North American Trainer, issue 34 - November 2014 - January 2015

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North American Trainer ISSUE 34 (NOVEMBER ’14 – JANUARY ’15)

ISSUE 34 – NOVEMBER ’14-JANUARY ’15 $5.95

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INCENTIVES to RACE Is this the future?

SEAN McCARTHY Publishing Ltd

Trainer and HRTV favorite THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE

Do horses sense fear?

Craig Lewis

“Training is not just a vocation, it’s an advocation”

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SID FERNANDO

M s dicine

ISE-EN-SCÈNE: Hong Kong-based sprinter Rich Tapestry, trained and ridden

by Michael Chang Chunwai and Olivier Doleuze, respectively, wins the Grade 1 Santa Anita Sprint Championship Stakes on dirt against two American Breeders’ Cup winners in a thrilling and improbable performance that Hong Kong cinema couldn’t have scripted better. Rich Tapestry is believed to be the first racer from that part of the world to win a U.S. Grade 1 on dirt, and his historic run is packed with some of the cinematic flair of a film by, say, auteur and director John Woo. For instance: Rich Tapestry is a chronic bleeder, but by dictum of the organizational bosses at the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) the gelding is banned from using the legal U.S. bleeder medication Lasix at Santa Anita, to make a political statement against raceday medication. This is the thematic equivalent of a Woo protagonist being asked to fight his opponents with one arm tied behind his back.

Add to this that Goldencents, the favorite, is trained by infamous bad boy Doug O’Neill. The furious finish of the race has the audience back home in Hong Kong – and the international crowd that views all of American racing as the drug-addled villain of the global game – cheering from the rafters as Rich Tapestry sticks his nose in front of O’Neill’s horse at the wire.

Pan to: The HKJC’s executive director of racing, Bill Nader. Understandably over the moon, he says the day after the race in the South China Morning Post that Rich Tapestry’s win “has laid the Lasix debate out for everyone to see.”

Nader concludes: “This win is a great statement for all medication-free racing jurisdictions.”

The American anti-Lasix folks embrace the message and chant for change and international harmonization. Fade out.

End of Part One. The Breeders’ Cup Sprint to follow. Cinéma vérité finis.

It’s too bad Rich Tapestry’s remarkable accomplishment was so politically machinated, because on pure sport it was tremendous standalone theater starring the horse and his rider, and it was a significant accomplishment for trainer Michael Chang Chun-wai. Plus, it was a major

Racing’s rich tapestry Plot: An ambitious two-pronged plan is hatched by some guys in Hong Kong, to take a local horse from Sha Tin Racecourse to the United States with the aim of winning the Breeders’ Cup Sprint on dirt in early November. First, though, they’ll prep in a Grade 1 race on dirt at Santa Anita in California in early October as a practice run for the main event. statement about Hong Kong racing and its rise in stature internationally.

The active horse population in Hong Kong numbers about 1200 head and there are six (soon to be ten) internationally recognized and open Group 1 races there. Yet Hong Kong-trained horses have won four of those six open races over the last year and are responsible now for an additional five individual international Grade/Group 1 wins in 2014 – four of them sprints, three on turf. Aside from Rich Tapestry, the international winners are Dan Excel (Singapore Airlines International Cup at 2000 meters on turf); Lucky Nine (1200-meter KrisFlyer International Sprint on turf in Singapore); Amber Sky (Al Quoz Sprint over 1000 meters on turf in Dubai); and Sterling City (1200-meter Golden Shaheen in Dubai on the Tapeta from Rich Tapestry).

Sprinting, obviously, is a strength of the Hong Kong program, and Rich Tapestry had come close in a Group 1 sprint in Dubai on an all-weather synthetic surface before California. But he came from a racing enviornment known for its highclass turf, not dirt, racing, and he wasn’t outstanding over there on form. In fact, he’d won only six of 26 starts lifetime, was seven years old, was averaging less than four-and-a-half starts a

“It’s too bad Rich Tapestry’s remarkable accomplishment was so politically machinated, because on pure sport it was tremendous stand-alone theater”

year through six seasons, and hadn’t raced since the end of April, when he’d bled “substantially” in the trachea, according to HKJC records.

Obviously, Rich Tapestry wasn’t a paragon of durability.

Based on this reading of form at the detailed HKJC site, Rich Tapestry had looked like he’d be up against it at Santa Anita. Moreover, there was no evidence in the HKJC past performances that he’d even raced on dirt – he had two “AWT” designations next to two wins. “AWT” is the international code for an all-weather synthetic track, and this, perhaps, explained some of his success in Dubai. It was also worrisome that he’d only been okayed to race by the HKJC at the end of August after his bleeding episode in April.

But it turns out that the “AWT” designation at the HKJC is a misnomer from the days before 1996 when Sha Tin had an Equitrack surface, since replaced by an American dirt track, in place. The “AWT” course is soon to be designated as dirt instead of all-weather, according to Nader, who said international harmonization of terminology is needed moving forward. And it turns out that Rich Tapestry relished the dirt at Sha Tin, so much so that his trainer had planned the two-race trip for the dirt racing alone. Yes, the horse was a bleeder, but trainer Michael Chang Chun-wai, like many trainers around the world, knew he could manage his horse, and he expertly delivered Rich Tapestry in peak health for Olivier Doleuze to pilot to victory.

The real story was about the horse and the horsemen behind him, not the politics, just as it was about Wesley Ward and David Flores and their charge No Nay Never last year when that horse historically landed the Group 1 Prix Morny in France. And recall, Ward took his horse off Lasix to win twice in Europe. n

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GILES ANDERSON Train off-track first then talk medication

S WE come into the final months of 2014, the industry seems to be no further forward in resolving the ugly cloud that’s hanging over its head – the one that has dominated many column inches…yes the arguments about race-day medication.

In this issue of the magazine we’ve devoted many pages to welfare-related issues for the horses, some examples of what trainers are doing to improve the health of their horses, as well as examples of what some tracks are doing to incentivize connections.

Before we get stuck into the debate as to whether we should medicate or not I, for one, feel that we’ve got to strip this whole argument down.

Go right back to basics and look at where horses are trained, the barns that are built to house the horses, the pitch on the roofs to aid ventilation and what we’re putting on the ground as bedding for these horses.

Only when we’ve got the environmental conditions right for the horses can we start to look at medication. I’m sure that we’ll solve half of our own problems if we address these fundamental points and it’ll then be easier to gain consensus.

Let’s face it: racing is never going to get a uniform decision on medication unless it comes from a governing or federal body. The status quo will continue for years to come without it. Trainers are going to run horses on race-day medication for as long as they are allowed or that running on medication is perceived to be of benefit.

But if we change the way that horses are trained, surely we’re then going to be changing mindsets and beliefs. I’ve had emails and letters from readers asking, “Why can’t we be more like Europe?” As I tell them, horses still bleed in Europe and decent horses that are bleeders can often end up in North America. But the one thing that is strikingly different in Europe is the way horses are trained – off track.

If I were left to regulate North American racing, it’s the first thing I would do. Have all horses trained off track in training centers with turnout paddocks, properly built barns, decent bedding and regulated veterinary cover on site. There are more and more of these centers appearing around the country, where trainers can be based and run horses from – Fair Hill, Classic Mile, San Luis Rey, Palm Meadows, The Thoroughbred Center (Lexington), to name but a few.

So read through the articles in this issue of the magazine and form your own opinions; and by all means, let us know! We’re always keen to publish feedback and debate amongst our readership. After all, you all determine what we cover in our editorials. Make sure you also read our excellent columns from two men with ideas and fingers on the pulse of racing: Alan Balch’s (page 6) and Sid Fernando’s (inside back cover).

Finally, in our summer issue of North American Trainer, I made a little sub-editing “boo boo,” which we were rightfully picked up on. The late great Bobby Frankel was the trainer of Empire Maker – a schoolboy error – but, thank you to those who reached out to me on this.

Wherever your racing takes you this winter – good luck! n

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Issue 34

CONTENTS 14

Craig Lewis The Santa Anita-based trainer in profile, by Ed Golden.

20

Horse welfare on the backstretch Bill Heller on why trainers are only as good as racetrack facilities when looking after their horses.

26

48

Morning exercise effects on muscle Dr Barbara A. Murphy discusses her research on a horse’s muscle physiology.

54

Winning owners Profiles on owners of recent Grade 1 winners,

by Bill Heller.

66

Racetrack incentives

Cardiac rhythm

Tracks incentivizing horsemen to go medication free – is this the future? Denise Steffanus reports.

Celia Marr on new technology that brings new insights.

32

Tongue-ties Thomas O’Keeffe on the use, efficacy and welfare debate of tongue-tying.

38

Streptococcus Celia Marr on important research funded by the Horseracing Betting Levy Board on the respiratory disease.

71

Book review

The Racehorse: a veterinary manual.

4

Contributors

6

California Thoroughbred Trainers

12

TRM Trainer of the Quarter

75

42

Stakes Schedules

Justine Harrison on how much sense has to do with a horse’s behavior.

The Sid Fernando column

Do horses sense fear?

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CONTRIBUTORS

Editorial Director/Publisher Giles Anderson Editorial Consultant Frances J. Karon Proof Reader Jana Cavalier Designer Neil Randon Editorial/Photo Management Louise Crampton, Harriet Scott 1 888 659 2935 Advertising Sales Giles Anderson, Scott Rion 1 888 218 4430 Circulation Louise Crampton 1 888 659 2935 Photo Credits

Adam Coglianese, Horsephotos, Shutterstock, Professor Celia M Marr, Getty Images, Lewis Smith/Rossdales, Caroline Norris, Frank Nolting, Anne-Armelle Langlois, Hong Kong Jockey Club, Reed Palmer Photography

Cover Photograph

Horsephotos

North American

An Anderson & Co Publishing Ltd publication Contact details Tel: 1 888 218 4430 Fax:1 888 218 4206 info@trainermagazine.com www.trainermagazine.com United Kingdom 14 Berwick Courtyard, Berwick St Leonard, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP3 5UA North America PO Box 13248, Lexington, KY 40583-3248 North American Trainer is the official magazine of the California Thoroughbred Trainers. It is distributed to all ‘Trainer’ members of the Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association and all members of the Consignors and Commercial Breeders Association

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Alan F. Balch was hired as Executive Director of California Thoroughbred Trainers in April 2010. His professional career in racing began at Santa Anita in 1971, where he advanced to the position of Sr. Vice President-Marketing and Assistant General Manager, and was in charge of the Olympic Games Equestrian Events for Los Angeles in 1984. He retired in the early 90s to become volunteer president of the national equestrian federation of the USA, as well as of the National Horse Show at Madison Square Garden. He remains volunteer president of USA Equestrian Trust, Inc.

Dr Catherine Dunnett BSc, PhD, R.Nutr. is an independent nutritionist registered with the British Nutrition Society. She has a background in equine research, in the field of nutrition and exercise physiology, with many years spent at The Animal Health Trust in Newmarket. Prior to setting up her own consultancy business, she worked in the equine feed industry on product development and technical marketing.

Sid Fernando (@sidfernando) is president of eMatings LLC and Werk Thoroughbred Consultants, Inc. He is the former bloodstock editor of Daily Racing Form and also blogs about racing and breeding.

Ed Golden is the author of Santa Anita’s widely acclaimed “Stable Notes,” hailed by peers as “the best in racing.” A native of Philadelphia, he earned Eclipse Award honorable mention while with the Philadelphia Daily News and has written for The Blood-Horse and USA Today.

Justine Harrison is an IAABCcertified equine behaviour consultant and trainer. She uses the science of behaviour and learning to help horse owners and trainers throughout the UK solve a wide range of behaviour problems in-cluding stereotypies, aggression and phobias. Justine regularly contributes to a number of UK and international equine magazines.

Bill Heller, Eclipse Award winner and author of 25 books including biographies of Hall of Fame jockeys Ron Turcotte, Randy Romero, and Jose Santos, is a member of the Harness Racing Hall of Fame Communications Corner. He and his wife Anna live just 30 miles south of Saratoga Race Course in Albany, where their 24-year-old son Benjamin also resides.

Celia Marr is an equine clinician at Rossdales, Newmarket. She is a RCVS and European Specialist in Equine Medicine and Honorary Professor at the Glasgow University Veterinary School. She has previously worked at veterinary schools in Glasgow, Pennsylvania, Cambridge and London and in racehorse practice in Lambourn. She is Chairman of the Horserace Betting Levy Board’s Thoroughbred Research & Consultation Group and Editor-in-Chief of Equine Veterinary Journal.

Dr Barbara Murphy has held the position of Lecturer and Head of Equine Science at University College Dublin in Ireland since completing a PhD in Veterinary Science at the Gluck Equine Research Centre at the University of Kentucky in 2007. Her research interests are in equine reproduction and performance and she is Chairman and Founder of Equilume Ltd, which developed the innovative Equilume Light Mask as a result of her research on light manipulation in breeding stock.

Thomas O’Keeffe is an equine clinician with the racing veterinary team at Rossdales in Newmarket.

Prior to this, he has worked with Florida Equine Veterinary Associates, in Ocala, focusing primarily on the health of the juvenile Thoroughbred.

He has worked at Rossdales Equine Hospital facility in Newmarket, worked as an associate for Scone Equine Hospital in Australia and has worked for Darley's Kildangan Stud in Ireland and in Lexington, Kentucky with Dr. Ruel Cowles DVM. Denise Steffanus is a freelance writer and editor based in Cynthiana, Kentucky. A longtime contributing editor for Thoroughbred Times, she earned the prestigious Michael E. DeBakey Journalism Award and the USA Equestrian (now the U.S. Equestrian Federation) Award for Media Excellence.

Steffanus, a Pitttsburgh native, is a licensed Thoroughbred racehorse trainer and a member of American Mensa.

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CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED TRAINERS

Risky business

By Alan F. Balch CTT Executive Director

A

HORSE trainer without a high school diploma based his entire and considerable success on one aphorism, and relentlessly reminded his students and peers: it’s what you learn after you know it all that really counts.

When I heard him talking like that with his students or clients, I always thought of Socrates – imagine, a horse trainer and Socrates in the same sentence – who said, “I know that I know nothing.” And this same trainer used to say to me, “Alan, for an educated guy, how can you be so stupid?”

This trainer, the late and revered Jimmy A. Williams, didn’t make his mark at the track, although many a Thoroughbred trainer was fascinated by his methods and success with every kind of horse and client; they didn’t hesitate to consult him about their problems with either. He epitomized the smarts that make someone successful in any endeavor: whatever your education or experience, you have to be smart enough to want to continue to learn. And refine what you’ve already learned. Or think you’ve learned.

He was constantly asked to write a book about his methods. He always refused. He told me that if he were ever to write something down about it, it would be called, “what not to do.” He reminisced, “it would just be too painful to re-live all the horses I’ve spoiled and all the mistakes I’ve made, just in trying to learn how they think and what to do about the problems you face.”

I’ve been reminded of this recently, over and over again, when I see the debates among stakeholders in racing about bet menus and pricing and takeout and purse generation. I suppose it’s only natural, when business is bad and everyone’s stressed, to look for reasons and for blame. There’s way more attention on

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Thoroughbred trainers would often seek the advice of the late Jimmy A. Williams fixing blame than on fixing problems. Or, as Jimmy would say, “fix the problem, not the blame.” But how do we go about doing that?

Racing is the riskiest of all businesses, in so many ways, and the risks multiply enormously when those of us responsible for it, each in our tiny way, turn away from learning.

Just consider these factors. First, owning and then breeding racehorses is about as highrisk as any activity you can imagine. Not reason, but the most powerful emotion of all – love – is the only thing that would bring you to it. Love of sport, of horses, and love of risk.

And then there are the customers who make it all go, the punters, the horseplayers. They love

“Racing is the riskiest of all businesses, in so many ways, and the risks multiply enormously when those of us responsible for it, each in our tiny way, turn away from learning”

risk, and since there are ever more ways and places to enjoy the thrill of risk besides betting on horses, the most ravenous among them love this particular type of risk more than any other.

Our kind of risk, and what differentiates it from most others, is based on skill, on learning. Whether it’s learning the science and art of breeding, or training, or riding, or buying, or understanding and applying past performances, we are – or should be – dedicated to learning. And it’s what you learn after you know it all that really counts. The bedrock principle of our category of risk is skill at every aspect of the sport, as opposed to the random chance of most gaming.

(Although I hastily add that random chance intrudes all the time in racing, and often at the most inopportune moments! Which is part of any sporting endeavor, but one we seek to minimize.)

From the outset of my life around horses, well over 50 years ago now, I was curious, overpoweringly curious, and I guess one reason I loved it was because almost all of my peers were, too. When my professional life in racing began in management at Santa Anita, I found the same curiosity in our customers and most of my colleagues. How could it not be so? Our customers were hungry to learn

Continued on page 10 u

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CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED TRAINERS

WORDS: ED GOLDEN PHOTOS: BENOIT PHOTOS, HORSEPHOTOS

S

EAN McCarthy is a rarity among trainers. He speaks in complete sentences. Here’s what he said in a post-race interview after the biggest win of his career, Majestic Harbor’s 6¼-length upset at 14-1 in the Grade I Gold Cup at Santa Anita on June 28: “It’s a great thrill, and to win a race of this caliber at Santa Anita is a dream come true for a guy growing up wanting to do what I’m doing today. I understand the magnitude of it and the history of it. I know the Gold Cup was formerly run at Hollywood Park (and won by immortals such as Seabiscuit, Noor, Citation, Swaps, Ack Ack, Affirmed, Ferdinand, Criminal Type, Cigar, Skip Away and Lava Man), but a Grade I, with a Gold Cup attached to it, is a tremendous thrill.”

All that without the aid of a teleprompter.

Maybe that’s why McCarthy also verbalizes his eloquence in front of the cameras on HRTV, lending his expertise to the racing network’s rapt viewers when he finds a crack in his training schedule, which, like most dedicated horsemen, consumes a gargantuan portion of his life.

He has been at his “day job” for more than 30 years now, but has done so while flying under the radar. How far under? Hell, he doesn’t even warrant a biographical sketch in Southern California tracks’ media guides, and he was virtually born into the game. He won his first race under the tutelage of trainer Monty Roberts in 1987 but has been training on his own since 1994.

Publicity has never been McCarthy’s top priority. Horses are. Like countless others who soldier on ponderously, step by step, day by day, to goals and dreams seldom realized, McCarthy is not vainglorious. His focus is on the health, happiness and success of horses in his care. He is among the faceless trainers who form the backbone of Thoroughbred racing and without whom the game could not survive.

“I started riding horses at eight years old when my parents (his late father, Ken, and his mother, Marianne) sent me to a little dude ranch called Cloverleaf Ranch in Santa Rosa,” said McCarthy, 51, in the comfort of his tidy

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Eloquent Sean McCarthy is a dedicated horseman who has been training since 1994

McCarthy comes out from under the radar tack room at Santa Anita, his trusty nine-yearold Australian Shepherd Dale splayed on the floor like he owned it.

McCarthy is an avid auto racing fan, so, understandably, Dale is named for the late race car legend Dale Earnhardt, Sr., who died on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500.

“That camp in Santa Rosa was a like ghost town but everything surrounding it was about equestrian events,” said McCarthy. “I rode every day there and got pretty good at it.

“I was born in San Francisco and raised in Foster City, which is on a peninsula about two miles from where Bay Meadows stood, so I

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CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED TRAINERS

Majestic Harbor was bought for $20,000 and, after winning the Gold Cup at Santa Anita, now has earnings of more than $700,000 would see horses on the training track there every morning and I naturally gained an affinity for racing.

“I wound up going to junior high school with (late trainer) Walter Greenman’s daughter, Donna. From sixth grade on, he would take me to the track with him on weekends. My parents were not involved in racing other than going to the races on an occasional Saturday. They were just middle class people and had nothing to do with horses.

“When I was 15, I worked at the ranch during the summer as a wrangler and galloping horses. I always wanted to be a jockey but I learned pretty quick I was going to be too big. At 15, I weighed 122 pounds, so I knew right then I wanted to train.

“My parents asked me if it was something I really wanted to do and I said, ‘Yes.’ They said, ‘Here’s the deal. Keep your grades up and you can stay at the equestrian school and if not, you can come home. They let me leave home at 16 and finish high school at Cardinal Neumann in Santa Rosa.”

An interesting aside: When McCarthy attended Junipero Serra High in San Mateo, a fellow classmate was Barry Bonds, who would go on to become Major League baseball’s career home run leader, and, perhaps, the top dog in PED’s as well. But the fact is, although

they were not in the same grade, McCarthy and Bonds did roam the halls of Serra together. Other star athletes who attended Serra include NFL greats Lynn Swann and Tom Brady.

A horse like Majestic Harbor was a long time coming for McCarthy. Obviously, the trainer paid his dues and continues adding to his coffers from a stable that consisted of only nine horses at press time, three times fewer than what he’d prefer.

“Training horses is a way of life, and that’s how you have to accept it,” McCarthy said. “If you’re going to be in this business, number one, you better love it. And it is a way of life.

It’s no different from being a dairyman or a

“If you’re going to be in this business, number one, you better love it.

And it is a way of life.

It’s no different from being a dairyman or a farmer”

farmer. That’s their way of life. It’s not a job.

“Our day-to-day activities are not out of the ordinary. I’m up at 4:30 in the morning, I’m at the barn at five. The first thing I do is check every horse’s legs, whether they ate last night, how much they’re drinking—all the basic things.

“I make a set list the day before on each horse’s work schedule, what time they’re going to the track, whether they’re going to jog, gallop or breeze. That’s pretty much how it runs, and it’s been smooth. I’d like to have about 25 horses. When I was a kid, I thought I’d like 120, and I worked for outfits like Roberts’ (of Flag Is Up Farms) that did have that many. I’ve been in that atmosphere and it was fun. I loved it.

“But no matter the number, there’s never a perfect day. If I had 100 horses, there would be injuries, and to humans as well. When that happens, it’s stressful, it’s aggravating. It eats on you.

“When you have 15 or 20 horses, you can control things much better, you’re on top of everything, and I’m more of a hands-on guy anyway. I like riding every morning. I like being around horses every day. I’m in this business because I like training. I’m not in it to gamble or for any other reason than to train.”

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CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED TRAINERS Racing is not only Sean’s life, but his wife, Kim’s, as well. She has been a valued employee of Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert for the past 16 years and currently is his Administrative Director, handling assignments from minutiae to major, including payroll, billing, auditing and the like, keeping the barn humming with a consistent degree of success.

As for his gig on HRTV, McCarthy enjoys it in more ways than one.

“It’s fun to do and it kind of keeps me in tune with what’s going on at other tracks around the country,” he said. “It’s easy in this industry to get stuck in your own world, so it’s enlightening from that aspect. Plus, the people I work with are fun to be with, so the opportunity to work on HRTV is entertaining for me and, hopefully, for the viewer.”

Majestic Harbor, meanwhile, is on his way to the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita on November 1 and a potential meeting with Kentucky Derby winner California Chrome and unbeaten male two-year-old champion of 2013 and Pacific Classic winner Shared Belief in a race that could decide Horse of the Year.

His victory in the Gold Cup earned Majestic Harbor a fees-paid berth in the Classic. At press time, McCarthy was undecided on running in the Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita on September 27 or training up to the Breeders’ Cup. Majestic Harbor’s last start came August 24 in the Pacific Classic, in which he finished sixth behind daylight winner Shared Belief.

Majestic Harbor, a six-year-old Kentuckybred horse sired by the late Rockport Harbor out of the stakes-placed French Deputy mare Champagne Royale, was purchased for Ron Beegle’s Gallant Stable for a pittance $20,000 at Keeneland’s September yearling sale in 2009. His earnings are approaching $700,000.

“He’s had a great year,” McCarthy said.

“Prior to winning the (Grade III) Tokyo City Cup, he was second in the (Grade II) San Pasqual in his first start this year. He came back and was fourth in the (Grade II) San Antonio. We learned something about him in that race and after that he was third in The Californian and then won the Tokyo City.

“He’s a half-brother to Danza who won the Arkansas Derby, so his pedigree is young and growing, good and strong. Unfortunately, he’s the last of the Rockport Harbors. I attribute his success to the way he was raised in his early years. He had problems as a three-yearold and got hurt. He kicked a dumpster in

New Orleans and cut his leg up pretty bad and was out of action for a while. He ran against some good horses when he was young and showed some promise.

“He had some bumps along the way but Paul McGee who trained him back East was patient with him. The horse is here today because of how well he was cared for when he was young. It just so happens his six-year-old year has turned out to be his best.”

Like everyone in the industry, McCarthy faces uncharted territory with the new allotment of racing dates in Southern California, resulting from the closing of Hollywood Park last December and the end of racing at Fairplex Park, which conducted its final two-week meet last year. It wasn’t the Last Days of Pompeii, but it was the Last Days of Pomona.

“The landscape has changed quite a bit,” McCarthy said, “and it seems to have changed quicker in the last five years. What bothers me is there are more tracks being closed than there are being built. On the East Coast, race tracks are becoming casinos. That won’t happen in California.

“So that’s a concern, even though people in charge are trying their best to create new growth in the industry. There is a sense of consolidation, but by the same token, I see many beneficial things going on. Racing is getting aggressive about the control of drugs administered to horses, which is good for the animals and for the perception of the game to the bettors.

“Those are issues that make the wheel turn.

You have to keep the public happy. In general, I like what’s being done, although it can be frustrating at times because you have to make adjustments.

“Nobody likes change, but it’s part of the deal and you have to accept it. How it will end up, I don’t know, but they’re trying to go in the right direction.” n

marketing, pricing, and conduct, are subject to critical scrutiny as never before. So is return on investment. When things were not so dire, I was one of those who learned the value of market research, even when it only validated what “we already knew.” Much of the time it also taught those of us who already knew it all, a few important things we didn’t.

The key in any kind of meaningful exercise of discovery is objectivity. “It’s hard to see the picture when you’re inside the frame,” as my old horse trainer preached. Self-serving “research” of any kind, merely to validate one’s own conviction, is worse than useless . . . whether in “scientific” studies of medication, or marketing studies about pricing or behavior.

So, when our regulator in California recently asked whether takeout levels and their effects should be studied independently, you know what I would have answered. And did. But many (most?) others didn’t see the need. Our leaders seemed to be making the case that since there were so many variables and sophisticated, complex factors at work to determine levels of betting, aside from takeout – true enough – that studying it all would better be left, if needed, to those who have been making the decisions.

If this is truly the direction racing is going, at the same time as the business framework in which we operate has grown infinitely more complex and competitive, it’s become far riskier than ever before. n

McCarthy with his dog Dale, named after NASCAR hero Dale Earnhardt, Sr.

Risky business tContinued from page 8 anything that could help them in our game of risk, and anything we in management could do to provide useful information and accommodations for them was not only demanded but devoured. Endlessly.

Management’s senses along these lines, I found, were somewhat dulled, however, because since the track just held the stakes, we didn’t have the same feeling of urgency about learning that our customers did.

In 2014, as the Age of the Internet grows, racing is besieged from all sides with the most powerful free-market competition in history, both as a leisure activity and game of risk. All aspects of regulation, management,

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Joe Sharp (in blue shirt) with his wife and jockey Rosie Napravnik and connections after Holiday Drama’s victory at Kentucky Downs

TRM Trainer of the Quarter

JOE SHARP

The TRM Trainer of the Quarter award has been won by Joe Sharp. Sharp and his team will receive a selection of products from the internationally-acclaimed range of TRM supplements, as well as a bottle of fine Irish whiskey.

WORDS: BILL HELLER PHOTOS: REED PALMER PHOTOGRAPHY

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F Joe Sharp has a disadvantage in beginning his training career at the young age of 29, it’s more than offset by his lifetime experience – obvious horsemanship and his ability to get one of the nation’s leading jockeys on his horses. He’s married to her: Rosie Napravnik.

“There’s no better pilot than Rosie,” he said.

“It’s nice to start out at the top.”

It’s even nicer to have instantaneous success, which has been so dramatic that he is the first rookie trainer named this magazine’s Trainer of the Quarter.

Of the first 14 starters Smart has saddled, he has seven winners, all ridden by Rosie, and three seconds. Even he has trouble explaining it: “Obviously, you can never say … if someone said you’d be winning 50 percent, you’d say, `Yeah, right.’ But every horse we brought over, we felt pretty confident they’d run well.”

He’s already saddled winners at three different racetracks: Kentucky Downs, Indiana Grand and Keeneland.

Despite his youth, he has a solid foundation for training. “I definitely put in my time,” he said. “I grew up with it. I grew up hanging out

in tack rooms.” Sharp’s dad still trains, and his mom still gallops horses. His aunt and uncle also had horses.

Born in Martinsburg, West Virgina, near Charles Town Races, Sharp wanted to be a jockey. He learned to gallop at Shenandoah Downs and rode briefly at Canterbury Downs in Minnesota, and in Maryland and West Virginia.

“When my weight got to be too much, I went to plan `B,’” he said.

That was training.

Sharp worked as a groom and assistant trainer for Mike Stidham, then as top trainer Mike Maker’s assistant. When he broached the subject of going on his own with Maker, all he received was support. “We talked about it,” Sharp related.

“He said you have more support than I did when I started out. He said, `Go for it.’”

Sharp did. And with the support of owners like Ken and Sarah Ramsey, his stable of six horses when he began his own stable September 3, has already grown to 22 horses in six weeks.

Of course, the numbers he’s put up have certainly helped. His first starter was a horse he owns, Holiday Drama. Sharp claimed the four-

year-old filly on April 16 at Keeneland for $20,000. After being eased on a sloppy track at Belmont Park in a $40,000 claimer in her first start for Sharp, she won four of her next five races. The first two were with Maker listed as trainer. The third, in the second race at Kentucky Downs Sept. 10, was officially Sharp’s first starter as a trainer. She won by 4¾ lengths at even money. Then she won again at Indiana Grand Sept. 22 by a length and a quarter, again at even money.

“Hopefully, we can keep this up,” Sharp said.

Then he laughed.

Sharp knows that he, or anyone else, is incapable of maintaining a win percentage even approaching 50. But he also knows he is well prepared to survive the inevitable slumps he’ll have to endure and continue to succeed in the only profession he’s ever known. Asked about his goals, he said, “Just win races week to week.

Establish a little more clientele. Get better horses. And continue to grow.”

Having Rosie certainly doesn’t hurt, on and off the track. They enjoy hiking, kayaking, trail riding and playing with their three dogs. And winning races. n

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CRAIG LEWIS

Living his dream in Santa Anita

Craig Anthony Lewis is a racetrack lifer. And at 67, if genealogy and longevity mean anything, he still has a long way to go as a trainer. His father, Seymour, is 92. His mother, Norma, is 90. They still live together in Seal Beach, California.

WORDS: ED GOLDEN PHOTOS: HORSEPHOTOS

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N Graded stakes winner Za Approval, Lee Vickers up, trots by Clement on the way to the track

Lewis in conversation with jockey Tyler Baze

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O “senior complexes” for them.

No depressing assisted living warehouses.

“My father still drives,” Craig says.

“He’s sharper than I am.”

That’s a mouthful from Lewis who, while not verbose when he speaks, is all meat and potatoes…as straight as Princess Kate’s teeth.

Little wonder he knows his way around the track.

He began his training career in 1978 and got his first taste of racing before it was time for his Bar Mitzvah.

“I used to go to the track when I was a kid with my dad and that’s how I got started,” Lewis said. “I was fascinated by horse racing.

I would go to Caliente on weekends with my brother. I was nine and he was 10. We were betting quarters with bookmakers and just kind of got swept up by it all.”

More than half a century later, the broom still has bristles, thanks in small part to Lewis’ affiliation early on with legendary trainer Hirsch Jacobs, whose remarkable achievements have faded into racing’s hinterlands over time. But for the sake of history, mentioning Jacobs is worth more than a footnote here – 44 years after his death on Feb. 13, 1970 at the age of 65.

Jacobs was the leading American trainer in wins 11 times in 12 years from 1933 through 1944, missing only in 1940. He saddled 3,596 winners during his career, among them stalwarts such as Affectionately, Flag Raiser, Hail to Reason, Palestinian and Searching.

But the greatest was Stymie, a chestnut colt claimed by Hirsch in 1943 at Belmont Park for $1,500 from his third start, in which he finished seventh in a field of 14 maidens at 31-1.

Called by some the greatest claim in racing history, Stymie didn’t break his maiden until his 15th start but would go on to campaign at racing’s highest level and was champion handicap horse of 1945. He was retired at the age of seven in 1949 with earnings of $918,485 – a world record that stood until Citation won the 1951 Hollywood Gold Cup. Stymie made 28 starts at two, and overall raced 131 times, winning 35 with 33 seconds and 28 thirds. Today, some horses don’t make 28 starts in a career, and some barns don’t start 131 horses in a year.

Stymie was a son of Equestrian, who earned only $1,580 in his entire career. Jacobs was inducted into the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame in 1958, and the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1979.

“I was just a teenager and I asked for a job with Hirsch Jacobs for the summer when he trained in Southern California,” Lewis

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CRAIG LEWIS

recalled. “He’d come here before going East; I didn’t go East with him. I can just vaguely remember some of the stories he told about Stymie. My God, it was 50 years ago.

“I learned a lot from him, but I learned mostly on my own, when I had to do it on my own. That’s when you learn; when you have to do it, or you’re done. That’s where the education comes. I had some summer jobs in high school and when I got out, I got a trainer’s license and started training. Pretty simple.”

Not only did Lewis study law at Pacific Coast College, the Los Angeles native holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Cal-Berkeley, where he became a big fan of the San Francisco 49ers. “I spent a lot of time on CalBerkeley’s Eastern campus,” Lewis reflected, tongue firmly planted in cheek. “We called it Golden Gate Fields.”

His schooling, on or off the track, paid dividends. He is inching toward 1,000 career wins (939 and counting), some coming at Fairplex Park, where he was a four-time leading trainer at the Pomona track, which ended racing this year due to a restructuring of the Southern California racing calendar.

Many more were registered at Hollywood Park (also now kaput).

Lewis captured the spring and summer titles there in 1988 with 25 wins, including

Lewis inspects a horse at Santa Anita Park

“Cutlass Reality beat back-to-back Kentucky Derby winners Ferdinand and Alysheba in the Hollywood Gold Cup. He spoiled their party”

Saddling Warren's Veneda in the California Distaff Handicap, Santa Anita Park

the Gold Cup and three other stakes with his star at that time, Cutlass Reality. Lewis also numbers Valentine Dancer, Music Merci, Larry the Legend and more recently Clubhouse Ride among his multiple stakes winners.

“They were great horses,” Lewis said.

“When you make the kind of money they earned, you don’t forget them. They named a stakes race after Valentine Dancer and at the time she was the only horse that won back-toback Sunshine Millions (earning $275,000 a pop, capturing the Filly & Mare Turf at Santa Anita in 2004 and 2005).

“Cutlass Reality beat back-to-back Kentucky Derby winners Ferdinand and Alysheba in the Hollywood Gold Cup,” Lewis said with understandable pride. “He spoiled their party. The track gave away T-shirts

showing Alysheba and Ferdinand, calling it the Match Race of the Century. It might have been a match race between them but we had the goods that day.

“Music Merci was a sensational horse at that time, too. He won the Del Mar Futurity and the Illinois Derby. Not only did we win the training title at Hollywood Park in 1988, we were 10th in the nation in money won.”

Clubhouse Ride and Larry the Legend were bargains. Clubhouse Ride cost $22,000 and has earned more than $1 million. Larry the Legend’s tale is the stuff of fiction.

“It’s a long story,” Lewis said. “I ran a horse in Chicago called What a Spell, and a lady came up to me, asked if I was Craig Lewis; I said yes. She said, ‘I’m Photini Jaffe; I’ve got a lot of horses, and I would like to send some to California. Can I send them to you?’

“That’s how my association with her started. I had some horses with her for several years. One day she called and said she was having financial trouble, and could I carry her for a while? I said yes. Eight months later, she declared bankruptcy.

“The bankruptcy court ordered that all her horses be sold. At the time, she owed me almost $100,000. The court said I had a line of credit, and I had six horses for her. They went through the (sales) ring at Barretts and we bought them all with our line of credit.

Larry the Legend was one of them.

“We bought him for $2,500 and it worked out all right. Not only did he win the Santa Anita Derby in 1995, he earned close to $700,000 in his career.”

The 1995 Santa Anita Derby perhaps was a precursor of things to come. Afternoon

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Lewis inspects horses legs at Santa Anita Park

Deelites, ridden by Kent Desormeaux, appeared on his way to victory in the West Coast’s final major stepping stone to the Run for the Roses, but Gary Stevens, riding like Paul Revere, roused Larry the Legend to get up in the final stride to win by a head.

Fast forward to 1998. Stevens, aboard Victory Gallop, overcame Real Quiet’s fourlength lead in the stretch with Desormeaux up to win the Belmont Stakes by a desperate nose, costing Real Quiet the Triple Crown. It remains the most excruciating beat in racing history.

Says Desormeaux today: “I’ve watched the replay a thousand times and I still think I’m going to win.”

Larry the Legend was named for Lewis’ brother, Larry, who managed the Long Beach, California, team to back-to-back international Little League World Series championships in 1992 and 1993, a feat that’s never been done before or after.

“Today,” Lewis said, “Larry is a very prominent lawyer.”

Not that it matters to him, but Craig might be as prominent as well, if humility weren’t one of his strong suits. He focuses on claiming and buying horses, but you won’t catch him at the sales sitting sheikh to sheikh.

“Craig Lewis has a very good eye for horses,” said Tom Knust, a Marine Corps veteran who was wounded in Vietnam and awarded the Purple Heart. A former racing secretary at Santa Anita and Del Mar, Knust is now a jockeys’ agent, currently representing 2012 Kentucky Derby winner Mario Gutierrez and Elvis (yes, his mother named him after The King) Trujillo.

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“Craig looks at horses for their athletic ability, not at their catalogue black type,” Knust said. “He gets horses at a reasonable price, but he does really, really well with them. He’ll buy a horse for $32,000 and make a million with it.

“He does that consistently, year after year.

As an agent, I look for positive intangibles before opting to ride for a trainer, and Craig has several. For example, he has had the same help more than 20 years, including his foreman, Apple (Arnofro ‘Apple’ Gonzales), and his grooms.

“When your help stays with you that long, it means you’re doing something right. You’re winning races, they’re getting stakes, you’re paying them well, you’re taking care of business. That’s what Craig does.

“Plus, Craig comes to the races every day, whether he has a horse running or not. He watches the horses and looks for a good

“Craig looks at horses for their athletic ability, not at their catalogue black type. He gets horses at a reasonable price, but he does really, really well with them” Tom Knust

claim. He studies the game, and he’s very astute at it. There aren’t many trainers like that nowadays. He’s kind of old school. He’s very unique in that he’s pretty modest. He doesn’t beat his own drum, but he consistently comes up with a good horse and doesn’t pay a lot of money for it.

“It takes a good horseman to do that.”

And a dedicated one, too.

“I’m usually at the barn by 4 a.m., work all morning, try to work out a bit myself, eat, clean up, come back to the races and spend the day,” said Lewis, who had 12 head in his care at press time. “That takes me to five or six in the afternoon. At night, I study the next day’s card.”

As for his training methodology, “Every horse is different,” Lewis says, “so we train every one accordingly. They’re all individuals and we treat them as individuals. We let the horse tell us. Horses will talk to you if you listen to them. There’s a difference between a horse trainer and a horse listener. For me, training is not just a vocation; it’s an advocation.”

There’s a stereotypical myth that every Jewish mother wants her son to be a doctor or a lawyer. Norma Lewis has the lawyer in son Larry, but the question remains, “What’s a nice Jewish boy like Craig Lewis doing in a place like this, schlepping past mud and horse manure?

“I see Santa Anita as The Great Race Place,” Lewis said. “It’s named correctly. I’ve never been to heaven, but I’ve been to Santa Anita, the best place on earth. That’s my opinion.”

Mom is proud. n

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Horses on the backstretch If backstretch workers encounter conditions they can’t tolerate, they have an option of walking away. Horses don’t have that luxury. Whether a racetrack’s backstretch is horse-friendly or grossly indifferent, the horse remains. He relies on his trainer and his trainer’s staff to act in his best interest.

WORDS: BILL HELLER PHOTOS: ADAM COGLIANESE, HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB

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HAT’S their No. 1 priority? “The most important factor is safety, especially for fire,” multiple Eclipse Awardwinning trainer Todd Pletcher said. “That’s every trainer’s nightmare: a potential fire at the barn.”

Nowhere is that a greater concern than at Saratoga Race Course, which opened in 1863 and has dozens of wooden buildings. It’s where Pletcher wrapped up his fifth consecutive and 11th overall training title.

“One of the things that Saratoga struggles with a little bit is preserving history while also upgrading facilities and keeping them safe,” Pletcher said. “The one thing the maintenance crew is very good about at Saratoga is that we’ll encounter many broken boards, and they’re very good at replacing those. A splinter or a broken piece of wood can cause major damage.”

Trainer Tom Amoss said, “Broken boards are inevitable. You have to respond immediately.”

Amoss said he’s vigilant every time he ships into a track for a new season. “It’s important, especially in older racetracks that you’re constantly looking to make sure there’s nothing different from the year before,” he said. “A good trainer is able to walk into his barn and spot potential things that could be a

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RACING

problem for horses. At Churchill, barns have low ceilings on the edge of the barn. On either side, the roof is low when you walk out. We don’t put any riders up in the barn so they don’t get pinned.”

Trainer Wayne Catalano said most racetracks maintain safe barns. “Most of the places we race at do it well,” he said.

“Arlington Park does a great job. Keeneland, Churchill Downs. A lot of wooden stalls need repairing. You put your work orders in, and they do a good job. Sometimes, you have to do a little painting, a little fixing. It’s not a big deal.”

What is a big deal is having the right people on your staff to take care of your horses. “The most important thing is you help,” Catalano said. “The people who are taking care of them.

“Palm Meadows is horse paradise. It’s the cream of the crop. It’s big and open.

The tracks are big, and you can get on the turf course three times a week” Wayne Catalano

Most of us – what do we do? We get up, work and go to sleep. All you need is a place to eat and rest.”

Horses, of course, are in their stalls almost 24/7. You don’t need a degree in equine science to realize why so many horses who spend 45 weeks at either Aqueduct or at Belmont Park on Long Island thrive physically when they’re at Saratoga in upstate New York the other seven weeks. Would anyone ever suggest that stabling a horse at Aqueduct in Queens, where he is surrounded by millions of people, thousands of automobiles, airplanes taking off and landing, constant noise and unceasing pollution is a great place to stable a horse? Contrast that to bucolic Saratoga, a city of 25,000, with little pollution-producing industry.

“Aqueduct is not a horse-friendly place,” trainer Tony Dutrow said. “Horses do well there, but it’s not horse-friendly. Space for air flow is very important for horses, so that they’re not confined more than they already are. Air flow is vital. A lot of us keep the windows open at Aqueduct in the winter. It’s a contaminated area with dust particles. It’s less than ideal conditions.”

Catalano put it this way: “If it’s not good for us, it’s not good for them. There’s mold.

Pollen. Some things you have no control over.”

So you do the best you can for your horses’

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ventilation. “It’s a big deal,” Pletcher said.

“That’s why, even during the cold months in New York, we’ll try to leave the windows open some, to make sure that we don’t trap a lot of dust in the barn. Horses can be allergic to dust just like humans. It’s interesting. We’ll see plenty of issues in Florida, even down there.

Maybe that’s because it’s not a cold environment and bugs don’t get killed. That’s a constant, ongoing situation, not just in closed environments.”

Is there an ideal environment in the United States? Many trainers, including Dutrow, Catalano and Pletcher, think that Frank Stronach’s Palm Meadows training center in South Florida is about as good as it gets.

“Palm Meadows is horse paradise,” Catalano said. “It’s the cream of the crop. It’s big and open. The tracks are big, and you can get on the turf course three times a week.”

Dutrow likens Fair Hill in Maryland to Palm Meadows, and he stables horses at both facilities. “Fair Hill is out in the country,” he said. “The air flow there is fantastic, as it is at Palm Meadows. Palm Meadows has the big, tall ceilings with no restrictions.”

Pletcher is also a fan of Palm Meadows.

“They were able to build very wide open, airy barns, which you love for the ventilation,” he said.

Pletcher also loves a safety feature at Palm Meadows. “Mr. Stronach tried very hard to make it so the horses never really encounter any blacktop on the way to the track,” he said.

“That’s very thoughtful. The one thing you always worry about is when a horse gets loose.

Most horses, when they get loose on the racetrack, will always exit at the gap that they come in and go off on every day. And they run back to the barn. When a running horse hits asphalt and tries to turn, they always go down. They skid on the asphalt. So that’s a potential danger. Safety is the most important thing and most of the barns are built with that in mind.”

Most horses don’t wind up running loose on the backstretch. But every horse is

The open, airy environment at Palm Meadows is ideal for horses

confined to a stall. That alone generates concerns and challenges. “They’re always in the stall and breathing whatever’s in it,” Catalano said. “They’re in there a lot.”

Pletcher agreed. “They’re in the stall a lot.

So if they’re not comfortable in there, then they’re not comfortable a lot. As simple as it sounds, Henry Moreno, who I worked for in California, always told me that the basic things are very important. You want to feed them well. You want to bed them well. We try to focus on good bedding, fresh water, fresh hay and good feed. While it sounds very simple, it’s a huge part of our program.”

There are inherent challenges in maintaining a good stall. “The constant battle you have is that you want drainage underneath, but you don’t want a hard floor,” Pletcher said. “There’s a lot of urination.

Anything damp is going to be detrimental to the floor. You want drainage, but you also need something durable.”

Bedding, of course, is vital. “I think a lot of it is a personal trainer’s choice,” Pletcher said.

“Most everyone is going to be on straw or shavings, and then we’re going to have some peat moss and pellets and things like that. I’m more of a traditionalist. I usually stay with

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RACING straw and shavings. It’s pretty much available everywhere.”

Catalano keeps an open mind. “I like good straw,” he said. “You can’t always get good straw nowadays. They’ve got a new thing, peat moss, from Canada. We’ve been using it from the first of the year. Peat moss is very good.

Flies don’t like to go in there. They don’t like peat moss. With the urine, it soaks it up.

Horses lay down on it and seem good on it.”

Dutrow uses straw and shavings, but has also used peat moss. “I have it and I like it,” he said. “But peat moss may not be as warm in the winter.”

Amoss made a change in bedding for his horses. “I was raised where it was always straw,” he said. “Up to seven, eight years ago, I used straw. I quit. Getting clean, consistent straw is so difficult. When you start getting dusty straw, you see dust particles in the air.”

That’s not good. “Horses are so sensitive to respiratory problems,” Amoss said. “I

RACING IN HONG KONG Maybe it’s all about priorities. Safety. Comfort.

Care. A place to go when a career ends.

From the minute a Thoroughbred sets foot in Hong Kong, he becomes part of a unique equine operation known as the Hong Kong Jockey Club. “From the day the horse arrives in Hong Kong until he retires, we take care of him,” Hong Kong Jockey Club Executive Director of Racing Bill Nader said in a September phone interview. “That’s all we do.

It’s so well integrated. We have the priorities correct. The horses are first here.”

The Hong Kong Jockey Club oversees Sha Tin Racecourse, located north of Hong Kong Island and Happy Valley Racecourse in downtown Hong Kong.

When Nader left the New York Racing Association after 14 years of service to move to Hong Kong in 2007, he was one of the most respected racing officials in North America. He’s now operating on a global stage with a unique perspective.

“I think we have some advantages,” Nader

The indoor heated pool at Sha Tin

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said. “The horses that come here are stabled at Sha Tin. We have a community of horses staying in one area and we have tremendous resources. We have our own pharmacy. The feed, the bedding, the medication, carrots, grooms – everything goes through the Club’s umbrella. The trainer has no payroll. It’s done under the jurisdiction of the club, so we have very tight control of the process. We have air conditioning in the stalls, tremendous farrier and blacksmith care. We have an equine hospital right at Sha Tin. All the resources that are needed to take care of a horse’s welfare, we enjoy.”

According to Nader, the Jockey Club receives 1,200 applications annually for 330 permits to import horses to Hong Kong.

“Primarily from Australia, New Zealand, the U.S. and Europe,” Nader said. “When they import, it costs about $7,750. That goes to the horse’s retirement.”

Of course, like every racing jurisdiction in the world other than the United States, horses

in Hong Kong receive no race-day medication.

Horseracing at Happy Valley traces back to the 1840s. Racing is conducted twice weekly from September through July. Thirty-six of the 83 race days are at night. The Jockey Club is responsible for the facilities and services at both Happy Valley and Sha Tin, which includes Penfold Park, a public park located in the center of Sha Tin Racecourse.

All 1,250 horses racing in Hong Kong are stabled at Sha Tin. When horses race or do barrier trials (prep races) at Happy Valley, they are transported earlier in the day in one of 11 air-conditioned horse vans, which feature three three-stall rows with a groom compartment so each groom has access to the horses during the trip. Horses are returned to Sha Tin after racing.

Sha Tin opened in 1978. Penfold Park was opened the following year. The track features one of the world’s largest video boards for fans and the world’s first retractable roof over a parade ring, which was unveiled in November 2004. The ring features a saddling area, an owner’s pavilion, a racing center and viewing balconies. Sha Tin served as the Olympic Equestrian Venue in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and each year hosts the World Turf Championships in December.

Sha Tin’s stables consist of 20 airconditioned stable blocks. Six are three stories, and 14 are two-stories. Horses use ramps to access them. Each block has a sand paddock, walking machine and barrier gates for training. Each floor has a minimum of 23 stalls. Each stall is rubber-paved and equipped with an automated drinking system. The stables are under 24-hour video surveillance for security.

Trainers in Hong Kong are allowed a

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BACKSTRETCH HORSES use shavings. Shavings are very clean.”

A horse’s activity outside the stall is dictated by the facilities available at the racetrack where he’s stabled. If there’s a single consensus among trainers, it’s that having as many options as possible is a very positive concept.

“The creative edge on training is lost on us,” Amoss said. “We don’t have the ability to do what they do in Europe. The reality is we’re confined by the barn. In England, you can take a nice, long walk to the track. They have massive gallops. Their stable lads can ride.

You can simulate a race. They’re outside quite a bit longer than in the United States. We’re confined to a mile on dirt.”

Amoss thinks one racetrack in Canada gets it right. “The one track that has more options is Woodbine,” he said. “You have trails. Different tracks you can use. Woodbine always fancies itself as European. There are farms here that allows horses to swim or use aquatred. The vast majority of us don’t have that many options.”

Jockey Club vets encourage trainers to use shredded newspaper for bedding. Roughly 70 percent of trainers there use that. The other 30 percent use straw and wood shavings. Premixed feeds are recommended to reduce dust particles. A three-story store for fodder, bedding, saddlery and equine consumables is operated by the racing operations department and is open year-round.

Daily equine waste material is sent to the Environmental Protection Department’s Animal Waste Composting Plant, where it is recycled into fertilizer for local farmers.

Designated recycling bins collect recyclable waste, including placing and nylon bags, glass bottles, clinical waste, metals, bamboo/timber and bulk furniture.

All horses are walked, ridden or swum twice daily. Horses are allocated specific hours at specific tracks for workouts and gallop. All horses must race with saddlecloths for easy identification. Training begins at 5 a.m. and concludes at 8:45 a.m.

Swimming in an indoor heated pool 30 meters long, nine meters wide and three meters deep is very popular in Hong Kong with as many as 1,000 horses swimming daily.

Specialized grooms handle the swimming process. “It’s very popular,” Nader said.

In cold weather in December, horses can follow up their swim by drying off in a nearby solarium, which may prevent colds while improving blood circulation and protecting against skin infections. In hot weather, especially in July, air conditioning is more of a necessity than a comfort. “It’s quite hot and humid during the summer months here,” Nader said. “It’s probably 91 or 92 Fahrenheit. The air conditioning helps, but it’s still an issue. Trainers get great service from the veterinarians. It’s a very collaborative

Pletcher likes the facilities offered at Belmont Park. “At Belmont Park, you have the luxury of the main track, which is a mile and a half,” he said. “The pony track’s a quartermile. You’ve got infield turf gallops during the week. You get some restricted turf breezing.

As a trainer, you like options.”

Pletcher would be thrilled if Belmont Park added another option. “The one thing that maybe could be added is a synthetic track so you had a place where you didn’t miss any training,” he said. “But a lot of it is not economically feasible.”

What is feasible is the maximum use of available facilities. Amoss told this interesting story about one of his top horses, Heritage of Gold, who had won the Grade I Go for Wand at Saratoga and then raced poorly in the Grade I Spinster Stakes at Churchill Downs heading into the 2000 Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Churchill Downs, a race she had finished third in the year before. “She had

won the Go for Wand at Saratoga, and she didn’t run well in the Spinster,” Amoss said.

“Our next start was in the Breeders’ Cup. She was nowhere in the Spinster. She wasn’t acting well. She wasn’t eating well. She was sweating.

She was through. I had to do something different.

“The last week, they allowed training on the turf course every day. She had raced on turf, but was much better on dirt. She trained every day on the turf.” That change in routine revitalized Heritage of Gold. She finished third again in the Distaff.

Ultimately, horses’ well-being rests with the people taking care of them – their trainers.

But trainers are only as good as the facilities allocated to them at each racetrack. “Most racetracks don’t have the money they want to,” Dutrow said. “Things are adequate at best.

I wish racetracks had the money to develop ideal racetracks like they did at Palm Meadows.” n

View of a Sha Tin horsewalker

effort to make sure the horse gets what he needs.”

There are no private vets in Hong Kong.

The Jockey Club veterinary center features six licensed equine surgeons supported by a staff of 39 and 23 farriers. The hospital features several padded stalls; isolation stalls, surgical units and a fully-operational cable system, which can lift an unconscious horse from his stall to another part of the hospital. The dispensary section distributes all medications and keeps detailed records. There is also 24hour video surveillance.

The Jockey Club Racing Laboratory’s 36 staff members are stationed in a high-level secure building with 24-hour surveillance.

Every single horse is pre-race tested. All winners, second-place finishers and any favorite who doesn’t race well are tested after each race. Out of 5,778 samples tested the last three years, only four violations were discovered.

But perhaps the most telling difference in horses’ welfare in Hong Kong compared to the

United States is that horses aren’t forgotten after they’re done racing. Owners have three options if they retire a horse in Hong Kong.

They can be exported to a paddock retirement. In that instance the initial money paid to race in Hong Kong is returned to his connections. “Or, we send the horse to one of our three public riding schools or to our private riding club in Beas River,” Nader said.

“For horses that aren’t suitable for a second career here, we have an agreement in place with a partner in New Zealand who will rehab the horse hopefully to prepare him for a second career in equestrian.”

Racing in Hong Kong may improve dramatically in 2018. That’s the target date for a second training center in Conghua, China, a three-hour drive from downtown Hong Kong.

“Everything will be state of the art,” Nader said. “A synthetic, uphill gallop. Swimming. A 2,000-meter turf track. A dirt track. An equine hospital. A resort area, golf course, museum, convention center and world-class chalets. We have big plans for that.”

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Do incentives lead the way to a drug-free future?

The horseracing industry is battling for its life, and the key point of contention is medication – not just a push for uniform medication rules, but a movement to eliminate all race-day drugs. Two years after the Breeders’ Cup banned anti-bleeding medication for its juvenile races, Gulfstream Park in Florida has announced its intention to offer Lasix-free races for 2015, and the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission is considering doing the same for its tracks. North America is the only region of the world that allows race-day medication.

WORDS: DeniSe SteffanuS PHOtOS: SHutteRStOCK, HORSePHOtOS

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HILE some horsemen’s groups, including the National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, have drawn their swords in the fight against a race-day drug ban, Arapahoe Park in Aurora, Co., is sweetening the deal to entice trainers to race medication-free horsesday to ensure survival in the wild.

On June 27, Arapahoe launched its RaceDay Medication-Free Incentive, which pays the trainer of any horse that wins without medication a $1,000 bonus. The bonus, which is separate from the purse money, is paid out at the end of the meet from a special fund put up by Arapahoe and its parent company, Mile High Racing and Entertainment. Sensitive post-race testing verifies that each winning horse raced medication-free, even if it trained on medication coming up to the race.

Between June 27 and the end of the meet on August 17, Arapahoe had 1,738 starters.

Of that total, 32 horses raced without raceday medication, but only 21 horses participated in the program, which paid out on four medication-free wins. Temple Rushton was the lone Thoroughbred trainer at the multiple-breed meet to collect the incentive. He sent out four-year-old filly Sudies Storm to win a maiden special weight on July 11 and an allowance race on July 19.

Arabian trainer Kenny Massey also collected the incentive for wins with first-time starters Bella Lorena and Paddys Day. Arapahoe’s track management and Bruce Seymore, executive director of Mile High Racing and Entertainment, came up with the idea when they recognized that racing’s future would not include race-day medication, and they wanted Arapahoe to be on the forefront of that movement.

“The program is completely voluntary,” said Jonathan Horowitz, Arapahoe’s track announcer and spokesman. “We’re not mandating it like they did with the Breeders’ Cup. The trainer makes the decision whether to run the horse without medication.”

He emphasized that nothing else changed at the entry box. Some races came up with medication-free horses running against those on race-day medication, and some races consisted only of horses racing on medication.

“I think the big picture that we envision is that racing is heading toward being race-day medication-free,” he said. “How it gets there, we’re not 100 percent sure, but we want to play our part in getting to that point.”

“A $1,000 bonus at blue-collar Arapahoe represents about 13 percent of the typical purse – a tidy sum for the trainer to pocket” Rushton said he entered winner Sudies Storm and Don’t Flirt in the incentive program because their owner and breeder, 86year-old Susan Wadleigh, is adamantly against medication. Two other horses in his stable also participated in the program.

“All those drugs are terrible – what they have done to the horses,” Wadleigh said.

“They used to be able to run horses back in a week before they came upon that miserable Lasix. [Sudies Storm] won her maiden race going 5-½ [furlongs], and then she ran back in about a week and won again going a mile, and she wasn’t even tired. She could have gone on.”

Incentives A $1,000 bonus at blue-collar Arapahoe represents about 13 percent of the typical purse – a tidy sum for the trainer to pocket.

That same amount would do little to entice trainers elsewhere to race medication-free.

One reason is that trainers at Arapahoe have an advantage over many other tracks. Horses racing on Lasix there may be taken off the drug with no restrictions as to when they may resume Lasix. Many tracks outside Colorado prohibit a horse from racing on Lasix again for as long as 60-90 days after a Lasix-free start.

“I don’t think if I had a horse on Lasix that I would take him off Lasix for $1,000 and have to go through that,” said New Yorkbased trainer Shug McGaughey.

Bill Mott, who conditioned 1995-96 Horse of the Year Cigar, said he has no strong opinion about incentive programs, but he doesn’t think they would influence his decision.

“Number one, I’m a trainer, so I want the horse to perform as well as he can,” he said.

“And if I felt that his performance was better with Lasix, then I would want to give him Lasix.”

Above all, Mott wants a level playing field.

“I think if it’s available, everybody should be able to use it if they choose. And if it’s not available, then nobody uses it,” he said.

Elliott Walden is a former trainer and the president/CEO and racing manager of WinStar Farm outside Lexington, one of North America’s leading Thoroughbred racing, breeding and stallion operations.

Walden said an incentive program is an interesting idea, but it raises other questions.

“So then what happens to the bettor if a horse runs off Lasix and then he bleeds?” he said.

Former WinStar co-owner Bill Casner, a vocal opponent of medication, is among those

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Former WinStar co-owner Bill Casner (left) opposes the use of medication but has suggested granting horses that race without Lasix a weight allowance, while Frank Stronach (centre) and trainer Jack Van Berg have zero tolerance of the use of medication

who have suggested another incentive – granting horses that race without Lasix a weight allowance when competing against horses on Lasix to compensate for the weight loss caused by the diuretic effect of Lasix.

“I think that the weight allowance is an interesting idea,” Walden said. “I can see that being a positive step. But I think the real key is that we need to get it across the board.”

Trainer Graham Motion, who grew up in European racing where medication is banned, said incentives wouldn’t influence him.

“We certainly run horses without medication, and I’m not looking for an incentive to do it,” he said. “It’s not going to change anything that I do. If they don’t need Lasix, we try not to run them on Lasix.

Certainly, some horses, we don’t treat them with Bute (phenylbutazone).”

Motion said incentives might make a difference when it comes to first-time starters, which many trainers automatically declare on Lasix.

“Certainly, that’s how I used to do it,” he said. “I don’t do it anymore. Nowadays, if they haven’t shown any signs of bleeding, we tend not to put them on Lasix.”

At Arapahoe, Arabian winners Bella Lorena and Paddys Day were among five first-time starters in the incentives program.

Racing icon Jack Van Berg, who ranks #5 on the list of all-time winningest trainers, told a 2008 Congressional subcommittee probing racing that today’s racing is “chemical warfare,” and he pleaded with them to help restore the sport to its former glory. Van Berg is in favor of incentives, but he suggested splitting the bonus 50-50 between the trainer and the owner to serve as an incentive for both.

“It’s a start to try to get rid of this damn medication thing,” he said. “A weight allowance – that could help also. If they have no medication whatsoever in them, a threepound weight allowance – that’s a good idea.”

Ultimately, Van Berg advocates zero

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tolerance for medication in racing.

“Guys moan and groan about they need Lasix, and they need this, and they need that.

Well, they don’t need it if they know how to train a horse.”

California-based conditioner Jerry Hollendorfer called the idea of offering incentives for racing medication-free “ridiculous.”

He said, “All the medications that are used on horses were invented for people, so why would I deny an animal a medication that I would use myself? … My doctor had me on Lasix for three years. It’s a wonderful drug that removes fluid from around the heart, and then it was discovered that it would also keep horses from bleeding when they run. So why would you deny an animal something that you would use for yourself?”

Trainer Richard Mandella would like to see the incentive program taken one step further.

He suggested that races that are easy to fill be written as two separate races, with horses running on medication in one and those medication-free in another, with the bonus going to the owner of the medication-free winner, not the trainer. He said that would remove the disadvantage of medication-free horses running against those on medication in the same race, and it would provide an incentive for the owner to request that the horse be run without medication.

“Guys moan and groan about they need Lasix, and they need this, and they need that. Well, they don’t need it if they know how to train a horse” Jack Van Berg

Mandella and fellow board members of the Southern California Equine Foundation, which operates the Equine Hospital at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Ca., have been discussing a similar plan. In their plan, equine researchers also would benefit.

“There’s no sense doing it if you don’t study it,” he said. “Get some funding to get the horses [in both divisions] scoped in a reasonable time after they race so you can see what the results are and compare. We would find a way to raise that money to get it done so it wouldn’t be an individual cost.”

Casner said he is in favor of anything that educates horsemen about medications and their consequences, and without that education, racing is going to have a tough time getting everyone on board.

“I think what happens is that anytime there’s any type of incentive structure put out there, the HPBAs of the world push back hard,” he said. “A lot of it is the medication rules of the particular jurisdiction. We have 38 jurisdictions that all have their own rules, and they’re run by political appointees, and some of them are not real knowledgeable, so their information source becomes those who are most vocal. And the HPBAs tend to be very organized and very vocal on those fronts.”

Racetracks balk at incentives Oaklawn Racing & Gaming followed Arapahoe’s example when it announced on September 19 that it would offer bonuses in 2015 for all horses that win without Lasix.

Oaklawn has put up $1.4 million to fund the incentive program, which will pay a bonus equal to 10 percent of the winner’s share of the purse for a Lasix-free win.

But Arapahoe and Oaklawn may stand alone in their efforts to incentivize medication-free racing. A cross section of racetrack operators was surveyed for this article; none who responded were in favor.

Frank Stronach, whose Stronach Group

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TRAINING Do backstretch conDitions promote bleeDing?

Living in dusty stalls 23 hours a day and breathing in carbon monoxide fumes and stirred-up pollution – that’s the environment our racehorses must live in while we expect them to give us exceptional performance. Any human living under those same conditions for just two weeks would clutch an emergency asthma inhaler or develop pneumonia from all the pathogens lodged deep in his lungs. How many long-time grooms have you seen with chronic breathing problems?

And we wonder why a majority of racehorses bleed from the lungs when asked to perform at maximum speed.

Researchers at Michigan State University, led by workplace pollution expert Melissa May, Ph.D., studied the air quality in three barns at Thistledown racetrack near Cleveland, looking at particulates in the air as well as other pollutants. Then the team’s veterinarians examined the horses in those stables.

“We did find an association between indoor air quality and the presence of tracheal mucus as well as inflammatory cells,” she said.

Nathan Slovis, D.V.M., an internal medicine specialist and the director of the McGee Medicine Center at Hagyard Equine Medical Institute in Lexington, said he believes there is a connection between air quality, airway inflammation, and bleeding.

“If you have a horse that’s a bleeder, you have to rule out small-airway inflammation because small-airway inflammation can be one of the causes of bleeding,” he said.

Slovis urged horsemen with bleeders to have those horses examined for an underlying cause. But he said it’s important to wait at least a week after the bleeding episode because bleeding itself can skew the test results. He also urged horsemen to reduce the amount of particulates in their horses’ environments, principally by assessing the quality of the horses’ bedding to assure it isn’t dusty and by wetting the horses’ hay and feeding it on the ground, not in hay nets.

Pollutants on the backstretch that cause irritation and inflammation are dust, mold, bacteria, viruses and overall poor ventilation in stalls; roadway dust and exhaust fumes from vehicles; and airborne debris stirred up by manure-removal equipment.

Susan Holcombe, V.M.D., Ph.D., part of the Michigan State team, said although no formal cause-and-effect studies have been done to connect inflammatory lung disease and exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH), it might be worth exploring.

“We know that when the lung is inflamed, white blood cells travel through capillaries into the lung tissue in response to

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contaminants or infection,” she said. “The movement of white blood cells through the capillaries can weaken the blood vessel, perhaps predisposing the capillaries to rupture, as occurs during episodes of EIPH. However, the regions of the lung that are affected by each disease are different.”

Prominent owner Bill Casner, who obtained his undergraduate degree as a preveterinary student at Tartleton State University in Texas, suspected a link between air quality, airway inflammation, and bleeding in his own horses. In January 2012, he began a program to wipe out EIPH in his racehorses. Since then, his stable has decreased bleeding to about five percent in a total of about 170 starts, he said.

“Out of that five percent, we’ve always been able to determine the cause,” Casner said. “There’s generally an underlying pathology that has caused the bleed. Every horse that we have had that has bled, we’ve treated them and run them back without medication, and we are 100 percent on keeping them from bleeding. Once we correct the inflammatory airway issue, they don’t bleed.”

Casner’s strategy to improve air quality for his horses and limit their exposure to disease is to power wash stalls before moving into a shed row and fog them with Ceragyn, a powerful, environmentally safe alternative to typical disinfectants. He has switched to peat moss bedding, which neutralizes ammonia, and he only feeds his horses hay that is steamed in a Haygain hay steamer, which removes particulates and kills pathogens.

In addition to cleaning up the horses’ environment, Casner has discontinued the use of phenylbutazone, a medication he believes promotes EIPH. “It says it right in the product literature, ‘may causing bleeding,’” he said. “Trainers are going to have to learn that Bute is the biggest enemy, and they’re going to have to be much more conscious of the environmental factor in keeping their shed rows dust free.”

One of the leading authorities on EIPH, Frederik Derksen, D.V.M., Ph.D., at Michigan State, said he is skeptical that a link exists between air quality and bleeding.

“I don’t think that air quality has much to do with EIPH,” he said. “I base this on the observation that the prevalence of EIPH is similar worldwide, while the air quality varies greatly by stable, country, and region of the world. Also, pathologic lesions that one would expect with poor air quality – lung inflammation – are not characteristic of EIPH.” Still, Casner is adamant. He said, “When I tell people what we did, nobody believes us.

They’ll say, ‘You’re telling me you’ve cured bleeding 100 percent?’ Well, it blows me away, too. This program has gone way

operates Santa Anita, Gulfstream, Golden Gate Fields, Laurel Park, Pimlico, and Portland Meadows, is crusading to eliminate medication, and he refuses to settle for less.

He wrote in an August letter to racetrack operators: “[We] are the only ones who can make a change happen, but only if we work together.

I am asking that as stakeholders with shared interests, we work on a plan to phase in a ban on all [race-day] medication at our tracks.”

Mike Rogers, president of Stronach’s racing division, told us that, “Frank’s objective is to eliminate race-day medications completely; with that in mind we are reaching out to other industry stakeholders to see if we have consensus on this issue. We will work with these likeminded stakeholders and create a plan that will achieve this objective.”

Rogers added, “No. That [an incentive program] is not his strategy at the present time.”

“I think what happens is that anytime there’s any type of incentive structure put out there, the HPBAs of the world push back hard” Bill Casner The New York Racing Association operates three Thoroughbred tracks – Belmont Park and Aqueduct in metropolitan New York and Saratoga Race Course upstate.

Martin Panza, NYRA’s senior vice president of Racing Operations, said he hasn’t even thought about offering incentives.

“I would even grossly hate to comment on giving horses a weight break,” he said. “I’m not sure that’s fair. As far as purse money going to people not running on medication, I’m not sure that’s fair either.”

When corrected that the incentives don’t come from purse money, he added, “I wouldn’t even know if NYRA could do that legally. It’s hard to comment on that. I don’t know. I don’t know if there’s benefits to that.

The medication issue is much larger than this.

That’s not a level playing field. Shouldn’t we be trying to create a level playing field?”

Other racetracks contacted declined to comment.

Arapahoe is pleased with the results of its incentive program, and it hopes to offer it again in 2015, Horowitz said.

“We honestly didn’t know if any trainers would be interested in participating, but we found that people were, so we made the program available and some people took advantage of it. Hopefully, if it expands, more trainers will take advantage of it,” he said. n

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TONGUE-TIES

Their place in racing in 2014 The use and efficacy of tongue-ties has spawned much debate, and in 2009, veterinarians at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, led by Safia Barakzai conducted extensive research, which was published in the Equine Veterinary Journal, to evaluate the use of tongue-ties on racing performance in Thoroughbred racehorses. A second study published in the same publication in 2013 from the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, aimed to assess whether tongue-ties contribute to upper airway stability and therefore allow horses to breathe easier.

“

T

WORDS: THOMAS O’KEEFFE PHOTOS LEWiS SMiTH/ROSSDALES, SHUTTERSTOCK, GETTY iMAGES

HAT horse is making a noise” is an expression when heard around an exercising horse that sends shivers up the spine of anyone connected to the individual concerned Tongue-ties (strips of material passed through the horse's mouth over the tongue and tied under the jaw) have been used for generations on racehorses worldwide. The rider has utilized a tongue-tie as a method to keep a horse from putting its tongue over the bit and thus avoiding loss of control.

Additionally, when tongue-ties are used in an attempt to prevent dorsal displacement of the soft palate (DDSP), anecdotal reports as well as some clinical research have indicated this procedure is effective on some horses and ineffective on others.

Tongue-ties or “attache-langues” in the lexicon of Longchamp and Deauville are used in training establishments in North America and Europe on a daily basis and this article aims to explore this common practice.

Welfare concerns Applying a tongue-tie involves pulling the tongue as forward as possible and tying it close to its base around the lower jaw with a nylon strap with the tongue then pulled out to the side of the horse’s mouth. This practice of tongue-tying, however, has led to significant welfare debates, and in some countries the practice is illegal during the winter months because of the risk of frostbite to the tongue.

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In Switzerland, tongue-tying is illegal all year around.

It must be stated that the practice of tongue-tying does not appear to cause the horse stress or pain and stimulates little reaction from the horse while their tongue is being manipulated. Obviously common sense must apply, and tongue-ties must not be fitted in times of inclement weather, but this decision should be left in the hands of the horse’s handlers and in my opinion does not warrant further regulation.

The Edinburgh Study Records were obtained from the Racing Post online database for case horses, which were defined as those that had raced while wearing a tongue-tie, and control horses, those that had never raced while wearing a tongue-tie. The case horses had to meet the following criteria: have at least five race starts before wearing a tongue-tie in a race; had not

“Tongue-tying has led to significant welfare debates, and in some countries the practice is illegal during the winter months because of the risk of frostbite to the tongue”

raced during the 18 months prior to August 1, 2008, so as to ensure that their training and racing careers were finished; and had not raced before January 1, 1999, because the use of tongue-ties was not recorded before that date. Each case horse was matched by gender and age with one or two unexposed horses if such matches could be found. The lifetime record for each control horse was examined to ensure that it had never raced with a tonguetie and had started in at least five races before the date when its matched exposed horse raced with a tongue-tie.

Performances of all the study horses were analyzed in three groups. Group 1 was made up of all case horses that wore a tongue-tie at least once, plus their matched controls. Group 2 was made up only of case horses that ran with a tongue-tie in place for three or more consecutive races after the first race in which a tongue-tie was used, plus their matched controls. Group 3 was made up only of case horses that ran with a tongue-tie in place for five or more consecutive races after the first race in which a tongue-tie was used, plus their matched controls.

The researchers gathered data on the total number of lifetime starts before and after the date of the first race where a tongue-tie was used as well as total race earnings for the five starts before and five starts after a tongue-tie was introduced.

Data collected included age, number of starts prior to the first race using a tongue-tie, number of starts within 12 months after beginning to use a tongue-tie, and lifetime

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RACING

starts after beginning to use a tongue-tie.

Case horses tended to have fewer race starts than control horses before the first race using a tongue-tie. After the date when a tongue-tie was first used, horses in each set had about the same number of starts. However, case horses in groups 2 and 3 had significantly more starts than control horses in the 12 months following the first race using a tongue-tie.

For group 1, case horses were 1.85 times more likely than control horses to have improved earnings in their next three races after the date when a tongue-tie was first used.

For group 2, case horses were 3.6 times more likely than matched control horses to have improved earnings in their next three races after the date when a tongue-tie was first used.

For group 3, case horses were 4.24 times more likely than matched control horses to have improved earnings in their next three races after the date when a tongue-tie was used, and 5.05 times more likely than

A dynamic scope being used on the gallops in front of the Rowley Mile, Newmarket

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matched control horses to have improved earnings in their next five races after the date when a tongue-tie was used.

What does this tell us about the use of tongue-ties in racing Thoroughbreds?

Though previous research has shown inconclusive results regarding the efficacy of tongue-ties, this study seemed to indicate an advantage when certain groups of horses wore the device. The authors state, "The data here appear to show that tongue-tie use has a beneficial effect on racing performance in selected horses that are perceived by their trainer to be afflicted with DDSP or which are run with a tongue-tie in place to improve jockey control, and that this beneficial effect on racing performance is particularly marked for horses that run in at least three or five consecutive races wearing a tongue-tie."

No attempt was made in this study to

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RACING distinguish between horses with suspected or confirmed DDSP and horses that had a training or control problem.

The authors commented that while use of a tongue-tie appeared to enhance performance in some horses, the results of the study should not be seen as a promotion of tongue-tie use for normal horses as a performanceenhancing aid.

Nasal strips and tongue-ties in the U.S. During California Chrome’s bid for Triple Crown immortality during the spring of 2014 his trainer Art Sherman contacted the NYRA Stewards in the buildup to the Belmont Stakes requesting permission to use nasal strips on the horse whilst competing in the race. In a Stewards house rule, nasal strips had previously fallen under the broad catch-all of a nonapproved device and was thus banned from use in New York, in sharp contrast to the policy in California where nasal strips can be and are used commonly within the rules of racing.

As the debate intensified, eminent North American veterinarian Dr. Scott Palmer was quoted, “I recommend that the stewards at State-based Thoroughbred racetracks discontinue their ban on equine nasal strips.

Equine nasal strips do not enhance equine performance nor do they pose a risk to equine health or safety and as such do not need to be regulated.

“While there is research to indicate that equine nasal strips decrease airway resistance in horses and may decrease the amount of bleeding associated with EIPH to some degree, I am unfamiliar with any research indicating that equine nasal strips enable a horse to run faster with nasal strips than without them.

“In other words, there is no evidence they have a performance enhancing effect. Equine nasal strips do not pose a welfare or safety risk to the horse. They are applied to the top of the nose and anyone can see their use prior to a race. If improperly applied, equine nasal strips cannot interfere with performance. In my opinion equine nasal strips fall into the same category as tongue-ties.” The stewards considered Dr. Palmer’s advice and thus determined to allow the unregulated use of the nasal strips.

It is clear that for ease of regulation that tongue-ties and nasal strips were grouped together, however, they are very different devices and have no direct relationship with one another. Barakzai’s study showed that tongue-ties could have a performanceenhancing effect on the racehorse, most likely in undiagnosed cases of palatal instability whereas the effect on performance of nasal strips is not scientifically proven to date.

The Canadian Study Dr. Chalmers, Professor of Radiology at the University of Guelph, and her colleagues investigated 12 Standardbred racehorses with

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“Equine nasal strips do not pose a welfare or safety risk to the horse.

They are applied to the top of the nose and anyone can see their use prior to a race” Dr. Scott Palmer and without tongue-ties at rest. The team applied the tongue-ties using a standard industry procedure, and then acquired ultrasound images of five different regions of the upper respiratory tract, including the positions of several bones and cartilages responsible for supporting the upper airway, attaching the windpipe to the back of the throat, and joining the tongue to the skull.

They measured these structures' positions and their relationship to each other using an ultrasound technique that Chalmers developed in earlier work. The study showed that when the horses' tongues were tied, the upper respiratory structures' positions were more compatible with upper airway stability.

Previous research by Chalmers and others suggests that the structural positions achieved by tongue-tying allow the horse to breathe better.

Better diagnostics, better results?

The key to improving the performance of our racehorses regardless of what device is used is an accurate diagnosis of the horse’s respiratory function. A study published in 2011 by Swiss surgeon Stefan Witte concluded that diagnosis of upper respiratory conditions based on owner-reported noise and performance history may result in an incomplete diagnosis.

This fact and the development of a technology that is non-invasive, safe for both rider and horse, and highly informative, has led to the rapid increase in the amount of horses undergoing overground dynamic endoscopic examination as part of a complete evaluation of a horse’s upper respiratory tract.

The dynamic overground endoscope involves a tiny camera that is inserted into the horse’s throat via his nose and the accompanying mechanism, which fits inside the horse’s bridle and saddle pad and transmits readings to a remote tablet. The equipment is lightweight, relatively unobtrusive and allows the use of the horse’s own tack making it quick and easy to fit to the patient.

Overground endoscopy is a highly useful tool as the relationship between the standard endoscopic examination of the horse at rest and how the horse’s larynx performs at exercise holds many variables. Many horses will show some laryngeal abnormalities on an

endoscopic examination at rest but during exercise will have normal function, and other conditions of the equine larynx only become apparent when the horse is fatigued and there is a change in exercise intensity – factors that can only be created while the horse is being examined while exercising.

In March 2013, the Equine Veterinary Journal published the results of a study conducted by the University of Glasgow in collaboration with a large Thoroughbred training center in the UK comparing the results of resting and dynamic endoscopy on a group of yearlings. Resting (pre- and postexercise) and exercising endoscopy was performed on 57 Thoroughbred yearlings at a single training yard. Their conclusions were that there were significant variations in the results of endoscopy at rest and during exercise, which shows in an evidence-based evaluation that resting endoscopy may not be sufficient to predict the occurrence of pathology during exercise.

Respiratory conditions that may be accurately diagnosed by dynamic endoscopy include dorsal displacement of the soft palate, laryngeal hemiplegia, aryepiglottic fold impingement and a plethora of other conditions, which may produce similar respiratory noises and are therefore typically difficult to differentiate by a traditional endoscopic examination.

Performing exercising overground endoscopy in horses must also be viewed as a more cost-effective option in comparison to treating a horse incorrectly without an accurate diagnosis. Dr. Brett Woodie, of Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Kentucky and a world-recognized expert in respiratory surgery, was recently quoted at the Annual American Surgery Convention stating that “more diagnoses are missed by not looking than not knowing,” and thankfully with the development of overground endoscopy and its ease of use, there is no longer reason for this to be the case.

Conclusion The work done by veterinary scientists in Europe and North America has validated the long-held view of horsemen that the application of a tongue-tie can improve racing performance in some cases. However, as with all medical conditions that are performancelimiting and impacting the health of the racehorse, an accurate diagnosis is crucial in ensuring our athletes are performing at their optimal level.

Thankfully with the development of a safe, non-invasive method of examining a horse’s wind, while it performs the discipline over which it will compete, trainers and veterinarians can allow our racehorses to fulfill their athletic potential by using the latest technology and research to practice evidence-based medicine in appropriately selected cases. n

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VETERINARY

Streptococcus zooepidemicus

The bug that can place bets WORDS: PROFESSOR CELIA M MARR/AnDREW S. WALLER, AnIMAL HEALtH tRuSt/JOSH SLAtER, ROyAL VEtERInARy COLLEgE MAIn PHOtO: SHuttERStOCK

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In the UK the Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB) has invested over £7 million to protect racing and ensure horse welfare by disease surveillance and research on prevention of equine infections over the last decade. Infection with bacteria is one of the important causes. One bug in particular that can be found in many cases is Streptococcus zooepidemicus. We know that horses can develop immunity to this species of bacteria. However, we also know that this bacterium can be found in horses that are healthy without necessarily causing any harm. The reasons for this inconsistency are being investigated thanks to new research funded by the HBLB.

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ESPIRATORY disease affects a large proportion of young horses around the world, reducing performance with significant disruption to training and racing schedules. Inflammatory airway disease affects young horses in particular, and it generally causes mucus in the trachea. Some estimates suggest that in British Flat racing yards, for every 100 horses, each month there will be nine cases.

Coughing and nasal discharge can last around eight weeks, and some animals are affected again and again – all of which leads to significant cost to the racing industry. As a result, this problem has been a long-standing focus of attention for the Horserace Betting Levy Board’s (HBLB) veterinary research efforts.

Bacterial genetic code One reason why bacteria from the same species might affect horses differently is that there are different strains within a bacterial species. This is rather like different breeds of horses (e.g. a Falabella pony is the same species as a Thoroughbred, but it looks and acts very differently). All living things, from human to single-cell algae in the ocean, have a genetic code written in DNA. Understanding this genetic code can reveal how organisms live and function.

An HBLB-funded collaborative team working in Dr. Andrew Waller’s lab at the Animal Health Trust and Professor Josh Slater’s lab at the Royal Veterinary College have set out to unlock the genetic make-up of different strains of Streptococcus zooepidemicus in order to understand better if some strains of this bacteria cause disease while others are relatively harmless. The researchers also looked at how different strains of Streptococcus interact with the horses’ immune system. The ultimate goal of this research is to gain the knowledge that will lead to new vaccines.

Left: S. zooepidemicus colonies grown on a blood agar culture plate Below: The buildup of mucus in the trachea (below) of infected horses found on endoscopy, which is typical of inflammatory airway disease. (Photos courtesy of Dr. Richard Newton, Animal Health Trust)

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VETERINARY

Nasal discharge in a horse following infection with S. zooepidemicus. (Photo courtesy of Sigríður Björnsdóttir, Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority [MAST])

A global research effort The researchers started by developing a technique to produce a unique “genetic fingerprint” with which to identify each different strain of Streptococcus. They then tested samples from sick horses around the world and so far 318 different types of S. zooepidemicus have been identified with two particular strains being responsible for outbreaks of respiratory disease.

Insight from an ancient threat: Strangles The researchers had some clues about what they might find in the samples from horses with Streptococcus zooepidemicus infection because they already had extensive experience

in similar research in Strangles. Strangles is one of the oldest known, feared and most frequently reported infectious diseases of horses throughout the world. Typical signs of Strangles include abscessation of the lymph nodes in the head and neck, with swelling to such an extent that some horses are literally suffocated. It is caused by a relative of Streptococcus zooepidemicus, known as Streptococcus equi. With Strangles, it is very clear that some recovered horses become carriers. Carriers show no outward signs, and this hidden infection enables the bacteria to be spread around undetected.

Silent carriers lead to infection in youngsters In the same way as Strangles, a horse that has recovered from S. zooepidemicus might no longer be outwardly affected itself, but it may still carry the bug. For example, the particular strain responsible for the outbreak of respiratory disease in Sweden was found in a healthy horse eight months after the horse made a full clinical recovery.

This persistence of S. zooepidemicus in Thoroughbred racehorses that have recovered from respiratory disease allows transmission to susceptible animals and can occur when, for example, older recovered horses are mixed with the next year’s intake of young horses. It is likely that immunity to one strain of Streptococcus does not fully protect a horse from all the other strains, so young horses can often succumb to a succession of respiratory infections as they gradually build up immunity to mix of S. zooepidemicus strains that persist in that particular yard.

Bacterial balancing acts In order to be able to persist in recovering horses, S. zooepidemicus must be able to survive despite the fact it is being attacked by the horse’s immune response, and at the same time, the bug must be ready to infect a susceptible animal should the opportunity arise. S. zooepidemicus strains have proteins on their surface and some of these proteins

Submandibular lymph node abscess caused by S. equi, the causative agent of Strangles, which is actually a type of S. zooepidemicus. (Photo courtesy of Nick Parkinson, University of Maryland, USA)

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inactivate the horse’s immune response. Other proteins enable the bacteria to stick to the internal surfaces of the horse in order to establish the infection, almost like an ice climber clinging to the surface of a glacier with the crampons on his boots. If he loses his crampons, he is in big trouble.

Thus, these surface proteins play key roles for the bacteria, but they are also a vulnerable point and can be targeted by the horse’s immune response to disable the bacteria.

Therefore, balancing the array of surface proteins displayed with the particular requirements of the bacteria at any given time is critical if the bacteria are to successfully establish an infection and transmit to a new susceptible animal.

The bacteria places its bets The Waller and Slater team noticed that a short string of DNA could flip around such that 80% of bacteria in the population contained this region in one direction, while the remaining 20% contained the DNA in the reverse orientation. Through funding from the HBLB, the scientists were able to show that this region of DNA acts as a switch, controlling the cell surface proteins. This switch enables the population to hedge its bets as to which precise proteins are beneficial or not depending on the particular environment in which the bacterium finds itself. So the bacteria can immediately exploit a change in environment, such as entry into a susceptible young animal or the avoidance of an immune response in a less susceptible horse.

What might the future bring?

This HBLB funded work has provided important fundamental understanding of a cellular mechanism that allows Streptococcus zooepidemicus to exploit its environment. The next step will be to establish whether other S. zooepidemicus proteins are regulated in this way and whether any of these proteins can be used in new vaccines to reduce the impact of inflammatory airway disease on the health and performance of racehorses. n

Electron microscopy images of the surface of tracheal explants grown in the laboratory before and after infection with Streptococcus zooepidemicus. In the healthy tissue, the surface of the cells are covered with cilia, which are tiny hair-like structures that continuously sweep mucus, bacteria and dust particles from the airway. In the tissue infected, the cilia have been destroyed allowing mucus buildup. (Photos courtesy of Professor Josh Slater, Royal Veterinary College)

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Do horses sense fear?

Racehorses are athletes performing at the peak of their physical capabilities, with their strength and fitness carefully monitored and researched. However less consideration is given to the psychological factors that may affect their performance, with fear being a major influence.

WORDS: JUSTINE HARRISON PHOTOS: CAROlINE NORRIS, FRANk NOlTINg, ANNE-ARmEllE lANglOIS

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HE Thoroughbred has a reputation for being nervous and easily frightened. Fear is an exceptionally powerful emotion, essential for the horse that has evolved over millions of years as a prey animal, but as far as the horse-human relationship is concerned, a frightened horse is often a dangerous horse and therefore generally undesirable.

Behavioral issues seen in racehorses are often fear-related. Aggression, reluctance to go forward, or refusal to load may be mistakenly perceived as the horse being difficult, stubborn, or simply disobedient, when in fact it can be a direct consequence of fear.

What is fear?

In general terms, fear is an unconscious emotional response that alerts the body to avoid anything perceived to be potentially dangerous or painful. It is a hard-wired function of the nervous system designed to help an animal survive. When horses sense something they perceive as threatening, physiological changes occur in their body to prepare them for immediate action, also known as the ‘fight or flight’ response.

More specifically, fear is the feeling of being frightened in the presence of a trigger for that fear – perhaps a particular object, person, or sound. Fear could certainly be described as having different intensities, ranging from mild apprehension to terror.

Another aspect of fear is anxiety – the nervous anticipation of something that may happen in future, based on the memory of a previous fearful experience. A horse may

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become anxious on seeing the horse van after having had a difficult journey the last time they were transported. He has associated the van with the traumatic experience and are anticipating something similar will happen again.

Neuroscientist Joseph LeDoux has researched fear and memory in animals. He found that fear differs from other emotions as the memories are permanent. Even one bad experience can profoundly change a horse’s behavior. Once frightened, a horse will be reluctant to try again. First impressions really do count.

Fear responses The horse’s primary reaction to danger is flight.

If startled, his immediate response is usually to escape to a safe distance from the perceived threat. This distance will vary depending on the experience of the horse and the severity of the situation, and could be as little as a few meters or as much as a kilometer.

But if fleeing isn't a possibility then other

“Intense fear is easier to recognize: nostrils flare, the whites of the eyes are visible, eyes roll, ears are laid back, the tail may be clamped down, and muscles can tremble”

behavioral reactions can occur. The horse may freeze, a response regularly attributed to him being stubborn or lazy. Or if cornered without an escape route a horse may choose to confront his fear and fight, but this is a last resort and unusual unless in extreme circumstances.

A frightened horse may also perform a ‘displacement’ behavior. This is a normal behavior occurring in an inappropriate context – he may yawn, paw the ground, play with the leadrope or bit, stick his tongue out, or shake his head if he is anxious and unable to escape the situation.

A horse yawning repeatedly while tied up to be shod may not be tired, but instead fearful about what is happening. As he is restrained and therefore unable to use his flight response, he performs an alternative behavior to satisfy his drive to move. This displacement behavior will reduce his stress in the moment and provide some relief from his anxiety.

Body language From an evolutionary perspective, prey animals need to convey alarm signals silently to others, or they risk alerting a predator to their presence and ending up as someone’s lunch. As a result, equine body language is extremely sophisticated and a horse’s posture, facial expressions, and behavior are a complex means of communication.

Signs of anxiety can be difficult to identify in some horses because some warning signs are very subtle. The shape of the eye changes from being relaxed, soft, and round to having a clear, triangulated upper eyebrow with wrinkles above the eye. Tension in the face, a tucked chin, tight lips, the mouth clamped shut, and a

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stiff body posture are also indicators of anxiety.

The heart rate will rise and breathing will become more rapid.

Intense fear is easier to recognize: nostrils flare, the whites of the eyes are visible, eyes roll, ears are laid back, the tail may be clamped down, and muscles can tremble.

The horse’s behavior will also change and it will move more stiffly as it becomes anxious.

Jogging, spooking excessively, refusing to stand still, sweating, head tossing, tail swishing, snatching at the bit, or teeth grinding may all indicate fear. All of these fear indicators are regularly seen in the parade ring prior to a race.

Of course, bolting is the most extreme form of fear and horses may rear or buck in an attempt to get away from their handler or rider.

Nature vs nurture How much of a horse’s fear response is innate and how much is a result of environment, training, and experience?

This is a complex subject. One of the least studied areas of equine science is the heritability of behavioral traits. Horses are all

individual and what frightens one horse may not affect another. However, breeders do recognize that genetics plays an important role in a horse’s temperament and that certain personality traits may be passed down in specific breeds or bloodlines.

A French study looked at the influence of different genetic and environmental factors on personality traits in over 700 horses. The researchers found that genetic factors, such as the sire or breed, appeared to influence neophobic reactions (fear of something new), while management influenced the horses’s learning abilities or reactions to social separation.

Despite there being little scientific research on inherited behavior patterns in horses, we can extrapolate from studies with other species.

A recent study in mice has shown that specific fears experienced by parents and grandparents in their lifetime can be inherited by their offspring. Mice were taught to associate the scent of orange blossom with a shock. When their children and grandchildren were presented with the scent, they exhibited a

startle response indicating fear, even though they had never encountered the smell before.

On an evolutionary level this makes sense: inheriting information from your parents’s experiences could be essential for survival. This is groundbreaking evidence and has important implications when considering which behavioral traits may be inherited when breeding horses.

The management of youngsters will also affect their subsequent behavior as adults. If a dam is stressed while in foal this may affect the fetus, resulting in nervous offspring. If a foal is weaned abruptly or too early they will be more susceptible to separation anxiety and may also be fearful of humans.

Youngsters who are unable to interact and socialize normally with others will often be frightened of other horses, even to the point of becoming aggressive. Under-socialized horses are often more fearful of people, difficult to handle, and slower to learn than those raised with other horses.

A recent Polish study investigated the effects of transporting young Arab and Thoroughbred

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TRAINING racehorses to a new environment. Their heart rates were measured during routine tasks including grooming and when at rest, first in their home environment and then again three days after being moved to an unfamiliar training center. The Thoroughbreds all had higher heart rates than the Arab horses in the new environment, but they were also significantly higher when groomed. The researchers suggested young racehorses should not be groomed just prior to training, as this could raise their emotional arousal.

Harsh or coercive training methods will make horses fearful of trainers and their environment. Many horses have an understandable fear of whips, and even the sight of a whip in its environment can dramatically alter a horse’s behavior.

Professor Paul McGreevy and his colleagues at Sydney University in Australia studied the use and misuse of the whip in racing. He states, “In evolutionary terms, the event closest to a whip strike would surely have been the moment a predator’s teeth or claws made contact with the fleeing horse’s hide. I believe that today’s horses are hard-wired to associate that unpleasant event with pure fear. When running away – the horse’s best hope of escape – doesn’t get rid of the aversive stimulus, the fear must only deepen and start to approach terror.”

Are horses affected by anxious people?

A number of studies have shown that horses are affected by the emotional state of the people around them. A study looking at 53 different pairings of horses and riders at an international dressage and show jumping competition found that horses can sense when a rider is anxious, and as a result can become anxious themselves.

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The riders were intentionally made anxious by being told falsely that their horse would be squirted with a water gun while they were riding. Although the horses were never actually squirted with water, the researchers found that the heart rates of both riders and horses were higher than they were when measured in a relaxed situation. Of course the horses in this situation had no reason to be nervous, yet they were clearly affected by the nerves of the rider.

The fallout It is natural for a horse to experience fear in dangerous situations, but excessive or prolonged fear can lead to a range of problems for the horse and as a consequence for its owner, trainer, jockey, and groom.

A frightened horse can be dangerous in the moment because his focus will be on the feared stimulus, often to the point that he ignores everything else. As a result he may not follow jockey or handler instructions; his previous training can be temporarily forgotten and he will be at risk of injuring himself or anyone nearby.

A fearful horse is a tense horse, so physical performance may be impaired. Learning capacity is also reduced. Attempting to train an anxious horse can be a slow and inefficient process, and the horse may associate the training, environment, and people involved with the fear experienced.

Canadian equine behavior consultant Lauren Fraser says: “If you are trying to do something with – or to – your horse that he finds unfamiliar, aversive, unpleasant, or scary he may indeed try to escape the situation. If a horse is trying to flee a training situation, fight against the trainer, or freezes, it is a good indicator that training is happening too quickly, with too much physical or mental pressure for the horse. If this happens, slow down, back off, and change your approach. Lessons learned in fear are not the ones you want to stick.

Compliant horses aren't necessarily confident horses – they are often just doing what they're told, because they've learned that any resistance is futile, painful, or scary.”

Fear wastes energy that could be better utilized in physical performance. In racing conditions, heightened emotional arousal is essential, but this state cannot be

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TRAINING enrichment aids the treatment of numerous behavioral problems including excessive fear responses, whereas a lack of mental stimulation may actually increase fear behaviors and impair cognitive development.

Having another relaxed, experienced horse present in a difficult situation can also calm a stressed horse significantly.

Horses must be gradually introduced to new experiences and not suddenly confronted with them. They would naturally learn that a novel stimulus is nothing to worry about via ‘habituation’ – simply getting used to it over time. This is a gradual process and as long as he is not frightened at any stage, the horse learns a stimulus is safe with repeated presentations. If, however, the horse starts to become more fearful of the stimulus, he may have become ‘sensitized’ – more frightened of the stimulus than on first presentation.

Horses may fail to perform well on race day because of the difference between the training and racecourse environments. Training the horse to habituate to what he will encounter in the race environment is vital. The

“Punishment is the wrong approach and will only increase the horse’s fear.

When forced to confront something it finds frightening the horse may become so stressed that it simply gives up” maintained for long and could impact on the horse’s ability to go the distance.

Fear is a very strong stressor, and repeated or prolonged stress can be extremely detrimental to a horse’s health. A number of hormones such as cortisol, the ‘stress hormone’, are released to help cope with stress. Chronic stress and the subsequent long-term release of cortisol has been implicated in many conditions, including reduced growth and reproductive capability, immunosuppression, laminitis, Cushing’s disease, a range of skin conditions, and the increased risk of gastric ulceration and colic.

Managing the fearful horse Fear can be a major problem with racehorses at home and at the track, but if you recognize the signs early then problems can be prevented from escalating.

Fear can successfully be managed and horses can learn to overcome their fears with training techniques and changes in day-to-day management, although memories of traumatic experiences will not be completely erased.

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Therefore training should ensure that trauma is avoided.

Most cases can be very successfully resolved by the use of systematic desensitization and counter-conditioning behavioral techniques originally developed within human behavior therapy. These processes work with the body’s physiological and psychological responses to reduce fear long term.

At all costs coercing the horse is to be avoided. Punishment is the wrong approach and will only increase the horse’s fear. When forced to confront something he finds frightening the horse may become so stressed that it simply gives up. Some trainers promote these techniques thinking they have solved the problem as the horse appears to be relaxed, when in fact the horse’s behavior has been suppressed and the animal has entered a state of ‘learned helplessness.’ The horse may then go on to develop a conditioned fear of the trainer or training environment, and perform other stress behaviors.

Research has found that environmental

racecourse itself is an overwhelming environment. Proximity to strange horses and people, crowds, noise, flags, banners, and loudspeakers is a sensory bombardment with which even the most experienced horse may struggle to cope. Fear of this situation could be reduced by preparing the horse to deal with each stimulus systemically in a more relaxed environment. It will be difficult to deal with a fearful horse in the race environment, so preparation must be done at home.

Conclusion It is normal for a horse to experience fear in dangerous situations. The individual horse’s response to fear will depend on his genetic makeup, as well as weaning, management, training, and environment. Excessive or prolonged fear can cause a range of problems in training, handling, health and racing performance, but by taking steps to minimize the fear we can improve their health, reduce safety risks, and potentially produce better racehorses. n

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Effects of morning exercise on muscle response

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MORNING EXERCISE

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TRAINING

Timing is everything. Nowhere is this more relevant than when preparing an elite equine athlete for a race. Thoroughbred trainers are critically aware of the importance of finetuning the feeding and exercise regimes of their charges in the months, weeks and days before a big event. Timing is also critical for the smooth functioning of a horse’s musculoskeletal system for optimal performance. Understanding how the horse’s muscle physiology works in synchrony with its environment and reacts to the exercise regimes that we subject it to in our daily management has been the focus of much research at University College Dublin, Ireland, by Dr. Barbara Murphy and her team.

WORDS: DR BaRBaRa a. MuRphy phOTOS hORSEphOTOS.COM

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LL animals possess an internal body clock that ensures functions such as muscle metabolism, digestion and tissue regeneration and repair peak at the most suitable time of day to ensure survival in the wild.

This important system, called the circadian system, uses the continuous 24-hour transitions from night to day to generate rhythms in physiology and behavior, which allow a horse to stay in harmony with its environment. Each organ in the horse’s body undergoes rhythmical 24hour changes that respond to the environmental cues provided by the changing light-dark cycle, food availability and exercise.

How we time feeding, and in particular,

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exercise, have important implications for equine performance and will be explored here.

Domestication has changed many aspects of a horse’s daily life. To understand the impact human intervention has had on the horse’s body clock, we must first consider their natural behavior. As migrating herd animals bound by tight social bonds, horses evolved to spend up to 18 hours a day grazing as a group constantly on the move, covering anywhere from 25-62 miles in a day.

Now consider the lifestyle of today’s Thoroughbreds in training—stabled for up to 23 hours a day, isolated from a herd, fed concentrated feed at set intervals and often only exercised once per day at the same time each day. Each of these factors is accompanied

by impacts on a horse’s health and performance. Gastric ulcers, respiratory disorders and stereotypic behaviors are some of the common challenges faced by trainers and are often a direct consequence of an intensive indoor management regime—a necessary evil in the business of training elite athletes.

So what impact does a regimental early morning training time have on a horse’s performance? To answer this, a recently published study from University College Dublin, Ireland, evaluated the effect of routine morning exercise on muscle response in Thoroughbreds. For the study, researchers chose six healthy four-year-old Thoroughbred mares that had not been on exercise programs previously. In the preceding year the mares had lived a sedentary life as a herd in a

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MORNING EXERCISE large pasture. The study horses were weighed weekly and only received a minimal grain enticement to encourage them to come in from the paddock each morning. They were returned to their paddock following exercise each day and remained outside at night.

At the initiation of the study, mid-gluteal muscle biopsies were collected from each horse at four-hour intervals over a 24-hour period. Researchers analyzed the samples for muscle genes that had previously been seen to undergo circadian (24-hour) oscillation in other species, or that were shown to have high importance for muscle metabolism in performance horses. The horses were then put on an eight-week exercise regimen, which involved a 30–60-minute workout conducted on an automated 66f diameter exerciser at 10:30 a.m. each day, six days per week.

In this way, all six horses could be exercised simultaneously in order to mimic a string of horses heading to the gallops at the same time each morning. The intensity of exercise gradually increased each week, with speeds up to 7.5 mph eventually maintained for up to 30 minutes.

At the end of the study period, researchers again took biopsies from each horse every four hours over a 24-hour period. Horses were not exercised on the day that samples were collected. Gene expression patterns in these samples were then compared to the patterns identified at the beginning of the study.

The data showed that prior to beginning the exercise program, muscle genes were expressed constantly at a low level across the 24-hour period. This fits with our understanding of horses maintained in a natural setting, grazing for most of the night and day while constantly moving. At the end of the exercise program however, a distinct pattern could be detected in muscle gene expression for specific genes.

The shifts in the pattern of the genes matched their functions, so that genes involved in regeneration and repair were turned on at night; and genes whose protein products help protect muscle against stress were turned on just prior to the 10:30 a.m. exercise.

This is an anticipatory effect regulated by the horse’s body clock and synchronized by exercise in order to provide optimal performance at the anticipated time of highest activity. Bear in mind that this shift in muscle gene expression occurred in response to a medium intensity daily workout consisting only of walk and trot. A far greater response would be expected when horses are in intense training consisting of high-intensity fast work in preparation for racing, and where the horses spend the remainder of the day confined with minimal activity in their stables.

After the first week of exercise, all the

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“At the end of the exercise programme a distinct pattern could be detected in muscle gene expression for specific genes” horses lost weight. This was followed by six weeks of gradual weight gain. The initial weight loss was associated with a loss of body fat while thereafter an increase in muscle mass occurred as the horses adapted to exercise and became fitter.

Every stable hand is aware of the anticipatory response to feeding time in a barn of horses by the sounds of nickering and hooves scraping in impatience. This is a response to the circadian rhythm of enzyme release from the digestive tract in anticipation of food breakdown when feeding times are restricted to certain specific hours of the day. While we cannot hear the horses’ muscles gearing up for exercise in the early morning hours, the same thing is happening and now we have molecular evidence.

One of the genes that was found to be turned on in a rhythmic pattern in anticipation of exercise was Uncoupling Protein 3 (UCP3). UCP3 acts as an antioxidant defense mechanism to protect against damaging reactive oxygen species that are generated during exercise in skeletal muscle. Because exercise-induced oxidative stress is linked with a reduction in muscle performance and muscle damage, the implications are that in order to reduce the risk of musculoskeletal injury, strenuous exercise should be scheduled at the same time as the horses’ daily training regime. Of course, most race times do not coincide with when we routinely train horses.

Two genes with important roles in the growth and development of new muscle fibers, a process termed myogenesis and hypertrophy respectively, and whose patterns changed dramatically in response to the exercise regime were Myogenic Differentiation

“The shorter and faster the work, the more important it is that it is carried out at a time that matches the competition time”

1 (MYOD1) and Myogenic Factor 6 (MYF6).

Both of these genes showed a shift in the time of day of highest activation toward the evening hours, suggesting that muscle regeneration and repair functions occur in the evening in response to a morning training regime.

The take-home message from this study is that the time of exercise influences the 24hour activities within muscle tissue in the horse. Muscle proteins responsible for protecting fibers from damage are present primarily at the time of day that coincides with when exercise is expected, whereas the muscle building and repair functions are primarily carried out at the opposite time of the day to exercise.

So the question that must be asked is what is the consequence of asking an athlete to undergo strenuous exercise at a time outside of the daily training time? Furthermore, if muscle performance is sub-optimal outside the daily exercise time, is this true also of the cardio-respiratory system? These questions remain to be answered and are worthy of further studies.

What is clear, however, is that the shorter and faster the work, the more important it is to carry it out at a time that matches the competition time. Longer training periods, such as those associated with endurance work, will have a less important peak time for optimal performance.

Training time is of highest relevance for horses that are restricted to minimal activity within a stable for all but one hour of the day; that hour then becomes the time cue for optimal muscle performance.

The saying goes that “all knowledge is worth having,” and while it is very unlikely that many of us can shift training times from the early morning hours to the afternoon in order to facilitate optimum muscle performance on the track, trainers can still make use of this information to benefit their training regimes.

Alternating training times for horses between the first and last string has the potential to buffer against a peak in gene expression so that the benefits are spread over a longer time period. Additionally, the incorporation of an afternoon hack or “pick of grass is accepted by many as beneficial to the horse’s mental well-being, but now it could also help with preventing an early peak in muscle metabolism.

Ideally, fast work should be scheduled at the time of day closest to actual race time as possible. This means that to ensure horses have the best opportunity to perform optimally and reduce the risk of musculoskeletal breakdowns, training times need to be shifted to later in the day so that they coincide with race times. At least we may now know the reason why some horses shine at home on the gallops, but fail to perform to their potential on race day. n

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WINNING OWNERS Profiles on Grade 1-winning owners between July and September, 2014

North American Trainer’s special feature on our top Grade 1 winners for the past quarter. Visit trainermagazine.com/winners to view the profiles of all Grade 1-winning owners from April 2013 through September 2014.

WORDS: BILL HELLER PHOTOS: HORSEPHOTOS.COM

MAIN SEQUENCE Won the United Nations at Monmouth Park, July 6; the Sword Dancer at Saratoga, August 17; and the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational at Belmont Park, September 27 Owned by Flaxman Holdings Ltd Trained by Graham Motion Sire Aldebaran Dam Ikat by Pivotal

THE legacy of a truly amazing man, Stavros Spyros Niarchos, has carried on long after his death on April 15, 1996—40 years after his first top horse, Pipe of Peace, was Champion Juvenile in England. Many more followed, including champion stallion Nureyev and two-time Eclipse Champion Turf Female Miesque, whose 12 victories in 16 career starts included the 1987 and 1988 Breeders’ Cup Mile against males.

Born in Piraeus, Greece, on July 3, 1909, Niarchos graduated from law school at Athens University and worked in flour mills owned by

his uncles. Convincing them to purchase their own ships to carry wheat to the mills, they built a fleet of seven ships, including two tankers.

When Germany invaded Greece in 1941, he offered the fleet to the Allies, joined the Greek Navy and served four years on British destroyers escorting convoys in the North Atlantic.

After World War II ended, he established one of the world’s largest fleet of tankers and bulk carriers before the oil crisis and subsequent recession in the 1980s forced him to halve his operation.

His two passions were Thoroughbreds and art, collecting more than 100 Impressionist and Post-Impressionist pieces, including over 15 van Gogh’s. In 1989, Niarchos bought Picasso’s selfportrait “Yo Picasso” for $47.85 million.

Initially racing his horses in England, Niarchos moved most of his horses to France, where he was the country’s leading breeder in 1989, 1993 and 1994, and leading owner in 1983 and 1984. From 1982 through 1994, trainer Francois Boutin produced at least one Group I winner for Niarchos every year,

including seven in 1993.

Besides Nureyev and Miesque, Niarchos campaigned Ballamont, Chimes of Freedom, Common Grounds, Coup de Grace, East of the Moon, Exit to Nowhere, Hernando, Kingmambo, L’Emigrant, Machiavellian, Magic of Life, Melyno, Northern Trick, Procisa, Seattle Song and Shanghai.

The family’s first top horse after Niarchos’ passing was Spinning World, who won four Group I races, including the 1997 Breeders’ Cup Mile a year after finishing second in the race. His family’s horses continue to race under Flaxman Holdings.

BELLE GALLANTEY Won the Delaware Handicap at Delaware Park, July 12; and the Beldame at Belmont Park, September 27 Owned by Michael Dubb, Michael Caruso’s Bethlehem Stables and Gary Aisquith Trained by Rudy Rodriguez Sire After Market Dam Revealed by Old Trieste

Belle Gallante wins the Delaware Handicap

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MICHAEL DUBB, a hero to backstretch workers at NYRA’s three tracks, is a 58-year-old Long Island real estate developer who built and

donated the Belmont Child Care Association’s Anna House and its expansions—a day care center for backstretch workers at Belmont, which opened in 2003.

As if that wasn’t enough, Dubb, who is chairman of the Belmont Child Care Association and a member of the NYRA Board of Directors, has been instrumental in the development and construction of new dormitories for backstretch workers at Saratoga.

“I’m a homebuilder by trade,” he said. “I was so moved by the people in the backstretch and the hard work they do, and the responsible way they are trying to raise their children. They strongly deserve their children to get a firm foundation for when they go out in the real

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SOMALI LEMONADE

Won the Diana at Saratoga, July 19 Owned by Caroline Forgason Trained by Michael Matz Sire Lemon Drop Kid Dam Chic Corine by Nureyev

STANDING in the winner’s circle at Saratoga July 19, trying to get her mind around what she had just witnessed, Somali Lemonade’s owner Caroline Forgason said, “I never dreamed of this.” Forgason had just won her first Grade I stakes, the Diana Handicap, at a track she’s been coming to since she was 18 years old with her only horse – one whom was almost retired at the end of last year. “We thought she lost the ‘want to,’” Forgason said.

“And when you lose the ‘want to,’ that’s kind of it.”

It’s a fairy tale come true for Forgason, whose family has deep roots in racing going back to her grandfather’s grandfather, Richard King, the founder of legendary King Ranch in Texas. Known for raising cattle and Quarter Horses, the ranch began breeding Thoroughbreds in 1934 and in 1946 won the Triple Crown with its home-bred Assault.

Four years later, their home-bred

Middleground won the 1950 Kentucky Derby, finished second to Hill Prince in the Preakness, and then won the Belmont Stakes.

Forgason’s grandfather, Robert Justus Kleberg, took over management of the ranch in 1885.

Under Kleberg, the ranch grew from 600,000 acres to 1.3 million. “My grandfather was really the one who got us into it,” Forgason said. “It’s a family affair.”

In 1974 Forgason’s sister, Helen Alexander, began managing the ranch’s Thoroughbred operation. In 1989, King Ranch sold its

bloodstock to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum and its Kentucky property to Robert Clay’s Three Chimneys Farm.

Forgason has been in and out of racing for more than a quarter century. “I had kind of gotten out of things, then Michael (brother-inlaw Matz) trained Barbaro and it was so exciting – so amazing when he won the Derby,” she said.

“I had a ton of horses and most of them got sick or hurt,” Forgason said. “That makes the Diana very special.”

world. It’s just the right thing to do.”

In 1980, Dubb began Beechwood Organization, a small home-building company of which he is now chairman, and now one of the top 100 companies in the country. In the past two decades, Beechwood has developed

more than 55 communities, including Meadowbrook Pointe on the former site of Roosevelt Raceway, once the most successful harness track in North America before its demise.

Dubb was NYRA’s leading owner in 2010 with 50 victories and 67 in 2013. He finished second in 2013. In 2014, he won his first Saratoga title with 14 wins in various partnerships, including Michael Caruso.

Caruso, CEO and Chairman of the Board of the Caruso Benefits Group, races in the name of Bethlehem Stables.

The 68-year-old native of Newark, N.J., was one of the greatest wrestlers of all-time in high school and college. He went 81-0 at St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark and was a three-time state champion. At Lehigh University he was a three-time NCAA champion at the 123-pound

weight class. In 2005, he was included as one of the NCAA’s greatest wrestlers of the past 75 years. He is a member of the U.S. Amateur Wrestling Hall of Fame, the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and a charter member of the Lehigh University Hall of Fame.

He used to accompany his dad on trips to Monmouth Park, and bought his first horse in 1980. His first winner was Mrs. Joe Who. Caruso was partners with Dubb and Stuart Grant of The Elkstone Group on the outstanding filly Grace Hall, who delivered Caruso’s first Grade I stakes victory as a twoyear-old in the 2011 Spinaway at Saratoga.

Gary Aisquith owns Gary Aisquith Bus Lines Inc., in Riva, Md. He frequently partners with Dubb and Caruso on horses they claim.

Somali Lemonade battles to victory in the Diane

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STOPCHARGINGMARIA Won the the Coaching Club American Oaks July 20 and the Alabama at Saratoga August 16 Owned by Repole Stable Trained by Todd Pletcher Sire Tale of the Cat Dam Exotic Bloom by Montbrook

MIKE Repole, a 45-year-old native of Queens, N.Y., began betting races at Aqueduct and Belmont Park. “I’ve been coming to the track, mostly Aqueduct, since I was 13 years old,” he said. “I’d find the nearest old man, give him $2 to bet on a horse for me.”

Repole graduated from St. John’s University with a degree in sports management. His incredible business success has allowed him to become one of the leading Thoroughbred owners in the country. In 2009, St. John’s presented him with the President’s Medal, and two years later, Repole received an honorary

Doctor of Commercial Science Degree.

Repole was the co-founder and president of Glaceau, the maker of Vitaminwater and Smartwater, which he sold to Coca-Cola for $4.1 billion in 2007. He returned to the beverage business when he teamed up with Lance Collins—the founder of Fuze Beverage and NOS Energy Drink—to start BodyArmor SuperDrink, and he is currently a majority

shareholder in the healthy fast-food chain Energy Kitchen.

He bought his first Thoroughbred, Da Rodeo Man, for $22,000 in 2002. A life-long New York Mets fan, he used the team’s orange and blue colors to fashion his silks. In 2008, he purchased 27 horses at auctions as well as more than 70 claimers. “It’s no secret I want to be leading owner in New York,” he said. “To me, one win in New York is worth three anywhere else.”

In 2009, Digger gave him his first New York stakes winner that year when he captured the Gravesend. Uncle Mo, who capped an undefeated two-year-old season in 2010 with Grade I victories in the Champagne and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, became Repole’s first champion when he was named that year’s Champion Two-Year-Old. Repole has especially enjoyed the success of horses he’s named for his family, including Stopshoppingmaria and Stopchargingmaria for his wife.

TOM’S TRIBUTE Won the Eddie Read at Del Mar, July 20 Owned by Braly Family Trust Trained by James Cassidy Sire Lion Heart Dam Halloween Fun by El Prado

Tom’s Tribute with sdfsdfsdfsdf up wins the Eddie Read 56 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 34

THE late Tom Braly gave Sir Winston Churchill’s famous quote – “There is something about the outside of a horse that’s good for the inside of a man” – documentation. Given days or weeks to live after doctors discovered leukemia had spread to his head and neck, Braly continued living through 2009 and got to see the debut of a filly he owned with his wife Marilyn, Evening Jewel, a horse he thought just might be his best ever.

Braly died shortly after Evening Jewel finished a slow-starting sixth in her debut at Del Mar in 2009, at the age of 72.

Braly grew up in Long Beach, Calif., graduating from the University of Southern California. He worked as a reporter at the Los Angeles Mirror before opening his own mortgage insurance company, Mills Insurance. Marilyn was the company’s controller.

Braly’s family owned a box at Hollywood Park and he became an owner in partnerships in the mid-’70s. In 2005, two years after he was diagnosed with cancer, he decided to go on his own using Jim Cassidy as advisor and trainer. Cassidy trained Evening Jewel and continues to train Tom’s Tribute.

Grateful that Tom survived his initial diagnosis of cancer in 2003, the Bralys donated $100,000 to Children’s Hospital of Orange County and $65,000 to its Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) programs in honor of Dr. Leonard Sender, who treated Tom.

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BIG MACHER Won the the Bing Crosby at Del Mar, July 27 Owned by Brendan Bakir’s Tachycardia Stables and Tom Mansor Trained by Richard Baltas Sire Beau Genius Dam Insight by Kris S

TOM MANSOR, a semi-retired salesman in the health care business, and Brendan Bakir, a health care consultant, found a common interest after they became friends: a deeprooted love of horses.

Bakir, a native of Chicago who now lives in Malibu, has ridden horses since he was seven and participated in dressage events. He explained his stable’s name: “Tachycardia is Latin for rapid heartbeat. That’s what you get at the racetrack.”

A lack of immediate success didn’t prevent Bakir from staying in the game. “My first horse was a disaster, about five years ago,” he said.

“My second wasn’t much better.”

Then he and Mansor claimed Big Macher (Macher is Yiddish for someone who makes things happen) for $20,000 as a maiden at Del Mar in 2013. One year and 10 days later, Big Macher won the Grade I Bing Crosby there. “We’ve paid $100,000 for some horses, and this one cost $20,000,” Bakir said.

“It tells you a lot about the game.”

The 73-year-old Mansor, who has six children and 12 grandchildren, grew up on the racetrack. “My dad was a jockey in the ‘40s,” he said. “His name was also Tom. In the ‘50s, he got to be too big to ride so we moved to Pleasanton in Northern California. It’s the oldest track in America. It was a hotbed of racing.”

Mansor moved away from racing as he built his career and raised a family. “I got married and had kids,” he said. “But I always watched it (racing). About five, six years ago, I decided to get back into the game. He (Brendan) is also in the health care business. We became friends and realized we both had an interest in horses.

We decided to put a couple dollars together and have some fun.”

Big Macher’s Bing Crosby triumph came five

MORENO Won the Whitney at Saratoga, August 2 Owned by Southern Equine Stable Trained by Eric Guillot Sire Ghostzapper Dam Danceinthemoonlight

by A.P. Indy

Michael Moreno’s entrance into Thoroughbred racing was accidental. His success since then is undeniable.

A native of Lafayette, La., Moreno moved to Houston in 2007, where he, his wife Tiffany and their daughter Gabrielle, live.

Moreno owns and operates Dynamic Industries Inc. (DII), an oil and gas company based in Houston and Louisiana, and Moreno Group LLC. Under his leadership, DII went from an off-shore hook-up company with 150 employees to a thriving organization across the world with over 2,000 employees.

Moreno was introduced to racing by a business partner who owed him money. In lieu of cash, the man gave Moreno three two-

year-old Thoroughbreds he had purchased at a sale in Ocala. Moreno sent the trio to trainer Eric Guillot, whom he had met at a housewarming party. Guillot won races with all three, then with a fourth one Moreno owned in partnership with Guillot and Brian Cain. That horse, Show Me the Stage, won 13 stakes and earned just under $680,000. “I got hooked right away having a classy filly like her,” Moreno said.

This success induced Moreno and Guillot to establish Southern Equine Stable LLC in the late 1990’s. They started out with a farm and training center, expanded to 200 acres, then added the former Parrish Hill Farm near Lexington, Ky., in 2005. The farm is now home

Big Macher and Tyler Baze after the Bing Crosby

days before Palace, who was also claimed as a maiden for $20,000 in New York, and won the first of two consecutive Grade I stakes at Saratoga.

“We got lucky,” Bakir said.

Baltas agrees: “They’ve claimed a lot of horses, but none like this one.”

to the stable’s 30 to 40 broodmares.

Southern Equine hasn’t scrimped in building a broodmare band.

Southern Equine purchased Maryfield, the winner of the inaugural Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint in 2007, who was subsequently named the first Eclipse Champion Female Sprinter, for $1.25 million at the 2007 November Fasig Tipton Mixed Sale.

At the January 2008 Keeneland Horses of All Ages Sale, it bought Irish Cherry for $2.7 million on the way to spending a saletopping $3,862,000 for 10 horses.

Southern Equine purchased Better Than Honour, the dam who produced consecutive Belmont Stakes winners Jazil (2006) and Rags to Riches (2007) in partnership with John Sikura. Deciding it wanted 100 percent of the mare, Southern Equine purchased her for a record $14 million, November 2, 2008, at the Fasig-Tipton Select Mixed Sale.

“I love the game,” Moreno said. “I felt, in order to be successful, we were going to have to play at the highest level. It’s extremely difficult to make money in this business, especially at the level where we were doing it.

She was the best mare in the world. She was a Picasso.”

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PALACE

Won the Alfred G. Vanderbilt at Saratoga, August 2, and the Forego at Saratoga, August 30 Owned by Antonino Miuccio Trained by Linda Rice Sire City Zip Dam Receivership by End Sweepll

Euro Charlie with Ryan Moore up win the Beverly D at Arlington

EURO CHARLINE

Won the Beverly D at Arlington Park, August 16 Owned by Barry Irwin’s Team Valor International Trained by Marco Botti Sire Myboycharlie Dam Eurolink Artemis by Common Grounds

ULTIMATELY, Barry Irwin, a native of Los Angeles and owner of 2011 Kentucky Derby and 2013 Dubai World Cup winner Animal Kingdom, discovered that owning and breeding Thoroughbreds was more rewarding than working in the racing media. Long before he became an internationally successful owner and industry leader, he wrote fiction before taking a staff job for The Blood-Horse in 1969. Returning to California, he wrote for and edited Thoroughbred of California and

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became the Southern California columnist for the Daily Racing Form. He also hosted horseracing radio and television shows.

At the end of the 1978 Del Mar meet, he changed direction by becoming a bloodstock agent, forming Pacific Thoroughbreds the following year. In 1987, he formed a partnership with long-time friend Jeff Siegel and two others, to create Clover Racing Stable.

That very year, Political Ambition won the Grade I Hollywood Derby. Five years later, Irwin and Siegel went on their own, establishing Team Valor. In its first year, English turf horse, My Memoirs, finished second to A.P. Indy in the Belmont Stakes.

Team Valor was a co-owner of 1989 Breeders’ Cup Turf winner Prize.

In 2007, Irwin bought out Siegel. In 21 years as partners, they won 170 stakes races, including 21 Grade I’s.

Throughout his glittering success in racing, Irwin has given back to racing. Team Valor International has partners around the globe, and they annually donate one percent of their world earnings to The Race for Education.

Team Valor International then matches that total to double the contribution. The Race for Education is a charity that offers college scholarships to the children of backstretch and farm workers. In 2006, Irwin was presented the inaugural Valedictorian Award by The Race for Education.

Irwin has been an outspoken advocate against race-day medication in North America and also a long-time friend of horse rescues.

EVEN before he became a legend as a Thoroughbred owner – claiming Palace for $20,000 and watching him become a millionaire and two-time Grade I stakes winner under the astute handling of trainer Linda Rice – 82-year-old Antonino Miuccio was a legend as a baker in Albany, N.Y., and a long way from his native Sicily. “I was a baker in Italy,” he said in a phone interview.

“I came to the U.S. and met my wife.”

Miuccio was smart enough to bring his recipes from Italy with him in 1954, and after settling in Albany, just a half hour south of Saratoga Race Course, he opened Nino’s Bakery, which is still doing well long after he sold it in the 1990s. He then was the baker at Aromi d’Italia in Guilderland, just outside of Albany. His recipes for focaccia, an Italian flat bread, and pizza are still popular, long after he retired.

Previously owning horses briefly, he was out of racing for some years. “Two years ago, he showed up at my barn one morning and introduced himself,” Rice said. “He said hadn’t owned horses for 20 years.”

Their decision to claim Palace has certainly worked out well. “He’s a very sharp guy,” Rice said. “He really gives me the liberty to do my job. We took several breaks with Palace. He ran a couple subpar races, and we turned him out for a couple of months. We’ve done that with Palace several times. He’s always great about that.”

He’s obviously delighted that he returned to racing. “It gets inside you,” he said. “You’ve got to be lucky. When he does well, you feel good—for the people involved, too. You never know from today to tomorrow.”

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HARDEST CORE Won the Arlington Million at Arlington Park, August 16 Owned by Andrew Bentley Stables Trained by Edward Graham Sire Hard Spun Dam Lillybuster by Housebuster

HORSERACING provided a thrill Andrew Bentley, who has Down’s Syndrome, could never have imagined. His dad, Gregory, purchased Hardest Core for $210,000 for his son’s 30th birthday at the November 2013 Keeneland Mixed Sale, hoping the threeyear-old gelding, who had finished second in a $100,000 grass stakes at Saratoga, might prosper in steeplechase racing, where

Gregory has had his most success as an owner in Unionville, Pa. They’ll have to wait to find out. Hardest Core isn’t going to be converted to a jumper any time soon. The 2014 Arlington Million was a “Win and You’re In,” Breeders’ Cup stakes, meaning

Hardest Core automatically gets into the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita. Andrew said he’ll be able to handle that: “I only get excited,” he said. “Never nervous.”

His dad said, “I’m just proud of Andrew’s continued interest in racing. Andrew is our biggest racing fan. When he looks through the condition book, he can spot a race; and when he looks through the program, he can spot a winner in many cases. It’s just another example of believing in people and what they can accomplish, given the chance.”

Hardest Core won the Arlington Million by a length. And there in the winner’s circle afterwards, was Andrew Bentley receiving the winning trophy from former Chicago Bears Head Coach Mike Ditka. The smile on Andrew’s face told you all you needed to know about that moment.

PERSONAL DIARY

Won the Del Mar Oaks at Del Mar, August 16 Owned by G. Watts Humphrey Jr. and Ian Banwell’s St. George Farm Racing Trained by Victoria Oliver Sire City Zip Dam Latest Scoop by Tiznow

PERSONAL DIARY’S victory in the Del Mar Oaks was a celebration of family. Trainer Victoria Oliver is co-owner and co-breeder G. Watts Humphrey Jr.’s daughter.

And Humphrey, a co-owner of the St. Louis Cardinals, knows how to celebrate. In October 2011, the day after his Cardinals won the World Series, Humphrey became the leading owner at the Keeneland meet, quite a rare double.

Humphrey’s paternal grandfather, George M. Humphrey, served as President Eisenhower’s Secretary of the Treasury from 1953-1957 and was a prominent Thoroughbred owner.

Humphrey, a 70-year-old native of Cleveland, Ohio, is the president of a private investment company and several manufacturing companies in the Pittsburgh area.

Personal Diary comfortably takes the Del Mar Oaks

Humphrey’s horses are raised at his 1,000acre Shawnee Farm near Harrodsb urg, Ky., 30 miles southwest of Lexington.

Humphrey and his partner, Ian Banwell, who races in the name of St. George Farm Racing, have had many horses together including Forest Legend, who finished fourth in the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.

Born in Kampala, Uganda, the 51-year-old Banwell lived in India, England, and Kentucky growing up. His father was a British physician.

Banwell became interested in Thoroughbreds through veterinarian Bryan Boone, a life-long

friend in Kentucky. Banwell worked for Bankers Trust, Chemical Bank in New York, then for Barclays Bank in Hong Kong before founding the Round Table Investment Management Company based in Charlotte, N.C. He is now the company’s CEO and Chief Investment Officer. In 1998, he joined Bank of America in 1998 and was named its Chief Iinvestment Officer two years later.

In 2006, Banwell began 100-acre St. George Farm in Charlotte. “St. George is the patron saint of England as well as horses and horsemen,” Banwell said.

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BIG JOHN B Won the Del Mar Handicap, August 22 Owned by Michael House Trained by Phil D’Amato Sire Hard Spun Dam Baldomera by Doneraile Court

A VETERAN of the Korean War, Michael House was born in Lincoln, Neb., in 1938, and raised in Los Angeles. After attending junior college in Southern California he became a carpenter. When he decided to start his own company, dealing with real estate

development and property management, he settled in the San Diego area, where he and his wife Dawn now live.

The oldest of their eight children helped get

them into horse racing in 1971. When their kids began riding and showing Appaloosas, the Houses bought several, including Blowing Easy, who won the first $100,000 Appaloosa stakes in California.

When racing opportunities for Appaloosas declined dramatically, House began focusing on Thoroughbreds, buying many horses in Europe and racing them in the U.S. Last April, House claimed Big John B for $50,000.

With a goal of establishing a broodmare band, he purchased a 163-acre farm in Versailles, Ky., previously owned in partnership by actor William Shatner of Star Trek fame. The Houses named their property Chestnut Farm, and it’s where they keep their broodmares now.

V.E. DAY

V.E. Day battles to the line in the Travers

Won the Travers at Saratoga, August 23 Owned by Magalen O. Bryant Trained by Jimmy Jerkens Sire English Channel Dam California Sunset

by Deputy Minister

MAGALEN O. BRYANT, the respected longtime steeplechase owner, has continued to operate the family stable of her father, George Ohrstrom Sr. and her late brother George Ohrstrom Jr. with 120 horses in the United States and 150 in France. She has also owned

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horses in partnership with Centennial Farms, “On many horses,” said Cynthia Curtis, Bryant’s racing manager in the U.S. Curtis picked out V.E. Day at the Ocala Breeders’ March Two-Year-Olds-in-Training Sale last year. Bryant purchased him for $135,000.

Bryant has been a prominent environmentalist in Loudon and Fauquier Counties, west of Washington, D.C. She owns Locust Hill Farm in Middleburg, Va., and was one of the first property owners in that area to place her land in a conservation trust.

Chairperson of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Bryant received the Land Trust of

Virginia’s Conservationist of the Year Award in 2011. That same year, her home-bred Ptarmigan was the National Steeplechase Association’s Filly and Mare Champion.

Bryant let Curtis do all the talking at the Travers’ post-race press conference. Later, in the Trustees Room, she wept watching the replay of V.E. Day’s historic victory. Someone mentioned that Art Sherman was 77 when his best horse, California Chrome, came along. “Heck, that’s a baby,” she told Steve Haskin of The Blood-Horse.

“I’m 85 and I don’t give a damn anymore what anybody thinks. I still have lots to do. And today was the first goal.”

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THE BIG BEAST

Itsmyluckyday gains the upper hand in the Woodward

ITSMYLUCKYDAY

Won the Woodward at Saratoga, August 30 Owned by Trilogy Stable and Laurie Plesa Trained by Eddie Plesa Jr Sire Lawyer Ron Dam Viva La Slew by Doneraile Court

LAURIE PLESA owns Itsmyluckyday, who won the Grade 3 Holy Bull Stakes and finished second in the Preakness last year and won the Grade 3 Salvator Mile this year, with Trilogy Stable, composed of long-time owners David and Olga Melin and Marion Montanari.

Marion Montanari and her family have been breeding and racing Thoroughbreds for more than three decades. Marion’s late husband, Adelio “Monty” Montanari, passed away in 2001. An educator and advocate for severely disturbed and emotionally troubled children in South Florida, he penned two books on the subject, “Demon in My View” and “The Montanari Book.” The couple founded the non-profit Troubled Children’s

Foundation in the early 1970s.

They also enjoyed art, and they raised nearly a million dollars for Florida artists and the fine arts through their foundation, the Miami Salon Group. Marion also founded the Marion Cultural Alliance Salon in Marion County. Monty loved opera, and he was the host and interpreter for legendary singer Luciano Pavarotti when he visited Miami.

The Montanaris got involved with Thoroughbreds after they moved from the Miami area to Ocala in 1980. In 1990, they purchased a 110-acre farm, where the family keeps most of their broodmares. They also have mares at Idle Hour Farm in Kentucky.

David Melin, a native of the Bronx, N.Y., served in the U.S. Navy, then graduated from Long Island University. After settling in Florida, he founded Tech Aerofoam Products, a foam manufacturer and distributor, and became a distributor of building materials.

The company expanded through South Florida and Puerto Rico, and went public in 1962. He sold the company in 1976 and retired in 2000.

He shared Monty Montanari’s loved of opera and is a long-time member of the board of the Florida Grand Opera. He and Olga were named Crown Jewels of Florida Grand Opera and have donated to numerous organizations including Barry University, the University of Miami Frost School of Music, the Miami Salon Group, the Miami City Ballet, the New World Symphony, the Chopin Foundation of the United States and the Sun Valley Symphony.

David and Olga have three daughters, one son, five grandchildren and two greatgrandchildren. They have homes in Palm Beach and Sunny Isles Beach in Florida and in Ketchum, Id.

Won the King’s Bishop at Saratoga, August 23 Owned by Alex and JoAnn Lieblong Trained by Tony Dutrow Sire Yes It’s True Dam VVS Flawless by Deputy Minister

ALEX LIEBLONG, 63, is a native of Conway, Ark; JoAnn was born in Texas.

He attended the University of Central Arkansas before being drafted into the U.S. Army. “Thank God, because I did not like college,” he said.

Earlier, he participated in rodeos as a calf roper and clown. “Youth makes you do dumb things.” However, he was smart enough to start and operate Lieblong and Associates, an investment firm in Little Rock, Ark. He also has bank, gas and oil holdings.

At one time, he raised cattle at his 80acre farm in Conway but he and JoAnn both found Thoroughbreds much more interesting. They bought their first horses in partnership with Patricia and Gus “Buddy” Blass in the early ‘90s. Alex loves hanging around the barn. “Just like an oil well looks best just before you drill it, horses seem to look better in the morning before they race,” he said.

But Alex and JoAnn have their priorities. They used their private plane to fly to the 2009 Breeders’ Cup so they wouldn’t miss “Grandparents Day” at their grandchildren’s school in Arkansas. Their grandkids live next door and spend a lot of time at their farm.

Though they adore Saratoga, Arkansas is where they live and love to race. Alex is a member of the Arkansas Racing Commission and JoAnn volunteers with the Arkansas division of the Racetrack Chaplaincy of America.

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RACING

SUNSET GLOW

Condo Commando has plenty in hand to win the Spinaway

CONDO COMMANDO

Won the Del Mar Debutante at Del Mar, August 30 Owned by Ten Broeck Farm Trained by Wesley Ward Sire Exchange Rate Dam Perfectforthepart

by Dynaformer

DAVID MOWAT, who operates under Ten Broeck Farm, is a native of Seattle, Wa., graduating from the University of Washington with a degree in civil engineering. He and his son Mark, now a partner, own and operate David A. Mowat Company, a highway and bridge construction business.

David bought a yearling several decades ago and has been involved in Thoroughbred racing ever since. “The yearling probably wasn’t much of a horse, but I got interested and I stuck with it,” he said. “For me, breeding made the most sense, and I had to pay attention and make it a business to make it work.”

His first farm was Teanaway Ranch in western Washington. He moved his horses to Kentucky in 1989 when he bought the 220acre Fawn Leap Farm. He sold that farm to John Oxley and purchased 130-acre Ten Broeck Farm in Midway, Ky., in the mid-‘90s.

Though he sold the farm in July 2003, he continues to race under the name of Ten Broeck Farm.

COMPETITIVE EDGE

Won the the Spinaway at Saratoga, August 31 Owned by Michael Dubb, Michael Caruso’s Bethlehem Stables and the Elkstone Group Trained by Rudy Rodriguez Sire Tiz Wonderful Dam Yearly Report by General Meeting

THE Elkstone Group is the name used by Delaware attorney Stuart Grant, who owns the Camden Training Center in South Carolina. The 360-acre facility opened in 1935.

“I’ve always loved horses,” he said.

“When I grew up in Brooklyn, my grandfather took me to Prospect Park. I couldn’t get on any of the horses, so my grandfather let me get on him and he ran around with me on him.”

Of his partnership with Michael Dubb and Michael Caruso, Grant said “I am a partner to two great human beings. That’s what makes it a great partnership.”

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Won the Hopeful at Saratoga, September 1 Owned by Nancy Favreau, Kathy Psoinos, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith and Susan Magnier Trained by Todd Pletcher Sire Super Saver Dam Magdalena’s Chase

by Cape Town

COMPETITIVE EDGE is the second horse owned by partners Nancy Favreau and Kathy Psoinos, who purchased him for $750,000 at a Fasig-Tipton Florida Two-Year-Olds-inTraining Sale. After Competitive Edge won his maiden debut at Saratoga by 10 ¾ lengths, Tabor, Smith and Magnier bought a percentage of the colt.

Nancy and Kathy live together in Andover, Mass. Both are retired from careers in property management. Nancy, 51, has loved horses for

a long time. “My father got me involved as a kid,” Nancy said in a phone interview October 6. “We used to go to Suffolk Downs and Rockingham Park. I won my first bet. I was hooked. I loved it. It was a great time. It was fun.”

Kathy, 56, got involved in racing through Nancy. “I’ve been going to the racetrack for years,” she said.

They discussed the possibility of buying a Thoroughbred for years. When they both retired, they took the plunge. “We talked about it for a long time, and we decided to do it,” Nancy said. “It was the right time.”

They still can’t believe Competitive Edge’s dazzling debut at Saratoga. They were there with a lot of friends. “It was one of the most exciting things that ever happened to me,” Kathy said. Nancy added, “That was awesome. That was our first win. He is a beauty.”

Competitive Edge then won the Grade I Hopeful Stakes by 5 ¾ lengths at Saratoga.

“We’re very excited,” Nancy said after the race. “Everything’s wonderful.”

But just two weeks later, they weren’t.

Competitive Edge was taken out of training when X-rays revealed a hairline fracture of his left fore-leg. He’s expected to return to training in time to participate in next year’s Triple Crown. “We’re just keeping our fingers crossed,” Nancy said.

Nancy and Kathy are in racing for the long haul. “We bought two more yearlings last month,” Nancy said. “One’s a Street Cry, and one is a Harlan’s Holiday.”

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WINNING OWNERS – JULY-SEPTEMBER 2014 Sunset Glow and Victor Espinoza after the Del Mar Debutante

TRADE STORM

SHEIKHZAYEDROAD Won the Northern Dancer at Woodbine, September 14 Owned by Rabbah Bloodstock Ltd. Lessee Trained by David Simcock Sire Dubawi Dam Royal Secrets by Highest Honor

RABBAH Bloodstock was founded in 2006

by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, to manage and breed horses for his friends and business associates. One of Rabbah Bloodstock’s principal owners, Mohammed Jaber, owns Sheikhzayedroad.

Rabbah Bloodstock’s breeding operation is at Gainsborough Stud and Aston Upthorpe Stud in England. Its racing operation is also in England at Newmarket, where it is managed by former jockey Bruce Raymond.

Won the Woodbine Mile at Woodbine, September 14 Owned by Qatar Racing Ltd Trained by David Simcock Sire Trade Fair Dam Frisson by Slip Anchor

QATAR Racing Ltd was formed in 2011 for Sheikh Fahad al Thani, Sheikh Hamad al Thani and Sheikh Suhaim al Thani of the Qatar Royal Family.

Sheikh Fahad, the first cousin to the Emir of Qatar, is the son of Sheikh Abdullah al Thani, Qatar’s Prime Minister from 1996 through 2007. Sheikh Fahad grew up around Arabian horses. His father started Umm Qarn with Arabians in the early ‘90s before the business expanded to include Thoroughbreds.

Sheikh Fahad studied at David Game College in Notting Hill in London before completing a degree in business administration at the Geneva-based Europa University.

Sheikh Fahad is a director of Qatar Investments & Projects Development Holding (QIPCO), one of the world’s leading private investment companies, and the sponsor of the QIPCO British Champions Series as an official partner of Ascot Racecourse.

He oversees the running of the racing and bloodstock operations, Qatar Racing Ltd. and Qatar Bloodstock Ltd., both subsidiaries of QIPCO Holding, as well as managing Pearl Bloodstock. Collectively, the enterprises have more than 200 horses racing in seven different countries, and own three stallions and 80 broodmares.

Qatar Bloodstock Ltd. owns the stallions standing at Tweenhills Farm & Stud in England, as well as the mares to support them.

Last April, Sheikh Fahad, Qatar Racing Ltd Racing and Bloodstock Manager David Redvers and five of the six trainers – Andrew Balding, Robert Cowell, Richard Hannon, David Simcock and Olly Stephens – entrusted with their horses ran in the Virgin Money London Marathon and raised £200,000 for the Racing Welfare charity.

“I am very proud of what our whole team achieved and the amount raised for Racing Welfare,” Sheikh Fahad said afterwards.

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RACING

ANGELA RENEE

Won the Chandelier at Del Mar, September 27 Owned by Siena Farm Trained by Todd Pletcher Sire Bernardini Dam Pilfer by Deputy Minister

SIENA Farm, a 220-acre spread in the Bluegrass near Paris, Ky., was founded by Anthony Manganaro, David Pope and Ignacio Patino.

Anthony Manganaro, now the chairman and co-owner of Siena Farm, graduated from Northeastern University in Boston with an engineering degree and was awarded an Angela Renee, with Rafael Bejarano up, takes the Chandelier at Del Mar

64 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 34

Honorary Doctor of Public Service Degree. He now sits on the University’s Board of Trustees and is one of Northeastern’s most generous benefactors. He has endowed scholarships and is underwriting cancer research based on a novel hypothesis he has developed.

Manganaro also established the Envisioning Annapolis Foundation to assist residents of that Maryland city plan for its future.

A man with many talents, Manganaro built Siena Corp., a commercial real estate business in the Baltimore-Washington D.C. area; ezStorage Corp., one of the nation’s largest regional self-storage companies; and Boston Medical Corp., the nation’s leading supplier of high-quality, non-powder surgical gloves and disposable nylon underwear.

David Pope, Siena Farm’s president and coowner, received a Bachelor of Science Degree in accounting at the University of Akron. He was the corporate manager of The Kiplinger Washington Editors, a financial advising company in Washington, D.C., before moving to Lexington, Ky. In 1996, he became the controller of Brereton and Libby Jones’ Airdrie Stud in Midway, Ky. Ignacio “Nacho” Patino, Siena’s general manager and co-owner, was born in Guanajuanto, Mexico, and moved to the United States when he was 16. He moved to

Kentucky in 1985, and became a groom. That got him into the racing industry and he prospered. He began his own boarding and sales prep business, then spent 6 ½ years at Siena Farm’s Kentucky neighbor, Stonerside Farm. He joined Siena Farm in 2008 as farm manager and was promoted to general manager in less than a year. He is an avid soccer fan.

When Siena Farm was being developed, Angie Roe, a 37-year-old single mother with two daughters, and Angie’s mom, Sue, were hired to clean and organize the farm’s office and Manganaro’s home on the property. “A year into it, Angie passed away, losing her battle with cancer,” Pope told Tracy Gantz of The Blood-Horse. “Anthony approached the family and said that we cared a lot about Angie and we wanted to honor her by naming a horse after her.”

The family was thrilled and visited the farm to see the yearling Siena named Angela Renee before she was shipped to Florida to be broken. They also took photos with the filly.

When the family left, they were given a printout of the filly’s pedigree. “About an hour and a half passed and the phone rang,” Pope said. “It was Sue and she was crying.”

She had good reason. Angela Renee was foaled on Angie Roe’s birthday, March 12.

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WINNING OWNERS – JULY-SEPTEMBER 2014 GRADE ONE WINNERS – JULY-SEPTEMBER 2014 Racecourse

Race

Date

Horse

Sire

Owner

Trainer

Belmont Park

Belmont Derby Invitational

07/05/2014 Minorette

Monmouth Park

United Nations S (BC)

07/06/2014 Main Sequence

Delaware Park

Delaware H’cap

07/12/2014 Belle Gallantey

After Market

Dubb, Michael, Bethlehem Stables LLC and Aisquith,

Web only/ print

Pulpit

Magnier, Mrs. John, Tabor, Michael and Smith, Derrick

Chad C. Brown

W

Aldebaran

Flaxman Holdings, Ltd.

Graham Motion

P

Gary

Ruby Rodriguez

P P

Saratoga

Diana S

07/19/2014 Somali Lemonade

Lemon Drop Kid

Caroline Forgason

Michael Matz

Del Mar

Eddie Read St

07/20/2014 Tom’s Tribute

Lion Heart

Braly Family Trust

James Cassidy

P

Saratoga

Coaching Club American Oaks

07/20/2014 Stopchargingmaria

Tale of the Cat

Repole Stable

Todd Pletcher

P

Del Mar

Bing Crosby S (BC)

07/27/2014 Big Macher

Beau Genius

Tachycardia Stables & Tom Mansor

Richard Baltas

P

Monmouth Park

Haskell Inv (BC)

07/27/2014 Bayern

Offlee Wild

Kaleem Shah, Inc.

Bob Baffert

W

Del Mar

Clement L. Hirsch S (BC)

08/02/2014 Iotapa

Afleet Alex

Hronis Racing LLC

John Sadler

W

Saratoga

Alfred G. Vanderbilt H’cap

08/02/2014 Palace

City Zip

Antonino Miuccio

Linda Rice

P

Saratoga

Test S

080/2/2014 Sweet Reason

Street Sense

Treadway Racing Stable

Leah Gyarmati

W

Saratoga

Whitney Inv. H’cap (BC)

08/02/2014 Moreno

Ghostzapper

Southern Equine Stables LLC

Eric Guillot

P

Arlington Park

Arlington Million S (BC)

08/16/2014 Hardest Core

Hard Spun

Andrew Bentley Stables, LLC

Edward Graham

P

Arlington Park

Beverley D. S (BC)

08/16/2014 Euro Charline

Myboycharlie

Team Valor International

Marco Botti

P

Aidan O’Brien

W

Arlington Park

Secretariat S

08/16/2014 Adelaide

Galileo

Magnier, Mrs John; Smith, Derrick; Tabor, Michael B.

Del Mar

Del Mar Oaks

08/16/2014 Personal Diary

City Zip

Humphrey, Jr., G. Watts and St. George Farm Racing LLC

Victoria Oliver

P

Saratoga

Alabama S

08/16/2014 Stopchargingmaria

Tale of the Cat

Repole Stable

Todd Pletcher

P

Saratoga

Sword Dancer Inv. H’cap

08/17/2014 Main Sequence

Aldebaran

Flaxman Holdings, Ltd.

Graham Motion

P

Saratoga

Personal Ensign (BC)

08/22/2014 Close Hatches

First Defence

Juddmonte Farms, Inc.

William Mott

W

Del Mar

Del Mar H’cap (BC)

08/23/2014 Big John B

Hard Spun

Michael House

Philip D’Amato

P

Saratoga

Ballerina S (BC)

08/23/2014 Artemis Agrotera

Roman Ruler

Broman, Sr., Chester and Mary

Michael Hushion

W

Saratoga

King’s Bishop S

08/23/2014 The Big Beast

Yes It’s True

Alex & JoAnn Lieblong

Tony Dutrow

P

Saratoga

Travers S

08/23/2014 V. E. Day

English Channel

Magalen O Bryant

Jimmy Jerkens

P

Del Mar

Pacific Classic (BC)

08/24/2014 Shared Belief

Candy Ride

Jungle Racing LLC, KMN Racing LLC, Hollendorfer, Litt, Solis II and Todaro

Jerry Hollendorfer

W

Del Mar

Del Mar Debutante S

08/30/2014 Sunset Glow

Exchange Rate

Ten Broeck Farm Inc

Wesley Ward

P

Saratoga

Forego S (BC)

08/30/2014 Palace

City Zip

Antonino Miuccio

Linda Rice

P

Saratoga

Woodward S

08/30/2014 Itsmyluckyday

Lawyer Ron

Trilogy Stable & Laurie Plesa

Eddie Plesa Jnr

P

Saratoga

Spinaway S

08/31/2014 Condo Commando

Tiz Wonderful

Michael Dubb

Rudy Rodriguez

P

Saratoga

Hopeful S

01/09/2014 Competitive Edge

Super Saver

Nancy Favreau, Kathy Psoinos, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith and Susan Magnier

Todd Pletcher

P

Del Mar

Del Mar Futurity

3/9/2014

Pioneerof the Nile

Zayat Stables

Bob Baffert

W

Woodbine

Northern Dancer Turf S

09/14/2014 Sheikhzayedroad

Dubawi

Rabbah Bloodstock LLC, Lessee

David Simcock

P

Woodbine

Ricoh Woodbine Mile S (BC)

09/14/2014 Trade Storm

Trade Fair

Qatar Racing Ltd

David Simcock

P

Parx Racing

Cotillion S

09/20/2014 Untapable

Tapit

Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC

Steven Asmussen

W

Belmont Park

Beldame S

09/27/2014 Belle Gallantey

After Market

Dubb, Michael, Bethlehem Stables LLC and Aisquith, Gary

Rudy Rodriguez

P

American Pharoah

Belmont Park

Flower Bowl S (BC)

09/27/2014 Stephanie’s Kitten

Kitten’s Joy

Ramsey, Kenneth L. and Sarah K.

Chad C Brown

W

Belmont Park

Jockey Club Gold Cup (BC)

09/27/2014 Tonalist

Tapit

Robert S. Evans

Christophe Clement

W

Belmont Park

Joe Hirsch Turf Classic (BC)

09/27/2014 Main Sequence

Aldebaran

Flaxman Holdings, Ltd.

Graham Motion

P

Alfredo Velazquez

W

Belmont Park

Vosburgh S (BC)

09/27/2014 Private Zone

Macho Uno

Good Friends Stable, LLC

Santa Anita Park

Awesome Again S (BC)

09/27/2014 Shared Belief

Candy Ride

Jungle Racing LLC, KMN Racing LLC, Hollendorfer, Litt, Solis II and Todaro

Jerry Hollendorfer

W

Santa Anita Park

Chandelier S (BC)

09/27/2014 Angela Renee

Bernardini

Siena Farm

Todd Pletcher

P

Santa Anita Park

FrontRunner S (BC)

09/27/2014 American Pharoah

Pioneerof the Nile

Zayat Stables

Bob Baffert

W

Santa Anita Park

Rodeo Drive S (BC)

09/27/2014 Emollient

Empire Maker

Juddmonte Farms, Inc

William Mott

W

Santa Anita Park

Zenyatta S (BC)

09/27/2014 Beholder

Henny Hughes

Spendthrift Farm, LLC

Richard Mandella

W

Races highlighted in yellow represent winning owners profiled in the previous issue of North American Trainer, and can be accessed online at trainermagazine.com/winners

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VETERINARY

CARDIAC RHYTHM New technology brings new insights

When a horse runs badly, lameness or respiratory disease tends to immediately spring to mind, and indeed these are the most common causes – in that order. The heart comes in third, albeit quite a way behind these other body systems. If sudden death occurs in an equine athlete, a heart problem is usually the first thing that’s suspected. A new study, published in The Equine Veterinary Journal, provides significant insights on the cardiac rhythm abnormalities that can develop during and after racing in Standardbreds.

WORDS: JOAnn SlAck, neW BOltOn centRe, UniveRSity Of PennSylvAniA, PROfeSSOR celiA M MARR, eDitOR, eqUine veteRinARy JOURnAl, neWMARket, SUffOlk, Uk PHOtOS: SHUtteRStOck, PROfeSSOR celiA M MARR

T

HE horse’s heart is an astounding organ, capable of pumping around 1 liter of blood with every heartbeat, and with the ability to accelerate from a resting heart rate of around 30–40 beats per minute, to around 230 bpm at maximal exercise. This allows the horse to pump over 250 liters of blood every minute and in doing so, it supplies the oxygen it

The conventional way to perform an ECG involves clips on the skin attached with leads to a rather bulky unit. Although, smaller onboard ECGs have been available for some time, many vets only had access to this sort of unit. In future, more will use the hand-held clip-less devices that are more practical for horses

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CARDIAC RHYTHM

needs to fuel its muscles when galloping. Elvis Presley sang “Rhythm is something you either have or don't have, but when you have it, you have it all over.” But when it comes to the equine heart, was he right?

The equine ECG The heart is a pump that is powered by spontaneous electrical activity. The electrical activity is what determines the heart’s rhythm, making it either regular or irregular, slow or fast. The main tool that is used to document cardiac rhythm is the electrocardiograph (ECG). The ECG is essentially a roadmap showing how the electrical activity – which coordinates cardiac contraction – spreads from its starting point in the pacemaker through the chambers of the heart.

If the rhythm is disrupted, the ECG

pinpoints exactly where within the heart chambers the disruption originates. Until fairly recently, routinely recording an ECG required attaching electrodes to the horse’s skin, which in turn the electrodes were attached to the recording unit by leads or wires.

Although it has been possible to record ECGs during exercise for several decades, using ECG units with integral digital recorders or those that can transmit to a distant monitor by radio, inevitably, this sort of recording equipment has limited availability. ECGs have been recorded in Standardbreds during race conditions in a study performed by Dr Physick-Sheard in Canada, and some surprising results emerged.

It was found that over 18% of these horses had cardiac rhythm irregularities, particularly

as the heart slowed immediately after intense exercise. Rhythm irregularity was more common in horses that broke stride or suffered interference, raising the possibility that these are linked to stressful circumstances.

For human athletes, screening programs have been developed in an effort to identify pre-existing cardiovascular abnormalities that have the potential to cause sudden death.

These programs have been developed based on prevalence and risk factors for various cardiac arrhythmias.

In the horse, guidelines for screening for arrhythmias prior to racing are essentially non-existent, and the likely effects of various cardiac arrhythmias on athletic performance or risk of sudden death is largely based on expert opinion rather than evidence.

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VETERINARY

Using a hand-held clip-less device, an ECG can be recorded simply by placing the device over the heart on the chest wall

Equine Veterinary Journal. The study was supported by Pennsylvania Harness Horsemen’s Association at Pocono Downs and Chester Downs and the Meadows Standardbred Owners Association.

Dr. JoAnn Slack, coordinator of the research team, recorded ECGs using clip-less, handheld devices before and after racing.

The study was performed over a 12-week period and involved Standardbred horses entered to race at a five eighth-mile racetrack where all races are 1 mile long. All horses entered to race on data collection days were enrolled in the study. Pre-race ECGs were obtained prior to horses warming up, and post-race ECGs were obtained as soon as the horse returned to the paddock area following the race.

The ECGs were obtained simply by placing the recorder over the heart just behind the triceps muscle, usually on the left side but sometimes, if the horse was uncooperative, the right. The total study population comprised 1,816 horses; 453 trotters and 1,363 pacers.

Some horses raced several times during the study, and in total Dr. Slack’s team recorded 4,335 pre-race ECGs and 4,322 post-race ECGs—quite a considerable effort, particularly as Dr. Slack analyzed every one personally.

Premature depolarizations

The ECG maps the timing of cardiac events, this horse has a ventricular premature depolarisation which can be identified because the interval between it and the other complexes is shorter and they have a slightly different shape

With atrial fibrillation, the intervals between each complex are different, giving a chaotic heart rhythm. In this example, which is from a horse that is resting, you can also see that there are continuous small deflections between the main complexes. These continuous deflection reflect the random electrical activity in the atria whereas the large complexes indicate activity in the ventricles, keeping the heart pumping albeit less efficiently

New ECG technology Vets on the racetracks have rarely carried traditional bulky ECG equipment. As a result, when a cardiac arrhythmia was suspected based on listening to the heart after racing, it was rarely possible to document this or determine the exact nature. The usual outcome was that the horse returned home with an unsatisfactory explanation of why it might have run badly and uncertainty about what the future might bring. But, with recent

68 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 34

technological advances, this situation looks set to change quite rapidly.

It is now possible to attach a device to a mobile phone that can very effectively record an ECG without the need for leads, clips or electrodes.

The Pennyslvania Standardbred study Researchers based at the New Bolton Center, University of Pennsylvania have recently published the results of a large-scale study in

The study showed a wide range of rhythm abnormalities both before and after racing. By comparing several ECGs from the sub-group of horses that ran and were recorded several times, it was clear that these events did not occur consistently. Of most interest were the rhythm disturbances that are currently considered to be clinically important. The simplest form of rhythm disturbance is premature beats, or more correctly, depolarizations.

These can originate in the ventricles (the main pumping chambers) or within the atria – the two chambers that sit at the top of the heart and contribute to its filling. Individual ventricular depolarizations were common and were found post-race in one in every 361 race starts.

Individual depolarizations are fairly unlikely to affect the horse because they have minimal impact on the overall rhythm and cardiac output. Arrhythmias that disrupt the heart rhythm for several seconds or minutes are of more concern. Two main forms of this category were found in the Pennsylvania Standardbred Study: atrial fibrillation, occurring in one in 720 race starts and ventricular tachycardia occurring in one in 2,161 race starts.

Atrial fibrillation With atrial fibrillation, the coordinated electrical activity within the atria (filling chambers) is completely lost. In its place, random wavelets of depolarization spread around the atria continuously, causing them

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ISSUE 34 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com 69

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VETERINARY

This ECG was recorded immediately after racing from a horse that ran badly and shows rapid atrial fibrillation, with a very irregular heart rhythm. At fast heart rates like this, an ECG is needed to characterize the precise nature of the arrhythmia

This horse has ventricular tachycardia - a highly concerning arrhythmia because it can lead to sudden death. Fortunately in this individual, it self-corrected with rest

ECG – WHAT IT DOES The ECG is a roadmap of how electrical impulses travel through the heart. The atria are the filling chambers. The normal heart beat starts in the SA node, it passes across the right (RA) and left (LA) atria, to the AV node. There is a short delay then the impulse travels down into the pumping chambers, the right (RV) and left (LV) ventricles, through a network of specialized fibers. A beat originating in the sinus (the SA node), has a specific pattern of a p formed of a double peak, followed by the qrs and t complex. An SVPD is an abnormal impulse that starts in the atria and the p wave has a different shape. A VPD is an abnormal impulse that starts in the ventricles and the qrs-t have a different shape. If the abnormal impulses are starting at several sites, the qrs will have several shapes. If there are multiple abnormal impulses in succession, this is called tachycardia.

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to wobble rather than contract. The ventricles continue to pump, but because they are no longer filled efficiently, the overall cardiac output is reduced. This results in poor delivery of blood and oxygen to exercising muscles and therefore poor performance.

Atrial fibrillation has often been recognized in racehorses finishing badly, but this is the first study to systematically document its prevalence in such a large group of horses where every horse in the race was examined.

Five of the six horses that had atrial fibrillation were amongst the group of 254 horses that did not finish, were distanced or finished greater than five seconds behind the winner, giving a prevalence of 2.0%. But, one horse with atrial fibrillation paced the best mile of his career and placed second in the race, likely developing the arrhythmia at the end of or immediately after the race.

Ventricular tachycardia Two horses had ventricular tachycardia identified after racing, one of which required emergency treatment. Both horses had normal heart rhythms prior to racing. Neither of these two individuals showed any signs of poor performance and most likely developed the arrhythmias at the end of the race or immediately afterwards. One horse had normal post-race behavior, and one horse was mildly agitated and slow to cool down.

Ventricular tachycardia is a highly concerning arrhythmia because it can lead to sudden death.

It is also very easy to mistake this arrhythmia for just a fast heart rate or even atrial fibrillation if only a stethoscope is used

and not an ECG. Having a handheld ECG available at the track can potentially facilitate a life-saving intervention.

Risk factors Dr. Slack examined various risk factors that might possibly be linked to cardiac arrhythmias. Increasing age was a significant risk factor for post-race arrhythmia and for supraventricular premature depolarizations.

Furosemide (LasixÂŽ) was administered in 2,588 out of 4,335 race starts (60%).

However, there was no association between post-race arrhythmia and furosemide administration. Similarly, sex, gait and ambient temperature did not appear to have any link.

What can a trainer take from this study?

Don’t forget that the heart can be a cause for poor performance. Horses that perform poorly should have their heart listened to with a stethoscope, ideally in that early post-race period. Any irregularities in the heart rhythm or heart rates higher than expected (even if the rhythm is regular) should prompt an ECG evaluation.

What might the future bring?

We are still a long way behind human sports medicine where screening for hidden cardiac risk is widespread. But this study has provided a large and very useful database on which to build. There is a need to document the prevalence and risk factors for cardiac arrhythmias in other forms of racing.

The Pennsylvania team has shown how this can be done using simple and accessible technology. n

RACEHORSE BOOK NA TRAINER ISSUE 34_Jerkins feature.qxd 23/10/2014 01:49 Page 2

BOOK REVIEW

Valuable veterinary information at your fingertips The Thoroughbred racing industry is now more than ever a global affair, with technology, transport and communication links having a profound effect on racing and breeding activities, as well as the veterinary advances that support them. In his new book, The Racehorse: A Veterinary Manual, by leading equine veterinary practitioner, Pieter H L Ramzan, BVSc(Sydney), MRCVS provides a practical and objective source of veterinary information, pertinent to the Thoroughbred racehorse, that is accessible not only to the racehorse clinician but also others within the industry, who will find it a useful, if not indispensable, reference work.

W

WORDS: HARRIET SCOTT

HILE there are several excellent texts available on equine orthopaedics and sports medicine, information relating to the racehorse is fragmented and often contradictory, failing to take into account the practicalities of management peculiar to the racing industry.

Ramzan has consciously created a text based more on evidence than anecdote.

However, as much of what the equine clinician does is derived empirically, there is often no scientifically validated ‘best way’ to treat conditions.

Here, rather than simply transcribe the received wisdoms of Newmarket racing practice, every effort has been made to build a reference manual from a scientific base by reviewing not just the published equine and human sports medicine literature but also incorporating shared experience accumulated over generations in equine veterinary practice.

As far as possible the text has been made relevant to all major racing jurisdictions, not just the United Kingdom and Europe.

This work draws together those conditions that might reasonably be encountered in the day-to-day management of a racing yard in a clear, well-illustrated format. Orthopaedic injury necessarily accounts for the major part of the book, however, topics as diverse as rehabilitation periods and prognosis, respiratory medicine, exercise physiology and ‘herd health’ adds to the wealth of information included, spanning the full range of fields relevant to the clinician, trainer and owner.

With the sales upon us, we have taken an excerpt the ‘Selection of a racehorse’, covering every possible problem or condition that a buyer may encounter, whether as a yearling or two-year-old.

Selection of a racehorse Pre-purchase examinations vary in content with type of animal, intended purpose and client demands, and may comprise any combination of physical inspection, assessment of airway function, radiographic and ultra-sonographic imaging and blood analysis. Examination of horses for private sale typically follows the recognized standard

of ‘five-stage’ inspection encompassing preand post-exercise phases (+/- supplementary diagnostic imaging), while examination in the context of public auctions typically has a curtailed examination depending on type of horse and circumstances of sale.

Pass or fail?

The pre-purchase examination represents a ‘risk assessment’ of the potential for a horse not to fulfil the particular purpose for which it is being considered. Every purchasing client has different perceptions of risk and what is acceptable to one buyer may ‘fail’ for another.

Criteria for horses purchased (‘pinhooked’) specifically for public or private resale at a future date must necessarily be more stringent than for horses bought primarily for racing.

Acceptability of orthopaedic conditions that require some patience in handling or that may necessitate medication to maintain soundness is determined largely by the client’s requirements. It is therefore important for the clinician to establish clearly the purpose for which the horse is being bought and the level of acceptable risk. Significance of clinical and

ISSUE 34 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com 71

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BOOK PREVIEW imaging findings can vary markedly depending on the age of animal, stage of training and intended purpose.

Expectations Purchasing an unbroken yearling is a highrisk investment when considering the likelihood of racetrack or resale earnings providing a return over and above the combined cost of purchase and training. This risk is considerably lower for the horse in training that has typically been selected for examination on the basis of demonstrable athletic ability. Expectations of athletic potential for a yearling should be considered in the context that only 40–50% of horses will race at two years old, and around 20% of horses will not have started a race by the end of their three-year-old season.

Conditions of sale at public auction Conditions of sale at public auction differ between sales companies and types of sale.

Most have clauses regarding return of lots due to undeclared infirmity of wind, stable vices and use of anti-inflammatory drugs, and it is important to be familiar with the relevant

“Every effort has been made to build a reference manual from a scientific base but also incorporating shared experience accumulated over generations in equine veterinary practice” conditions when undertaking pre-bid inspections. Legislation in some countries permits the return of animals with latent defects far beyond the scope of published conditions of sale; however, preventing such situations arising in the first instance through competent examination is always preferable.

THE VETTING PROCEDURE Preliminaries Establish the intended purpose for which the horse is being examined; imaging requirements and relevance of findings differ between jurisdictions. l Communication with vendor prior to examination regarding level of exercise required/recent medication. l Verbal or written statement from vendor regarding stable vices and history of previous surgery, EIPH or any other significant veterinary intervention. l Establish recent racing form. l Verify identification from passport and l

72 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 34

record vaccination history. Physical examination: summary l Condition and conformation: apparent fitness, overall health and obvious conformational faults. l Eyes: horses with severely impaired vision can function seemingly normally in training with few or no behavioural irregularities. Gross assessment, direct ophthalmoscopy and evaluation of ocular reflexes. Menace reflex is reasonable test of vision (requires intact sensory and motor pathways), unlike pupillary light reflex. l Heart: rate, rhythm and murmurs.

l l

l

l

Auscultation from both sides of chest at rest and immediately following exercise.

Mouth: teeth (evidence of stable vices); corners of mouth (bit damage).

Neck: throat and submandibular space (scarring/lymph nodes); jugular grooves (patency of jugular veins/recent injection); poll and wither (headshyness/injury).

Girth, topline and belly: sarcoids (interference with tack); muscular pain/asymmetry of topline and pelvis; abdominal scars (previous surgery); tail (tone and injury).

Genitalia: both testicles fully descended/ palpably normal (colts); mammary glands

RACEHORSE BOOK NA TRAINER ISSUE 34_Jerkins feature.qxd 23/10/2014 01:49 Page 4

BOOK REVIEW

“Purchasing an unbroken yearling is a high-risk investment when considering the likelihood of racetrack or resale earnings providing a return over and above the combined cost of purchase and training” respiratory obstructions and propensity for EIPH can be assessed. l Second examination at walk and trot following cooling-off period.

Flexion tests Flexion tests are non-specific and response varies between horses. l May exacerbate subclinical lameness. l Force and duration of flexion can strongly influence results; important that a standardised approach is used and ‘positive’ responses (obvious lameness which persists for ≥3 strides) are compared against the opposite limb and interpreted with caution. n l

The Racehorse: A Veterinary Manual, published by CRC Press is available to readers of North American Trainer Magazine for the special price of $129 inclusive of P&P. and vulval conformation (fillies).

Limbs: palpation weight-bearing and with limb in flexion. l Feet: foot symmetry, balance, hoof quality and type of shoeing. l

INSURANCE

Action l Examination at walk and trot in hand before l

exercise.

Exercise component should ideally incorporate fast work so that dynamic

To order call 1 888 659 2935 or visit www.trainermagazine.com/book

STABLE & TRACK EQUIPMENT

ISSUE 34 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com 73

SUPPLIERS DIRECTORY NA TRAINER ISSUE 34_Jerkins feature.qxd 23/10/2014 01:48 Page 2

SUPPLIERS DIRECTORY

EQUINE PRODUCTS

TRAINING CENTERS

Niall Brennan Stables

FL 34482

Website: www.niallbrennan.com Telephone: Office 352 732-7459 or Training Center 352 629 3994 Email: nbstables@aol.com Facilities: 3/4 mile dirt track 3/4 mile rolling turf course Aquaciser 4 stall starting gate European Walkers

Services offered: Breaking, Sales Prep R & R, Layups, etc..

Address: Training Center: 7505 W. Hwy 326 Ocala, FL 34482 74 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 34

STAKES SCHEDULES revised NA TRAINER ISSUE 34_Jerkins feature.qxd 23/10/2014 01:58 Page 2

STAKES SCHEDULES

STAKES SCHEDULES Sponsored by Omega Alpha RegenerEQ™ has been scientifically formulated to quickly promote appetite and weight gain while it maintains a healthy gastro-intestinal environment.

RegenerEQ™ is recommended for horses that are stressed from racing, travel, new surroundings or new feed.

For more information tel: 1-800-651-3172 www.omegaalphaequine.com RACES

Races are divided by distance and the relevant surface is indicated as follows: AWT - All Weather Track D - Dirt T - Turf The indexes cover all graded races in North America over $50,000 in value, where information was available at the time of publication.

Races highlighted in purple indicate the race is a Breeders’ Cup win and you’re in race.

Stakes Schedules are now updated monthly – visit trainermagazine.com/stakes

COPYRIGHT

Under Copyright law, no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means. This includes but is not limited to: photocopying for commercial redistribution and or facsimile recording without the prior permission of the copyright holder, application for which should be addressed to the publisher.

DISCLAIMER

Whilst every effort has been made to publish correct information, the publishers will not be held liable for any omission, mistake or change to the races listed in all published indexes.

RegenerEQ™ – promoting appetite, weight gain and a healthy gastro-intestinal environment Country USA USA USA USA USA USA UAE USA UAE

Track Gulfstream Park Tampa Bay Downs Tampa Bay Downs Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Meydan Gulfstream Park Meydan

Race Name & (Sponsor) Sparkler The Turf Dash The Lightning City Stakes Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint Texas Glitter Ladies Turf Sprint Meydan Sprint Silks Run Al Quoz Sprint

Class L L

L Gr 1

Race Date 1 Nov 2014 10 Jan 2015 24 Jan 2015 7 Feb 2015 7 Feb 2015 21 Feb 2015 7 Mar 2015 14 Mar 2015 28 Mar 2015

Value $75000 $100,000 $100,000 $75000 $75000 $75000 $175000 $75000 $1000000

Age 3+ FM 4+ 4+ F&M 4+ 3+ 4+ F&M NH 4yo+ SH 3yo+ 4+ NH 3yo+ SH 3yo+

AntiFlam™ – supports sound feet and joints!

USA

Tampa Bay Downs

The Suncoast Stakes

31 Jan 2015

$100,000

5f (1000m)

Surface Metres Furlongs Closing T 1000 5 18 Oct 2014 T 1000 5 27 Dec 2014 T 1000 5 10 Jan 2015 T 1000 5 24 Jan 2015 T 1000 5 24 Jan 2015 T 1000 5 7 Feb 2015 T 1000 5 2 Mar 2015 T 1000 5 28 Feb 2015 T 1000 5 16 Jan 2015

5.25f (1050m) 3F

D

1050

Hemex™ – maintains a normal red blood cell count and supports better oxygen utilization USA USA USA USA USA

Santa Anita Santa Anita Zia Park Fair Grounds Oaklawn Park

BC Sentinent Jet Juvenile BC Juvenille Fillies Championship Lea County Sprint Pan Zareta S Spring Fever

USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA CAN USA USA USA USA USA USA USA

Churchill Downs Santa Anita Finger Lakes Finger Lakes Gulfstream Park Thistledown Thistledown Mountaineer Laurel Park Laurel Park Laurel Park Aqueduct Aqueduct Hawthorne Racecourse Hawthorne Racecourse Woodbine Zia Park Penn National Penn National Aqueduct Fair Grounds Mahoning Valley Mahoning Valley

Gr 1 Gr 1

1 Nov 2014 1 Nov 2014 11 Nov 2014 10 Jan 2015 21 Feb 2015

$2,000,000 $2,000,000 $55000 $60000 $100000

2 2F 3+ 4+F&M 4+ F&M

D D D D D

1100 1100 1100 1100 1100

Healthy Horse™ – Hemex, Immune Plus, Lung Flush & Liver Flush in one convenient format!

The Bet On Sunshine BC Xpressbet Sprint Championship Tin Cup Chalice S Shesastonecoldfox S Sky Beauty Emerald Necklace St Cardinal H Sophomore Sprint Championship St The James F.Lewis III Stakes The Frank J.De Frances Memorial Dash The Smart Halo Stakes Notebook Key Cents Showtime Deb St Sun Power St Kennedy Road S Zia Park Distaff S Blue Mountain S Fabulous Strike H Fall Highweight H’cap Thanksgiving H First Lady St Glacial Princess St

Gr 1 S S

S Gr 2 R Gr 3 S S

1 Nov 2014 $60000 1 Nov 2014 $1,500,000 1 Nov 2014 $50000 1 Nov 2014 $50000 1 Nov 2014 $75000 1 Nov 2014 $50000 8 Nov 2014 $50000 11 Nov 2014 $85000 15 Nov 2014 $100000 15 Nov 2014 $350000 15 Nov 2014 $100000 16 Nov 2014 $100000 16 Nov 2014 $100000 22 Nov 2014 $75000 22 Nov 2014 $75000 23 Nov 2014 CAN200,000+ 26 Nov 2014 $75000 26 Nov 2014 $75,000 26 Nov 2014 $200000 27 Nov 2014 $300000 27 Nov 2014 $60000 29 Nov 2014 $50000 29 Nov 2014 $50000

3+ 3+ 2 C&G 2F 3 + FM 2F (Ohio bred) 3 + (Ohio bred) 3 2 3+ 2F 2 2F 2F 2 CG 3+ 3+ F&M 2 F (PA bred) 3+ 3+ 3+ 3F 2F

D D D D D T T D D D D D D D D AWT D D D D D D D

5.25

17 Jan 2015

5.5f (1100m) 5.5 5.5 5.5 5.5 5.5

20 Oct 2014 20 Oct 2014 28 Oct 2014

6f (1200m) 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200

6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6

25 Oct 2014 20 Oct 2014 18 Oct 2014 18 Oct 2014 18 Oct 2014 22 Oct 2014 29 Oct 2014 28 Oct 2014 6 Nov 2014 6 Nov 2014 6 Nov 2014 16 Nov 2014 1 Nov 2014

5 Nov 2014 11 Nov 2014 15 Nov 2014 14 Nov 2014 15 Nov 2014 19 Nov 2014 19 Nov 2014

ISSUE 34 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com 75

STAKES SCHEDULES revised NA TRAINER ISSUE 34_Jerkins feature.qxd 23/10/2014 01:58 Page 3

STAKES SCHEDULES Testos Boost™ – a natural way to increase a horse’s production of testosterone Country USA USA USA JPN USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA JPN USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA UAE USA USA USA USA UAE USA USA USA UAE USA USA USA USA USA USA USA

Track Mahoning Valley Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Kyoto Turf Paradise Turf Paradise Aqueduct Laurel Park Hawthorne Racecourse Hawthorne Racecourse Tampa Bay Downs Tampa Bay Downs Fair Grounds Fair Grounds Fair Grounds Fair Grounds Mahoning Valley Gulfstream Park Nakayama Fair Grounds Fair Grounds Aqueduct Gulfstream Park Aqueduct Aqueduct Fair Grounds Fair Grounds Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Oaklawn Park Gulfstream Park Oaklawn Park Tampa Bay Downs Oaklawn Park Meydan Turf Paradise Fair Grounds Tampa Bay Downs Oaklawn Park Meydan Oaklawn Park Gulfstream Park Oaklawn Park Meydan Oaklawn Park Oaklawn Park Tampa Bay Downs Oaklawn Park Oaklawn Park Oaklawn Park Oaklawn Park

Race Name & (Sponsor) Mahoning Sprint Buffalo Man House Party Keihan Hai Arizona Breeders’ Futurity - Fillies Arizona Breeders’ Futurity - Colts and geldings Garland of Roses The Willa on the Move Stakes Lightning Jet H’cap Powerless H’cap The Inaugural Stakes The Sandpiper Stakes Louisiana Champions Day Juvenile S Louisiana Champions Day Ladies Sprint Louisiana Champions Day Lassie S Louisiana Champions Day Sprint Joshua Radosevich Memorial St Sugar Swirl Capella St Letellier Memorial St S Sugar Bowl S Gravesend Mr Prospector New York Stallion Series - Fifth Avenue Division New York Stallion Series - Great White Way Division Louisiana Futurity Louisiana Futurity Spectacular Bid Old Hat Dixie Belle S Sunshine Millions Sprint American Beauty S The Pelican Stakes King Cotton S Al Shindagha Sprint Phoenix Gold Cup Mardi Gras S The Minaret Stakes Nodouble Breeders Mahab Al Shimaal Hot Springs S Any Limit Gazebo Dubai Golden Shaheen Rainbow Miss S Rainbow S The Hilton Garden Inn/Hampton Inn & Suites Sprint Carousel H Count Fleet Sprint H Bachelor Instant Racing

USA USA USA USA USA USA

Santa Anita Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Calder Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park

BC Turf Sprint Championship Juvenile Sprint Juvenile Filly Sprint Kenny Noe Jr H’cap Hurricane Bertie Gulfstream Park Sprint

JPN USA CAN CAN JPN JPN USA USA USA USA USA CAN USA CAN USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA JPN USA USA USA USA USA

Kyoto Santa Anita Woodbine Woodbine Kyoto Tokyo Charles Town Del Mar Laurel Park Laurel Park Del Mar Woodbine Del Mar Woodbine Aqueduct Aqueduct Delta Downs Delta Downs Del Mar Charles Town Laurel Park Laurel Park Charles Town Laurel Park Hanshin Laurel Park Tampa Bay Downs Tampa Bay Downs Delta Downs Delta Downs

Swan St BC Draftkings Filly & Mare Sprint Championship Frost King S Jammed Lovely S Fantasy St Keio Hai Nisai St Tri-State Futurity Betty Grable St The City of Laurel Stakes Safely Kept Bob Hope St Bessarabian S Desi Arnaz St Glorious Song S New York Stallion Series - Staten Island Division New York Stallion Series - Thunder Rumble Division Orleans Sam’s Town Cary Grant St West Virginia Futurity (WV) The Marylander Gin Talking Eleanor Casey Memorial The Maryland Juvenile Filly Championship Hanshin Cup The Maryland Juvenile Championship The Pasco Stakes The Gasparilla Stakes

By The Light Big Drama

Class

Gr 3 S S

S S

S S S S Gr 3 Gr 3

Gr 3 S S S S Gr 3 S

Gr 3

S Gr 3

Gr 1 S S

Gr 3

Race Date 29 Nov 2014 29 Nov 2014 29 Nov 2014 30 Nov 2014 6 Dec 2014 6 Dec 2014 6 Dec 2014 6 Dec 2014 6 Dec 2014 6 Dec 2014 6 Dec 2014 6 Dec 2014 13 Dec 2014 13 Dec 2014 13 Dec 2014 13 Dec 2014 13 Dec 2014 13 Dec 2014 14 Dec 2014 20 Dec 2014 20 Dec 2014 26 Dec 2014 27 Dec 2014 28 Dec 2014 28 Dec 2014 31 Dec 2014 31 Dec 2014 3 Jan 2015 3 Jan 2015 9 Jan 2015 17 Jan 2015 24 Jan 2015 24 Jan 2015 7 Feb 2015 12 Feb 2015 14 Feb 2015 17 Feb 2015 21 Feb 2015 28 Feb 2015 7 Mar 2015 7 Mar 2015 14 Mar 2015 21 Mar 2015 28 Mar 2015 28 Mar 2015 29 Mar 2015 4 Apr 2015 9 Apr 2015 9 Apr 2015 10 Apr 2015 11 Apr 2015

Value $50000 $75000 $75000 $371285 $50000 $50000 $100000 $100000 $75000 $75000 $100,000 $100,000 $100,000 $100,000 $100,000 $100,000 $50000 $100000 $342015 $50000 $50000 $100000 $100000 $150000 $150000 $100000 $100000 $100000 $100000 $100000 $150000 $100000 $100,000 $100000 $200,000 $75000 $60000 $50,000 $75000 $200,000 $100000 $75000 $100000 $2,000,000 $75000 $75000 $75,000 $100000 $300000 $100000 $100000

Age 3+ 2 2F 3+ 2 F (AZ Bred) 3 C & G (AZ Bred) 3+ FM 3+ FM 3+ 3+ F&M - IL bred 2 2F 2 C&G LA Bred 3+ F&M LA Bred 2 F LA Bred 3+LA Bred 2 3+ F&M 3+ 2F 2 3+ 3+ 2F 2 2 F LA Bred 2 C&G LA Bred 3 3F 3F 4+ 4+ F&M 4+ 4+ NH 4yo+ SH 3yo+ 4+ 4 + FM 4+ F&M 3+ C&G (Ark Bred) NH 3yo+ SH 3yo+ 4+ 3F 3 NH 3yo+ SH 3yo+ 3 F (Ark Bred) 3 C&G (Ark Bred) 4+ 4+ F&M 4+ 3 3F

6f (1200m) Surface Metres Furlongs Closing D 1200 6 19 Nov 2014 D 1200 6 1 Nov 2014 D 1200 6 15 Nov 2014 T 1200 6 14 Oct 2014 D 1200 6 EARLY CLOSING D 1200 6 EARLY CLOSING D 1200 6 22 Nov 2014 D 1200 6 27 Nov 2014 D 1200 6 D 1200 6 D 1200 6 22 Nov 2014 D 1200 6 22 Nov 2014 D 1200 6 D 1200 6 D 1200 6 D 1200 6 T 1200 6 D 1200 6 29 Nov 2014 D 1200 6 28 Oct 2014 D 1200 6 D 1200 6 D 1200 6 13 Dec 2014 D 1200 6 13 Dec 2014 D 1200 6 CLOSED D 1200 6 CLOSED D 1200 6 D 1200 6 D 1200 6 20 Dec 2014 D 1200 6 20 Dec 2014 D 1200 6 D 1200 6 3 Jan 2015 D 1200 6 D 1200 6 10 Jan 2015 D 1200 6 AWT 1200 6 9 Feb 2015 D 1200 6 4 Feb 2015 T 1200 6 D 1200 6 7 Feb 2015 D 1200 6 AWT 1200 6 2 Mar 2015 D 1200 6 D 1200 6 28 Feb 2015 D 1200 6 AWT 1200 6 16 Jan 2015 D 1200 6 D 1200 6 D 1200 6 21 Mar 2015 D 1200 6 D 1200 6 D 1200 6 D 1200 6

EnduraForce™ for pre-race stamina & Equisel-BCAA for post-race recovery. Use together!

Gr 1

Gr 3 Gr 3

1 Nov 2014 8 Nov 2014 8 Nov 2014 15 Nov 2014 14 Feb 2015 21 Feb 2015

$1,000,000 $75000 $75000 $75000 $150000 $100000

3+ 2 2F 3+ 4+ F&M 4+

6.5f (1300m)

T D D D D D

1300 1300 1300 1300 1300 1300

T D AWT AWT T T D AWT D D AWT AWT AWT AWT D D D D AWT D D D D D T D D D D D

1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400

Biotic 8™ – the easy and efficient way to maintain a healthy digestive tract

76 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 34

Gr 2 Gr1 R S Gr 3 Gr 2 R

Gr 3 Gr 2

S S R R

S Gr 2

1 Nov 2014 $558092 1 Nov 2014 $1,000,000 8 Nov 2014 CAN125,000 8 Nov 2014 CAN150,000 8 Nov 2014 $274148 8 Nov 2014 $352473 8 Nov 2014 $100000 9 Nov 2014 $100000 15 Nov 2014 $100000 15 Nov 2014 $100000 15 Nov 2014 $100000 16 Nov 2014 CAN150,000+ 16 Nov 2014 $100000 22 Nov 2014 CAN125,000 22 Nov 2014 $125000 22 Nov 2014 $125000 22 Nov 2014 $75000 22 Nov 2014 $75000 23 Nov 2014 $100000 29 Nov 2014 $50000 6 Dec 2014 $100000 6 Dec 2014 $100000 20 Dec 2014 $50000 26 Dec 2014 $100000 27 Dec 2014 $635085 27 Dec 2014 $100000 27 Dec 2014 $100,000 27 Dec 2014 $100,000 9 Jan 2015 $75000 9 Jan 2015 $75000

3+ 3+ F & M 2 3F 2F 2 2 3 + F&M (CA bred) 3 3YO F 2 3+ F&M 2F 2F 3+ FM 3+ 3F 3 3+ (CA bred) 2 2YO 2YO Fillies 2F 2 F (ML Bred) 3+ 2 (ML Bred) 2 2F 3F 3

6.5 6.5 6.5 6.5 6.5 6.5

20 Oct 2014 25 Oct 2014 25 Oct 2014 1 Nov 2014 31 Jan 2015 7 Feb 2015

7f (1400m) 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7

16 Sep 2014 20 Oct 2014 22 Oct 2014 22 Oct 2014 30 Sep 2014 30 Sep 2014 10-Sept-14 30 Oct 2014 6 Nov 2014 6 Nov 2014 6 Nov 2014 29 Oct 2014 11 Jun 2014 5 Nov 2014 CLOSED CLOSED 7 Nov 2014 7 Nov 2014 13 Nov 2014 12 Nov 2014 27 Nov 2014 27 Nov 2014 10 Dec 2014 18 Dec 2014 11 Nov 2014 18 Dec 2014 13 Dec 2014 13 Dec 2014 23 Dec 2014 23 Dec 2014

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STAKES SCHEDULES revised NA TRAINER ISSUE 34_Jerkins feature.qxd 23/10/2014 01:58 Page 5

STAKES SCHEDULES HA-140™ to ensure higher bioavailability; use daily to aid joint health or post surgery recovery Country USA UAE USA USA UAE USA USA USA USA USA

Track Gulfstream Park Meydan Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Meydan Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Tampa Bay Downs Tampa Bay Downs

Race Name & (Sponsor) Sunshine Millions Distaff Al Fahidi Fort Forward Gal Hutcheson Meydan Classic Swale Inside Information Sir Shackleton The Ocala Breeders’ Sales Sophomore The Stonehedge Farm

USA USA USA USA USA USA USA

Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Delta Downs Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Delta Downs Delta Downs

South Beach El Prado Lookout Ginger Brew Dania Beach Azalea Pelican

JPN USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA JPN JPN USA USA USA USA USA JPN USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA JPN JPN USA USA USA UAE USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA UAE USA UAE USA UAE UAE USA USA USA UAE USA UAE USA UAE USA USA USA USA

Tokyo Santa Anita Delta Downs Churchill Downs Mountaineer Belmont Park Belmont Park Del Mar Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Del Mar Kyoto Tokyo Delta Downs Delta Downs Delta Downs Delta Downs Delta Downs Kyoto Zia Park Aqueduct Gulfstream Park Aqueduct Aqueduct Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Calder Gulfstream Park Del Mar Del Mar Del Mar Laurel Park Fair Grounds Fair Grounds Hanshin Hanshin Fair Grounds Fair Grounds Gulfstream Park Meydan Gulfstream Park Delta Downs Fair Grounds Fair Grounds Turf Paradise Delta Downs Oaklawn Park Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Meydan Oaklawn Park Meydan Gulfstream Park Meydan Meydan Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Meydan Fair Grounds Meydan Gulfstream Park Meydan Fair Grounds Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Oaklawn Park

Artemis S BC Mile Championship Gold Cup Chilukki St Mountaineer Mile S Tempted St Nashua St Kathryn Crosby St Juvenile Turf Juvenile Fillies Turf Let It Ride St Daily Hai Nisai St Musashino St Louisiana Jewel Louisiana Legacy Delta Downs Princess Treasure Chest Delta Mile Mile Championship New Mexico Eddy County S Go For Wand Hcap Wait A While Comely Cigar Mile H’cap Pulpit The Wait A While Smooth Air Hut hut Jimmy Durante St Cecil B. Demille St Matriarch St The Jennings H’cap Magic City Classic S Louisiana Champions Day Starter H S Hanshin Juvenile Fillies Asahi Hai Futurity St Pago Hop S Woodchopper S Mucho Macho Man Al Maktoum Challenge Rd 1 Hal’s Hope Eldorado Silverbulletday S Lecomte S Cotton Fitzsimmons Mile Fremont Smarty Jones S Kitten’s Joy Sweetest Chant Cape Verdi Martha Washington S UAE 1000 Guineas Fred Hooper Firebreak St UAE 2000 Guineas Davona Dale Rampart Canadian Turf Zabeel Mile Dixie Poker Ace S Burj Nahaar Gulfstream Park H Godolphin Mile Crescent City Oaks Appleton Honey Fox Northern Spur

USA

Aqueduct

East View St

Class S Gr 2 Gr 2 Gr 3 L Gr 2 Gr 2

Race Date 17 Jan 2015 22 Jan 2015 24 Jan 2015 24 Jan 2015 26 Feb 2015 28 Feb 2015 21 Mar 2015 28 Mar 2015 4 Apr 2015 4 Apr 2015

Value $250000 $250,000 $200,000 $150,000 $125000 $200000 $200000 $10,000 $75,000 $75,000

Age 4+ F&M NH 4yo+ SH 3yo+ 3F 3 NH 3yo+ SH 3yo+ 3 4+ F&M 4+ 3 3F

Stasis™ – maintaining normal capillary integrity in the lungs R Gr 3 S S

13 Dec 2014 13 Dec 2014 19 Dec 2014 3 Jan 2015 3 Jan 2015 6 Mar 2015 7 Mar 2015

$100000 $100000 $65000 $100000 $100000 $100000 $100000

7f (1400m)

Surface Metres Furlongs Closing D 1400 7 3 Jan 2015 T 1400 7 19 Jan 2015 D 1400 7 10 Jan 2015 D 1400 7 10 Jan 2015 T 1400 7 23 Feb 2015 D 1400 7 14 Feb 2015 D 1400 7 7 Mar 2015 D 1400 7 14 Mar 2015 D 1400 7 21 Mar 2015 D 1400 7 21 Mar 2015

7.5f (1500m) 3+ F&M 3+ 3+ F&M 3F 3 3F 3

T T D T T D D

1500 1500 1500 1500 1500 1500 1500

Chill Ultra™ – reduces anxiety, focuses the mind and relaxes muscles to perform better Gr 3 Gr 1 S Gr 2 Gr 3 Gr 2

Gr 2 Gr 3 S S Gr 3

Gr 1 S Gr 2 Gr 3 Gr 1

Gr 3 Gr 3 Gr 1 S S Gr 1 Gr 1

Gr 2 Gr 3 R L Gr 3 R

Gr 2 L Gr 3 Gr 3 Gr 3 Gr 2 Gr 3 Gr 3 Gr 2 S Gr 3 Gr 2 Gr 2 S Gr 3 Gr 2

1 Nov 2014 1 Nov 2014 1 Nov 2014 1 Nov 2014 1 Nov 2014 2 Nov 2014 2 Nov 2014 7 Nov 2014 8 Nov 2014 8 Nov 2014 8 Nov 2014 15 Nov 2014 15 Nov 2014 22 Nov 2014 22 Nov 2014 22 Nov 2014 22 Nov 2014 22 Nov 2014 23 Nov 2014 26 Nov 2014 28 Nov 2014 29 Nov 2014 29 Nov 2014 29 Nov 2014 29 Nov 2014 29 Nov 2014 29 Nov 2014 29 Nov 2014 29 Nov 2014 30 Nov 2014 30 Nov 2014 6 Dec 2014 12 Dec 2014 13 Dec 2014 14 Dec 2014 21 Dec 2014 27 Dec 2014 27 Dec 2014 3 Jan 2015 8 Jan 2015 10 Jan 2015 16 Jan 2015 17 Jan 2015 17 Jan 2015 17 Jan 2015 17 Jan 2015 19 Jan 2015 24 Jan 2015 24 Jan 2015 29 Jan 2015 31 Jan 2015 5 Feb 2015 7 Feb 2015 12 Feb 2015 12 Feb 2015 21 Feb 2015 21 Feb 2015 21 Feb 2015 26 Feb 2015 28 Feb 2015 7 Mar 2015 7 Mar 2015 28 Mar 2015 28 Mar 2015 28 Mar 2015 28 Mar 2015 11 Apr 2015

$274148 2F $2,000,000 3+ $100,000 3+ $200000 3+ FM $130000 3+ $250000 2F $250000 2 $75000 3 + F&M $75000 2 $75000 2F $75000 3+ $351753 2 $362311 3+ $150000 2F $150000 2 C&G $400,000 2F $200000 3+ F&M $250000 3+ $976929 3+ $140000 2 $300000 3+ FM $75000 3+ F&M $400000 3+F $500000 3+ $75000 2 $100000 2F $75000 3 $75000 2F $150000 2F $150000 2 $300000 3+F&M $100000 3+ (ML Bred) $50000 3+ AL Bred $50,000 3+ LA Bred $635154 2F $683899 2 No G $60000 3F $60000 3 $100000 3 $250000 NH 4yo+ SH 3yo+ $150000 4+ $70000 4+ F&M $100000 3F $150000 3 $75000 4+ $70000 4+ $150000 3 $100000 3 $100000 3F $200,000 NH F&M 4yo+ SH F&M 3yo+ $100000 3F $250000 NH 3F SH 3F $100000 4+ $200000 SH-bred 3+ & NH-bred 4+ $250,000 NH 3yo SH 3yo $200,000 3F $100,000 4+ F&M $150,000 4+ $250,000 NH 3yo+ SH 3yo+ $60,000 4+ LA Bred $200,000 NH 4yo+ SH 3yo+ $300,000 4+ $1,000,000 NH 4yo+ SH 3yo+ $75000 3 F&M La Bred $150000 4+ $300000 4+ F&M $100000 3

78 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 34

S

14 Dec 2014

$100000

2 F N.Y. Bred

29 Nov 2014 29 Nov 2014 5 Dec 2014 20 Dec 2014 20 Dec 2014 20 Feb 2014 20 Feb 2015

8f (1600m)

T T D D D D D T T T T T D D D D D D T D D T D D T T D T T T T D D D T T T T D AWT D D D D T D D T T T D AWT D AWT AWT D D T T T AWT D AWT D T T D

1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600

D

1664

Respi-Free™ – opens airways, loosens mucus, reduces coughs from irritation

7.5 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.5

8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8

16 Sep 2014 20 Oct 2014 17 Oct 2014 15 Oct 2014 20 Oct 2014 18 Oct 2014 18 Oct 2014 30 Oct 2014 25 Oct 2014 25 Oct 2014 30 Oct 2014 30 Sep 2014 30 Sep 2014 7 Nov 2014 7 Nov 2014 25 Oct 2014 29 Oct 2014 29 Oct 2014 30 Sep 2014 11 Nov 2014 28 Nov 2014 15 Nov 2014 15 Nov 2014 15 Nov 2014 15 Nov 2014 15 Nov 2014 15 Nov 2014 15 Nov 2014 13 Nov 2014 13 Nov 2014 13 Nov 2014 27 Nov 2014

28 Oct 2014 11 Nov 2014

20 Dec 2014 5 Jan 2015 27 Dec 2014 2 Jan 2015

7 Jan 2015 2 Dec 2014 10 Jan 2015 10 Jan 2015 26 Jan 2015 2 Feb 2014 24 Jan 2015 9 Feb 2015 9 Feb 2015 7 Feb 2015 7 Feb 2015 7 Feb 2015 23 Feb 2015 2 Mar 2015 21 Feb 2015 16 Jan 2015 14 Mar 2015 14 Mar 2015

8.3f (1664m) 8.3

29 Nov 2014

STAKES SCHEDULES revised NA TRAINER ISSUE 34_Jerkins feature.qxd 23/10/2014 01:58 Page 6

STAKES SCHEDULES Liver Flush & Kidney Flush™ – to detoxify vital organs and improve performance Country Track USA Aqueduct

Race Name & (Sponsor) Damon Runyon St

Class S

Race Date 14 Dec 2014

Value $100000

Age 2 (NY Bred)

8.3f (1664m) Surface Metres Furlongs Closing D 1664 8.3 29 Nov 2014

RegenerEQ™ – promoting appetite, weight gain and a healthy gastro-intestinal environment CAN CAN USA USA USA USA USA CAN USA USA USA USA USA CAN USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA CAN CAN CAN USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA

Woodbine Woodbine Zia Park Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Woodbine Hawthorne Racecourse Churchill Downs Hawthorne Racecourse Churchill Downs Thistledown Woodbine Delta Downs Churchill Downs Zia Park Zia Park Penn National Del Mar Churchill Downs Churchill Downs Woodbine Woodbine Woodbine Fair Grounds Fair Grounds Hawthorne Racecourse Hawthorne Racecourse Los Alamitos Gulfstream Park Los Alamitos Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Aqueduct Aqueduct Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Oaklawn Park Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Fair Grounds Oaklawn Park Fair Grounds Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Tampa Bay Downs Tampa Bay Downs Tampa Bay Downs Delta Downs Oaklawn Park Tampa Bay Downs Oaklawn Park Oaklawn Park Fair Grounds Turf Paradise Fair Grounds Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Oaklawn Park Tampa Bay Downs Tampa Bay Downs Tampa Bay Downs Oaklawn Park Oaklawn Park Oaklawn Park Gulfstream Park Oaklawn Park Fair Grounds Fair Grounds Fair Grounds Gulfstream Park Oaklawn Park Tampa Bay Downs Tampa Bay Downs Oaklawn Park Turf Paradise

Display S Princess Elizabeth S Veterans S Millions Classic Preview Millions Distaff Preview Millions Turf Preview Millions Fill & Mare Turf Preview Autumn S Illini Princess H’cap Commonwealth Turf Buck’s Boy H’cap Mrs. Revere St Ohio Debutante H South Ocean S $1,000,000 Delta Downs Jackpot Cardinal H’cap Zia Park Oaks Zia Park Derby The Swatara Seabiscuit H’cap Golden Rod St Kentucky Jockey Club St Sir Barton S Ontario Lassie S Kingarvie S Louisiana Champions Day Ladies S Louisiana Champions Day Turf S Pat Whitworth Illinois Debutante St Jim Edgar Illinois Futurity Starlet Harlan’s Holiday Los Alamitos Futurity Tropical Park Derby Tropical Park Oaks Alex M. Robb H’cap Bay Ridge Ft Lauderdale Marshua’s River Fifth Season S Sunshine Millions Turf Sunshine Millions Turf (F&M) Sunshine Millions Classic Louisiana H Pippin S Col. E.R Bradley Hcp Sunshine Millions Classic Holy Bull The Tampa Bay Stakes The Sam F. Davis Stakes The Lambholm South Endeavour Stakes L.A Premier Night Gentlemen Starter Essex H The Wayward Lass Stakes Bayakoa S Southwest S Risen Star S Turf Paradise Derby Rachel Alexandra St Fountain of Youth Palm Beach Herecomesthebride Honeybee S The Tampa Bay Derby The Challenger Stakes The Florida Oaks Razorback H Azeri S Rebel S Royal Delta Arkansas Breeders (Open) Star Guitar St Crescent City Derby Fair Grounds Oaks Gulfstream Park Oaks Fantasy S Skinny’s Place of Anna Maria Island The Pleasant Acres Stallions Apple Blossom H Gene Fleming Breeders Derby

USA USA USA JPN USA USA

Aqueduct Gulfstream Park Churchill Downs Kyoto Charles Town Gulfstream Park

Discovery Tropical Turf H’cap River City H’cap Miyako St My Sister Pearl My Charmer H’cap

R

Gr 2 S Gr 3 S Gr 2 S Gr 3 Gr 3

Gr 2 Gr 2 Gr 2 S S S S S S Gr 1 Gr 1

S Gr 2 Gr 3 S S S

Gr 3 S Gr 2 Gr 3 Gr 3 Gr 3 S&R

Gr 3 Gr 2 Gr 3 Gr 2 Gr 3 Gr 3 Gr 3 Gr 2 Gr 3 Gr 3 Gr 2 Gr 2 Gr 2 S S S Gr 2 Gr 2 Gr 3

Gr 1 S

1 Nov 2014 CAN125,000 2 Nov 2014 CAN250,000 3 Nov 2014 $55000 8 Nov 2014 $75000 8 Nov 2014 $75000 8 Nov 2014 $75000 8 Nov 2014 $75000 9 Nov 2014 CAN150,000+ 15 Nov 2014 $75000 15 Nov 2014 $100,000 15 Nov 2014 $75000 15 Nov 2014 $200000 15 Nov 2014 $50000 15 Nov 2014 CAN125,000 22 Nov 2014 $1000000 22 Nov 2014 $100000 26 Nov 2014 $300000 26 Nov 2014 $200000 26 Nov 2014 $100000 28 Nov 2014 $250000 29 Nov 2014 $200000 29 Nov 2014 $200000 30 Nov 2014 CAN125,000 30 Nov 2014 CAN150,000 6 Dec 2014 CAN125,000 13 Dec 2014 $100,000 13 Dec 2014 $100,000 13 Dec 2014 $100000 13 Dec 2014 $100000 13 Dec 2014 $350000 13 Dec 2014 $100000 20 Dec 2014 $500000 20 Dec 2014 $75000 20 Dec 2014 $75000 31 Dec 2014 $100000 31 Dec 2014 $100000 10 Jan 2015 $200000 10 Jan 2015 $150000 10 Jan 2015 $100000 17 Jan 2015 $150000 17 Jan 2015 $150000 17 Jan 2015 $350000 17 Jan 2015 $75000 17 Jan 2015 $100000 17 Jan 2015 $100000 17 Jan 2015 $350000 24 Jan 2015 $400000 24 Jan 2015 $150,000 31 Jan 2015 $250,000 31 Jan 2015 $150,000 7 Feb 2015 $65000 14 Feb 2015 $100000 14 Feb 2015 $50,000 15 Feb 2015 $100,000 16 Feb 2015 $300000 21 Feb 2015 $300000 21 Feb 2015 $75000 21 Feb 2015 $150000 21 Feb 2015 $400000 28 Feb 2015 $150000 28 Feb 2015 $150000 7 Mar 2015 $150000 7 Mar 2015 $350,000 7 Mar 2015 $60,000 7 Mar 2015 $200,000 14 Mar 2015 $250000 14 Mar 2015 $300000 14 Mar 2015 $750000 21 Mar 2015 $200000 27 Mar 2015 $75000 28 Mar 2015 $60000 28 Mar 2015 $75000 28 Mar 2015 $300000 28 Mar 2015 $250000 4 Apr 2015 $400000 4 Apr 2015 $75,000 4 Apr 2015 $75,000 10 Apr 2015 $600000 25 Apr 2015 $50000

2 2F 3+ 3+ 3+ F&M 3+ 3+ F&M 3+ 3+ F&M 3 3+ 3F 3 + (Ohio bred) 2F 2 3+ FM 3F 3 3+ 3+ 2F 2 3+ 2F 2 3+ F&M LA Bred 3+LA Bred 2F 2 C&G 2F

8.5f (1700m)

2 3 3F 3+ (NY Bred) 3+ F M 4+ 4+ F&M 4+ 4+ 4+ F&M 4+ 4+ 4+ F&M 4+ 4+ 3 4+ 3 4+ F&M 4+ La bred 4+ 4+ F&M 4+ F&M 3 3 3 3F 3 3 3F 3F 3 4+ 3F 4+ 4+ F&M 3 4+ F&M 3+ (Ark Bred) 4+ LA Bred 3 La Bred 3F 3F 3F 3 3+ F&M 4+ F&M 3 (AZ Bred)

AWT AWT D D D T T AWT T T D T T AWT D T D D D T D D AWT AWT AWT D T D D D D D T T D D T T D T T D D D T D D T D T D D D D D D D D D T T D D D T D D D D D D D D D D T T D D

1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700

3 3+ 3+ 3+ 3+ F&M 3+ FM

D T T D D T

1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800

AntiFlam™ – supports sound feet and joints!

Gr 3 Gr 3 Gr 3 Gr 3 S Gr 3

1 Nov 2014 2 Nov 2014 8 Nov 2014 9 Nov 2014 15 Nov 2014 22 Nov 2014

$200000 $100,000 $100,000 $362311 $50000 $75000

8.5 15 Oct 2014 8.5 15 Oct 2014 8.5 21 Oct 2014 8.5 25 Oct 2014 8.5 25 Oct 2014 8.5 25 Oct 2014 8.5 25 Oct 2014 8.5 22 Oct 2014 8.5 8.5 29 Oct 2014 8.5 8.5 29 Oct 2014 8.5 8.5 29 Oct 2014 8.5 25 Oct 2014 8.5 5 Nov 2014 8.5 11 Nov 2014 8.5 11 Nov 2014 8.5 14 Nov 2014 8.5 13 Nov 2014 8.5 12 Nov 2014 8.5 12 Nov 2014 8.5 12 Nov 2014 8.5 12 Nov 2014 8.5 19 Nov 2014 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 15 May 2014 8.5 29 Nov 2014 8.5 15 May 2014 8.5 6 Dec 2014 8.5 6 Dec 2014 8.5 20 Dec 2014 8.5 20 Dec 2014 8.5 27 Dec 2014 8.5 27 Dec 2014 8.5 8.5 3 Jan 2015 8.5 3 Jan 2015 8.5 3 Jan 2015 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 3 Jan 2015 8.5 10 Jan 2015 8.5 10 Jan 2015 8.5 17 Jan 2015 8.5 17 Jan 2015 8.5 23 Jan 2015 8.5 8.5 31 Jan 2015 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 7 Feb 2015 8.5 14 Feb 2015 8.5 14 Feb 2015 8.5 8.5 21 Feb 2015 8.5 21 Feb 2015 8.5 21 Feb 2015 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 7 Mar 2015 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 14 Mar 2015 8.5 8.5 21 Mar 2015 8.5 21 Mar 2015 8.5 8.5 EARLY CLOSING

9f (1800m) 9 9 9 9 9 9

18 Oct 2014 8 Nov 2014 22 Oct 2014 30 Sep 2014 8 Nov 2014

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STAKES SCHEDULES Hemex™ – maintains a normal red blood cell count and supports better oxygen utilization Country USA JPN USA USA USA CAN USA USA USA USA USA JPN USA USA USA USA UAE USA USA USA UAE USA UAE USA USA USA USA USA USA USA

Track Charles Town Tokyo Zia Park Churchill Downs Churchill Downs Woodbine Aqueduct Aqueduct Del Mar Del Mar Mahoning Valley Hanshin Fair Grounds Aqueduct Delta Downs Fair Grounds Meydan Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Meydan Tampa Bay Downs Meydan Fair Grounds Fair Grounds Fair Grounds Gulfstream Park Tampa Bay Downs Oaklawn Park Oaklawn Park

Race Name & (Sponsor) A Huevo St Tokyo Sports Hai Nisai St Zia Park Distance Championship Falls City H’cap Clark H’cap Coronation Futurity Demoiselle St Remsen St Native Diver H’cap Hollywood Derby Ruff/Kirchberg Memotial H’cap Challenge Cup Louisiana Champions Day Classic S Queens County H’cap Bobbie Bricker Memorial H’cap Marie G Krantz Memorial H Al Rashidiya Gulfstream Park Turf H Donn H Suwannee River Jebel Hatta The Hillsborough Stakes Dubai Duty Free Louisiana Derby Mervin H Muniz Jr Memorial New Orleans H Florida Derby The Tampa Turf Classic Oaklawn H Arkansas Derby

UAE UAE UAE UAE USA

Meydan Meydan Meydan Meydan Gulfstream Park

Al Maktoum Challenge Rd 2 UAE Oaks Al Bastakiya UAE Derby Skip Away

CAN USA USA ITY JPN FR JPN JPN USA JPN JPN UAE UAE

Woodbine Santa Anita Santa Anita Rome Tokyo Saint-Cloud Fukushima Kyoto Hawthorne Racecourse Chukyo Chukyo Meydan Meydan

Maple Leaf S BC Filly & Mare Championship BC Classic Championship Premio Roma Tenno Sho (Autumn) Criterium de Saint-Cloud Fukushima Kinen Radio Nikkei Hai Nisai St Hawthorne Gold Cup H’cap Kinko Sho Aichi Hai Al Maktoum Challenge Rd 3 Dubai World Cup

USA JPN USA USA USA

Aqueduct Kyoto Del Mar Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park

Red Smith Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup Red Carpet H’cap Mac Diarmida Very One

GER USA USA USA JPN USA USA UAE USA USA UAE

Munich Santa Anita Aqueduct Del Mar Tokyo Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Meydan Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Meydan

Grosser Pries Von Bayern BC Turf Championship Long Island Hollywood Turf Cup Japan Cup W.L. McKnight Hdcp La Prevoyante Dubai City of Gold Orchid Pan American Dubai Sheema Classic

JPN

Tokyo

Class S Gr 3 Gr 2 Gr 1 R Gr 2 Gr 2 Gr 3 Gr 1 Gr 3 S Gr 3

Gr 2 Gr 1 Gr 1 Gr 3 Gr 1 Gr 3 Gr 1 Gr 2 Gr 2 Gr 2 Gr 1 Gr 2 Gr 1

Race Date 22 Nov 2014 24 Nov 2014 26 Nov 2014 27 Nov 2014 28 Nov 2014 29 Nov 2014 29 Nov 2014 29 Nov 2014 29 Nov 2014 29 Nov 2014 6 Dec 2014 13 Dec 2014 13 Dec 2014 13 Dec 2014 20 Dec 2014 17 Jan 2015 29 Jan 2015 7 Feb 2015 7 Feb 2015 7 Feb 2015 7 Mar 2015 7 Mar 2015 28 Mar 2015 28 Mar 2015 28 Mar 2015 28 Mar 2015 28 Mar 2015 4 Apr 2015 11 Apr 2015 11 Apr 2015

Value $50000 $312578 $150000 $200000 $500000 CAN250,000 $400000 $400000 $200000 $300000 $50000 $390663 $150,000 $100000 $50000 $60000 $200,000 $300,000 $500,000 $150,000 $300000 $150,000 $6,000,000 $600000 $200000 $300000 $1000000 $75,000 $600000 $1,000,000

Age 3+ 2 3+ 3+ FM 3+ 2 2F 2 3+ 3 3+ 3+ 3+ LA Bred 3+ 3 + FM 4+F&M NH 4yo+ SH 3yo+ 4+ 4+ 4+ F&M NH 4yo+ SH 3yo+ 4 + F&M NH 4yo+ SH 3yo+ 3 4+ 4+ 3 4+ 4+ 3

Healthy Horse™ – Hemex, Immune Plus, Lung Flush & Liver Flush in one convenient format!

Gr 2 Gr 3 L Gr 2 Gr 3

5 Feb 2015 26 Feb 2015 7 Mar 2015 28 Mar 2015 28 Mar 2015

$250000 $250,000 $250,000 $2,000,000 $150,000

NH 4yo+ SH 3yo+ NH 3F SH 3F NH 3yo SH 3yo NH 3 SH 3 4+

9f (1800m)

Surface Metres Furlongs Closing D 1800 9 T 1800 9 14 Oct 2014 D 1800 9 11 Nov 2014 D 1800 9 12 Nov 2014 D 1800 9 12 Nov 2014 AWT 1800 9 12 Nov 2014 D 1800 9 15 Nov 2014 D 1800 9 15 Nov 2014 AWT 1800 9 13 Nov 2014 T 1800 9 13 Nov 2014 D 1800 9 26 Nov 2014 T 1800 9 28 Oct 2014 D 1800 9 D 1800 9 29 Nov 2014 D 1800 9 T 1800 9 T 1800 9 26 Jan 2015 T 1800 9 24 Jan 2015 D 1800 9 24 Jan 2015 T 1800 9 24 Jan 2015 T 1800 9 2 Mar 2015 T 1800 9 21 Feb 2015 T 1800 9 16 Jan 2015 D 1800 9 T 1800 9 D 1800 9 D 1800 9 14 Mar 2015 T 1800 9 21 Mar 2015 D 1800 9 D 1800 9

9.5f (1900m)

AWT AWT AWT AWT D

1900 1900 1900 1900 1900

AWT D D T T T T T D T T AWT AWT

2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000

Testos Boost™ – a natural way to increase a horse’s production of testosterone Gr 3 Gr1 Gr 1 Gp 1 Gr 1 Gp 1 Gr 3 Gr 3 Gr 2 Gr 2 Gr 3 Gr 1 Gr 1

1 Nov 2014 1 Nov 2014 1 Nov 2014 2 Nov 2014 2 Nov 2014 8 Nov 2014 16 Nov 2014 29 Nov 2014 29 Nov 2014 6 Dec 2014 20 Dec 2014 7 Mar 2015 28 Mar 2015

CAN150,000 $2,000,000 $5,000,000 €209000 $1292420 €250000 $390800 $312578 $250000 $585958 $341958 $400000 $10,000,000

3+ F&M 3+ F & M 3+ 3+ 3+ 2 CF 3+ 2 3+ 3+ 3+ FM NH 4yo+ SH 3yo+ NH 4yo+ SH 3yo+

15 Nov 2014 16 Nov 2014 22 Nov 2014 21 Feb 2015 21 Feb 2015

$250000 $879240 $100000 $200000 $150000

3+ 3+ FM 3+F& M 4+ 4+F&M

1 Nov 2014 1 Nov 2014 8 Nov 2014 27 Nov 2014 30 Nov 2014 27 Dec 2014 27 Dec 2014 7 Mar 2015 28 Mar 2015 28 Mar 2015 28 Mar 2015

€155000 $3,000,000 $200000 $250000 $2442708 $100,000 $100,000 $250,000 $150,000 $150,000 $6,000,000

3+ 3+ 3+ FM 3+ 3+ 3+ 3+ F & M NH 4yo+ SH 4yo+ 4+ F&M 4+ NH 4yo+ SH 4yo+

10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10

15 Oct 2014 20 Oct 2014 20 Oct 2014 2 Oct 2014 16 Sep 2014 22 Oct 2014 30 Sep 2014 14 Oct 2014 28 Oct 2014 11 Nov 2014 2 Mar 2015 16 Jan 2015

11f (2200m)

T T T T T

2200 2200 2200 2200 2200

T T T T T T T T T T T

2400 2400 2400 2400 2400 2400 2400 2400 2400 2400 2400

Biotic 8™ – the easy and efficient way to maintain a healthy digestive tract Gp 1 Gr 1 Gr 3 Gr 2 Gr 1 Gr 3 Gr 3 Gr 2 Gr 3 Gr 3 Gr 1

2 Feb 2015 23 Feb 2015 2 Mar 2015 16 Jan 2015 14 Mar 2015

10f (2000m)

EnduraForce™ for pre-race stamina & Equisel-BCAA for post-race recovery. Use together!

Gr 2 Gr 1 Gr 3 Gr 2 Gr 3

9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5

11 11 11 11 11

1 Nov 2014 30 Sep 2014 13 Nov 2014 7 Feb 2015 7 Feb 2015

12f (2400m) 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12

12 Aug 2014 20 Oct 2014 25 Oct 2014 13 Nov 2014 14 Oct 2014 13 Dec 2014 13 Dec 2014 2 Mar 2015 14 Mar 2015 14 Mar 2015 16 Jan 2015

HA-140™ to ensure higher bioavailability; use daily to aid joint health or post surgery recovery 12.5f (2500m) Copa Republica Argentina

Gr 2

9 Nov 2014

$538502

3+

T

2500

Stasis™ – maintaining normal capillary integrity in the lungs CAN UAE

Woodbine Meydan

Valedictory S Nad Al Sheba Trophy

USA UAE

Gulfstream Park Meydan

H Allen Jerkens DRC Gold Cup

JPN

Nakayama

Stayers St

Gr 3 Gr 3

7 Dec 2014 CAN150,000+ 28 Feb 2015 $200000

3+ AWT SH-bred 3+ & NH-bred 4+ T

2800 2800

Chill Ultra™ – reduces anxiety, focuses the mind and relaxes muscles to perform better Gr 2

31 Jan 2015 28 Mar 2015

$75000 $1000000

4+ NH 4yo+ SH 3yo+

80 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 34

6 Dec 2014

$585958

30 Sep 2014

3+

14 14

19 Nov 2014 23 Feb 2015

16f (3200m)

T T

3200 3200

T

3600

Liver Flush & Kidney Flush™ – to detoxify vital organs and improve performance Gr 2

12.5

14f (2800m)

16 16

17 Jan 2015 16 Jan 2014

18f (3600m) 18

28 Oct 2014

INSIDE COVERS NA TRAINER ISSUE 34_Layout 1 23/10/2014 00:32 Page 1

SID FERNANDO

M s dicine

ISE-EN-SCÈNE: Hong Kong-based sprinter Rich Tapestry, trained and ridden

by Michael Chang Chunwai and Olivier Doleuze, respectively, wins the Grade 1 Santa Anita Sprint Championship Stakes on dirt against two American Breeders’ Cup winners in a thrilling and improbable performance that Hong Kong cinema couldn’t have scripted better. Rich Tapestry is believed to be the first racer from that part of the world to win a U.S. Grade 1 on dirt, and his historic run is packed with some of the cinematic flair of a film by, say, auteur and director John Woo. For instance: Rich Tapestry is a chronic bleeder, but by dictum of the organizational bosses at the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) the gelding is banned from using the legal U.S. bleeder medication Lasix at Santa Anita, to make a political statement against raceday medication. This is the thematic equivalent of a Woo protagonist being asked to fight his opponents with one arm tied behind his back.

Add to this that Goldencents, the favorite, is trained by infamous bad boy Doug O’Neill. The furious finish of the race has the audience back home in Hong Kong – and the international crowd that views all of American racing as the drug-addled villain of the global game – cheering from the rafters as Rich Tapestry sticks his nose in front of O’Neill’s horse at the wire.

Pan to: The HKJC’s executive director of racing, Bill Nader. Understandably over the moon, he says the day after the race in the South China Morning Post that Rich Tapestry’s win “has laid the Lasix debate out for everyone to see.”

Nader concludes: “This win is a great statement for all medication-free racing jurisdictions.”

The American anti-Lasix folks embrace the message and chant for change and international harmonization. Fade out.

End of Part One. The Breeders’ Cup Sprint to follow. Cinéma vérité finis.

It’s too bad Rich Tapestry’s remarkable accomplishment was so politically machinated, because on pure sport it was tremendous standalone theater starring the horse and his rider, and it was a significant accomplishment for trainer Michael Chang Chun-wai. Plus, it was a major

Racing’s rich tapestry Plot: An ambitious two-pronged plan is hatched by some guys in Hong Kong, to take a local horse from Sha Tin Racecourse to the United States with the aim of winning the Breeders’ Cup Sprint on dirt in early November. First, though, they’ll prep in a Grade 1 race on dirt at Santa Anita in California in early October as a practice run for the main event. statement about Hong Kong racing and its rise in stature internationally.

The active horse population in Hong Kong numbers about 1200 head and there are six (soon to be ten) internationally recognized and open Group 1 races there. Yet Hong Kong-trained horses have won four of those six open races over the last year and are responsible now for an additional five individual international Grade/Group 1 wins in 2014 – four of them sprints, three on turf. Aside from Rich Tapestry, the international winners are Dan Excel (Singapore Airlines International Cup at 2000 meters on turf); Lucky Nine (1200-meter KrisFlyer International Sprint on turf in Singapore); Amber Sky (Al Quoz Sprint over 1000 meters on turf in Dubai); and Sterling City (1200-meter Golden Shaheen in Dubai on the Tapeta from Rich Tapestry).

Sprinting, obviously, is a strength of the Hong Kong program, and Rich Tapestry had come close in a Group 1 sprint in Dubai on an all-weather synthetic surface before California. But he came from a racing enviornment known for its highclass turf, not dirt, racing, and he wasn’t outstanding over there on form. In fact, he’d won only six of 26 starts lifetime, was seven years old, was averaging less than four-and-a-half starts a

“It’s too bad Rich Tapestry’s remarkable accomplishment was so politically machinated, because on pure sport it was tremendous stand-alone theater”

year through six seasons, and hadn’t raced since the end of April, when he’d bled “substantially” in the trachea, according to HKJC records.

Obviously, Rich Tapestry wasn’t a paragon of durability.

Based on this reading of form at the detailed HKJC site, Rich Tapestry had looked like he’d be up against it at Santa Anita. Moreover, there was no evidence in the HKJC past performances that he’d even raced on dirt – he had two “AWT” designations next to two wins. “AWT” is the international code for an all-weather synthetic track, and this, perhaps, explained some of his success in Dubai. It was also worrisome that he’d only been okayed to race by the HKJC at the end of August after his bleeding episode in April.

But it turns out that the “AWT” designation at the HKJC is a misnomer from the days before 1996 when Sha Tin had an Equitrack surface, since replaced by an American dirt track, in place. The “AWT” course is soon to be designated as dirt instead of all-weather, according to Nader, who said international harmonization of terminology is needed moving forward. And it turns out that Rich Tapestry relished the dirt at Sha Tin, so much so that his trainer had planned the two-race trip for the dirt racing alone. Yes, the horse was a bleeder, but trainer Michael Chang Chun-wai, like many trainers around the world, knew he could manage his horse, and he expertly delivered Rich Tapestry in peak health for Olivier Doleuze to pilot to victory.

The real story was about the horse and the horsemen behind him, not the politics, just as it was about Wesley Ward and David Flores and their charge No Nay Never last year when that horse historically landed the Group 1 Prix Morny in France. And recall, Ward took his horse off Lasix to win twice in Europe. n

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