The Horsemen's Journal - Fall 2016

FALL 16 10

REMEMBERING TOM METZEN SR.

PROUD TO SUPPORT THE

NATIONAL HBPA Xpressbet and the XB Family of Brands are committed to the growth of North American racing by increasing handle from domestic and international sources.

We support the mission of the HBPA on behalf of owners, trainers and backstretch personnel.

volume 63/ # 3

fall

20 16 DEPARTMENTS

2 MESSAGE FROM THE NATIONAL HBPA

7 INDUSTRY NEWS

12 HBPA NEWS 16

RESEARCH & MEDICATION UPDATE

18

REMEMBERING TOM METZEN SR.

22

MEDICATION COMMITTEE CORNER

20 2016-17 RACING SCHEDULE FOR NORTH AMERICA 49 AFFILIATE NEWS

Racing has lost one of its most passionate advocates for horsemen

FEATURES

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27

32

35

39

CANADIAN CONNECTION

HORSE RACING AND THE HUMANE SOCIETY

AN UNLIKELY AND UNWELCOME UNION

YEARLING PREP

METHAMPHETAMINE

Why the entire horse industry should pay close attention to HSUS’s involvement in the sport

The partnership between The Jockey Club and Humane Society is not good for racing

Initiate changes early that will make your yearling more marketable

A substance of emerging environmental concern for racing

Horsemen head north of the border to Vancouver for the National HBPA Summer Convention

WWW.NATIONALHBPA.COM

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hj IN EVERY ISSUE

NATIONAL HBPA 870 Corporate Drive Suite 300 Lexington, KY 40503 P(859) 259-0451 F(859) 259-0452 racing@hbpa.org www.nationalhbpa.com

MESSAGE FROM

THE CEO

I AM WRITING THIS UPDATE WITH A HEAVY HEART BECAUSE I AM PREPARING IT AFTER THE PASSING OF MR. TOM METZEN SR. THIS UPDATE SEEMS SMALL IN COMPARISON TO THE LIFE TOM LED EVERY DAY. HE WAS THE CONSUMMATE AMBASSADOR FOR THOROUGHBRED ATHLETES AND FOR HORSE RACING, AND HE WAS AN UNSTOPPABLE ADVOCATE FOR THE HORSEMEN AND HORSEWOMEN WHO WORK SO HARD IN THIS WONDERFUL INDUSTRY. BY THE TIME THIS LETTER AND THIS ISSUE OF THE

HORSEMEN’S JOURNAL REACH THE HANDS OF OUR MEMBERS, THE SERVICES FOR TOM WILL BE OVER, BUT IN NO WAY, SHAPE OR FORM WILL HE EVER BE FORGOTTEN. WE ALL OWE TOM A GREAT DEBT OF GRATITUDE. HIS INFLUENCE ON THE MINNESOTA HBPA AND CANTERBURY PARK, THE ARIZONA HBPA AND TURF PARADISE, THE SIGNATURE CLAIMING CROWN AND INDEED THE ENTIRE HORSE RACING INDUSTRY WILL LIKELY GO UNMATCHED. IN 2007, TOM RECEIVED THE NATIONAL INDUSTRY SERVICE AWARD, WHICH IS THE PREMIER AWARD FROM THE NATIONAL HBPA AND IS GIVEN IN RECOGNITION OF DEDICATION, SERVICE

PRESIDENT/ CHAIRPERSON OF THE BOARD Leroy Gessmann FIRST VICE PRESIDENT Tom Metzen Sr. SECRETARY/ TREASURER Lynne Schuller CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Eric J. Hamelback VICE PRESIDENT CENTRAL REGION Tom Metzen Sr. VICE PRESIDENT EASTERN REGION Robin Richards VICE PRESIDENT SOUTHERN REGION Rick Hiles VICE PRESIDENT WESTERN REGION J. Lloyd Yother

AND LEADERSHIP TO THE HORSE RACING INDUSTRY. TOM METZEN COULD HAVE BEEN GIVEN THIS AWARD EVERY YEAR. Not having the privilege as most of you had in knowing Tom

The Medication Forum was composed of a great group

for many, many years, I do know firsthand that he wanted to

of panelists, including Joel B. Turner, Dr. Clara Fenger, Dr. L.

conduct business efficiently, effectively and productively. That’s

Everett Macomber and Dr. Thomas Tobin. Please see a recap of

why I know Tom would want me to get down to the business at

that important forum on page 18.

hand and provide our membership with an update—and not take too long to get it done.

Coming off a wonderful convention in Vancouver, British

Earlier in the convention, the Immigration Forum examined issues affecting horsemen and the horse industry. The forum included attorney Will Velie of Horseman Labor Solutions; Julio

Columbia, Canada, I must first say a special thanks to the

Rubio, Hispanic and backside services coordinator for the

HBPA of British Columbia, and particularly to Richard Yates,

Kentucky HBPA; and Oscar Gonzales, state executive director

along with Hastings Racecourse, for being amazing hosts in

of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency in

such a beautiful part of the world. I owe tremendous thanks to

California.

our new convention planner, Audrea Blake, along with Robert

After coming out of the convention, the NHBPA continues

Scott, who truly guided all of us through a wonderfully planned

to work on several other industry issues. I must say we are

convention. Also, I owe special thanks to all our corporate

continuing to voice and work on opposition of the Barr/Tonko

sponsors and affiliate convention sponsors. Finally, a tremen-

bill, known as H.R. 3084. While this bill still is given only a 4

dous thanks must go to Tammy Wright of the Thoroughbred

percent chance of passing, the Coalition of Horseracing Integrity

Racing Association of Oklahoma for heading up our sponsorship

has ramped up its efforts to gain sponsors as well as trying

requests.

to “sneak” the bill through as a rider of sorts before the end

The convention covered a variety of topics, including immi-

of this year. Shortly before the convention, I managed to put

gration, decoupling and legal challenges to current medication

together an op-ed with the help of famed writer Jennie Rees and

thresholds as well as horsemen’s media rights. Recordings of

our own public relations committee, which you can find on page

the convention will be available soon at hbpa.org.

32 of this issue. This op-ed deals with The Jockey Club and its

During the convention, one of the primary topics during the

coalition group enlisting the support of the Humane Society

Medication Forum was threshold levels and how the sensitivity

of the United States (HSUS). Please take the time to read that

of current testing methods results in “positives” for many med-

article. It is my belief that this latest ploy, or possibly last-ditch

ications that are therapeutic in nature and at levels that could

effort, is to resurrect a bill that, according to the online service

in no way affect the performance of that horse.

govtrack.us/congress/bills/114/hr3084, has only a 4 percent chance of passing.

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HJFALL 16

Additionally, The Jockey Club announced the formation of the HSUS National Horse Racing Advisory Council, the originally announced council members of which did not include a practicing veterinarian, a racing com-

we have been dealing with, and thus why the Congressional Research Service found H.R. 3084 likely unconstitutional.

One does beg then to ask a question. Let’s say a medication is deemed

mittee representative from the American Association of Equine Practitioners,

as effective regardless of the issue (such as but not necessarily exercise-in-

a professional trainer, a racetrack operator or even a racing official or anyone

duced pulmonary hemorrhage, or EIPH) and it is supported by research and

who works in the trenches with racehorses at racetracks on a day-to-day basis.

the AAEP. Yet it is used as leverage by a breed registry and/or any racetrack,

While there was a rebuttal printed in the Thoroughbred Daily News as a follow

which then places monetary incentives for our owners encouraging them to run

up to our op-ed, it merely attempted to defend the partnership by “clarifying”

without treatments simply because they are under some self-righteous peer

that the head of the committee works pro-bono instead of being paid, as I had

pressure. Does that not give way to the racetrack or organization having some

written. Glad the HSUS and the Coalition cleared that up for us.

responsibility or liability for a horse that suffers an EIPH episode and in doing

The NHBPA also was invited to the Albany Law Conference in Saratoga

so significantly reduces its ability to compete in the future and, accordingly,

Springs, New York, in August, which both President Leroy Gessmann and I

diminishes its value? It would seem hypocritical to me if the answer were “no.”

attended. I was able to speak on a panel that took a look at both sides of the

I would like to see that those who believe any medication is unnecessary and

issue of tracks “taking matters into their own hands” and setting track rules

then DO NOT USE IT put their money where their mouth is.

that go beyond those of the ruling state racing commission, including the

We continue to work on several other initiatives, including working on

recent push by some tracks to be able to card “non-Lasix” races. I informed the

Association of Racing Commissioners International (RCI) Model Rules for

audience that any racetrack can add a “Lasix-free race” as a condition of the

out-of-competition testing and discussing joint media presence with other

race, as we saw Gulfstream recently did. However, we also saw, with all things

entities such as RCI, the U.S. Trotting Association, the American Quarter

being equal in purse structures, the races did not fill the second time they were

Horse Association and the Thoroughbred Owners of California. We continue to

used. Why is it difficult to fill a Lasix-free race? Because it is not in the best

build sponsorships for the NHBPA and work on member benefits. Medication

interest of the health and welfare of the athlete. Only when the purses were

Committee Co-Chair Dave Basler (Ohio HBPA) and I are preparing to attend the

doubled did the races fill. Would this not be an animal welfare issue if we let

upcoming Racing Medication and Testing Consortium board meeting. I have

the HSUS get ahold of that information? Talk about exploitation of an animal,

been working closely with the Racing Officials Accreditation Program and Dan

because essentially those in favor of such races are saying this: “We will give

Fick on policies with stewards and especially how they interact with racing

you double the purse money if you choose to neglect the welfare and safety of

commissions to benefit horsemen. In the very near future, I want to work on

the horse.”

furthering our involvement with the Groom Elite program and Dr. Reid McLellan

If Lasix is a valuable therapeutic medication and a track is giving a monetary incentive to run a horse without it, does this create an ethical/legal issue?

I believe it does.

In my portion of the panel, I explained the difference that Gulfstream made

and making a strong industry initiative focusing on our depleting workforce and how we can help to improve it for the sake of our future.

As always, I am here to support the affiliates and to be guided by the Executive Committee and each of our state/provincial affiliates. Please contin-

Lasix-free a condition of the race with the only recourse being that of denying

ue to reach out to me with your needs, and I will continue to work on behalf of

the purse money for an “overage” for race-day Lasix. However, in Kentucky, the

horsemen and horsewomen throughout our great industry.

Kentucky Horse Racing Commission actually passed a regulation that allowed Keeneland to designate races as Lasix-free, and if a horse had evidence of Lasix, Keeneland would thus be able to not only allow for loss of purse but also

SINCERELY,

Eric J. Hamelback

to initiate fines and suspensions. This ruling, if it had been upheld, would have allowed Keeneland to exercise police power that constitutionally must stay with the state agency. Ironically, this is very similar to the current federal issue WWW.NATIONALHBPA.COM

3

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1-800-OAKLAWN • OAKLAWN.COM JANUARY 13 – APRIL 15 Put your horse in the picture, call Racing Secretary Pat Pope at 1-800-OAKLAWN (1-800-625-5296) now.

Stall applications are due October 27.

CONTRIBUTORS Tanya Boulmetis Dr. Kim Brewer Dr. Clara Fenger Dennis J. Foster Denise Steffanus Kent Stirling Dr. Thomas Tobin

THE

NATIONAL HBPA

WOULD LIKE TO THANK ITS CORPORATE

sponsors AFFILIATES Board of Directors - Affiliates Dr. David Harrington, Alabama J. Lloyd Yother, Arizona Linda Gaston, Arkansas David Milburn, Canada Randy Funkhouser, Charles Town Kent Bamford, Colorado Dave Brown, Finger Lakes William White, Florida Marta Loveland, Idaho Eddie Essenprice, Illinois Joe Davis, Indiana Leroy Gessmann, Iowa Rick Hiles, Kentucky Benard Chatters, Louisiana George Kutlenios, Michigan Tom Metzen, Minnesota R.C. Forster, Montana Jami Poole, Mountaineer Park Barry Lake, Nebraska Anthony Spadea, New England Mark Doering, Ohio David Faulkner, Oklahoma Sue Leslie, Ontario Ron Sutton, Oregon Sandee Martin, Pennsylvania Robert Jeffries, Tampa Bay Downs Dr. Tommy Hays, Texas Horsemen’s Partnership, LLP David Ross, Virginia Pat LePley, Washington Glade VanTassel, Wyoming

The opinions, representations and viewpoints expressed by the authors in the articles contained in The Horsemen’s Journal do not necessarily reflect the opinions, representations and viewpoints or the official policies or positions of The Horsemen’s Journal, National Horsemen’s Administration Corporation or National Horsemen’s Benevolent & Protective Association Inc. and its affiliates (collectively “HJ”). HJ is not responsible for, and expressly disclaims all liability for, damages of any kind arising out of use, reference to or reliance on any information contained within this issue.

The Horsemen’s Journal, Volume 63 #3.

Postal Information: The Horsemen’s Journal (ISSN 0018-5256) is published quarterly by the National Horsemen’s Administration Corporation, with publishing offices at P.O. Box 8645, Round Rock, TX 78683. Copyright 2016 all rights reserved.

The Horsemen’s Journal is the official publication for members of the Horsemen’s Benevolent & Protective Association, a representative association of Thoroughbred owners and trainers. HBPA is a non-profit 501(c)6 Kentucky corporation. Members receive The Horsemen’s Journal as a benefit

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The HBPA National Board of Directors has determined that the publication of this periodical is necessary in the transaction of the public business required of the association. Views and opinions expressed are those of the authors and/or advertisers and do not necessarily represent the opinion or policy of the publisher or HBPA board or staff. Query the editor prior to sending any manuscripts.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

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31ST ANNUAL TOBA NATIONAL AWARDS DINNER WINNERS ANNOUNCED

The Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association’s (TOBA) 31st annual National Awards Dinner was to be held September 10 at Stonestreet Farm in Lexington, Kentucky. The National Awards Dinner honors the achievements of Thoroughbred owners and breeders in the four major North American racing regions and breeders in 25 states and Canada.

The following regional owners will be honored: • Eastern Region Owner of the Year: Stonestreet Stables LLC • Midwestern Region Owner of the Year: Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey • Southern Region Owner of the Year: Zayat Stables, LLC • Western Region Owner of the Year: Reddam Racing LLC A National Owner of the Year will be selected from these regional owners.

The National Owner of the Year will be announced at the awards dinner.

Here are the state and Canadian breeders of the year: Arizona: Triple AAA Ranch Arkansas: McDowell Farm California: Reddam Racing LLC Canada: Tall Oaks Farm Florida: Jacks or Better Farm Illinois: Richard and Karen Papiese Indiana: Justice Farms Iowa: Poindexter Thoroughbreds Kentucky: Godolphin Louisiana: Set–Hut LLC Maryland: Dance Forth Farm Massachusetts: Langdon Wilby and Mary Beth Reis Michigan: Campbell Stable LLC

Kansas: Pam M. Davis Minnesota: Curtis A. Sampson New Jersey: Holly Crest Farm New Mexico: A & A Horse Farm LLC New York: Eklektikos Stable LLC North Carolina: Chandley Farm LLC North Dakota: Backhaus & Sons Ohio: 3 Clovers Farm and Blazing Meadows Farm Oregon: Oakhurst Thoroughbreds South Carolina: Franklin G. Smith Sr. Texas: Runaway Farm Virginia: Keswick Stables Washington: Coal Creek Farm TOBA’s National Breeder and National Small Breeder of the Year will be announced at the awards dinner.

TOBA will also honor the Robert N. Clay Award recipient. In partnership with the Equine Land Conservation Resource, this award recognizes a member of the Thoroughbred community who has made an outstanding contribution to preserving land for equine use. Additionally, TOBA will honor Littleprincessemma as the National Broodmare of the Year. This award offers catalog designation from the North American International Cataloguing Standards Committee.

In conjunction with Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital, a Thoroughbred Sport Horse of the Year will be decorated. This award is presented to the owner of the ex-Thoroughbred racehorse that has excelled in sport horse competitions as tracked by the U.S. Equestrian Federation. With the National HBPA, TOBA will recognize the Claiming Crown Horse of the Year.

Courtesy Ownerview.com

EDDIE OLCZYK TO DELIVER KEYNOTE ADDRESS AT THOROUGHBRED OWNER CONFERENCE III Thoroughbred owner and NBC Sports horse racing and hockey analyst Eddie Olczyk will deliver the keynote address at OwnerView’s third Thoroughbred Owner Conference at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, on Wednesday, November 2.

OwnerView, the Thoroughbred owner resource developed by The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, Eddie Olczyk is hosting the conference October 31-November 3, the same week as the Breeders’ Cup World Championships. The presenting sponsors are Breeders’ Cup, Keeneland and The Stronach Group.

The conference is designed to educate, inform and entertain new, prospective and current Thoroughbred owners through a series of panels and social events.

The keynote speakers at the first two conferences were golfer Gary Player and radio personality Jim Rome. A video of Rome’s emotional presentation detailing his Thoroughbred ownership experience has been downloaded more than 5,500 times.

“Like Gary Player and Jim Rome, Eddie Olczyk maintains a deep passion for this sport, and he will be sharing the perspectives of an owner, fan and broadcaster to this conference,” said James L. Gagliano, president and chief operating officer of The Jockey Club. “We are extremely honored to have him as our keynote speaker, especially with the hectic schedule he has for Breeders’ Cup week.”

Olczyk played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), winning a Stanley Cup with the New York Rangers in 1994. Following his playing career, he joined the Pittsburgh Penguins game broadcasts for Fox Sports Net Pittsburgh and provided analysis for ESPN, ESPN2 and NHL Radio. He served as head coach of the Penguins from 2003 to 2005.

In the course of his NHL career, Olczyk scored 342 goals and recorded 794 points in 1,031 games with the Penguins, Chicago Blackhawks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Winnipeg Jets, New York Rangers and Los Angeles Kings. The third overall selection in the 1984 entry draft, he was a member of the 1984 U.S. Olympic hockey team and is a member of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.

Olczyk’s first broadcasting experience took place during the NHL’s labor dispute in 1994, when he served as an on-air handicapper for the Thoroughbred meet at The Meadowlands in New Jersey. Years later, in his debut as a horse racing analyst on NBC Sports Network’s coverage of the 2014 Gold Cup from Santa Anita, Olczyk correctly picked the longshot winner in both races on the WWW.NATIONALHBPA.COM

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NEWS

INDUSTRY NEWS

telecast: Majestic Harbor, at odds of 14-1 in the Gold Cup, and Sheza Smoke Show, at 10-1 in the Senorita Stakes. Olcyzk then joined the Breeders’ Cup telecast and became part of the Triple Crown on-air team for the 2015 Kentucky Derby.

“Eddie’s knowledge of and enthusiasm for the sport of horse racing is infectious,” said Rob Hyland, coordinating producer for NBC Sports Group. “We are happy that what started out as a labor of love for him has turned into a regular role on our horse racing telecasts.”

The panels for this owner conference include business considerations for racehorse ownership; Breeders’ Cup winning owners, jockeys and trainers; and a session about feature films with racing as a backdrop. Among the panelists are Richard Mandella, Art Sherman, Gary Stevens, Mike Smith, Laffit Pincay Jr., Dean Reeves, Barbara Banke and John Amerman.

As an added bonus, on behalf of the Breeders’ Cup, conference registration will include one grandstand reserved seating ticket for both Breeders’ Cup World Championships racing days on November 4 and 5.

The conference also includes the following social events: • Breeders’ Cup Post-Position Draw and Reception on Monday, October 31 • Breeders’ Cup Breakfast Marquee near Clockers Corner on November 1 • Conference Dinner and Reception on November 1

INNOVATORS’ CIRCLE NOW ACCEPTING ENTRIES Horse racing’s premier pitch competition, Innovators’ Circle, is now accepting entrants at innovateracing. com. Innovators’ Circle, inspired by the TV show “Shark Tank,” was created to bring new technology and business concepts to the horse racing industry.

The process of bringing innovation to a sport steeped in tradition is challenging; Innovators’ Circle creates an environment to overcome those obstacles.

The cash prize for this year’s competition is guaranteed at $15,000.

Finalists also receive space at the 2016 Global Symposium on Racing and Gaming on December 5-7 in Tucson, Arizona, to showcase their product or idea to the racing industry.

Last year’s contest attracted more than 85 entries from five continents.

Four finalists from the initial pool of applicants made their pitches to the judges at the 2015 Global Symposium on Racing and Gaming. The winner, SwopStakes, a racing jackpot game developed in Australia by Shaun Pyrah, director of strategy for the interactive wagering company Six Faces, received $15,000. Another finalist, the Equine Standing 3D CT Scanner, earned $1,000 based on an audience vote. All received significant exposure and access to horse racing industry executives from around the globe.

The contest creators are committed to reaching out to both people within horse racing and those outside the industry.

“The goal is to cast as wide a net as possible to bring in new ideas,” said Hai Ng, who, along with the University of Arizona’s Race Track Industry Program (RTIP), produces the event.

“We know there are a lot of fresh ideas out there for horse racing,” said Doug Reed, director of the RTIP. “We want to help make sure those ideas get a chance to be heard.”

For more information or details about entering the contest, visit innovateracing.com.

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• Lunch on November 1-2 • A reception featuring racing syndicates from across the U.S. on November 2 • Tour opportunities at the Rose Bowl stadium and Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden on November 3, along with an afternoon of lunch and live racing • Reserved seating for both days of championship racing, November 4-5 Registrations are being taken for the full conference at $750 per person.

For spouses and partners who are interested in attending just the social events, a registration for social events is available at $400 per person. Both types of registrations include the Breeders’ Cup tickets.

Additional information for the conference, including the agenda, speakers and registration forms, is available at ownerview.com/event/conference.

NOMINATIONS BEING ACCEPTED FOR 14TH ANNUAL WHITE HORSE AWARDS Do you know a hero within the horse racing industry? The Race Track Chaplaincy of America (RTCA) is currently seeking nominees for its 14th annual White Horse Award. The award is presented to an individual who has done something heroic on behalf of a human or horse. It is a way of recognizing those unsung heroes of horse racing, whether their actions are of a headline-grabbing variety or a quiet and not-so-obvious kind of heroism.

This year’s RTCA White Horse Awards Luncheon will take place on Thursday, November 3, at the Embassy Suites in Arcadia, California, just prior to the beginning of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships. In addition to the White Horse recognition, the chaplaincy will present two other awards—the Tribute to Excellence and Community Service awards.

To submit a nomination for the White Horse, Tribute to Excellence or Community Service awards, visit rtcanational.org for a complete list of rules and selection criteria, as well as downloadable nomination forms. The deadline for submission is September 15. For more information, please contact the RTCA National Service Center at (859) 410-7822.

HORSE SHOW APPLICATION PERIOD FOR T.I.P. 2017 AWARDS OPEN The period for 2017 horse shows to apply for Thoroughbred Incentive Program (T.I.P.) awards is open through September 30. T.I.P. offers high point awards and classes for Thoroughbreds in multiple disciplines, including dressage, eventing, hunter, jumper, English pleasure and Western pleasure. Shows should apply even if the information is tentative. Early applications

are appreciated. More information and the online application are available at tjctip.com/default.asp?page=3.

In 2016, T.I.P. is offering awards for registered Thoroughbreds at more than 875 shows in 44 states and Canadian provinces.

Created and announced in October 2011, T.I.P. recognizes and rewards the versatility of the Thoroughbred through sponsorship of Thoroughbred classes and high point awards at sanctioned horse shows, as well as performance awards and non-competition awards. For more information, visit tjctip.com.

THE JOCKEY CLUB PROJECTS FOAL CROP OF 22,500 IN 2017 The Jockey Club is projecting a 2017 North American registered Thoroughbred foal crop of 22,500.

The projection for the 2016 foal crop was also 22,500.

The 22,500 foals estimated for 2017 and for 2016 is a 2.3 percent increase from the 22,000 projected for both the 2015 and 2014 foal crops.

“As always, this projection is based on reports of mares bred received to date, and we estimate that approximately 80 percent of those reports have been received,” said Matt Iuliano, The Jockey Club’s executive vice president and executive director.

The foal crop projection, traditionally announced in mid-August, is computed by using Reports of Mares Bred (RMBs) received to date for the 2016 breeding season. RMBs are to be filed by August 1 of each breeding season.

Additional foal crop information is available in The Jockey Club’s online fact book at jockeyclub.com/factbook.asp and in the online state fact books.

Stallion owners who have not returned their RMBs for the 2016 breeding season are encouraged to do so as soon as possible. Interactive Registration, which enables registered users to perform virtually all registration-related activities over the Internet, is the most efficient means of submitting RMBs and is available at registry.jockeyclub.com.

Courtesy The Jockey Club

ROUND TABLE TRANSCRIPTS AND VIDEO REPLAY AVAILABLE ONLINE

Winfried EngelbrechtBresges, chief executive officer of The Hong Kong Jockey Club, at the Round Table Conference.

Official transcripts, a video replay and PowerPoint presentations from the 64th annual Round Table Conference on Matters Pertaining to Racing are now available at jockeyclub.com.

The conference, held August 14 in Saratoga Springs, New York, featured presentations on integrity, federal legislation, expanded wagering and international racing, as well as an update on the activities of The Jockey Club.

Presentations were delivered by Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges of the Hong Kong Jockey

Club, Jeff Novitsky of the UFC, Reps. Andy Barr (R-KY) and Paul Tonko (D-NY), Julie Broadway of the American Horse Council, Chris Kay of The New York Racing Association Inc. and Kip Levin of Betfair/TVG. The Jockey Club’s chairman, Stuart S. Janney III, and president and COO, James L. Gagliano, also made remarks.

The conference included a brief tribute to the late Ogden Mills (Dinny) Phipps, who served as chairman of the organization for 32 years.

The Jockey Club Round Table Conference was first held on July 1, 1953, in The Jockey Club office in New York City. The following year, it was moved to Saratoga Springs, where it has been held every August since.

WWW.NATIONALHBPA.COM

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ALL-TIME WINNING TRAINER GOES FROM SKEPTIC TO ENTHUSIAST Scott Lake SeeS dramatic improvement in hiS thoroughbredS // by mark hanSen

W

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 alltime 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 EPO-Equine®, 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 “bloodbuilder.” 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 EPOEquine® 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 EPOEquine® 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 EPO-Equine® 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.

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11

NEWS

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HBPA NEWS

TWO TRACKS TO HOLD AUTOMATIC QUALIFYING RACES FOR 2016 CLAIMING CROWN Claiming Crown Ltd. announced that Kentucky Downs and Laurel Park will host automatic qualifying races for the 2016 Claiming Crown at Gulfstream Park on December 3. The host tracks will pay nomination fees and provide a travel stipend for the winners to compete in the 2016 event.

The Claiming Crown, a joint venture between TOBA and the National HBPA, is racing’s $1.1-million showcase for the country’s best claiming horses.

Kentucky Downs will conduct automatic qualifying races on September 11 for the Claiming Crown Emerald (starter $25,000 at 1 1/16 miles on the turf) and Tiara (starter $25,000 for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on the turf).

Laurel Park will host its Claiming Crown Preview Day on November 6 and offer automatic qualifying races for all nine Claiming Crown races.

“Kentucky Downs is proud to host two Claiming Crown automatic qualifying races at our fall meet,” said Kentucky Downs Senior Vice President and General Manager Ted Nicholson. “Run over our unique, European-style turf course with $75,000 purses, these races are sure to have full, competitive fields and provide two quality contenders for the respective Claiming Crown races

at Gulfstream Park in December. We are thrilled to offer these races for our horsemen and fans as we continue to improve the racing product during our race meeting.”

“We’re extremely pleased that Laurel will once again hold qualifying races for the 2016 Claiming Crown at Gulfstream Park,” said Sal Sinatra, vice president and general manager of the Maryland Jockey Club. “Not only is this a great way to showcase the Claiming Crown in the mid-Atlantic to our fans at Laurel and throughout our off-track betting locations, but it’s a wonderful opportunity for some of our horsemen to earn a trip to South Florida and the Claiming Crown without having to worry about shipping costs.”

“We’re honored and excited that both Kentucky Downs and Laurel Park are part of the road leading to the 2016 Claiming Crown,” said Dan Metzger, president of TOBA and chair of Claiming Crown Ltd. “The Claiming Crown has evolved into an important event on the racing calendar with owners and trainers, and these qualifying races will add both quality and depth to what promises to be another competitive day of racing at Gulfstream Park in December.”

Conditions and a nomination form for the Claiming Crown are available on page 46 of this issue.

XPRESSBET, NTRA ADVANTAGE, LAVIN INSURANCE ADDED TO NATIONAL HBPA’S STABLE OF CORPORATE PARTNERS The National HBPA recently added three new corporate partners with the addition of Xpressbet, NTRA Advantage and Lavin Insurance Group LLC. That brings the total number of corporate partners to eight, as those three will join equineline.com, Omega Alpha, Horseman Labor Solutions, Big Dee’s Tack and Vet Supplies and Finish Line Horse Products Inc. Xpressbet prides itself on providing “horseracing’s simplest, most fun and most user-friendly approach to online wagering.” The U.S.-based company offers wagering on more than 300 tracks by phone, online or via mobile device. To learn more, go to xpressbet.com or call (866) 889-7737.

NTRA Advantage offers significant savings for horsemen on nationally known products from companies like John Deere, Nationwide, Sherwin-Williams,

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Office Depot/Office Max, Valvoline, Red Brand and UPS. All members of the National HBPA are eligible for the savings offered through NTRA Advantage. To find out more, call (866) 678-4289 or go to ntra.com/ntra-advantage.

After a long-standing relationship with the NHBPA providing member benefits through the owners’ and trainer’s liability program, Lavin Insurance Group LLC and its administrator Stone Lane LLC have become a corporate partner. The insurance program provides horsemen with protection of their assets in the case of injury or damage to property as the result of equine activities such as breeding, racing, sales and training. The policy covers liability claims, contractual liability and premises and operations liability. For more information, go to lavininsurance.com or call (502) 228-1600.

“These three companies are already well known to horsemen and are all longtime supporters of our industry,” said Eric Hamelback, CEO of the NHBPA. “Through their partnership with the NHBPA, Xpressbet, NTRA Advantage and Lavin Insurance have taken that commitment to the industry a step further, and we truly appreciate their partnership with us, as well as our other corporate partners. Without these partnerships, the NHBPA would not be able to achieve its goals and provide all the services we offer to horsemen and the industry as a whole.”

NATIONAL HBPA MISSION STATEMENT Founded in 1940, the National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (NHBPA) and its affiliates operate on behalf of Thoroughbred racehorse owners, trainers and backstretch personnel throughout the United States and Canada. Our mission is to improve and preserve Thoroughbred horse racing by: 1. Providing a representative voice for all Thoroughbred horsemen on matters integral to the advancement of Thoroughbred racing in the United States, Canada and at the state level.

2. Encouraging the highest standards of horsemanship to continuously improve the care, health and safety of the horse.

3. Facilitating guidelines to ensure the safety of the jockeys, trainers, grooms, exercise riders, hot walkers, farriers, veterinarians and all others who regularly come in contact with the racehorse.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Supporting the development, adoption, implementation and enforcement of nationwide uniform rules which promote safety and integrity in racing.

Disseminating information on critical issues facing our industry to HBPA affiliates and to the general public as appropriate.

Supporting and promoting programs and entities which provide general benevolence and other beneficial programs for affiliates and members.

Assisting in the development of programs at affiliated tracks providing for the aftercare of our horses when their racing careers are over.

Promoting the sport of Thoroughbred horse racing.

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

2.

4.

5.

6.

International on behalf of state racing commissions, and following an evaluation based on science and medical research with all industry stakeholders being heard, the rules should be adopted or rejected by a majority vote.

The National HBPA contends that uniform medication rules must be based solely on published scientifically determined regulatory thresholds, with published scientifically determined withdrawal time guidelines, all based on and supported by data published in the scientific literature.

The National HBPA believes that RMTC and ISO-17025 accredited laboratories should perform all medication testing.

The National HBPA does not tolerate cheating in this sport. The NHBPA supports rules wherein repeat offenders of medication rules, after due process, should be severely penalized, including permanent expulsion from the industry.

Denis Blake

3.

The National HBPA’s focus has always been, and remains, the health and safety of the horse, the safety of the jockey, and the safety of all individuals coming into contact with the horse including grooms, hot walkers, trainers and veterinarians.

The National HBPA believes a truly independent and transparent Racing Medication and Testing Consortium (RMTC) composed of industry stakeholders (including the NHBPA, The Jockey Club, the United States Trotting Association and Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, among others) not dominated by any individual organization, with input from appropriate medical and veterinary professional bodies such as the American Association of Equine Practitioners, must be the final evaluator of medical and veterinary science.

The National HBPA believes that RMTC approved medication rules should be reviewed by the Association of Racing Commissioners

WWW.NATIONALHBPA.COM

13

Photo by Suzie Picou-Oldham

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THE NATIONAL HORSEMEN’S BENEVOLENT & PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION, INC. WHAT IS IT? A program to protect your assets in case of an injury or damage to property arising from your equine activities (breeding, racing, sales, training). This is not a substitute for workers’ compensation coverage.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? $90 per horse and $180 minimum premium—Beginning November 1st WHAT DOES IT COVER? • Liability claims arising from injuries to participants (non-employee jockeys and exercise riders) • Contractual liability (i.e. hold harmless in Race Track Stall Agreements) • Premises and Operations liability coverage for all equine operations including breeding, boarding, training and racing HOW MUCH DOES IT COVER? Each member additional insured has their own $1,000,000 coverage for each occurrence or offense and $2,000,000 general aggregate. Damage to premises rented to you or occupied by you with the permission of the owner is provided with a limit of $50,000.

Medical Payments coverage applies as well in the amount of $5,000 per person.

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TECHNOLOGY

hj

+ RESEARCH MEDICATION UPDATE

WELFARE AND SAFETY OF THE RACEHORSE SUMMIT VII: EFFORTS CONTINUE TO BEAR FRUIT

The seventh Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit concluded June 28 at the Keeneland Sales Pavilion in Lexington, Kentucky, following 12 reports on topics ranging from racing surfaces, equine injuries and rider safety to nutrition, biosecurity and respiratory health for horses. There were also reports on biomarker research, compounded medications, lameness, the importance of the physical inspection and use of the riding crop.

The summit, which is organized and underwritten by Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation and The Jockey Club, drew approximately 200 observers as well as an international audience who watched a live video stream. A video replay of the summit and several of the presentations is available on the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation website at grayson-jockeyclub.org.

The summit once again was free and open to the public and attracted a cross-section of representatives from the world of Thoroughbred breeding and racing, including owners, breeders, horsemen, regulators, veterinarians, racetrack officials, jockeys and media.

Dr. Tim Parkin, an epidemiologist from the University of Glasgow’s School of Veterinary Medicine, shared some insights regarding the dramatic drop in fatal injuries in 2015 compared to previous years.

“We now have seven full years of data in the Equine Injury Database [2009 to 2015], and the data is now driving our ability to have an impact on risk factors and fatalities,” he said.

Among his findings was that racing horses at a young age reduces the chance of fatal injury.

“We also noticed that the number of starts by 2-year-olds increased as fatality rates dropped,” he said.

In addition, a lower risk of fatal injury was found with horses that stay longer with the same trainer, have more time off between races and race farther than six furlongs.

“Our collective efforts are beginning to bear fruit,” Parkin said.

“We have seen significant improvement even with a lot of unknown variables. I would urge tracks to continue to report complete data and for those tracks to study their own data.”

Bill Casner, a Thoroughbred owner and breeder, covered respiratory and airway health and talked about steps he has taken to improve environmental conditions for his horses.

Dr. Mick Peterson, executive director of the Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory, discussed track surface design and its relationship to the Equine Injury Database.

“Our goal is to make dirt surfaces consistently safe and reduce the risk to horses and riders,” he said. “We can make racing safer when we study the Equine Injury Database, the Jockey Injury Database and the Management Quality System together.”

Dr. Christopher Kawcak of the Orthopedic Research Center of Colorado State University discussed how biomarkers could be used to prevent catastrophic injuries. He said that biomarker analysis for equine injury risk requires sequential diagnosis over time via various imaging techniques.

Sue Finley, senior vice president and co-publisher of Thoroughbred Daily News, moderated a panel of retired jockeys including Gunnar Lindberg, now a Canadian racing official, and Hall of Famers Chris McCarron and Ramon Dominguez, who discussed regulations involving the use of the riding crop.

“In Canada, we’ve limited the number of strikes, and horses aren’t running any slower,” Lindberg said. “If we want to increase our fan base, we can’t be abusing horses with a whip.”

“The whip is important for safety and can help you guide a horse around a turn,” said McCarron. “It’s a very useful tool and has prevented a lot of accidents and incidents when used properly.”

Other sessions included athletic training and rehabilitation, compound medications, equine veterinary care and lameness diagnosis. In the final session, veterinarians Dr. Larry Bramlage, Dr. Kevin Dunlavy and Dr. Mary Scollay discussed the importance of physical inspection. Bramlage talked about the use of advanced imaging to find underlying causes for a symptom-free horse’s poor performance. Dunlavy talked about assessing a specific issue or problem causing lameness, and Scollay spoke of lameness inspections performed to ensure a horse is sound enough to compete.

“As with so many past editions, this summit clearly demonstrated the tremendous welfare- and safety-related enhancements that are possible when we have such widespread industry collaboration,” said Edward L. Bowen, president of the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation. “The increasing use of sophisticated data and new technology is certainly helping us move forward, and we are grateful to all those who made presentations, attended or watched our summit.”

ORGANIZATIONAL FUNDING COMPLETE FOR GRAYSON-JOCKEY CLUB RESEARCH FOUNDATION OCALA INITIATIVE Niall Brennan Stables of Ocala committed to a $10,000 gift in support of the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation’s Ocala Initiative, thus completing the organizational side of the $200,000 initiative designed to advance equine research in Florida.

“It’s a really great honor to have the support of Niall and his team,” said Garrett Gleeson, director of development and major gifts at the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation. “He was there when this initiative was conceived and has helped steward its advancement, so to have him come on board as the final gift in the organizational side of this project is fitting.”

Grayson is now soliciting donations from individuals in Florida to match the $100,000 committed by various equine organizations, which include Niall Brennan Stables, Double Diamond Farm, Ocala Breeders’ Sales, Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ 16

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Association, Ocala Stud, Glen Hill Farm, Payton Training Center, Tampa Bay Downs and Gulfstream Park.

“Having the support of all these organizations shows how committed Florida is to equine research and, in turn, equine health and welfare,” Gleeson said. “We’re now reaching out to individuals throughout the state to show their appreciation for the well-being of the horse.”

For information about how you can support Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation projects, contact Garrett Gleeson at ggleeson@ jockeyclub.com or (212) 521-5310.

hj MEDICAL

National

H B PA

MEDICATION COMMITTEE CORNER NATIONAL HBPA ZEROES IN ON MEDICATION THRESHOLDS

By Denis Blake

Ackerley Images

One of the primary topics during the Medication Forum at the National HBPA’s summer convention in Vancouver was threshold levels and how the sensitivity of current testing methods results in “positives” for many medications that are therapeutic in nature and at levels that could in no way affect the performance of that horse.

The Medication Forum was composed of Joel B. Turner, an attorney with Frost Brown Todd LLC in Louisville, Kentucky; Clara Fenger, DVM, a veterinarian with Equine Integrated Medicine of Georgetown, Kentucky, and secretary of the North American Association of Racetrack Veterinarians; L. Everett Macomber, DVM, a former executive board member of the American Association of Equine Practitioners and current commissioner on the Washington Horse Racing Commission; and Dr. Thomas Tobin, a noted researcher and professor at the Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center at the University of Kentucky.

Turner stressed that thresholds need to be based on science.

“By imposing a low threshold without science, you are going to catch a lot of people with no intention [of cheating] and for something that had no impact on the race or performance of that horse,” he said. “That’s the moral and legal equivalent of a police officer stopping me on the way home from dinner and telling me I have alcohol on my breath so I’m going to jail, regardless of whether I was impaired. It’s just not a legitimate way to regulate racing, and it needs to change.”

Fenger added, “Seven of the original 24 controlled therapeutic medications had their thresholds or withdrawals revised or ‘clarified’ because the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium (RMTC) realized that the original scientific basis was either insufficient or wrong.”

Contamination also was discussed in depth as well as how the inadvertent consumption of contaminated hay or bedding can trigger positive tests because of low thresholds.

“Just because you can find it doesn’t mean it’s significant,” Fenger said.

She stated that some RMTC thresholds are so low that contamination is inevitable. She also made an important distinction in comparing human and equine athletes, where the former is much less likely to have contamination issues because “human athletes do not live in barns.”

She added that recent studies looking at environmental contamination using dexamethasone revealed that horses will readily consume as much as 35 ml of urine on hay without being starved. In a recent case in Kentucky, a “positive” test for methocarbamol could have resulted from consumption of

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as little as 2 ml of urine, which is equivalent to about 20 drops or 0.07 fluid ounces. The contamination issue potentially comes into play when a horse consumes hay with equine or human urine on it, even in minute quantities.

Fenger also discussed how some substances, like morphine and glaucine, are present in low concentrations in some plants and trees that can make their way into hay and bedding. While those concentrations are far too low to have any performance-enhancing effect on a horse, it could still trigger a “positive” test.

As a solution to the issue, she suggested that horsemen’s organizations work with their racing commissions to effect an understanding of the deficiencies with the current approach to the regulation of therapeutic medication. At the track, she suggested not to allow any backside workers to urinate in stalls, move horses to “fresh” stalls 24 hours pre-race and not to remove hay before racing.

Macomber discussed how some tests were heading in the direction of detecting femtograms, which is a 1 with 15 zeros.

“Does [medication] have an effect at this level?” he asked. “No one has proven that it does.”

Tobin discussed several contamination cases around the world, including cases where contamination occurred with blood samples. He also explained that the lack of expected plasma or urinary metabolites is a critically important factor to consider when determining whether a substance was actually in a horse or just the result of contamination.

In particular, Tobin discussed a record number of positives for caffeine in the mid-1980s in Australia. A veterinarian testified that the caffeine had never been “through” the horses in question, and it was not present in blood or saliva samples. Furthermore, there were no caffeine metabolites in the samples, which also would indicate the substance was never consumed by the horse. The problem was compounded by the fact that there were no split sample procedures at the time.

After nearly 200 positives were called, officials finally determined that the caffeine came from the pH sticks used in the laboratory.

While the use of split samples today would likely prevent a similar occurrence, Tobin pointed out the importance of the metabolites, which helped prove contamination in several more recent instances.

Tobin said he is working to get a report published to establish a record of sample contamination and especially for blood sample events.

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Nov. 10 – Dec. 4

Oct. 5 – 18

Aug. 19 – Sep. 18 Oct. 20 – Dec. 11

Dec. 8 – 18

Sep. 7 – 27

Sep. 21 – Oct. 4

Sep. 30 – Nov. 6

Hastings Racecourse

Del Mar

Fresno

Golden Gate Fields

Los Alamitos Race Course

Pomona at Los Alamitos

San Joaquin (Stockton)

Santa Anita

British Columbia, Canada

California

Indiana Grand

Prairie Meadows

Iowa

Aug. 20 – Oct. 15

Apr. 19 – Oct. 29

Oct. 7 – Dec. 31

Hawthorne Race Course

Indiana

May 6 – Sep. 24

Arlington Park

Oct. 5 – Nov. 27

Gulfstream Park West

Illinois

Jul. 1 – Oct. 1 Dec. 3 – Apr. 2, 2017

Gulfstream Park

Florida

May 21 – Oct. 15

Delaware Park

Delaware

Apr. 17 – Oct. 16

Jan. 13, 2017 – Apr. 15, 2017

Oaklawn Park

Arkansas

Oct. 15 – May 7, 2017

Sep. 3 – Oct. 16

Rocky Mountain Turf Club (Lethbridge)

Turf Paradise

May 6 – Oct. 10

Northlands Park

Arizona

Alberta, Canada

DATES>>

20 20 1racing 6 17

Sep. 10 – Dec. 13

The Downs at Albuquerque Zia Park

Oklahoma

Ohio

New York

Jun. 25 – Sep. 25

Monmouth Park

New Mexico

Apr. 16 – Nov. 30

Finger Lakes

Will Rogers Downs

Remington Park

Thistledown

Mahoning Valley

Sep. 10 – Nov. 12

Aug. 12 – Dec. 11

Apr. 25 – Oct. 22

Oct. 28 – Dec. 28

Apr. 29 – Oct. 8

Sep. 9 – Oct. 30

Belmont Park

Belterra Park

Nov. 4 – Dec. 31

Aqueduct

May 14 – Sep. 25

May 20 – Sep. 17

Canterbury Park

New Jersey

May 7 – Sep. 24

Harrah’s Louisiana Downs

Minnesota

Nov. 19 – Apr. 2, 2017

Fair Grounds

Sep. 9 – Dec. 31

Sep. 28 – Dec. 17

Evangeline Downs

Laurel Park

Oct. 19 – Mar. 11, 2017

Nov. 30 – Dec. 31

Delta Downs

Turfway Park

Sep. 3 – 17

Oct. 7 – 29

Keeneland Race Course Kentucky Downs

Sep. 16 – Oct. 2 Oct. 30 – Nov. 27

Churchill Downs

Maryland

Louisiana

Kentucky

Mountaineer Race Track

Hollywood Casino @ Charles Town Races

Apr. 16 – Nov. 26

Jan. 7 – Dec. 29

Sep. 2 – Nov. 26

Retama Park

May 22 – Oct. 6

Presque Isle Downs

Sep. 16 – Nov. 12

Jan. 6 – Dec. 30

Lone Star Park

Feb. 13 – Dec. 20 Penn National

Apr. 9 – Dec. 4

Woodbine Parx Racing

May 31 – Oct. 18

May 8 – Oct. 24

Fort Erie

Ajax Downs

Schedule is based on available information at the time each issue goes to press. All racing jurisdictions have differing schedules and policies regarding the granting of future race dates that impact availability.

West Virginia

Texas

Pennsylvania

Ontario, Canada

DATES

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FEATURE

e REMEMBERING TOM METZEN SR. e z Tom Metzen Sr. and his wife, Karen, at Canterbury Park

T

RACING HAS LOST ONE OF ITS MOST PASSIONATE ADVOCATES FOR HORSEMEN

om Metzen Sr., a tireless worker for horsemen in Arizona, Minnesota and across the country, passed away on August 10. At the time of his passing, Metzen was first vice president and Central Region vice president for the National HBPA, president of the Minnesota HBPA and executive director of the Arizona HBPA. “The entire horse racing industry has lost one of its biggest fans and one of its most vocal advocates,” said Eric Hamelback, CEO of the National HBPA. “To know Tom was to know his heart and thus his passion for the love of the horse and his love of our industry. His tireless efforts toward promoting racing, advocating for horsemen and the support of backside programs will be sorely missed and may likely never be

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By Denis Blake

matched. I am honored to have known Tom and even more proud to have worked alongside him.”

Metzen was a member of the Canterbury Hall of Fame, and he enjoyed great success at the Minnesota track as an owner. He campaigned three horses to win Horse of the Year titles at Canterbury: Shot of Gold, Prime Step and Chisholm.

“We owe Tom a great debt of gratitude, as his contributions to making Canterbury Park and the Minnesota horse racing industry what they are today are unmatched,” said Canterbury President and CEO Randy Sampson. “I am personally grateful for the friendship and partnership I have been fortunate to share with Tom for the past 25-plus years. We didn’t always agree, but one thing we did always agree on is that we can accomplish a lot more when the track and horsemen work together. With Tom’s leadership of the HBPA,

Coady Photography

e

Metzen left an indelible impact on racing in Minnesota and Arizona, as well as nationally through his work to bring the Claiming Crown from concept to reality.

Canterbury Park and our horsemen became the model for how to work together to achieve success.”

His service to the Minnesota racing industry also included time as chair of the Minnesota Racing Commission and president of the Minnesota Thoroughbred Association. Among his accomplishments in Minnesota, Metzen was instrumental in the establishment of the Claiming Crown at Canterbury.

The event for blue-collar claiming horses debuted in Minnesota in 1999 and has been held there 10 times, most recently in 2010.

On a national level, he served on numerous committees for the NHBPA, including budget and dues, The Horsemen’s Journal, insurance and public relations. He also served on the NHBPA’s Executive Committee and chaired the organization’s National Assistance Committee.

In 2007, Metzen received the National Industry Service Award. This award is the premier award of the National HBPA Inc., given in recognition of dedication, service and leadership to the horse racing industry.

“Tom was my mentor and my good friend,” said National HBPA President Leroy Gessmann. “He will be missed by all the horsemen and horsewomen he worked so hard for, not only in Minnesota and Arizona but all across the country.

Whenever I had an issue I was struggling with, Tom was always there to help me out. As chairman of the National Assistance Committee, he went out of his way to help fellow horsemen and horsewomen in need. Tom will be missed by all.”

“Tom was a great family man, horseman and my friend for over 10 years, and he will surely be missed,” said Arizona HBPA President J. Lloyd Yother. “Tom

spent tireless hours working to protect and improve the interests of Arizona horsemen and horsewomen. He was instrumental in getting advance deposit wagering legislation here as well as getting added money for Arizona breeders in open races and funds for Arizona breeders awards. When there was a benefit or someone in need, Tom and Karen were always there to support the cause.”

Metzen was preceded in death by son Thomas Jr. and brother Jim. He is survived by his loving wife of 56 years, Karen; children Tim and Kathy (Tim) Machacek; grandchildren Nick (Tamara), Laura (Carl), Travis (Kayelynn), Luke (Shahara), Kayla, Adam and Allison; great-grandchildren Mya, Ava, Colton and Cooper; brother David (Leslie); and sister-in-law Sandie Metzen. He is also survived by many nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, the family requested memorials to the SSP Educational Foundation.

z “HE WILL BE MISSED BY ALL THE HORSEMEN AND HORSEWOMEN HE WORKED SO HARD FOR, NOT ONLY IN MINNESOTA AND ARIZONA BUT ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY.”

z

– NATIONAL HBPA PRESIDENT LEROY GESSMANN WWW.NATIONALHBPA.COM

23

FEATURE

CANADIAN CONNECTION

By Denis Blake

Denis Blake

HORSEMEN HEAD NORTH OF THE BORDER TO VANCOUVER FOR THE NATIONAL HBPA SUMMER CONVENTION

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where employers register with the USDA to become “designated agricultural employers” and how that program could be used by the racing/breeding industry in some situations.

Brian Fitzgerald, NHBPA government relations liaison, and Peter Ecabert, NHBPA general counsel, provided an update on current legislative issues. The National Benefit Providers meeting featured co-chair Richard Riedel discussing why cyber insurance is important for affiliates to consider to cover hacks and data breaches, and Dr. C. Reid McLellan talked about the Groom Elite program.

Bill White, president of the Florida HBPA, provided an update on the decoupling situation in his state. Decoupling would remove the mandate that

Denis Blake

While the name National HBPA might imply a singular nation, the largest horsemen’s association in North America has long been composed of two. The NHBPA Summer Convention on July 13-17 in Vancouver, British Columbia, reinforced that as horsemen from the United States and Canada came together to share best practices, discuss important issues and work for the betterment of racing for all.

Held at the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre in the downtown area of one of Canada’s largest cities, the gathering was hosted by the HBPA of British Columbia and also included an afternoon at nearby Hastings Racecourse hosted by the track.

Keynote speaker Eric Jackson, general manager of Oaklawn Park, kicked off the convention by telling the rollercoaster story of the Arkansas track, from big times in the 1970s to near closure in the 1990s to the great success of today.

While the addition of Instant Racing and other forms of gaming have played a big role in Oaklawn’s resurgence, Jackson also pointed to the track’s working relationship with horsemen and focus on the horse racing product as major factors.

The Immigration Forum examined issues affecting horsemen and the horse industry. The forum included attorney Will Velie of Horseman Labor Solutions; Julio Rubio, Hispanic and backside services coordinator for the Kentucky HBPA; and Oscar Gonzales, state executive director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency in California.

Gonzales, who as a youth and in college worked with Thoroughbreds at farms and at tracks in California, spoke of a proposed guest worker program

Denis Blake

Keynote speaker Eric Jackson of Oaklawn Park pari-mutuel facilities hold live racing in order to offer card rooms and/or slot machines. While Florida horsemen helped defeat decoupling in the latest legislative session, the threat remains, both in that state and others.

“If it happened in Florida, it can happen at tracks in other parts of the country,” said White. “Other legislatures are going to take a hard look at this.

We are fighting for our own survival but also for everyone else.”

Frank Lamb, a board member for the Racing Officials Accreditation Program and chair of its stewards advisory committee, explained the accreditation process for racing officials. He stressed the importance of open communication between officials and horsemen.

Judge Bill Walmsley, former Arkansas HBPA and National HBPA president, moderated a panel entitled “What’s Mine is Mine and What’s Yours is Mine.”

The panelists included Kenny McPeek, an accomplished trainer and co-founder of the Horse Races Now app, and Michele Fischer, vice president of sales and business development for Sportech Racing and Digital, along with Peter Ecabert and NHBPA CEO Eric Hamelback.

Fischer talked about mobile betting on track through a smartphone or tablet and how technology can help horsemen earn a higher percentage of such wagers. She explained geo-fencing, which uses GPS positioning or other methods to create a virtual perimeter so that the location of the wager can be identified. Depending where and through which system a wager was placed, in some situations it can be treated as an “on-track” wager that was made at a traditional teller window, which generally returns a higher percentage of the wager to purses.

The panel also discussed the question “Do racehorse owners have property rights in the racing product, in the races and in the records of their horses’ performance?”

While there was universal agreement that horsemen do indeed have rights to images, video and data generated by the races in which their horses participate, the next question is how to assert those rights. The panelists discussed ways that could happen, either through the legal system or negotiations with racetracks, ADWs and video/data providers. It was agreed that more discussion and research is needed to develop a strategy for action, and the NHBPA is working to form a task force to tackle the issue.

One of the most attended sessions was the Medication Forum that examined regulatory thresholds and how the sensitivity of today’s testing methods, coupled with very low threshold levels for many medications, has resulted in “positive” tests even when trace levels would have no effect on performance and likely were due to contamination.

The panel was composed of Joel B. Turner, an attorney with Frost Brown Todd LLC in Louisville, Kentucky; Clara Fenger, DVM, a veterinarian with Equine Integrated Medicine of Georgetown, Kentucky, and secretary of the North American Association of Racetrack Veterinarians; L. Everett Macomber, DVM, a former executive board member of the American Association of Equine Practitioners and current commissioner on the Washington Horse Racing Commission; and Dr. Thomas Tobin, a noted researcher and professor at the Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center at the University of Kentucky.

To read a complete recap of the Medication Forum, please turn to page 18 of this issue.

Also regarding medication, Tanya Boulmetis, general counsel for the North American Association of Racetrack Veterinarians, discussed the Association of Racing Commissioners International’s model rule for methocarbamol.

Susan Martin of equineline.com introduced horsemen to the updated version of the website that provides pedigrees, race records and other services for owners, trainers, farms and sale participants.

Selected audio and PowerPoint presentations from the convention will be available to NHBPA members at hbpa.org in the near future.

The 2017 NHBPA Winter Convention has been set for March 7-11 at the South Point Hotel, Casino and Spa in Las Vegas. More information on registration will be posted in the coming months.

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FEATURE

HORSE RACING AND THE

HUMANE SOCIETY WHY THE ENTIRE HORSE INDUSTRY SHOULD PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO HSUS’S INVOLVEMENT IN THE SPORT

By Dennis J. Foster

T

he Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), with its international branch Humane Society International, is the largest and richest animal rights organization in the world.

Endorsements it receives from celebrities and organizations that society holds in high esteem generate vast financial resources and undeserved credibility. HSUS uses this money and influence to employ a sophisticated long-term strategy to manipulate politicians, the media and the general public into supporting an agenda that is not about animal welfare and protection but instead ultimately seeks to ban animal activities and ownership overall.

The horse industry, and in particular the racing industry, is now one of their targets.

To understand the strategies HSUS is using against horse racing, one must observe how they approach other animal targets. By working to redefine the relationship we have with dogs, no longer calling them “pets” but instead “companion animals,” HSUS first seeks equality between humans and dogs.

This leads to the pursuit of limitations and banning of breeding and sporting activities, as this is incompatible with the animals’ “rights” as defined by HSUS. The long-term goal is the elimination of dog ownership completely. This very same strategy is being used on horses, traditionally considered “livestock” but now referred to as “companion animals” by animal rights extremists.

If successful, it paves the way to remove other animals from the livestock

category as well. It is critical to the horse industry that they remain livestock.

HSUS knows they can’t reach these goals all at once, and so the organization adopts a slow and steady course of action that gradually increases pressure under the auspices of compromise, using the rationalization that it’s better to work with them than against them. While compromise is usually an effective means of solving a problem, HSUS will make demands yet yield nothing, and left unchecked this will result in a one-sided resolution.

There are numerous examples of their strategy to take their targets apart slowly until there is nothing left and HSUS has reached its goal. At the 2015 Animal Rights National Conference in Washington, D.C., with HSUS in attendance as a major contributor, activists were encouraged to work toward their goals slowly a step at a time so as not to turn off the groups they’re working with for the change they are after. In years past, HSUS ex-Vice President for Farm Animal Welfare Miyun Park was quoted as saying, “We don’t want any of these animals to be raised and killed for food…unfortunately we don’t have the luxury of waiting until we have the opportunity to get rid of the entire industry.” (Speech by Park, October 2006, Animals and Society Institute conference “Expert Panel on Poultry” Consumer Freedom) A couple of years ago in California, HSUS was successful via their ballot initiative in getting legislation passed making it mandatory that chickens have larger cages. Many people agreed it was a good idea, however, their real goal was no cages. This year they are lobbying for no cages, just free-range

WWW.NATIONALHBPA.COM

27

FEATURE

Courtesy Dennis Foster

chickens. The ultimate goal is to make chickens and their by-products too expensive and encourage a vegan lifestyle. What has this strategy to do with horse racing? Everything.

HSUS ex-VP for Laboratory Animals John McArdle once told a group of HSUS volunteers, “Don’t appear to be opposed to animal research; we’re only concerned about animals!” (McArdle speech HSUS 1984, convention, www. zoominfo.com/p/John-Mcardle/12453167) This domino effect strategy against all their targets takes time but has been very successful.

If HSUS cannot remove or ban an animal activity all at once, its strategy is to take advantage of any mishap. With racehorses, they will capitalize on injuries that occur in high-profile races or to very successful horses (February 8, 2016, “Death of Hobart Cup favourite prompts renewed calls from animal rights activists to ban horse racing,” ABC News). Through legislators friendly to HSUS’s cause, they introduce more and more regulations and requirements until it becomes too expensive or requires too much red tape to continue the activity.

HSUS accomplishes this by exaggerations, misinformation and half-truths. For example, Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of HSUS, notes in his blog a New York Times study stating that “24 horses die each week at racetracks across America”1, leaving the impression that they die from racing. In truth, however, that figure includes horses that die from everything from colic to stall injuries to accidents in the stable area, incidents that just happen to occur at a racetrack.

Moreover, the New York Racing Association notes that the Times study on how often horses were injured was based on “unreliable and potentially deceptive”2 data that came from racing charts, a source that does not provide the details necessary to come to those conclusions.

HSUS’s contributions to the horse racing industry are primarily in the form of advice on treatment from an animal rights perspective. The irony here is that they are not experts in horse matters; the experts are in the horse organizations to whom they are attempting to dictate policy. HSUS is bitterly opposed to therapeutic medication necessary to maintain the health and welfare of the racehorse. These medications are not performance-enhancing drugs. No one should disagree with the need to have uniform medication regulations—track accreditation, permitted and prohibited substances, standardized laboratory testing and consistent penalties for violations—but this mission requires expertise that HSUS does not possess, particularly not over industry leaders such as the American Association of Equine Practitioners. HSUS is exploiting this issue, including being allowed to join the Coalition for Horse Racing

“HSUS is exploiting [the medication] issue, including being allowed to join the Coalition for Horse Racing Integrity, which gives them more influence and credibility to further their more radical animal rights agenda.” – Dennis Foster, Masters of Foxhounds Association of America 28

HJFALL 16

Integrity, which gives them more influence and credibility to further their more radical animal rights agenda.

While HSUS’s focus at the moment is the use of drugs on racehorses, they are also raising opposition to other practices, including breeding that values speed over soundness and the racing of 2-year-olds, despite studies that show racing benefits young horses when done properly by promoting increases in bone and muscle mass. They have begun pushing for limits on breeding and for more stringent requirements for the composition of racing ground, even though the surfaces at racetracks are already closely monitored by trainers, owners and race officials working to provide the best possible footing for both health and speed.

The research HSUS uses in its claims is often ambiguous, mixing Thoroughbred racing with American Quarter Horse racing, Arabian racing and Standardbred racing. This either shows a lack of understanding of the racing industry as a whole, in which case HSUS cannot be considered to be capable of providing expert advice, or it indicates that the raw data is being selectively analyzed in order to support the positions they are promoting. The truth is animal rights organizations, with HSUS at the helm, will not be satisfied until racing is banned.

HSUS also seeks to exploit the connection between the number of unwanted horses and the racing industry. Over and over again, HSUS uses unwanted horses to make headlines.

Certainly, the issue of unwanted horses is an important one, and one that has received increased attention from within the racing industry in recent years.

HSUS, however, does not readily recognize initiatives in place to decrease the number of unwanted horses.

Our industry has made considerable headway in finding second careers for ex-racehorses. There are numerous adoption programs in place for horses that are unable to find second careers.

Rather than HSUS exploiting every horse tragedy to raise money for itself, why doesn’t it recognize the work being done by these industries to address the unwanted horse problem? Just a few examples: the American Horse Council’s Unwanted Horse Coalition, the Retired Racehorse Project, the Thoroughbred Makeover and the many varied horse associations’ adoption, rehabilitation and retraining efforts and programs. Is it because HSUS wants to demonize the use of animals and not help to improve their welfare with jobs? It is clear from HSUS’s tax returns, with more than $100 million each year in donations, that it spends next to nothing on horses or any other animal adoption or rescue programs. It does however take advantage of every tragedy to raise more money for its political agendas.

As the organization does in many other areas, HSUS is apt to skew the facts and figures regarding unwanted horses to serve its own agenda.

Other horse disciplines and issues have drawn the scrutiny of HSUS, with predictable results.

Eventing: HSUS has sued USEA events, such as the Rolex Three-Day Event, for “cruelty,” which was their interpretation for horses simply competing in the sport. Judges threw out the lawsuit as unfounded. Despite the lawsuit, the USEA accepted HSUS as a sponsor for a children’s event and allowed them to give lectures to children on animal welfare issues. Objections from many famous event riders, who understand the threat HSUS presents to horse sports, forced USEA’s leadership to take a closer look at their relationship with HSUS. Rodeos: Despite HSUS attacks on rodeos, the sport continues to thrive in the U.S. due to proactive livestock welfare programs and open transparency on animal care to the public. In 1994, HSUS approached the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) asking to discuss some of their concerns on horses and other livestock and determine if their current views on rodeo needed to be

revised. The PRCA agreed and invited HSUS Vice President of Investigations David Wills to attend the Cheyenne, Wyoming, rodeo with PRCA officials.

At the end of the day, Wills stated he saw no problems. According to all the PRCA officials and news reporters covering HSUS’s attendance, Wills promised they would receive a copy of any report before it was published. That didn’t happen. HSUS published an article exactly the opposite of Wills’ comments alleging cruelty and abuses that to all present didn’t happen.

It turns out Wills has a long track record with the animal rights movement, and it didn’t start with HSUS. He was fired from past jobs after accusations that he stole funds and was found to have used a faked résumé. He had a close personal relationship with Wayne Pacelle, now HSUS president, and then president John Hoyt. Wills and Pacelle were college roommates, and according to Animal People News, it was Wills who persuaded HSUS to hire Pacelle. Wills was hired by HSUS in 1987. He lasted four years before being fired for allegations of embezzlement.3 About that same year, Wills did the rodeo inspection and report.

Questionable conduct, such as that aimed at rodeo, by its employees is nothing new for HSUS. Many of their employees were hired from extremist, radical animal rights groups like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Some have criminal records, and many have been found to blatantly distort and lie when reporting events or making their case to the public. It is amazing that some of the Thoroughbred industry and other horse groups try to work with HSUS when there is overwhelming proof of their lies and deceptions.

Carriage Horses: HSUS has petitioned the New York City Council to support Mayor Bill de Blasio’s effort to ban carriage horses in the city, despite overwhelming proof that the carriage horses are exceptionally well cared for.

In truth, this issue had less to do with horse welfare than it did about animal rights contributions to the de Blasio re-election campaign. De Blasio promised to ban carriage horses and have them sold only to people who will not work them in any capacity, in return for animal rights’ financial support. Further, it

was revealed that the ban was financed by real estate interests to obtain the high-value property that the carriage horses occupied.

About this issue, Pacelle stated, “The idea of banning the horse-drawn carriages, which are not used for point-to-point travel, but for sight-seeing in and around Central Park, has long been backed by the major animal welfare groups, including the HSUS and the ASPCA […] and we enthusiastically back Mayor de Blasio’s effort.”4 Disregarding his mischaracterizing those groups as “animal welfare,” it would appear by his own words that Pacelle, and by extension HSUS, does not believe in the recreational use of horses. Pacelle has also been quoted: “We’ve turned sentiment into legislation and law.”5 This is one of HSUS’s most successful strategies.

It is interesting to note that HSUS has sought the banning of dog racing, both at racetracks using Greyhounds and in northern climates using sled dogs.

In targeting the historic Iditarod race in Anchorage, Alaska, they have been successful in convincing sponsors to remove their financial backing, even after having been invited by the race committee, as a gesture of goodwill and transparency, to participate in event preparation and observe the welfare of the dogs.

The proof of their ultimate goal is in their attacks on other like animal activities. It is imprudent to believe that HSUS, or its international branch, will stop their campaign against horse racing if their stated goals of medication reform are addressed. If HSUS considers the use of carriages horses, eventing and dog racing to be cruel and unacceptable, how can Thoroughbred racing possibly believe they won’t become the next target?

Lt. Col. Dennis J. Foster (U.S. Army, retired) is executive director of the Masters of Foxhounds Association of America, which is the governing body of organized fox, coyote, other acceptable legal quarry and drag hunting in the United States and Canada.

1 Bogdanich, W; Drape, J; Miles, D; Palmer, G. (2012, March 25). Death and disarray at America’s racetracks. New York Times. (nytimes.com/2012/03/25/us/death-and-disarray-atamericas-racetracks.html).

2 Grening, D. (2012, April 12). New York Racing Association challenges methodology used in N.Y. Times article. Daily Racing Form. (drf.com/news/new-york-racing-associationchallenges-methodology-used-ny-times-article).

3 HumaneWatch.org (2010, September 28). Meet former HSUS VP David Wills. (Hold on to your wallet!) (humanewatch.org/meet_david_wills/).

4 Pacelle, Wayne (2014, January 6). Time to move away from horse and buggy in NYC and into safer, more humane world (blog.humanesociety.org/wayne/2014/01/time-to-move-awayfrom-horse-carriages.html).

5 Baier, Lowell E. (Fall 2010). The secret world inside the animal rights agenda—part one,” Fair Chase. (boone-crockett.org/images/editor/file/FC_Fall2010_FromthePresident.pdf).

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DRF’s Increased Commitment to Breeding is Being Noticed by the Breeding Community

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HJFALL 16

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FEATURE

AN

UNLIKELY AND UNWELCOME

UNION Everyone wants what is best for horse racing and especially for the

THE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE JOCKEY CLUB AND HUMANE SOCIETY IS NOT GOOD FOR RACING

By National HBPA CEO Eric J. Hamelback

However, the council will be chaired by Joe DeFrancis, who has not been

Thoroughbred racehorses that make our industry possible. That is why many

actively involved with running a racetrack in nearly a decade, but who is a

of us are stunned by The Jockey Club leadership’s latest attempt to use that

former law partner of the HSUS chairman and is now a consultant to the HSUS.

organization’s considerable wealth and influence to push a piece of federal

This council will now hear from HSUS CEO Wayne Pacelle, who stated in

legislation, not supported by the vast majority in racing, to address a problem

a recent blog, “The risk [of horse racing] is compounded when the horses are

that is questionable in its existence. Allowing for our equine medication

doped up, raced too young, and bred for champagne-glass legs—valuing speed

control, testing and sanctions to be placed in the hands of a private entity

rather than durability—all of which make them more susceptible to breakdowns

possessing no experience with our sport or its complexities was deemed by

on the track.”

most “as ridiculous as it can get.” Well, think again…It is about to get even more absurd.

The latest ploy, or possibly last-ditch effort, to resurrect a bill the website

Yet at the Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit, sponsored by the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation, we heard research that dispels such a view. Dr. Tim Parkin, who oversees the Equine Injury Database set up by The

govtrack.us has given only a 4 percent chance of passing is The Jockey Club’s

Jockey Club, clearly stated for the record, “This perception that you shouldn’t be

announcement of a “union” with the Humane Society of the United States

racing 2-year-olds, I have to say again and again, it’s a total misperception. The

(HSUS). This is in conjunction with the formation of the HSUS National Horse

earlier you start racing a horse, the better for their long-term career in terms of

Racing Advisory Council, whose announced council members do not include a

their bone health.”

practicing veterinarian, a racing committee representative from the American Association of Equine Practitioners, a professional trainer, a racetrack operator, nary a racing official nor anyone who works in the trenches with racehorses at racetracks on a day-to-day basis.

32

HJFALL 16

HSUS obviously has a separate agenda?

The Jockey Club includes many men and women who devote time and effort into making improvements to our sport, and we applaud all of them for

Courtesy Office of Representative Andy Barr

National HBPA CEO Eric Hamelback (center) speaks in opposition to H.R. 3084 in front of the Congressional Horse Caucus.

Why then should we trust this council to have input in our industry when

those initiatives and efforts—which do include the recent Welfare and Safety

world. Some of them are also a part of The Jockey Club-controlled Coalition

of the Racehorse Summit and the Equine Injury Database, which documents a

for Horse Racing Integrity. I ask you, however, how many of those coalition

recent appreciable decline in fatal racing injuries. Both are examples of how the

members joined with unrestricted acceptance? Did the Thoroughbred Owners

industry can significantly institute positive change when working together. The

and Breeders Association, the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, the

Jockey Club deserves industry praise for taking the leadership role and funding

Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders, the Consignors and Commercial

most, if not all, of the freight on those ventures.

Breeders Association or even Horseplayers Association of North America join

Why should such endeavors be limited to the likes of those two, or additionally the out-of-competition testing fund established in 2014? Funding

unconditionally? The answer is no.

Since the coalition has brought in HSUS as a full-fledged political ally, does

to The Jockey Club comes directly from our industry, and that should be made

that mean the aforementioned organizations champion the efforts and beliefs

very clear to everyone. As a non-regulatory entity and breed registry, The Jockey

of the Humane Society of the United States? All in an effort to give life support

Club has utilized its wealth to create several for-profit operations that make

to The Jockey Club’s stalled exertions to foist through proposed legislation that

money because of those who work, enjoy and rely on horse racing. So why is that

is not just a very bad idea, it’s a very bad idea that has minimal chance of

largesse not reinvested in efforts that can be deemed beneficial by the entire

passing or even being granted a hearing by the House Energy and Commerce

industry?

Committee, which has jurisdiction.

What about enforcement to require that blood samples be taken before an

H.R. 3084, as we have stated, is a flawed document that presents concerns

equine athlete suffering an ultimately fatal injury on the track is euthanized?

about an additional layering effect of the Interstate Horseracing Act and about

That information alone could provide answers to what many of us consider

the implementation of a weighted board of trustees with no vested interest in

unsubstantiated statements such as our athletes are “riddled with drugs.”

our industry; creates an entity that trumps states’ rights, implementing a plan

Instead of paying hundreds of thousands of industry dollars to lobbyists,

of action with no funding mechanism in place; and finally, places the oversight

why not set up a grant system so state racing commissions can apply for

of our medication model rules program under an organization with absolutely

funding above their budget to ensure they can afford the best lab testing

no experience. That we are still discussing this proposed legislation, much less

available? Then we might be able to achieve the goal of uniform testing in

joining forces with HSUS to facilitate its passage, is inconceivable.

addition to uniform medication rules.

What if the funds now utilized for political fly-ins to Washington and

All sound-minded breeders and horse owners should ask The Jockey Club leadership what possibly could be the motivation behind inviting in HSUS,

non-supported media campaigns alternatively were applied to stipends for

which has been openly criticized by some philanthropy watchdog groups for its

our industry’s current laboratories so they could have the most up-to-date

bloated salaries, its fundraising costs and comparatively small amount of its

equipment?

fundraising efforts that actually help provide for animals in need. In no way

I would think those three suggestions alone would gather consensus and

would we want readers to confuse HSUS with state and local humane societies

strong industry support, unlike some of the current choices made by The Jockey

that run shelters, work toward adoption efforts of small animals and provide

Club for our funds.

much-needed neutering clinics.

The wisest solutions for horse racing and the breeding industries occur

Here’s what HSUS is—a powerful and well-funded lobbying group deeply

when we have honest dialogue and all stakeholders are equal partners at the

entrenched in Washington, D.C. However, it has few friends in the current

discussion table. However, this latest effort in creating a partnership with HSUS,

Congress and is seen as an extreme impediment by most in the agriculture

whose mission in the recent past has included abolishing horse racing, leaves

sector. We also can attest that the HSUS president has gone on record saying

me stunned and disheartened. I feel the partnership with HSUS, developed to

that horses, including racehorses, should be treated as pets rather than

add the vast HSUS lobbying machine to The Jockey Club money and influence

agricultural stock, which in itself alone, would create serious negative taxation

to the support for the fatally flawed Thoroughbred Horse Racing Integrity Act

ramifications for our industry.

of 2015, is an act of desperation, not to mention destructive and creating a dangerous, unnecessary divide in our industry.

To this point, seemingly hundreds of thousands of dollars of our industry’s

Our goals can be summed up in many of the wishes conveyed by the proposed legislation.

We insist all involved must put the health and welfare of our equine and

money have been spent on this campaign by The Jockey Club, only to now

human athletes first. We want the most severe punishment for those who break

have it partner with an organization that has proclaimed it wants to cease

rules that cause undue harm or abuse to our athletes. We want a set of uniform

all “exploitation” of animals. Do they consider a human riding a horse, in

rules, governing all racing jurisdictions, based on research that has been openly

competition, for the public’s enjoyment, to be “exploitation”? Consider horse

peer reviewed, and we want laboratories that are consistent and functioning

racing in the HSUS’s vision; just consider it, with no horses.

with the most up-to-date equipment.

We have said it before and I will reiterate: the National HBPA’s membership

What we will not do is compromise or jeopardize our industry by partnering

of nearly 30,000 owners and trainers wants—as much or more than anyone—

with organizations that openly criticize our beliefs and our passions. I speak for

for our sport and our industry to have the highest integrity standards and

all HBPA members and elected officers when I express our disappointment that

the best care for our athletes. Our members are horsemen who compete in

The Jockey Club and its coalition members have done just that.

the smallest races at the smallest tracks up to the biggest events in the WWW.NATIONALHBPA.COM

33

Denis Blake

FEATURE

YEARLING PREP

Initiate changes early that will

MAKE YOUR YEARLING MORE MARKETABLE

By Denise Steffanus

With yearling sale season in full swing, now is a good time to examine your plan and look at this year’s results, while looking forward to next year’s sales and developing a better strategy if needed. Whether you choose to sales prep your yearling at home or send it to a professional, you need to start early to remedy any problems that may detract from the selling price. Some problems can be resolved through improved diet, exercise, shoeing and proper handling. At the same time, you want to enhance and capitalize on your yearling’s best traits.

At least three months before the sale, take an objective look at your prospect to identify its weaknesses. Does the horse have conformation faults that can be corrected by proper shoeing? Does it need better muscling in its hindquarters? Does it need more handling to improve its ground manners?

SELECTING AN AGENT When a yearling enters the sales ring, it must look its best—slick, fit and full of promise—to snag a chance at the brass ring for itself and reward all those who have brought it this far with a handsome price when the gavel falls.

An experienced agent can guide you through the sales prep process, give

been caused by a problem with the horse, their attention may be distracted to another horse while they wait or they simply might walk away.

Getting the horse out quickly for inspection is the number-one requirement of most buyers, who have a limited amount of time to look at a lot of horses.

The size of a consignment should be a consideration. Large consignments draw a lot of buyer traffic, but the downside is that an average horse may have

you a frank assessment of your yearling and offer tips to increase the sales

difficulty standing out in a crowd. On the other hand, buyers may overlook a

price, but only if you get the agent on board early enough to accomplish the

small, obscure consignment or an unfamiliar agent.

needed changes in your yearling’s appearance and manners by sale time. So the first task on your to-do list should be to find an agent.

You invest a lot of thought, money and work into producing a sale yearling

Be sure to enter into a written contract with the agent that clearly states the agent’s fees and the responsibilities of both parties. Agents typically charge sellers 5 percent commission and a per diem fee for prep work. In addition, the

that will turn heads, but just like a professional-looking presentation can give

seller pays all fees charged by the sales company, plus veterinary and farrier

you the edge in a business deal, how your agent presents your yearling can

bills. The agent is responsible for the cost of help and supplies. And since the

make or break a sale.

agent risks little money in comparison with the seller, you should choose an

When selecting an agent, as with hiring anyone who handles your horse,

agent whose future business depends on his or her past performance.

it is always best to get references. A groom or showman who regularly works the sales for different consignments can give you the best insight into what happens behind the scenes at a particular consignment and how potential buyers react to an agent and his or her horses.

The sales team at a consignment needs to be friendly, neat, well-organized and professional. Most importantly, horses should be presented for inspection promptly. If buyers have to wait to see a horse, they may wonder if the delay has

EMPHASIZE THE ATHLETE To withstand the hectic and strenuous days of showing to buyers that lead up to the sale, a yearling must be fit mentally and physically. Simply turning a yearling out on good pasture to achieve a fat and shiny appearance will not be WWW.NATIONALHBPA.COM

35

FEATURE

enough preparation to show its athletic potential or prepare it for the crowds, noise and chaos of the sale.

Exercise is important to prepare the yearling to withstand the rigors of long days of being pulled out of a stall dozens of times a day for inspection. Buyers

Nielsen advised horsemen to follow the manufacturer’s feeding recommendations for the type of horse and the level of energy it is expending when feeding concentrates (grain).

Most feed mills have nutrition consultants who can design a balanced

typically come back at the end of the day for a second or third look at a horse,

ration for your sale yearling and make recommendations to address yearlings

and a cranky, tired yearling that looks dragged out will make a bad impression.

with special dietary needs.

Hand-walking is the best method for teaching manners, proper carriage and a powerful walk. Hand-walking up and down hills or on the flat for two to three miles per day (about 45 minutes) will provide nice muscling in the forehand and hindquarters. If the horse’s neck is kept slightly arched, its top line also will fill out nicely. If you are walking the yearling on a circular path, like the walking ring at the sale, remember to switch directions so that both sides of the horse develop evenly.

Automatic walkers are the second-best way to exercise the yearling.

FARRIER WORK Corrective trimming, if necessary, should begin when a foal is two weeks old and carry through until its weanling year.

Steve Simon, a farrier whose work includes WinStar and Three Chimneys farms in Kentucky, watches weanlings walk from the front and from the back to observe their way of going in addition to closely examining their feet.

Although they are no substitute for the human interaction of hand-walking, the

“You watch it walk, watch the stance, the base—if it’s base-wide or base-

advantage of automatic walkers, especially freestyle versions like the Eurociser,

narrow,” he said. “Then you take a look at the foot and see how it’s wearing—if

is that they allow the yearling to develop balance. The Eurociser is an automatic

it’s in balance or if it’s just something you need to maintain. Then you go from

walker that allows horses to exercise untethered between panels in individual

there.”

compartments. The operator sets the speed—walk, trot or canter—and can

For horses pointed toward the yearling sale, the farrier begins to focus on

stop the walker to reverse its direction to allow the yearlings to develop their

producing a nice, smooth, long walking stride to show off the horse’s athletic

muscles symmetrically.

potential.

Round-pen work, first on a lunge line and then at liberty, allows the yearling

“You want them to walk long and smooth and handle themselves in a nice,

to develop athleticism while learning voice commands and to focus on the

smooth manner,” Simon said. “So you’re fashioning the feet for tracking as

handler rather than distractions—a valuable lesson when the horse in the next

much as for correction.”

walking ring at the sale explodes and your yearling stands unflappable, focused

By tracking, Simon means how well the horse moves at a walk.

on its showman.

Yearlings with good, healthy feet get their first set of shoes just before the

As you get nearer to the sale date, hand-walking as a finishing touch is a must. Simulate the activity at the sale by walking, stopping and standing the

sale; ones with problem feet that need the protection of shoes may begin to be shod earlier.

horse up correctly as a second person runs his or her hands over the horse and down its legs, picks up its feet and handles its head and ears.

GOOD NUTRITION

GROOMING Yearlings, like job applicants, must be well groomed. A shiny horse runs no faster than a shabby one, but the prospective buyer may equate good grooming

Brian Nielsen, Ph.D., who teaches equine exercise physiology and nutrition at Michigan State University, said good horsemanship and common sense are

with good husbandry.

While shelves of grooming products can be seen in every tack store, there is

the keys to good nutrition. According to Nielsen, good horsemanship means

no substitute for elbow grease in getting a horse to blossom. Grooming brings

paying attention to the horse, and as the horse indicates it needs more feed, you

out the oils in the skin to nourish the coat, and it relaxes the horse like a daily

should increase the amount.

massage. In addition to catching the buyer’s eye, regular grooming is another

“You can tell if a horse is getting enough calories simply by looking at its

way to get a young horse accustomed to being touched all over.

body condition score,” he said. “What horsemen really need to be focusing on is just feeding a balanced ration. In other words, making certain that [the horse] has the right amount of protein, energy [calories], minerals and vitamins. With nutrition, you don’t have to be fancy to be getting the job done. But what you don’t want to do is develop imbalances where you have high amounts of protein or low amounts of protein compared to the energy they’re taking in. What people sometimes tend to do is they try to supplement with certain minerals, and if you give too much of mineral A, you can actually create a deficiency in mineral B.” 36

HJFALL 16

AT THE SALE Like children on the first day of school, yearlings at the sale will be exposed to viruses and bacteria that are not in their home environments when yearlings from different farms converge on the sale grounds, bringing bugs with them. Their naïve immune systems will be challenged by the stress of being

Denis Blake

ALL IN THE FAMILY Do your homework on your yearling’s pedigree to determine what points you can emphasize to a prospective buyer. How strong (or weak) is the tail-female line? How well did the dam do on the racetrack? Can you tout her previous foals? Are there successful racehorses from nicks similar to your yearling? Can you emphasize the family’s precocity or are its members known for their soundness and longevity?

Much of the information is on the pedigree page of the sales catalog, but a pedigree specialist will be able to provide you with an analysis of what it all means. Be sure to pass that information and the analysis to your agent so he or she A well-groomed horse can help attract a little extra attention and also helps assure a potential buyer that the yearling has been receiving top-notch care. transported to the sale, the mental and physical stresses of the activity there and the

will know the answers should a prospective buyer ask about pedigree.

Lastly, after the sales catalog prints, be sure to check for any performance updates before the sale and be sure the

confrontation with pathogens to which they have not built up immunity.

sale company has those updates. A new stakes winner in your

Be sure to vaccinate your yearling at the optimum time to give it the highest protection during the sale. Also, consult with your veterinarian about fortifying your

yearling’s family can attract more attention—and bids—but

yearling’s immune system with immunostimulants in anticipation of the sale.

only if the buyers know about it.

A healthy, well-muscled yearling with a shiny coat and a confident, powerful walk is sure to turn buyers’ heads and make all these preparations worthwhile when the gavel falls.

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WWW.NATIONALHBPA.COM 37 8/2/16 10:55 AM

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FEATURE

Methamphetamine

A substance of emerging environmental concern for horse racing

By Clara Fenger, DVM, PhD, DACVIM; Tanya Boulmetis, JD; Kim Brewer, DVM; Kent Stirling; Thomas Tobin, MRCVS, Phd, DABT

T

he racing regulator reached for his glasses in disbelief as he read the post-race laboratory report. His brow furrowed as he read the report again, wondering to what lengths horsemen would go to cheat in horse racing. His next emotion was disappointment as the name at the top of the report from his equine medical director was a trainer with a good reputation.

Methamphetamine. Seriously, you never know about people. Anyone who would put such a thing in a horse for a race is a bad dude.

Thirty miles away at the rail of the racetrack, a horseman had just watched his last set gallop when his cell phone rang. He had been up since dawn and carefully gone over each horse in his care, checking their legs, feed tubs and tack as each one was readied for training and, set by set, had gone to the track and returned. Everyone was safe and happy, the feed tubs were clean, and now the work of calling owners and planning campaigns began. It was a round-the-clock job but worth it for a trainer whose career began more than 25 years earlier in the irons as a gallop boy. Nothing could be more rewarding than to live with these incredible animals and guide their careers.

The trainer saw the number on his caller ID from the racing commission office, and that feeling in the pit of his stomach began

in an instant. In recent years, with the ever-tightening restrictions on the use of therapeutic medications, avoiding medication positives had become a more problematic part of the job. No longer was the focus of medication decisions simply doing what was in the best interest of the horse, but now the focus was how to do anything at all to care for the horse and still avoid a trace positive test, which was penalized the same as an egregious misuse of medication. He thought carefully over the recent past about which horses had won and which horses had gone to the test barn. He thought about which horse might have gotten bute too close to racing, or if he had carefully read the label on that new wound spray he tried. All of those thoughts were swirling in his brain as he answered the phone.

Nothing could have prepared the trainer for that call.

Methamphetamine. The word repeated over and over in his head, with a chorus of “there must be some mistake.� Meanwhile, the racing commission investigators had descended on his training barn and turned it upside down. It was usual practice for barns to be searched for contraband after a positive test. Some old syringes of antibiotics were discovered, but no methamphetamine was to be found.

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FEATURE

E METHAMPHETAMINE IN HORSE RACING Methamphetamine is a powerful stimulant that is most commonly used as a human recreational drug. It is readily synthesized by amateur chemists using easily obtainable household substances. The history of the use of amphetamines in horse racing dates back to the 1940s when such “hopping” was rumored to be commonplace. It might seem only natural to believe that a nefarious horseman might slip a little of this substance to his horse for an “edge,” because this case would certainly not be the first of its kind. However, the facts tell a different story, and the course of events that the trainer in our example above and others have endured in recent years should provide a wake-up call to the industry and its regulators.

As previously discussed,1 there has been a parallel between illicit substances showing up in post-race samples and the use of these same substances among humans for recreational or therapeutic use. This pattern has been seen with cocaine, tramadol and cathinone, and it is starting to emerge with methamphetamine. As the frequency of drug use among the human population increases, the frequency of exposure spills over into the racehorse population. Similar to the levels observed with those other substances, the recent methamphetamine “positives” have been trace levels, consistent with contact exposure to the parent drug or urine from a human user.

E THE D- AND L- METHAMPHETAMINE STORY The preceding narrative of the unfortunate trainer and disappointed regulator tells a true story of real people on either side of the regulatory divide. However, it doesn’t end there. Methamphetamine strikes a chord with the regulators because of its long history during a dark era of racing, and it strikes a chord with the public because of the neverending meth lab busts in the news. Intentional administration of such a substance to a racehorse should not be tolerated by regulators nor horsemen. Unfortunately, addiction is a disease, and there are those among the racing community who suffer from addiction just as there are those among the general population who do. The unfortunate scenario that plays out in our minds is that of a poor addicted groom or even racetrack maintenance worker relieving himself innocently in the horse’s stall, resulting in a positive test. While that situation is clearly a key factor in the current rash of methamphetamine findings in horse racing, this particular methamphetamine story is just a little more complex.

Drug molecules are complicated three-dimensional structures like many things in nature, including your hands, and some come in two forms—a “right-handed,” dextro or d-, and a “left-handed,” levo or l-form. If you look in the mirror, you will notice that the person looking back is identical save for one detail. In your reflection, right and left are switched. If you have a mole on the right side of your face, your reflection has the mole on its left. This is the relationship between 40

HJFALL 16

d- and l-forms of molecules; they are identical, but they are different.

This seemingly minor difference has a giant impact on the biological action of the two forms. Just as a mirror image of your key won’t start your car, the d-form and l-form of molecules don’t share the same functions. The sophisticated mass spectrometer used by drug testing laboratories identifies drugs by mass and composition but, without a special analysis, cannot differentiate between right-handed d- and left-handed l-forms.

In the case of methamphetamine, the d-form is a powerful psychoactive drug sought by drug addicts, while the l-form is a decongestant found over the counter in harmless products like a Vicks inhaler.

E THE STORY CONTINUES Our trainer immediately had his employees drug tested one by one.

He was going to get to the bottom of this positive as quickly as possible.

Addiction is a terrible taskmaster, and our trainer knew that even those grooms and riders most devoted to the care of the horses are not immune to its allure. He carefully retraced his horse’s steps, including which barn, which stalls and who might have had access to the horse.

No stone would be left unturned in his effort to uncover the truth. Then he hired a lawyer.

Our regulator was on a similar path. The harshest of penalties was outlined. Such an infraction accompanied by such a large risk to the integrity of racing would be met with the full force of regulatory enforcement. Deterrence is best achieved by swift and severe action.

The trainer’s lawyer turned to a set of experts in the field of forensic toxicology. After the trainer’s employees all passed their drug tests, the riddle grew. How could the horse have tested positive for an illegal substance that carries such a severe penalty? The answer became readily apparent when the experts weighed in. Have the sample tested for the l-form of the drug. This will differentiate between the possibility of a meth addict or a nasal allergy sufferer having urinated in the horse’s environment.

In the case of our trainer, the drug test came back as the l-form, indicating that the “positive” test most likely resulted from the exposure of the horse to the harmless inhaler form of the drug, either from the commingling of some equipment with a nasal inhaler in a groom’s pocket or careless urination of an allergy sufferer in the horse’s environment. One outcome of this particular case was the pharmacologically correct reclassification by the Association of Racing Commissioners International (RCI) of l-methamphetamine as a Class 2B substance. However, even the very active d-form can find its way into a post-race test as a trace level in many innocent ways.

E THE CANADIAN METHAMPHETAMINE “POSITIVES” Well-documented and compelling evidence of an innocent environmental source for post-race trace-level urinary methamphetamine identifications came from a classic “cluster” of methamphetamine findings in Canada in 2014. In this matter, a very successful American Quarter Horse trainer based in Michigan purchased a large horse trailer secondhand to transport her horses to race at Ajax Downs near Toronto, Canada. Three of the horses that traveled in her newly purchased trailer raced within a few days of arrival at Ajax Downs. Each of these three horses had a post-race “positive” for methamphetamine. A fourth horse from the same trainer similarly went to the test barn and cleared the post-race test. This fourth horse had traveled to Canada in a separate trailer.

Upon careful review of the facts of this case, Ontario Racing Commission (ORC) investigators elected to test the trailer for methamphetamine. The result of this testing was the identification of methamphetamine from the interior of the trailer in the manger area, evidence that was presented at the steward’s hearing. Despite this incontrovertible evidence of a completely innocent and inadvertent source of the methamphetamine findings, the stewards handed down a significant fine and one-year suspension.

The case was immediately appealed to the ORC, and the case was reviewed, along with another case of two trace urinary methamphetamine identifications that occurred around the same time in Thoroughbred racing. Upon review of the experts’ submissions, the ORC allowed the appeals and set aside the stewards’ penalties. In reporting their rulings, the ORC noted the recent substantial increase in the sensitivity of equine drug testing uncovering trace levels of methamphetamines that could be consistent with inadvertent environmental exposure. The ORC further noted that these trace levels of methamphetamine would have no impact on the racing performance or the general health and safety of these horses, and the ORC considered that these trace levels were entirely consistent with random, innocent and unavoidable exposure to environmental traces of methamphetamine.

In presenting its ruling, the ORC added that there is a need to set analytical limits or cutoffs on the sensitivity of post-race testing “high enough to…cut-off the environmental noise, but low enough to stop performance enhancement.” This case has been recently outlined in the Canadian Veterinary Journal,2 which further proposes a minimal regulatory cutoff of 15 ng/ml (parts per billion) of methamphetamine for post-race equine urine samples. The 15 ng/ml figure was based on review of the scientific literature and consideration of the regulatory experience in Oklahoma racing, where a cluster of methamphetamine positives created a similar problem for regulators as the Ontario positives.

E SOURCES OF TRACE METHAMPHETAMINE IN POST-RACE SAMPLES The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is the federal agency that leads public health efforts to reduce the impact of substance abuse and mental illness in America. Among its many roles to fulfill its mission, SAMHSA maintains a list of drug analytes and screening cutoffs below which humans are considered to be “clean.” This list is relied upon by the federal government for random drug testing, for drug testing for employment, and for testing pilots and truck drivers to ensure they are unequivocally unimpaired and safe to fly a plane or navigate a highway route. This amount is considered likely to result from inadvertent environmental exposure, such as contact with surfaces or places where methamphetamine may have been “cooked,” much like what happened to the horses in our Canadian example. The SAMHSA screening cutoff level for methamphetamine is 500 ng/ml of urine, with 250 ng/ml as the confirmatory level. This figure is well above the recommended level from the Canadian Veterinary Journal article and substantially higher than the trace levels identified in most of the post-race findings from across North America.

As the methamphetamine menace has expanded its reach in the human population, the sensitivity of drug testing in horse racing has gone up, increasing the likelihood of post-race findings of trace positives. Such positives have been identified in California, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Kentucky and even Australia and New Zealand. In most cases, the analysis to differentiate between the d- and l-forms of the drug has not been performed, leaving a large question as to the potential source. In most cases, much like our trainer in the above narrative, the trainer, grooms and others in contact with the horse have been drug-tested. In those cases in which a source has been suspected, trainers, grooms, assistant starters and even test barn personnel have been implicated. In one case in Australia, the trainer admitted to not only using methamphetamine but also urinating in the horse’s stall, the closest stall to the barn office. Penalties in almost all cases have included disqualifications, fines and suspensions—in one case, as long as four years, a death sentence in horse racing.

E PENALTIES FOR TRACE POSITIVES: WHAT ARE THE OPTIONS? Only a few states consider the very real possibility of inadvertent environmental exposure. Under the “trainer responsibility” or “absolute insurer” rule, a key regulation in place in virtually every state, the trainer is responsible, regardless of the acts of third parties or any other circumstances. It is similar to a strict liability standard, in which the legal responsibility for damages (in this case, a positive test) lies with the responsible party (in this case, the trainer) even if that person is not at fault or negligent. Typical legal language is “the trainer shall WWW.NATIONALHBPA.COM

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FEATURE

be the absolute insurer of, and responsible for, the condition of the horse entered in a race, regardless of the acts of third parties.” The basis for the absolute insurer rule is that it satisfies a “rational basis test.” This means that a law is constitutional if it is “rationally related to a legitimate government purpose.” The courts consider the trainer responsibility rule a rational application of police powers by the states in regulating an industry susceptible to corruption.

In Kentucky, “[a] trainer shall be responsible for the presence of a prohibited drug, medication, substance or metabolic derivative, including permitted medication in excess of the maximum allowable concentration, in horses in his or her care.” Kentucky administrative regulations further state: “A trainer shall prevent the administration of a drug, medication, substance or metabolic derivative that may constitute a violation of this administrative regulation.” Kentucky is silent on how a trainer can guard against an environmental exposure beyond their control, such as from a test barn employee. When asked during testimony at a recent administrative hearing if the test barn personnel were drug-tested, Kentucky Equine Medical Director Mary Scollay indicated that such testing would constitute a HIPAA or similar violation. This is an interesting comment, considering there are many jobs in both government and the private sector in which being subjected to random drug testing is an express condition of employment.

This mandatory penalty for trainers for trace environmental exposure positive tests is a dangerous precedent. In states that have adopted the Multiple Medication Violation provision of the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium’s (RMTC) National Uniform Medication Policy, methamphetamine represents a permanent six points on the trainer’s record. Even the slightest of additional violations will result in mandatory suspensions. With the RMTC’s track record for accurately determining therapeutic medication thresholds and withdrawals—at current count, seven of the 28 thresholds/withdrawals have been modified or revised—the odds are not in the trainer’s favor.

There are existing alternative penalty structures that could be used in these cases, especially in the event of positive findings for which clear alternative sources of exposure can be identified.

A minority of states have a “failure to guard” option available to stewards and commissions that represents an alternative to a medication violation. Here, the liability of the trainer is restricted to a failure to sufficiently “guard”—or protect—the horse against trace levels of environmental exposure to medications or substances. The language in New York reads, “The trainer shall be held responsible for any positive test unless the trainer can show by substantial evidence that neither the trainer nor any employee nor agent was responsible for the administration of the drug or other restricted substance.” [Emphasis added.] Here, a methamphetamine trace level consistent with contamination could be mitigated if, for example, an assistant starter on the gate suffered from nasal congestion and was using a Vicks inhaler.

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In the mid-1930s, when states started enacting the trainer responsibility/absolute insurer rules, they were a necessary tool for maintaining integrity in the sport and providing confidence to the public. The levels at which “positives” were identified were always quantities that affected performance. However, with today’s sophisticated testing methods, infinitesimal trace levels from inadvertent environmental exposure that no trainer, regardless of how careful, could possibly avoid could result in career-ending penalties.

In a clear legal contradiction to the absolute insurer rule for trace positives, RCI has included a cutoff threshold for caffeine as an environmental substance in horses. In fact, without such a rule, most horses would be positive at trace levels, because caffeine is almost ubiquitous in any environment shared with humans. Cocaine (as its metabolite) has been identified in at least six different racing jurisdictions as a likely contaminant, with a cutoff level of 50 to 150 ng/ml in urine representing no penalty and no redistribution of purse. In Florida, the presence of the cocaine metabolite at such low levels triggers no medication violation but is accompanied by a fine and notification of the trainer. This regulation encourages further investigation by the trainer of grooms, riders and other in-contact personnel to potentially identify substance abuse among workers in the training barn. Such commonsense regulation serves not only to protect the integrity of racing but also the health and welfare of the human beings who care for the horses.3 Other substances have similarly been identified by jurisdictions to be of no threat to the integrity of racing and deemed likely to result from inadvertent environmental contamination. Cutoffs for substances, including morphine, some published and some used as unpublished “in-house” levels, have been established in many jurisdictions similar to the SAMHSA list. Oklahoma, for example, has published a commissionsanctioned thresholds directive for likely environmental exposures: Although the following environmental contaminants and/or substances may be found in the horse, no sample or specimen shall exceed the following levels when tested post-race: (a) Caffeine: 100 ng/ml serum. (b) Cocaine: 150 ng/ml urine (Benzoyl Ecgonine Metabolite). (c) Morphine: 100 ng/ml urine. (d) Lidocaine: 25 ng/ml urine. (e) Strychnine: 100 ng/ml urine. (f) Atropine: 70 ng/ml urine. (g) Methamphetamine: 100 ng/ml urine.

Racing commissions that have foresight and are concerned with the actual integrity of racing recognize that calling trace levels of environmental substances as “positives” only darkens the reputation of the entire racing industry and does nothing to identify and deter the real threats to the racing industry or protect our racehorses. Such focus on inadvertent environmental exposure diverts precious resources of time and money away from necessary innovative approaches to identify actual cheating.

E CONCLUSIONS Our racing regulator closed the folder on the methamphetamine case, now knowing that the substance was not the “real” methamphetamine but rather the l-form of the drug, a harmless nasal decongestant. He still suspects that our trainer was up to no good, so at least he was able to penalize him with a 60-day suspension for the syringes of antibiotics. Maybe the brainiac scientists will discover that, somehow, the inhaler form has some effect on racing and our racing regulator can feel good that he has protected racing from nefarious activity, just not the activity he originally suspected. He reaches for the light switch as he leaves the office, and he is thinking maybe he will take the kids to the lake this weekend.

Later that same evening, our trainer tosses and turns during another sleepless night as he wonders how he will recover from this episode. His case has been adjudicated in the turf media, and his owners are slow to return after his 60-day hiatus for antibiotic syringes. He just laid off three more grooms, and he is thinking about their families. Hopefully, they will land on their feet in another training barn. Then his mind turns to his own daughters. They are the main focus of his life, and he wonders what he will be able to do to support them if he can’t get this episode behind him. The legal bills have mounted, and for a horseman who has devoted his entire life to horse racing, he has no idea what he could possibly do instead.

But for the grace of God, this story could belong to any of us in the horse industry.

E REFERENCES: 1. Fenger CK, Barker S, Soring K, Shalgos L, Tobin T. 2015.

Trace environmental substances showing up as post-race “positives”: what every horseman needs to know about being wrongly accused. The Horsemen’s Journal 62 (3): 36–40.

2. Brewer K, Shults TF, Machin J, Kudrimoti S, Eisenberg RL, Hartman P, Wany C, Fenger CK, Beaumier P, Tobin T. 2016. A cluster of trace-concentration methamphetamine identifications in racehorses associated with a methamphetamine-contaminated horse trailer: a report and analysis. Canadian Veterinary Journal 57 (8).

3. Carmargo FC, Hughes C, Lehner AF, Stirling K, Tobin T. 2006. “Trace” benzoylecgonine identifications in post-race urines: probable sources and regulatory significance of such identifications. AAEP Proceedings 52: 331–336.

2016 WILL BRING MORE RESTRICTED RACES AND MORE STAKE RACES

> Massachusetts bred foals can now earn their awards when racing outside of Massachusetts. > The awards in open races are: 30% to owners, 25% to breeders, 15% to stallion owners and in restricted races 25% to breeders and 15% to stallion owners. > The Massachusetts Thoroughbred Breeders Association will sponsor 10 - $75,000 stakes races in 2016. > Sponsor a robust restricted race program in 2016.

Breed in Mass. Think about it!

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HJFALL 16

ON THE

MOVE

Please send all address changes either by e-mail to: hj@hbpa.org Or by mail to: The Horsemen’s Journal, P.O. Box 911188, Lexington, KY 40591-1188

2 0 1 6 - 2 0 1 7

R A C I N G

C A L E N D A R

CHAMPIONSHIP MEET DECEMBER

FEBRUARY

DATE

STAKES

CONDITIONS

DIST/TURF

PURSE

DATE

STAKES

CONDITIONS

DIST/TURF

PURSE

12.3.16

Jewel (Claiming Crown)

3yo & up

1 1/8 M

$200K

2.4.17

Holy Bull (G2)

3yo

1 1/16 M

$350K

12.10.16

12.17.16

12.26.16 12.31.16

Tiara (Claiming Crown)

3yo & up (F&M)

1 1/16 M (T)

$125K

Forward Gal (G2)

3yo F

7F

$200K

Emerald (Claiming Crown)

3yo & up

1 1/16 M (T)

$125K

Swale (G2)

3yo

7F

$200K

Iron Horse (Claiming Crown)

3yo & up

1 1/16 M

$110K

Sweetest Chant (G3)

3yo F

1 M (T)

$100K

Express (Claiming Crown)

3yo & up

6F

$110K

Kitten’s Joy

3yo

1 M (T)

$100K

Glass Slipper (Claiming Crown)

3yo & up (F&M)

1M

$110K

Rapid Transit (Claiming Crown)

3yo & up

7F

$110K

Canterbury (Claiming Crown)

3yo & up

5 F (T)

$110K

Distaff Dash (Claiming Crown)

3yo & up (F&M)

5 F (T)

$110K

2.18.17 2.20.17

Buffalo Man

2yo

6F

$75K

House Party

2yo F

6F

$75K

1.7.17

1.14.17

1.21.17

1.28.17

Gulfstream Park Turf Hdcp (G1)

4yo & up

1 1/8 M (T)

$350K

Gulfstream Park Hdcp (G2)

4yo & up

1M

$350K

Suwannee River (G3)

4yo & up (F&M)

1 1/8 M (T)

$150K

Royal Delta (G2)

4yo & up (F&M)

1 1/16 M

$200K

Old Hickory*

4yo & up

1 1/16 M

$60K

Rail Splitter*

4yo & up

6 1/2 F

$60K

Smooth Air

2yo

1M

$75K

Old Man Eloquent*

4yo & up

1 1/16 M (T)

$60K

Hut Hut

2yo F

1M

$75K

Queen Mother*

4yo & up (F&M)

7F

$60K

Pulpit

2yo

1 M (T)

$75K

Mary Todd*

4yo & up (F&M)

1 1/16 M (T)

$60K

Wait a While

2yo F

1 M (T)

$75K

American Fabius*

3yo

7F

$60K

Rampart (G3)

3yo & up (F&M)

1M

$100K

Sage of Monticello*

3yo

7 1/2 F (T)

$60K

Harlan’s Holiday (G3)

3yo & up

1 1/16 M

$100K

Mrs Presidentress*

3yo F

7 1/2 F (T)

$60K

Sugar Swirl (G3)

3yo & up (F&M)

6F

$100K

Rough and Ready*

4yo & up

1 1/16 M

$50K

El Prado

3yo & up

7 1/2 F (T)

$100K

Trust Buster*

4yo & up

7F

$50K

South Beach

3yo & up (F&M)

7 1/2 F (T)

$100K

Little Magician*

4yo & up

1 M (T)

$50K

Mr Prospector (G3)

3yo & up

6F

$100K

Lady Bird*

4yo & up (F&M)

7F

$50K

H Allen Jerkens

3yo & up

2 M (T)

$100K

Gulfstream Park Sprint (G3)

4yo & up

6 1/2 F

$100K

Via Borghese

3yo & up (F&M)

1 3/16 M (T)

$75K

Texas Glitter

3yo

5 F (T)

$75K

Melody of Colors

3yo F

5 F (T)

$75K

Tropical Park Derby

3yo

1 1/16 M (T)

$75K

Tropical Park Oaks

3yo F

1 1/16 M (T)

$75K

CONDITIONS

DIST/TURF

PURSE

JANUARY DATE

2.11.17

STAKES

2.25.17

MARCH DATE

STAKES

CONDITIONS

DIST/TURF

PURSE

3.4.17

Fountain of Youth (G2)

3yo

1 1/16 M

$400K

Hutcheson (G3)

3yo

6F

$100K

Davona Dale (G2)

3yo F

1M

$200K

Old Hat (G3)

3yo F

6F

$100K

Mac Diarmida (G2)

4yo & up

1 3/8 M (T)

$200K

Dania Beach (G3)

3yo

7 1/2 F (T)

$100K

Very One (G3)

4yo & up (F&M)

1 3/16 M (T)

$150K

Ginger Brew

3yo F

7 1/2 F (T)

$100K

Canadian Turf (G3)

4yo & up

1 M (T)

$150K

Mucho Macho Man

3yo

1M

$100K

Palm Beach (G3)

3yo

1 1/16 M (T)

$100K

Fort Lauderdale (G2)

4yo & up

1 1/16 M (T)

$200K

Herecomesthebride (G3)

3yo F

1 1/16 M (T)

$100K

Marshua's River (G3)

4yo & up (F&M)

1 1/16 M (T)

$150K

Fred Hooper (G3)

4yo & up

1M

$100K

Hal's Hope (G3)

4yo & up

1M

$150K

Sand Springs

4yo & up (F&M)

1 M (T)

$100K

Sunshine Millions Classic

4yo & up

1 1/8 M

$250K

Captiva Island

4yo & up (F&M)

5 F (T)

$75K

Sunshine Millions Distaff

4yo & up (F&M)

6F

$200K

Silks Run

4yo & up

5 F (T)

$75K

Sunshine Millions Turf

4yo & up

1 1/16 M (T)

$150K

3.18.17

Inside Information (G2)

4yo & up (F&M)

7F

$200K

Sunshine Millions F&M Turf

4yo & up (F&M)

1 1/16 M (T)

$150K

3.25.17

Skip Away (G3)

4yo & up

1 1/8 M

$100K

Sunshine Millions Sprint

4yo & up

6F

$150K

Any Limit

3yo F

6F

$75K

Pegasus World Cup (G1)

4yo & up

1 1/8 M

$12M

Spectacular Bid

3yo

6 1/2 F

$75K

WL McKnight Hdcp (G3)

4yo & up

1 1/2 M (T)

$200K

La Prevoyante Hdcp (G3)

4yo & up (F&M)

1 1/2 M (T)

$200K

Hurricane Bertie (G3)

4yo & up (F&M)

7F

$100K

Poseidon

4yo & up

1 1/8 M

$400K

Ladies’ Turf Sprint

4yo & up (F&M)

5 F (T)

$125K

Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint

4yo & up

5 F (T)

$125K

3.11.17

APRIL DATE

STAKES

CONDITIONS

DIST/TURF

PURSE

4.1.17

Florida Derby (G1)

3yo

1 1/8 M

$1M

Honey Fox (G2)

4yo & up (F&M)

1 M (T)

$300K

Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2)

3yo F

1 1/16 M

$250K

Pan American (G2)

4yo & up

1 1/2 M (T)

$200K

Appleton (G3)

4yo & up

1 M (T)

$200K

Orchid (G3)

4yo & up (F&M)

1 3/8 M (T)

$200K

Sir Shackleton

4yo & up

7F

$100K

Cutler Bay

3yo

1 M (T)

$100K

Sanibel Island

3yo F

1 M (T)

$100K

*Starter Stakes Highlighted dates denote premium stakes days. Racing dates are subject to change.

For nomination closing date please contact the Gulfstream Park Racing Office at 954.457.6260

W E L C O M E

T O

YOUR PLAYGROUND 9 0 1 S F E D E R A L H I G H WAY I H A L L A N D A L E B E A C H I 9 5 4 . 4 5 4 . 7 0 0 0 I G U L F S T R E A M PA R K . C O M

2015 JEWEL CLAIMING CROWN WINNER

Javier Castellano Royal Posse

CLAIMING CROWN DECEMBER 3, 2016 ENTRY DAY

CLAIMING RACE

CONDITIONS

DIST/TURF

PURSE

Jewel

3yo & up

1 1/8 M

$200K

Tiara

3yo & up (F&M)

1 1/16 M (T)

$125K

REGULAR NOMINATIONS

Emerald

3yo & up

1 1/16 M (T)

$125K

NOVEMBER 6

Iron Horse

3yo & up

1 1/16 M

$110K

SUPPLEMENTAL NOMINATIONS

Express

3yo & up

6F

$110K

NOVEMBER 30

Glass Slipper

3yo & up (F&M)

1M

$110K

Rapid Transit

3yo & up

7F

$110K

Canterbury

3yo & up

5 F (T)

$110K

Distaff Dash

3yo & up (F&M)

5 F (T)

$110K

NOVEMBER 30

For qualification criteria and nomination deadlines, call Michael Costanzo at 954-457-6260, www.gulfstreampark.com or the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA) at 888-606-8622. Visit our website at claimingcrown.com or e-mail claimingcrown@toba.org. The Claiming Crown is a partnership between the National Horsemen’s Benevolent & Protective Association & Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association.

46

HJFALL 16

2016

NOMINATION Name of Horse

Year Foaled

*Nomination Fee Schedule: *Supplemental Fee Schedule:

Color

Sex

Sire

Dam

Dam Sire

Nomination Fees

By November 6: $100 for each race nominated

OWNER INFORMATION

Claiming Crown Race

Nom. Fee Paid*

Regular Nominations must be received or postmarked on or before November 6.

Supplemental Nominations must be received on November 30.

By November 30: $5,000 Jewel $3,000 Emerald and Tiara $2,500 All Others

(One ownership entity per nomination form)

Trainer:

PAYMENT METHOD

VISA [ ] MASTERCARD [ ] AMERICAN EXPRESS [ ] WIRE [ ] MONEY ORDER [ ] CHECK [ ]

Name: _________________________________________________

Amount Enclosed: $____________________________

Farm/Company: _________________________________________

Cardholder: ___________________________________

Address: _______________________________________________ City: __________________________________________________ State/Prov: ________________ Zip: _________________________

Tel: _______________Email:____________ “I submit this nomination of the above-listed horse(s) in order to make each eligible for participation in the 2016 Claiming Crown, and do so with the understanding that I will be bound by the terms and conditions established by Claiming Crown Ltd. I understand that said conditions are available to me online at www.claimingcrown.com and/or are printed on the backside of this document and are all incorporated herein by reference. Payment is enclosed.�

Signature:_______________________ Date:__________________ [ ] Owner or [ ] Authorized Agent

Card Account #: _______________________________ Expiration Date on Card: _________________________ MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO: Claiming Crown, Ltd. MAIL TO:

Mike Costanzo Gulfstream Park 901 South Federal Highway Hallandale Beach, FL 33009 (954) 457-6260

FAX TO: Gulfstream Park

(954) 457-6357 Michael.costanzo@gulfstreampark.com

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

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Claiming Crown Ltd. reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to: (1) postpone, discontinue, amend, or change the conditions for all or part of the Claiming Crown program; and, (2) to reject the nomination and/or entry of any horse deemed ineligible or otherwise prohibited from competing in the program.

Please return this original with your payment; make copy (front and back) for your files.

See reverse side for important information regarding Claiming Crown rules and regulations which are considered part of this nomination form.

P.O. Box 910668, Lexington, Kentucky 40591-0668, (859) 277-5891 or (888) 606-8622, Fax: (859) 276-2462

WWW.NATIONALHBPA.COM

47

conditions.

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

1. Nomination, Entry and Starting fees are accepted subject to the approval of Claiming Crown Limited (CCL). The propriety of the amount of the enclosed fee will be determined by CCL, and if any such nomination or entry fee is determined to be other than that which is required to be paid in full in a timely manner, the referenced horse(s) may be prohibited from entering and/or starting in a Claiming Crown race in the sole discretion of CCL. The guaranteed purse for Claiming Crown races will be stated prior to the time entry fees are due. Nomination, entry and starting fees are applied to the guaranteed purses. Purses will be distributed in accordance with the distribution schedule set forth in the 2016 Claiming Crown Summary of Conditions, which information is incorporated herein by reference.

2. Payment of horse Nomination fees make a horse eligible for only the current running of Claiming Crown, and does not satisfy any future nomination requirements.

Purses shall be distributed by Gulfstream Park (“GSP” or the “Host Track”) after certification that the purse is distributable in accord with applicable statutes or regulations.

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

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

5. CCL reserves the right to limit the number of entries in any of the Claiming Crown races. In the event CCL determines it must limit entries they will be selected in accordance with the Claiming Crown conditions regarding field selection or by such other method as CCL may determine in its sole discretion. The Claiming Crown field selection process is set forth in the 2016 Claiming Crown Summary of Conditions and is incorporated herein by reference. CCL reserves the right to modify the distance of any race to accommodate track and/or race safety. CCL reserves the right to transfer any turf race to the main track, or to cancel any, or all, Claiming Crown races without notice prior to the actual running thereof, without any liability, other than the return of Entry and/or Starting fees.

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

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

8. All claims, controversies and/or objections arising out of or related to the application or interpretation of any rules or conditions of CCL shall be decided solely by the CCL Appeals Board. Information regarding the Appeals Procedure for CCL shall be furnished to any person submitting a written request for such information to Claiming Crown Limited, P.O. Box 910668, Lexington, Kentucky 40591-0668, Attn: Appeals Board. Any person wishing to object to any action or decision by CCL in the application of its rules or conditions must, within thirty (30) days of being advised of such action or decision, submit to the Appeals Board a written Notice of Appeal in compliance with the Appeals Procedure and shall be entitled to an oral hearing upon making a written demand as set forth in the Appeals Procedure. The Appeals Procedure shall not be applicable to matters arising under condition 5 hereinabove from which there shall be no appeal. The appeal process noted herein is the sole appeal venue and process and Owner WAVES THE RIGHT, IF ANY, to file a lawsuit to contest CCL’s decision or any appeal therefrom. Any appeal not postmarked or received within thirty (30) days of being advised of the action or decision of CCL shall be DEEMED WAIVED AND FOREVER BARRED. 9. Owner agrees to indemnify and hold harmless CCL and its officers, directors, employees and volunteers (or if for any reason indemnification is not available, to contribute to CCL's losses and the losses of its officers, directors, employees and volunteers), to the fullest extent permitted under the law, from and against any and all claims, damages, judgments, liabilities, losses, costs or expenses, including reasonable attorneys' fees (should CCL select its own counsel which it may do at its sole and exclusive discretion), to which CCL and/or its officers, directors, employees and volunteers may become subject or liable as a result of or arising out of directly or indirectly: (i) any action or conduct of any horses owned by or under the control or direction of Owner while on the race track premises, and (ii) any acts, or failure to act by Owner, any Co-owners, or any of their agents, employees or invitees while on the race track premises.

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

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

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

13. By signing this form on the reverse side, I hereby certify that I have read, understand and agree to the terms and conditions of this Nomination Agreement including all release and waiver provisions.

48

HJFALL 16

NEWS

AFFILIATE

Views and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the opinion or policy of the publisher or National HBPA board or staff.

ALABAMA HBPA MAGIC CITY CLASSIC NOMINATIONS DUE SOON The Magic City Classic, sponsored by the Birmingham Racing Commission, is scheduled to be run on Friday, December 9, at Fair Grounds Race Course and Slots in New Orleans. With $51,000 guaranteed, it is to be run at one mile for registered Alabama-bred 3-year olds and up. Starters are to be named through the entry box on Thursday, December 1. Nominations close November 9 and must be sent by certified mail. For nomination forms, please contact Leda at the Birmingham Racing Commission at (205) 838-7477 or (205) 937-2232. You can contact Nancy Delony at nancy.m.delony@ms.com for an emailed copy of the nomination form.

As in the past, the Alabama HBPA will reimburse qualified travel expenses up to $500 for horses that run fourth and below.

With the help of the Louisiana HBPA, the Alabama-bred added monies program for horses running in races at any of the four Louisiana tracks is up and running. Congratulations to Menewa, a 4-year-old bay gelding bred and owned by Bobby Pruitt who has been winning the greater share of the funds at Louisiana Downs.

It has been a quiet, hot and humid summer in Alabama with a little excitement being stirred up with Governor Bentley trying to get a lottery vote on the November ballot. No gaming but maybe a step closer. Get your nominations in for the Magic City Classic!

Nancy Delony, Executive Director

ARIZONA HBPA TURF PARADISE With no live racing, things are pretty quiet at Turf Paradise. However, our president, J. Lloyd Yother, has kept busy working with the department, management and state while looking for new sources of revenue to increase purses for Arizona’s horse racing participants.

The Turf Paradise meet will open its doors for live racing on Saturday, October 15. Stall applications were due August 10. Horsemen and horsewomen could start preparing their barns September 9, and horses were able to enter the grounds on September 16 with the main track opening for training on September 19.

The Arizona HBPA office was to open on September 7 with abbreviated hours Monday through Friday.

We are looking forward to live racing returning and having a successful meet.

ARKANSAS HBPA OAKLAWN STRENGTHENING HANDICAP DIVISION IN 2017 The track with the richest Triple Crown prep schedule will greatly enhance its handicap division in 2017.

Oaklawn Park will offer a lucrative alternative to horsemen looking for a race in advance of the Dubai World Cup by increasing the purse of the Razorback Handicap (G3) from $350,000 to $500,000 and moving the race from

March to Monday, February 20, where it will share the card with the $500,000 Southwest Stakes (G3) on Presidents’ Day. The Essex Handicap purse has also been bumped from $100,000 to $250,000 and will now share the card with the $900,000 Rebel Stakes (G2) and the $350,000 Azeri Stakes (G2) on Saturday, March 18.

“We’ve become known for attracting the best 3-year-olds in the nation,” Director of Racing David Longinotti said. “Now, we want to complement that by attracting the best older horses, too. And not just for the Oaklawn Handicap. We want our fans to be able to see them in February and maybe they’ll get to see them again in March and April.”

In addition to the Razorback and Essex, the purses of 10 other stakes have been increased by at least $25,000. Two—the Bayakoa (G3) for older fillies and mares February 18 and the Honeybee (G3) for 3-year-old fillies March 11—each received a $50,000 increase to $150,000 and $200,000 respectively.

The highlight of the 2017 season will once again be the Racing Festival of the South which will run April 13-15, the final three days of the season. It will feature the $150,000 Bachelor Stakes on Thursday, April 13; the $600,000 Apple Blossom Handicap (G1) and $400,000 Fantasy Stakes (G3) on Friday, April 14; and conclude with the $150,000 Northern Spur Stakes, $400,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap (G3), $750,000 Oaklawn Handicap (G2) and $1,000,000 Arkansas Derby (G1) on Saturday, April 15.

“Multi-stakes days have proven successful here over the past several years,” Longinotti added. “By combining our biggest races on select days, we heighten the racing excitement for our fans. It also makes it more convenient for horsemen shipping to Hot Springs from all over the country.”

Overall, Oaklawn will offer 31 stakes worth $8.25 million next year.

The 2017 live meet begins Friday, January 13, 2017, and continues through Saturday, April 15.

CHARLES TOWN HBPA 2016 LEGISLATIVE RECAP The 2016 West Virginia legislative session closed at midnight on March 12, and as is typical, Governor Tomblin extended the session for a week to focus on budget matters. Unfortunately, the Legislature was unable to reach a consensus during the extended session and adjourned in order for legislative and administrative leaders to continue negotiations. Following several weeks of intense debate, the Legislature passed a budget in June which was ultimately signed by Governor Tomblin.

There is no doubt that the state of West Virginia was, and continues to be, in a financial crisis. To avoid raising taxes, West Virginia legislators approved a FY2017 budget that takes surplus funds all from governmental agencies.

Additionally, monies dedicated to the horsemen were reduced by $1.2 million.

This is above and beyond the 2014 “hit” taken as a result of the state reducing our statutorily assigned percentage of net terminal revenue. In anticipation of retiring the state’s Workers’ Compensation Debt (a portion of which was saddled on the backs of horsemen in 2006), we were placed in a partial “appropriation” situation rather than reinstate full statutory percentages. In that same year, the Legislature appropriated only $14.1 million to the four racetracks in West Virginia (two Greyhound and two Thoroughbred) for racing purses and breeder funds. In 2015, the industries suffered a $2 million reduction in the appropriated amount and in 2016 incurred an additional $1.2 million reduction.

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premise that it would be to protect and preserve live racing. With the approval of table games in 2007, again, one of the reasons given was to support live racing at all four tracks in West Virginia. We continue to fight the statewide perception that our industry is “subsidized” by the state. However, in reality, it has been the horse racing industry in Charles Town that has played an integral role in sending hundreds of millions of dollars into the state coffers.

racehorse have invested at least $100,000 into each horse before the horse even starts its racing career. For the horses racing in South Florida that represents an initial investment of at least $250 million. And with an average racing career that ends at around six years old, owners must replenish their stables and renew that $250 million investment every three to four years.

The loss of guaranteed racing opportunities that would surely come if casino decoupling were allowed in Florida would cripple this thriving Thoroughbred industry, cost scores of jobs for Florida workers and would have an ever-lasting negative effect on the state’s economy.

FLORIDA HBPA LEGISLATIVE NEWS As we head into the fall elections, the Florida HBPA does not expect any emergency-type legislation to surface that would allow decoupling in Florida.

FHBPA is using this time to help educate our legislators about the importance of our business to the state’s economy before the issue resurfaces next spring.

The following is one of the “one-page” documents we are using in this effort: Note to Legislators — Thoroughbred Racing in South Florida is Thriving The horse racing industry in Florida is world-renowned for both its breeding and racing of Thoroughbreds. The Ocala area boasts most of the state’s breeding farms and helps make Florida the second-largest producer of Thoroughbred racehorses in the United States after Kentucky. Racing in Florida, and particularly at Gulfstream Park, is the envy of most racing jurisdictions in the country with a combination of homebred horses and out of state horses causing field sizes to be well above the national average.

A 2014 study revealed that the Florida horse racing industry supports more than 12,000 in-state jobs, pays those workers more than $400 million in wages and benefits each year, and generates an economic impact for the state of nearly one billion dollars annually. It is safe to say that approximately half of those workers are employed by trainers who race their horses in South Florida and the vast majority of those workers are minorities.

Live Thoroughbred racing in South Florida is a growing, year-round industry with 10 months of racing at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach and two months of racing at Gulfstream Park West located in Miami Gardens.

In 2015, Gulfstream Park achieved a record handle (amounts wagered) of $1.34 billion which represented a 14 percent increase over the previous record handle of $1.17 billion set in 2014.

The upward trend continues in 2016 as the Gulfstream Championship Meet from December 2015 to April 2016 achieved a record handle, which was 15 percent higher than the previous record handle set the year before.

Gulfstream also set an all-time record Florida Derby Day handle in 2016 when more than $32 million was wagered on April 2 this year. Gulfstream Park horse racing continues to be a major tourism attraction for South Florida and fan interest is on the upswing.

The typical racehorse trainer operates an independent business that has six to eight horses in training and employs from four to eight people per year.

The out-of-pocket cost of training a racehorse is approximately $25,000 to $30,000 per year. Most of that cost goes to workers who care for the horses on a daily basis. Other costs include feed and bedding from local producers and local veterinary and blacksmith care. With a racehorse population of 2,500 year-round in South Florida, the direct economic impact of the upkeep alone for these horses to the local economy is approximately $70 million every year. Racehorses start their careers at age two or three. Getting a racehorse to the track is also a very labor-intensive effort. From breeding, to foaling, to raising and training the horse for two to three years, many workers and suppliers of goods are involved in the process. The owners of a typical 50

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PEGASUS WORLD CUP The $12 million Pegasus World Cup has been set for January 28, 2017, at Gulfstream. Twelve shares were sold at $1 million each for the right to enter a horse in the race and share in the proceeds. There will also be a $400,000 undercard race that each Pegasus participant will be eligible for. This allows the owners to bring an “A” and “B” horse that day. If for some reason the A horse cannot start in the Pegasus, the B horse can take its place. Otherwise, the B horse will run in the $400,000 race. Significantly for the horsemen, no purse monies will be used for the Pegasus World Cup race or the undercard race. Although the horsemen will not receive proceeds from the Pegasus, they will receive their normal share of handle from the undercard race. The Pegasus World Cup replaces the $500,000 Donn Handicap and assumes the Donn’s Grade 1 status. The FHBPA will determine how the $500,000 purse money saved by not running the Donn will be distributed in 2017.

MEDICATION RULES In 2015, the Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering adopted Association of Racing Commissioners International (RCI) thresholds but did not concurrently adopt the companion RCI penalty schedules for those threshold therapeutic medications. When the new rules were implemented in January 2016, it led to hundreds of threshold positives at Florida Thoroughbred tracks with inconsistent penalties assessed. In June 2016, the FHBPA filed a Petition to Initiate Rulemaking with the division which requests, among other things, that it adopt the RCI Model Penalty Rules as its penalty guidelines and allow changes to RCI thresholds and penalties to be incorporated without further rulemaking being required. The division has initiated rulemaking pursuant to our request and the process should proceed through the end of this year.

INDIANA HPBA RCI TOWN HALL MEETING HELD AT INDIANA GRAND The Association of Racing Commissioners International (RCI) was to hold a town hall meeting at Indiana Grand Racing & Casino on September 14 after a previously scheduled Indiana Horse Racing Commission meeting at the track.

RCI, the association of regulatory commissions overseeing racing at the state level, has held a series of these meetings throughout racing jurisdictions in the United States. Their intent is to gather information and to build consensus from racing participants with an eye toward developing uniform regulatory policies across all jurisdictions.

More information will be forthcoming, regarding the meeting location and start time. All horsemen with opinions are encouraged to attend.

The racing commission meeting that precedes the RCI meeting normally begins at 9 a.m.

NEWS

2016 MEET NUMBERS: SO FAR, SO GOOD Just past the halfway point of the 2016 meet, the Indiana Grand Thoroughbred handle has generated much-improved numbers, aided by enhanced simulcast revenues.

Overall daily handle at Indiana Grand is up approximately 15 percent, compared to the same race date last year (which was up, compared to 2014), so the trend is in the right direction. Our field size, so far, is 8.07, the same number as in 2015.

The daily average purses have been just over $190,000, including breed development funds. We would like to find a way to shift some revenue into the Indiana program from the unrestricted program. Because of the large number of Indiana program races needed to fill cards early in the meet, when open races were not filling, breed development funds—and, ultimately, the number of races—are being closely watched.

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INDIANA HBPA: WORKING TO GROW FAN APPRECIATION In the middle of a very busy meet, the Indiana HBPA has been more active than ever in trying to promote racing and breeding in Indiana. The local affiliate has added a variety of co-promotional activities with our track partner, Indiana Grand Racing & Casino, to educate our fans and grow appreciation of the great racing in our state.

At the end of July, the Indiana HBPA co-sponsored “HBPA Back-to-School Night” on a hot Saturday night during racing. Families brought their children out to the track to participate in drawings between races for backpacks filled with school supplies and for an iPad after the last Thoroughbred race of the evening. The track had face painting and a bounce house, in addition to strolling Toy Story characters passing out school supplies.

We held an additional promotional night event on September 17 in cooperation with the track called “HBPA Boots & Brews Fan Education.” The event will include horse racing book and voucher giveaways after each race, plus mechanical bull riding, food and the aforementioned brews.

For the first four months of the meet, the Indiana HBPA and Indiana Grand put on “Grand Mornings at the Track” one Saturday each month as a means of giving fans a behind-the-scenes look at parts of racing they rarely see. Fans came out to the track during morning training for a free continental breakfast with guest speakers and themed presentations.

The first focused on the life of a jockey, with a tour of the jockey quarters led by Clerk of Scales Steve Cahill. The second was all about training horses, featuring a presentation and Q&A by Indiana HBPA Director and Second Vice President Michael Lauer and a backside tour, including a stop at Lauer’s barn.

The third Grand Morning centered on the starting gate and maintenance of the racing surface, with participants going inside the gate and talking with Starter Steve Peterman and going onto the track for a Q&A with Track Superintendent Roy Smith. The fourth in the series had not taken place at this writing but was scheduled to be all about the horse, with interaction with a farrier and a Q&A with a working track vet.

The series was largely the product of planning and coordination between Indiana Grand Marketing Manager Tammy Knox, Racing Broadcast Production Manager Rachel McLaughlin and Indiana HBPA Director Tianna Richardville.

This year’s events drew a good base, but we hope the events will grow more frequent and more popular next year.

IOWA HBPA PRAIRIE MEADOWS MEET COMES TO AN END The racing meet at Prairie Meadows ended on August 13 this year for a total of 67 days of racing. The meet was highlighted by the running of the Grade 3 Cornhusker Handicap on July 2. The Cornhusker was won by locally based Smack Smack, who is owned Toby Keith’s Dream Walkin’ Farm and trained by local legend Don Von Hemel. Smack Smack was also the Iowa HBPA Horse of the Year in 2013. With his win in the Cornhusker, he may accomplish the same for the 2016 racing season, a feat not done before for a Horse of the Year here in Iowa. The determination for Horse of the Year will not be done until the conclusion of the calendar year with the winners announced during the annual Iowa HBPA/ITBOA Awards Banquet held next May. Two other Grade 3 stakes were held during the festival of racing with the Iowa Derby and Iowa Oaks. The Derby this year was won by American Freedom, owned by Gary and Mary West and trained by Bob Baffert. The Oaks this year was won by Family Tree, who is also owned by Gary and Mary West but trained by Wayne Catalano.

The final day of races was capped off with the Iowa Classics, a race card comprised of seven Iowa-bred stakes. One race of particular importance was the newly renamed Governor Terry E. Branstad Stakes for older colts and geldings going 1 1/16 miles. This was the first running of the race, and the governor was on hand to present the trophy to the winning connections. It was a rather exciting race won by Matchlock for an ownership group that included Iowa HBPA Trainer Director and former President Dick Clark, Tom Allen, Dan Sears and Otto Farms Inc. Clark is also the trainer of the Iowa-bred.

Other winners during the Iowa Classics included Iowa Cradle winner Han Sense, a horse that supplemented into the race. Han Sense is sired by Hanson, who won the Iowa Derby in 2012, thus completing a unique Iowa connection for both the sire and colt. The winner of the Iowa Sorority was Theperfectvow, trained by Robertino Diodoro for Sandra Rasmussen’s River Ridge Ranch.

Sandra not only won the race but also ran second with Win Winney. The Donna Reed Stakes was won by Foxy Fleda, trained by Iowa HBPA Director Doug Anderson for owner Rosewood Farm Inc. Foxy Fleda made a thrilling comefrom-behind victory to win by 2 ½ lengths. The winning trainer for both the Iowa Breeders Oaks and Iowa Breeders Derby was Iowa HBPA Director Kelly Von Hemel. In the Oaks, Kelly won with Mywomanfromtokyo, owned by Crimson King Farm, who went to the front of the field and pulled away down the stretch to win by more than five lengths. Kelly’s owner in the Derby was none other than National HBPA President Leroy Gessmann with his Umbrella Stables II LLC partners and the horse One Fine Dream. The race marked the fourth straight stakes win for One Fine Dream, who also deployed the tactic used by the Oaks winner to get to the front of the pack and never look back. The final race of the card was won by You Funny Man for Iowa HBPA Trainer Director Paul Pearson as trainer and co-owner with Sandra Rasmussen’s River Ridge Ranch. The gelding gave Sandra a second win on the card with an exciting six-wide trip around the turn to finish ahead by 1 ½ lengths over Dixie Surge.

The Iowa HBPA thanks all the owners, trainers and their employees for helping to make this year a success at Prairie Meadows. If it wasn’t for the overwhelming support from everyone involved in racing from the beginning of the year dealing with the EHV-1 situation, it could have been a completely different end and one that would have been devastating to the entire racing industry here in Iowa. Again, thank you to everyone involved, and we can’t wait for the next year of racing to begin!

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From left, Prairie Meadows CEO Gary Palmer, Governor Terry Branstad and Prairie Meadows Board of Directors Chairman Bob Myers.

IOWA HBPA OFFICE NON-RACING HOURS With racing now complete at Prairie Meadows, the office off-season hours will go into effect.

The hours will be approximately Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. You can contact the Iowa HBPA at (515) 967-4804 or via email at info@ iowahbpa.org.

KENTUCKY HBPA PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Historical racing machines (HRMs) continue to outperform any previous projections. Through July 2016, $3,947,629 has been generated for horsemen’s purses. Another $2,827,708 has been generated for the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund (KTDF) and $2,702,872 for the General Fund of Kentucky.

Remember, this is with only Kentucky Downs, Ellis Park and Keeneland/Red Mile operating their race meetings along with HRMs. Turfway Park and Churchill Downs are not yet participating. We have talked with officials at Turfway Park and they have indicated that they are in the final stages of getting financing completed that will enable them to begin construction and remodeling in advance of purchasing HRMs. I had the opportunity to speak with Senate President Mitch McConnell at a function held in Kentucky. I followed up this opportunity with an email expressing our concern with Federal House Bill 3084, the Horse Racing Integrity Act. I impressed upon Senator McConnell that this legislation is vehemently 52

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opposed by the vast majority of horsemen across the nation. While I understand that most horsemen are operating under the assumption that the bill has no chance of passing, we have received information that there is a move by the supporters of the bill to attach it to a “must pass” bill in order to sneak it through. If this tactic is successful, race-day Lasix will end, a new third party will perhaps prohibit simulcasting to states that do not support their efforts and that this will severely impact our purses, and owners will be assessed a fee for each horse they run of $400 to $500 dollars per starter to pay for this pointless endeavor.

It was my esteemed pleasure to recognize and distribute gifts to several trainers who had reached the pinnacle of their success while racing at Churchill Downs for the past 25 years and were all over 70 years old and still training.

Kevin Flannery, president of Churchill Downs, and members of his staff Jennie Rees

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GOVERNOR BRANSTAD ENTERS PRAIRIE MEADOWS HALL OF FAME (Press Release from Prairie Meadows) Governor Terry Branstad has been selected to enter the Prairie Meadows Hall of Fame on Friday, August 12. The Prairie Meadows Hall of Fame was founded in 1998 to honor the human and equine contributors that helped establish the success of Prairie Meadows and the racing program.

Governor Branstad has been chosen for induction due to his contributions to agriculture and the Prairie Meadows racing program. In May 1983, the Iowa Legislature passed the Pari-Mutuel Wagering Act. On July 1, 1983, Governor Terry E. Branstad signed the bill and appointed the first state racing commission to serve as the regulating body.

Prairie Meadows has given more than $1.6 billion through taxes, grants and charitable donations to the state of Iowa. More than $685 million has remained in our community to promote economic development, agriculture, jobs and tourism.

Ashley Amoss, daughter of trainer Tom Amoss, being interviewed by WHAS radio’s Paul Rogers. Ashley and her sister, Hayley, both participated in the Kentucky HBPA’s #KyDerbyKids Twitter program. They also talked their dad into getting on Twitter. originated the idea of the event and held a lavish reception in honor of the veteran trainers. The group of well-liked trainers included several winners of the Kentucky Derby.

In a magnanimous gesture, the KHBPA Board of Directors voted unanimously to provide financial assistance to help with the volunteer effort to save the 43 horses left abandoned at a Kentucky farm. It was a unified effort on behalf of several organizations to assist the Kentucky Department of Agriculture with feeding, caring and finding new homes for the unfortunate horses.

When it comes to raising awareness of the racing industry, nobody does it better than Jennie Rees. Since her departure from the Louisville CourierJournal, she has taken on several tasks with unbridled enthusiasm. As the communications director of the KHBPA, among other things, she has created the highly successful “Derby Kids” program, which had the children of Derby trainers tweeting their impressions of Derby week. In addition, while assisting Ellis Park with publicity she coordinated the well-received “Making of a Racehorse” with interviews for the racing public of the track starter, track announcer and KHBPA Director John Hancock on what happens each day at a racing stable. She will perform similar publicity duties for Kentucky Downs. Eric Hamelback, CEO of the National HBPA, has reached out to Jennie to assist him, on occasion, in writing important responses to the racing industry on a host of issues. We all owe her a sincere debt of gratitude.

Good luck in your racing endeavors, Rick Hiles, President KHBPA

NEWS

Thomas, Dave Vance and Lynn Whiting. Friends and family packed the two-hour reception that ran into overtime. Kentucky HBPA President Rick Hiles—just a couple of years age-wise from being an honoree himself—presented each trainer with a personalized travel bag and personalized comments that could be made only by someone who knew these unique racetrack veterans for at least a quarter of a century.

“We want to thank these guys for all the things they’ve done through the years, the races they’ve won, all the fans they’ve brought out; being here and the camaraderie and all the memories we’ve got from them,” Hiles said, adding to laughter, “You’ve heard of the ‘Over the Hill gang.’ This is the ‘Down in the Valley gang.’ ” He said more seriously, “They’ve all been wonderful HBPA members.”

Coady Photography

MAKING OF A RACEHORSE

Fans get up close and personal with horses at Ellis Park.

Inspired and spearheaded by board member John Hancock, the Kentucky HBPA and Ellis Park staged a July 30 fan education experience entitled “Making of a Racehorse: Let’s Get Started!” that was so successful that it will be repeated every Saturday in August.

Hancock, whose passion for Ellis speaks to being a third-generation trainer at the western Kentucky track, says the track has a rare setup that makes it a natural for letting fans get up close and personal to the process of preparing horses for races. For example, for morning schooling, the starting gate is positioned in the mile chute heading into the first turn and butts up to the Coady Photography

Coady Photography

CHURCHILL DOWNS HONORS TRAINERS

By Jennie Rees Churchill Downs’ sixth-floor The Mansion is famous for its exclusivity.

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IMMIGRATION UPDATE The Kentucky HBPA has continued its work in assisting its trainer members and backstretch workers regarding their immigration needs. The Kentucky HBPA recognizes that immigration is one of the direct ways it can demonstrate its hands-on assistance to its members. By providing the immigration liaison assistance of Julio Rubio to travel to the many tracks around the country where Latino backstretch workers make up a significant proportion of the working population, Kentucky HBPA can help trainers and workers find ways to facilitate cultural understanding and maintain legal immigration compliance in the workplace.

Some actions that Kentucky HBPA has taken for the national horsemen recently are sending Julio Rubio to Canterbury Park in Minnesota to meet with the Minnesota Racing Commission in July. The commission was looking for solutions to ensure immigration compliance on the backstretch. Julio travelled to Canterbury and met with the commission and helped provide a solution that trainers could certify that they are keeping proper employment verification records called I-9s in order to obtain licenses for their workers.

A Kentucky trainer received an athlete visa for his exercise rider under the COMPETE Act and was able to gain support staff visas for five grooms attached to the exercise rider. The visa is granted for five years, so this approval is a very promising new development for the industry as previously grooms and exercise riders have only been able to file for temporary laborer visas that are good for a maximum of nine months. The Kentucky HBPA has been working on this issue for several years and hopes to gain broad acceptance that its athletes should be treated the same as athletes in the other great sports.

Following our successful visit with immigration officials in Washington, D.C., our trainers are once again successfully receiving H-2B visas for both their summer and winter season visas. Trainers are currently in mid-process of obtaining their winter visas for meets in Florida, Louisiana, Arkansas and Arizona.

More than a dozen trainers were honored at Churchill Downs.

Usually its occupation is restricted to Kentucky Derby and Oaks Day. But on June 24, the storied track honored a very select group in that rarified real estate: trainers who were at least 70 years old and have consistently stabled at Churchill Downs or its satellite Trackside Training Center for the past 25 years or more.

The truly oldies and goodies honorees were Charles “Scooter” Dickey, William “Jinks” Fires, Bernie Flint, Forrest Kaelin, D. Wayne Lukas, Angel Montano Sr., Carl Nafzger, Ernie Retamoza Sr., Marty Rouck, Merrill Scherer, Gary

KY HBPA Board Member John Hancock speaks to fans.

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parking lot to allow easy public access.

Hancock enlisted Jennie Rees, who is handling publicity for Ellis Park this summer in addition to year-round work for the Kentucky HBPA, to help. The KHBPA jumped at the concept as part of its mission to create new fans, and the project quickly came together with enthusiastic support from Ellis Park Starter Scott Jordan and Track President Ron Geary.

The morning started at the gate, with Jordan’s commentary and fans seeing first-hand about teaching young horses to break from the gate. When there were no horses, the crowd could pose in the gate for pictures. The event moved on to Hancock’s barn, where he explained everything from the care of horses to how the backside is a community to what a condition book is. Didiel Osorio, last year’s Ellis riding champion, was a huge hit, answering questions and giving out autographed goggles, with his agent, Jose Santos Jr., also participating.

Track Announcer Jimmy McNerney provided excellent insight throughout the morning.

About 30 people attended with most of the pre-event publicity coming through social media and a mention in the local newspapers. Ellis security reported that many of the attendees on the way out said they hoped the program continued and that they would come back.

As Rees said: “Racing fans tend to be made through personal contact, and one of the best ways to get people interested in races is to first show them what goes on with the horses in the morning. This venture cost almost nothing but caring and sweat equity. John is a natural showman and his genuine love for the horses, the sport and Ellis Park shines through. It was so gratifying how others supported the cause and gave their time. Each week we’ll work to add new experiences.”

As John says, this was just the start.

MEMBERSHIP HAS ITS PRIVILEGES

half of the claiming price up to a maximum of $10,000.

If you are contemplating claiming a horse, stop by the KHBPA office at the track that is currently running or visit the main office at 3729 South Fourth Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40214 and sign a KHBPA membership card. There is no charge for this valuable benefit.

THE HBPA IS YOU The HBPA, established in 1940, is an organization of owners and trainers numbering approximately 30,000 nationally in 23 states and Canada and more than 6,000 in Kentucky. The association is governed by a board of directors consisting of owners and trainers volunteering their time and elected by the membership every three years. The HBPA is committed to working for the betterment of racing on all levels.

The HBPA represents owners and trainers on several fronts: • T he HBPA is present in negotiating sessions with each racetrack regarding purse structure, equitable share of simulcast revenues, overall track safety, sanitation and security.

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

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

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

• T he HBPA is at the forefront in litigation and legislation on issues involving horsemen’s rights in regard to interstate simulcasting, proprietary rights, casino gambling, therapeutic medication, sports betting and many other areas of concern to horsemen.

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

Denis Blake

Kentucky HBPA Executive Director Marty Maline (right) presents a claiming coverage check to Joseph A. Scates at Ellis Park.

For several years the KHBPA has offered a unique benefit to members with a signed HBPA card on file.

If a member with a signed card claims a horse and the horse suffers a catastrophic injury that requires euthanasia immediately following the running of that particular race, the KHBPA will reimburse the member for a portion of the loss. The KHBPA claiming coverage provides the signed card member with one54

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LOUISIANA HBPA DELTA DOWNS The 2016–17 Thoroughbred meet at Delta Downs begins on October 19 and ends on March 11, 2017, featuring the 14th running of the $1 million Delta Downs Jackpot on November 19. Exaggerator, winner of the 2016 Jackpot, went on to win the Santa Anita Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Haskell Invitational.

A new hotel tower, with 167 rooms and modern amenities, is scheduled to open later this fall. Louisiana Premier Night is Saturday, February 11, with more than $1 million in purses for Louisiana-breds. For additional information, contact the Delta Downs racing office at (888) 589-7223.

EVANGELINE DOWNS The 2016 American Quarter Horse meet at Evangeline Downs begins on September 28 and ends on December 17. On Friday, October 28, the trials for the $1 million LQHBA Breeders Futurity will be conducted with the Futurity final on November 19. On October 29, the trials for the LQHBA Breeders Derby will be conducted with the final also on November 19. Estimated purse for the Derby is $275,000. For additional information, contact the Evangeline Downs racing office at (866) 349-0687.

FAIR GROUNDS The Fair Grounds 2016–17 Thoroughbred meet begins on November 19 featuring the 104th running of the $1 million Louisiana Derby on April 1, 2017.

Fair Grounds will hold the annual Louisiana Champions day on December 10 with $1.1 million in purses to be contested by the finest Louisiana-bred.

Starlight cards will be held on January 13, February 10 and March 10 with the first post at 5 p.m. This meet will introduce the new twilight cards on November 19 and January 28 with first post at 3 p.m. Stall applications are due by October 5. For more information, contact the racing office at (504) 948-1288.

LOUISIANA DOWNS The 2016 Louisiana Downs Thoroughbred meet concludes on September 24.

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bag, water jug and a shirt for all of the kids that played soccer. Chaplin Ed Underwood was able to get Valleyfair amusement park tickets donated for the racetrack children and family who attended camp. The jockeys and agents at Canterbury Park donated money so each child received money to cover expenses for their Valleyfair day. Thanks to all who cared enough to make this possible.

On July 25 the Minnesota HBPA sponsored its 22nd annual golf tournament.

Thank you to Minnesota HBPA Vice President Jack Walsh, who spearheaded

The 22nd annual golf tournament was again a success. the tournament, and to Canterbury Park, Dahlgreen Golf Club and all the other sponsors who made this golf tournament a success. Dinner was served and everyone seemed to enjoy a good time. First place went to team Budin, second place to team Anderson and third place to team Dunham. Special awards were as follows: longest putt, Chad Anderson; longest drive for men, Andrew Vold and Dennis Hall; closest to the pin, Joy Gorra; and longest drive for women, Amy Kotish. Thank you to Molly Cronk, Wendy Hobson and Kimberly Shoberg for their help in making this a success. We hope to see everyone again next year.

On August 3, the Minnesota Racing Commission sponsored a town hall meeting facilitated by Ed Martin of RCI. This meeting was to address concerns about problems facing the racing industry and how to better achieve uniformity and consistency throughout the industry.

Sixteen-year-old Scott Bethke, son of trainer Troy Bethke, joined the jockey colony at Canterbury Park this year. Scott is the youngest jockey participating at Canterbury Park. He experienced his first Canterbury Park win on a horse owned and trained by his father, however, Scott broke the horse as a yearling. Scott is a hard worker and dedicated rider and we wish him much success.

A BUSY SUMMER AT CANTERBURY MOUNTAINEER PARK HBPA HORSE RACING COMMUNITY PROVIDES AID TO WV FLOOD VICTIMS Jana Tetrault

The Mountaineer Park HBPA and the Mountaineer Casino Racetrack and Resort joined forces to collect and donate

The Minnesota HBPA co-sponsored another kids camp this summer.

Oh my, where to start. Everyone has experienced such a busy time at Canterbury Park this year. The Minnesota HBPA again co-sponsored the kids summer camp with Bayer YMCA and Esperanza. Bayer donated a soccer ball, 56

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Horsemen pitched in to help area flood victims.

CHAPLAINCY PROVIDES BACK TO SCHOOL SUPPLIES The Mountaineer Park Chaplaincy will once again provide backpacks with school supplies to children of licensed backstretch workers.

MOUNTAINEER PARK HBPA PARTNERS WITH CANTER OHIO Mountaineer Park HBPA board member Annette McCoy is chairing a committee that will be working with CANTER Ohio to assist trainers with placing retired Thoroughbreds in second career homes.

On August 19 Mountaineer Park HBPA hosted the first of several listing days to assist trainers in listing their horses with CANTER Ohio. Volunteers will be on hand to complete applications and to take photos for the listings. For more information, contact the Mountaineer Park HBPA office.

WEST VIRGINIA DERBY Michael Tabor, Susan Magnier, and Derrick Smith’s Cupid dominated nine other 3-year-olds in the $750,000 West Virginia Derby (G2) on August 6 at Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort.

Coady Photography

GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING The Mountaineer Park HBPA general membership meeting was to take place on Wednesday, September 13, at 11 a.m. in The Derby Kitchen.

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MOUNTAINEER PARK HBPA MEMBER BENEFITS INFORMATION MEETING The Mountaineer Park HBPA hosted a Member Benefits Information Meeting in July where representatives from Wes Banco and the attorney for the retirement plan spoke to members about investment strategies, tax issues and longevity of the West Virginia Racing Commission Retirement Plan for Backstretch Workers.

Representatives from CHANGE Inc. also spoke about the opening of their new center in Newell. CHANGE is a nonprofit community action and health agency offering a wide variety of services including case management, community service programs such as weatherization, housing counseling, first-time homebuyer services, support services for veterans, transportation and family medical care. CHANGE provides patients with the access, convenience and quality they expect from a healthcare provider and the benefits and value associated with a community health center.

The Mountaineer Park HBPA Medical Trust is encouraging all members who do not have insurance to sign up through the marketplace. If members need access to a computer, they can contact the trust office.

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items for those fellow West Virginians affected by the tragic flooding in June.

Horsemen and women, casino employees, as well as the local community supported these efforts. The Mountaineer Park HBPA and Mountaineer Casino Racetrack and Resort kicked off the drive with a donation of supplies.

Board members John W. Baird, Brady Howell and trainer Donnie Blankenship delivered a horse trailer full of cleaning supplies, food, water, paper goods, diapers and clothing to the Elkview Baptist Church.

“Some of the items didn’t even make it into the center; they were distributed directly to those in need,” Baird said.

Cupid was ridden to victory by Rafael Bejarano and trained by Bob Baffert.

Coleswood Farm Inc.’s homebred In the Fairway, a 6-yearold gelding, was a 6 ½-length winner of the $100,000 Northern Panhandle Stakes for In the Fairway accredited West Virginiabreds. Amaido Bocachica was aboard for trainer Jeff Runco. Russell Road finished second, and at age 10 has now hiked his career purse earnings above the $2 million mark.

The $100,000 Hancock County Stakes for accredited West Virginia-bred fillies and mares went to Spa Creek with Luis Quinones up. It marked Spa Creek another win for trainer Jeff Runco and owner Coleswood Farm, which co-owns the Smoke Glacken mare with David Raim.

NEW ENGLAND HBPA NEW RACETRACK ENVISIONED FOR MASSACHUSETTS

By Lynne Snierson With only six days of live racing at Suffolk Downs in 2016 and the question remaining whether the Brockton Fairgrounds can present a meet at all this year, the New England HBPA chapter continues to move forward on the creation of a nonprofit Thoroughbred racetrack and equine center in Massachusetts that would ensure the survival of the industry and allow the horsemen to control their fate.

The horsemen envision a “world-class, year-round horse park” that could host 75 Thoroughbred racing days per year, elite national equestrian and dressage events year-round in an Olympic-sized indoor facility and a retraining and retirement facility for up to 40 of our noble equine athletes.

The visionary project advanced closer to reality with the release July 8 of a favorable independent feasibility study.

“A not-for-profit facility that brings together Thoroughbred racing, equestrian competitions, 4H, trail riding, and a retraining/retirement facility for aging horses is an important investment in our state’s character and future,” said NEHBPA President Anthony Spadea Jr. “This study demonstrates that we can create a horse park that Massachusetts families can enjoy for many generations, without needing a single cent of tax revenue.”

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provide a “significant” economic annual boon for the state, revive the local Thoroughbred racing and breeding industry and enhance the statewide agricultural and equine network.

The study was backed and funded by the NEHBPA, which continues to build bipartisan backing at the state capitol for the passage of enabling legislation to greenlight the project.

“We are extremely enthusiastic and very excited about the positive findings in the study, and are greatly encouraged by the support that is growing in the legislature to allow us to turn our dream of finding a long-term solution for racing and breeding in Massachusetts into reality,” added Spadea.

The study details “The Massachusetts Model,” unlike any other in the country, for a prototypical multi-use, combination racetrack, featuring a one-mile oval with a seven-furlong turf course. The facility will also include a grandstand, restaurants and a simulcast area, and a hotel would likely be included.

Construction costs in total are not expected to exceed $150 million, with $90 million earmarked for acquisition of the required 300 to 600 contiguous acres of land located near an interstate highway or major state road. Although no specific location was noted, there are currently 10 active real estate listings within state borders that meet the criteria.

The study projects that with 75 live racing days held annually from midMay to mid-October, an average of nine races per day, approximately 800 horses stabled on the new backside and an average minimum of 3,000 fans in attendance in the new grandstand, the Thoroughbred racing component would have an annual economic output of $66 million.

When factoring in the equine center capable of hosting indoor and outdoor events year-round for dressage, eventing and hunter/jumper competitions on Olympic-sized surfaces, along with a conference center, farmer’s and artisanal markets, equine health and training services and several other features, the project is expected to produce an annual economic impact of close to $100 million and produce another $5 million each year in state and local taxes.

Furthermore, the study found that the equine center would create 957 jobs in the state, and that it would boost another 115 foals being bred in Massachusetts yearly, as long as there are continued allocations from the state Race Horse Development Fund (RHDF) awards to breeders.

The RHDF was set up as part of the state’s 2011 expanded gambling legislation to boost the state’s struggling Thoroughbred and Standardbred industries and is supplied by a percentage of the profits from the burgeoning casino industry. Of the allotment, 80 percent is dedicated to purses, 16 percent goes to breeders and 4 percent is set aside of backstretch welfare.

Initially, the RHDF was split 75 percent/25 percent Thoroughbred to Standardbred, but the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) on June 21 adjusted the share 55 percent/45 percent Standardbred to Thoroughbred, retroactive to January 1, 2016.

The justification by the MGC for changing the percentages was that the state’s only harness track at Plainridge Park Casino runs 115 live dates annually as required by state mandate and there are only six days of live Thoroughbred racing in-state at this time.

Thoroughbred horsemen will lose 40 percent of the funds they had been receiving when the ratio is factored, and the breeders will be hit especially hard.

But the MGC determined the splits can be re-examined at a future meeting in late October and progress on the new center to provide 75 days of live Thoroughbred racing could weigh on the outcome.

The feasibility study termed the new equine center a “job and tax producer.” In addition to backing from the NEHBPA and the Massachusetts Thoroughbred Breeders Association, horsemen from a variety of other breeds are 58

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also standing solidly behind the plan and working with the Thoroughbred groups to secure passage of enabling legislation.

“Support in the legislature is building strongly, and all of the horsemen who have been helping us along the way are as enthusiastic as we are. We are very appreciative of the many groups of horsemen who have given us their support and loyalty,” Spadea said. “We will keep striving and working as hard as possible to make this a reality for all of us, so we can all stay at home to train and race our horses and make a living.”

The concept for the equine center was created by top officials from the NEHBPA, who as far back as 2013 were confronted with the dark cloud of uncertainty hanging over the future of Thoroughbred racing in New England.

Consequently, many of the horsemen and riders scattered to other tracks.

The ownership group of Suffolk Downs had long maintained that live racing was no longer economically viable without a casino license. The group partnered first with gaming titans Caesars and then Mohegan Sun but in 2014 was denied the license authorized for the greater Boston region by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.

Suffolk held three live racing days in 2015, and this year the schedule called for three two-day racing festivals over six days: July 9-10, August 6-7 and September 3-4. But there is no guarantee that Suffolk Downs will race next year or beyond.

“Massachusetts is in dire need of a Thoroughbred racing facility, or it faces a significant loss of economic benefits generated by farms, the various participants in racing and the fans,” said Lou Raffetto, consultant to the NEHBPA. Meanwhile, the Brockton Fairgrounds, which last held a Thoroughbred meet in 2001, hoped to race 15 days this year, starting in July, but as of press time the MGC had yet to award the track a license while it tried to determine if the request from the track’s owners for $1.4 million from the RHDF to cover operating and administrative costs was in compliance with state law.

North of the border, the last sliver of hope that Thoroughbred racing could ever return to Rockingham Park, which hasn’t held a live meet since 2002, was extinguished when the New Hampshire track was sold earlier this year to a local developer and plans called for all operations, including simulcasting, to cease August 31.

OHIO HBPA PURSES ON THE RISE AT OHIO TRACKS Mahoning Valley will kick off its third season of live racing when the 37-day fall meet begins on Friday, October 28. Mahoning Valley will host the Best of Ohio series for the first time on opening weekend. The Best of Ohio races feature the top Ohio-breds in various categories competing for a total of $750,000 in purses in five separate $150,000 events on October 29.

Average purse distribution for the fall meet is expected to be approximately $125,000 per day, which will be a record high for the track to date. Racing will be conducted on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday schedule each week through the end of the meet on December 28, with added Fridays on opening day as well as November 25. There will be no live racing on Christmas Eve. Post time on Monday through Wednesday will be 12:45 p.m. and first post on Saturday will be 12:15 p.m.

The 2016 live meets at both Belterra Park and Thistledown are beginning to wind down. Belterra Park has added three days to its live schedule in order to make up for live days that were canceled earlier in the meeting due to heavy

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OKLAHOMA HBPA (THOROUGHBRED RACING ASSOCIATION OF OKLAHOMA) WILL ROGERS DOWNS MEET CONCLUDES WITH PERFECT SAFETY RECORD, WELDER NAMED HORSE OF THE MEET Cherokee Casino Will Rogers Downs, which has been in operation for 10 consecutive years, reported another successful Thoroughbred meet this spring.

The meet ended with a perfect safety record, as there was not a single equine fatality among the more than 2,000 starters at the meet.

The 30-day meet ran from March 14 through May 21. Each race day offered more than $100,000 in purses, running eight to 12 races per day.

More than $19 million was handled for the meet, and the daily average for Saturdays increased by 25 percent over the previous year, including gains on the Kentucky Derby and Preakness days, with the Preakness up an impressive 31 percent compared to 2015.

John Lies, former track announcer at Lone Star Park, came on board as racing secretary and announcer at Will Rogers Downs just prior to the meet and said he is excited about the outcome.

“My first season as racing secretary was a memorable one,” he said. “We are proud to end the 2016 season with such momentum. We learned a few things that make us very hopeful our 2017 season will be an even stronger one. We also hope word of our perfect safety record spreads like wildfire and encourages other horsemen to consider participating in next year’s meet.”

Will Rogers Downs offered more than $3.5 million in total purses for the year, including a 10 percent purse increase for all overnight races.

Bryan McNeil was the leading rider this year with 38 victories, three better than his nearest competitor, Curtis Kimes. Leading trainer was Scott Young, beating out Roger Engel by a 30 to 29 tally. Leading owner was T and M Precision Services LLC with 13 victories.

Oklahoma-bred Welder, who was a perfect two for two at Will Rogers, earned Horse of the Meet honors. The 3-year-old gray gelding is owned by Ra-Max Farm LLC of Claremore and is trained by Theresa Sue Luneack, also of Claremore. Welder earned $47,390 for the meet, with a victory in the TRAO Classic Sprint against older horses clinching him the Horse of the Meet honors.

Welder is by Oklahoma stallion The Visualiser, who stands at Mighty Acres.

EXPANDED OKLAHOMA DERBY DAY HEADLINES REMINGTON PARK STAKES SCHEDULE The Grade 3, $400,000 Oklahoma Derby headlines the 2016 Remington Park stakes schedule, as it usually does, and the entire race card has been elevated in status for a second consecutive year. Set for Sunday, September 25,

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rains. The live meet at Belterra will now conclude on Thursday, October 14.

Increasing VLT revenues at Belterra Park have led to an average purse distribution of more than $85,000 per day at the track thus far in 2016, up more than 30 percent from 2015 levels and up nearly 50 percent from 2012 when the track was still called River Downs and average daily purse distribution was $44,260.

Racing at Thistledown will continue on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday schedule each week through October 22. Average purse distribution per day at the track is approximately $140,000 in 2016, down slightly from last year due to a decrease in on-track pari-mutuel wagering and lower VLT revenues in early 2016 when a major construction project was taking place at the facility.

The average daily purse distribution at Thistledown in 2012 was $50,592.

the program now boasts 10 stakes, up from seven last year, with stakes purses increasing by $275,000 to a total of $1,325,000.

“We’re looking forward to hosting the 28th running of the Oklahoma Derby and are making the afternoon bigger than it has ever been for quality racing in this state,” said Matt Vance, vice president of operations at Remington Park.

“Thanks to the increased pool sizes experienced the past several years on our big days, wagering opportunities will be enhanced as well. We will feature a $50,000 guaranteed pool for the all-stakes Primetime Pick 4 on derby day.

“The Oklahoma Derby has annually attracted owners and trainers from across the nation, seeking a quality, and graded, derby spot just prior to the Breeders’ Cup World Championships,” Vance noted. “The locally based trainers have always been well represented in the race with Donnie Von Hemel winning three times and Oklahoma-bred Shotgun Kowboy winning in 2015 under the guidance of breeder/owner/trainer C.R. Trout.”

Remington Park’s entire 2016 stakes schedule features 31 events worth nearly $3.5 million. Other big days include the rich Oklahoma Classics Night on Friday, October 21, and the Springboard Mile Day on Sunday, December 11.

The $1 million Oklahoma Classics Night will feature eight divisional stakes for Oklahoma-breds led by the $175,000 Classics Cup for 3-year-olds and up at 1 1/16 miles.

The $300,000 Springboard Mile, Remington Park’s top 2-year-old stakes, has received a purse increase of $50,000 and will headline the concluding day program that includes a total of five stakes.

The 2016 season began Friday, August 12, and ends Sunday, December 11. The normal racing week after opening weekend will be Wednesday through Saturday with a regular post time of 7 p.m. Special 3 p.m. post times will be held on Labor Day, September 5; Oklahoma Derby Day, September 25; and Black Friday, November 25. Post time for the final day of the season will be 1:30 p.m.

For the complete stakes schedule, go to remingtonpark.com.

TRAO CLINIC UPDATE The TRAO clinic reopened in July. Clinic hours will be from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Monday during the Thoroughbred meet at Remington Park. The chiropractor will be available every Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

HORSEWOMAN ANN ETHRIDGE-PRATT DIES The Oklahoma horse racing industry lost a longtime horsewoman when Ann Ethridge-Pratt passed away on June 14 at her home in Lindsay, Oklahoma. Ann was born in Oklahoma City on November 10, 1935, to George Wesley and Isa Montana McDoulett. She married David Ethridge on November 12, 1955, and lived on the family ranch, raising three children: Sheryl, Michael and Tammie.

After David passed away in 1996, Ann married Bob G. Pratt in January 2000.

Ann lived life on her own terms and was always ready to travel on an adventure. Her favorite saying was “laissez les bons temps rouler” (let the good times roll). She enjoyed breeding and racing Thoroughbreds, western swing dancing and traveling. Ann loved children and enjoyed being Mrs. Claus with Bob as Santa during the month of December for various civic functions. She was an active member of the Elks Lodge and St. Michaels Episcopal Church.

Ann is survived by her children, Sheryl Kochert and husband Mike of Lindsay; Michael Ethridge and fiancée Donna of Midland, Texas; and Tammie Callicott and husband Terry of Possum Kingdom Lake, Texas, as well as her cherished grandchildren, great-grandchildren and nieces and nephews.

Ann will be greatly missed by all her family and friends. A celebration of her life was held at St. Michaels Episcopal Church in Lindsay.

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OKLAHOMA-BRED STANDOUT CLEVER TREVOR DIES AT AGE 30

Clever Trevor Oklahoma-bred Clever Trevor, who won the first Remington Park Derby in 1989, was euthanized on July 22 due to deteriorating health, according to Daily Racing Form. He was 30 years old.

A 1986 gelded son of Slewacide bred and owned by Don McNeill, Clever Trevor won half of his 30 career starts and banked nearly $1.4 million. He began his racing career at Ak-Sar-Ben in Nebraska and then took his home state by storm with stakes wins at Blue Ribbon Downs and Remington Park as a 2-year-old.

As a 3-year-old, the Donnie K. Von Hemel trainee won the inaugural Remington Park Derby (now the Oklahoma Derby) and raced in the 1989 Kentucky Derby (G1), where he finished 13th. The gelding rebounded to win the Grade 2 St. Paul Derby in Minnesota and Grade 1 Arlington Classic in Illinois before running a game second to Easy Goer in the Grade 1 Travers Stakes at Saratoga. He also ran in the 1991 Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1), finishing sixth.

After retiring from the track, Clever Trevor spent most of his remaining years on the farm of Donnie K. Von Hemel and his wife, Robin, and daughter, Tess.

“He was a brilliant,” Von Hemel told Daily Racing Form. “He was a great racehorse who really put a young trainer on a successful path. I was very fortunate that he came along during the early part of my career, and I’ll forever be indebted to that horse. He meant so much to me and my family. It’s a sad day, but he had a wonderful life.”

Clever Trevor, Von Hemel and McNeill, who passed away last year, are all members of the Oklahoma Horse Racing Hall of Fame. Remington Park annually honors the gelding with the Clever Trevor Stakes.

HORSE PLAYER NOW RETURNS FOR REMINGTON PARK MEET Remington Park and Horse Player NOW will continue their long partnership for racing education throughout the 2016 Thoroughbred season. The initial online get-together took place on the season’s opening night, August 12.

The Friday Night School Live at Remington Park will be conducted on most Fridays during the season with special editions for Oklahoma Derby Day (September 25) and Springboard Mile Day (December 11).

“Friday nights with Remington Park racing have become a fixture in the online wagering culture and the return of Friday Night School Live once again will provide the perfect weekend kick off,” noted Jeremy Plonk, the founder of Horse Player NOW. “The interaction with fellow horseplayers in the live chat and podcast provide camaraderie and player development in one swoop. We’re pumped up to partner once again with Remington Park, the trailblazing track that joined us in fan education initiatives in 2010.”

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educational team. The Remington Park Friday Night School Live is an extension of the weekly Night School program that is featured online on Tuesdays.

Plonk and Jerry Shottenkirk will share duties on the weekly Friday Night School Live program, beginning approximately 20 minutes before the first race of the evening at 7 p.m. (Central). Those taking part in the program will hear the thoughts and strategies of the hosts, while able to submit commentary and questions in the online forum. The Remington Park racing action is available for viewing via online streaming.

“The Friday Night program has become a weekly online appointment for many horseplayers participating with Remington Park racing,” said Dale Day, Remington Park announcer. “The Horse Player NOW team does a great job in helping teach newer fans about the sport, and wagering, without overloading them with mind-blowing minutiae that might cause confusion. Regular attendees continue to build on their knowledge and there is plenty of fun conversation involved throughout the night.”

The program aids everyone from the novice fan to the heavily experienced.

Friday Night School Live also offers participating guests free past performances, courtesy of Brisnet. A major partner with both Horse Player NOW and Remington Park, Brisnet has been heavily involved with extending the reach of horse racing to newer fans for years.

To take part in Friday Night School Live at Remington Park, fans simply go to horseplayernow.com to join the winning fun. The forum can also be accessed at remingtonpark.com.

OREGON HBPA PLENTY OF INCENTIVES FOR HORSEMEN IN OREGON Wow where did the summer go? Here in Oregon we have been very busy traveling from one summer race meet to the next. We have a total of five summer race meets to support.

We started in June at the Eastern Oregon Livestock Show in Union. The race meet was very successful with both attendance and handle up over the previous year.

We then travelled to Grants Pass for nine days of racing in June and the first part of July. Again the race meet was a great success with regard to both attendance and wagering handle.

The next meet on our busy schedule was in mid-July and found us traveling to the Crooked River Roundup in Prineville. We had one of the best and deepest riding colonies in many years and lots of horses ready to race. As a result, the handle was up significantly, breaking records for the race meet.

One of the new things that happened this summer was a Trainer of the Day Program sponsored by the Oregon HBPA. Each day a trainer’s name was drawn during the regular draw and a $100 gift certificate was awarded to them as an appreciation for supporting our summer race meets. While not a lot of money the program proved to be very successful and the trainers were very thankful.

The race office was always full of trainers to see who would receive the award. It was so much fun.

We have two summer race meets left as this is written. First was the Tillamook County Fair, which runs August 10-13, and then we conclude summer racing at the Harney County Fair, which runs September 9-11.

Fall racing begins in Oregon with our commercial race meet at Portland Meadows. Our horsemen and horsewomen were able to move onto the Portland Meadows grounds August 26 with the race meet beginning September 25 and running until January 3, 2017.

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PENNSYLVANIA HBPA INACTIVE HORSEMEN’S ACCOUNTS The Pennsylvania HBPA has announced its inactive accounts in the Horsemen’s Bookkeeping Account at Penn National. In accordance with the Live Racing Agreement, Penn National furnished a list of accounts that have been inactive for a period of four years. The names on those inactive accounts are set forth below.

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

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

Acqua Nova Stable Inc.; Aliyuee Ben J. Stables Inc.; Arthur Amos; Pamela Arnold and Linda J. Collins; S. Stephen Atkins; Aventura Stable; Michael Azer and Frank Cerino; William Gary Baker; LGB LLC; Liam Benson; Ajay Bhan; Ernest Biddle; Teddy M. Bigelow; Bloom Racing Stable; BMW Racing Stables LLC; Bobbie McAlister and Robert Teagle Sr; Boggs, Jack L. and Silver, Gerald; Gina M. Bower; Susan P. Braun; Paul Braverman; Beezewood Thoroughbreds; Clark O. Brewster; Jose M. Carnejo; Donald E. Campbell; Donald H. Campbell; William A. Campbell; Canessa, Walter Rosa and Rodriguez, Luis Felipe; Thomas Carey; Riley L. Carr; Mike Carroll; Jenifer R. Carter; John P. Casey; Carlos M. Cazares; CB’s Thoroughbred Stable; Chessmate Thoroughbreds International LLC; Steven Chronister; CJ Thoroughbreds and Durlacher, James and Mary; Stepping Stone Holdings; Cloverleaf Farms II Inc.; Cobra Cooper Racing LLC; Cohen, David and Morriston Group LLC; Andre B. Collins; Comi & Lesser; Raymond Comi; Stephen D. Conway; James Corrao; Cottonwood Stables LLC; Cre Run Enterprises LLC; Courtney E. Cress; Eduardo Cruz; Darcie C. Dalrymple and Ron Mather; Andrew Davidovich; DDS Stables and Barbara Reid; Mark Deane, Keith Early & Marvin Little Jr.; Kelly Lynn Deiter; Delk, Harold and Jeremy; Della Rose Stables LLC; Dependable Stables; Bancroft E. DeSouza; Dia Stables Inc.; David Discipio; Michael R. DiTomasso; Ann L. Dixon; Donald L. Brown Jr. and Michael J. Morrow; Donald W. Buckley, Cary Buckley and William Warnecki; Brian Drazin; Dream Quest Stable, D C Racing Partners LLC & JJ Rodgers Jr.; Dubb, Michael and Robbins III, Lansdon B.; Dubb, Michael, The Elkstone Group LLC, Selinger, John, Bethlehem Stables LLC; E F and J Stables and Siskin, Jeff; Deborah A. Easter; Albert G. Eller; JCE Racing, Inc.; Lexicon Partners LLC; F & S Stables Inc.; Springmeade Farm; Robert L. Feinberg; Steven Feldman; Five Hellions Farm; Five Star Thoroughbreds LLC; Florida Prime LLC; Foxhorn Farms; Fred Hart and Andrew Hart Racing; Peter D. Fuller; Richard J Gallo; Edward A. Gamble; Manuel Pedro Garcia; Exacta B.S. LLC; Gen Mar LLC; Duane George; Peter Glangiulio; Todd Glasser; H. Neil Glasser; Brenda M. Godfrey; Alex Gonzalez; G. Russell Gourley; Green Ridge Racing; Green Ridge Racing; Anthony Grey; Justin Haers; Doyle Hamby; Daniel A. Inverso; Irish-Three Racing LLC; Iwin Farms LLC; J.

AFFILIATE

The Oregon HBPA is very excited about all of the incentives that we are able to offer our horsemen and horsewomen for the Portland Meadows race meet, including: • Adding $500 to all overnight races, which increases the bottom purse to $5,300 • Continuing with the $100 participation bonus for all horses finishing sixth through 12th • Providing $40 of free bedding for each horse stabled at the track • Purchasing wood chips for all walkers See you at the races!

Michael Rogers and John Caranci; Jennifer Yost & Courtney Donten-Swisher; Joey P. Stables and Guerrero J. Carlos; John Alecci LLC; Donnie J. Jones; Keith Jones Holdings LLC; KatieRich Stables LLC; Bonnie A. Kempe; Robert Kennedy; Rosemarie Kesselring; KJC Stables; Ioannis Korologos; Rachael Lynn Lively; William Albert Lockley; Londonderry Stable; Joseph A. Lostritto; Louie Rogers Thoroughbreds LLC; Gold Square LLC; John Lucarelli; Rachael Maddox; Patrick Q. Maguire; Main Street Stable; Lyno E. Maraspin; Marianna Zambroski, et al.; Patrick Marrotta; Winifred Marshall; Wags Nags LLC; Ronald N. Mather; Maya Racing Stable; McCarty Racing & Thomas H. Lingenfelter; Jeanine McGinn; Thornmar Farm, LLC; Warren R. Mcmanus; Norman R. Miller; Minor Stables LLC; Moses I. Biancas, PC; Moneylane Farms; Maleke Mundle; Penny Mutton; Katherine S. Neilson-McKenna; Nekia Farm; Noble, James F. and Moyer, Susan M.; Par Five Stable LLC; George W. Parrish Sr.; Patrick Duffy Fischer and Scout Stable; Elaine Peck; Luke Peltz; David M. Perez; Isaac Phelps; Sergio Pradenas; Anthony Pyliotis; Q-Financial; John N. Quiles; R.M.C. Stables; Racer X Thoroughbreds and Smith Ernest; Yigal Rappaport; Dr. S. Mark Rayburg Inc.; Rich Meadow Farm; Richard F. Blue Jr. and Ann W. Merryman; Rickman Racing LLC; Anton Riedlbauer; Kelly D. Ritchie; Riveredge Stables; Rope Stables LLC; Rossi, Richard and Webb Samuel E.; Edwin G. Russell; Steve W. Sakawat; Joseph F. Scott; Seventeen Racing Stables LLC; Ruben A. Sierra; Deborah M. Simpson; William J. Sims; Ronald Singh; Robin Singh; SJ Thoroghbreds LLC; Richard W. Small; Linell C. Smith; Girdner-Jones Partnership, LP; Hart Farm; Hart Farm; Catherine Z. Stanley; Maureen Stillwell; Anthony Suarez; Kenneth P. Taylor Sr.; Thatcher Thoroughbreds; The Four Horsemen Racing Stable Inc.; Thoroughbred Racing Stables LLC; Three Rose Stable; Jarod Thurston; Louis Tisbert; Richard Torres; Mark Toth; Glenn C. Tracey; Abel Trejo-Patino; Michael Trivigno; Danny Turner; Georgette E. Van Nimwegen; Charlotte Van Pelt; Velvet Hammer Stables, Inc.; Steve Verica; Vezkap LLC; Wasserson, James, Wire to Wire Stables Inc., Armstrong, Barbara; Scot Waterman; Samuel E. Webb and Pete Houle; Robert O. Wheeler Jr.; Alix L. White; Blue Sky Farm LLC; James Wood; Linda Wooleyhan; World Thoroughbreds Racing Inc.; Mrs. Frank P. Wright; Donald Yovanovich; Marlin E. Zipp.

WASHINGTON HBPA WHBPA ANNUAL MEETING In response to membership input, the annual Washington HBPA membership meeting was moved to a Saturday “brunch-time” venue on August 6. Attending were 16 trainers, 37 owners and several guests.

WHBPA President Pat LePley opened the meeting with a moment of silence recognizing the recent loss of outstanding horsewomen Sammy Jo Mitchell and Monique Snowden and longtime owner David Taylor.

In his address to membership, LePley gave an update on national legislation (H.R. 3084) and urged attendees to educate their legislators about the use of therapeutic medications, sensitivity of testing in racing and the integrity of the sport.

LePley, who is also an attorney, encouraged licensees to contact the WHBPA if they or their employees are subject to a steward’s hearing. He informed members that the WHBPA is willing to help prepare for a hearing, ensure due process and provide representation if desired. LePley also gave a brief report on the WHBPA’s role in managing worker’s compensation claims.

Executive Director MaryAnn O’Connell reported on the benefits of the association’s affiliation with the National HBPA. A brief overview of insurance programs, the benefits of forming relationships and sharing ideas with HBPAs WWW.NATIONALHBPA.COM

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AFFILIATE

NEWS

Jack and Teresa Hodge, How We Roll Stable, William Jensen, K Bar J Stables, Pat LePley, Oh Glorious Day, Darrin Paul, Tim and Sue Spooner, Rising Star Stable, Harwood Thoroughbreds, Joe Withee, Blaine Wright Racing Stable and Family, Phil Ziegler

from other jurisdictions and the education provided by NHBPA convention panelists was given. O’Connell also gave highlights of topics covered at the recent NHBPA meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

The WHBPA committee chairs were commended by LePley for the time volunteered to help horsemen. Track Committee Chair Robbie Baze gave a report on off-season track maintenance plans and Condition Book Committee Chair Jeff Metz encouraged input from owners and trainers and commented that the racing secretary was willing to try some different things this year, “some of which worked and some of which didn’t.” Overall, in 2016, the number of starters per race is up, as is the number of carded book races.

The meeting concluded with Emerald Downs President Phil Ziegler reporting on the success of Saturday night racing, Dollar Day and increased handle for the 2016 season. He also gave an update on Emerald Downs’ remodeling plans, which include a new simulcast center, card room and restaurant/sports bar to be completed before the 2017 live meeting.

A questions and comment session concluded the meeting.

Heather Sacha

Reed Palmer Photography

PDJF EVENT RAISES MORE THAN $12,000 AT EMERALD DOWNS

EMERALD DOWNS FIRST ANNUAL “RIDE FOR RACEHORSES” BENEFITS PRODIGIOUS FUND Nearly 100 horses and the equivalent of “wannabe” jockeys converged on Emerald Downs on July 31 to participate in the first annual “Ride for Racehorses.”

Benefiting the Prodigious Fund, adult riders paid $50 (children were $25) for the opportunity to spend one hour on the oval with their equine partner.

Participating breeds represented a cross section of the local horse population, with American Quarter Horses being most plentiful followed by Thoroughbreds. There was also a draft horse, a mule and a pony named “Hobbit.” The youngest human participant was 14 years old, and one rider came all the way from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to support the event.

Nearly 100 horses participated in the “Ride for Racehorses” event.

The main fundraiser for the PDJF was a jockey foot race.

Joining several other racetracks across the nation, July 31 culminated a weekend of Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF) fundraising at Emerald Downs. The efforts of the organization hit close to home this year as rider Diego Sanchez suffered a severe injury after a spill at Emerald Downs on May 6. Half of the money raised was dedicated to assist Sanchez with his recovery.

On that Sunday, Sanchez and his fiancée, Cassidy Burg, were on hand to serve as honorary stewards for the $75,000 Emerald Downs Derby. Earlier races on the card, the Diego Sanchez Purse and the PDJF Purse, created awareness of the cause and those donating $100 or more were invited to join the winner’s circle.

The main fundraising event was the annual jockey running race, which included 10 riders (two late scratches). Jockey Juan Gutierrez served as official starter. After some fractious gate activity and a stumble just outside the gate

by Javier Matias, Ronald Richard won going away. For his victory, a $1,000 contribution in Richard’s name was made to the fund.

Other events, including “selfie with a jockey” and the selling of signed Emerald Downs 20th anniversary hats, combined to raise more than $12,000. On September 8, a dinner/auction was planned at Emerald to further assist Sanchez.

For more information on how you can help Diego Sanchez, contact the WHBPA or Emerald Downs. For information and donations for the PDJF, go to pdjf.org.

Thank you to the race sponsors and jockey sponsors.

Race Sponsors: Ron and Wanda Crockett, Emerald Downs Inc., Hern/LePley Racing, Dr. Rodney Orr, Michael Pollowitz Jockey Sponsors: Jeff Cissell, Code Four Stable, Bob Fraser and Phil Ziegler, 62

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“We were overwhelmed by the support of the equestrian community for a first time event. We had people come up to us afterward saying we had fulfilled a lifelong dream and it was the best day they had ever had on their horse,” said Sophia McKee, Prodigious Fund president and former director of marketing at Emerald Downs.

Horses and riders were divided into three one-hour groups: walk/trot, walk/ trot/canter and walk/trot/canter/gallop. Surprisingly, there were no “run-offs,” although outriders were available to assist if necessary. There were two minor falls (over-exuberant equines) and no reported injuries to horses or humans.

Many thanks to the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program’s Symposium on Racing and Gaming student idea forum and to Pimlico for its help in structuring the event. Most appreciated is Emerald Downs and the racing community for their willingness to work together to open the gates to horse lovers everywhere.

The Prodigious Fund’s mission is to recognize and support positive efforts made within the Thoroughbred aftercare community for the rehoming, promotion, and care of retired racehorses.

The Prodigious Fund is supported through industry contributions, per starter contributions and matching funds from Emerald Downs. The fund financially supports the following: • Thoroughbred retirement and rescue organizations • R ehoming and retraining of the Thoroughbred racehorse • P romotion and publicity in support of the retired racehorse athlete • S ponsorship of Thoroughbred-only horse show classes and October annual horse show • P rograms promoting the Thoroughbred athlete

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Catalogs are available online at www.iowathoroughbred.com Contact Brandi Jo Fett at itboa@msn.com or 800-577-1097 for more info WWW.NATIONALHBPA.COM

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