentucky Benard Chatters, Louisiana George Kutlenios, Michigan Dr. Scott Rake, Minnesota Jami Poole, Mountaineer Park Barry Lake, Nebraska Anthony Spadea, New England Joe Poole, Ohio David Faulkner, Oklahoma Sue Leslie, Ontario Ron Sutton, Oregon Sandee Martin, Pennsylvania Robert Jeffries, Tampa Bay Downs David Ross, Virginia Pat LePley, Washington

Maria Catignani Dr. Clara Fenger Jacob Machin Judy L. Marchman Christine Oser Theodore Shults Dr. Thomas Tobin

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Denis Blake Coady Photography Coglianese Photos/Lauren King, Leslie Martin, Kenny Martin Emerald Downs Alex Evers/Eclipse Sportswire Horsephotos.com Keeneland Library/Cook Collection kellyvandellen - stock.adobe.com Annie Litz Cheryl Ann Quigley – stock.adobe.com Jamey Stillings Jana Tetrault

STAFF Denis Blake Editor P (512) 695-4541 hj@hbpa.org Jennifer Vanier Allen Advertising Director P (716) 650-4011 F (509) 272-1640 jallen@hbpa.org Limb Design www.limbdesign.com Graphic Design THE HORSEMEN’S JOURNAL 3380 Paris Pike Lexington, KY 40511 P (512) 695-4541 F (859) 259-0452 hj@hbpa.org HBPA WEBSITE: www.hbpa.org COVER PHOTO:

Aztec Sense wins the Claiming Crown Jewel at Gulfstream Park Coglianese Photos/Kenny Martin

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 65 #4. Postal Information: The Horsemen’s Journal (ISSN 0018-5256) is published quarterly by the National Horsemen’s Administration Corporation, with publishing offices at P.O. Box 8645, Round Rock, TX 78683. Copyright 2018 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 trainers. HBPA is a non-profit 501(c)6 Kentucky corporation. Members receive The Horsemen’s

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Journal as a benefit of membership paid by the national office from affiliate dues. Annual non-member subscriptions are $14. Single-copy back issues, if available, are $7. Canadian subscribers add $6. All other subscriptions outside the U.S. add $20 payable in U.S. funds. To order reprints or subscriptions, call (866) 245-1711. The HBPA National Board of Directors has determined that the publication of this periodical is necessary in the transaction of the public business required of the association. Views and opinions expressed are those of the authors and/or advertisers and do not necessarily represent the opinion or policy of the publisher or HBPA board or staff. Query the editor prior to sending any manuscripts. Periodicals Postage Paid at Round Rock, Texas and additional mailing offices. CANADA POST: Publications mail agreement no. 41530527. Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: P. O. Box 503, RPO West Beaver Creek, Richmond Hill, ON L4B 4R6. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Horsemen’s Journal, P.O. Box 911188, Lexington, KY 40591-1188.

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WINTER 2018

NEWS

INDUSTRY NEWS

Breeders’ Cup Handle Dips Slightly, Attendance Strong

ALEX EVERS/ECLIPSE SPORTSWIRE

ccelerate’s victory in the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic capped a perfect day of racing on November 3 at Churchill Downs in the 35th Breeders’ Cup World Championships. The day also saw back-to-back Breeders’ Cup wins by Roy H and Stormy Liberal and a history-making win in the $4 million

Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf by 4-year-old European super filly Enable (GB) that made her the first horse to win the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and the Longines Turf in the same year. Total handle for the two-day event was $157,445,841, the fifth highest since Breeders’ Cup adopted a two-day format in 2007. Total handle on Saturday’s nine Breeders’ Cup races was $96,018,060, a 4 percent decrease from the $99,833,643 bet on the nine Breeders’ Cup races in 2017. Common-pool handle on Saturday’s 12-race Breeders’ Cup card was $105,229,197. Saturday’s attendance was 70,423, and the two-day attendance total was 112,672, the third highest in Breeders’ Cup history. (Attendance in 2017 at Del Mar was capped at 37,500 each day for the comfort of Breeders’ Cup guests.) “Once again, the Breeders’ Cup proved a fitting showcase for world championship performances and the best in international racing,” said Breeders’ Cup President and CEO Craig Fravel. “We want to thank our gracious hosts from Churchill Downs, the greater Louisville community, our fans around the world as well the owners and breeders who participate in our racing programs for an incredible week capped by two extraordinary days of racing.” This year was the ninth time the Breeders’ Cup has been held at Churchill Downs. The Breeders’ Cup will return to Santa Anita in 2019 and will be held at Keeneland in 2020 and at Del Mar in 2021.

ACCELERATE WINS THE BREEDERS’ CUP CLASSIC (G1) UNDER THE TWIN SPIRES OF CHURCHILL DOWNS.

Thoroughbred Industry Employee Award Winners Announced

COADY PHOTOGRAPHY

odolphin’s Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards, now in its third year, honored its winners on October 31 at Churchill Downs prior to the Breeders’ Cup World Championships. Jill Byrne, senior director of industry relations for the Breeders’ Cup, was once again the master of ceremonies, with Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert on hand to present the awards.

THE 2018 TIEA WINNERS (FROM LEFT): ANGIE CARMONA, LISA SEE, CESAR AGUILAR, DEVON DOUGHERTY, SANDY HATFIELD AND THERESE REESE

Jimmy Bell, president of Godolphin in America, commented, “We were thrilled that Churchill Downs and the Breeders’ Cup welcomed us to be part of Championship Week this year, and we sincerely thank them both for their support. We also want to express our gratitude to the nominators for providing such an outstanding group of worthy nominees and sincere thanks as well to the judges, our corporate partners and our media partners. As they say, ‘It takes a village,’ and it’s very heartwarming to see how the entire industry has embraced these important awards, now in their third year.” “There are very special people in our industry who spend countless hours of their lives taking care of our industry’s horses and humans,” said Jim Gagliano, president of The Jockey Club. “These awards enable us to honor them and share THE HORSEMEN’S JOURNAL

WINTER 2018

their wonderful stories. We are grateful to Godolphin for bringing these awards to the United States and for including The Jockey Club, TOBA and the National HBPA as their corporate partners in this important endeavor.” The full list of winners and runners-up is as follows: Leadership Award—Farm Winner: Sandy Hatfield, Stallion Manager, Three Chimneys Farm (Runners-up: Richard Barry, Stallion Manager, Ashford Stud; John Hall, Supervisor, Taylor Made Sales Agency) Leadership Award—Racing Winner: Cesar Aguilar, Foreman, John W. Sadler Racing (Runners-up: Gene Corbin, Farm Trainer, Shade Tree Thoroughbreds; Daisy Tobin, Assistant Trainer, James W. Casey Racing) Dedication to Breeding Award Winner: Therese Reese, Stoneway Farm (Runners-up: Noe Murillo-Hernandez, Assistant Manager, The Acorn Farm; Barbara Nicholls, Equine Manager, Stone Farm) Dedication to Racing Award Winner: Lisa See, Groom/Assistant, Pecoraro Racing Stable (Runners-up: Jehobany Alvarez, Assistant Trainer, Peter Miller Racing Stable; Esteban Medina, Delta Downs) Newcomer Award Winner: Devon Dougherty, Assistant Trainer, Roy Houghton Stable (Runners-up: Zachary Richards, Corporate Partnership Account Executive, NYRA; Lindsay Scott, Farm Manager, Langsem Farm) Thoroughbred Community Award Winner: Angie Carmona, Deputy Executive Director and Secretary, California Thoroughbred Trainers The Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards, with total prize money of $128,000, was managed and administered by The Jockey Club, the National HBPA and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association. Media partners are Thoroughbred Daily News, BloodHorse, Daily Racing Form, The Paulick Report and TVG.

FEATURE

Fifth Thoroughbred Owner Conference Concludes with Optimism for Racing’s Future

COURTESY OWNERVIEW

he fifth Thoroughbred Owner Conference, co-hosted by OwnerView and BloodHorse and presented by Churchill Downs and Breeders’ Cup, concluded November 1 with presentations on the state of the Thoroughbred industry, aftercare and resources for owners, as well as a panel of Kentucky Derby and Breeders’ Cup-winning jockeys. Approximately 250 people attended the three-day event, including both longtime horse owners and new or prospective owners. The conference took place at Churchill Downs and the Louisville Marriott Downtown and coincided with the Breeders’ Cup World Championships. Topics covered during the first two days of the conference included business planning, sales, veterinary issues, sports wagering and state incentive programs. The keynote address was delivered by Jon Miller, the president of KEYNOTE SPEAKER JON MILLER programming for NBC Sports. Under Miller’s leadership, NBC Sports Group has significantly expanded its national coverage of horse racing from 23 hours in 2011 to more than 80 hours this year. In his address, Miller talked about NBC’s expansion from the “Home of the Triple Crown” to the “Home of Horse Racing” and branching out to showcasing international racing. “NBC Sports’ legacy is in storytelling,” Miller said. “There’s nothing more iconic in sports than horse racing. It opens itself up to stories, and we have great storytellers.” Miller also talked about the production of horse racing television telecasts and the work involved. “We use 45 to 50 cameras for the Kentucky Derby,” he said. “A Notre Dame football game gets 12 to 14 cameras. The Kentucky Derby is our most expensive and extensive remote production. It’s an enormous undertaking.” However, Miller said NBC believes in supporting racing. “We have invested heavily in growing the sport,” he said. “Racing is thrilling and unpredictable.” In addition to the panel sessions, conference-goers were able to attend the Breeders’ Cup post-position draw, the trackside breakfast marquee, an evening reception at the Kentucky Derby museum and a wine-anddine dinner. “We were thrilled to bring this year’s Owner Conference to historic Churchill Downs and enable our attendees to learn about ownership at the site of one of the most famous racetracks in the world,” said Gary Falter, project manager for OwnerView. “We appreciate the support of Churchill Downs and Breeders’ Cup and hope that one of our new owners will one day end up in the Churchill Downs’ winner’s circle on Derby or Breeders’ Cup day.” A video replay of all panels at the conference is available at ownerview.com.

Modernized Treasury/IRS Regulations Help Return More Money to Bettors

n the first year of operations under newly modernized U.S. Treasury and IRS regulations, a $307 million reduction in the amount of winning pari-mutuel wagers was reported to the IRS using form W-2G, according to statistics released by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association. This reduction was the result of a dramatic 89 percent decline in the number of winning tickets flagged for IRS reporting. The decline also led to a $35 million reduction in the amount withheld from bettors’ winnings. The new regulations, which took effect September 28, 2017, recast the Treasury’s definition of “amount of the wager” to include the entire amount wagered into a specific pari-mutuel pool by an individual rather than the prior IRS standard of using only the base amount of the winning wager. Based on data provided by CHRIMS—which conducts settlements and other services for many of the nation’s pari-mutuel operators and racetracks and for the two largest U.S. totalizator companies, AmTote and United Tote—the NTRA estimated the following nationwide impacts over the first 12 months of operation under the new regulations (October 1, 2017 to September 30, 2018 vs. October 1, 2016 to September 30, 2017). The gross amount of winning wagers reported to the IRS on form W-2G declined $307,700,000 (82 percent), from approximately $374,500,000 to about $66,800,000. Federal taxes withheld from winning wagers and sent to the IRS declined $35,400,000 (82 percent), from $43,200,000 to $7,800,000, and the actual number of IRS tickets flagged for W-2G reporting by the IRS declined nearly 89 percent, from approximately 235,100 tickets to only about 26,350 tickets.

THE HORSEMEN’S JOURNAL

WINTER 2018

From a percentage standpoint, the impacts were equally positive for horseplayers, pari-mutuel operators and horsemen across the country—regardless of the size of the racetrack market. The new regulations also benefited advance deposit wagering (ADW) operators and their customers. “The drastic reduction in the number of winning tickets requiring reporting and withholding is consequential in several ways,” said NTRA President and CEO Alex Waldrop. “Under the old regulations, it was not uncommon for horseplayers to feel the thrill of winning only to have their proceeds reported and/or withheld by the IRS. The old regulations were both unfair and a burden to all involved. A significant overreach by the IRS has been corrected thanks to fair-minded officials at the U.S. Treasury.” There are numerous examples of events in which the industry has benefited from the new regulations. On Derby Day, Preakness Day and Belmont Stakes Day at their respective host tracks, the combined number of on-track winning tickets required by the IRS to be reported on form W-2G fell by 96 percent, with the gross amount of winning wagers required to be reported falling by 87 percent and the amount of money withheld from pari-mutuel winnings falling by 71 percent. It is likely that similar results were realized nationwide. The on-track impact was most pronounced at Pimlico on Preakness Day, where the number of tickets requiring reporting fell by 99 percent and the number of tickets requiring federal withholding fell by 100 percent because there were no winning tickets at Pimlico on Preakness Day that triggered federal withholding.

“The new regulations have been enormously beneficial to every sector of our business,” Waldrop continued. “They would never have transpired without the bipartisan support we received on Capitol Hill and the unwavering support of every segment of the horse racing industry, including thousands of customers who answered our call to action. Best of all, we will continue to realize the positive impacts from these regulations for many years to come.” For more than a decade, the NTRA and others promoted legislation to modernize pari-mutuel withholding and reporting. The industry argued that as pari-mutuel wagering increasingly shifted toward exotic bet types like exactas, trifectas and pick 4s, more winning wagers were being reported and more winnings withheld, creating an unfair burden on bettors, pari-mutuel operators and state and federal governments. In 2014 the NTRA developed a new strategy that relied on regulatory, not statutory, relief from outdated regulations. Following the new strategy, the NTRA was able to convince the Treasury Department and the IRS to expand the definition of the phrase “amount of the wager” to include the total amount bet on a single ticket (or through an ADW) by an individual into a specific pari-mutuel pool. This one simple change in the Treasury regulations that took effect in September 2017 has led to the significant benefits reported above. Through September of this year, U.S. wagering has increased 3.95 percent ($336,724,709) overall, while average wagering per race day has increased 7.67 percent ($180,231), according to statistics provided by Equibase.

The Jockey Club Releases 2017 and 2018 Breeding Statistics

he Jockey Club reported that 1,778 stallions covered 34,288 mares in North America during 2017, according to statistics compiled through September 26, 2018. These breedings have resulted in 21,130 live foals of 2018 being reported to The Jockey Club on Live Foal Reports. The Jockey Club estimates that the number of live foals reported so far is approximately 90 percent complete. The reporting of live foals of 2018 is down 2.3 percent from last year at this time when The Jockey Club had received reports for 21,624 live foals of 2017. In addition to this year’s live foal reports, The Jockey Club has also received 2,516 No Foal Reports for the 2018 foaling season. Ultimately, the 2018 registered foal crop is projected to reach 21,500. The number of stallions declined 4.6 percent from the 1,863 reported for 2016 at this time last year, while the number of mares bred declined 4.9 percent from the 36,045 reported for 2016. The 2017 breeding statistics are available alphabetically by stallion name through the Resources/Fact Book link on The Jockey Club homepage at jockeyclub.com. “It is important to note that the live foals reported in The Jockey Club breeding statistics are by conception area and do not represent the state in which a foal was born,” said Matt Iuliano, executive vice president and executive director of The Jockey Club. “Breeding statistics also are not a representation of a stallion’s fertility record.” Kentucky annually leads all states and provinces in terms of Thoroughbred breeding activity. Kentucky-based stallions accounted for 50.7 percent of the mares reported bred in North America in 2017 and 58.5 percent of the live foals reported for 2018. The 17,401 mares reported bred to 235 Kentucky stallions in 2017 have produced 12,370 live foals, a 0.2 percent decrease on the 12,396 Kentucky-sired live foals of 2017 reported at this time last year. The number of mares reported bred to Kentucky stallions in 2017 decreased 2.9 percent compared to the 17,912 reported for 2016 at this time last year. THE HORSEMEN’S JOURNAL

WINTER 2018

The Jockey Club also released Report of Mares Bred (RMB) statistics for the 2018 breeding season. Based on RMBs received through October 16, 2018, The Jockey Club reports that 1,214 stallions covered 30,274 mares in North America during 2018. The Jockey Club estimates an additional 3,000 to 4,000 mares will be reported as bred during the 2018 breeding season. The number of stallions declined 9.5 percent from the 1,342 reported at this time in 2017, and the number of mares bred decreased 5 percent from the 31,863 reported last year. The number of stallions covering 125 or more mares increased from 60 in 2017 to 62 in 2018. Further book size analysis shows a 3 percent increase in the number of mares bred to stallions with a book size of 125 or more in 2018 when compared to 2017 as reported at this time last year; a 1.4 percent decrease in mares bred to stallions with a book size between 100 and 124; a 7 percent increase in mares bred to stallions with a book size between 75 and 99; a 6.7 percent decrease in mares bred to stallions with a book size between 50 and 74; a 9.6 percent decrease in mares bred to stallions with a book size between 25 and 49; and a 16.7 percent decrease in mares bred to stallions with a book size fewer than 25. The percentage of broodmares covered by large book size (125 or more) stallions increased from 29.4 percent in 2017 to 31.9 percent in 2018. From 2015 to 2017, this percentage had remained constant at approximately 29 percent, up from 20.5 percent in 2014. The proportion of stallions with book sizes of 125 or more mares grew from 3.1 percent in 2014 to 4.5 percent from 2015 to 2017. In 2018 this proportion increased to 5.1 percent. RMB statistics for all reported stallions in 2018 are available through The Jockey Club’s online Fact Book. The stallion Into Mischief led all stallions with 245 mares bred in 2018. Rounding out the top five by number of RMBs were Cupid, 223; Klimt, 222; Practical Joke, 220; and Violence, 214. During 2018, Kentucky’s 228 reported stallions covered 17,322 mares, or 57.2 percent of all of the mares reported bred in North America. The number of mares bred to Kentucky stallions increased 0.3 percent compared with the 17,275 reported at this time last year. HJ

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FEATURE NEWS

HBPA NEWS

THOROUGHBRED IDEA FOUNDATION TO PROVIDE KEYNOTE PANEL AT NATIONAL HBPA CONVENTION A panel of representatives from the recently established Thoroughbred Idea Foundation will provide the keynote address at the National HBPA’s 2019 annual convention as part of the NHBPA’s continuing effort to support Thoroughbred racing and the encompassing industry. The convention, hosted by the Tampa Bay Downs HBPA, is set for March 13-15. The nonprofit organization was formed earlier this year to create an active forum for the exchange and curation of ideas with the mission of “improving the Thoroughbred racing industry for all stakeholders, especially its primary customers—horseplayers and owners—through the exchange, curation and advocacy of sound, data-driven ideas shared with and implemented by the sport’s existing entities,” according to racingthinktank.com, the organization’s website. The panel is scheduled for March 13, opening day of the three-day gathering at the Sheraton Sand Key Resort in Clearwater Beach, Florida. Panelists will be board members Craig Bernick, Jack Wolf and Corey Johnsen, along with executive director Patrick Cummings. Other convention speakers will include Dr. Jennifer Durenberger, founder of the consulting company Racing Matters; economist Dr. Steven Vickner from the University of Louisville College of Business’ equine industry program; Jen Roytz, executive director of the Retired Racehorse Project; and prominent racing talk show host Steve Byk, who will lead a panel discussion on how the industry can best utilize statistical information in the future. “There are a lot of good things going on in horse racing, a lot of good buzz,” said Eric Hamelback, CEO of the National HBPA. “We want to accentuate positive developments in horse racing, and the purpose of both the HBPA convention and the Thoroughbred Idea Foundation is to spark dialogue on how to improve our sport. “The Thoroughbred Idea Foundation is committed to putting out productive, well-thought-out ideas that we can all back to make our industry better. There is so much going on that it made sense to have a panel of their representatives—who come from different horse and business backgrounds—rather than just one keynote speaker. This promises to be a can’t-miss session, and I know I can’t wait to hear their thoughts on how we can all work together for positive change that benefits every aspect of our sport.” TIF does not take money from industry organizations but rather is funded by individuals from a cross-section of the sport. The core belief is that everyone benefits by taking care of owners and bettors. “Having been on some other industry boards, they can be so large with such large agendas that sometimes it’s hard to focus on specific areas to improve the economics of the business,” said Bernick, TIF’s founder and a prominent owner and breeder through his family’s Glen Hill Farm. “A group that advocates for the financial drivers of the business—owners and horseplayers— to try to improve the sport from an economic standpoint is necessary. They’re just ideas until you can get them implemented. We hope by speaking to the National HBPA that people understand what we’re about, and we’ll be looking to

push some of that stuff forward when it makes sense for horsemen. I don’t think we’ll advocate anything that doesn’t make sense for horsemen.” Bernick is president and CEO of Glen Hill Farm, the Ocala, Florida, farm founded by his grandfather, the late Leonard Lavin. He’s also managing partner in Elevage Bloodstock, which invests in stallion shares and broodmares, and launched the Breeders’ Cup wagering committee while on that organization’s board. In addition to supporting many Thoroughbred charities, Bernick is an officer of the Lavin Family Foundation. He was a business development and marketing executive at Alberto-Culver before going into the Thoroughbred business full-time. Wolf and his wife, Laurie, began Starlight Racing with six yearlings in 2000, one of which developed into Grade 1 winner and major stallion Harlan’s Holiday, and ultimately turned the stable into a partnership that participates at the highest level of the game, including being a minority owner in Triple Crown winner Justify. Wolf, who retired from his work as a hedge-fund manager to concentrate on racing, was the driving force behind launching the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, the industry’s first broad-based initiative dedicated to helping retired racehorses. Johnsen has earned a reputation as one of the country’s premier and most innovative track executives, who, with partner Ray Reid, turned Kentucky Downs into a major-league player by taking a gamble on instituting historical horse racing not only to help the track but also to strengthen the Kentucky racing circuit. Johnsen is a horse owner and breeder who started out as a $2 bettor and groom while attending college in Arizona. He was fundamental in the opening of Remington Park and Lone Star Park and currently is involved in the re-opening of Arizona Downs, formerly Yavapai Downs. Under Johnsen’s leadership as track president, Kentucky Downs has been named the Horseplayers Association of North America’s top-ranked track for three straight years. Cummings has been an executive with the Hong Kong Jockey Club and racing technology and data provider Trakus, as well as a media and communications specialist. An expert in international racing, Cummings covered Dubai racing for a decade for various media outlets. He also is a partner in racing syndicates in both America and South Africa. TIF already has issued two white papers. One advocates for penny breakage, where payoffs are calculated by rounding down to the penny instead of to the dime in most jurisdictions. The other calls for adopting a nationwide interference philosophy in which a horse or rider who impedes another horse won’t be disqualified and placed behind the impeded horse if the stewards believe the impeded horse would not otherwise have finished ahead of the horse causing the interference. The paper also recommends stiffer jockey sanctions for careless riding in instances in which there is not a disqualification. Details on registration and the complete convention agenda will be available soon at hbpa.org.

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TENDA JOINS EQUINE EQUIPMENT STABLE OF PARTNERS, SPONSORS NATIONAL HBPA Tenda, a leading manufacturer of equine and pet care products, has become a marketing partner of Equine Equipment, which offers manufacturer discounts to the horse world. Tenda products are available at local tack shops and online at BigDWeb.com and JackMfg.com. Equine Equipment also announced it has structured a Tenda sponsorship of the National HBPA. Tenda has been serving the performance horse industry for more than 45 years with the primary goal of developing and manufacturing products to promote and improve the overall health, soundness, performance and well-being of equine athletes. Tenda products include equine nutritional supplements, leg and muscle care therapies, wound and skin care products, healing salves, hoof care preparations and topical remedies, along with shampoos, conditioners and grooming products for horses and dogs. Tenda products are in use at racetracks, show rings, training facilities and backyard barns across the country and around the world. “We are delighted to welcome Tenda as a sponsor of the hard-working horsemen and women of the National HBPA and its affiliates,” said National HBPA CEO

Eric Hamelback. “Any time we can provide exceptional products and value to our membership, plus garner support of our industry, it’s a win for all involved.” Top trainer Dale Romans added, “Tenda Horse makes a quality product; it’s a good fit for any size operation and by Tenda being an industry supporter, it makes sense to support Tenda.” “I am honored to have Tenda aligned with Equine Equipment,” said Equine Equipment founder Steve Andersen. “This helps us round out our offerings. They join us as a marketing partner, and we are pleased to help bring their premium products to the horse world. Partnering with great companies and delivering value to the horse world is what Equine Equipment does every day of the week.” Visit tendahorse.com or call (888) 836-3213 to learn more and to find a retailer near you.

NATIONAL HBPA MISSION STATEMENT Founded in 1940, the National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (NHBPA) and its affiliates operate on behalf of Thoroughbred racehorse owners, trainers and backstretch personnel throughout the United States and Canada. Our mission is to improve and preserve Thoroughbred horse racing by: 1. Providing a representative voice for all Thoroughbred horsemen on matters integral to the advancement of Thoroughbred racing in the United States, Canada and at the state level. 2. Encouraging the highest standards of horsemanship to continuously improve the care, health and safety of the horse. 3. Facilitating guidelines to ensure the safety of the jockeys, trainers, grooms, exercise riders, hot walkers, farriers, veterinarians and all others who regularly come in contact with the racehorse.

5. 6. 7. 8.

Supporting the development, adoption, implementation and enforcement of nationwide uniform rules which promote safety and integrity in racing. Disseminating information on critical issues facing our industry to HBPA affiliates and to the general public as appropriate. Supporting and promoting programs and entities which provide general benevolence and other beneficial programs for affiliates and members. Assisting in the development of programs at affiliated tracks providing for the aftercare of our horses when their racing careers are over. Promoting the sport of Thoroughbred horse racing.

NATIONAL HBPA’S POSITION REGARDING THE REGULATION OF RACING MEDICATION 1.

The National HBPA’s focus has always been, and remains, the health and safety of the horse, the safety of the jockey, and the safety of all individuals coming into contact with the horse including grooms, hot 4. walkers, trainers and veterinarians. The National HBPA believes a truly independent and transparent Racing Medication and Testing Consortium (RMTC) composed of industry stakeholders (including the NHBPA, The Jockey Club, the United States Trotting Association and Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, 5. among others) not dominated by any individual organization, with input from appropriate medical and veterinary professional bodies such as the 6. American Association of Equine Practitioners, must be the final evaluator of medical and veterinary science. The National HBPA believes that RMTC approved medication rules should be reviewed by the Association of Racing Commissioners International on

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behalf of state racing commissions, and following an evaluation based on science and medical research with all industry stakeholders being heard, the rules should be adopted or rejected by a majority vote. The National HBPA contends that uniform medication rules must be based solely on published scientifically determined regulatory thresholds, with published scientifically determined withdrawal time guidelines, all based on and supported by data published in the scientific literature. The National HBPA believes that RMTC and ISO-17025 accredited laboratories should perform all medication testing. The National HBPA does not tolerate cheating in this sport. The NHBPA supports rules wherein repeat offenders of medication rules, after due process, should be severely penalized, including permanent expulsion from the industry. HJ

FEATURE NEWS

RESEARCH AND MEDICATION UPDATE

Breeders’ Cup completed an extensive out-of-competition pre- and post-race testing program at this year’s World Championships, held at Churchill Downs on November 2-3, which included the testing of 289 horses. Breeders’ Cup has taken a leadership position in out-of-competition testing, and this year the organization continued to expand its testing program. Out-of-competition testing began in June with all Breeders’ Cup Challenge winners and other targeted possible starters in North America and overseas and continued right up until the championships at Churchill Downs. Breeders’ Cup engaged a testing coordinator, Dr. William Farmer, who worked with regulatory associations and testing laboratories around the world, including the British Horseracing Authority’s laboratory, LGC; France Galop’s official lab, LCH; and the Kenneth L. Maddy Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory at the University of California, Davis. All three labs are certified by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities. The executive council of the IFHA also specifically endorsed the updated protocols of the Breeders’ Cup that were put in place in advance of last year’s event. Horses were sampled in three European and 10 North American jurisdictions, leading to 180 of the 191 horses (94 percent) entered in the championships being sampled at a minimum of one time, with some runners having multiple samples taken. Through pre-race testing, 85 of 90 individual trainers that had a horse entered in the Breeders’ Cup had at least one horse sampled. Breeders’ Cup, in conducting its own out-of-competition testing, had access to all results prior to race day, which revealed no positive findings in any of the samples taken. All horses competing in Breeders’ Cup races also underwent prerace testing for total carbon dioxide (TCO2) levels in blood. Industrial Laboratories then conducted post-race testing of both blood and urine samples for prohibited drugs, including cobalt, collected from the first four finishers in all Breeders’ Cup races and any additional random horses selected by the stewards consistent with Kentucky Horse Racing Commission protocols. The program tested for anabolic steroids, blood doping agents and growth hormones, among others. All post-race samples collected from 2018 Breeders’ Cup World Championships starters were cleared by Industrial Laboratories. “We would like to extend our gratitude for the cooperating racing jurisdictions here and abroad and to the participating horsemen who cooperate fully in the Breeders’ Cup out-of-competition testing program,” said Dora Delgado, Breeders’ Cup senior vice president of racing and nominations. “This comprehensive testing program ensures that a level playing field is provided to all participants and continues the expansion of our world-class programs of safety, integrity and security for the Breeders’ Cup World Championships event.” 14

Researchers Fill Gaps in Horse Reference Genome to Guide New Approaches in Fighting Disease

Research led by scientists at the University of Louisville and the University of Kentucky has produced a more complete picture of the domestic horse reference genome, a map researchers will use to determine the role inherited genes and other regions of DNA play in many horse diseases and traits important in equine science and management. By reanalyzing DNA from a Thoroughbred named Twilight, the basis for the original horse reference genome, scientists generated a more than 10-fold increase in data and types of data to correct thousands of errors in the original sequence that was released in 2009. Since then, there have been dramatic improvements in nucleotide sequencing THE THOROUGHBRED TWILIGHT IS technology and the computational HELPING RESEARCHERS ADVANCE THEIR hardware and algorithms used to KNOWLEDGE OF THE EQUINE GENOME. analyze data. It is now easier and less expensive to build a reference genome. The new equine reference genome, known as EquCab3.0, was published in Communications Biology, representing the work of 21 co-authors from 14 universities and academic centers around the world. The horse reference genome is publicly available through the National Center for Biotechnology Information, a division of the National Institutes of Health. Genome sequencing allows researchers to read and decipher genetic information found in DNA and is especially important in mapping disease genes to discover diseases a horse might be genetically predisposed to developing. Data gathered from future genetic and genomic studies of horses will use the new reference as a basis, which also has implications for tackling serious diseases in humans, said principal investigator Ted Kalbfleisch, PhD, of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics at the University of Louisville School of Medicine. “Because we can sequence a horse and map it to the reference genome, we can know what genes might be affected by a mutation and come up with a hypothesis for what went wrong,” Kalbfleisch said. “Looking beyond the horse, we all want to cure cancer and other diseases that affect humans. Being able to accurately generate reference genomes gives us the tool that we need to map an individual’s genomic content. Having a high-quality reference genome makes it possible for us to know where an individual has a mutation and personalize therapies that will be right for an individual and the specific disease they have.” Senior author James MacLeod, VMD, PhD, of the University of Kentucky’s Gluck Equine Research Center, added, “Increased accuracy of the horse reference genome achieved through this work will greatly facilitate additional research in many aspects of equine science. Medical advances for horses as a patient population, both in terms of sensitive diagnostic tests and emergent areas of precision medicine, are addressing critical issues for the health and well-being of these wonderful animals.” Financial support for the research was provided by the Morris Animal Foundation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and additional grants to the laboratories of individual co-authors. HJ COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE

Breeders’ Cup Completes Comprehensive Preand Post-Race Testing Program for 2018 World Championships

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From ClaimTo Fame

FEATURE

Horse must have started ONCE at the claiming level or less since January 1, 2013 to be eligible.

ONE FOR

Gulfstream Park • Saturday, December 6, 2014

THE RECORD BOOKS

THE 20TH RENEWAL OF THE CLAIMING CROWN SHATTERS THE EVENT’S HANDLE MARK AT GULFSTREAM PARK

$1,000,000 in Purses

Compiled from Gulfstream Park press releases | Photos by Coglianese Photos/Lauren King, Leslie Martin, Kenny Martin For qualification criteria and nomination deadlines, call the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA) at (888) 606-TOBA. Visit claimingcrown.com or email claimingcrown@toba.org for more information. The Claiming Crown is a partnership between the National Horsemen’s Benevolent & Protective Association and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association.

he Claiming Crown has developed into one of the biggest days in racing since its inception in 1999 at Canterbury Park. So, it was fitting that the event hit all-time highs in handle and participation for its 20th running on December 1 at Gulfstream Park. Total handle on the 11-race program was $13.612 million, smashing the previous Claiming Crown record, set last year, of $11.925 million in an increase of 14 percent. Handle on the Claiming Crown has grown every year since Gulfstream started hosting the event in 2012, traditionally on opening day of the Florida track’s Championship Meet. “We’re extremely pleased with opening day,” said Gulfstream General Manager Bill Badgett. “We received a lot of compliments about the improvements at our facility, and we witnessed some memorable performances on track from our equine and human athletes. We want to thank our fans and horsemen for supporting Gulfstream and the Claiming Crown program.” Owners and trainers also continued to respond in a big way, as a record 346 nominations rolled in for the nine Claiming Crown events worth $1.11 million in purses. Those nominations translated to strong action at the entry box with 117 horses entered for the races run under starter allowance conditions. For the majority of the races, the conditions called for horses to have started for a specified claiming price or less at least once since January 1, 2017. The exceptions were the Claiming Crown Express and Claiming Crown Iron Horse, both for $8,000 level horses, which did not have the date restriction; instead, a horse must have started for the specified price at any point in its career. Prior to this year’s running, the partners in the event—the National HBPA, Florida HBPA, Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and Gulfstream Park—announced an extension through 2021 to keep the Claiming Crown in the Sunshine State. “President [Leroy] Gessmann and the regional vice presidents of the National HBPA are extremely pleased to once again secure a partnership

with the Florida HBPA, Gulfstream Park and The Stronach Group to continue hosting the Claiming Crown for an additional three years beginning in 2019,” said Eric Hamelback, CEO of the National HBPA. “This event has grown in popularity with owners, trainers and handicappers who are without question the backbone of our industry. I am pleased to work together with TOBA in creating an event that has become a highlight of each year’s racing calendar. Our goals, along with Gulfstream Park’s, will include raising the profile of the Claiming Crown with promotions throughout the country and qualifying races such as those found at Laurel Park and Kentucky Downs. We could not be more pleased to extend our partnership for an additional three years.” In addition to the action on the track, TOBA held a seminar earlier in the day, sponsored by the National HBPA and titled “The Claiming Game: How to Claim Thoroughbreds.” “Thanks to Meredith Downey of TOBA and strong support from Xpressbet, Gulfstream and the Florida HBPA, we were able to entertain the group all day and provide excellent education with great speakers discussing the claiming business,” Hamelback said. “Speakers included trainers Tom Amoss, Mike Maker and Joe Orseno (also a FHBPA board member), owner and manager of Pinnacle Racing and FHBPA board member Adam Lazarus, and Gulfstream Park’s general manager Billy Badgett and racing secretary Chris Camac. I am very proud of this initiative, and I hope we can keep the positive momentum to help bring in more owners to our industry.” Following are recaps of all of the Claiming Crown races.

RAPID TRANSIT UNO MAS MODELO

oooch Racing Stables’ Uno Mas Modelo overcame a troubled start to capture the $110,000 Rapid Transit, closing from last to register his fifth victory in his past six starts. The Rapid Transit, a seven-furlong sprint for horses that have raced for a claiming price of $16,000 or lower, kicked off the series of nine races celebrating horse racing’s “blue-collar” runners. Uno Mas Modelo, whose only loss in his last six starts came in an off-theboard finish in the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) at Belmont Park on September 29, left the gate several lengths behind the field before steadily making up ground on the backstretch. Swung to the outside by jockey Albin Jimenez on the far turn, the 5-year-old gelding made a sweeping move leaving the turn into the homestretch before launching a protracted stretch drive to prevail by a neck. “We planned to be up close, but the horse was moving a little bit in the gate before the break and we got a bad break,” Jimenez said. “He broke in the air, and we missed a lot right there. So, I just got him relaxed down the backside and tried to make one move, and that’s what we did. I could see the other horses were pretty tired, and my horse just kept going.” Flying P Stable’s Magnifier, a Jorge Navarro trainee who set fractions of :22.75, :45.61 and 1:11.09 while showing the way into the stretch under Paco Lopez, held second, a length ahead of late-closing Nominal Dollars, another Navarro runner owned by Monster Racing Stables. Magnifier had a two-race win streak from Delaware Park snapped, while Nominal Dollars provided a nice return for his

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connections in his first start since being haltered for $10,000 at Keeneland. Uno Mas Modelo, the 4-5 favorite who was coming off a victory in the Bet On Sunshine Stakes at Churchill Downs, stopped the clock at 1:25.23 to win his fifth race of the year. “He kept coming; he’s something,” trainer Anthony Quartarolo said. “At the beginning of the race, I said, ‘He has a lot to overcome. Let’s see if he can do it.’ He did.” Uno Mas Modelo, a son of Macho Uno bred in Kentucky by Russell L. Reineman Stables Inc., improved his lifetime record to 30-8-4-2 with earnings of $318,110. Cautious Giant, winner of last year’s Rapid Transit, finished fourth and was followed by Sal the Turtle, Chunnel, Morning Buzz, Imperatore and Diamond Majesty.

FEATURE

EXPRESS APPEALING FUTURE

on Marshall’s Appealing Future received a picture-perfect trip in the $110,000 Express, parlaying a ground-saving journey into a narrow victory in the six-furlong sprint for horses that have started for a claiming price of $8,000 or lower. The 4-year-old homebred gelding, who once ran for a $5,000 claiming price, captured his third straight victory after scoring back-to-back allowance wins at Parx. “We didn’t have too much to do with him here in South Florida; they had him prepared with our team up at Parx, which is a huge effort to them,” said Tyler Servis, trainer John Servis’ son and assistant. “He shipped here about three weeks ago, and they took care of the job. He came ready to run. I told [jockey] Nik [Juarez], being in the two hole, just to use him enough to hold his position, let him take a little breather and make one good run.” Sent to post at 5-2 in a field of 14, Appealing Future was involved with the early pace before Juarez eased him back to save ground behind the pacesetters, Harryhee and Small Fortune. Juarez continued to save ground on the turn into the homestretch before easing the son of Successful Appeal out to the two-path at the top of the stretch. Appealing Future responded with a strong stretch drive and held off the late run of Brother Chub by a neck. Fast Pass rallied late to finish third, two lengths farther back. Brother Chub, owned by Michael Day and Kasey K Racing Stable LLC and conditioned by Michael Moore, also came in from Parx and earned a stakes

win earlier in the year at Monmouth Park, while Fast Pass, owned by Paradise Farms Corp. and Walder Racing and trained by Peter Walder, made his last start at Santa Anita before traveling nearly 3,000 miles to south Florida. Pennsylvania-bred Appealing Future ran six furlongs in 1:12.16 to win his ninth race in 23 career starts and push his earnings to $311,434. It’s been quite a turnaround for the gelding, who in August of last year raced for a $5,000 tag at Delaware Park with no takers. Leadem in Ken crossed the wire fourth and was followed by Small Fortune, Harryhee, Nick the Cardshark, First Growth, Creative Art, Gorgeous George, Union Blues, Dan the Go to Man, Richest Gifts and Social Roy.

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DISTAFF DASH OXFORD COMMA

andra New’s Oxford Comma kept her perfect record on turf intact, extending her win streak to three races and giving trainer Tom Amoss his first career victory at Gulfstream in the $110,000 Distaff Dash for fillies and mares who have started for $25,000 or less. Outhustled for the lead by defending champion and 4-5 favorite Blue Bahia, Oxford Comma, the 7-5 second choice, completed five furlongs on the turf in :55.69 under jockey Miguel Vasquez to win by 1 ½ lengths over 79-1 longshot Unaquoi. Blue Bahia was third, another half-length back. Blue Bahia and Oxford Comma blazed up front through an opening quarter-mile in :20.68 before Blue Bahia established a clear lead after a half in :43.37. Vasquez kept Oxford Comma to the leader’s outside and came with a steady run down the stretch to slingshot past and earn her eighth career win from 11 starts, the last three since being moved from dirt to turf. Amoss, a multiple graded-stakes winning trainer with more than 3,500 victories and $97 million in purse earnings, had last started a horse at Gulfstream in the 1999 Breeders’ Cup, when Heritage of Gold ran third behind Beautiful Pleasure and Banshee Breeze in the Distaff (G1). “Ironically, we were entered to run on the grass at Churchill Downs [last] month and that race was taken off the grass, so we moved to Plan B, which was to race here,” Amoss said. “Her time here has been good, and I give a lot of credit for today’s win to Natalie Fawkes, who took the horse for us this past week. She’s a small trainer, but she’s very good at her job and very efficient. The conversation I had with her over the phone let me know she’s a big-time trainer when she’s ready to be one.” THE HORSEMEN’S JOURNAL

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A 3-year-old daughter of Majesticperfection bred in Kentucky by John O’Meara, Oxford Comma raced at Indiana Grand, Delta Downs and Mahoning Valley Race Course before making her Gulfstream debut. She boosted her career earnings to $215,390. West Virginia-bred Unaquoi, running for owner-breeder Ray M. Pennington III and trainer Ollie Figgins III, had finished off the board in her last three starts at Charles Town Races and Laurel Park but was a proven performer in turf sprints with five prior wins, and she rebounded with a solid effort to get second. Dennis A. Drazin’s homebred Blue Bahia, who was coming in off a five-month layoff, held third to improve her record to 19-9-3-2. Lady’s Island took fourth followed by My Sister Caro, Taylor’s in Orbit, Lover’s Key, Keep Your Distance and Pretty Greeley.

FEATURE

IRON HORSE SALSA’S RETURN

alsa’s Return made an immediate return on owner Joseph Besecker’s investment while stepping to victory in the $110,000 Kent Stirling Memorial Iron Horse in his first start since being claimed. The Iron Horse was for horses who have started for $8,000 or less and was contested at 1 1/16 miles. Salsa’s Return finished third in a $16,000 claiming race at Keeneland on October 11 before joining the barn of trainer Jorge Navarro, who saddled three horses for the Iron Horse, including 22-1 runner-up Donji and pacesetter Guns of Steel, the 2-1 favorite. Salsa’s Return, sent off at 16-1, was rated well off the early pace by jockey Albin Jimenez as Guns of Steel showed the way around the first turn and along the backstretch past fractions of :24.24 and :47.61. Salsa’s Return made steady progress while saving ground down the backstretch and around the far turn as Guns of Steel maintained a clear advantage. After straightening into the stretch, Guns of Steel shortened stride and was quickly overtaken by Donji, who withstood a challenge to his outside by Moon Gate Warrior but was unable to hold off the inside bid of Salsa’s Return, who found a hole between horses at the top of the stretch and responded to Jimenez’s urging to prevail by three-quarters of a length. The 8-year-old gelding even surprised his trainer somewhat. “The 1 horse [Guns of Steel], he was the horse, the way he was training,” Navarro said. “We claimed him for this, and I guess he ran short. The track was not to our advantage today. The winner, we claimed him a month ago out of Keeneland, and this is what we did it for. We do our homework, and we pay 20

attention to races like this. This is fun.” Salsa’s Return, bred in Florida by Harold J. Plumley, ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:47.27 to register his 13th career victory. The gelded son of Olmodavor has earned $343,570 in 51 starts. Imaginary Stables and Glenn K. Ellis’ Donji, a recent winner at Delaware Park and Monmouth Park, completed the Navarro exacta that returned $261.80 for a $1 bet. Moon Gate Warrior, who came in with eight wins this year, took third for owner and trainer Louis C. Linder Jr. Cheech Thunder, Guns of Steel, Twocubanbrothersu, Steelman Run, Quenane, Double Whammy, Yes I See, Lewis Vale, Spirit Love, Pat’s Shoes and To Dare rounded out the order of finish. The race honored Kent Stirling, the longtime executive director of the Florida HBPA who also worked tirelessly on medication issues for the National HBPA. THE HORSEMEN’S JOURNAL

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TIARA PERU (GB)

ne year after coming up a nose short in the same race, Ken and Sarah Ramsey’s Peru (GB) came flying with a furious late rally down the center of the course to catch Valedictorian and surge to a 1 ¼-length victory in the $125,000 Tiara for fillies and mares who have started for $25,000 or less. Peru covered the 1 1/16-mile distance under jockey Julien Leparoux in 1:41.87 over a firm turf course to give the Ramseys their 16th Claiming Crown victory and trainer Mike Maker his 17th, extending their respective event records. Valedictorian finished second, 1 ¾ lengths ahead of 16-1 longshot You Cheated. Pacesetting 3-5 favorite Starship Jubilee, a multiple graded-stakes winner of more than $560,000, ran fourth. “With the No. 1 [post], we were inside for the first part of the race,” Leparoux said. “We saved ground. On the second turn, I had to find room. I could see the two favorites start to get loose on the lead. I needed to get out and start my run. She had a nice kick at the end. She ran a nice race. Last year she ran great, too, but today she got the win. She deserved it.” Starship Jubilee, breaking from outside post 12, got out quickly and went to the lead, taking the field through a quarter-mile in :24.52 and a half in :48.36, tracked intently by Valedictorian to her outside. Peru found herself trapped behind a wall of horses in the early going, ahead of just two rivals after six furlongs in 1:11.53. Valedictorian collared Starship Jubilee at the top of the stretch and edged past, but Leparoux had tipped Peru to the far outside on the final turn and they set their sights on the leader once straightened for home, steadily gaining after THE HORSEMEN’S JOURNAL

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finding open space. “I was hoping Julien would have free run; it looked like he had a lot of horse,” Maker said. “She was cutting back in distance, so I was hoping she wouldn’t lose contention early, so we sat inside and when we tipped her out, she was full of run.” Bred in Great Britain by Langton Stud, Peru eclipsed the $300,000 mark in earnings with the win, her seventh in 26 starts. Epic Racing’s Valedictorian, trained by Kelly Breen, had won three of her last four races, including stakes at Laurel Park and Monmouth Park. You Cheated, owned by Hooties Racing LLC, WSS Racing LLC and Brent Gasaway, hit the board for the fourth time in five starts since her current connections claimed her for $25,000 at Indiana Grand. Following Starship Jubilee was Spicy Nelly, Vendita, Drinks On Me, Truth in the Lies, So Innocent, Mauras Forever, She’s So Fine and Queen Jill. 21

FEATURE

GLASS SLIPPER MISSCHIEF MAAS

isschief Maas rallied through the stretch to win the $110,000 Glass Slipper, providing trainer Jorge Navarro with his second victory on the card. The trainer added a third later in the day to give him eight wins in all to rank second behind Mike Maker’s all-time mark of 17. “What an amazing feeling to win twice today,” said Navarro after the 14-1 upset and before adding a third win. “We’ve been planning all year for this day, being the second leading trainer to win this is just amazing, coming from Calder. She ran a huge race; I think it’s a bit of a dead track today. Going a mile we were asking a little of her, but everything set up for her today.” Owned by Nick Surick Stable LLC, Flying P Stable and Toni Anne Fuoco, the 4-year-old Florida-bred daughter of Yes Its Legal ran the mile in 1:39.42 in the race for fillies and mares that have raced for a claiming price of $12,500 or lower. Misschief Maas raced well back in the 14-horse field as Starship Reina, the 7-2 favorite who also is trained by Navarro, set solid fractions of :23.20 and :45.85. Starship Reina continued to show the way into the stretch as Misschief Maas was in traffic several lengths back. Jockey Chris Landeros found room between horses at the top of the stretch, and Misschief Maas surged late to get to the wire first, a half-length ahead of a late-running Viva Forever, who was another half-length ahead of Starship Reina.

“Jorge said just to be patient,” Landeros said. “His other horse was going to go, and I was just hoping they set some fast fractions. I knew they were flying up front, and I just bided my time. I found a little seam, and she was all game. She’s a good horse, and she grinded to the end.” Runner-up Viva Forever, who races for Georgina E. Billers and trainer Louis Linder Jr., came into the race with wins in six of her last seven starts, and thirdplace finisher Starship Reina continued her consistent season by hitting the board for the ninth time in 11 outings. Amaluna took fourth, followed by Honey Bunny, Expect Indy, Miss Contessa, Grace’s Drama, Color Me Pretty, Mo Town Kat, Radiantrithym, Southernperfection, Bella Vincenza and Ransomed.

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CANTERBURY

ROCKET HEAT

rade 3 winner Rocket Heat, claimed three starts back for Flying P Stable, sprinted to a short lead leaving the backstretch and extended his advantage through the lane, holding off late-running Oak Bluffs to win the $110,000 Tom Metzen Memorial Canterbury by a half-length. It was the third victory of the day and second straight in a Claiming Crown race for jockey Chris Landeros, following the $110,000 Glass Slipper with Misschief Maas. The winning time was :55.26 over a firm turf course. Breaking from outside all but one in the 11-horse field, Rocket Heat was between rivals in a tight pack vying for the early lead, emerging with a short advantage over Midwest Justice after going the first quarter-mile in :20.66. Rocket Heat cut the corner sharply and was set down for the drive by Landeros, opening up on the group in mid-stretch. Oak Bluffs, second by a half-length to multiple stakes winner Pay Any Price in last year’s Canterbury, found trouble early but came running late to pick up the place once again. Rocket Heat, a 6-year-old gelding by Latent Heat bred in Kentucky by Farfellow Farms Ltd., was claimed out of a win at Saratoga in July by trainer Michael Tannuzzo. He ran sixth in two subsequent starts, including his previous effort in the 5 ½-furlong Woodford Stakes (G2) on October 6 at Keeneland. It was the second career stakes win and first in two and a half years for Rocket Heat, following the 2016 Twin Spires Turf Sprint Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs. “He didn’t break sharp like he did in his last race at Keeneland, so Chris did a good job to get him to the front,” Tannuzzo said. “He’s got to be up there. He’s not a horse that’s going to sit back and rate, so Chris sent him and once he cleared, I told him to drop to the fence and he’ll give you that spurt to hold them off. It feels great to win a Claiming Crown race. THE HORSEMEN’S JOURNAL

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“Flying P gave me a shot with four or five horses, and it feels great to have won a few races already with the limited amount of horses I have. I picked this horse out and knew he was eligible for this race and thought he was a real nice horse. I knew we’d run him at Keeneland and point him here, and he showed up.” Rocket Heat has won 11 of 37 career starts, and his earnings now stand at $578,827. Runner-up Oak Bluffs, trained by Mary Eppler and owned by her Mary E. Eppler Racing Stable Inc., again showed his affinity for the Gulfstream course while improving his record at the track to 9-3-5-0. Tim W. Rosin’s Bushrod, who finished fifth in the Nearctic Stakes (G2) in his last start at Woodbine, took third for trainer Kathy Mongeon. Maniacal, Diddley, Dowse’s Beach, Dance Proudly, Sambucca Steve, Tenacity Zip, Midwest Justice and Earth completed the order of finish. This race honored Tom Metzen, the former executive director of the Arizona HBPA and president of the Minnesota HBPA who helped make the first Claiming Crown at Canterbury Park a reality. Metzen also served as first vice president and central region vice president for the National HBPA.

FEATURE

EMERALD UNCLE B

avid Caprio’s Uncle B, claimed out of his 4-year-old debut 11 months ago at Gulfstream, took the lead in mid-stretch and outran his rivals to the wire to spring a 36-1 upset in the $125,000 Emerald. The 1 1/16-mile Emerald is for 3-year-olds and up that have started for a claiming price of $25,000 or less. Ridden by Ricardo Santana Jr. for trainer Lilli Kurtinecz, Uncle B finished in 1:41.76 over a firm turf course to win by three-quarters of a length. It was his second career stakes win and first since taking the OBS Sprint at the Ocala Training Center in January 2017. “Lilli told me she had a lot of confidence in her horse,” Santana said. “He broke really well, and we had him stalking in great position. By the threeeighths pole, everyone started moving, and we were in a great position at that time. He picked it up by himself without me asking. I waited for the turn for home, gave him a smooch and he gave it all to me.” Santana settled Uncle B in fourth as Birdsnest Party, Driven by Thunder and Souperfast battled through contested fractions of :23.67, :47.42 and 1:11.32. Santana tipped Uncle B three wide rounding the far turn, and the gelded son of Zensational got rolling to reel in Driven by Thunder at the eighth pole and edge away. Uncle B won three straight starts after being claimed for $16,000 out of a fifth-place finish January 13. He hadn’t won in four tries since, most recently tiring to last in a one-mile optional claimer October 21 at Gulfstream Park West. “We didn’t want to go here, but he’s just been crawling out of his skin,” Kurtinecz said. “I work him every week, and he took me around. I couldn’t pull him up last week. I could tell he was zoned in. We were in a $16,000 starter, and 24

that’s kind of where he belongs. “We were going to the OBS Sprint race because he holds the track record there, but I don’t know anything about that surface, and I’ve been stretching him out. The owner wanted to run. I said, ‘No red flags. Let’s go for it.’ ” Bred in Kentucky by Andy Reynolds, Uncle B has now earned $265,234. Your Only Man, owned by Mitchell Goldberg, Frank Catapano and Mary Beth and Gary Reis and trained by Marcus Vitali, made a late move to get up for second in his second start for his connections since being claimed for $25,000 at Saratoga. Drawing Away Stable’s Aquaphobia, a Robert Falcone Jr.-trained runner who was exiting the Knickerbocker Stakes (G2) at Belmont Park, took third and was followed by Who’s Your Drama, Montclair (Ire), Driven by Thunder, Bold Rally, Durocher, Love Conquers, Salute the Colonel, Slim Shadey (GB), Birdsnest Party, Souperfast and Lucky Ramsey.

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JEWEL AZTEC SENSE

ztec Sense was relentless in victory in the $200,000 Jewel while providing trainer Jorge Navarro with his third success on the card after scoring with longshots Salsa’s Return ($35.60) in the Iron Horse and Misschief Maas ($30.20) in the Glass Slipper. “Amazing day,” Navarro said. “I told my wife today, if we can win three races today, it’s a touchdown. When we won the first one, I said, ‘You know what? One is good.’ Three? Hey, as long as they come, I’m going to take them.” Aztec Sense, the 3-2 favorite ridden by Emisael Jaramillo, has won eight straight races since last tasting defeat in a troubled fourth-place finish in the Rapid Transit last year. Jaramillo rated the son of Street Sense in fifth along the backstretch as the Navarro-trained Flowers for Lisa, the defending Jewel champion, showed the way past swift fractions of :23.80 and :47.70 while pressed by Chris and Dave. Aztec Sense moved up to third leaving the backstretch before poking his nose in front leaving the turn into the homestretch. Chris and Dave held the lead into the stretch but began tiring in mid-stretch, with Aztec Sense to his outside and Rich Daddy to his inside looming boldly. Aztec Sense outfinished Rich Daddy to prevail by a neck, while Navarro’s third Jewel starter, Zulu, rallied late to finish third, more than five lengths farther back. “Our plan coming into the race was to not go to the lead as usual, because Jorge had three horses in this race and my horse was a better fit to run from behind,” Jaramillo said. “He was looking around a little in the beginning, so I had to control him a bit to avoid trouble during the trip, but my horse responded very well down the stretch.” Aztec Sense was timed in 1:52.75 for the 1 1/8-mile race for horses that have started for a claiming price of $35,000 or lower. THE HORSEMEN’S JOURNAL

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“Going into the race, I kept asking myself and I told my wife I was worried,” Navarro said. “It’s always in the back of your head. I don’t know how trainers win 20 times in a row. The time’s going to come when he’s going to lose a race. That was the only thing worrying me. I thought he was done. At the quarter-pole, I said, ‘We’re done,’ but Jaramillo told me at the half-mile pole he still had plenty of horse.” Bred in Kentucky by Charles Fipke, Aztec Sense, who was claimed for $12,500 at Parx in August 2017, has won nine of 10 starts for Navarro and owner Joseph Besecker. That original investment has returned more than $400,000 in earnings this year, and the gelding has nearly $550,000 in career earnings. Runner-up Rich Daddy, co-owned by HRH Racing and trainer Eddie Kenneally, also finished second in last year’s Iron Horse, and this year’s effort pushed his earnings over the $465,000 mark. Imaginary Stables and Glenn K. Ellis’ Zulu, a Grade 3-placed runner last year at Gulfstream, earned $20,000 for running third, which is the same amount he was claimed for in June at Churchill Downs. Race Me Home (Ire) got up for fourth followed by The Scotsman, Chris and Dave, Flowers for Lisa, St. Louie Guy, Bad Student, Prince Tito, Unbridled Holiday and Capital Letters. HJ 25

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FEATURE

A VITAL PURPOSE

THE MAN O’ WAR PROJECT BRINGS VETERANS AND HORSES TOGETHER TO TREAT PTSD By Judy L. Marchman

The great Man o’ War was named so by Eleanor Belmont in honor of the military service of her husband, August Belmont II, who bred the horse, and now a century later the legendary name is attached to a project to help military veterans.

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“There’s something about the outside of a horse that’s good for the inside of a man.” —Winston Churchill

HORSEPHOTOS.COM

little horse therapy can go a long way. Anyone who owns or works with horses understands the natural lift given by being around these noble animals. And that special bond between horse and human could be a key to helping treat military veterans who are dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). That’s what a groundbreaking clinical research program at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York is trying to determine. The Man O’ War Project is the first university-led research study to examine the effectiveness of equine-assisted therapy in treating veterans with PTSD. Founded in 2015 by longtime Thoroughbred owner/breeder Earle I. Mack, the project was born out of his concern about the mental health crisis facing veterans and his observation of various equine-assisted therapy groups already working with THOROUGHBRED OWNER AND BREEDER those who served their country. EARLE I. MACK FOUNDED THE MAN O’ WAR PTSD affects nearly one in PROJECT. five veterans, and symptoms can range from nightmares and negative thoughts to debilitating anxiety and hypervigilance. Some veterans may turn to substance abuse or have difficulty maintaining their relationships or jobs. PTSD also can put veterans at an increased risk for suicide. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), more than 20 veterans a day die by suicide. “We owe our fighting men and women a great debt,” said Mack, a U.S. Army veteran himself. He began noting how different equine-assisted therapy programs around the country were working to help veterans. “I saw first-hand what they were doing and they are very heroic for doing it,” but he noted that “there was no science or methodology proving that equine-assisted therapy could actually effectively treat veterans with PTSD. All reports were anecdotal.” Mack reached out to researchers at Columbia University Irving Medical Center’s Department of Psychiatry to develop a clinical approach to using equine-assisted therapy in treating veterans with PTSD and to establish a standardized treatment protocol. Mack backed up his support with a $1.2 million grant from his Earle I. Mack Foundation.

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Program in Action The Man O’ War Project is led by co-directors Dr. Prudence Fisher and Dr. Yuval Neria. Fisher is an associate professor of clinical psychiatric social work at Columbia University and an expert in PTSD in youth, and Neria, a veteran of the Israeli Armed Forces, is a professor of medical psychology at Columbia and director of trauma and PTSD at New York State Psychiatric Institute. Fisher admitted that using equine-assisted therapy wasn’t something they’d considered before Mack approached the department, but the challenge of developing an innovative new treatment protocol was exciting. “There’s never been any specific way of doing this kind of treatment, so first we needed to determine a method,” she said. After spending a year researching and learning from existing equineassisted therapy programs, Fisher and Neria conducted a pilot study in 2016 to develop a standard treatment protocol. The pilot included two groups of four veterans each and lasted eight weeks. The project is in the clinical trial phase, and through July, about 40 veterans had participated in the program. The study is conducted at the Bergen Equestrian Center in Leonia, New Jersey, about 15 minutes from Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City. Like the pilot study, the treatment protocol lasts eight weeks, and each group includes three to six people. As part of the process, each participant undergoes interviews before, during and after the treatment period and receives follow-up evaluations for three months post-treatment to observe the long-term effect of the program. MRI scans also are conducted before and after the treatment to determine if any structural changes are occurring in the brain. “We look at the brain before and after the treatment to observe any changes in connectivity between various regions of the brain,” Neria said. “From previous studies on PTSD, we know that decreased connectivity can lead a person to become more anxious or more hypervigilant.” He added that an effective treatment should increase brain connectivity, which would allow a person to better control those negative emotions. Each weekly session lasts 90 minutes and is all ground-based work. The program works with five horses at the Bergen Equestrian Center, using the same two horses per treatment group. The veterans start by observing the horses and slowly building on their interactions, from leading to grooming and group exercises, gaining confidence as they go. “We take a team approach to the treatment,” Fisher said. “We have trained mental health professionals, social workers, equine specialists and a horse ‘wrangler’ for an extra set of eyes to ensure safety during each session.”

FEATURE COURTESY MAN O’ WAR PROJECT

DR. YUVAL NERIA AND DR. PRUDENCE FISHER AT THE BERGEN EQUESTRIAN CENTER IN NEW JERSEY, WHERE THE PROGRAM IS CONDUCTED.

“Unlike many PTSD treatments, we don’t talk about the trauma,” Fisher said. “All of them have PTSD, but their traumas are all different.” Very few people have dropped out—less than 10 percent. “We take people up to age 70, and it’s a male/female mix,” she said. “About 40 percent are women.” Results to date are encouraging and positive. Fisher said that in post-treatment interviews, everyone has told her they wish the program were longer. “But I have had them also say that if we had told them in the beginning that the program was longer than eight weeks, they wouldn’t have done it,” she added.

Relationships with Horses

Many of the veterans who have participated have little to no experience with horses and find themselves not only gaining confidence in working with the horses but in other aspects of their lives too. “One of the things we’ve talked about is why horses and veterans work well together, and one of the similarities is that they are both mission-driven—particularly ex-racehorses,” said Anne Poulson, president of the Man O’ War Project board of directors and a former chair of the Virginia Racing Commission. “They are trained to do a job, and now they don’t have one and they are looking for a new purpose, just like many veterans are. With this program, there is a new purpose for both.” As anyone who works with horses knows, horses, as prey animals, are naturally skittish and hypervigilant, and their fear responses offer veterans the

opportunity to recognize and understand similar behavior in themselves and how they interact with others. “Veterans can learn how to regulate their behavior,” Poulson said. “They can recognize their own reactions when they observe how a horse responds in a certain situation.” Horses also provide participants with a patient, nonjudgmental learning environment. “Horses are in the moment,” Poulson said. “The veterans develop a different dynamic with the horses, and that translates to their relationships with others.” But that relationship must be earned, as Mack pointed out. Through the equine-assisted therapy, veterans work to earn their horse’s trust and, in doing so, are re-learning how to build trust with others—and in themselves. “It can be hard to win over a horse’s confidence,” Mack said. “But when you do, it’s the one of the best feelings you can have. When your horse is no longer hypersensitive to you, it’s such a great accomplishment, and that confidence can carry over to other areas and skills.” The benefits of the program also extend to the horses themselves by providing an avenue for a second career as a therapy horse. One of the Man O’ War Project horses is the ex-racehorse Crafty Star. The 10-year-old Crafty Friend gelding didn’t do much on the track, managing one win—a maiden claimer at Parx—in 26 starts, but he’s taken to his new career with élan. “He’s quite dapper and proud of himself,” Poulson said. “He’s frisky around everyone else, but when he’s with the veterans, he knows his job and becomes focused and on point with them.”

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“Ultimately, our goal is to help these veterans and enable them to learn new skills through their interactions with horses.” —Earle I. Mack Moving Forward

Once the open trial is complete and the findings are published, there are several long-term considerations for the Man O’ War Project, including conducting a formal, closed study and creating a training center where other equine-assisted therapy groups could be trained in the treatment protocol. “Ultimately, we would love to create treatment facilities around the country to expand the program’s reach,” Poulson said. That could potentially include non-veterans who have been diagnosed with PTSD, such as victims of child abuse or domestic violence. Developing a viable, clinically proven treatment protocol could allow the Man O’ War Project to take advantage of grant opportunities to fund these next steps, and strategic partnerships in the horse industry and raising the

organization’s visibility with the VA are also key to keeping the mission moving forward. Potential funding options also could come thanks to the approval of a congressional appropriations bill that included an amendment by Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) to provide $5 million to equine-assisted therapy programs for veterans for fiscal year 2019. “I’m optimistic this treatment protocol will be proven effective, and I hope it will lead to happier, healthier relationships between veterans and their families, friends and coworkers,” Mack said. “Ultimately, our goal is to help these veterans and enable them to learn new skills through their interactions with horses.” To learn more or to donate to the Man O’ War Project, visit mowproject.org. If you know a veteran in crisis, you can contact the Veterans Crisis Line 24/7 tollfree at (800) 273-8255 and press 1, or go to veteranscrisisline.net/chat. HJ

Judy L. Marchman is an Austin-based freelance writer and editor and serves as copy editor for American Racehorse. She worked for BloodHorse in Lexington, Kentucky, for 15 years before returning to Texas. You can follow her on Twitter @judy_writes.

COURTESY MAN O’ WAR PROJECT

THOUGH NOT AN ACTUAL SESSION, AS PARTICIPANTS’ INFORMATION IS CONFIDENTIAL, THIS PHOTO REPRESENTS HOW THE PROGRAM LOOKS WITH VETERANS, A THERAPIST AND AN EQUINE SPECIALIST INTERACTING WITH A HORSE.

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FEATURE

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FEATURE

HEALING horses and humans THE THOROUGHBRED MAKEOVER SHOWCASED THE VERSATILITY AND TALENT OF THOROUGHBREDS AFTER LEAVING THE TRACK

By Christine Oser Photos by Anne Litz

INTERACTIF SPY AND MORGAN BOYER CAPTURE THE SHOW JUMPER DIVISION AT THE THOROUGHBRED MAKEOVER.

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y the numbers, the $100,000 Retired Racehorse Project’s Thoroughbred Makeover, presented by Thoroughbred Charities of America, was a success, reaching its highest amount of entries and trainer applications yet. What made the Thoroughbred Makeover a true success, though, went beyond the numbers and into the healing of both horses and riders. About 440 horses competed the weekend of October 4-7 at the Kentucky Horse Park, continuing a trend of increasing entries since the event moved to the Lexington venue in 2015. It is the supportive environment that allows for personal journeys to come to fruition, and according to competitor Sarah Hepler, the Thoroughbred Makeover is “an example of what the show world should be.” The goal of the Thoroughbred Makeover is simple: to showcase the trainability and talent of off-track Thoroughbreds, which in turn should spur demand for ex-racehorses. But the journey to the Thoroughbred Makeover can be a tough one. Professional and amateur trainers have 10 months at most to take a horse from the racetrack and train it for a new discipline—show hunters, eventing, show jumping, field hunters, polo, dressage, working ranch, competitive trail, barrel racing or freestyle, with the last of these covering anything that doesn’t fit into the first nine categories.

old horse, not a young horse. Anybody can ride her … I would put even someone that’s never ridden on her, and I know that she would take care of them.” Delightfully tied for second in the initial freestyle round, which sent her to the finale, where she finished sixth in the division. She also placed 11th in competitive trail. Lent also drove the Thoroughbred Face of Glory in the 2015 Makeover and hopes to use him and Delightfully at demonstrations to break the stereotypes that Thoroughbreds can’t be driving horses. At this year’s Makeover, Delightfully made it clear that Thoroughbreds were plenty capable. “People started getting excited as she was doing stuff,” said Lent, who drove Delightfully over and around obstacles created at the farm. “And when she started hearing the clapping, she actually performed better.”

RAISING THE BREED’S PROFILE

Jen Roytz, the executive director of the Retired Racehorse Project, noted that 2018 Thoroughbred Makeover applications were up 38 percent from the previous record-setting year, a result of the event accomplishing its mission. “The Thoroughbred Makeover does a really good job of showcasing everything a Thoroughbred can do after racing,” Roytz said. “From eventing and hunters and cross country to competitive trail and carriage driving and vaulting and ranch A DRIVE TO PERFORM work, anything you can do on a horse you can do Standouts in the freestyle division included on a Thoroughbred because they have such good Delightfully, who overcame a gruesome injury brains. They’re so versatile, and they’re bred to be with the help of trainer Amy Lent, and Flat Leaver, athletes.” who carried Hepler through an emotional paraIt’s those brains that allow them to find jobs dressage test. outside of racing and off-track competition, such Lent, who operates Ramblen Farm in as with therapeutic programs. Versailles, Kentucky, received Delightfully through Lauren Burke, the equine manager at Life Second Stride, an aftercare organization for Adventure Center in Versailles, has used her offoff-track Thoroughbreds in Prospect, Kentucky. track Thoroughbreds in ground work for therapy Delightfully had already been adopted, but after groups involving disadvantaged children and a freak accident with a pasture fence that left a veterans. At this year’s Makeover, she competed large wound on her hip, the filly was in need of a with Indy’s Lil Bro, second in field hunters, and special home. with Street Jersey, eighth in ranch work. Both “The wound was deep enough that you could horses also competed in freestyle, put a whole hand into it,” Lent said. “It was going with Indy’s Lil Bro finishing ninth and Street to take a long time to get her healed up and find Jersey 14th. the right home for her.” “They just have to be very safe and polite Delightfully was a Louisiana homebred for to handle and be very friendly,” Burke said of Columbine Stable LLC, which campaigned Grade horses in the therapy programs. “And I think 1 winners Sligo Bay (Ire) and J. B.’s Thunder. She made one start under trainer Al Stall at Fair LOSING AN ARM IN A CAR ACCIDENT AS A CHILD HASN’T Thoroughbreds are uniquely suited to that kind of Grounds in December 2017 before Stall sent her to STOPPED SARAH HEPLER FROM COMPETING, AND SHE work because they are very sensitive. They’re very FOUND A SPECIAL PARTNER IN FLAT LEAVER. expressive. They really show you what they think of Second Stride due to a bone chip in her knee. you, and that can be a very helpful thing to have a “The hip actually seems to be more of an issue kind and cooperative but sensitive horse who gives you a lot of feedback in that than the knee,” Lent said. “I was going to maybe do dressage, but she cannot get type of program.” up underneath herself properly to do that right circle because of that hip. She took to driving, and I was planning on possibly driving her anyway, and it’s just an easy way to have a second career without pushing those two injuries.” DREAM WEAVER Delightfully, now 4, also was entered in competitive trail, as she spent most It is the demeanor of Flat Leaver, affectionately known as “Fletcher,” that of her rehab time working in hand over obstacles. She took to the obstacles and convinced Hepler to bring him home from the racetrack. When connections sent the driving cart with ease, as her Makeover placings showed. Hepler a picture of Fletcher on his side asleep at the racetrack with their 3-year“Her name’s Delightfully, and that’s exactly the way her personality is,” old daughter lying on top of him, Hepler couldn’t say no. Lent said. “She’s a delight to be around and very easygoing. She acts like an “His brain is just incomparable,” she said. “I have never met a horse who

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FEATURE

THE NUMBER OF ENTRIES FOR THE THOROUGHBRED MAKEOVER CONTINUES TO GROW, AND THIS YEAR’S EVENT ATTRACTED NEARLY 450 RETIRED RACEHORSES COMPETING IN 10 DISCIPLINES.

is as level-headed and grounded and willing to please as this horse. And I’ll be honest, in his pictures he was not attractive at all, and I was like, ‘I don’t care. I just need that brain in my barn. I need a horse I can just get on and enjoy.’” In four years on the track, Fletcher made 38 starts between New York and Ohio, with a large portion of his career unfolding at Finger Lakes Gaming & Racetrack near Hepler’s home. The 7-year-old New York-bred gelding scored eight firsts, four seconds and six thirds, earning $118,980. His easygoing attitude helped him prepare quickly for the Makeover. After Hepler had to change horses for the Makeover late in the game, she was left with 60 days to ready Fletcher for the Makeover’s dressage test and an FEI Grade V para-dressage test, which Hepler chose as her freestyle. Hepler lost her right arm in a car accident when she was 10. The horseobsessed little girl tried to return to the barn she rode hunt seat at just to be told she couldn’t ride there anymore because there was no program for people with disabilities. Hepler then rode horses on a family friend’s trails before she convinced the lesson barn to take her back. She later moved into eventing and dressage. Hepler and Fletcher finished third in dressage and eighth in freestyle. But that freestyle ride meant the most to Hepler, now 38, because she completed her first-ever para-dressage test. “My whole life I felt like I had to stay away from para-dressage because I had once been told that I couldn’t ride somewhere because they didn’t have a handicap riding program,” she said. “And I felt like if I competed in paradressage, I was proving that person right, that I needed some kind of special program to ride.

“My freestyle was a para-dressage test, and I wore a T-shirt that said, ‘Lift Your Sister,’ and there were over 20 statements on it given to me by the 20 most influential women on my journey this year of things that have been said to them that were negative or defeating,” she continued. “So we rode our para-dressage test for all of those women in a very ‘Lift Your Sister’ moment.” Lift Your Sister is a campaign started by the Women’s Foundation of Genesee Valley in Western New York, where Hepler volunteers near her home in the Finger Lakes region. Statements on Hepler’s shirt read, “You’re just not good enough,” and “You’re too fat,” words she feels many equestrians are either told by others or themselves, and “You’ll never get anywhere because you follow your own path,” which was said to her mom. Hepler said the atmosphere of the show made it possible for her to showcase a part of herself she had hidden for years. With the Makeover all about the shared love of the Thoroughbred and a celebration of everyone’s journey to get there, it was also a perfect place to share the Lift Your Sister campaign. The focus is to encourage each other instead of becoming too competitive and tearing down others around you, a philosophy Hepler wants to be recognized at all horse shows. “I had such an outpouring for my freestyle, which was such a personal piece for me,” she said. “Just the support and the love that everyone there showed me, the volunteers and the RRP employees and all of the other competitors—you would never know that it was an actual show, that it was an actual competition. You would literally think it was just to meet up, and we were all coming to meet like-minded people and hang out and have a fantastic time

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for a week. And I just wish the rest of the horse world would take note and follow suit.”

NOT DONE YET The Makeover marked the end of the show season for both Delightfully and Fletcher. Delightfully is due to have a Bal a Bali (Brz) foal in the spring that Lent hopes to see off to the races. She plans on light work for Delightfully after the foal is delivered before getting her back to driving. Hepler is aiming for a show in March with Fletcher, as not many opportunities are left in upstate New York with the harsh winter making its way to the region. She also has a goal to get back into eventing. And thanks to the positive experiences the Thoroughbred Makeover provides, it is likely these competitors will be back. “At the Makeover, everybody wants to be your friend,” Hepler said. “Everybody wants to know about your horse. Everyone wants to know your experience and your background. And everyone is encouraging and supportive and embracing everything that you do. And it doesn’t matter if you fall off in warm up and have to scratch. Everyone is applauding your effort and your journey.” HJ Christine Oser is the assistant editor at Horse Racing Nation. She grew up showing American Saddlebreds in Kentucky before finding a love for Thoroughbreds. She graduated from the University of Louisville’s Equine Industry Program and holds a master’s in journalism from Syracuse University.

A BONE CHIP SENT DELIGHTFULLY ON TO A SECOND CAREER AFTER ONE START ON THE TRACK, AND NOW SHE’S PROVING THE VERSATILITY OF HER BREED.

RELOADED, A WINNER ON THE TRACK DURING A 19-RACE CAREER, IS NOW A WINNER OFF THE TRACK AFTER EARNING THE TOP TITLE OF AMERICA’S MOST WANTED THOROUGHBRED AT THE MAKEOVER. PICTURED IS (FROM LEFT) RIDER ELISA WALLACE, OWNER MICHELLE CHISHOLM AND HER DAUGHTER MADISON, ROLAND HAWTHORNE OF NATIONWIDE INSURANCE PRIVATE CLIENT / NFP INSURANCE AND ERIN CRADY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THOROUGHBRED CHARITIES OF AMERICA.

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KELLYVANDELLEN – STOCK.ADOBE.COM

FEATURE

TACKLING THE

LAMENESS PROBLEM

A COLLABORATIVE STUDY ON JOINT INJECTIONS BETWEEN THE NATIONAL HBPA AND VETERINARIANS IS BEARING KNOWLEDGE By Clara K. Fenger, DVM, PhD, DACVIM; Jacob Machin, MS; and Thomas Tobin, PhD, MRCVS, DABT

he North American Association of Racetrack Veterinarians (NAARV) recently celebrated its fifth anniversary with an annual meeting and educational symposium—and a milestone event. The first research project co-sponsored by NAARV and the National HBPA and its affiliates, as well as by the Oklahoma Quarter Horse Racing Association and harness horsemen’s groups, was published in the highly acclaimed Equine Veterinary Journal. The project,

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“Variability in plasma concentrations of methylprednisolone 6 days after intrasynovial injection of methylprednisolone acetate in racing horses: A field study,” was co-authored by J. Machin, W. Duer, G. Maylin, C. Fenger, D. Wilson, M. Ivey, B. Berthold, S. Allison and T. Tobin. It shed a lot of light on the use of methylprednisolone in racehorses, and much of what was learned is applicable to other corticosteroids used for targeted joint therapy. The study was among the topics at the symposium.

FEATURE

Defining the Problem Lameness is a common problem affecting horses of all ages and disciplines; more than 50 percent of racehorses experience lameness during their racing careers. One-quarter to one-third of yearlings have pre-existing arthritis, and this problem is not limited to racing breeds as juvenile arthritis also is identified in other breeds. Our elite athletes have additional risk factors that contribute to joint disease. High-intensity exercise causes wear and tear on the underlying joints from both physical pressures and oxidative damage. The process of training is a coordinated dance of tissue breakdown and tissue-specific rebuilding. Every training session is designed to stress the athlete’s system below its threshold of breaking with a subsequent recovery period. The training stress pressures bone, tendons, muscles and every body system of the athlete to the point that inflammatory mediators or cytokines are produced. The same body systems then respond by rebuilding in the recovery period, resulting in stronger bones, ligaments, more efficient oxygen use and a better response to the next stress period. This dance of tissue breakdown and rebuilding is the cornerstone of training horses to fulfill their optimal performance capability. Another key component of the source of inflammation in the equine athlete is oxidative damage. Horses are incredible and unique athletes, able to move huge volumes of blood across their muscles and lungs with every beat of their hearts. They move blood across their lungs so rapidly that, during maximal exercise, their hemoglobin fails to become completely oxygenated, called exercise-induced hypoxemia. Maximal oxygen consumption in conditioned Thoroughbreds can exceed 200 ml/min/kg, whereas a highly trained human athlete may have a maximal oxygen consumption of 75 ml/min/kg. Maximal oxygen consumption measures the ability of the animal to use oxygen to produce energy. This highly efficient extraction and use of oxygen from the blood results in the production of “pollution,” or oxygen radicals, which are highly unstable molecules that damage cell membranes, resulting in the further production of inflammatory cytokines. Knowing when the inflammation requires veterinary intervention, and specifically what intervention must be utilized, has always been part of the racetrack practitioner’s responsibility, but this suppression of inflammation cannot be applied indiscriminately. Without the production of some inflammation, the equine athlete cannot appropriately respond to stress by making bone, ligaments, muscle and other organ systems better at withstanding the stresses of its job. However, too much inflammation can start a cascade of damage, and once it passes a critical point, that damage can be permanent. Where we most commonly see the need for veterinary intervention is in the lungs and joints, two organ systems that require frequent attention by the equine practitioner both on and off the racetrack. The inflammatory cytokines that are widely recognized as the key offenders in joint damage are known as Interleukin-1 (IL-1) and Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNFα). These cytokines activate enzymes that degrade proteins, synovial fluid and even the cartilage matrix within the joints. As the cartilage matrix degrades, it loses its ability to retain water, which is key to its shock-absorbing properties. Ultimately as the cartilage degrades, the joint loses stability, and bone spurs are produced by the body in an attempt to stabilize the joint. Bony

arthritis, or osteoarthritis, is irreversible, and the only intervention is to prevent progression of disease. Both nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as phenylbutazone and flunixin, and corticosteroids are excellent inhibitors of IL-1, but corticosteroids work to stop the effects of both IL-1 and TNFα. This preservative action is the purpose of joint injections with corticosteroids.

Targeted Therapy and the Need for Choices The scientific literature has addressed some of the specific benefits of corticosteroid injections. In a well-established osteochondral fragment experimental model for osteoarthritis, a group at Colorado State University headed by Drs. Wayne McIlwraith and David Frisbie showed that the use of triamcinolone (Vetalog) in knees with osteochondral fragments was actually beneficial to the cartilage and joint over the use of a placebo. They also found that betamethasone (BetaVet) was not detrimental to the joint. In the study design employed with methylprednisolone (Depo-Medrol), they found damage to the cartilage, but the dose and frequency of administration in this study exceeded the dose typically used in practice, so these findings cannot be extended to all applications of methylprednisolone. In sheep, in a stifle injury model, methylprednisolone was found to prevent the development of osteophytes, or bone spurs, and in a synovitis model in horses, no negative effects of methylprednisolone on cartilage were seen. Clinically, practitioners have routinely found that using methylprednisolone provides a relatively long-lasting protective effect. In some horses, to prevent the progression of joint disease, injections with shorter-acting corticosteroids, such as triamcinolone, must be performed frequently, whereas the use of the long-acting methylprednisolone allows a horse to be comfortable and competitive with infrequent veterinary intervention. It is this advantage of methylprednisolone that makes it a key component of the veterinarian’s armamentarium for targeted joint therapy.

How to Treat Horses and Stay Within the Thresholds With the adoption of the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium/Racing Commissioners International Controlled Therapeutic Medication Schedule, the ability to appropriately address problems of the equine athlete has become complicated. Thresholds for various substances, including intra-articular corticosteroids, were put in place without guidance for practitioners or horsemen. NAARV, with its 501(c)(3) charitable arm the Equine Health and Welfare Alliance, and the National HBPA and other horsemen’s groups partnered to provide some of this guidance to practitioners. We used methylprednisolone as our starting point, and based on other preliminary data, these findings can be extrapolated to other intra-articular corticosteroids. The basic study design was to use a conservative dose of 100 mg of methylprednisolone acetate in one or more joints, with or without hyaluronic acid, in all three major racing breeds. We measured the plasma concentration six days later and then compared the different groups to determine the effect of

LAMENESS IS A COMMON PROBLEM AFFECTING HORSES OF ALL AGES AND DISCIPLINES; MORE THAN 50 PERCENT OF RACEHORSES EXPERIENCE LAMENESS DURING THEIR RACING CAREERS. 40

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Figure 1: Results by Joint Injected

the number of joints injected and which joint was injected, and whether hyaluronic acid co-administration affects the plasma clearance of the methylprednisolone. Additionally, we compared the often-used RMTC 95/95 tolerance method to another statistical method better designed to address these types of data, the Gauss-Camp-Meidell inequality. A total of 76 horses were included in the analysis: 15 Thoroughbreds, 20 Standardbreds and 41 Quarter Horses. The joints that received targeted therapy were the coffins, ankles, knees, hocks and stifles. Unfortunately, because the joints injected varied by breed, we were unable to determine if there were differences across breeds, so all of the data was combined and analyzed together. The results by joint injected are shown in Figure 1. At six days post-injection, in 34 ankles injected with up to 100 mg of methylprednisolone, only one horse exceeded the RMTC/RCI seven-day threshold of 100 pg/ml. This indicates that methylprednisolone was rapidly cleared from the blood when the ankle joint is injected. Carpal or knee joints were below the threshold in 75 percent of the horses injected at six days. The blood levels of methylprednisolone in horses that had hocks or stifles injected were considerably higher at six days than their counterparts with front ankles or knees injected. Only seven horses in the study had hocks injected, and all but one of those horses exceeded the 100 pg/ml threshold at six days. Stifle joints had the highest variability in blood levels. When stifles were injected, there was no way to predict the blood level of the drug. We have always suspected that the withdrawal would depend on the specific structure injected, and this study has confirmed our suspicions. It also brings into question whether joint injections can realistically be regulated through the test barn and testing laboratory. If the purpose of the RMTC/RCI threshold is to prevent the use of methylprednisolone in ankles, it has failed to do so. On the other hand, if the purpose is to permit the appropriate use of methylprednisolone in hock joints, it has failed to do this as well. If these findings can be extrapolated to other corticosteroids, practitioners and horsemen find themselves unable to use targeted therapy in horses with stifle inflammation. If targeted corticosteroid therapy is considered to be appropriate, we have completely removed the ability to use this therapeutic modality in horses with stifle problems. We also evaluated the effect of co-administration with hyaluronic acid on the clearance of the corticosteroid in plasma. Hyaluronic acid application is commonly used in joint injections to improve the quality of joint lubrication. Degradation enzymes elaborated in the joint fluid with inflammation break down the hyaluronic acid, making it thinner, and the addition of hyaluronic acid to the fluid immediately improves the quality of the joint fluid. We found that this practice effectively doubles the blood level of methylprednisolone. Preliminary studies and existing survey databases suggest that other injectable corticosteroids for intra-articular use follow similar patterns to methylprednisolone when combined with hyaluronic acid.

Threshold Comparisons As mentioned earlier, our study also compared the application of the RMTC 95/95 tolerance method for threshold determination to the Gauss-Camp-Meidell inequality. The 95/95 tolerance method is defined as 95 percent confidence that 95 percent of the population falls below the threshold. It relies on the population following a normal, bell-shaped curve. The GCM method does not require a bellshaped curve, and the probability of falling below the threshold can be chosen as a probability or “p” level. As you may imagine, with the blood concentration of a drug depending on the joint that is injected, there is little chance that the distribution of the entire population of horses with different joints injected would fall predictably on a bell curve. For the entire population, the 95/95 tolerance threshold was 487 pg/ml, whereas the GCM (p<0.05) was 407 pg/ml. If you want only one horse in 100 to exceed the threshold, GCM (p<0.01), you have to choose a threshold of 791.

Conclusions The tightening of restrictions on veterinary procedures has restricted the number and type of therapies we can apply to racehorses. The first collaboration between NAARV and the National HBPA has been published, and several more studies are underway. By publishing in scientific journals, we are able to provide realistic, real-world guidance for our practitioners and horsemen. Moving forward, we hope to take our publications to the RCI and advocate for changes in the model rules to permit commonsense and medically sound practices to return to the management of racehorses. The take-home messages for practitioners and horsemen from our study are to use a longer withdrawal period when hocks or stifles are injected and to avoid the co-administration of hyaluronic acid with corticosteroids. HJ

PRELIMINARY STUDIES AND EXISTING SURVEY DATABASES SUGGEST THAT OTHER INJECTABLE CORTICOSTEROIDS FOR INTRA-ARTICULAR USE FOLLOW SIMILAR PATTERNS TO METHYLPREDNISOLONE WHEN COMBINED WITH HYALURONIC ACID.

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CHERYL ANN QUIGLEY – STOCK.ADOBE.COM

FEATURE

HITTING THE THRESHOLD OF

COMMON SENSE

THE TIME FOR SCREENING LIMITS TO GUARD AGAINST ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSFER IS NOW By Clara Fenger, DVM, PhD, DACVIM; Thomas Tobin, MRCVS, PhD, DABT; Maria Catignani; and Theodore Shults THE HORSEMEN’S JOURNAL

WINTER 2018

ecreational drug use and the opiate epidemic have taken a great toll on the human population of the United States and beyond. Year over year, deaths from synthetic opioids—of which fentanyl ranks as the most prevalent—have skyrocketed, reaching 29,406 in 2017. Environmental transfer of drugs of human addiction to horses is nothing new. Cocaine and its primary metabolite, benzoylecgonine, have long been identified as environmental substances in post-race samples, and many jurisdictions have screening limits in place as a result. More recently, methamphetamine has begun to show up in post-race samples, reflecting the increasing addiction problem associated with this drug. In recognition of this growing problem, the National HBPA and North American Association of Racetrack Veterinarians made a Model Rule recommendation to the Association of Racing Commissioners International for screening limits for substances of human addiction in racing horses.

Fentanyl at Penn National With fentanyl becoming the primary synthetic opioid implicated in overdose deaths, it should come as no surprise that trace environmental identifications should start to turn up in horse racing. Fortunately, this identification occurred in Pennsylvania, where rational heads prevail on the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission, and trace-level detections of environmental substances are seen as mitigating circumstances. There is an evolving recognition of the arbitrary, capricious and totally antiquated status of “zero tolerance” when it comes to trace-level detections of environmental substances. In June 2018, a trace-level fentanyl 43

DENIS BLAKE

FEATURE

A FENTANYL POSITIVE AT PENN NATIONAL WAS ATTRIBUTED BY THE STEWARDS TO LIKELY HAVE BEEN CAUSED BY A DRUG-USING GROOM, AND HUMAN-TO-EQUINE TRANSFER IS ALSO A CONCERN AT TRACKS LIKE KEENELAND (ABOVE) THAT ALLOW THE GENERAL PUBLIC TO VISIT THE BACKSIDE WITHOUT A RACING LICENSE.

identification in a post-race urine sample collected from the horse Kion at Penn National Race Course was listed as positive. The stewards, strictly following the rules of racing, found the trainer, Guadalupe Preciado, in violation of the Pennsylvania medication rules but decided that “due to mitigating circumstances, there will be no further action on this drug positive.” Reviewing this fentanyl identification, the stewards stated: “The drug positive probably occurred due to contamination of the horse Kion by stable employee Jeffrey Harris. Jeffrey Harris was the groom for Kion and was responsible for escorting the horse to the paddock and to the test barn following race 7 on June 23, 2018. Jeffrey Harris was interviewed by the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission investigators, and his dormitory room was searched at Parx. The result of the search and interview was that various drug paraphernalia was found in his room and Jeffrey Harris’ admission that he has a very serious drug dependency, and he was admitted to a drug rehabilitation center. There also has been an ongoing issue with this particular drug in the Philadelphia area.” Fentanyl has a number of characteristics that make it a widely available and used street substance. The synthesis of fentanyl is, for a chemist, relatively straightforward, yielding an opiate about 100 times more potent than morphine or heroin. Because fentanyl is relatively easy to synthesize and small amounts, by weight, are very effective pharmacologically, the drug can be used to “cut,” or more likely to “enhance,” other street medications. The end result is wide availability and distribution of fentanyl and thus its random presence in the environment. Bringing this point home, there have been numerous stories in the news recently about major fentanyl busts, including a Customs Border Patrol seizure of about 100 pounds of fentanyl in July. This fentanyl shipment, identified by a drug-sniffing dog, was hidden in a shipment of iron oxide coming into the port of Philadelphia from China, reportedly a not-unusual source of fentanyl. News articles noted the danger to the sniffing dog of exposure to fentanyl because the drug is very easily and effectively absorbed transdermally and by inhalation. As well as being widely available, fentanyl is a poster-child for inadvertent transfer from a human user to a horse. The transdermal bioavailability of fentanyl is 92 percent, an unusually effective transfer, meaning that more than 90 percent of an amount inadvertently contacted by the skin can be directly absorbed through the skin, and virtually the same fractional absorption occurs by inhalation. This means that, like the drug-sniffing dog, the horse only has to come into brief contact with a user for a transfer to occur, fully consistent with the recently increased numbers of trace-level identifications of fentanyl in Pennsylvania racing. 44

The high sensitivity of modern equine drug testing has also contributed to the rise of these trace-level identifications. We understand that at least one fentanyl identification in Pennsylvania racing has been in the order of 300 femtograms/ml in plasma, to date the lowest concentration identification of a medication in horse racing anywhere in the world that we are aware of. To put this concentration in perspective, one nanogram/ml is one part per billion, or one second in your life when you are 32 years old; one picogram/ml is one second in your life when you are 32,000 years old; and one femtogram/ml is one second in your life when you are a rather mature 32 million (yes, 32,000,000) years old. When substances are identified at femtogram/ml concentrations, or parts per quadrillion, such a substance is clearly present at levels in “Trace”— with a capital T—concentrations. So, long story short, equine drug testing, the most sensitive routine drug testing on earth, is now picking up parts per quadrillion trace levels of fentanyl in equine blood and urine samples. These traces of fentanyl transfer randomly from individuals in the environment of the horse, are absorbed transdermally and are readily detected in post-race blood and urine samples. The Pennsylvania stewards are to be congratulated on recognizing the fact that these identifications are, in terms of racing regulation, non-events, and as such the stewards correctly declined to take any further action on this positive identification.

Fentanyl in West Virginia Similarly, the stewards at Charles Town Races in West Virginia recently ruled on another trace-level fentanyl identification, finding the trainer innocent and declining to penalize the trainer with either days or Multiple Medication Violation penalty points, although they did redistribute the purse. This was not as clear a statement of regulatory irrelevance of these trace-level identifications as was made in Pennsylvania, but it was at least a significant move in the right direction. Another recent environmental transfer case in Charles Town racing involved identification of the human prescription medication gabapentin in blood and urine samples. Once the trainer was notified, he went back and checked his employees, at which point he discovered that one of his grooms was prescribed 2,000 mg/day of gabapentin to treat his diabetic neuropathy. The stewards interpreted this information as mitigating circumstances and, as in the fentanyl matter, issued no fine or penalty other than loss of purse. Again, the stewards moved in the right direction in recognizing the innocent and inadvertent nature of these environmentally driven identifications, in this case associated with a human prescription medication. These matters identify the reality of inadvertent transfer of substances from members of a trainer’s staff to horses in their care. The next question to be addressed is, if a substance readily transfers dermally like fentanyl, what is the probability of transfer of a substance of concern from, let us say, a starting gate crew member to a horse in the starting gate? To answer this question, we should first look to see if there is compelling evidence of the use of substances of concern by starting gate crew members.

Environmental Transfer from Assistant Starters? On May 20, 2017, a horse named Carson’s Storm finished first in the eighth race at Canterbury Park in Minnesota and was blood and urine tested. The horse tested positive for methamphetamine, in the order of 150 pg/ml in blood and 5 ng/ml in urine. Those concentrations are entirely consistent with inadvertent environmental exposure and are of no pharmacological significance. Reviewing the circumstances of this case, the attorney involved asked his expert whether transfer of methamphetamine could occur via dermal transfer from starting gate crew members, who handle horses without gloves, to give rise to the levels THE HORSEMEN’S JOURNAL

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DENIS BLAKE

A critical piece of the epidemiological forensic evidence for horsemen is an estimate of the concentrations of the environmental substance and its metabolites. Because these identifications are of environmental origin, the only relevant data is the actual field data, so one must then “walk backward” to determine the source of the identifications and their forensic relevance. Additionally, environmental exposures will most likely vary from environment to environment and also from season to season, so concentration data is absolutely critical. Many substances in the environment differ from one season to the next or even depending on IT’S POSSIBLE THAT ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSFER COULD OCCUR IN THE STARTING GATE FROM AN the day of the week. One study showed five times higher ASSISTANT STARTER TO A HORSE. levels of NyQuil (which contains dextrorphan) in the reported in Carson’s Storm, to which the expert answered yes. winter months than the summer months in the South Platte River in Colorado, What is particularly interesting about this Minnesota case is that from a presumably reflecting the higher usage of cough suppressants by Denver residents review of contemporary rulings of Minnesota Racing Commission stewards, it during “flu season.” Another study showed higher levels of MDMA or “ecstasy” in appears that more than one member of the Canterbury Park starting gate crew wastewater facilities in Ontario after the weekend. was associated with or was a user of methamphetamine. Given this circumstance, Concentration data in blood and urine and metabolite data also can be the question put to his expert by the attorney concerned the likelihood of transfer helpful in directing attention to the actual time of exposure. Detection in blood of methamphetamine from a starting gate crew member to Carson’s Storm, at the only, with no detection in urine or no metabolites in urine, obviously indicates levels reportedly identified in the horse. Reviewing the data and in agreement with more recent exposure to a substance. This is important because we cannot rule the expert in this case, the answer has to be yes, and that transfer of sufficient out inadvertent exposure from the starting gate crew as possible in Minnesota methamphetamine to give rise to the concentrations identified in Carson’s Storm and elsewhere or even in the test barn. The authors are aware of instances of could indeed have occurred in the starting gate. The second point of concern is test barn personnel being prescribed fentanyl patches and paddock judges that the concentrations identified in Carson’s Storm are widely considered to be taking tramadol, suggesting test barn and other racetrack personnel may serve pharmacologically insignificant and as such of no regulatory or forensic signifias the source of either equine exposure or, in at least one case, contamination cance. The concentrations were also well below a published cut-off for environof a collection sample with cocaine. mental exposure to methamphetamine in racing horses. Another matter arises concerning the testing of personnel. Where possible, the rule in personnel testing is to include hair testing as a prerequisite for employment. Drug addiction is a chronic behavior, and blood and urine testing The Solution: Due Process only reflect recent exposure. Hair testing is longitudinal and tells you what The final question then is how can trainers and indeed the industry itself the individual has been exposed to/consuming/recreating with/prescribed protect against inadvertent environmental exposure to trace levels of prescripfor a matter of weeks prior to testing. Standard human urine tests have two tion and recreational substances? significant problems. First, they only detect recent drug use, and second, they Moving away from the unsustainable concept of zero tolerance is the first are also easily circumvented by the individual being tested. In fact, our human step in protecting the due process rights of horsemen. Investigations into forensic colleagues tell us that the “railroad rule” is to test the hair of potential medication positives should include all aspects that may provide exculpatory employees at the time of application. If the potential employees pass the hair evidence for the trainer. The first area of concern is the need to correctly identify test, employers can proceed with confidence that the individuals hired are by the substance present in the sample and the concentrations present and also and large members of the distinct subculture of non-recreational drug users. any metabolites present in each portion of the analytical sample, which usually consists of both blood and urine. In the data available to us in the case of the horse Kion in Pennsylvania, we do not know whether the detection was in blood or urine or both, and we also do not know the concentrations detected and whether the expected metabolites were present in the sample. Where metabolites are not identified, the timing of the introduction of the substance in the sample cannot be surmised. In the methamphetamine identification in the Carson’s Storm case, the specific isomer of methamphetamine present was not identified in the initial $95 A sample analysis performed by the racing commission. The penalty for l-methamphetamine differs from d-methamphetamine and, therefore, should critically have been part of that initial confirmation. However, the racing commission apparently did require that the much more expensive B split sample analysis specifically identify the methamphetamine isomer present, which turned out to be the more pharmacologically active and higher penalty d-isomer of methamphetamine. This created an unusual circumstance whereby the defendant was paying in the split sample analysis to generate evidence against himself, presumably in conflict with his right to remain silent.

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Conclusion With the advent of ever-increasing sensitivity of equine drug testing, there is an urgent need for industry-wide communication of regulatory experience and regulatory cut-offs in the area of random environmental exposure. As pointed out above, communication of the actual substance concentrations identified is an important first step in understanding the environmental realities driving the identifications. Second, based on regulatory experience, if a cut-off is established, it is important that this cut-off be communicated as an advisory to other jurisdictions. In this regard, it is difficult, from either a scientific or regulatory point of view, to understand the recent decision by the Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission to change its environmental exposure cut-off for methamphetamine from a published value to a confidential in-house one, thereby depriving the racing community of ready access to their best current regulatory wisdom concerning the need for an environmental cut-off for methamphetamine. HJ

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WINTER 2018

NEWS

ALABAMA HBPA Magic City Classic The $50,000 Magic City Classic for Alabama-breds was held December 7 at Fair Grounds after press time for this issue. The following horses were entered for the race: Out Late for owner Charles Hukill, Gotta A. P. B. for Live-Lee Farm, Buggin Out and Branchwater for Dennis Murphy, Bablight and Noisy Ripples for Hackett Brothers Thoroughbreds Inc., Menewa for Bobby Pruitt, Two Mikes N Doc G for Stephen Gremmels and Indy’s Code for Michael Annechino. Best of luck to all, and many thanks to the Alabama Thoroughbred Association for supplementing $10,000 to keep the purse at the $50,000 mark. Look for a recap of the race in the next issue. With another year coming to an end, we see no changes in the Birmingham racing scene. As the Alabama HBPA, we will continue to support the Alabama horsemen, trainers and owners by supporting the supplemental purse program and the added monies at the four Louisiana tracks. If your Alabama-bred has run in open company at any track in the U.S., please let us know by contacting Nancy Delony at nancy.m.delony@ms.com or (205) 969-7048. If your horse has run first, second, third or fourth, you are eligible for funds from our supplemental purse distribution. Year to date we have paid out $18,000. If you have any eligible horses, please get your information to us as soon as possible. The Louisiana added monies are included in your purse winnings through the Louisiana tracks. We deposited $25,000 into the account for 2018. The Alabama HBPA will also be paying up to $500 in hauling expenses to the Magic City Classic for horses running fourth and out with a valid receipt or bill. Hoping everyone has a wonderful year’s end and good luck in racing and a great start to 2019! Nancy Delony, Executive Director

ARIZONA HBPA Turf Paradise Meet Off and Running They’re off! Turf Paradise was off and running on October 13 with a full card of racing that featured the Bienvenidos Stakes. Although the day was filled with rain (yes, it does occasionally rain in Arizona), the grandstand and clubhouse were packed. We had several Arizona dignitaries in attendance, including Governor Doug Ducey, who presented the American Military Veterans Trophy to jockey Leslie Mawing for his winning ride on Fire the Nurse for owner David Lebsock and trainer Stetson Rushton in the second race. The first race was named in honor of Native American Military Veterans with a trophy presented to the winning connections of Jonny’s Choice. Owner Charles Garvey and trainer Robertino Diodoro accepted the trophy from Jane Russell-Winiecki, chair of the Yavapai-Apache Nation, and Louis Manuel, former chair of the Ak-Chin Indian Community. The day concluded with the Bienvenidos Stakes with Izzy the Warrior stalking the leaders early and taking control at the head of the stretch for owner Randy Marriott, jockey Francisco Arrieta and trainer Robertino Diodoro. On October 20, Turf Paradise featured the Princess of Palms Stakes. Nine horses went to post with Paddy’s Secret running mid-pack early and then picking horses off one by one on her way to the winner’s circle. Congratulations to the connections of owner Mike Bolduc, trainer Frank Lucarelli and jockey Daniel Vergara. Turf Paradise again had a full house on November 3 for the Breeders’ Cup. The track featured two ATBA Fall Sales Futurities with a division for colts and 48

geldings and for fillies. Senoradiablo won the fillies division, battling all the way down the stretch with second-place finisher Let Me Fly. Congratulations to Senoradiablo’s connections of owner Tim Bankers, jockey Danny Velazquez and trainer Manny Ortiz. Loud N Proud won the colts and geldings division, leading most of the way and then battling Road Romeo down the stretch to get the nod at the wire under Ry Eikleberry. Congratulations to owners Lloyd Yother, Marvin Fleming, William L. Gessmann and Kevin Eikleberry, who also trained the winner. The Arizona HBPA board of directors started the 2018 meet with a five-anda-half-hour meeting on October 9. We are facing some serious challenges in trying to make Arizona racing great again. Getting all three racetracks to work together for the betterment of Arizona racing has been quite the challenge. The board also is working actively in the hopes of finding a way to have alternative gaming contribute to Arizona purses and the Arizona breed program. The Arizona HBPA is working closely with the three track owners, and our lobbyists are exploring sports betting and the possibility of casinos at the tracks. The maintenance of the Turf Paradise backside is an ongoing concern for the board with barn restrooms a priority. The biggest challenge facing our board this year is negotiating a new contract with Turf Paradise. If you have questions or concerns with items in the contract, please contact a board member or the Arizona HBPA office. The Arizona HBPA and Turf Paradise again this year served our Thanksgiving turkey dinner to everyone who is licensed in Arizona. We served more than 500 backside workers, trainers and owners. New this year is a program called Market on the Move. Longtime owner/trainer Gloria Anderson worked with produce farms and food suppliers to gather excess products to bring to the backside and sell to backside employees. The going rate is $10 for 60 pounds, which is a great deal for our backside workers. Arizona Downs is moving forward. The grandstand is now open for simulcasting along with four new OTB sites: Connolly’s Sports Grill in Phoenix, Bull Shooters Sports Bar & Grill in Phoenix, The Museum Club in Flagstaff and Gallagher’s Dining & Pub in Lake Havasu City. Arizona Downs has a couple more on the drawing board that will be opening soon. Opening day for racing is set for May 29, 2019. If you haven’t had a chance to stop by the remodeled grandstand yet, be sure to do so. They have done a fantastic job in creating a great atmosphere for racing! Rillito Park has been given a temporary permit for racing dates again this year. The track will run two days a week starting February 16 through March 24. Rillito Park works closely with the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program, and eight of their interns had the opportunity to go to Churchill Downs and work during Breeders’ Cup weekend. Rillito Park makes for a great place for the program’s students to get a feel of what a racetrack is all about. Turf Paradise has created a new bet called the Grand Canyon Pick 6. It is a 20-cent wager with a carryover pool only paying out for a single winning ticket. The new bet has created a lot of interest at Turf Paradise.

ARKANSAS HBPA Oaklawn Announces $100-Million-Plus Expansion with Hotel, Event Center and Larger Gaming Area Oaklawn Racing and Gaming has announced plans to build an expansion project in excess of $100 million that includes the construction of a high-rise hotel, multipurpose event center, a larger gaming area and additional on-site parking. The project is one of the largest hospitality investments in the history of Arkansas. THE HORSEMEN’S JOURNAL

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AFFILIATE NEWS

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general manager of Oaklawn. “As they have for more than a century, the family continues to make significant investments in Arkansas. This will be the third major project at Oaklawn since 2008.” This major expansion represents the second significant announcement at Oaklawn since Louis Cella succeeded his late father, Charles, as president of Oaklawn Jockey Club last December. In April of this year, Oaklawn announced it will shift its racing season later in the calendar and for the first time will continue racing into May. It’s the biggest change in the traditional Oaklawn racing schedule since World War II.

Arkansas HBPA Board Election Results Congratulations go to Bill Walmsley on being elected president of the Arkansas HBPA in the latest board of directors election. Congratulations also go to the following elected owner-directors: Terry Dunlavy, Linda Gaston, Jeanette Milligan, Dr. Robert Tucker, Gary Woodall and Danny Keene (alternate). The elected trainer-directors are Terry Brennan, Jinks Fires, Steve Hobby, Ron Moquett, Don Von Hemel and Rick Jackson (alternate).

Former Jockey Turned Steward Larry Snyder Passes, Oaklawn Winner’s Circle Named in His Honor Retired jockey Larry Snyder, a longtime steward at Oaklawn, died October 29 after a brave battle with cancer. He was 76. Snyder, whose death came just days after Oaklawn dedicated its new winner’s circle to him, was born June 29, 1942, in Toledo, Ohio. He enjoyed a 35-year career as a jockey that began in 1960 and included eight riding titles at Oaklawn, where he won 1,248 recorded races at the Hot Springs track. Among LARRY SNYDER his most notable Oaklawn wins were the 1983 Rebel Stakes aboard that year’s Kentucky Derby winner, Sunny’s Halo, as well as the 1989 Arkansas Derby on Dansil, whom he would ride to a fourth-place finish in both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. “Larry was a very beloved member of the Oaklawn family,” Oaklawn President Louis Cella said. “We were all happy that we were able to honor him with the new winner’s circle before he passed. It was a very proud moment in Oaklawn’s history. We are able to recognize someone who played an important part of our past with something that will begin a wonderful new tradition at Oaklawn. Please join the Oaklawn family in sending our thoughts and prayers to the Snyder family.” Snyder became only the sixth rider in U.S. racing history to reach 6,000 career wins, hitting that milestone at Louisiana Downs on August 24, 1989. That same year, Snyder’s distinguished career was recognized by his peers through the prestigious George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award. Snyder retired in 1994 with career earnings of $47,207,289 and 6,388 victories, which still ranks him 14th among all North American jockeys 24 years after his retirement. “In my 40 years at Oaklawn, I don’t know if I worked with anyone with more integrity than Larry Snyder,” Oaklawn Senior Vice President Eric Jackson said. COURTESY OAKLAWN

“This historic announcement represents a new chapter in the rich 114-year history of Oaklawn,” said Louis Cella, president of Oaklawn Jockey Club. “As we enhance the entertainment experience for our customers, we will also further elevate Thoroughbred racing and help make Arkansas and Hot Springs even stronger regional tourism destinations.” The yet-to-be-named hotel will be seven stories with 200 rooms, including two presidential suites. Amenities will include an outdoor swimming pool, a luxury spa, fitness center and restaurant. “The hotel will offer a unique vantage point for our patrons in that it will overlook the track,” Cella said. “Imagine the spectacular view as the horses are heading down the stretch. Our goal is to achieve four-star status.” Adjacent to the hotel will be a 14,000 square-foot multipurpose event center that will accommodate up to 1,500 people for various events such as concerts, meetings, banquets and weddings. The project also includes the addition of approximately 28,000 square feet of gaming space and significantly expanded parking. Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson said the Oaklawn expansion will be monumental. “The state of Arkansas is grateful to Louis and his family for their commitment to growing their business right here at home,” Hutchinson said. “This project, which will be financed exclusively with private funds, not only represents one of, if not the largest, tourism-related expansion projects in our history, it will also rank among the state’s largest economic development projects in 2019.” Kane Webb, director of the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism, said the Oaklawn expansion will create more success stories for Arkansas’ thriving tourism industry. “Hot Springs is already one of the top tourism destinations in the South,” Webb said. “This expansion will thrust Hot Springs into the category of the nation’s elite vacation and recreation locations.” Cella said the development will create new partnership opportunities with the city of Hot Springs in that marketing efforts will be designed to complement those of the city’s. While various on-site amenities will be offered, Oaklawn wants guests to enjoy all that Hot Springs has to offer including Hot Springs National Park, lakes, hiking and biking trails, museums, restaurants, shopping and more. Steve Arrison, CEO of the Hot Springs Advertising and Promotion Commission, said the events center and hotel rooms will benefit Hot Springs and Arkansas by attracting more and larger meetings and conventions. “This creates exciting opportunities for Hot Springs tourism,” he added. According to Cella, an expansion project of this magnitude requires years of planning and the development of infrastructure. “While one may assume that today’s announcement comes in response to the passage of Issue 4 on November 6, we actually began planning for this during our last expansion in 2014,” Cella said. “Our goal then, as it is now, is to use a quality gaming experience to enhance racing and help attract even more great champions to Arkansas such as Smarty Jones, Zenyatta and American Pharoah.” Construction on the project will begin in May, immediately following completion of the 2019 racing season. The target completion date for the gaming expansion is January 2020 with the hotel and event center to be completed in late 2020. As it has for two previous Oaklawn projects, HBG Design of Memphis is the architectural firm for this new expansion. Flintco Construction, with an Arkansas headquarters located in Springdale, is the contractor on the project. The company estimates that as many as 2,300 jobs will be created during the construction phase. “The Cellas helped found Oaklawn in the early 1900s,” said Wayne Smith,

NEWS “He lived his life the same way on the track as he did off of it. Larry will be greatly missed.” While still an active rider in 1988, Snyder was inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame and during retirement, in 2001, he was honored as part of the Arkansas Walk of Fame in Hot Springs. In 1999 he was inducted into the Fair Grounds Racing Hall of Fame. He was nominated for induction in 2006 into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. Snyder was a steward at Oaklawn from 1995 to 2017. A longtime resident of Hot Springs, Snyder is survived by his wife of nearly 57 years, Jeanette, who is renowned for her jockey silks, and son, Larry Jr. He was preceded in death by his daughter, Lynette.

CHARLES TOWN HBPA Charles Town Horsewoman Honored at TIEA Awards The third annual Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards, presented by Godolphin, took place October 31. Charles Town’s own Daisy Tobin was runner-up in the Leadership in Racing category for this prestigious award. Jim Gagliano, president of The Jockey Club, said, “There are very special people in our industry who spend countless hours of their lives taking care of our industry’s horses and humans. These awards enable us to honor them and share their wonderful stories. We are grateful to Godolphin for bringing these awards to the United States and for including The Jockey Club, TOBA and the National HBPA as their corporate partners in this important endeavor.”

General Membership Meeting The next general membership meeting for the Charles Town HBPA was to be held on Tuesday, December 18, at the Holiday Inn Express on Flowing Springs Road in Ranson.

West Virginia Breeders’ Classics Congratulations to the winners of the West Virginia Breeders’ Classics races, including the night’s two richest stakes: · $125,000 West Virginia Cavada Breeders’ Classic Stakes, Winner: Late Night Pow Wow, Jockey: Fredy Peltroche, Owner/Trainer: Javier Contreras · $300,000 West Virginia Breeders’ Classic Stakes, Winner: Runnin’toluvya, Jockey: Oscar Flores, Trainer: Timothy Grams, Owner: Grams Racing Stable LLC

Name That Foal Contest The winning name in the West Virginia Breeders’ Classic “Name the Foal Contest” is Candyforacause, submitted by Katie Greenfield of Sykesville, Maryland. The foal is by Charitable Man out of Candy One and is owned by James W. Casey of Taylor Mountain Farm. “Naming a racehorse is such an enjoyable process, and we thank Mr. Casey for helping us in our ongoing effort to engage with racing fans,” said Carol Holden, president of the West Virginia Breeders’ Classics. This year’s contest had names submitted from across the U.S., as well as from Germany and the U.K.

Legislative Session Begins January 9, 2019 As we prepare for the beginning of the 2019 West Virginia legislative session, we continue to focus on efforts to bring revenue stability to the state’s racing and breeding industries to ensure that participants continue to invest in West Virginia. The uncertainty caused by variable and decreasing legislative allocations has chilled investment and has caused owners, trainers and breeders to increasingly migrate to neighboring states. The Thoroughbred racing industry in West Virginia generates an estimated $252 million in business volume and creates 5,348 jobs, $80.6 million in employee compensation and $3.7 million in assorted sales taxes. It also accounts for 14 percent of the jobs in Jefferson County.

2019 Racing Schedule The 2019 racing schedule has been approved through April (see accompanying calendar). Dates for May through December will be available once they are approved by the racing commission.

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AFFILIATE NEWS FLORIDA HBPA Midterm Elections Two proposed amendments to the Florida Constitution were on the ballot in the November 6 election that will have an impact on Thoroughbred racing in Florida, and both of them passed handily. Passage of Amendment 3 was supported by the Florida HBPA and reserves all future expansion of casino gambling in the state to a vote of the entire state. This takes authorization of any future casino gambling in Florida out of the hands of the legislators. Proposed gaming expansion bills in recent years have included decoupling provisions that would have removed the obligation of casinos at pari-mutuel facilities to continue the pari-mutuel operations. Passage of Amendment 3 minimizes the likelihood of any successful Thoroughbred decoupling effort at the legislative level. Amendment 13 also passed, and it bans dog racing in the state after December 31, 2020, and allows those tracks that have casinos to stop dog racing after December 31, 2018, while maintaining their gaming licenses. One such casino, the Magic City Casino in Miami-Dade, has already stopped dog racing and converted to a summer jai alai facility as Calder Race Course is threatening to do. Down the street from Gulfstream Park is the Big Easy Casino, which is part of Hollywood Greyhound Track and which can now stop racing in 2019 while continuing its casino business. The absence of a legislative push to eliminate dog racing, which dragged Thoroughbreds along with it in recent years, also will likely diminish any legislative decoupling effort for horse racing in Florida.

was invalid. That decision was appealed by the DPMW, but in the meantime, as of September 1, 2018, the DPMW has now adopted the 2014 RCI-recommended penalty guidelines. Whereas penalties for the past few years have been limited to a wide range of trainer fines as determined by the DPMW, with RCI penalties now in place, they will range from warnings to purse redistributions.

Calder Debacle FHBPA has instituted multiple actions against the DPMW and Calder in connection with DPMW’s allowing Calder to maintain its casino license after demolishing its pari-mutuel grandstand facility and its granting Calder a summer jai alai permit. Calder is threatening to build and operate a jai alai fronton as a substitute for its horse racing requirement in order to maintain its casino operation. Not surprisingly, the necessary initial filings at the administrative level with the DPMW all resulted in an affirmation of DPMW’s actions. As of mid-November, FHBPA is involved in a case in front of an administrative law judge regarding the grandstand issue and in the circuit court in Tallahassee regarding the issuance of the jai alai permit. Both the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Association and Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company have joined us in the jai alai lawsuit. At ultimate risk with Calder is two months of racing in October and November plus slots revenue that goes to our purses, all of which will cease in December 2020 if Churchill Downs Inc., the owner of Calder, is allowed to continue its exit strategy from horse racing in South Florida.

RCI Penalties Adopted

INDIANA HBPA

Although the Florida Legislature passed laws that adopted Association of Racing Commissioners International (RCI) guidelines and thresholds and RCI-recommended penalties beginning January 2016, the state agency that oversees horse racing only implemented the guidelines and thresholds but not the penalties. The failure of the Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering (DPMW) to follow RCI penalties has caused much confusion and lack of uniformity and effectiveness in the punishment of medication violators for the past couple of years. The FHBPA attempted to cure this problem by initiating rulemaking changes through the normal process. Hearings were held in Tallahassee where FHBPA representatives testified, but that effort was to no avail as the DPMW refused to follow the statutory mandate. FHBPA followed up with a successful lawsuit wherein the court held that the penalty system being used by the DPMW

Indiana Grand Wraps Up 16th Season of Racing

JANA TETRAULT

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After completing three straight seasons with increases in its simulcast signal, Indiana Grand Racing and Casino showed a slight loss for the 120-day racing meet that concluded November 7. Numbers show a slight decrease of 1.37 percent compared to figures for 2017. A total of $143,959,253 was wagered over the season on both Thoroughbred and American Quarter Horse races compared to $145,954,843 in 2017. A total of 191 races were held over the turf course during the meet, a new record for one season. In all, 899 races were run for Thoroughbreds in 2018 at Indiana Grand. Two trainers could not be separated at the end of the meet as Tom Amoss and Genaro Garcia were named co-leading trainers with 45 wins each. Garcia, who earned his second straight title at Indiana Grand, had 297 starters and maintained a 41 percent in the money average with purse earnings in excess of $905,580. The Garcia-trained Discreet Beauty won the $100,000 City of Anderson Stakes, and the most consistent performer out of the barn was Wills Defence, who won five of his 10 starts at Indiana Grand. “I’m really happy to have won the title this year, and I want to say thank you to the owners and Indiana Grand,” said Garcia, who now resides in Greenwood, Indiana. “All of my 2-year-olds did really well this year, and I was so glad to see that. It was exciting to see how they went through the whole process from breaking them to seeing them get to the track and race so well this year.” Amoss picked up his sixth leading trainer title in the past eight years. A native of Louisiana, Amoss won titles from 2011 to 2014 and was back on top of the standings in 2016. Horses from his barn in 2018 were tough, winning 45 of 136 starts for a 33 percent win average and a 61 percent top-three average. A total of $961,748 was accumulated by Amoss-trained horses for 2018. 51

NEWS “Winning a title is an honor for the stable and a reflection on all the people who work with us, especially the owners who entrust us with their horses,” Amoss said. “I’m not there as often as I’d like, but every time I go, the casual fans are so nice and enthusiastic. Indiana Grand is always a breath of fresh air when I visit.” Topping the leading owner standings for the first time was the partnership of Garcia’s Southwest Racing Stables and Bruce Murphy. The duo connected for 25 wins for a total of $417,728 in purses, maintaining a top-three percentage of 44 percent. “This is awesome to win this, and I cannot thank Genaro enough,” Murphy said. “It’s been fun from the very beginning, and every year, I can’t wait to get back the next year.” The fifth recipient of the Juan Saez Leading Apprentice Award was Edgar Morales of Puerto Rico. Morales completed the meet with 10 wins in 76 starts and more than $380,000 in purses. He spent most of his time on the Kentucky circuit throughout the season but would make frequent trips to Indiana to ride, piecing together an impressive season for the award. Midwest Justice from the John Ortiz Jr. Stable earned winningest horse of the meet. The 3-year-old son of Midshipman was claimed by Ortiz after winning four straight races for Marvin Johnson. He earned one more win and two seconds for Ortiz to take the title, scoring five wins and three seconds in nine starts and purse money in excess of $118,000 for owners Brent Gasaway, Hooties Racing LLC and WSS Racing LLC. Other highlights for the meet included the $500,000 Indiana Derby (G3) in mid-July won by Axelrod and jockey Florent Geroux. Axelrod went on to compete in the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) at Churchill Downs in early November. Another highlight of the meet included the continued winning ways of Bucchero from the Tim Glyshaw barn. The Indiana-bred son of Kantharos became one of the first Indiana-breds to ever compete in a Breeders’ Cup event in 2017 and came back for one more season of action in 2018. He had a repeat win in the Woodford Stakes (G2) at Keeneland and became the state’s all-time richest horse with earnings of $947,936. His final race was in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1) before being retired to stud. He will stand his first season in 2019 at Pleasant Acres Stallions in Florida. The Indiana Horse Racing Commission is expected to announce race dates for 2019 at its December meeting. Racing is expected to resume at Indiana Grand in April 2019.

Longtime Team Member Pat Hankins Honored at Indiana Grand Pat Hankins of Shelbyville, Indiana, has been an integral part of the horse racing program at Indiana Grand since its inception in 2003. She served as the horsemen’s bookkeeper from 2003 through the 2008 racing season before moving to the grandstand as a program seller on the first floor. Even though she wasn’t working with the horsemen, she continued to maintain friendships with them and greeted them daily from her post in the grandstand. The conclusion of the 2018 racing season marked the end of an era for Hankins as she moves into retirement. She was honored by the Indiana HBPA during the final day of racing for the 2018 season on November 7. Following the second race, Indiana HBPA board members Tianna Richardville and Katie Kunz-Duran made a special winner’s circle presentation to Hankins for her dedication and assistance to the horsemen in Indiana. “On behalf of all the horsemen and the Indiana HBPA, this is a token of our appreciation for all your years of service to us as the horsemen’s bookkeeper,” Richardville said. “You oversaw all the horsemen’s accounts for almost six years, and we wanted you to know how much we appreciated you.” 52

Hankins is a native of Wadsworth, Ohio. While working as a school bus driver, she met her husband, Kenny, who was a truck driver from Shelbyville. After the couple married, they moved to Shelbyville, where they have lived for the past 38 years. Together, they have three children, Rich, Connie and Kim, along with several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. “I appreciate this so much, and I was so surprised,” said an emotional Hankins. “I’ve enjoyed every minute working here, and I’m so thankful for this honor.”

Sports Betting in Indiana A recent article in the Indianapolis Star provided an update on the possibility of sports betting coming to Indiana. According to the article, a legislative committee voted 9-0 to recommend passage of sports betting legalization. (The recent Supreme Court decision did not legalize sports betting nationwide but rather opened the door for individual states to legalize it.) The article stated: “The almost four-hour session of a legislative study committee included testimony on numerous decisions related to the issue. Those include the level of taxation, who will get licenses to take bets, the types of bets that will be allowed, whether sports leagues will get a cut of the action, and restrictions on who can make bets and how.” A 142-page report was prepared outlining the advantages of moving quickly to legalize sports betting, which among other things would give the state a jump on other states in the region that also might have legalization plans. Stay tuned!

IOWA HBPA As One Meet Ends, Iowa HBPA Prepares for Another As Prairie Meadows works on upgrades and improvements to the backside area, the Iowa HBPA is preparing for the 2019 season. Some 2019 events to look forward to are the joint IA HBPA/ITBOA annual awards, a Groom Elite course and an Adventureland outing for horsemen. There will be a couple of noticeable changes to the 2019 race meet, with one of them being the schedule. With Oaklawn extending its meet, a portion of the horses, horsemen and employees will be arriving later than normal. Thus the 2019 Thoroughbred meet will begin on Kentucky Derby weekend rather than the end of April. Doing this will force the extension of the Thoroughbred meet, which will now conclude in September rather than at the end of August as in past years. The statutory 67 Thoroughbred race days will still be achieved without affecting the American Quarter Horse race meet, and that is reflected in the accompanying schedule. Another change that the IA HBPA is working on regards purses being paid out post-race. Currently, no monies are paid from a race until the tests have all cleared. The proposed change would enable all untested horses to be paid their purse monies within two race days. The IA HBPA believes horsemen will appreciate this change and hopes to have this finalized prior to beginning of the race meet. Aside from national meetings and conventions and major holidays, our office is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. You also can reach Jon or Michelle in the office at (515) 967-4804.

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AFFILIATE NEWS 2019 PrairieMay Meadows 2019 Race Dates

May 2019 Su 5 12 19 26

Mo 6 13 20 27

Tu 7 14 21 28 16

Th Fr Sa 1 2 3 4 8 9 10 11 15 16 17 18 22 23 24 25 29 30 31 Race Days

August 2019 Su 4 11 18 25

Mo 5 12 19 26

Tu 6 13 20 27 12

We `

1 7 8 14 15 21 22 28 29 Race Days

2 9 16 21 30

3 10 17 24 31

Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa 67 TB Race Days 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 June 13 2019 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Su 26 Mo 27 Tu 28 We 29 Th 30 Fr31 Sa 1 16 Race Days 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9August 10 2019 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Su 23Mo 24Tu 25We 26Th 27Fr 28Sa 29 30 18` Race Days 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 September 12 13 2019 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 21 24 Su 25 Mo 26 Tu 27 We 28 Th 29 Fr30 Sa31 1 2 123Race4Days5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Thoroughbred 16 17 18 20 21 67 Day Meet:19 22 23 24 Post 25 time 26 of 27 28 Thursday and Friday 6:00 pm 29 & 30Sunday Post time of 1:00 pm Saturday 4 Race Monday & Tuesday Post Days time of 6:00 pm

67 TB Race Days

26 QH R

June 2019 Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa 26 QH Race Days 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 July 10 2019 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Su23 Mo 24 Tu25 We 26 Th27 Fr28 Sa29 1 182 Race3 Days4 5 6 30 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 September 15 16 2019 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Su 28 Mo 29 Tu 30 We31 Th Fr Sa 17 1 2 3 Race 4 Days 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 October 16 17201918 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Su29 Mo Sa 30 Tu We Th Fr 4 5 41 Race2 Days3 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

67 Day Thoroughbred Meet: Thursday and Friday Post time of 6:00 pm Saturday & Sunday Post time of 1:00 pm Monday & Tuesday Post time of 6:00 pm

Special Race Days and Post Times Saturday May 4 - Kentucky Derby Day Post Time 4:00 pm Saturday May 18 - Preakness Day Post Time 4:00 pm Monday May 27 - Memorial Day Post Time of 1:00 pm Saturday June 8 - Belmont Day Post Time 4:00 pm Special Race Days and Post Times Wednesday July 3rd - PMRC Fireworks Post Time of 4:00 pm Saturday May 4 - Kentucky Derby Day Post Time 4:00 pmJuly 4th - Fourth of July Post Time - TBD Thursday Saturday May 18 - Preakness Day Post Time 4:00 pm September 2 - Labor Day Post Time - TBD Monday Monday May 27 - Memorial Day Post Time of 1:00 Iowapm Classic Night - TBD Saturday June 8 - Belmont Day Post Time 4:00Festival pm of Racing - TBD Wednesday July 3rd - PMRC Fireworks Post Time of 4:00 pm Thursday July 4th - Fourth of July Post Time - TBD Monday September 2 - Labor Day Post Time - TBD Theodore Shults, chair of the American Association of Medical Review KENTUCKY HBPA Iowa Classic Night - TBD Officers, also stated it is imperative to establish cut-offs to eliminate “passive Festival of Racing - TBD

President’s Message The North American Association of Racetrack Veterinarians held its annual symposium in Lexington this year. The panel discussion titled “Spotlight on Environmental Substances Showing Up at Trace Levels in Racehorses” was especially alarming. Previously, I recall Dr. Steven Barker’s research on the receiving barn stalls at Louisiana Downs in which he detected an inordinate amount of environmental contamination, from both human and animal medications, that could spell trouble for horsemen stabling horses in one of the stalls. Maria Catignani, executive director of the Charles Town HBPA, explained that a similar situation occurred at their racetrack, where 23 stalls were contaminated with substances including cocaine, methamphetamine, 14 human medications and 10 equine medications. Dr. Thomas Tobin informed the veterinarians and horsemen attending the conference that horses absorb the substances orally and metabolites are excreted in the horse’s urine. He suggested that chemists should estimate the concentration detected and report their findings in both blood and urine to determine the forensics. He explained that concentration data allows experts to evaluate the significance of detection. Dr. David Kuntz, an expert in forensic chemistry, informed participants at the symposium that, due to the porous nature of wood, without passive environmental cut-offs, detection of inadvertent environmental substances in the horse is likely.

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exposure” to environmental contamination. He also mentioned that U.S. paper currency has been determined to carry trace levels of methamphetamine and cocaine. To prevent the passive exposure contamination, it was suggested that the threshold cut-offs should be set at such a level that the substance has no effect on the horse’s performance while preventing the inadvertent positive reading that may jeopardize the careers of horsemen. The KHBPA is sending a transcript of the conference to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. Members of the commission’s rules committee have stated in the past that they are not in agreement with the “gotcha” mentality. It is important that they have the opportunity to read and consider what these renowned scientists have to offer, especially as it pertains to environmental contamination and no-effect thresholds. Good luck in your racing endeavors. Rick Hiles, President, KHBPA

New Kentucky HBPA Website It took two and a half years with some unexpected detours, but we have a new website! Owners and trainers who are racing or who have raced in Kentucky now can 11/9/2018 12:04 PM website join the Kentucky HBPA by filling out an online form on the redesigned at kyhbpa.org. While all owners and trainers running a horse in the state automatically are represented by the Kentucky HBPA, there are additional benefits available to those signing up for full membership, which is free. 53

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NEWS “We have made it a priority to promote our horses, horsemen and sport,” Maline said. “The new website and #KyBCKids are our latest steps.”

Remembering Don Ball

JAMEY STILLINGS

In addition to information about our benefits, officers and board, the website has been expanded to provide printable forms to apply for benefits and Kentucky racing licenses; the most recent posts on our Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and social media channels; a calendar with Kentucky racing dates and notable events; and news pertaining to the industry. The new website started as a collaboration between the Kentucky HBPA and the University of Louisville College of Business’ computer information systems department, with prototypes developed by teams of senior CIS students under the supervision of associate professor Dr. Sandeep Goyal. Lee Ann Lyle, owner of website developer LAL Computers, completed the site and is overseeing ongoing enhancements. The website also can be accessed through kentuckyhbpa.org, kyhbpa.com or kentuckyhbpa.com. “While we found out, sometimes the hard way, just how much we didn’t know about website development, engaging in the venture with the University of Louisville was a win-win for us all,” said Kentucky HBPA Executive Director Marty Maline. “The UofL seniors’ groundwork helped us focus on what we needed and what is practical, and provided the genesis of what we think is one of the best websites for a horsemen’s organization—and one that will continue to evolve.” For the third year, the Kentucky HBPA teamed with Kentucky Downs and Ellis Park to provide supplemental news content about Kentucky horses and horsemen in the Breeders’ Cup. The material, with an emphasis on video interviews, was produced by our communications specialist, Jennie Rees, and made available at no charge to media outlets. “In this era of shrinking news resources, we were proud to again team with two of our partner tracks to provide quality content to the media to ensure that our horses are showcased on racing’s biggest global stage,” Maline said. Rees produced 37 iPhone video interviews with horsemen from the last round of Breeders’ Cup prep races at Churchill Downs and Keeneland in the weeks and days leading up to the Breeders’ Cup and then afterward. The content was sent to Rees’ regional and national media lists. “We weren’t sure how usage for a Breeders’ Cup at home would compare with the prior two years in California,” Rees said. “We actually found increased demand by area television and radio stations that didn’t have the staff to send someone to Churchill Downs on a daily basis. While we emphasized the Kentucky-connected horses, we also did video with other horsemen with leading Breeders’ Cup contenders and found those to be well received and utilized by both mainstream and racing media outlets. I did create some written content that I knew would be of interest in certain markets, but video clearly gets the most use, including by us through social media. For instance, we posted the videos to our YouTube channel and sent out the link—and saw a huge surge in subscribers.” With the Breeders’ Cup held in Kentucky, the Kentucky HBPA launched a #KyBCKids Twitter campaign, a spinoff of the well-regarded #KyDerbyKids project, where sons and daughters of Derby horsemen are enlisted to tweet about the experience using the #KyDerbyKids hashtag. In the latest venture, millennials associated with horses running in the Breeders’ Cup at Churchill shared their experiences on Twitter with a #KyBCKids hashtag.

By Richard Riedel On July 18, Rick Hiles, president of the Kentucky HBPA and vice chair of the Kentucky Racing Health and Welfare Fund (a charitable nonprofit helping Kentucky’s backstretch workers and others), presented a formal resolution to the fund’s board of directors that recognized the many accomplishments of Don Ball for the Kentucky Thoroughbred racing industry Don had been a valued DON BALL member of the fund’s board since October 1988, when he joined as treasurer. He was elected chair in November 1994, a position he would retain until his passing on March 23, 2018. Among the more notable accomplishments the board of directors initiated during Don’s tenure are the following: · The modernization of determining the eligibility of the fund’s benefactors MRS. MIRA BALL RECEIVES A FORMAL · Successfully workRESOLUTION ACKNOWLEDGING HER ing with the KenHUSBAND DON’S MANY ACCOMPLISHtucky Legislature to MENTS IN ASSISTING KENTUCKY’S BACKSTRETCH WORKERS. PRESENTING reduce the waiting IS BOB BENSON (CENTER), ATTORNEY period to cash an FOR THE KENTUCKY RACING HEALTH escheated ticket AND WELFARE FUND, AND RICHARD from 24 months to RIEDEL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. 12 months · The expansion of the fund’s benefits and presence at Kentucky’s Thoroughbred tracks · The privatization of the fund’s investments · The creation of the Thoroughbred Addiction Counsel of Kentucky · Successfully working with the Kentucky Legislature to create the Kentucky Race Track Retirement Plan · The creation of the Filly and Foal Daycare Center · The purchase, rehabilitation and management of the Old School apartment building · The creation of the Kentucky Racing Health Services Center · The creation of the Horsemen’s Wellness Center at Turfway Park

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AFFILIATE NEWS Don’s legacy with backstretch workers and Thoroughbred horse racing in Kentucky will continue in these many programs, and it will carry forward his example of learning from the past, living in the present and building for the future.

The HBPA Is You

Delta Downs The 2018–19 Thoroughbred meet at Delta Downs ends March 9. Louisiana Premier Night is February 9, featuring approximately $1 million in purses for Louisiana-breds. For additional information, contact the Delta Downs racing office at (888) 589-7223.

Evangeline Downs The Evangeline Downs 2019 Thoroughbred meet is scheduled to begin April 3. Stall applications are due by late February. For additional information, contact the Evangeline Downs racing office at (337) 594-3022.

Fair Grounds With 2018 nearing an end, Fair Grounds will host a final chance for Louisiana-bred juveniles to earn black type in two divisions of the $100,000 Louisiana Futurity on December 29. Following the turn of the calendar into 2019, graded stakes action returns to New Orleans January 19 when Kentucky Derby hopefuls square off in the Grade 3 Lecomte Stakes on a card with five undercard stakes. The Road to the Kentucky Derby then continues at Fair Grounds February 16 with the Grade 2 Risen Star Stakes presented by Lamarque Motor Company and concludes March 23 with the Grade 2 Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby. Early-bird nominations for the Louisiana Derby, which include nomination fees for the Lecomte and Risen Star, are due December 22. For more information, contact the racing office at (504)-948-1288.

Louisiana Downs The 2019 American Quarter Horse meet is scheduled to begin January 5. For more information, contact the racing office at (318) 741-2511.

JANA TETRAULT

The HBPA, established in 1940, is an organization of owners and trainers numbering approximately 30,000 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 is present in negotiating sessions 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 and claiming coverage. 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 in regard 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 by 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, 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 “How to Join.”

LOUISIANA HBPA

THE HORSEMEN’S JOURNAL

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NEWS

Fair Grounds Race Course 2018-2019 Race Meets

Delta Downs Racetrack & Casino 2018-2019 Race Meets

1751 Gentilly Blvd. New Orleans, LA 70119 504-944-5515 * www.fairgroundsracecourse.com

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2235 Creswell Lane Extension, Opelousas, LA 70570 Toll Free: 866-4-Racing * www.evangelinedowns.com

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THE HORSEMEN’S JOURNAL

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NEWS

MINNESOTA HBPA

MOUNTAINEER PARK HBPA

Changes in Minnesota

Mountaineer Park Update

The fall of 2018 has been one of major changes for Minnesota racing and the Minnesota HBPA. Heading into the election for officers of the Minnesota HBPA, President Jack Walsh, who had just been selected to enter Canterbury Park’s Hall of Fame, reiterated his intention to not seek reelection due to health challenges over the preceding six months. A month after Jack’s announcement, the election took place, and Scott JACK WALSH Rake was unanimously voted in as the new president. Sadly, just two weeks later, Jack passed away. Anyone who had known Jack knew what a singular individual he was. He was an incredibly astute lawyer. But what made him special was his compassion for people. In simplest terms, he felt every human being deserved dignity and respect. Jack didn’t just think this; he acted on it—and almost always behind the scenes and without fanfare. Whether supporting an individual through recovery or by advocating on someone’s behalf, Jack was a benevolent force where people needed him most. He will be missed. By his daughters, by his grandkids, by his friends. And, of course, by his horses. With Jack’s passing, part of an era has passed as well, leading to a new and uncharted one. One of the first steps in this ever-changing environment was an extremely positive one: Canterbury Park broke ground in October on phase one of its new development, one that will feature a stylishly designed residential complex. Located less than a half-hour from the thriving and beautiful cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Canterbury Park has prime real estate, and the management team, headed by CEO Randy Sampson, has done a superb job of having racing and the new development complement each other. To that end, a new contract was signed by Canterbury Park and the Minnesota HBPA for the 2019 racing season, one that mirrors the 2018 season by spanning the dates from Kentucky Oaks/Derby weekend through the middle of September. So as the first snows have already blanketed the Twin Cities, we wish everyone a happy holiday season but also look forward to early May, when the horses once again break from the starting gate at Canterbury Park!

At the time of submission, Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack and Resort had suspended racing in order to address possible health concerns in the clubhouse and grandstand and was scheduled to resume racing after the Thanksgiving holidays. As we head into our off season, the Mountaineer Park HBPA and medical trust offices will be open on a part-time basis to answer any questions and to administer the final reports for the West Virginia Racing Commission Retirement Plan for Backstretch Workers. Once the reports are received, they will be available in the office or mailed to participants. The Mountaineer Park chaplain, Wilson Langley, distributed turkeys to those on the backstretch and has a food pantry fully stocked for those in need. The Mountaineer Park HBPA provided Thanksgiving dinner for licensed backstretch personnel at a local restaurant. As we approach the 2019 West Virginia legislative session, members may be called upon to express their support or opposition to particular bills. Please visit our Facebook page for updates and provide your email to our office so we can keep you informed. On behalf of the Mountaineer Park HBPA and the office staff, we wish you a blessed holiday season and a healthy and happy New Year!

FROM LEFT, NEW MINNESOTA HBPA PRESIDENT DR. SCOTT RAKE, JACK WALSH, NATIONAL HBPA CEO ERIC HAMELBACK AND NATIONAL HBPA PRESIDENT LEROY GESSMANN

NEW ENGLAND HBPA Suffolk Downs Update By Lynne Snierson Even though Suffolk Downs will hold an abbreviated live meet again next year, the historic East Boston oval will with certainty reach the finish line in 2019. Consequently, the New England chapter officials continue to take proactive measures to ensure the viability of racing and breeding in the region. The NEHBPA is currently negotiating the purse agreement for 2019 with the management of Sterling Suffolk Racecourse LLC (SSR), which has leased back the racing, simulcasting and advance deposit wagering operations at the track since it was sold to a major real estate developer in the spring of 2017. The purse agreement covers a total of four days of racing to be held the weekends of May 18-19 and June 15-16, but there is the possibility of a few more days being added to the live racing program, which offers average daily purses of about $500,000 and showcases the Massachusetts Thoroughbred breeding program with a series of stakes races restricted to state-breds. Nonetheless, any additional days would have to be run prior to July 1 as the developer has issued notice that demolition of the property is scheduled to begin at that time and the deadline is firm. The first part of the track to be taken down will be the backside. To keep live racing going after Suffolk Downs is torn down and no longer an option, the NEHBPA has a three-way deal in place with the Massachusetts Thoroughbred Breeders Association and SSR to work toward that end. SSR is pursuing the redevelopment of the long-shuttered Great Barrington Fairgrounds located in the western part of the state, and at this time, plans call for a short 2020 live meet to be conducted at the fairgrounds. But the property, which was once considered to be the centerpiece of the old Massachusetts Fair Circuit, still needs to be refurbished and revitalized as no horses have raced there since 1998. Moreover, other positive changes are in the works, including some revisions to the state’s racing and wagering laws

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AFFILIATE NEWS now that the overall landscape has shifted since they were initially drafted and instituted decades ago. “Over the next couple of weeks, we will be meeting with key state legislators with the intent of rewriting the statutes that govern racing in the Commonwealth,” said NEHBPA Executive Director Paul Umbrello, who noted the possibility that sports betting could be legalized in the state as it has in other jurisdictions since the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision earlier this year. “We’re advocating for sports betting and doing everything else possible for the benefit of our horsemen and our breeders.” Meanwhile, the 2018 eight-day live racing season, which was held over four Saturdays and Sundays and wrapped up on September 15-16, proved once again that the weekend racing festival format is popular with horsemen, industry stakeholders, fans and bettors. The Suffolk Downs entry box was filled for each card, and although the average daily handle experienced a decline from the previous year, attendance figures climbed in 2018. “We enjoyed another successful and safe season of live racing, and we look forward to an exciting future for the New England Thoroughbred industry,” Umbrello said.

OHIO HBPA Best of Ohio Recap Thistledown played host to the Best of Ohio series on Saturday, October 13. After morning rains, the track was listed as sloppy for the card, which featured five $150,000 stakes for Ohio-registered horses in various categories. Altissimo kicked off the Best of Ohio races, surviving an early pace duel and drawing away to an easy nine-length score in the six-furlong Best of Ohio Sprint for trainer Rich Zielinski. Christian Pilares rode Altissimo to the victory for owners Nancy Lavrich and Ronald Zielinski. The win was Altissimo’s fourth stakes victory of 2018 and sent his career earnings over the $400,000 mark. Coincidentally rallied to gain the place with millionaire Rivers Run Deep finishing third in the Sprint, which was clocked in 1:11.02. In the John W. Galbreath Memorial Stakes for 2-year-old fillies, Drillit drew off to an impressive 16 ¼-length victory under jockey Terry Houghton. Robert Gorham trains Drillit for owner Mast Thoroughbreds LLC. Drillit won for the third time in five career starts, covering the 1 1/16 miles in 1:50.22. Totally Obsessed was second and Baby Nina a distant third in the Galbreath. Diamond Dust was well rated by jockey Luis Colon and kicked clear despite ducking out sharply in midstretch to score a four-length victory in the 1 1/16-mile Best of Ohio Juvenile Stakes for trainer Tim Hamm. Diamond Dust won for the third time in five career starts for his owner-breeders Winstar Farm LLC and Blazing Meadows Farm LLC. Captain Corn rallied from well back to gain the place in the Juvenile with Send Me On finishing third. The 2017 Ohio Horse of the Year Mo Dont No drew off to an easy 12-length victory after pressing the early pace in the 1 ¼-mile Best of Ohio Endurance Stakes under Scott Spieth. Jeff Radosevich trains Mo Dont No for owner Loooch Racing Stables Inc. The victory was Mo Dont No’s 17th in 28 career starts and sent the 5-year-old gelded son of Uncle Mo’s career earnings to nearly $850,000. Let’scalliteven rallied to gain the distant place spot in the Endurance with early pacesetter Fusaichi’s Wind holding on for third. Mo Dont No covered the distance in 2:07.20. The final race on the Best of Ohio card, the Best of Ohio Distaff Stakes, was marred by a more than half-hour delay caused by an engine problem on the THE HORSEMEN’S JOURNAL

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truck that pulls the starting gate, which caused the field to be returned to the paddock after being on the track for an extended period. Once the Distaff finally got underway, 3-year-old filly Takechargedelilah took advantage of a wicked pace duel and rallied from well back to score a 1 ¼-length victory under jockey John McKee, catching Leona’s Reward late in the 1 1/8-mile race. Thomas Drury Jr. trains Takechargedelilah for owner StarLadies Racing. The victory was her fourth in seven career starts, and the $90,000 winner’s share of the purse sent her career earnings to $233,790. Leona’s Reward, who dueled with Proper Discretion to the final turn before putting that rival away, held second, 2 ¼ lengths clear of School Board Prez, who rallied to gain third. Thistledown wrapped up its 100-day meet in late October showing a solid increase in all-sources handle with more than $61 million wagered on the Thistledown product during the meet, up more than $8 million from the 2017 all-sources handle figure. Average daily purse distribution for 2018 came in at a record high for the track of more than $165,000 per day.

Belterra Park Update Boyd Gaming completed its acquisition of Belterra Park in mid-October. The deal was part of a three-way transaction in which Penn National and Pinnacle Entertainment, the previous owner of Belterra Park, merged. As part of the deal, four of Pinnacle’s properties were sold to Boyd Gaming with Belterra Park being one of those four. The Ohio HBPA is currently in negotiations with Belterra Park’s management team on a new track agreement as well as a VLT revenue sharing agreement.

THOROUGHBRED RACING ASSOCIATION OF OKLAHOMA (OKLAHOMA HBPA) Big Crowd Turns Out for Carter Sale, Mighty Acres Tops Consignors The Carter Sales Co.’s OKC September Sale saw a slight decline in average for the first time at the Labor Day weekend auction, held September 2 at the Oklahoma City Fairgrounds. A total of 50 yearlings sold for an average of $7,228, a 21 percent drop from the 2017 average of $9,137. Previous sale graduates won three maiden special weight races and an allowance race opening week at Remington Park, and that seemed to have owners ready to hang onto their consignments for the chance to run for the $42,000 maiden purses. The buy-back rate for the entire catalog, which included a mixed session, was 37 percent with 54 of the 85 horses offered selling. The buy-back rate in 2017 was 24 percent. There were two sale-toppers at $30,000 apiece. Both horses were from the sale’s leading consignor, Mighty Acres. The first through the ring was an Oklahoma-bred colt from the first crop of multiple graded stakes winner Race Day. Bred by Center Hills Farm and consigned by Mighty Acres as agent for RML Thoroughbreds LLC, the March foal is a half brother to Welder, a gelding by The Visualiser who has banked more than $400,000 with 12 wins in 20 starts. The colt went to RA-MAX Farms LLC, which also owns Welder. The second sale-topper went to David Rodawalt, who had the winning bid on an Oklahoma-bred colt by Pollard’s Vision out of the multiple stakes-produc59

NEWS ing mare Foolheartedmemory. The colt was consigned by Mighty Acres for Center Hills Farm and Randy Blair. Mighty Acres is also the home of Pollard’s Vision. The OKC Sale had gross sales of $384,400 from the 54 head sold, compared with $531,400 in 2017 for 65 sold. In 2017 four horses sold for more than $40,000 with the sale-topper at $55,000. Those alone make up a $185,000 difference in gross sales. “We offered one more horse than last year but sold 12 fewer horses, and our sale-toppers brought $25,000 less than last year, so that will definitely affect your average,” Sales Manager Terri Carter said. “But we had the biggest crowd ever, and the mood was really light. I think the great racing at Remington Park and our graduates’ success is reflective in our results and our outlook on the future. Overall, it was a more balanced sale with consignors confident enough to hang on to their horses.” For complete results, go to cartersalesco.com.

Heritage Place Thoroughbred Sale Recap Heritage Place conducted its seventh annual Thoroughbred sale on October 7 in Oklahoma City. With a limited offering available, the yearling session saw an average price of $5,493, down 9 percent compared with last year, but 83 percent of the horses offered were marked sold. The mixed session average was $990 with 80 percent of the horses offered marked sold. The Thoroughbred sale finished with an overall average price of $2,365, which is much lower than in 2017, due to the low average and lack of demand for the horses in the mixed session. Heritage Place would like to say thank you to the consignors and buyers for their participation in the sale and wish everyone much success with their purchases.

Oklahoma Racing Industry Loses an Icon in John Smicklas Prominent Thoroughbred breeder/owner John Smicklas, an icon in Oklahoma horse racing who was instrumental in the formative years of pari-mutuel racing in the state, passed away September 23 at the age of 81 at his home in Norman. Smicklas was heavily involved in many aspects of the state’s racing industry. He served on boards overseeing Oklahoma Thoroughbred breeding and racing as well JOHN SMICKLAS as serving as an Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission member. Smicklas was instrumental in helping Oklahoma racetracks have the right to hold casino gaming, an initiative that saved the industry in the state. Smicklas, along with his wife, Barbara, campaigned many top stakes horses with great success at Remington Park including No More Hard Times, Belle of Cozzene, Brush With Pride and Zee Oh Six, to name a few. Smicklas was a longtime mainstay in the auto sales industry in Oklahoma City with Smicklas Chevrolet that opened in 1972. He used his platform as 60

one of the state’s leading auto dealers to raise awareness for animal welfare with his “Friends for Life” program, an organization that rescued and placed homeless dogs and cats. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations be made in the name of John Smicklas to the Thoroughbred Racing Association of Oklahoma Retired Horse Fund.

OREGON HBPA Greetings from Oregon Since our last report, the summer race meets throughout Oregon have concluded. Overall, it was a very successful summer of racing. The number of starters per race was up slightly, which is always a good sign. We are also happy to report that through some creative ideas and incentives, the number of jockeys available to ride was up this year. That can be a challenge for us at our small fair meets so this is another positive trend for our summer racing. Lastly, we simulcasted races through our advance deposit wagering providers from Grants Pass and Prineville. The online handle is getting better, and we continue to learn from our mistakes and look for innovative ways to increase the handle even more in 2019! Our commercial race meet at Portland Meadows got under way September 30 and concludes February 5. The racing secretary is experimenting with a new entry process. We have two days of racing a week, and the secretary is taking entries for both days on the same day. After entries close and eligibility is checked, the draw for both days occurs later that same day. It is a lot to do in one day, but the result has been full fields and competitive racing. While change is always hard and we are getting mixed reviews from our horsemen and horsewomen, we are committed to trying new ideas to improve racing in Oregon. This is an election year for our OHBPA board of directors. The nominations process is underway, and we are delighted to have some new people showing interest in serving on our board. New and fresh ideas are always welcome. The election takes place in December with the new board taking their seats on January 1, 2019. We will share the election results and announce our board members in our next report. As always, the OHBPA board of directors looks for opportunities to support our membership, especially during the holidays. We hosted members for a delicious Thanksgiving meal in our backside kitchen and in December plan to have a more formal Christmas dinner and party in the turf club at Portland Meadows with music, raffle prizes and a lot of fun. In the meantime, our foundation board stands ready and eager to assist those in need during this very special time of year. Happy holidays from all of us in Oregon. Good luck at the races!

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AFFILIATE NEWS PENNSYLVANIA HBPA New Start Update New Start, the PA HBPA’s retired racehorse rehoming program, sponsored the Freestyle Division of the recent $100,000 Thoroughbred Makeover, and a New Start graduate dominated the Barrel Racing Division. Miss Classy, who on February 22, 2017, finished seventh, 20 lengths back, in a field of maiden claimers at Penn National Race Course in her lone career start, overpowered her competition at the Makeover in winning all five of the qualifying rounds. Miss Classy’s total time of 80.428 seconds was nearly two seconds faster than the second-place finisher. Miss Classy, trained and ridden by Jade Wirick, became the second consecutive barrel racing winner to come from the New Start program. Not So Silver won the 2017 Barrel Racing Division under rider and trainer Mindy Stoops. Stoops rode Bad Girl Phase to a second-place finish in the 2016 barrel racing competition. Miss Classy is a 2013 daughter of Old Fashioned. She made her one career start for trainer Erin McClellan, who donated her to New Start soon after her less-than-promising racing debut. McClellan cited the mare’s diminutive size, which makes her ideal for barrel racing. Wirick had reservations about Miss Classy’s readiness for the Makeover due to abscesses in a hoof. The pair were late arrivals to the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, where the Retired Racehorse Project presented the Makeover during the first week of October. Wirick’s decision to compete was rewarded with a winner’s prize of $5,000 from the RRP, an additional $1,000 bonus from the PA HBPA and $2,750 for being a New York-bred. The PA HBPA Makeover bonus program awards competitors who came through New Start or were obtained from a Penn National-based trainer with $1,000 for a win and $500 for a second- or third-place finish in any of the Makeover’s divisions. Christopher Tejero, who works for trainer Clovis Crane, received a $500 bonus for his third-place finish with La Mala in the Ranch Work Division. La Mala is a 7-year-old Gouldings Green mare who retired with earnings of $118,936 and a record of five wins, six seconds and six thirds. La Mala last raced for trainer Miguel Fernandez. New Start is on track to rehome a record number of retirees this year. As of early November, the program had placed 121 retired racehorses. New Start is happy to announce a growing number of jockeys have agreed to donate to the program a portion of the monies they earn whenever they finish first or second in a race run at Penn National. New Start and the PA HBPA also would like to thank Penn National for its generous donation to the program.

TAMPA BAY DOWNS HBPA Happenings at Tampa Bay Downs We would like to extend a warm welcome to our returning and new horsemen as we begin this season of racing. Through the cooperative efforts of the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association, Tampa Bay Downs and the Tampa Bay Downs HBPA, additional bonuses have been added to stakes and overnight prep races. Lonnie Powell, FTBOA CEO, stated, “As Florida breeders and owners, we easily recognize the importance of Tampa Bay Downs to our entire industry. Our support of a vibrant Florida stakes program there acknowledges our belief that a strong Tampa racing program is good for our entire industry.” We are proud to announce that the Catholic Charities mobile medical facility will be adding a dental chair this year. Sister Sarah Proctor and her team of THE HORSEMEN’S JOURNAL

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volunteers provide an invaluable service to our backside family in attending to their health needs. Once again, we are pleased to partner with the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance in their efforts to ensure that retiring Thoroughbreds are given a chance at second careers and a safe retirement. Some of the events we have planned this meet include: · Annual Christmas party on Tuesday, December 18, starting at 11 a.m. Good eats, entertainment and Santa Claus will be on hand. · Our annual “Bling the Barn” Christmas decoration contest. Prizes are awarded to the best decorated barns on the backside. · Groom of the Week, held each Saturday in the HBPA office. · Barn of the Month, sponsored by Nancy and Jerry Porrello of AAA Feed. · Backside activities such as volleyball, soccer and horseshoes under the leadership of Philip Wasiluk. As always, the coffee is on every morning and donuts will be served on Saturdays, so stop in and say hello. Warmest wishes and best regards for a wonderful and joyous holiday season!

WASHINGTON HBPA Emerald Downs Announces 2019 Race Dates Emerald Downs Racetrack and Casino has announced a 67-day live racing season in 2019, with opening day Saturday, April 20, and continuing through Sunday, September 22. Trainers will be able to move horses in starting February 2, with the first day of training scheduled for Monday, February 4. For a second consecutive year, horsemen will see a slight drop in worker’s compensation rates for grooms, assistant trainers and exercise/pony riders. Worker’s compensation claims in Washington state are monitored by the Washington HBPA and premiums are collected by the Washington Horse Racing Commission. The cooperative efforts for compliance and claims management have proven successful for stabilizing rates for the industry. The 2019 race dates were approved November 9 at the WHRC monthly meeting at Emerald Downs and are nearly identical to last season’s 67-day meeting. Opening day, April 20, is the lone racing day Easter weekend, followed by Saturday/Sunday racing on April 27-28 and May 4-5. Friday racing begins May 10 and continues the remaining 20 weeks of the season. Post times also remain the same as last season: 2 p.m. Sundays, 6:30 p.m. Fridays and either 2 p.m. or 5 p.m. Saturdays. The first eight Saturdays, April 20 through June 8, feature a 2 p.m. post, and the final 15 Saturdays, June 15 through September 21, feature a 5 p.m. post. The annual Fireworks Spectacular on Wednesday, July 3, also begins at 5 p.m. The 84th Longacres Mile (G3) will be run Sunday, August 11, with the complete 2019 stakes schedule to be released in January. Stall applications for the 2019 meet will be available mid-December and are available online at emeralddowns.com/stall-application/.

H.R. “Pat” Mullens Honored for Exceptional Training Achievement On September 24, longtime trainer H.R. “Pat” Mullens was honored with the 2018 Emerald Downs Outstanding Training Achievement after becoming 61

NEWS November 17, defeating some solid Emerald Downs opponents such as 2008 Longacres Mile winner Wasserman, Olympic Lights and Carry On John. A 40-year training veteran, Mullens is a two-time recipient of Washington horse racing’s Martin Durkan Award for leadership, cooperation and sportsmanship. His integrity and friendly, quiet demeanor have made him an icon in the Washington Thoroughbred industry for many years.

Emerald Downs 2018 Live Meet Recap Although the 2018 meet was five days fewer than in years past, the all-sources handle at Emerald Downs was up 6.6 percent from 2017. The increase is primarily attributed to an increase in field size and adjustment to race times. The daily on-track average was up slightly, $159,223 compared to $157,246. The average attendance was virtually unchanged, 3,741 this year as opposed to 3,748 in 2017. “We had a good meet,” said Emerald Downs President Phil Ziegler. “We had great responses to our promotions, and it helped that we had such good weather. I think we had just a couple of days when the track wasn’t fast. We had some really exciting races, and I would like to thank the horsemen for all their support.”

EMERALD DOWNS

the oldest trainer in track history to win a stakes race. The 91-year-old saddled his 5-year-old charge Hit the Beach to back-to-back stakes victories in the Muckleshoot Tribal Classic on September 9 and the Pete Pederson Overnight Stakes two weeks later. The Harbor the Gold gelding is co-owned by Mullens, R.A. Larson and Ed Zenker. In addition to the stakes winner, Mullens started six other horses during the meet, finishing with an impressive 22 percent wins with a record of 36-8-1-6 for 2018. Pat was born in Tennessee on February 21, 1927, and began training horses at a young age. As a young man, he served our country for 23 years in the Army and Air Force. In 1963 Master Sergeant Mullens purchased his first racehorse while stationed at McChord Air Force Base. The Thoroughbred was appropriately named Armed South. According to Equibase, Mullens got his first trainer’s license in 1977, and since then has saddled 4,512 horses with 570 wins and more than $4.1 million in purse money. Worthy of note is that in many of those years one could buy a loaf of bread and a gallon of gas for under a dollar. Mullens enjoyed his finest Emerald Downs season in 2007, chalking up 23 wins from a relatively small stable. In 2010, at the National HBPA Summer Convention, Mullens, along with co-owners Zenker and Larson, was presented with the 2010 National HBPA Western Regional Claimer of the Year Award, honoring the outstanding achievements of the Mullens-trained Bijou Barrister. The National HBPA Awards Committee chose the Washington-bred runner from horses nominated by HBPA members around the country. The gelding, who was also named 2010 WTBOA Plater of the Year, was a $2,000 WTBOA 2007 October sales purchase. Bijou Barrister broke his maiden in his second lifetime start, and he ended his 3-year old season in 2009 with four consecutive wins at Portland Meadows, all at the $2,500 to $5,000 level. Bijou Barrister’s winning ways continued in 2010 as he was victorious in his first start at Emerald Downs in a wide-open $5,000 claiming race on May 2. He went on to win three out of his next four starts as he climbed the claiming ranks at Emerald. His 2010 season culminated when he took the Mt. Hood Stakes at Portland Meadows on

EMERALD DOWNS

SIPPIN FIRE

IN HONOR OF FATHER’S DAY, EMERALD DOWNS CARDED A STARTER ALLOWANCE NAMED “THE NOT IN ANY ROCKING CHAIR STARTER ALLOWANCE” FOR 3-YEAR-OLDS AND UP THAT HAD STARTED FOR A CLAIMING PRICE OF $3,500 OR LESS IN 2017–18 AND WHOSE TRAINER WAS BORN ON OR PRIOR TO JUNE 6, 1928. IN OTHER WORDS, THE RACE WAS OPEN TO HORSES WHOSE TRAINERS WERE AT LEAST 90 YEARS OLD. THE HORSES, IN ONE OF THE MOST UNIQUE RACES IN THOROUGHBRED HISTORY, WERE CONDITIONED BY (FROM LEFT) 90-YEAR-OLD BOB MEEKING, 90-YEAR-OLD IRA RHODES, 91-YEAR-OLD H.R. “PAT” MULLENS AND 94-YEAR-OLD ARTURO ARBOLEDA. THE “SENIOR” TRAINER OF THE BUNCH, ARBOLEDA, SENT REGAZZE CAT TO A 2 ½-LENGTH VICTORY. “WE THOUGHT THIS WOULD BE A GREAT WAY TO HONOR THESE GUYS ON FATHER’S DAY,” SAID PHIL ZIEGLER, PRESIDENT OF EMERALD DOWNS. “WHAT OTHER SPORT COULD A 90-YEAR-OLD STILL BE OUT KNOCKING HEADS WITH THE YOUNGER GUYS AND GALS?”

It was the first year Emerald Downs started its meet on a Sunday and, beginning in June through the end of the meet, the first time the track raced on a regular basis on Saturday nights. Sippin Fire was voted Horse of the Meeting, Top 3-Year-Old and Top Washington-bred as Emerald Downs announced its 2018 season honors. Trained by Steve Bullock, Sippin Fire won a meet-high four stakes and earned $115,425 for owners How We Roll #4. He becomes only the third sophomore to win Horse of the Meeting and is the third consecutive Harbor the Gold gelding to win the honor. Rocco Bowen, regular rider on Sippin Fire, topped the 100-win mark for the third consecutive year while becoming the first jockey to win three straight titles at Emerald Downs. Bowen led in wins (109), stakes wins (6) and earnings ($1,065,618). Jeff Metz with 43 wins won his fourth training title, while Blaine Wright led in stakes wins (9) and earnings ($787,191). Wright also trained four 2018 champions—Riser (Sprinter and Older Horse), Reginella (Older Filly or Mare), Bella Mia (3-Year-Old Filly) and Baja Sur (Juvenile Male). John Parker and Saratoga West tied for leading owner with 17 wins apiece, giving Parker his third straight title in that department. THE HORSEMEN’S JOURNAL

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AFFILIATE NEWS Leading Jockey Stakes Wins: Rocco Bowen (6) Leading Jockey Earnings: Rocco Bowen ($1,065,618) Leading Trainer Wins: Jeff Metz (43) Leading Trainer Stakes Wins: Blaine Wright (9) Leading Trainer Earnings: Blaine Wright ($787,191) Leading Owner: (tie) John E. Parker (17) and Saratoga West (17) Leading Owner Earnings: How We Roll #4 ($211,800) Leading Horse Wins: Papa Mambo (5) Leading Horse Stakes Wins: Sippin Fire (4) Leading Horse Earnings: Barkley ($144,475) Top Riding Achievement: Rocco Bowen, first jockey to win three straight titles Top Training Achievement: H.R. “Pat” Mullens, won stakes at age 91 Leading Apprentice: Francisco Orduna-Rojas (12) Durkan Award: Vince Gibson Lindy Award: Lorenzo Lopez HJ

Northwest Factor, with the same connections as Sippin Fire, was voted Top 2-Year-Old Filly, and Papa Mambo, the meet’s only five-time winner, was voted Top Claimer. Papa Mambo was 5-0-0 in six starts and raced for three different trainers in 2018: Manny Ortiz, Candi Tollett and Joe Toye.

Emerald Downs 2018 Season Honors Horse of the Meeting: Sippin Fire Top 3-Year-Old Male and Washington-bred: Sippin Fire Top Older Horse and Sprinter: Riser Top Older Filly or Mare: Reginella Top 3-Year-Old Filly: Bella Mia Top Juvenile Male: Baja Sur Top Juvenile Filly: Northwest Factor Top Claimer: Papa Mambo Race of the Meeting: Longacres Mile Leading Jockey Wins: Rocco Bowen (109)

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