Ron Moquett - trainer of Champion Sprinter Whitmore

By Bill Heller

Upon reaching the winner’s circle after the $2 million Gr1 Breeders’ Cup Sprint on November 7th at Keeneland, Laura Moquett hugged her seven-year-old gelding Whitmore, telling him, “You’re a total badass.”

Talking about that moment a week later, she added, “That applies to my husband, too.”

She says that with justifiable pride in both. She is the co-owner, assistant trainer and galloper of Whitmore, who was seeking his first victory in his fourth start in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint.

If there was an equine dictionary and you looked up the word “rogue,” Whitmore’s picture would probably be there. He is the poster horse of bad behavior.

ALL ABOUT MOQUETT

Laura’s 48-year-old husband Ron, co-owner and trainer of Whitmore, has survived three years with atypical sarcoidosis, an autoimmune disease affecting the lungs. Think you were scared about COVID? Ron hasn’t missed a step training his stable of 38 horses. “This ain’t nothing,” he said. “A lot of people got through worse than I got. I get to go to the barn. I get to do my job. I was wearing a mask before it became a fad.”

There’s a third member of this Whitmore team—former jockey Greta Kuntzweiler, now Whitmore’s breeze rider and an assistant trainer. Ron calls her a hippy. Greta laughs when asked about it. “He thinks I’m a hippy because I’m a Democrat,” she said.

Together, the Moquetts and Kuntzweiler reached that remarkable Breeders’ Cup moment when Whitmore won the Sprint by 3 ¼ lengths, thanks to a perfect ride by Irad Ortiz, Jr. Whitmore had peaked as a seven-year-old in his 38th career start—a testament to Ron’s conviction that doing right by the horse allows you to maximize success. Ron defers credit to his horse. “He tells me everything,” Ron said. “Every day. He’s honest, very honest. He’s very forthcoming with information on what he needs.”

That only matters if his trainer listens. Ron has been listening to animals his entire life. At a young age, he preferred the company of animals rather than people.

His mother died when he was four-years-old. “We went from place to place for a while,” he said. “We ended up with our grandparents. I gravitated to animals—any kind of animals. I didn’t care—dogs, cats, horses, chickens. An animal will never lead you astray. An animal is very honest. For whatever reason, they respected me, and I respected them. Without cats, dogs, horses and chickens, I would need a lot of therapy. That’s what I used for therapy. It’s where I got comfort. I like people, but I’d rather be with my animals.”

He built his life with horses. “A horse never lies to you,” he said. “If he’s afraid, he shows it. If he’s hungry, he shows it.”

And if that horse is Whitmore, he’ll kick you to hell if you touch him in the wrong place. Or at the wrong time. Or just for kicks. His specialty was a double-barrel kick. Ron can live with that because Whitmore also has an incredible amount of talent.

Ron was born near Blue Ribbons Downs, a Quarter Horse track in Sallisaw, Okla. Ron pursued his interest in horses at bush tracks. “We used to go on Sundays,” he said. “They would have racing on a 400-yard strip. We’d have big-name riders come in.”

Ron couldn’t get enough. “I worked at the gate,” he said. “I would get the horses ready to run. I’d help the trainers pony horses. My friend rode—that was my first introduction. They were gambling and riding. I just wanted to be with the horses. I thought that was cool as hell. I was probably 13.”

Then came a sobering realization. “There was nobody making money doing this,” he said.

So he began supplementing his income with toughman fighting. “It was kind of like a predecessor to Ultimate Fighting,” he said. “There are three one-minute rounds with 16-ounce gloves. The winner moves on. If you win five or six, you’d get up to a money fight. I did all right from 18 to 24. I didn’t do it all the time. It got to the point where other people were getting better. It got to where I was making money with horses; I didn’t have to do it anymore.”

That happened at Oaklawn Park, where he started training. “I was 22,” Ron said. “I lived in a tack room probably the first six months. That’s no different than a lot of people today. I was nobody special.”

Ron caught a huge break, landing a job working for trainer Bernie Flint. “Bernie was the perfect guy for me,” Ron said. “He allowed me to do everything and taught me a lot about handling different situations. He was always kind to the animals. For a claiming trainer, he was very kind. He’s 6-3, 300 pounds, an ex-cop. Bernie was a natural horseman. I was with him less than two years, and he showed me so much more than if I had gone to a big operation.”

Ron was about as far removed from a big operation as possible when he started his own stable, posting only one second and one third in seven starts in 1997. “How bad do you want it?” Ron asked. “Everybody loves it when you’re doing well with a barn full of great horses. Try doing it whenever you got a barn full of other people’s cast-offs. You don’t have a lot of money to fall back on. Mike Tyson said, `Everybody’s got a plan until you get punched in the face.’”

He had been literally punched in the face when he was a toughman fighting for years. He was able to abandon his second career when his numbers improved in his first full year of training in 1998 with five victories from 82 starters and $80,354 in earnings. In 1999, he had 12 wins from 141 starts with $259,385 in money. He was on his way.

“I just wanted it too bad to not keep doing it,” Ron said. “How are you going to make it? First, you have to have a love for the animal. Second, you have to have a hatred of money, because you’re not going to get it for a long time. I’ve been doing this for 20-something years, and I finally wound up winning a couple of them. The third thing is you got to be where you don’t require sleep. If you don’t love money, and you love horses, and you don’t sleep, then you’ve got a shot at becoming a trainer. It’s so hard. The game is frustrating and so hard.”

Having a partner helps navigate the tough times, and Ron has a 24-7 partner in Laura. Raised in Lawton, a small town in Iowa, she discovered her passion for horses as a child “I had my own horses at my house,” she said. “I was 16 when I started galloping. There’s a different way to look at the world through their eyes. I speak horse. It’s like a second language. They communicate with you through their body language.”

Ron was working for Bernie Flint when Laura got a job with him. She saw a kindred spirit. “He cares about horses,” she said. “He’s not in a hurry. He cares to get to the bottom. A team aspect comes into play.”

They married. “Roughly, it was in 2014,” Laura said. “I’m guessing. We’re both terrible about the anniversary.”

Breeze rider and assistant trainer Greta Kuntzweiler with Whitmore.

They weren’t too good at weddings either. They both arrived late separately for their ceremony. “We kind of live in the moment, which is great for horses,” Laura said.

Having a talented exercise rider is great for horses, too, and they have one in Greta, who won 555 races and $12,248,599 before stopping in 2015. “My business was slowing down, and Ron asked me if I would break and gallop,” she said. “Then Laura began teaching me assistant trainer stuff. It’s a great job. I love horses. I’m happy.”

She, too, was impressed with Ron’s horsemanship. “He’s a really smart guy with a good memory,” Greta said. “He can remember a horse. When he watches training in the morning, he knows his horses and other people’s horses. It’s a huge advantage. He’s a really good horseman.

“He likes to get horses, walk them around the shed row and take them to graze, and try to get into their heads. He wants to spend time with them. I’ve seen him load difficult horses on a trailer. He knows how to ask them to do something they don’t want to do. His wife is really good at that, too. They’re great horse people that I want to be around.”

But suddenly, in the spring of 2018, there was a question if Ron could ever be around his horses. He was diagnosed with atypical sarcoidosis. “What happens is, it attacks your lungs,” Ron said. “My breathing is compromised by one lung, which is working at 40 percent. But I feel great now, between active spurts. I have to be very careful with the COVID. If somebody with my condition gets it, then it’s a big deal.”

For a while, he worked exclusively from home. Now he trains partially from home, subject to the pandemic numbers. “That takes a lot of up-to-the-minute tedious information,” he said. “I get a text from the night watchman at 4 a.m. on how everyone ate and if they’re doing all right. I get leg charts. My assistants tell me how the horses feel after racing. I get charts rating horses’ works, 1, 2 or 3. If there is a checkmark on the rider, it means there’s something I need to talk to him about.

“I’m able to go to the barn, just not be around people. I check legs. There’s nothing like hands-on. You have to have horsemen at every station with hands-on. I want a groom who knows the difference. And my exercise riders know the difference. We figured out how to get everything done.”

Asked if it gets wearing, Ron said, “It seems like I’ve been doing it forever.”

ALL ABOUT WHITMORE

Whitmore challenged him before he got sick. The son of Pleasantly Perfect out of Melody’s Spirit by Scat Daddy was bred by John Liviakis in Kentucky. Liviakis sold Whitmore to the Moquetts’ Southern Spring Stables.

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Safer racetracks - We look at the measures taken by The Fair Grounds and Santa Anita took action to make their main tracks safer

By Ken Snyder

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…" so wrote Charles Dickens. For horse racing in 2020, it just wasn't where you would expect the best and worst, at least in a modern-day "Tale of Two Racetracks."

To wit: Santa Anita began 2020 in the wake of a nightmare: 20 racing fatalities in 2019. The Fair Grounds in New Orleans, on the other hand, was on the cusp of two straight Januarys without a racetrack fatality. If you don't know the rest, you can probably guess what happened, 2020 being 2020: Santa Anita embarked on a record year in 2020 with zero fatalities on the dirt track and one less fatality in turf races than in 2019 [see sidebar]. Meanwhile, at the Fair Grounds—long known as having one of the best surfaces in America—six racetrack fatalities occurred in January, a number more than double the average for this month.

Instantly, media attention focused on the Fair Grounds, interest made more acute, perhaps, by the highly publicized spate of fatalities at Santa Anita.

Overlooked by a large portion of the media (perhaps conveniently, some would say) is the anomaly that January 2020 represented, not just for the Fair Grounds but also for Thoroughbred racing in America. In terms of catastrophic injury rate, the sport enjoyed the smallest rate of fatalities per 1,000 starts—1.53—in 2019.

Sealing or floating a track produces a flat surface for water to run off.

The Jockey Club created an Equine Injury Database (EID) in 2009, recording statistics and specifically compiling data from 14 leading tracks (including Santa Anita). In that first year, fatalities were 2.0 per 1,000 starts—the highest in the span of the 11-year-old EID.

So what happened at the Fair Grounds?

A harrowed track surface enables water to penetrate the surface rather than run off, causing over-saturation and potentially ripe for injuries and fatalities.

Dr. Michael "Mick" Peterson, executive director of the Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory, led a team of track management and, perhaps more critical, trainers with horses at the Fair Grounds to examine and analyze the track surface, particularly maintenance practices. Fatalities are multifactorial, and the intent was to address potential issues with the track surface. According to Peterson, unexpected and unpredicted rainfall during training hours occurred in January. Making matters worse, the rain—while amounting to maybe a half to three-quarters of an inch—fell for 45 minutes to an hour.

Harrowed before training, the track surface was "open," as Peterson termed it, enabling water to penetrate the surface rather than run off.

The result was a surface possibly over-saturated and potentially ripe for injuries and fatalities during races in the afternoon. Closing the door to this possibility meant closing the track if rain was expected or did fall during training and sealing or "floating it," which produces a flat surface for water to run off into the infield.

If that sounds simple, it isn't. There are dozens of trainers with stalls full of horses each needing track time, either for leg-stretching gallops or, more importantly, workouts timed out a certain number of days before an upcoming race. Racehorses are athletes who absolutely have to get out of their stalls, and there are no days off. Weather can’t be a deterrent; they run in the rain, and they train in the rain. Stopping training to float and seal a racetrack—something commonly done between afternoon races—is uncommon during training hours and disruptive to trainers’ schedules. Simply put, trainers lose a hunk of training time if the track superintendent floats the surface during workout hours in the morning.

Fair Grounds track superintendent Pedro Zavala uses a soil moisture meter to measure moisture content at different areas of the track surface.

Here is where, according to Peterson, the Fair Grounds achieved real success. A group of trainers met with Fair Grounds track manager Jason Boulet, track superintendent Pedro Zavala, and Peterson and basically said, "We're going to have to do that then," referring to track closure during training for surface sealing.

For Peterson, Boulet and especially Zavala, this response from trainers with entries, races slated, and owners to whom they are accountable was as jaw-dropping as Santa Anita's zero dirt-track fatality statistic in 2020.

"It really was one of those perfect moments in interaction between track management and superintendent and trainers," said Peterson, who added, "It's hard to get up in the morning and not know which horses you can train. I was thoroughly impressed with the willingness of trainers to do that."

Their only request was as much of a heads-up as possible to trainers if weather radar indicated rain looked likely. Track closure during training for floating was an option left on the table. It was part of “give and take,” as Peterson termed it, to enable trainers to send out horses needing a workout for an upcoming race ahead of a wet track.

"If I'm a trainer, I know that I might lose the second half of training because they're going to shut it down and run the floats. Then I can train whatever horses I know I need to get out there in the first set.

"This is where the industry needs to go—the communication, being reasonable, recognizing the need for give and take at times."

The cooperation of trainers at the Fair Grounds should not have been a surprise, given the history at the track. The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 provides an anecdote that is very telling about the input of trainers into track conditions and management at this third oldest American racetrack.

Katrina flooded the Fair Grounds and washed away the track surface. What replaced it was not nearly as good as pre-Katrina, according to regular Fair Grounds trainers. A group of them, principal among them Al Stall, provided a simple observation: "It was better with the darker sand," said Stall at the time, referring to reddish sand in the pre-Katrina surface.

Peterson remembered Boulet calling him to report that trainers were convinced darker spillway sand from the nearby Mississippi River would bring the track back to what it was. "Jason said, 'I think they're crazy. I don't think the color matters,'" recalled Peterson with a laugh. "I said, ‘Jason what they are actually identifying is the little bit of iron oxide in the sand. It's hydrophilic and not hydrophobic, and you know what? I bet they're exactly right.’" …

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Remembering Sunday Silence -30 years since he first entered the breeding shed. We look at the lasting legacy he has left on the racing world.

By Nancy Sexton

For over a quarter of a century, there has been an air of inevitability within Japanese racing circles.

Sunday Silence dominated the sire standings in Japan for 13 straight years from 1995 to 2007—his last championship arriving five years after his death. He was a true game changer for the Japanese industry, not only as a brilliant source of elite talent but as a key to the development of Japan as a respected racing nation.

Any idea that his influence would abate in the years following his death was swiftly quashed by an array of successful sire sons and productive daughters. In his place, Deep Impact rose to become a titan of the domestic industry. Others such as Heart’s Cry, Stay Gold, Agnes Tachyon, Gold Allure and Daiwa Major also became significant sires in their own right. Added to that, Sunday Silence is also a multiple champion broodmare sire and credited as the damsire of 202 stakes winners and 17 champions.

Teruya Yoshida of Shadai Farm

“Thoroughbreds can be bought or sold,” says Teruya Yoshida of Shadai Farm, which bought Sunday Silence out of America in late 1990 and cultivated him into a global force. “As Nasrullah sired Bold Ruler, who changed the world’s breeding capital from Europe to the U.S., one stallion can change the world. Sunday Silence is exactly such a stallion for the Japanese Thoroughbred industry.”

Sunday Silence has been dead close to 20 years, yet the Japanese sires’ table remains an ode to his influence.

In 2020, Deep Impact landed his ninth straight sires’ championship with Heart’s Cry and Stay Gold’s son Orfevre in third and fourth. Seven of the top 12 finishers were sons or grandsons of Sunday Silence.

Another descendant, Deep Impact’s son Kizuna, was the nation’s leading second-crop sire. Deep Impact himself was the year’s top sire of two-year-olds.

Against that, it is estimated that up to approximately 70% of the Japanese broodmare population possess Sunday Silence in their background.

All the while, his influence remains on an upswing worldwide, notably via the respect held for Deep Impact. A horse who ably built on the international momentum set by Sunday Silence, his own sire sons today range from the European Classic winners Study Of Man and Saxon Warrior—who are based in Britain and Ireland—to a deep domestic bench headed by the proven sires Kizuna, Mikki Isle and Real Impact.

In short, the Thoroughbred owes a lot to Sunday Silence.

Inauspicious beginnings

Roll back to 1988, however, and the mere idea of Sunday Silence as one of the great fathers of the breed would have been laughable.

For starters, he almost died twice before he had even entered training.

Queen Elizabeth II meets Halo.

The colt was bred by Oak Cliff Thoroughbreds Ltd in Kentucky with appealing credentials as a son of Halo, then in his early seasons at Arthur Hancock’s Stone Farm.

Halo had shifted to Kentucky in 1984 as a middle-aged stallion with a colourful existence already behind him.

By Hail To Reason and closely related to Northern Dancer, Halo had been trained by Mack Miller to win the 1974 Gr1 United Nations Handicap.

It was those bloodlines and latent talent that prompted film producer Irving Allen to offer owner Charles Englehard a bid of $600,000 for the horse midway through his career. Allen’s idea was to install Halo in England at his Derisley Wood Stud in Newmarket; and his bid was accepted only for it to be revealed that his new acquisition was a crib-biter. As such, the deal fell through, and Halo was returned to training, with that Gr1 triumph as due reward.

Would Halo have thrived in England? It’s an interesting question. As it was, he retired to E. P. Taylor Windfields Farm in Maryland, threw champion Glorious Song in his first crop, Kentucky Derby winner Sunny’s Halo in his third and Devil’s Bag—a brilliant two-year-old of 1983—in his fourth.

Devil’s Bag’s exploits were instrumental in Halo ending the year as North America’s champion sire, and within months, the stallion was ensconced at Stone Farm, having been sold in a deal that reportedly valued the 15-year-old at $36 million. Chief among the new ownership was Texas oilman Tom Tatham of Oak Cliff Thoroughbreds.

In 1985, Tatham sent the hard-knocking Wishing Well, a Gr2-winning daughter of Understanding, to the stallion. The result was a near black colt born at Stone Farm on March 26, 1986.

It is part of racing’s folklore how Sunday Silence failed to capture the imagination as a young horse—something that is today vividly recalled by Hancock.

Staci & Arthur Hancock with Sunday Silence.

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The differences between a healthy / unhealthy biome. We learn how gene sequencing technology can reveal common gastrointestinal disease.

By Carol Hughes PhD

Gastrointestinal diseases and upsets are common in Thoroughbred racehorses, causing discomfort, loss of performance and even mortality. Every common gastrointestinal disease can be linked back to disturbances (dysbiosis) of the gut bacteria. Currently, new gene technology is driving research at an intense rate, providing new insights into the equine microbial community (1) and providing both trainer and the vet with a powerful and accurate analytical tool to improve health and manage disease. The gastrointestinal tract of the horse is colonized by trillions of microorganisms, which includes 1,000-1,500 different species, making up around 95% of the biome; the other 5% are made up of archaea, protozoa, fungi and viruses. Though most studies concentrate on identifying species of bacteria and linking to health and disease. Other members of the biome have equally important roles to play. In the racehorse, a major player is the Enterobacteria phage PhiX174, which is a bacterial virus that protects the horse against E-coli.(2) The microbial community has co-evolved with the host, performing essential and vital activities such as the extraction of energy and nutrients from foodstuff, synthesis of vitamins, interaction with the immune system and cross talk with the brain, which is thought to affect temperament and behavior. Taxonomic and functional compositions of the gut microbiome are rapidly becoming viable indicators of horse health and disease. Each member of the microbial community has a different but synergistic role, which is beneficial to the health of the horse; e.g., the fungi break down the indigestible parts of forage plants, such as the polysaccharides, while the ciliate protozoa contribute to the process by producing a wide range of enzymes that the horse is unable to make, impacting and benefitting the immune system. Microbial fermentation of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin reduces the structural and non-structural plant wall material into carbohydrates, proteins (amino acids) and lipids, and produces volatile and short chain fatty acids,(2a) which are the primary source of energy for the horse. The bacteria contribute the most to the degradation of ingested food, producing the final components of the fermentation process, which are acetic, propionic and butyric acid, methane and carbon dioxide. The gastrointestinal tract of the horse is sensitive to change, stress, environment and medication, which cause imbalances or dysbiosis.(3)

Fig 1: Image of the analysis of the microbiome of a Grade 1 horse, compared to a non-group horse.

Establishing or profiling a healthy baseline in the horse is difficult as variations exist between individuals, breeds, diets and locations; the Thoroughbred racehorse is a very different animal to the Shetland pony or an Irish Draught. Fitness training alters the microbiome further; for these reasons it is important to study the Thoroughbred as a population separate from other breeds and to analyze, where possible, racehorses training in a similar environment and location. With this in mind, since 2017 there has been an ongoing project to study and profile the microbial populations of over 1,000 racehorses based in Newmarket, throughout the racing season; and the data produced has been used to develop profiles of the differences between a healthy/unhealthy biome. The project utilizes the cutting-edge Illumina MiSeq technology, which is the most accurate and up-to-date, preferred by genomic researchers around the world.

THE BIOME IN HEALTH ELITE RACEHORSES HAVE HIGHER LEVELS OF A SUPER-PHYLUM BACTERIA

Questions asked...

Elite racehorses are trained to achieve peak fitness, but is it possible that they can gain an extra edge from the input of the hind gut bacteria?

How different is the microbiome of a Grade 1 horse, and is it possible to identify the bacteria responsible for the extra edge?

Answers found...

Human scientists have known for some time that the microbiome of an elite human athlete is different,(4) with faster metabolic pathways (amino acids and carbohydrates) and higher levels of fecal metabolites (microbial-produced short-chain fatty acids) acetate, propionate and butyrate associated with enhanced muscle fitness. The human and elite equine athlete do share similar microbial profiles, having higher percentages of the bacteria that manufacture short-chain fatty acids and higher levels of the super-phylum verrucomicrobia; these increase as the season/training progresses. What is known about this super-phylum? It has two main members: Methylacidiphilaceae and Akkermansia

1) Verrucomicrobia Methylacidiphilaceae thrive and proliferate on the ammonia produced from the degradation of starch and protein,(5) whereas starch produces very high levels of ammonia. The bacteria make enzymes (ammonia monooxygenase),(6) which convert ammonia into nitric oxide.(7) The nitric oxide has three major benefits to a racehorse:

a. Helps repair and renew the gut wall (8)

b. Enhances performance and increases exercise tolerance (9)

c. Improves vascular function and metabolism (10)

2) Verrucomicrobia Akkermansia is a mucus-eating specialist, living and thriving within the gut wall, digesting mucin from the mucosal lining (10a) with a unique ability to metabolise galactose and melibiose (11) for energy. Akkermansia in the human biome significantly increases the numbers of metabolic pathways. Horses with gastric ulcers have very low levels, perhaps indicating its function in both performance and disease. …

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State Incentives 2021

By Annie Lambert

Breeding Thoroughbred racehorses takes a passion for the animals and the racing industry as a whole. State incentive programs can enhance horsemen’s intense feelings toward their livestock and the efforts to direct and improve their individual breeding programs. Many states and Canadian provinces in North America have helped horsemen reap rewards for breeding better bloodstock.

In some cases, incentives have helped save or resuscitate state racing programs and bolstered racing toward increasing rewards to those supporting their state programs. It becomes a win-win for states/provinces, racetracks, breeders and owners—success for a joint venture, if you will.

Not everyone can agree with the Rules of Engagement within each state’s program, but that is human nature. As a whole, most breeders are ultimately looking to protect the value of their livestock and preserve racing in North America.

The Kentucky Brand

For all its legendary history in the Thoroughbred racing industry, Kentucky is not known to have the strongest incentive program. It does, however, still provide a home to some of the best stallions and breeding farms in the world. According to Duncan Taylor, President of Taylor Made Farm in Nicholasville, Ky., by having the best horses, his home state also has the best infrastructure.

Taylor Made’s Duncan Taylor, has bred horses outside of Kentucky to “cover the downside” when horses fit better in a different situation.

“Kentucky is blessed with the best stallions, therefore we have the best infrastructure—veterinary care, nutrition, blacksmith—all the ancillary businesses that support the Thoroughbred business,” Taylor opined. “We have a weaker program when it comes to breeder incentives. The breeding program we do have is basically paid for by the tax on stallion seasons. There’s a six-percent sales tax on stallion fees, and that money goes into the Kentucky Breeders’ Incentive Fund.”

Taylor pointed out that over time Kentucky, as most business does, has developed a brand. If a breeder aspires to be the best, it pays to go to Kentucky.

“You can breed to horses in your own state,” Taylor said, “but if you’re trying to sell the most expensive horse at the Keeneland Sale, it’s going to be a Kentucky-bred.” “Wealthy people that are buying horses think the best horses come from Kentucky.”

Taylor Made participates in several programs outside of Kentucky. They have bred and raced New York breds, for example, to “cover the downside.”

“Let’s say my horse is just an allowance-winning horse versus a graded stakes-winning horse,” he explained. “If that [New York-bred] horse is an allowance winner at Churchill Downs or even Santa Anita or Gulfstream, but they can’t win a stake or graded stake, that same horse, with the same ability, could probably win a New York-bred stake. You would probably get a $100,000 to $150,000 purse. That’s what I’m talking about—protecting the downside. You can have less horse and still earn purse money.

“I’ve bred and foaled horses in New York to get a New York-bred. If it does run good, I’m going to get some large breeder’s awards. Let’s say I have a New York-bred by our stallion Not This Time (half-brother to Liam’s Map and by Giant’s Causeway) that could win a Gr2 in New York. If you win a $300,000 purse, the winning share is $180,000. I’m going to get $18,000 for being the breeder—10 percent for being a New York-bred.”

Taylor is not planning on moving out of Kentucky, but the government in his state, in his words, “keeps opting to take the horse business for granted.” With the best stallions, Taylor feels he could cut a good deal, load the vans and move out of Kentucky tomorrow, which would not be his first choice.

Kentucky-bred Beholder, owned by B. Wayne Hughes’ Spendthrift Farm, enjoyed annual R&R on pastures in California where she earned most of her $6 million.

His frustration comes mostly from the problems Kentucky is having with their slot machine-like Historical Horse Racing gambling machines. The Historical Horse Racing machines have been a huge moneymaker for Kentucky racing as well as where used in other states. The problem comes from other states legalizing the usage of those machines through their state legislatures, where Kentucky approved them through the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. Now, Kentucky is facing opposition for their use from opposing groups and is in the process of having legislative approval to continue their cash flow to racing.

Fortunately, Kentucky legislators did vote to approve Senate Bill 120, after clarification of what constitutes pari-mutuel wagering. The bill now goes to Governor Andy Beshear, who has expressed his support for it.

B. Wayne Hughes, owner of Spendthrift Farm, in Lexington, Ky, has said, “The breeders are the backbone of our industry.” It is hard to argue that point. Most horses bred by Spendthrift Farm go to auction, although they do keep some to race, according to General Manager Ned Toffey.

“These breeders’ incentives are very good programs,” Toffey offered. “Into Mischief had a number of Louisiana-breds when he was getting started, which was useful. We’ve also used the Pennsylvania and New York programs. Normally, if we’re going to use one of those programs, it’s because we have a stallion standing in those states. We may drop a foal by one of our first-year stallions standing here in Kentucky, then breed the mare back to our stallion standing in that state.”

Toffey mentioned they have found it tough to find the types and numbers of mares they look for in the regional programs. Current Spendthrift stallions are able to get a good, solid book of mares at home.

“If we have just the right horse for a regional program, we’re happy to utilize them, but with the horses we’ve brought in, in recent years, we’ve been able to get the numbers we felt they needed here for the most part.”

Change Concerns & Improvements

Louisiana has changed their state-bred rules beginning with foals of 2021. Babies out of resident mares, sired by Louisiana-domiciled stallions will receive full breeder awards per the schedule established by the Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association Board of Directors.

Foals out of resident mares, sired by out-of-state stallions and bred back to Louisiana stallions will collect 90 percent. Foals out of Louisiana-residing mares, sired by out-of-state stallions and bred back to out-of-state stallions will receive 50 percent of full breeder awards.

Previously, breeders could send a mare to an out-of-state stallion, but that foal could not be an accredited Louisiana-bred unless the mare was bred back to a Louisiana-based stallion.

Not all Louisiana stallion owners are happy with the new schedule. Jay Adcock, owner of Red River Farm in Coushatta, La., stands multiple stallions and feels the new rules will send the better mares out of state, causing a drop in the annual foal crop in his state.

“In my opinion, the better mares in Louisiana will be going out of state now,” said Adcock, who sits on the LTBA Board. “Someone like myself and others standing stallions in the state had thought they at least had a chance at someone’s better mares every other year. I keep mares for myself and for other commercial breeders. They have already told me I have no chance of breeding those mares. It’s really going to penalize somebody with a young stallion. This is my opinion, but there’s a bunch of us that actually think that.”

“I’m a mare proponent,” Adcock added. “Yes, I want a nice stallion, but I do believe it is the mares that prove a horse.”

Adcock has concerns about the Louisiana foal crop shrinking due to the new rules. Commercial breeders sending a mare to Kentucky will most likely return that baby to the larger Kentucky market to sell. It doesn’t seem a reach to assume those auctions would bring a better price than in Louisiana.

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“Bon Appétit” - how to encourage and maintain appetite throughout the season

By Catherine Rudenko

Encouraging and maintaining appetite throughout aseason can become a serious challenge. The best planned feeding program in the world is of no use if the horse simply does not eat as required to sustain performance. There are multiple factors that can lead to poor appetite for horses in training – some relating to health, some relating to physical properties of the feed or forage, along with behavioral considerations.

What is a normal appetite?

Grain-based feeds are an important requirement for a horse in training.

Before we can fairly state a particular horse has a poor appetite, we must first have an idea of what a normal appetite range is. The horse has a given capacity within its digestive tract and an appetite appropriate to this. Horses will typically consume 2-3% of their body weight each day on a dry matter basis – in other words not accounting for fluid intake or any moisture found in the forages. This equates to 10-15kg (or 22-33lbs) per day for a 500kg-weight (or 1100lb) racehorse. As fitness increases, it is normal for appetite to reduce, and most horses will eat closer to 2% of their body weight. The energy requirement of a horse in training is such that they dependent on a large amount of grain-based “hard feeds,” which for the majority form 7-9kg (or 15-19lbs) of the diet each day. With a potential appetite of 10-15kg (or 22-33lbs) we are, for some individuals, running close to their likely appetite limit. The most immediate effect of a reduction in appetite is the reduction in energy intake. Horses require a large amount of calories, typically 26,000 to 34,000 cal per day when in full training. Comparatively, an average active human will require only 3,000 cal per day. Just one bowl of a racing feed can contain 4,500 cal, and so feed leavers that regularly leave a half or quarter of a bowl at each meal time really can be missing out. Forage is equally a source of calories, and a reduction of intake also affects total calorie intake.

• Physical form of feed and forage

The physical form of the bucket feed can affect feed intake due to simple time constraints. Morning and lunch time feeds are more common times at which to find feed left behind. Different feed materials have different rates of intake – due to the amount of chewing required – when fed at the same weight. To give an example, 1kg (or 2lbs) of oats will take 850 chews and only 10 minutes to consume in comparison with 1kg of forage taking up to 4,500 chews and 40 minutes to consume. Meals that require a high amount of chewing – while beneficial from the point of view of saliva production (the stomach’s natural acid buffer – can result in feed “refusal” as there is simply too much time required. Cubes are often eaten more easily as they are dense, providing less volume than a lighter, “fluffier” coarse mix ration. Inclusion of chaff in the meal also slows intake, which can be beneficial, but not for all horses. Any horse noted as a regular feed leaver ideally needs smaller meals with less chewing time. Keeping feed and forage separate can make a significant difference. The choice of forage is important for appetite. Haylage is more readily consumed, and horses will voluntarily eat a greater amount. The study below compares multiple forage sources for stabled horses. Another factor relating to forages is the level of NDF present. NDF (neutral detergent fiber) is a lab measure for forage cell wall content – looking at the level of lignin, cellulose and hemi-cellulose. As a grass matures, the level of NDF changes. The amount a horse will voluntarily consume is directly related to the amount of NDF present. Analyzing forage for NDF, along with ADF, the measure relating to digestibility of the plant, is an important practice that can help identify if the forage is likely to be well received. Alfalfa is normally lower in NDF and can form a large part of the daily forage provision for any horse with a limited appetite. As alfalfa is higher in protein – should it become a dominant form of daily fiber – then a lower protein racing feed is advisable. Racing feeds now range from 10% up to 15% protein, and so finding a suitable balance is easily done.

• B vitamins

B vitamins are normally present in good quantity in forages, and the horse itself is able to synthesize B vitamins in the hindgut. Between these sources a true deficiency rarely exists. Horses with poor appetite are often supplemented with B12 among other B vitamins. Vitamin B12 is a cofactor for two enzymes involved in synthesis of DNA and metabolism of carbohydrates and fats. Human studies where a B12 deficiency exists have shown an improvement in appetite when subjects were given a daily dose of B12.(3) As racehorses are typically limited in terms of forage intake and their hindgut environment is frequently challenged, through nutritional and physiological stresses, it is reasonable to consider that the racehorse, while not deficient, may be running on a lower profile. Anecdotal evidence in horses suggests B12 supplementation positively affects appetite as seen in humans. Another area of interest around B vitamin use is depression. Horses can suffer from depression and in much the same way as in the human form, this can affect appetite. …

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Robert and Lawana Low AND John Sondereker

By Bill Heller

Robert and Lawana Low – Colonel Liam

Long ago in business, Robert Low found that success is much more appreciated if it follows disappointment. That’s what happened with his now massive truck company, Prime Inc., in Springfield, Mo. The business he started by buying a single dump truck when he was a 19-year-old attending the University of Missouri, prospered, tanked and recovered three years later to the point that it now has a fleet of more than 21,000 vehicles, approximately 10,000 employees, a gross revenue of $2.2 billion, and in January 2020, was recognized as one of the Top 20 Best Fleets to Drive For by Carrier’s Edge/TCA for the fourth consecutive year.

“About 1980, we went flat broke,” he said. “We spent 3 ½ years in Chapter 11. We then built the business model that is successful today. I think if the success continued from the 1970s to now, I would have been spoiled, unappreciative and somewhat arrogant. I learned my lesson. I learned it well.”

With Thoroughbreds, he spent $1.2 million to purchase his gray, four-year-old colt Colonel Liam as a two-year-old-in-training in April 2019. “We thought we were buying a Derby horse,” Low said.

Instead, Colonel Liam got a late start, finishing second in a maiden race last April 14, when he was placed first on a disqualification, then a distant third on a sloppy track in an allowance race. “He was an expensive two-year-old-in-training,” Low said. “You’re disappointed.”

His trainer, Todd Pletcher, said, “He has more than what he’s showing. We’re going to give him a shot on turf in an allowance race.”

Bingo. “He was like a different horse,” Low said. “He took off. He’s very comfortable on the turf surface—how he moves.”

On January 23 at Gulfstream Park, Colonel Liam moved into a new status, taking the $1 million Gr1 Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational by a neck over his stable-mate in the Pletcher barn, Largent. “This is just unreal,” Low said after the race. “It’s fantastic. It’s a wonderful feeling.”

It’s a feeling he shared with his wife of 48 years, Lawana—and sweethearts since the fifth grade in Urbana, Mo. Robert lived on a farm. “She lived in town,” he said. “When I rode my horse in the Christmas parade, we flirted.”

She loved horses, too. “They’re wonderful owners,” Pletcher said. “They love the sport, and they love their horses.”

Robert not only grew up with horses on his family’s farm, but he’d accompany his parents—both racing fans—on trips to Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark. He’d ride his horses against neighboring farms’ kids “on hard-gravel roads. Asked if he was a rider, he replied, “I was more of a cowboy.”

In college, he took a mighty risk buying a dump truck, which led to an open-road truck, then other trucks—lots of other trucks. “You have to do it when you’re young and dumb,” he said. “In my case, it was really a lot of luck involved, a lot of hard work involved.”

When the prime interest shot higher, he was suddenly in trouble. “I made a million dollars in 1979, and I went into bankruptcy in 1980,” he said.

He is so thankful that Lawana helped him through that rough period of his life. “God bless her,” he said. “My wife has stuck with me through thick and thin.”

When his business returned healthier than ever, Robert and Lawanda went after their dreams. “We bought just a couple of mares at first, because we always had a dream of having a breeding farm,” he said. Now, the Lows have a 330-acre farm, home to dozens of their horses.

His first star was Capote Belle, an incredibly quick filly who won the Gr1 Test Stakes at Saratoga in 1996, for trainer Daniel Peitz and jockey John Velazquez. “We were over the moon,” Robert said. “An historic track. We’re country folks. We had our friends with us. We closed down a few places that night. I think it was Johnny V’s first Gr1 win at Saratoga.”

Capote Belle finished nine-for-22 with more than $600,000 in purses.

With Todd Pletcher as their trainer, the Lows had another highlight when their Magnum Moon won the Gr2 Rebel Stakes and the Gr1 Arkansas Derby in 2018, making him four-for-four in his career. “That was the thrill of our lives because Oaklawn has been a part of our lives for so long,” Robert said. “It’s not Saratoga, but it’s got a lot of ambiance.”

Magnum Moon’s next start was his last. He finished 19th in the Kentucky Derby, and he was retired after suffering an injury while training at Belmont Park in June 2018. The following October, he had to be euthanized after battling laminitis.

The Lows have another outstanding runner trained by Pletcher: Sweet Melania, a four-year-old filly who has won three of nine starts, including a Gr2 and a Gr3 stakes, with two seconds, three thirds and earnings topping $400,000. Just as Colonel Liam did, Sweet Melania made her first two starts on dirt, finishing third twice. On turf, she turned into a star. “We’re looking forward to her return,” Robert said.

Irad Ortiz Jr. and Colonel Liam after winning the 2021 Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational.

Colonel Liam’s improvement on grass was striking. He won his grass debut—a maiden race at Saratoga—by 2 ¾ lengths. His next start was in the $500,000 Saratoga Derby Invitational last August 15. He had a brutal trip, getting “bumped hard at the break and pinched,” according to his comment line in the Daily Racing Form, then rallied strongly to finish fourth, losing by just three-quarters of a length.

“He had trouble,” Robert said. “He got bumped very hard at the start. Then he was behind a lot of horses. But he only got beat by three-quarters of a length. With a little luck, he would have won that race.”

Pletcher decided to give Colonel Liam a break and point to the Pegasus Turf. In his four-year-old debut at Gulfstream Park in the $75,000 Tropical Park Derby on December 30, he won going away by 2 ¼ lengths. In the Pegasus, he went off the favorite, and he delivered.

He is the star of the Lows’ stable, which numbers about 60 including 16 broodmares, 14 yearlings, 19 juveniles and 12 horses with Pletcher, Peitz and Steve Margolis.

”I am living the dream,” Robert said. “For a small-farm kid, it’s been quite a ride. I’ve been very fortunate.”

******************************************

John Sondereker – Kiss Today Goodbye

Sixty years ago, John Sondereker got a taste of the tantalizing possibilities racing can offer. He was 18 and in his third year working for trainer Jerry Caruso at Ascot Park, a small track in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. Because Caruso knew Ohio-based Jack and Katherine Price—the trainer, owner and breeder of Carry Back—Sondereker was able to tag along with Caruso’s foreman to see the 1961 Kentucky Derby. “I went down in a pick-up truck,” Sondereker said. “That was my first Derby.”

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Managing Stable Vices - Are they vices or a product of their environment?

By Georgie White

We often see the word “vice” used in the equestrian world to describe an undesirable behavior completed by a horse; these are often repetitive behaviors completed either at certain times of the day, prior to or following a particular event or activity which causes the horse stress for whatever reason. When we look to the dictionary definition of a vice, the words “immoral,” “corrupt” and “wicked” are synonymous; but these are all words used to describe premeditated or deliberate acts of wrongdoing. When we consider that these are horses we are talking about, they simply do not have the cognitive ability to do this. As humans, we tend to over complicate and anthropomorphize animal behavior, likening it to our own and thus presuming horses complete these behaviors for far more complex reasons.

Recently the term vice has been replaced with a more correct term: “stereotypical behaviors” or “stereotypies,” which encompasses any behavior deemed to deviate from normal behavior and has resulted from the horse coping with a challenge or stress. On the surface, the behaviors appear apparently functionless, but when understood as a coping mechanism rather than a premeditated misdeed, we can begin to understand what that behavior serves the horse, if only temporarily.

What is stress?

Stress is the body’s response to a potentially threatening situation and is experienced by humans and animals alike and even serves as a function to keep the animal alive. Presence of a short-term stressor such as a predator serves to kick-start the fight or flight response, which is part of the acute stress response. Stress can be divided into two subtypes: acute and chronic, which are dealt with by the body very differently. They also result in several different physiological adaptations that are notable when discussing stereotypical behavior.

Acute stress refers to a short event or episode that causes a temporary increase in heart rate, respiratory rate, salivary cortisol levels, increased blood pressure and muscle tension. In relatively healthy animals, once the stressful event has passed, these body parameters will return to a base-line normal. These short episodes are not always necessarily bad and can help a horse learn and adapt to their environment. As horse handlers, we also know we can help a horse habituate to a common stressor by regularly introducing them to it and giving them a positive experience. Over time, their stress response will become less severe, and thus they will learn to cope with it reoccurring.

Chronic stress refers to emotional pressure suffered for a prolonged period of time, which an individual perceives to have little to no control of—the latter part being key in horses. Stereotypical behaviors will often occur during times where horses cannot control their environment. Stabled horses are most likely to display stereotypical behaviors because they are often in a situation when they cannot immediately change their environment or remove themselves from a particular stressor. Symptoms of chronic stress include weight loss, decreased appetite, negative demeanor or aggressive tendencies.

Horses suffering from chronic stress sometimes go unnoticed because the signs are more subtle; there is no pounding heart rate, sweating, increased breathing rate or more obvious cues that handlers may associate with a typically stressed horse. The other problem is that stereotypical behaviors can go ignored or become “just something they do.”

There is a common link between horses who display stereotypical behaviors and those diagnosed with gastric ulcers as both are closely related to chronic stress. There is debate over cause and effect, whether the horse performs these behaviors in an attempt to ease the discomfort of gastric ulcers or if those performing stereotypies are chronically stressed and at higher risk of developing gastric ulcers.

Typical stereotypical behaviors

There are several common stereotypical behaviors seen in domesticated horses, and they can be divided into two simple categories: oral and locomotor.

Oral stereotypies include crib biting, wind sucking and wood chewing; there is varied opinion suggesting these behaviors may provide temporary alleviation of stomach discomfort.

Oral stereotypies include crib biting, wind sucking and wood chewing; there is varied opinion suggesting these behaviors may provide temporary alleviation of stomach discomfort, but this is a question for cause and effect. Locomotor stereotypies include weaving, box/fence walking and door kicking. These behaviors expend a lot of energy, especially if the horse devotes a significant amount of time to this behavior and as a result, the horse can be prone to losing or maintaining condition.

There is research to suggest that if performed for long enough, stereotypical behaviors become a habit; and act as a reward to the horse, the release of endorphins occurs which reinforces repetition. Further to this, it can also be preempted by a horse who regularly experiences the same stressor at the same time of the day, each day and will therefore begin the behavior before the stressful event occurs.

Individual horses will vary in the degree of persistence and vigor to which the behavior is performed; and this largely depends on how much of the horse’s time is devoted to the behavior and how often the trigger event occurs in the horse’s routine. Some horses with stereotypies will appear to have a generally nervous demeanor, and others are relatively even-tempered and well-adjusted animals who otherwise do not appear to be suffering adversely from their environment. Some horse owners will notice a trigger or a marker that often sets off the behavior, in this case the stereotypy is easier to manage (e.g., ensuring that the horse is turned out first or fed first to prevent weaving or door kicking). When there appears to be no causative link, solving the stereotypy may become quite difficult especially if the horse has routinely done it for some time, as this becomes an ingrained habit.

A little about anatomy

The left hemisphere controls routine, internally directed or self-motivated behaviors in relatively low stress and familiar environments; examples would include foraging and grooming other horses. On the other hand, the right hemisphere is responsible for environmental-motivated behaviors, emotional arousal and unexpected or threatening stimuli; this refers to natural behaviors that have been redirected to other objects or pastimes when the previously innate option is not available. These may include crib biting, bed foraging and wind sucking.

The horse’s brain and associated physiology is quite different from the human; in part this can be attributed to the fact that horses are prey animals, and their innate fight or flight response is regularly triggered. …

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On the bridle - Scientific research uncovers the performance advantages of reducing bridle pressure - which type of bridle works best for which type of horse

By Dr. Russell Mackechnie-Guire

Using a modified bridle design has a significant impact on whole horse locomotion–front and hindlimb–not just the head.

Recent scientific advances have seen an increase in performance-based research, particularly in the sport horse world where a podium finish can depend on the smallest of margins. The findings from the sport horse research can be translated to the racing Thoroughbred where the shortest distance can put you first past the post. All items of training tack and equipment have found themselves under scientific scrutiny, with some unexpected results which could have significant effects on racehorse performance. Perhaps one of the most surprising discoveries was the effect that bridle fit and design has on the locomotor apparatus of the horse (biomechanics). The bridle is a neglected item of tack which has, until now, received little scientific attention.

• Ahead of the game

As well as improving locomotion, these findings could have a significant benefit when it comes to resolving common issues affecting race performance, such as oral lesions in the commissures (corners) of the lips, tongue lolling and hanging, as well as steering or control issues. Research indicates that these behaviors are likely to occur as a result of the horse seeking relief from bridle pressure and instability. Tongue ties or Australian nosebands are two examples of gadgets traditionally used to remedy these issues, but they have their own welfare and pressure-inducing concerns. A more effective solution would be to remove the primary cause of discomfort which leads to the negative or undesirable behavior by using a modified pressure-relieving bridle design.

• Pressure head

Research using a calibrated pressure sensor mat, which was positioned beneath all parts of the bridle, revealed interesting findings and disproved some long-held assumptions. It had long been thought that horses experience bridle pressure directly on their poll. In contrast, the research team found no significant areas of pressure over the poll. Instead, areas of high peak pressure were located at the base of the ears in the region where the browband attaches to the headpiece. Anatomically this corresponds to the

temporomandibular joint (TMJ). The TMJ is an essential part of the physiological apparatus, associated with the swallow reflex and the hyoid apparatus (see anatomy panel). The location of pressure (base of the ear and TMJ) was consistent in all commonly used headpieces and occurred at the same moment in the stride, regardless of the make or design. The research team also used gait analysis where markers are placed on the horse’s anatomical locations (joints), allowing locomotion to be measured. This enabled them to quantify how front and hindlimb kinematics altered, revealing an increased range of limb motion when the peak pressures in the anatomical zones were removed.

• Noseband knowledge

Aspects of anatomy

Published research has shown that nosebands, as well as the headpiece, can be associated with extremely high pressure and distribution, and therefore also have significant effects on equine locomotion. From the research it was found that maximum noseband pressure was located on either side of the nasal bone, causing compression of the soft tissues in this area.

Similar to the headpiece, the timing and location of the noseband pressures were consistent in every stride cycle. During locomotion, noseband pressures differed relative to the horse’s head position. When the head was positioned more horizontally (for example when galloping), the frequently- chosen cavesson exerted significantly higher pressures on the lower edge of the noseband, which was associated with a reduced range of motion. Previous studies from this group have shown that reducing high pressures beneath a girth and saddle is associated with improved locomotion. The same relationship is seen with the bridle; areas of high pressures beneath the headpiece and noseband have a significant effect on equine locomotion and cause the horse to develop a compensatory locomotor strategy.

Aspects of anatomy

A specially designed Mexican grackle, which sits higher on the side of the horse’s head above the main artery and vein running under the facial crest, was found to exert the least pressure and, consequently, was associated with an improved locomotion and increased joint range of motion.

It might be easy to assume that removing the noseband removes the problem, but this has been shown to be counterproductive. A noseband provides stability to the bridle and improves the interface between bridle and head. It has been shown that horses perform better when the bridle (and all equipment) is stable. Horses require stability in order to effectively transfer propulsive forces from the hindlimbs to propel their mass forward. If the horse is unstable, it will seek a stabilizing strategy, which consequently will induce asymmetry and a loss in performance. The use of a noseband to improve bridle stability could therefore improve the locomotor apparatus, give the jockey a more refined contact and help influence gallop efficiency more effectively.

• A bit of stability

As well as stabilizing the bridle, bit stability is likely to be improved in a bridle with a noseband. …

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#Soundbites - With increased restrictions on the use of Lasix beginning this year, should tracks have protocols for horses’ environment in the barn concerning ventilation, air flow and bedding?

Compiled by Bill Heller

With increased restrictions on the use of Lasix beginning this year, should tracks have protocols for horses’ environment in the barn concerning ventilation, air flow and bedding?

Christophe Clement

It’s now a new thing. The environment is very important; I think about it every single day of my life because I think about my horses every single day of my life. Creating the best environment is very important. I’m a strong believer in fresh air. The more fresh air, the better. The more time you can keep them out of their stalls and grazing, the better. It shouldn’t be done by the tracks. Individuals should do it.

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Peter Miller

Peter Miller

It’s a horrible idea to begin with. Restricting Lasix is a horrible idea. That’s where I’m coming from. It doesn’t really matter what they do. Horses are going to always bleed without Lasix. It’s really environment. You can have the best barn in the world, the best ventilation, the best bedding; horses will still bleed without it. Those are all good practices. I use those practices with Lasix. You want clean air. You want all these things as part of animal husbandry. You want those things. But It’s a moot point without Lasix.

****************************************

Kenny McPeek

Kenny McPeek

Yes. I think it’s good that tracks maintain the proper environment. Enclosed ventilation in barns is bad for everybody, depending on what surface you’re on. There are open-air barns and racetracks which have poor environments. It’s very important. Horses need a clean environment.

****************************************

Ian Wilkes

It definitely would help. A closed environment is not natural for horses. You have to get them out, getting fresh air and grazing. With some tracks, there are no turnouts. There’s not a lot of room. I think it’s very important. It’s not good when you get away from horses living naturally and having nature take care of them. It gets dusty in barns with a closed environment. Even if you have the best bedding, if you pay the top dollar and you get this tremendous straw, when you shake it, it’s still dusty. Horses have allergies like people.

Ian Wilkes

****************************************

Jamie Ness

I think it’s very important. I think it really depends on where you are. At Delaware Park, they have open barns with a lot of ventilation. But that’s in the summer. I’m at Parx, just 50 miles away, in the winter time, and we have to keep the barn closed. It’s cold out there. It stays warm inside, but you have 40 horses in stalls with low ceilings. The ventilation isn’t that great.

****************************************

Gary Gullo

Gary Gullow

With or without Lasix, I believe good ventilation, bedding and good quality hay is the best thing for horses. Trainers need to have that. With dust and the environment, the daily stuff 24 hours a day, it definitely helps a horse to get good ventilation.

****************************************

Mitch Friedman

No. Absolutely not. The tracks have no idea what’s right or wrong. They’re making up rules as they go along. No Lasix. Yes Lasix. This is why the game changed. I worked horses for Hobeau (Farm). If a horse was hurt, they sent him back to the farm. Then they sent three other ones. Farms don’t exist anymore where they turn horses out. The more regulations and rules, it gets worse over the years. The problem is this, in my opinion. I was an assistant trainer for Gasper Moschera. He never had horses break down because they raced every month. Gasper would jog them. Now with Scoot Palmer, these races can’t be run because they’ll suffer breakdowns. The game was never like that. They keep coming up with rules that make it harder and harder.

****************************************

John Sadler

John Sadler

Yes. My experience is that better ventilation, more air, is really good at preventing airborne disease. Good ventilation is key. The one thing we try to do is eliminate dust in the barn. We ask our grooms to do it. Don’t fluff up their straw while they’re in the stall. Wait until they’re out to control the environment. Getting fresh air is very important.

*****************************************

With or without Lasix, I believe good ventilation, bedding and good quality hay is the best thing for horses. Trainers need to have that. With dust and the environment, the daily stuff 24 hours a day, it definitely helps a horse to get good ventilation.

****************************************

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Alan Balch - "Socialist impertinence?"

By Alan F. Balch

“On, no,” you’re saying to yourself, “not more politics!”

But stop and think: American racing is and has been since the 1930s essentially political, since it’s a state-regulated industry. It’s about to add another layer of government regulation, now that in their mutual wisdom The Jockey Club, United States Congress, and former President of the United States have just enacted new legislation to elaborate racing regulation still further. And complicate it?

The last time I wrote about subjects I’m going to raise again here, I was accused by one of our most prominent readers of being a “socialist,” and that sprang to mind when I was assailed the same way very recently by another prominent personage. I know that one of them is a strong supporter of the new “Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act,” or HISA.

My former students at Harvard College would get a serious jolt out of that accusation; they used to call the classes in Government I taught “Firing Line,” after William F. Buckley’s right-wing conservative television program of the day. I once read aloud to them paragraphs from a Lincoln Day speech delivered by a prominent politician, and largely written by one of my academic mentors who had been showered in infamy for his work with Barry Goldwater. I didn’t tell them that, of course. And then I asked them who they believed delivered those ringing sentiments.

“JFK,” came shouted back. “FDR. Justice [Hugo] Black. Justice Douglas.” Liberal lions all. Then I read another famous line from the same speech, about the “nattering nabobs of negativism,” and they all realized the parts of the speech they loved had also been delivered by one Spiro T. Agnew, former Vice President of the United States.

Labels, like stereotypes, are diversions from objective analysis. As we assess what ails our sport, and ideas to improve it, labeling a person or an idea “socialist” (or anything else) is just plain counterproductive. We have to confront objective reality and consider all possible corrective means.

A hundred years ago – when this really was the Sport of Kings -- it relied then as it still does now on all the commoners. Both kings and commoners love to bet, but there are way more of the latter than the former, and now a great many owners are commoners, too. Back then, virtually everyone recognized that a sport so afflicted with temptations to dishonesty and corruption needed serious governmental oversight if it was to survive and prosper. Yet our racing forefathers were hardly “socialists”!

So were born pari-mutuel wagering, the totalizator, and testing for forbidden substances, among countless rules across dozens of American states to build and retain public confidence in the integrity of our sport. Does such government intrusion and oversight smack of “socialism”? To some or many, yes. And they bring with them their own problems of potential misconduct and unfairness in administration. Whether king or commoner, whether citizen or government official, we all share one thing: human nature.

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