North American Trainer, issue 38 - November 2015 - January 2016

ISSUE 38 NOVEMBER ’15 - JANUARY ’16 $5.95

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STARTING OUT

TODD PLETCHER on worming

DALLAS

Young, gifted and ontrack for success

STEWART

Facing challenges head on BILL CASNER

Breeder Owner Trainer

DOUG O’NEILL

Letting his 2yos do the talking

KEITH DESORMEAUX Turning bargain buys into stakes winners

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How did that happen?

LL of a sudden 2015 is nearly at an end, and what a year on the track it has been, dominated by one horse who has become the poster boy for racing. If you were told at this time last year that a racehorse would once again be the cover subject of major national magazines and his jockey would be fêted on a primetime television talent show, you probably wouldn’t have believed it, but it has happened and it’s something for the sport to be so proud of.

That it hasn’t been accomplished by marketing committees and focus groups but by one horse has proven that the product is not dead.

At the same time, behind the big story, racing’s thorns are continuing to prick its skin. Some say the industry is already bleeding in many places and can only be fixed by a federal bandaid while others reckon that a self-healing holistic group offers the best help, and yet others don’t believe there are any problems at all. I’m firmly in the camp that racing could be doing much better than maintain its status quo.

Let’s not forget that racing is no different to any other established industry, looking over its shoulder worrying about new competition from upstart industries. The print publishing industry is a good case in point.

But back to racing and a viewpoint that I keep hearing summarized as follows: “It’s us (trainers) and the breeding farms who raise and race these horses, but who is there to fight in our corner and ask our opinion?” Well, these folks do need a voice, but first the industry surely needs to pull together as a national entity and work out its own national business plan.

Put simply, such a plan needs to cover everything from the supply of horses, demand for racing, monetizing the product, and rewarding and regulating the industry shareholders. It’s been said so many times before but surely in 2016 it’s time for racing to stand up and show just how thick its skin is.

Before then, do take time to enjoy this bumper issue of the magazine. Our next one will be published at the end of January when Eclipse Awards fever will be upon us. I think we all know who will be the champion three-year-old male, but this picture of Victor Espinoza on American Pharoah, taken strides before the finish line in their Travers defeat by our very own Frances J. Karon, captures the range of emotions and spirit of racing embodied by year-end awards. Espinoza’s face says it all – “How did that happen?”

A fuller version of the photo can be found online at www.trainermagazine.com Wherever your racing takes you, good luck! ■

Jockey Victor Espinoza glances over at Keen Ice during American Pharoah’s defeat in the Travers Stakes at Saratoga ISSUE 38 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM

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CONTENTS 10 66

Dallas Stewart

Dirt vs Turf

Dallas Stewart has never met a challenge he wasn’t ready to take on, by Frances J. Karon.

Is the secret to surface preference predetermined by a horse’s conformation? By Denise Steffanus.

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Resisting deworming traditions Dr. Stacey Oke on an optimal deworming plan.

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Keith Desormeaux

Carb conundrum

How much starch should a racehorse’s diet include?

By Dr. Catherine Dunnett

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Supporting Texas

Keith Desormeaux is a trainer with an eye for a bargain he can turn into a stakes horse, by Ed Golden.

Trainer Tooter Jordan on what racing in Texas means to him.

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Stifle joints Understanding the complex anatomy of the largest joint in a horse, by Thomas O’Keeffe.

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Bill Casner

Ed Golden profiles Santa Anita’s Rick Hammerle.

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Contributors

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Bill Casner is anything but your typical racehorse owner,

by Denise Steffanus.

California Thoroughbred Trainers

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TRM Trainer of the Quarter

Beyond x-rays

Denise Steffanus on which diagnostic tools are better for determining different types of issues.

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Starting out

Bill Heller on four young trainers who took different paths to get to the same job.

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From racing fan to racing secretary

TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 38

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Product Focus

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Suppliers Directory

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Stakes Schedules

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The Sid Fernando column

A Rich History A world-class facility where the winners of TEN Classic Races and over 80 Group winners have been foaled and raised.

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Building Speed for the Future At Stud: ALBERTUS MAXIMUS by Albert the Great DAAHER by Awesome Again INTIDAB by Phone Trick

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Lexington, KY Rick Nichols, Vice President/General Manager | Gregory Clarke, Farm Manager | Kent Barnes, Stallion Manager www.shadwellfarm.com

CONTRIBUTORS Editorial Director/Publisher Giles Anderson Editor Frances Karon Designer Neil Randon Editorial/Photo Management Eleanor Yateman 1 888 659 2935 Advertising Sales Giles Anderson, Scott Rion 1 888 218 4430 Photo Credits Fiona Boyd, Cyndi Crossland, Dominique Engel, Horsephotos, Frances J. Karon, Jay Moran, New Bolton Center, Caroline Norris, Stacey Oke, Thomas O’Keeffe, Rossdales Equine Hospital and Diagnostic Centre, Shutterstock, Lewis Smith, Frank Sorge/Galoppfotos, Dr. Tracy Turner DVM, MS, WinStar Farm Cover Photograph Frances J. Karon

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

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

He remains president of USA Equestrian Trust, Inc.

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

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

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

Bill Heller, Eclipse Award winner and author of 25 books including biographies of Hall of Fame jockeys Ron Turcotte, Randy Romero and Jose Santos, is a member of the Harness Racing Hall of Fame Communications Corner. He spends summers in Saratoga and winters in South Florida.

His 26-year-old son Benjamin lives in Albany, N.Y., is an accomplished runner and recently won a 5-K race and a mini-marathon.

Frances J. Karon is from Puerto Rico and graduate of Maine’s Colby College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. She operates Rough Shod LLC based in Lexington, Kentucky and specializes in sales, pedigree research and recommendations.

Thomas O’Keeffe is a graduate of University College Dublin, working in Ocala, Florida. He worked for Rossdales and Partners in Newmarket, UK as a member of their ambulatory racing veterinary team and in their hospital facility. He was also an associate with Scone Equine Hospital, Australia, as resident veterinary surgeon for Darley’s Kildangan Stud in Ireland and worked in Lexington, Kentucky with Dr Ruel Cowles, DVM. Stacey Oke is a licensed veterinarian and freelance medical writer and editor. In addition to writing for various horse publications, she also contributes to scientific journals, is an editor of an internationally-recognized, peer-reviewed journal, creates continuing education materials for both human and veterinary medicine, and conducts biomedical research studies.

Denise Steffanus is a freelance writer and editor based in Cynthiana, Kentucky. A longtime contributing editor for Thoroughbred Times, she earned the prestigious Michael E. DeBakey Journalism Award and the USA Equestrian (now the U.S. Equestrian Federation) Award for Media Excellence. Steffanus, a Pitttsburgh native, is a licensed Thoroughbred racehorse trainer and a member of American Mensa.

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ALL-TIME WINNING TRAINER GOES FROM SKEPTIC TO ENTHUSIAST SCOTT LAKE SEES DRAMATIC IMPROVEMENT IN HIS THOROUGHBREDS // BY MARK HANSEN

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hen you’re one of the top all-time winning thoroughbred trainers, you’re not about to jeopardize the health of your horses, your winnings, or your reputation by giving them a new performance supplement without doing your research first. That is why Scott Lake, a thoroughbred trainer with more than 5,000 all-time career wins, was - at first - hesitant to try a supplement that his colleague insisted would dramatically increase his horses’ performance.

Scott said, “I was skeptical about trying anything promising to boost EPO levels because I have heard too many horror stories about horses being harmed by doping. But a friend of mine in the industry kept giving me information on this new, all-natural supplement. Then I did my own research, and I realized this isn’t the synthetic EPO that damages horses. This is a 100% all-natural supplement, with data to back up its claims.”

So Scott chose 6 horses that he felt were under performing to try EPO-Equine®.

“The horses had coats that weren’t where I thought they should be. They were dull, dry and wiry. Plus, their blood levels were a little messed up, and they were training just ‘OK’. I thought, let’s try it. Let’s see if this supplement will help them.”

After feeding his horses EPO-Equine® for a month, Scott noticed a huge improvement. “All of my horses looked better and their coats were shinier. Then

4 of the horses on the supplement won the first time I ran them. Coincidence? I don’t think so. They looked better and performed better. They really turned it around. I liked seeing that.”

Scott’s quite certain that EPOEquine®, the natural supplement he tried, is making a huge difference in his horses’ performance. And because of the results, he plans on putting more of his horses on this natural “blood builder”.

But why is it important to “build blood,” and how does this supplement work as a blood builder?

Just like in people, a horse’s muscles require oxygen. Red blood cells are the oxygen-carrying cells that deliver oxygen to muscles. A higher red blood cell count = more oxygen = more muscle energy.

Elevated muscle energy helps the horse perform harder, faster and longer during endurance events.

EPO-Equine® contains a natural “blood-builder.” Bioengineers at U.S.based Biomedical Research Laboratories (BRL) discovered a proprietary strain of Echinacea angustifolia that’s promotes red blood cell production.

Veterinarians at the Equine Research Centre in Canada ran a double-blind trial investigating the blood building properties of the active ingredient in EPO-Equine® in healthy horses.

For 42 days, one group of horses was supplemented with the active ingredient in EPO-Equine® and another group of horses was given a placebo.

The supplement delivered significant blood building results, increasing red blood cell count and hemoglobin levels. Optimized blood levels leads to elevated exercise physiology…for remarkable speed, strength and stamina right out of the gate.

Trainers not only trust and rely on EPO-Equine® because it’s effective, but also because of its strict quality control, extensive product testing and adherence to banned substance regulations that guarantee safety.

EPO-Equine® does not contain any banned or harmful substances. Every batch of EPO-Equine® is tested by an independent laboratory to guarantee that it’s clean for use in competition.

EPO-Equine® is easy to use. Just add just 1-4 scoops (3.2 grams) of EPOEquine® to the horse’s daily feeding routine. Within 3-4 weeks of daily use, you can expect to see increased red blood cell levels with no undesirable side effects.

According to Scott Lake, “I absolutely recommend EPO-Equine® if your horse isn’t performing or competing to its potential. Give it a shot. It definitely turned my horses around.”

Trainers also find that EPO-Equine®is very affordable at the low price of just $59.95 per jar. Or even more affordable by saving $180 when purchasing a 12-jar case for just $539.55 and getting FREE shipping. EPO-Equine® can be ordered at www.EPOEquine.com or 1-800-557-9055, and comes with a 100% money-back satisfaction guarantee.

CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED TRAINERS

ALAN F. BALCH Is perception reality?

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E hear it all the time: “perception is reality.” That’s demonstrably and obviously false in the physical world, whether we’re talking astronomy (as in, the world is flat, and the sun moves around the earth), or horses (as in, this 1-9 shot cannot be beaten).

When it comes to more abstract subjects, it’s a much closer case. Not too many years ago, “baseball is dying” seemed like a perception that was probably true.

It wasn’t.

Those in charge refrained from making that perception a self-fulfilling prophecy.

They refused to repeat the mantra endlessly for all to hear and believe. Instead, they acted, taking dramatic steps (including team re-alignments, wild cards, and division/league playoffs, coupled with intense marketing) to combat what ailed their sport.

In the case of American racing, the perception that we have a dying sport has taken hold among many of its leaders (who apparently can’t resist the temptation to repeat and proclaim that perception as a reality). Worse, some of those who profess to love it the most seem intent on pounding nails into its coffin, and getting others to join them.

Still, there is abundant objective, factual evidence of racing’s continuing vitality and attraction to the public, contrary to the negative perception.

The last two charismatic Triple Crowns alone, and several like them in recent years, demonstrate conclusively the ongoing and

vivid attraction of horses and racing – our great sport – for the American public, as do entire race meetings at Saratoga, Keeneland, and Del Mar, each year. So do many annual racing occasions, including Opening Day at Santa Anita, Florida Derby Day at Gulfstream, or the Arlington Million in Chicago, among others.

Our sport’s leaders could and should be celebrating, enhancing, and marketing racing’s vital and inherent appeal, investing heavily in it. Instead, many of those with the highest profiles irrationally focus media and therefore public attention on “raceday medication,” by which they mean their paranoia about Lasix. They cast a shadow over the entire sport by pleading for the United States Anti-Doping Agency to “save us,” as part of a cumbersome, federally legislated structure of new bureaucracy beggaring belief.

These saviors of ours put anti-bleeder medication into the same category as “doping,” along with every other therapeutic medication, thereby placing therapy on a par in the media and public mind with the most egregious offenses imaginable in any sport: blatant cheating through drug abuse.

It is nothing short of reprehensible that our anti-Lasix “leaders” would bring an entire sport into disrepute because of their own narrow-minded cynicism.

I cannot deny that we humans are often tempted to act on our worst instincts. But I do deny the ridiculous assumption that another layer of supervision of our sport from Washington, D.C. would by some magic be at all superior to the state governance under which we grew and prospered for nearly

100 years! In fact, where federal regulation is clearly required (such as the automobile industry or the financial markets), does it prevent or even deter wrongdoing? About 11 million Volkswagen owners will answer that. As for those who caused the Crash of 2008 . . . .

We can no longer tolerate the masochistic, self-righteous, and enthusiastic destruction of our sport’s reputation we are seeing today, particularly from inside it. To the extent our experienced testing laboratories need improvement, they should be our priority.

If we need more research to develop tests for the presently untestable, do that.

Continue the important work toward regulatory consistency among experienced jurisdictions.

Above all, however, given the human race’s eternal ability to take unsavory advantage of revolutions in science and chemistry, let’s use the latest technology ourselves to deter and apprehend the few real cheaters and aspiring miscreants who inevitably may be in our midst. That means the horses must be protected from them. We believe it is incumbent upon us as trainers to contribute to this effort: our organization has earmarked $150,000 to invest in highdefinition digital camera surveillance inside stalls of in-today horses, matching a previous pledge by California owners. We expect it to be exceeded by other stakeholders (including tracks, regulators, and breeders) who believe in the paramount importance of integrity as much as we do.

These are the right approaches to enhancing integrity in racing. Endlessly shouting “doom” from Capitol Hill will be a self-fulfilling prophecy. ■

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These saviors of ours put anti-bleeder medication into the same category as

“doping,” along with every other therapeutic medication, thereby placing therapy on a par in the media and public mind with the most egregious offenses imaginable in any sport: blatant cheating through drug abuse 6

TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 38

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www.trmirelandinc.com

Nyquist, with Mario Gutierrez up, wins the Del Mar Futurity to complete a Grade 1 double on the same afternoon for trainer Doug O’Neill

Trainer of the Quarter

DOUG O’NEILL

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

WORDS: BILL HELLER PHOTOS: HORSEPHOTOS

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HILE winning any Grade 1 stakes is a thrill for a trainer, winning a Grade 1 with a two-year-old is intoxicating, because that precocious Thoroughbred has the rest of his career to win another. Winning two of them on the same afternoon three hours and 2,500 miles apart is historic, and yet that’s exactly what Doug O’Neill did September 7th with Ralis and undefeated Nyquist, both owned by the Reddam Racing entity of J. Paul Reddam.

Ralis, a son of Reddam’s Square Eddie out of a daughter of Reddam’s Ten Most Wanted, won the $350,000 Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga three hours before Nyquist captured the $300,000 Del Mar Futurity.

“It was really thrilling,” O’Neill said. “I was there watching the Hopeful on TV with Paul at his suite in Del Mar. My brother Dennis was there. My son was there. Did we expect to win the Hopeful? Absolutely not.

Did we think he’d hit the board? Definitely.

“After they broke, we were all going nuts.

He was in such a good position to win.”

He did win, easily. “We were just blown away to win a race like the Hopeful with a homebred,” O’Neill said. “It’s a hard feeling to explain.” Not only is Ralis a homebred, but his sire Square Eddie, dam Silar Rules, and broodmare sire Ten Most Wanted raced

www.trmirelandinc.com

for Reddam, and all but Ten Most Wanted were trained by O’Neill.

An even better feeling came three hours later when Nyquist completed an amazing double.

Yet there’s more. O’Neill saddled four others horses that magical Labor Day afternoon at Del Mar and two of them won: Jakaby Jade in the $100,000 Del Mar Juvenile Fillies Turf and Where’s the D in a maiden race. Gomo had the nerve to finish third behind Jakaby Jade, but she atoned by winning the $400,000 Grade 1 Alcibades at Keeneland on October 2nd, giving O’Neill his third two-year-old Grade 1 victory – and after Nyquist, his second with progeny of Uncle Mo – in less than a month.

These are heady days for the 47-year-old captain of Team O’Neill, which includes his older brother Dennis, Doug’s assistant trainer and yearling buyer/guru. “Dennis has been a huge support in so many ways,” O’Neill said. “He finds these amazing athletes.”

O’Neill found horseracing after Dennis got involved in a racing partnership.

O’Neill’s basketball coach and friend, Mike Amodei, connected him with trainer Jude Feld. “I graduated high school on Friday and I was walking hots for Jude on Monday,” O’Neill said. O’Neill worked for

Hector Palma and Doug Peterson before venturing on his own in 1994.

Ten years later, O’Neill made the claim of a lifetime, taking Lava Man for $50,000 for STD Racing and Jason Wood. More than $5 million of Lava Man’s $5,268,706 in career

earnings came under O’Neill’s tutelage.

Another Reddam runner, I’ll Have Another, took O’Neill to the winner’s circle at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday of May in 2012, then added the Preakness Stakes. On the doorstep of immortality, I’ll Have Another was scratched the day before the Belmont Stakes with a career-ending tendon injury.

Through the Make-A-Wish Foundation during I’ll Have Another’s Derby week, O’Neill met Hope Hudson, a 12-yearold from Missouri who was battling a rare disease. She loved Thoroughbreds but had never seen them up close. O’Neill brought her into the winner’s circle for the Derby and the Preakness. A year later, she was in the winner’s circle again when O’Neill’s Goldencents captured the 2013 Santa Anita Derby, a race I’ll Have Another had also won.

In the fall of 2014, O’Neill was banned from the Breeders’ Cup in accordance with major suspensions in California and New York. A year later, he was making headlines for all the right reasons thanks to his accomplished two-year-olds. “It’s been a great year,” he said. “I focus on the present.

I’m very blessed. I’m very fortunate to be able to do something I love. No alarm clock. I can’t wait to get to the barn.” n

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PROFILE Dallas Stewart and Tale of Verve, Joel Rosario up, at Keeneland

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DALLAS STEWART

Focused on the positive

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PROFILE

On a crisp Kentucky morning in 1988 maybe 10 days out from the Kentucky Derby, Jeff Lukas, assistant to his father Wayne, accompanied the race favorite back to the barn after a training session at Churchill Downs. Dallas Stewart, who worked for the Lukas stable, asked Jeff how the strapping roan filly had galloped. “I’ve been thinking about this,” came the reply.

“You’re going to have to get on her. This other guy can’t handle her.”

“I said, ‘Jeff, are you kidding me?!’” recalls Stewart.

WORDS: FRANCES J KARON PHOTOS: HORSEPHOTOS, FRANCES J KARON

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TEWART had begun riding when he was 10 or 12, because it “looked like something fun to do,” on a horse his grandfather bought him. He must have been a natural – soon, a guy at the boarding facility offered him a job with racing Quarter Horses. Stewart said, “I don’t know nothing about racehorses.” “We’ll teach you how to ride them,” he was told.

And so, for two dollars a horse on a little farm in Louisiana near New Orleans, a young Stewart got his start. “That’s what really got me (going),” he says. “I really liked it.

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It probably kept me out of trouble, having something to do every day – go clean a stall, ride people’s horses.”

By the age of 15, he had graduated to the racetrack, spending his mornings exercising horses thanks to the “platoon system” implemented by his high school, which was too small to handle the volume of students at once. Ninth and 10th Graders attended class from 12:35 to 5:35 in the afternoon, but instead of sleeping in, “I was at the track making money,” Stewart says.

Stewart still has ties to those formative years. One of his early employers was Billy

Fox, who trained for Tom Benson, and when he was a kid starting out, Stewart rode some of Benson’s horses. Fast forward to the present, when Benson owns the New Orleans Saints football team of which Stewart is a huge fan. Stewart trains Breeders’ Cup Juvenile contender Tom’s Ready for Benson’s wife Gayle.

Today, Sundays are for cheering on the Saints in football games, but in the 1970s, they were for match races at Oak Downs in Pearl River, Louisiana, across Lake Pontchartrain from where Stewart lived.

Stewart wasn’t riding in those races, but he

DALLAS STEWART Stewart with Tale of Verve in the round pen at Saratoga

had an equally harrowing job: “I was 15 years old and driving an eight-horse trailer,” he says. “I don’t know how I didn’t get killed.

We’d trailer eight horses over there and run them. Sometimes we’d run ‘em twice a day.

Man, it was fun.”

A local trainer by the name of Connie Tassistro took over his backstretch education two years later. “I didn’t know much about horses’ legs,” recalls Stewart, “and he was a specialist on keeping horses sound. We had one horse that won seven in a row. I galloped him. I used to gallop them all and rub three of them.”

Stewart wasn’t afraid of working up a sweat. By his early 20s, he was galloping in the mornings and working as a jockey’s valet in the afternoons, handling the tack of future Hall of Famer Randy Romero and picking up out-of-town riders. “(Richard) Migliore, (Chris) McCarron, (Angel) Cordero – I had ‘em all when they shipped in,” he says. “Ahhh! I was 25 years old and I had about fifty grand saved, so I had the bright idea to go out to California to claim a couple horses and bring them to New

Orleans. I stayed out there for a couple of months and kept getting outshook claimingwise, so I bought a couple from Jerry (Fanning), and that’s when I got my trainer’s license, in ’85, I think it was.

“That didn’t work out too good.” Stewart laughs at his younger self. “I lost my butt on a couple of them.”

In that first attempt at training, lasting less than a year, he did better than he remembers, with two wins – the first with his own End Display at Fair Grounds – and a third from 16 starts. “But,” he says, “they were on the drop! It was my own money and I was ready to get out. Oh Lord,” he laughs again. His horses earned a total of $5,870 and Stewart called it quits. “I went back to work in the jock’s room, and that’s when I met Randy Bradshaw.”

Bradshaw was D. Wayne Lukas’ assistant who had traveled to Louisiana with Life At the Top and Roo Art, who were entered in graded stakes races at Fair Grounds.

Stewart caught his eye, says Bradshaw, not only because he was an “excellent rider,” but also because he noted that he was an “extremely hard worker.” “He was one of those guys who had more energy than the Energizer bunny. He was always on the go and very dedicated.” Bradshaw convinced Stewart to go with him to Canterbury Park in Minnesota, where the Lukas stable had a string for the summer.

The year was 1986, and Lukas was on his way to a successful defense of his 1985 Eclipse Award as the nation’s leading trainer.

Stewart picked up at Canterbury where he’d left off at Fair Grounds – exercising horses and valeting. When the Canterbury stint was over, again Bradshaw encouraged him to follow him, this time to California.

“Dallas looked great on a horse, he had a great set of hands,” says Bradshaw. “And he’ll tell you like it is, too – whether you like it or not.”

“I talked to my wife (about going to California) and she was great about it,” says Stewart. “She said, ‘Just do whatever you want.’ So I got to thinking and I went. I stayed in a hotel, didn’t know anybody. I had never met Wayne.” And when they did meet?

“He thought I was pretty tall to be galloping horses. I said, ‘Bring ‘em on, let’s go.’”

And here it was, less than two years later, that Jeff Lukas was presenting Dallas Stewart with the pre-dawn ride on Kentucky Derby favorite Winning Colors, who coincidentally was owned by Gene Klein, the former majority owner of the San Diego Chargers football team. “I’d never been on her before,” Stewart says, which had prompted his “Are you kidding me?!” reaction. But he clambered aboard the next morning and “got along with her real good.” From then on through the remainder of her career, Stewart was paired up with Winning Colors.

“She was strong. STRONG. She’d wear you out,” he says. “If you had one little slipup, boom! She’d take advantage of you. You had to be the most perfect rider on her. Even being around her, she would kick your butt.

She would drag you down the shedrow, she would kick you, she would run you over. She was just tough. Sometimes you had to twitch her to put the bridle on.”

Stewart tells of the time Jeff Lukas was grazing Winning Colors and she took off with him. “He never turned her loose. He had grass stains all over him, from head to toe. He said, ‘Man, she dragged me.’ I said, ‘Now you know how it feels!’ But we got the job done (in the Derby). That was a great experience.” Winning Colors, of course, became the third filly to win the Kentucky Derby, defeating a field that included Forty Niner, Risen Star, Regal Classic, Brian’s Time, Seeking the Gold, and Private Terms.

Stewart stayed with Wayne Lukas for 11½ years while the powerhouse stable was enjoying a great run, winning a record of six straight Triple Crown races with Tabasco Cat, Thunder Gulch, Timber Country, and Grindstone from 1994-1996. “I remember one day we won eight stakes in one day,” Stewart says. “We were winning stakes races all over the place. We were killin’ it.”

He approached Lukas in the summer of 1997 and said, “It’s about time. I want to go on my own.” Lukas, Stewart recalls, said, “Yeah, I figured that.”

“Wayne was cool about everything,”

“

Dallas looked great on a horse, he had a great set of hands. And he’ll tell you like it is, too – whether you like it or not

”

Randy Bradshaw says Stewart. “He said, ‘Take whatever you want, take whatever you need.’” Lukas gave him a pony, a saddle, equipment, and some stable help, including Marcelino Jacuinde, 1996 Kentucky Derby winner Grindstone’s groom during his tenure with Lukas and now Stewart’s main assistant. “I came out in the press and said I was going out on my own.

Wayne got behind me right away. I really needed that, for him to come out and say some good things.”

One of Lukas’ owners, Willis Horton, gave Stewart enough financial backing to get started. “I didn’t have much money,” Stewart says. “Luckily we did well and I paid him right back. We did good right from the get-go and started making a little bit of money.”

Cot Campbell of Dogwood Stable was one of the earliest owners to send horses, and after a few years Stewart hooked up with Terry Finley of West Point Thoroughbreds, still a major owner in his barn.

Stewart’s stable won 14 races in the first year of his second go-around of training, capped off with a stakes win by Rod and Staff ISSUE 38 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM

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PROFILE

Stewart worked for D Wayne Lukas, here with son Jeff, for 11½ years

at Turfway Park in Kentucky in December, 1997 for Plemmonston Stud and Liam Gallagher. A month later, Horton’s Uanme became Stewart’s first graded stakes winner, in the Grade 3 Forward Gal Stakes at Gulfstream Park.

The first Grade 1 win, courtesy of Unbridled Elaine in the 2001 Breeders’ Cup Distaff, is “a crazy story,” he says. Owner Roger Devenport was well known for firing his trainers. In a Los Angeles Times article of the time, Bill Christine likened Devenport to “George Steinbrenner with his Yankee managers.” Stewart got his pink slip in June, after Unbridled Elaine, a stakes winner at two for Stewart, ran fourth in the Grade 1 Acorn Stakes.

Stewart was sorry to see the filly go, but business is business. He didn’t take it too personally.

David Vance took over the Unbridled Song’s filly’s training, and in her next four starts, she won the Iowa Oaks, Grade 2

“

I came out in the press and said I was going out on my own. Wayne got behind me right away. I really needed that, for him to come out and say some good things

”

Monmouth Breeders’ Cup Oaks, was second in the Grade 3 Pennsylvania Derby against males, and fourth as second favorite in the Grade 1 Spinster Stakes. Devenport was not pleased.

“He called me like a week or two before the Breeders’ Cup and said, ‘I want you to train the horse.’ I was like, ‘Dang, you just fired me!’ So I got her and she won. David did a great job with her. Crazy situation, you know? I think he fired me again after that,” Stewart says with another laugh. “But he paid his bill. One thing about me – if you’re going to fire me you’d better pay me. If not, we’re going to have a problem.”

Stewart had a part in Winning Colors’ Derby win, but as a trainer, he has nearly played Derby spoiler twice, with Charles (Chuck) Fipke’s 34-1 Golden Soul in 2013 and West Point Thoroughbreds’ 37-1 Commanding Curve in 2014, both of whom ran second. He had hoped to take a shot in 2015, with Fipke’s Tale of Verve entered as an also eligible, but was denied his chance when El Kabeir was scratched too late. Instead, Stewart took Tale of Verve to Baltimore for the Preakness, and at 28-1, he came in second – the same position held by Stewart-trained, West Point-owned Macho Again, whose sire Macho Uno defeated Unbridled Elaine in the Pennsylvania Derby, at 39-1 in the 2008 Preakness.

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DALLAS STEWART Stewart leads in his 2001 Breeders’ Cup Distaff winner Unbridled Elaine as jockey Pat Day celebrates

One of entertainer Will Rogers’ wellknown witticisms is, “Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” Stewart has never sat around waiting for things to happen to him. His answer to Wayne Lukas at the suggestion that he was too big to be an exercise rider seems to echo his approach to any challenge: “Bring ‘em on, let’s go.”

One of the things he took away from his time with Lukas, Stewart says, is that “when you believe in a horse, you go for it. Don’t worry about what anybody else says. When I’m training a horse and I like him, I’m running him. You’ve got to run them. The best evaluation of a horse is a race, to figure out where you’re at and go to the next spot.

I mean, we’re talking about if they’re healthy and they’re doing good; you don’t run them just to be running them. Most owners, they want to see their horses run.”

The Dallas Stewart bomb angle has become a handicapping tool in classic races, but the horses were always legitimate contenders who justified their trainer’s faith in them. “I think back on how hard they ran,” he says, “and they all really fought hard on a big, big, big day.”

His attitude is that if you know your horses, keep them happy and healthy, and put in your time, good things will follow.

Stewart’s stable numbers around 30 but fluctuates between 20 and 40. “I don’t want a huge stable,” he says, but he’d like to have a steady 40-50 head. He doesn’t sweat it, though. “When they want you they want you, when they don’t, they don’t. I’m very appreciative of anything that people let me train for them.”

West Point has been a staple. Stewart trained Macho Again to earn over $1.8 million, with wins in the Grade 1 Stephen Foster and two Grade 2s, the Jim Dandy Stakes and New Orleans Handicap. Macho Again was not only second in the Preakness but also in Saratoga’s flagship Grade 1 events: the Whitney Handicap and the Woodward Stakes, the latter a narrow loss to Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra.



As he watches his Tale of Verve squealing, snorting, and blowing in the round pen at Saratoga, where during the summer he maintains a small string away from his primary base at Churchill – his winter base

is Fair Grounds – Stewart says, “Saratoga is such a great place to bring young horses and develop them. They learn up here. They’ve got to learn how to walk across the street, train on different racetracks. And it’s a lot more fun for the horses.”

He plucks a handful of grass and holds it for the colt to see before tossing it in the pen.

Tale of Verve settles down briefly, putting his head down to poke at the grass before letting out another squeal.

Several days earlier at The Spa, Stewart had won the Grade 1 Ballerina Stakes, a Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” race, with another Fipke horse, Unbridled Forever, whose dam Lemons Forever has been intertwined with Stewart’s career.

A daughter of Lemon Drop Kid from an Argentine family, Stewart handpicked the chestnut and bought her out of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale for $140,000 in 2004 because she “looked like a racehorse.” Running for a partnership of Stewart and Horton Stable Inc., Lemons Forever captured the 2006 Kentucky Oaks, paying $96.20.

After the Oaks, Lemons Forever was third in the Grade 1 Alabama at Saratoga. Horton ISSUE 38 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM

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PROFILE

Unbridled Forever wins the Ballerina Stakes-G1 at Saratoga in August

and Stewart raced her through her four-yearold season, then sent her through the auction ring as a broodmare prospect in the fall sale at Keeneland, where R.J. Bennett bought her for $2.5 million on behalf of Fipke.

“Chuck bought the horse and I went over to congratulate him. He says, ‘I’m gonna send you a couple horses.’ You know, people say that all the time.”

Stewart didn’t think anything of it. But about a year later, the call came, announcing the arrival of an unraced four-year-old filly for him to train. She’d never been to the gate, Stewart recalls, but she won a maiden special weight in her second start and “that’s how it got started.” Soon Fipke was on the phone again: “They say this one can’t run, but I bet you can get her to win,” the diamond magnate told him. Stewart didn’t just get her to win – he got her to win a Grade 3 stakes race.

That the trainer and owner initially connected through Lemons Forever makes it especially meaningful that her daughter Unbridled Forever, by Unbridled Elaine’s sire Unbridled’s Song, provided the owner and trainer team with their first Grade 1 win together. “I continue to be amazed at what (Lemons Forever) has done for me and my career,” says Stewart.

One of the first people to find Stewart in the Ballerina winner’s circle was Wayne Lukas, who hugged his former protégé and gave him a pat on the back. “Yeah, we’re tight, man,” says Stewart. “Real tight. All the guys that worked for him – Mark (Hennig), Kiaran (McLaughlin) – we’ve all been friends a long time…Todd (Pletcher) was a baby (when he started). Well, we were all babies,” says Stewart.

Before the Ballerina, Unbridled Forever 16

had been flirting with a win in top company, with thirds in the Kentucky Oaks and Acorn Stakes last year. A minor injury after the Ballerina will keep her from the Breeders’ Cup, where she would have started in the Filly & Mare Sprint. Stewart also trains her year-younger Grade 2-placed full sister, Forever Unbridled, and Lemons Forever’s unraced two-year-old Medaglia d’Oro colt, Forever d’Oro.



He was born in McComb, Mississippi – birthplace, too, of Bo Diddley and Britney Spears. (“Maybe Britney’ll give us a couple of horses to train!”) He and his siblings – older brother Steve and younger sister Cheryl – moved with their mother, a surgical nurse, to New Orleans when he was five. Who is to say what big plans his father had for Dallas Eugene Stewart to give him a name that brings to mind a Texas metropolis? “I asked my mom (about the name) and she said, ‘Oh, your dad just came up with that.’”

But soon his father was entirely out of the family picture. “It’s part of life,” Stewart says.

“I give my mom all the credit in the world.

She raised three of us all on her own. She didn’t have no help at all. Nothing. She’s 81 and still kicking, she’s still smart.”

Mom, however, wasn’t initially thrilled that her son was hooked on horseracing as he came of age. “She was like, ‘You’ve got to go to college! You’ve got to. You can see that (the racetrack life) is a struggle.’ I said, ‘I’m staying with these horses.’”

How things have changed. “You know, she’s got a computer now,” Stewart says.

“She checks everything, watches everything.

If one gets beat, she’ll call and say, ‘What happened?!’ I’m like, ‘Oh, come on, mom!

Hold up here!’ She’s on it from letter A to letter Z. She don’t miss nothing. She really enjoys horseracing.”

Stewart met Yvette LaRiviere when he was 19, she was 18. “I was out dancing one night,” he says. “I asked her to dance, and we’re still dancing.” They got married when he was 22 and have two sons: Wesley, 24; and Cole, 15. Neither of the boys is interested in following their father into the racing industry.

“It’s cool,” Stewart says. “I wish one of them would pick it up, but I’ve got (assistant) Marcelino, who’s been with me a long time.

He’s just currently getting his citizenship, so I’m very proud of him for that. And a lot of these guys have worked for me a long time; some of my grooms have been here 15 years. My exercise rider Pedro (Velez), he’s been here about 15 years, and some of the hotwalkers have been here 12 years.”

As if on cue, a rider steers a horse, the last of the day, home from a gallop over Saratoga’s Oklahoma training track. The filly is picking up on her rider’s relaxed signals, looking like neither wants the morning to end. “I know you feel like riding all day long but I think that’s all I can do for you, brother,” Stewart calls out to him.

“

If you’re here for a job, I ain’t into you. If you’re here to ride or rub horses and have fun and that’s what you enjoy, then I’m into you

”

The rider, Kortez Walker, had approached Stewart about five years ago wanting to learn to ride on the racetrack. Stewart didn’t hire him but liked his enthusiasm. “I said, ‘You got a helmet and a vest?’ He said no, and I said, ‘Well, here, this is yours.’” Stewart gave him the equipment bought for a guy he’d just had to let go, and he and Walker remained on friendly terms, and the trainer asked Walker to come up from New Orleans and gallop for him after the 2015 winter meet at Fair Grounds had concluded.

Stewart looks away from where Tale of Verve is getting the dirt from his big roll in the round pen washed off and points to Walker.

“These guys looooove to ride horses. They love to ride. That’s the only kind of people I like working for me,” he says. “If you’re here for a job, I ain’t into you. If you’re here to ride or rub horses and have fun and that’s what you enjoy, then I’m into you.”

Maybe it’s the influence of his nurse mother that Stewart, 56, is a strong proponent of keeping physically fit. “You’ve gotta be healthy. That’s what I tell these young jockeys, you’d better take care of your body. That’s your money. These athletes, they’ve got to be serious,” he says. “It’s the

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PROFILE

Stewart poses for photos after Unbridled Forever’s Ballerina win with owner Charles Fipke and jockey John Velazquez

same way with me. I’m serious about my health. I take care of myself. It’s all about being healthy and being able to be sharp and train horses. This is every day you’ve got to be ready to roll. That’s the way I approach it. All these people that work for me, man, if you’re going to work for me you’re going to take care of yourself, you’re going to get your teeth cleaned. We’re paying for it! Go get your teeth cleaned twice a year. Go get your checkup. There’s no excuse not to, when we’re paying for it it’s free to you. That’s the way I push them.” He feeds his help almost every day, too, “whether it be pizza or McDonald’s. I think that’s important,” he says.

Despite industry concerns that racing is dying, Dallas Stewart, true to form, remains upbeat. “If you don’t have that kind of personality, you’re not going to be a very good horse trainer,” says Bradshaw. Stewart points to American Pharoah and how well Bob Baffert has handled the horse and the publicity; the sale market picking up strength; and to social media, where he sees young people showing an interest in racing that has extended to a younger demographic looking for work on the backstretch. He hopes his young assistant, Bentley Combs, will one day follow the lead of trainer Brad Cox and ex-trainer Becky Maker, who both came up under Stewart, and eventually go out on his own. “He’s learning,” says Stewart.

“It’s going through the days, the hours, the conflicts – everything that makes you learn.”

Stewart is all about focusing on the positive, about finding the good in every situation.

There’s no daily training grind here. “I’ve never thought any of it was hard,” he says. “I don’t wake up in the morning thinking like that. I just want to stay healthy and continue 18

GRADED toSTEWART’S work, train horses.

Win STAKES the Derby.WINNERS We’re going to get it one day. We’ll get it. It’s just GRADE a matter of 1time. Like I said, you can’t worry Lemons Stable, Inc. and Dallas Stewart about whatForeve people say. You’ve gotHorton to train Macho Again Point Thoroughbreds your horses.

If you’ve got ‘em ready,West you run Unbridled Elaine Roger J. Devenport ‘em.”

Unbridled Forever Charles He shrugs.

“You know, I’m excited forE. Fipke the game. It’s just the way I am,” he says.

2 things are going and I’m sure “IGRADE like the way Clock Stopper we’ll continue to make strides. I’m Overbrook all about Farm Designer Legs Some people are Valene Farms training horses. worried, Dollar Bill for other people to figure Gary out. and Mary West Stables, Inc. and that’s Kimberlite Star Racing & John D. Gunther I’m just not Pipe that guy. I’m here to Prairie train the Nastyand Storm Denny Crum, Daryl Elser, Riley McDonald, Joseph horses hopefully win big races.

That’s Ricelli,and & Dallas Stewart what I like to do and where my passion Sapphire n’ my Silkenergy is. There’s William A. Carl my focus and guys that like to fight those battles and probably are GRADE smarter at it3 and better at it than I would be, Overbrook Farm soCape I just Hope stay out of it.

Molto John and D. Gunther “I do Vita like that we have extra security Saintly Look is getting stronger. Terry Raymond & Jana Wagner that the testing We need Titlestraight up, keepCharles toSeeking keep thethe game it clean.E. Fipke Chrysalis If Silverfoot somebody’s not doing right, they’ve got Stables LLC Surge toStorm GO. Get ‘em out of the game,Overbrook see you Farm Uanme Stable, Inc. later!

That’s one area we probablyHorton need to step up – instead of just slapping them, tell them to take a hike for five hears. I’m proud – hey, listen, my record’s good. I’ve never had a bad test, and you can check it. There was one Bute overage – I don’t know if you consider that a bad test. It was at Arlington a long time ago, but other than that, I’ve never had a bad test.”

Charlie Pigg, owner of maiden winner She’s a True Beauty currently with Stewart and whose relationship with the trainer traces to a Dogwood partnership over two decades ago, sits back against one of the director’s

chairs with the Saints logo outside the barn office. Chuck Fipke swings by to look at two-year-old Spikes Shirl, who debuted at Saratoga and was to impressively win his second start, a maiden at Churchill Downs.

It’s a comfortable atmosphere, and it adds credence to Stewart’s description of how he gets owners.

“They call me,” he says. “If I like them and they like me, then we’ll work it out.”

They’ll dream big together, have a little fun along the way, maybe win a classic race at long odds. n

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VETERINARY

RESISTING DEWORMING TRADITIONS Consider incorporating fecal egg counts in deworming programs

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DEWORMING

ISSUE 38 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM

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VETERINARY

The world of Thoroughbred racing is ripe in tradition – almost as ritualized as the pre-game routines performed by superstitious professional hockey players. From tack and track selection, breezing and jogging schedules to feeding, supplementing, and everything in between, Thoroughbred trainers are creatures of habit. This commitment to consistency also holds true in the case of deworming.

“I

WORDS AND PHOTOS: DR. STACEY OKE

AM still doing it the old fashioned way, once every 3 months, and routinely switch products. If a horse looks bad, I will go ahead and deworm him again,” shared Kiaran McLaughlin, a leading North American trainer with a win percent of 24 during Saratoga 2015, making almost $2 million in purses.

Todd A. Pletcher, the top trainer during this year’s Saratoga meet, concurred with McLaughlin, saying that his horses are scheduled for deworming about once every 2 months; no fuss, no muss.

Despite deworming being routine, both McLaughlin and Pletcher clearly indicated that deworming is an important component of maintaining the overall health and well being of their horses but affirmed that deworming is simply not a trainer’s biggest priority.

Experts in equine internal parasites like Martin Nielsen, however, caution Thoroughbred trainers about taking deworming lightly.

“Resistance of equine internal parasites to all classes of chemical dewormers is firmly established world-wide and in all sectors of the equine industry, including breeding and racing Thoroughbreds.

The days of rotational deworming need to be replaced by surveillance-based deworming strategies, including fecal egg counts,” says Nielsen, DVM, PhD, Dipl. EVPC, ACVIM, assistant professor at the University of Kentucky (UK) Gluck Equine Research Center.

Despite such warnings, McLaughlin and Pletcher are both adamant that resistance is not a concern for them at this time. Given

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their success as trainers, it’s hard to argue with their deworming protocols!

Why exactly do equine veterinarians and parasitologists have a proverbial bee in their Kentucky Derby bonnet regarding parasite resistance to chemical dewormers?

In Nielsen’s opinion, the answer to this question is simple: There currently are no other chemical options for deworming horses.

Not now and not anytime in the foreseeable future.

“Before the introduction of chemical dewormers in the 1960s, diseases caused by internal parasites, such as colic and diarrhea, were common. Those dewormers, also called anthelmintics, contributed greatly to improving the health and welfare of horses, dramatically decreasing the occurrence of lifethreatening parasite-related diseases. With growing resistance of internal parasites to all of the currently available dewormers and no new dewormers anywhere near development, parasite-related diseases will occur more frequently and we will have no way to treat those horses. The continued indiscriminate use of anthelmintics is like shooting ourselves in the foot,” emphasizes Nielsen.

Current deworming practices and principles in Thoroughbreds

Throughout the Thoroughbred industry, there seems to be three main rules when it comes to deworming: rotation, rotation, rotation.

The process of rotational deworming involves the frequent application of anthelmintics using a different product each time. The problem is, that there are only three different classes of dewormers and simply changing products does not necessarily mean that a drug from a different class is being used.

Frequent or inappropriate application of chemical dewormers results in populations of parasites resistant to dewormers, making all products in all three classes increasingly less effective than they previously were.

Several recent surveys and studies show that rotational deworming remains prevalent but problematic. For example: ● One survey found that the use of anthelmintics on Kentucky Thoroughbred farms was “intensive,” with an estimated $1.7 million US spent on dewormers for the 21,000 Thoroughbred yearlings and foals in Kentucky alone that were dewormed about eight times per year (Robert M, et al. Attitudes towards implementation of surveillance-based parasite control on Kentucky thoroughbred farms – Current strategies, awareness, and willingness to pay.

Equine Vet J. In Press). ● A study performed in the United Kingdom reports that Thoroughbred farms employ very frequent parasite control with little to no parasite surveillance, meaning that fecal egg counts (FECs) were not conducted (Comer KC, et al. Anthelmintic use and resistance on thoroughbred training yards in the UK. Vet Rec. 2006;158:596–8); and ● Thoroughbred trainers “design their own parasite control strategies and rely on the regular use of anthelmintics” and that “fecal egg counts are infrequently used, so that many of the treatments may be unnecessary…”, reports another group of UK researchers (Relf VE, et al. A questionnaire study on parasite c ontrol practices on UK breeding Thoroughbred studs. Equine Vet J. 2012;44:466–71).

The latter research team specifically wrote, “The challenge now is to convince stud owners/managers to deviate from their current practices to control strategies that are more likely to preserve anthelmintic efficacy.

Veterinarians need to get more involved in implementing these control strategies, with better emphasis placed on the role of diagnostic tests in facilitating targeted treatments….”

Congruent with those sentiments, the American Association of Equine Practitioners

DEWORMING

SucceSSful Deworming in the face of reSiStance: 4 eaSy StepS with toDD pletcher It may not be rocket science but deworming isn’t as simple as it seems, either Before deworming your horse, consider what products have been used in the past and when they were administered. Although Thoroughbreds are typically dewormed using classical rotational programs, the American Association of Equine Practitioners

recommends using fecal egg counts to effectively deworm horses and avoid over-deworming (i.e., only deworm if fecal egg counts are >200 eggs/gram of manure) to maximize the longevity of available chemical dewormers.

1

Approach your horse with confidence, an assistant, and the supplies you need at the ready.

To the best of your ability, determine your horse’s actual body weight using a scale, weigh tape, or online calculator. Not all racing Thoroughbreds weigh 1100 pounds. Under-dosing anthelmintics decreases efficacy and leads to resistance and potentially an increase in parasite-related diseases.

2

Plan to deworm your horse when they have not recently consumed any food. Residual forage in the oral cavity can impede the flow of dewormer to the gastrointestinal system where it needs to reach in order to be effective. Avoid fighting with the horse when administering the medication. If you choose to fight, keep your mouth closed so when the product hits the back of the horse’s tongue and he spits it back out, you don’t end up deworming yourself.

3

Always triple-check the dose and product immediately before administration and confirm that the dose is properly dialed on the dispenser.

Insert the tube in the horse’s empty mouth, usually in the space before the premolars. Keep the tip of the dispenser (without the cap) pointed towards the back of the oral cavity. Some horses tolerate rapid administration, whereas others prefer the medication dispensed in small squirts. Give the horse time to swallow the entire dose before letting him eat or drink.

4

Victory! Note the lack of dewormer on the horse’s mouth, chest, feet, and ground, as well as the clean shirt on Todd Pletcher. Loss of product immediately after application results in administration of a subtherapeutic dose, leaving horses at risk for parasite-related diseases, including poor performance, and the development of resistance to anthelmintics.

To test if there is evidence of resistance to chemical dewormers, consider conducting a fecal egg reduction test (described in detail in the AAEP Parasite Control Guidelines available at: http://www.aaep.org/custdocs/ ParasiteControlGuidelinesFinal.pdf).

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VETERINARY

Caution Federal (USA) law restricts this drug to use by or on the order of a licensed veterinarian.

Storage Conditions Store at 68°F – 77°F (20-25°C). Excursions between 59°F – 86°F (15-30°C) are permitted.

Indications For treatment and prevention of recurrence of gastric ulcers in horses and foals 4 weeks of age and older.

Dosage Regimen For treatment of gastric ulcers, GastroGard Paste should be administered orally once-a-day for 4 weeks at the recommended dosage of 1.8 mg omeprazole/lb body weight (4 mg/kg). For the prevention of recurrence of gastric ulcers, continue treatment for at least an additional 4 weeks by administering GastroGard Paste at the recommended daily maintenance dose of 0.9 mg/lb (2 mg/kg).

Directions For Use • GastroGard Paste for horses is recommended for use in horses and foals 4 weeks of age and older. The contents of one syringe will dose a 1250 lb (568 kg) horse at the rate of 1.8 mg omeprazole/lb body weight (4 mg/kg). For treatment of gastric ulcers, each weight marking on the syringe plunger will deliver sufficient omeprazole to treat 250 lb (114 kg) body weight. For prevention of recurrence of gastric ulcers, each weight marking will deliver sufficient omeprazole to dose 500 lb (227 kg) body weight.

• To deliver GastroGard Paste at the treatment dose rate of 1.8 mg omeprazole/ lb body weight (4 mg/kg), set the syringe plunger to the appropriate weight marking according to the horse’s weight in pounds.

• To deliver GastroGard Paste at the dose rate of 0.9 mg/lb (2 mg/kg) to prevent recurrence of ulcers, set the syringe plunger to the weight marking corresponding to half of the horse’s weight in pounds.

• To set the syringe plunger, unlock the knurled ring by rotating it 1/4 turn. Slide the knurled ring along the plunger shaft so that the side nearest the barrel is at the appropriate notch. Rotate the plunger ring 1/4 turn to lock it in place and ensure it is locked. Make sure the horse’s mouth contains no feed. Remove the cover from the tip of the syringe, and insert the syringe into the horse’s mouth at the interdental space. Depress the plunger until stopped by the knurled ring. The dose should be deposited on the back of the tongue or deep into the cheek pouch. Care should be taken to ensure that the horse consumes the complete dose. Treated animals should be observed briefly after administration to ensure that part of the dose is not lost or rejected. If any of the dose is lost, redosing is recommended.

• If, after dosing, the syringe is not completely empty, it may be reused on following days until emptied. Replace the cap after each use.

Warning Do not use in horses intended for human consumption. Keep this and all drugs out of the reach of children. In case of ingestion, contact a physician. Physicians may contact a poison control center for advice concerning accidental ingestion.

Adverse Reactions In efficacy trials, when the drug was administered at 1.8 mg omeprazole/lb (4 mg/kg) body weight daily for 28 days and 0.9 mg omeprazole/lb (2 mg/kg) body weight daily for 30 additional days, no adverse reactions were observed.

Precautions The safety of GastroGard Paste has not been determined in pregnant or lactating mares.

Efficacy • Dose Confirmation: GastroGard® (omeprazole) Paste, administered to provide omeprazole at 1.8 mg/lb (4 mg/kg) daily for 28 days, effectively healed or reduced the severity of gastric ulcers in 92% of omeprazole-treated horses. In comparison, 32% of controls exhibited healed or less severe ulcers. Horses enrolled in this study were healthy animals confirmed to have gastric ulcers by gastroscopy. Subsequent daily administration of GastroGard Paste to provide omeprazole at 0.9 mg/lb (2 mg/kg) for 30 days prevented recurrence of gastric ulcers in 84% of treated horses, whereas ulcers recurred or became more severe in horses removed from omeprazole treatment.

• Clinical Field Trials: GastroGard Paste administered at 1.8 mg/lb (4 mg/kg) daily for 28 days healed or reduced the severity of gastric ulcers in 99% of omeprazole-treated horses. In comparison, 32.4% of control horses had healed ulcers or ulcers which were reduced in severity. These trials included horses of various breeds and under different management conditions, and included horses in race or show training, pleasure horses, and foals as young as one month.

Horses enrolled in the efficacy trials were healthy animals confirmed to have gastric ulcers by gastroscopy. In these field trials, horses readily accepted GastroGard Paste. There were no drug related adverse reactions. In the clinical trials, GastroGard Paste was used concomitantly with other therapies, which included: anthelmintics, antibiotics, non-steroidal and steroidal anti-inflammatory agents, diuretics, tranquilizers and vaccines.

• Diagnostic and Management Considerations: The following clinical signs may be associated with gastric ulceration in adult horses:inappetence or decreased appetite, recurrent colic, intermittent loose stools or chronic diarrhea, poor hair coat, poor body condition, or poor performance. Clinical signs in foals may include: bruxism (grinding of teeth), excessive salivation, colic, cranial abdominal tenderness, anorexia, diarrhea, sternal recumbency or weakness. A more accurate diagnosis of gastric ulceration in horses and foals may be made if ulcers are visualized directly by endoscopic examination of the gastric mucosa Gastric ulcers may recur in horses if therapy to prevent recurrence is not administered after the initial treatment is completed. Use GastroGard Paste at 0.9 mg omeprazole/lb body weight (2 mg/kg) for control of gastric ulcers following treatment. The safety of administration of GastroGard Paste for longer than 91 days has not been determined. Maximal acid suppression occurs after three to five days of treatment with omeprazole.

Safety • GastroGard Paste was well tolerated in the following controlled efficacy and safety studies.

• In field trials involving 139 horses, including foals as young as one month of age, no adverse reactions attributable to omeprazole treatment were noted.

• In a placebo controlled adult horse safety study, horses received 20 mg/kg/day omeprazole (5x the recommended dose) for 90 days. No treatment related adverse effects were observed.

• In a placebo controlled tolerance study, adult horses were treated with GastroGard Paste at a dosage of 40 mg/kg/day (10x the recommended dose) for 21 days. No treatment related adverse effects were observed.

• A placebo controlled foal safety study evaluated the safety of omeprazole at doses of 4, 12 or 20 mg/kg (1, 3 or 5x) once daily for 91 days. Foals ranged in age from 66 to 110 days at study initiation. Gamma glutamyltransferase (GGT) levels were significantly elevated in horses treated at exaggerated doses of 20 mg/kg (5x the recommended dose). Mean stomach to body weight ratio was higher for foals in the 3x and 5x groups than for controls; however, no abnormalities of the stomach were evident on histological examination.

Reproductive Safety In a male reproductive safety study, 10 stallions received GastroGard Paste at 12 mg/kg/day (3x the recommended dose) for 70 days. No treatment related adverse effects on semen quality or breeding behavior were observed. A safety study in breeding mares has not been conducted.

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(AAEP) has clear guidelines in place to facilitate appropriate deworming. The Parasite Control Guidelines (developed by the AAEP Parasite Control Subcommittee of the AAEP Infectious Disease Committee and available at http://www.aaep.org/custdocs/ ParasiteControlGuidelinesFinal.pdf) clearly states, “The true goal of parasite control in horses (and other equids) is to limit parasite infections so animals remain healthy and clinical illness does not develop. The goal is NOT to eradicate all parasites from a particular individual. Not only is eradication impossible to achieve, the inevitable result is accelerated development of parasite drug resistance.”

Nielsen, Chair of the committee, adds, “According to those deworming Guidelines, adult horses with FECs between 0 and 200 eggs/gram are considered low shedders and treatment is most often not warranted in such horses.”

To put the FEC to the test, Pletcher permitted the random collection of fecal samples from 10 of his top horses with various deworming histories during the 2015 Saratoga meet. Samples were stored appropriately and generously analyzed pro bono by Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Saratoga under the direction of Brett Woodie, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVS. The results, produced by a trained technician, revealed an egg count of 0 in all of the tested horses.

The results of this “Pletcher FEC Experiment” were useful in two ways: (1) they indicate that the tested horses do indeed have a low worm burden, likely because of the limited access to environments contaminated with parasite eggs; and (2) confirm that FECs are a useful tool to avoiding exuberant deworming.

James C. Hunt, DVM says when he began practicing veterinary medicine at Belmont Park in 1980 he routinely performed 100 FECs on each of his “fecal days.” So what’s changed that FECs have fallen out of favor?

The answer is virtually unanimous: Why spend the time and money testing when the horses are obviously healthy?

In an attempt to further explore the industry’s opinion regarding FECs, Nielsen and colleagues surveyed the attitudes of 112 Thoroughbred farm managers regarding deworming programs. Consistent with other studies and general knowledge of the Thoroughbred industry, traditional rotational deworming schedules were employed by 66% of farms. Only 13% of farms used FECs on all horses, whereas 17% of farms used a combination of traditional deworming and FECs. “Interestingly, 70% of farms reported that their veterinarians assisted with formulating the deworming program, which means those equine veterinarians serving Kentucky Thoroughbreds are not following the AAEP deworming guidelines,” shares Nielsen.

The mean number of treatments in foals, broodmares, and racehorses was approximately six (i.e., about once every two months), whereas stallions were dewormed

slightly less frequently (approximately five times/year). It was also noted that 15% of racehorses were dewormed every month, and that 55% were dewormed every two months, for a total of 70% of racehorses being dewormed 6-12 months every year.

Financial concerns were also analyzed in Nielsen’s study. Of note, farm managers were: ● Willing to pay more for a deworming strategy that guaranteed no development of anthelmintic resistance; ● Not willing to pay more for a deworming strategy that was associated with increased time and effort; and ● Not willing to pay more if the strategy did not reduce health risks associated with parasite-related disease.

FEC-based deworming programs can also save clients money. One UK study reported that deworming horses only once they have FECs ≥200 eggs/gram “facilitated a reduction in selection pressure for anthelmintic resistance” and saved managers/owners an average of £294.44 ($464.16 US dollars) annually compared with a moxidectin-based interval treatment program.

As strong advocate of FECs, Nielsen and colleagues from MEP Equine Solutions, LLC created the Parasight System to facilitate the widespread use of surveillance-based deworming.

Nielsen explains, “This is a smartphonebased fecal egg diagnostic and intestinal parasite management tool that allows veterinarian’s to perform rapid, quantitative, on-site FECs and effectively treat and manage parasite burdens that provides results within five minutes.”

The system will be available in 2016 is capable of identifying strongyle and ascarid (roundworm)-type eggs and, like any FEC, can also be used to help assess the level of chemical dewormer resistance on a specific farm.

Time for new deworming paradigms

In anticipation of the increase in nontreatable parasite-related diseases due to the lack of effective medication, Nielsen has been searching for novel ways to deworm horses and control the burden of equine internal parasites. Here are three unique approaches currently being developed to provide alternative deworming strategies and help prolong the usefulness of the currently available chemical dewormers.

1. Combination Deworming Based on a technique successfully used in sheep in New Zealand, Nielsen and colleagues are studying the use of two dewormers concurrently.

“We know that some parasites are already resistant to pyrantel and benzimidazoles, but we wondered if using the two drugs together in horses would result in improved efficacy and if so, for how long?,” explains Nielsen.

The research team is only a few months into a 1-year study evaluating combination deworming, and they are not prepared to make any recommendations at this point.

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TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 38

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VETERINARY “Only once we have data that I can rely on will I recommend instituting combination deworming,” Nielsen emphasizes.

2. Let the Germs Get the Worms Another one of Nielsen’s pet projects is called, “Let the Germs get the Worms.”

“We are using proteins produced by the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis to kill strongyle parasites,” Nielsen explains.

The bacterial-derived protein Cry5B has potent activity and is able to successfully kill strongyle larvae in a laboratory setting using cultured larvae. Cry5B is also able to kill parasite populations that are known to be resistant to chemical dewormers.

Nielsen adds, “The next step is to take these laboratory results and see if the protein can kill strongyle larvae in live horses and ensure the protein is safe to use outside the laboratory. We are also going to test Cry5B on roundworms.”

The positive results of the preliminary laboratory data combined with the success of this technique in pigs, have Nielsen and colleagues enthusiastic about this deworming option. The technology is anticipated to cost about $500,000 and take five years to develop. For additional information regarding this research project and to make a donation to help fund this research, visit http://equineparasitology.ca.uky.edu.

3. Ultrasonographic Screening of Foals for Roundworms One final way that Nielsen and co-workers are helping with the deworming debacle is by scanning young horses’ abdomens during routine ultrasound examinations of their chests for Rhodoccocus equi – a bacterial disease that causes abscesses and pneumonia.

“Some farms on which R. equi is endemic routinely ultrasound foal’s chests in an attempt to diagnose and treat R. equi infections before the foals show clinical signs of disease. We found that roundworms can be visualized in the small intestines on abdominal ultrasound using the same ultrasound equipment in young horses with heavy burdens,” shares Nielsen.

Large burdens of roundworms put foals and young horses at risk for impactions, and there is no test that can accurately identify foals with large numbers of ascarids. As mentioned above, the FEC is currently used to diagnose internal parasites, but egg numbers do not directly correlate with the number of adult parasites.

“Ultrasonic screening provides veterinarians the opportunity to identify young horses atrisk for impaction at the same time as they are already screening for R. equi,” says Nielsen.

The roundworms appear as bright lines or circular structures in the small intestine and sometimes have a “train track” appearance, especially when the parasites are located in loops of small intestine that are lying close to the body wall and therefore closer to the ultrasound probe. A YouTube video (available at: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=ODjDdcXKDRc) by one of 26

TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 38

paraSiteS anD their effectS Parasite

Complications of infection Diarrhoea and colic due to large numbers of larvae emerging from the wall of the large intestine

Predominant age affected All ages

Strongylus spp. (large strongyles)

Colic due to migration of larvae through arteries supplying blood to the small intestine

All ages.

Extremely rare in managed horses

No evidence of resistance

Parascaris spp.

Large numbers of adult roundworms can cause impactions and colic as well as ill-thrift, and delated growth

Foals and yearlings

Ivermectin and moxidectin

Anoplocephala perfoliata

Colic due to large numbers of tapeworms usually near the cecum

All ages

None known at this point

Small strongyles (cyathostomins)

Nielsen’s students provides an example of an ultrasound examination of a young horse with a high roundworm burden.

The ultrasound technique, which was developed with the assistance of Clara Fenger, an equine veterinarian, board-certified in internal medicine and with a PhD in equine parasitology, was studied in foals aged 162– 294 days. That research: ● Confirmed that ultrasonography is a reliable screening tool for roundworms; ● Led to the development of an “ascarid scoring system” (a scale ranging from 1 to 4) to identify horses with large numbers of adult roundworms; and ● Helped generate a method for veterinarians to quickly estimate the cost-to-benefit ratio of the procedure.

Nielsen adds, “Ultrasonography screening for roundworms is also easy to implement based on feedback from veterinarians that were trained for this procedure in January 2015.”

“

Upgrading anthelmintics to prescription drugs makes deworming a medical procedure rather than the innocuous practice it was once considered

”

Resistance Widespread resistance to pyrantel and benzimidazoles; early indication of resistance against macrocylic lactones

P

Resistance to resistance is futile

“The magnitude of the resistance problem on a global scale is evidenced by the fact that anthelmintics are prescription-only drugs in several European countries, including Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and the Netherlands,” emphasizes Nielsen.

Upgrading anthelmintics to prescription drugs ensures veterinary involvement in deworming, endorses surveillance, and makes deworming a medical procedure rather than the innocuous practice it was once considered.

In sum, the ideal parasite control program is one that: 1. Minimizes the risk of parasitic disease; 2. Controls parasite egg shedding; and 3. Maintains efficacious drugs and avoids further development of anthelmintic resistance.

On racetracks with minimal turnout opportunities, such as in Saratoga, heavy parasite infections are not common at this time, parasite-related diseases remain very rare, and fecal shedding of parasite eggs is not particularly salient because there is no real “environment” to contaminate. This leaves us focusing on goal #3—maintaining the efficacy of available anthelmintics to minimize the development of resistance.

Key ways to achieve this goal and prepare for anthelmintic Armageddon are to consider conducting economically proven FECs to monitor for resistance, not deworming until FECs are >200 eggs/gram of feces using an appropriate product, and supporting research to find viable, sustainable alternates to chemical dewormers. ■

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PROFiLe

K

eith Desormeaux was raised right. there were bumps in the road, sure, but he absorbed each one, squirreling them away. he knew they would come in handy on a rainy day. truth is, all six Desormeaux kids were wellreared. the fact that each has a first name that begins with “K” has nothing to do with karma, although it well could.

Karma, as Webster defines it, has its origin in hinduism and Buddhism and is “the sum and the consequences of a person’s actions during the successive phases of his existence, regarded as determining his destiny.”

Other than that, there is no specific reason all the names begin with “K.” “My mother started with ‘K’ and just followed suit,” Keith Desormeaux said. “i guess she liked the idea of all the names beginning with ‘K.’” For Desormeaux, it was inevitable that he become a thoroughbred trainer. But it was more than fate that he emerged as a rising star in one of the most competitive, timeconsuming vocations on the face of the earth. Vacations, days off, a night at the movies, an afternoon at the mall are rarer than a triple dead heat.

Desormeaux, who goes by J. Keith when listed as a trainer in racing publications and track programs, at 48 is the oldest of the six children. then comes Kent, 45; Kristie, 43; Kelli, 38; Kalen, 36, and youngest brother Kip, 35. the “J” in Keith’s race track handle stands for John.

Mom and dad Desormeaux, Brenda and harris, in their early 70s, are “strong as ever” back in the town where their kids were born –Lafayette, Louisiana, a rural farming community.

Keith and Kent, a three-time Kentucky Derby winner and a member of racing’s hall of Fame since 2004, were raised in nearby Maurice, described as “a tiny unincorporated hamlet just south of Lafayette with a U.S. Census population of 967 in 2011.” it wasn’t exactly tara, but basic family values prevailed. Frankly, they did give a damn.

“Both my parents had very strong influences on us,” Desormeaux said. “My mother might have been more boisterous, but both were equally effective. Daddy was there to bring home the bacon and

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Keith DeSORMeaUx

Keith DeSORMeaUx provide the discipline and Mom was there for our everyday needs and guidance. We had the sound structure a good family should have.

“My dad was mostly a self-employed entrepreneur,” Desormeaux said. “he did everything from multi-level marketing right out of college with amway to selling for harvestores, which provided feed grain silos for the local cattle industry. that was in the first couple years of his life. But their mainstay was in real estate. “he went on to several other areas, and that’s how we got involved in horseracing.

My father thought going into the horseracing business was a good idea, and that’s when

Keith Desormeaux’s aim is to win top-class races with racehorses that don’t cost a top price – and he is achieving that goal on one of the toughest circuits in racing.

WORDS: ED GOLDEN PHOTOS: HORSEPHOTOS

Kent and i caught the bug. i was in my early teens at the time and Kent was maybe nine or 10. We did not come up as generational horse people. We didn’t own racehorses.

“it was just a time during my dad’s multidimensional period of earning a living. he dabbled with racehorses and went so far as to open a bush track in the Lafayette area called acadiana Downs. and when he dedicated his time and effort to opening a racetrack, you knew his two oldest boys were going to be involved.

“But my dad’s time in racing lasted only two or three years. it became too mercurial and there was no way he could remain in a business like that, because he had to support his ever-growing family. he got out, but Kent and i remained. Obviously, the fire had been lit.

Swipe is led on to the track prior to finishing second in the Grade 1 FrontRunner Stakes at Santa Anita in September

ISSUE 38 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM

29

PROFiLe “But it leveled off there for a while, because we had to concentrate on school; at least i did. For me, it was school and sports. i was a very avid basketball and baseball player, played shortstop, second base, and was allDistrict as a catcher in my senior year at North Vermillion high School in Maurice.

“Kent and i had fun together in sports.

We kept each other active but i had no competition from him. Remember, you’re talking about three years difference, which is a lifetime between a 12-year-old and a 15-yearold or an eight-year-old and an 11-year-old.

Kent was already a little pipsqueak, and i wasn’t the biggest guy in the world, but i had him beat by 50 pounds, so it was no contest.

But we were pretty scrappy and enjoyed challenging each other.

“Kent and our cousin, Blair hebert, who we were real close with, used to challenge me two-on-one.

“When i finished high school, horses were secondary in my mind. i was going to college to become a vet. i started at the University of Southwestern Louisiana (USL), but during the first year i discovered a college in northern Louisiana called Louisiana tech which offered an animal science degree along with an equine specialty course on racehorses.

“You got to work hands-on at a track barn while you were in college, getting the racetrack experience while studying for an animal science degree, and it just seemed like something very interesting, so after one year at USL, i finished my college at Louisiana tech.”

Keith Desormeaux earned a degree in animal science and after graduating, went to Maryland, eventually becoming an assistant to his mentor-to-be, trainer Charlie hadry, in 1988-89.

Desormeaux moved from California to texas in 1997 when Lone Star Park opened,

“

He was offered on the eighth or ninth day of the sale, but to me, he was just a physical masterpiece. I couldn’t believe a horse that looked that good went so late in the sale

”

harvesting a crop of new owners who helped jumpstart his career. Peter L. Cantrell of Cantrell & associates, a CPa corporation out of Dallas, joined Desormeaux in 2005 and has stayed through thick and thin, “even the hard times in 2008 when i was down to eight horses, and he is a major player with me now,” Desormeaux said. today, the apex is in view, thanks to Keith’s self-taught acumen acquired through

a quarter century of equine education that focuses on getting the biggest bang for his buck.

“Not to sound like i’m tooting my own horn, but being successful, to me, is winning graded stakes and high-level allowance races on one of the toughest circuits in the world with horses that didn’t cost a million dollars,” Desormeaux said. “We’re winning at a high percentage and accumulating purse money that ranks us right up there with the top stables in the land. at the sales, i look for a top-class thoroughbred without having to pay a top-class price. “it’s how i survived. i haven’t perfected it, but we are competing on one of the toughest circuits in the country with horses that basically other horsemen passed on. it’s taken me more than two decades to hone that skill.

“You could say i’ve got an eye for a horse, but it didn’t come naturally. it took 25 years of dedicating myself to looking at the qualifications of what makes a good horse. “i heard someone say about a trainer recently, ‘he’s a good, young horseman.’ there’s no such thing, because you can only acquire the decision-making process through experience. horsemanship can only be learned through a lifetime of dedication. You can’t just be born with horsemanship. “if i took you down my shedrow and told you the purchase price of each horse, you’d be flabbergasted. i’ve got plenty of horses more expensive than texas Red, but the average purchase price is between $10,000 and $50,000. “that, to me, is the interesting part of my ascendency. that, plus the fact that drug regulations are becoming more strict, allowing real horsemen to come to the fore again.”

Texas Red wins the 2014 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile with Desormeaux’s brother Kent in the saddle

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PROFiLe

Desormeaux’s name glittered on racing’s global marquee after he saddled texas Red to a 13-1 upset in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Santa anita in 2014, with brother Kent guiding the son of afleet alex to a smashing 6½-length victory.

Other promising stakes winners among the 28 head Desormeaux has in training include exaggerator, winner of the Grade 2 Saratoga Special in 2015; Landaluce winner Right there; Uzziel, winner of the C.e.R.F. Stakes at Del Mar this summer; Crucero, who uncharacteristically ran back in a week to capture the San Juan Capistrano Stakes at 23-1 last June at Santa anita; and Swipe, a $5,000 yearling who won the Summer Juvenile Championship at Los alamitos and was second in the Grade 2 Best Pal Stakes and the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity this year.

Desormeaux owns 20 percent of texas Red, 30 percent less than what he initially intended when the yearling colt consigned by three Chimneys Sales to the Keeneland Sales was purchased for $17,000 in September 2013. eric Brehm bought texas Red on behalf of a partnership that included Desormeaux, Wayne Detmar, Lee Michaels, and Gene Voss. each owns 20 percent.

Desormeaux shared this anecdote on the purchase of texas Red: “the horse looked so good to me at the sale he stood out like a sore thumb,” Keith said. “he was offered on the eighth or ninth day of the sale, but to me, he was just a physical masterpiece. i couldn’t believe a horse that looked that good went so late in the sale.

“But i guess we caught him at the right time. afleet alex was hot and cold and the dam (Ramatuelle) hadn’t produced much, so regardless of how good he looked, people might have shied away from his pedigree.

“But that’s why i’m there. i overlook pedigree in a lot of instances. anyway, as soon as the gavel dropped on the horse, i called eric and told him i wanted 50 percent and he said, ‘No problem.’ “then three weeks later eric calls me and says, ‘i hope you don’t mind, but i brought 32

TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 38

in a couple of partners on this horse.’ eric was financing the whole deal so who was i to say don’t do it, so i just went along with it and my 50 percent went down to 20 percent.”

Desormeaux’s major client is Matt Bryan, an oil distribution magnate from Dallas, who campaigns as Big Chief Racing Stables. he stunned the racing world in 2013 when $82,000 Ocala Breeders Sale purchase i’ve Struck a Nerve won the $400,000 Risen Star Stakes at odds of 135-1, paying $272.40 to win.

“Bryan came on board with 100 percent enthusiasm for top-quality horses,” Desormeaux said. “he made a major investment and that’s why my stable nearly doubled from 15 to almost 30 in two years.

Matt’s investment compared to the average owner at this level is minuscule. he never bought a horse for more than $100,000, but he’s won several $100,000 races. “as far as i’m concerned, Matt is my number one investor and i consider him a close friend.” texas Red missed the 2015 triple Crown series due to an abscess on his right front foot. Desormeaux wasn’t dissuaded by the disappointment. Refreshingly forthright in a game where truth is sometimes sentenced to life behind bars, Desormeaux took it in his stride and promptly devised a plan that came to fruition. texas Red was turned out, given the time he needed to recover, and was pointed for the Grade 3 Dwyer Stakes at Belmont on July

“

I also hope we keep trending towards less drug use. It’s not only good for us as horsemen to compete on an even keel, but it’s also great for breeders

”

4. he ran second, but came back to win the Grade 2 Jim Dandy on august 1, providing solace and sustenance.

Keith’s son, Bailey, 23, loves racing but does not plan to follow in his family’s footsteps. “he hasn’t chosen to pursue that occupation,” Keith said, “but if at some time he becomes a successful business man, he’ll definitely own horses. But he didn’t get involved enough as a child to partake in the business every day. “he played football in high school and was a wide receiver in college at tCU (texas Christian University). he didn’t get a whole lot of playing time but he did make the traveling squad. he graduated and he’s in the real world now.”

Blood might not be thicker than water in this instance, but Keith Desormeaux does receive valued assistance in his day-to-day operation from his girlfriend of four years, Julie Clark.

“She’s an integral part of our team,” Desormeaux said. “there are many reasons for our success, and she’s one of them. She’s a great horseman and a good sounding board.

She listens to my ideas and reaffirms my evaluations. i respect not only her opinion, but her physical contributions at the barn. “texas Red and exaggerator are among the stakes winners in her care. i couldn’t do it without her. We met at the 2011 October Fasig-tipton Sales in Lexington where she was buying horses with a friend of mine.”

Desormeaux envisions bigger and better things for racing’s heavyweight venues in the future, and, if he had his druthers, better horses and fewer drugs. “i think racing is trending more towards the boutique meets, more Santa anitas, more Keenelands, more Churchills, more Del Mars, more Saratogas,” he said. “that’s the way of the world, it seems. i think less racing with more quality horses would be good for everyone. “i also hope we keep trending towards less drug use. it’s not only good for us as horsemen to compete on an even keel, but it’s also great for breeders, because when horses are competing drug-free, the breeders’ product becomes more desirable.”

Desormeaux, meanwhile, braced by solid family values, continues towards the next horizon, with any potential hurdles to be vanquished through his confidence and enthusiasm.

“We were all raised Catholic,” he said. “it was part of our upbringing as much as horses and sports. the family went to church every week and although as kids we didn’t particularly care to go, we didn’t have a choice. “even though it’s not the most fun thing as kid, i think it does instill values that help you cope when tough times do occur. that’s one thing religion is all about: having faith to help fight through the tough times.”

Keith Desormeaux: You gotta love his story. it’s as inspirational as a Sousa march. n

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VETERINARY

The stifle is the largest joint in the horse and is the articulation between the tibia, femur, and patella (knee cap). The equine stifle is host to a wide range of conditions causing lameness. A combination of clinical examination, lameness evaluation, diagnostic local analgesia, radiography, and ultrasonography is required as a minimum in the detection of stifle pathology.

Additional diagnostic aids such as arthroscopy and computed tomography/ MRI may be employed if further information is required. In all cases a thorough understanding of the complex anatomy of the stifle is essential.

WORDS: THOMAS O’KEEFFE PHOTOS: FiOnA BOyD, CAROlinE nORRiS, THOMAS O’KEEFFE

Anatomy of the Stifle

The condyles of the femur do not conform in shape to the tibial plateau, as two crescentshaped menisci made of fibrocartilage provide congruency between the two bones and function to cushion the articular cartilage from the compression forces of weight bearing. The center of the tibial plateau forms the intercondylar eminence comprising two 34

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prominences (medial and lateral intercondylar tubercles). The cranial ligaments of each meniscus are anchored to the top of the tibia at the medial and lateral intercondylar eminences respectively with the menisci also attached to the joint capsule. The patella is a large bone in the insertional tendon of the quadriceps femoris muscle. From its base, three patellar ligaments converge distally to

attachments on the tibial crest. The stifle has three synovial spaces: the femoropatellar joint and the medial and lateral femorotibial joints.

The femoropatellar joint at the front of the stifle is the articulation of the patella and the two trochlear ridges. The femorotibial joint spaces are distinct from each other and are found between each meniscus and its corresponding femoral condyle. The two cruciate ligaments lie outside the joint cavity between the medial and lateral femorotibial joint compartments.

Examination of the Stifle

Palpation of the stifle is undertaken with the limb weight bearing. Apparent effusion of any joint compartment should be judged against the opposite limb and attention paid to stance, as limb position can affect perception of intra-articular pressure. The femoropatellar joint is the only compartment where distension may be noted visually. Medial femorotibial joint distension is readily palpable on the inside of

STIFLE JOINT

Understanding the stifle joint the groin just above the tibial plateau, while lateral femerotibial joint effusion is rare and not easily palpable.

Conditions affecting the stifle of racehorses in training

● Osteochondrosis dissecans (OCD) of Stifle Diagnosis is traditionally made by radiography and/or ultrasound.

Management depends on clinical/ radiological severity and the stage of training at detection. If detected as an incidental finding when already in training and there is no lameness present, no treatment may be necessary. If lameness is present, surgery (arthroscopic removal or re-attachment of defective cartilage) is the only effective treatment. Prognosis with these cases is dependent on lesion size. Horses with lesions less than 6cm that undergo surgery prior to the start of the two-year-old season have similar trainability to normal horses, while those with more extensive lesions (>6cm) are less likely to race.

● Locking Patella of Stifle This condition occurs when the patella fails to release correctly from its “sleeping” position on the lower femur, thereby preventing the stifle from flexing. This may be transient or require intervention to release. It is a common condition, can occur at all stages of training, and carries a good prognosis as it rarely interferes with training. The condition is most commonly seen during phases of reduced exercise/ stable rest. Diagnosis is straightforward, with obvious clinical signs being the affected hind limb held straight and rigid, and the horse demonstrating a reluctance to move forward. When forced to move the horse will drag his leg forward. Most cases are readily unlocked with firm pressure placed above and lateral to the stifle directed down and forward in the direction of the opposite front leg. Management of recurrent cases usually involves strengthening/ conditioning of the quadriceps (hill work, trotting) and shoeing with raised heels/

wedges. Surgery, involving the splitting or sectioning of the medial patellar ligament, is rarely needed and only as a last resort for severe non-responsive cases. ● Tibial Tuberosity Fracture This is a rare condition where the top of the tibia (point of attachment of the patellar ligaments) separates from the parent bone.

This usually occurs as a result of direct trauma (kick/jumping) or avulsion of the quadriceps/ biceps femoris muscle following a fall/slip.

Diagnosis made initially by radiography and subsequent ultrasound allows assessment of associated soft tissue damage. Management is generally conservative, with a prolonged period of stable rest/walking exercise. As this is a non-articular fracture (does not communicate with stifle joint), surgical reduction offers little advantage. ● Acute Trauma to Stifle The patella and collateral ligaments are poorly protected by overlying soft tissues ISSUE 38 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM

35

VETERINARY and are vulnerable to direct trauma, particularly kicks. Damage is usually short lived, with superficial bruising and/ or infection. In rare cases, supporting structures (menisci, cruciate, patellar, or collateral ligaments) of the stifle may be involved. Radiography is regularly the first line of diagnostics, following clinical examination; however, ultrasound and arthroscopy are the only practical ways of assessing many potential injuries, such as meniscal injuries. Management for acute trauma may be conservative initially, but meniscal injuries carry a guarded prognosis and arthroscopy is required as a diagnostic and treatment tool.

Medial Femoral Condyle Subchondral bone cysts This is the most significant pathology seen in the stifle joint and will be discussed in greater detail for the remainder of this article.

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Diagnosis of Stifle Cysts

A medial femoral condyle bone cyst. However, the horse did not show any signs of lameness

The most common location for subchondral bone cysts in the horse is the medial femoral condyle. Approximately 75% of horses with subchondral cystic lesions are less than four years of age. The prevalence of stifle cysts in young sales horses has been estimated at 1.7-3.6% in Thoroughbreds and 1013.6% in Quarter Horses. The effect of stifle cysts on athletic function is difficult to quantify but in small groups of affected horses, stifle cysts greater than 6mm deep or 15mm in diameter have been associated with a reduction in some measures of racing performance. The cause of stifle cysts is debatable, with trauma and OCD most commonly implicated.

While radiographic confirmation typically remains the mainstay for diagnosis of stifle cysts, ultrasound has recently been used with greater frequency in the standing horse.

The development of digital radiography and the trend of repository radiographs at many Thoroughbred auctions have led to increased scrutiny of stifle radiographs. The caudal-cranial x-ray projection of the stifle remains the initial gold standard in assessing the medial femoral condyle.

Treatment options for Stifle Cysts

A horse who was lame as a result of a stifle lesion. There is mild flattening of the medial femoral condyle causing lameness confirmed by nerve blocking 36

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There have been many therapeutic options proposed for the management of subchondral bone cysts in the stifle. These techniques have continued to be somewhat controversial but success has been reported with conservative therapy (stall rest and anti-inflammatory agents), direct injection of the cyst under ultrasound or arthroscopic guidance, and arthroscopic debridement of the cyst and its cavity. Following debridement, the subchondral cystic lesion voids can be left open or filled with cancellous bone, osteochondral grafts, or a combination of bone substitutes, possibly growth factors and chondrocyte grafts or mesenchymal cells in fibrin glue. The goal of all such treatments is to eliminate lameness

STIFLE JOINT associated with a stifle cyst and allow affected horses to perform as expected.

Treatment success rates range from between slightly under 50% to slightly less than 75%.

Throughout the various studies that have been undertaken over the years, differences in inclusion criteria and definition of success and the lack of information on long-term lameness resolution make it difficult to affirm any one treatment as vastly superior.

It has not been supported in all studies, but older horses treated tend to have lower success rates.

Arthroscopic Debridement

Success rates for soundness following arthroscopic debridement are 64-72%, depending on the size of lesion and horse’s age. The best results are seen in horses less than three years old and in lesions smaller than 15 millimeters. A potential reason for poor success rates could be related to tears in

the stifle’s meniscus or meniscal ligaments.

It has been described that approximately 9% of horses with stifle cysts have concurrent meniscal lesions.

Arthroscopic Injection of Stifle Cyst with Triamcinolone

A group led by Dr. Brigitte von Rechenberg of the University of Zurich carried out research that led to the development of a technique of injecting corticosteroids directly into the fibrous lining of the cystic lesion under arthroscopic guidance. The rationale for intralesional injection of triamcinolone acetonide possibly improving results compared to previous studies using debridement included shorter convalescence, less articular disruption, less potential for cystic enlargement, and less potential for causing a subsequent meniscal lesion.

In a retrospective study on the results of arthroscopic injection of corticosteroids into

the cyst lining in 52 cases, the inclusion criteria were lameness and radiographic evidence of a stifle cyst. The results showed that 35/52 (67%) horses were successfully treated. An additional five horses, for a total of 40/52 (77%), were considered sound at veterinary re-check. There was a significant difference in outcome when there was only one limb affected, with a much poorer outcome noted when two limbs were affected.

Study in Florida: Ultrasound-Guided Corticosteroid injection

In 2014 Dr. Jonathan McLellan and Dr. Sarah Plevin of Florida Equine Veterinary Associates presented a small study on the treatment of stifle cysts at the Annual Convention of the American Association of Equine Practitioners. They reviewed the outcome of stifle cysts that were managed via ultrasound-guided corticosteroid injection directly into the cyst in the standing horse

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VETERINARY compared to horses who were managed via intra-articular medication alone. Case selection was limited to the following: horses in training presenting with sudden onset unilateral hind limb lameness within the first six months of commencement of training, the source of lameness being localized to the medial femorotibial joint by a positive response to intra-articular anesthesia and with radiographic confirmation of a stifle cyst.

The control group, which McLellan and Plevin identified from their medical records, were 20 Thoroughbred horses of the same age and stage of training as the case horses with a known history of lameness from a unilateral stifle cyst. Controls had been treated with intra-articular triamcinolone acetonide injection and thus were considered to have been treated conservatively. For both groups, treatment was considered a success if the horse returned to training and remained free from stifle lameness for at least one year. Long-term follow up was assessed by the ability to start a race. Eleven (91.7%) cases required only a single ultrasound

“

The most common location for subchondral bone cysts is the medial femoral condyle.

Approximately 75% of horses with subchondral cystic lesions are less than four years of age

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guided injection of the fibrous cyst lining to achieve soundness. Ten (83.3%) resumed training without lameness, and nine (75%) successfully started a race. Only 11 (55%) conservatively treated control horses became sound enough to start in a race following a single intra-articular injection with 14 (70%) returning to training. While there was no statistically significant difference in likelihood of a positive outcome between methods, cases treated with ultrasoundguided injection were significantly more likely than the control group to require only one treatment, with an average time of 50.8 days from diagnosis to return to training compared to 65 days in control horses.

Lag Screws to solve the conundrum: a possible solution?

In 2014, a new treatment technique for stifle cysts was developed and published in the Veterinary Surgery Journal by Elizabeth Santschi, DVM, Diplomate ACVS and her colleagues from Ohio State University. Their work was based on using a cortical bone 38

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A caudal lateral oblique projection of a medial femoral condyle bone cyst

A caudal lateral oblique projection of a medial femoral condyle bone cyst

screw with the aim of altering strain on the cyst lesion, hoping to promote trabecular bone formation and remodeling. The team behind this new technique proposed that promotion of bone healing in the cystic lesion is desirable for long-term lameness resolution. Transphyseal screws are used routinely to correct angular limb deformities in young horses, and an increase in bone opacity has been noted around these screws.

Santschi and her colleagues hypothesized that a lag screw across the stifle cyst might also promote bone formation within the cyst, while maintaining existing hyaline and calcified cartilage. The screw can be left in place permanently with no untoward effects on horses in active training.

Santschi placed a 4.5mm lag screw across the stifle cyst. Postoperative radiography and lameness examinations were performed at 30 to 60 day intervals for 120 days, and cyst healing and lameness were graded.

Treatment was considered successful if lameness was eliminated and 50% bone healing occurred in the cyst by 120 days after surgery. Twenty horses had 27 limbs treated. Nine horses had adjunctive biologic agents placed into the cyst. In all horses, lameness was reduced by one to two grades by 60 days after surgery, and in 15 horses it was abolished by 60 to 120 days. At 120 days, the mean amount of cyst healing was 70%. Of the 15 successes, all were in work at the time of publication (mean followup of 12 months) without stifle lameness.

Successful treatment occurred in 78% of horses treated with biologic therapies and in 73% without biologic therapies.

Three of the five failures had additional injuries to cartilage, meniscus, or tibia, with one apparent at surgery and two after surgery. Santschi and her team concluded that transcondylar screw placement promotes cyst healing and lameness

STIFLE JOINT reduction in approximately 75% of all treated stifles.

Conclusion

Stifle conditions are thankfully a relatively infrequent cause of lameness in the Thoroughbred racehorse.

However, clinical cases of stifle lameness can result in significant interruptions in training.

Stifle cysts are the most significant cause of missed training days, and there have been a myriad of treatment options utilized to overcome this problem. Despite the many advances in surgery and the extensive research that has gone into exploring surgical resolutions, the differences in success rates between an aggressive surgical approach versus a conservative approach are not substantial.

It is my opinion that a conservative approach, with intra-articular medication and a modified training regime, should be the first line of treatment and surgical intervention only considered when the lameness renders the horse un-trainable.

New surgical options such as transcondylar lag screw placement offers hope in the treatment of stifle cysts with initial promising results but more work is needed to identify its long-term outcome.

Stifle joint issues can occur in yearlings as they grow and can be reviewed with pre-sale radiographs prior to the sales

As with all orthopedic conditions, stifle lameness requires a systematic, diagnostic approach, and the use of ultrasound alongside traditional x-ray has greatly improved our understanding of the stifle

joint. Accurate diagnosis and a symbiotic relationship between trainer and vet in the management of horses with stifle conditions is crucial in minimizing loss of training time for our equine athletes. n

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PROFILE

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BILL CASNER

BILL CASNER Breeder – Owner – Trainer

Until Bill Casner was 31 years old, he never earned a living with anything other than a horse. As a young boy in Texas he worked cattle. At age 15 he galloped horses at Sunland Park in New Mexico, and at 18 he won his first race as a trainer with a filly named Beaming Bar. WORDS: DeniSe SteffanuS PHOtOS: HORSePHOtOS, Bill CaSneR, WinStaR faRm

H

E worked the gate, was a chartmaker for the Daily Racing Form, and during summer breaks from college, he traveled the racing circuit working for Bob Dunham, who at the time trained 1972 champion sprinter Chou Croute. The money Casner earned paid his tuition to Tarleton State University in Texas, where he was in the pre-veterinary program.

In 1974, Casner married Susan Baker, whom he described as “the prettiest mutuels clerk at Fonner Park,” and they began a mom-and-pop stable. Their daughter Kayce’s first word was “horse.”

“I figured it up one time that I spent probably two years of my life living in tack rooms,” Casner said. “It gave me an understanding of what life on the backside was like.”

The Casners left the racetrack in 1979, and over the next decade Bill entered into a string of business ventures with one of his owners, Kenny Troutt. After a rollercoaster ride of successes and failures, the two hit it big when they launched Excel Communications and pounded the fledgling phone company into a $5 billion success.

In 2000, Casner and Troutt founded WinStar Farm near Lexington, which became one of the top Thoroughbred farms in the country.

Forty-three years after Casner’s first trip to the winner’s circle with Beaming Bar, his gelding Well Armed won the world’s richest race, the Grade 1, $6 million Dubai World Cup, by the greatest margin (14 lengths) in the race’s history. The following year, WinStar horses captured two of the three

legs of the 2010 Triple Crown. Super Saver won the Kentucky Derby and Drosselmeyer won the Belmont Stakes, earning WinStar the Eclipse Award as outstanding owner.

That October, Casner and Troutt dissolved their partnership, and Casner went out on his own with Casner Racing.

The Owner-Trainer Relationship

Casner’s unique experience enables him to see the relationship between owner and trainer from both perspectives.

Most trainers dread having a former trainer as a client. It’s the racetrack equivalent of “too many cooks spoil the broth.” But Casner said it can work if the owner and trainer have the same philosophy.

Casner chose Eoin Harty, pronounced “Owen,” to train his personal horses after the Irish-born horseman’s success conditioning WinStar horses, including 2008 Travers Stakes-G1 winner Colonel John and Well Armed.

“One of the reasons I chose Eoin to train

“

One of the reasons I chose Eoin to train my horses is that he is a very open-minded, very bright individual. He’s a thinker.

He’s not restricted to old ways of doing things

”

my horses is that he is a very open-minded, very bright individual,” Casner said. “He’s a thinker. He’s not restricted to old ways of doing things. He always wants to get better at what he does.

“We had a philosophy at WinStar Farm: If we’re doing the same thing today that we were doing yesterday, then we’re not moving forward.”

Both Casner and Harty are scientific thinkers. Together, they have formulated a unique program that focuses on “asset preservation,” a business term Casner uses for extending his horses’ racing careers by keeping them healthy and sound. The main points of the program are maintaining pristine barns; steam-cooking hay; keeping young horses barefoot until they buckle down for serious race training; using vibration plates to enhance hoof growth and strengthen bones; and weighing horses biweekly like they do in Europe to assess how each horse is physically handling the rigors of training and racing—all of which ultimately enable Casner’s horses to race medication-free.

With his first-hand knowledge of how a racing barn operates, Casner mulls over the difficulties of implementing new ideas before he discusses them with Harty.

“You have to look at efficiencies within a barn—time management, time pressure, the labor that some of these things may require,” Casner said. “I’m very sensitive to that when I talk to Eoin about incorporating different things.”

Advice for Owners

When choosing a trainer, Casner advised owners to evaluate the trainer’s business plan, which may not be compatible with ISSUE 38 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM

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PROFILE their own. Owners tend to gravitate to the hot trainer with a high win percentage, but that may not be the best choice.

“Getting the best result out of a horse that you send to a trainer is not based on what that trainer’s win percentage is,” he said. “It’s how effectively that trainer manages that horse, his horsemanship, his skills, and his attentiveness to that particular individual.”

A trainer with hundreds of horses is going to pick the horses with the best chance to win a particular race. Horses with less talent will have limited opportunities. But Casner said that isn’t the only problem with very large stables.

“If a trainer has a couple of hundred twoyear-olds come into his barn every year, he has to sort through them very quickly,” he said. “His goal is to find that very small, elite group that he can run in all the major graded stakes races and the Triple Crown

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races, and when those horses perform well, that will get him another 200 the following year. But what people don’t look at is the dramatic number of injuries within that initial group.

“For me, when I send Eoin five or six twoyear-olds, every one of them is important.

Again, asset preservation is our number one goal, to keep these horses healthy and sound. And when you do that, they’ll perform to whatever God-given talent they have.

“I sell horses, too, and people like buying horses from us because we sell sound horses that haven’t run with medication.”

Some owners without training experience want to micromanage their horses’ training and dictate which races they run. Casner advised owners to choose a good trainer and then let him do his job.

“Eoin manages my horses on a day-today basis,” he said. “He picks the races,

he marks the training schedule, he picks the riders. I don’t carry a condition book around. That’s what his job is. But I also look at it, in our particular situation, as a team effort. Both of us are respectful of each other’s realm of experience and strengths. As a result, we have a relationship that has grown over the years both professionally and as friends.”

Harty said people viewing their relationship might think it is tenuous, but that’s something he doesn’t give a second thought.

“Our relationship doesn’t just involve the horses,” Harty said. “It involves pretty much every aspect of our lives. We’re friends as well as having an employeremployee relationship. We call each other up and talk about many things, and talk about the horses at the same time. I’m lucky to call Bill a friend as well as an owner.”

BILL CASNER

Sharing Responsibilities

Casner does his part by prepping his young horses at his Rafter C Ranch in Flower Mound, Texas; Harty takes over when the horses arrive at the track. The goal is to race them by August or September of their twoyear-old year.

“My job as the ‘first trainer’ is to deliver a horse to my racetrack trainer that is strong both physically and mentally, ready to move forward quickly and consistently,” Casner said.

He starts his yearlings in February through a novel conditioning program that builds strength, bone density, and fitness.

This gives them a six-month head start on traditional programs and nearly a year of preparation before they begin race training at the track.

While the yearlings are at Rafter C, Casner trims their feet himself every two

“

We had a philosophy at WinStar Farm: If we’re doing the same thing today that we were doing yesterday, then we’re not moving forward

”

weeks, based on scientific evidence he has learned as chairman of the Shoeing and Hoof Care Committee of the Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit. Top farrier Steve Norman continues that practice for Harty at the racetrack. The horses remain barefoot until ready to race.

“One of the worst things we can do

on those young horses when they are still developing and still growing is to put shoes on them,” Casner said. “Their feet start getting contracted heels, and it has an effect on the blood flow. These are all things that science shows us.”

Casner describes himself as a science nerd, and Harty said that is one of the benefits of their association.

“Bill reads all the minutiae that I wouldn’t have the time or the knowledge to understand,” Harty said. “So he does all the homework for me. It’s like sitting beside the brightest kid in the class and looking over his shoulder.”

Advice for Trainers

New technology provides today’s trainers with an advantage in communicating with their owners, which Casner said is crucial for their career advancement.

“If owners are going to be spending tens of thousands and sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars to provide a trainer with racing stock, they want to know how their horses are doing, how they’re progressing,” he said. “These people get

Opposite: Bill and Susan Casner raise the 2009 Dubai World Cup with trainer Eoin Harty after Well Armed won by 14 lengths – the biggest margin in the race’s history.

A year later Casner holds the Kentucky Derby trophy aloft after Super Saver won the Run for the Roses

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PROFILE

Casner trims his yearlings’ feet every two weeks at his Rafter C Ranch in Flower Mound, Texas. Casner designed the barns to the same model he created at WinStar (above)

into racing because they enjoy it and have a passion for it.

“When I trained horses, I was in constant communication with my owners. I’d call them after works. I talked to them at least once a week, giving them updates on their horses and everything. Of course, that was before cell phones, email, and iPhones that take pictures. Now it’s easy for a trainer to take a video of a horse working with his iPhone and message it or email it to the owner right then. Those are important habits for trainers to get into.

“I think a lot of times trainers don’t develop those skills and habits, and I really think it creates a barrier to their advancement. It may have worked in the old days, but in this day and age, with the communication tools that we have, there is no reason why a trainer shouldn’t have 44

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BILL CASNER really good communication skills.”

Casner would like to see continuing education for trainers, although he doesn’t know whether it should be a requirement.

He said trainers, like those in other professions, need to keep abreast of new developments in science and technology that could affect them and their horses.

“If you’d ask the trainer, he’d say, ‘I get continuing education every day with my horses.’ And that’s really the way it should be,” Casner said. “I would hope that trainers would try to read everything that is available.”

Casner spends his free time reading industry news, veterinary articles, and research results on PubMed.gov, the searchable database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, which contains information about most veterinary studies published over the past 50 years.

Drug-Free Racing

Casner is a prominent voice for medicationfree racing. Through the program he and Harty have developed, they have shown that cleaning up the horses’ environment not only keeps their respiratory systems healthy, it also enables them to race without bleeder medication. Further, based on science, the program dismisses with the anti-inflammatory phenylbutazone and instead uses icing and cold-water hosing to reduce swelling and inflammation, just like the old-timers did.

“

One of the worst things we can do on those young horses when they are still developing and still growing is to put shoes on them

”

Casner believes racetrack veterinarians in the United States should be more accountable in the use of medication.

He cites the Hong Kong Jockey Club as a workable model to curb medication in racing.

“The vets in Hong Kong are all employed by the racing association,” he said. “All drugs are dispensed by the central pharmacy, and the vets’ incentive is to work within those rules and those parameters so they can keep their jobs.”

He realizes that phenylbutazone and Lasix injections, each at $25-30, are a sizeable portion of the racetrack veterinarians’ income, causing them to be conflicted about their use.

“Even if they recognize that Bute and Lasix could be detrimental, it would take a big hit on their wallets,” Casner said. “I don’t want to lump all vets into one basket, but I

want it to be recognized that they are deeply conflicted. There are some wonderful vets out there who are always trying to do the right thing. Sometimes their careers suffer because they are straight arrows and they’re not willing to deviate from what the rules are. But the system that we currently have puts tremendous pressure on those vets.”

Rather than being complicit in the medication culture that pervades American racetracks, Casner believes veterinarians should be the educators on the backstretch because they are the best qualified individuals to explain to owners and trainers the pros and cons of the drugs at their disposal and to recommend alternative therapies, if they exist.

He said racetracks can do their part to curb Lasix use by cleaning up the horses’ environment. One way is to adopt openair design in any new barn construction.

Casner designed the 2010 training barn at WinStar. His barns at Rafter C have the same design.

“The front sides of the stalls are open. It’s grating,” he said. “There are windows between the stalls, which I feel is important because horses are herd animals. They’re happier when they can see another horse. We have windows on the outside walls that open so we get cross ventilation. We have turbines in the barn that ventilate. We have fans that suck air up and move air.

“We don’t have roofs on our stalls. They keep in all the ammonia and dust and

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PROFILE Casner with his trainer and friend Eoin Harty

microbes and everything else. Yet most racetracks all have roofs over their stalls because they have lofts above where they store the hay. Every time somebody goes up and gets a bale of hay and walks on that loft, it shakes loose decades of dust into that stall. Inflammatory airway disease is a major contributor to bleeding.”

Casner is a proponent of the bipartisan Barr-Tonko bill (H.R. 3084), which would establish an independent, nongovernmental, anti-doping authority charged with the responsibility of implementing a national uniform medication program called the Thoroughbred Horseracing Integrity Act of 2015. The authority would be affiliated with the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).

“The current model we have is ridiculous,” 46

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“

Bill reads all the minutiae that I wouldn’t have the time or the knowledge to understand.

It’s like sitting beside the brightest kid in the class and looking over his shoulder

Eoin Harty

”

he said.

“Thirty-eight independent jurisdictions and only seven have signed on to uniformity, and that’s the biggest no-brainer. You can poll everyone in our industry, and I doubt you will find anyone who will say, ‘No, we don’t need uniformity.

We need different rules for every state.’

That’s something everybody agrees on, yet only seven states out of 38 have signed on, because they’re handcuffed by their state laws and the rules of their commission and everything else. It’s insane.”

He reminded those people who oppose Barr-Tonko because they don’t want the government in horseracing that the industry once voiced the same criticism about simulcasting.

“In 1978, I was right in the middle of my training career,” he said. “That’s when the

PROFILE

THE STORY BEHIND WELL ARMED

Bill Casner regards 2009 Dubai World Cup winner Well Armed as his greatest success in racing.

The WinStar Farm homebred earned a special place in Casner’s heart right from the start when the colt was born on his daughter Karri’s birthday (April 4), just six months after she was killed in a terrorist attack in Bali on October 12, 2002.

Impressive as a two-year-old, the son of Tiznow was seriously injured in a stall accident at the beginning of that season.

Expert veterinary care saved the horse’s life, but his future depended on how well he healed.

Rarely does the owner of an elite Thoroughbred operation like WinStar take over the hands-on rehabilitation of an injured racehorse. But Casner is one of those rare owners.

He shipped the horse from WinStar near Lexington to his Rafter C Ranch in Flower Mound, Texas, where he could personally work with the horse he calls “Big Man.”

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BILL CASNER Interstate Horseracing Act was on the floor in Congress. There was a huge outcry on the backside. The consensus at that time was that this is bad for our industry, and if we allow people to bet who aren’t onsite, nobody’s going to come to the races, and we’ll lose fans.

“I would hate to think what would have happened if racetracks had to survive on their on-track handle alone. We would have been totally dead. The government gave us an absolutely huge gift. So to those who say they don’t want the federal government involved in our business, it already is.”

He sees USADA not only as a means to simplify horseracing through the establishment and enforcement of uniform medication rules, but also as a means to remove these tasks from the hands of unqualified political appointees.

“We have people who do not have the skill set,” he said. “They’re appointed by the governor, they’re ill-equipped, they’re not paid, they don’t have the expertise, and they donate their time to these things. It’s absolutely an incredibly poor way of managing a system that is so important.”

Casner warned that steadily declining foal crops indicate horseracing is a dying industry. If racing closes its doors, the economic loss to the country would be $25 billion annually and 380,000 jobs, according to government statistics.

“We will shrink to a point where there will be just a few people running horses against each other, and there will be a few racetracks out there. It’s a dying game unless we are willing to change,” he said. ■

Casner started Well Armed through an incremental program of swimming combined with walking and jogging on a freestyle walker, and ultimately carrying weight with Casner on his back in a stock saddle. After ten months in this program, Well Armed was shipped to WinStar’s farm trainer, Richard Budge, for interim training and then on to trainer Eoin Harty at Santa Anita Park in Southern California.

“Bill told me, ‘You’re going to get this horse. He has had some issues, but just go on and see if he makes it.’ And that’s pretty much what I did,” Harty said.

Over the next 14 months, Well Armed won the San Antonio-G2 and San Diego-G2 Handicaps and the Goodwood Stakes-G1 before his iconic win by 14 lengths in the Dubai World Cup-G1.

“I never get tired of watching that race,” Casner said of the video he keeps on his iPhone.

Today, Well Armed enjoys retirement and peppermints as the most renowned horse at Rafter C. “He’s a mint addict and expects his ‘tribute’ when you go by his stall,” Casner said. “He gets turned out every day for three or four hours, and then he’s at the gate, ready to go back to his stall—he’s a city boy—so he can see his buddy Shorty through their mutual stall window. Two or three times a week he gets a ten-lap swim to keep him fit, and we sometimes ride him. He’s within ten pounds of his 1,275 running weight. He loves his routine.”

Well Armed suffered a life-threatening injury as a twoyear-old and was put through a swimming program (above) as part of his rehabilitation

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VETERINARY

Beyond x-rays In the old days, when a racehorse had a problem, the stable veterinarian would do a routine lameness examination and then take x-rays of anything suspicious. Today, veterinarians have a variety of sophisticated diagnostic devices that can reveal issues in detail. The modalities commonly used today are digital x-ray, ultrasound, thermography, scintigraphy, and sometimes magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Each procedure is better for some injuries and less effective for others. Another device, the Lameness Locator, offers to take the guesswork out of a lameness examination.

WORDS: DeniSe SteffanuS PHOtOS: neW BOltOn CenteR, DR. tRaCY tuRneR DVM, MS

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Digital x-rays

Digital x-ray is the most widely used innovation in veterinary diagnostics in recent years. Similar to the increased capabilities of digital photography over film, digital x-ray enables veterinarians to manipulate the images via computer to enlarge, sharpen, and lighten areas that are difficult to read, which reduces the likelihood of missing subtle changes that may not have been discernible on film x-rays. Sophisticated software can help the veterinarian interpret the data more accurately.

The recumbent MRI at the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center uses a low-field magnet to produce high-resolution images of limbs from the foot to the hock or knee

One of the first veterinarians to use digital x-ray was Kent Allen, DVM, longtime team veterinarian for the United States Equestrian Federation and founder of Virginia Equine Imaging near Middleburg.

“On digital radiography, we were able to magnify an image [of a horse’s joint] and find old, collapsed bone cysts that had partially filled back in, but they had left the subchondral bone beneath the joint damaged,” he said. “That horse is going to have problems down the road; it’s just a matter of time. We couldn’t have seen that

with conventional radiography.”

Ultrasound

Ultrasound uses high-frequency sound waves to generate a computer image of the underlying structures. The device is used principally to identify the cause of heat or filling associated with soft-tissue problems, such as tendon and ligament injuries. It also can be used to locate abscess pockets and to identify drainage tracts from infection or foreign objects.

Johanna Reimer, VMD, formerly of Rood

& Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington and one of the industry’s most respected equine sonographers, has developed a unique use for ultrasound to find bone spikes that irritate and may even damage the knee.

“Young horses can develop small spikes on the back of the radius just above the knee that can dig into the carpal (knee) sheath and cause irritation, including small tears in the deep flexor tendon or superior check ligament,” she said. “Such horses will have persistent or recurring filling in the carpal sheath, which may look externally like a high ISSUE 38 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM

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VETERINARY bow. These small spikes can be difficult to detect on radiographs, but an experienced sonographer may be able to find them with ultrasound.”

Although x-rays are best for diagnosing joint swelling caused by bone chips, arthritis, and osteochondritis dissecans (OCD), Reimer suggested using ultrasound if x-rays are negative. She added that often ultrasound and x-rays can be used together to provide a more complete picture of the problem.

Ultrasound is helpful to determine if joint fluid is clear or cloudy, which indicates bleeding or infection, or to characterize thickening of the joint membrane.

“If there is swelling around a joint, ultrasound is helpful to check the collateral ligaments and any other soft tissue structures,” Reimer said.

Ultrasonography is also used at regular intervals after an injury to monitor the healing process and tailor a specially designed rehabilitation program based on the individual horse’s progress. In fact, leading researchers advocate regular ultrasounds to detect subtle changes in tendons and ligaments before serious injury occurs.

Thermography

Thermography is noninvasive and requires no sedation. Obtaining a thermal image is as simple as taking a photo

Differences in skin temperature display as variations of the color spectrum. Typically, thermography is able to reveal a problem two weeks before clinical signs appear 52

Thermography records the skin temperature and presents a pictorial representation of the surface of the horse. Although images measure only skin temperature, they also reflect alterations in circulation of deeper tissues. Unusually hot or cold areas may be indicative of some underlying pathology. This ability to noninvasively assess inflammation makes thermography an ideal imaging tool to aid in the diagnosis of certain lameness conditions, such as those affecting the upper hind limb, back, and neck.

Tracy Turner, DVM, MS, a boardcertified surgeon at Anoka Equine Veterinary Services in Elk River, Minnesota, did the first racetrack study of thermography in 1998 at Canterbury Park in Minnesota and Ellis Park in Kentucky when he was a researcher at the University of Minnesota.

He said trainers initially were skeptical that an image of the skin temperature of the horse could reveal deeper problems. But as veterinarians looked more closely at the areas flagged by Turner’s thermal images and found underlying problems that no one knew existed, trainers became more convinced of thermography’s validity as a diagnostic tool. Typically, thermography is able to reveal a problem two weeks before clinical signs appear.

Turner and his colleagues found that some stables seemed to have more of a particular problem, such as sore tendons or inflamed joints, than other issues. They concluded that the injuries might be related to the trainer’s management practices and/ or training style. So they made suggestions on how the trainer could avoid such injuries, and most trainers took their advice.

TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 38

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VETERINARY “I have a 90% predictive value whether a horse has active back issues and excellent correlation in finding [problem] stifles,” Turner said. “We can find muscle strains and muscle damage, which I think for a trainer is good because if the racehorse hurts its hind end, it’s going to be up on its front end. A lot of those horses at Canterbury with forelimb and especially tendon issues had concurrent hind end issues that nobody was aware of. My hypothesis is that getting off the back end was creating the issues they were seeing up front.”

Turner said the ideal use of thermography is to take images of the horse every week to watch for changes. If the budget doesn’t allow for that, it can be done every two weeks. But even a single session, coupled with a veterinary examination, may provide the trainer with invaluable information. A single session typically costs $200/horse for

Typical DiagnosTic Tools Procedure Digital x-ray Scintigraphy (Bone scan) Ultrasonography Thermography

Lameness Locator

Purpose Shows cracks, fractures, or other abnormalities in bone Detects abnormal bone-remodeling activity or diminished blood flow to an area of bone Reveals soft-tissue abnormalities, such as damage to tendons, ligaments, muscles, and connective tissue Presents a pictorial representation of the skin-surface temperature of the horse to indicate alterations in circulation in deeper tissues Uses motion sensors placed on the horse’s body to determine which leg is lame

“

We got a horse in that the trainer said had a shin, and I ended up using the thermography camera and found a lot of heat in the knee. I x-rayed the knee and found a chip Natanya Nieman

”

about 25 images, and an ongoing weekly program costs about $100/horse per session.

Natanya Nieman, DVM, the resident veterinarian at WinStar Farm in Versailles, Kentucky, has been using thermography since 2005. When WinStar had fewer horses in training, she followed its two-year-olds weekly with thermography as a preventive.

With around 100 horses now in training on the farm, she uses the camera only to help diagnose lameness and to monitor horses through the rehabilitation process.

“We use it to look at a horse to see a hot foot or a hot splint or a hot knee and be able to find it quickly without having to go through all the steps it would otherwise take to get there,” she said. “We got a horse in that the trainer said had a shin, and I ended up using the thermography camera and found a lot of heat in the knee. I x-rayed the knee and found a chip. Had we not looked at it with thermography, we would have just assumed the lameness was due to the shin.”

Turner said it is important that the thermographer be properly trained in equine thermography and certified.

Nieman cautioned that some of the many certification programs offered are inadequate, so horsemen should investigate 54

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Before-and-after ultrasound images show a torn suspensory ligament branch and the healed suspensory ligament. The darker spot on the left image shows the tear

a thermographer’s background before enlisting him or her. Turner and Nieman said it is best to hire a veterinarian with thermography training.

Scintigraphy

Scintigraphy, or a bone scan, enables the veterinarian to detect areas of heightened bone activity or decreased blood flow to portions of a bone. A radioactive isotope that attaches to molecules in the blood is injected intravenously into the horse and allowed to distribute throughout its body. Then the radiologist takes images of the horse with a special nuclear camera. A concentration of isotope in the bone – a red area or “hot spot” – indicates increased bone activity; a reduced amount of isotope in the bone – a black area, or “cold spot” – shows bone deterioration.

A bone scan is an invaluable diagnostic tool when a horse “just isn’t right” but its trainer and veterinarian can’t identify anything specific. In these cases, the horse’s problem may be a collection of ailments that a full-body scan can reveal.

In 2004, Smarty Jones was denied the Triple Crown by a one-length loss to longshot Birdstone. Trainer John Servis noticed the horse wasn’t moving as smoothly

as he had in other races, so he turned him out for a month after the hard campaign.

“When I brought him back to the track, he seemed like he was on eggshells,” Servis recalled. “He was very uncomfortable all over. We couldn’t really pinpoint it – no filling anywhere, no heat anywhere, the x-rays and everything were clean. So I finally ended up sending him for scintigraphy.”

Smarty Jones was diagnosed with bone bruising at the bottom of all four cannon bones, and owners Roy and Patricia Chapman decided to retire him.

Scintigraphy is considered the gold standard for detecting bone bruising.

Among many horses whose bone scans revealed inflammation in the fetlock at the bottom of their cannon bones are 2013 Belmont Stakes-G1 winner Palace Malice and 2014 Beverly D. Stakes-G1 winner Euro Charline.

Michael Ross, DVM, a board-certified surgeon and professor of surgery at the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center, is considered an expert in scintigraphy, having performed an estimated 10,000 bone scans on horses since 1993.

He said a horse that isn’t moving right, isn’t racing well, or is “off” at high speed is a good candidate for scintigraphy.

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VETERINARY MRI impractical as a screening tool. Other modalities should be used first to localize the lameness.

“If you can definitively locate the lameness, I think the MRI is appropriate,” said Stephen Soule, VMD, of Palm Beach Equine Medical Centers in Florida, who also uses MRI and scintigraphy to diagnose lameness. “But if you can’t definitively identify it, you use the bone scan to see what and how many things light up. That’s the differential.

“Where the workup gets more complicated is that, more often than not, horses are lame in multiple places,” he said.

When the veterinarian is absolutely sure of the origin of the horse’s problem, MRI is a good tool to investigate further, especially if a joint is involved. Exploratory arthroscopic surgery requires general anesthesia, which always is a risk, along with exposing the joint to possible infection. Standing MRI is noninvasive and requires only sedation. It is especially valuable for imaging feet because other modalities have difficulty “seeing” inside the hoof capsule.

Bones and bruising – when to use scintigraphy over MRI

For scintigraphy, a horse is injected with a radioactive isotope to produce an image that depicts areas of increased bone activity as a red area or “hot spot” and decreased blood flow as a black area or “cold spot.” A whole-body scintigraphy scan can detect multiple areas of concern

“Scintigraphy gives you a much better way of looking at the entire horse in a cost-effective manner, but also gives you functional information,” he said.

A whole-body scintigraphy scan costs $1,000 to $1,500 – about the same as a complete set of x-rays.

MRI

MRI uses the body’s natural magnetic properties to produce detailed images of tissue. Each pulse of the magnetic field elicits a unique response from individual tissues, based on density and water content, and captures a “slice” of the structure being imaged. It then transmits the data to a computer that interprets the sequence of slices to produce an image.

MRI only can be used to image the legs below the knees and hocks; recumbent MRI units can image the head. Horses with screws, plates, and other metal devices used to fix fractures are not candidates for MRI, and clinicians must be careful to 56

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remove the horse’s shoes without leaving shards of nails.

The high soft-tissue contrast makes MRI ideal for diagnosing diseases of joint cartilage, membranes, ligaments, tendons, joint capsules, and bone marrow.

A few veterinarians claim they can detect impending stress fractures with MRI. Sarah Powell, VetMB, who specializes in large-animal veterinary diagnostic imaging and surgery at Rossdales Equine Hospital & Diagnostic Centre in Newmarket, England, is considered the leader in using the standing MRI to detect subtle changes in the fetlock that may lead to catastrophic breakdown. She has published two papers on the subject, in 2011 and 2014, and has amassed followers, mostly in England, of her work.

MRI is expensive. To perform a scan on one specific site typically is about $2,000.

If the veterinarian is suspicious of more than one site, each additional site will incur an additional charge. This makes

Ross said success in diagnosing subtle lesions depends on the expertise of the person reading the scans – MRI or scintigraphy – and if they are putting together clinical signs with what they see on the scans to come up with a diagnosis.

“I would contend that scintigraphy is more sensitive [than MRI],” he said.

On an MRI scan, an area of increased bone density (sclerosis) shows as a dark area; a light area appears where the bone is thin or deteriorated.

Regarding bone bruising, Ross said, “Unless the horse is about ready to break its condyles (bottom end of the cannon bone), I would contend that you might not know with MRI if the pain is coming from that area or if it’s particularly active. So I think scintigraphy is more sensitive. It may not give you the pretty picture and complete understanding as does MRI, but it certainly is a very good way of screening the horse for this particular problem and showing whether it’s active at the time you do the scan.”

Ross said the term “bone bruising” needs clarification.

“If you whack a bone with a hammer, that would be a bone bruise,” he said. “The good thing about bone bruising is that it heals with rest.

“The term ‘bone bruise’ doesn’t aptly describe what we’re seeing in these horses, because if you rest the horse, they do get better. But then you put them right back into the same type of work, training under the same conditions, and the same thing recurs.

“One of the reasons that I don’t think MRI is better than scintigraphy at making this diagnosis is because if you just randomly

DIAGNOSTIC TOOLS go out and do an MRI on any Thoroughbred racehorse, you’re going to find areas of low signal intensity (increased bone density).”

He gave as an example the changes that occur to the shin. This front portion of the cannon bone increases in bone density in response to forces placed on it during training. The bottom end of the cannon bone, the condyles, also increases in bone density.

“So if you do an MRI, you see that sclerosis,” Ross said. “Unless it gets to the point where the bone is almost broken or it is broken, it’s hard to determine a normal horse from an abnormal horse. Whereas, a bone scan will help you immediately, because one is active and one isn’t.”

Within these dark areas of increased bone density, the MRI may show small, light areas where the bone has begun to deteriorate.

“We oftentimes think of those horses as being at the risk of fracturing,” Ross said.

“Whether or not all condylar fractures occur as a result of this same process, we don’t know, but we do realize that sclerosis is hugely important.”

Lameness Locator

In 2011, researchers at the University of Missouri developed the Lameness Locator, a controversial hand-held device to analyze the gait at a trot using motion sensors placed at strategic points on the horse’s body. Wireless technology transmits the sensor information to a laptop computer, which interprets the data collected by

“

Armed with this information from the Lameness Locator, the veterinarian can refine the diagnosis with other modalities, such as radiographs, ultrasound images, diagnostic nerve blocks, and hoof testers.

Kevin G. Keegan, DVM, MS, who developed the Lameness Locator, said the device will not place a neophyte fresh out of veterinary school on the same level as a skilled veterinarian.

“The veterinarians who are getting the most out of this device are the ones who have a lot of experience. It basically gives the practitioner more information upon which to base a decision,” he said.

“We do not use it,” said Rood & Riddle chief of surgery Larry Bramlage, DVM, MS. “The main reason is that it can locate, with a lot of effort, one lame limb. Racehorses are rarely lame in only one limb. They usually have multiple limb lamenesses, often the same site in both front or both hind, etc.”

I would contend that scintigraphy is more sensitive than MRI Michael Ross

”

comparing it to results in its database from healthy horses and horses with a specific, identified lameness. The Lameness Locator then produces a report of its findings.

Choosing a diagnostic

The value of a diagnostic tool is based on the expertise of the person wielding it.

Diagnostics must be used in conjunction with a thorough physical examination performed by a skilled and knowledgeable veterinarian.

Horsemen can rely on their stable veterinarians to recommend the best possible way to diagnose lameness, but the trainer who understands the capabilities – and drawbacks – of each device will be ahead of the game. n

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RACING

THE YOUNG GUNS

Four trainers starting out from different routes – all hoping for a career that will last a lifetime

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YOUNG TRAINERS

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RACING

Four young trainers – one from California, one from New York, one from Oklahoma and one raised in Florida – traveled starkly different routes to arrive at the same obstacle: getting started. All have cleared that hurdle and are just beginning to build the foundations of a career they hope will last their entire lives.

WORDS: BILL HELLER PHOTOS: DOmInIquE EngEL, CynDI CROSSLanD, FRanCES J KaROn, Jay mORan

O

NE’S career changed when he saw a movie and read a book; one endured a horrible, public breakdown of one of her horses; one had a former career as a jockey; and one won a stakes with a first-time starter – while still in college.

Serendipitously, two of them entered a horse in the same race at Saratoga, a maiden $40,000 claimer for New York-breds on Thursday, August 27. Michael Wilson saddled Apache Warrior, who went off at 9-2 and finished second. Abigail Adsit had Wrought, who finished off the board at 27-1.

Both Wilson and Adsit, who graduated from college before becoming trainers, won races at Saratoga with other horses, an accomplishment in itself. Wilson finished the meet one-for-five. Adsit was three-for-27. Of the two trainers, Wilson was an easy winner of “who came the farthest.” He migrated from Northern California. Adsit was born and raised right in Saratoga Springs.

Wilson, now 30, is a fascinating study. Born and raised in Davis, California, the son of an equine veterinarian, he showed no interest in

Michael Wilson learned how to read horse behavior from Monty Roberts’ horse whispering books

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horseracing through high school. Swimming was his passion, and he became an AllAmerican hoping to qualify for the Olympic trials. A shoulder injury not only derailed his dreams but also freed up his schedule more than he wanted. “I didn’t have anything to do,” he said. “I was training five hours a day.

One of my friends in swimming told me that there was a horse farm in town looking for someone to help lift hay bales. That got me introduced to horses. I had been around horses with my dad, but I had never worked with them. I was scared of them when I was younger.”

Boy did that change.

When he was 18, his dad dragged him to see “Seabiscuit” and that, as well as his farm experience, fueled a re-evaluation of horseracing, enhanced when he read Monty Roberts’ “The Man Who Listens to Horses.”

Wilson said, “I figured out how to read a horse’s behavior and tried to learn what makes them tick. What is he thinking?”

Wilson enrolled at Loyola-Marymount, 20 minutes from Hollywood Park, where he took a job as a hotwalker for Martin Jones. Then he transferred to the University of California, Davis, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Equine Animal Science.

Along the way, he changed the attitudes of a few of his fellow

students and especially one horse whom he saved from being euthanized.

“Not too many people get to look inside a barn,” Wilson said. “At Cal-Davis, people told me that the sport of horseracing is barbaric.” Instead of arguing with them, he took action. “I took five people with me,” he said. “We jumped in a car and went to Santa Anita, a six-hour drive. I took them on the backstretch. They met people. We showed them the backside and the horses.

They were amazed how much bedding they put in stalls. They were blown away by the quality of the care the horses were getting, how many people look over the horses: the trainer, the foreman, the groom, and the assistant trainer. You typically get four people to look at one horse. If there’s a problem, you get a fifth: the vet.”

Back at the Cal-Davis horse barn, a rogue stallion was having fits. “They were thinking of putting him down because he savaged people,” Wilson said. “They were misreading his behavior. He was more territorial in a playful way.”

Reading a book about horse whispering is one thing; putting your life on the line takes it to a whole new level. Wilson decided to test the stallion. “I walked into his paddock holding a halter,” Wilson said. “I stood there and looked him in the eye and said, ‘Let’s see if you’re for real.’ I was close to the fence if I had to jump. He ran at me. At the last second, he veered off. He didn’t savage me.

I hit him right over his hindquarter with the leather portion of the shank. He ran back around the paddock. He came back at me the second time. I stood there again.

He veered off. I hit him again. He just stopped. He stood there and looked at me. He realized he couldn’t play his game with me. I put his halter on him. He was fine. He just needed to know he wasn’t in charge. We became good friends.

I worked with him for six months.

I’d lunge him every day. He got dappled out.

Some of the girls rode him. He turned out to be a great horse to be around. He needed someone to bond

YOUNG TRAINERS

“

One of my friends in swimming told me that there was a horse farm in town looking for someone to help lift hay bales. That got me introduced to horses

Michael Wilson

”

with him.”

Asked why he didn’t run away when he was being charged, Wilson said, “I wasn’t really scared of him. Back then, I probably wasn’t smart enough to know I should have been scared. I’ve had animals all my life. My dad told me I took too many risks.”

Wilson, who had volunteered at zoos and considered becoming a zoologist, decided instead to become a Thoroughbred trainer.

He worked as an assistant for Richard Mandella, Doug O’Neill, and Bob Baffert and graduated from the prestigious Darley Flying Start Program in 2011.

Trainer Kenny McPeek gave him a job at Saratoga that summer, then gave him a string of horses to take to Payson Park in Florida.

It was there that Wilson got an offer to train privately and he abruptly took it, remaining on the East Coast. In 2012, he claimed a fouryear-old filly, Tanglewood Tale, for $20,000 from trainer Dale Romans at Saratoga. She posted two seconds, two thirds, two fourths, and a sixth before winning two in a row at Saratoga in 2013, a $35,000 claimer and a $50,000 starter allowance. Then she won an allowance/optional claimer at Belmont Park before finishing fifth in a Grade 2 stakes at Keeneland and being retired to become a broodmare.

Last year, he came to Saratoga with 20 horses and didn’t win a race. “All the horses ran well,” he said. “We had two seconds and a third. I decided in 2015 I was going to bring a small amount.”

He brought five and won a $73,000, 5½-furlong maiden grass race for twoyear-olds with 21-1 Chinchilla Dust by a nose under Junior Alvarado on August 20.

Chinchilla Dust made her next start in the Natalma Stakes at Woodbine on September 12, finishing out of the money.

Wilson, who said he added “maybe one client” from Facebook, hopes to have 35-40 horses someday. “I want them in one place so I can see them every day,” he said. He has six in training now. His goal is to win a Breeders’ Cup race. Asked if he enjoys training, he said, “I love the horses. The ups and downs can be difficult.”

Abigail Adsit knows. Wow, does she know.

Now 28, her first winner’s circle picture came when she was four days old, thanks to her dad, Eric, who trained a large stable of harness horses and is now his daughter’s

Former All American swimmer Wilson is hands-on with his horses

assistant trainer. Her mom, Jean, brought her to the track right out of the hospital.

Later, her parents kept her bassinet in the barn. “I knew I wanted to train horses when I was two years old,” Adsit said. “I grew up training horses with my dad. I galloped horses. I played polo when I was eight, nine, 10 years old. I was a hunter jumper and did barrel races.”

Yet she attended Union College in nearby Schenectady, living on campus and majoring in English. “My mom always stressed academics in my life,” she said. “It’s important. I realized I couldn’t give up an opportunity. I went for the whole experience.

It gave me time to develop socially as a person. You don’t have time to develop as a

person at a racetrack.”

She joined a sorority. “It was wonderful,” she said. “I met girls I wouldn’t have met from other parts of the country. I got to meet all sorts of people. It was a great time. I had a regular college life. I graduated in 2009. I had a job lined up to gallop horses the next day. I knew I was going to train horses.”

Adsit galloped horses for Rick Violette and Todd Pletcher. She learned that Linda Rice not only needed a rider, but an assistant trainer as well, in 2009. She went to Belmont for an interview with Rice. “I was scared, scared, scared,” Adsit said. “It was a daunting experience, but I was always confident around horses. I learned so much from my dad at the barns: feed, feet, legs, soundness.

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RACING Abigail Adsit with three-year-old filly Scamper

When you’re in that environment, it becomes second nature.”

Rice said, “I took a chance on her because of her background. She grew up around horses. That was her biggest asset.”

Rice never regretted taking that chance: “She was ambitious and a hard worker.”

Adsit cherishes the three years she worked for Rice. “We worked together fabulously,” Adsit said. “We won two Aqueduct titles and tied Todd (Pletcher) at Belmont. I learned so much from her. We wound up being good friends. I worked very, very hard for Linda.

I gave her my life. I treated those horses like they were mine.”

By the fall of 2012, Adsit knew she was ready to train her own horses. “A good friend said, ‘You work so hard for someone else, why don’t you train on your own?’”

Adsit said. “It resonated in my mind. I said, ‘You’re right. I’ve got to try this.’ I didn’t want to be an assistant trainer my whole life.

I took a leap of faith.”

So did Jeffrey Kallenberg, who races under Kallenberg Farms. “He was a good friend,” Adsit said. “He wound up investing with me. I claimed a horse named Giant Indian for $35,000, and I won my first race with him, a starter allowance on April 5th, 2013, at Aqueduct. The very next day, I won my second race at Parx with Miss Mexique for another owner. Kallenberg Farm gave me money to go to a sale. I purchased Lavender Road for $95,000 and Naughty Matilda for $65,000 at OBS in April, 2013. Naughty Matilda never really panned out. She won at 62

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a minor track and got claimed.”

Lavender Road was training extremely well for her first race, and it wasn’t a secret.

Sent off the 3-2 favorite in her debut in a New York-bred maiden race on July 31, 2013, at Saratoga, she showed early speed, was steadied, then tired to seventh.

She had suffered an ankle injury which required surgery. She didn’t return to the races until February, 2014. After three poor performances on dirt, Adsit switched her to turf. She finished seventh in her grass debut.

Adsit dropped her to a maiden $40,000 claimer and she won by a length-and-a-half at Belmont on June 26. Then she shipped to Saratoga.

In the seventh race on July 30th--a hot, humid afternoon at Saratoga--jockey Junior Alvarado sensed that Lavender Road wasn’t right as she prepared to go into the starting

“

A good friend said, ‘You work so hard for someone else, why don’t you train on your own?’ It resonated in my mind. I said, ‘You’re right. I’ve got to try this

Abigail Adsit

”

gate. He got off and she was unsaddled and scratched. After the race, she was walking to the gap on the track to return to her barn when she collapsed in full view of the crowd.

She was immediately treated with water and ice. After a few minutes, she rose to her feet only to collapse again. Over the next 45 minutes, racing was put on hold as Lavender Road got on her feet countless times only to collapse every time.

In one of those instances, she hit the rail and broke a vertebrae up near her head. She was sedated and vanned to the nearby Rood & Riddle Clinic. After a difficult evening, she was euthanized. Rice, who wasn’t at the track, sympathized: “It’s tough enough when it’s quick and fast.”

Fourteen months later, Adsit said, “It was devastating. These animals become like kids. I spend more time with them than I do with my family. It was warm. It was a freak occurrence. She ended up heat stroking. This horrible, tragic event happened. She had won her prior race. The highest of highs and the lowest of lows with a month. You cope with it. It’s always in your heart.”

The 2015 Saratoga meet was much kinder to Adsit. She entered three horses on August 31st: Ave’s Halo finished third in the first race; Congenial was third in the eighth; and in the 10th, Macher won a maiden $40,000 claimer by 5¾ lengths. At odds of 45-1.

A win and a pair of thirds in three races at Saratoga in one afternoon is a nice entry on a resume. “You know,” Adsit said before taking a long pause. “It’s so fulfilling, rewarding.

YOUNG TRAINERS

“

My passion has turned into a seven-day job. I’ve never woken up ever thinking I was going to work.

I don’t ever see it like that.

This is what I love to do

Scott Young, right

”

It’s fantastic. I’m at a loss for words. If people only knew how much I put into it, how much my team puts in. It’s a lot. Coming back and checking water; all the paperwork, all of it.

It’s a full-time thing. It’s a lifestyle. I wasn’t able to go to my best friend’s engagement party. My friends understand. It’s nothing personal. But you know where you can find me. There’s no better feeling in the world than winning.”

She’s doing a lot of that this year, having won 28 races from 177 starts, for a healthy winning percentage of 16. She says her biggest obstacle now is “creating an identity, not being dubbed as a claiming trainer.”

Adsit has 35 horses and would love to triple that in the next five years. Rice doesn’t doubt that she will, saying, “She’s a hard worker.

She’s young and ambitious and bright. I see

Scott Young with Captain Genius at Oaklawn Park

have been on them ever since,” he said. “I galloped a horse for my grandfather when I was nine. I did kid’s rodeo. That was fun.

I loved it. I just wanted to go fast on these horses.”

Young’s grandfather, Roy Huffman, was a

no reason why she can’t get everything she wants.”

Thirty-year-old Scott Young, born and raised in a small town in Oklahoma, wanted to become a jockey. And he did. “I got on a horse when I was two-years-old and

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RACING

Liam Benson trains horses while still attending the University of Louisville

trainer. “Mainly cheap horses,” Young said.

“My parents weren’t involved in it. I wasn’t raised at the track. I had a normal childhood.

I went to the track on the weekends.”

Unfortunately, Young’s body didn’t adhere to his wishes. He grew to 5’10”. “I always struggled to make weight,” he said. “It was the greatest job in the world, the thrill of winning. I was lucky enough to ride for eight years. I was able to walk away from being a jockey on my own terms. I always knew in the back of my mind that I would make the change. It came to a point where I had a couple opportunities to train a couple horses, so it was a pretty easy decision to make.”

As a fledgling trainer in 2012, Young won with his third starter at Will Rogers Downs, which is now Cherokee Casino Will Rogers Downs. “One of the first two horses I had, Okie Tuff, ended up making around $140,000,” Young said. “I lost him once for $35,000, got him back for $10,000, and lost him for $20,000. We did really well.” He treasures Okie Tuff’s first victory for him, on March 12, 2012, the horse’s first start in 10 months. “It was a big relief,” he said. “I had so much pressure on myself to get a good 64

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start. My horse came back off a knee injury, and this was his first race back.”

Overall, Okie Tuff made 15 starts for Young, posting four wins, three seconds ,and five thirds.

“Accumulating quality horses was my problem at first,” Young said. “I had lowend horses.”

Then Clark Brewster, who now has horses with Steve Asmussen, helped Young get going. “Clark sent me horses, then things

“

He is irrepressible, but there’s no big ego. He reminds me of Graham Motion. There are a lot of similarities. No braggadocio there

”

Tim Capps on Liam Benson

took off,” Young said. “He sent me three or four usable horses. A prominent owner took a shot with a young trainer that hadn’t been training very long.”

Young is up to stable of 36 horses, racing at Will Rogers Downs and Remington Park in Oklahoma. “The competition obviously isn’t the quality of horses back East, but like anywhere, there are a lot of good trainers in Oklahoma,” he said. “It’s very competitive here. Will Rogers is easier than Remington Park. Remington has upped its game.

They’ve lured in nice horses. It’s hard to find the right spots.”

Young still gallops his own horses. “Before, when I had 15 horses, I galloped every one of them,” he said. “I felt it has been an advantage. I still get on eight, maybe 10 in the morning. I do like riding horses. I’m very fortunate I can make a living with horses.”

He’s got an ally in his wife, Chastity.

“She helps around the barn, keeps things running,” he said. “It’s valuable. We make a pretty good team together.”

Asked where he’d like to be in five years, Young said, “I want to be the leading trainer at Remington Park, to have a circuit that I can cut out: Oaklawn, Prairie Meadows, Remington, and keep a string at Will Rogers.”

He’s enjoying the journey. “My passion has turned into a seven-day job,” he said.

“I’ve never woken up ever thinking I was going to work. I don’t ever see it like that.

This is what I love to do.”

Ten years younger than Young, Liam D. Benson is kind of doing what he loves to do.

He’s training three horses, all owned by his parents, while he’s attending college at the University of Louisville. He was training six horses in the summer before he conceded to the reality that classes in Louisville’s Equine Industry Program might take up a considerable chunk of his time.

Asked how he doesn’t think about horses while in class, he said, “Obviously, it’s on my mind all the time. I have a phone with me. I have one guy there helping me out.”

Actually, he’s got a lot of help from his parents and from Tim Capps, the former publisher of Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred who was wise enough to eschew journalism and become a college professor and the director of the Louisville program.

“I keep teasing Liam that he’s got the qualities of a bloodstock agent,” Capp said.

Benson’s parents changed the course of their son’s life when they abandoned a 20year bar business in New Jersey to move to Florida when Benson was nine. After staying in Orlando for one year, they moved to Ocala and bought a 110-acre cattle and horse farm which includes a half-mile training track and an equine swimming pool that was converted from a pond. They did, however, maintain a condo in New Jersey, which allows them to race their horses at Monmouth Park every summer.

After working extensively on the farm growing up, Benson, as a freshman at Louisville, applied for an internship in 2013 at Del Mar. When he didn’t hear back, he

YOUNG TRAINERS wondered if he could get a trainer’s license and race a couple of his parents’ horses that summer.

“He came to me as a freshman and asked if he could get a trainer’s license,” Capps said.

“He was 18.”

Capps told him to go for it. “He had to pass the trainer’s test,” Capp said. “He goes to Monmouth. They give him stalls. He earned his spurs. He’s got a never-say-die attitude.

He’s a sponge. He absorbs everything.”

Capps said Benson reminded him of someone: “He’s got the work ethic that is going to make him successful. He has been an excellent student, is the president of our racing and riding club, has a heavy academic load, and is respected by other people.

He is irrepressible, but there’s no big ego.

He reminds me of Graham Motion. I met Graham when he was an assistant for Bernie Bond in Maryland. You could just tell he was going to be good. There are a lot of

similarities. No braggadocio there.”

This August, Benson was presented a great reason for braggadocio. When a maiden race didn’t fill for his dad’s two-year-old first-time starter Expected Ruler, Benson entered him in the $60,000 Tyro Stakes at Monmouth.

“He was working so good on dirt,” Benson said. “I said, ‘The hell with it, throw him in the stakes.’ The favorite beat one of my other horses by four or five lengths. I knew [Expected Ruler] had more talent than my other horse. I knew he wouldn’t embarrass me.”

Instead, he dove inside horses in the stretch and won by 2½ lengths under Wilmer Garcia at long odds. “I lost it,” Benson said. “I was going crazy. There were probably 20 or 30 of us there, a bunch of family and friends. We were all going crazy. He was 47-1.”

Then the inquiry light went on, though none of the horses’ numbers on the toteboard were flashing. That didn’t ease Benson’s sick

feeling as the length of the inquiry reached 6½ minutes. Then the announcer said the race was official. “The stewards told me three or four days later that they weren’t looking at me, but at the horse in second,” Benson said. Benson had his first stakes winner and the seventh win of his career. “This was a foal I pulled out with my dad,” he said. “It was pretty cool.”

Expected Ruler’s next start wasn’t. Garcia got Expected Ruler into an early speed duel in the Grade 3 Iroquois Stakes at Churchill Downs on September 12 and he never had a chance.

“There’s nothing like horses to keep you grounded,” Benson said.

He said his biggest obstacle now is “getting people to take me seriously.”

Asked where he wants to be in five years, Benson said, “Doing exactly what I’m doing now, but on a larger scale. A barn full. Who doesn’t want to be Todd Pletcher?” ■

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DIRT v TURF

FROM DIRT to TURF A long-held belief is that conformation and pedigree can predict whether a horse will excel on dirt or turf. Certain characteristics have long been associated with turf horses – big flat feet, angular hind legs, and a way of going that makes them seemingly glide across the grass. Dirt horses are thought to have smaller concave feet, powerful muscles, and higher action.

Is it a myth that a keen horseman can tell on which surface a yearling will excel, based only on pedigree and conformation?

WORDS: DeniSe SteffanuS PHOtOS: HORSePHOtOS, SHutteRStOCK

T

OP bloodstock agent J.B. McKathan is part of a team of advisers to Ahmed Zayat that recognized the potential of Zayat’s homebred American Pharoah before the horse ever looked through a bridle. J.B. and his brother Kevin broke and trained the son of Pioneerof the Nile at their McKathan Brothers Training Center in Citra, Florida, before handing him off to Racing Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, who honed the colt and sent him on his legendary romp down the Triple Crown trail to become the world’s most celebrated racehorse.

The McKathan brothers also boast a long list of successful sale picks, beginning with two near misses for the Triple Crown – Silver Charm in 1997 and Real Quiet, a $17,000 yearling purchase, in 1998. This year, their star selection, two-year-old filly Acapulco, won the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot.

J.B. McKathan thinks such a thing as a

turf foot exists, but he said the only way to make an educated prediction that a horse will excel on a particular surface is to watch its action over that surface.

At their training center, the McKathans have a dirt track and a seven-acre turf gallop, which enables them to try horses over both surfaces.

“You’ll see some horses that kind of struggle on the dirt and don’t work as good, and then when you take them out there on the turf, their whole action will change, and it’s really obvious,” he said. “You can watch it and just see a horse light up out there.”

During a recent trip to Ireland, McKathan viewed stallions at Coolmore and the Aga Khan’s Gilltown Stud.

“They’re just beautiful, everything that you’d want – huge hindquarters, strong gaskin, really good hind legs, just a beautiful shoulder and neck set,” he said. “They look very similar to an American dirt horse, but they’re bred for the turf and they run on the turf.”

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RACING Donato denied reports that he made the switch based on John Henry’s turf foot.

He said it is not the size and shape of the foot, but rather the angle of the pastern that makes the difference, an observation now backed by science.

In 2013, researchers at the Macau Jockey Club in China and Australia’s University of Melbourne looked at how hoof conformation in Macaubased Thoroughbreds impacted their performance. Lower pastern-hoof angle was associated with better performance on the turf, while it had no impact on dirt performance.

Besides conformation, McKathan pointed out that dirt horses must be stronger than turf horses.

“Dirt is very taxing,” McKathan said.

“You walk out on Del Mar or onto the track at Saratoga, and you wonder how a horse can run on it. It’s deep and tiring. Your classic American dirt horse is a very tough, gritty horse. They have this fight in them.

“Turf horses tend to take it easy with early fractions and then quicken at the end, which has to be easier than having someone run at you at the beginning and then come running at you again at the end like dirt horses do here.”

John Henry was transformed as a racehorse once he began racing on grass

John Henry

John Henry is possibly the best horse ever to set foot on American grass. He earned four Eclipse awards as champion turf male (1980, ’81, ’83, and ’84). No other horse – male or female – has garnered more than two. But John Henry didn’t start out on grass. His first 16 starts were on dirt, and other than a win in the Lafayette Futurity at Evangeline Downs in Louisiana as a twoyear-old, the results were lackluster and included a “DNF” – did not finish.

Soon after Bobby Donato took over as trainer for owner Sam Rubin, he recognized

the cantankerous gelding’s potential as a turf horse. On June 1, 1978, he entered John Henry in a claiming race on Belmont Park’s turf course, and the future Hall of Fame member buried his rivals by 14 lengths. The rest, as they say, is history.

“There’s really no special way to pick out a grass horse,” Donato said. “You try them on it, you work them on it, and if they have nice action, smooth action, and work better on the grass, then you put them on the grass. John Henry reached out beautifully and did everything very handily. He had a beautiful stride on the grass.”

Action, not conformation

Laura de Seroux, who trained 2002 Horse of the Year Azeri and worked with her husband, Emmanuel, in selecting horses for their Narvick International bloodstock agency, doesn’t believe conformation plays a crucial role. The action is what counts, she said.

“Horses that have a low, sweeping action commonly known as ‘daisy cutters’ are more inclined to excel on the turf. Horses that have a rounder, higher action, where they sort of grasp the surface as they gallop rather than skim across it, are more likely to be dirt horses.

“When you’re at a yearling sale, all you have access to regarding action is a walk,”

“

J.B. McKathan, right, with Bob Baffert, white shirt, and Ahmed Zayat at the Keeneland Sales

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Turf horses tend to take it easy with early fractions and then quicken at the end, which has to be easier than having someone run at you at the beginning and then come running at you again at the end like dirt horses do here

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RACING He believes turf pedigree breeds truer, generation after generation. McKathan cited Coolmore stallions Danehill, his son Danehill Dancer, and Danehill Dancer’s son Mastercraftsman as examples.

Renowned pedigree expert John Sparkman said, in his opinion, the degree by which a pedigree dictates turf or dirt is somewhat overblown. He reminded horsemen that all American racehorses descend from great European turf runners.

“In the post-World War II era, for example, the great five-time leading American sire Nasrullah, sire of Bold Ruler, Nashua, Never Bend, etc., was a champion English two-year-old of strictly turf parentage,” he said. “Northern Dancer’s sire, Nearctic, by Nasrullah’s sire Nearco, out of Lady Angela, by the great English sire Hyperion, was imported in utero.

“It is true that, at that time, opportunities to run on turf in America were much more restricted, so the progeny of Nasrullah, Royal Charger, and others had to run on dirt more often than not, and run they did. That has changed, so the opportunity of specialization is now much greater, and trainers take advantage of that.”

Trainer Bill Mott believed Cigar’s conformation made him a better horse on dirt

she said. “At a two-year-old sale you have more tools because you get to see more of their action on the track, and it’s less of a guessing game.”

Mick Peterson Jr., PhD, executive director of the Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory at the University of Maine, is the horse industry’s surface guru. Peterson has developed instruments to analyze and test different surfaces, and he has been enlisted by industry committees that investigate ways to make racing safer.

Peterson explained the mechanics of how a hoof reacts to grass and to dirt. He said a horse’s hoof tends to penetrate turf less than it does dirt, and this would account for the different action needed to negotiate each surface.

“If you look at the turf after they’re done, the hoofprints are quite shallow,” he said.

“All they do is penetrate through the root system … But on a dirt surface, typically the hoof will go in all the way up to the coronet band. The horse actually has to lift the foot back up out of the surface and put it down in, so that’s the higher action that they’re referring to.”

Peterson added that the horse’s hoof slides less on turf than it does on dirt, and that the same mechanics of the racing surface that keep the hoof from penetrating down in also keep it from sliding.

Pedigree

Pedigree is the most important factor in what surface a horse prefers, our experts said. European horses are bred for turf; generally, American horses are bred for dirt because the United States is one of the few countries whose classic races are run on dirt.

“Turf breeding is probably one of the truest breeding there is,” McKathan said. “If you have a horse that’s by a predominantly turf sire and the dam’s side is turf, you can run them on the dirt and they might do well, but you run them on the turf and they just explode.”

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Defying Pedigree

“

Horses that have a low, sweeping action commonly known as ‘daisy cutters’ are more inclined to excel on the turf. Horses that have a rounder, higher action, where they sort of grasp the surface as they gallop rather than skim across it, are more likely to be dirt horses Laura de Seroux

”

McKathan said when considering pedigree, exceptions to the rule exist.

Two-time Horse of the Year Cigar broke his maiden by 2¼ lengths in a frontrunning escapade on the dirt. But owner Allen Paulson and trainer Alex Hassinger Jr. chose to switch him to turf because Cigar had a strong turf pedigree. His sire, Palace Music, was a group-stakes winner in Europe before coming to America to win the John Henry Handicap-G1 and Bay Meadows Handicap-G2 and finish second in the 1986 Breeders’ Cup Mile-G1 – all on turf. Cigar’s dam, Solar Slew, was a daughter of dirt champion Seattle Slew but had three generations of Argentinian stock, originally imported from Europe, on her distaff side.

After switching from dirt, Cigar made his next 11 starts on grass, with disappointing results. The last four of those starts were for Cigar’s new trainer, Bill Mott.

“Every time we ran him [on grass], he ran a little worse and a little worse,” Mott said.

“So only through the process of elimination did we run him on the dirt.”

Mott also felt that Cigar’s conformation really didn’t scream turf.

“There are some horses that have certain conformation that you say, ‘My gosh, the only place they’re going to run is on the grass.’ You would never have said that about Cigar,” he said. “Interestingly enough, Cigar didn’t necessarily have a turf foot on him, he had more of a dirt foot. Looking at his hindquarters, you wouldn’t really be able to say one way or another. He had a decent hind end, not weak. Sometimes horses with a little weaker hind leg tend to be able to get along much better on the grass. It usually takes a much stronger hind end – a stronger

FROM DIRT TO TURF

A two-time Horse of the Year, Wise Dan won 15 out of 16 races on grass, five out of eight on sythethic tracks and three out of seven on dirt

hip and a stronger hindquarter – to run on the dirt.”

On dirt, Cigar won 16 consecutive starts and 12 grade-one stakes, including the 1995 Breeders’ Cup Classic and the 1996 Dubai World Cup. He retired in 1996 as racing’s all-time leading money winner ($9,999,815), and secured spots for himself and Mott in the Racing Hall of Fame.

And then there’s Wise Dan. McKathan, who did not break the gelding, calls him a freak.

“Breeding and the blood, it matters, it’s important. But then there’s the freak that just comes from nowhere and runs off the TV screen, and you can’t catch him, you can’t beat him,” he said.

The two-time Horse of the Year is by Wiseman’s Ferry, who stood for $8,500 in 2006 when the stallion’s co-owner Morton Fink bred him to Lisa Danielle, a mare Fink had purchased for a bargain-basement $29,000 as a yearling. In 2012, when Wise Dan captured his first Horse of the Year accolade, Wiseman’s Ferry commanded a stud fee of just $3,500.

Wise Dan excelled over any surface, winning 23 of 31 starts, with the majority of his wins over grass (15 out of 16). He also won five of eight starts on synthetic, and three of seven starts on dirt. Wise Dan won the 2012 Ben Ali Stakes-G3 at Keeneland by 10½ lengths in track-record time of 1:46.63 for nine furlongs, earning a 117 Beyer Speed Figure. On dirt at Churchill Downs, the chestnut gelding won the 2011 Clark Handicap-G1 and was second in the 2012 Stephen Foster Handicap-G1.

“I think really good horses can run over any surface, whether it be turf, dirt, synthetic, soft turf, hard turf, sloppy tracks, fast tracks. Wise Dan has run over every one

of them,” said trainer Charlie LoPresti of his recently retired superstar.

Limited opportunities for turf horses

Racing secretaries in the United States struggle to fill dirt races, but turf races fill immediately, often with horses spilling over onto the also-eligible list. With American owners primarily breeding for dirt, one would expect the opposite to be true.

Del Mar’s racing secretary David Jerkens said two factors contribute: fewer turf races, and the inability of trainers to test horses on the grass other than by racing them over it, unless they are top contenders.

According to Jockey Club statistics, 34,222 dirt races and 6,059 turf races were run in the continental U.S. and Canada in 2014, giving horses more opportunities to race on dirt. There were also 4,358 races over synthetic surfaces in that timespan.

“When you’re writing a [condition] book and you have three grass races, you pretty much count on those grass races filling,” said Jerkens, who grew up in a racing family as grandson of the late H. Allen Jerkens.

“Some levels are harder to fill, especially

TURF MARES & DIRT STALLIONS In a 1994 study, researchers at Iowa State University and Kyoto University in Japan compiled statistics on how different sexes performed over dirt and turf. They found mares were faster on turf at all distances, while stallions were faster on dirt except at 1200 meters (about six furlongs), which was dominated by mares. The researchers did not theorize why.

distance races. I think we ran a mile-and-ahalf stakes on the dirt and we attracted five.”

Crossovers from turf to dirt are rarities, even with the predominance of dirt breeding in America. So racing secretaries have a difficult time convincing trainers to switch those turf race also-eligibles to dirt.

“If I have a grass race, for example, and it overfills, then I would say [to trainers], ‘Well, here’s a dirt race.’ They would say, ‘Look, this horse might be a $40,000 claimer on the turf, but on dirt it isn’t even a $5,000 claimer,’” Jerkens said. “More dirt horses seem to handle the grass than grass horses handle the dirt … But there are some that do run well on both surfaces. I would say it’s harder for us, if we’re looking to fill a race, we could probably get a dirt horse to try to grass a little bit more than we can have a turf horse run on the dirt.”

Sparkman agreed.

“I do believe that once a horse is accustomed to turf, it is difficult to switch them to dirt,” he said. “In my experience you can often get away with it once, but after that, the turf horse wants no more of it. Dirt to turf does not appear to be as difficult.”

Jerkens said the most requests for special races and extras he gets from trainers are for turf races, especially sprints on the turf.

He suspects this to be the reason racing secretaries have increased the number of race categories run on turf. He added that owners also show more interest in turf races, perhaps because they are more exciting, with horses running more tightly grouped, which often results in a photo finish.

The difficulties of maintaining a turf course also must be considered. Running several grass races on each card tears up the turf. Further, if a racetrack were to allow horses to train and work on the turf course, maintaining a safe and functional surface would be almost impossible. That is why only elite turf horses preparing for graded stakes are typically the only ones permitted to train on turf courses.

“There really aren’t as many turf races written, and there are a lot of people waiting to try their horses on the turf,” McKathan said. “So I think you get the combination of the definite turf horses and the people that are wanting to try their dirt horses that maybe aren’t performing up to their expectations on the dirt. So you get an extra boost of entries that way.”

McKathan added, “In the United States, there’s no room for a mediocre turf horse. I don’t think that the turf courses here could take it. It has to be a good turf horse or you have no opportunities. It’s not like you can have a $50,000 claimer or a $25,000 claimer and pay the bills.

“The way we race over here, we spend so much time in one place, and the turf courses just can’t handle it. That’s kind of problematic with American turf racing. You either have to have a very high-class turf horse or you’re in trouble because you have nowhere to run.” n ISSUE 38 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM

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CaRb CONUNdRUm Cereals, which are a major source of starch, have been part of racing diets for decades. The staple racing feed in ‘the good old days’ was oats and bran, which powered many famous racehorses home.

Some would say that tradition is a poor excuse to hamper progress, especially if health and welfare are concerned. High starch rations continue to be in the spotlight as they have been implicated in many commonly occurring health issues such as gastric ulcers, tying up, laminitis, colic, and other digestive disturbances. However, starch has in the past been equally regarded as essential for horses in training to adequately replenish important muscle and liver glycogen stores and to allow a plentiful supply of glucose to the brain. Starch has also been thought to be critical for giving racehorses that competitive edge or ‘will to win.’ Practically, in my experience there are racehorses that race and win on either high, moderate, or low starch diets, so which is preferable? Let’s look at the evidence.

WORDS: DR. CATHERINE DUNNETT BSC, PHD, R.NUTR PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK, FIONA BOYD

Oat starch is more digestible than starch from other uncooked cereals

Starch is a polymer of glucose with both straight chains (amylose) and branched structures (amylopectin). The nature of starch in different feed ingredients varies according to the proportion of each type and also on the degree of secondary folding in the structure. Horses produce the enzymes necessary to break down a variety of starch types in the small intestine, but some are more easily digested than others in their natural state. For example, oat starch is very much more digestible in the small intestine than barley or maize starch fed without processing.

Cooking a cereal grain helps to unfold and gelatinize the starch making it more digestible, as does grinding to a certain extent, although other mechanical treatments such as clipping or rolling are much less effective.

Starch is an efficient source of glucose, which helps to maintain the concentration in blood and also provides the building blocks to replenish muscle and liver glycogen (the storage form of glucose). Glucose is released relatively quickly from starch, as long as it is predominantly digested in the small intestine. We must also, however, appreciate that glycogen can be replenished from the fiber part of a ration. Fiber is fermented in the hindgut to produce volatile fatty acids including acetic acid, butyric acid, and propionic acid, the latter of which supports 72

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glycogen re-synthesis. The ratio of propionic acid to other volatile fatty acids is increased when more concentrate feed is fed, and this probably reflects a greater delivery of starch to the hindgut, which is not necessarily desirable. The type of forage fed may also effect the production of propionic acid.

Horses have a slow rate of glycogen re-synthesis

When compared to human athletes, Thoroughbred horses have an unusually high concentration of muscle glycogen

but have a contrastingly slow rate of re-synthesis. Early studies showed that horses fed a typical high starch racing diet (35-40% starch) required three days to return muscle glycogen concentration to baseline levels following hard work.

However, more recent work suggests that the composition of the diet has little effect on the rate of glycogen re-synthesis and that providing an adequate period of time between the last sessions of hard work and racing is important.

CaRb CONUNdRUm

“

Early studies showed that horses fed a high starch racing diet required three days to return muscle glycogen concentration to baseline levels following hard work

�

Concerns regarding muscle glycogen concentration in horses fed low to moderate starch diets with good forage are probably unfounded if an adequate period of time for re-synthesis is allowed. This is because the overall content of starch, simple sugars, and even some amino acids from protein will all contribute to maintenance of muscle glycogen.

rate of glycogen use during intense exercise that is characteristic of flat racing is high, duration of exercise is relatively short and so total use of glycogen is limited. Studies have reported a 25-35% reduction in total muscle glycogen in Thoroughbreds or Standardbreds racing over 1500 – 2000 meters. Certainly over shorter races, glycogen depletion is unlikely to be critical compared to other factors such as muscle acidosis originating from the accumulation of hydrogen ions from dissociated lactic acid. muscle acidosis contributes to fatigue through inhibition of both the mechanics and biochemistry of muscle contraction.

Normal blood glucose concentration is also needed for optimum delivery of glucose to the brain, its preferred fuel. The body has a number of tightly regulated homeostatic mechanisms to ensure that blood glucose is maintained within tight limits. There is no evidence that blood glucose is compromised when the level of starch in the diet is reduced, as other components such as sugars, amino acids, and volatile fatty acids are able to support vital glucose homeostasis.

There is always, however, the intangible benefit of cereal starch that leads trainers young and old to top up the level of oats or other high-starch feed in the days or weeks preceding a race in the belief that it just may give them an edge. Certainly anecdotally some horses can be more exuberant on a highstarch ration and may

exhibit higher resting heart rate, although more work is needed to establish whether or not this is a valid practice.

How low is low in terms of starch?

Classification of the starch content of the diet is rather arbitrary to date, but in my view a starch content of 30% or higher can be considered to be high. Straight cereals such as oats, barley, or maize (corn) fit into this category, as would coarse mixes, muesli, or cubes with a high-percentage cereal content. Palatability and appetite is often an issue in horses, particularly fillies, in hard work, and studies have suggested that horses prefer a sweeter feed with a higher starch content, although I suspect that this may depend on what feed type they are accustomed to. also with picky eaters, one should always suspect gastric ulcers and this should be investigated and treated as necessary through a vet. Gastric ulcers are more prevalent in horses fed highstarch diets in combination with inadequate forage. Small, frequent meals are likely to be less problematic as food is mixed more effectively in the stomach with digestive juices and there may be less opportunity for localized fermentation.

Moderated starch may be healthier?

a diet that is high in non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) is also cited as a risk factor for tying up or recurrent exertional rhabdomyolysis in susceptible horses, although the exact mechanism of its involvement is not totally clear. Excitability or stress precipitated by diet in combination with management practices and environment can increase the risk of tying up; how this occurs is unclear. Certainly horses with a history of tying up can often be managed more successfully when they are not overfed and are offered a low starch diet that relies to a greater extent on alternative fuel sources, including digestible fiber and oil.

Perhaps the greatest concern with a highstarch ration is that of hindgut acidosis, which can precipitate Illustration of the relationship between speed and rate of glycogen use

How relevant is glycogen depletion to fatigue?

another question that needs to be addressed is the relevance of muscle glycogen for racing performance. For an elite endurance horse, muscle glycogen depletion, especially in individual muscle fibers, is very likely during longer and faster races. but is glycogen depletion a significant contributory factor to fatigue in racing over distances ranging from 400 meters to four miles? While the ISSUE 38 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM

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NUTRITION

We have the technology

episodes of colic, chronic inflammation or colitis, loose droppings, and laminitis in some instances. Horses have a finite ability to digest starch in the small intestine, and a proportion will almost always reach the hindgut. This will depend on an individual’s capacity for starch digestion in the small intestine, together with the starch load per meal and the transit time of feed through the stomach and small intestine. Hindgut acidosis can arise when a large proportion of starch reaches that area, where it can be rapidly fermented, changing the pH of the hindgut environment, microbial balance, and potentially permeability of the mucosa to undesirable substances.

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“

Low-starch feeds utilise high-fiber ingredients with good digestibility, such as sugar beet shreds and soya husk

”

The feed industry’s increasing use of cooked cereals improves starch digestion in the small intestine. In some countries amylaseor amylopectin-digesting enzymes can be added to feed to improve its digestion still further. The impact of a high-starch diet on the hindgut can be reduced dramatically by careful choice of ingredients, either oats or cooked cereals. meals should be kept small, typically less than 4½ pounds (approximately), and spaced out evenly through the day and evening. In addition, plenty of forage will offer some protection by reducing the impact of escaped starch on hindgut microflora, and live yeasts (Saccaromyces Cerevisiae) have been repeatedly shown to ameliorate the negative impact of starch on the hindgut.

I regard racing feeds with a starch content of 15% or lower as being ‘low starch’ and suitable for those horses with a particular dietary-related issue linked to starch intake. Low-starch feeds utilize high-fiber ingredients with good digestibility, such as sugar beet shreds and soya husk, and combine them with oilseeds such as soya, linseed, rice bran, and sometimes cereal biproducts such as oatfeed.

There are also many feeds with a more moderate starch content (15-30%), which will limit starch intake and can be used successfully to reduce the starch load per meal when meal sizes are small. Feeds containing a moderate level of starch can be more palatable for horses in full training than the very low-starch alternatives. n

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Proper weight distribution Increased blood flow Increased comfort Use with any open heel shoe

RAZERHORSE.COM | 1-855-95-RAZER ISSUE 38 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM

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RACING

COMMENT

Protect a state’s horse heritage: Save the horseracing industry in Texas Texans take great pride in what defines us as a state. For the last 56 years, the horseracing industry and horse training have defined my life. They are my livelihood and my passion. At the age of 14, I began my journey as a trainer in the horse industry. It is a career that has afforded me great opportunities and hope for continued prosperity in a business that I love.

WORDS: LeWiS R. “TOOTeR” JORDan PHOTO: SPeeDHORSe

W

E are at a pivotal moment in the Texas horse business, and action must be taken to protect an industry that is critically important to our heritage.

Texas horseracing is in a slow decline.

Trainers find it hard to compete with neighboring states, including New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana, which offer casinos, bigger crowds and larger purses. Horse owners and breeders are going out of state, leaving Texas trainers with fewer opportunities for work. Today, the very existence of Texas horseracing is being threatened.

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In an effort to stay competitive—in a state that has historically disapproved of casinos and video lottery terminals at tracks—the Texas Racing Commission introduced Historical Racing Terminals, which allow players to bet on replays of horse races that have already been run. This would be just the lifeline our struggling industry needs.

Unfortunately, elected officials in Texas are so strongly opposed to Historical Racing Terminals that Senate leaders dragged their feet on including the Texas Racing Commission in the proposed state budget this year. Although a line item was finally inserted at the eleventh hour, the Legislative Budget Board (LBB)—made up of 10 legislative leaders—now must officially approve approximately $750,000 of the

commission’s budget. The LBB has until November 30, 2015, to do so.

If this funding is not approved, the Texas Racing Commission will no longer be able to pay its employees or its rent, and therefore, it will cease to exist. If the organization closes, horse tracks in Texas would also close. Without horse tracks in Texas I will be forced to put my training operation on the market. I will do whatever I can to save the only business I have ever known.

This would be a tremendous loss not just for me and other trainers, but to our great state as well. In addition to losing a piece of our heritage, we would lose the remarkable economic benefit that horseracing provides for Texas.

The uncertainty of funding for the Texas

TEXAS

Racing Commission has caused a lot of stress on trainers and has even pushed some of my fellow trainers out of the business altogether.

Texas trainers simply cannot keep up and are losing their top employees to surrounding states where they offer higher wages.

Even with the challenges we’ve faced, the horseracing industry and horsemen in Texas have persevered. Retama Park, Sam Houston Race Park, Lone Star Park at Grand Prairie and the Gillespie County Fairgrounds are open today.

Texas tracks have hosted some of the top quarter horse events in the nation. And Texas is at the top of the game for breeding Quarter Horse racehorses. Three of the American Quarter Horse Association’s 2014 champions were Texas-bred, and of

the top 20 current AQHA sires in terms of 2015 earnings, four are standing in Texas.

This is a legacy we cannot afford to lose.

Texas trainers and Texans have a lot to be proud of, and we have a lot to fight for.

If you want to preserve Texas horseracing like I do, please consider contacting your state Representative or Senator or a member of the Legislative Budget Board.

Respectfully request that the board approve funding for the Texas Racing Commission and look ahead to the 2017 Legislative Session for long-term solutions to preserving horseracing in Texas.

Horse trainers, breeders, ranchers, racetrack owners, horseracing enthusiasts, and citizens across Texas are depending on them. n

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Horse owners and breeders are going out of state, leaving Texas trainers with fewer opportunities for work.

Today, the very existence of Texas horseracing is being threatened

”

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PROFILE

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From racing FAN to racing SECRETARY

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PROFILE

RICK HAMMERLE Santa Anita Vice President of Racing and Racing Secretary Rick Hammerle is first and foremost a racing fan – who has one of the most demanding jobs in racing.

T

WORDS: ED GOLDEN PHOTOS: HORSEPHOTOS

O paraphrase Abraham Lincoln, you can please all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot please all the people all the

time.

It wasn’t the Gettysburg Address, but

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Lincoln hit the trifecta with that one. Such a goal, albeit unachievable, is what a racing secretary faces for a meet of any duration, be it seven days or 70. His is a thankless job.

He is Switzerland with a condition book.

He must ingratiate himself to racing’s overlords while treating the masses with malice towards none. He must placate one

and all, favorites and longshots alike.

He is at once judge, jury, and executioner, hearing all pleas from the defense before rendering a final verdict.

Some days, filling the races is tougher than nailing an inside straight on the river. There are times when a racing secretary reluctantly calls with ace high. There are others when he

RICK HAMMERLE goes all in with a full house.

It depends on several crucial factors that vary largely on nature’s whim: horse population, track conditions, weather, health of the Thoroughbred, willingness of owners and trainers to run in a certain race, networking, loyalty, honesty, and good oldfashioned relationships.

Such is the welcome fate of Rick Hammerle, Vice President of Racing and Racing Secretary at Santa Anita Park.

“You’re not going to please everybody all the time, but what I learned right off the bat in this business is to be fair to everyone, no matter how many horses an owner or trainer might have,” Hammerle said. “When you make a promise, you keep it and get it done.

But you can’t be afraid to make mistakes, either, because you’re going to make them along the way.

“You just have to be honest with people.

I find when a trainer or owner comes in to argue a point, I’ll listen, and if they’re right, I tell them flat out, ‘You know, you’re right.’

It’s tough, but I think they respect that.

“You can’t fake what we do in the racing

Always in demand at the racecourse, Rick Hammerle in typical pose – on the phone

department. If we don’t do our job, then there’s no racing the next day. We have to put out an overnight with horses on it to keep the ball rolling.

“We can’t fabricate what we do. We can’t just say that we did it and go home, so there’s a lot of pressure in that sense. I’ve had the pleasure working with a lot of good people through the years and learned something from every person I’ve worked with.

“There are those who do some things better than you do, on a personal level and otherwise. Some restaurants are better than others and some businesses are run better than others. There’s always a better way to do something. I’ve worked at several tracks and picked up both good and bad ideas that we’ve used to either improve or eliminate from our operation.”

Solitary confinement is not one of them, unless you’re putting out weights for the Santa Anita Handicap. Then, a bit of privacy is required. The racing office does not become a Sanctuary City.

Otherwise, any day entries are being taken, the racing office resonates with a cacophony of speech akin to the Tower of Babel, mostly from jockey agents putting a horse in a race on behalf of a trainer or waiting for the draw.

Picture the Three Stooges and the Marx Brothers directed by Professor Irwin Corey.

But that doesn’t deter the unflappable Hammerle. “The door to my office is always open,” he said. “In fact, I have two doors and they’re both always open. I welcome anybody any time to come in and question why we did something. Most of the time, I have an answer. But as a racing secretary, we have a long-range plan. So something we did early in the meet may not seem right at the time, but the reason we did it was to make something better down the road.

“There’s pressure every day, and there’s a saying, ‘Never let them see you sweat,’ but many days we do a little sweating, and I relish being under the gun. I enjoy our big days, when we run the Santa Anita Handicap and the Santa Anita Derby. We might sacrifice a program a week or two before those days come along, but when it’s our turn to shine, I think we put on a pretty good show.”

Hammerle, a youthful and energetic 57, has been with the Los Angeles Turf Club for 15 years and has worked in racing since attending the University of Arizona in 1986.

He also is a member of the Breeders’ Cup Selection Committee and the Graded Stakes Committee. He began as a racing official at Golden Gate Fields and has held senior positions at Monmouth Park, Meadowlands, Gulfstream Park, and Del Mar. His interests include music, books, travel, and sports. He bleeds Pittsburgh Steeler black and gold and inhales the fumes when a NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) event is on TV. He resides with his wife, Gina, and their 16-year-old daughter, an aspiring dancer, Lindsay, in Chatsworth, where 60 years ago orange trees lined streets in the San Fernando Valley town 35 miles west of Santa Anita.

“My family is from Pittsburgh, and anyone who has been with me when I watch a Steelers game can tell you I do go a little nuts, because I’m a Steeler fan all the way,” Hammerle confessed. “NASCAR falls under the guise of racing, and I’m a fan of all kinds of racing. If a sport has the word ‘racing’ in it, I’m a fan.

“I love big events, whether it’s sports or music. I really enjoy the challenge of formulating the show on Breeders’ Cup weekend, which I’ve done at Santa Anita six times now. We’re glad to have the break this year (when the Breeders’ Cup will be run at Keeneland), but we’re looking forward to doing it again next year (when Santa Anita will host the Breeders’ Cup for an unprecedented ninth time).”

Hammerle wasn’t the only one in his class at Arizona who would go on to bigger and better things.

“Martin Panza, Todd Pletcher, Mike Harlow, and (the late) Luke Kruytbosch (the popular race caller at Churchill Downs who died suddenly on July 13, 2008, at the age of 47) were at Arizona when I was there,”

“

As a trainer, you always appreciate a racing secretary who adheres to the condition book so that you can reliably point for races, and Rick consistently does a great job of that

”

Todd Pletcher Hammerle said. “We were college buddies and never thought in a million years that eventually, years later, we’d be comparing stories about our days in school to where we are in the business today. It’s kind of neat, when you look back.”

Pletcher, 48, a seven-time Eclipse Award winner as the nation’s outstanding trainer, is not surprised at Hammerle’s success.

“Like any top racing secretary, Rick has a good feel for the horses that he has on the grounds,” Pletcher said. “He has a good vision of how to write a condition book.

“As a trainer, you always appreciate a racing secretary who adheres to the condition book so that you can reliably point for races, and Rick consistently does a great job of that.”

Asked if he recalled any collegiate hijinks with Hammerle during their days at Arizona, Pletcher chuckled and said, “We weren’t necessarily focused on having fun and that sort of thing.

“You’re trying to learn as much as you can, while also having a good time. But basically, you’re trying to do well enough to put yourself in a position where you can prove ISSUE 38 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM

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PROFILE yourself and continue moving forward, and I think we’ve done that.”

The condition book is racing’s bible.

The racing department publishes it about every two weeks. It offers stipulations for upcoming races, including age and sex of the horse, distances of the races, surfaces, such as dirt and turf, and other more intricate prerequisites which any trainer or agent worth his salt is able to recognize a furlong away.

“Producing a condition book is like trying to put together eight-to-10 poker games a day,” Hammerle said. “When you play poker in Las Vegas, participants seek their own level of competition, and in theory at least, that’s how we try to put races together, where participants are equally matched.

“When I play poker, I play with guys at my skill level, not against champions. The challenge of putting together a condition book is trying to come up with a competitive card 120 times a year, but more importantly, on the eight-to-10 big days at Santa Anita, when the racing world is focused on us, we need to shine and put our best foot forward.

“It’s vital to maintain an open network and cooperation with agents and trainers to receive current information on the horses, and I use that to put out condition books that list what races are available. That’s imperative, and it works out.”

Hammerle was not born into racing. His access to the game is not uncommon, having gained interest through a family member, in this case his father, Richard.

“One day I was mowing lawns with a friend and decided to take a ride to Hollywood Park with my friend’s older

“

The horsemen in California realized we’re all on the same side and needed to get together and do what’s right for racing, not just for one facet, but overall

”

brother,” Hammerle related. “When I got to the track, I was fascinated that you could give a guy money, he’d give you a little ticket, and if you won, you’d give the guy the ticket back and he’d give you more money. Secretly, I was thrilled. I liked the gambling part of it, but I was just fascinated.

“This is kind of wild. My dad would go to the races a few times a year, and he would always say to me, ‘Give me some numbers.’

I was maybe six or seven, and didn’t even know what that meant, but I thought when he went to the track, he rode the horses. I had no concept of what transpired.”

(Forgive him if that sounds naïve and innocent. When I was a kid, I thought Pearl Harbor was a woman).

Continued Hammerle: “I remember getting to the track and going, ‘Now wait a minute. This isn’t the image I had in mind,’ because I would see the sports page once in awhile and I’d see Bill Shoemaker on a horse, so I just figured my dad was going there to ride, too, until later when I learned what it was all about.

“But anyway, it just clicked with me, and I started sneaking away and going to Santa Anita or Hollywood Park or taking the train to Del Mar just to absorb as much information as possible. I’d pore over the (Daily) Racing Form, and learned as much as I could about handicapping.

“My first real job was at Golden Gate Fields in Northern

Rick Hammerle in conversation with starter Jay Slender (left)

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California. I was lucky enough to work for one of the best racing guys ever, Bob Umphrey. I slid right in under him and we just hit it off. I was a sponge and he was the most knowledgeable, fun guy to be around at the track, and I remember thinking, ‘Wow! This is okay.’

“I had gone back to the University of Arizona in my mid-20s, so when I started at Golden Gate, I was 26. Bob was a great teacher and immediately started showing me the game. I learned quickly that not only was it about horseracing, but people, and you had to relate to them.

“Everybody who came to Bob got a fair shake. If he promised you something, he did it, and that’s always stuck with me. Always keep your ears open, because you learn something in this game every day. Never think you know it all, but I swear, I think he did know it all.

“I spent two seasons at Golden Gate at a time when it rocked. It really was an extension of Southern California. We had big fields and many of the horses would come from the south for stakes. It was really great.

“One day, Bob could tell I wasn’t a fly-bynight guy and I was really into it. He said, ‘Listen. If you want to learn something, you’ve got to go to the East Coast.’ I said okay, and he picked up the phone, dialed Bob Kulina at Monmouth Park, and told him he was going to send him a guy this summer.

“Before I went to work there, I took a mini-trip to Monmouth to familiarize myself with the surroundings and introduce myself to people and get to know a few of them. I kind of eased into the job. That was in 1989 and it started what was probably the best 12 years of my life.

“I got married, had a kid, bought a house, and learned the game. Believe me, you

RICK HAMMERLE

earned your stripes at Monmouth Park.

“There were eight-to-10 of us in the racing office. Each one had a phone, a phone book, and an ashtray, and you sat and called trainers all day long until you filled the card.

Monmouth Park was rolling back then.

It was the second track in the East, right behind New York. We worked hard to put on the best card day in and day out.

“I can tell you, Bob Umphrey was right.

In my time there, I learned far more than I could have if I had stayed in one place.

“Umphrey was the first guy I worked for, and after he sent me to New Jersey, I was lucky enough to work with him at Gulfstream Park in the early ‘90s, when the short winter meet was the meet. That’s where I got a chance to meet trainers from New York and the Midwest.

“You had to really be on the ball, because the best of the best were there, trainers, jockeys, owners, fans, everyone. It was another spot along the way where you got to learn, so it was great.

“Speaking of keeping up with the Joneses, many, many years ago, before texting was big, we started HammerText at Santa Anita to alert trainers and media about entries and other racing information. We’re proud that we were in the forefront in that technology and figured out that one text was worth a thousand phone calls.

“We also started a website, OvernightsNow.com, about six years ago which provided historical information to help horsemen and included emailing them the overnights.

“We’re constantly trying to evolve and stay hip because the world’s changing and racing needs to step up and get involved in the more modern technologies.

“Another thing I learned from Bob was to hire the best people, not the worst. You can’t feel threatened. It’s not about you; it’s about putting together the best team you can, because you learn something from everybody every day. Everybody knows something you don’t, so surrounding yourself with the best people allows you to do a better job. It’s as simple as that.

“Some people in charge are afraid of their own shadow, that’s what it comes down to. They don’t have enough confidence. I want people who want my job,” Hammerle said, quickly adding with a smile, “Well, not today, but maybe 10 years down the road.

Seriously, you want people who are hungry and eager to learn, so I surround myself with the best people I can.

“There’s always turnover in the racing department, but fortunately through the years, we’ve had good people. Mike Harlow

“

There’s a picture of me in the 1993 Oak Tree media guide with the headline ‘FAN’ when I was at the 1986 Breeders’ Cup

”

was here when I first came, and I learned a lot from him. Luckily, I was able to bring in Mike Lakow, who has been Racing Director since March 2014.”

A Philadelphia native imported from the East Coast, where he served more than 10 years as Racing Secretary with NYRA, Lakow hits the backstretch daily, networking with horsemen.

“Rick is very intelligent and knowledgeable, and he understands the game,” said the 58-year-old Lakow (pronounced LAKEow). “Trainers appreciate him because he’s not too hard line, but he knows right from wrong, so there’s mutual respect.

“Rick has worked on both coasts, and that’s valuable. He understands the big picture and that’s what he focuses on. It’s a tremendous opportunity for me to work with Rick and to be in California.”

Noted Hammerle: “Lakow has been a big plus. Everyone who works with us does a great job. We’ve put together a great team.”

So it is not a one-man show. Like any good general, Hammerle counts on capable and dependable troops.

Hammerle is first and foremost a racing fan and has been for more than three decades. Born in Van Nuys in California’s San Fernando Valley in 1957, he celebrates his birthday on Santa Anita’s traditional opening day of the winter meet, December 26.

For the past 10 years, Hammerle also has been doing a PR stint to promote racing, offering information by way of his West Coast Report on “At the Races” hosted by ISSUE 38 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM

83

PROFILE

Hammerle with American Pharoah’s trainer Bob Baffert (left)

Steve Byk Friday mornings on Sirius/XM Radio.

“It’s a show that gives me a unique opportunity to talk about racing in an open forum,” Hammerle said, “and we get a lot of positive response.”

As to the future, “Hammer,” as he is called by friends and associates, sees the glass as half full, thanks to a major boost from American Pharoah, the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years.

“I was at my former stomping grounds at Monmouth Park to see American Pharoah win the Haskell Invitational in August and I met old friends, acquaintances, and horsemen,” Hammerle said. “It was a great homecoming. I took Gina and my daughter, who was born near Monmouth in Long Branch.

“I’m glad to have the support of my wife and daughter, because we’ve moved around the country many times, and they’ve been with me. We’ve lived in pretty good locations: San Francisco, the Jersey shore, South Florida, Del Mar, and now L.A. I couldn’t do it without them.

“It was exciting to be at Monmouth for the Haskell as a fan, because that’s how I started and that’s what I am now. There’s a picture of me in the 1993 Oak Tree media guide with the headline ‘FAN’ when I was at the 1986 Breeders’ Cup. And there’s picture in the Santa Anita media guide 25 years later showing me in the HBO series ‘Luck’ with Dustin Hoffman, so racing’s taken me a long way.

“I went from being a fan in shorts and a 84

TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 38

“

It was exciting to be at Monmouth for the Haskell as a fan, because that’s how I started and that’s what I am now

”

T shirt to becoming a racing official wearing a shirt and a tie standing next to Dustin Hoffman. It’s been a good journey.”

On the Friday morning before American Pharoah’s deflating defeat in the Travers by Keen Ice at Saratoga on August 29, some 15,000 people were on hand to watch the colt gallop. That’s a bigger crowd than some major tracks have on weekends.

“Anyone who says that this horse hasn’t helped horse racing is crazy,” Hammerle said.

“In my travels, when people found out I was in horseracing, they’d ask, ‘Have you seen American Pharoah? Have you seen American Pharoah?’ If you ask who won the Triple Crown, they’ll tell you: American Pharoah.

“So I think racing is on the way up. There’s no doubt about it, we may have hit bottom three or four years ago. We had to adjust to the foal crop that’s gone down tremendously in the last 25 years, and in California, we had to adjust our race days (with the closing of Hollywood Park in December of 2013 and later the end of racing at Fairplex Park in Pomona) and we settled on a four-day race

week, except for Del Mar, which runs five.

“But at Santa Anita, we race six months with a true four-day week. That’s where we are. We can put out good cards consistently four days a week. It took us a while to realize that, but I think we’ve put out a good product the last few years.

“I’ve worked at several outstanding tracks in my career, but on a day-to-day basis, Santa Anita is the best there is.

“The horsemen in California realized we’re all on the same side and needed to get together and do what’s right for racing, not just for one facet, but overall. That’s one reason I think we’re headed in the right direction.

“It has been said California is an island when it comes to racing, as opposed to the East Coast, and we are. We are geographically restricted. When you think about it, the next major race track to us is Churchill Downs, so in California, we need to work together to get things done.

“Racing has at least settled, and I’m very positive. I’m generally a positive person anyway, but you have to keep your head up in my job and avoid negative thinking. We all go through bad streaks, but I think racing is doing just fine thank you, I really do.”

That said, Hammerle manages to keep his priorities in order.

He is at once a fan, a proponent of the sport, and a significant cog in its massive wheel, all the while keeping in perspective that in the end, everything comes down to health, family, friends, and career.

The rest is mere minutiae. n

PRODUCT FOCUS

Can sports technology be applied to racing?

When Michael Dickinson recently announced his plans to return to training, he told The TDN that he planned on using “a lot of technology” as part of his set up.

But how should a trainer go about accessing which technology can be used in a training environment?

So, at Trainer Magazine we teamed up with J Lyons Marketing, a tech scout firm for many Fortune 500 companies.

A technology marketing company is a

specialist for finding advance technologies based on Fortune 500 company new technology roadmaps. Companies plan near term (1-2 years out) what features can be added to enhance a better product. Firms like Apple have over 100 technology scouts that search the world to evaluate new technology.

The same principle can be applied to sports to enhance a players performance by evaluating latest technology based on new

technology roadmaps.

So which technologies used in other sports that could be applied by horse racing? Whilst some technologies aren’t actually new to racing, it’s the way that they are applied that gives them the edge.

Put simply, the mobile phone was around for along time before Apple introduced the Iphone but it’s what can be added to the technology that takes it to the next level.

Regenerative therapy aids in development during training and repairs injuries The Miracle of Childbirth may not be new or different – but what if that miracle was recycled to become an all-natural, regenerative treatment for horses with wounds and leg injuries?

AniCell Biotech’s EquusCell captures miracle-laden mesenchymal stem cells from amniotic material during parturition and puts them back to work accelerating regeneration of tissue and bone in injured horses.

EquusCell Brand is different than any other regenerative therapy on the market, due to the significant regenerative effects of amniotic material with natural anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial and anti-adhesion properties. Their products include fetal amniotic stem cells (not adult) as well as collagens, proteins, carbohydrates, hyaluronic acid, laminin, fibronectin and other growth factors necessary for rebuilding extra cellular matrix tissues.

“The EquusCell product line can be used to treat suspensory lesions, superficial digital flexor tendon ruptures, stifle and hock inflammation and other orthopedic injuries. It can even be used as a preventative treatment in young horses to aid in development during training.” – Dr. Moises Fimbres-Barcelo, DVM. Amnion is immune privileged; it lacks cellular blood markers (type

2 MHC) that would typically cause rejection of this type of transplant. This allows for the treatment of injuries the same day in like species animals.

EquusCell is non-invasive – it does not require painful harvesting of bone marrow or fat or the risk of sedation or anesthetics.

Treatment with EquusCell does not require lab work, shipping of harvesting kits for fat or bone marrow samples or the resources to culture them and there is no need for multiple applications.

Brandon Ames, CEO of AniCell Biotech said: “Quite simply, we are in the recycling business, collecting the miracles of nature’s blessings that would otherwise end up on the ground.”

For further information please visit www.AniCellBiotech.com

J LYONS MARKETING A Technology Marketing company

Specializing in Finding Advance New Technology

A tech scout for Fortune 500 companies and professional sport teams Advancing sport science to the champion level

www.jlyonsmarketing.com | p: +1 610 687 2277 | e: johnlyons@jlyonsmarketing.com

ISSUE 38 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM

85

ADVERTORIAL

Thermal imaging in equestrian veterinary medicine Properly diagnosing injuries and ailments in horses can be a significant challenge for equine veterinarians, given the fact that symptoms often change and their patients can’t communicate.

As a result, acute problems can remain undiagnosed for long periods of time.

Although thermal imaging isn’t new to veterinary medicine, veterinarians and equestrian professionals are still just beginning to see it as a cost-effective way to practice preventive medicine, diagnose illnesses and injuries, and monitor the healing process. Regularly using thermal imaging can save substantial amounts of time and money, while providing an effective and humane way to evaluate horses. In fact, thermal imaging can detect subtle injuries long before there is visual evidence of swelling or lameness.

A thermal camera measures specific electromagnetic wavelengths produced when something emits heat. It then electronically converts this heat energy into a video image that displays differences in temperature using a wide range of colors. For example, warmer temperatures might appear as white or yellow and cooler temperatures as blue.

Thermal cameras don’t see through skin, or solid objects for that matter. They only measure surface temperature. However, differences in a horse’s skin temperature can quickly reveal changes in blood flow resulting from injury or illness. In a 2002 study at Cairo University, veterinarians successfully used a thermal camera from FLIR Systems, based in Portland, Ore., to

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TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 38

examine and monitor 45 racehorses presenting a range of ailments, including laminitis, tendonitis, thrush, bursitis, and soft tissue injuries. In one case, visual hot spots on screen indicated inflamed ligaments. In another, summer sore appeared as a massive area of orange on the neck and pectoral areas of a horse.

While thermal imaging compliments other diagnostic equipment, such as X-Ray machines or sonograms, it has quickly become a far more affordable and convenient tool by comparison.

Handheld thermal imagers, in particular, have seen a dramatic drop in price over the last few years. In 2013, FLIR introduced the E-Series, the company’s first handheld thermal camera priced under $1,000.

Soon after, FLIR released the FLIR ONE, a thermal and CMOS camera combination that fits like a case on the iPhone 5/5s and costs $349. Earlier this year, FLIR launched the second generation FLIR ONE, this time priced at $249 and available for both iOS and Android devices with a microUSB connector or lightning connector.

Now that equine professionals can easily turn their smartphones into thermal imagers, there is huge potential for thermal technology to play a more significant and regular role in the care and training of horses. From pre-purchase medical examinations to postrace screenings, thermal imaging can help keep horses healthy.

Veterinarians and trained thermographers will be able to help you get the best understand out of the images generated.

For further information please visit www.flir.com

PRODUCT FOCUS

Pony Up Technology launch VetCheq VetCheq® is a new product developed by PonyUp Technologies that is scheduled for release in late 2015. The technology used in this product is the first of its kind to enter the market. Using pulse decomposition analysis (PDA), a patented technology developed by Empirical Technologies for the US Military and other conventional human medical applications, VetCheq is soon to be available for equine use in the United States.

The human version, CareTaker® is currently part of the Navy’s critical care system. CareTaker will improve health care in three significant areas. It provides wireless “connected patient” hospital vital sign monitoring. It gives the remote, home care “telemedicine” market a reliable, accurate, and cost effective means of monitoring an aging or home-bound population.

And, it acts as a non-invasive, hemodynamic monitoring alternative to an invasive arterial line.

VetCheq uses this same patented technology in its advanced monitoring system to remotely and non-invasively monitor a horse’s health and conditioning from anywhere with internet access. The unit is fastened to one of the horse’s front legs in a wrap boot to provide remote, continuous, real-time monitoring of cardiac function including pulse and central blood pressure, along with respiration rate. Data is then transmitted to the VetCheq cloud application where it is formatted and available for access by any internet-enabled device.

The VetCheq units are rechargeable with a battery that provides 24 hours of continuous monitoring. The unit uses an ARM7 processor that is housed inside a light-weight, rugged, water resistant (IP67 certified) enclosure. A bladder inside the boot is placed directly over the radial artery where it continuously analyzes the pulse for trending changes in heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration. When an upward or downward trend is observed, an SMS or audio message is sent to the user.

Veterinarians will use VetCheq to replace their arterial catheters, to monitor horses in the ICU, and provide more accurate physiological data to their clients and colleagues.

VetCheq is the only device other than an arterial catheter that records central blood pressure. It provides all data normally seen on a catheter screen, and also allows collaboration. It then stores the data for further analysis and comparison with historical data.

It provides unparalleled benefits in an equine ICU by providing continuous monitoring, alerts and an interface to connected veterinary record keeping systems.

Trainers and competitors can easily monitor conditioning to see improvement over time. VetCheq will help manage medications by showing how effective they are, how long they last, and when re-dosing is required. VetCheq will show stress levels that occur during transport and events, as well as the length of time it takes to recover from athletic activity.

For the first time, an equine focused device, VetCheq, will provide the superior physiological data that is currently available in most human hospital wards.

For further information please visit www.ponyuptechnologies.com

ISSUE 33 – SUMMER 2014 $5.95

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NEXT ISSUE ADVERT BOOKING DEADLINE Call 1-888-218-4430 or visit anderson-co.com/nat for further details ISSUE 38 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM

87

PRODUCT FOCUS

Equilume™ Lighting the way in the global equine industry An exciting and innovative new product is seeing its third season of use across the Northern Hemisphere’s Thoroughbred racing and breeding industry this year. Equilume, an Irish-based company, has become the world leader in the research and development of light therapy solutions to assist the global horse industry maximise reproductive efficiency and performance.

The Equilume Light Mask is a breakthrough product developed from novel research conducted at University College Dublin in Ireland. It is an automated headpiece for horses that provides the optimum level of blue light to a single eye to successfully advance the breeding season, but with other important applications for trainers.

The universal birthday for Thoroughbreds of January 1st poses a number of significant problems for breeders, including difficulty ensuring mares are reproductively active early in the year, prolonged gestation lengths and lower than average foal birth weights.

The Equilume Light Mask has been scientifically shown to advance the reproductively active period of the mare as effectively as standard indoor lighting regimes.

An ideal application is for use on maiden mares in their final months of training to kick-start their reproductive activity before beginning a stud career. For pregnant mares, 90 days of extended daylength prior to foaling prevents prolonged gestations and increases average foal birth weights, preventing dysmaturity in early foals.

For maiden foaling mares, the use of Equilume light prior to foaling ensures post-foaling fertility and sufficient milk production post-foaling.

An additional application for the light treatment is to induce early shedding of the winter coat, a desirable consequence for many performance and sales animals. In fact, a recent scientific study conducted by the JRA revealed that an extended light regime early in the year increases muscle mass and training response in Thoroughbreds.

STABLE AND TRACK EQUIPMENT

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The mask itself fits comfortably under the halter and provides low intensity blue light to the horse’s right eye. It is completely labor free and once activated at 4pm between Nov 15th and Dec 1st, will come on automatically each day at dusk and stay lighting until 11pm. Rigorous testing of the durability and reliability of the light mask were conducted across three continents during the mask’s development and the company guarantees the performance of the unit during the season.

Sales of the Equilume Light mask attained record numbers this year in Australia as more and more breeders availed of this flexible breeding solution.

Equilume hopes to expand across the US in the 2015/16 breeding season.

For further information please visit www.equilume.com

SUPPLIERS DIRECTORY

TRAINING CENTERS

EQUINE PRODUCTS

ISSUE 38 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM

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STAKES SCHEDULES

RACES

STAKES SCHEDULES COPYRIGHT

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

Stakes Schedules are now updated monthly – visit trainermagazine.com

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

DISCLAIMER

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

Call us on 1 888 659 2935 to subscribe from $20 Country USA USA USA

Track Sunland Park Sunland Park Sunland Park

Race Name & (Sponsor) Challenger Six H Mt. Cristo Rey H’cap Copper Top Futurity

Class S S S

Race Date 4-Jan-2016 8-Feb-2016 18-Apr-2016

Value $85,000 $85,000 $110,000

4.5f (900m) Age 4+ (QH + TB) 3+ (NM Bred) 2

Surface D D D

Metres 900 900 900

Furlongs Closing 4.5 22-Dec-2015 4.5 30-Jan-2016 4.5 16-Oct-2015

Stakes Schedules updated online monthly USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA

Gulfstream Park Tampa Bay Downs Tampa Bay Downs Gulfstream Park Sam Houston Race Park Delta Downs Delta Downs Delta Downs Delta Downs Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Sunland Park Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Sam Houston Race Park Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park

The Millions Turf Sprint Preview The Lightning City St The Turf Dash Florida Sunshine Millions Turf Sprint Frontier Utilities Turf Sprint L.A Premier Night Bon Temps Starter L.A Premier Night Ragin Cajun Starter L.A Premier Night Matron L.A Premier Night Sprint Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint Ladies Turf Sprint Budweiser H Melody Of Colors Texas Glitter Bucharest Turf Sprint Capitva Island Captiva Island Silks Run

L L S S&R S&R S S

8-Nov-2015 20-Dec-2015 10-Jan-2016 17-Jan-2016 31-Jan-2016 7-Feb-2016 7-Feb-2016 7-Feb-2016 7-Feb-2016 7-Feb-2016 7-Feb-2016 14-Feb-2016 21-Feb-2016 28-Feb-2016 28-Feb-2016 13-Mar-2016 13-Mar-2016 13-Mar-2016

5f (1000m)

$75,000 $100,000 $100,000 $100,000 $75,000 $50,000 $50,000 $100,000 $100,000 $75,000 $75,000 $75,000 $75,000 $75,000 $50,000 $75,000 $75,000 $75,000

3+ 3+ F+M 4+ 4+ 4+ 4+ F&M 4+ La bred 4+ F&M 4+ 4+ 4+ F&M 3+ 3F 3 4+ 4+ F&M 4+ 4+

T T T D T D D D D T T D T T T T T T

1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000

Check out Stakes Schedules online - trainermagazine.com/schedules USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA

Fair Grounds Sunland Park Fair Grounds Sunland Park Fair Grounds Oaklawn Park Fair Grounds Fair Grounds Sunland Park Fair Grounds

Battle of New Orleans KLAQ H Bonapaw S Bold Ego H Mardi Gras S Spring Fever The Big Easy Overnight Stakes Colonel Power Overnight Stakes La Coneja St Costa Rising St

S S

29-Nov-2015 20-Dec-2015 3-Jan-2016 3-Jan-2016 10-Feb-2016 21-Feb-2016 13-Mar-2016 20-Mar-2016 21-Mar-2016 27-Mar-2016

$50,000 $50,000 $60,000 $65,000 $60,000 $100,000 $50,000 $50,000 $85,000 $60,000

3+ F+M 3+ 4+ 4+ F+M 4+ F+M 4+ F&M 4+ F+M 4+ 4+ FM ( NM Bred) 4+

5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5

Zia Park Zia Park Zia Park Zia Park Zia Park Finger Lakes Golden Gate Fields Golden Gate Fields Laurel Park Laurel Park Laurel Park Aqueduct Churchill Downs Mahoning Valley Mahoning Valley Aqueduct Woodbine Penn National Penn National Aqueduct Aqueduct Fair Grounds Aqueduct Churchill Downs Golden Gate Fields Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park

90

New Mexico Classic Cup Filly and Mare Sprint Championship New Mexico Classic Cup Juvenile For Fillies New Mexico Classic Cup Juvenile For Colts and Geldings New Mexico Classic Cup Sprint Championship New Mexico Classic Cup Championship for Fillies Shesastonecoldfox S Golden Nugget Oakland The Frank J.De Frances Memorial Dash The Smart Halo Stakes The James F.Lewis III Stakes Notebook The Bet On Sunshine First Lady St Glacial Princess St Key Cents Kennedy Road S Blue Mountain S The Fabulous Strike H’Cap Furlough Fall Highweight H’cap Thanksgiving H King’s Swan The Dream Supreme Golden Gate Debutante The Buffalo Man The House Party

TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 38

S S S S S S

S

Gr 2 R

Gr 3

2-Nov-2015 $130,000 2-Nov-2015 $140,000 2-Nov-2015 $140,000 2-Nov-2015 $170,000 2-Nov-2015 $140,000 7-Nov-2015 $50,000 8-Nov-2015 $50,000 15-Nov-2015 $50,000 15-Nov-2015 $350,000 15-Nov-2015 $100,000 15-Nov-2015 $100,000 22-Nov-2015 $100,000 22-Nov-2015 $80,000 22-Nov-2015 $75,000 22-Nov-2015 $75,000 23-Nov-2015 $100,000 23-Nov-2015 CAN200,000+ 26-Nov-2015 $75,000 26-Nov-2015 $200,000 27-Nov-2015 $150,000 27-Nov-2015 $250,000 27-Nov-2015 $60,000 28-Nov-2015 $150,000 28-Nov-2015 $80,000 29-Nov-2015 $50,000 29-Nov-2015 $75,000 29-Nov-2015 $75,000

23-Jan-2016 23-Jan-2016 23-Jan-2016 23-Jan-2015 25-Jan-2016 25-Jan-2016 6-Feb-2016 8-Feb-2016 15-Feb-2016

29/02/2020 29-Feb-2016

5.5f (1100m) T D T D T D T T D D

1100 1100 1100 1100 1100 1100 1100 1100 1100 1100

5.5 5.5 5.5 5.5 5.5 5.5 5.5 5.5 5.5 5.5

Call us on 1 888 659 2935 to subscribe from $20 USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA CAN USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA

26-Oct-2015 6-Dec-2015 27-Dec-2015 2-Mar-2016

20-Nov-2015 12-Dec-2015 20-Dec-2015 22-Dec-2015 31-Jan-2016 4-Mar-2016 11-Mar-2016 12-Mar-2016 13-Mar-2016

6f (1200m) 3+ F&M 2F 2 C&G 3+ 3+ F&M 2F 2 3+ 3+ 2F 2 2 3+ 3F 2 F (Ohio bred) 2 3+ 2 F (PA bred) 3+ 2F 3+ 3+ 2 3+ FM 2F 2 2F

D D D D D D AWT AWT D D D D D T T D AWT D D D D D D D AWT D D

1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200

6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6

20-Oct-2015 20-Oct-2015 20-Oct-2015 20-Oct-2015 20-Oct-2015 30-Oct-2015 6-Nov-2015 7-Nov-2015 7-Nov-2015 7-Nov-2015 15-Nov-2015

5-Nov-2015 19-Nov-2015 19-Nov-2015

15-Nov-2015 21-Nov-2015 20-Nov-2015 16-Nov-2015 16-Nov-2015

STAKES SCHEDULES Call us on 1 888 659 2935 to subscribe from $20 Country USA USA JPN USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA JPN USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA

Track Hawthorne Racecourse Hawthorne Racecourse Kyoto Aqueduct Beulah Park Laurel Park Turf Paradise Turf Paradise Fair Grounds Fair Grounds Fair Grounds Fair Grounds Nakayama Fair Grounds Fair Grounds Gulfstream Park Tampa Bay Downs Tampa Bay Downs Aqueduct Sunland Park Aqueduct Fair Grounds Gulfstream Park Laurel Park Sunland Park Aqueduct Fair Grounds Fair Grounds Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Sunland Park Oaklawn Park Gulfstream Park Sam Houston Race Park Oaklawn Park Sam Houston Race Park Oaklawn Park Sam Houston Race Park Sam Houston Race Park Turf Paradise Fair Grounds Sam Houston Race Park Tampa Bay Downs Sam Houston Race Park Oaklawn Park Oaklawn Park Oaklawn Park Gulfstream Park Fair Grounds Oaklawn Park Oaklawn Park Oaklawn Park Tampa Bay Downs Oaklawn Park Oaklawn Park Oaklawn Park Oaklawn Park

Race Name & (Sponsor) The Blackhawk H (IL Preferred) The Pershing H (IL Preferred) Keihan Hai Garland of Roses Joshua Radosevich Memorial S The Willa on the Move Stakes Arizona Breeders’ Futurity - Fillies Arizona Breeders’ Futurity - Colts and geldings Louisiana Champions Day Juvenile S Louisiana Champions Day Ladies Sprint Louisiana Champions Day Lassie S Louisiana Champions Day Sprint Capella St Letellier Memorial St S Sugar Bowl S Mr Prospector The Inaugural St The Sandpiper St New York Stallion Series - Fifth Avenue Division New Mexico State Racing Commission H Gravesend Pan Zareta St Sugar Swirl The Daves Friend Stakes La Senora S New York Stallion Series - Great White Way Division Louisiana Futurity Louisiana Futurity Old Hat St Hutcheson St Pepsi Cola S Dixie Belle S Florida Sunshine Millions Sprint Bara Lass S American Beauty S Groovy S King Cotton S Space City Stakes Sam Houston Sprint Cup Phoenix Gold Cup Duncan F. Kenner St Jim’s Orbit S The Minaret St Two Altazano S Downthedustyroad Breeders Nodouble Breeders Hot Springs S The Any Limit Sout Mississippi Owner/Breeders Stakes Gazebo Rainbow Miss S Rainbow S The Hilton Garden Inn/Hampton Inn & Suites Sprint Carousel H Count Fleet Sprint H Bachelor Instant Racing

Class

Gr 3 R S S S S S S Gr 3

Gr 3

S S

Gr 3 S S S S Gr 3 Gr 3 S S S S

S

S S

S S L Gr 3

Race Date 29-Nov-2015 29-Nov-2015 30-Nov-2015 6-Dec-2015 6-Dec-2015 6-Dec-2015 06/12/2019 6-Dec-2015 13-Dec-2015 13-Dec-2015 13-Dec-2015 13-Dec-2015 14-Dec-2015 20-Dec-2015 20-Dec-2015 20-Dec-2015 20-Dec-2015 20-Dec-2015 21-Dec-2015 21-Dec-2015 27-Dec-2015 27-Dec-2015 27-Dec-2015 27-Dec-2015 27-Dec-2015 28-Dec-2015 1-Jan-2016 1-Jan-2016 3-Jan-2016 3-Jan-2016 11-Jan-2016 16-Jan-2016 17-Jan-2016 23-Jan-2016 24-Jan-2016 24-Jan-2016 31-Jan-2016 31-Jan-2016 14-Feb-2016 14-Feb-2016 21-Feb-2016 21-Feb-2016 21-Feb-2016 21-Feb-2016 28-Feb-2016 29-Feb-2016 6-Mar-2016 20-Mar-2016 26-Mar-2016 27-Mar-2016 3-Apr-2016 4-Apr-2016 10-Apr-2016 11-Apr-2016 11-Apr-2016 16-Apr-2016 17-Apr-2016

Value $50,000 $50,000 $685000 $100,000 $75,000 $100,000 $50,000 $50,000 $100,000 $100,000 $100,000 $100,000 $633000 $50,000 $50,000 $100,000 $100,000 $100,000 $150,000 $85,000 $100,000 $60,000 $100,000 $100,000 $85,000 $150,000 $100,000 $100,000 $100,000 $100,000 $85,000 $100,000 $100,000 $50,000 $100,000 $50,000 $100,000 $50,000 $50,000 $75,000 $60,000 $75,000 $50,000 $75,000 $75,000 $100,000 $100,000 $75,000 $40,000 $100,000 $100,000 $100,000 $75,000 $150,000 $400,000 $100,000 $125,000

6f (1200m)

Age Surface 3+ D 3+ F+M D 3+ T 3+ FM D 2 (OH Acc) D 3+ FM D 2 F (AZ Bred) D 2 C+G (AZ Bred) D 2+ D 3+ F+M D 2F D 3+ D 3+ D 2F D 2 D 3+ D 2 D 2F D 2F D 3+ F&M (NM Bred) D 3+ D 4+ FM T 3+ F&M D 3+ D 2 F (NM Bred) D 2 D 2F D 2 C+G D 3F D 3 D 3 (NM Bred) D 3F D 4+ D 3F D 4+ F&M D 3 D 4+ D 3 D 4+ D 4+ D 3+ D 3 D 4+ F+M D 3F D 3+ F&M (Ark Bred) D 3+ C&G (Ark Bred) D 4+ D 3F D 3 3 D 3 F (Ark Bred) D 3 C&G (Ark Bred) D 4+ D 4+ F&M D 4+ D 3 D 3F D

Metres 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200

Stakes Schedules updated online monthly USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA

Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Parx Racing Parx Racing Remington Park Sunland Park Sunland Park Sunland Park Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Sunland Park

The Juvenile Sprint The Juvenile Fillies Sprint Donna Fryer SC Residence Race (F) Christopher Elser Mem SC Residence (C & G) Silver Goblin S Johnie L Jamison S El Paso Times H El Diario H Gulfstream Park Sprint The Spectacular Bid Bill Thomas Memorial S

CAN USA USA JPN JPN CAN USA USA

Woodbine Remington Park Gulfstream Park Kyoto Tokyo Woodbine Del Mar Del Mar

Frost King S Clever Trevor S The Millions Distaff Preview Fantasy St Keio Hai Nisai St Jammed Lovely S Betty Grable St Bob Hope St

R R S S

Gr 3

8-Nov-2015 8-Nov-2015 16-Nov-2015 16-Nov-2015 21-Nov-2015 21-Dec-2015 31-Jan-2016 15-Feb-2016 28-Feb-2016 20-Mar-2016 21-Mar-2016

$75,000 $75,000 $75,000 $75,000 $50,000 $85,000 $65,000 $75,000 $100,000 $75,000 $100,000

6.5f (1300m) 2 (open) 2F 2F 2 CG 3+ OK Bred 3+ 3F 3+ F&M 4+ 3 3+

D D D D D D D D D D D

1300 1300 1300 1300 1300 1300 1300 1300 1300 1300 1300

6.5 6.5 6.5 6.5 6.5 6.5 6.5 6.5 6.5 6.5 6.5

AWT D D T T AWT D D

1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400

7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7

Check out Stakes Schedules online - trainermagazine.com/schedules R

Gr 3 Gr 2 S Gr 3

5-Nov-2015 7-Nov-2015 8-Nov-2015 8-Nov-2015 8-Nov-2015 8-Nov-2015 9-Nov-2015 15-Nov-2015

CAN125,000 $100,000 $75,000 $504000 $647000 CAN150,000 $100,000 $100,000

Furlongs Closing 6 6 6 14-Oct-2015 6 6 6 28-Nov-2015 6 EARLY CLOSING 6 EARLY CLOSING 6 2-Dec-2015 6 2-Dec-2015 6 2-Dec-2015 6 2-Dec-2015 6 28-Oct-2015 6 11-Dec-2015 6 11-Dec-2015 6 7-Dec-2015 6 6-Dec-2015 6 6-Dec-2015 6 6 12-Dec-2015 6 6 13-Dec-2015 6 14-Dec-2015 6 16-Dec-2015 6 19-Dec-2015 6 6 13-Dec-2015 6 13-Dec-2015 6 21-Dec-2015 6 21-Dec-2015 6 3-Jan-2016 6 6 2-Mar-2016 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 7-Feb-2016 6 7-Feb-2016 6 6 7-Feb-2016 6 6 6 6 6 7-Mar-2016 6 13-Mar-2016 6 6 6 6 27-Mar-2016 6 6 6 6

2 2 3+ F+M 2F 2 3F 3 + F&M (Cal bred) 2

26-Oct-2015 26-Oct-2015 1-Nov-2015 27-Sep-2015 13-Nov-2015 12-Dec-2015 23-Jan-2016 6-Feb-2016 15-Feb-2016 7-Mar-2016 12-Mar-2016

7f (1400m)

ISSUE 38 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM

15-Oct-2015 29-Oct-2015 26-Oct-2015 30-Sep-2015 30-Sep-2015 22-Oct-2015

91

STAKES SCHEDULES Call us on 1 888 659 2935 to subscribe from $20 Country USA USA USA CAN USA USA USA CAN USA USA USA USA JPN USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA

Track Laurel Park Aqueduct Del Mar Woodbine Charles Town Delta Downs Delta Downs Woodbine Del Mar Aqueduct Parx Racing Charles Town Hanshin Laurel Park Laurel Park Delta Downs Delta Downs Gulfstream Park Tampa Bay Downs Tampa Bay Downs Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Delta Downs Delta Downs Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Tampa Bay Downs Tampa Bay Downs

Race Name & (Sponsor) The Safely Kept Stakes New York Stallion Series - Staten Island Division Desi Arnaz St Bessarabian S West Virginia Futurity (WV) Orleans Sam’s Town Glorious Song S Cary Grant St New York Stallion Series - Thunder Rumble Division Pennsylvania Nursery St Eleanor Casey Memorial Hanshin Cup The Maryland Juvenile Filly Championship Stakes Thde Maryland Juvenile Futurity Stakes

By The Light Big Drama Florida Sunshine Millions Distaff The Gasparilla St The Pasco St Forward Gal S Swale S L.A Premier Night Prince L.A Premier Night Starlet Inside Information Sir Shackleton The Stonehedge Farm South Sophomore Fillies The Ocala Breeders’ Sales Sophomore

Class S Gr 2 R R

S S S Gr 2

S

Gr 2 Gr 3 S&R S Gr 2

Race Date Value 15-Nov-2015 $100,000 16-Nov-2015 $125,000 16-Nov-2015 $100,000 16-Nov-2015 CAN150,000+ 22-Nov-2015 $50,000 22-Nov-2015 $75,000 22-Nov-2015 $75,000 22-Nov-2015 CAN125,000 23-Nov-2015 $100,000 30-Nov-2015 $125,000 6-Dec-2015 $75,000 13-Dec-2015 $50,000 27-Dec-2015 $1,173,000 27-Dec-2015 $50,000 27-Dec-2015 $50,000 9-Jan-2016 $75,000 10-Jan-2016 $75,000 17-Jan-2016 $150,000 24-Jan-2016 $100,000 24-Jan-2016 $100,000 31-Jan-2016 $200,000 31-Jan-2016 $150,000 7-Feb-2016 $125,000 7-Feb-2016 $125,000 20-Mar-2016 $200,000 3-Apr-2016 $100,000 10-Apr-2016 $75,000 10-Apr-2016 $75,000

7f (1400m) Age 3+ F 3+ FM 2F 3+ F&M 2 3F 3 2F 3+ (Cal bred) 3+ 2 C&G 2F 3+ 2F 2 3F 3 4+ F&M 3F 3 3F 3 3yr La bred 3 F La bred 4+ F&M 4+ 3F 3

Surface D D AWT D D D AWT D D D D T D D D D D D D D D D D D D D T

Metres 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400

Stakes Schedules updated online monthly USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA

Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Delta Downs Delta Downs Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Tampa Bay Downs Fair Grounds Delta Downs Delta Downs Fair Grounds

El Prado South Beach S Lookout B-Connected Dania Beach Ginger Brew The Pelican St Black Gold St Azalea Pelican Allen Black Cat Lacombe Memorial Overnight Stakes

R R Gr 3

S S

13-Dec-2015 13-Dec-2015 19-Dec-2015 20-Dec-2015 3-Jan-2016 3-Jan-2016 21-Feb-2016 28-Feb-2016 5-Mar-2016 6-Mar-2016 6-Mar-2016

$100,000 $100,000 $65000 $65000 $100,000 $100,000 $100,000 $50,000 $100,000 $100,000 $50,000

7.5f (1500m) 3+ 3+ F&M 3+ F&M 3+La bred 3 3F 4+ 3 3F 3 3F

D T D D T T D T D D T

1500 1500 1500 1500 1500 1500 1500 1500 1500 1500 1500

Check out Stakes Schedules online - trainermagazine.com/schedules USA USA USA USA FR USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA JPN JPN USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA JPN USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA

Churchill Downs Churchill Downs Del Mar Golden Gate Fields Saint-Cloud Zia Park Zia Park Aqueduct Aqueduct Churchill Downs Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Kyoto Tokyo Remington Park Aqueduct Delta Downs Delta Downs Delta Downs Delta Downs Delta Downs Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Kyoto Zia Park Aqueduct Remington Park Aqueduct Del Mar Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Del Mar Del Mar

92

Street Sense Overnight S Rags & Riches Overnight S Goldikova Stakes The Pike Place Dancer St Criterium International New Mexico Classic Cup Rocky Gulch Championship Peppers Pride New Mexico Classic Championship for Fillies & Mares Tempted St Nashua St Chilukki St The Millions Classic Preview The Juvenile Turf The Juvenile Fillies Turf The Millions Turf Preview Daily Hai Nisai St Musashino St Don C. McNeill Artie Shiller Louisiana Jewel Louisiana Legacy Delta Downs Princess Treasure Chest Delta Mile The Tropical Turf Handicap The My Charmer Handicap Mile Championship New Mexico Eddy County S Go For Wand Hcap Slide Show Cigar Mile H’cap Jimmy Durante St The Smooth Air The Hut Hut The Pulpit The Wait A While Cecil B. Demille St Matriarch St

TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 38

Gr2 Gp 1 S S Gr 3 Gr 2 Gr 2

Gr 2 Gr 3

S S Gr 3

Gr 3 Gr 3 Gr 1 S Gr 3 Gr 1 Gr 3

Gr 3 Gr 1

2-Nov-2015 2-Nov-2015 2-Nov-2015 2-Nov-2015 2-Nov-2015 2-Nov-2015 2-Nov-2015 5-Nov-2015 5-Nov-2015 8-Nov-2015 8-Nov-2015 8-Nov-2015 8-Nov-2015 8-Nov-2015 15-Nov-2015 16-Nov-2015 21-Nov-2015 22-Nov-2015 22-Nov-2015 22-Nov-2015 22-Nov-2015 22-Nov-2015 22-Nov-2015 22-Nov-2015 22-Nov-2015 23-Nov-2015 26-Nov-2015 28-Nov-2015 28-Nov-2015 29-Nov-2015 29-Nov-2015 29-Nov-2015 29-Nov-2015 29-Nov-2015 29-Nov-2015 30-Nov-2015 30-Nov-2015

$80,000 $80,000 $200, 000 $75,000 € 275000 $180,000 $170000 $200,000 $200,000 $200,000 $100,000 $75,000 $75,000 $75,000 $647000 $671000 $50,000 $100,000 $150,000 $150,000 $400,000 $200,000 $250,000 $100,000 $100,000 $1,8080000 $140,000 $300,000 $75,000 $500,000 $100,000 $75,000 $75,000 $75,000 $75,000 $100,000 $300,000

Furlongs Closing 7 7-Nov-2015 7 7 7 29-Oct-2015 7 7 7-Nov-2015 7 7-Nov-2015 7 5-Nov-2015 7 7 7 22-Nov-2015 7 3-Dec-2015 7 11-Nov-2015 7 16-Dec-2015 7 16-Dec-2015 7 23-Dec-2015 7 23-Dec-2015 7 2-Mar-2016 7 10-Jan-2016 7 10-Jan-2016 7 18-Jan-2016 7 18-Jan-2016 7 23-Jan-2016 7 23-Jan-2015 7 7-Mar-2016 7 21-Mar-2016 7 27-Mar-2016 7 27-Mar-2016

2 2F 3+ F+M 2F 2 CF 3+ 3+ F&M 2F 2 3+ FM 3+ 2 2F 3+ 2 3+ 2 (OK Bred) 3+ 2F 2 C&G 2F 3+ F&M 3+ 3+ 3+ F+M 3+ 2 3+ FM 2 F (OK Bred) 3+ 2F 2 2F 2 2F 2 3 + F+M

7.5 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.5

30-Nov-2015 30-Nov-2015 5-Dec-2015 5-Dec-2015 21-Dec-2015 21-Dec-2015 7-Feb-2016 19-Feb-2016 20-Feb-2016 20-Feb-2016 26-Feb-2016

8f (1600m) D D T T T D D D D D D T T T T D D T D D D D D T T T D D D D T D D D D T T

1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600

8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8

22-Oct-2015 22-Oct-2015 23-Oct-2015 15-Oct-2015 20-Oct-2015 20-Oct-2015

22-Oct-2015 26-Oct-2015 26-Oct-2015 26-Oct-2015 26-Oct-2015 30-Sep-2015 30-Sep-2015 20-Nov-2015 7-Nov-2015 7-Nov-2015 25-Oct-2015 29-Oct-2015 29-Oct-2015 9-Nov-2015 9-Nov-2015 30-Sep-2015 11-Nov-2015 20-Nov-2016

16-Nov-2015 16-Nov-2015 16-Nov-2015 16-Nov-2015

STAKES SCHEDULES Call us on 1 888 659 2935 to subscribe from $20 Country USA USA USA USA USA JPN USA USA USA USA USA USA USA JPN USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA

Track Golden Gate Fields Laurel Park Fair Grounds Fair Grounds Gulfstream Park Hanshin Remington Park Remington Park Remington Park Remington Park Remington Park Fair Grounds Fair Grounds Hanshin Fair Grounds Fair Grounds Laurel Park Laurel Park Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Delta Downs Delta Downs Fair Grounds Fair Grounds Turf Paradise Oaklawn Park Sam Houston Race Park Sunland Park Sunland Park Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Sunland Park Delta Downs Delta Downs Gulfstream Park Sunland Park Tampa Bay Downs Sunland Park Fair Grounds Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Sunland Park Gulfstream Park Delta Downs Delta Downs Fair Grounds Sunland Park Sunland Park Fair Grounds Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Oaklawn Park

Race Name & (Sponsor) Gold Rush Gin Talking Magic City Classic S Louisiana Champions Day Starter H S Rampart Hanshin Juvenile Fillies She’s All In Jim Thorpe S Remington Springboard Mile The Trapeze Useeit St Tiffany Lass S Tanacious Stakes Asahi Hai Futurity St Pago Hop S Woodchopper S The Jennings H’cap Stakes Thirty Eight Go Go Stakes Mucho Muno Man Hal’s Hope H Eldorado Fremont Silverbulletday S Lecomte S Cotton Fitzsimmons Mile Smarty Jones S Star Of Texas S Winsham Lad H Enchantress S Kitten’s Joy Sweetest Chant Riley Allison Futurity L.A Premier Night Ladies Starter L.A Premier Night Distaff Fred W Hooper H’cap Red Hedeman Mile The Suncoast S The Island Fashion S Dixie Poker Ace S Canadian Turf Davona Dale St Sand Springs The Peppers Pride S Gulfstream Park H Gold Coast Borgata Red Camelia St New Mexico State University S Harry W. Henson H Crescent City Oaks Cutler Bay Sanibel Island Honey Fox St Appleton Northern Spur

USA USA

Aqueduct Aqueduct

Damon Runyon St East View St

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

Woodbine Zia Park Del Mar Mahoning Valley Woodbine Churchill Downs Woodbine Delta Downs Penn National Zia Park Zia Park Churchill Downs Del Mar Churchill Downs Churchill Downs Woodbine Woodbine Golden Gate Fields Woodbine

Princess Elizabeth S Veterans S Kathryn Crosby St Ohio Debutante H Autumn S Mrs. Revere St South Ocean S $1,000,000 Delta Downs Jackpot The Swatara Zia Park Oaks Zia Park Derby Commonwealth Turf Seabiscuit H’cap Golden Rod Kentucky Jockey Club St Kingarvie S Ontario Lassie S Berkeley H Display S

Class

S S Gr 3 Gr 1 S

Gr 1

Gr 3 R R L Gr 3

S S Gr 3 S&R S&R Gr 3 S

S Gr 3 Gr 2 S Gr 2 R R S S S

Gr 2 Gr 3

Race Date 6-Dec-2015 6-Dec-2015 12-Dec-2015 13-Dec-2015 13-Dec-2015 14-Dec-2015 14-Dec-2015 14-Dec-2015 14-Dec-2015 14-Dec-2015 14-Dec-2015 20-Dec-2015 20-Dec-2015 21-Dec-2015 27-Dec-2015 27-Dec-2015 27-Dec-2015 27-Dec-2015 3-Jan-2016 10-Jan-2016 16-Jan-2016 17-Jan-2016 17-Jan-2016 17-Jan-2016 17-Jan-2016 19-Jan-2016 24-Jan-2016 24-Jan-2016 25-Jan-2016 31-Jan-2016 31-Jan-2016 31-Jan-2016 7-Feb-2016 7-Feb-2016 7-Feb-2016 7-Feb-2016 14-Feb-2016 21-Feb-2016 28-Feb-2016 28-Feb-2016 28-Feb-2016 28-Feb-2016 28-Feb-2016 6-Mar-2016 12-Mar-2016 13-Mar-2016 13-Mar-2016 20-Mar-2016 21-Mar-2016 27-Mar-2016 27-Mar-2016 27-Mar-2016 3-Apr-2016 3-Apr-2016 17-Apr-2016

Value $75,000 $100,000 $57,000 $50,000 $100,000 $1,173,000 $100,000 $50,000 $250,000 $100,000 $50,000 $50,000 $60,000 $1,274,000 $75,000 $75,000 $50,000 $100,000 $100,000 $150,000 $70000 $70000 $150,000 $200,000 $75,000 $150,000 $50,000 $65,000 $85,000 $100,000 $100,000 $100,000 $65000 $150,000 $100,000 $85,000 $50,000 $75,000 $60,000 $150,000 $200,000 $100,000 $85000 $500,000 $75,000 $75,000 $60,000 $85,000 $100,000 $75,000 $75,000 $75,000 $300,000 $200,000 $125,000

8f (1600m)

Age Surface 2 AWT 2F D 3+ D 3 D 3+ FM D 2F T 3+ F+M D 3 D 2 D 2F D 3 F OK Bred D 3+ F+M D 3+ D 2 No G T 3F T 3 T 3+ D 3+F&M D 3 D 4+ D 4+ F&M D 4+ D 3F D 3 D 4+ T 3 D 4+ D 4+ D 3 F (NM) D 3 T 3F T 3 D 4+ F&M D 4+ FM La bred D 4+ D 3 (NM Bred) D 3 F&M D 3F D 4+ LA Bred T 4+ T 3F D 4+ F&M T 4+ F+M (NM Bred) D 4+ D 4+ F&M D 4+ D 4+ FM T 4+ (NM Bred) D 3+ F+M D 3F D 3 T 3F T 4+ F&M T 4+ T 3 D

Metres 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600

Stakes Schedules updated online monthly S S

27-Dec-2015 28-Dec-2015

$100,000 $100,000

8.32f (1664m) 2 (NY Bred) 2 F N.Y. Bred

D D

1664 1664

AWT D T T AWT T AWT D D D D T T D D AWT AWT AWT AWT

1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700

Check out Stakes Schedules online - trainermagazine.com/schedules R

Gr 2 Gr 2 S Gr 3

Gr 3 Gr 2 Gr 2 Gr 2 S S Gr 3

2-Nov-2015 CAN250,000 3-Nov-2015 $55,000 8-Nov-2015 $75,000 8-Nov-2015 $75,000 9-Nov-2015 CAN150,000+ 15-Nov-2015 $200,000 15-Nov-2015 CAN125,000 22-Nov-2015 $100,0000 26-Nov-2015 $100,000 26-Nov-2015 $300,000 26-Nov-2015 $200,000 28-Nov-2015 $100,000 28-Nov-2015 $250,000 29-Nov-2015 $200,000 29-Nov-2015 $200,000 29-Nov-2015 CAN125,000 29-Nov-2015 CAN150,000 30-Nov-2015 $100,000 30-Nov-2015 CAN125,000

Furlongs Closing 8 27-Nov-2015 8 28-Nov-2015 8 12-Nov-2015 8 2-Dec-2015 8 30-Nov-2015 8 28-Oct-2015 8 5-Dec-2015 8 5-Dec-2015 8 5-Dec-2015 8 5-Dec-2015 8 5-Dec-2015 8 11-Dec-2015 8 6-Dec-2015 8 11-Nov-2015 8 13-Dec-2015 8 13-Dec-2015 8 16-Dec-2015 8 16-Dec-2015 8 21-Dec-2015 8 28-Dec-2015 8 2-Jan-2016 8 2-Jan-2016 8 3-Jan-2016 8 3-Jan-2016 8 7-Jan-2016 8 8 8 16-Jan-2016 8 16-Jan-2016 8 18-Jan-2016 8 18-Jan-2016 8 23-Jan-2016 8 23-Jan-2016 8 23-Jan-2016 8 25-Jan-2016 8 30-Jan-2016 8 31-Jan-2015 8 13-Feb-2016 8 14-Oct-2016 8 15-Feb-2016 8 15-Feb-2016 8 15-Feb-2016 8 20-Feb-2016 8 22-Feb-2016 8 27-Feb-2016 8 27-Feb-2016 8 28-Feb-2016 8 12-Mar-2016 8 12-Mar-2016 8 13-Mar-2016 8 14-Mar-2016 8 14-Mar-2016 8 21-Mar-2016 8 21-Mar-2016 8

2F 3+ 3 + F&M 3 + FM (Ohio bred) 3+ 3F 2F 2 3+ 3F 3 3 3+ 2F 2 2 2F 3+ 2

8.32 8.32

8.5f (1700m) 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5

ISSUE 38 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM

15-Oct-2015 20-Oct-2015

22-Oct-2015 29-Oct-2015 29-Oct-2015 25-Oct-2015 19-Nov-2015 11-Nov-2015 11-Nov-2015 12-Nov-2015 12-Nov-2015 12-Nov-2015 12-Nov-2015 12-Nov-2015 20-Nov-2015 12-Nov-2015

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STAKES SCHEDULES Call us on 1 888 659 2935 to subscribe from $20 Country USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA

Track Hawthorne Racecourse Mahoning Valley Aqueduct Fair Grounds Fair Grounds Gulfstream Park Golden Gate Fields Fair Grounds Fair Grounds Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Aqueduct Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Fair Grounds Fair Grounds Fair Grounds Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Oaklawn Park Sunland Park Fair Grounds Oaklawn Park Sam Houston Race Park Tampa Bay Downs Gulfstream Park Sam Houston Race Park Delta Downs Delta Downs Gulfstream Park Oaklawn Park Sam Houston Race Park Sam Houston Race Park Tampa Bay Downs Tampa Bay Downs Tampa Bay Downs Oaklawn Park Oaklawn Park Fair Grounds Fair Grounds Fair Grounds Sunland Park Turf Paradise Fair Grounds Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Sam Houston Race Park Sam Houston Race Park Oaklawn Park Tampa Bay Downs Tampa Bay Downs Tampa Bay Downs Oaklawn Park Oaklawn Park Oaklawn Park Sunland Park Sunland Park Sunland Park Sunland Park Fair Grounds Fair Grounds Fair Grounds Oaklawn Park Gulfstream Park Oaklawn Park Tampa Bay Downs Tampa Bay Downs Tampa Bay Downs Oaklawn Park Sunland Park

Race Name & (Sponsor) The Pat Whitworth Illinois Debutante St Bobbie Bricker Memorial H’cap Bay Ridge Louisiana Champions Day Ladies S Louisiana Champions Day Turf S Harlan’s Holiday Miss America Blushing K.D. H Buddy Diliberto Memorial H Tropical Park Derby Tropical Park Oaks Alex M. Robb H’cap Marshua’s River St Fort Lauderdale St Col. E.R Bradley Hcp Marie G Krantz Memorial H Louisiana Stakes Florida Sunshine Millions Turf Florida Sunshine Millions F&M Turf Fifth Season S Albert Dominguez Memorial H Louisiana H Pippin S San Jacinto S The Wayward Lass St Holy Bull S Houston Ladies Classic L.A Premier Night Championship L.A Premier Night Gentlemen Starter Royal Delta Essex H Houston Distaff Houston Turf Stakes The Lambholm South Endeavour Stakes Sam F. Davis St The Tampa Bay St Bayakoa S Southwest S Risen Star S Rachel Alexandra St Mineshaft H’cap Mine That Bird Derby Turf Paradise Derby Daisy Devine Stakes Fountain Of Youth St Palm Beach S Herecomesthebride S Texas Heritage Stakes Jersey Lily S Honeybee S Tampa Bay Derby The Florida Oaks The Challenger St Razorback H Azeri S Rebel S Sunland Derby Sunland Park Oaks New Mexico Breeders’ Oaks New Mexico Breeders’ Derby Star Guitar St Crescent City Derby Fair Grounds Oaks Arkansas Breeders (Open) The Gulfstream Oaks Fantasy S The Sophomore Turf The Pleaseant Acres Stallions Distaff Turf The Tampa Turf Classic Apple Blossom H Sunland Park H

Class S

S S

S Gr 3 Gr 2 Gr 3 L S S S

S Gr 2 S S S&R Gr 2

Gr 3 Gr 3 Gr 3 Gr 3 Gr 2 Gr 3 Gr 3

Gr 2 Gr 3 Gr 3

Gr 3 Gr 2 Gr 3 Gr 3 Gr 2 Gr 2 Gr 3 S S S S Gr 2 S Gr 2 Gr 3

Gr 1

Race Date 6-Dec-2015 6-Dec-2015 13-Dec-2015 13-Dec-2015 13-Dec-2015 13-Dec-2015 14-Dec-2015 20-Dec-2015 20-Dec-2015 20-Dec-2015 20-Dec-2015 1-Jan-2016 10-Jan-2016 10-Jan-2016 17-Jan-2016 17-Jan-2016 17-Jan-2016 17-Jan-2016 17-Jan-2016 17-Jan-2016 17-Jan-2016 18-Jan-2016 18-Jan-2016 23-Jan-2016 24-Jan-2016 31-Jan-2016 31-Jan-2016 7-Feb-2016 7-Feb-2016 14-Feb-2016 14-Feb-2016 14-Feb-2016 14-Feb-2016 14-Feb-2016 14-Feb-2016 14-Feb-2016 15-Feb-2016 16-Feb-2016 21-Feb-2016 21-Feb-2016 21-Feb-2016 21-Feb-2016 21-Feb-2016 21-2-20 28-Feb-2016 28-Feb-2016 28-Feb-2016 28-Feb-2016 28-Feb-2016 13-Mar-2016 13-Mar-2016 13-Mar-2016 13-Mar-2016 20-Mar-2016 20-Mar-2016 20-Mar-2016 21-Mar-2016 21-Mar-2016 21-Mar-2016 21-Mar-2016 27-Mar-2016 27-Mar-2016 27-Mar-2016 2-Apr-2016 3-Apr-2016 10-Apr-2016 10-Apr-2016 10-Apr-2016 10-Apr-2016 16-Apr-2016 18-Apr-2016

Value $50,000 $75,000 $100,000 $100,000 $100,000 $100,000 $50,000 $60,000 $69,000 $75,000 $75,000 $100,000 $150,000 $200,000 $125,000 $60,000 $75,000 $100,000 $100,000 $100,000 $85,000 $75,000 $100,000 $50,000 $50,000 $350,000 $400,000 $200,000 $65000 $200,000 $100,000 $50,000 $50,000 $150,000 $250,000 $150,000 $100,000 $300,000 $400,000 $200,000 $125,000 $100,000 $75,000 $60,000 $400,000 $150,000 $150,000 $50,000 $50,000 $150,000 $350,000 $200,000 $100,000 $300,000 $300,000 $900,000 $800,000 $200,000 $100,000 $100,000 $60,000 $75,000 $400,000 $100,000 $250,000 $400,000 $75,000 $75,000 $75,000 $600,000 $150,000

8.5f (1700m) Age 2F 3 + FM 3+ F M 3+ F+M 3+ 3+ 3 + FM 4+ F+M 4+ 3 3F 3+ (NY Bred) 4+ F&M 4+ 4+ 4+ F+M 4+ 4+ 4+ F&M 4+ 4+ (NM Bred) 4+ 4+ F&M 4+ F&M 4+ F+M 3 4+ F&M 4+ 4+ La bred 4+ FM 4+ 4+ F&M 4+ 4+ F+M 3 4+ 4+ F&M 3 3 3F 4+ 3 3 4+ F+M 3 3 3F 3 4+ F+M 3F 3 3F 4+ 4+ 4+ F&M 3 3 3F 3F 3 (NM Bred) 4+ 3 3F 3+ (Ark Bred) 3F 3F 3 3+ F&M 4+ 4+ F&M 3+

Surface D T D D T D T T T T T D T T T T D T T D D D D T D D D D D D D T T T D T D D D D D D D T D T T D T D D T D D D D D D D D D D D D D D T T T D D

Metres 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700

Check out Stakes Schedules online - trainermagazine.com/schedules USA JPN CAN USA USA USA USA

Charles Town Kyoto Woodbine Aqueduct Charles Town Laurel Park Churchill Downs

94

My Sister Pearl Miyako St Coronation Futurity Discovery A Huevo St The Richard W. Small Cardinal H’cap

TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 38

S Gr 3 R Gr 3 S Gr 3

8-Nov-2015 9-Nov-2015 9-Nov-2015 12-Nov-2015 15-Nov-2015 15-Nov-2015 22-Nov-2015

$50,000 $671000 CAN250,000 $150,000 $50,000 $100,000 $100,000

3+ F&M 3+ 2 3 3+ 3+ 3+ FM

Furlongs Closing 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 2-Dec-2015 8.5 2-Dec-2015 8.5 30-Nov-2015 8.5 4-Dec-2015 8.5 6-Dec-2015 8.5 6-Dec-2015 8.5 7-Dec-2015 8.5 7-Dec-2015 8.5 8.5 28-Dec-2015 8.5 28-Dec-2015 8.5 3-Jan-2016 8.5 3-Jan-2016 8.5 3-Jan-2016 8.5 2-Mar-2016 8.5 2-Mar-2016 8.5 8.5 9-Jan-2016 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 10-Jan-2016 8.5 18-Jan-2016 8.5 8.5 23-Jan-2016 8.5 23-Jan-2016 8.5 1-Feb-2016 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 31-Jan-2016 8.5 31-Jan-2016 8.5 31-Jan-2016 8.5 8.5 8.5 7-Feb-2016 8.5 7-Feb-2016 8.5 7-Feb-2016 8.5 13-Feb-2016 8.5 8.5 7-Feb-2016 8.5 15-Feb-2016 8.5 15-Feb-2016 8.5 15-Feb-2016 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 28-Feb-2016 8.5 28-Feb-2016 8.5 28-Feb-2016 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 12-Mar-2016 8.5 12-Mar-2016 8.5 12-Mar-2016 8.5 13-Mar-2016 8.5 13-Mar-2016 8.5 13-Mar-2016 8.5 8.5 21-Mar-2016 8.5 8.5 27-Mar-2016 8.5 27-Mar-2016 8.5 27-Mar-2016 8.5 8.5 9-Apr-2016

9f (1800m) D D AWT D D D T

1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800

9 9 9 9 9 9 9

29-Oct-2015 30-Sep-2015 22-Oct-2015 5-Nov-2015 7-Nov-2015 5-Nov-2015

STAKES SCHEDULES Call us on 1 888 659 2935 to subscribe from $20 Country JPN USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA JPN USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA JPN

Track Tokyo Zia Park Churchill Downs Churchill Downs Churchill Downs Aqueduct Aqueduct Aqueduct Del Mar Del Mar Mahoning Valley Fair Grounds Hanshin Aqueduct Gulfstream Park Sam Houston Race Park Sam Houston Race Park Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Fair Grounds Sam Houston Race Park Tampa Bay Downs Fair Grounds Fair Grounds Fair Grounds Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Oaklawn Park Oaklawn Park Tokyo

Race Name & (Sponsor) Tokyo Sports Hai Nisai St Zia Park Distance Championship River City H’cap Falls City H’cap Clark H’cap Comely Demoiselle St Remsen St Native Diver H’cap Hollywood Derby Ruff/Kirchberg Memotial H’cap Louisiana Cahmpions Day Classic S Challenge Cup Queens County H’cap Florida Sunshine Millions Classic Richard King S John B. Connally BC Turf Suwannee River Gulfstream Park Turf H Donn H Fair Grounds H’cap Maxxam Gold Cup The Hillsborough St Louisiana Derby Muniz Memorial Handicap New Orleans H The Skip Away S Florida Derby Oaklawn H Arkansas Derby Tenno Sho (Autumn)

ITY JPN USA JPN JPN JPN

Rome Fukushima Hawthorne Racecourse Kyoto Chukyo Nakayama

Premio Roma Fukushima Kinen The Hawthorne Gold Cup H’cap Radio Nikkei Hai Nisai St Kinko Sho Hopeful S

Class Gr 3 Gr 3 Gr 2 Gr 1 Gr 3 Gr 2 Gr 2 Gr 3 Gr 1 S Gr 3 Gr 3 S S Gr 3 Gr 3 Gr 1 Gr 1 Gr 3 Gr 3 Gr 2 Gr 2 Gr 2 Gr 3 Gr 1 Gr 2 Gr 1 Gr 1

Race Date 24-Nov-2015 26-Nov-2015 27-Nov-2015 27-Nov-2015 28-Nov-2015 29-Nov-2015 29-Nov-2015 29-Nov-2015 29-Nov-2015 29-Nov-2015 29-Nov-2015 13-Dec-2015 13-Dec-2015 20-Dec-2015 17-Jan-2016 24-Jan-2016 31-Jan-2016 7-Feb-2016 7-Feb-2016 7-Feb-2016 21-Feb-2016 28-Feb-2016 13-Mar-2016 27-Mar-2016 27-Mar-2016 27-Mar-2016 3-Apr-2016 3-Apr-2016 17-Apr-2016 17-Apr-2016 2-Nov-2015

Value $580000 $150,000 $100,000 $200,000 $500,000 $300,000 $300,000 $300,000 $150,000 $300,000 $75,000 $150,000 $723000 $100,000 $250,000 $50,000 $200,000 $150,000 $350,000 $500,000 $125,000 $100,000 $150,000 1,000,000 $300,000 $400,000 $150,000 $1,000,000 $750,000 $1,000,000 $2,721,000

9f (1800m) Age 2 3+ 3+ 3+ FM 3+ 3+F 2F 2 3+ 3 3+ 3+ 3+ 3+ 4+ 4+ 4+ 4+ F&M 4+ 4+ 4+ 4+ 4+ F+M 3 4+ 4+ 4+ 3 4+ 3 3+

Surface T D T D D D D D D T T D T D D T T T T D T D T D T D D D D D T

Metres 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 2000

3+ 3+ 3+ 2 3+ 2

T T D T T T

2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000

Stakes Schedules updated online monthly Gp 1 Gr 3 Gr 2 Gr 3 Gr 2 Gr 2

9-Nov-2015 16-Nov-2015 29-Nov-2015 29-Nov-2015 6-Dec-2015 28-Dec-2015

€ 242000 $723000 $250,000 $580000 $1,085,000 $1,173,000

10f (2000m)

Check out Stakes Schedules online - trainermagazine.com/schedules USA JPN USA USA USA

Aqueduct Kyoto Del Mar Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park

Red Smith Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup Red Carpet Stakes The Very One Mac Diarmida

Gr 3 Gr 1 Gr 3 Gr 3 Gr 2

15-Nov-2015 16-Nov-2015 22-Nov-2015 6-Mar-2016 6-Mar-2016

$250,000 $1,636000 $100,000 $150,000 $200,000

3+ 3+ FM 3+F& M 4+ F&M 4+

Munich Aqueduct Del Mar Tokyo Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park

Grosser Pries Von Bayern Long Island Hollywood Turf Cup Japan Cup WL McKnight H’cap Pan American

Gp 1 Gr 3 Gr 2 Gr 1 Gr 3 Gr 3

2-Nov-2015 8-Nov-2015 27-Nov-2015 30-Nov-2015 27-Dec-2015 3-Apr-2016

€ 155000 $200,000 $250,000 $5,426,000 $100,000 $200,000

T T T T T

2200 2200 2200 2200 2200

Tokyo Nakayama

Copa Republica Argentina Arima Kinen

Gr 2 Gr 1

9-Nov-2015 28-Dec-2015

$997000 $4,530,000

3+ 3+ FM 3+ 3+ 3+ 4+

T T T T T T

2400 2400 2400 2400 2400 2400

Woodbine

Valedictory S

Gr 3

30-Nov-2015 CAN150,000+

3+ 3+

T T

2500 2500

Gulfstream Park

H Allen Jerkens

24-Jan-2016

$100,000

3+

AWT

2800

Nakayama

Stayers St

Gr 2

6-Dec-2015

$1,085,000

30-Sep-2015

22-Feb-2016

12 12 12 12 12 12

12-Aug-2015

14-Oct-2015 14-Dec-2015 21-Mar-2016

12.5 30-Sep-2015 12.5 11-Nov-2015

14

12-Nov-2015

16f (3200m) 4+

D

3200

Stakes Schedules updated online monthly JPN

11 11 11 11 11

14f (2800m)

Call us on 1 888 659 2935 to subscribe from $20 USA

14-Oct-2015 28-Oct-2015 11-Nov-2015

12.5f (2500m)

Check out Stakes Schedules online - trainermagazine.com/schedules CAN

16-Oct-2015 30-Sep-2015

12f (2400m)

Stakes Schedules updated online monthly JPN JPN

10 10 10 10 10 10

11f (2200m)

Call us on 1 888 659 2935 to subscribe from $20 GER USA USA JPN USA USA

Furlongs Closing 9 14-Oct-2015 9 11-Nov-2015 9 12-Nov-2015 9 12-Nov-2015 9 12-Nov-2015 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 2-Dec-2015 9 28-Oct-2015 9 9 2-Mar-2016 9 9 9 25-Jan-2016 9 25-Jan-2016 9 25-Jan-2016 9 7-Feb-2015 9 9 28-Feb-2016 9 13-Mar-2016 9 13-Mar-2016 9 13-Mar-2016 9 21-Mar-2016 9 21-Mar-2016 9 9 10 16-Sep-2015

16

11-Jan-2016

18f (3600m) 3+

T

3600

18

ISSUE 38 TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM

28-Oct-2015

95

SID FERNANDO Curlin leads resurgence in bloodstock industry

Y

EARLING sales, by and large, were up again versus a year ago, and the mixed sales at Fasig-Tipton and Keeneland immediately following the Breeders’ Cup races are anticipated to continue recent growth trends. The gloom in Kentucky after the global economic collapse of 2008 has faded, and the rise of young American sire power, headed by such as Tapit, War Front, Medaglia d’Oro, Kitten’s Joy, Scat Daddy, Curlin, and others, has been a boon to the resurgent industry.

Perhaps the biggest revelation in the sire ranks is Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Curlin, Jess Jackson’s Horse of the Year of 2007 and 2008. He entered stud at Lane’s End Farm in 2009, a grim year, for a fee of $75,000. In contrast, 2004 Horse of Ghostzapper, also a Breeders’ Cup Classic winner, had entered stud at the heights of the market in 2006 for a fee of $200,000 – the highest for a first-year sire in North America since Devil’s Bag in 1985 for the exact amount. That American Pharoah’s fee for 2016 has been speculated as high as $200,000 is an indication of how far the industry has rebounded.

Jackson, who ended up controlling 80 percent of the chestnut son of Smart Strike after buying up the interests of various partners, was an enthusiastic owner and a big believer in Curlin’s future as a sire.

He established Stonestreet Farm in 2005 after a successful career as a winemaker and attorney, and after Curlin he’d raced the brilliant 2009 Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra. Before Jackson died in April of 2011, he bred Rachel Alexandra to Curlin in the stallion’s third year at stud, and Jackson’s wife and partner, Barbara Banke, who now runs Stonestreet, named the resulting colt Jess’s Dream in his memory.

“

This has been the year of American Pharoah, and the mood in the game is buoyant as the Triple Crown winner looks to end his career a winner in the first Breeders’ Cup Classic held at Keeneland in Lexington, Kentucky. But Lexington and environs, the home of the North American bloodstock industry and soon to house American Pharoah at Coolmore’s Ashford division, is on its own high.

In 2012, Curlin’s first runners hit the track. Like Ghostzapper before him, he didn’t set the world on fire with his twoyear-olds. Ghostzapper’s fee had dropped from $200,000 to as low as $20,000 before rebounding to $65,000 in 2015.

Curlin stood for $35,000 in 2015, up from $25,000 in 2014, but he’ll be in a different altitude in 2016 because, like Ghostzapper, who broke out in his later crops to establish himself as a very good stallion, Curlin has turned it around – and how! – in a manner that would have made Jackson both prescient and proud.

It was reported in late July that John Sikura of Hill ‘n’ Dale Farm and partners had paid $6 million-plus at a U.S. Department of Justice auction for the 20 percent of Curlin owned by the jailed partners of Midnight Cry Stable, Curlin’s original owner and later a partner of Jackson’s in the horse. That price puts an overall valuation on the stallion at more than $30 million, which suggests that his stud fee could be in the $75,000 to $100,000 range at Hill ‘n’ Dale, where the stallion will stand next year. The Breeders’ Cup races will determine how high.

Almost immediately after the news of the sale, Curlin’s stock exploded at Saratoga, justifying Sikura’s outlay and culminating with Keen Ice’s shocking defeat of American Pharoah in the mile-and-a-quarter Grade 1 Travers. Also at Saratoga, Jess’s Dream made his long-awaited debut a winning one in a highly rated maiden special weight

at mile and an eighth, but the sire’s other stakes winners were Curalina in the Grade 1 Alabama at a mile and a quarter and the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks at a mile and an eighth; two-yearold Exaggerator in the Grade 2 Saratoga Special at six and a half furlongs; and twoyear-old filly Off the Tracks in the Grade 3 Schuylerville over six furlongs.

Curlin’s promise now being fulfilled started with his first-crop Grade 1 Belmont Stakes winner Palace Malice in 2013.

The latter returned in 2014 to take the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap and proved he could win at the top level from a mile to a mile and a half. The reputation Curlin had started to develop was one for late-developing three-yearolds – which is still a part of his repertoire; Stonestreet’s well-regarded three-yearold Union Jackson impressively won a maiden at Keeneland three weeks before the Breeders’ Cup – but his versatility this year with two-year-olds, earlier-developing three-year-olds, classic-type three-year-olds, older horses, and turf horses has added to his resume for being the complete sire of high-class runners.

All of this is good news for breeders, owners, fans, and the Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland, as Curlin, the last iconic male horse before American Pharoah, will be well represented on racing’s big weekend. And he may have a say in the main event as Keen Ice will attempt to stop American Pharoah from leaving on a high note. ■

The reputation Curlin had started to develop was one

for late-developing three-year-olds – which is still a part of his repertoire

96

TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 38

”

NIAGARA CAUSEWAY GIANT’S CAUSEWAY-THEORETICALLY, BY THEATRICAL (IRE)

TRACK-RECORD-SETTING GRADED STAKES WINNER

RECENT 2YO STAKES HORSE

Stud Fee: $2,500

HELLO PEOPLE

Ran 3rd by ½-length in $75,000-added El Joven S., 1 mile on turf on 10.3.2015! Only his 3rd lifetime start!

YOU SHOULD BE HERE ($90,446)

Won $50,000 Maiden Special on dirt at Churchill Downs by 10 lengths!

Won $44,480 Allowance on turf at Remington Park on 9.17.2015.

BUCK POND FARM

CAUSE I’M GOLD ($42,424)

859.873.4081

Won allowance on turf at Louisiana Downs on 8.29.2015!

DOUG ARNOLD

n

VERSAILLES, KY

After training and rehabbing at WinStar, horses have gone on to record some of the highest Beyers of 2015: HONOR CODE 113 CONSTITUTION

111

MATERIALITY

110

COMMISSIONER

109

RED RIFLE

107

SPEIGHTSTER

104

www.WinStarFarm.com | 3001 Pisgah Pike, Versailles, KY 40383 | (859) 873-1717

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10/12/15 3:51 PM