Wandering Eyes

A son of Yeats (Ire) out of Connaught Hall (Ire) (Un Desperado) realized top price of €185,000 from Martin Brassil during Tuesday’s initial session of the Land Rover Sale in Kill, Co. Kildare, Ireland. Offered as Lot 113, the bay was consigned by Rathmore Stud. The unbroken 3-year-old gelding is a half sibling to Group 3 winner and Group 1 placed jumper Tombstone (Ire) (Robins des Champs {Fr}) and a full brother to NH Flat listed winner Tintangle (Ire), also Group 1 placed over hurdles. At the conclusion of Tuesday’s action, a total of 242 head sold for an aggregate of €11,709,500. Average for the afternoon was €48,386 with a median of €44,500. Wednesday’s second day of selling kicks off at 10a.m. local time. The post Son of Yeats Tops Goffs Land Rover appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Halters worn by Triple Crown winners American Pharoah and Justify headline items being offered in an online auction to raise money for Central Kentucky Riding for Hope, the 38-year-old nonprofit headquartered at the Kentucky Horse Park that offers equine-assisted activities and therapies to people of all ages. The online auction is part of CKRH’s 16th annual gala fundraiser, NIGHT OF THE STARS, to be held Saturday, June 22 at Keeneland. Bidding on the halters and numerous other items is available at https://2019STARS.givesmart.com. “CKRH is extremely proud of NIGHT OF THE STARS, an annual celebration of our therapy horses, participants, volunteers, supporters and collaborators from throughout Central Kentucky,” CKRH Executive Director Pat Kline said. “The online auction enables people who aren’t able to attend NIGHT OF THE STARS to obtain distinctive items and support CKRH. We are especially thankful to the Thoroughbred industry in Central Kentucky, including farms and veterinary clinics, which provides year-round assistance to CKRH.” The post Halters Worn By Triple Crown Winners Among Items Available in CKRH Auction appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Last year, Delaware Park-based Tim Ritchey, trainer of Preakness and Belmont Stakes-winning Afleet Alex, was offered 15 horses to train, but he turned them away. Why? “There was no way we could have taken those extra 15 horses because we didn’t have the grooms,” said Ritchey’s wife, Janet, who said that a continued shortage of staff means they’re unable to bring to the track two 2-year-olds currently cooling their heels at an outside training center. “When I get more workers, I can get more horses. And when I get more horses, I can employ more American workers, like the exercise riders, hotwalkers, vets,” she said, describing as “very small” an available pool of American stable staff. The seasonal H-2B work visa program, however, could be a “perfect solution” to the problem, she said. But political and bureaucratic hurdles–the online application site crashed early this year, for example, causing chaos–the H-2B program “has become ridiculous,” she added. “It’s so frustrating.” The Ritcheys are far from alone when it comes to decrying a broken immigration system. Nor are trainers only hurting through its impact on staff levels–just ask Chad Brown, recently fined $1.6 million in back wages, liquidated damages, and civil penalties after agreeing to “willful violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act and the labor provisions of the H-2B non-immigrant visa program.” According to Will Velie, an Oklahoma-based immigration attorney with a number of clients in the racing industry, there are two factors weighing on the industry right now that make it hard for trainers to find and retain documented and competent backstretch workers. A low unemployment rate is one. Another is increased immigration enforcement under the current administration, which has had “a very noticeable effect on the number of people who will actually go out and be available to work,” Velie said. “The story I get at every track I go to is, people used to go barn to barn asking if there was any work available, and there’s just nobody anymore.” By far the most popular available visa for backstretch workers is the H-2B–a seasonal visa designed for occupations like hospitality workers, landscapers and construction workers. The government caps the number of H-2B visas issued per year at 66,000–33,000 issued in the fall, and 33,000 in spring. As an indication of just how desirable these visas are, there were 97,800 applications for 33,000 spots on the first day of this year’s spring filing period. Given the sheer volume of applications, the government announced back in March that it would issue another 30,000 H-2B visas to help ease the bottleneck. Velie warned, however, that the additional quota would offer the racing industry only limited relief. “How many does horse racing use? I’d say less than 1000 a year,” said Velie. Interestingly, the spending bill Congress passed in February gave DHS the authority to add as many as 69,320 additional H-2B visas. Crucially, the additional H-2B visas were available only to applicants who have held H-2B status at least once during the past three fiscal years. This brings up another important technicality. The returning worker exemption–which excludes from the annual cap workers who have held an H-2B visa during the prior three years–was last in effect in 2016, and has not been lifted (more on this later in the article). Perhaps most salient to the industry right now is how the number of targeted immigration raids has diminished, while the volume of U.S. Departments of Labor (DOL), Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) worksite inspections is on the rise. “They decided to go where the deep pockets are to get some money out of it instead of just picking up aliens and sending them home,” said George Crimarco, an immigration attorney in Miami. “These trainers are pretty much defenseless when it comes to that.” Different agencies work separately on worksite investigations, explained Albany-based immigration attorney Leonard D’Arrigo. Typically, the DOL deals with wage and hour investigations, ICE looks at I-9s-an employment verification document to be filled out by both the employer and employee-while the DHS primarily conducts H-2B audits. “Employers could be going through multiple agency audits at the same time,” said D’Arrigo. “And a lot of time, the information being requested is overlapping. These agencies don’t really share information, so they’re sometimes having to comply with all these different requests multiple times.” The increase in workplace inspections is marked. For example, the number of I-9 inspections has increased from 1,360 in 2017 to 5,981 in 2018. The number of DHS audits has increased from 1691 in 2017 to 6848 in 2018. Similarly, “we’ve seen a huge increase in wage and hour audits,” said D’Arrigo. During an audit, both the employer and employees can be called on to provide evidence. “They will talk to everybody,” warned D’Arrigo, who added that Brown’s case has triggered a “huge surge in calls” from worried trainers and seasonal businesses. One of those trainers under a DOL audit is Tom Morley, currently based in Belmont Park with about 35 horses. “I’m in my third year,” said Morley, of the time that has lapsed since the audit first began. “I think what’s probably happened is that my case is relatively small, that it’s been shuffled to the side while they take care of these bigger ones.” Morley describes himself as relatively lucky in that many of his employees are U.S. citizens who have worked for him for years. But the tight cap on the number of H-2B visas combined with the lack of U.S. workers willing to do the work makes finding backstretch staff a real headache, in certainly jurisdictions especially. “New Orleans is a shambles,” Morley said. “The hotwalker base down there, they don’t show up, and when they do show up, you’re delighted to see them, to be honest. You don’t fire them. It’s a case of ‘here’s a shank, get on with it.'” As for the audit, it’s a “nightmare,” Morley said. “You’ve no idea what number they’re going to come back with,” he added, describing the experience as “three years of waking up in the middle of the night worrying about it.” Each racing jurisdiction enforces the immigration issue differently, most if not all putting the onus primarily on the employer to verify their employees’ legal status, said Velie. Backstretch workers looking to get licensed in California, for example, are fingerprinted and asked for photo identification, typically a driver’s license or a state-issued form of ID, or else a license from another racing jurisdiction that also requires fingerprinting. The California Horse Racing Board can also request additional immigration-related documentation, such as work visas and attorneys’ letters. When asked which jurisdictions are the strictest, Velie singled out Indiana, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania and Iowa. He explained that Indiana and Minnesota both in recent years considered using E-Verify as a licensing requirement. E-Verify is an online employment verification database much stricter than the I-9 program. It’s also notorious for a high error rate. “That would have emptied out the backside of the track,” Velie said, about the E-Verify proposal. Instead, when backstretch workers are now licensed in Indiana and Minnesota, the trainer employing them must sign a document acknowledging their responsibility for maintaining I-9s, said Velie. This doesn’t, however, preclude trainers from using E-Verify themselves. Which brings us back to the returning worker exemption. Competition for the 33,000 H-2B visas available in the fall is less intense than for the spring, and trainers should use that to their advantage, Velie said. “If you get your guys in on the winter visas, there’s never any quota pressure,” he said. What’s more, he said, “when I file for my spring visas, instead of filing for workers out of country, I do in-country extensions for the guys with winter H-2Bs, and they’re not subject to the cap. A worker can be on an H-2B for up to three years,” Velie added. There are still some important guidelines employers must comply with in that particular program, Velie said, and he recommends trainers speak with their immigration attorneys before going down that route. As for the uptick in workplace inspections, D’Arrigo recommends that trainers conduct self-audits, especially when it comes to wage and hour, and I-9 documentation. “Those are the two things that result in costing you the most,” he said. “Have someone come in and audit your current practices, look at what you’re doing, point out the things you’re violating and come up with systems to be in compliance,” he said, adding that “we always recommend that clients regularly review all their 1-9 paperwork to identify errors before an actual audit.” Given the bureaucratic red-tape that employers face, along with the daily struggles of running a barn, D’Arrigo said he sympathizes with trainers. “They’re operating out of a horse stable,” he said. “They don’t have an office. They don’t have a sophisticated time-clock system.” Back at Delaware, Bessie Gruwell, executive director of the Delaware Thoroughbred Horseman’s Association, confirmed the dire staffing situation facing trainers in the state. “We are seriously, seriously in need of much more help, and I don’t think that’s just us. That’s everywhere across the country,” she said. As such, the industry must do better at attracting American workers, Gruwell, said. She pointed to Pennsylvania’s A Leg Up program–a mentorship designed to bring racing neophytes to the backstretch–as just such an example. The post Trainers Feeling Immigration Pinch appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

“Inside the Winner’s Circle, Presented by Keeneland” is a series showcasing graduates of the Keeneland September sale who have gone on to achieve success on racing’s biggest stages. When they convene at the annual Keeneland September sale, just about everyone is thinking the same thing. The buyers are all hoping to purchase a future star. They also hope the odds are with them and there are no hiccups on the way to the winner’s circle. And the sellers are all hoping that the bidding doesn’t stop until there is a very big number on the board. Things don’t always work out that way, at least at first. But that doesn’t mean that the story doesn’t end well. There’s no better evidence of that than Bricks and Mortar (Giant’s Causeway). A $200,000 purchase at the 2015 Keeneland September sale (watch the sale), the recent winner of the GI Manhattan at Belmont and the hottest horse in the sport, if voting were held today, he’d likely be named Horse of the Year. But few know how close his career came to ending in 2017 when the biggest win on his record was a victory in the GII Hall of Fame Stakes. At the time, he had earned $336,800 and would not be nearly the sire prospect he is today: as a three-time Grade I winner with earnings of $4,303,650. Of all the top horses his trainer Chad Brown has trained, none has earned more. Bricks and Mortar wins the Manhattan | Sarah K. Andrew Brown works closely with bloodstock agent Mike Ryan when he attends the sales and it was Ryan who first alerted him to Hip 118, a Giant’s Causeway colt out of the mare Beyond the Waves. The breeder was George Strawbridge Jr. and the consigner was Arthur Hancock’s Stone Farm. “When I went to look at the horse, I thought he was very athletic, an attractive colt,” Brown said. “With the way he was made, I thought he was turf right away. He had a very athletic walk to him to him and he was in our price range. He came from a good family. He was George Strawbridge-bred, and I have a lot of respect for his program.” Brown and Ryan weren’t wrong. Making his first start on Feb. 18, 2017 at Gulfstream for owners Seth Klarman and William Lawrence, he won a mile and a sixteenth maiden on the turf, his first of four straight. He was then third in the both the GIII Saranac and the GIII Hill Prince, but lost both races by just three-quarters of a length. Brown was so encouraged by the horse’s progress that he decided to ship him west for the GI Hollywood Derby. A few days later, he had reason to believe the horse would never run again. “The horse was getting ready for the Hollywood Derby and he worked at Belmont and when he came out of the work that day he developed what is called a stringhalt walk,” Brown explained. “It’s very rare. It’s when a horse has an exaggerated extension with their hind leg, where they’ll pick it up like they’re walking over something. They really hike it up like they’re walking over something in their way. I was quite nervous about it. He had a remarkable record at the time and had two narrow defeats. I thought he easily could have been undefeated. I was really disappointed.” Brown had Bricks and Mortar sent to Dr. Larry Bramlage at Rood and Riddle and Bramlage told him there was a 50-50 chance he could fix the problem. If the surgery didn’t work, the horse would have been retired. “Dr. Bramlage said he must have aggravated a ligament in his hock area that caused this,” Brown said. “He had some success with this before but told us it was a complicated surgery. I told him to go ahead. I didn’t see any other option. It did alleviate the problem.” From Oct. 17, 2017 until Dec. 22, 2018, Bricks and Mortar did not race. There were a few minor setbacks along the way, but when Ian Brennan, who had been caring for the horse while he was recuperating, called Brown and said he thought Bricks and Mortar was back and ready to go, Brown had every reason to believe that the horse was going to pick right up where he left off. He didn’t know he’d be even better. In order, he won an allowance, the GI Pegasus World Cup Turf, the GII Muniz Memorial and the Manhattan. Brown said the next goal is the GI Arlington Million. Meanwhile, Strawbridge has been watching from the sidelines. Someone who keeps some of his young horses to race and sells others, he explained that he put Bricks and Mortar in the sale because he was sure he would sell for big money. “I decided to sell him because he was a very good-looking horse and I thought I would get an awful lot of money for him,” Strawbridge said. “Instead, I got $200,000 for him and he’s gone on to win over $4 million, so it wasn’t a very good business transaction. He was a nice looking horse, a solid looking horse and we always liked him. I thought he’d go for $400,000. I did have a reserve, but it was $150,000.” But Strawbridge has not been sitting around feeling sorry for himself. He understands the business as well as anyone. “For me, this is a good story,” he said. “It’s very difficult to breed a multiple Grade I winner, so I am proud of that and I am happy for the horse’s owners. I also still have the mare and own some of Bricks and Mortar’s relatives.” Beyond the Waves was just bred to Uncle Mo and, considering the success of Bricks and Mortar, that mating could produce a horse that sells well, or wins Strawbridge some major races. Bricks and Mortar also helped put Strawbridge’s name in the record books for the Manhattan as he has now bred the winner two straight years. He won the race in 2018 with homebred Spring Quality (Quality Road). Meanwhile, Bricks and Mortar was Brown’s sixth Manhattan winner, and undoubtedly one of the most special. “I am so proud of this horse, everything he’s overcome,” Brown said. “I’m proud of his versatility and his consistency. He’s very defendable. I’m so happy for the horse that he is getting the recognition he deserves. His brilliance and his consistency has finally put him on the front page, even though he’s a turf horse. It’s gratifying to see him get the respect he deserves. The post For Bricks and Mortar, the Road to the Top Has Not Been Easy appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

I’ve been really perturbed this week by the some of the abuse that has been aimed at young jockeys on social media. On occasion, things can go horribly wrong in races and jockeys can make mistakes, but it’s hardly ever intentional. Jockeys want to be riding winners and earning their living but it’s a fact of life that sometimes things just go wrong. The people writing such things don’t understand what jockeys have to do to get to the point where they are riding a horse that has a chance of winning, and that may be after riding out three or four lots that morning, mostly on an empty stomach, and then travelling two or three hours maybe to ride in only one race on that day. Then through circumstances or human error, sometimes things go wrong. Believe me, no-one is more disappointed than the jockey. Riders are traveling around the country to try to make ends meet and they want to win more than the punter who has backed the horse. I think it’s important to point out that some riders are lucky to be riding regularly at the highest level, but the same decisions have to be made in a claimer and that race is as important to the people involved as the Derby is to others. I always approached every race wanting to win, and I think it’s the same for most riders. You apply the same skills whether it’s a £3,000 race or a Group 1, and those skills quite often include having to make split-second decisions. When it comes down to it, you might be lucky enough to make the right decision, but on occasions you make the wrong decision and that is just a fact of life. Whether you are a young claiming rider just getting started or a top jockey it does happen on occasion and the only thing you can do is come back in, put your hands up and say you got it wrong. The owners and trainers may be frustrated but nine times out of 10 they understand, and no one will be more frustrated than the rider. That’s the mentality of jockeys: you want to win every race for yourself and for your owners and trainers. Take this year’s Kentucky Derby as an example. What happened with Maximum Security was very unfortunate for Luis Saez. He’s probably 52 or 53 kilos and if a 500-kilo horse decides he wants to head off to the right, sometimes you just physically can’t stop them, and people perhaps don’t realise that. No jockey is going to be able to out-muscle a 500-kilo horse if they decide they want to shift ground. I’m a fan of social media and I think it’s a great way to be able to promote yourself and keep up with the news. There’s no question that when used properly it’s a very good and necessary tool for businesses, but the downside to it is that it allows people to vent their anger and be abusive towards individuals anonymously and that’s a really cowardly way to behave. Thankfully, it is only a small minority of people but the abuse that jockeys, and some trainers, receive is totally uncalled for. Whether it’s trainers that have young apprentices in their yards, or jockey coaches, or the regulatory bodies, I hope that they will educate the young riders and advise them not to pay any heed to what is a small minority of people with a vicious approach who vent their frustrations through social media. It’s vitally important for the industry to use social media and to embrace it but I’d like to see rules brought in whereby people can’t be on such a platform unless they properly identify themselves. It’s too easy to be nameless and faceless and say whatever you feel like saying, using vile language, and that’s not good for society. From my experience of abuse on Twitter, it never bothered me, but I do have children who read it and a wife who reads it, and it’s not very nice for anyone. People don’t take that side of it into account. It’s easier said than done, but my advice to the younger jockeys is please don’t pay any heed to it. The pressures of being a jockey are high enough, both mentally and physically, without reading that sort of stuff. Nothing Covert About This Love We had a brief trip to Newmarket at the weekend for a very special occasion to celebrate the wedding of Mark McStay and Eva O’Donoghue. Not only was it a happy day but it was a lovely opportunity to be reunited with the team behind the Irish Oaks and Prix de l’Opera winner Covert Love (Ire). Mark bred the filly with Hugo Merry and they raced her together with a partnership, and I was delighted to be asked to ride her. Mark has been a big supporter of mine for many years. We’ve been friends for a long time and he was instrumental in me getting the ride on Benbaun (Ire), another big winner on Arc day all those years ago with Mark Wallace. That was a great association and then I won the Ayr Gold Cup on Captain Ramius (Ire) for Mark’s parents, John and Clodagh, and that led to me riding a lot of horses for Kevin Ryan. Then of course our most recent association was with Covert Love. What she went on to achieve was really special and in turn led to me having a lot of rides for Hugo Palmer. Mark has worked very hard setting up Avenue Bloodstock with John Ferguson and Amy Lanigan, and there’s no doubt he has a huge knowledge of the game and of pedigrees. He has been very successful over the years and I’m sure that will continue in his new venture. We were very lucky to attend the wedding and to have a great night with lots of racing people, and I’d like to wish Mark and Eva a long and happy marriage. So Sorry For The Lavery Team I was devastated to hear the news from Sheila Lavery about Lady Kaya yesterday afternoon. Neither the filly nor her owners deserved that. They rightly had huge expectations of what Lady Kaya could achieve in the future, but it’s a measure of the people that they are that they will carry on and accept what has happened. Like so many other people, I am just so very sad for them all. I know first-hand that Sheila treats her horses almost like children and it’s going to hit her very hard. The same goes for her brother John and her niece Joanne, who bought Lady Kaya as a foal. They have all done such a terrific job with her, and I know that they will continue to do the same for every horse that comes into their stable. The post The Pat Smullen Column: Unsocial Media appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

An additional number of lots added in the last 24 hours sees at least 22 horses currently to be presented for Monday’s Goffs London Sale in association with QIPCO. The catalogue, which is now live and can be accessed here has been strengthened by the addition of the Wesley Ward trained Maven (American Pharoah). Offered as lot 22, the colt was a debut winner at Aqueduct in April and holds an entry in the G2 Norfolk S. The Andrew Balding trained Le Don De Vie (GB) (Leroixdesanimaux) has proved a progressive type this year, his Derby Day victory at Epsom pushing his rating up to 96 and the 3-year-old, offered as lot 18 appears to have a lot of racing options. Michael O’Callaghan has two of his 2019 juvenile winners entered. Lot 20 Isabeau (Ire) (Cable Bay {Ire}) showed a lot of natural speed to win on debut at Down Royal and holds two Royal Ascot entries while her stable-mate Red Epaulette (Ire) (Epaulette {Aus}) (lot 21) is a winner and twice placed from three starts. He is being aimed at the Listed Windsor Castle S. Those seeking an established high class sprinter will be tempted by lot 14 Sestilio Jet (Fr) (French Fifteen {Fr}). The 4-year-old colt won the G3 Prix de Saint-Georges before finishing second in the G2 Prix du Gros-Chene over five furlongs at Chantilly. Goffs are open to accepting further wildcard entries over the coming days. The post London Sale Catalogue Goes Live appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Formlines from the English, Irish and French 2000 Guineas are set to be tested again at Royal Ascot next week with the news that Shaman (Ire) (Shamardal), runner up in the G1 The Emirates Poule d’Essai des Poulains is set to take his chance in the G1 St James’s Palace S. on Tuesday for trainer Carlos Laffon-Parias. The colt stepped up from his juvenile form to win his first two 3-year-old starts including the G3 Prix la Force before finding only Persian King (Ire) (Kingman {GB}) too good in the French Classic. “The plan is to run and Carlos [Laffon-Parias] is very happy with the horse,” said Pierre-Yves Bureau, racing manager to owners the Wertheimers. “We think he’s a very good horse with a lot of experience, which is important when you are going to Ascot. We don’t know for sure what other horses will be in the race, but our horse has the experience and the quality and we have big hopes he can run a very nice race.” Having won on both good and heavy ground this year Bureau is unconcerned over track conditions at Ascot and added, “He has shown he handles an easy track and some other horses will not, so it would not be a worry if the ground was soft. But at the same time, I don’t think better ground would be a problem for him either. I think he can handle all types of ground.” The post Shaman Gets Go Ahead For Ascot appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Terrible news emerged from the Sheila Lavery stable on Tuesday when the trainer announced the death of her stable star Lady Kaya (Ire) (Dandy Man {Ire}), following a training accident that morning. “We are absolutely heartbroken here, Lady Kaya broke her leg this morning and could not be saved,” Lavery announced via Twitter. Speaking later to Irishracing.com Lavery explained, “She was having her final piece up the Curragh on the Old Vic — she was going beautifully and Robbie [Colgan] just heard a bang. She shattered her hind leg. She was the soundest filly I’ve ever had. We boxed her off the gallops, brought her to Anglesey Lodge [vet clinic] who X-rayed her but said she couldn’t be saved, and they put her down.” The 3-year-old, who was being readied for a tilt at the G1 Commonwealth Cup had endeared herself to Irish and British racing fans after her brave effort when second in the G1 QIPCO 1000 Guineas at Newmarket last month, having begun the season with a dazzling front running victory in the G3 Ballylinch Stud 1000 Guineas Trial S. at Leopardstown. Owned by Sheila Lavery’s niece Joanne, Lady Kaya also represented a real rags to riches tale for connections. Bought by Joanne for €15,000 as a foal with the intention of reselling as a yearling, Lady Kaya managed to cut her leg while in the paddock, an injury which required a period of box rest which then impacted on her appearance and condition at the yearling sales. Wisely retained at the sales for €12,000, the John O’Connor bred filly made an immediate impact as a juvenile, handing G1 Investec Oaks runner up Pink Dogwood (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) a ten length beating on her second start before running second to Skitter Scatter (Scat Daddy) in the G1 Moyglare Stud S. A natural front runner with bags of speed and a tremendously game attitude, Lady Kaya would have been a star in any stable and for a close knit team like the Laverys it is a devastating blow. The Dandy Man (Ire) filly was also responsible for breathing new life into the career of dual purpose jockey Robbie Colgan and our sympathies go out to all associated with her. The post Massive Blow For Lavery Team appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company will bring the curtain down on the 2019 juvenile sales season with its three-day June Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training and Horses of Racing Age, which begins Wednesday in Central Florida. “I expect we’ll see a lot of things that we’ve seen already this year,” OBS Director of Sales Tod Wojciechowski said of expectations for the June market. “I don’t think we’re going to establish any new trends, but I think a lot of what we’ve seen so far this year will continue forward.” OBS opened the juvenile sales season with a strong renewal of its March sale and the June sale comes in the wake of a record-setting edition of the company’s April sale, which produced its highest-ever gross, average and median and featured three seven-figure transactions. “We’ve been very happy with the 2-year-old season,” Wojciechowski said. “We’ve been fortunate that consignors have brought us a lot of good horses. And buyers come here and they have confidence they can buy a runner. All you have to do is look at our success on Belmont day when we won three Grade Is.” The strength of the April market may have a trickle down effect on June, Wojciechowski agreed. “I think so,” he said. “We are seeing people on the grounds that we didn’t see in April or people that got shut out in April.” The five-session under-tack preview of the June sale was delayed slightly by rain and lightning during both weekend sessions. “We had to do some dancing around some rain showers over the weekend, but looking at the weather forecast beginning Saturday morning, there was a question mark about whether we’d be able to get our two days in. We just got fortunate and we only had to encounter a little bit of rain and our consignors and horses forged through in great fashion. I think, all in all, it was a very successful breeze show.” During the preview, three horses shared the :20 3/5 quarter-mile bullet time and 11 shared the fastest furlong time of :9 4/5. A pair of juveniles shared the bullet three-furlong time of :32 3/5. Ciaran Dunne’s Wavertree Stables, which was the leading consignor at last year’s June sale, sent out a pair of bullet workers. The consignor said he had no problem sending a horse through the ring at the late-season auction. “You can’t hide a good horse,” he said. “If his work and his gallop-out, and everything measures up to everything they want nowadays, there will be a multitude of people to buy him. We’ve never been afraid to go to any sale.” Using his quarter-mile bullet worker by Daredevil as an example, Dunne said, “With him, no he wasn’t slated to go here, but when he had his setback, instead of pushing the envelope, we didn’t have any hesitancy to backing up and coming here.” At the 2018 June sale, a colt by Scat Daddy attracted top price of $650,000. The dark bay was one of 11 to sell for $200,000 or more during the auction. In all, 530 juveniles sold for a total of $17,231,000. The average was $32,511 and the median was $15,000. The June sales continues through Friday with sessions beginning daily at 10 a.m. The post OBS June Sale Starts Wednesday appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Tattersalls have released the online catalogue for their July Sale which runs for three days July 10-12. 904 lots have been catalogued, split between 90 broodmares, some offered with foals at foot, and 814 horses in and out of training. As usual there are dispersals from all the top owner/breeders such as Cheveley Park Stud, Godolphin, Hascombe and Valiant Stud, Juddmonte Farms, Moyglare Stud, Newsells Park Stud and Shadwell Estates. The July Sale has unearthed the likes of Queenofthefairies (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) and Seeking Solace (GB) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}) who have since become the dams of last year’s Group 1 winners Fairyland (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) and Ten Sovereigns (Ire) (No Nay Never) and among the numerous barren and in foal mares that could follow a similar path are lot 131 Doors To Manual (Royal Academy) who is already the dam of MGSW Safety Check (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) and who is offered in foal to Saxon Warrior (Jpn), and lot 67 Wamathaat (Speightstown). This unraced 3-year-old is a half-sister to two MGSWs including the GI San Antonio S. winner Gift Box (Twirling Candy). The July Sale is also a must attend event for many trainers, both flat and national hunt, particularly those seeking a proven operator ready to go to war with or one that may benefit from a change of scenery or routine. The sale will feature significant drafts from many leading British and Irish stables and a few that could appeal to buyers anywhere in the world include lot 258, Jim Bolger’s Twilight Payment (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}). The 6-year-old gelding advertised his worth with a win in a listed race at Leopardstown recently while the Ger Lyons trained Inverleigh (Ire) (Excelebration {Ire}), catalogued as lot 824, is an unexposed stakes winning sprinter. Announcing the catalogue Tattersalls Chairman Edmond Mahony said, “Quality and diversity are the hallmarks of the Tattersalls July Sale which has long been established as Europe’s premier midsummer sale and this year’s catalogue holds plenty of appeal for buyers from throughout the world, whatever their requirements. Recent renewals of the July Sale have produced the dams of outstanding 2018 Group 1 winning 2-year-olds Fairyland and Ten Sovereigns and alongside very well bred fillies and mares, the catalogue also offers enormous choice for buyers looking for horses in training.” The post Tattersalls July Catalogue Now Online appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Champion jockey Zac Purton believes he will struggle to reach the lofty heights he has hit this season again so he is enjoying every win he can get.The Australian has enjoyed a golden season and is an outside chance of breaking Joao Moreira’s record of 170 wins should the cards fall his way, but he will face stiffer competition next season with the Brazilian once again becoming a full-time club-retained jockey and the addition of Blake Shinn.The 36-year-old has racked up 146 winners to date,… View the full article

Chad Schofield deferred a suspension earlier this season specifically to ride the Danny Shum Chap-shing-trained Happy Tour in a restricted race at Conghua only to be badly let down, so he is hoping not to be burnt twice come Wednesday.The four-year-old goes around in the Class Three Hoi Mei Handicap (1,200m) after a six-week break where he looks to emulate the feats of his five-length win on the all-weather surface in December.While Schofield said all the signs point in a positive direction, he… View the full article

Group Two-winning mare will contest the Listed The Ultimate Ford and Mazda Tauranga Classic (1400m) later this month after pleasing her connections with her first-up placing at Trentham last month. The Fraser Auret-trained mare finished third behind Comeback and Art Deco over 1400m and he believes she will thrive in the wet track conditions over the winter months. “She seems quite adept in those conditions,” he said. “I was absolutely thrilled with her run at Wellington and the way she pul... View the full article

The Gr.1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) has received a funding injection and will be run for a record A$8million on November 5 this year. The total prizemoney, including trophies, for the Lexus Melbourne Cup will increase to $8 million, up from $7.3 million in 2018. The winner of ‘the race that stops a nation’ will receive A$4.4 million plus A$250,000 in trophies, second place A$1.1 million and third place A$550,000. Prizemoney will continue to be paid from 1st down to 12th. From sixth to twelfth pla... View the full article

As the current thoroughbred racing season draws to a close, a question posed by many industry pundits just over 12 months ago has been answered in emphatic fashion. In May 2018 the boss of Te Akau Racing, David Ellis, made the announcement that young tyro Jamie Richards would be taking sole charge of Te Akau’s Matamata training operation after working in partnership with the experienced Stephen Autridge. Many saw it as a bold, but perhaps risky, move to place the 28-year old at the top of the ... View the full article

The new training partnership of Paul Nelson and Corrina McDougal secured their first win at Trentham on Saturday when No Tip was victorious in the Gazley Mercedes Benz Hurdle (2500m). Nelson was pleased to get the partnership off to a winning start, particularly with the long history between the pair and the hardships McDougal has had to face. “It’s a great thrill, I think she first worked for us 20 years ago and she has been with us constantly for the last five years,” he said. “She’s... View the full article

Kranji won’t lose Count after all View the full article

Updates on stewards' follow-ups to Friday and Sunday meetings View the full article

Horses' test results June 8 View the full article

The defendants in the lawsuit over the controversial May 4 disqualification of the GI Kentucky Derby winner have asked a federal judge to dismiss the suit on grounds that the litigation “fails to state a claim…upon which relief can be granted.” The three stewards assigned to Churchill Downs, plus the 14 board members and the executive director of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC), filed a 167-page “motion to dismiss” June 8 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky (Lexington Division), citing the alleged failure by the plaintiffs, Gary and Mary West, to follow Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). The lawsuit, which was initiated by the owners of Maximum Security (New Year’s Day), seeks the reversal of the unprecedented Derby DQ, plus reinstatement of the original order of finish “confirming that Maximum Security is the official winner of the Derby who remains undefeated.” The Wests are alleging that “the final order is not supported by substantial evidence on the whole record” and that the DQ “violates plaintiffs’ Fourteenth Amendment rights to procedural due process.” But the KHRC, et al, fired back in court with this latest filing, claiming that “the same rules apply to every horse race, whether a Friday night claiming race or the Kentucky Derby. Under those rules, Maximum Security did not win the Derby, and the Wests did not win the Derby purse. And under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Wests fail to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.” The motion to dismiss continues: “The Kentucky Derby is the most prestigious horse race in the world. And horse racing may be the ‘sport of kings,’ but it is still that–a sport. As with every sport, it has rules to foster consistent, fair, and safe play, and neutral arbiters, whether called referees, umpires, judges–or in this case, stewards–who enforce those rules. “The Wests disagree with the stewards’ call to disqualify Maximum Security,” the motion continues. “And they disagree with the Commission’s decision to make that call conclusive. Instead, the Wests want this Court to make the call and determine the winner of the Derby–a demand that threatens to transform the ‘most exciting two minutes in sports’ into tedious, protracted litigation. “But their mere disagreement is insufficient to support a claim that their Constitutional–or any other–legal rights have been violated,” the motion states. “In fact, they allege no valid cause of action at all. The Court should therefore dismiss the Wests’ Complaint as a matter of law.” The three stewards who officiated the Derby–chief state steward Barbara Borden, state steward Brooks “Butch” Becraft, and Churchill Downs steward Tyler Picklesimer–launched a post-Derby adjudication process that lasted 22 minutes and played out on national TV as they debated whether Maximum Security’s shifting out while leading on the far turn caused crowding that affected rivals in close pursuit and almost triggered a clipping-of-heels accident. In the aftermath of two jockeys’ objections–but no posted stewards’ inquiry–Maximum Security was judged to have fouled Long Range Toddy (Take Charge Indy) and thus placed behind that rival in 17th place. Country House (Lookin At Lucky), who crossed the wire second, was elevated to first place and recognized as the official Derby winner. The Wests’ May 14 suit claims that they were denied their allegedly rightful part of the $1,860,000 share of the Derby purse “as well as a professional accomplishment that any horseman would cherish for life, plus the very substantial value that a Kentucky Derby winner has as a stallion.” The defendants’ June 8 motion to dismiss states that, “The Wests have not sufficiently stated a cause of action entitling them to the unprecedented relief they seek because they have identified no due process deprivation and the KHRC appropriately rendered its conclusive disqualification determinations.” The motion cites legal precedents for dismissal of this type of suit, including one that states that plaintiffs “can have no legitimate claim of entitlement to a discretionary decision.” Another states that only after the plaintiffs demonstrate a protected property interest can a court “consider the form and nature of the process that is due.” In summing up the motion to dismiss, the defendants’ filing states “Quite simply, the Wests fail to identify a legitimate claim of entitlement to any property interest based upon Kentucky statute, regulation, or case law. Thus, their due process claim fails as a matter of law, and should be dismissed.” Beyond the above-named stewards, other defendants in the suit are KHRC executive director Marc Guilfoil, chairman Franklin King, vice chair Mark Simendinger, and board members Gatewood Bell, Jr., Larry Bisig, Stuart Brown II, DVM, Kerry Cauthen, Kiki Courtelis, Pat. Day, Douglas Hendrickson, Lesley Ann May Howard, Kenneth Jackson, Bret Jones, Foster Northrop, DVM, and J. David Richardson. The post Dismiss Derby Lawsuit, Defendants Implore Federal Judge appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

In a relatively small sample size of 22 races run with “enhanced” purse-to-claiming price ratios greater than 2 to 1 this year, the New York Racing Association (NYRA) has experienced an above-norm scratch rate of 11%. But Scott Palmer, VMD, the equine medical director for the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC), told commissioners at Monday’s monthly meeting that the higher scratch rate for those types of races is evidence that newly enhanced veterinary scrutiny policies designed to screen out at-risk horses have “successfully mitigated” the dangers associated with running horses for purses that are more than double the value of claiming prices. Thus, based on Palmer’s assessment that the situation is safe, there were no changes made to the system that commissioners unanimously voted in Jan. 28 to add flexibility to claiming races. At that time, the NYSGC agreed to relax a 2-to-1 purse/price rule for claiming races on a case-by-case basis so NYRA could card races that are competitive with other tracks in the mid-Atlantic region whose claiming structures are not governed by commission-mandated purse ratios. A key part of the rule change was that in order to tweak purses upward beyond that 2-to-1 ratio, NYRA had to agree to perform an additional level of veterinary due diligence to double-check situations that trigger greater risk, like if a horse is being entered off an extended layoff, drops precipitously in class, shows a questionable workout pattern, or has been reported to have had multiple intra-articular medications administered in its recent history. “As the purse levels exceed the claiming price of the horse, risk is incentivized and the horse becomes a commodity,” Palmer said. “That’s the challenge, and that’s where we had to find this fine line, this balance if you will, between increase of the economic opportunities without the horse having to pay the price for that. That’s what we’re trying to do here.” Palmer gave some historical perspective on the situation: During the 2011-12 spring meet at Aqueduct Racetrack, 21 horses suffered catastrophic injuries. Subsequent to that spike in deaths, a governor’s task force on equine safety made the recommendation that (among multiple other factors) the state needed to dis-incentivize owners and trainers from entering lame or uncompetitive horses in lower-level races that feature gaming-inflated purses, which in some cases at NYRA had a purse/price ratio as high as 4-to-1. The NYSGC responded by setting the 2-to-1 purse/price ratio, and that mandate had been in effect for nearly seven years when NYRA requested some exceptions to it last December. Competing racing jurisdictions around New York “were not experiencing an increased rate of fatality in this group of races in the region around us,” Palmer said when explaining his rationale for crafting the new protocols that went into effect in 2019. “It resonated with us that New York was at a disadvantage in this regard, both for the horsemen and for the racing association. “However, as you all know, we were very reluctant to remove a protective measure that seemed to be working, and to take a risk that horses would be put at risk again. So that’s why the new protective factors were required,” Palmer said. And Palmer also noted an historical caveat: “There’s some very good research that shows there’s an increased amount of risk for catastrophic injury for horses in claiming races with a purse-to-price ratio greater than 1.8 to 1. This is a very sound piece of scientific information.” With all of that in mind, NYRA was granted permission to modify some claiming purse/price ratios at this spring’s race meets. So far this year, Aqueduct and Belmont Park have each carded 11 “enhanced” claiming races, with purse/price ratios ranging from 2.25 to 1 to 3 to 1. Those races, Palmer said, drew 142 entrants. Of them, 16 scratched prior to racing (14 veterinary scratches, one stewards’ scratch, and one trainer’s scratch). Of the horses that raced, one failed to finish and was vanned off with a non-fatal injury. There were no equine deaths in those 22 “enhanced” claiming races. “One of the things that’s important about this is that it represents a bit of a higher [scratch rate] number than ordinary in most races,” Palmer said (he did not cite a comparative scratch rate for other races). “It’s about an 11% scratch rate here. And that’s a little high. So what that tells us is that NYRA was doing a really good job, and really had a hard eye on these horses. And they just took horses out if they had concerns.” But commissioner Todd Snyder asked Palmer if, by allowing the higher ratios, “we’re basically creating the incentive that we didn’t want to create, and then we’re creating a regulatory scheme to intervene to protect against it.” Palmer responded that “I think you could argue that. I don’t know that I could compare that to regular races [that don’t have enhanced claiming prices] and make a distinct comparison to say this is different. But I think the point is well made that in [11 % of entrants] it was determined that they really shouldn’t run. [The] regulatory scratches were interventions, which is exactly why we had this program in place.” Palmer also pointed to New York’s improving equine safety record over the past seven years since the Aqueduct catastrophes sparked change in 2012. “This is [the] widespread effect of this racing quality-control program that we have in place,” Palmer said. “This is not a statistical fluke. We’ve reduced these injuries in the neighborhood of 42 to 50%, and it’s been in that range for the last seven years. That’s not an accident… This is hard work. This is something that we do every day. And it means that it works. It’s no public relations campaign. These are the numbers. It works. “So where do we go from here?” Palmer asked rhetorically. “I expect that NYRA will continue to make requests for their condition book to modify these races. Finger Lakes has so far not done that. “The commission staff will continue to closely monitor all these races and make adjustments to protocols as necessary to minimize risk of injury,” Palmer summed up. “I think that’s the way we’re going to [handle the situation moving forward]. I think you should feel comfortable about the decision you made in January. And I think you should also be very comfortable about the fact that you insisted that there be some extra measures put in place here.” The post NY Medical Director: Higher Scratch Rate Evidence Safety Protocols Work appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Trainer Wesley Ward has been forced to rule Lady Pauline out of the Queen Mary Stakes (G2) at Royal Ascot after the juvenile filly suffered an injury in a workout at Manton. View the full article

A popular joke in the world of horse racing is, “it’s easy to become a millionaire– just start out a billionaire!” However, it is obviously not that simple. The Green Group has been working in the equine industry for over 30 years, advising people on how to successfully navigate this complicated business. With years of experience working with many successful people in the horse industry, we have been fortunate enough to learn a thing or two. In this article, we will focus in on general business and new tax updates. General Business The great thing about working with owners in the thoroughbred industry is that the majority of them already have a proven background as a successful business professional in some form or another. To do so, they probably had a game plan that was similar to the following: 1. They saw an existing problem and figured out a way to solve it better, faster and/or less expensively. 2. They formed a team that included individuals with specific knowledge and/or contacts in that industry. 3. They outworked their competitors. 4. They monitored the trends in the industry as well as what their competitors were doing. 5. They thought “outside the box” and took calculated risks. 6. They continued to reinvent themselves. 7. They took advantage of all the special tax deductions accessible to them and paid the least amount of taxes allowable. And yet, a large majority of people who lose money in the horse business do not follow the above. Here, we’ll focus on our strong point: #7. New Tax Updates First, you should ensure your accountant is aware of the various new tax updates. 1. If your horse operation is profitable, you may be eligible to reduce the income by 20%. Under the same recent Tax Act, this new 20% Qualified Business Income (QBI) deduction is designed to extend tax relief to small business owners such as sole proprietors, shareholders of S Corporations, members of LLCs, and partners in partnerships, as the original proposed Tax Law changes only provided tax cuts to larger C Corporations. QBI is the net amount of qualified items of income, gain, deduction, and loss from any effectively connected U.S. trade or business. REIT dividends and income from publicly traded partnerships qualify, though wages and portfolio items do not count. This new QBI deduction allows business owners to deduct up to 20% of business income, subject to these limitations: a. The deduction cannot exceed 20% of a taxpayer’s taxable income exclusive of capital gains. b. Income from specified service businesses (health, law, accounting, actuarial sciences, performing arts, consulting, athletics, financial services, or where a reputation is a principal asset) qualifies only when the owner’s taxable income is less than $315,000 for a married couple or $157,500 for all others (then subject to a phase-out over the next $100,000/$50,000). c. For non-specified service businesses, if an owner’s taxable income exceeds the $315,000/$157,500 thresholds, then the QBI deduction is the lesser of 20% of QBI or the greater of (i) 50% of W-2 wages paid or (ii) 25% of W-2 wages plus 2.5% of the original cost of owned property. 2. The three-year depreciation for racehorses that expired in 2017, not allowing for a three-year write-off in 2018, has changed. You may now find it worthwhile to amend your 2018 tax return. 3. You should have someone take a look at any assets acquired in 2018, new or used, barns, fences, equipment, etc., to see whether you have maximized your depreciation and expense write-offs. In many cases you can now write off qualified assets in one year! 4. Did you purchase any broodmares in foal? Are you maximizing the special deductions there? I hope you found some of the information we have acquired throughout the years insightful and useful to your thoroughbred business. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to The Green Group to speak with us. The post Proven Strategies: Tips & Techniques to Make You More Profitable appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

With a different winner in each Triple Crown race this year, the disqualified Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) winner Maximum Security has returned to the No. 1 spot in the final NTRA Top 3-Year-Old Poll. View the full article

Fox Hill Farms' Omaha Beach left WinStar Farm in Versailles, Ky., June 10 and is scheduled to arrive back in California by plane Monday evening before returning to trainer Richard Mandella's barn, Fox Hill's Rick Porter said. View the full article