Equine Sales Company has added a supplement catalog consisting of over 20 supplements to their 2016 Open Yearling & Mixed Sale catalog which has 193 entries. These supplements include yearlings, weanlings and broodmares.
On Saturday, September 24, the Elge Rasberry Stakes and A.L. “Red” Erwin Stakes were dominated by progeny of Half Ours. Half Ours is currently the Leading Sire of Louisiana Breds for 2016. Saturday was the final day of the Louisiana Downs 2016 Thoroughbred meet.
Jockey Jorge Guzman guides My Queen Olivia to victory in the 22nd running of the Elge Rasberry Stakes at Louisiana Downs. Hodges PhotographyIn the Elge Rasberry, My Queen Olivia settled just off the pace in the one mile turf contest then made her move on the outside in the stretch to win by an ever widening two and three quarters lengths and capture the $45,000 winner’s share of the purse for the Pegasus Stables of Patsy and Joe Rink. Bred by Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association President, Warren J. Harang III, My Queen Olivia was purchased by Pegasus at the Breeders Sales Company of Louisiana Annual Yearling Sale for the bargain price of $4,500 and is trained by Pat Mouton. My Queen Olivia is the first stakes winner produced by the Stormy Atlantic dam, Bond Queen, who produced a full brother to the stakes winner in 2016. Second place finisher, Smiley Briley, is also by Half Ours.
Rock N Sake with jockey Jansen Melancon aboard captures the 22nd running of the A.L. (Red) Erwin Stakes at Louisiana Downs. Hodges PhotographyThe second stakes of the program at Louisiana Downs Saturday was the A.L. “Red” Erwin, named after the first president of the Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association. Roy Investments’ Rock N Sake got off a bit slow but quickly joined the early pacesetters and much like the winner of the Elge Rasberry, swung wide in the stretch and was increasing his margin at the finish line. Rock N Sake was purchased at the Equine Sales of Louisiana Yearling Sale for $27,000 from breeders Tom Curtis and Wayne Simpson. He is the second stakes horse produced by the Benchmark dam, Passion For Words. Velton Vidrine trains Rock N Sake, who has now earned $157,975 for his owners.
Four time Louisiana bred Horse of the Year, Star Guitar, had his first winner at Churchill Downs on Saturday when his Senor Guitar made a bold move turning for home in the long Churchill stretch to take the lead and win by one and a quarter lengths while getting the six furlongs in 1:11.90. Bred and owned by Clifford Grumm, the Louisiana bred is trained by Helen Pitts.
Star Guitar, bred and owned by the Brittlyn Stable of Evelyn and Maurice Benoit, is the all time leading money earner in Louisiana with $1,749,862 including twenty-four wins with twenty-two of them being stakes races from thirty starts. Senor Guitar is the second starter for Star Guitar, who has forty-one Two-Year-Olds in his freshman crop. Star Guitar stands at Clear Creek Stud in Folsom, La., his 2016 fee was $4,000.
Equine Sales Company today announced an initial catalog of 193 head for its Open Yearling and Mixed Sale to be held Sunday, October 16, at 10 a.m. in Opelousas, Louisiana. A supplement to the catalog is currently being compiled, and the final total is expected to easily surpass 200.
This year’s initial catalog includes 65 yearlings and 39 weanlings, up from final totals of 50 yearlings and 35 weanlings last year. There are also 78 broodmares and four horses of racing age consigned this year.
“The success of our Consignor Select Yearling Sale earlier this month is a positive sign for this upcoming auction, and we expect most of the buyers to be back along with some new faces,” said Foster Bridewell, sales director for Equine Sales Company. “Many of the same leading Louisiana sires, plus many top national sires, that were represented in that sale also have offspring in this auction. We also have nearly 70 in-foal mares on offer.”
The Consignor Select Yearling Sale on September 7 recorded a jump of 24 percent in average and 37.5 percent in median even with a larger catalog compared to 2015, and it set a record price for a yearling sold by Equine Sales Company when an Into Mischief colt brought $145,000. That sale marked the first unified yearling sale with Equine Sales Company in partnership with the Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association.
To view the online catalog or for more information, go to http://www.equinesalesofla.com.
An updated version (6.3) of the Association of Racing Commissioners International’s Model Rules of Racing is now available on the association’s website on the Model Rules and Standards page. (www.arci.com).
The ARCI Model Rules represent the racing industry’s best practice regulatory standards, developed in consultation with industry constituencies and adopted by the regulatory members of the ARCI.
In most instances the ARCI Model Rules are recommended policies, although in some cases they have been “incorporated by reference” through statute or rule. In Florida, for instance, the State Legislature and Governor included some ARCI medication policies in state law directing the appropriate state agency to promulgate rules to effectuate their use. In Canada, the ARCI Model Rules pertaining to wagering have the force of law through the Canadian Pari-Mutuel Agency. In California, a new type of wager does not need specific legislative approval if the ARCI has a model rule that would be applicable.
The updated Model Rules Version 6.3 contains modifications to the following sections:
ARCI 010-010 (G), Number of Starters in a Race
ARCI 004-105 (G), Pick (n) Pools
“The first change grants the Stewards the authority to limit the number of starters in a race after consulting the horsemen’s group and jockeys if they determine that there are valid concerns that would jeopardize a safe, fair and equal start. Our first priority is safety and it is important that the Stewards have the flexibility to ensure that horses and riders are safe, even if it means that the number of starters may need to be limited,” RCI President Ed Martin said.
The second change clears the way for some possible new wagering opportunities this fall designed to increase fan interest.
Earlier this month, the ARCI approved a change to its Controlled Therapeutic Medication Schedule affecting the regulation of the therapeutic medication Detomidine, a sedative and analgesic used in veterinary treatment of horses. The medication, which is approved for use by US federal government policy, is to be stopped prior to race day so that it is not pharmacologically active when a horse competes.
In addition, a Model Rules Committee working group has developed a revised draft of a new Out of Competition Testing rule in consultation with various racing industry organizations that is expected to be released, along with their report, within the next week. A group of racing regulatory attorneys will also review this matter in an effort to ensure that any policy change will withstand legal challenge. This issue is complicated in that the statutory jurisdiction of some racing commissions is limited to horses that are physically located on the grounds of a facility they license.
ARCI Chair Judy Wagner expressed appreciation for “the diligence, hard work, and commitment to excellence that many industry participants contribute in the ongoing process of enhancing and improving the regulation of racing.” In particular, she mentioned the contributions of the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium, the Jockeys’ Guild, the American Association of Equine Practitioners, the North American Association of Racetrack Veterinarians, and the Canadian Pari-Mutuel Authority, among others.
An Accredited Louisiana-bred yearling colt by Curlin sold for $350,000 on Wednesday, September 14, Day 3 of the 2016 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. This is the highest price ever for a Louisiana Bred to have run through the Lexington, Kentucky Sale.
Bred in Louisiana by Hargroder Farms, LLC, the attractive bay colt is out of Moonlight Lover, an unraced Bernardini mare. Consigned by VanMeter-Gentry Sales as agent, he was purchased by Katsumi Yoshida.
Breeder Don Hargroder says of the colt, “This colt was very special from the time he hit the ground, and we are very proud to have been part of his life. Several years ago, I said my goal was to get national respect with Louisiana breds, and I think we did that with this colt. His dam has a very attractive Lewis Michael filly by her side and we are shopping now for stallions for her next breeding. ”
“As Louisiana follows the trend of the rest of the country with smaller foal crops, our breeders have embraced the idea of quality over quantity,” states Roger Heitzmann, III, Secretary/Treasurer of the Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association. He continues, “This colt is a prime example of where I believe we are headed. I believe you will see Accredited Louisiana Breds selling at higher prices moving forward.”
The American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) Foundation has announced financial support for two research projects investigating support limb laminitis, in which lameness in one limb results in laminitis in the opposite limb. Subsequent separation of the coffin bone from the hoof wall causes pain and eventually displacement, either coffin bone rotation or sinking, in the foot.
AAEP members have identified laminitis as the most important equine disease requiring research. Support limb laminitis was the type of laminitis 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro succumbed to while healing from a severe fracture in a hind limb.
In one study, Hana Galantino-Homer, VMD, Ph.D., Dipl. ACT, at the University of Pennsylvania will investigate the alterations that occur in the protein structure that supports the bone to the hoof connection. Foot specimens from horses affected by support limb laminitis will be used to study how nutrient deprivation and subsequent production of abnormal proteins (keratins) affect the support structures within the hoof. The goal is to understand the process of cell pathology in the foot to better predict, diagnose and treat support limb laminitis.
The second study, led by Samantha Brooks, Ph.D., at the University of Florida, seeks to understand the response of the cells in the support structures within the hoof. By utilizing RNA sequencing, genes that respond to the abnormal support in the foot will be identified and compared to normal feet. Understanding the gene upregulation will help identify the process within the hoof that leads to support failure. The research will use real-time PCR to identify the production of inflammatory mediators and enzymes involved with the pathology.
“The generosity of many enabled us to fund these projects that will advance the knowledge and help unravel the mysteries surrounding this insidious disease,” said Jeff Berk, VMD, chairman of the AAEP Foundation Advisory Council. “We are particularly grateful to Starlight Racing partners, whose matching funds challenge in 2014 in memory of its Grade II winner Intense Holiday raised awareness and much-needed funds for the fight.”
Both studies will utilize the Laminitis Discovery Database at the University of Pennsylvania, which has specimens from horses that succumbed to support limb laminitis and from normal horses. The database includes a wealth of information about the affected horses.
The AAEP Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization created in 1994, serves as the charitable arm of the American Association of Equine Practitioners to improve the welfare of the horse. Since its inception, the Foundation has disbursed more than $3.7 million to support its mission.
Equine Sales Company on Wednesday held its annual Consignor Select Yearling Sale in Opelousas, Louisiana, and recorded significant gains over last year with an all-time record price for a yearling at the sale. All told, 139 of 208 head sold for $1,510,400 with an average of $10,866 and a median of $5,500.
Gross sales this year were up 41.5 percent from last year’s gross of $1,060,600 when 121 of 177 head sold. The average this year jumped 24 percent from $8,765 and the median increased 37.5 percent from $4,000. Buybacks were 33.2 this year compared to 31.6 percent last year.
This marked the first unified yearling sale held by Equine Sales Company together with the Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association, which had previously conducted its own yearling sale as the Breeders Sales Company of Louisiana.
Eddie Woods’ Quarter Pole Enterprises LLC made the two largest purchases, topped by a bay colt by Into Mischief who brought $145,000. That marked the highest price for a yearling at the sale since Equine Sales Company started in 2012. Bred and consigned by Clear Creek Stud LLC, agent, the Louisiana-bred is out of the stakes-placed Capote mare Mystery at Sea, who has also produced stakes winner Cook Some Rice and stakes-placed Carmen’s Mystery.
The second-highest price, and top selling filly, was a Louisiana-bred daughter of Overanalyze who sold for $60,000 from the consignment of breeder 4M Ranch, agent. The Louisiana-bred is the first foal out of the Congrats mare Happy Destiny, whose dam is multiple Grade 3 winner and stakes producer Dance o’my Life.
“I thought we had a good sale, especially considering the current market,” said Foster Bridewell, sales director for Equine Sales Company. “By teaming with the LTBA to present a unified sale, we were able to increase the average, median and gross sales from last year. The consignors did their part by bringing quality horses to the sale, and the buyers responded to that. We’d especially like to thank Eddie Woods and wish him good luck with his Into Mischief colt, as well as good luck to all the buyers.”
Hip #219, a bay Accredited Louisiana Bred colt by Into Mischief out of stakes placed winning mare Mystery At Sea, topped the Equine Sales of Louisiana 2016 Consignor Select Yearling Sale. The bidding for the half brother to stakes winner Cook Some Rice and stakes placed winner Carmen’s Mystery was fast and furious. When the hammer fell, Eddie Woods had purchased the March 2015 colt for $145,000. Clear Creek Stud, LLC, Agent was the consignor.
The Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association (LTBA) and Equine Sales of Louisiana announced in early March of this year a mutual agreement with the purpose of encouraging and supporting a single annual yearling sale, and racing opportunities for Louisiana thoroughbred horse owners, breeders, trainers and potential buyers in Louisiana.
“At the time we agreed to suspend the operation of the Breeders Sales Company of Louisiana’s Annual Yearling Sale for a period of five years in order to assist with advertising, information gathering, and to provide a full endorsement of the Equine Sales of Louisiana,” said Warren Harang III, president of the LTBA Board of Directors.
Yesterday’s sale was packed with buyers and horsemen from multiple states. Equine Sales Company of Louisiana cataloged 224 head for its Consignor Select Yearling Sale held in Opelousas, La.
“Our number one priority continues to be the Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association and its members,” said Harang. “We are moving forward as a unified group to solidify the future of our industry in Louisiana. This sale is a good example of what can happen when we all work together.”
Consignors and buyers agree that the facility has all the right amenities for people and horses. The sales staff performance received high marks for organization, overall program and attention to detail. The Opelousas facility is easily accessible located mid-state on Interstate 49. There are plenty of accommodations and restaurants for out of town buyers and consignors, both in Opelousas and nearby Lafayette, La.
“The stabling for the horses is excellent and the sales pavilion provided a great setting for the sale,” said Harang. “The financial results should be posted shortly and we expect a good result for this first ever unified yearling sale.”
For more information about the Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association call (504) 947-4676 or go to: LouisianaBred.com.
The stallion Ide who has been a perennial leading active sire of Louisiana breds since coming to the state for the 2003 breeding season, has been pensioned. Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement Farms has a place reserved for the 24-year-old chestnut son of Forty Niner out of Maytide, a stakes winning Naskra mare.
Ide was among the early favorites for the Kentucky Derby before an injury ended his career. At ages two and three, Ide won seven consecutive races including five stakes, four of which were graded. As a juvenile he was ranked among the top colts of his generation, being weighted at 121 pounds on the Experimental Free Handicap, a figure only bettered by Maria’s Mon (126), Unbridled’s Song (126) and Hennessy (124). On the board in eight of nine starts, Ide’s earnings on the track totaled $363,780.
Pete Willmott who raced Ide through his Willmott Stables and maintained a business interest in his stud career expressed his thoughts, “I can only say positive things about this horse. He was a relatively small horse with a huge heart.….his trainer called me about his injury on April 1st , and I thought it was an April Fools joke. That was a real blow. He deserved a shot at the classics….He always had a positive attitude, and that can be said of him as a stallion as well.”
Ide entered stud in 1997. After initially standing at the Lavin Family’s Longfield Farm, he moved to Louisiana and stood at Clear Creek Stud in Folsom for The Ide Group throughout the rest of his career. In addition to Willmott, the Ide Group consists of partners Bryan Harang (Georgia Farms, Inc.), Allen Peltier, and Harvey “Drew” Peltier, III.
He was the leading sire in Louisiana for 2003 by number of winners and North American earnings, and stayed at or near the top of the leading Louisiana sires list for the remainder of his career. He was the A.L. “Red” Erwin Louisiana Sire of the Year in both 2009 and 2013, leading all other sires of Louisiana breds in earnings those years.
In a 2007 column in TDN (1-24-07) Bill Oppenheim ranked Ide #1 in his “Leaders By C Runner Index,” and stated “if I was a Louisiana breeder, Ide would sure be on my list of stallions… he’s still a more efficient sire of C Runners than the likes of A.P. Indy (third), Storm Cat (eighth), Distorted Humor (11th) and Danzig (13th)…”
Ide is the sire of 16 stakes winners to date. His top Louisiana bred runners include 2013 Accredited Louisiana Bred Champion Horse of the Year, Ide Be Cool (8 wins, 4 stakes wins, $457,200) who ran undefeated as a juvenile; and 2008 Accredited Louisiana Bred
Champion Colt, Ide Like A Double (10 wins, 7 stakes wins, $632,416). Idefromthebayou set a new course record at Evangeline Downs as a three-year-old going abt. 7 ½ furlongs on the turf in 1:28.90, and won every year from ages two to seven (2015).
Currently, Ide’s lifetime progeny earnings are $25,562,535 with 72% winners from starters, and average earnings per starter of $54,273 from 17 crops to race. His 2016 two-year-olds have yet to start, and will be followed by limited 2015 and 2016 foal crops.
Val Murrell, general manager of Clear Creek Stud, LLC where the stallion has stood since 2003 remarked, “Ide has been really great for Clear Creek and the entire thoroughbred industry in Louisiana. He has consistently produced runners that have been highly competitive at every level. They often run early, and more importantly I think, they last. They hold together and reward owners over the long haul. He has been incredibly kind and easy to deal with and he will be missed by many. However we are very comfortable in knowing that Mr. Willmott has him accepted to go to Old Friends. He deserves it.”
Ide Group manager Harvey “Drew” Peltier, III, says “The opportunity to live out his days at Old Friends where I know he will have plenty visitors and attention, is like having a happy ending to a book or a movie. I couldn’t be happier for him.”
“We are honored the Ide Group has chosen us for their wonderful stallion,” said Michael Blowen, President and founder of Old Friends. “It’s really a privilege to care for these great athletes when their careers are over. We’re looking forward to all of Ide’s fans visiting the farm.”
Old Friends is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization that cares for more than 160 retired racehorses. It’s Dream Chase Farm, located in Georgetown, KY, is open to tourists daily by appointment. Old Friends also has two satellite facilities: Old Friends at Cabin Creek: The Bobby Frankel Division, in Greenfield Center, N.Y., and Old Friends at Kentucky Downs, in Franklin, KY. For more information on tours or to make a donation see their website at http://www.oldfriendsequine.org or contact the main farm at (502) 863-1775.
An Accredited Louisiana-bred yearling colt by Curlin sold for $350,000 on Wednesday, September 14, Day 3 of the 2016 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. This is the highest price ever for a Louisiana Bred to have run through the Lexington, Kentucky Sale.
You must be logged in to post a comment.