Wandering Eyes

Fasig-Tipton has cataloged 185 entries for The Gulfstream Sale of Selected Two-Year-Olds in Training, to be held on Wednesday, Mar. 27, in the racetrack’s walking ring, it was announced Wednesday. The sale will begin at 2 pm, while the under tack show is scheduled for Monday, Mar. 25, beginning at 9 a.m. “2019 marks our fifth year at Gulfstream Park, and quality results on the racetrack and in the sales ring have generated our strongest catalog to date,” said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning. “This year’s main catalog is 17% larger than last year’s, and the depth of quality is outstanding.” The sale’s recent stakes-winning graduates include Grade 1 winners Audible (Into Mischief), Bellafina (Quality Road), Dream Tree (Uncle Mo) and Fourstar Crook (Freud), as well as current GI Kentucky Derby prospects Instagrand (Into Mischief) and Maximus Mischief (Into Mischief). “The racetrack success of Gulfstream sales graduates has been highly impressive,” continued Browning. “In just a short time, sales graduates have claimed the sport’s biggest races from coast-to-coast, including the Kentucky Derby and the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. Interestingly enough, sales grads have also captured Gulfstream’s GI Florida Derby twice, the GII Gulfstream Park Oaks, and the GII Holy Bull S.–races won over the very same dirt surface in which they breezed during our sale’s under tack shows.” Fasig-Tipton will also offer a supplemental catalog once again this year. Supplemental entries will be accepted on an approval basis. The catalog is now available online and will also be available via the Equineline sales catalogue app. Print catalogs will be available from Fasig-Tipton offices beginning this Friday, Feb. 15. View the full article

It’s been quite a week here at Bankhouse, as you all know with the outbreak of the equine flu in the yard and with another case of it being reported at Simon Crisford’s yard in Newmarket. There seems to be no apparent link between our two yards, so it’s just two individual cases. The flu […] The post Donald McCain Blog – Yard Update appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

The search for the ‘next big thing’ in the sire ranks is a pursuit that engages participants and observers at every stage of the bloodstock business. Be it picking out a favoured stallion prospect soon after they retire to stud or having seen their first foals, yearlings or runners, the process is often an ongoing one. However, for all that many like to make fast judgements of sires based on their first foals or yearlings, the first really pertinent evidence we get as to which sires will make it is the racecourse performance of their first crop of 2-year-olds. Of course, recent history has shown us that a sire’s first crop performing poorly as 2-year-olds is not the complete disaster it might be considered, with Nathaniel (Ire) bouncing back from an unremarkable first year with runners to establish himself as a high-class sire less than a year later. That said, exceptions such as that are rare, particularly so amongst stallions that are expected to breed a sharper type of horse. With that in mind, now is a good time to examine how the first-season sires of 2018 fared. This was a competitive group, with there being 14 stallions based in Britain and Ireland that had 75 or more 2-year-olds to represent them. For the sake of comparison, there were 10 such stallions in 2017, 13 in 2016 and eight in 2015. It is also worth noting that there was more depth in the upper end of the market than is often the case, with five individual stallions having covered their first crop at a published fee of €20,000 or higher. Here is how they fared in order of the percentage of their runners that ran to a Racing Post Rating (RPR) of 85 or higher. Due to the fact that RPRs are omitted for some runners in France, horses who stood their first season in that country are not included on this list. Those that certainly sired horses in this realm, however, include France’s leading first-season sire Anodin (Ire), sire of 20 winners and two stakes winners, and Olympic Glory (Ire), sire of 21 winners and one stakes winner. The obvious starting point based on the analysis is No Nay Never (Coolmore). He was the headline performer when the yearling sales of 2017 were analysed in this space and he delivered on the expectations surrounding him in no uncertain terms. He made a fast start to the season and there was no slowdown as the year progressed, with the Aidan O’Brien-trained Ten Sovereigns (Ire) putting the icing on the cake when winning the G1 Middle Park S. at Newmarket in September. For over 30% of his runners to have hit RPR85+ and over 10% to hit RPR100+ is remarkable. In the time I have been conducting this brand of analysis, only Frankel hit such heights with his first crop of 2-year-olds. As with any sprinting sire that makes a fast start, the next question they have to answer is whether their progeny train on. Only time will tell for sure, but with so many of No Nay Never’s most high-profile runners having plenty of physical scope, the odds would look to be in his favour in this regard going into the 2019 season. With his fee having rocketed to €100,000, he will now be out of the reach of many breeders, but it will be fascinating to see whether his progeny can keep up the exceptionally fast pace they set in 2018. The most expensive sire that had his first runners in 2018 was Juddmonte’s Kingman (GB), and he was another that lived up to expectations. His progeny wouldn’t have been expected to have been as forward as those of No Nay Never and that is reflected in his lower runners-to-foals percentage, but those that did make the track made a strong impression. The performance percentages of his runners were well over double the average, with his first crop producing some really exciting 3-year-old prospects including Calyx (GB) and Persian King (Ire). Kingman’s progeny will be widely expected to progress as 3-year-olds, so his reputation could well continue to grow in 2019. The second-most expensive sire amongst this group was another Coolmore stallion, Australia (GB), and his was an interesting season to examine. While it would have been fair to expect his offspring to be more backward compared to both Kingman and particularly No Nay Never, it may come as a surprise to some that he actually ended up having slightly more runners than both those sires. In terms of the performance of those runners, while his RPR85+ percentage was not as far above average as one might have expected, that he produced more RPR100+ performers than all bar No Nay Never is notable. With those four RPR100+ runners, three of which achieved RPRs in excess of 110, being slightly more exposed sorts that don’t have particularly high profiles, the merit of what Australia achieved in siring them in his first crop may fly slightly under the radar. Of all the first-season sires of 2018, Australia’s progeny should improve notably as 3-year-olds and he can be expected to advance his credentials in 2019. In terms of the first-season sires with lower profiles going into 2018 that enhanced their reputations, Gregorian (Ire), who stands at the National Stud, performed the best of sires standing at the lower end of the market that had their credentials examined with an above-average sample size of offspring. Given that Gregorian himself trained on very well and produced some of his most notable efforts as a 5-year-old, hopes will be high that his progeny can progress with age and continue to raise his profile as a sire. Just to briefly broaden this discussion, regular readers will know that I produce an analysis of the yearling sales every year. It is an interesting exercise in assessing the predictive ability of such analysis by reviewing the column on the extreme right of the above table. That reveals what rank each sire held in my yearling sale analysis of 2017 when ordered by their median price as a multiple of their stud fee plus fixed production costs. Of course, it won’t work out every year, but presenting the data in this manner suggests that the yearling buyers by and large were spot on with their assessment of the progeny of first-season sires in 2018. That will be something worth bearing in mind when the analysis of last year’s yearling sales appears in the weeks ahead. View the full article

Australian jockey Tommy Berry believes Pakistan Star is still “one of the best horses in Hong Kong” and can make his presence felt at Sha Tin on Sunday. The Australian is looking to draw on his sensational Hong Kong feature-race record as he attempts to bring the mercurial galloper back to his former glory in the Group One Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup (2,000m). Berry has ridden nine Group One winners in Hong Kong, along with a handful of other features, and is looking to add one more to... View the full article

Tipster: Sam Agars RISE HIGH- R7 (3) Tipster: Trenton Akers HAPPY DRAGON - R5 (3) Tipster: Tom Biddington SUPER HOPPY - R6 (6) Tipster: Phillip Woo ALPHA HEDGE - R4 (6) Tipster: Shannon (Vincent Wong) SHOWING CHARACTER - R2 (7) Tipster: Racing Post Online ENCOURAGING - R8 (1) Tipster: Brett Davis MUSIC ADDITION - R9 (3) View the full article

Early scratching February 15 View the full article

Kasa on the Zac attack this Sunday View the full article

Godolphin’s Coliseum (Tapit) will be given time off after his lackluster third-place finish in Sunday’s GII San Vicente S., trainer Bob Baffert confirmed Tuesday evening. The story was first reported in Daily Racing Form. “He is not enjoying his job right now, so we’ll give him 30 days away from the track,” Baffert said. “We’ll start all over for summer racing.” Well-hyped even before he started his racing career, Coliseum produced a scintillating debut win last November and was tabbed a ‘TDN Rising Star.’ He came home only sixth after a troubled start in the Jan. 5 GIII Sham S. After a slow start Sunday, he moved to press the pace before coming up flat when third in the San Vicente. View the full article

Both Exultant (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) and ‘TDN Rising Star‘ Pakistan Star (Ger) (Shamardal) have proven themselves at the top level, the former having become just the third locally based horse to win the G1 Longines Hong Kong Vase (2400m) last December, while Pakistan Star took out the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup (2000m) and G1 Champions and Chater Cup (2400m) last season. But don’t expect to see them on taking on overseas targets anytime soon. Trainer Tony Cruz confirmed Tuesday that both would focus on a domestic campaign for the balance of the season, ruling out an appearance at the Dubai World Cup meeting Mar. 30. Both will represent the stable in this weekend’s G1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup (2000m) at Sha Tin. “We’ll target the races we have here in Hong Kong and he’s in excellent shape for the Hong Kong Gold Cup, he’s the form horse,” Cruz told the HKJC’s David Morgan, referring to Exultant, who took advantage of a perfect set-up to add the G3 Centenary Vase H. (1800m) Jan. 27. “I think we’d better stay here because he’ll likely lose a lot of weight going there and coming back, and as he’s not a good doer, we don’t want to risk it. Next year, when he’s stronger and more mature, then we’ll look at going over there for the [G1] Sheema Classic.” Pakistan Star has yet to return to the form which saw him annex the two late-season features last spring, but Cruz is optimistic heading into the weekend. Tommy Berry, who was in the saddle for the championship-clinching victory in the Champions and Chater, jets in from Australia to ride. “The sparkle is still there,” he told Morgan. “I’m very happy with the horse. This time he’s in better shape and we’ve got some good leaders in the race, so the pace should be on, which would suit him perfectly. Cruz will also send out Time Warp (GB) (Archipenko) in defence of his Gold Cup title from 12 months ago, when he became the first to break the two-minute mark for the metric mile and a quarter. “He needs everything his way. It’s the same story, he’ll lead the race and if he runs his best race he wins,” Cruz said. View the full article

The highly regarded ‘TDN Rising Star’ Hidden Scroll (Hard Spun) isn’t the only promising 3-year-old debut winner to carry the famed green-and-pink silks of Juddmonte Farms this winter at Gulfstream Park. Clause (f, 3, Speightstown–Red Herring, by Empire Maker) stamped herself as another one to watch from Prince Khalid Abdullah’s operation with an eye-catching, come-from-behind win going a two-turn mile over the lawn in Hallandale Saturday. Trained by Chad Brown, the bay earned a very strong 82 Beyer Speed Figure. “In fairness to Chad, he has said for quite a long time that she always trained like a nice filly,” Juddmonte Farm’s U.S. manager Garrett O’Rourke said. “There seemed to be some fillies with form in the race. She got a lovely, patient ride [from Irad Ortiz Jr.], and when he did pull her out, it was nice to see the kick that she produced. Hopefully, there’s something nice there in the future from her.” Clause’s dam Red Herring–a half-sister to Phoenix Tower (Chester House), GSW & MG1SP, $653,182–won two of four career starts, including a first-level allowance over the Woodbine synthetic for Brown’s late mentor, the great Bobby Frankel. This is the extended female family of 2003 G1 French Oaks heroine Nebraska Tornado (Storm Cat). The 13-year-old Red Herring is also represented by the 2-year-old colt Redshank (Speightstown), who is currently in training in France with Andre Fabre. Red Herring was bred to Flintshire (GB) for the 2019 season and is expected to foal within the next two-three weeks, per O’Rourke. Juddmonte, of course, has enjoyed success with the WinStar Farm stallion Speightstown before, capturing the 2013 GI Hollywood Derby with Seek Again. “Bobby Frankel was very sick when we had Red Herring and Brian Lynch saddled her for Bobby and won a couple of races up in Woodbine with her,” O’Rourke said. “She was a lovely looking mare that just was that little bit one-paced. I always felt like she was very close to being a really nice filly. Using Speightstown was purposely done just to try and inject a little bit of real zip in there.” The aforementioned Hidden Scroll, hammered down to 7-1 in last weekend’s GI Kentucky Derby Future Wager off the heels of a jaw-dropping, double-digit debut romp in the slop for Hall of Famer Bill Mott Jan. 26, could go next in the GII Xpressbet.com GII Fountain of Youth S. at Gulfstream Park Mar. 2. “That’s where Bill is looking without it being a 100% commitment,” O’Rourke said. “If we’re to have any thoughts of going to the Derby–I think the future book price is a little bit crazy given that he’s only run one race–we’ll give him the opportunity as long as the horse is giving the signs that he’s ready for it.” View the full article

Pennsylvania-breds enjoyed an outstanding year on the racetrack in 2018, winning 14 graded stakes races and collecting two Eclipse Awards. Unique Bella (Tapit) was named champion older filly and mare and Shamrock Rose (First Dude) won the Eclipse for outstanding filly and mare sprinter. Though it may seem that those numbers would be hard to top for a regional breeding program, the leaders of the Pennsylvania Thoroughbred breeding industry believe the best is yet to come. Since slots came to the Pennsylvania tracks, the racing has improved dramatically in the state. Parx Racing offers two $1-million races in the GI Pennsylvania Derby and the GI Cotillion S. and the overnight purse structure at that track is outstanding. But behind the scenes, there was always an uneasiness about the future of breeding and racing in Pennsylvania. When Republican Tom Corbett was elected Governor in 2011, he began to siphon money away from the Horse Racing Development Fund and divert it to the state’s general fund. It was a substantial amount of money, and no one was quite sure how much Corbett would take and when it would stop. For breeders, breeding in Pennsylvania became a dicey proposition. Breeders were worried that between the time the horse was foaled and when it hit the races, it could be running for substantially lower purses and breeder awards. The Pennsylvania foal crop peaked in 2009 when 1,753 mares were bred. By 2016, it was down to 529, a 70% decline. With Corbett voted out of office, leaders from the horsemen’s and breeders groups were, in 2017, able to convince Pennsylvania politicians that they were creating serious problems for the sport and to agree to put the Race Horse Development money, which comes from slot machine revenues, into a trust. While the state can still take money out of the trust, if it does so, the penalties are so significant that there is virtually no way politicians would be inclined to take back any of the money. “That was the problem that we first encountered a few years after we got slots in–people were unsure of the future because you could see each year the state taking our money and putting it into the general fund for other reasons,” said Brian Sanfratello the executive secretary of the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association. “People said if I’m going to breed and invest in Pennsylvania, I need to be sure what’s going to happen four, five years down the road. The Equine Coalition spent a lot of time in Harrisburg with quite a few legislators to put the Race Horse Development Fund in a trust. The fund is now in that trust. You never say never when politics is involved, but the money is pretty safe. We’re trying to get the message out to everyone that, now, it’s perfectly safe to invest in Pennsylvania breeding.” Both on the racing and breeding ends of the sport, Pennsylvania has perhaps the most lucrative bonus structure in the entire industry. The Pennsylvania breeding program paid out more than $30 million in bonuses in 2018, making it the richest program in the Mid-Atlantic region. Wyn Oaks Farm, LLC, led all breeders, earning $457,102 when combining breeder and stallion awards. “Now that the fund is protected, it presents a great opportunity for breeders,” said Donny Brown, a longtime owner and breeder and managing partner for Warrior’s Reward, who stands his first season in Pennsylvania at Wyn Oaks Farm. “The state of Pennsylvania has the best regional breeding program, and going forward, there’s no better time to invest in a broodmare. With a Pennsylvania-bred, you can earn a lot of money, and things are headed in the right direction.” The number of mares bred in the state in 2018 was 628, and projections are that the number will continue to rise over the next many years. “We’re starting to get calls again, the same sort of calls we got when slots went into effect, people saying I want to invest in Pennsylvania,” Sanfratello said. “Now the calls are back. We’ve already seen a fantastic increase in mares bred and live foals and with all the new stallions coming in, I think those numbers will explode this year.” Sanfratello said that before the breeding season is over, as many as 10 new stallions will have taken up residence in Pennsylvania. The new stallions include multiple Grade I winner and multimillionaire Hoppertunity (Any Given Saturday); graded stakes winner and freshman sire Flashback (Tapit); young stakes-placed Speightstown stallion Eastwood; track-record setter Social Inclusion, a son of Pioneerofthe Nile; Dolphus (Lookin At Lucky), a half-brother to champion Rachel Alexandra; and graded stakes winner Airoforce (Colonel John) . Those are among the reasons breeder Hank Nothhaft has moved the majority of his mares from California to Pennsylvania. He bred 2017 Filly & Mare sprint champion Finest City (City Zip) in Pennsylvania, but was wary about continuing to breed in the state. “I was breeding in California and over time I realized it’s a hyper-competitive market there,” he said. “The financial rewards are not commensurate with what it takes to win out there. It’s my opinion that given the quality of racing, the competitiveness of the racing versus what you see in New York or California, plus the breeders awards, the typical guy like me off the street can breed a horse with a reasonable expectation of being rewarded financially. At Parx, they run for terrific purses plus bonus money in open company and you can also wind up breeding a higher end horse here, like Finest City. “The problem with Pennsylvania was there was always too much uncertainty. That’s gone. I think this year will prove to be a breakthrough year. The word has gotten around.” Information and quotes from a press release issued by the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association that was written by Linda Daugherty were included in this story. View the full article

Pin Oak Stable homebred Synchrony will put his perfect Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots record on the line when he aims to win the $150,000 Fair Grounds Handicap (G3T) a second straight year when an expected field of 11 older horses lines up Feb. 16. View the full article

After coming up just short in last year's TwinSpires.com Louisiana Derby (G2), Lone Sailor will return to Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots to launch his 4-year-old campaign in the $150,000 Mineshaft Handicap (G3) Feb. 16. View the full article

X Y Jet (Kantharos), narrow runner-up in both the 2016 and 2018 G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen, headlines a field of nine sprinters assembled for an optional claimer going six furlongs at Gulfstream Park Wednesday afternoon. The 7-year-old hit the sidelines after posting his third win from four attempts in 2018 when capturing the GIII Smile Sprint S. in Hallandale June 30. He returned from the shelf with a fourth-place finish as the 1-2 favorite after dueling through wicked fractions in the Sunshine Millions Sprint S. last time Jan. 19. The 3-5 morning-line favorite, owned by Rockingham Ranch and Gelfenstein Farm and trained by Jorge Navarro, is eyeing a return trip to the desert Mar. 30. “I’m turning the page,” Navarro said in Gulfstream’s barn notes. “The horse came back good. Thinking about it, to me it was a good workout for the horse that day. He came back great. I want to go easy on him to get him ready for Dubai. Dubai is our main goal.” Noble Indy (Take Charge Indy), a game winner of last spring’s GII Louisiana Derby, makes his first start since last summer as a first-time gelding and has bullet workouts for his return. The Repole Stable colorbearer was 17th in the GI Kentucky Derby and last of 10 in the GI Belmont S. He was last seen finishing a distant seventh in the GIII Dwyer S. July 7. TJCIS PPs View the full article

Multi-platinum hip-hop artist Flo Rida will headline the entertainment for the 2019 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, the New York Racing Association announced Tuesday. Flo Rida, who has sold over 100 million singles worldwide, will perform a short set just prior to the June 8 GI Belmont S. and, immediately following the conclusion of the day’s live racing program, will perform a special, post-race concert near the ‘Top of the Stretch’ at Belmont Park. View the full article

A dispersal or two can provide a huge fillip for a mixed winter auction, as was the case in Deauville on Tuesday when the February Sale got off to a particularly lively start for the time of year. The day’s takings were more than €1 million beyond the aggregate for the whole sale last year, with a sale record of €3,927,500 accrued from the exchange of 174 horses at a clearance rate of 87%. That represented a 310% increase in turnover from the same session last year, with the average of €22,752 up by 230%. The median improved from €4,000 to €6,750. The renowned owner-breeder Marquesa de Moratalla, who enjoyed top-level success on the Flat with her Prix du Jockey Club winner Tin Horse (Ire) (Sakhee) and over jumps as the owner of Cheltenham Gold Cup winner The Fellow (Fr) (Italic {Fr}), died just over a year ago and the sale of her breeding stock added more than a little sparkle to Arqana’s opening sale of the year. Leading the first of two sessions was Graciously (GB) (Lot 119), an 8-year-old daughter of Shamardal who claimed three victories on the racecourse herself and notably is a half-sister to the G1 Falmouth S. winner Giofra (Fr) (Dansili {GB}). Having brought the hammer down for another Arqana February record of €500,000, Graciously, who is in foal to Invincible Spirit (Ire), will travel to Larissa Kneip’s Haras de Saint Arnoult where she is to be covered by new resident stallion, the multiple group winner Dschingis Secret (Ger). “I’m still in shock,” said Kneip after signing under her Artemis Bloodstock banner. “I bought her for the owner of Dschingis Secret, Horst Pudwill, who was looking for a top mare to support his stallion. He will send him 25 mares, including seven that I bought for him at Arqana in December. Graciously has all the qualities that we are looking for and her damline will cross very well with Dschingis Secret. Her Invincible Spirit foal will be offered for sale and we hope that it can repay part of the amount spent on this purchase.” Another from the same dispersal, handled by the Channel Consignment, took the second-top spot of the day. Lot 64, the 4-year-old Recover Me (Fr) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) brought a bid of €210,000 from Jean-Pierre Dubois acting on behalf of Michel Zerolo of Oceanic Bloodstock. A winner at three, the daughter of the dual-winning Marie Rossa (GB) (Testa Rossa {Fr}) will now switch to the Pau stable of Jean-Claude Rouget having been trained up to now by Alain de Royer Dupre. Her new owner has not yet been disclosed. The sale also featured the continuation of the dispersal of the stock of Issam Fares through his Haras de Manneville. One family in particular played a dominant role when 2-year-old and yearling fillies out of the G2 Prix de Pomone winner Baino Hope (Fr) (Jeremy {Ire}) sold for €190,000 and €160,000 as consecutive lots. The 2-year-old (Lot 96), named Bainoland (Ire) (Oasis Dream {GB}) was the more expensive of the two and is listed as in training with Jean-Claude Rouget, who bought her for an unnamed partnership. She had followed her Camelot (GB) yearling half-sister into the ring (lot 95), who was bought by Eric Puerari. He said, “She has a lot of quality about her and I am very fond of Camelot. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to buy such a quality filly. She’s been bought with a group of friends and will be reoffered later in the year.” Just a handful of lots later another yearling out of Baino Hope’s half-sister Baino Rock (Fr) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}) and by the ever-popular Siyouni (Fr) also reached the €160,000 mark. Her buyer Anna Sundstrom has already had significant sales-ring success with a subsequent multiple Group 1-winning daughter of Siyouni and she plans to offer this filly later in the year for the High Valley Equine syndicate, with which she is associated. “She is a carbon copy of Laurens (Fr),” said Sundstrom. “She has the same walk and the same character. When I saw her yesterday I knew she was the one.” Baino Rock was herself a four-time winner, with those victories including the listed Prix Charles Laffitte. Her first foal, a 3-year-old brother to the yearling, is named Global Rock (Fr) and is in training in Newmarket with Ed Dunlop for Dr Johnny Hon. The Rouget-trained Out Of Town (Fr) (Lot 76), a 4-year-old daughter of Kentucky Dynamite who won at two and was runner-up in the listed Derby du Languedoc for Issam Fares, was bought by Sarona Farm for €95,000. The same price was also given by Laurent Benoit of Broadhurst Agency for another of the Marquesa de Moratalla’s mares, the 13-year-old Wilside (Ire) Verglas {Ire}), a Group 3 winner in her racing days who has produced the listed-placed treble winner Sarigan (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) and was offered in foal to Wootton Bassett (GB) as lot 122. Haras de Manneville was the leading vendor of the day, with 42 horses of varying ages sold for a total of €1,651,000. The Channel Consignment was next on the table with 16 sold for €1,268,000. The final session of the February Sale begins on Wednesday at 10am local time. View the full article

We recently paid homage to an icon of dedication, of love for people, horses, dogs, tennis and life in Ruth Hughes, who passed away on Nov. 21. The respect for Ruth was evident in the standing-room only memorial to her at Fasig-Tipton in January. She enriched our lives teaching us to strive to better ourselves as riders and horsemen. She touched so many people in so many aspects of life. She was a Master not only in the fox-hunting field, she loved her horses, Jack Russells, fox hunters and family. She turned out her Pony Clubbers as good, tough riders. She was tough, kind and quite a character in her own right. We were riding out a set one day. She was on her beloved horse Rudy and she told me, ‘I promised God if he would give me Gail [her late husband], I would give up whipped cream for life.’ I snuck her a look under the brim of my helmet and asked her, ‘did you stick to that?’ Of course she did. A sign of her dedication and deep love for everything she tackled in life. I asked her if I could use her as a job reference once and she said yes. The person I got the job with told me she had told him I was a true, good horsewoman. That was one of the honors of my life coming from her. Ruth, you have touched four generations that you have left enriched as riders and better people for having you in our lives. See you up above. You’re the best. I am sure God wouldn’t mind you eating whipped cream now. –Linda Dyer, program manager, Blackburn Correctional Complex Second Chances Program View the full article

We’ve all heard the saying “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make them drink.” Horses have to be thirsty in order to consume water, and the lynchpin in that scenario is salt. Dehydration in horses–or any animal–can quickly escalate from mild to catastrophic. Their internal environment is water-based, and salt is the driving force behind the regulation and distribution of water in and out of cells. “Salt is 39% sodium and 61% chloride. When consumed, salt will split in the body into the separate minerals to be used independently (as electrolytes),” said Dr. Kathleen Crandell, PhD, a nutritionist with Kentucky Equine Research (KER). “Both these minerals have independent roles in the body, but mainly they work together balancing fluid movement in and out of the cells and acid-base balance, as well as electrical impulse conduction in nerves and muscles. Further, sodium is needed for transport of substances across cell membranes, like glucose.” The more a horse exercises and sweats, the more water they need to consume to prevent dehydration, and as such the more salt they require in their diet. While forage, grass and concentrated feeds contain salt, it is not enough to adequately meet a horse’s dietary needs, especially a high-performance equine athlete, such as a racehorse, making proper salt supplementation key. “Increasing supplementation to match increases in sweating will help the horse keep from getting dehydrated. The other stage in life with the highest salt requirement is during lactation,” said Crandell. “Furosemide (Lasix) can affect salt requirements–horses regularly administered furosemide have increased salt intakes as well as water intakes. This is because furosemide increases excretion of sodium and chloride as well as water. In studies, ponies administered furosemide daily almost tripled their ad-lib salt intakes over the study period.” Typically, a horse weighing 1,100 lbs. (500 kg) in light work would require 1-1.75 oz. (30-50 grams), or roughly two tablespoons, of salt per day for maintenance. Much like a horse’s caloric needs increase with added workload, so too does their need for salt. However, unlike excess calories, which can be stored in the body in the form of fat, excess salt is eliminated in the urine. It is thought that if given free-choice access to salt, a horse in light to moderate work will eat enough to meet its own requirement. “Profound sweating or strenuous work can increase a horse’s salt needs up to 120 grams (4.25 oz.) per day,” said Sven Hanson, Chairman of Salinity Group, a global company specializing in the sourcing and distribution of salt for agricultural, industrial and culinary purposes, among others. The company also produces several salt products specifically formulated for horses. Their most popular is the Equisalt Advantage salt lick, which contains selenium, biotin, vitamins, copper, cobalt and iron in addition to salt. There are several options available to horse owners to meet a horse’s salt needs, including electrolyte supplements, salt blocks and table salt. According to Crandell, horses will consume more salt when offered loose than in block form, and horses will drink more water when consuming loose salt. “Non-iodized white salt is usually a good choice for horses,” said Crandell. “Whether to use a salt that is combined with other minerals depends on the diet of the horse. If a horse has no other source of iodine, then iodized white salt is appropriate. Mineralized salt is appropriate for horses on a forage-only diet and not receiving the minerals from anywhere else. A mineralized salt block formulated for horses is superior over other types of livestock salt, such as yellow blocks (salt and sulfur), blue blocks (salt, cobalt and iodine) or red blocks (salt, iodine and iron). The classic brown trace mineral block formulated for livestock that may come with or without selenium is not the ideal salt block for horses because the actual amounts of minerals other than sodium and chloride are very low and horses would need to over-consume the salt to get enough minerals to meet their requirements.” Hanson, who, with his wife Carina, has bred and owned racehorses for years, including multiple Group 1 winner Reliable Man and Champion Pride, says horse owners need to be mindful about what salt block or supplement is right for a horse based on its size and workload. “A 1 kg (2.2 lbs.) salt lick should last a normal horse roughly about a month for maintenance, if it’s not gone in a month and the horse isn’t supplemented in another way, the horse needs salt in some other form, such as pure salt in their feed,” said Hanson. “Horses that work hard and sweat a lot need salt supplementation. Many commercial electrolytes are too low in NaCl content, so one should always check what those electrolytes really contain and do not be afraid to give a horse some pure salt in conjunction with hard exercise.” View the full article

The Irish Thoroughbred Breeders’s Association National Seminar, ‘Action Plan 2019′, held at the Lyrath Estate Hotel in Kilkenny on Monday, drew 400 people. ITBA Chief Executive Shane O’Dwyer welcomed everyone, before a trio of presentations were held: the 2018 Flat sales season statistics (John Lynam, an industry economist); Sasha Kerins, a tax partner at Grant Thornton Ireland, spoke from an accountancy perspective; and ITBA EU lobbyist Michael Treacy outlined the work being done on the breeders’ behalf in Brussels. A panel discussion chaired by Derek Iceton of Tara Stud followed with panelists Con Marnane, Dermot Cantillon, Kevin Blake, Peter Nolan, Brian Kavanagh and John McEnery featured. Finally, An Tanaiste Simon Covenay discussed the issue of Brexit alongside Derek Iceton, and stressed that the equine industry was very much a priority for the Irish government. View the full article

Again, No. 1 Game Winner is not nearly as smooth as No. 2 Improbable with funky action up front, but he hasn't done anything wrong yet. View the full article

“Proven Strategies” is a new regular series in the TDN, presented by Keeneland. It is written by Len Green of The Green Group and DJ Stables, who won the 2018 GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies with Jaywalk (Cross Traffic). by Leonard C. Green, CPA, MBA, and Frank R. Palino, EA, CDFA, ATA An IRS examination notice not only creates extreme anxiety, but also may trigger possible tax assessments, interest and even penalties. Let’s face it, the horse industry, whether you are a horse/farm owner, trainer, veterinarian or buy and sell horses, can be a very difficult business in which to make money. When you deduct horse-related losses against your other income, you become the potential target for the IRS to examine your tax returns. What is the Best Way to be Successful in Case of an Examination? Based on over 30 years of experience in the Thoroughbred industry, we believe there are steps you should be taking in the event of an audit. 1. Start by having a team of experts who are involved in the industry and who know the tax law. 2. Let them review your tax returns and look for possible “red flags” as well as areas you could have generated additional deductions. 3. Be aware of what the IRS considers in its pre-audit analysis. These include: –Are there activities with large expenses with little to no income? –Are losses offsetting other income on the tax returns? –Does the activity result in a large tax benefit to the taxpayer? –Does the taxpayer have a business plan? The IRS is looking for taxpayers who significantly reduce their taxable income by reporting losses from activities that may or may not be engaged in for profit. It is up to the IRS to make a factual determination whether an activity is engaged in for profit. Tax Law The Internal Revenue Code allows individuals to deduct expenses which are incurred: (i) In a trade or business (ii) For the production or collection of income, (iii) For the management of property whose activities are operated for the objective of generating a profit. Defining Such Activities An activity that is presumed to be operated for profit requires an analysis of the facts and circumstances of each case. Deciding whether a taxpayer operates an activity with an actual profit motive typically involves nine non-exclusive factors, which are as follows: 1. The manner in which the taxpayer carried out the activity. 2. The expertise of the taxpayer or his/her advisors. 3. The time and effort expended by the taxpayer in carrying out the activity. 4. The expectation that the assets used in the activity may appreciate in value. 5. The success of the taxpayer in carrying on other similar or dissimilar activities. 6. The taxpayer’s history of income or loss with respect to the horse activity. 7. The amount of profits, if any, which are earned. 8. The financial status of the taxpayer. 9. Elements of personal pleasure or recreation. Important Fact: If the number of factors indicating the lack of profit exceeds the number indicating the presence of a profit objective (or vice versa), it is considered not conclusive. For example, if five factors say the activity is not for profit, but four are on the profit side, the activity still could be determined to be engaged as a for profit. “Plus Factors” that Assist the Taxpayer in Case of Audit It is the responsibility of the taxpayer to prove that he/she is in a ‘trade or business.” Here are some recommendations: 1. Have segregated business bank accounts. 2. Avoid having personal expenses being commingled with business expenses. 3. Have separate books and records. 4. Be profitable at least two out of every seven years but also understanding this is not the controlling factor. 5. Be knowledgeable about the industry. 6. Be in constant contact with trainers, advisors or people involved with the care of the horses. 7. If you buy or sell horses, spend time with people involved in the process and learn the criteria they use to make their decisions. 8. Have a profit motive and a business strategy that changes as operations change. 9. Implement a specific business plan – it may be deemed as a benefit to have an outside party (i.e. lawyer, accountant, specialist, etc.) co-author the plan. Business Plan Taxpayers should have a business plan which reflects their financial economic forecast for the activity. It should be both a short- and long-range forecast for the activity allowing changes in the event of potential unforeseen and fortuitous circumstances. Material Participation A stumbling block that must be overcome is whether the taxpayer materially participates in the horse industry. The best way to prove this would be to participate in some of the following six rules. 1. Spend more than 500 hours in qualifying activities. 2. Your participation constitutes substantially all of the participation in the activity or shows losses for a number of years, then the IRS may classify the losses as nondeductible passive losses. 3. You participate for more than 100 hours and this participation is not less than the participation of any other individual. 4. You materially participated in the activity for any five years of the 10 years that preceded the year in question. 5. You materially participated in the activity for any three years preceding the tax year in question. 6. You satisfy a facts and circumstances test that requires you to show that you participated on a regular, continuous and substantial basis. Potential Problem Areas to Consider 1. The taxpayer has an unrelated W-2 wage job he or she devotes significant amount of time. 2. The taxpayer has numerous other investments, rentals, business activities, or hobbies that absorb significant amounts of time. 3. The taxpayer is rarely involved in the horse activity. Bottom Line Preparation for the possibility of an IRS Audit, such as record keeping for all of your activities will give you a better chance of winning these issues. Having an advisor and tax preparer who knows the horse operation and is familiar with all the specific horse tax laws and operations is very helpful. Frank Palino, who heads up our audit division, is a former IRS Agent and has a successful record in over 1,000 IRS audits. He is also very familiar with what the IRS is looking for in audits. For more information on anything in this article, contact our offices. Also take advantage of the one-hour complimentary consultation that is available to those who read this column. The Green Group Phone: (732) 634-5100 View the full article

18:45 Kempton Horse racing is back and oh how we all missed it! A fascinating contest in store here in what looks to be the pick of the evening racing with a number of in-form contenders taking their place here for this class 5 handicap contest over 1m. Robert Cowell sends the hat-trick seeking Sir […] The post Picks From The Paddock Best Bet – Wednesday 13th February appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

The British Horseracing Authority will schedule additional races to help those affected by the new equine influenza vaccination requirements to prepare for upcoming major National Hunt festivals. Thoroughbreds in Britain are required to be vaccinated against equine influenza on an annual basis, but in the wake of last week’s outbreak the BHA has mandated that all runners must have been vaccinated within the last six months. Those who received their last vaccination outside that time period will require a booster, which comes with a mandatory six-day stand down period to allow the horse to recover. The new races will be carded on or around Feb. 23 to allow horses that still require boosters to participate. The BHA’s Tuesday afternoon statement read in part, “Trainers had been advised on Jan. 25 that, due to the concerning situation in Europe where outbreaks have occurred in vaccinated horses, and an unprecedented number of cases in unvaccinated non-Thoroughbreds in Britain, all horses which have not had a vaccination against equine influenza within the last six months should receive a booster vaccination. We appreciate that the six-day mandatory stand down period following vaccination, which is a welfare measure on behalf of the horse, will mean that some horses who were not subsequently vaccinated will not be able to run for a short period. However, to ensure a level playing field it would have been necessary to cancel all racing for a further period of at least a week. “It was agreed that, if racing was to return, there should be stringent biosecurity measures put in place to protect the welfare of the breed and reduce the chance of further disruption. The sport is taking a measured risk by returning to racing this quickly, and for that risk to be deemed manageable then it was necessary that protective measures should be put in place. This includes the fact that horses that have not been vaccinated in the last six months should not be allowed to run. Put simply–without this we would not be racing. It could open the sport up to an unacceptable level of risk.” The Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board also announced on Monday that it would be opening its borders to British runners again, but an EI vaccination within the last eight weeks will be required. Leading National Hunt trainer Nicky Henderson said he will have some key runners affected by the new vaccination schedule, but he admitted overall he is just glad to be racing again. “It’s been a frustrating two weeks, as we were snowed in before this,” he said. “Obviously we are all delighted with the news, as this is what we wanted to hear after everyone had looked at the situation. I do believe it was vital to start racing now otherwise you were never going to. “We are only just getting our results back, but I gather they are all OK. We have still got some more to come, but I imagine they will be all right. We have got one or two frustrations because of the vaccinations–it has caught out one or two horses as they have just fallen outside of the window. We have just got to juggle a few things around, which is frustrating. Everyone uses different vaccination programmes. A certain percentage will be fine, but others won’t. “We have just got to get our heads round a few things,” he added. “We can sort them out today and they would be able to run next week, but that it is no good for many of them as for some these were the only races they could run in.” Trainer Olly Murphy last vaccinated the majority of his horses in July, and thus he will be more heavily affected. Murphy was not mincing words on his feelings about the situation, saying, “It’s absolute madness. I worked for Gordon Elliott for five years, he vaccinates his horses once a year–which is completely legitimate–so I’ve always done the same. Barring a handful, I vaccinated all my horses on July 12. I’ll now have to vaccinate them all again and although they’re saying we can run them again seven days later, it will probably be 10 to 14 days before I have another runner as they’ll need a bit of time to get over it. “I know Paul Nicholls vaccinates all his horses in January, which is fine, but there’ll be a lot of trainers in the same position as we are. I have a hundred horses and I now need to ring all the owners and tell them that even though racing is back on, their horses can’t run. They’ve basically changed the rules at 11:30 p.m. [Monday] night and a lot of trainers are no better off this morning than they were yesterday. This is no way to run a sport.” Paul Nicholls said, “I’m delighted that we are racing again, but I know not everyone is happy due to a few things. But we are racing again and that is most important thing. “From my point of view our horses get done twice a year and they all had it in January. We’ve got lots of horses to run so we can now get on with it. “I was sitting on the fence a bit–I would have been quite disappointed if racing had not been giving the go-ahead, but in the circumstances something had to be done. They have come up with a sensible answer in a difficult situation. Trainer Colin Tizzard also defended the BHA in their handling of the situation. “Looking back at it, you have got to take your hat off to them as they have stood their ground,” he said. “It has taken a bit of sorting out and we did start to push them a bit to get going, but now they have it is good to have racing back. They have got together and put the right races on. “We vaccinate our horses twice a year and they were all done around Christmas and in the first week in January. We’ve not had any word from the BHA that we are clear, but then we have had no word we are not. We have to give credit where it is due, as this is an untold scenario. We can’t knock them as we are back racing and it is all fine now.” BHA Chief Executive Nick Rust estimated the six-day racing shutdown has cost the industry “several million a day”, but he said he stands by the BHA’s decisions. “First and foremost we were focused on what would the disruption be for the animals–we have got to look after the health of the animals. We put our hands up when we make errors and we are pretty self-critical where we feel there needs to be improvement from ourselves. On this one, faced with the evidence we had, who would have taken the risk with that for the health of horses and the future of racing? “We have a veterinary committee drawn from across the industry, the BHA has got 20 employed vets, the vast majority of our staff worked in racing–if you cut us open, like a stick of rock we have ‘we love racing’ through us. We would make the same decision again and we absolutely stand by our decision. The BHA team has worked morning, noon and night on this–we will stand back and say ‘which bits could have gone even better’–but I think the fundamentals have been spot on.” View the full article

Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots' Rachel Alexandra Stakes may have grade 2 status, but this year's cast looks like a grade 1 line-up. View the full article

A pair of grade/group 1-placed 3-year-olds are still scheduled to meet Feb. 15 at Turfway Park in the rescheduled $75,000 John Battaglia Memorial Stakes for 3-year-olds, when the colt Somelikeithotbrown takes on the filly The Mackem Bullet (IRE). View the full article