Wednesday, May 5, 2010

“Call for jumps racing ban after horse dies” plus 3 more

“Call for jumps racing ban after horse dies” plus 3 more

Call for jumps racing ban after horse dies

Posted: 05 May 2010 04:05 PM PDT

By Laura Beavis

Updated May 6, 2010 08:39:00

Sirrocean Storm had to be euthanised after hitting the third jump.

Sirrocean Storm had to be euthanised after hitting the third jump. (7pm TV News VIC)

Animal welfare groups in Victoria are again calling for jumps racing to be banned after a horse died at Warrnambool's May Racing Carnival yesterday.

Sirrocean Storm had to be euthanased after it collided with the third obstacle during the Galleywood Hurdle.

Last year, Racing Victoria suspended jumps racing after three horses died during the May Racing Carnival.

Racing Victoria ordered the industry to reduce the number of horse deaths if the sport is to continue next year.

The president of RSPCA Victoria, Hugh Wirth, says the sport should be immediately banned.

"Not only [should] jumps racing be suspended, but the RVL board [should] to resign for incompetence," he said.

But the chairman of the Australian Thoroughbred Racehorse Owners Association, Andrew LaFontaine, says the season must be allowed to continue.

"We would hate to see any knee-jerk reaction," he said.

Racing Victoria will conduct a review of the incident.

Tags: human-interest, animals, sport, horse-racing, ballarat-3350, warrnambool-3280

First posted May 6, 2010 08:09:00

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On horse racing: Keeping it consistent

Posted: 05 May 2010 02:12 AM PDT

By MICHAEL VEITCH
On Horse Racing

The following is the third installment in a multi-column exclusive examining medication in horse racing.

Scroll to the bottom for links to previous entries in the series.

No one doubts the necessity of regulatory oversight in thoroughbred racing when it comes to medications.

The old phrase "a level playing field" matters when it comes to protecting the betting public, as well as horsemen who do their best to play by the rules.

Following the lead of other professions, the concept of zero tolerance has caught on in thoroughbred racing.

And as with other professions, this ideal has its problems.

The testing of racehorses has become super-sensitive, perhaps to the point of being counter-productive.

Dr. Stacey Oke, in an article for the June 22, 2009, edition of The Horse, addressed this point, saying that testing is so sensitive it is detecting drugs from contamination rather than the administration of them by veterinarians.

Dr. Oke noted numerous examples of collections from stalls in a study at four Louisiana tracks that yielded butazolidin, flunixin, naproxen and caffeine.

These collections also came from regulated test barns, meaning there was contamination in the very place that is supposed to be a safe and sterile environment.

Kent Stirling, the medication committee chairman of the National Horsemen's Benevolent Protective Association, addressed zero tolerance in the Fall, 2009 issue of The Horsemen's Journal.

Stirling said it should apply only to performance altering substances with no legitimate use in racing or training.

He felt that environmental substances, such as caffeine, and minute qualities of other things that mean nothing in racetrack performance should be exempt.

Stirling questioned the punishment of owners and trainers for such positives.

He also noted that horses can re-contaminate themselves from substances in their bedding, stall walls and webbing.

Another area of concern for veterinarians is the maze of rules that exist in each racing jurisdiction.

They are not uniform, and often subject to change, for reasons ranging from practical to political.

Threshold (permitted) levels and guidelines on withdrawal times, meaning how long it takes after the administration of a medication for it to clear the horse's system, are constant worries for vets and horsemen.

A notable example of the problem occurred in the 2006 edition of the rich Dubai World Cup, worth $6 million at the time.

American trainer William "Buff" Bradley sent out Brass Hat to finish second, earning $1.2 million.

However, a positive test for the medication methylprednisolone acetate, used to reduce swelling in joints, cost him the purse.

Bradley, citing a Dubai guideline saying the withdrawal time for the medication was 23 days, said he administered it 28 days before the race.

But the Emirates Racing Authority refused his argument.

The most widely-known medication in racing is probably the anti-bleeding drug Lasix, used to deal with exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage, or EIPH.

As addressed by trainers Jim Bond, Gary Contessa and Pat Kelly in the first installment of this series, it is part of the game and administered to a very high percentage of runners.

A study in late 2007 in South Africa, at the Vaal Racing and Training Center in Free State Province, dealt with the issue in an interesting way.

Two turf races, conducted seven days apart from a pool of 193 horses of both sexes and all ages, were used in the study.

The horses carried the same weight and jockeys, broke from the same post position, and were administered the same dose of either Lasix or a placebo at the same time prior to each contest.

Thus, each horse competed in one race on the drug and one horse on the placebo.

The study concluded that horses have a significantly lower chance of moderate to severe EIPH when given Lasix before a contest.

There are hundreds of studies on Lasix, and a quarter-century after its introduction for racing purposes there are still legitimate concerns regarding whether or not it masks the presence of other drugs or enhances performance.

I chose to write about the South African study because it addressed the idea of preventing a debilitating condition, something I think we can all agree on.

Next Wednesday

In the final installment, the fans have their say, with an introductory comment by Michael Amo, chairman of Saratoga Thorofan, and remarks by horseplayers at Saratoga Gaming and Raceway and the Capital District OTB system.

Previously: 

Veitch on horse racing: Playing by the rules

Horse racing: Professionals have different opinions on medications and injuries, but changes are undeniable

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Horse racing is back this weekend

Posted: 04 May 2010 10:25 PM PDT

After taking a year off due to state budget cuts horse racing is returning to the Cochise County Fairgrounds this weekend

The El Moro de Cumpas trials will take place this weekend with the finals to be in Sonoita in two weeks for the second straight year. The Sonoita Derby Trials will also take place this weekend as will the John Ray Memorial.

This will be the only weekend of horse racing in the Douglas area.

Kingman cancelled its horse races this year and Safford ran just one week instead of its usual two.

Sonoita will be the next stop on the racing circuit running April 24-25 and May 1-2 which is Kentucky Derby weekend.

Horses have been arriving at the local track in recent weeks and things are all set up and ready to go.

Cochise County Fairgrounds manager Karen Strongin is hoping the community will come out and support the races this weekend.

What happened last year was beyond anyone's control, Strongin said.

"We would have loved to have had the horse races but with the timing of the state budget cuts that was just not possible," she said.  "We want to race, we will race but we had to wait to hear from the state as to if any funds were going to be available to help us put on these races."

Gates will open at noon each day with races starting at 1 p.m.

There is an admission charge of $3 per person to the races.

 

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Crowds show up as horse racing returns to CCF

Posted: 04 May 2010 10:19 PM PDT

Thoroughbred and Quarter horse racing returned to the Cochise County Fairgrounds this past weekend and the size of the crowds seem to indicate the event was missed last year.

Early reports indicate over 4,000 people came through the gates Saturday and Sunday.

Despite all the conflicting events going on with the races fans seemed to show up in large numbers Saturday and Sunday with a new sense of appreciation for the event which was cancelled last year due in part to state budget cuts.

Even the trainers and jockeys were happy to be back in Douglas.

Longtime local trainer Ron Salmon has been coming to the Douglas races for 19 years and had a horse in the fourth race Sunday which won making the weekend more enjoyable.

"This is probably the best track there is," he said. "It's wide, it's well maintained. It's one of the better tracks we run on."

Salmon races horses all over the state and has seen his fare share of tracks. He says the horse racing environment at the Cochise County Fairgrounds is something special.

"There's no other place like it," he said. "Everybody seems to have a good time when they come here."

Not having the horse races last year hurt not only Salmon who had a hard time finding work during those "dark weeks" but also the fairgrounds and local businesses that rely on the races to help them remain open.

Salmon said he and the other trainers hope what happened last year doesn't happen again for a long time.

"It's a good track, good environment, they have plenty of stalls here for all the horses, it's an overall good atmosphere," he said.

Ten races were held each day this past weekend and the lines at the betting windows were taking bets up till the very last minute all day long.

Reports the day after the race indicate the betting held its own which is good.

Jockey Rick Oliver who rode both days in Douglas, echoed Salmon's feelings.

"I love coming down here," he said. "It's such a nice facility. The crowd seems to really get into the races. They seem to have such a great turnout year after year. … This is one of the best tracks on the fair circuit."

When Douglas was unable to host the races last year Oliver said he felt they may never come back.

"I didn't think we'd ever be down here again," he said "I really like coming here."

Oliver was a jockey for 10 years, quit for 15 and returned to riding in 2004. He has become a regular in the El Moro de Cumpas stakes winning the race in 2006 and again last year when the finals were held in Sonoita.

"I'd wish they would bring the finals back here," he said. "It helps having the border right here."

Oliver said he did not realize the significance of the El Moro de Cumpas until he got his horse back in front of the grandstand in 2006 to the cheering fans and the large group waiting to greet him with the El Moro de Cumpas trophy.

"This race means more to me than any other race all year long that I ride," he said. "The money is not all that great but this race is great for older horses. We need more races like this."

Oliver rode three different horses in the El Moro de Cumpas time trials Saturday finishing third, fourth and third in the sixth, seventh and eighth races. His horse in the eighth race Monarca Dash, qualified for the finals in Sonoita.

In 2008 another jockey, Anna Barrio, who has a big fan base of her own, told the Douglas Dispatch in a story they were doing on her she too enjoys coming to Douglas every year because the track conditions are excellent and there is a strong sense of support here for the sport.

"Its fun riding in front of a crowd that's into the race," she said. "I've done well here … I really like coming here."

An injury prevented Barrio from riding in Douglas this year.

Fairgrounds officials report they had two track records set Saturday in the seventh and eighth races of the El Moro de Cumpas trials. The first record was set in the seventh race but broken in the very next race by a Quarter Horse called Jesstifiable who was ridden by Floyd Campbell.

Jesstifiable, owned by Victor Ramos and trained by Roy Ronquillo, was one of the eight horses to advance to the El Moro de Cumpas finals which will he held in Sonoita.

The other qualifiers for the finals were Leonas TR, owned and trained by Armando Orozco; Stoli Chaser, owned by Manuel Medrano and trained by Dennis Martsteller; Lanes Luck, owned by Francisco Ayon and Abel Rodriguez and trained by Ayon;

Fly Corona Cat, owned by Y/N Horse Stables LLC and trained by Omar Lorta; Monarca Dash, owned by Jose Gallardo and trained by Alejandro Sanchez; Chicks on the Berge, owned by Chuck Stanton and trained by Ramon Fontes and Oh So Chilly owned by Victor C. Ramos and Francisco J. Rivera and trained by Roy Ronquillo

Cochise County Fairgrounds manager Karen Strongin said she was quite pleased by what she saw this past weekend.

"All of the vendors did well and were happy, there were no accidents or incidents and the whole race meet went smoothly," she said. "The Cochise County Fair Association would like to thank all of the people who attended, helped, participated and supported the horse races."

 

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