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jnchapel + horseracing   782

Powell: I have underestimated this horse all year
"I'll Have Another became the 12th horse since 1978 to win the first two legs of the elusive Triple Crown. He did it the same way that he won the Derby -- he used his tactical speed to gain the position that Mario Gutierrez wanted, cruised along without expending too much energy, and closed relentlessly to run down a loose-on-an-easy lead Bodemeister. He now goes on to the Belmont with the right running style and pedigree to do what the last 11 could not."
horseracing  triple-crown  belmont-stakes  ill-have-another 
20 hours ago by jnchapel
I'll Have Another a 20,000-1 shot?
"Starting in 1979, when Spectacular Bid failed in the Belmont, the count is 0-for-11. It's the same race, the same track and, for the most part, the same caliber of horses, yet the challenge has become virtually impossible. Why? Theories abound, but I believe it has everything to do with how the modern horse is handled. Three races in five weeks was no big deal for the horses of the '30s through the '70s, but these horses just can't handle it."
horseracing  triple-crown  belmont-stakes  ill-have-another 
yesterday by jnchapel
In praise of Pimlico
"Maryland racing as a whole still has its issues and Pimlico takes its share of hits with its outdated interior/exterior. But while the track isn’t winning any beauty contests, there never fails to be an air of lightness and fun associated with the second stop in racing’s coveted three-part series. Maybe it’s because everyone collectively exhales following the stress bubble that is the Kentucky Derby or maybe it’s due to the party reputation that comes with the Preakness infield, bottom line is most people seem to lose the chip on their shoulder by the time they roll onto the Pimlico backside."
horseracing  triple-crown  preakness-stakes  pimlico 
4 days ago by jnchapel
I’ll Have Another goes straight to Belmont from Preakness
"We’ll maintain the same type of exercise that he’s had," O’Neill said. "There’s the old line about you can’t take a sprinter and train him two miles and make a router out of him and you can’t take a router and work them three-eighths every week and make a sprinter out of him. If we’ve got a true route horse, which we do, he’s going to maintain his fitness and his exercise. If they can go a mile and a half, they will. And he will."
horseracing  triple-crown  belmont-stakes  ill-have-another 
4 days ago by jnchapel
I'll Have Another's Triple Crown bid threatens to cause a US hangover
The British perspective: "What the sport's more thoughtful participants and observers appreciate, though, is that a story which should be a reason to celebrate what is good in American racing is just as likely to advertise what is rotten."
horseracing  triple-crown  ill-have-another  trainers  doug-oneill  milkshaking  drugs-in-racing 
5 days ago by jnchapel
Something fishy about NYRA controversy?
"I don’t know what is going on here, whether it is a personal vendetta, a power play, or an attempt to cover up governmental ineptitude by focusing all the blame on a single individual and a group of citizens who do not get paid for their service on the NYRA Board. What I am fairly certain of, however, is that it has little to do with what is in the best interests of horse racing in New York."
horseracing  new-york  nyra  nysrwb 
5 days ago by jnchapel
The case for using Lasix
"If Lasix is barred, trainers will revert to the cruel and illegal methods used in the past to limit bleeding. They’ll withhold water, and perhaps food, from horses for 24 hours or more before a race. They’ll use illegal, and less effective, drugs like 'Kentucky Red' or tranexamic acid – both of which have been detected in “Lasix-free” jurisdictions. Or they’ll use trainer Woody Stephens’s old trick of giving his grooms red towels to wipe off the blood before anyone noticed." Barry Irwin responds: http://therail.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/18/the-case-against-using-lasix/
horseracing  lasix  drugs-in-racing 
8 days ago by jnchapel
A Preakness pedigree
"What the future holds for Rachel's first foal is anybody's guess. Expecting him to follow in his parents' hoofprints is an unfair burden, even if the colt is blissfully unaware of it. However, should the fates align and he does break from the starting gate in the 2015 Preakness, well, I am sure it will be pandemonium all over again. And somewhere, Jess Jackson will be smiling."
horseracing  rachel-alexandra  foal  stonestreet  preakness-stakes 
9 days ago by jnchapel
Steeplechase horse Arcadius dies after winning
"It was quick, shocking, certainly eerie. After walking from that winner’s circle celebration, while getting the usual after-race hosing and dousing with water, Arcadius stepped awkwardly to his right, raised his head, stiffened his front legs and dropped to the ground on his left side. Before he fell, his right eye went blank — flashing life, death, pain, something. Humans sprang to action — with more water, ice, medicine. It had looked like a heat stroke, even on a day when temperatures barely reached 70 under a gray sky. Horses do that: they overheat, they get medical attention, they cool off, they get up and walk away — tired, but alive. Not this time."
horseracing  steeplechase  arcadius  bo2012 
9 days ago by jnchapel
In defense of Charlie Hayward, a true friend to the racing fan in New York
"As a horseplayer and as a columnist with license for commentary, It is absolutely appalling to see the treatment Mr. Hayward is getting from people who should know better, people who should know how much he has fought to improve the NYRA on many levels, how much improvement has occurred and how most policy decisions he has made -- that I am aware of -- have benefited NY racing, its participants on the track and in the grandstand."
horseracing  new-york  nyra  charlie-hayward 
9 days ago by jnchapel
A full life, but an endless wait for change
"Fuller has long left it up to the public to help take back the true legacy of Dancer’s Image. It is out of his hands and has been for many years. Rather, it is up to members of our sport, the powers that be in Kentucky, and the general public to change this error. Fuller placed his bets for the Derby, and true sportsman that he is, he enjoyed every minute of the race. Somewhere deep inside, though, I see a man who waits and waits. He waits to see the day when his best horse will be acknowledged properly."
horseracing  kentucky-derby  dancers-image  new-england  peter-fuller  racing-history 
10 days ago by jnchapel
Derby-winning trainer Doug O'Neill deals with success, suspicions
"But the Derby trainer's burden has fallen hard on O'Neill. In the week after the Derby, numerous media outlets have reported on the milkshaking issues. And on Friday, The New York Times published a damning piece highlighting not only the public record of O'Neill's violations, which according to documents provided to SI.com by the Association of Racing Commissioners, including 14 drug violations in 14 years, but also its own research that showed O'Neill's horses break down at a rate of 12 per 1,000 starts, more than double the national average of 5.1. It is easy to frame O'Neill not so much as the face of what's good about racing, but what's bad."
horseracing  kentucky-derby  trainers  doug-oneil 
13 days ago by jnchapel
Kentucky Derby failure no success at all
"Welcome, then, to another gathering of the Cult of the Noble Loser, whose members worship a select group of valiant competitors known for gallant efforts in a lost cause (see the Confederacy, Minnesota Vikings, Susan Lucci, et al.). The patron saint of the horse racing wing of the cult is the version of Seattle Slew from the 1978 Jockey Club Gold Cup who battled Affirmed early and then Exceller late before losing by a dirty nose. Yes, Exceller won the race."
horseracing  kentucky-derby  bodemeister 
14 days ago by jnchapel
Kentucky Derby Beyers are on the wane
"I’ll Have Another got a 101 in his Derby win.... At the rate we are going, 99 is going to become the new 109 in another year or two. What exactly is going on here?"
horseracing  kentucky-derby  speed-figures 
16 days ago by jnchapel
Time to end claiming races
"With the rise of racinos and slot-fueled purses, the time has come to drop claiming races. Claiming races were for a different time, a time that has long passed; specifically at the racino tracks. The claiming game has become dirty and is contrary to the goal of providing for equine welfare."
horseracing  claiming-races  racinos  equine-safety 
16 days ago by jnchapel
Zayat gets away from it all
On a Derby week Lexington day trip: "Finally arriving at Tom Van Meter's Pretty Run Farm in Winchester, Team Zayat unloaded from the car and went about inspecting yearlings, mares and foals. This was an operation like no other. Most owners stand back and allow expert grooms to handle their horses, presenting an equine parade about as interactive as a fashion show. Not this one. He petted the foals and felt their legs and backs and held their halters and led them around and usually, done casting them over with an expert eye, he kissed their fuzzy foreheads."
horseracing  kentucky-derby  owners  breeders  ahmed-zayat  bo2012 
20 days ago by jnchapel
The Kentucky Derby and the slow death of horse racing
"This dark and stormy Derby week, there is no other way to put it. These are dismal days for horse racing in North America. We once said, in the grandstands and along the backstretches, that all horse racing needed to reassert itself onto the American sporting scene was a Triple Crown winner. But the last 3-year-old colt to accomplish that task was Affirmed in 1978. And that means that a third of a century, an entire generation, has come and gone without such a champion. In the meantime, chaos. The great gaming monopoly that once was horse racing has devolved into a rudderless mess."
horseracing  kentucky-derby  triple-crown  bo2012 
21 days ago by jnchapel
Paying back those responsible for big scores
"Fiction or non, the idea that gamblers have a soft spot for the horses who get them home is not necessarily an outrageous concept. Rare, but not outrageous."
horseracing  horseplayers 
28 days ago by jnchapel
Mainland racing still far from an appealing wager
"There are reports of racing initiatives of various sizes and ambitions under way in Wuhan, Tianjin, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Nanjing, even the racing lottery on Hainan island, and all of them being as careful as possible to get things rolling without upsetting anyone in Beijing. There are probably many others we haven't heard about, but they share one very obvious problem. Until China approves gambling on horse racing on the mainland, which is not on any radar yet, there is no commercial imperative to make these things happen the right way - and there must be doubts about the backers of some of these projects even being capable of that."
horseracing  international  china  hong-kong 
29 days ago by jnchapel
More than a feeling
"Perhaps the most intriguing part is that Thomas is not a turf writer or a serious handicapper. Instead, he specializes in equine athletic psychology, with an emphasis on emotional conformation profiling. In other words, he is looking for horses with trainable minds because those quirks and personality traits we talk about are more than just fun anecdotes."
horseracing  training  equine-psychology  kerry-thomas 
4 weeks ago by jnchapel
Aqueduct: Frank Alexander retires after 42-year career
“I don’t have any stock,” Alexander said by phone ... “It’s getting harder and harder to get clients. You feel like a mom and pop operation between Lowe’s and Home Depot.”
horseracing  new-york  trainers  frank-alexander 
5 weeks ago by jnchapel
Survey shows increase in injury rate
"In our own analysis of 1,284,426 starts -- Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse -- THOROUGHBRED TIMES found an incident rate of 4.33 per 1,000 starts, which was lower than the 5.2 incidents per 1,000 starts reported by the New York Times. Perhaps that difference points to some of the methodology problems of such studies, although in an e-mail received on April 6, the New York Times said it was confident in the accuracy of its numbers."
horseracing  equine-safety  fatalities 
6 weeks ago by jnchapel
Racing again under national scrutiny
"Fast-forward nearly four years and a similar scenario may be playing out. On March 25, the New York Times published a story tying increased equine injuries to the sport’s overuse of medication -- legal and illegal -- lax regulation, and a shift of track ownership to casino companies that provide little racing oversight." Thoroughbred Times follows up on NYT story, runs its own injury numbers.
horseracing  equine-safety  fatalities  data 
7 weeks ago by jnchapel
New York equine breakdown, death, injury, and incident database
horseracing  new-york  equine-safety  database  data  fatalities 
7 weeks ago by jnchapel
A proposal: National stakes draw day
A good idea from Mike Watchmaker: "But when it comes to stakes races, I think Fair Grounds and Sunland are the latest to show us that, with a concerted, coordinated effort, there is an opportunity to create something potentially valuable here. Why not draw all major stakes races -- all Grade 1 and 2 events for sure, and whatever stakes that would make sense on light weekends -- farther in advance than 72 hours out, and make something special out of it?"
horseracing  stakes-races 
8 weeks ago by jnchapel
Pick 'em
"The expected round of glowing encomiums upon the death last week, at age 90, of legendary racing pioneer Marjorie Everett has been tempered by the enduring memories of her multi-layered personality. On the one hand there was her unbridled passion for the sport and her abiding affection, generously expressed, for many of the game's most noteworthy players. Everett loved stars and made sure the stars loved her. She was also a demanding executive whose management style could be best described as dictatorial -- benign at times, overpowering at others. And in all regards she played hard, whether in softball games among racetrackers or when bending a racing commissioner to her will."
horseracing  california  marjorie-everett 
8 weeks ago by jnchapel
Thoroughbred racing under fire after investigative reports, cancellation of ‘Luck’
"Yet even if the sport’s critics distort some aspects of the horse-safety issue, thoroughbred racing is facing a crisis that has been brewing since the Eight Belles tragedy. The industry is alienating large numbers of fans and potential fans who believe the sport is ruthlessly inhumane in its treatment of animals. That is a misperception ... but the industry nevertheless has a real problem that it has failed to address effectively."
horseracing  hbo  luck  equine-safety  fatalities 
8 weeks ago by jnchapel
Luck creator David Milch on the series premature end
Talking with Alan Sepinwall: "It was HBO, definitively. There was back and forth about it, but their feeling was so clearly that the situation was untenable, that there was really no protracted dispute. We were presented with an accomplished fact. And I don't say that with any resentment. They made the decision they felt they had to make."
horseracing  media  hbo  luck  david-milch 
8 weeks ago by jnchapel
Increased purses from Aqueduct casino seemed like winning bet until ...
"The purses were also increased for the cheaper horses that fill in the everyday claiming races. As a result, horses running for a claiming price of $7,500 were running for a purse worth $30,000, which increased the number of starters and seemed like a home run for all involved. Instead, it turned out to be a nightmare for the NYRA when an astounding 18 horses suffered fatal breakdowns over the inner-dirt track during the winter meet. The majority of the breakdowns came in the cheaper claiming races, which tend to have the biggest field sizes and the horses with the most physical problems."
horseracing  new-york  nyra  aqueduct  racinos  claiming-races  equine-safety  fatalities 
8 weeks ago by jnchapel
Santa Anita leads California tracks in horse racing deaths
"Horses died while racing at Santa Anita Park at more than double the rate of horses at the state's other three major thoroughbred tracks over the last fiscal year, according to state statistics. The fatality rate at Santa Anita, in Arcadia, rose significantly after a return to a dirt running surface in 2010 after three years of using a synthetic track, the data show."
horseracing  california  santa-anita  track-surfaces  equine-safety  fatalities 
8 weeks ago by jnchapel
Why did HBO drama Luck fall at the first hurdle?
"It's telling that HBO's biggest successes have not been major star vehicles; Steve Buscemi, in Boardwalk Empire, is an exception, and one who combines screen excellence with a jobbing actor's ethic. The Wire, The Sopranos and Game of Thrones are not celebrity reliant. (The latter was able to dispense with Sean Bean in the first series with no loss of steam.) At their best, such dramas resonate because, however far-fetched their premise, they tell awful, ringing, thematic truths about the world as it is, its powerplays, ironies and tragedies. Luck doesn't; it was surly, selfish men plotting obscurely about something or other, graceless on the small screen. Lesson to HBO? Next time Hollywood's ex-players come a-knocking at the stable door, pretend you've already bolted."
horseracing  media  hbo  luck 
8 weeks ago by jnchapel
Twice as many fatal injuries on dirt as on synthetic in 2011
"Horses running on dirt surfaces in 2011 at North American tracks suffered fatal injuries at nearly twice the rate of horses running on artificial surfaces, according to a Jockey Club project that tracks equine injuries. The Jockey Club, which released the information Thursday, said that racetracks representing 93 percent of the race days in North American are participating in the project. The fatality rate for horses running on dirt surfaces was 2.07 per 1,000 starts for 2011, according to the data. Horses running on synthetic surfaces suffered catastrophic injuries at the rate of 1.09 per 1,000 starts. On turf, the rate was 1.53 per 1,000 starts."
horseracing  track-surfaces  dirt  synthetic-surfaces  equine-safety  fatalities 
9 weeks ago by jnchapel
Pacemakers cross into dangerous territory
"And, if you are asking me for a personal opinion, the use of pacemakers in other jurisdictions is a blight on racing. Once you cross the line into allowing a horse to be ridden as a pacemaker for a better-fancied stablemate, you are allowing that horse to be run in a manner which may not be in its own best interests, and then I think you cross into very dangerous territory."
horseracing  international  hong-kong  pace  pacemakers  rabbits 
9 weeks ago by jnchapel
Michael Mann and David Milch open up about the cancellation of Luck
"I would just say that you’re coming up against certain deep, fundamental biological truths: that any living thing is subject to the laws of mortality, and that there was nothing that was done with any of these horses that was unnatural, nothing that was other than what they had evolved to do. [In claiming otherwise], there’s a kind of moral and emotional fastidiousness that is entailed, which at a certain point becomes absurd. Organic matter depends upon the appropriation and consumption of other organic matter. There are just truths that obtain whether we find them pleasant or not. The kind of flinching from any form of art or experience that PETA seems to advocate is ultimately life-hating."
horseracing  equine-safety  fatalities  hbo  luck  david-milch  michael-mann 
9 weeks ago by jnchapel
Top British races to include fractional times
"Following a successful test run last season, most of the races in this year’s QIPCO British Champions Series will record sectional timing from TurfTrax. Fractional times will be available from about two-thirds of the 35 races in the series. The plan is a joint deal between the series and four tracks, Newmarket, Ascot, Goodwood, and York."
horseracing  international  timing 
9 weeks ago by jnchapel
The PETA distortion: How Luck's cancellation was far from ethical
"Despite the finality of what happened, I can’t in good conscience allow the radical animal rights group PETA – and the journalists who faithfully report whatever the agenda-driven organization tells them – to have the last word on the circumstances surrounding the deaths of the three horses over the two-year period that LUCK was being filmed. Known as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, PETA was anything but ethical in how it spread lies about the equine accidents that plagued LUCK."
horseracing  luck  equine-safety  fatalities 
9 weeks ago by jnchapel
Could David Milch's unflinching HBO series assist in horse racing's revival?
[Written before the series was cancelled.] "Winding down its first season, Luck is well on pace to create a portrait of horse racing that is more full and accurate than any other in film or television history. For an American Thoroughbred industry increasingly reliant on slot machine income to support its racing product and one that is still coming to terms with marketplace reality in the breeding shed and sales ring six years after The Green Monkey's irrational exuberance, the harsh yet hopeful stories of the racing world on display in Luck could, if effectively marketed, draw potential fans to the track -- and the horses will take it from there."
horseracing  luck  equine-safety 
9 weeks ago by jnchapel
Money from slots has done nothing to improve horse racing
"The day-to-day racing at tracks such as Philadelphia Park and Delaware Park is just about as dreary as it was before slots inflated the purses. One track that has made the most of slot money is Woodbine, in Toronto, which offers some of the best daily cards on the continent and uses its resources to promote the sport and to create new horseplayers. But Woodbine is a rarity. More often, slot money props up tracks that have virtually no fan base and couldn’t exist on their own merits."
horseracing  slots  racinos 
9 weeks ago by jnchapel
Seeking understanding and tolerance
"The cancellation of 'Luck' by HBO in the aftermath of what amounts to a freak accident is but a small if significant defeat for racing at the hands of animal-rights activists, who would happily serve as witnesses to the sport's death. The entertainment industry exists heads-bowed in the shadow of craven political correctness while at the same time unabashedly serving blindly the cause of vulgarity. 'Jersey Shore,' for instance, remains. There is a disconnect here, and though many viewed 'Luck' as something less than positive for the image of the sport, its cancellation is more damaging if only for the perception it fosters."
horseracing  luck  equine-safety  fatalities 
9 weeks ago by jnchapel
Eighteen horses have broken down at Aqueduct as racing brass struggles to explain why
"One obvious conclusion is that horses in the cheaper claiming races are vulnerable. Of the 18 fatalities, 13 came in races where horses were running for a claiming price of $15,000 or less."
horseracing  new-york  nyra  equine-safety  fatalities  aqueduct  claiming-races  racinos 
9 weeks ago by jnchapel
End of 'Luck' and racing's future
"If the future of horse racing depends on the prevention of fractured skulls and broken leg bones, racing might as well shut down today. The fact is, the thoroughbred racing industry is not going to have any luck or much of a future until it quits turning a blind eye to its major problem — drugs."
horseracing  luck  drugs-in-racing  equine-safety 
9 weeks ago by jnchapel
A deadly week, but horseracing needs risk
"Plus, there is a truth less readily acknowledged about the sport: danger is central to its appeal. A hard Cheltenham is a quick Cheltenham. And an exciting one. Standing by a fence is one of the most invigorating places to be. Watching tons of pricey horse flesh thunder past in a competitive storm is a wholly visceral experience. Knowing what might happen as horses address the towering obstacle at full pelt adds to our admiration for those who dare participate. The audacity of it smacks you in the stomach, richly appealing to your most primitive instinct."
horseracing  international  jumps-racing  cheltenham 
10 weeks ago by jnchapel
HBO cancels horse racing series "Luck" after third horse death at Santa Anita
"Frank Stronach, chairman of race-track owner Stronach Group, said Wednesday he was so unhappy about the 'unbalanced' series that he would have stopped the filming at Santa Anita if it hadn't been cancelled."
horseracing  hbo  luck  santa-anita 
10 weeks ago by jnchapel
Good news in Kentucky on racing safety
"According to Scollay, the one fatality [at Turfway] occurred in December and was followed by two months -- January and February -- in which no which horses died during races over the track’s artificial Polytrack surface. Scollay said that equated to one fatality for the 4,532 starts recorded at the track during the three-month period. The national catastrophic injury rate is about two horses per 1,000 starts. Scollay attributed the safe racing to a collaborative effort on the part of Turfway Park management, horsemen, veterinarians working at the track in Northern Kentucky, and the KHRC’s veterinary staff that conducts pre-race inspections."
horseracing  equine-safety  synthetic-surfaces  kentucky  turfway 
10 weeks ago by jnchapel
Dangerously high purses? A look at Aqueduct breakdowns
“The very simple answer is that the purse becomes more valuable than the horse,” Arthur said in early March. “It creates a negative incentive to look after the long-term welfare of the horse when the purse is so disproportionate to the value of the horse. That’s the thinking on it. The recommendation was basically to discourage incentives that would overpower the responsibility to look after the welfare of the horse.” See also: NYRA adjusts bottom-level purses: http://www.drf.com/news/aqueduct-nyra-adjust-bottom-claim-level-purses-following-breakdowns
horseracing  new-york  nyra  aqueduct  racinos 
10 weeks ago by jnchapel
The fear of losing
"But there is no doubt something has changed over the years. The trail has been plagued by a disease that continues to spread each year and can derail even the most talented trainers and their steeds. It is called fear. Not fear as in one’s character, but the deep-rooted fear of losing. What makes this malady so baffling is that the Derby trail is designed in good part to use defeat as a positive."
horseracing  kentucky-derby  derby-trail  derby-preps 
10 weeks ago by jnchapel
Hatton provides window into racing's golden age
"The line that began with Vosburgh reached its apex – but also its culmination – with Hatton. His erudite, lively writing elevated Thoroughbred racing to the classics during a time when horse racing was the most popular spectator sport in the country. Hatton’s death, at age 69, left a gap that seems increasingly unlikely to be filled. Racing itself has changed, and so, too, has the style in which its writers chronicle it. Stories about heroes of the turf have given way to stories about slot machines and animal welfare and declining revenue streams. There is, with reason, more cynicism now. Hatton had a greater stage to play on. One could imagine him writing about the theater or literature, but instead he wrote his Iliad about horse racing. He saw it as his task to uphold its history and principles."
horseracing  journalism  turf-writers  turf-writing  racing-history 
11 weeks ago by jnchapel
Why I'm not voting for Ghostzapper
Bill Finley: "You can argue that Frankel did a good job of getting a lot out of a horse who had physical problems and/or that Ghostzapper was sensational when right. That's all true, but is he a Hall of Famer? To this voter, a Hall of Famer is a horse who proved itself time and time again, who passed numerous tests and conquered many challenges and challengers. How many times must a horse have run to be Hall of Fame worthy? I don't know the answer to that, but I do know it's more than 11." (So, what about Invasor and other horses of the aughts?"
horseracing  racing-history  hall-of-fame  great-horses  ghostzapper 
11 weeks ago by jnchapel
Older horses seeking opportunities
"Can a sport have Peter Pan syndrome? Racing seems to mirror the cultural fascination with youth. It's as if having rejected its regal heritage, racing has slipped on its sneakers and donned a T-shirt and a ball cap, turned backwards, of course, a' la Holden Caulfield."
horseracing  older-horses  handicap-division 
11 weeks ago by jnchapel
Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory
"The bottom line appeared clear to many. American racing had to get off the legal needle. Therefore there was a great deal of consternation when the AGSC rescinded it's lasix ban last week."
horseracing  breeders-cup  agsc  toba  lasix  drugs-in-racing 
12 weeks ago by jnchapel
Breeders' Cup keeps Lasix ban in 2-year-old races
"Breeders’ Cup remains committed to a plan to ban the use of raceday furosemide in the five races restricted to 2-year-olds that are scheduled for its 2012 event at Santa Anita Park, a spokesperson for the organization said Monday, three days after a similar policy was abandoned by the American Graded Stakes Committee."
horseracing  breeders-cup  lasix  drugs-in-racing  juvenile-races 
12 weeks ago by jnchapel
Great American Race Track Project, 1865 to 2012
"... document[ing] every location in the United States that hosted thoroughbred racing from 1865 to the present."
horseracing  racing-history  racetracks 
february 2012 by jnchapel
Racetrack slots: A cautionary tale
"The latest news put a big smile on the faces of many a Kentucky owner, trainer, breeder and racetrack operator, but before they go into full celebration mode they ought to take a moment to consider what's going on in Ontario and Pennsylvania. In that state and province, racing is in turmoil and horsemen there realize a lot of that has to do with the many mistakes they made when it comes to racetrack casinos."
horseracing  racinos  slots  politics  business-of-racing 
february 2012 by jnchapel
Outcrosses
"The truth of the matter, it appears to me, is that there is very little difference between the overall results of inbreeding (within five generations) and the overall results of NOT inbreeding (ditto)."
horseracing  pedigrees  breeding 
february 2012 by jnchapel
WPT launches Congie Black and Gold Fund
"Why did we form the fund and why now? Here’s our take - we can evaluate and analyze the horse retirement situation this country until the cows come home, but the bottom line is that individual owners have to step up and take the vast majority of the responsibility for the retirement of horses that carry their colors. In a fragmented industry, I don’t see this issue being solved on a national basis any time soon, but that doesn’t diminish owners’ responsibility to their equine athletes."
horseracing  racehorse-retirement  west-point  aftercare  ottbs 
february 2012 by jnchapel
Aqueduct: NYRA institutes new safety guidelines
"First, NYRA will begin enforcing a house rule that will allow P.J. Campo, the director of racing, Anthony Verderosa, the chief examining vet, the right to refuse entry of a horse with which 'they have any nature of concern.'" Also: http://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/stories/Feb172012.shtml
horseracing  new-york  equine-safety 
february 2012 by jnchapel
Little to no progress on Salix-free juvenile races
"The American Graded Stakes Committee hoped to take a leadership role on race-day medication when it announced last year that it would not award graded status to any stakes races for two-year-olds (or two-year-old fillies) that allows race-day medication, specifically the diuretic furosemide (Salix, also called Lasix). Less than six months remain until the first scheduled graded stakes for juveniles is run and not only has no regulatory body taken action, but the issue has not advanced beyond the committee level of any racing commission."
horseracing  drugs-in-racing  lasix  regulations  juvenile-races 
february 2012 by jnchapel
Pie eaters cheer, the Black Caviar has been served
"... occasionally a champion comes along and reminds us all that racing is a magnificent endeavour. That it is, in the purest terms, a sport.... Black Caviar always looks in control. That acceleration. There's something machine-like about it. To the jockey, it must feel like revving a Porsche against a field of Kombi vans. The owners must feel as coldly assured of a win as the bean counters upstairs."
horseracing  international  australia  distaffers  black-caviar 
february 2012 by jnchapel
Not betting a dime, a ‘voucher vulture’ cleans up at the slots
"Mr. Bemsel has not given up stooping. After a loop through the racino, he has enough cash to hit the betting window in the track and then scour the floor and trash for winning tickets. Slipping deftly through crowds of cheering and swearing horseplayers, he can read slips on the ground and tell immediately if they are winners. For face-down slips, he has developed a nimble, soccer-style flip move using both feet — so he barely has to stoop at all."
horseracing  racinos  new-york  wagering  stooping 
february 2012 by jnchapel
Aftercare no longer an afterthought
"The leaders of Thoroughbred racing finally may be getting the message. What has been shouted from the rooftops for the last two decades by impassioned individuals and private rescue and retirement organizations is now manifested in what is being called the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, a coming together of nearly every major racing group in an effort to address the need to provide for horses after their racing and breeding days are past."
horseracing  racehorse-retirement  aftercare  ottbs 
february 2012 by jnchapel
New racing technology could offer vast amounts of data to handicappers
"As a handicapper and speed-figure maker, I want racing to have precise data and I want Trakus to succeed. So I offer a modest proposal. The company should formulate a report that allows users to log in to, say, the Gulfstream Web site and see the key Trakus measurements in the previous starts of every horse on the Gulfstream card. It should invite users’ feedback — letting thousands of eyeballs look for errors that might otherwise go undetected. The company needs to be less focused on developing whizbang graphics and more concerned about giving the best, most accurate data to handicappers."
horseracing  data  trakus 
february 2012 by jnchapel
Unrelated to controversy, Churchill already had amicably ended Komen tie-in to Oaks Day
"Although it has not been publicly announced, the Kentucky Oaks fundraising partnership with Susan G. Komen for the Cure concluded in 2011 after a rewarding three-year run. We believe the partnership was good for both parties, and it generated $336,592 for breast cancer research and outreach during those three years. The recent issue regarding Komen for the Cure had absolutely no impact on our relationship with the organization."
horseracing  churchill-downs  kentucky-oaks  komen 
february 2012 by jnchapel
An eye on the big picture
"John Ridley has overseen myriad aspects of racing in Hong Kong for the past 18 years, from maintaining the grass on the tracks to managing multimillion-dollar grandstand redevelopments. Now, the Jockey Club's racing operations director is the logistical mastermind behind what could be the biggest challenge in more than 125 years of racing in Hong Kong - extending the Jockey Club's operations to the mainland."
horseracing  international  hong-kong  china 
february 2012 by jnchapel
Appetite for Black Caviar goes global
"News of the mighty mare's 17th consecutive win last Friday night has been broadcast by media outlets across the United Kingdom, America and Europe - giving her amazing story, and Australian racing, priceless global exposure."
horseracing  international  australia  black-caviar  distaffers 
january 2012 by jnchapel
Champion racemares like Rachel Alexandra make important producers
"... the lesson from these big, beautiful, and brilliant performers is that, just as they dominated on the racetrack, the top racemares succeed more often than the norm in their role as mothers to the next generation of racing stars."
horseracing  breeding  pedigrees  horse-of-the-year  distaffers 
january 2012 by jnchapel
From far back in the pack to the lead in ‘War Horse’
"Before he went Hollywood, the thoroughbred gelding Finders Key accounted for only torn-up mutuel tickets at Los Alamitos Race Course.... Winless in four $2,500 claiming races, he was beaten by a combined 30 lengths, never finishing higher than fifth."
horseracing  hollywood  war-horse  finders-key 
january 2012 by jnchapel
So where’d you get that racehorse?
"I think it needs to be easier to communicate between race trainers and sport trainers. I think racing trainers should have an idea of what sports their horses can go into after they’re done racing. I think sport trainers should have easy access to trainers so that they can develop a working relationship. So that they can network with one another. So that they can do the best by each and every horse."
horseracing  sport-horses  aftercare  ottbs 
january 2012 by jnchapel
Everything's coming up Rosie
"Rosie Napravnik is a good bet to become the first woman ever to win the Kentucky Derby. It's going to happen, and probably soon, given the trends in racing and the sport's awakening to gender's competitive insignificance, that a woman rides a horse into the Churchill Downs winner's circle and then gracefully accepts into her arms the famed blanket of roses."
horseracing  jockeys  women-in-racing  rosie-napravnik  bo2012 
january 2012 by jnchapel
Handicapping insights: New York claiming races
"When handicapping these races, you almost have to ignore the suspiciousness of the dropdown and just look at it in the above financial terms. A horse taking a big drop in claiming price is not necessarily a "fire sale" or is a horse that has physical ailments that the owner has decided can't be competitive at the present claiming level and needs to be dropped. My rule is to not read anything into the dropdown and just take it for what it is."
horseracing  new-york  claiming  handicapping 
january 2012 by jnchapel
Eyeing a four-peat
"What makes a female Horse of the Year four-peat most intriguing is that it’s entirely possible."
horseracing  distaffers  eclipse-awards  horse-of-the-year 
january 2012 by jnchapel
Racing in America
Walter Vosburgh's complete text (1866-1921).
horseracing  reference 
january 2012 by jnchapel
In South Korea, a trainer's horse whispers fall on deaf ears
horseracing  international  korea 
january 2012 by jnchapel
Show jumping’s wake-up call
George Morris: "Somehow, we need to tap into the thousands of Thoroughbred breeders in the United States and show them that there is big money to be made beyond racing."
horseracing  show-jumping  racehorse-retirement  ottbs 
january 2012 by jnchapel
Jeju link means Korea backing Game On Dude in Breeders’ Cup Classic
horseracing  international  breeders-cup  breeding  korea 
december 2011 by jnchapel
Lasix: Demystifying the drug, methods of training without it
horseracing  drugs-in-racing  lasix 
december 2011 by jnchapel
NY panel issues plan for retired racehorses
"The task force recommends that all New York racetracks and Resorts World Casino New York City at Aqueduct give one-half of 1% of VLT commissions to retirement efforts. Based on 2010 commissions and projections at the Aqueduct VLT casino, the percentage could produce more than $3.1 million a year, the task force report said. In addition, the group calls for all racetracks and horsemen in the state to contribute one-half of 1% of purses, which would generate another $1.1 million based on 2010 levels. Other sources would bring the total to more than $5 million a year." (Link with Retired Racehorse post on connecting with sport horse enthusiasts.)
horseracing  racehorse-retirement  new-york  aftercare 
december 2011 by jnchapel
By any measure, Trakus a winner
horseracing  data  handicapping  trakus 
december 2011 by jnchapel
Keeneland, Martin Collins dissolve Polytrack company partnership
"Julie Balog, a spokesperson for Keeneland, said that the dissolution was 'solely the result of market conditions in the United States and in no way reflects diminished confidence in the company’s products or expertise.' Balog said that Keeneland has no plans to replace its synthetic surface." (See DRF interview with Keeneland president from October re: partnership.)
horseracing  business-of-racing  synthetic-surfaces  keeneland  polytrack 
december 2011 by jnchapel
Jerardi: Top Beyer speed figures a thing of the past
"What I found out was the Beyer Figures by the top stakes horses were relatively similar from 1992 to 2005. And then it all started to slow down. With a few exceptions that don't last long (Uncle Mo), the best horses just keep getting slower on the Beyer scale."
horseracing  speed-figures  handicapping  trends 
december 2011 by jnchapel
Pinpointing Trakus
horseracing  data  handicapping  trakus 
december 2011 by jnchapel
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