North American Trainer - Spring 2021 - issue 59

ISSUE 59 – Spring 2021 $6.95 www.trainermagazine.com

THE QUARTERLY MAGAZINE FOR THE TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE THOROUGHBRED

THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE

RON

MOOUETT Trainer of Champion Sprinter Whitmore in profile.

| OPINION |

GILES ANDERSON PUBLISHER’S OPINION

Legend has it that in the year 1314, the King of Scots, Robert the Bruce, told his troops before the battle of Bannockburn, “If at first you don’t succeed try, try and try again.”

Our cover profile trainer, Ron Moquett, must have been sharing similar sentiments with his flagship horse, Whitmore, who finally won the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at the fourth time of asking.

Whitmore capped a fantastic 2020 campaign when named as the Eclipse Award winner of the sprint division this past January. His legion of fans will be eagerly anticipating his return to the track as an eight-year-old, which is likely to happen at Oaklawn Park—the Hot Spring Stakes or the Count Fleet Sprint being flagged as possible races.

But during Whitmore’s ascension to the sprint rank on the track, his trainer has been fighting some serious health issues off the track. As he told Bill Heller for this interview, Moquett has survived three years with atypical sarcoidosis, an autoimmune disease affecting the lungs. Think you were scared about COVID-19? Ron hasn’t missed a step training his stable of 38 horses. “This ain’t nothing,” he said. “A lot of people got through worse than I got. I get to go to the barn. I get to do my job. I was wearing a mask before it became a fad. My breathing is compromised by one lung, which is working at 40 percent. But I feel great now, between active spurts. I have to be very careful with the COVID. If somebody with my condition gets it, then it’s a big deal.”

As we know, a successful barn is built on firm foundations, with a strong team providing the support for the named trainer. The Moquett barn is no exception. Moquett is assisted by his wife, Laura and former jockey, Greta Kuntzweiler.

Personally, I’m thrilled for Kuntzweiler. She was a talented jockey who, it would be fair to say, went through a difficult time in the last decade but has been able to flourish in her second career as part of the Moquett barn.

At this time of the year, the breeding season is in full swing, and as it’s 30 years since Sunday Silence first entered the breeding shed, we thought it would be a great time to remember one of the equine legends of the sport, charting his early journey from the farm to the sales rings of North America—a classic success on the racetrack and onto the indelible mark he leaves on the sport today. Thank you, Arthur, Staci and Kate for the help that you have given us in pulling this epic story together!

In this issue, we are also reintroducing our ever popular State Incentive guide, looking at the different options available to breeders on a state-by-state basis. We’ve pulled together information from across North America to aid breeders as to what incentives are currently available.

So, wherever your racing or breeding takes place this spring - good luck!

ISSUE 59 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM

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CONTRIBUTORS Editorial Director/Publisher Giles Anderson (859) 242 5025 Sub-Editor Jana Cavalier

Alan F. Balch was hired as the executive director of the California Thoroughbred Trainers in April 2010. His professional career in racing began at Santa Anita in

Dr. Russell Mackechnie-Guire runs Centaur Biomechanics and works with elite athletes in all equestrian sports, optimising performance and marginal gains.

Photography Co-ordination Kerstin Coward

1971, where he advanced to the position of senior

He recently gained a PhD in equine locomotion

vice president of marketing and assistant general

from the Royal Veterinary College Structure &

Advert Production Charlotte Fossey

manager, and was in charge of the Olympic

Motion Lab. Russell is co-author of more than

Games Equestrian Events in Los Angeles in 1984.

30 published papers on horse-saddle-rider

He retired in the early 90s to become volunteer

interaction.

Circulation Charlotte Fossey (1 888 659 2935) Advertising Sales Giles Anderson, Anna Alcock (859) 242 5025 Cover Photograph Eclipse Sportswire

Trainer Magazine is published by Anderson & Co Publishing Ltd. Contact details Tel: 1 888 659 2935 Fax: 1 888 218 4206 info@trainermagazine.com www.trainermagazine.com North America PO Box 13248, Lexington, KY 40583-3248 United Kingdom 14 Berwick Courtyard, Berwick St Leonard, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP3 5UA

president of the National Equestrian Federation of the USA, as well as of the National Horse Show of Madison Square Garden. He remains president of USA Equestrian Trust, Inc. Bill Heller is an Eclipse Awardwinning author of 26 books, including biographies of Hall of Fame jockeys Ron Turcotte, Randy Romero and Jose Santos.

Catherine Rudenko is an independent registered nutritionist with a focus on Thoroughbreds. Based in the UK, Catherine has worked in the USA, Europe and Asia with trainers and studs creating feeds and feeding plans customized to their needs and climate. With a keen interest in education and research, Catherine works with

Bill and his wife Marianne live near Gulfstream

professional bodies and universities to promote

Park in Florida. Bill’s son Benjamin is an

knowledge of nutrition and its importance in the

accomplished marathon runner in Troy, N.Y.

management of Thoroughbreds and other breeds.

Carol Hughes PhD has studied Infectious Disease at Birmingham Medical School and Gut Microbiology at Aberystwyth University. For 25 years she was based in Newmarket and Lambourn working with many of the UK’s top trainers. During the past 7 years she has been involved in 16s rRNA metagenomic profiling, linking the thoroughbred microbiome to performance and disease.

Currently developing a veterinary bioinformatics application for the detection of antibiotic resistance and emerging pathogens in collaboration with Aberystwyth and Cardiff Universities.

Ken Snyder is a current turf writer for Gallop Magazine, and a turf/ travel-culture writer for Kentucky Monthly magazine. His work has appeared, as well, in other publications, including The Blood-Horse. He and his wife, Cassie, reside in Kuttawa, Kentucky.

Nancy Sexton is based in Newmarket and contributes to a variety of publications worldwide, including the Racing Post, and is a regular at sales across Europe and North America in her role as European representative of Schumer Bloodstock.

Annie Lambert is a photojournalist based in Temecula, California. She grew up enjoying many facets of the equine industry with her Trainer Magazine is the official magazine of the California Thoroughbred Trainers.

It is distributed to all ‘Trainer’ members of the Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association and all members of the Consignors and Commercial Breeders Association, the Maryland Horse Breeders Association, the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association, the Alberta Thoroughbred Owners & Breeders Association and the Virginia Thoroughbred Association.

veterinarian father, Dr Willard D Ommert, and mother, Pat North Ommert, who is an inductee of the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame. Anne

She enjoys maintaining a small broodmare band in Kentucky Georgie White is a masters’ degree qualified Veterinary Physiotherapist, following graduation from Writtle University College she now runs a mobile Veterinary Physiotherapy

has been involved in many aspects of the

service for both horses and dogs in the East

thoroughbred racing industry, rode hunters

Midlands. She has a specific interest in equine

and jumpers as well as reined cow horses.

performance and pre-habilitation.

Trainer Magazine (ISSN 17580293) is published 4 times a year, February, April, July and October by Anderson & Co Publishing and distributed in the USA

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Periodicals postage paid at Rahway, NJ and at additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Trainer Magazine, Anderson & Co Publishing, PO Box 13248, Lexington, KY 40583-3248.

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TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 59

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| CONTENTS |

08

20 72 28

ISSUE

59

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CONTENTS F E AT U R E S

R EGUL A R S

08 Ron Moquett - cover profile

Bill Heller portrays Ron Moquett, co-owner and trainer of Whitmore and the team behind Whitmore – Ron’s wife Laura and former jockey Greta Kuntzweiler. Together, the Moquetts and Kuntzweiler reached that remarkable Breeders’ Cup moment when Whitmore won.

Now Ron can dream of a repeat Breeders’ Cup victory for the 2020 Champion Sprinter.

20 How dirt tracks became safer in 2020

Ken Snyder compares tracks and explains the actions which Santa Anita and Fair Grounds in New Orleans took to make their tracks safer.

28 Sunday Silence

Nancy Sexton looks back at the legacy Sunday Silence has left and why the stallion was a true game changer for the Japanese industry, not only as a brilliant source of elite talent but as a key to the development of Japan as a respected racing nation.

44 Understanding gene sequencing technology

Carol Hughes explains how every common gastrointestinal disease can be linked back to disturbances of the gut bacteria.

@ t ra i n e r _ m a g

04

50 State breeding incentives for 2021 North America provides breeder and owner incentive programs to reward horsemen for producing quality bloodstock – Annie Lambert breaks these programs down State by State.

66 “Bon appétit”

Establishing what a normal appetite looks like, Catherine Rudenko examines ways to encourage and maintain appetite throughout a season. The best planned feeding program in the world is of no use if the horse simply does not eat as required to sustain performance.

This quarter, Bill Heller asks if with increased restrictions on the use of Lasix, tracks should have agreed protocols with horsemen for the horse’s barn environment, covering ventilation / air flow and bedding?

72 Graded Stakes winning owners Bill Heller captures the Graded Stakes winning owners behind Colonel Liam, Kiss Today Goodbye and Tide of the Sea.

80 Stable vices

Georgie White investigates Stable Vices: Are they vices or a product of the environment?

86 On the bridle

Dr. Russell Mackechnie-Guire looks at the different types of bridles at the trainers’ disposal and what works best for which type of horse.

/ t ra i n e r m a g a z i n e

TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 59

06 Alan F. Balch column 94 #soundbites

/ t ra i n e r m a g a z i n e

Visit trainermagazine.com to download our current digital editions and access back issues of both European and North American Trainer

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| CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED TRAINERS |

ALAN F. BALCH LEFT: Adam Smith, 1723 - 1790.

Political economist and author of The Theory of Moral Sentiments.

famous line from the same speech, about the “nattering nabobs of negativism,” and they all realized the parts of the speech they loved had also been delivered by one Spiro T. Agnew, former Vice President of the United States.

Labels, like stereotypes, are diversions from objective analysis. As we assess what ails our sport, and ideas to improve it, labeling a person or an idea “socialist” (or anything else) is just plain counterproductive.

We have to confront objective reality and consider all possible corrective means.

A hundred years ago—when this really was the Sport of Kings—it relied then as it still does now on all the commoners.

Both kings and commoners love to bet, but there are way more of the latter than the former, and now a great many owners are commoners, too. Back then, virtually everyone recognized that a sport so afflicted with temptations to dishonesty and corruption needed serious governmental oversight if it was to survive and prosper. Yet our racing forefathers were hardly “socialists”!

So were born pari-mutuel wagering, the totalizator, and testing for forbidden substances, among countless rules across dozens of American states to build and retain public confidence in the integrity of our sport. Does such government intrusion and oversight smack of “socialism”? To some or many, yes. And they bring with them their own problems of potential misconduct and unfairness in administration. Whether king or commoner, whether citizen or government official, we all share one thing: human nature.

Every human, whatever his or her station, is constantly tempted to act in their own short-term interest, rather than for the common good. Laws, regulations, and the means to enforce them, are the result.

The draconian legal and regulatory reactions to widespread media notice of the appearance of animal abuse in racing

SOCIALIST IMPERTINENCE? “On, no,” you’re saying to yourself, “not more politics!”

B

ut stop and think: American racing is and has been since the 1930s essentially political, since it’s a state-regulated industry. It’s about to add another layer of government regulation, now that in their mutual wisdom The Jockey Club, United States Congress, and former President of the United States have just enacted new legislation to elaborate racing regulation still further. And complicate it?

The last time I wrote about subjects I’m going to raise again here, I was accused by one of our most prominent readers of being a “socialist,” and that sprang to mind when I was assailed the same way very recently by another prominent personage. I know that one of them is a strong supporter of the new “Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act,” or HISA. My former students at Harvard College would get a serious jolt out of that accusation; they used to call the classes in Government I taught “Firing Line,” after William F. Buckley’s right-wing conservative television program of the day. I once read aloud to them paragraphs from a Lincoln Day speech delivered by a prominent politician, and largely written by one of my academic mentors who had been showered in infamy for his work with Barry Goldwater. I didn’t tell them that, of course. And then I asked them who they believed delivered those ringing sentiments.

“JFK,” came shouted back. “FDR. Justice (Hugo) Black. Justice Douglas.”

Liberal lions all. Then I read another

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has been staggering, in 2019 and since.

Is all this increased and intense oversight of training and racing really necessary?

Objective statistics at present would indicate it is, despite most of us (including me) having thought it wasn’t. It’s far, far from the first time I’ve been wrong about something so important.

Overburdensome government regulation is one characteristic of socialism. Another is taxing the richer for the benefit of the poorer. But would racing today really be better off if we returned to the wild old days of winner-take-all purses, lack of government involvement, no rules on “medications,” and a supposedly free market in bloodstock, racing locations, and dates? Anything goes?

All of which brings me again to declining foal crops, declining owner crops, and declining field sizes. Do we really think that doing things the same way we’re accustomed to is going to deliver different results?

It is now axiomatic that the vast majority of purses are won by far less than 20% of owners, trainers, and jockeys. Which means that well over 80% of those connections are literally running for scraps of leftovers.

Does this financial model work now, if it ever did? When only kings owned horses, purses were like an honorific—mostly meaningless. Nowadays, all but a relatively few owners worry about paying bills. And it’s a proven fact that there’s little if any relationship between high purses and field size.

Naturally, today’s elite owners tend not even to think about purse distribution, including the percentage of total purses reserved for stakes … but since the public doesn’t like betting on races with six or fewer horses, often with even fewer true betting interests, existing purse levels in stakes are ever more seriously threatened.

After all, handle on the overnights generates the stakes money. The elite owners need to understand their own self-interest, and soon.

So, leave top stakes purse distribution where it is. But reduce the winner’s share in overnights to 50% (or even less at some levels), to provide more significant purse money to lower placings.

Before the owner crop (elite or otherwise) falls to a tipping point.

PROFILE

U

pon reaching the winner’s circle after the $2 million Gr1 Breeders’ Cup Sprint on November 7th at Keeneland, Laura Moquett hugged her seven-year-old gelding Whitmore, telling him, “You’re a total badass.”

Talking about that moment a week later, she added, “That applies to my husband, too.”

She says that with justifiable pride in both. She is the co-owner, assistant trainer and galloper of Whitmore, who was seeking his first victory in his fourth start in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint.

If there was an equine dictionary and you looked up the word “rogue,” Whitmore’s picture would probably be there. He is the poster horse of bad behavior.

• ALL ABOUT MOQUETT Laura’s 48-year-old husband Ron, co-owner and trainer of Whitmore, has survived three years with atypical sarcoidosis, an autoimmune disease affecting the lungs.

Think you were scared about COVID? Ron hasn’t missed a step training his stable of 38 horses. “This ain’t nothing,” he said. “A lot of people got through worse than I got. I get to go to the barn. I get to do my job. I was wearing a mask before it became a fad.”

There’s a third member of this Whitmore team—former jockey Greta Kuntzweiler, now Whitmore’s breeze rider and an assistant trainer. Ron calls her a hippy. Greta laughs when asked about it. “He thinks I’m a hippy because I’m a Democrat,” she said.

Together, the Moquetts and Kuntzweiler reached that remarkable Breeders’ Cup moment when Whitmore won the Sprint by 3 ¼ lengths, thanks to a perfect ride by Irad Ortiz, Jr. Whitmore had peaked as a seven-year-old in his 38th career start—a testament to Ron’s conviction that doing right by the horse allows you to maximize success. Ron defers credit to his horse. “He tells me everything,” Ron said. “Every day. He’s honest, very honest.

He’s very forthcoming with information on what he needs.”

That only matters if his trainer listens. Ron has been listening to animals his entire life. At a young age, he preferred the company of animals rather than people.

His mother died when he was four-years-old. “We went from place to place for a while,” he said. “We ended up with our grandparents. I gravitated to animals—any kind of animals. I didn’t care—dogs, cats, horses, chickens. An animal will never lead you astray. An animal is very honest.

For whatever reason, they respected me, and I respected them. Without cats, dogs, horses and chickens, I would need a lot of therapy. That’s what I used for therapy. It’s where I got comfort. I like people, but I’d rather be with my animals.”

He built his life with horses. “A horse never lies to you,” he said. “If he’s afraid, he shows it. If he’s hungry, he shows it.”

And if that horse is Whitmore, he’ll kick you to hell if you touch him in the wrong place. Or at the wrong time.

Or just for kicks. His specialty was a double-barrel kick.

Ron can live with that because Whitmore also has an incredible amount of talent.

Ron was born near Blue Ribbons Downs, a Quarter Horse track in Sallisaw, Okla. Ron pursued his interest in

RON MOQUETT

TOTA L BA DA SS! Bill Heller

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Coady Photography, Eclipse Sportswire

| RON MOQUETT |

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PROFILE

horses at bush tracks. “We used to go on Sundays,” he said. “They would have racing on a 400-yard strip. We’d have big-name riders come in.”

Ron couldn’t get enough. “I worked at the gate,” he said. “I would get the horses ready to run. I’d help the trainers pony horses. My friend rode—that was my first introduction. They were gambling and riding. I just wanted to be with the horses.

I thought that was cool as hell. I was probably 13.”

Then came a sobering realization. “There was nobody making money doing this,” he said.

So he began supplementing his income with toughman fighting.

“It was kind of like a predecessor to Ultimate Fighting,” he said.

“There are three one-minute rounds with 16-ounce gloves. The winner moves on. If you win five or six, you’d get up to a money fight. I did all right from 18 to 24. I didn’t do it all the time. It got to the point where other people were getting better. It got to where I was making money with horses; I didn’t have to do it anymore.”

That happened at Oaklawn Park, where he started training.

“I was 22,” Ron said. “I lived in a tack room probably the first six months. That’s no different than a lot of people today. I was nobody special.”

Ron caught a huge break, landing a job working for trainer Bernie Flint. “Bernie was the perfect guy for me,” Ron said. “He allowed me to do everything and taught me a lot about handling different situations. He was always kind to the animals. For a claiming trainer, he was very kind. He’s 6-3, 300 pounds, an ex-cop. Bernie was a natural horseman. I was with him less than two years, and he showed me so much more than if I had gone to a big operation.”

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EVERYBODY LOVES IT WHEN YOU’RE DOING WELL WITH A BARN FULL OF GREAT HORSES. TRY DOING IT WHENEVER YOU GOT A BARN FULL OF OTHER PEOPLE’S CAST-OFFS. YOU DON’T HAVE A LOT OF MONEY TO FALL BACK ON.” Ron was about as far removed from a big operation as possible when he started his own stable, posting only one second and one third in seven starts in 1997. “How bad do you want it?” Ron asked. “Everybody loves it when you’re doing well with a barn full of great horses. Try doing it whenever you got a barn full of other people’s cast-offs. You don’t have a lot of money to fall back on. Mike Tyson said, ‘Everybody’s got a plan until you get punched in the face.’”

| RON MOQUETT |

He had been literally punched in the face when he was a toughman fighting for years. He was able to abandon his second career when his numbers improved in his first full year of training in 1998 with five victories from 82 starters and $80,354 in earnings. In 1999, he had 12 wins from 141 starts with $259,385 in money. He was on his way.

“I just wanted it too bad to not keep doing it,” Ron said. “How are you going to make it? First, you have to have a love for the animal. Second, you have to have a hatred of money, because you’re not going to get it for a long time. I’ve been doing this for 20-something years, and I finally wound up winning a couple of them. The third thing is you got to be where you don’t require sleep.

If you don’t love money, and you love horses, and you don’t sleep, then you’ve got a shot at becoming a trainer.

It’s so hard. The game is frustrating and so hard.”

Having a partner helps navigate the tough times, and Ron has a 24-7 partner in Laura. Raised in Lawton, a small town in Iowa, she discovered her passion for horses as a child “I had my own horses at my house,” she said. “I was 16 when I started galloping. There’s a different way to look at the world through their eyes. I speak horse.

It’s like a second language. They communicate with you through their body language.”

Ron was working for Bernie Flint when Laura got a job with him. She saw a kindred spirit. “He cares about horses,” she said. “He’s not in a hurry. He cares to get to the bottom. A team aspect comes into play.”

They married. “Roughly, it was in 2014,” Laura said. “I’m guessing. We’re both terrible about the anniversary.”

They weren’t too good at weddings either. They both arrived late separately for their ceremony. “We kind of live in the moment, which is great for horses,” Laura said.

Having a talented exercise rider is great for horses, too, and they have one in Greta, who won 555 races and $12,248,599 before stopping in 2015. “My business was slowing down, and Ron asked me if I would break and gallop,” she said. “Then Laura began teaching me assistant trainer stuff. It’s a great job. I love horses. I’m happy.”

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PROFILE

I GET A TEXT FROM THE NIGHT WATCHMAN AT 4A.M. ON HOW EVERYONE ATE AND IF THEY’RE DOING ALL RIGHT. I GET LEG CHARTS. MY ASSISTANTS TELL ME HOW THE HORSES FEEL AFTER RACING. I GET CHARTS RATING HORSES’ WORKS, 1, 2 OR 3. IF THERE IS A CHECKMARK ON THE RIDER, IT MEANS THERE’S SOMETHING I NEED TO TALK TO HIM ABOUT.” She, too, was impressed with Ron’s horsemanship. “He’s a really smart guy with a good memory,” Greta said. “He can remember a horse. When he watches training in the morning, he knows his horses and other people’s horses.

It’s a huge advantage. He’s a really good horseman.

“He likes to get horses, walk them around the shed row and take them to graze, and try to get into their heads. He wants to spend time with them. I’ve seen him load difficult horses on a trailer. He knows how to ask them to do something they don’t want to do. His wife is really good at that, too. They’re great horse people that I want to be around.”

But suddenly, in the spring of 2018, there was a question if Ron could ever be around his horses. He was diagnosed with atypical sarcoidosis. “What happens is, it attacks your lungs,” Ron said. “My breathing is compromised by one lung, which is working at 40 percent. But I feel great now, between active spurts. I

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have to be very careful with the COVID. If somebody with my condition gets it, then it’s a big deal.”

For a while, he worked exclusively from home. Now he trains partially from home, subject to the pandemic numbers. “That takes a lot of up-to-the-minute tedious information,” he said. “I get a text from the night watchman at 4 a.m. on how everyone ate and if they’re doing all right. I get leg charts. My assistants tell me how the horses feel after racing. I get charts rating horses’ works, 1, 2 or 3. If there is a checkmark on the rider, it means there’s something I need to talk to him about.

“I’m able to go to the barn, just not be around people. I check legs. There’s nothing like hands-on. You have to have horsemen at every station with hands-on. I want a groom who knows the difference. And my exercise riders know the difference. We figured out how to get everything done.”

Asked if it gets wearing, Ron said, “It seems like I’ve been doing it forever.”

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| RON MOQUETT |

PROFILE

LAURA CALLS US GOOD COPS/BAD COPS. HE’S KIND OF A NAUGHTY HORSE. I LET HIM GET AWAY WITH IT. LAURA IS THE BAD COP BECAUSE SHE GALLOPS HIM. HE REALLY STRETCHES YOU MENTALLY.” GRETA ON WHITMORE

• ALL ABOUT WHITMORE Whitmore challenged him before he got sick. The son of Pleasantly Perfect out of Melody’s Spirit by Scat Daddy was bred by John Liviakis in Kentucky. Liviakis sold Whitmore to the Moquetts’ Southern Spring Stables.

“When Whitmore came into Churchill Downs with the other two-year-olds, Ron was at Saratoga,” Laura said.

“They were in company. He slammed people. He stopped running. He bucked—any defensive move he could. He was definitely worried. We looked at each other. What did we buy? We called Ron at Saratoga and asked him what to do. We literally couldn’t get him around the track. Ron said, `Take him to the chute. Train him in the straightaway with a pony.’ We used multiple techniques.

If he moved forward, you took all the pressure off him.

It took a solid 60 days for him to put together what he learned in the straightaway and do it on the track. We still work him with company.”

Greta said, “Laura calls us good cops/bad cops.

He’s kind of a naughty horse. I let him get away with it.

Laura is the bad cop because she gallops him. He really

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TOP LEFT: Breeze rider and assistant trainer Greta Kuntzweiler with Whitmore.

stretches you mentally. He’ll lunge forward. He does it for the reaction, just to make it difficult. If you react, he keeps doing it. If you don’t, he’ll stop it. I let him do his own way.”

His own way was mighty impressive. In his two-year-old debut at Churchill Downs, November 6, 2015, Whitmore won a six-furlong maiden special weight by 7¼ lengths from sitting third early at 15-1 under Didiel Osorio.

The Moquetts’ phone rang shortly afterwards. Both Bob LaPenta and Sol Kumin’s Head of Plains Partners wanted to buy in. And they did. Their goal was the Kentucky Derby, perhaps fueled by Whitmore’s come-from-behind style.

Whitmore gave his connections reason to believe he could win the Derby after finishing second in the Gr3 Southwest Stakes and third in the Gr1 Arkansas Derby— his first start at a mile and an eighth.

Sent off at 30-1 in the mile-and-a-quarter Gr1 Kentucky Derby, Whitmore finished 19th by 37¼ lengths in the field of 20 to Nyquist.

That allowed Moquett to focus on what he always believed was Whitmore’s calling as a sprinter. “Where I come from, the Breeders’ Cup Sprint is more important

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PROFILE

| RON MOQUETT |

ABOVE: Whitmore at home.

TOP RIGHT & RIGHT: Breeders’ Cup celebrations.

than the Classic,” he said. “I want to win the Kentucky Derby because that would prove I’ve made it, but it’s harder to win the Breeders’ Cup Sprint than the Classic.

Certain horses are bred to run a mile-anda-quarter. You see six-furlong races every day. There are so many more horses that run six furlongs. To win the Sprint takes a badass.”

Moquett decided to give Whitmore plenty of time to recover from his Kentucky Derby campaign and cut him back to sprints. “I had to explain to my partners what my line of thinking was,” Ron said.

“I’ve got the best partners in the world. Bob LaPlenta has been a partner almost since Day One. Same thing with Sol Kumin. They have a lot of horses, but these people let the individual trainers do what they think best without any pressure at all. Whitmore wouldn’t have lasted if just anybody owned him. No matter what, I didn’t feel I’d be in trouble or get fired if I skipped a race. It was always, ’Do whatever you think best.’”

Whitmore didn’t race again until December 3, 2016, nearly seven months after the Derby. He made Ron’s decision to stick to sprinting easy to swallow by winning his first five starts back, including the Hot Spring Stakes by six lengths, the Gr3 Count Fleet Stakes by 3½, and the Gr3 Maryland Sprint by a half-length.

He’d shown enough merit to start in the 2017 Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Del Mar but never fired, finishing eighth by 12½ lengths under Manny Franco.

Along the way, Whitmore made it as difficult as possible for his riders. “Whitmore is not easy to ride,” Ron said. “He tries to intimidate you. If you touch him in the afternoon on his flank, he’ll double-barrel kick.

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He’s doing it with bad intentions. He doesn’t want to be messed with. He doesn’t want to go past another horse, he wants to bite him and intimidate him and talk smack to him. He’ll pull you right up to the other horse’s throat.

He wants to bite him.”

Yet he always shows up. In his first 19 starts after the Kentucky Derby, Whitmore posted 10 wins, five seconds and two thirds. He was second by 3¼ lengths to Roy H in the 2018 Breeders’ Cup Sprint under Ricardo Santana at Churchill Downs. In the 2019 Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Santa Anita, he was third by 3½ lengths to Mitole under Flavien Prat.

At the age of seven, Whitmore was again pointed to the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Keeneland. Heading into the race, he finished a strong second in the Gr1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Stakes at Saratoga to Volatile under Joel Rosario; seventh at Saratoga in the Gr1 Forego under Luis Saez, and fourth in the Gr2 Phoenix under Joe Talamo at Keeneland.

Irad Ortiz, Jr. got the call for the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Sprint. He had ridden Whitmore in the Rebel and Arkansas Derby.

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PROFILE

Ron had a lot on his mind before the race. One of his longest partners, Fred Edick, had passed away. “He’s been a part of every horse—more like a father figure than I ever had,” Ron said. “He was tough, but he was fair. He was supportive. He was good to me, being an owner and a partner. He died the day after the Forego. Whitmore was like his spirit animal. Didn’t take any crap.”

And Whitmore showed it before the Breeders’ Cup Sprint. He kicked in the paddock. He scattered several assistant starters with powerful kicks while he was loading, then punctuated his ill-acting performance with a double-barrel back kick before going into the gate.

Team Whitmore saw all this as a great sign. He was raring to go.

Ortiz did a masterful job saving ground most of the way, angling out in the stretch and blowing past the early leaders to win going away in 1:08.61. Whitmore’s 16th career victory in 38 starts, with 11 seconds and a trio of thirds, boosted his earnings to $4,247,850—$3.5 million more than Ron’s second highest career earner, Gentlemen’s Bet. “The last 50 yards of the race—other than my kids being born— is one of the best feelings,” Ron said. “I knew he was going to

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| RON MOQUETT |

ABOVE: Whitmore, ridden by Irad Ortiz, Jr., wins the Sprint on Breeders’ Cup Championship Saturday at Keeneland, 2020.

win. It was almost like it was slow motion. I could enjoy it. It was one of the coolest moments that ever happened to me.”

Team Whitmore had its first Breeders’ Cup victory in the feel-good story of Breeders’ Cup weekend. “It was so cool,” Laura said. “Everybody wants to be at the big races. When he was second and third in the Breeders’ Cup, I was so proud of him.

But winning takes it to a whole new level.”

Ron said, “It’s such a big deal to me and my barn. It’s that huge that it’s going to take a while to believe.”

A signature moment in a lifetime pursuit of a sport he loves. “I love it enough that I’d do it for free,” Ron said. “I have done it for free.”

Now he can dream of a repeat Breeders’ Cup victory.

Whitmore will race at eight, his first start of the new campaign is likely to come in the Hot Spring Stakes at Oaklawn on March 13th, probably kicking all the way.

Q&A

ABOUT EXERCISE INDUCED PULMONARY HEMORRHAGE (EIPH) WITH DR. HOWARD ERICKSON*

Q: WHAT IS EIPH? A: EIPH is the presence of blood in the airways during or after exercise. It occurs when the pulmonary capillary membranes (PCM) deep within the lungs ruptures. Essentially all horses are affected by EIPH during intensive exercise.

Q: WHAT IS THE PCM? A: The PCM is a membrane that separates the pulmonary capillaries from the airways deep within the lungs. At only 1/100th the thickness of a human hair, it is very fragile. However, it is one of the things that makes horses super athletes by permitting extremely efficient transfer of oxygen and carbon dioxide into and out of the bloodstream during inhalation and exhalation.

Q: WHAT CAUSES EIPH? A: In a nutshell, during exercise high blood pressure

(needed to power exercise) pushes on the PCM from inside the pulmonary blood vessels and high vacuum pressure (needed to inhale large amounts of air) pulls on the PCM from the airway side. These forces exert massive stress on the PCM.

EIPH occurs when the combined high blood pressure and high vacuum pressure exerted on the PCM causes the PCM to rupture and release blood into the airways.

Artist rendering of RBCs spilling from pulmonary capillary into the airways.

PCM not shown in this illustration.

PULMONARY CAPILLARY High blood pressure inside pushing outward on PCM.

High vacuum pressure in airways pulling on PCM.

Electron microscope view of a red blood cell spilling out of ruptured pulmonary capillary membrane resulting from EIPH.

Other factors may contribute to EIPH, including surface conditions, speed, age, respiratory health, and environmental conditions. EIPH has not been shown to be caused by blood clotting abnormalities.

Q: WHAT ARE PROVEN WAYS TO PREVENT EIPH? A: Nothing has been shown to completely stop EIPH. Only two options have been repeatedly shown to reduce EIPH. • FLAIR® Nasal Strips—support the nasal passages to reduce airway resistance and decrease the vacuum pressure pulling on the outside of the PCM.

• Furosemide (Salix™, formerly Lasix™)—is a potent diuretic that reduces blood pressure that is pushing from inside the pulmonary capillaries on the PCM.

Q: HOW DO FLAIR STRIPS WORK? A: FLAIR Strips make breathing easier. When horses breathe hard, the

soft tissues overlying the nasal passages are sucked in, reducing the airway diameter. This reduction in diameter increases resistance to airflow into the lungs. By supporting the soft tissues overlying the nasal passages, resistance to airflow into the lungs is decreased. This decreases Developed by veterinarians, the vacuum pressures FLAIR Strips are clinically proven to: pulling on the outside of the PCM to reduce EIPH. REDUCE REDUCE EIPH FATIGUE

CONSERVE ENERGY

QUICKEN RECOVERY

Clinical studies PROVE that FLAIR Strips reduce EIPH: Poole, David C., PhD et al. J.Eq.Vet.Sci., 20: 9, 578-585, 2000. / Kindig, Casey A. PhD et al. J. Appl. Physio., 91: 1396-1400, 2001. / Geor, Ray J. PhD et al. Eq.Vet. J., 33:6, 577-584, 2001. / Holcombe, Susan J. VMD, PhD et al. Am. J. Vet.Res., 63:8, 1101-1105, 2002. / Valdez, Sandra C., MVZ et al. J. Am.Vet.Med.Assoc., 224: 4, 558-561, 2004. / McDonough, P. et al. Eq. Comp. Ex.Physiol., 1:3, 177-184, 2004. / Erickson, Howard H. DVM, PhD, et al. Proc. of the 53rd Ann. Conven. of the AAEP, 53, 68-71, 2007. *Dr. Howard Erickson is Professor Emeritus at Kansas State University. He was a pioneer in the foundational research of EIPH in horses. He and his team at KSU have conducted numerous scientific research studies and published extensively on the topic of EIPH.

SEE THE SCIENCE

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| INDUSTRY |

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” so wrote Charles Dickens. For horse racing in 2020, it just wasn’t where you would expect the best and worst, at least in a modern-day “Tale of Two Racetracks.”

SAFER RACETRACKS T

o wit: Santa Anita began 2020 in the wake of a nightmare: 20 racing fatalities in 2019. The Fair Grounds in New Orleans, on the other hand, was on the cusp of two straight Januarys without a racetrack fatality. If you don’t know the rest, you can probably guess what happened, 2020 being 2020: Santa Anita embarked on a record year in 2020 with zero fatalities on the dirt track and one less fatality in turf races than in 2019 (see sidebar). Meanwhile, at the Fair Grounds—long known as having one of the best surfaces in America—six racetrack fatalities occurred in January, a number more than double the average for this month.

Instantly, media attention focused on the Fair Grounds, interest made more acute, perhaps, by the highly publicized spate of fatalities at Santa Anita.

Overlooked by a large portion of the media (perhaps conveniently, some would say) is the anomaly that January 2020 represented, not just for the Fair Grounds but also for Thoroughbred racing in America. In terms of catastrophic injury rate, the sport enjoyed the smallest rate of fatalities per 1,000 starts—1.53—in 2019.

The Jockey Club created an Equine Injury Database (EID) in 2009, recording statistics and specifically compiling data from 14 leading tracks (including Santa Anita). In that first year, fatalities were 2.0 per 1,000 starts—the highest in the span of the 11-year-old EID. So what happened at the Fair Grounds? Dr. Michael “Mick” Peterson, executive director of the Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory, led a team of track management and, perhaps more critical, trainers with horses at the Fair Grounds to examine and analyze the track surface, particularly maintenance practices. Fatalities are multifactorial, and the intent was to address potential issues with the track surface.

According to Peterson, unexpected and unpredicted rainfall during training hours occurred in January.

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Ken Snyder

Jan Brubaker, Lou Hodges Jr., Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory

ISSUE 59 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM

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| INDUSTRY |

ABOVE: A harrowed track surface enables water to penetrate the surface rather than run off, causing over-saturation and is potentially ripe for injuries and fatalities.

Making matters worse, the rain—while amounting to maybe a half to three-quarters of an inch—fell for 45 minutes to an hour. Harrowed before training, the track surface was “open,” as Peterson termed it, enabling water to penetrate the surface rather than run off.

The result was a surface possibly over-saturated and potentially ripe for injuries and fatalities during races in the afternoon. Closing the door to this possibility meant closing the track if rain was expected or did fall during training and sealing or “floating it,” which produces a flat surface for water to run off into the infield.

If that sounds simple, it isn’t. There are dozens of trainers with stalls full of horses each needing track time, either for leg-stretching gallops or, more importantly, workouts timed out a certain number of days before an upcoming race. Racehorses are athletes who absolutely have to get out of their stalls, and there are no days off.

Weather can’t be a deterrent; they run in the rain, and they train in the rain. Stopping training to float and seal a racetrack—something commonly done between afternoon

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ABOVE: Sealing or floating a track produces a flat surface for water to run off.

LEFT: Fair Grounds track superintendent Pedro Zavala uses a soil moisture meter to measure moisture content at different areas of the track surface.

races—is uncommon during training hours and disruptive to trainers’ schedules. Simply put, trainers lose a hunk of training time if the track superintendent floats the surface during workout hours in the morning.

Here is where, according to Peterson, the Fair Grounds achieved real success. A group of trainers met with Fair Grounds track manager Jason Boulet, track superintendent Pedro Zavala, and Peterson and basically said, “We’re going to have to do that then,” referring to track closure during training for surface sealing.

For Peterson, Boulet and especially Zavala, this response from trainers with entries, races slated, and owners to whom they are accountable was as jaw-dropping as Santa Anita’s zero dirt-track fatality statistic in 2020.

“It really was one of those perfect moments in interaction between track management and superintendent and trainers,” said Peterson, who added, “It’s hard to get up in the morning and not know which horses you can train.

I was thoroughly impressed with the willingness of trainers to do that.”

Their only request was as much of a heads-up as possible to trainers if weather radar indicated rain looked likely. Track closure during training for floating was an option left on the table. It was part of “give and take,” as Peterson termed it, to enable trainers to send out horses needing a workout for an upcoming race ahead of a wet track.

| SAFER RACETRACKS |

“If I’m a trainer, I know that I might lose the second half of training because they’re going to shut it down and run the floats. Then I can train whatever horses I know I need to get out there in the first set.

“This is where the industry needs to go—the communication, being reasonable, recognizing the need for give and take at times.”

The cooperation of trainers at the Fair Grounds should not have been a surprise, given the history at the track. The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 provides an anecdote that is very telling about the input of trainers into track conditions and management at this third oldest American racetrack.

Katrina flooded the Fair Grounds and washed away the track surface. What replaced it was not nearly as good as pre-Katrina, according to regular Fair Grounds trainers.

A group of them, principal among them Al Stall, provided a simple observation: “It was better with the darker sand,” said Stall at the time, referring to reddish sand in the pre-Katrina surface.

Peterson remembered Boulet calling him to report that trainers were convinced darker spillway sand from the nearby Mississippi River would bring the track back to what it was. “Jason said, ‘I think they’re crazy. I don’t think the color matters,’” recalled Peterson with a laugh. “I said, ‘Jason, what they are actually identifying is the little bit of iron oxide in the sand. It’s hydrophilic and not hydrophobic, and you know what? I bet they’re exactly right.’”

IT REALLY WAS ONE OF THOSE PERFECT MOMENTS IN INTERACTION BETWEEN TRACK MANAGEMENT AND SUPERINTENDENT AND TRAINERS, IT’S HARD TO GET UP IN THE MORNING AND NOT KNOW WHICH HORSES YOU CAN TRAIN. I WAS THOROUGHLY IMPRESSED WITH THE WILLINGNESS OF TRAINERS TO DO THAT.”

Fair Grounds

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| INDUSTRY |

In lay terms, hydrophilic means moisture-absorbing and not moisture-resistant (hydrophobic).

Stall not only knew what the post-Katrina surface needed but where to find it. The New Orleans native drove Peterson and Boulet to different sand pits in the area, collecting samples of red sand. Peterson took it from there with something called X-ray diffraction testing to identify which source would be best.

Sand, however, is far from the only reason for a Fair Grounds surface that was, arguably, the best and safest in America before last January. It is one part of many measures, initiatives and improvements implemented since the “Al Stall tour.” And in what may be a shock to many in the media and public, those same measures are in place at other major U.S. racetracks. All account for the continuing decline in racetrack fatalities as recorded

by The Jockey Club.

The origin of the efforts was a safety initiative launched

by Churchill Downs Incorporated in the wake of the breakdowns of Barbaro (2006) and then Eight Belles (2008) in Triple Crown races, according to Peterson.

The initiative led to protocols for testing surface samples.

At the Fair Grounds each year, testing takes place six weeks before the racing meet starts on Thanksgiving Day—the traditional opening day. “If the composition isn’t right, by then we already have the material on-site to match target standards. Then what happens a few

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| SAFER RACETRACKS |

BELOW: Equipment used to test tracks include a device that can mimic the impacts of a horse running at full gallop.

weeks before the race meet is we come in with groundpenetrating radar—the biomechanical surface tester— and go through every piece of equipment and test,” said Peterson, who doubles as a professor of biosystems and agricultural engineering at the University of Kentucky.

If the depth, literally and figuratively, of surface preparation and management is a surprise, a bigger one might be that 13 other leading tracks in America— again, including Santa Anita—perform the same testing to certify optimum track-surface composition.

Separate from composition testing before a race meet is daily implementation of a Maintenance Quality System (MQS) with a breadth that is mind boggling. The Fair Grounds’ Zavala, as well as superintendents at the 13 other tracks, chart training times of all horses by workout length, make daily surface-depth or “cushion”

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| INDUSTRY |

| SAFER RACETRACKS |

Coronavirus was a barrier to the expansion of MQS to new tracks but not expansion within racetracks already on board with the system.

December 16, 2020, story in the Los Angeles Times attributed a reduction in the fatality statistics at Santa Anita Park in 2020 to a “combination of enhanced safety protocols and less racing because of shutdowns caused by the coronavirus.” The story added that “nearby fires could be considered factors (and track closures as a result) in cutting the death count by more than half.”

A

Here are the facts: 20 racing fatalities occurred at Santa Anita in 2019—13 on the dirt track and seven on the turf tracks—in 6,650 starts. In 2020, which saw 5,050 starters go to the post at Santa Anita, there were no fatalities on the dirt track and six on the turf surfaces.

measurements at as many as 16 different places on the racetrack and take moisture readings at 18 different spots. Data required in the MQS even calls for logging the speed of the tractors pulling harrows over the track and the direction they travel.

The latest addition to the MQS arsenal for Peterson and racing is a new type of weather station that debuted at Keeneland during the fall meet and Breeders’ Cup. It supplements daily reports summarizing data from the previous 24 hours of weather with improved real-time data. The objective is to counteract the effects of rapidly changing weather conditions like that experienced at the Fair Grounds last January. The benefits go beyond morning training with updates at, “say, the third race of a race day to enable adjustment for the fifth race by surface crews,” said Peterson.

The coronavirus, Peterson said, was a barrier to the expansion of MQS to new tracks but not expansion within racetracks already on board with the system. The new weather station is but one example.

There is also a new integrated track tester that measures everything from all-important moisture content to something called dielectric constant. It provides improved real-time data to track superintendents on conditions at their specific track through a GPS. Can racing, through track surface improvements, continue to reduce catastrophic racetrack injuries beyond the 16% reduction over the last decade? Peterson is hopeful. “The endpoint I see on this is having in place a process for what they call in manufacturing continuous improvement where we don’t just quit when we get a little better.”

The latest recorded racing fatality rate, again, represents the “best of times.” With lessons learned at the Fair Grounds, protocols in the MQS and technology improvements in testing, there is potential that the best can become even better.

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THE “DEATH COUNT” WAS REDUCED NOT BY “MORE THAN HALF” BUT BY ALMOST TWO-THIRDS IN RACING FATALITIES IN 2020 AS COMPARED TO 2019.

THE NUMBERS ARE CONCLUSIVE: SAFETY PROTOCOLS – AND SAFETY PROTOCOLS ALONE – ACCOUNT FOR THE REDUCTION.” Averaging race fatalities for the number of starts per 1,000 starters, Santa Anita averaged .12 racing fatalities in 2020 and 3.01 in 2019. Averaging removes track closures due to COVID-19 and fires as criteria for the decrease. Also, the “death count” was reduced not by “more than half ” but by almost two-thirds in racing fatalities in 2020 as compared to 2019. The numbers are conclusive: Safety protocols—and safety protocols alone—account for the reduction.

| RACING |

Nancy Sexton

The Tony Leonard Collection, Horsephotos.com, EquiSport Photos

AND HIS LASTING INFLUENCE, 3O YEARS AFTER ENTERING STUD 28

TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 59

| S U N D AY S I L E N C E |

BELOW: Sunday Silence and Pat Valenzuela winning the 1989 Kentucky Derby.

or over a quarter of a century, there has been an air of inevitability within Japanese racing circles.

Sunday Silence dominated the sire standings in Japan for 13 straight years from 1995 to 2007—his last championship arriving five years after his death. He was a true game changer for the Japanese industry, not only as a brilliant source of elite talent but as a key to the development of Japan as a respected racing nation.

Any idea that his influence would abate in the years following his death was swiftly quashed by an array of successful sire sons and productive daughters. In his place, Deep Impact rose to become a titan of the domestic industry. Others such as Heart’s Cry, Stay Gold, Agnes Tachyon, Gold Allure and Daiwa Major also became significant sires in their own right. Added to that, Sunday Silence is also a multiple champion broodmare sire and credited as the damsire of 202 stakes winners and 17 champions.

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| RACING |

“Thoroughbreds can be bought or sold,” says Teruya Yoshida of Shadai Farm, which bought Sunday Silence out of America in late 1990 and cultivated him into a global force. “As Nasrullah sired Bold Ruler, who changed the world’s breeding capital from Europe to the U.S., one stallion can change the world. Sunday Silence is exactly such a stallion for the Japanese Thoroughbred industry.”

Sunday Silence has been dead close to 20 years, yet the Japanese sires’ table remains an ode to his influence.

In 2020, Deep Impact landed his ninth straight sires’ championship with Heart’s Cry and Stay Gold’s son Orfevre in third and fourth. Seven of the top 12 finishers were sons or grandsons of Sunday Silence.

Another descendant, Deep Impact’s son Kizuna, was the nation’s leading second-crop sire. Deep Impact himself was the year’s top sire of two-year-olds.

Against that, it is estimated that up to approximately 70% of the Japanese broodmare population possess Sunday Silence in their background.

All the while, his influence remains on an upswing worldwide, notably via the respect held for Deep Impact.

A horse who ably built on the international momentum set by Sunday Silence, his own sire sons today range from the European Classic winners Study Of Man and Saxon Warrior—who are based in Britain and Ireland— to a deep domestic bench headed by the proven sires Kizuna, Mikki Isle and Real Impact.

In short, the Thoroughbred owes a lot to Sunday Silence.

Queen Elizabeth II meets Halo.

SUNDAY SILENCE (USA) 1986 Brown Colt

by Halo - Wishing Well, by Understanding Hail to Reason HALO (USA) B. or Br. 1969 GW 9 wins f:724 r:602 w:450 SW:63

Br. 1958 GW 9 wins f:308 r:258 w:199 SW:42

Cosmah

B. 1953 GW 9 wins f:15 r:10 w:9 SW:4

Understanding WISHING WELL (USA) B. 1975 GW 12 wins f:6 r:4 w:4 SW:1

Ch. 1963 GW 7 wins f:109 r:4 w:2 SW:1

Mountain Flower B. 1964 Pld f:7 r:5 w:4 SW:1

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Turn-to B. 1951, GW, f:316 r:131 w:106 SW:17

Nothirdchance B. 1948, GW 11 win, f:5 r:5 w:4 SW:2

Cosmic Bomb B. 1944, GW, f:286 r:21 w:18 SW:3

Almahmoud Ch. 1947, GW, f:8 r:4 w:3 SW:2

Promised Land Gr. 1954, GW, f:354 r:291 w:210 SW:28

Pretty Ways Br. 1953, Pld, f:9 r:7 w:6 SW:1

Montparnasse Br. 1956, NR, f:183 r:35 w:30 SW:7

Edelweiss B. 1959, NR, f:7 r:7 w:4 SW:1

Royal Charger Source Sucree Blue Swords Galla Colors Pharamond Banish Fear Mahmoud Arbitrator Palestinian Mahmoudess Stymie Pretty Jo Gulf Stream Mignon Hillary Dowager

| S U N D AY S I L E N C E |

• Inauspicious beginnings Roll back to 1988, however, and the mere idea of Sunday Silence as one of the great fathers of the breed would have been laughable.

For starters, he almost died twice before he had even entered training. The colt was bred by Oak Cliff Thoroughbreds, Ltd. in Kentucky with appealing credentials as a son of Halo, then in his early seasons at Arthur Hancock’s Stone Farm.

Halo had shifted to Kentucky in 1984 as a middle-aged stallion with a colorful existence already behind him.

By Hail To Reason and closely related to Northern Dancer, Halo had been trained by Mack Miller to win the 1974 Gr1 United Nations Handicap.

It was those bloodlines and latent talent that prompted film producer Irving Allen to offer owner Charles Englehard a bid of $600,000 for the horse midway through his career. Allen’s idea was to install Halo in England at his Derisley Wood Stud in Newmarket; and his bid was accepted only for it to be revealed that his new acquisition was a crib-biter. As such, the deal fell through, and Halo was returned to training, with that Gr1 triumph as due reward.

Would Halo have thrived in England? It’s an interesting question.

As it was, he retired to E. P. Taylor Windfields Farm in Maryland, threw champion Glorious Song in his first crop, Kentucky Derby winner Sunny’s Halo in his third and Devil’s Bag—a brilliant two-year-old of 1983—in his fourth.

Devil’s Bag’s exploits were instrumental in Halo ending the year as North America’s champion sire, and within months, the stallion was ensconced at Stone Farm, having been sold in a deal that reportedly valued the 15-year-old at $36 million. Chief among the new ownership was Texas oilman Tom Tatham of Oak Cliff Thoroughbreds.

In 1985, Tatham sent the hard-knocking Wishing Well, a Gr2winning daughter of Understanding, to the stallion. The result was a near black colt born at Stone Farm on March 26, 1986.

It is part of racing’s folklore how Sunday Silence failed to capture the imagination as a young horse—something that is today vividly recalled by Hancock.

“My first recollection of him was as a young foal,” he recalls.

“He was grey back then—he would later turn black.

“I was driving through the farm and I looked into one of the fields and saw this gray colt running. The others were either nursing or sleeping, but there was this colt running and jumping through the mares.

“We had a number of foals on the place at the time, and I wasn’t sure which one it was, so I rang Chester Williams, our broodmare manager. I said, ‘Hey Chester, who is this gray foal in 17?’ And he told me it was the Wishing Well colt. He was flying —he would turn at 45 degree angles and cut in and out of the mares. And I remember thinking even then, ‘well he can sure fly.’

“Then on Thanksgiving Day later that year, he got this serious diarrhea. We had about 70 foals on the farm, and he was the only one that got it; we had no idea where he got it from. Anyway, it was very bad. I called our vet, Carl Morrison, and between 9 a.m. and midday, we must have given him 23 liters of fluids.

“We really thought he was going to die, but Sunday Silence just wouldn’t give up. Obviously it set him back some; he was ribby for a few weeks. But I have never seen anything like it in a foal during 50 years at Stone Farm, and at Claiborne before then; and I remember thinking then that it was a spooky thing for him to get it and then to fight through it the way he did.”

As Hancock outlines, Sunday Silence was very much Halo’s son— not just as a black colt with a thin white facial strip but as a tough animal with a streak of fire.

Halo had arrived from Maryland with a muzzle and a warning.

Confident that a muzzle was an overreaction, Stone Farm’s stallion men worked initially without it, albeit against Hancock’s advice.

It wasn’t long until the muzzle went back on.

Not long after his arrival, Halo ‘grabbed the stallion man Randy Mitchell in the stomach and threw him in the air like a rag doll.’

“Halo then got on his knees on top of Randy,” recalls Hancock, “and began munching on his stomach. Virgil Jones, who was with Randy, starts yelling at Halo and hitting him with his fist.

Halo let go, and they managed to get him off.

“After that, the muzzle stayed on.”

Sunday Silence possessed a similar toughness. Indeed, that mental hardiness is a trait that continues to manifest itself in the line today, although not quite to the danger level of Halo.

Arthur Hancock

Devil’s Bag

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Staci & Arthur Hancock with Sunday Silence.

“Sunday Silence had a lot of guts and courage, even then,” remembers Hancock. “I remember being down at the yearling barn before the sale and hearing this yell. It was from one of the yearling guys, Harvey.

Sunday Silence had bitten him in the back—I’d never had a yearling do it before then and haven’t had one since.”

He adds: “When he came back here after his racing days, we had a photographer come to take some shots of him. Sunday Silence was in his paddock, and we were trying to get him to raise his head.

I went in there and shook a branch to get his attention. Well, he looked up, bared his teeth and started to come after me—he was moving at me, head down like a cat. And I said, ‘No you’re ok there boy; you just continue to graze’ and let him be.

“He was Halo’s son, that’s for sure, because Wishing Well was a nice mare. Sunday Silence had a mind of his own, even as a yearling.

I remember we couldn’t get him to walk well at the sales because he’d pull back against the bit all the time.”

It was that mental toughness and the memory of Sunday Silence flying through the fields as a young foal that remained with Hancock when the colt headed to the Keeneland July Sale. Then an individual with suspect hocks—a trait that still sometimes manifests itself in his descendants today—he was bought back on a bid of $17,000.

“I thought he’d bring between $30,000 and $50,000,” he says.

“So when it was sitting at $10,000, I started bidding and bought him back at $17,000. I took the ticket to Tom Tatham out the back of the pavilion and said, ‘Here Tom, he was too cheap; I bought him back.’ And Tom said, ‘But Ted Keefer (Oak Cliff advisor) didn’t like him and we don’t want him.’

“I remember we had another one that was about to sell, so I just said, ‘Ok Tom,’ put the ticket in my shirt pocket, walked away and thought, ‘Well I just blew another $17,000.’

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• Another scrape with death Hancock then tried his luck at the two-year-old sales in partnership with Paul Sullivan. The colt was sent to Albert Yank in California and cataloged to the Californian March Two-Year-Old Sale at Hollywood Park, again failed to sell— this time falling to World Wide Bloodstock (aka Hancock)— on a bid of $32,000, well below his owner’s valuation of $50,000.

“I told Paul and he said, ‘Well I’ll take my $16,000 then,’” recalls Hancock.

So the colt was loaded up for a return trip to Kentucky.

Then more ill luck intervened. The driver suffered a fatal heart attack while on a north Texas highway, and the van crashed, killing several of its load. Sunday Silence survived but was injured.

“Sunday Silence was in the vets for about a week,” says Hancock. “He could hardly walk, and then Carl Morrison rings me and says, ‘Arthur, I think he’s a wobbler.’ I said, ‘What are you going to do?’ He said that all he could do was leave him in a paddock and see what happened.

“So he left him out there, and about a week later, he rings me and says, ‘You need to come to barn 16 and see this Wishing Well colt.’ It was unbelievable. I went down there, and there he was, ripping and running around just like he was a foal. It was a miracle—a spooky thing.”

Therefore Sunday Silence had already lived a pretty full life by the time he joined Charlie Whittingham in California.

A true master of his profession, Whittingham handled over 250 stakes winners during his 49 years as a trainer, among them such champions as Ack Ack, Ferdinand and

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Cougar alongside the European imports Dahlia and Exceller. Appropriately, Cougar would go on to stand at Stone Farm, where he sired Hancock’s 1982 Kentucky Derby winner Gato Del Sol. “Charlie Whittingham had seen Sunday Silence in California and rang me to ask about him,” says Hancock.

“I told him I’d sell him half to $25,000. And he said, ‘But you bought him back for $32,000.’ Well the year before, we’d had Risen Star (subsequent winner of the Preakness and Belmont Stakes) go through Keeneland for $250,000. Charlie had asked about taking half of him, but we had wanted $300,000, so said, ‘Sure you can buy half for $150,000.’ And he had declined.

“I reminded him of that, and he chuckled and said, ‘Well I’d better take it this time.’”

He adds: “Charlie was a brilliant horseman with a lot of experience. He was very smart. He had a sixth sense about horses. And he had great patience, like those great trainers do. Without Charlie, I don’t think Sunday Silence would have reached the level that he did. He just took his time with him.”

Whittingham paid Hancock $25,000 for a half share in the colt and later sold half of that share to a friend, surgeon Ernest Galliard.

Within no time, that looked a good bit of business.

It is a fine reflection of the trainer and his staff, in particular work rider Pam Mabes, that Sunday Silence’s temperament was successfully honed. In Jay Hovdey’s biography of the trainer, the colt is likened to ‘Al Capone

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ABOVE: Charlie Whittingham and Sunday Silence.

singing with the Vienna Boys Choir’—his morning exercise routinely punctuated by bad behavior.

“They’d take him out every day before dawn,” recalls Hancock. “I remember he had a thing about gray lead horses. Every time he saw one, he’d just go after it.

“Charlie called me one morning—4 a.m. his time; he’d always get to the barn at 4 a.m. I answered, thinking, What’s he doing calling me at this time? I said, ‘Hey Charlie, what you doing?’ He said, ‘Just waiting on the hill.’ I knew he had something on his mind. Then he said, ‘You know what, this big black son of a bitch can run a little’—Charlie was a master of the understatement.’”

Brought along steadily by Whittingham, Sunday Silence romped to a 10-length win second time out at Hollywood Park in November 1988, and after running second in an allowance race, returned at three to win his first two races, an allowance and the San Felipe Handicap.

While he was emerging as a potential Classic candidate on the West Coast, Ogden Phipps’ homebred Easy Goer was laying down the gauntlet in New York.

A handsome red son of Alydar with regal Phipps bloodlines trained by Shug McGaughey, Easy Goer was evoking comparisons with Secretariat, capturing Gr1 Cowdin and Champagne Stakes at two before running out the 13-length winner of the Gotham Stakes in a record time early on at three. To many observers, he appealed as the likely winner of the Kentucky Derby, if not the Triple Crown.

Indeed, theirs would become an East-West rivalry that would enthral racegoers during the 1989 season.

The pair met for the first time in the Kentucky Derby.

Sunday Silence, partnered by Pat Valenzuela, was fresh off an 11-length win in the Santa Anita Derby. Easy Goer, though, had won the Wood Memorial in impressive style and was therefore the crowd’s choice.

Yet on a muddy track, Sunday Silence had the upper hand, winning with authority over an uncomfortable Easy Goer in second.

ABOVE: Charlie Whittingham and wife Peggy with jockey Pat Valenzuela after winning the 1989 Preakness Stakes.

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ABOVE: Sunday Silence battling with Easy Goer in the 1989 Preakness Stakes.

ABOVE RIGHT: Sunday Silence before the 1989 Belmont Stakes.

“Of all his races, the Kentucky Derby stands out,” says Hancock.

“We’d been fortunate enough to win it with Gato Del Sol and I’m a Kentuckian, so to win it again meant a lot.

“It was an extremely cold day, it was spitting snow, and Sunday Silence was weaving all the way down the stretch. Yet he still won.”

With many feeling that the track had not played to Easy Goer’s strengths, he was fancied to turn the tables in the Preakness Stakes. However, once again, Sunday Silence emerged as the superior, albeit following an iconic, eye-balling stretch duel.

Easy Goer did gain his revenge in the Belmont Stakes, making the most of the 1m4f distance and Belmont Park’s sweeping turns to win by eight lengths. The Triple Crown was gone, but Sunday Silence would later turn the tables in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, where his ability to deploy tactical speed at a crucial moment turned out to be a winning move against his longer-striding rival.

“The Breeders’ Cup just sealed everything—champion threeyear-old and Horse of the Year,” says Hancock. “It was the great showdown. Chris McCarron was able to use him at just the right time and Easy Goer, with that long stride of his, was closing. It was a great race.”

Crowned Horse of the Year, Sunday Silence underwent arthroscopic knee surgery which delayed his four-year-old return to June, when he won the Californian Stakes. A head second to Criminal Type in the Hollywood Gold Cup next time out brought the career down on a spectacular one.

• No takers Plans called for Sunday Silence to join his sire Halo at Stone Farm.

A wonderful racehorse who danced every dance, there were grounds for thinking that Sunday Silence would be an asset to the Kentucky bloodstock landscape. But breeding racehorses even then also adhered to commercial restrictions, and as a cheap yearling with suspect hocks and an underwhelming female line, he did little to spark interest.

This was in contrast to Easy Goer, who retired to much fanfare at Claiborne Farm.

“We tried to syndicate him and called people everywhere— Kentucky, England, France, and the answer was always the same,” says Hancock. “It became apparent very quickly that people wouldn’t use him.

“It was spread around the industry that he was a fluke, another Seabiscuit or Citation who could run but that would be no good at stud. It was said that he was crooked, which he wasn’t, and that he was sickled-hocked, which he was as a young horse but grew out of. He was an ugly duckling that grew into a swan.

“We had three people on the books to take shares and two that would send mares. Then I spoke to my brother Seth at Claiborne, and he had 40 contracts to send out for Easy Goer.

“At the same time, Ronald Reagan changed the tax laws, and land suddenly became worth a lot less, as did shares in horses.”

The Yoshidas had already bought into the horse and suddenly, Hancock was left with little choice.

“At the same time, I got a call from a representative of Teruya Yoshida saying that Shadai would be interested in buying the whole horse,” he says. “They were offering $250,000 per share.

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Sunday Silence at Shadai Stallion Station, Japan.

I talked to a number of people about it—Bill Young at Overbrook Farm, Warner Jones, and they all said the same thing: that it was a no-brainer to sell.

“At the end of the day, I had two contracts and three shares sold. I owed money. I had to sell.

“The day he left, I loaded him up myself; and I don’t mind admitting that when that van went down the drive, I cried.”

He adds: “Basically, the Japanese outsmarted everybody.”

RIGHT: Teruya Yoshida

• An immediate success Out of a first crop of 67 foals, Sunday Silence sired 53 winners. A total of 22 of 36 starters won at two, led by champion two-year-old Fuji Kiseki, whose success in the Gr1 Asahi Hai Futurity set the scene for events to come.

A tendon injury restricted Fuji Kiseki to just one further start when successful in a Gr2 the following year.

Yet that failed to stop the Sunday Silence juggernaut.

Genuine and Tayasu Tsuyoshi ran first and second in the Japanese 2,000 Guineas and later dominated the Japanese Derby, with Tayasu Tsuyoshi turning the tables.

Dance Partner also landed the Japanese Oaks. As such, Sunday Silence ended 1997 as Japan’s champion sire despite the presence of only two crops.

That first crop would also come to include Marvelous Sunday, who led home a one-two for his sire in the 1997 Gr1 Takarazuka Kinen.

In no time at all, Sunday Silence had sealed his place as a successor to earlier Shadai heavyweight Northern Taste.

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“I believe Sunday Silence was a stallion that possessed the potential to be very successful anywhere in the world,” reflects Teruya Yoshida.

“We were just lucky to be able to introduce him to Japan as a stallion.

“He changed the Japanese breeding industry completely, especially as he sired successful sons as race horses and stallions. Those sons have again sired successful grandsons.

“It is extraordinary that one stallion had continued to produce good quality stallions over three generations. Today, it is said that approximately 60-70% of the Japanese broodmares have Sunday Silence in their female lines.”

| RACING | Another top two-year-old, Bubble Gum Fellow, emerged out of his second crop alongside a second 2,000 Guineas winner in Ishino Sunday and St Leger hero Dance In The Dark.

Stay Gold, Sunday Silence’s first real international performer of note by virtue of his wins in the Hong Kong Vase and Dubai Sheema Classic, followed in his third while another Japanese Derby winner followed in his fourth in Special Week, also successful in the Japan Cup. And so it continued. In all, his stud career came to consist of six Japanese Derby winners (Tayasu Tsuyoshi, Special Week, Admire Vega, Agnes Flight, Neo Universe and Deep Impact), seven 2,000 Guineas winners (Genuine, Ishino Sunday, Air Shakur, Agnes Tachyon, Neo Universe, Daiwa Major and Deep Impact), four St. Leger winners (Dance In The Dark, Air Shakur, Manhattan Cafe and Deep Impact) and three 1,000 Guineas winners (Cherry Grace, Still In Love and Dance In The Mood).

While a number of those good Sunday Silence runners became fan favorites, there’s no doubt that the best arrived posthumously in the champion Deep Impact. A member of his penultimate crop and out of the Epsom Oaks runner-up Wind In Her Hair, Deep Impact swept the 2005 Japanese Triple Crown and another four Gr1 races, including the Japan Cup and Arima Kinen, at four. One of Japan’s most popular horses in history, he also ran third in the 2007 Arc. Fittingly, Deep Impact was also quick to fill the void left at Shadai by his sire’s death from laminitis in 2002.

BELOW: Deep Impact outclasses the field to win the Kikuka-shō at Kyoto Racecourse and became only the sixth Triple Crown winner and first in 11 years in Japanese horse racing.

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• International acclaim The Japanese bloodstock industry during the mid-1990s was still relatively isolated from the rest of the world, better known certainly in Europe as the destination for a slew of Epsom Derby winners.

Sunday Silence would change all that.

As word of his dominance at stud grew, so did international interest.

Teruya Yoshida was swift to capitalize. In 1998, he sent his homebred Sunday Silence filly, Sunday Picnic, to be trained in Chantilly by Andre Fabre. It was a successful endeavor as the filly won the Prix Cleopatre and ran fourth to Ramruma in the Oaks.

By that stage, Shadai had also entered into a partnership with John Messara of Arrowfield Stud with the principal idea of breeding mares to Sunday Silence on southern hemisphere time. Again, the move proved to be a success. Out of a limited pool of Australian-bred runners, Sunday Silence threw the 2003 AJC Oaks heroine Sunday Joy, who would go on to produce eight-time Gp1 winner More Joyous, and Listed winner Keep The Faith, subsequently a Gp1 sire.

Sheikh Mohammed also joined the fray, notably by sending a relation to Miesque, the Woodman mare Wood Vine, to Sunday Silence in 1998; the resulting foal, the Irish-bred Silent Honor, was trained by David Loder to win the 2001 Cherry Hinton Stakes at Newmarket.

Silent Honor was the opening chapter of a successful association for the Sheikh with Sunday Silence that also came to include Godolphin’s 1,000 Guineas runner-up Sundrop, a JRHA Select Foal Sale purchase, and homebred Gp3 winner Layman.

Layman was foaled in the same 2002 crop as the Wertheimer’s highclass miler Silent Name. Initially trained in France by Criquette HeadMaarek, Silent Name was a dual Listed winner before heading to the U.S., where he won Gr2 Commonwealth Breeders’ Cup for Gary Mandella.

Similarly, patronage of Sunday Silence also reaped rewards for the Niarchos family as the sire of their influential producer Sun Is Up, subsequently the dam of their top miler Karakontie.

At the same time, several Japanese-trained horses were advertising the stallion to good effect on a global scale, notably Zenno Rob Roy, who ran a close second in the 2005 Juddmonte International, and Heart’s Cry, who was third in the King George a year later.

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• Sire of sires Meanwhile, it was becoming very apparent just how effective Sunday Silence was becoming as a sire of sires.

Shadai was initially home to plenty of them, including the short-lived Agnes Tachyon, who left behind a real star in champion Daiwa Scarlet and Fuji Kiseki, the sire of champions Kinshasa No Kiseki and Sun Classique. Stay Gold’s successful stud career was led by the household names Orfevre, who ran placed in two Arcs and is now a popular stallion for Shadai and Gold Ship.

Japan Dirt Derby winner Gold Allure became a leading dirt sire—his record led by champions Copano Rickey, Espoir City and Gold Dream.

Manhattan Café is the sire of five Gp1 winners. As for Special Week, he sired champion Buena Vista and Gr1 winner Cesario, now regarded as something of a blue hen.

Those sons still in production are entering the twilight years of their stud career, yet they remain a heavyweight group. Following the death of Deep Impact, the most popular is Shadai’s Heart’s Cry—an exceptional sire for whom an increasingly international profile consists of British Gp1 winner Deirdre, American Gr1 winner Yoshida and Japanese champion Lys Gracieux, the 2019 Cox Plate heroine.

Fellow Shadai stallion Daiwa Major is well regarded as a fine source of two-year-olds and milers, and earned international recognition in 2019 as the sire of Hong Kong Mile winner Admire Mars. His stud record consists of six Gp1 winners.

Neo Universe, best known as the sire of Dubai World Cup winner Victoire Pisa, and Zenno Rob Roy are also proven Gp1 sires as is Deep Impact’s brother Black Tide, the sire of champion Kitasan Black— himself also now based at Shadai.

Without Deep Impact, Sunday Silence’s influence as a sire of sires would have been immense. Deep Impact, however, took matters to another level. To date, he is the sire of 47 Gp or Gr1 winners. They cover the spectrum, ranging from Horse of the Year Gentildonna to last year’s Triple Crown hero Contrail—one of six Japanese Derby winners by the stallion—and a host of top two-year-olds.

Patrick Barbe and Christophe Lemaire with triumphant Natagora after the 1000 Guineas, 2008.

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Significantly, Deep Impact had been exposed to an international racing audience when third past the post in the 2007 Arc and that played out in a healthy level of outside support when he retired to Shadai for the 2008 season.

For the Wildenstein family, that reaped major rewards in the form of their Poule d’Essai des Pouliches heroine Beauty Parlour, her Listed-winning brother Barocci and French Gp3 winner Aquamarine.

That success, as well as his growing reputation in Japan, helped to pique the attention of Coolmore. The Irish powerhouse began sending mares in 2013 and were rewarded by 2,000 Guineas winner Saxon Warrior—last year’s Prix de Diane heroine Fancy Blue and the Gp 1placed September out of a limited pool of foals.

Similarly, the Niarchos family, who patronized him from the outset, bred Le Prix du Jockey Club hero Study Of Man and the Gp3-placed two-year-old Harajuku, a smart prospect for 2021.

Indeed, Deep Impact was at the height of his international powers when succumbing to a neck injury at the age of 17 in the summer of 2019.

• Global exposure While Deep Impact would build on the global foundations laid by his sire, there was a determination during the intervening years between Sunday Silence’s death and Deep Impact’s own success to expose the blood to a global audience.

Chief among them was French-based agent Patrick Barbe, who sourced a number of sons to stand in France, and Frank Stronach, who purchased Silent Name to stand at his Adena Springs Farm.

Barbe was the force behind importing an eclectic group of Sunday Silence horses to stand at Haras de Lonray during the mid-2000s. They were invariably priced towards the lower end of the market, yet Barbe was rewarded for his foresight, in particular through the addition of Divine Light, whose first French crop yielded the 1,000 Guineas and Cheveley Park Stakes heroine Natagora.

“I have worked with Shadai for 35 years,” he says, “and I thought it would be interesting to bring the Sunday Silence bloodline to Europe—it hadn’t been tried very much at the time. It can be difficult to educate breeders about different blood, but people had already had slight exposure to Sunday Silence, so it wasn’t too bad.

“Rosen Kavalier was one of the first we brought over. Then we imported Divine Light. Teruya Yoshida had mentioned to me that he thought he was going to do well at stud, as he had been an extremely good sprinter. But he covered only nine mares in his first season in Japan. So we brought him to France, and in his first crop, he sired Natagora.”

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Silent Name

HE’S A REALLY GOOD-LOOKING HORSE–STRONG, A LITTLE BIT SICKLE-HOCKED BUT WITH GOOD BONE. AND HE’S A TOUGH HORSE, AS TOUGH AS THEY GO.” DERMOT CARTY ON SILENT NAME

As fate would have it, Natagora’s true ability came to light in the months following his sale to the Jockey Club of Turkey. Divine Light left behind just under 100 foals from his time in France and went on to enjoy further success in Turkey as the sire of champion My Dear Son. “Divine Light was a good-looking horse,” says Barbe. “He was out of a Northern Taste mare and was compact—very similar to Northern Dancer.”

He adds: “Sunday Silence was a phenomenal sire, but he also had a pedigree that was similar to Northern Dancer. I feel that was the reason that he did very well with Northern Taste, who was obviously also inbred to Lady Angela (the dam of Nearctic) himself.”

Divine Light wasn’t the only success story out of the French Sunday Silence experiment. While Rosen Kavalier was compromised by fertility problems, Gp3 winner Great Journey sired several smart runners, while Gp2 winner Agnes Kamikaze left behind a clutch of winners.

“Great Journey was a very good racehorse and became a consistent sire,” says Barbe. “He did well as the sire of Max Dynamite—a very good stayer—and Soleil d’Octobre, who won two Listed races.”

Today, the sole son of Sunday Silence available in either Europe or North America is Silent Name. Now 19 years old, he has found his niche within the Canadian market as a source of durable, talented runners—in a nutshell, what we have come to expect from the sireline.

Despite never standing for more than C$10,000, Canada’s three-time champion sire is responsible for 27 black-type winners, making him the nation’s leading sire of a lifetime of stakes winners. They include champion sprinter Summer Sunday,

Brazilian Gp1 winner Jaspion Silent and last year’s Gp2 Nearctic Stakes winner Silent Poet. So although entering the veteran stage of his stud career, momentum behind the stallion continues to remain robust at a fee of C$7,500, as Adena Springs North director of sales Dermot Carty explains.

“Silent Name started out with us in Kentucky, but in 2008, we decided to bring him to Canada along with Sligo Bay,” he says. “He got three good books off the bat. At the same time, he shuttled to Brazil, and then just as his first Kentucky crop hit, he was sent to New York (where he spent two seasons with McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds).

“I pleaded to bring him back to Canada. People were starting to buy them, they were liking them, and the smaller trainers were doing well with them.

“He’s a really good-looking horse—strong, a little bit sicklehocked but with good bone. And he’s a tough horse, as tough as they go. When we bought him, he was really the only big horse in the pedigree, but it’s a typical Wertheimer family, and it’s improved a lot since then.” In fact, Silent Name is a half-brother to Galiway—a current rags-to-riches story of the French scene whose early crops include last year’s Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere winner Galilay.

“He’s out of a Danehill mare who is out of a Blushing Groom mare who is out of a Raja Baba mare,” adds Carty. “They’re all big influences. A lot of them can run on Polytrack, but they also excel on turf.

“He’s been the leading sire in Canada for three years; the last horse to do that was Bold Executive. Frank has sent a pile of mares to him in recent years and done very well. He’s going to get you a tough horse—people who like to race like him.”

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| RACING | Walmac Farm in Kentucky also made an early foray into Sunday Silence blood with the acquisition of Hong Kong Gp1 winner Hat Trick in 2008. Latterly based at Gainesway Farm, Hat Trick threw top French two-yearold Dabirsim in his first crop and in turn, that horse sired Albany Stakes winner Different League out of his own debut crop. Noted for siring stock that comes to hand quickly, Dabirsim remains popular at Haras de Grandcamp in Normandy, also home to Deep Impact’s talented son Martinborough.

Hat Trick died last year and today, Kentucky representation of the Sunday Silence line relies on the young WinStar stallion Yoshida. A son of Heart’s Cry, he was sourced out of the JRHA Select Sale and went on to land the 2018 Woodward Stakes. He was popular in his first season at stud in 2020, covering 145 mares.

ABOVE: Alan Cooper, Niarchos family racing manager.

RIGHT: Karakontie

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• Fruitful experiment Meanwhile, the retirements of Saxon Warrior to Coolmore in Ireland and Study Of Man to Lanwades Stud in Newmarket provide European breeders with quality access to Deep Impact blood. Saxon Warrior’s first crop sold for up to 280,000gns as foals last winter, while the first crop of Study Of Man are foals of 2021. As would be expected from a Niarchos homebred who has joined Kirsten Rausing’s Lanwades Stud, the latter is being well supported by his powerful connections.

“The relationship between the Niarchos family and Shadai dates back to when they bought Hector Protector from us,” recalls Alan Cooper, racing manager to the Niarchos family. “We had breeding rights in the horse, and we said, well we better send some mares to Japan and use him, which worked out well as we went on to breed (champion) Shiva.

“And that led us to using Sunday Silence.

“The Sunday Silence adventure was very fruitful. It was lovely to get some fillies by him, and we’re still benefitting today from them.”

Among the mares sent to Sunday Silence was Miesque’s Listedwinning daughter Moon Is Up. The resulting foal, Sun Is Up, never ran but went on to throw Karakontie, whose three Gp1 victories included the Poule d’Essai des Poulains and Breeders’ Cup Mile. Another mare, Metaphor, foaled the Listed-placed Celestial Lagoon, in turn the dam of last year’s Dante Stakes runner-up Highest Ground.

“We also obviously had a lot of success breeding from Deep Impact through Study Of Man,” says Cooper. “We also have a filly named Harajuku, who showed smart form in France last year. We have kept her Heart’s Cry sister in training as well since Andre Fabre thinks there’s more to come (they’re out of a Galileo mare Phaenomena). Another Deep Impact that we bred, Dowsing, is now at stud in Indiana.

“It’s been a very good experience breeding in Japan. The Sunday Silence line seems to have a bit of character, but I think as with anything to do with Halo, if they’re good, they’re very, very good.”

The Niarchos family are also in the privileged position of owning a yearling from the final, small crop of Deep Impact. The filly in question is out of the Listed-placed Malicieuse, a Galileo half-sister to Arc hero Bago.

In Kentucky, the Niarchos family have also thrown their weight behind Karakontie at Gainesway Farm in Kentucky.

The son of Bernstein has made a bright start at stud as the sire of six stakes winners in two crops, including British Gp3 winner Kenzai Warrior. However, interestingly his best horse, recent Gr2 Mrs Revere Stakes heroine Princess Grace, is the product of a Silent Name mare, meaning that she is inbred to Sunday Silence. Indeed, she is the first stakes winner outside of Japan to carry his inbreeding.

• Too much of a good thing?

Can there be too much of a good thing? In Sunday Silence, the Japanese racing scene has been dominated to such a degree—through both his sons and daughters—that outcrosses aren’t always easily available. And when such an animal does retire to stud in Japan, quite often their success is a reflection of their ability to cross effectively with Sunday Silence-line mares—the likes of Lord Kanaloa and Harbinger being notable examples.

In addition, successful inbreeding to Sunday Silence has taken time to gain momentum. However, in recent years, the tide has started to change.

Aside from Princess Grace, there was a major flag bearer last year in the Japanese Fillies Triple Crown heroine Daring Tact. Recent Gr2-winning three-year-old Fine Rouge is another advert among a group of 14 stakes winners from a pool of close to 3,000 named foals.

• One of the greatest Sunday Silence might be receding in pedigrees, but his influence has never been stronger. Many of the line remain easily distinguishable with their dark coat and rangy stature; for the most part, they are hardy runners with a physical and mental toughness to them.

“All these horses, they ran forever,” says Barbe. “They’re tough, train on and they’re sound. Whatever their level, they are consistent horses with a longevity to them.”

Granted, those descendants of Sunday Silence now coming through at stud in Japan aren’t always helped by having to compete with each other. But at the same time, the omens remain good, particularly in relation to Deep Impact’s own legacy as a sire of sires, which already includes the successful Shadai sires Kizuna and Real Impact. The latter became the first son of his sire to be represented by a Gp1 winner when Lauda Sion won last year’s NHK Mile Cup. The presence of Saxon Warrior and Study Of Man in Europe and other Gp1 performers such as Satono Aladdin, Staphanos and Tosen Stardom in Australasia fuels the idea that this branch of the line is only going to become more powerful on an international scale.

In short, international respect for the sireline is also at an all time high.

“Thanks to Sunday Silence, the Japanese racehorses earn respect from horsemen around the world today,” says Yoshida. “In return, breeders tend to find good broodmares to send to good stallions—Japanese breeders today buy a lot of good broodmares in the international markets.

“This enables Japanese breeding to keep developing.

So you can imagine how strong Sunday’s impact is to our industry.”

SAT/APR 3

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Santa Anita Oaks (Gr II) F 3 YO, 1 1/16 M • $400,000

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Evening Jewel F 3 YO (CA), 6 1/2 F • $150,000

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Overnight races will be raised by $15,000

Chris Merz

Director of Racing & Racing Secretary

626-574-6352 • santaanita.com

ISSUE 59 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM

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| VETERINARY |

THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN A HEALTHY/ UNHEALTHY BIOME Carol Hughes PhD

G

astrointestinal diseases and upsets are common in Thoroughbred racehorses, causing discomfort, loss of performance and even mortality. Every common gastrointestinal disease can be linked back to disturbances (dysbiosis) of the gut bacteria. Currently, new gene technology is driving research at an intense rate, providing new insights into the equine microbial community (1) and providing both trainer and the vet with a powerful and accurate analytical tool to improve health and manage disease.

The gastrointestinal tract of the horse is colonized by trillions of microorganisms, which includes 1,000-1,500 different species, making up around 95% of the biome; the other 5% are made up of archaea, protozoa, fungi and viruses. Though most studies concentrate on identifying species of bacteria and linking to health and disease. Other members of the biome have equally important

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Shutterstock roles to play. In the racehorse, a major player is the Enterobacteria phage PhiX174, which is a bacterial virus that protects the horse against E-coli.(2) The microbial community has co-evolved with the host, performing essential and vital activities such as the extraction of energy and nutrients from foodstuff, synthesis of vitamins, interaction with the immune system and cross talk with the brain, which is thought to affect temperament and behavior. Taxonomic and functional compositions of the gut microbiome are rapidly becoming viable indicators of horse health and disease.

Each member of the microbial community has a different but synergistic role, which is beneficial to the health of the horse; e.g., the fungi break down the indigestible parts of forage plants, such as the polysaccharides, while the ciliate protozoa contribute to the process by producing a wide range of enzymes that the

| H E A LT H Y / U N H E A LT H Y B I O M E |

FIG 1

horse is unable to make, impacting and benefitting the immune system. Microbial fermentation of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin reduces the structural and non-structural plant wall material into carbohydrates, proteins (amino acids) and lipids, and produces volatile and short chain fatty acids,(2a) which are the primary source of energy for the horse. The bacteria contribute the most to the degradation of ingested food, producing the final components of the fermentation process, which are acetic, propionic and butyric acid, methane and carbon dioxide.

The gastrointestinal tract of the horse is sensitive to change, stress, environment and medication, which cause imbalances or dysbiosis.(3) Establishing or profiling a healthy baseline in the horse is difficult as variations exist between individuals, breeds, diets and locations; the Thoroughbred racehorse is a very different animal to the Shetland pony or an Irish Draught. Fitness training alters the microbiome further; for these reasons it is important to study the Thoroughbred as a population separate from other breeds and to analyze, where possible, racehorses training in a similar environment and location.

With this in mind, since 2017 there has been an ongoing project to study and profile the microbial populations of over 1,000 racehorses based in Newmarket, throughout the racing season; and the data produced has been used to develop profiles of the differences between a healthy/unhealthy biome. The project utilizes the cutting-edge Illumina MiSeq technology, which is the most accurate and up-to-date, preferred by genomic researchers around the world.

THE BIOME IN HEALTH ELITE RACEHORSES HAVE HIGHER LEVELS OF A SUPER-PHYLUM BACTERIA Questions asked…

Elite racehorses are trained to achieve peak fitness, but is it possible that they can gain an extra edge from the input of the hind gut bacteria?

How different is the microbiome of a Grade 1 horse, and is it possible to identify the bacteria responsible for the extra edge?

Answers found…

Fig 1: Image of

the analysis of Human scientists have known for some time the microbiome that the microbiome of an elite human athlete of a Grade 1 horse, (4) is different, with faster metabolic pathways compared to a non-group horse. (amino acids and carbohydrates) and higher levels of fecal metabolites (microbial-produced short-chain fatty acids) acetate, propionate and butyrate associated with enhanced muscle fitness. The human and elite equine athlete do share similar microbial profiles, having higher percentages of the bacteria that manufacture short-chain fatty acids and higher levels of the super-phylum verrucomicrobia; these increase as the season/training progresses.

What is known about this super-phylum?

It has two main members: Methylacidiphilaceae and Akkermansia

1

Verrucomicrobia Methylacidiphilaceae thrive and proliferate on the ammonia produced from the degradation of starch and protein,(5) whereas starch produces very high levels of ammonia.

The bacteria make enzymes (ammonia monooxygenase),(6) which convert ammonia into nitric oxide.(7) The nitric oxide has three major benefits to a racehorse: a. Helps repair and renew the gut wall (8) b. Enhances performance and increases exercise tolerance (9) c. Improves vascular function and metabolism (10)

2

Verrucomicrobia Akkermansia is a mucus-eating specialist, living and thriving within the gut wall, digesting mucin from the mucosal lining (10a) with a unique ability to metabolise galactose and melibiose (11) for energy. Akkermansia in the human biome significantly increases the numbers of metabolic pathways. Horses with gastric ulcers have very low levels, perhaps indicating its function in both performance and disease.

Comparing percentages of the super-phylum among other breeds/locations/environments gave good insight into how important and relevant verrucomicrobia is to the racehorse.

Verrucomicrobia varied significantly from group to group; the lowest levels were found in the sedentary and/or companion animal group which was comprised of 250 horses (gently hacked or unridden companions). The Carneddau are an ancient herd of ISSUE 59 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM

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| H E A LT H Y / U N H E A LT H Y B I O M E |

PERCENTAGES OF THE SUPER PHYLUM

FIG 2

25 20

horse types

15 10 5 0

Group

Non Group

Sedentary

wild horses that graze freely in the mountains of Snowdonia, and the Pottokas are from Spain. The CCI-L group was made up of 10 horses eventing at International One Day Event Level.

The non-group horses were based in Newmarket and analyzed at the height of the flat season in July, while the Gr1 horses started the season (Feb) with levels of 10%; these levels increased as the season continued until finally leveling out at 23% in July through to September when the testing finished.

Why the horses diagnosed with Equine Glandular Gastric Disease having lower levels of verrucomicrobia is unknown at this time, horses with EGGD had a completely different profile to the healthy Gr1 horses. See Figs 3 and 4.

(The Gr1 horses had a much higher diversity; and at genus level, they had many more groups of bacteria. Increased diversity is thought to be an indication of stability and homeostasis.)

CCI-L

Wild

EGGD

The profound effect of antibiotics on the microbiome of the Thoroughbred racehorse The intestinal bacterial community is intimately linked through countless metabolic pathways and chemical and physical signaling processes.(12) The use of an antimicrobial causes a change in the bacteria species, driving changes to the normal functions of the biome and reducing the bacteria that benefit the host whilst increasing those linked to infections, inflammation and disease.(12a) Fig 5 is a replication taken from Illumina BaseSpace of the MiSeq analysis of the microbiome of a horse one week prior to using antibiotics. The internal circles of the sunburst chart represent different taxonomic classifications (i.e., kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus and species), while the lines denote the different types of bacteria.

Fig 3: The microbiome of Grade 1 horses indicating higher diversity and stability.

Fig 4: Image of Thoroughbreds in training diagnosed with EGGD.

Fig 6 In the same horse, one week later after the use of antibiotics, the microbiome has altered as follows: a) 6 .3% reduction in the number of individual species. b) 1 .5% reduction in biodiversity calculated using the Shannon Index, which measures both the number of species and percentages of each within the biome (diversity and richness). c) A ltered microbial population i) 56% increase in spirochaetes, part of the core equine biome, spirochaetes produce formate, succinate and acetate; higher levels of formate have been linked to dysbiosis. Spirochaetes feed on short-chain fatty acids, folic acid, biotin, niacinamide, thiamine, pyridoxal and carbohydrates; higher percentages within the biome reduce important nutrients and energy supply to the horse.(13) ii) 14.7% decrease in proteobacteria, though the phyla proteobacteria contain some of the most well-known pathogens such as Rickettsia, Escherichia, Salmonella, Vibrio, Helicobacter and Campylobacter and the cause of equine diseases such as Glanders. Other members of the diverse and important proteobacteria group attack unwanted invading bacteria, playing a big part in maintaining stability and homeostasis within the anaerobic environment.

They also make contributions to the nutrition of the host (the horse) through their ability to process nitrogen. d) 1 7% increase in clostridium species linked to enterocolitis.(14) e) 5 0% increase in archaea, linked to poor productivity and performance.(15) � Treponema

FIG 3

FIG 4

� Blautia � Fibrobacter � Paludobacter � Clostridium � Sphingobacterium � Dysgonomonas � Verrucomicrobia � Pedobacter � Prevotella � Oscillospira � Erysipelothrix � Pediococcus � Paraprevotella � Phascolarctobacterium � Caloramator � Liberibacter � Bacteroides � Norcardia � Desulonauticus

THE MICROBIOME AT GENUS LEVEL – GRADE 1 HORSES

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� Ruminococcus

WITH EGGD

� Succinibrivio � Other below 1%

| VETERINARY |

| H E A LT H Y / U N H E A LT H Y B I O M E |

THERAPIES & INTERVENTIONS Fecal transplants There has been a huge increase in interest in fecal matter transplants for horses,(16) following its success in treating C. difficile in humans when compared to the use of antibiotics. The main result of the transplant was an increase in microbial diversity.

Other gastrointestinal inflammatory conditions of horses are now being considered as suitable for treatment.(17)

Prebiotics FIG 5

Prebiotics stimulate, feed and encourage the growth of microorganisms, especially those that are beneficial, many horses with gastrointestinal disorders have either low or no bacteria associated with good health. Loss of diversity is also common among horses with dysbiosis or gastrointestinal disease. Stabilizing and improving the biome can also include improving forage quality, specific foodstuff and a different feeding routine.(18) Prebiotics containing fructooligosaccharide (FOS) or mannanoligosaccharides improved DM, CP and NDF digestibility in horses fed high-fibre diets and have reduced dysbiosis in microbial populations, improving levels of beneficial propionate and butyrate.

Probiotics are commonly used in horses as a therapy to treat or prevent gastrointestinal diseases, orally introducing live bacteria able to benefit the health of the biome. Benefits include the inhibition of “bad” bacteria and an enhanced immune system response, though it is difficult to compare data due to the different live species used and differences in diets. The most successful appear to be Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Enterococcus and Saccharomyces yeast, all of which improve DM, CP and NDF digestibility of high-fiber diets.

SUMMARY FIG 6 Fig 6: One week after antibiotics

References 1) De Almeida, M. L. M., Feringer, W. H., Júnior, J. R. G. C., Rodrigues, I. M., Jordao, L. R., Fonseca, M. G., ... & de Macedo Lemos, E. G. (2016). Intense exercise and aerobic conditioning associated with chromium or L-carnitine supplementation modified the fecal microbiota of fillies. PloS one, 11(12).

2) Nobrega, F. L., Costa, A. R., Kluskens, L. D., & Azeredo, J. (2015). Revisiting phage therapy: new applications for old resources. Trends in microbiology, 23(4), 185-191.

2a) Dougal, K., de la Fuente, G., Harris, P. A., Girdwood, S. E., Pinloche, E., & Newbold, C. J. (2013). Identification of a core bacterial community within the large intestine of the horse. PloS one, 8(10).

3) Banse, H. E., & Andrews, F. M. (2019). Equine glandular gastric disease: prevalence, impact and management strategies. Veterinary Medicine: Research and Reports, 10, 69.

4) Barton, W., Penney, N. C., Cronin, O., GarciaPerez, I., Molloy, M. G., Holmes, E., ... & O’Sullivan, O. (2018). The microbiome of professional athletes differs from that of more sedentary subjects in composition and particularly at the functional metabolic level. Gut, 67(4), 625-633

The gastrointestinal tract of the Thoroughbred racehorse is home to a complex microbial community that changes in health and disease and alters throughout the racing season and training regime. New sequencing technology allows insights into a previously unknown world, understanding the microbial communities that have such a strong influence on performance, fitness, health and temperament is a rapidly emerging science.

study ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms (AOM) in the environment. Applied microbiology and biotechnology, 85(3), 425-440.

12a) Modi, S. R., Collins, J. J., & Relman, D. A. (2014). Antibiotics and the gut microbiota. The Journal of clinical investigation, 124(10), 4212-4218.

7) Khadem, A. F., Pol, A., Wieczorek, A., Mohammadi, S. S., Francoijs, K. J., Stunnenberg, H. G., ... & den Camp, H. J. O. (2011). Autotrophic methanotrophy in Verrucomicrobia: Methylacidiphilum fumariolicumSolV uses the Calvin-Benson-Bassham cycle for carbon dioxide fixation. Journal of bacteriology, 193(17), 4438-4446

13) Stanton, T. B., & Canale-Parola, E. (1980).

Treponema bryantii sp. nov., a rumen spirochete that interacts with cellulolytic bacteria. Archives of Microbiology, 127(2), 145-156.

8) Lanas, A. (2008). Role of nitric oxide in the gastrointestinal tract. Arthritis research & therapy, 10(2), S4.

9) Mosher, S. L., Sparks, S. A., Williams, E. L., Bentley, D. J., & Mc Naughton, L. R. (2016).

Ingestion of a nitric oxide enhancing supplement improves resistance exercise performance. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 30(12), 3520-3524.

10) Jones, A. M. (2014). Dietary nitrate supplementation and exercise performance.

Sports medicine, 44(1), 35-45.

10a) Schroeder, B. O. (2019). Fight them or feed them: how the intestinal mucus layer manages the gut microbiota. Gastroenterology report, 7(1), 3-12.

5) Geor, R. J., Coenen, M., & Harris, P. (2013).

Equine applied and clinical nutrition E-book: Health, welfare and performance. Elsevier Health Sciences

11) Stein, L. Y., Roy, R., & Dunfield, P. F. (2001).

Aerobic methanotrophy and nitrification: processes and connections. e LS.

6) Junier, P., Molina, V., Dorador, C., Hadas, O., Kim, O. S., Junier, T., ... & Imhoff, J. F. (2010).

Phylogenetic and functional marker genes to

12) Yoon, M. Y., & Yoon, S. S. (2018). Disruption of the gut ecosystem by antibiotics. Yonsei medical journal, 59(1), 4-12.

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14) Stewart (2013) Clostridia-associated Enterocolitis in Horses , Department of Clinical Sciences, John Thomas Vaughan Large Animal Teaching Hospital, College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University 15) Murru, F., Fliegerova, K., Mura, E., Mrázek, J., Kopečný, J., & Moniello, G. (2018). A comparison of methanogens of different regions of the equine hindgut. Anaerobe, 54, 104-110.

16) Mullen, K. R., Yasuda, K., Divers, T. J., & Weese, J. S. (2018). Equine faecal microbiota transplant: current knowledge, proposed guidelines and future directions. Equine Veterinary Education, 30(3), 151-160.

17) Laustsen, L., Edwards, J., Smidt, H., van Doorn, D., & Lúthersson, N. (2018, August). Assessment of Faecal Microbiota Transplantation on Horses Suffering from Free Faecal Water. In Proceedings of the 9th European Workshop on Equine Nutrition, Swedish University of Agricultural Science, Uppsala, Sweden (pp. 16-18).

18) Coverdale, J. A. (2016). HORSE SPECIES SYMPOSIUM: Can the microbiome of the horse be altered to improve digestion?. Journal of animal science, 94(6), 2275-2281.

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Annie Lambert

Caroline Norris, Taylor Made Farm, Williamson Racing, VTA

I N C E N T I V E S TO North America provides breeder and owner incentive programs to reward horsemen for producing quality bloodstock.

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| INCENTIVES TO BREED |

B

reeding Thoroughbred racehorses takes a passion for the animals and the racing industry as a whole. State incentive programs can enhance horsemen’s intense feelings toward their livestock and the efforts to direct and improve their individual breeding programs. Many states and Canadian provinces in North America have helped horsemen reap rewards for breeding better bloodstock.

In some cases, incentives have helped save or resuscitate state racing programs and bolstered racing toward increasing rewards to those supporting their state programs.

It becomes a win-win for states/provinces, racetracks, breeders and owners—success for a joint venture, if you will.

Not everyone can agree with the rules of engagement within each state’s program, but that is human nature.

As a whole, most breeders are ultimately looking to protect the value of their livestock and preserve racing in North America.

• The Kentucky Brand For all its legendary history in the Thoroughbred racing industry, Kentucky is not known to have the strongest incentive program. It does, however, still provide a home to some of the best stallions and breeding farms in the world. According to Duncan Taylor, President of Taylor Made Farm in Nicholasville, Ky., by having the best horses, his home state also has the best infrastructure.

“Kentucky is blessed with the best stallions, therefore we have the best infrastructure—veterinary care, nutrition, blacksmith—all the ancillary businesses that support the Thoroughbred business,” Taylor opined. “We have a weaker program when it comes to breeder incentives.

The breeding program we do have is basically paid for by the tax on stallion seasons. There’s a six-percent sales tax on stallion fees, and that money goes into the Kentucky Breeders’ Incentive Fund.”

Taylor pointed out that over time Kentucky, as most business does, has developed a brand. If a breeder aspires to be the best, it pays to go to Kentucky.

“You can breed to horses in your own state,” Taylor said, “but if you’re trying to sell the most expensive horse at the

Keeneland Sale, it’s going to be a Kentucky-bred.” “Wealthy people that are buying horses think the best horses come from Kentucky.”

Taylor Made participates in several programs outside of Kentucky. They have bred and raced New York breds, for example, to “cover the downside.”

“Let’s say my horse is just an allowance-winning horse versus a graded stakes-winning horse,” he explained. “If that (New York-bred) horse is an allowance winner at Churchill Downs or even Santa Anita or Gulfstream, but they can’t win a stake or graded stake, that same horse, with the same ability, could probably win a New York-bred stake.

You would probably get a $100,000 to $150,000 purse.

That’s what I’m talking about—protecting the downside.

You can have less horse and still earn purse money.

“I’ve bred and foaled horses in New York to get a New York-bred. If it does run good, I’m going to get some large breeder’s awards. Let’s say I have a New York-bred by our stallion Not This Time (half-brother to Liam’s Map and by Giant’s Causeway) that could win a Gr2 in New York. If you win a $300,000 purse, the winning share is $180,000. I’m going to get $18,000 for being the breeder—10 percent for being a New York-bred.”

Taylor is not planning on moving out of Kentucky, but the government in his state, in his words, “keeps opting to take the horse business for granted.” With the best stallions, Taylor feels he could cut a good deal, load the vans and move out of Kentucky tomorrow, which would not be his first choice.

Fortunately, Kentucky legislators did vote to approve Senate Bill 120, after clarification of what constitutes pari-mutuel wagering. The bill now goes to Governor Andy Beshear, who has expressed his support for it.

B. Wayne Hughes, owner of Spendthrift Farm, in Lexington, Ky, has said, “The breeders are the backbone of our industry.” It is hard to argue that point. Most horses bred

by Spendthrift Farm go to auction, although they do keep some to race, according to General Manager Ned Toffey.

“These breeders’ incentives are very good programs,” Toffey offered. “Into Mischief had a number of Louisianabreds when he was getting started, which was useful. We’ve also used the Pennsylvania and New York programs.

Normally, if we’re going to use one of those programs, it’s because we have a stallion standing in those states. We may drop a foal by one of our first-year stallions standing here in Kentucky, then breed the mare back to our stallion standing in that state.”

Toffey mentioned they have found it tough to find the types and numbers of mares they look for in the regional programs. Current Spendthrift stallions are able to get a good, solid book of mares at home.

“If we have just the right horse for a regional program, we’re happy to utilize them, but with the horses we’ve brought in, in recent years, we’ve been able to get the numbers we felt they needed here for the most part.”

LEFT: Taylor Made’s Duncan Taylor, has bred horses outside of Kentucky to “cover the downside” when horses fit better in a different situation.

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| INDUSTRY | LEFT: Kentucky-bred Beholder, owned by B. Wayne Hughes’ Spendthrift Farm, enjoyed annual R&R on pastures in California where she earned most of her $6 million.

SOMEONE LIKE MYSELF AND OTHERS STANDING STALLIONS IN THE STATE HAD THOUGHT THEY AT LEAST HAD A CHANCE AT SOMEONE’S BETTER MARES EVERY OTHER YEAR.” JAY ADCOCK / LOUISIANA

• Change Concerns & Improvements Louisiana has changed their state-bred rules beginning with foals of 2021. Babies out of resident mares, sired

by Louisiana-domiciled stallions will receive full breeder awards per the schedule established by the Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association Board of Directors.

Foals out of resident mares, sired by out-of-state stallions and bred back to Louisiana stallions will collect 90 percent. Foals out of Louisiana-residing mares, sired by out-of-state stallions and bred back to out-of-state stallions will receive 50 percent of full breeder awards.

Previously, breeders could send a mare to an out-ofstate stallion, but that foal could not be an accredited Louisiana-bred unless the mare was bred back to a Louisiana-based stallion. Not all Louisiana stallion owners are happy with the new schedule. Jay Adcock, owner of Red River Farm in Coushatta, La., stands multiple stallions and feels the new rules will send the better mares out of state, causing a drop in the annual foal crop in his state.

“In my opinion, the better mares in Louisiana will be going out of state now,” said Adcock, who sits on the LTBA Board. “Someone like myself and others standing stallions in the state had thought they at least had a chance at someone’s better mares every other year. I keep mares for myself and for other commercial breeders. They have already told me I have no chance of breeding those mares.

It’s really going to penalize somebody with a young stallion.

This is my opinion, but there’s a bunch of us that actually think that.”

“I’m a mare proponent,” Adcock added. “Yes, I want a nice stallion, but I do believe it is the mares that prove a horse.”

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Adcock has concerns about the Louisiana foal crop shrinking due to the new rules. Commercial breeders sending a mare to Kentucky will most likely return that baby to the larger Kentucky market to sell. It doesn’t seem a reach to assume those auctions would bring a better price than in Louisiana.

“I think the actual numbers in our foal crops are going to go down,” Adcock opined. “If you’re breeding in 2021, foaling in 2022, yearling sales in 2023...so it’s going to take a few years to prove me right or wrong. I just don’t see how this is going to help the Louisiana program.”

“In Louisiana, to have a racino—where you have a casino at your track—the state law says you have to run an 80-day meet in 20 weeks or you don’t have your license,” Adcock pointed out. “The money is not necessarily commingled, but the licenses are commingled. The last seven years we’ve been running about a 1,000 foals a year in Louisiana. I do not believe the number of new foals coming into the state is going to outweigh the numbers of people that are going to get out. How are we going to fill those 80 days in 20 weeks?”

Adcock believes Louisiana is being overly optimistic to think out-of-state breeders will send mares to their stallions year after year just to race in restricted races.

He thought, because Mississippi has no racing, those mare owners may come to Louisiana; but Texans, who used to ship in mares, have grown their game and would probably opt to stay home.

• Politics Loom Large Texas definitely has its game together in recent years. It has been a long road for horse racing in the Lone Star state.

The Texas Racing Commission and pari-mutuel gambling were established in 1933. It was hoped parimutuel wagering would create revenue during the Great Depression. Sadly, pari-mutuel wagering was rejected in 1937 and was not revived until 1987. The Yankee Bet—a multiple selection wager—was activated about the same time and helped track handle.

| INCENTIVES TO BREED |

“Once pari-mutuel was reestablished in the late 1980s, we did have a good incentive program until about the 2000s,” explained Mary Ruyle, Executive Director of the Texas Thoroughbred Association. “Then our numbers began to decline as far as handle, purses and so on. That came about because our surrounding states were able to offer much better purses and incentives. They had additional forms of gaming that supported their purses, which Texas does not.”

In 2019, House Bill 2468 was passed, which has been greatly beneficial to Texas racing. The bill authorizes up to $25 million per year to benefit the Texas equine industry.

Seventy-percent of that sum is set aside for purses and 30 percent goes to various breed registries for implementation of their programs and to support the Texas horse industry as a whole.

“The funds come from sales tax on equine goods and products,” Ruyle pointed out. “We are taking money out of the horse industry and putting it into a different form and multiplying it back into the horse industry.”

With Texas foal crop numbers coming out of a slump, Ruyle doesn’t expect to see those numbers rising for a couple more years, due to breeders waiting to see how the program works. Ruyle does expect to see a generous increase in the mares bred in Texas this year.

“As far as racing,” Ruyle said, “the additional funds have vastly improved our purses, our handle and our number of participants in horse racing. We are very happy about horses coming in to race from out of state, which improves our racing product. It enables our Texas breeders to aspire to breed a better racehorse.”

The Massachusetts Thoroughbred Breeders Association (MTBA) is working hard to improve their incentive program and hopefully bring racing back to their state.

Since Suffolk Downs closed about four years ago, they have had no in-state racing.

To be a Mass-bred currently, a foal must be born in Massachusetts to a mare in residence since October 15 of the previous year, or the mare must be bred back to a stallion domiciled in the state.

The MTBA has legislation pending, working its way through government bureaucracy during a pandemic and making it an uphill grind, according to Arlene Brown, secretary for the association and a longtime breeder.

“The pending legislation introduces a program where, if you bring a foal into Massachusetts to live for six months before its second birthday, it becomes Massachusettsaccredited and is eligible for the incentive award as a Mass-bred would be,” Brown explained. “The accredited horses will be eligible for the same awards but will be second choice in Massachusetts-bred races. In other words, the rewards would be the same; the only difference would be that they could go into Massachusetts restricted races if (those races) are not already filled by Mass-bred and registered horses.”

Also for this year, the MTBA is adding a $10,000 bonus to any winning purse won by a Mass-bred at any racetrack.

Because there is no racing in Massachusetts presently, awards count toward earnings at any track in the country.

The $10,000 bonus will be part of the program on a year-to-year basis until they build up their equine population enough to run their own restricted Mass-bred races.

The new legislation, introduced last year, has not made it through committee but was reintroduced this year.

Between government red tape and pandemic restrictions, there is no estimate of when the bill may be taken up.

Brown remains optimistic.

“We’ve got some very good backing in the House,” Brown, the owner of Briar Hill Farm, said. “Several of the members have been to my farm a few times. The big push is trying to preserve green space and farms, so breeding farms are a push in that direction. A lot of the legislators are on board with maintaining the green space.

“The Senate is going to be a little bit more of a fight, but the Senator from my district has been to the farm several times and is behind the push in the Senate for us.”

There are seemingly several reasons for optimism among Massachusetts breeders. In addition to their pending program changes, there are two proposals to build new racetracks in their state. “Both of them are very viable, very nice looking designs,” offered Brown.

“Now it is just waiting for approval—you know, all the things you have to go through with towns and counties for approvals, but they are both moving along.”

WE ARE TAKING MONEY OUT OF THE HORSE INDUSTRY AND PUTTING IT INTO A DIFFERENT FORM AND MULTIPLYING IT BACK INTO THE HORSE INDUSTRY.” MARY RUYLE / TEXAS

Mary Ruyle, executive director of the Texas Thoroughbred Association.

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THEY TRIED TO GO OUT AND ESTABLISH A VOICE FOR ALL BREEDS, AND IT DOESN’T TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THAT THOROUGHBREDS ARE A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT ANIMAL ALTOGETHER.” DERMOT CARTY / ADENA SPRINGS

RIGHT: Dermot Carty, director of sales at Adena Springs in Aurora, Ont.

Dermot Carty, director of sales at Adena Springs in Aurora, Ont. believes incentive programs can be helpful.

“It helps the ups and downs,” Carty noted. “If the horse can run a little bit, you make some money back, which covers the cost of promotion. At the end of the day, they do help out the small breeder.”

Carty has worked for Frank Stronach, owner of Adena Springs, a total of 46 years. He feels the Ontario breeding business is in a bit of limbo at the moment. Thoroughbred breeders, he believes, are not being represented properly.

“They tried to go out and establish a voice for all breeds, and it doesn’t take into account that Thoroughbreds are a completely different animal altogether,” he said. “The Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society took out any representation of Ontario racing.”

“There are a lot of people up here committed to breeding horses, but a little break from Ontario Racing to allow their elected representatives to get a true pulse of what is going on would make a big difference,” Carty added.

• Coast to Coast Mary Ellen Locke, who handles registrations and incentives for the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association, feels they have one of the best programs in the country—with good reason.

“Other associations have copied our program,” Locke offered. “We get calls often from other states trying to do a program and explain to them how ours works. I think Louisiana was the last one that called me. I don’t know if they copied it exactly; but I think they have slots now, and they are doing better on foal crops, so they are trying to reward their breeders program.”

Locke often receives inquiries from out-of-state owners because you can breed out-of-state and still have a Cal-bred.

“We can have a Nyquist Cal-bred,” Locke explained. “He stands in Kentucky, but if the mare foals here and is bred back to a California stallion, then the foal dropped here is a Cal-bred. It has been this way for quite a few years.”

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The CTBA rules have not changed in quite a while, and Locke has no knowledge of any changes in the near future.

Henry Williamson is a California breeder who also raises some Kentucky breds. Williamson’s love of the Thoroughbred industry grew from his late father, Warren Williamson’s passion for the horses.

BELOW: Henry Williamson’s Williamson Racing breeds and races homebreds in Kentucky and California. His stallion, Texas Ryano, stands at his Arroyo Vista Farm near San Diego.

| INCENTIVES TO BREED |

Williamson Racing bred their mare Nashoba to the Kentucky stallion Silver Hawk in 2002 before moving the mare to Harris Farm in California for the prime purpose of having a Cal-bred.

The resulting filly, Nashoba’s Key, went undefeated in her first seven Southern California starts before placing fourth in the 2007 Breeder’s Cup Filly & Mare Turf.

“There was a process we had in place, because of the Cal-bred incentives, and we wanted to benefit from that,” Williamson said.

“I also think that it opens up some opportunity for the horses to build confidence, where they are not running right off the bat against million-dollar Keeneland graduates. It opened the door, and we took advantage of the California incentives being there and the purses being comfortably strong.”

Williamson currently has five broodmares in Kentucky—some of which will be moved to his new farm, Arroyo Vista in Valley Center, Calif., where they will join six California-based mares.

Williamson is standing his Curlin stallion, Texas Ryano, at Arroyo Vista as well.

“I’m a big believer in Cal-bred racing,” said Williamson, who resides in Pasadena, Calif. “We kind of got away from it for a while, but we want to take advantage of it now—even more than Kentucky-breds.”

“It is interesting, starting a new business during a pandemic when the (California) race tracks have been struggling; I think I need my head examined,” Williamson laughed. “When you’re passionate about it and you believe in the horses and what you think they’re going to be able to do, you follow your heart.”

Arizona horsemen and breeders have struggled with the pandemic and political issues for more than a year. But, there might be light at the end of their scuffles.

According to Berdette Felipe at the Arizona Thoroughbred Breeders Association, their program is doing well, with owners and breeders incentives awarded from one-percent of the in-state handle.

“Because we don’t have a lot of stallions in Arizona,” Felipe said, “our program allows a mare to be bred anywhere with the resulting foal being an Arizona-bred, providing it is foaled in Arizona and spends six months of their first year in our state.”

Another big boost to Arizona racing may come from proposed legislation that will authorize Historical Horse Racing. If approved, Senate Bill 1794 could generate up to $140 million in tax revenues.

• Arizona Horsemen’s Benevolent & Protective Association President Bob Hutton believes HHR would provide muchneeded support to all aspects of the state’s racing entities, revitalizing Arizona racing.

Virginia passed Historical Horse Racing legislation in 2019, according to Debbie Easter, executive director of the Virginia Thoroughbred Association (VTA). Easter noted that the new pari-mutuel legislation has started to make a difference during the past six months.

“Our (incentive) programs are growing due to the HHR money we are receiving,” she noted. “The awards are getting to be quite hefty; we are starting to pay a lot of awards out in both the certified owners program and the breeders program and the Virginia-bred owners program—our three different incentive programs. The awards are starting to amount to serious money.”

Although it may be too early to say that the foal crop numbers have also been boosted, breeders are paying attention.

WHY SHOULD YOU BREED, RACE AND BUY TEXAS-BREDS? • $25 MILLION is being injected annually into the Texas horse industry thanks to new legislation • LARGER PURSES with maiden special/allowance races of $35,000+ at both Sam Houston Race Park and Lone Star Park • An ENHANCED STAKES SCHEDULE at Texas tracks, with nearly $500,000 available for each crop in the Clarence Scharbauer Jr. Texas Stallion Stakes and $200,000-estimated for the Texas Thoroughbred Sales Futurity, plus an expanded Texas-bred and open stakes schedule • Up to THREE AUCTIONS ANNUALLY at Lone Star Park (2-Year-Olds in Training, Yearlings, Mixed) • ATB BREEDER BONUS now pays an award of up to 35% to the breeder of an Accredited Texas-bred running in open company at Texas tracks, and awards are also paid in out-of-state races when there is no live racing in Texas

Find out more at TexasThoroughbred.com or by calling the Texas Thoroughbred Association at 512-458-6133!

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“We’re fairly unique because we don’t have year-around racing like most states,” acknowledged Easter. “We’ve tried in the last few years to build our programs so they help our farms and owners year-around.”

The VTA pays breeders for wins anywhere in North America.

During the current year, due to increased wagering on Advanced Deposit Wagering and HHR, breeders received a 40-percent purse bonus for each of their offspring wins. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Virginia was still in the top 5 so far as the number of Thoroughbreds bred in the country.

“Unfortunately, we’ve dropped down near the bottom of the list,” Easter explained. “In order to help those farms and breeders, we started a Virginia Certified Program about three years ago.

That program allows people to come in and board and train for six month in Virginia; then if that horse wins in the mid-Atlantic region, the owners get 25 percent of the winning purse.

“That has drawn a lot of horses into Virginia. It has filled up our farms, they are hiring people, investing in capital projects— it is doing everything it is supposed to do.”

In addition, according to Easter, Colonial Downs has been resurrected over the past three years and it looks like they will be having seven weeks of racing with purses “at least” near $500,000.

“The program is rounding out to be very beneficial for those that want to play in Virginia,” Easter added. “Eventually, our goal is to get 10 weeks of racing and the purses to go up substantially more. There will not only be good quality racing, but we’ll have restricted racing for the certified horses and Virginia-bred horses. There are a lot of reasons to come to Virginia right now.”

Even though Virginia does not enjoy year-around racing, Debbie Easter noted improved incentive programs have greatly expanded opportunities for horsemen.

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| INCENTIVES TO BREED |

• New Age Racing With the expense of owning a racehorse rising expeditiously, partnerships have become popular. In 2018, Michael Behrens founded MyRacehorse.com in California. The company sells micro-shares in horses so owners might own a very small piece of a Thoroughbred with an equally low investment—a micro of the normal expense—while still enjoying the thrills of racing.

As of 2021, the company has horses across the country.

“We started out in California the first year; we wanted to test the response of the industry to our micro share program concept,” said Joe Mishak, Racing Operations Manager. “July of 2019 was our first national expansion into a majority of the states.”

MyRacehorse has purchased about 70 horses since their inception, including 2020 Kentucky Derby Champion and Horse of the Year, Authentic and now standing at Spendthrift Farm. Although the company is not in the business of breeding horses, they do pay attention to and value incentive programs.

“We absolutely look at incentive programs,” said Mishak.

“Kentucky is going through the HHR debate now, but it was phenomenal over the past few years. You have allowance races with $100,000 purses. If you go to Kentucky Downs, the purses are huge also. Of course, the level of competition you’re going to compete against is greater. The (breeder’s) programs come into play.

There are lots of variables that go into the purchasing process.”

While no incentive program will please all of the breeders all of the time, there seems to be some effective policies in North America for horsemen to take advantage of and reap just rewards.

BREEDING AND RACING INCENTIVES STATE BY STATE: ALBERTA BREEDERS AWARDS: Support for 2020 totals $422,836 and is being distributed through the Thoroughbred Breed Improvement Program.

Due to an increase in slot revenue, the Breeders’ Breeding Support for 2020 is higher than originally published. Breeders will share in a total of $367,836 in bonus support funds.

The bonus is based on horses of all ages foaled in Alberta placing win, place and show in all sanctioned races in Alberta having a minimum $7,000 purse and where entered at or above a minimum $6,250 claiming price. The bonus is paid at the conclusion of the Alberta racing season. Bonuses will not be paid for eligible races that have four (4) or less starters.

This year’s bonus is 22.12% of the earnings of all races held in Alberta racetracks in 2020.

OWNERS AWARDS: Owners of horses of all ages foaled in Alberta placing win, place and show in all sanctioned races in Alberta having a minimum $7,000 purse and where entered at or above a minimum $6,250 Claiming price (to be invoiced by HBPA). The bonus will be paid after the conclusion of the Alberta racing season.

Bonuses will not be paid for eligible races that have four (4) or less starters, the CTHS Sales Stakes, or Stakes Races restricted to Alberta breds.

Owners of horses of all ages foaled in Alberta placing win, place and show in Community Stakes Races excluding Alberta Bred Restricted races will be paid a Bonus amount of approximately 17%. The bonus will be paid after the conclusion of the Alberta Racing Season. However the payout timing will be at the discretion of ACTRA. Alberta Breeder’s Fall Classic races will carry a minimum purse of $40,000 with the BIP Funding shortfall being contributed through the race nominations and the purse pool.

Alberta Yearling Sales Stake Races for 2 year old and 3 & 4 year old.

STALLION OWNERS AWARDS: Support for 2020 totalled $55,000 and is being distributed through the Thoroughbred Breed Improvement Program.

The percentage for the 2020 Stallion Owners’ is 3.28% and is based on the following criteria: “The 2020 Stallion bonus will be paid proportionately to Stallion owners whose Stallions have Eligible Alberta Thoroughbred progeny with earnings of $10,000 or greater during the Calendar year. Stallions must have stood in the province of Alberta for the entire Calendar year of conception for each year’s crop to be eligible.”

It is a requirement that recipients of the Breed Improvement Program - Thoroughbred Breeders’ Bonus be members in good standing of the C.T.H.S. (Full or Associate Member designation) in order to receive the Breeders’ Bonus.

RESTRICTED RACES: Yes OUT OF STATE AWARDS: No 2019 REGISTERED FOALS: 182 This information is strictly related to the 2020 year. The 2021 Breed Improvement Program details have not yet been confirmed at the time of his submission.

Follow the Breed Improvement Program under Member Information on the CTHS Alberta website at www.cthsalta. com for further details.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: cthsweb@cthsalta.com / www.cthsalta.com

ARIZONA BREEDERS AWARDS: Distribution of the 10% bonus for certified Arizona breds in all overnight races. 1. If one horse wins and no others place, 100% of the 10% is paid to the winner. 2. If there are win, place and show finishers, the 10% bonus will be split 50% paid to the winner, 30% to second and 20% to third. 3. If there is a second place finisher, 30% of the 10% bonus is paid and the balance remains in the fund.

The 10% Bonus distribution is based on the total purse. Bonus Money will be paid only to the First, Second, and Third place finishers.

Distribution of the 20% bonus for certified Arizona breds in all overnight races. 1. 20% bonus will be paid to the first through sixth place finishers based on the following percent. 2. If there are less than six starters in any of the overnight restricted Arizona Bred Races, the percentages will be adjusted as to pay out the 20% bonus on that race.

Additional bonus monies for certified Arizona Breds may also be added to other races during the meet.

All bonus monies will be paid to the owner(s) of the horse through the Arizona Thoroughbred Breeders Association from the Arizona Horse Breeders Fund.

Bonus money will be paid to certified Arizona Bred Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses.

Stakes Races are excluded from the 10% and 20% bonus distribution.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: (602) 942-1310 / atba.net

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| STATE BREEDING AND RACING INCENTIVES |

ARKANSAS BREEDERS AWARDS: Paid annually to the breeder of each Arkansas-bred thoroughbred properly on earnings in North America the previous calendar year.

OWNERS AWARDS: ATBHA works with the Arkansas Racing Commission to maintain the Rules & Regulations of the association and the Arkansas-bred program, which includes distribution of the Purse and Awards Funds of the Arkansasbred program to owners, stallion owners and breeders of properly registered Arkansas-bred thoroughbreds. Owners awards are paid annually to the owner of each Arkansas-bred thoroughbred properly registered with ATBHA on earnings at the Oaklawn Park live meet the previous calendar year.

STALLION OWNERS AWARDS: Paid annually to the owner of each stallion properly registered with ATBHA on earnings in North America the previous calendar year. The purpose of this activity is to recognize, honor and award Owners, Breeders and Stallion Owners of Registered Arkansas-breds for their efforts and participation in the Arkansas-bred Thoroughbred program.

2018 REGISTERED FOALS: 287 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: atbha.com

BRITISH COLUMBIA BREEDERS AWARDS: 18% OWNERS AWARDS: 25% STALLION OWNERS AWARDS: 12% RESTRICTED RACES: Yes OUT OF STATE AWARDS: No 2019 REGISTERED FOALS: 130 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: cthsbc@cthsbc.org

CALIFORNIA

BREEDERS AWARDS: A monetary award that is paid to the breeder of a registered California-bred Thoroughbred finishing first, second, or third in any race run in California and any graded stakes races conducted within the United States. Breeders will receive 75% of the remainder of the total incentive award monies after owner awards are paid, with an individual breeder receiving a prorated share of this breeders fund. The maximum purse considered earned in any qualifying race within this state shall be $330,000 for a win, $120,000 for a second, and $90,000 for a third-place finish. Breeder awards always are paid exclusive of nomination, entry and starting fees.

OWNERS AWARDS: A monetary award that is paid to the owner of a registered California-bred Thoroughbred horse that runs in qualifying races in California. Owners can receive at least a 20% bonus for finishing first in an open starter allowance above $15,000 and open non-maiden claiming races with a claiming price of $40,000 or greater in Southern California

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and $20,000 or greater in Northern California. These levels are purposely set high to encourage the ownership of highquality runners and to restrict the number of qualifiers so that the awards will function as a major incentive. Owner awards always are paid exclusive of nomination, entry, and starting fees. They are listed in the racing program and will be distributed at the same time as the purse by the paymaster.

STALLION OWNERS AWARDS: To stimulate the acquisition in California of nationally prominent stallions, and retain high-caliber California stallions, monetary awards are paid annually to the owners of registered California stallions whose California-conceived or California-bred get have won a qualifying race or have finished, first, second, or third in a stakes race in the state or any graded stakes race within the United States during the year. Qualifying races are any non-claiming races, including maiden allowance and starter allowance races, with a purse of at least $15,000, and open non-maiden claiming races with a claiming price of $40,000 or greater in Southern California and $20,000 or greater in Northern California also qualify. Stallion awards are exclusive of nomination, entry, and starting fees. Stallions must be registered by Feb. 15 each year to be eligible for stallion awards.

Stallion owners will receive 25% of the remainder of the total incentive award monies after owner awards are paid, with an individual owner of a registered California stallion (as of Dec. 31) receiving a prorated share of the stallion fund based on the total qualifying earnings of the get during the year.

The maximum purse considered earned in any qualifying race within this state shall be $330,000 for a win, $120,000 for a second, and $90,000 for a third-place finish. The stallion must be continuously present in California from Feb. 1 to July 15, inclusive, of the year 2010 or any subsequent calendar year in which he stood at stud and fathered the participant in the race. If a sire dies in this state in the year 2010 or any subsequent year and stood his last season at stud in this state, or was standing at stud in this state on the date of his death in 2010 or any subsequent year, he shall thereafter continue to be considered an eligible Thoroughbred stallion regarding a race participant fathered by him in that season. The California Thoroughbred Breeders Association (CTBA) will help compile data, but it is the ultimative responsibility of the stallion owner to advise that official registering agency, on or before Feb. 15 of any year, of any and all purses earned during the preceding year that shall be considered in determining the amount of the stallion award to which the owner is entitled.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: ctba.com

DELAWARE

BREEDERS AWARDS: 25% Bonus - Certifier Award OWNERS AWARDS: 25% Bonus RESTRICTED RACES: 4 restricted stake races FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Vincent Moscarelli / DTHA.com - DCTP page

| STATE BREEDING AND RACING INCENTIVES |

FLORIDA

BREEDERS AWARDS: Paid at 10% of the announced gross purse on FTBOA-registered Florida-bred winners.

OWNERS AWARDS: Paid by the individual Florida tracks to the owner of a FTBOA registered Florida-Bred winner of certain races. Contact FHBPA for details. The payment of the FOA is based upon a percentage of gross purse.

STALLION OWNERS AWARDS: Paid to the owners of thoroughbred stallions lawfully registered with the FTBOA and siring FTBOA-registered Florida-breds that finish first in a listed black-type stakes race at a Florida thoroughbred track during the calendar year. Stallion awards are paid out at a uniform rate of 10% of the announced gross purse, with each stallion award limited to no more than $15,000. These awards are paid quarterly.

RESTRICTED RACES: Program which includes several special racing days. There are also restricted races daily for Floridabreds at Florida tracks.

There is also the Florida Sire Stakes lucrative stakes program for FSS eligible horses. For details visit www.ftboa.com. This includes FSS bonuses on races and also a stakes series that leads up to the Breeders’ Cup for two-year-olds in addition to the FSS Wildcat Heir in December at Tampa Bay Downs typically.

2019 REGISTERED FOALS: Refer to The Jockey Club annual report FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: tgantt@ftboa.com / 352-629-2160 / ftboa.com

ILLINOIS

BREEDERS AWARDS: A Breeder’s Award is earned when an IL Registered Thoroughbred wins any race in the State of Illinois.

The owner’s share of the Breeder’s Award is 11.5% of the winner’s share of the base purse. THE WINNER’S SHARE of any race in Illinois is normally 60% of the purse. THE BASE PURSE is the amount put up by the purse account and does not include any funds added by the Illinois Thoroughbred Breeders Fund, horsemen, Breeder’s Cup, etc.

WHAT RACES ARE ELIGIBLE TO EARN BREEDER’S AWARDS? Open races - In an open race, the entire Breeder’s Award (11.5% of the winner’s share of the base purse) goes to the breeder of the winning horse (the winner’s share in an open race may also include part of an OWNERS AWARD, if earned, paid from the purse account). As an example, we will say that the base purse of an open allowance race is $22,000. The base purse times 60% equals the winner’s share. The winner’s share times 11.5% equals the Breeder’s Award. Base purse $22,000, X winner’s share (60%)=$13,200 X 11.5%=Award $1,518 Illinois.

RESTRICTED RACES: In a rare restricted to Illinois Registered horses, the Breeder’s Award (11.5% of the winner’s share of the base purse) is divided among the first four place finishers, The winner gets 60% of the Award: second, 20%: third, 15% and fourth, 5%. Again, as an example, we will use an allowance race, this time restricted to Illinois Registered horses. The base purse of this race is $20,000. The base purse times 60% equals the winner’s share. The winner’s share times 11.5% equals the Breeder’s Award. Base purse $20,000 X Winner’s

share (60%)=$12,000 X 11.5%=Award $1,380 The Breeder’s Award in a restricted race is divided among the first four place finishers using the percentages as follows: Breeder’s Award $1,380 X 60% To the Winner=$828 X 20% To Second=$276 X 15% To Third=$207 X5% to Fourth=$69.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: itbof.net

INDIANA

BREEDERS AWARDS: The breeder of a registered Indiana Bred which wins any race at Indiana Grand Racing & Casino earns 20% of the gross purse for all stake, allowance and claiming races, except when entered for a claiming price of less than $10,000.

The breeder of a registered Indiana Bred which wins a race in another state, Puerto Rico or Canada earns 10% of the winners share of the purse for any race, except when entered for a claiming price of less than $10,000. Each out-of-state award is capped at $10,000. You are eligible for an out-of-state award when there is no live Thoroughbred race meet in progress in Indiana (except for stakes races), and for 2-year-olds winning out of state prior to July 1 of race meet.

OWNERS AWARDS: 2020 ITOBA Stallion Season Auction Stakes Races. Owner’s Awards payable to the owner of an IN Sired Horse (IHRC Registered IN Sire). Finishing 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in the ITOBA Stakes Races of 2020 for fillies and for colts / geldings. 1st place bonus $3,000, 2nd place bonus $1,500, 3rd place bonus $500. Total added bonus money for two races $10K. Despite widespread 2020 budget cuts, ITOBA is proud to honor our commitment to horsemen by ensuring purses of $75,000, as well as, up to $10,000 in ITOBA Sponsored Owners Awards for IN Sired Horses finishing 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in each of the 2020 ITOBA Stallion Season Auction Stakes Races.

STALLION OWNERS AWARDS: The owner or lessee of a registered Indiana Sire who’s registered progeny have won any races at Indiana Grand Racing & Casino earns 10% of the gross purse for all stake, allowance and claiming races, except when entered for a claiming price of less than $10,000.

All breeder and stallion awards will be paid directly to the winning breeder or stallion owner from the Indiana Thoroughbred Breed Development Program. Awards will not be paid through the purse account at the track.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: in.gov

IOWA

BREEDERS AWARDS: 12% 1st, 6% 2nd-4th.

OWNERS AWARDS: 32% Supplement for Iowa Bred Races. 37% Supplement for Open races.

STALLION OWNERS AWARDS: Based on how many Iowa bred foals win by Iowa Stallions.

RESTRICTED RACES: Yes OUT OF STATE AWARDS: No FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: iowathoroughbred.com

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| STATE BREEDING AND RACING INCENTIVES |

KENTUCKY

BREEDERS AWARDS: $14.3M OWNERS AWARDS: $17.5M OUT OF STATE AWARDS: $11.5M (included in $14.3M above) FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Jamie Eads (KHRC); Chauncey Morris (KTOB) / KHRC.ky.gov; Kentuckybred.org

LOUISIANA

BREEDERS AWARDS: Breeders Awards are 20%, 18%, 10% or 9% depending on the category you’re participating in.

OWNERS AWARDS: Louisiana Breds run for higher purses than open horses in Louisiana.

STALLION OWNERS AWARDS: $750,000 paid on a pro rata basis.

RESTRICTED RACES: Yes OUT OF STATE AWARDS: Yes. $400,000 set aside to pay world wide breeders awards.

2019 REGISTERED FOALS: 921 WORTH NOTING: Please see our website for our new rules beginning with the breeding season.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: louisianabred.com

MANITOBA

WORTH NOTING: A new 2020/2021 Shipping Incentive Program (effective November 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021). The objective of the program is to increase the foal and stallion population.

The CTHS MB Division will pay a maximum of $1,500.00 to ship-in a mare in foal and/or a stallion. The following conditions have to be met: Mare in foal and/or stallion must be purchased through a bonafide sale and/or private sale as long as there is a bill of sale issued. Includes open mares for breeding purposes.

Shipping fees must be supported by a Bill of Sale and transfer of ownership. Applicants must provide a shipping fee invoice.

Payment will be in Canadian funds. Purchaser is responsible for paying the shipper and then presenting the paid invoice to the CTHS MB office for the refund. This incentive program will be capped at $30,000.00.

AWARDS: Horse must be bred by a Manitoba resident, be foaled in Manitoba and have Canadian papers. Awards for all classes paid to horses during the lifetime of their racing career. Out of province breeders are eligible for breeder awards if the horse is sired by a Manitoba stallion registered in the Mb Sires Program in year of conception and foaled in Manitoba. To obtain Breeder/Stallion Awards you must be a CTHS member. All purses and supplements are contingent on funding.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: cthsmb@mymts.net / cthsmb.ca

MARYLAND

BREEDERS AWARDS: 25% top 3 in overnight races.

OWNERS AWARDS: 30% top 3 in overnight races.

BREEDERS AWARDS: 2021 Breeder Awards - Class 1 $8600 or less and restricted claiming races - 3 points / Class 2 $8601 - $10800 and restricted allowance races - 6 points / Class 3 $10801- $14400 - 9 points / Class 4 $14001+ and Mb Restricted Stakes - 12 points (win) 4 points (place) 2 points (show) / Class 5 OPEN Stakes - 15 points (win) 5 (place) 2 points (show).

STALLION OWNERS AWARDS: 8.30%

OWNERS AWARDS: Purse supplements are paid out on purse levels to Manitoba-breds for their racing lifetime. Must be foaled in Manitoba, have Canadian papers and meet class/ purse level criteria.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Info@marylandthoroughbred.com / MarylandThoroughbred.com or MarylandMillion.com

Class 1 $8600 or less - $540.00 (win) $ 180.00 (place) $90.00 (show) / Class 2 $8601 - $10800 - $1080.00 (win) $360.00 (place) $180.00 (show) / Class 3 $10801 - $14400 - $1620.00 (win) $540.00 (place) $270.00 (show) / Class 4 $14401 $15500 - $2160.00 (win) $720.00 (place) $360.00 (show).

Purse supplements are not paid on: Stake races, Manitoba restricted claiming races, Manitoba restricted allowance races, and on purses over $15500.00.

STALLION OWNERS AWARDS: 2021 Stallion Awards - Class 1 $8600 or less and restricted claiming races - 1 point / Class 2 $8601 - $10800 and restricted allowance races - 2 points / Class 3 $10801- $14400 - 3 points / Class 4 $14001+ and Mb Restricted Stakes - 4 points (win) 2 points (place) 1 point (show) / Class 5 OPEN Stakes - 5 points (win) 2 (place) 1 point (show).

RESTRICTED RACES: Yes 2019 REGISTERED FOALS: 626 WORTH NOTING: Maryland Million program for eligible Maryland-sired horses.

MASSACHUSETTS

BREEDERS AWARDS: Bonuses for 1st, 2nd and 3rd - 25% award paid to breeders paid to Mass. breds running out of state - cap $5,000.

Members of MTBA are paid by the MTBA at the end of the month following the month that the award is earned.

Non-members of MTBA also receive awards at the end of the month following the month that the award is earned. A one time service charge of $150 is deducted from the first award check.

OWNERS AWARDS: 30% (Except In Restricted Mass-Bred races) - cap $5,000.

STALLION OWNERS AWARDS: 15% award - cap $5,000

RESTRICTED RACES: Yes

OUT OF STATE AWARDS: $10,000 supplemental purse added to whatever race in which a Massbred runs anywhere in the US.

2019 REGISTERED FOALS: 44

2019 REGISTERED FOALS: 2 - 2019, 7- 2018

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| STATE BREEDING AND RACING INCENTIVES |

WORTH NOTING: To become a Mass. bred, foal must be born In Massachusetts and to a mare that has been a resident since Oct 15th the previous year, or be bred back to a resident Massachusetts stallion - Incentive Program (T.I.P.) To encourage the retraining of Thoroughbreds into other disciplines upon completion of careers in racing or breeding, T.I.P. offers sponsorship for Thoroughbred-only classes and divisions, high point Thoroughbred awards at open horse shows and competitions, a Thoroughbred of the Year Award and a Young Rider of the Year Award.

Visit tjctip.com for more information. Show off your Thoroughbred at facebook.com/tjctip.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: MTBA@comcast.net / massbreds.com

MICHIGAN

BREEDERS AWARDS: To be considered eligible for Breeders Awards, Owners Awards and State Bred supplemented races, your horse must have a Jockey Club Registration showing “foaled in Michigan.”

To receive payment of Breeders Awards or Stallion Awards, you must have a W9 on file with Parks Productions.

STALLION OWNERS AWARDS: In order to be eligible for Stallion Awards, stallion owners must verify their stallion’s status annually. Verification must be done each year before February 1st. We will maintain a list of verified stallions each year.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: info@mtoba.com / mtoba.com

MINNESOTA

BREEDERS AWARDS: The money available from the breeders’ fund for the Thoroughbred breed category shall be divided as follows: A. Eighty percent shall be set aside and paid to breeders of Minnesota-bred horses as breeders’ awards.

outside of Minnesota during the Minnesota Thoroughbred racing meeting shall not count toward qualified earnings. A horse’s earnings in any single race must not be worth more than the winner’s share of the largest purse offered during the Minnesota Thoroughbred racing meeting.

Purse supplements earned shall not count toward qualified earnings in determining breeders’ or stallion awards.

OUT OF STATE AWARDS: Minnesota bred horses may earn awards from purses won in any North American pari-mutuel race.

2019 REGISTERED FOALS: 185 WORTH NOTING: The purpose of the Minnesota Breeders’ Fund is to encourage the breeding and racing of quality horses. Stallion awards promote the introduction of high quality studs standing for the breeding season in Minnesota. The breeders fund also provides money for in state, postsecondary equine research and related education in the form of grants, contracts or other expenditures.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: mrcinfo@state.mn.us / mrc.state.mn.us

NEW JERSEY

BREEDERS AWARDS: 35% for horses sired by New Jersey stallions that finish 1st-3rd in any race run at Monmouth Park and Monmouth Park at the Meadowlands meets. 25% for horses sired by non-New Jersey stallions that finish 1st-3rd in any race run at Monmouth Park and Monmouth Park at the Meadowlands meets.

OWNERS AWARDS: 10% of purse earnings for New Jersey-breds that finish 1st-3rd in open company races run at Monmouth Park and Monmouth Park at the Meadowlands meets.

STALLION OWNERS AWARDS: 10% of purse earnings when New Jersey-breds finish 1st-3rd in any race run at Monmouth Park and Monmouth Park at the Meadowlands meets.

RESTRICTED RACES: Yes

B. Twenty percent shall be set aside and paid as stallion awards to the owners of the Minnesota-sire at the time of breeding.

OUT OF STATE AWARDS: No

The money available from the Thoroughbred breeders’ fund, other than purse supplements earned pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, section 240.135, shall be distributed as follows A. “Breeders’ awards” shall be paid to the breeder or lessee of a Minnesota-bred horse, as reflected on the Jockey Club physical or digital certificate, that earns purse earnings in any North American pari-mutuel race. The amount of award shall be a percentage of the total amount available for all awards. Purse earnings earned in any North American race that is conducted outside of Minnesota during the Minnesota Thoroughbred racing meeting shall not count toward qualified earnings. A horse’s earnings in any single race must not be worth more than the winner’s share of the largest purse offered during the Minnesota Thoroughbred racing meeting.

WORTH NOTING: Caps are $8,000 for first place and $4,000 for second and third place finishes.

STALLION OWNERS AWARDS: Shall be paid to the owners or lessees of the Minnesota-sire of a Minnesota-bred horse that earns purse earnings in any pari-mutuel race. The amount of award shall be a percentage of the total amount available for all awards. Purse earnings earned in any North American race

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2019 REGISTERED FOALS: 100

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: njbreds.com

NEW MEXICO

BREEDERS AWARDS: 2019 - $1,926,245.08 OWNERS AWARDS: 2019 - $1,712,221.04 STALLION OWNERS AWARDS: 2019 - $299,640.88 RESTRICTED RACES: 984 restricted NM Bred races in 2019 OUT OF STATE AWARDS: None 2019 REGISTERED FOALS: 858 WORTH NOTING: A total of $11,614,969.70 was awarded to New Mexico Breds in additional purse money and awards in 2019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: (855) 273-3366 / sales@nmhorsebreeders.com / nmhorsebreeders.com

Minnesota-bred Charlie’s Penny wins the $150,000 Silverbulletday Stakes at Fair Grounds on Jan. 16, 2021.

Hodges Photography

IT PAYS TO FOAL AND RACE IN MINNESOTA Canterbury Park 2021 Racing Season Opening Day - May 18, 2021 ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊

Minnesota Breeders’ Fund mnbreedersfund.com

$35,000 Minnesota Maiden Special Weights 30% bonus for Minnesota-breds who race in open company Condition bonuses for Minnesota-breds Minnesota breeders now receive awards based on year-round earnings

BREED

BUY

RACE

Minnesota Thoroughbred Association minnesotabred.com

Minnesota Racehorse Engagement Project racehorseminnesota.com

Canterbury Park Shakopee, MN canterburypark.com

| STATE BREEDING AND RACING INCENTIVES |

NEW YORK

BREEDERS AWARDS: New York-Sired* Award (Percent of Purse Money Earned) - First Place 30% / Second Place 15% / Third Place 15%. Cap per Award $40,000 Non-New York-Sired*Award (Percent of Purse Money Earned) - First Place 15% / Second Place 7.5% / Third Place 7.5%. Cap per Award $20,000 OWNERS AWARDS: For all open-company races in New York State with a minimum claiming price of $30,000, there are two tiers of owner awards: New York-Sired* Award (Percent of Purse Money Earned) First through Third Place 20%. Cap per Award $20,000 Non-New York-Sired* Award (Percent of Purse Money Earned) - First through Third Place 10%. Cap per Award $20,000 STALLION OWNERS AWARDS: These awards are paid to owners of registered New York-based (at the time of conception) covering stallions. Please note that only New York-bred progeny of New York-based stallions are eligible to earn stallion owner awards.

Stallion owner awards have been increased to 10% of purses earned from finishes in first through third place. All stallion owner awards are capped at $10,000 per horse, per race.

RESTRICTED RACES: Yes OUT OF STATE AWARDS: 0 2019 REGISTERED FOALS: 1,606 WORTH NOTING: *A New York-sired New York-bred is sired by a registered New York stallion. A non-New York-sired New York-bred is sired by an out-of-state stallion or an unregistered New York stallion.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: tegan@nybreds.com / www.NYBreds.com

OHIO

BREEDERS AWARDS: $2,286,473 OWNERS AWARDS: None STALLION OWNERS AWARDS: $583,380 RESTRICTED RACES: Yes OUT OF STATE AWARDS: None 2019 REGISTERED FOALS: 393 WORTH NOTING: In 2021 over $9,000,000 is budgeted for the Ohio Thoroughbred Race Fund for breeder awards, the Stakes Program and supplemented purse money for Ohio Registered Foals and Accredited Registered Foals.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: racingohio.net

OKLAHOMA

WORTH NOTING: The OBDFSA is an incentive fund which increases income for Oklahoma horse racing and breeding enterprises. Purse supplements, stallion and broodmare awards are paid to owners and breeders of qualifying accredited Oklahoma-Bred horses through a system of

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restricted and open company races at Oklahoma racetracks.

The OBDFSA is funded by unclaimed tickets, breakage and a percentage of the exotic handle. Payouts are based on the handle at each track and vary slightly according to the track and the racing breed. The Program was established by the Legislature in 1983 and, as is required by law, administered by the Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission.

An accredited Oklahoma-Bred horse is one that is foaled in Oklahoma, is out of a permanently domiciled, accredited Oklahoma-Bred broodmare and is sired by an accredited Oklahoma-Bred stallion. Additionally, in alternating years, foals by non-accredited stallions may be registered as accredited Oklahoma-Bred, providing all other requirements are met (refer to Chapter 75, Oklahoma-Bred Rules). More than 100,000 horses have been registered as accredited Oklahoma-Bred racing stock, broodmares, and stallions through December 31, 2017.

Each Commission-licensed racetrack in Oklahoma is required to offer as race conditions no less than two Oklahoma-Bred restricted races per day. In addition, tracks offer Oklahoma-Bred money in open company races on an “if eligible” basis when funds allow, and each track offers at least two stakes races restricted to accredited Oklahoma-Bred horses. Some open stakes races offer Oklahoma-Bred purse supplements if eligible. Each time an accredited Oklahoma-Bred earns a purse supplement, the breeder and stallion owner earn Oklahoma-Bred awards.

As much as $7 million has been paid in one year to owners, breeders and stallion owners of accredited Oklahoma-Bred horses. Oklahoma state law provides for the incentive funds and prescribes the purposes for which the money will be paid out by the Commission.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: ohrc.ok.gov

ONTARIO

BREEDERS AWARDS: $5,890,000.00. Subject to change STALLION OWNERS AWARDS: $320,000.00. Subject to change RESTRICTED RACES: Yes OUT OF STATE AWARDS: $150,000.00. Subject to change WORTH NOTING: Breeders Awards, Stallion Awards, Fort Erie Owners Bonus, Fort Erie Sales Credits, Woodbine Sales Credits, Mare Purchase Program, Mare Recruitment Program, Ontario Sired Reward of Excellence Program, Ontario Bred Purse Bonus, Ontario Sired Purse Bonus. Subject to change.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: tbprogram@ontarioracing.com / www.ontarioracing.com

PENNSYLVANIA

BREEDERS AWARDS: Up to 50% for PA-Sired, Up to 25% non PA-Sired.

OWNERS AWARDS: Up to 40% STALLION OWNERS AWARDS: 10% RESTRICTED RACES: Yes OUT OF STATE AWARDS: No

| STATE BREEDING AND RACING INCENTIVES |

2019 REGISTERED FOALS: 550 WORTH NOTING: PA Day at the Races - PARX $750,000 in PA-Bred Purses FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: pabred.com

TEXAS

BREEDERS AWARDS: Percentage of purse money earned for placing 1, 2 or 3 in Texas races; plus breeder bonus for placing 1, 2 or 3 in Texas open company races. Breeder awards for placing 1, 2 or 3 in out-of-state races when there are no live race meets in Texas, unless the out-of-state race (when there is a live race meet in Texas) is a stake worth $50k or more.

OWNERS AWARDS: Percentage of purse money earned for placing 1, 2 or 3 in Texas races; plus owner bonus for placing 1, 2 or 3 in Texas open company races, plus potential bonus for Texas-sired Texas breds placing 1, 2, or 3 in Texas open company races.

STALLION OWNERS AWARDS: Percentage of purse money earned for placing 1, 2 or 3 in Texas races.

WEST VIRGINIA

BREEDERS AWARDS: 14.49% of progeny earnings & supplemental awards.

OWNERS AWARDS: 5.89% of earnings & supplemental awards.

STALLION OWNERS AWARDS: 5.04% of progeny earnings & supplemental awards.

RESTRICTED RACES: Yes 2019 REGISTERED FOALS: 130 WORTH NOTING: Thoroughbred Development Fund distributions of $4.7 million to breeders, owners and sire owners of accredited WV bred and/or sired horses based on the horses annual earnings at Charles Town and Mountaineer Park racetracks.

A minimum of three accredited races are written every day at Charles Town exclusively for registered WV bred and/or sired horses. $740,000 in purses for WV bred and/or sired horses at the West Virginia Breeders Classics held annually on the 2nd Saturday in October.

2019 REGISTERED FOALS: 283

$800,000 in purses are allocated for up to sixteen WV accredited stakes races during the year. Supplemental Purse Awards of up to 10% of the winners share of the purse to the owner, breeder, and/or sire owner of the accredited WV bred and/or sired winner.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: texasthoroughbred.com

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: wvtba.com

RESTRICTED RACES: Yes OUT OF STATE AWARDS: See “Breeders Awards” above.

VIRGINIA

BREEDERS AWARDS: Virginia breeders earn an award for any win in North America. In 2020 breeders awards were 42% of the winning purse.

OWNERS AWARDS: Owners of Virginia bred and Virginia certified horses earn a 25% bonus for wins at Mid-Atlantic tracks. Virginia restricted races are excluded.

STALLION OWNERS AWARDS: Stallion owners earn an award for any win in North America. In 2020 stallion awards were 14% of the winning purse.

RESTRICTED RACES: Yes OUT OF STATE AWARDS: No out of state races are planned at this time.

2019 REGISTERED FOALS: 90 registered foals FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: vabred.org

WASHINGTON

BREEDERS AWARDS: Breeders’ Awards allocated to recipients.

Total Breeders’ Awards $182,106.19 - 1st Place 75.00% / 2nd Place 15.00% / 3rd Place 10.00% OWNERS AWARDS: Washington-Bred 1% Owners’ Bonus Awards. Total Owners’ Bonus Awards $307,257.53 RESTRICTED RACES: Yes 2019 REGISTERED FOALS: 182 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: maindesk@wtboa.com / washingtonthoroughbred.com

WYOMING

WORTH NOTING: Over $3.2 million was distributed to the Wyoming Breeder Awards Fund in 2019, which is paid out to eligible owners, breeders and stallion owners of Wyoming Bred horses that participate in Wyoming live race meets throughout the state. Over $9.8 million dollars has been allocated to the fund from Historic Racing terminals since 2013.

For calendar year 2019 the top breeder award participant received over $270,000 for being an owner, breeder and stallion owner of Wyoming bred horses, the top racehorse earned over $17,000, top owner earned over $87,000, top breeder over $122,000 and top stallion owner over $178,000. The Wyoming Bred Program is flourishing with 150 new mares and 30 new stallions being registered as Accredited Wyoming Breds in 2019.

The revenue from the historic racing terminals for Wyoming municipalities for 2019 reached over $7.9 million to distribute back to cities and counties where the Historic Racing terminals are located. Over $24 million dollars has been distributed to local municipalities since Historic Racing was implemented in 2013.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: gaming.wyo.gov The information published has been compiled from either breeder organization websites or directly from breeder organizations in good faith. While every effort has been taken to publish accurate information, we strongly recommend that you check with the individual state / province on the eligibility of your stock for racing or breeding purposes. No responsibility is assumed for errors, omissions or any consequences arising from them.

ISSUE 59 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM

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| NUTRITION |

BON APPÉTIT! Encouraging and maintaining appetite throughout a season can become a serious challenge. The best planned feeding program in the world is of no use if the horse simply does not eat as required to sustain performance.

There are multiple factors that can lead to poor appetite for horses in training – some relating to health, some relating to physical properties of the feed or forage, along with behavioral considerations.

Catherine Rudenko

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Alamy, Shutterstock, Catherine Rudenko

| KEEP THE APPETITE UP TO SUSTAIN PERFORMANCE |

• What is a normal appetite?

Before we can fairly state a particular horse has a poor appetite, we must first have an idea of what a normal appetite range is. The horse has a given capacity within its digestive tract and an appetite appropriate to this.

Horses will typically consume 2-3% of their body weight each day on a dry matter basis—in other words not accounting for fluid intake or any moisture found in the forages. This equates to 10-15kg (or 22-33lbs) per day for a 500kg-weight (or 1100lb) racehorse. As fitness increases, it is normal for appetite to reduce, and most horses will eat closer to 2% of their body weight.

The energy requirement of a horse in training is such that they dependent on a large amount of grain-based “hard feeds,” which for the majority form 7-9kg (or 15-19lbs) of the diet each day. With a potential appetite of 10-15kg (or 22-33lbs) we are, for some individuals, running close to their likely appetite limit.

The most immediate effect of a reduction in appetite is the reduction in energy intake. Horses require a large amount of calories, typically 26,000 to 34,000 cal per day when in full training. Comparatively, an average active human will require only 3,000 cal per day. Just one bowl of a racing feed can contain 4,500 cal, and so feed leavers that regularly leave a half or quarter of a bowl at each meal time really can be missing out.

Forage is equally a source of calories, and a reduction of intake also affects total calorie intake.

• Physical form of feed and forage The physical form of the bucket feed can affect feed intake due to simple time constraints. Morning and lunch time feeds are more common times at which to find feed left behind. Different feed materials have different rates of intake – due to the amount of chewing required—when fed at the same weight. To give an example, 1kg (or 2lbs) of oats will take 850 chews and only 10 minutes to consume in comparison with 1kg of forage taking up to 4,500 chews and 40 minutes to consume.

Meals that require a high amount of chewing—while beneficial from the point of view of saliva production (the stomach’s natural acid buffer—can result in feed “refusal” as there is simply too much time required. Cubes are often eaten more easily as they are dense, providing less volume than a lighter, “fluffier” coarse mix ration. Inclusion of chaff in the meal also slows intake, which can be beneficial, but not for all horses. Any horse noted as a regular feed leaver ideally needs smaller meals with less chewing time. Keeping feed and forage separate can make a significant difference.

The choice of forage is important for appetite. Haylage is more readily consumed, and horses will voluntarily eat a greater amount. The study below compares multiple forage sources for stabled horses.

ABOVE: Grain-based feeds are an important requirement for a horse in training.

Another factor relating to forages is the level of NDF present. NDF (neutral detergent fiber) is a lab measure for forage cell wall content—looking at the level of lignin, cellulose and hemi-cellulose. As a grass matures, the level of NDF changes. The amount a horse will voluntarily consume is directly related to the amount of NDF present.

CHANGES IN GRASS PROTEIN AND FIBER (NDF) TABLES RIGHT: Adapted from Edouard et al 2008.(2)

GRASS

PROTEIN %

NDF %

Pre-head

17

<55

Early head

12-17

56-61

Head

8-12

60-65

Post-head

<8

>65

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NDF AND VOLUNTARY INTAKE

TABLE BELOW: Adapted from Ellis 2010.(1)

DIET

NDF MEAN %

INTAKE GDM/ KG LW

Fresh forage

57.3

18.8 (41.4)

Grass hay

63.7

16.6 (36.6)

Alfalfa hay

51.7

19.6 (43.2)

SOURCE OF FORAGE GIVEN WHILE STABLED ON A FREE CHOICE BASIS

DRY MATTER CONTENT OF FORAGES GIVEN

VERAGE KGS / LBS OF A FRESH WEIGHT EATEN BY 500KG / 1100LB HORSE

% OF HORSE’S BODY WEIGHT ON A DRY MATTER (DM) BASIS

Freshly cut grasses

14-20%

73 / 160

2.2

Haylage

55-65%

23 / 50

2.8

Hay

80-85%

11 / 24

1.9

Straw

90%+

7 / 15

1.3

ISSUE 59 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM

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| KEEP THE APPETITE UP TO | KS EUESPT A TH TR I TME AUNPC ET O| I NE PA EP RP FE O UP S TTAHI E N AP PE P R EF TO IRTM | KS EE E AUNPC ET O| SUSTAIN PERFORM ANCE |

NU UT TR R II T || N T II O ON N || | NUTRITION | Analyzing forage for NDF, along with ADF, the measure relating to digestibility of the plant, is ADF, an important Analysing forage for NDF, along with the measuree practice can help identify if the forage is to be relating tothat digestibility the along plant, is an important practic Analysing forage for of NDF, with ADF, thelikely measure ece well received.

Alfalfaifis normally in can that can help identify the forage to NDF be welland receive relating to digestibility of the plant,islower islikely an important practic ceed. form a islarge part of the daily forage provision for receive any Alfalfa normally lower in NDF and can form large part rted. that can help identify if the forage is likely to beawell horse with a limited appetite.

As alfalfa is higher inpart of the daily forage provision for any horse with aa limited Alfalfa is normally lower in NDF and can form large rt protein—should it become a dominant form of daily should it become appetite.

As alfalfa is higher in protein – of the daily forage provision for any horse with a limited a fiber—then a lower is protein advisable. dominant form of daily fibrein then afeed lower racing a –racing it become appetite. As alfalfa is protein higher protein – should Racing feeds range from 10% to 15% protein, feed is advisable. feeds range from 10% up to dominant formnow ofRacing daily fibre then a up lower protein racing – now and finding a Racing suitable balance is easily done. finding a suitable balance is10% easily 15% so protein, and so feed is advisable. feeds now range from updone. to 15% protein, and so finding a suitable balance is easily done.

• B vitamins B vitamins B vitamins are arenormally normallypresent presentiningood goodquantity quantity B vitamins inin foragees, B vitamins

forages, and the horse itself able to synthesize Bin the and the horse is able to is synthesise vitaminsin B vitamins areitself normally present in goodBquantity foragees, vitamins in the hindgut.

Between these sourcesrarely a true hindgut.

Between these sources a true deficiency and the horse itself is able to synthesise B vitamins in the deficiency rarely exists.

Horses poor supplemented appetite are exists. Horses with poor sources appetiteawith are hindgut.

Between these trueoften deficiency rarely often supplemented with B12 among other B vitamins. with B12 amongst B vitamins.

B12 is a exists.

Horses with other poor appetite are Vitamin often supplemented Vitamin B12 is a cofactor for two enzymes involved in cofactor two enzymes in Vitamin synthesisB12 of DNA with B12for amongst other Binvolved vitamins. is a and synthesis of DNA and metabolism of carbohydrates and metabolism of carbohydrates and fats.

Humanof studies cofactor for two enzymes involved in synthesis DNA where and fats. Human studies where a B12 deficiency exists have exists have shown an improvement in where ametabolism B12 deficiency of carbohydrates and fats.

Human studies shown an improvement in appetite when subjects were when subjects wereshown given aan daily dose of B12in(3). exists have improvement aappetite B12 deficiency given a daily dose of B12.(3) (3) As racehorses are typically limited in terms forage . appetite when subjects were given a daily ofof B12 As racehorses are typically limited in dose terms of forage intake and their hindgut environment is frequently As racehorses are typically limited in terms of forage intake and their hindgut environment is frequently challenged, through nutritional and physiological intake and their hindgut environment is frequentlystresses, challenged, through nutritional and physiological it is reasonable to consider that the racehorse, whilst not challenged, through nutritional and physiological stresses, stresses, it is reasonable to consider that the racehorse, may be running on a lower profile. Anecdotal deficient, it is reasonable to consider that the racehorse, whilst not while not deficient, may be running on a lower profile. evidence in horses suggestsonB12 supplementation may be running a lower profile.

Anecdotal deficient, Anecdotal evidence in horses suggests B12 supplementation positivelyin affects appetite asB12 seen in humans. evidence horses suggests positively affects appetite as seensupplementation in humans.

Anotheraffects area ofappetite interest around use is positively as seenBinvitamin Another area of interest around Bhumans. vitamin use is depression.

Horses can suffer from depression and in much Another area of interest around B vitamin use isand depression.

Horses can suffer from depression in the same way as in the human form, this can affect appetite. depression.

Horses canassuffer from depression much much the same way in the human form, and this in can affect French researchers investigated the behaviour of depressed the same way as inresearchers the human form, this can the affect appetite. appetite.

French investigated behavior horses, those determined as non-reactive or low reaction French researchers investigated the behaviour of depressed of depressed horses, those determined aswith non-reactive to stimuli, against their response to sweetened and novelhorses, those determined as non-reactive or with low reaction or with low reaction to stimuli, against their response flavoured foods.

The depressed consumed significantly stimuli, against their responsehorses to foods. sweetened novelto sweetened and novel-flavored Theand depressed (4) . Therehorses has much interest in (4) less than normal horses flavoured foods. The depressed consumed significantly horses consumed significantly lessbeen than normal horses.

B vitamins for humans with depression as much a lowfor level of Bin . There hasBbeen interest less than normal horses(4) There has been much interest in vitamins humans (5) . Using aofBBwith vitamins is linked with depressive B vitamins for humans withlevel depression as a low with depression as a low ofbehaviour B vitamins islevel linked (5) also be beneficial to (5)horses. vitamin supplement may depressive behavior.

Using a Bbehaviour vitamin supplement . Using a B vitamins is linked with depressive may alsosupplement be beneficial horses. vitamin maytoalso be beneficial to horses.

ABOVE: ABOVE: Normal pH Normal ABOVE:ofpH levels levels of Normal pH the equine the equine levels of stomach. stomach. the equine stomach.

• Digestive health Digestive health Gastric ulceration is commonly associated with changes Gastric ulceration is commonly associated with changes in Digestive health (6)

in appetite. eaters may be responding to the (6) . PickyPicky eaters may be responding to the physical appetite Gastric ulceration is commonly associated with changes in physical effect of feedindigestion in the stomach.

Racing (6) effect of feed digestion the stomach.

Racing feeds by design appetite . Picky eaters may be responding to the physical feeds by design contain a significant amountforages, of starch amount of starch relative contain significant effect of afeed digestion in the stomach.

Racing to feeds by design relative to forages, which horses are designed to consume. which horses are designed to of consume.

Starch to fermentation amount starch relative forages, contain a significant Starch fermentation in the stomach produces VFAs (volatile Starch fatty acids), which can in the stomach produces which horses are designedVFAs to consume. fermentation (volatile fatty acids), which can damage the stomach damage the stomach lining if the pH level of acids), the upper stomach VFAs (volatile fatty which can in the stomach produces lining if the pH level of the upper stomach is lower than (7) .

The ability of the is lower than normal lining causing discomfort damage the stomach if the pH level of the upper stomach normal causing discomfort.(7) The ability of the upper upper to remain within normal(7)parameters relates to . The ability of theto is lowerstomach than normal causing stomach to remain within discomfort normal parameters relates forage stomach intake. Normal range is pHnormal 5-7, however with relates limitedto upper to remain within parameters forage intake. Normal range is pH5-7, however with forage the pH can lower to 4.5-7, Once belowwith this limited level, the forage intake intake.

Normal is pH however limited forage intakerange the pH can lower to 4. Once below squamous tissue may ulcerate for a variety of reasons including forage intake pH can lower to may 4. Once belowfor thisalevel, theof this level, thethe squamous tissue ulcerate variety (8) VFA production theulcerate time of for feeding . of reasons including(8) squamous tissue at may a variety reasons including VFA production at the time of feeding.

VFA production at the time of feeding(8).

Normal pH pH levels of the stomach • Normal levels of equine the equine stomach The incidence level ulceration in isishigh, Normal pH levels the equine stomach The incidence level of ofof ulceration in racehorses racehorses high,

(9). with reports of oflevel 93%of ofulceration horses having having presence of of high, ulcers(9) with reports 93% of horses presence ulcers.

The incidence in racehorses is (9) individual shows the classical symptoms of Not individual shows thehaving classical symptoms of . withevery reports of 93% of horses presence of ulcers ulcers but for with appetite scoping ulcers, butindividual forany anyhorses horses with poor appetite scoping for Not every shows thepoor classical symptoms offor ulcers recommended. factor for recommended.

The risk factor fordevelopment development ulcers is but for any horsesThe withrisk poor appetite scoping for of ulcers is recommended. related to to thethe amount offactor time spent inin training, of ulcers is related amount of time spent training, ulcers is The risk for development of (10(10) ) wi i h every week k spen n t i ncreasi i ng ri i sk k 1.7 7 f ol l d .

A hhorse orse with spent increasing risk 1.7 fold.

A ulcers is related to the amount of time spent in training, with appetite as the the season progresses wiii h every a change in appe as s may wi with week k spen nettite increasi ingseason riisk k 1.7 7progresses folld(10). A hmay orse not be the in result increasing fitness but result of increasing fii fitness but an anindicator isndicator wii just with a change appeeof tite as the season progresses may of developing. ulcer . increasing fitness notanjust be developing the result gof fii but an indicator of an ulcer developing g.

• Feed flavoring Feed flavouring The use of of flavouring flavoring ininfeed The use fl l feedisisanother anotherconsideration consideratio onfor for Feed flavouring

sparking appetite. Although traditionally mint as sparking All h Alth mint is is used ussoed as an an The use ofappetite. fll flavouring inough feed traditionally is another consideratio n for addition to feed, more recent research into a broad range addition to feed, more e recent research into a broad range sparking appetite. Alth All hough traditionally mint is ussed as an of flavors has revealed that horses find other flavors more addition to feed, moree recent research into a broad range appetizing. In order of preference, a horse selectively

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| NUTRITION |

| |K KE EE EP P T THHE E AAPPPPEETTI ITTEE UUPP TTOO I INEN PAPEPERPRFEFO USPSTTA M | KS S EUE TAH TOR I RTM E AAUNNPCC ETE O||

| NUTRITION |

SUSTAIN PERFORM ANCE |

of flavours has revealed that horses find other flavours consumed a fenugreek-flavored cereal by-product first more appetising.

In orderthat of preference, of flavours has revealed horses find horse other selectively flavours followed by banana, cherry, rosemary, cumin and carrot cereal by-product first consumed a fenugreek-flavoured more appetising.

In order of preference, horse selectively before reaching peppermint. When added to mineral followed by abanana, cherry, rosemary, cumin and carrot cereal by-product first consumed fenugreek-flavoured pellets, the most common item to be left at the bottom before reaching peppermint.

When added to mineral followed by banana, cherry, rosemary, cumin and carrot of a feed pot when using a coarse mix for racehorses, the pellets, most peppermint. common item to beadded left atto themineral bottom before the reaching When inclusions of fenugreek and banana resulted in pellets ofpellets, a feedthe potmost whencommon using a coarse mix for racehorses, the item to be left at the bottom (11) being more readily consumed. Including a novel flavor of a feed pot when using a coarse mix for racehorses, inclusions of fenugreek and banana resulted in pelletsthe being may be enough to encourage interest in horses that are inclusions fenugreek(11) and banana resulted in pellets being . Including a novel flavour may be more readilyofconsumed apparently off their feed for no reason.

(11) . Including novelare flavour may be more readily consumed enough to encourage interest in horsesa that apparently enough to encourage interest in horses that are apparently off their feed for no reason.

• Assessment and recommendations off their feed for no reason.

for horses with poor appetite Assessment and recommendations for horses There are multiple factors that influence appetite, and Assessment and recommendations for horses with poor appetite improving appetite will normally require taking more with poor appetite There are multiple influence appetite, and than one approachfactors to getthat the best result.

There are multiple factors that influence appetite, andthan improving appetite will normally require taking more •improving F irst, it isappetite important to determine if gastric ulceration normally one approach to get will the best result.require taking more than is aapproach factor and a course of the appropriate treatment. one tostart get the best result.

P rovide forage ideallytoon a free-choice basis to reduce ••Firstly, it is important determine if gastric ulceration is a the risk prolonged periods without forage •factor Firstly, itofisstart important if gastric ulceration is a and a courseto ofdetermine the appropriate treatment. consumption, which result in appropriate a lower stomach pH.the factor and startideally a course the treatment.

• Provide forage on aoffree-choice basis to reduce forage onpoor, a free-choice to reduce the ••risk I Provide f forage intakeideally seems have thebasis forage analyzed of prolonged periods without forage consumption, riskNDF ofresult prolonged periods without forage consumption, for and and if needed, consider addition which inADF; a lower stomach pH. which result in a lower pH. such as alfalfa. of more digestible fiberstomach to the diet References 1.References Ellis, A.D., 2010. Biological basis of behaviour Ellis, A.D., 2010. Biological of in behaviour in1.relation to nutrition and feedbasis intake horses. relation nutrition andM.Coenen feed intake& in horses.

IninA.D. Ellis,to A.C.Longland, N.Miraglia, In A.D. Ellis, A.C.Longland, N.Miraglia, ed.

The impact of nutrition onM.Coenen the health&and ed. Theofimpact ofThe nutrition on the health and welfare horses.

Netherlands: Wageningen welfare of Publishers, horses. The 53-74 Netherlands: Wageningen Academic 53-74 2.Academic Edouard, Publishers, N. Fleurance, g. Martin-rosset, W.

2. Edouard, N. Fleurance, g. Martin-rosset, Duncan, P. Dulphy, J.P. Grange, S. Baumont,W. R. Duncan, P. Dulphy, J.P. Grange,F.J. S. Baumont, R. Dubroeucq, H. Perez-Barberia, Gordon, I.J. Dubroeucq, H. Perez-Barberia, F.J. Gordon, (2008).

Voluntary intake and digestibility in I.J. (2008).effect Voluntary intakequality and digestibility in on horses: of forage with emphasis horses: effect of forage quality with emphasis on individual variability.

Animal 10 (2):1526-1533 individual variability. Animal 10 (2):1526-1533 3. Stahlberg, K.G. (1967) Studies on methyl-B12 in 3. Stahlberg, K.G. (1967) on methyl-B12 in man.

Scandinavian JournalStudies of Haematology (1) 1-99 man. Scandinavian Journal of Haematology (1) 1-99 4. Furiex, C. Beaulieu, C. Argaud, S. Rochais, C. 4. Furiex,M.C.Henry, Beaulieu, C. Argaud, S. C. Quinton, S. Hausberger, M.Rochais, Mason, G. Quinton, M. Henry, S. Hausberger, M. Mason, G.

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• If forage intake seems poor, have the forage analysed for • NDF ive as many as is practical, and consider and ADF;small and ifmeals needed, consider addition of more If forage intake seems poor, have the forage analysed for • G

use lowADF; to moderate starch feeds, those withofamore starch fibre toand theifdiet such consider as alfalfa. digestible NDFofand needed, addition profile of 10-18%.

• Give as many as is fibre small to the meals diet such aspractical, alfalfa. and consider digestible • W here horses struggle tostarch finish their those bucket feed time use ofaslow to moderate with ainstarch Give many small meals as isfeeds, practical, and consider with the inclusion of chaff, consider providing a separate of 10-18%. profile use of low to moderate starch feeds, those with a starch consisting of alfalfa and soaked beet pulp • “fiber Where horses struggle to finish their bucket feed in time of 10-18%. profilebucket” thethe stable.

Both these fibers are highly and • in Where horses struggle to finish their bucketdigestible feed in time with inclusion of chaff, consider providing a separate have good energy value, and whenand provided with athe inclusion of chaff, consider providing a separate bucket’ consisting of alfalfa soakedindependently beet pulp in ‘fibre from the “hard feed,” can be slowly. bucket’ consisting of alfalfa and soaked beetand pulphave in ‘fibre fibres aregrazed highly digestible the stable.

Both these it fibres are highly digestible and have the stable.

Both these a good energy value, and when provided independently • Consider the inclusion of calorie-dense dried fat a good energy value, and provided independently from the ‘hardFats feed,’contain it canwhen be grazed slowly. supplements. more calories than starch from the ‘hard feed,’ itofand can be slowly. the inclusion calorie-dense dried fat supplements.

• Consider found within cereals; so grazed their inclusion, which is Consider the inclusion calorie-dense dried fat supplements.

• Fats contain more calories than1kg starch within cereals; typically a low rate ofof500gperfound day, is often an Fats so contain more calories than starchand found and their which is typically a so lowwithin rate ofcereals; 500geasy way to inclusion, increase total calories increase andper so their inclusion, is typically a low ratecalories of 500g1kg day, is often anwhich easy way to limited. increase total and energy intake where appetite is 1kgincrease per day,energy is oftenintake an easy way appetite to increase total calories and so where is limited.

• Supplement with a short course of a B vitamin complex, so increase energy where appetite limited. complex, • and Supplement withintake a short course of a Bis vitamin monitor for any changes in appetence.

• and Supplement a short course of a B vitamin complex, monitor with for any changes in appetence. nclude one of identified flavors to create a novel and monitor forthe any changes flavours in appetence.

•• IInclude one of the identified to create a novel and more interesting feed.

• and Include one of the identified more interesting feed. flavours to create a novel and more interesting feed. ccess pasture even for short periods, enables Access totopasture even for short periods, whichwhich enables natural • A Access tocan pasture short periods, whichon enables natural • natural grazing, can for have positive effects behavior grazing, have even positive effects on behaviour and appetite. grazing, can have positive effects on behaviour and appetite. and appetite.

(2015) Investigating anhedonia in a nonconventional species:anhedonia Do some riding horses (2015) Investigating in a nonconventional species: some riding horses Equus caballus displayDo symptoms of depression?

Equus caballus display symptoms of depression?

Applied Animal Behaviour Science (162) 26-36 Applied Animal 26-36 5.

Mitchell, E.S.Behaviour Conus, N.Science Kaput, (162) J. (2014) B

5. Mitchell, E.S. Conus, N. Kaput, J. (2014) B vitamin polymorphisms and behaviour: Evidence vitamin polymorphisms and behaviour: Evidence of associations with neurodevelopment, of associations with neurodevelopment, depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and cognitive decline.

Neuroscience & Behavioural cognitive(47)307-320 decline. Neuroscience & Behavioural Reviews Reviews (47)307-320 6. Vatistas, N.J. SnydeR, J.R. Carlson, G. Johnson, 6. Arthus, Vatistas, N.J.Thurmond, SnydeR, J.R. Johnson, B. R.M. M. Carlson, Zhou, H.G. Lloyd, B. Arthus, R.M. Thurmond, M.study Zhou,of H.gastric Lloyd, K.L.K. (2010) Cross-sectional K.L.K. of (2010) Cross-sectional study of gastric ulcers the squamous mucosa in Thoroughbred ulcers of theEquine squamous mucosa in Thoroughbred racehorses.

Veterinary Journal (31) 29, racehorses. Equine Veterinary Journal (31) 29, 34-39 34-39 7. Nadeau et al cited in National Research Council 7. Nadeau et al cited in National Research Council

(2207) Nutrient Requirements of Horses (6th Ed).

Washington DC:Requirements National Academic Press (2207) Nutrient of Horses (6th Ed).

Washington National Academic Presset al 2002 8. Andrews etDC: al cited 2006, Widenhouse

cited in Geor, P. Coenen, M. (2013) Equine 8.

Andrews etJ. alHarris, cited 2006, Widenhouse et al 2002 cited in Geor, J. Harris, P. Coenen, M. (2013) Equine Applied and Clinical Nutrition.

China: Elsevier Applied and China: Elsevier 9. Murray etClinical al 1996Nutrition. cited in lutherson, N.

9.

Murray et K. al 1996 cited in lutherson, N. HounIelsen, Harris, P. Parkin, T.D.H. (2009) Risk HounIelsen, K. Harris, P. Parkin, factors associated with equine T.D.H. gastric(2009) ulcersRisk factors associated ulcers syndrome (EGUS) inwith 201equine horsesgastric in Denmark. syndrome (EGUS)Journal, in 201 horses Denmark.

Equine Veterinary 41 (7), in 625-630.

Equine Veterinary Journal, 41 (7), 625-630.

10. Murray, unpublished data, cited in Geor, J. 10.

Murray, unpublished data,Equine cited in Geor, J. Harris, P. Coenen, M. (2013) Applied and Harris, . Coenen, M. (2013) Equine Applied and ClinicalPNutrition.

China: Elsevier Clinical Nutrition. China: Elsevier 11. Goodwin, D. Davidson, H.P.B. Harris, P. 11.

Goodwin, D. Davidson, H.P.B. Harris, P. in (2005) Selection and appetence of flavours (2005) Selection of flavours in concentrate dietsand for appetence stabled horses.

Applied concentrate diets for stabled horses.

Applied Animal Behaviour Science (95) 3-4,223-232 Animal Behaviour Science (95) 3-4,223-232

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GRA DE D STA KE S WI NNING O WN E RS Not even a pandemic could prevent Thoroughbred racing from bringing people together.

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ROBERT & LAWANA LOW - COLONEL LIAM ong ago in business, Robert Low found that success is much more appreciated if it follows disappointment. That’s what happened with his now massive truck company, Prime Inc., in Springfield, Mo. The business he started by buying a single dump truck when he was a 19-year-old attending the University of Missouri, prospered, tanked and recovered three years later to the point that it now has a fleet of more than 21,000 vehicles, approximately 10,000 employees, a gross revenue of $2.2 billion, and in January 2020, was recognized as one of the Top 20 Best Fleets to Drive For by Carrier’s Edge/TCA for the fourth consecutive year.

“About 1980, we went flat broke,” he said. “We spent 3 ½ years in Chapter 11. We then built the business model that is successful today. I think if the success continued from the 1970s to now, I would have been spoiled, unappreciative and somewhat arrogant. I learned my lesson. I learned it well.”

With Thoroughbreds, he spent $1.2 million to purchase his gray, four-year-old colt Colonel Liam as a two-yearold-in-training in April 2019. “We thought we were buying a Derby horse,” Low said.

L

Bill Heller

Coglianese Photos, Derbe Glass, Ryan Thompson, Tim Sullivan, Eclipse Sportswire, Benoit Photo

Instead, Colonel Liam got a late start, finishing second in a maiden race last April 14, when he was placed first on a disqualification, then a distant third on a sloppy track in an allowance race. “He was an expensive two-year-old-in-training,” Low said. “You’re disappointed.”

His trainer, Todd Pletcher, said, “He has more than what he’s showing. We’re going to give him a shot on turf in an allowance race.”

Bingo. “He was like a different horse,” Low said. “He took off.

He’s very comfortable on the turf surface—how he moves.”

On January 23 at Gulfstream Park, Colonel Liam moved into a new status, taking the $1 million Gr1 Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational by a neck over his stable-mate in the Pletcher barn, Largent. “This is just unreal,” Low said after the race. “It’s fantastic. It’s a wonderful feeling.”

It’s a feeling he shared with his wife of 48 years, Lawana—and sweethearts since the fifth grade in Urbana, Mo. Robert lived on a farm. “She lived in town,” he said. “When I rode my horse in the Christmas parade, we flirted.”

She loved horses, too. “They’re wonderful owners,” Pletcher said. “They love the sport, and they love their horses.”

THEY’RE WONDERFUL OWNERS, THEY LOVE THE SPORT, AND THEY LOVE THEIR HORSES.” TODD PLETCHER ON ROBERT & LAWANA LOW

The Lows’ lead in Colonel Liam after the Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational.

Robert not only grew up with horses on his family’s farm, but he’d accompany his parents—both racing fans—on trips to Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark. He’d ride his horses against neighboring farms’ kids “on hard-gravel roads. Asked if he was a rider, he replied, “I was more of a cowboy.”

In college, he took a mighty risk buying a dump truck, which led to an open-road truck, then other trucks—lots of other trucks. “You have to do it when you’re young and dumb,” he said. “In my case, it was really a lot of luck involved, a lot of hard work involved.”

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When the prime interest shot higher, he was suddenly in trouble.

“I made a million dollars in 1979, and I went into bankruptcy in 1980,” he said. He is so thankful that Lawana helped him through that rough period of his life. “God bless her,” he said.

“My wife has stuck with me through thick and thin.”

When his business returned healthier than ever, Robert and Lawanda went after their dreams. “We bought just a couple of mares at first, because we always had a dream of having a breeding farm,” he said. Now, the Lows have a 330-acre farm, home to dozens of their horses.

His first star was Capote Belle, an incredibly quick filly who won the Gr1 Test Stakes at Saratoga in 1996, for trainer Daniel Peitz and jockey John Velazquez. “We were over the moon,” Robert said. “An historic track. We’re country folks. We had our friends with us. We closed down a few places that night. I think it was Johnny V’s first Gr1 win at Saratoga.” Capote Belle finished nine-for-22 with more than $600,000 in purses.

With Todd Pletcher as their trainer, the Lows had another highlight when their Magnum Moon won the Gr2 Rebel Stakes and the Gr1 Arkansas Derby in 2018, making him four-for-four in his career. “That was the thrill of our lives because Oaklawn has been a part of our lives for so long,” Robert said. “It’s not Saratoga, but it’s got a lot of ambiance.”

Magnum Moon’s next start was his last. He finished 19th in the Kentucky Derby, and he was retired after suffering an injury while training at Belmont Park in June 2018. The following October, he had to be euthanized after battling laminitis.

Irad Ortiz Jr. and Colonel Liam after winning the 2021 Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational.

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The Lows have another outstanding runner trained by Pletcher: Sweet Melania, a four-year-old filly who has won three of nine starts, including a Gr2 and a Gr3 stakes, with two seconds, three thirds and earnings topping $400,000. Just as Colonel Liam did, Sweet Melania made her first two starts on dirt, finishing third twice. On turf, she turned into a star. “We’re looking forward to her return,” Robert said.

Colonel Liam’s improvement on grass was striking. He won his grass debut—a maiden race at Saratoga—by 2 ¾ lengths. His next start was in the $500,000 Saratoga Derby Invitational last August 15. He had a brutal trip, getting “bumped hard at the break and pinched,” according to his comment line in the Daily Racing Form, then rallied strongly to finish fourth, losing by just three-quarters of a length.

“He had trouble,” Robert said. “He got bumped very hard at the start. Then he was behind a lot of horses. But he only got beat by three-quarters of a length. With a little luck, he would have won that race.”

Pletcher decided to give Colonel Liam a break and point to the Pegasus Turf. In his four-year-old debut at Gulfstream Park in the $75,000 Tropical Park Derby on December 30, he won going away by 2 ¼ lengths. In the Pegasus, he went off the favorite, and he delivered.

He is the star of the Lows’ stable, which numbers about 60 including 16 broodmares, 14 yearlings, 19 juveniles and 12 horses with Pletcher, Peitz and Steve Margolis. ”I am living the dream,” Robert said. “For a small-farm kid, it’s been quite a ride. I’ve been very fortunate.”

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JOHN SONDEREKER - KISS TODAY GOODBYE ixty years ago, John Sondereker got a taste of the tantalizing possibilities racing can offer. He was 18 and in his third year working for trainer Jerry Caruso at Ascot Park, a small track in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.

Because Caruso knew Ohio-based Jack and Katherine Price—the trainer, owner and breeder of Carry Back—Sondereker was able to tag along with Caruso’s foreman to see the 1961 Kentucky Derby. “I went down in a pick-up truck,” Sondereker said. “That was my first Derby.”

When late-closing Carry Back rallied from far-back to edge Crozier by three-quarters of a length and won the Run for the Roses, Sondereker was moved. “I was 18 years old,” he said. “I was flabbergasted. I’m a small-town kid. We used to call our track a bull ring. $1,500 claimers. Lots of them. Seeing Bill Hartack, catching the whole Derby experience—horse racing was totally different down there. You could get lucky with the right horse and win it all.”

Just two years before Sondereker’s first Derby experience, he had gotten a job mucking stalls and walking hots at Ascot Park.

“I was a kid, and I needed the money,” he said. “So that was a job that was available. I think they’ll pick anybody.”

He quickly fell in love with horses and horse racing. “I loved the animals,” he said. “It was just a great experience. It was a thrill. Back then, horse racing was king. On Saturdays, at that little track, we had 20,000 fans. It was the only game in town.”

He’s now living in the city that has thousands of games in town—Las Vegas, where he wakes up at 4 or 4:30 a.m. and walks or half-jogs five miles every day. “I jogged for 50 years,” he said. “I live on a golf course, 15 miles west of the Strip. I’m out there walking with a little lamp on my head.”

S

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SEEING BILL HARTACK, CATCHING THE WHOLE DERBY EXPERIENCE— HORSE RACING WAS TOTALLY DIFFERENT DOWN THERE. YOU COULD GET LUCKY WITH THE RIGHT HORSE AND WIN IT ALL.” JOHN SONDEREKER’S FIRST DERBY EXPERIENCE

In the city that never sleeps, Sondereker goes to bed at 9 p.m. “I sleep well,” he said.

Sondereker served in the Air Force, the last year in Iceland.

“I was the only person in Iceland getting the Wall Street Journal and the Cleveland edition of the Daily Racing Form,” he said.

When he returned, he had an intriguing career working for Wells Fargo, serving in branches all over the United States and in South America, Latin America and Puerto Rico—working his way up to executive vice-president. “I spent five years in San Juan,” he said. “I went to the track there.”

He’d been introduced to racing in the early 1950s by his father and uncle at Waterford Park, which became Mountaineer Park, in West Virginia. When his family moved to Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, he caught on at Ascot Park.

| G R A D E D S TA K E S W I N N I N G O W N E R S |

TOP: Kiss Today Goodbye exercises before for the 2021 Pegasus World Cup Invitational.

ABOVE: John Sondereker with jockey Geovanni Franco.

When he retired from Wells Fargo in 2003, he resumed his passion for horse racing.

“I always was a big fan of racing,” he said. “I got involved. I decided I wanted to do it on my own. In my working career, I had a lot of authority. I’m the guy who makes decisions. I don’t look back. I want to look forward. I’m still learning. That’s a great thing when you’re 78—to still learn. It’s fantastic.

“In my opinion, owners don’t get engaged the way I did—to find out how and why decisions are made. It’s a passive thing. Most of them don’t know a fetlock from a knee.”

Sondereker got involved with a small syndicate, Class Racing, meeting trainer Eric Kruljac. Then Sondereker went on his own, keeping Kruljac. “He went to the Keeneland Sales with me,” Kruljac said. “Then he started going in the wintertime. It was seven degrees below zero the day he bought Kiss Today Goodbye as a yearling at Keeneland.”

That was at the Keeneland January 2018 Sale. “The wind chill was brutal,” Sondereker said. “I couldn’t get my pen to write, standing outside.”

He landed Kiss Today Goodbye, a son of Cairo Prince out of Savvy Hester out of Heatseeker for $150,000. “There were a handful of fillies I liked, and they went from $20,000 to $25,000, so you know they weren’t good,” he said. “I started looking at colts.”

He liked what he saw in Kiss Today Goodbye—his name taken from the opening line of the song “What I Did For Love” from the musical Chorus Line. “I said, `Boy, this is a nice-looking colt,’” he said. “Looks so correct. I must have looked at 50, 60 horses. He was a great mover. Very graceful. He seemed like a pretty smart horse. He stood there looking at me. Calm and collected.”

So Sondereker collected Kiss Today Goodbye. The now four-year-old colt took five starts to break his maiden by a neck at Santa Anita last February, then finished 10th by 33 ½ lengths in his first start against winners.

Undeterred, Sondereker and Kruljac entered Kiss Today Goodbye in the $98,000 Shared Belief Stakes at Del Mar, August 1. Sent off at 34-1, Kiss Today Goodbye finished a much-improved third by 4 ¼ lengths. Switched to turf, Kiss Today Goodbye finished fifth and fourth in a pair of Gr2 stakes—the first at Del Mar, the second at Santa Anita. Returned to dirt, Kiss Today Goodbye won an allowance race by 2 ¾ lengths.

Kiss Today Goodbye stepped back up to stakes company December 26 and captured the Gr2 San Antonio Stakes at Santa Anita by a half-length, becoming the first three-year-old to win the stakes dating back to 1925. That performance got Kiss Today Goodbye into the Gr1 Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park, January 23. A victory would have given Sondereker his first Gr1 victory, but he finished seventh after racing last early in the field of 12.

Sondereker can only hope for similar success with Ruthless But Kind, a War Front filly he purchased for $625,000 at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton Yearling Sale in September. “I was really looking for a filly who could long on turf,” he said.

“She was the best filly I could find. I figured maybe a half-million.” When he bid $625,000, he didn’t think he was going to get her. “I figured I was going to be the underbidder again,” he said. “That happens a lot to me.” Instead, he got his filly.

Regardless of how she does, Sondereker is still enjoying racing. “It’s definitely enhanced my life—learning something and being able to apply your knowledge,” he said. “It’s always been a thrilling sport, from the $1,500 claimer going up. The bigger the race, the better.”

Anyone who knows Sondereker knows how much he has given back to racing.

“He’s fabulous,” Kruljac said. “He’s just a wonderful man. He’s very, very generous.”

Sondereker supports retired racehorses and the California Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Foundation, which serves over 3,000 backstretch workers and their families throughout California. “You have to give back,” Sondereker said. “I’ve been so fortunate in my life. I’m happily supporting backside employees and retired racehorses, and I’m going to do more of it. It’s a passion for me.”

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THREE DIAMONDS FARM - TIDE OF THE SEA orking with family can be tricky. Two families working together? Kirk Wycoff and his son Jordan, and Meg and Mike Levy with their son Ryder Finney have found a way, enjoying continued success with their Three Diamonds Farm. “I think it had a lot to do with a great team, bouncing ideas off each other,” Jordan said. “It’s a collective effort.”

It’s been a successful one for nearly 15 years.

On January 23 at Gulfstream Park, their five-year-old horse Tide of the Sea captured the Gr3 William McKnight Stakes by three-quarters of a length wire-to-wire—quite an accomplishment in a mile-and-a-half turf stakes. The massive son of Turf Champion English Channel follows the success of Gr1 United Nations Stakes winner and $1.5 million earner Bigger Picture and near $700,000 Gr2 Bowling Green Stakes winner Cross Border. They helped Three Diamonds top $3 million in earnings the last three years. They’ve already topped $300,000 this year before the end of January, thanks to Tide of the Sea’s victory and Cross Border’s third-place finish in the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational—a half-hour after Tide of the Sea’s victory in the McKnight.

The common denominator for Tide of the Sea, Bigger Picture and Cross Border is that they are older turf routers. “We know the grass can be kinder on them—more conducive to a career going into their five or six-year-old season,” Jordan said. “The turf is kinder on their bodies.”

So the Wycoffs, Meg and Ryder seek them out. And they work very hard to succeed. Meg was an accomplished equestrian who became the first female show person for Eaton Sales. She opened her own consignment company, Bluewater, in 1999, and sold a $1.3-million yearling a year later.

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SHE’S ONE OF THE BEST HORSE PEOPLE IN THE WORLD. I THINK WE GET TO EXPERIENCE THINGS TOGETHER THAT MOST MOTHERS & SONS DON’T. I’M VERY BLESSED.” RYDER FINNEY ON WORKING WITH HIS MOTHER MEG

| G R A D E |D GSRTAADKEE S 1 WINNING OWNERS |

Kirk Wycoff is the managing partner of Patriot Financial Services in Rachor, Penn. Jordan, 32, works with a different banking firm.

Three Diamonds Farm isn’t a physical farm; the Wycoffs use the Levys’ Bluewater Farm in Lexington, Ky. Meg is the owner, specializing in physical evaluation of prospects and with lay-ups; Mike runs Muirfield Equine Insurance while getting more involved with the farm. Ryder, 29, is their bloodstock specialist. At any time, they have 20 to 40 horses in training, not including their babies in Ocala, Fla. They do pinhooking, claiming and racing.

“The Levys are my second family,” Jordan said.

His first family, Kirk and Debbie, have been in racing for a long time. “My dad was in the Thoroughbred business,” Jordan said. “He trained on his own at Penn National in the 1980s.

Then he and Mom messed with show jumpers, pinhooking them. That’s how they got started.”

The Wycoffs dove back into racing in 2011, claiming a horse with trainer Mike Trombetta.

Three Diamonds Farm claimed Jimanator for $20,000 at Saratoga on August 15, 2011, and he won the Gr3 Fred W. Hooper Stakes at Gulfstream Park 3 ½ month later.

Not long after, Three Diamonds Farm went to trainer Mike Maker. “Mike is good with horses who mature with age,” Jordan said.

Jordan was an aspiring golfer—good enough to get a scholarship at Rider University—but his father gave him an ultimatum one summer. “I was a sophomore in high school, and I caddied in the morning and practiced golf in the afternoon,” Jordan said. “My dad said I had to get a real job when I was 17. He said you could do that or go to Kentucky and learn the horse business. It was a pretty easy choice.”

He drove to Lexington and had the good fortune to meet the Levy family. “I learned both trades: horses and equine insurance,” Jordan said. “I did that every summer all the way through college.”

Ryder said, “Jordan used to come down and stay with us to learn about the business. Because we were so close in age, we got really close.”

The Wycoffs work hard to succeed in racing.

“Me and my dad get up at 4:30 or 5:30 every morning,” Jordan said. “We look at past performances at every track we have money at: Gulfstream Park, Fair Grounds, Oaklawn Park, Santa Anita, Turfway Park and New York. It’s a good way to procrastinate a couple hours in the morning.”

Ryder said, “The Wycoffs are very precise people. They’re very precise with their numbers.

They’re both very good handicappers. They say, ‘We like these horses on paper.’ My mom’s role is a lot of physical inspection. She did that when I was younger—before I was trusted with that kind of thing. She tells them which ones

ABOVE: Kirk Wycoff leads in Tide of the Sea after winning the William McKnight Stakes at Gulfstream Park.

she likes. She runs the farm. One of her largest contributions with Three Diamonds is lay-up situations. She is instrumental in figuring out what’s wrong with them.”

Asked about working with his mother, Ryder said, “We’ve very similar. We see horses similarly. She raised me to think like she does about horses, which is a blessing. She’s one of the best horse people in the world. I think we get to experience things together that most mothers and sons don’t. I’m very blessed.”

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Georgie White

Alamy, Shutterstock

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e often see the word vice used in the equestrian world to describe an undesirable behavior completed by a horse; these are often repetitive behaviors completed either at certain times of the day, prior to or following a particular event or activity which causes the horse stress for whatever reason. When we look to the dictionary definition of a vice, the words “immoral,” “corrupt” and “wicked” are synonymous; but these are all words used to describe premeditated or deliberate acts of wrongdoing. When we consider that these are horses we are talking about, they simply do not have the cognitive ability to do this. As humans, we tend to over complicate and anthropomorphize animal behavior, likening it to our own and thus presuming horses complete these behaviors for far more complex reasons.

Recently the term vice has been replaced with a more correct term: “stereotypical behaviors” or “stereotypies,” which encompasses any behavior deemed to deviate from normal behavior and has resulted from the horse coping with a challenge or stress. On the surface, the behaviors appear apparently functionless, but when understood as a coping mechanism rather than a premeditated misdeed, we can begin to understand what that behavior serves the horse, if only temporarily.

• What is stress?

Stress is the body’s response to a potentially threatening situation and is experienced by humans and animals alike and even serves as a function to keep the animal alive. Presence of a short-term stressor such as a predator serves to kick-start the fight or flight response, which is part of the acute stress response.

STA B L E VICES ARE THEY VICES OR A PRODUCT OF THE ENVIRONMENT?

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Stress can be divided into two subtypes: acute and chronic, which are dealt with by the body very differently. They also result in several different physiological adaptations that are notable when discussing stereotypical behavior.

Acute stress refers to a short event or episode that causes a temporary increase in heart rate, respiratory rate, salivary cortisol levels, increased blood pressure and muscle tension. In relatively healthy animals, once the stressful event has passed, these body parameters will return to a base-line normal. These short episodes are not always necessarily bad and can help a horse learn and adapt to their environment. As horse handlers, we also know we can help a horse habituate to a common stressor by regularly introducing them to it and giving them a positive experience.

Over time, their stress response will become less severe, and thus they will learn to cope with it reoccurring.

Chronic stress refers to emotional pressure suffered for a prolonged period of time, which an individual perceives to have little to no control of—the latter part being key in horses.

Stereotypical behaviors will often occur during times where horses cannot control their environment. Stabled horses are most likely to display stereotypical behaviors because they are often in a situation when they cannot immediately change their environment or remove themselves from a particular stressor.

Symptoms of chronic stress include weight loss, decreased appetite, negative demeanor or aggressive tendencies.

BELOW: Oral stereotypies include crib biting, wind sucking and wood chewing; there is varied opinion suggesting these behaviors may provide temporary alleviation of stomach discomfort.

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Horses suffering from chronic stress sometimes go unnoticed because the signs are more subtle; there is no pounding heart rate, sweating, increased breathing rate or more obvious cues that handlers may associate with a typically stressed horse. The other problem is that stereotypical behaviors can go ignored or become “just something they do.”

There is a common link between horses who display stereotypical behaviors and those diagnosed with gastric ulcers as both are closely related to chronic stress. There is debate over cause and effect, whether the horse performs these behaviors in an attempt to ease the discomfort of gastric ulcers or if those performing stereotypies are chronically stressed and at higher risk of developing gastric ulcers.

• Stereotypical behaviors There are several common stereotypical behaviors seen in domesticated horses, and they can be divided into two simple categories: oral and locomotor. Oral stereotypies include crib biting, wind sucking and wood chewing; there is varied opinion suggesting these behaviors may provide temporary alleviation of stomach discomfort, but this is a question for cause and effect. Locomotor stereotypies include weaving, box/fence walking and door kicking.

These behaviors expend a lot of energy, especially if the horse devotes a significant amount of time to this behavior and as a result, the horse can be prone to losing or maintaining condition.

THERE IS A COMMON LINK BETWEEN HORSES WHO DISPLAY STEREOTYPICAL BEHAVIORS AND THOSE DIAGNOSED WITH GASTRIC ULCERS AS BOTH ARE CLOSELY RELATED TO CHRONIC STRESS.”

| S TA B L E V I C E S |

ABOVE: Locomotor stereotypies can include fence walking.

• A little about anatomy

There is research to suggest that if performed for long enough, stereotypical behaviors become a habit; and acting as a reward to the horse, the release of endorphins occurs which reinforces repetition. Further to this, it can also be preempted by a horse who regularly experiences the same stressor at the same time of the day, each day and will therefore begin the behavior before the stressful event occurs.

Individual horses will vary in the degree of persistence and vigor to which the behavior is performed; and this largely depends on how much of the horse’s time is devoted to the behavior and how often the trigger event occurs in the horse’s routine. Some horses with stereotypies will appear to have a generally nervous demeanor, and others are relatively eventempered and well-adjusted animals who otherwise do not appear to be suffering adversely from their environment. Some horse owners will notice a trigger or a marker that often sets off the behavior, in this case the stereotypy is easier to manage (e.g., ensuring that the horse is turned out first or fed first to prevent weaving or door kicking). When there appears to be no causative link, solving the stereotypy may become quite difficult especially if the horse has routinely done it for some time, as this becomes an ingrained habit.

The left hemisphere controls routine, internally directed or self-motivated behaviors in relatively low stress and familiar environments; examples would include foraging and grooming other horses. On the other hand, the right hemisphere is responsible for environmental-motivated behaviors, emotional arousal and unexpected or threatening stimuli; this refers to natural behaviors that have been redirected to other objects or pastimes when the previously innate option is not available.

These may include crib biting, bed foraging and wind sucking.

The horse’s brain and associated physiology are quite different from the human’s; in part this can be attributed to the fact that horses are prey animals, and their innate fight or flight response is regularly triggered. The amygdala and hypothalamus work closely together to detect trauma and process memories. If a stimulus is considered threatening enough, it can be etched into a horse’s memory. Therefore, it can be appreciated how quickly a horse can memorize a previously distressing event.

Horses lose the ability to discriminate between past and present experiences and also lack the ability to rationalize or interpret environmental contexts correctly. This means that although we know the horse next door is only going to the field 300 feet away, the horse who has started weaving has not rationalized or understood this.

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Housing horses in groups where possible, or at worst, allowing them to interact with other horses when stabled aids natural stimulation.

Horses that are prone to or that regularly complete stereotypical behaviors have “up-regulated” nervous systems, meaning that they are closer to the threshold of panic and may in some cases constantly remain in an over-aroused state. It will take very little to send them over this threshold and begin their stereotypical or coping behavior.

• Why don’t all horses do it?

A common misconception is that horses copy each other completing different stereotypical behaviors, but in fact there is no scientific research to support this; and the environment the horses are in is usually the common factor. This could be that their basic behavioral needs are not met; this can be due to lack of turnout and thus opportunities to socialize and burn off excess energy.

This leads nicely to another common question: Why don’t all horses carry out these behaviors? Just like in people, individual horses cope with different environments and events differently.

This can be due to their innate, built-in makeup or their past experiences or a combination of the two. For example, other horses being turned out first will bother some individuals immensely due to their desire for social contact being greater and may be a trigger for weaving for example, whereas others patiently wait their turn without bother.

• Racehorses and stereotypies It is a fair comment that competition horses, and in particular racehorses, are statistically more likely to develop stereotypical behaviors. This can be due to a number of reasons, some of which could be altered with careful management to improve the welfare of those horses affected. In general, racehorses spend a large amount of time stabled, in busy barns with lots of movement of horses; when surveyed, horse owners noted horse movement as a

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BY PROVIDING THE HORSE WITH APPROPRIATE NATURAL STIMULATION AND OPPORTUNITIES TO BEHAVE NATURALLY, IT WILL PREVENT THE HORSE FROM FEELING THE NEED TO COMPLETE THE COPING BEHAVIOR IN THE FIRST PLACE.” key factor in the initiation of stereotypical behaviors, particularly weaving and kicking. Other factors include boredom, although racehorses are in higher workload than some other stabled horses and do inevitably stand in a stable for extended periods of time, which may contribute to boredom levels.

• Prevention, redirection or adaptation?

Among the equine community, the question “Should we stop them?” is often raised, and there is much debate on how, why and if we should stop these behaviors.

There is a vast range of devices on the market that aim to prevent horses completing stereotypical behaviors, some preventing them physically and others redirecting the behavior.

Common devices include anti-weave grills, cribbing collars, topical anti-chew pastes to prevent crib biting and door-kicking prevention devices.

Research suggests that instead of preventing the behavior via suppression or restraint, usually in the form of a cribbing collar or weave grill, it is most beneficial to cure the cause of the behavior rather than the symptom. By providing the horse with

appropriate natural stimulation and opportunities to behave naturally, it will prevent the horse from feeling the need to complete the coping behavior in the first place. This may include housing horses in groups where possible, or at worst, allowing them to see, touch or interact with other horses when stabled. If grass turnout is not possible, turnout in small groups on surface or hard standing may help provide social interaction.

Where resources are limited or significant changes to the horse’s housing or routine is not possible, simple changes can help attenuate distress to some degree like providing them with extra forage during times of potential stress, turning them out first before others who do not get so distressed, and/or providing them with something to do during times of potential daily stress (e.g., putting them on a horse walker or exercising them during this time).

Horses who repeatedly display what can feel like relentless stereotypical behaviors can sometimes be told off by their handlers or people on the yard. This may act as a temporary fix and temporarily suspend them from the behavior, but in some cases this can either worsen the behavior or reinforce it because the horse gets a short fix of attention.

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• In summary This article has aimed to dispel some of the myths associated with stereotypical behaviors but also appreciates some of the logistical challenges of managing horses in a stabled environment where immediate change to their routine is not possible. A key take-home message, when managing a horse displaying a stereotypical behavior: It is beneficial to explore methods to help solve and cure the behavior rather than punish or prevent the behavior.

This is important in order to improve equine welfare and ultimately benefit the lives of our equine athletes!

BELOW: Research suggests that instead of preventing the behavior via suppression or restraint, such as as weave grill, it is most beneficial to cure the cause of the behavior rather than the symptom.

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ON TH E

BRIDLE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH UNCOVERS THE PERFORMANCE ADVANTAGES OF REDUCING BRIDLE PRESSURE Dr. Russell Mackechnie-Guire

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Eclipse Sportswire

| BRIDLE DESIGN |

Using a modified bridle design has a significant impact on whole horse locomotion–front and hindlimb–not just the head. ecent scientific advances have seen an increase in performance-based research, particularly in the sport horse world where a podium finish can depend on the smallest of margins. The findings from the sport horse research can be translated to the racing Thoroughbred where the shortest distance can put you first past the post. All items of training tack and equipment have found themselves under scientific scrutiny, with some unexpected results which could have significant effects on racehorse performance.

Perhaps one of the most surprising discoveries was the effect that bridle fit and design has on the locomotor apparatus of the horse (biomechanics).

The bridle is a neglected item of tack which has, until now, received little scientific attention.

R

• Ahead of the game As well as improving locomotion, these findings could have a significant benefit when it comes to resolving common issues affecting race performance, such as oral lesions in the commissures (corners) of the lips, tongue lolling and hanging, as well as steering or control issues.

Research indicates that these behaviors are likely to occur as a result of the horse seeking relief from bridle pressure and instability. Tongue ties or Australian nosebands are two examples of gadgets traditionally used to remedy these issues, but they have their own welfare and pressure-inducing concerns. A more effective solution would be to remove the primary cause of discomfort which leads to the negative or undesirable behavior by using a modified pressure-relieving bridle design.

The research team also used gait analysis where markers are placed on the horse’s anatomical locations ( joints), allowing locomotion to be measured. This enabled them to quantify how front and hindlimb kinematics altered, revealing an increased range of limb motion when the peak pressures in the anatomical zones were removed.

• Noseband knowledge Published research has shown that nosebands, as well as the headpiece, can be associated with extremely high pressure and distribution, and therefore also have significant effects on equine locomotion. From the research it was found that maximum noseband pressure was located on either side of the nasal bone, causing compression of the soft tissues in this area. Similar to the headpiece, the timing and location of the noseband pressures were consistent in every stride cycle.

During locomotion, noseband pressures differed relative to the horse’s head position.

When the head was positioned more horizontally (for example when galloping), the frequently chosen cavesson exerted significantly higher pressures on the lower edge of the noseband, which was associated with a reduced range of motion. Previous studies from this group have shown that reducing high pressures beneath a girth and saddle is associated with improved locomotion. The same relationship is seen with the bridle; areas of high pressures beneath the headpiece and noseband have a significant effect on equine locomotion and cause the horse to develop a compensatory locomotor strategy.

• Head pressure

Fig 1: A sensor mat was used under many different bridles and nosebands to measure and record pressure on the horse’s head in motion.

Research using a calibrated pressure sensor mat, which was positioned beneath all parts of the bridle, revealed interesting findings and disproved some long-held assumptions.

It had long been thought that horses experience bridle pressure directly on their poll. In contrast, the research team found no significant areas of pressure over the poll. Instead, areas of high peak pressure were located at the base of the ears in the region where the browband attaches to the headpiece. Anatomically this corresponds to the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). The TMJ is an essential part of the physiological apparatus, associated with the swallow reflex and the hyoid apparatus (see anatomy panel). The location of pressure (base of the ear and TMJ) was consistent in all commonly used headpieces and occurred at the same moment in the stride, regardless of the make or design.

FIG 1

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A specially designed Mexican grackle, which sits higher on the side of the horse’s head above the main artery and vein running under the facial crest, was found to exert the least pressure and, consequently, was associated with an improved locomotion and increased joint range of motion.

It might be easy to assume that removing the noseband removes the problem, but this has been shown to be counterproductive.

A noseband provides stability to the bridle and improves the interface between bridle and head. It has been shown that horses perform better when the bridle (and all equipment) is stable.

Horses require stability in order to effectively transfer propulsive forces from the hindlimbs to propel their mass forward. If the horse is unstable, it will seek a stabilizing strategy, which consequently will induce asymmetry and a loss in performance.

The use of a noseband to improve bridle stability could therefore improve the locomotor apparatus, give the jockey a more refined contact and help influence gallop efficiency more effectively.

• A bit of stability As well as stabilizing the bridle, bit stability is likely to be improved in a bridle with a noseband. Researchers speculate there is a link between bit stability, bridle pressure and the horse hanging. If a horse is holding its head to one side to alleviate bridle discomfort, an unstable bit is able to be pulled through the mouth, increasing loss of control and oral discomfort.

A jockey who finds himself dealing with a hanging issue could inadvertently also be compromising hindlimb power. A study, which is under review, has found that in sport horses, increased rein tension when turning affects the inside hindlimb protraction (how far the hindlimb can come forward under the horse). In a racing context, if the horse is hanging to the right and its trunk is going to the right, the jockey has to counteract this with the left rein. The research suggests this will have a negative effect on the left hindlimb. So, if we can eradicate hanging by means of a pressure-reducing bridle design, we could reduce the negative effect and improve performance.

TONGUE IN CHEEK In ground-breaking research, Professor Hilary Clayton used fluoroscopic videos (moving X-rays) to examine what happens inside the mouth when using various bits, and captured footage of cases where the horse got its tongue over the bit. In these cases, when contact is taken on the reins, the tongue balloons backwards in an attempt to protect the sensitive areas from discomfort. To do this, the horse has to open the jaw, which itself can result in oral lesions and discomfort. Also, when the tongue is retracted like this, the airway can become obstructed by the soft palate which limits oxygenation and reduces athletic performance.

Studies have identified a correlation between lateral tongue displacement (lolling) and compromised power in the opposite hindlimb—for example when the tongue was lolling to the left, this led to reduced power in the right hind. Lateral tongue displacement of any type should always be investigated. Of course, there are multiple factors to consider including bridle pressures, bit size or bit design. Dental health is another important factor that requires regular attention and should never be neglected.

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ORAL LESIONS CAN OCCUR IN A HORSE WEARING A BIT WHEN IT OPENS AND CLOSES ITS JAW, TRAPPING THE SKIN BETWEEN THE UPPER AND LOWER TEETH.” • Oral lesions If the bit pulls through the mouth, as well as control being compromised, the chance of oral lesions and blood at the commissures (corners) of the lips is increased.

A recent research study across a variety of equestrian disciplines has shown that lesions and sores in the mouth are 2.6 times more likely in horses ridden with no noseband compared to those with a loosely adjusted noseband. Furthermore, 48% of racehorses were shown to have oral lesions—the highest percentage across any of the disciplines in the study. Interestingly, they are also the group where bridles without nosebands are most commonly used.

Oral lesions can occur in a horse wearing a bit when it opens and closes its jaw, trapping the skin between the upper and lower teeth. The function of a correctly fitted noseband is not to apply pressure when the jaw is closed; pressure is only applied when the jaw is opened. Therefore, the use of a correctly fitted noseband could contribute to a reduction in oral lesions.

There is no evidence to suggest that a well-fitting noseband restricts airway function or respiration, in fact with the jaw closed and the lips therefore sealed, nasal respiration is shown to be optimized and the horse’s breathing improves.

FIG 2

Fig 2: Fluoroscopic video (moving X-ray) images were used to record what happens in the mouth when a horse gets its tongue over the bit.

| BRIDLE DESIGN |

FIG 3

Tongue Muscles linking the hyoid apparatus to the tongue and the jaw Bones of hyoid apparatus Sternohyoideus + omohyoideus muscles Brachiocephalicus muscle - used to flex the neck and protract (bring forward) the forelimb Poll TMJ Wing of atlas Position of windpipe

ASPECTS OF ANATOMY To understand why a bridle is so influential, we have to look at where it sits in relation to the anatomy of the horse’s head.

As the head and neck are important for balance in the horse, increasing freedom to allow different muscle patterns in training could improve balance and therefore the ability to alter gait. If the bridle design changes the pressure and force distribution on the head, then the change in peak pressure may allow the muscles in that area to work more effectively, as they are not having to work against the pressure that was previously placed on them.

The TMJ (7) is the joint of the upper and lower jaw bones, and it is connected to the hyoid bone by small muscles. It is also an important location for the cranial nerves that control proprioception and balance.

The intermittent high pressures located under the attachments of the browband to the headpiece involve the muscles of the hyoid apparatus (3), the associated movement of the tongue, and the swallowing mechanism actively creating pressures against the bridle each time the horse swallows.

The location of maximum pressure under the headpiece lies over an area of muscle involved in flexing the neck and bringing the forelimb forward (5). It is therefore understandable that relief of pressure at this location could de-restrict movement.

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FIG 4

High peak pressures were recorded in 7 key zones around the horse’s head: At the back edge of the headpiece against the wing of the atlas At the front edge of the headpiece on the ear bulbs Across the crown of the head Under the browband above the TMJ Under the noseband on either side of the nasal bone

CHAIN REACTION Three significant muscles from the hyoid link directly to the horse’s chest, shoulders and poll.

Then, each one continues its influence on the horse’s movement and balance by means of “chains” of muscle and fascial attachments which extend to the abdominals, neck, back, pelvis and hindquarters.

Fig 4: Important locomotor muscles are all linked to the mouth and tongue via the hyoid.

Under the back of the noseband on the jaw bones Under the facial crest on top of the vein and artery

Peak pressures were consistently recorded at the same locations in all commonly used bridle and headpiece designs.

Sternohyoideus chain (pink) The sternohyoid muscle connects the mouth and tongue (via the hyoid) to the sternum (breastbone). From this point, the chain continues through the pectorals, and along the abdominal muscles on the underside of the horse, extending into the pelvis.

Omohyoideus chain (orange) The omohyoid muscle connects the hyoid to the shoulder blade. From here the connecting muscles and fascia continue along the sides of the horse and all the way down the hindlimbs.

Occiptohyoideus chain (blue) The occiptohyoid muscle connects the hyoid to the poll. The nuchal ligament continues the connection from the poll down the neck, through the back muscles and hindquarters.

These direct and indirect connections from the mouth to the locomotor muscles of the body indicate that compromising the hyoid (by either direct pressure or restriction of the tongue or mouth), will impact the horse’s movement and gait.

New bridle design significantly reduces pressure around the horse’s head: Anatomically contoured to prevent interference with the wing of the atlas Lined with pressure relieving cushioning at the back of the ear Headpiece has a wider center section to increase stability Cushion pads on both sides lift the browband clear of the sensitive TMJ area Large pressure relieving pad to hold the cross straps clear of the sides of the nasal bone Wide pressure relieving jowl pad to protect the jaw bones

Further reading • R Murray, Journal of Equine Veterinary Science 2015; 35: 947-955 • H Clayton, Equine Vet Sci 1985; 5:68-77 • WR Cook, Equine Vet Journal 2009; 41:827-30 • R Murray, Vet Journal 2013; Oct: 92-97 • European Trainer Magazine Jan-March 2020 • M Uldahl & H Clayton, Equine Vet Journal 2019; 154-162

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High ring sets the noseband above the artery and vein, allowing the noseband to articulate with the movement of the horse’s head

Using a bridle designed to avoid locations of maximum pressure led to lower peak pressure under the noseband and headpiece compared with the horse’s usual bridle.

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PALACE PIER’S DAM IS SOLD TO COOLMORE M V Magnier of Coolmore Stud fended off a plethora of rival stud owners to secure the dam of champion Palace Pier for 2,200,000gns at yesterday’s second session of Tattersalls’ December Mares’ Sale, writes Carl Evans.

Beach Frolic (Lot 1731) went straight into seven-figure territory when auctioneer Edmond Mahony asked for an opening bid, the round 1,000,000gns being offered by Newsells Park Stud’s Julian Dollar. Alex Elliott and his client Kia Joorabchian swiftly responded and further bids were taken from Japan’s Northern Farm and Old Mill Stud’s Rob Speers, but Magnier, standing outside the ring, had the pistols and the bullets. As a nine-yearold daughter of Nayef with a proven breeding record her appeal to the Coolmore team was not hard to spot.

Magnier said of Beach Frolic, who was consigned by Highclere Stud in a partnership with Floors Stud: “She’s bred an exceptional racehorse and the Highland Reel yearling that Jamie McCalmont bought this year [320,000gns at Book 1] was very nice, too. She’s a special mare and they don’t come up very often.

Palace Pier’s dam, Lot 1731 Beach Frolic (Nayef), pictured, topped trade on day two of the Tattersalls December Mare Sale yesterday as M V Magnier closed the deal at 2,200,000gns on the Highclere Stud offering in foal to Darley’s Blue Point. © Tattersalls.com

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| #SOUNDBITES |

Bill Heller

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#SOUNDBITES With increased restrictions on the use of Lasix beginning this year, should tracks have protocols for horses’ environment in the barn concerning ventilation, air flow and bedding?

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# Kenny McPeek # Christophe Clement It’s not a new thing. The environment is very important; I think about it every single day of my life because I think about my horses every single day of my life. Creating the best environment is very important. I’m a strong believer in fresh air. The more fresh air, the better. The more time you can keep them out of their stalls and grazing, the better. It shouldn’t be done by the tracks. Individuals should do it.

# Gary Gullo With or without Lasix, I believe good ventilation, bedding and good quality hay is the best thing for horses. Trainers need to have that. With dust and the environment, the daily stuff 24 hours a day, it definitely helps a horse to get good ventilation.

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Yes. I think it’s good that tracks maintain the proper environment.

Enclosed ventilation in barns is bad for everybody, depending on what surface you’re on. There are open-air barns and racetracks which have poor environments. It’s very important.

Horses need a clean environment.

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# Ian Wilkes

# John Sadler

It definitely would help. A closed environment is not natural for horses. You have to get them out, getting fresh air and grazing. With some tracks, there are no turnouts. There’s not a lot of room. I think it’s very important. It’s not good when you get away from horses living naturally and having nature take care of them. It gets dusty in barns with a closed environment. Even if you have the best bedding, if you pay the top dollar and you get this tremendous straw, when you shake it, it’s still dusty. Horses have allergies like people.

Yes. My experience is that better ventilation, more air, is really good at preventing airborne disease.

Good ventilation is key. The one thing we try to do is eliminate dust in the barn. We ask our grooms to do it. Don’t fluff up their straw while they’re in the stall. Wait until they’re out to control the environment.

Getting fresh air is very important.

# Peter Miller It’s a horrible idea to begin with. Restricting Lasix is a horrible idea. That’s where I’m coming from. It doesn’t really matter what they do. Horses are going to always bleed without Lasix. It’s really environment. You can have the best barn in the world, the best ventilation, the best bedding; horses will still bleed without it. Those are all good practices. I use those practices with Lasix. You want clean air. You want all these things as part of animal husbandry.

You want those things. But it’s a moot point without Lasix.

# Mitch Friedman

# Jamie Ness

No. Absolutely not. The tracks have no idea what’s right or wrong. They’re making up rules as they go along. No Lasix. Yes Lasix. This is why the game changed. I worked horses for Hobeau (Farm). If a horse was hurt, they sent him back to the farm. Then they sent three other ones. Farms don’t exist anymore where they turn horses out. The more regulations and rules, it gets worse over the years. The problem is this, in my opinion. I was an assistant trainer for Gasper Moschera. He never had horses break down because they raced every month. Gasper would jog them. Now with Scott Palmer, these races can’t be run because they’ll suffer breakdowns. The game was never like that.

They keep coming up with rules that make it harder and harder.

I think it’s very important. I think it really depends on where you are. At Delaware Park, they have open barns

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with a lot of ventilation. But that’s in the summer. I’m at Parx, just 50 miles away, in the winter time, and we have to keep the barn closed. It’s cold out there. It stays warm inside, but you have 40 horses in stalls with low ceilings.

The ventilation isn’t that great.

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