Wandering Eyes

The training triumvirate of Graeme, Debbie and Bailey Rogerson kicked the new racing season off in style at Te Rapa on Saturday when they dominated the early proceedings at the meeting. The trio provided the quinella in the third race on the programme when accomplished mare Malambo proved too speedy for stablemate Comeback as she led all the way in the open 1200m sprint feature. That was just thirty minutes after promising filly Roc Cha headed home a quartet of Rogerson runners in the three-year... View the full article

Roger Ramey, a longtime member of the Charles Town community, employee of Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races, and advocate for both gaming and racing in Jefferson County, W.Va. died in Winchester, Va. early morning Aug. 1. Ramey was 85. View the full article

Bencoolen (NZ) (Swiss Ace) finally franked the potential he has always shown with a convincing first win in the $20,000 Open Maiden race over 1200m on Friday night. Given a confident ride by champion jockey Vlad Duric, Bencoolen was quick out of his barrier one, but was just as quickly eased out of the speed battle when a trio made up of Lim’s Sphere, Agni and Air Combat rushed past him. Duric waited for the top of the straight to stoke the four-year-old up, who darted to t... View the full article

Each Saturday NTRA and BloodHorse provide a one-stop guide to the day's graded stakes races. Races are listed in chronological order (all times Eastern). Click on links for full preview. View the full article

Scoring his second stakes victory Aug. 2, GMB Racing's Tom's d'Etat laid just off a fast pace, made a two-wide move coming around the far turn, and glided home in the $100,000 Alydar Stakes in hand under jockey Joel Rosario at Saratoga. View the full article

Hawke’s Bay Racing and the TAB is proud to announce that Tarzino Trophy TAB Daffodil Raceday is back at Hastings Racecourse on Saturday 31st August. This year’s event is a celebration of ‘Rugby, Racing and Volunteers’ to raise money for the Hawke’s Bay Cancer Society. “The team at Hawke’s Bay Racing are again privileged to be able to work with our partners Westbury Stud and the TAB to pull together fundraising initiatives for the Hawke’s Bay Cancer Society,” Hawke’s Bay Raci... View the full article

Concrete Rose added the second leg of the New York Racing Association's inaugural Turf Tiara—the $750,000 Saratoga Oaks Invitational—to her resume Aug. 2, one month after winning the first leg. View the full article

Gone are the antics of Thunder Snow's 3-year-old season, when he was pulled up by jockey Christophe Soumillon after bucking at the start of the 2017 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) at Churchill Downs. View the full article

Taylor Made had three rookies in their stallion barn in 2017 with the fruits of those labors heading to the yearling sales this summer and fall. Multiple Grade I winner Mshawish (Medaglia d’Oro) has one yearling in next week’s Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale, as well as three in Fasig-Tipton’s New York-Bred Sale, as does GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile runner-up Not This Time (Giant’s Causeway). Travis White, stallion nominations manager for Taylor Made, discusses with why these two young first-crop yearling sires are such standouts. TDN: Mshawish had an interesting career. He was a stakes winner at three in France, a Group II winner at four in Dubai, and a Grade I winner at five in the U.S., all on turf. Then he switches to dirt at the end of his 5-year-old season and what happens? TW: We took notice of [him] when he ran fourth in the GI Cigar Mile H. on his first try on the dirt. He just got beat for the win. And he actually put his head in the lead there toward the end of the stretch. So that’s kind of when he got on our radar. And then obviously, he followed that up with a very impressive win in the GIII Hal’s Hope S. and then went on to win the GI Donn H. which really put him on our radar screen. TDN: The Donn was particularly an eye-catching race. He was already a Grade I winner on the turf; what made him such an exciting prospect on the dirt? TW: If you go back and watch his races, he could really be anywhere in the race. He didn’t have to be on the lead. He could sit mid-pack and be covered up. But he had a very good turn of foot, kind of push button. And when he turned for home, he just really accelerated and put away a pretty good bunch of horses there at the end. TDN: Was it a real selling point to breeders to have a horse as accomplished as he was on different surfaces? TW: For us, as a stallion operation, it was a very important factor to have. A Grade I winner on the dirt and turf, plus the fact that he was by Medaglia d’Oro, played a huge impact on us as far as how much we wanted to try to get this horse. {"id":3,"instanceName":"Articles No Playlist","videos":[{"videoType":"HTML5","title":"First Yearlings for Mshawish and Not This time","description":"","info":"","thumbImg":"","mp4":"https://player.vimeo.com/external/351286229.sd.mp4?s=7d8c47023894d0ddee27c320066392973dbf7e49&profile_id=165","enable_mp4_download":"no","prerollAD":"yes","prerollGotoLink":"prerollGotoLink","preroll_mp4_title":"preroll_mp4_title","preroll_mp4":"https://player.vimeo.com/external/348404491.sd.mp4?s=4d95296a7c6ecdb8c0c1803cd592b80600461169&profile_id=165","prerollSkipTimer":"5","midrollAD":"no","midrollAD_displayTime":"midrollAD_displayTime","midrollGotoLink":"midrollGotoLink","midroll_mp4":"midroll_mp4","midrollSkipTimer":"midrollSkipTimer","postrollAD":"no","postrollGotoLink":"postrollGotoLink","postroll_mp4":"postroll_mp4","postrollSkipTimer":"postrollSkipTimer","popupAdShow":"no","popupImg":"popupImg","popupAdStartTime":"popupAdStartTime","popupAdEndTime":"popupAdEndTime","popupAdGoToLink":"popupAdGoToLink"}],"instanceTheme":"light","playerLayout":"fitToContainer","videoPlayerWidth":720,"videoPlayerHeight":405,"videoRatio":1.7777777777778,"videoRatioStretch":true,"videoPlayerShadow":"effect1","colorAccent":"#000000","posterImg":"","posterImgOnVideoFinish":"","logoShow":"No","logoPath":"","logoPosition":"bottom-right","logoClickable":"No","logoGoToLink":"","allowSkipAd":true,"advertisementTitle":"Ad","skipAdvertisementText":"Skip Ad","skipAdText":"You can skip this ad in","playBtnTooltipTxt":"Play","pauseBtnTooltipTxt":"Pause","rewindBtnTooltipTxt":"Rewind","downloadVideoBtnTooltipTxt":"Download video","qualityBtnOpenedTooltipTxt":"Close settings","qualityBtnClosedTooltipTxt":"Settings","muteBtnTooltipTxt":"Mute","unmuteBtnTooltipTxt":"Unmute","fullscreenBtnTooltipTxt":"Fullscreen","exitFullscreenBtnTooltipTxt":"Exit fullscreen","infoBtnTooltipTxt":"Show info","embedBtnTooltipTxt":"Embed","shareBtnTooltipTxt":"Share","volumeTooltipTxt":"Volume","playlistBtnClosedTooltipTxt":"Show playlist","playlistBtnOpenedTooltipTxt":"Hide playlist","facebookBtnTooltipTxt":"Share on Facebook","twitterBtnTooltipTxt":"Share on Twitter","googlePlusBtnTooltipTxt":"Share on Google+","lastBtnTooltipTxt":"Go to last video","firstBtnTooltipTxt":"Go to first video","nextBtnTooltipTxt":"Play next video","previousBtnTooltipTxt":"Play previous video","shuffleBtnOnTooltipTxt":"Shuffle on","shuffleBtnOffTooltipTxt":"Shuffle off","nowPlayingTooltipTxt":"NOW PLAYING","embedWindowTitle1":"SHARE THIS PLAYER:","embedWindowTitle2":"EMBED THIS VIDEO IN YOUR SITE:","embedWindowTitle3":"SHARE LINK TO THIS PLAYER:","lightBox":false,"lightBoxAutoplay":false,"lightBoxThumbnail":"","lightBoxThumbnailWidth":400,"lightBoxThumbnailHeight":220,"lightBoxCloseOnOutsideClick":true,"onFinish":"Play next video","autoplay":false,"loadRandomVideoOnStart":"No","shuffle":"No","playlist":"Off","playlistBehaviourOnPageload":"opened (default)","playlistScrollType":"light","preloadSelfHosted":"none","hideVideoSource":true,"showAllControls":true,"rightClickMenu":true,"autohideControls":2,"hideControlsOnMouseOut":"No","nowPlayingText":"Yes","infoShow":"No","shareShow":"No","facebookShow":"No","twitterShow":"No","mailShow":"No","facebookShareName":"","facebookShareLink":"","facebookShareDescription":"","facebookSharePicture":"","twitterText":"","twitterLink":"","twitterHashtags":"","twitterVia":"","googlePlus":"","embedShow":"No","embedCodeSrc":"","embedCodeW":720,"embedCodeH":405,"embedShareLink":"","youtubeControls":"custom controls","youtubeSkin":"dark","youtubeColor":"red","youtubeQuality":"default","youtubeShowRelatedVideos":"Yes","vimeoColor":"00adef","showGlobalPrerollAds":false,"globalPrerollAds":"url1;url2;url3;url4;url5","globalPrerollAdsSkipTimer":5,"globalPrerollAdsGotoLink":"","videoType":"HTML5 (self-hosted)","submit":"Save Changes","rootFolder":"http:\/\/wp.tdn.pmadv.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/Elite-video-player\/"} TDN: Physically, how is he built? TW: His best attribute is probably his balance. He’s a very, very well-balanced, proportioned horse, and I think that’s probably why he was as good as he was on the racetrack. He’s about 15.3 hands. He has a very pretty head, he’s a great mover on the end of a shank. But overall, I think his balance is the key thing there. TDN: What did you see in his weanlings last year? TW: They were a lot like him. I mean, just very well balanced, square behind, great movers. Most of them were very, very dead correct and with good bone to them, good substance. Overall, I think they’re just a lot like him, and they’re not complicated horses at all. TDN: Have they improved even more as yearlings? TW: From what I’ve seen so far, the same traits have carried over as weanlings to yearlings now. They’re still just very good movers, very balanced horses, very pretty heads, good neck, good shoulders, square behind, just the stuff you like to see in a very quality yearling. TDN: What type of buyers do you think will be gravitating toward his yearlings? TW: I think that you’ll see a combination of a lot of different buyers gravitate toward him. I think trainers will like him because they look like good, solid, just sound horses. And I think they’ll be very precocious as well. TDN: Mshawish’s race career was kind of a slow burn that exploded at the end, but Not This Time was a star from the start. He was raised here on the farm? TW: Yes, we’ve had his mother, [graded winner] Miss Macy Sue (Trippi), since retirement. She has been probably one of the better mares on the market currently. [Her son] Liam’s Map (Unbridled’s Song) is an absolute very, very good-looking horse and a beast of a racehorse. His performance in the GI Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile was unbelievable. That carried on with Not This Time being such a standout racehorse as well. TDN: Not This Time’s career was brief due to a soft tissue injury, but he made it count. TW: Second time out at Ellis Park he just romped by ten lengths. It was completely dominating the field. He just kept getting better and better as time went on. [In his next start, the GIII Iroquois S.], he beat a very, very good field and just completely put them away down the stretch, [winning by 8 3/4 lengths]. He beat [the next year’s GI Kentucky Derby runner-up] Lookin At Lee (Lookin At Lucky) and [future graded stakes winner] Recruiting Ready (Algorithms) in that race. It was a highly regarded 2-year-old field as a Breeders’ Cup prep race. TDN: His final start was the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. What made it such a stellar performance in spite of the neck defeat? TW: He just relaxed early on, was kind of covered up on the backstretch, but then that move he made around the final turn and into the stretch was just so impressive. He was wide the whole way and just ran out of space there at the very end. A fantastic race. TDN: How has he been received by breeders? TW: He was probably the easiest sell that I have had here since Unbridled’s Song. He is very imposing. He is big. Dark bay, almost black. Big, leggy, scopey, two-turn horse, has a great, long, thin neck and well-defined shoulder. Breeders just absolutely loved the horse from day one. TDN: Not This Time had yearlings sell for up to $200,000 at Fasig-Tipton’s July sale. What do you expect going forward? TW: We’re very optimistic going into the sales. He’s a horse that just got better with time and age, and I see his yearlings are kind of [going down] the same path. They’re big, they’re two-turn, scopey horses that I think a lot of buyers will like. The post TDN Q & A: Taylor Made’s Travis White on Mshawish & Not This Time appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Fame was the name of the game for trainer Bill Mott on a memorable Aug. 2 afternoon at Saratoga Race Course. View the full article

We are less than three weeks into the off-season but there is still a lot happening in the Hong Kong racing world – here is a snapshot.Ho collects a winner in BritainVincent Ho Chak-yiu enjoyed a career-best season in Hong Kong – winning the Tony Cruz Award as the leading local jockey – and he has taken his good form to Britain.The 29-year-old is having a stint with Mark Johnston and secured a winner aboard the Keith Dalgleish-trained Forever A Lady at Ayr in Scotland on Monday.“It’s good when… View the full article

NYRA officially unveiled the newly renamed “Marylou Whitney Entrance,” formerly the Clubhouse entrance, at Saratoga Friday in a dedication ceremony. Flanking the entrance are two jockey statues wearing Mrs. Whitney’s classic silks, commemorating her homebred Birdstone’s wins in the 2004 GI Belmont S. and GI Travers S. The ceremony took place following Whitney’s posthumous induction into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. During the event, officials from the City of Saratoga Springs unveiled a plaque that will be placed in the newly renamed “Marylou Whitney Park,” formerly known as Centennial Park. The park, located at the base of Union Ave., was built in 2015 with funding provided by Mrs. Whitney and her husband John Hendrickson, who commissioned the statue of Native Dancer in the park and donated it to the residents of Saratoga. NYRA will continue to celebrate the life of the late racing icon with “Marylou Whitney Day” Saturday, which is highlighted by her family’s namesake race, the GI Whitney S. There will be a special video tribute to the “Queen of Saratoga” and fans are encouraged to wear pink, Mrs. Whitney’s signature color. The post NYRA Hosts Series of Dedications to Marylou Whitney appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

CONCRETE ROSE (f, 3, Twirling Candy–Solerina, by Powerscourt {GB}) made easy work of the new Saratoga Oaks Friday, taking the field from gate-to-wire for a dominant score in the second leg of the new Turf Tiara series. Seizing the early advantage, the $61,000 EASMAY buy walked the dog through opening splits of :25.58 and :51.41. Continuing along comfortably with ears pricked, the dark bay readily responded when popped the question by Julien Leparoux in the lane, gliding clear to win for fun in 1:55.34. European invader Happen (War Front) was second. Concrete Rose entered this on a perfect three-for-three season with wins in the Mar. 9 GIII Florida Oaks, May 3 GIII Edgewood S. and July 6 GI Belmont Oaks. Lifetime Record: 6-5-0-0. O-Ashbrook Farm & BBN Racing LLC; B-Ron Patterson (KY); T-George Arnold. The post Concrete Rose Wires the Saratoga Oaks appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Michael Wrona has been named the full-time track announcer at Los Alamitos starting Dec. 27. He will be taking over for longtime voice of Los Al Ed Burgart, who is retiring at the end of the current meet, Dec. 5. “It’s a great honor to be selected as Ed Burgart’s successor at Los Alamitos,” Wrona said. “However, it’s also a somewhat daunting task because Ed personifies Los Al and is truly irreplaceable. I am humbled that (Los Alamitos Race Course owner) Dr. Ed Allred has placed his trust in me, and I shall do my utmost to represent Los Alamitos with class and distinction.” Wrona previously called at Santa Anita, Golden Gate, Arlington, Fair Grounds and more. The post Wrona to Become Full-Time Los Al Announcer appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Lots of interesting goings-on in the stakes ranks on the first Saturday of the month, most notably at Saratoga Race Course, which will forever be The August Place To Be no matter how much they dilute it. View the full article

Owner/trainer Uriah St. Lewis has a longshot in the $1 million Whitney Stakes (G1), which might be one of the least startling revelations of the 2019 racing season. View the full article

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Today’s Observations features a Juddmonte blueblood from the family of Frankel. 1.40 Chelmsford, Novice, £10,000, 2yo, f, 6fT JOVIAL (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) bids to atone for the possibly unlucky third of her half-sister Jubiloso (GB) (Shamardal) in Friday’s G3 Oak Tree S. for Khalid Abdullah and Sir Michael Stoute. Out much earlier than that talented half-sibling, the February-foaled bay is a daughter of the dual listed-winning and multiple group-placed Joyeuse (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}), who is a half to the great Frankel (GB). She meets King Power Racing’s fellow newcomer Dear Power (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}), a 350,000gns Tattersalls October Book 1 graduate who represents the Roger Varian stable. The post Observations: Aug. 3, 2019 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Gentle Ruler seeks her fifth straight win against a field of five other fillies and mares in the $200,000 Fasig-Tipton Waya Stakes (G3T) on the inner turf Aug. 4 at Saratoga Race Course. View the full article

Lane's End's freshman sire and 2014 Belmont Stakes winner Tonalist was represented by his first North American winner Aug. 2, when Tony's Rose won a five-furlong turf test for 2-year-old fillies at Belterra Park. View the full article

Before new student athletes at the University of Kentucky (UK) embark upon their collegiate sporting careers, they undergo a 2 1/2-hour battery of physical tests to determine a variety of factors, like the alacrity of their neuromotor and neurocognitive functions, their aerobic efficiency and their musculoskeletal health. The data generated from these tests can be used as a reference should one of these athletes get injured, as well as to help design protocols to reduce the likelihood of injury in the first place, said Scott Lephart, dean of UK’s College of Health Sciences. “If we can get a good, accurate, epidemiological history or documentation of events after we have these baseline measurements, it will really allow us to look at injury mitigation in a scientific way,” he said. “And that’s really what we’ve done with other sports.” The problem for horse racing, said Lephart, is this: “these other sports are so far ahead of what’s going on in the Thoroughbred industry as it relates to the human health component of it.” Lephart’s observation is hardly revelatory. Indeed, in a recently published paper, the authors spelled out in the very first sentence how North American flat racing “lacks comprehensive collection, collation, and analysis of jockey fall and injury data”–the sort of rigorous scientific approach which could be used to identify and then implement measures to make the sport safer for jockeys. And why is this necessary? Two jockeys on average die every year on U.S. racetracks as a result of injuries sustained race-riding. On top of that, 60% of jockey falls during a race will result in a “substantive” injury, said Peta Hitchens, a research fellow in the Equine Orthopaedic Research Group at the University of Melbourne. Nevertheless, in this regard the sport appears to be making headway. “The University of Kentucky could be a world leader in jockey and rider safety,” said Jockeys’ Guild national manager, Terry Meyocks, pointing to a new UK program studying the physical and mental impacts from race-riding–just one of a number of interesting developments in the arena of jockey health. But substantive change comes with a caveat, Meyocks warned. “Whether it’s a racing official or management or someone else, our industry doesn’t work well together,” said Meyocks, “and I think now’s the time our industry has to work together if it’s to survive.” What does the data say? Though the existing data surrounding jockey risk factors and safety is noticeably threadbare, the literature that does exist offers a useful platform from which to build. “The most common reason for falls and injuries by jockeys, and especially for the most severe injuries, was riding a horse that had broken down,” said Hitchens, pointing to this paper using data out of California over a six-year period. During that time, 707 horses were fatally injured. The study–comprising both Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses–found jockeys were 162 times more likely to fall, and 171 times more likely to be injured, in an incident where horses died during the race, with jockey falls more likely in Quarter Horse rather than Thoroughbred racing (as a result of the higher prevalence of breakdowns in the former). Data is only useful, of course, if it has some practical application. “So, what we can do to try and prevent the worst of the jockey injuries, and prevent a lot of the fatalities as well, is to directly address the problem of racehorse breakdowns,” said Hitchens. But catastrophic equine injuries aren’t the only predicating factor, it appears, when it comes to jockey falls. “Another major risk is placing inexperienced jockeys on inexperienced and less accomplished horses,” Hitchens said. Indeed, Hitchens and her co-authors delved into seven years of Australian data and uncovered a range of factors that predisposed apprentice jockeys to a higher likelihood of falling, including apprentices who started their careers at an older age, and those that had fewer rides at a certain meet. As such, the study’s authors suggest restricting jockeys with limited race-riding experience from riding maidens or horses with similarly limited racecourse experience. “Basically, putting an inexperienced jockey that has little experience in riding a race on a horse that has little experience in running a race is a bit of a recipe for disaster in my opinion, and I still can’t believe that it happens,” said Hitchens. The findings get even more granular. In this paper, the authors found a link between a higher prevalence of falls with drier turf tracks, younger horses, shorter races, smaller field sizes, as well as cheaper races. This small pilot study looked at what physiological factors in jockeys and exercise riders might determine likelihood of falling. It found a higher prevalence of falls among riders with lower aerobic and anaerobic fitness, and among those who rode with their full foot in the stirrup irons as opposed to the ball of the foot. Interestingly, riders with greater muscular strength were more apt to fall. “That’s likely because the stronger trackwork riders were being put on the most difficult horses,” Hitchens explained. Hitchens also raised an interesting distinction between Australia and North America. Stateside, horses are, of course, typically ponied to the gate. Not so among our Antipodean cousins. “In Australia, 50% of our falls occurred pre or post-race, and most of our pre-race falls were tumbles on the way to the [gates] due to the horses’ fractious behavior,” said Hitchens. So, just what kind of data collection and jockey health programs currently exist in North America? The primary ones are the Jockey Injury Database (JID), and the Jockey Health Injury System (JHIS), though both are far from being well-oiled machines. The JID is a procedure to record the details of jockey accidents at individual racetracks, including the where, when and how of the fall, the type of equipment riders wore, along with any pertinent details about the injury. Regional managers of the Jockeys’ Guild along with track management are the ones typically charged with recording the information into the system, some of which is redacted to comply with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) laws. According to Meyocks, Keeneland “and a few other racetracks” take pains to input the data. Nevertheless, “it’s very hit and miss,” he warned, about the consistency overall. “The Guild’s regional managers are doing it more than the racetracks,” he added. Launched in 2008, the JHIS is a centralized database for inputting jockey’s medical and health history. In an ideal world, medical personnel would have access to the database in the event of an accident or injury. According to Kelly Ryan, a sports physician and a member of the Maryland Horsemen’s Health System, the JHIS is very “regional dependent,” and requires jockeys or their representatives–individuals with typically limited medical experience–to input the information themselves, making compliance patchy. Indeed, when roughly a year ago Ryan performed physical examinations on about 30 jockeys, she asked them whether they had heard of the system and whether they had ever logged into it. Only one jockey said that they had heard of the system, said Ryan, and that jockey “hadn’t actually logged in.” What can be done? Some corners of the industry have stepped into the breach. The MedStar Sports Medicine’s Center for Horsemen’s Health is a centralized system already operating in Maryland. “Because Maryland racetracks contract us out, essentially jockeys are on our team–we have profiles of them on our electronic medical records system,” Ryan said, boiling the bare bones of the system down to the following: If a jockey in Maryland takes a fall or is injured in any way, an on-track sports physician (i.e. Ryan) will conduct a medical assessment and record the details so they’re available to other medical experts within the system, which leads to the proposed MedStar Telehealth Clinic, Ryan’s brainchild. When it comes to the impacts from any head injury, awareness continues to grow around concussions, and their possible relationship to Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)–a disease caused by repeated head trauma. Symptoms include memory loss, confusion, depression, parkinsonism, and, in the worst-case scenarios, progressive dementia. Indeed, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association’s (NTRA) Code of Standards was recently updated with concussion guidelines. In the U.S., 8.6% of jockey falls result in concussion, according to data from between 2012 and 2015. An earlier study determined that nearly 20% of race-day injuries were to the head and neck. But the possible misdiagnosis of concussion means that these figures could be on the conservative side, say experts. For those tracks unable to afford an on-site sports physician, the medical technicians who attend riders who have suffered a head injury are typically untrained in diagnosing concussions. If that medical technician was connected to the MedStar Telehealth Clinic, however, they could then contact, via a telecommunication like Skype, a sports physician who could evaluate the rider remotely. “We would then be able to say, ‘this exam is completely normal, I have low suspicions for a concussion,'” said Ryan, about a system that would cost around $150,000 to kick-start, much of the outlay required to develop specialized software. “Or, we would say, ‘this patient is exhibiting symptoms of a concussion, and needs to be removed from riding and needs to follow up.'” There’s movement elsewhere in the industry. The Jockey and Equestrian Initiative (JEI) through the University of Kentucky’s Sports Medicine Research Institute is a program studying the effects that race-riding has on the body and mind over time. “We really don’t know what the effects from doing this for 10, 20, 30 years are on these guys,” explained Lephart, who runs the program. Jockeys participating in the JEI, said Lephart, are put through a series of specially engineered tests in order to determine a broad variety of things–like their overall physical fitness and prowess–in order to create their injury and risk assessment profiles. But researchers also have more focused areas of interest, including the role that depression and cognitive impairment has on jockey health and performance, factors related to concussions and loss of self-identity, as well as dietary health. “Some of their weight management practices are less than ideal,” said Lephart. The first set of jockeys (about eight in all) riding at Keeneland in the spring set the ball rolling. When racing resumes at Keeneland this fall, “we hope to get the majority of the jockeys in during the six weeks they’re in Lexington,” Lephart said. “It allows us to start tracking them,” he added, “tracking their injury rates, very specifically, and also have the opportunity to have them come back in when they come to Lexington to do serial testing.” There are other residual benefits to tightening the safety screws in terms of the dollars and cents saved in workers’ compensation and other health care claims. “Every time a jockey comes in to see me, that’s money the racetrack has saved in paying out other exorbitant costs,” said Ryan, about Maryland. Meyocks agrees that financial gains across the industry derived from fewer jockey injuries can’t be over-stated. “We all should be concerned about the well-being of the horse,” he said. “But how many owners and trainers have gone out of business because of workers’ comp?” The Guild, said Meyocks, is developing an app with a variety of functions, all built around streamlining communication among members. In the meantime, the JID and JHIS should be used to their full potential, said Meyocks–indeed, he believes compliance with the JID should be made mandatory for a racetrack to gain accreditation with the NTRA’s Safety and Integrity Alliance. Nevertheless, Steve Koch, Safety and Integrity Alliance executive director, argues that those two programs “are not, and are not going to be, feasible at the racetrack level” as a rigorously scientific approach alone to the industry’s problems. “The JID and the JHIS have been valuable,” said Koch, who co-authored the recently published paper. “Now, what does the next chapter look like? We’re evolving as an industry.” The post Jockey Health and Safety: Necessary Advances Benefit All of Industry appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Balancing composure and emotion, National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame president John Hendrickson anchored this year's induction ceremony looking back at the accomplishments of his wife Marylou Whitney, View the full article

2nd-WO, C$71K, Msw, 2yo, 6f (AWT), post time: 1:33 p.m. ET RED STORM RISEN (Stormy Atlantic) ships in from Fair Hill for trainer Graham Motion as the 5-2 morning-line pick. The Sam-Son homebred is out of the the MSP Strike Red (Smart Strike), who debuted with a 5 1/2-length victory over the local turf course and posted three wins and a stakes placing from just five trips to the post. Strike Red is a full-sister to MSP Red Strike and a half to GSP Scarlet Butterfly (Theatrical {Ire}), in turn the dam of four stakes horses, including 2013 Wonder Where S. winner Smartfly (Smart Strike). Smart Strike’s Canadian Horse of the Year Soaring Free appears under the third dam. TJCIS PPs 3rd-SAR, $90,000, Msw, 2yo, 7f, post time: 2:10 p.m. ET Spendthrift Farm’s WAYNE O (Into Mischief), a $750,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling purchase, will look to continue the hot streak of his sire when he makes his debut here for trainer Steve Asmussen. Out of Silky Serenade (Unbridled’s Song), the bay colt is a half-brother to last year’s GI Darley Alcibiades S. winner Restless Rider (Distorted Humor). Shug McGaughey saddles Phipps homebred Amends (Uncle Mo) for his first trip to the post. Out of Guilty Verdict (Medaglia d’Oro), he is a grandson of champion Smuggler (Unbridled) and a great grandson of champion Inside Information (Private Account). TJCIS PPs 6th-SAR, $90,000, Msw, 3/up, 6 1/2f, post time: 3:56 p.m. ET Courtlandt Farms’ UP AND ONWARD (Tapit), a $600,000 KEESEP yearling, debuts for trainer Mark Hennig. The bay colt is the first foal out of Grade I winner Let Faith Arise (Kafwain). Dallas Stewart sends out Charles Fipke’s homebred firster Ekati’s Verve (Tale of Ekati), a full to GI Preakness S. runner-up Tale of Verve and to graded stakes winner Verve’s Tale, while Chad Brown saddles Shadwell Stable’s debuting Mubarmaj (Curlin). The $375,000 Keeneland September yearling is a half to graded stakes winner Sacristy (Pulpit), dam of this year’s GI Santa Anita Oaks runner-up Flor de La Mar (Tiznow). Shortleaf Stable is represented by the debuting Somes Sound (Ghostzapper), who was a $375,000 Keeneland September yearling. The Jimmy Jerkens trainee is out of stakes winner Glacken’s Gal (Smoke Glacken) and is a half-brother to the dam of multiple Grade I winner Mitole (Eskendereya) and to graded stakes winner Live Lively (Medaglia d’Oro). TJCIS PPs 1st-DMR, $61,000, Msw, 2yo, f, 6f, post time: 5:00 p.m. ET ECLAIR (Bernardini), who topped this year’s inaugural Fasig-Tipton Santa Anita 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale when bringing a final bid of $420,000 from bloodstock agent Donato Lanni on behalf of Sarah Kelly. The filly worked the sale’s bullet furlong of :10 1/5. Just three days after the sale, her half-sister Limari (Medaglia d’Oro) closed to be third in the GIII Old Forester Mint Julep S. TJCIS PPs The post Insights: Saturday, Aug. 3 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

ERJ Racing, Westside Racing Stable, Madaket Stables, Gary Barber, and Dave Kenney's Scuylerville Stakes (G3) winner Comical heads a field of six 2-year-old fillies in the $200,000 Sorrento Stakes (G2) Aug. 3 at Del Mar. View the full article

Roger Ramey, a longtime member of the Charles Town community, employee of Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races, and advocate for both gaming and racing in Jefferson County, W.Va. died in Winchester, Va. early morning Aug. 1. Ramey was 85. View the full article

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY–When the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame revealed its 2019 inductees, one name stood out even amongst a slew of legendary ones in the Pillars of the Turf category: Marylou Whitney. That induction took on even greater and solemn significance in light of the recent passing of the “Queen of Saratoga,” and an emotional tribute to Whitney by her husband and museum president John Hendrickson was the most memorable moment of a star-studded induction ceremony Friday morning at the Fasig-Tipton Sales Pavilion in Saratoga Springs. After a moment of silence was observed for Whitney in the packed house, Hendrickson started his opening remarks by saying simply, “This is gonna be a hard day.” Gathering himself, he went on to talk about the upcoming renovations to the museum, scheduled to be finished by the summer of 2020. A goal of $20 million in donations was set for the new immersive and interactive exhibits, of which approximately half has been raised so far. Hendrickson said, “By the end, I believe we will have the best sports Hall of Fame in the world,” and master of ceremonies Tom Durkin added, “This place is gonna be jumping. This is the most exciting thing to happen to the museum since we laid the cornerstone in 1955.” Soon after, Whitney was inducted into the Pillars of the Turf, and Hendrickson once again took the stage to pay tribute to his late wife. Holding a Marylou Whitney Rose, the flower named in her honor, Hendrickson spoke briefly but eloquently: “She said the sport of horse racing gave her the most incredible life, and she was extremely grateful. I want to thank all of you for loving Marylou. She loved the sport, and all of you, with her entire heart. So let us not cry because it’s over. Let us smile because it happened. God bless you, and God bless Marylou.” Will Farish was the first living Pillar of the Turf to be inducted Friday, and before the speech, Durkin asked him to take off his suit jacket and put on the Hall of Fame blazer. “Brooks Brothers makes nice jackets, but this one’s gonna have to go,” he quipped. “It has been both the horses and the people that enriched our lives,” Farish said. He talked particularly fondly of the many partnerships he’s had along the way, specifically with his “dear friend Watts Humphrey, which continues today.” He also reminisced about A.P. Indy and talked about the current Lane’s End stallion roster, saying, “The future of the farm is extremely bright.” The first equine inductee of the day was the remarkable 17-time stakes winner My Juliet, with regular rider Tony Black accepting on her behalf with a heartfelt speech. After giving credit to the mare’s groom, Jim Maloney, for his work, Black said, “She came in an era of the women’s rights movement, which was just starting to get strong in the 1970s. She was never intimidated by gender. She beat the boys, and she beat the girls.” Comparing her to television’s Bionic Man, he added, “We called her the bionic filly, because after they put two screws in her cannon bone, that’s when she reached the pinnacle of her career.” Black went on to talk about wanting to visit My Juliet before she died at age 29, to “just put my hands down her neck one more time, and say, ‘Julie, you did so much for me. I love you.'” He never got that chance, however, and he closed by saying, “That taught me to tell someone their real value when they’re here, not just when they’re gone. I didn’t get to see her one last time, but wherever you are, thank you so much.” Jockey Craig Perret, a winner of over 4,400 races in his career, was the lone contemporary human inductee, and he gave an entertaining and emotional speech that included harkening back to when he first got into racing, and out of school. “My foundation came from my father, he knew my passion for the horses,” Perret said. “He also knew I was getting real bad in school, and he’d find me at the racetrack on lunch breaks. He said, ‘You don’t want to do your schoolwork?’ He sent me to the farm, where I learned the horses and everything about them and loved it. Then, I wasn’t lost in the world figuring out where I was going next. I had one thing on my mind: the racetrack.” Perret talked about the feeling of accomplishment he got after winning the Kentucky Derby aboard Unbridled in 1990, a feeling matched only one more time in his life, when he got the news he would be enshrined in the Hall of Fame. “After I won the Derby, I thought, ‘My goals have been reached. I’m done,'” he said. “I wasn’t done riding, but I thought, ‘I don’t need nothin’ from this game now.’ Until another thing come along. I finally got in off the also-eligible list, and look where I’m at now.” He also mentioned the one moment that sticks with him after all of his years as a jockey: “When they said ‘riders up,’ it was just me and the horse for the next 10 minutes. I was the only one who could make this happen.” The most recently relevant inductee was three-time champion Royal Delta, whose honor was accepted by owner Benjamin Leon and trainer Bill Mott. Mott recalled the end of the filly’s 3-year-old season, when days after her triumph in the 2011 Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic, she was set to be sold by owner Palides Investments at Keeneland November, with Leon eventually signing the ticket for a massive $8.5 million. “I was crying like a baby leading her to the van to the sale after the Breeders’ Cup. I was so lucky to meet Mr. Leon [at Keeneland], and he gave me a call a couple days later, and asked if I would take her back. That was not a very tough decision.” Other highlights from the morning included Shug McGaughey telling a handful of entertaining stories about Ogden Phipps when accepting his longtime owner’s posthumous Pillar of the Turf honor, and similarly funny anecdotes from Stuart Janney about his grandmother Gladys Mills Phipps. The other two living Pillar of the Turf inductees also captivated the audience with their speeches, Arlington Park developer Dick Duchossois and Keeneland icon Ted Bassett, who closed out the festivities by saying simply, “I never, ever dreamed, or thought, or wished that I would be standing here on this wonderful day. I’m deeply honored, pleasantly surprised and forever grateful for this honor.” The post Moving Tribute to Marylou Highlights Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article