Ky. Racing Commission approves limit on toe grabs
LEXINGTON, Ky.: Horses racing on Kentucky tracks next year could be running more naturally under a rule approved by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission on Monday.
Under the new guidelines, horses would not be permitted to race on toe grabs more than 2 millimeters long. The equipment, used on tracks for decades to help horses gain traction on the dirt, has come under fire recently after experts found the accumulation of mud under toe grabs while running puts too much pressure on the bones in a horse's front legs.
"If they put their foot down at a bad angle, and that toe grab grabs, they're going to have a catastrophic injury," KHRC chief steward John Veitch said. "Where if they slide, they're not going to have that, so the plusses far outweigh the minuses."
The filly Eight Belles, who was euthanized on the track at Churchill Downs following a breakdown moments after finishing second in the Kentucky Derby in May, was wearing toe grabs at the time of the accident. The length of the toe grabs Eight Belles was wearing during the race was unclear, though KHRC executive director Lisa Underwood said it didn't appear to factor in her death.
The toe grab rule could go into effect as early as the fall, though the KHRC's lengthy regulatory process makes it more likely the measure won't be on the books until 2009.
Next year is also likely the earliest new rules regarding steroids could go into effect. Gov. Steve Beshear named Dr. Jerry Yon as chair of the Equine Drug Research Council last week. Yon said Monday he hopes to "bring clarity" to the KHRC's stance on steroids.
The KHRC made no move to address the issue on Monday, though Underwood said the commission is "moving rapidly" toward a new steroids policy.
The KHRC also reported that deaths of horses on Kentucky tracks are down slightly so far this year compared with last year. There were seven fatal breakdowns at Churchill Downs during its recently completed spring meet. That's down from 10 at the 2007 spring meet.
Overall, there have been 17 fatal injuries at state tracks in 2008 compared with 18 during the first half of 2007.
Big Brown trainer Rick Dutrow will have a hearing with Underwood on July 29. Dutrow is appealing a 15-day suspension for having one of his horses test too high for the drug Clenbuterol.
Another top trainer, Steve Asmussen, was fined $250 by the KHRC for using abusive language while arguing with a starter at Churchill Downs on May 1, two days before the Derby.
(c) 2008 the International Herald Tribune
Steroid testing to begin : Not all trainers agree with the eventual ban
The California Horse Racing Board will begin testing for certain anabolic steroids effective Tuesday in a major step toward banning the drugs.
California is one of 28 states allowing the use of anabolic steroids in horses, but national racing bodies such as the Jockey Club have advocated their elimination by the end of the year.
The most commonly used anabolic steroids in the sport are testosterone, boldenone, nandropolone and stanozolol. The first three of those are naturally occurring in horses and because of detection capabilities, a threshold level of 1 part per billion will apply to all four.
For the first few months of testing, warnings will be given in all cases in which the thresholds are exceeded. After that, the steroids will be reclassified so that violations will result in disqualifications and redistribution of purse money.
"Anabolic steroids mimic the male hormone testosterone," CHRB medical director Dr. Rick Arthur said in a news release. "They change the horse both physically and mentally. The mental change is the most dramatic. They help horses eat better and withstand the mental stress of hard training. The horses become more aggressive. Some horses clearly get bigger and stronger.
"Obviously, increased strength and a tougher mental attitude all would be considered positive traits in a racehorse, artificially produced positive traits. Anabolic steroids allow horses to train harder. Perhaps, too hard. Over-training is a significant factor in many of the catastrophic injuries suffered by our horses.
"Therefore, in addition to the performance-enhancing issues, eliminating anabolic steroids could very well have a favorable, long-term impact on the longevity of horses' racing careers."
A public firestorm concerning horse safety was fanned by the death of the filly Eight Belles after her second-place finish in the Kentucky Derby. The flames grew when Rick Dutrow Jr., the trainer of Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Big Brown, revealed that he gave Winstrol (the brand name for stanozolol) to all of his horses each month.
Michael Iavarone of IEAH Stables - the majority owner of Big Brown - announced last week that by Oct. 1 all of his horses would run drug-free, with the exception of the anti-bleeding medication Lasix.
Several Bay Area trainers said they used Equipoise (the brand name for boldenone) on about 25 percent of their horses.
"I give it once a month to my geldings and fillies that are poor doers," trainer Steve Specht said. "It puts them on their toes and gets them to eat better. Without it they won't be able to run back as frequently. It doesn't make them run any better, it only brings them back quicker."
Specht is not totally against new medication rules, but he would like to see them employed consistently across the nation.
"Uniform rules would be good," he said. "We need people who know what's going on in the racing business to handle it."
Jerry Hollendorfer believes Equipoise is therapeutic.
"Equipoise is a wonderful drug, and a lot of people use it on a regular basis," he said. "It's become a political issue. People are responding to political pressure. It's a small percentage of people who abuse these kinds of things."
Hollendorfer disagrees with the argument that the liberal use of medications is a major cause for a growing fragility of the thoroughbred breed.
"A lot of our best horses have been sold to Europe, Saudi Arabia and Japan," he said. "They're buying a lot of the top bloodlines. We have to deal with what horses are here. It's like major-league baseball; a lot more players play because of expansion. More horses are getting to run than ever before."
Greg Gilchrist believes the outcry over steroids in sports like baseball has filtered down to horse racing.
"Had baseball not had a steroids scandal, we wouldn't even be talking," he said. "It's ridiculous to equate humans taking anabolic steroids to horses taking anabolic steroids. Horses have a small window, maybe two or three years of running. Humans start on steroids as young as 16 and they compete into their 30s. It's not even comparable. This will affect me some. It will affect everybody some. I can understand both sides, but I don't think removing them completely is the answer."
(c) 2008 Hearst Communications Inc.
IEAH draws praise for drug-free approach
Major figures in thoroughbred racing praised IEAH Stables' announcement yesterday that all of its horses will race drug-free, except for the diuretic Lasix, starting Oct. 1. IEAH co-president Michael Iavarone told Newsday Sunday that he wanted to take the first step toward creating a national zero-tolerance policy like those of Europe and Dubai.
Case Clay is president of Three Chimneys Farm in Kentucky, where Big Brown will stand at stud next year. Clay backed the bold initiative by the part-owner of the Kentucky Derby/Preakness winner. "Our industry is under a microscope now," Clay said, "and I see it as only a positive that the party out in the spotlight is pushing for reform. We're very pleased by what Michael did."
Jess Jackson, majority owner of Curlin, the 2007 Horse of the Year, testified Thursday at a House subcommittee hearing on drugs and breakdowns. Caroline Shaw, a spokeswoman for Jackson, said: "We think it's a huge positive for the industry. Mr. Jackson has taken a longtime stand in favor of zero tolerance."
Iavarone was gratified by the response. "This really has caught fire," the Holbrook resident said last night. "I got some very good feedback from some prominent owners. I'm afraid that at first there will be only a small number of owners doing it, but I think later others will join in."
On March 29 in Dubai, the same night Curlin dominated the $6-million Dubai World Cup, trainer Rick Dutrow won two stakes, including the $2-million Golden Shaheen with IEAH's Benny the Bull. Six weeks later, Dutrow drew fire after saying Big Brown received Winstrol, a mild anabolic steroid, before the Kentucky Derby.
As Clay said, "I think there's a misconception in the public eye about the issue of Winstrol and performance. Big Brown didn't win the Derby because of Winstrol. So if it isn't a factor, why not just don't use it?"
Iavarone agrees. "What's the sense of having a talent like Big Brown," he said, "if when the horse goes out and does it in big races, you have to be second-guessed?"
IEAH leads the nation in 2008 earnings with $5.86 million, and Iavarone fears no downturn. "We'll be fine," he said, "because it's only the lousy horses that need drugs." He said IEAH will pay to test its 50-plus horses before and after races and donate all purse money to thoroughbred-related charities if any drug but Lasix is detected.
Alex Waldrop, CEO of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, also testified at last week's hearing. "The NTRA applauds Mr. Iavarone and IEAH Stables for their commitment to integrity in racing," Waldrop said in a statement. "By voluntarily agreeing to run free of all drugs and therapeutic medications except Lasix, they are removing suspicion that might otherwise overshadow the performances of Big Brown and their other horses. We hope other owners will follow suit."
Clay expressed doubts about that.
"Our industry has been pretty fragmented, and it's no secret that the state legislatures are calling a lot of the shots," he said. "It's state by state, so it's like herding cats. I'm hopeful everyone falls into line, but with state control involved, your guess is as good as mine."
Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.), a leader of the House subcommittee, was even more skeptical. He called IEAH's move a good sign, but doesn't expect to see other owners lining up behind it. "I'm confident there's not going to be a mass stampede by owners," Whitfield told The Associated Press. "There are owners in some states who fear they would be less competitive."
(c) 2008, Newsday Inc.
Report of Horse Deaths Creates More Questions
Over the past five years, 3,035 thoroughbreds, standardbreds and quarter horses have died at racing facilities, but not all of them on the racetrack or in racing-related accidents, according to statistics provided to a Congressional subcommittee by the Association of Racing Commissioners International.
In the wake of the injury and on-track euthanizing of the filly Eight Belles in the Kentucky Derby, the numbers provide a snapshot of the peril racehorses face. The R.C.I., a nonprofit trade association, concluded that over that five-year period there were 2,427,561 starters, and the number of deaths amounted to .125 percent.
"When you look at the numbers, what they show is that 99.875 percent of the time when a horse starts a race, they walk off safely afterwards," said Ed Martin, president of the R.C.I., which compiled the data used in the report.
"There's no historical perspective to put them in," he said. "Some people say things have gotten worse, others say they have gotten better. Right now, it's largely anecdotal. We're as curious as Congress about the magnitude of the problem, and support their efforts. We'd like to see a large-scale research project into catastrophic injuries funded as well."
The House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection will have a hearing Thursday titled "Breeding, Drugs, and Breakdowns: The State of Thoroughbred Racing and the Welfare of the Thoroughbred Racehorse." Its chairman, Representative Bobby Rush, Democrat of Illinois, and ranking minority member, Ed Whitfield, Republican of Kentucky, appear to want to create a central body to govern horse racing, similar to the British Horseracing Authority.
Among other materials the subcommittee requested from the individual racing commissions was a breakdown of trainers penalized for medication or performance-enhancing drug infractions in the last five years.
Of the approximately 15,000 licensed horse trainers in the United States, 1,335, or 8.9 percent, have been cited for medication violations, Martin said. Of 1,897 individual medication violations during the past five years, slightly more than two-thirds - 67.6 percent - were violations for surpassing allowable levels for therapeutic medications.
"There were 167 - or 1.1 percent - of what we consider more severe violations where drugs were used clearly to enhance performance," Martin said.
Spokesmen for the subcommittee, as well as for Whitfield, did not return telephone and e-mail messages.
Martin said the subcommittee requested the information in a May 22 letter, and asked that it be compiled and in its office by June 2. He said the short turnaround time and the structure of some state racing commissions made it difficult to separate statistics for individual breeds. The R.C.I. report included numbers from 19 of the 38 racing jurisdictions. Some of the jurisdictions' individual statistics were quite specific.
The New York State Racing and Wagering Board broke down the 637 horse deaths on its harness and thoroughbred tracks over the five-year period: 388 occurred on the track, 60 occurred in training and 189 were nonracing-related deaths that occurred in the backstretch.
"The 388 deaths that occurred while racing are out of a total of 521,703 starters (.07 percent)," it reported.
In Kentucky, where medication rules are far more lenient than in other states, there were 208 deaths out of 114,668 starters, or .181 percent, the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority said.
When the subcommittee announced the hearing last Wednesday, it made it clear that it intended to use the Interstate Horse Racing Act to enforce oversight of the industry. Congress could prohibit the off-track betting that in 2007 accounted for more than 90 percent of the $15.4 billion bet on thoroughbred racing.
"The hearing will explore all aspects of the health and well-being of thoroughbred racehorses, including commercial breeding practices that emphasize speed and precocity over durability, the prevalence of performance-enhancing drugs and other medications, track surfaces, and maintenance of the tracks," a news release announcing the hearings said.
Questions sent to R.C.I., the Jockey Club and racetrack operators like Churchill Downs, Inc., which hosts the Kentucky Derby, and Magna Entertainment Corp., which owns Pimlico, where the Preakness Stakes is held, indicate the subcommittee is interested in creating an authority that will put in uniform rules.
"One of the questions that no doubt will be raised will be, 'Does the thoroughbred industry have the structure to effect change?' " said Alex Waldrop, president of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association. "We'll be addressing that."
(c) 2008 The New York Times Company
Eight Belles to be memorialized at Churchill Downs
Louisville, KY (Sports Network) - Eight Belles, the filly who was euthanized after suffering catastrophic injuries following her runner-up finish in this year's Kentucky Derby, will be memorialized at Churchill Downs.
The interment of Eight Belles' remains will be placed at the base of a tree to be planted near the Kentucky Derby Museum. The memorial will be in a courtyard near the gravesites of four Kentucky Derby winners.
"The amazing performance by Eight Belles in Kentucky Derby 134 won't soon be forgotten, and we are privileged to honor her efforts and her sacrifice," said Lynn Ashton, executive director of the Kentucky Derby Museum. "We hope our memorial will serve as a lasting tribute to this great filly, and remind every visitor who walks through our doors of her very special courage."
Also, a Grade III stakes race on the day of the Kentucky Derby will be renamed in her honor. The La Troienne, a race for three-year-old fillies, will now be known as the Eight Belles.
In addition, a series of charitable contributions will be made to the Eight Belles Memorial Fund, established by Thoroughbred Charities of America, for continued research into racehorse injuries and toward the retraining of retired thoroughbreds for secondary careers.
The track also plans to honor Eight Belles with a ceremony next year on the day of the Kentucky Derby.
(c)1996-2008 Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Big Brown a welcome presence
Big Brown delivered a standout performance in last Saturday's Preakness Stakes and has the racing industry buzzing as it awaits the final leg of racing's Triple Crown, the $1 million Belmont Stakes on June 7.
Although many thoroughbreds in recent history have attempted the sweep of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and the Belmont, the last Triple Crown winner was Affirmed in 1978. The industry dearly needs a hero and Big Brown certainly looks capable and deserving of the attention leading up to the 140th running of the Belmont.
The striking bay colt has already arrived in New York and is settled in Bobby Frankel's barn. He remains undefeated for trainer Richard Dutrow and has won all of his five previous races by a combined 39 lengths. The field is just beginning to take shape for the 1 1/2 -mile Belmont Stakes with Denis of Cork, Tale of Ekati and Casino Drive confirmed to participate at this point.
Denis of Cork ran third in the Kentucky Derby and passed on the Preakness, as did Tale of Ekati, who won the Wood Memorial. Casino Drive, who was bred in Japan, skipped both the Derby and Preakness, but has been all the rage since winning the Grade 2 Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont Park last Saturday.
The colt is bred for Belmont's distance. His dam, Better Than Honour, produced the last two winners of the Belmont Stakes, 2007 champion, Rags to Riches and Jazil.
Trained by Kazuo Fujisawa, Casino Drive is expected to work at Belmont Park this Monday. Kent Desormeaux rode Casino Drive to victory in the Peter Pan, but is also the regular rider of Big Brown. Japanese jockey Yutaka Take piloted him in his previous start, but no rider has been named for the Belmont.
Big Brown is the big story. Racing fans who wish to immerse themselves in the achievements of the undefeated colt can log onto BigBrownTripleCrown.com, a Web site with comprehensive information on the Triple Crown candidate and his quest to become the 12th thoroughbred to win the coveted title.
(c) Houston Chronicle
Big Brown may be only Derby horse in Preakness field
by MIKE WELSCH, Daily Racing Form, Special to FOXSports.com
Updated: May 4, 2008, 5:27 PM EST
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The flight to Baltimore may be a lonely one for Big Brown in the wake of his dominating victory in Saturday's Kentucky Derby.
As of Sunday morning, it appeared Big Brown would be the only member of the Derby field heading to Pimlico for the Preakness on May 17. Among the connections of horses who finished behind Big Brown in the Derby, only trainer Louie Roussel left the door open, saying he was leaning against bringing Recapturetheglory to the Preakness but that he wouldn't make a decision until Monday.
Recapturetheglory finished fifth, nearly a dozen lengths behind Big Brown, after challenging for the lead around the second turn in the Derby.
The connections of the remainder of the Derby field indicated they would either give their horses some time off or await the Belmont in five weeks for another potential meeting with Big Brown.
Big Brown looked a picture of health as he walked the shedrow in Barn 22 at Churchill Downs on Sunday morning. Trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. said the undefeated and, as of yet, still untested Big Brown came out of his 4 3/4-length victory over the ill-fated filly, Eight Belles, in good order and that he would remain at Churchill Downs until May 14 before shipping to Maryland.
Among the 3-year-olds expected to be waiting for the Derby winner in the Preakness are Kentucky Bear and El Gato Malo, both of whom were excluded from the Derby lineup due to insufficient graded earnings.
Trainer Larry Jones was at his barn at Churchill Downs and addressed a handful of reporters about the tragedy that claimed the life of the filly Eight Belles moments after she crossed the finish line second in the Derby. Jones, who trained Eight Belles, reiterated his comments of the night before that he did not believe the racing surface was in any way responsible for her injury - she broke her front ankles while galloping out - and said he felt sorry for the connections of the Derby winner considering that much of the attention that would normally have been focused on them was shifted to Eight Belles and Jones immediately after the race.
Additional reporting by Jay Privman
2008 Fox Sports Interactive Media, LLC. All rights reserved.
|
