Archive for the ‘Horse Racing’ Category

QUALITY ROAD RECEIVES PATCH FOR SECOND QUARTER CRACK

From New York Racing Association Press Office

By Ray Paulick

10:30 P.M. UPDATE …..Daily Racing Form’s Mary Rampellini is reporting from Oaklawn Park that beaten Arkansas Derby favorite Old Fashioned came out of his second-place finish to Papa Clem with a slab fracture in his right knee. Trainer Larry Jones described the injujry to Rick Porter’s son of Unbridled’s Song as possibly career-ending but not life threatening. He is due to ship to Lexington Monday, where he may have surgery at Rood & Riddle equine hospital.

Live blogging of today’s Toyota Blue Grass Stakes card from Keeneland and the Arkansas Derby from Oaklawn Park kicks off around 4 p.m.

In the meantime, today’s Lexington Herald-Leader front-page sports article on the Blue Grass Stakes (“Polytrack coincides with drop in class: Blue Grass Stakes winners haven’t fared well lately”) is sure to win reporter Alicia Wincze some icy stares from Keeneland officials, led by Rogers Beasley, the track’s director of racing who may still harbor resentment against the paper for its Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative series 23 years ago that led to sanctions against the beloved University of Kentucky basketball team. Some UK basketball fans know how to carry a grudge!

But Wincze is right: the ol’ Blue Grass ain’t what she used to be. Perhaps it’s the Polytrack installed in 2006 or maybe it’s the three weeks between the Blue Grass and the Kentucky Derby, which some horsemen now consider to be too little time between races. The three weeks hasn’t seemed to hurt the same day’s Arkansas Derby, which has had more high-profile winners in recent years than the Blue Grass, among them Curlin, Lawyer Ron, Afleet Alex and Smarty Jones.

The Blue Grass still retains its Grade 1 ranking from the Kentucky-based Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association’s Graded Stakes Committee (of which Beasley is a member), while the Arkansas Derby is Grade 2. It’s a sore subject down in Hot Springs, and for good reason.

The Blue Grass lost its top Grade from 1990-98 when the committee downgraded it to Grade 2, a year after the Arkansas Derby was stripped of its Grade 1 status. Until 1988, the race was run not three weeks before the Kentucky Derby but just nine days before the Run for the Roses, on a Thursday afternoon. Track management recognized the need to give horsemen more time between races to attract better fields, and eventually got its Grade 1 ranking back.

In the 1990s, there were nine Blue Grass starters who went on to win one or more Triple Crown races (Unbridled, Summer Squall, Strike the Gold, Sea Hero, Prairie Bayou, Thunder Gulch, Editor’s Note, Louis Quatorze and Lemon Drop Kid). But since 2000, Street Sense, the 2007 Blue Grass runner-up who won that year’s Kentucky Derby, is the only Blue Grass starter to win a Triple Crown races.

This decade has been the leanest ever for the Blue Grass in terms of producing Triple Crown race winners. The 1940s produced four winners, there were two in the 1950s, eight in the 1960s, six in the 1970s, three in the 1980s, and the aforementioned nine in the 1990s.

But that will all be forgotten if this year’s winner goes on to Triple Crown glory.

4:00 p.m. … Keeneland’s big stakes day got under way  a few minutes ago in the Shakertown, a 5 1/2-furlong turf spring won in off-the-pace fashion by Heros Reward and jockey Javier Castellano. Cannonball, who chased early pacesetter Mr. Nightlinger (last year’s winner of the Grade 3 event), finished second, beaten a head, with with Chamberlain Bridge another head back in third and Due Date fourth.

My exacta of Hellvelyn and Hewitts tanked.

The winner is a hard-hitting 7-year-old Maryland-bred gelding by Partner’s Hero who’s won 11 of 29 starts. Trainer Dale Capuano trained Heros Reward up to the Shakertown off a more than five-month layoff, his last start coming with fifth to Desert Code in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint. Final time was 1:04.24 for 5 1/2 furlongs after fractions of :22.25, :45.87 and :57.89. The course was rated good on a sunny day with temperatures in the low 60s, a welcome relief following Friday’s torrential storms.

Shakertown chart.

4:15 p.m. … Eternal Star got the job done  in the Grade 2 Commonwealth, coming from just off the pace under Eibar Coa to beat defending champ Rebellion bythree-quarters of a length. My Pal Charlie and Ravalo were third and fourth, respecitvely, after battling on the lead for the opening five furlongs of the seven-furlong contest.

Eternal Star, trained by Michael Trombetta, was winning for the 10th time in 21 career starts for Harry and Tom Meyerhoff. The 5-year-old Kentucky-bred is by the Carson City stallion Five Star Day out of Retsina’s Princess, by Eternal Prince. He was coming off narrow loss to Ah Day in the Toboggan at Aqueduct March 7, closing from well back to just miss at the wire. 

Time for the seven furlongs on Polytrack was 1:21.17 after fractions of :23.16, :46.12, and 1:09.37.

Commonwealth chart.

4:25 p.m. … Morning linemaker Mike Battaglia hung even-money odds on female turf champion Forever Together for the Grade 2 Jenny WIley, but in the early betting the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf winner wasn’t even the favorite. Early action was on Paul Pompa’s Backseat Rhythm, who recently switched from the Pat Reynolds barn to trainer Kiaran McLaughlin. Backseat Rhythm  is coming off a nose win in the Grade 3 Hillsborrough at Tampa Bay Downs. Forever Together hasn’t raced since the Breeders’ Cup.
Lady and Visit have been scratched from the Jenny Wiley, leaving a field of seven fillies and mares going 1 1/16 miles on a turf course rated good for the earlier Shakertown. 

4:30 p.m. … Love the ShamWow! ads on TVG, especially now that I know a little bit more about Vince Shlomi, the pitchman for the spongy product. You can read about Vince’s recent run-in with the law here.

4:40 p.m. … Maybe Battaglia’s estimated odds will be on target. As post time approaches for the Jenny WIley, the odds are dropping on Forever Together and they’re going up on 

4:45 p.m. … That’s what I like to see! A champion coming back to run like a champion. Forever Together, confidently ridden by Julien Leparoux, won the Jenny Wiley by a length in a most impressive performance. Not sure what trainer Jonathan Sheppard’s been doing with this daughter of Belong to Me all winter, since she only had two published  workouts in her past performances (what’s that all about?), but she was ready to run. 

Leparoux allowed Forever Together to fall back near the back of the field as Kiss With a Twist set slow fractions. He urged Forever Together to pick it up entering the far turn, she swung wide at the top of the stretch, then won without really being seriously asked down the stretch by her rider, who never uncocked his whip. Rutherienne tried to make a race of it, finishing second, with Kiss With a Twist hanging in for third and Rustic Flame fourth. 

Battaglia nailed the odds perfectly, as Forever Together paid $4 for her eighth win in 15 starts for the Augustin Stable of  George Strawbridge. Call me a sucker, but I went for the early money play, betting on Backseat Rhythm to win.

Final time was 1:46.93 after fractions of :25.92, :51.83, 1:17.12 and 1:40.80 on a track labeled good. 

Jenny Wiley chart.

5:00 p.m. … No major early money odds swings in the Blue Grass. A little action on Mafaaz, bet down from 12-1 morning line to 8-1, but everyone else is pretty  much in accordance with the morning line. Hold Me Back looks like a million-dollars in the paddock, a fact confirmed on TVG by Jill Byrne, who knows a bit more about horseflesh than I do.

For what it’s worth, I’m taking a stab at Patena, who was a big disappointment in the slop at Fair Grounds in the Louisiana Derby last out, his first start for trainer Rick Dutrow. A cough may have interrupted or compromised his training up to that race, and I like his chance to run much bigger today. But he will be up against it with Hold Me Back looking like a legitimate favorite off his 3-for-3 record on different Polytrack surfaces at Arlington, Keeneland and Turfway Park for trainer Bill Mott and WinStar Farm.

5:05 p.m. … It’s a great accomplishment for any breeder to have a horse in a Grade 1 race, but for a small breeding operation to have two horses in the same race is really something. Hats off to Carrie Brogden and her family’s Machmer Hall for having two starters in the Blue Grass, Join in the Dance and Loch Dubh, bred in the name of The Answer.

5:15 p.m. … TVG did a nice feature on the NBA star Rashard Lewis, one of the owners of Join in the Dance. Overall, the TVG coverage has been quite good, though Frank Lyons seems underutilized in the coverage. He’s always seemed to be one of the stronger parts of TVG’s big-race coverage.

5:20 p.m. … Perhaps dreams do come true. Tom McCarthy, the owner and trainer of General Quarters, is on his way to the Kentucky Derby after the son of Sky Mesa gave him the biggest win of his life, taking the Blue Grass over favorite Hold Me Back. 

McCarthy, a 75-year-old Army veteran and retired high school principal who has trained a small string of horsers for 45 years, has attended every Kentucky Derby in his home town of Louisville, Ky., since 1959. This year he’ll be there to saddle the only runner in his one-horse stable.  He claimed General Quarters  for $20,000 out of his first start at Churchill Downs last May 30, from Ken and Sarah Ramsaey and trainer Wesley Ward. Most recently, after General Quarters had won the Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs in February, McCarthy turned down some seven-figure offers for the colt, saying, "You can’t sell a dream."

General Quarters got a great trip from Eibar Coa, racing in mid-pack early, then moving toward Join in the Dance, the early pacesetter, as the field approached the far turn. He hit the front around the three-sixteenths pole, opened up by several lengths, and under aggressive handling held off the late charge of Hold Me Back to win by 1 1/2  lengths. West Coast invader Massone was third, a length and a quarter back, with Terrain fourth and Join in the Dance fifth. Theregoesjojo had to be one of the bigger disappointments in the Blue Grass, finishing ninth as the second wagering choice behind Hold Me Back.

Coa is also the rider of Musket Man, who defeated General Quarters in the Tampa Bay Derby and then went on to victory in the Illinois Derby at Hawthroen last weekend. 

McCarthy earned $465,000 from the Blue Grass’s $750,000 purse, and backers of the colt were rewarded with a $30.60 mutuel. Time of the Blue Grass was 1:49.26 for 1 1/8 miles after fractions of :24.40, :49.06, 1:13.31, and 1:37.32 for the mile. General Quarters ran a strong final furlong under 12 seconds after racing wide much of the way.

My pick, Patena, beat one horse.

Blue Grass chart.

5:45 p.m. … As much as I love the feel-good story of Tom McCarthy, I think it’s extremely doubtful General Quarters will win the Kentucky Derby. This wasn’t a particularly strong Blue Grass Field. Nevertheless, when the pack of sports columnists and turf writers arrives on the Churchill Downs backstretch for Derby week, the saga of General Quarters and McCarthy will give them something to write about that fits the romance and tradition of America’s most famous race. And if he does win, well, won’t that be quite an inspiration for all the dreamers and small-time stables, giving them hope that they too might someday stand in the infield winner’s circle under the shadow of the Twin Spires.

6:05 p.m. … Good news for all you college lacrosse fans out there. ESPN2 will show the Duke-Virginia game to its conclusion. Duke is pounding Virginia 15-9 with less than 4:00 minutes to go. Not good for people tuning in to expect horse racing, but, hey, that’s the breaks. Actually, a scroll says the Arkansas Derby/Blue Grass (tape delay) has been shifted to ESPN Classic. Duke lacrosse…aren’t they famous for something?

6:10 p.m. … This lacrosse game is fantastic. Duke is ranked No. 8 in the country and they are on the verge of upsetting No. 1 Virginia.  My only question is, is a touchdown in lacrosse worth six points?  There appears to be hundreds of people on hand at the lacrosse stadium, probably similar to an average day at Aqueduct, but there are probably hundreds  more tuning in on ESPN2  to watch these two great lacrosses rivals.

6:15 p.m. … Duke is playing keep away as the clock winds down. Great strategy.

6:16 p.m. … Do you believe in miracles? Yes! The lacrosse game is over. DUKE WINS!

6:35 p.m. … Jeanine Edwards asked good questions of Larry Jones in the ESPN2 interview, and he didn’t blink in his responses. Sounds like he really will retire at year’s end, at least for a short spell.  Post parade for the $1 million Arkansas Derby, with Old Fashioned rightly the heavy favorite. I think Papa Clem is going to run a big race for trainer Gary Stute, going right to the front in a manner that would make Gary’s dad, trainer Mel Stute, proud. Mel’s won all kinds of races over the decades, but he’s always been one of those "speed is king" kind of trainers. Papa Clam is owned by Bo Hirsch, son of the late Clement Hirsch, a California racing icon for many years.

6:45 p.m. Even money on Old Fashioned. Win Willy, the late runner who upset Old Fashioned in the Rebel Stakes, is 4-1, as is Papa Clem.

Uh-oh….Hank Goldberg likes Papa Clem. I’m running back to the windows to see if I can refund my ticket on the horse.

6:50 p.m. …  Wrong again….Old Fashioned gets the lead…. but Papa Clem gets the win. He came from off the pace, as new rider Terry Thompson sent Old Fashioned to the front and set pretty quick fractions (:22.65, :46.19 and 1:11.15). Old Fashioned tried to spurt away at the quarter pole, but he was under pressure from Flat Out and Papa Clem, who rallied wide under Rafael Bejarano.

Old Fashioned proved a stubborn rival down the stretch, even after it looked like Papa Clem would roll on by. Papa Clem won by about a half-length, with Summer Bird a non-threatening third. It was just the second win from six starts for the Smart Strike colt out of Miss Houdini, by Belong to Me. He was coming off consecutive seconds, to Friesan Fire in the Louisiana Derby and to PIoneerof the Nile in the Robert B. Lewis at Santa Anita Park.

Papa Clem covered the 1 1/8 miles on a fast track in 1:49.01.

Gary Stute said to Jeanine Edwards the difference between the Louisiana Derby and Arkansas Derby was that Papa Clem had a chance to trainer over the Oaklawn strip for several weeks, unlike the Louisiana Derby, where he arrived just two days before the race.

The win, coupled with I Want Revenge’s dominance in New York in the Gotham and Wood after losing twice to Pioneerof the Nile, suggests that the West Coast horses this year may have the upper hand in the Kentucky Derby. Papa Clem and I Want Revenge, who began their careers on synthetic tracks in California have made a smooth transition to dirt. Will Pioneerof the Nile be able to say the same thing three weeks from today? 

7:00 p.m. … One last thought: Hank Goldberg, you’re the man! Great pick.

Copyright © 2009, The Paulick Report 

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It wasn’t until his one-time commanding officer flew to Lubang in 1974 that Onoda gave up the fight.

Waldrop, in his capacity as CEO of the National Thoroughbred Racing Associations, hasn’t fought as long as Hiroo Onoda did, but someone needs to tell him the war is over. The NTRA has about the same relevance and power as the Japanese Imperial Army did after the end of World War II.

It’s not Waldrop’s fault. He came into an untenable situation in December 2006 when the unraveling of the NTRA and Breeders’ Cup relationship was complete and the NTRA was left with little money and even less authority to carry out a mission to be the “league office” for horse racing. An organization that began in 1998 with high hopes and lofty goals of organizing and marketing a dysfunctional business that lacked structure, coordination and a strong central authority — the hallmarks of success for other sports — was, by 2006, a pale shadow of its former self.

What survived of the NTRA after its divorce from the Breeders’ Cup in 2006 was an understaffed press office and an industry lobbying effort in Washington, D.C., and not much more. Illusions of marketing grandeur or meaningful changes in how the sport was structured were gone like the budget the NTRA once had.

Eighteen months into Waldrop’s tenure at the NTRA, the Thoroughbred industry had a serious implosion. The filly Eight Belles died after the finish of the Kentucky Derby with millions watching on television in horror. Compounding the problem, Rick Dutrow, the trainer of Derby winner Big Brown, revealed one of our sport’s dirty little secrets, that anabolic steroids were in rampant use and, shockingly to many people, were perfectly legal. The public outcry was enormous, and the NTRA was ill-equipped to deal with it, because it lacked the authority to speak for the industry over which it had little control.

When hints of a Congressional inquiry surfaced, there was a scramble to react. The industry did what it always does: form committees and make recommendations. Foremost among those was a decision by Waldrop and the NTRA board of directors to create a new entity, the Safety and Integrity Alliance, which drafted an ambitious code of standards on a variety of safety and welfare issues for horses and jockeys. It was and is an admirable document, however meaningless it mostly likely will turn out to be.

Tracks that comply with the code of standards will be accredited by the alliance, sort of a “good horsekeeping seal of approval” that a track owner can frame and hang on his wall. And what about tracks that don’t comply? Well, they’ll have a little extra wall space. That’s the carrot and stick that Waldrop is armed with.

It goes back to something said during the Congressional inquiry held last June, when members of the House of Representatives repeatedly pointed out to Thoroughbred industry leaders how important it was for them to get their act together and establish a meaningful central authority unless they wanted the federal government to do it for them. After Alan Marzelli, the president of the Jockey Club, testified about some of the safety recommendations his organization was making to the industry, he was asked how the Jockey Club intended to have its recommendations adopted.

Marzelli’s response: “We believe in the power of persuasion.”

The power of persuasion (aka, committee recommendations) is what has kept this industry from realizing its potential as a major league sport. The harmless carrot and stick that Waldrop now carries in his briefcase is about as powerful as the army that Hiroo Onoda commanded on Lubana island for all those years after World War II.

Onoda survived, which I’m afraid is about all Waldrop and the NTRA and the rest of the racing industry can do with our current structure (or lack thereof). Maybe, just maybe, if enough tracks comply with the Safety and Integrity Alliance’s code of standards, we can stop the bleeding that’s been going on for some time, long before Eight Belles took her last breath or Rick Dutrow uttered his last insult. But stopping the bleeding is not a cure for what ails us.

What we have isn’t working. What we need are fewer organizations and fewer committees, more followers and fewer (but stronger) leaders. Why, someone pointed out to me the other day, do we need separate organizations like the NTRA, the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, the Jockey Club, the Breeders’ Cup, the National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, the Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association and so many others? He answered his own question: because none of those groups is willing to cede authority and lose whatever little fiefdom they control.

Waldrop keeps fighting, seemingly against all odds. When racing’s obvious problems were brought up twice recently in the New York Times, first by sports columnist William Rhoden and then by turf writer Joe Drape, Waldrop fired back in a blog at the NTRA’s web site, defending the Safety and Integrity Alliance and pointing out progress that had been made since the death of Eight Belles. He even tried to incite an angry mob to join his army and attack the messengers at the New York Times for the audacity of their observations.

It was rather pitiful. I’m not sure that Waldrop, like Hiroo Onoda, is much more than an army of one.

Copyright © 2009, The Paulick Report

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Random notes while waiting for the ice to melt …

The devastating snow and ice storm that hit Kentucky earlier this week has created serious economic hardships on Thoroughbred farms, many of which are without electricity and have suffered major damage, just as the foaling season is hitting full swing and the breeding season about to begin. Let’s hope organizations like the American Horse Council, the NTRA, Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association and the Kentucky Equine Education Project are in contact with government officials to seek relief, now that Gov. Steve Beshear has asked the Obama administration to declare a federal emergency.

Horse farms are already under extreme economic pressure because of the plunge in bloodstock prices, and this latest problem is only making things worse for them. It’s at times like these that these alphabet soup organizations can actually do some good.

DID FRANK STRONACH’S ONE-VOTE MARGIN over IEAH Stables in the Eclipse Awards outstanding owner category come by virtue of several racing secretaries who work for him? I have a great deal of respect for Stronach’s racing and breeding operation, which has produced solid numbers for many years now, but I just can’t fathom how 2008 was an Eclipse Award-winning year for him.  Ahmed Zayat’s stable earned slightly more money but only ranked sixth in the number of first-place votes. IEAH had a far superior year in terms of Grade 1 winners. George Strawbridge’s Augustin Stable had a better year when the number of starters was taken into consideration, as did the racing stables associated with Sheikh Mohammed. Here is the year-end ownership standings by money.

Apart from the National Turf Writers Association, which has historically published how its members vote, there is no disclosure from Daily Racing Form or the National Thoroughbred Racing Association about who votes – never mind who each individual votes for. But the NTRA should insist that racing secretaries or any other voters who work for racetracks owned by Stronach’s Magna Entertainment not be allowed to vote in categories where there is a potential conflict of interest. That would include the leading owner and leading breeder categories. The awards are too important to permit any conflicts of interest or suspicions of impropriety.

In the owner and breeder categories (the latter of which was for years determined by a committee vote), there seems to be little imagination or thought put in by voters, who more often than not look at which owner and breeder is at the top of the money list that is supplied with the ballot. If the people who vote for Academy Awards were that lazy, then “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” would win the Oscar for best picture this year.

Opportunity (the number of starters) should play a role in voting for outstanding achievement by an owner or breeder. Twice in the last eight years, a breeder who produced two individual champions in the same year from a small band of broodmares (Virginia Kraft Payson, with Farda Amiga and Vindication in 2002, and Aaron and Marie Jones, with Speightstown and Ashado in 2004) did not even get enough votes to be among the three finalists! That’s insulting to the thousands of Thoroughbred breeders who either can’t afford to or don’t choose to maintain massive numbers of broodmares.  (Click here to see what I wrote about this issue a few years ago at Bloodhorse.)

The NTRA needs to address this, either by eliminating the vote and simply giving the awards for leading owner and breeder to whoever wins the most money, or by changing the system of selecting the outstanding individuals in these two categories. I don’t think enough voters understand the importance of this category or what “outstanding” means when it comes to owning or breeding Thoroughbreds.

SPEAKING OF THE NTRA, what is its future? The organization is a shell of its former self, when it had widespread industry support and a mission to improve the economics of racing and breeding through increased pari-mutuel handle, marketing and greater exposure on television. Following its split from the Breeders’ Cup, the NTRA has lost much of its economic clout and influence, as it no longer has the annual championships to promote to the general public or to race sponsors that were tied in to group purchasing (i.e., John Deere, NetJets, Dodge), which only a few years ago produced upwards of $100 million a year in sales. Following the NTRA-Breeders’ Cup “divorce,” group purchasing through NTRA Advantage has dropped significantly.

Today, the NTRA seems to be playing more defense than offense, reacting to crises (i.e., the death of Eight Belles in the Kentucky Derby, Congressional inquiries, totalizator problems) but not really having the resources to go on the offensive in any areas, including marketing and promotion.

Complicating matters (and this isn’t new) is the ongoing struggle to maintain membership in the NTRA. Churchill Downs Inc., which is tabbed to pay approximately $400,000 in dues for its various tracks in 2009, hasn’t recommitted to membership. A source says Churchill might considering paying $200,000 in dues.  An NTRA official told the Paulick Report he hopes Churchill executives see value in the NTRA’s legislative activities, the “Racing to the Kentucky Derby” television series on ESPN, NTRA Advantage purchasing, the National Handicapping Championship, and the Safety and Integrity Alliance. The interesting thing about the latter, I’ve been told by sources, is that Churchill Downs CEO Bob Evans is the one who insisted the NTRA do something about the safety issues that led to the creation of the Safety and Integrity Alliance.

Magna apparently hasn’t committed to renewing its NTRA membership, either. If the NTRA loses the two largest track ownership companies, it will be further weakened, perhaps terminally.

CORPORATE SPONSORSHIPS ARE A CHALLENGE in the current economic climate, whether it’s the PGA Tour, NASCAR or horse racing. But it was, nevertheless, a surprise to see Bessemer Trust drop its sponsorship with the Breeders’ Cup. I would think the wealth management firm formerly chaired by Ogden Mills (Dinny) Phipps and now run by his cousin, Stuart Janney Jr., is encountering the same economic challenges that many financial institutions are (though Bessemer’s investment strategy is believed to be conservative).  

Janney responded to an email with the following comments: “I would say our reasons for dropping out are as follows. First, we have been a sponsor for some time, which means many of our clients have been entertained at a Breeders’ Cup event and having them back again is possibly less appealing than providing a different venue. Second, the two-day format works better for others than it does for us. Third, we have never been able to really derive full value from the TV ads as our target audience is very narrowly focused. Fourth, as we look at other sponsorships and ways to thank our clients or meet prospects, it helps in tighter times to have this money available. We believe our involvement with the Breeders’ Cup has been beneficial to Bessemer and the staff at the Breeders’ Cup has been a pleasure to work with.”

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One thing that never crossed my mind was a possible difference in the feed given horses in Europe vs. what they are fed in the United States. Sharon Hinsley, who with her husband runs a public stable in Chicago and Tampa Bay, thinks that could be a factor in the increasing fragility of American-based runners. 

Pending the results of scientific research, some ingredients have been banned from feed in Europe, where a movement for “natural” or “green” food ingredients is much farther along than in the U.S. GMO feed (with genetically modified organisms) is labeled as such in European Union countries. (Click here to read about European protests against GMO food.) Nutrition experts here caution us, however,  that “natural” products are not necessarily any safer, and that all food ingredients should be monitored and tested.

The following commentary by Sharon Hinsley (who can be reached at Dhhstable1@aol.com) certainly opens for us a new debate about food ingredients, one that has been ongoing in European and Asian countries. Her views do not necessarily reflect those of the Paulick Report, but we think the subject matter is important enough to be discussed. – Ray Paulick

By Sharon Hinsley
My husband and I have been owners and trainer of a public racing stable for over 22 years. As with so many others whose life’s work has been in this industry, we have seen first-hand the increasing fragility of the Thoroughbred and its growing impact on this once-great and beloved sport.

Following the European success in the 2008 Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita, I couldn’t help but think back to several of the comments voiced in a magazine article about the success of the European runners. For instance, a comment was made that American-bred horses competing in Europe race significantly more than their counterparts here in the United States.

In the same discussion, someone questioned whether changes in the water or type of feed may be contributing to the durability problem. While factors such as racing surface, breeding practices oriented toward speed and precocity, steroids and medication (both legal and otherwise) have dominated the discussions about the seemingly increased fragility of our horses, have we missed some very important and fundamental contributing factors? Could something as basic as what we feed our horses be a part of the durability and soundness problem? Is there something different about the feed given to horses in Europe versus what we feed our horses in the United States?

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The most recent results, in fact, represent the strongest sentiment of any of the 40 polls we have conducted since just before the Breeders’ Cup World Championships in late October. (Click here to see archives of all the Daily Paulick Poll results.) We asked, “Does the National Thoroughbred Racing Association provide a strong central organization to move racing forward in the future?” The results have been stunning, with 94% saying “no” and only 6% answering “yes.”

Along those same lines, in early December we asked, “Are you confident the individuals in charge of the most prominent racing and breeding organizations in the United States are adequately addressing the problems the industry is currently facing?” That resulted in an 85% no confidence vote, with 10% saying they are confident in our industry leaders and 5% unsure.

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