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Hmmmm... He didn't have a +ve test but failure to appear for testing surely has to be treated as +ve. The primary purpose of D&A testing is H&S. So, you would say that a jockey say with a +ve breath test on race morning should be allowed to continue to ride until they have been charged and undergone due process? -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
The recent Thoroughbred Daily News piece by Mike Repole and The Jockey Club's response were both timely and important. Regardless of where one stands on the broader debate, Mr. Repole is plainly correct on this point: the Thoroughbred industry still does not do enough to fund aftercare. For decades we relied on good will, volunteerism, and heroic nonprofit work to clean up the back end of an industry that generates enormous revenue at the front end. That model was not sustainable nor was it morally defensible. In 2011, Jack Wolf and other stakeholders recognized what many in racing would not say aloud–that there was little-to-no meaningful industry funding for retirement, rehabilitation, and rehoming. In response, the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA) was established in 2012, supported by an initial $1-million donation funded by Breeders' Cup, The Jockey Club, and Keeneland. The TAA created standards, accountability, accreditation, and a mechanism to direct funding to legitimate aftercare organizations. This was good progress, but let's be honest: aftercare funding has not grown nearly enough since 2012. The industry and the public have tolerated inertia for far too long. As a founding board member of the TAA, I was involved in its funding development and have knowledge of its history. Let's examine three key funding sources where meaningful change is overdue: public auctions, The Jockey Club registry, and the Commonwealth of Kentucky. 1). Auctions: a “starter” assessment frozen in time. Early on, the sales companies developed a mechanism whereby 0.05% of public auction sales could support the TAA–paid by sellers, buyers and the sales companies themselves. We intentionally started small (too small for my taste). The goal was to get industry buy-in, prove the concept, and expand overtime. The original structure included an “opt in” by sellers and buyers. The concern was that market participants, particularly international buyers, might resist contributing to a U.S aftercare initiative. Over the next couple of years, sales companies moved toward mandatory deductions on the seller side and buyer mechanisms that allowed opt-out. But here is the problem: we never grew beyond the starter number. Thirteen years later, the contribution is still 0.05%. That means that on a $200,000 horse, aftercare receives roughly $100 from the seller, $100 from the sales company, and $100 from the buyer (unless the buyer opts out). This assessment was never intended to stay permanently at 0.05%. It was supposed to increase within a few years. It didn't and it must. Any buyer who participates in the U.S Thoroughbred marketplace should do so with the expectation that aftercare funding is part of the deal. Aftercare is not optional. 2). The Jockey Club's “$2.5 million donation”: credit, but also clarity. The Jockey Club recently stated it donates $2.5 million annually to the TAA. I don't dispute that number, and we all appreciate support for aftercare, but I do believe it is misleading without clarification, because a meaningful portion of funding is generated through breeder-paid registry transaction fees, effectively a pass-through mechanism. In other words, it is not “The Jockey Club” alone funding aftercare through The Jockey Club. It is actually the breeders. 3). Kentucky's $250,000 contribution is appreciated and a start, but inadequate. The Commonwealth of Kentucky–through Kentucky House Bill 8–provides $250,000 annually to the TAA, starting in 2025. That is progress. But given what Kentucky earns from Thoroughbreds, it is insufficient. Look at stallion-season tax revenue alone. Even using conservative assumptions–an average of $35,000 per season–and a 6% sales tax–Kentucky could conservatively realize around $40 million in state revenue from stallion seasons alone. Add auctions, racing, tourism, payroll, and sales tax on goods and services, and revenue to Kentucky becomes far larger. With that reality, a $250,000 aftercare contribution is not a “solution.” It is a token. Given the economic reality, Kentucky should be funding aftercare at a far higher level, well into the millions. These horses are part of the state's brand, identity, and economic engine. The state can lead the nation in caring for them when their earning years end. The TAA has changed aftercare for the better. But the funding model has stalled, and the industry is still living far too comfortably with the bare minimum. That is no longer acceptable. Additionally, the TAA itself must become more transparent. I spoke with Walt Robertson, the newly elected president of the TAA, who assured me that changes are being explored and he is the right person to help drive them. Boyd Browning is also 100% behind sale increases. That gives me real hope. But hope is not a strategy. We must stop tolerating inertia, complacency, and neglect. The post Letter to the Editor: Aftercare–Hope Is Not a Strategy appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article -
Keep trainers winners from your armchair @Chief Stipe -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Mario Gutierrez won the Kitten's Joy Stakes and the Sweetest Chant Stakes at Gulfstream Park Jan. 31 aboard Brian Lynch trainees Thousandsticks and Sister Troienne, earning him Jockey of the Week honors for Jan. 26-Feb. 1.View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
If bloodstock agent Mike Pender feels the urge to pinch himself from time to time, it would be hard to hold that against him. Having trained the likes of Grade I winners Jeranimo and Ultimate Eagle for his late client B. J. Wright in a career that lasted 15 years, Pender is now very much focused on the bloodstock side of the game, and his two current success stories–the three-time graded-stakes winning turf sprinter Queen Maxima (Bucchero) and Grade I-winning 'TDN Rising Star' presented by Hagyard Intrepido (Maximus Mischief)–are doing their part to keep the humble horseman's name in lights. Both horses are campaigned by Dutch Girl Holdings and Irving Ventures. A $40,000 OBS June purchase, the Florida-bred Queen Maxima recently made the Jan. 11 GIII Las Cienegas Stakes her seventh straight success against her peers in turf sprint contests. She has since turned in a pair of easy, maintenance-type works at Santa Anita just to keep her ticking over as connections mull over their choices for the star mare, who is effective no matter the shape of the race. “She is as hearty and made of hickory as any horse you'll ever put a saddle on,” Pender said Wednesday from Kentucky, where he was checking in on some of his other horses. “If anyone takes the time to watch her eight wins, the way in which she wins is chilling. It's chilling. I mean, it's goosebumps. “She wins wrapped up. How many times can [jockey] Juan Hernandez return to the winner circle saying the same thing?: 'We still haven't gotten to the bottom of her.' I think that's the definition of a champion. Juan just says she's so versatile and he can put her wherever he wants. If he needs speed in a paceless race, she's there for him. If it's full of speed, he can just sit back and guide her.” And to the point of getting to the bottom of Queen Maxima or what her ceiling might be, Pender said the goals will be loftier in 2026. “The Jaipur against the boys [at Saratoga in June] is definitely on the radar. That would be nice to add to the resume,” Pender said, adding that the GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint at Keeneland is longer-term objective. So talented is Queen Maxima that Pender suggested a switch to the dirt or a stretchout in distance could not be ruled out as the year goes on. The 5-year-old has finished off the board in two tries at a mile on the turf, each time with a bit of an excuse. Queen Maxima | Benoit Intrepido, ultra-game in winning last year's GI American Pharoah Stakes, makes his sophomore debut in Saturday's GIII Robert B. Lewis Stakes, facing–among others–Desert Gate (Omaha Beach), who he defeated at odds of nearly 9-1 in the American Pharoah. Ironically, Pender saddled Lombo (Graydar) to an 8-1 upset in the 2018 Lewis. Just a $30,000 Keeneland September yearling, Intrepido was sold on for $385,000 at last year's OBS April Sale and became a 'Rising Star' when racing over a mile for the first time at Del Mar last August. A late surge following a tough trip in the American Pharoah saw him prevail by 3/4 of a length, but he stubbed his toe in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile, finishing a non-threatening fifth behind 'Rising Star' and champion Ted Noffey (Into Mischief). Whatever Intrepido does on Saturday, he is sure to come on for the effort, Pender believes. “We feel he's ready to go a mile on Saturday,” he said. “Is [trainer] Jeff [Mullins], the consummate horseman, going to tighten those screws and put him over the top for this race? No way. But he's definitely ready.” Intrepido reunites in the Lewis with Hector Berrios, who will also climb back aboard champion Super Corredora (Gun Runner) in Sunday's Listed Las Virgenes Stakes at the Great RIP. Now going on seven years since saddling his last runner, Pender is very much enjoying applying his skill set toward picking out what he hopes to be top-class runners on behalf of others, including the two stars for Dutch Girl and Irving Ventures. “I guess in football terms, I'm effectively their team manager,” he says. “They admit that they're very new to this process. While I didn't build this stadium nor front of money for the players in their payrolls, I do have to buy their horses, and I have to buy their horses that stay sound and most of all win races in what is arguably the most competitive environment for babies on the planet, Southern California, it's a tough playing field out here. “[The owners] have just been unbelievable,” he added. “I mean, they put their money up, they wash their hands, and then turn it over to Jeff and I. It's tough. It's tough. We don't have a gigantic budget. There's a diminishing foall crop out there that makes for greater demand, and thus the higher purchase prices at these sales. They have been there with open arms every time. Without them, none of this is happening.” Pender reflects back on the Saturday finale at Del Mar on Aug. 10, 2024, when Queen Maxima weaved her way through and powered home to graduate on debut. His hunch at that moment that he just might have unearthed something special has since been proven true. “The people that were sitting next to me in the box, they go, 'We've never seen such a visceral reaction from you. There's tears streaming down your face.' I was like, 'This filly could be any kind,” he related. “I'm really enjoying this aspect of being their agent as well, because it gives me more time to work with them, to educate them, to work on the human aspect of the day-to-day machinations of running a barn and all that goes on with it. This is a new way to branch off into something that was largely forgotten about when I was a trainer.” The post Pender Purple Patch Looks Set To Continue appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article
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