Archive for the ‘California’ Category

WHERE SHOULD WE PUT THE BLAME FOR CALIFORNIA’S INCREASED FATALITIES?

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

In an article from The San Diego Union-Tribune, recently released data shows that the last two years of racing have produced the most fatalities of any two-year period in California racing history.

However, equine medical director Rick Arthur contends this is due to the increased number of starts at Golden Gate after the closing of Bay Meadows and contends the reduction in deaths per 1,000 races is proof things are better than they were before.

Read it at The San Diego Union-Tribune

Then come back to the Paulick Report and let us know what you think

- Bradford Cummings

RIP: BETTY MABEE, GRAND MATRON OF CALIFORNIA RACING AND BREEDING

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

Betty Mabee, who bred and owned many top horses with her late husband John in the name of Golden Eagle Farm in Ramona, Calif., died Monday  at the age of 88. 

She was one of the grand matrons of the sport–accessible and friendly, and quick with a smile or a kind word. She and John Mabee were enormously successful with their Thoroughbred operation, winning three Eclipse Awards as outstanding breeders, and raising the likes of Best Pal, among many other Grade 1 winners, on their farm. But in the San Diego community she will long be remembered for her philanthropic and charitable work. – Ray Paulick

DEL MAR THOROUGHBRED CLUB
PRESS RELEASE

Betty L. Mabee, who with her late husband, John, helped build one of the west’s great Thoroughbred breeding empires and played a key role in the blossoming of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club and Del Mar racetrack, died Monday (2/15/10) at about 7 p.m. at her home in nearby Rancho Santa Fe. She was 88.

Mrs. Mabee passed "peacefully and quietly," according to her son, Larry, who noted that his mother had finally succumbed to an extended illness.

A warm, personable woman with an easy smile, Mrs. Mabee made a point of carving out time in her busy life to be deeply involved in numerous charitable organizations and programs during more than half a century in the San Diego area. She had a special love for projects involved with children in need and was a founding member of Voices for Children and the Angels of Aseltine Auxiliary.

Mrs. Mabee, a native of Unionville, Missouri, grew up in Iowa and married John, her high school sweetheart, to start a partnership that was to last for 60 years and see them reach great heights in the world of business, as well as fame and fortune in the Thoroughbred industry.

The Mabees moved from the heartland to San Diego during World War II and opened a mom-and-pop grocery store that evolved into the 30-store Big Bear Supermarket chain. Subsequently, the Mabees started and ran Golden Eagle Insurance Company, California’s third-largest workers’ compensation carrier with more than 1,300 employees. But the couple discovered their true love in 1957 when they bought two horses for $6,000 at the Del Mar Yearling Sale.

That small investment led to the founding of Golden Eagle Farm in Ramona, California, which grew from 197 to 568 acres at its height in the early 2000s. The farm began with a handful of horses that expanded to more than 400 racing and breeding stock — supplemented by an additional 150 head that were quartered in Kentucky — during a highly successful run that saw the Mabees become not only the leading breeders in California, but national champions and Eclipse Award winners in 1991, 1997 and 1998.

Among the Mabees many equine successes, the best of all — and Mrs. Mabee’s personal favorite — was Best Pal, a rugged California champion they bred and foaled at their farm who went on to win more than $5.6 million, including the 1991 inaugural running of Del Mar’s most prestigious race, the $1-million Pacific Classic.

Following the death of her husband in 2002, Mrs. Mabee agreed to join the board of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club as a director, a role she served in until 2008, when she took on the title of Director Emeritus.

Besides her son, Mrs. Mabee is survived by three grandchildren.

Service arrangements have not been made final.

STEVE SCHWARTZ RESIGNS TOC POSITION

Friday, February 5th, 2010

As if California racing doesn’t have enough challenges, the very recently appointed President of the Thoroughbred Owners of California resigned abruptly today. Below is the press release of this bizarre happening.

Steve Schwartz Resigns TOC Position

Effective immediately, Steve Schwartz has resigned from his position as President of the Thoroughbred Owners of California. Schwartz indicated that, having given this decision a lot of thought, he felt the time and travel involved were beyond his expectations.  Spending enough time with family has always been a priority, Schwartz commented. He also expressed how much he enjoys being a part of the California racing industry and he intends to continue to be active whenever possible.

Marsha Naify, Chair of the TOC Board of Directors, stated, “We respect Steve’s decision and wish him all the best in his future endeavors.”

TOC is the official organization serving new, veteran and future Thoroughbred owners in the state. It represents, advances, and protects owners’ interests and rights in legislative, administrative and business matters. Additionally, the organization provides ongoing educational opportunities for current and prospective owners, regularly presenting programs on Thoroughbred ownership. www.toconline.com.

NEWLY FORMED CTT TAKES POSITION AGAINST SYNTHETIC SURFACES

Thursday, January 28th, 2010

The California Thoroughbred Trainers took a strong position against synthetic surfaces in a public statement.

This stance came out of the newly formed CTT which was created after an upstart trainers organization agreed to disband. The organization, California Horsemen for Change, came back to the fold after being assured of a special election to replace its board.

Read it at The Thoroughbred Times

Then come back to the Paulick Report and let us know what you think.

- Bradford Cummings

CALIFORNIA HORSEMEN FOR CHANGE DOMINATE CTT ELECTION

Thursday, January 21st, 2010
By Ray Paulick
Trainers in Northern and Southern California have elected a new board of directors to California Thoroughbred Trainers after the sitting board agreed to resign en masse when confronted by possible decertification last year by a new organization, California Horsemen for Change, started by one-time California Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association leader Darrell Vienna.

Ed Halpern, executive director of the CTT, said the following nine trainers were elected to the new board: Bob Baffert, Jeff Bonde, Gloria Haley, Terry Knight, Doug O’Neill, John Sadler, John Shirreffs, Darrell Vienna, and Kathy Walsh. Bonde, Haley and Knight were elected to represent Northern California, while the remaining six represent Southern California.

Baffert, Bonde, O’Neill, Sadler, Shirreffs, Vienna, and Walsh were listed as supporters of California Horsemen for Change in a letter written to trainers last October. Shirreffs was the only member of the previous CTT board reelected in balloting that took place from early January until Jan. 18.

The new board is scheduled to meet and elect new officers next Wednesday. Jim Cassidy served as the last CTT president.

“I’m hopeful this election will generate a new sense of participation among the membership,” said Halpern.

When the Thoroughbred Owners of California was created 15 years ago, replacing the HBPA in matters such as purse negotiations with racetracks, the CTT was created to deal with backstretch conditions, track safety, and benevolence matters. As California racing’s fortunes have declined in recent years, there has been growing unrest among trainers over a number of issues.

California Horsemen for Change pointed to the following as areas of concern:

- the closing of Fairplex Park to stabling and training due to revenue shortfalls;
- the poor economic state of the racetracks and the uncertainty over the future of Hollywood Park, Santa Anita Park, Golden Gate Fields and Del Mar;
- questions about the safety of synthetic tracks;
- a desire to be more closely engaged with TOC.

(For additional background on the dispute among California trainers, click here to read an earlier Paulick Report article on the issue.)

Copyright © 2010, The Paulick Report

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PRIORITY NO. 1: HORSES OR HORSEPLAYERS?

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

By Ray Paulick
Southern California-based trainer Bob Hess crystallized the often toxic debate over synthetic tracks as well as anyone I’ve talked with on the subject: “My horses are happy on it, and they’re lasting a lot longer,” said Hess, a 44-year-old, second generation horseman and a graduate of Stanford University. “My clients are getting more bang for their buck. But without gamblers, we are nothing: there are no purses and no owners. The reality is the gamblers hate this shit. They have no confidence in it. From what they tell me, it’s inconsistent and changes from track to track. Most gamblers tend to play speed, and if you play speed out here, you’re screwed.”

Maybe that’s why Sheikh Mohammed has installed a Tapeta Footings synthetic surface at the lavish Meydan racecourse that is due to open in Dubai later this month and will host the Dubai World Cup program in March. He apparently believes, after extensive testing, that it’s safer for his and other people’s horses. And, since gambling isn’t permitted in Dubai, the sheikh won’t be bombarded with emails and phone calls from unhappy horseplayers who may have had to reinvent how they handicap a race.

SYNTHETIC TEST TUBE
That certainly hasn’t been the case in California, which, for better or worse, has been the test tube for synthetic racetracks, even though the surfaces also are installed at Keeneland and Turfway Park in Kentucky, Woodbine in Canada, Arlington Park in Illinois, and Presque Isle Downs in Pennsylvania.

Ron Charles, the Santa Anita Park president who on Monday strongly hinted that the beleaguered synthetic track will be ripped out and replaced with conventional dirt at the end of the current meeting, called synthetics one of the most polarizing issues he’s ever seen in racing. The tracks have created a great divide among trainers, owners, track executives and regulators, and critics in the press and in online forums and blogs have made synthetics their perpetual punching bag and a principal reason for the industry’s troubles.

Santa Anita, along with Hollywood Park, Del Mar and Golden Gate Fields, was required by a California Horse Racing Board mandate to install synthetic surfaces by Jan. 1, 2008. However, recently elected CHRB chairman Keith Brackpool was quoted in published reports as saying the CHRB would no longer hold any track to the synthetic mandate, one that was championed by former board chairman Richard Shapiro in reaction to reports of an unacceptably high rate of injuries and fatalities occurring on dirt.

One thing the CHRB didn’t do was require all California tracks to install the same surface, a move supported at the time by Jerry Moss, a member of the CHRB and co-owner with wife Ann of unbeaten champion mare Zenyatta. John Shirreffs, Zenyatta’s trainer, is one of the most vocal critics of the synthetic tracks.

When the mandate was approved by Shapiro and the other CHRB members (Jerry Moss abstained in the voting; in the original version of this article, the Paulick Report incorrectly stated that Moss voted in support of the mandate), Hollywood Park and Santa Anita opted to install Cushion Track, manufactured by an Australian company. Del Mar went with Polytrack, a company owned in part by the Keeneland Association, and Golden Gate Fields opted for Tapeta Footings, a surface created by synthetic track pioneer and former trainer Michael Dickinson.

Santa Anita has experienced the most problems—not with safety of the horses—but with drainage. The all-weather aspects of the surfaces were hampered by drainage problems almost immediately during the winter of 2007-08, during the winter of 2009, again last fall, and most recently this week when the track was closed to training and racing on Monday after heavy rains hit California. (Golden Gate Fields, meanwhile, with its Tapeta surface, didn’t miss a beat during the recent storms that hit both Northern and Southern California.) The surface was altered in 2009 with polymers from another Australian surface known as Pro-Ride. It since has played host to two Breeders’ Cups in 2008 and 2009 without incident.

Sources said Ron Charles had his hands tied when he went shopping for synthetic surfaces for Santa Anita. Track owner Frank Stronach is said to have told him not to go with Polytrack because it was owned by the “old boy’s club” at Keeneland. Others confided to the Paulick Report that corners were cut in the installation process, especially in the selection of the sand that was used in the all-weather surface.

Santa Anita isn’t the only track that’s had problems. Hollywood Park and Del Mar’s synthetic tracks have been criticized by horsemen and jockeys, but adjustments in maintenance alleviated some of the concerns. Some trainers who were early critics took a c’est la vie approach, figuring that criticizing the synthetic surfaces was akin to complaining about the weather: that it wasn’t going to change anything.

However, late last year, the California Thoroughbred Trainers board of directors came under fire from a rival group of trainers who formed an organization called California Horsemen for Change, which wanted, among other things, to have the synthetic tracks replaced with dirt. CTT, under president Jim Cassidy, has been supportive of synthetics. The California Horsemen for Change threatened to petition to become the representative organization for trainers, a move that convinced the current CTT board to resign en masse, paving the way for new elections (which have just been completed). According to a source, the newly formed CTT board will be dominated by a slate of candidates backed by California Horsemen for Change, though the CTT has not yet made the election results public.

Supporters of the surfaces say many of the critics have short memories, reminding them that their protests over track conditions in part led to the CHRB’s mandate for synthetics. A return to exactly the same thing in place before synthetics is not going to make anyone happy. There needs to be serious work on a track’s base, cushion and drainage, no matter what type of material lays on top.

STATISTICS SUGGEST SYNTHETICS ARE SAFER
The criticism of the synthetic tracks by horsemen flies in the face of statistics showing they are safer than the dirt surfaces that preceded them, at least as far as fatalities are concerned. What hasn’t been proven or disproven in statistical research is the common belief by many trainers that horses are sustaining more hind end or soft-tissue injuries on synthetics than they were on dirt.

In addition, a growing number of jockeys are saying that synthetic surfaces are more dangerous than dirt if they are involved in spills. Two jockeys, Rene Douglas and Michael Straight, suffered severe spinal injuries on Arlington’s Polytrack this summer, and Julia Brimo suffered a spinal injury in a spill at Keeneland in this fall.

According to statistics compiled by the CHRB’s equine medical director, Dr. Rick Arthur, the number of equine fatalities per 1,000 starts has declined significantly at every track in California. Santa Anita Park, for example, had 2.81 fatalities per 1,000 starts in the four years prior to the synthetic installation; that number has fallen to 1.64 per 1,000 since the conversion. (Hollywood Park has gone from 2.87 to 1.57/1,000; Del Mar from 2.47 to 1.65/1,000; Golden Gate Fields from 3.90 to 1.84/1,000). Click here to see the complete set of statistics.

One Southern California trainer who supports the synthetic tracks said it’s his understanding Santa Anita has had 30,000 recorded workouts without an ambulance run. He said in the days of a sealed dirt track and the aftermath of sealing the track, it was difficult to even plan workouts because there were so many breakdowns during morning training hours.

Del Mar, which has studied results over its Polytrack surface extensively, has statistics showing an overall reduction in the number of post-race injuries, in addition to a reduction in fatalities. Click here to see Del Mar’s statistical report.

“We think we have achieved a measurable increase in safety,” said Craig Fravel, Del Mar’s executive vice president. “Has it done everything we had hoped it would do from the beginning? It probably has not lived up to that. Would we do it again? Yes. I don’t think we’ve done as good a job as we should have done in making the case for the tracks in this tradition-bound industry. But we are confident we did the right thing.”

Many horseplayers insist they are betting less on California tracks since the synthetics were installed. Craig Dado, Del Mar’s director of marketing, isn’t convinced. “There’s nothing we can point to that says the fans are betting less,” said Dado.

In fact, when synthetics were installed, they almost resulted in increased handle at some tracks, due to larger field size. But then came an economic crisis and a recession that saw wagering volume falling at most tracks around the country and fewer owners to fill races with horses.

“There has been criticism that the synthetic tracks are unpredictable,” said Fravel. “But winning favorites at Del Mar have been at 30-31%. There are a lot of differences: they are not as speed favoring as the old California tracks and some people have had to throw out their traditional handicapping methods. It creates issues for people. If they were winning money before and they aren’t now, I consider their angst. There are a lot of people who don’t like these tracks because they are different. But empirical analysis, an intelligent, thoughtful approach, has been lacking. I know handicappers who love the synthetics, partly because they are contrarians. Gamblers all over the world have been betting on that kind of racing for many years and doing so happily. Asking for people to do something different isn’t easy.”

Back to Hess’s belief, that synthetics are better for the horses but not as good for the handicappers, Fravel stood his ground. “We are going to make that choice in favor of what’s best for the horses,” he insisted. “At the same time, it’s incumbent on us to put out better information to make the handicapping issues less significant. I don’t think these are mutually exclusive. “

Copyright © 2010, The Paulick Report

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SANTA ANITA LIKELY TO RETURN TO DIRT FOLLOWING 2009-10 MEETING

Monday, January 18th, 2010

By Ray Paulick
On an afternoon when heavy rains forced Santa Anita Park management to cancel a special holiday program, track president Ron Charles said the all-weather surface currently in place will be removed at the end of the 2009-’10 and strongly hinted the Arcadia, Calif., racetrack would return to dirt for its main track surface.

Santa Anita and the other major California tracks were required by the California Horse Racing Board to install synthetic surfaces by Jan. 1, 2008, but horseplayers and many trainers have been critical of the various synthetic tracks ever since. Charles, during an interview on Steve Byk’s "At the Races" radio show Monday afternoon, said the synthetic tracks did not deliver as promised by their manufacturers. Santa Anita Park joined Hollywood Park in installing Cushion Track prior to the 2008 deadline and experienced almost immediate problems with the track’s ability to drain and lost several days of racing after rains hit Southern California. Santa Anita replaced the Cushion Track with material from another manufacturer, Pro-Ride, and sued the owners of Cushion Track.  When that new surface was installed in time for the 2008 Breeders’ Cup, Charles indicated it would be a short-term solution. Santa Anita began experiencing further drainage problems again last fall.

Del Mar has gone with Polytrack, which is part owned by Keeneland and in place at Keeneland, Turfway Park, Arlington Park and Woodbine.The Bay Area’s Golden Gate Fields, like Santa Anita owned by bankrupt Magna Entertainment, installed Tapeta Footings, which is also installed at Presque Isle Downs in Pennsylvania and at the new Meydan racetrack in Dubai, which is scheduled for its grand opening in the next couple of weeks.

Charles did not confirm the Pro-Ride surface would be replaced with dirt,, though said a decision will soon be announced and that it would be supported by a majority of the trainers and jockeys he has spoken with. Charles said the synthetic tracks were installed with good intentions–to reduce injuries and make racing safer, especially during wet weather–but became an extremely polarizing issue in racing. The synthetic tracks were cited by Rachel Alexandra’s principal owner, Jess Jackson, as the reason his star filly did not compete in ther 2009 Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita.

Click here to read a Daily Racing Form article on the anticipated change.

Then come back to the Paulick Report and let us know what you think about synthetic tracks and the possibility of Santa Anita returning to dirt for its main surface.

AZERI’S FIRST FOAL WINS DEBUT FOR BAFFERT, SHAH

Wednesday, December 30th, 2009

By Ray Paulick
Take Control, an A.P. Indy colt who is the first foal produced from 2002 Horse of the Year Azeri, posted an impressive last to first victory while making his career debut for trainer Bob Baffert and owner Kaleem Shah in Wednesday’s third race at Santa Anita Wednesday.

The colt, purchased by Shah for a sale-topping $1.9 million at the 2009 Keeneland April auction of 2-year-olds in training, was the center of some controversy seven months earlier when he was listed as a $7.7 million buy-back at the Keeneland September yearling sale. He was bred by the Allen Paulson Living Trust, controlled by Michael Paulson, son of the late Allen Paulson, who bred and raced a number of champions, including two-time Horse of the Year Cigar. Pinhooker Eddie Woods sold the colt at the Keeneland 2-year-old sale.

Wearing blinkers and a shadow roll, Take Control broke well from the rail under Martin Garcia in the one-mile maiden contest on the Pro-Ride main track, fell back to last shortly after the start and remained there through fractions of :24.14 for the opening quarter, :49.61 for the half and 1:12.98 for six furlongs. He switched off the rail at the head of the stretch, moved up to fifth near the furlong grounds while racing greenly, then put in a burst of speed in the final eighth of a mile to win going away by a length and a half. The final time for the mile was1:37.64. Pacesetter Ivory Fudge finished second, with Line of David third. Take Control paid $7.60 to win as the third choice in the betting in the seven-horse field. Click here for a chart of the race.

Shah, a new client of Baffert’s, founded CALNET, a Virginia-based telecommunications comany that also does intelligence analysis. (Click here for a company profile of Shah.)

"I didn¹t think he could win first time out," said Baffert, "but he really impressed me. He was green, but he settled well and he overcame a lot of trouble. That was a good one to get; now we¹ve got our 2-year-old start out of the way. He¹ll run all day, and we¹ll let him tell us what¹s next.

"We¹re not going to ship out of town until March because the weather¹s terrible all around the country. I think we¹re seeing two stars develop here I thought Martin rode him great. He rode him like he had ice water in his veins."

Baffert, who trains the probable 2-year-old male champion Lookin at Lucky, was logging his seventh victory of the Santa Anita meeting that opened on Saturday. He also won Wednesday’s second race with Tiny Woods, a 2-year-old Roman Ruler colt racing or Legends Racing.

"He ran like he¹s supposed to,² Baffert said in the winner¹s circle. "He¹s probably a sprinter, and he¹s been training real good. We¹ve always been high on him, and I think we¹ll just stay here with him and hopefully he keeps running good."

 

A PROMISING START VS. A GRAND FINALE

Monday, December 28th, 2009

By Ray Paulick
I was feeling pretty good about Santa Anita’s opening day program on Saturday, the day after Christmas. There was a lot to like about this 75th anniversary of Thoroughbred racing at Southern California’s Great Race Place: two Grade 1 races, full fields, a curtain call by Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Zenyatta, the unveiling of the John Henry statue, the annual wall calendar giveaway, and the presentation of $260,000 to retirement and rescue operations from CARMA, the organization funded by California owners.

It was a big day, with more than 35,000 fans in attendance and total handle of almost $15 million, nearly one third of that on-track.

Then, on Sunday morning, I got a press release from the Japan Racing Association about their final program of the year from Nakayama Race Course in Tokyo, where more than 115,000 fans turned out in chilly weather to watch the season-ending Arima Kinen horse race. Those fans, along with others at OTBs or watching at home, wagered a total of $550 million on the day’s program.

The wagering total is three times higher than American racing’s biggest day of all time, the 2006 Kentucky Derby, when $175 million was bet. The 2009 Breeders’ Cup, a two-day affair, just topped $150 million in total handle.

So the JRA handled more than half a billion dollars on one program. Of that total, $440 million was wagered on the Arima Kinen, an invitational race where the starting field is selected by a popular vote of racing fans. It was a very big day for Japanese racing, even though the year’s biggest star, reigning Horse of the Year Vodka, the probable favorite to repeat in that role, was unable to run because she bled in the Japan Cup in late November.

So what’s the point of this comparison between American and Japanese racing? I think we’ve got some upside. There has been and will continue to be retraction in the number of tracks and races run here each year, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing in the long run. If major players in this industry can somehow create a better structure for the sport and develop a national strategy, I am convinced we can be stronger and secure a better future. And, no, this isn’t an early April Fool’s Day column. Saturday’s opening day program at Santa Anita showed what a compelling and great sport horse racing can be. If only we can get our act together.

Copyright © 2009, The Paulick Report

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BUMMER MAN

Monday, December 28th, 2009

After hopeful aspirations, eight-year-old Lava Man’s return to racing was anything but what trainer Doug O’Neill wanted to see as the popular California gelding faded to last in the San Gabriel.

For the entire article, click here and then come back to the Paulick Report and let us know what you think.

- Bradford Cummings