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Month: June 2018

Farm Bill, Take 2! House Lawmakers Pass Ag Legislation, Boost Animal Health Programs

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In the wake of a failed vote on the 2018 farm bill on May 18 – largely precipitated by controversy surrounding unrelated immigration policy issues – on June 21, House lawmakers revisited the legislation and finally passed the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018 (H.R. 2) by a vote of 213 to 211.  Since Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced that he plans to pass companion legislation in the upper chamber before July 4, Congress appears to be poised to finalize a bill prior to expiration of Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs on September 30.  During meetings on Capitol Hill the week of June 11, multiple senate offices echoed a commitment to the deadline, reminding members of the horse industry that the chamber is prepared to work into the August recess to complete its legislative business prior to the mid-term elections in the fall.

Fortunately for the horse industry, the $868 billion, five-year package includes provisions addressing some of AHC’s top priorities:  authorization of a new National Animal Disaster Preparedness and Response (NADPR) program; additional support for the National Animal Health Laboratory Network; and creation of the National Animal Health Vaccine Bank that will prioritize risks posed by Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), among other threats.

A preliminary review of the bill shows that although lawmakers generally met industry’s full funding request – totaling $250 million for the priority issues outlined above – for FY2019 only, the bill reduces those funds during subsequent fiscal years.  For example, the horse industry and its partners requested $70 million each year to fund the NADPR, but received $30 million for 2020 and beyond.  Fortunately for the horse industry, the final bill authorizes $150 million for a “priority FMD vaccine bank,” opening the door for funding vaccines that will mitigate other diseases.

AHC will continue to advocate for industry priorities as the legislation moves forward.  To view a copy of the legislation, please click here: https://www.congress.gov/115/bills/hr2/BILLS-115hr2rh.pdf.

National Thoroughbred Welfare Organization Partners with Delta Downs and Evangeline Downs

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Lexington, KY— The National Thoroughbred Welfare Organization (NTWO) today announced a partnership with Delta Downs Racetrack Casino Hotel and Evangeline Downs Racetrack Casino Hotel, which have each agreed to provide financial assistance and other support to NTWO’s horse-rehoming efforts in the state of Louisiana.  The Boyd Gaming Corporation-owned tracks are the first in Louisiana — and the nation — to provide much-needed support to horses and horsemen through the NTWO program.

The NTWO is focused on intercepting retired Thoroughbred horses from being sold into the slaughter pipeline.  The NTWO will have a full-time representative at the local tracks and training centers to work with trainers and owners to rehome their retirees. 

“While improvements have been made in the aftercare of racing’s horses, there is still much to be done,” said Victoria Keith, President of NTWO. “We have a lot of work in front of us, but we’re excited to get started and make a difference in the lives of horses in Louisiana.  We are grateful to Delta Downs and Evangeline Downs for taking the lead in working with us to fight the indefensible practice of horse slaughter – and we encourage others to follow their lead.”

“Every horse that races at our tracks deserves to find a good, loving home after it retires,” said Vince Schwartz, Senior Vice President of Operations for Boyd Gaming. “The NTWO’s noble mission is one we are proud to support. Both Delta Downs and Evangeline Downs want to see this inhumane practice eliminated from racing, but we can’t do it alone. We encourage our community partners and race fans to join us in supporting racehorse protection and welfare through the good work of the NTWO.”

The NTWO, founded by Rick Porter of Fox Hill Farm, will pull from all available resources to operate as a comprehensive welfare organization that protects horses for the overall benefit of the sport. In addition to bringing rehoming programs to areas in need, the NTWO also plans to address in the future drug and other issues that are damaging to the health and welfare of racing’s horses.  

For more information on the NTWO or to learn more about ways to support, please visit NTWO.org or call their hotline at (859) 382-7779. 

JOCKEY JOSE GUERRERO BRINGING HOME THE LONGSHOTS AT HARRAH’S LOUISIANA DOWNS

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Bossier City, LA – There is no shortage of talented jockeys competing in the 2018 Thoroughbred racing season at Harrah’s Louisiana Downs. Several young riders are making a name for themselves including Jose Andres Guerrero

Born in Dolores Hidalgo in Central Mexico, Guerrero, 23, began galloping five years ago in Texas.

He got his license at 19 and was named on 11 horses in 2015. His first victory came in 2016 and he completed the year with a record of 31 wins, 40 seconds and 42 third-place finishes. He had a good season last year at Louisiana Downs, beginning the meet as an apprentice, and transitioning to the journeyman ranks last July. Guerrero finished the meet fifth in the standings with 57 wins.

He’s already won 16 races this meet and has scored with several longshots. On Monday, June 18, he tallied a very impressive score aboard first-time starter Acadian Driftwood for trainer Jerry Cart. The filly by Forefathers was entered in a $22,000 maiden special weight.

“We knew she was pretty good,” said Cart. “Jose had never worked her, so all I told him was to get her out to the lead.”

That did not happen, as she got pinched back out of the gate and was ninth in the early stages of the six furlong main track event.

“She took a bad step out of the gate,” explained Guerrero. “I just decided to be patient and see how she would recover. I got her to the outside and she did the rest.”

She advanced from last, passing three runners as she neared the turn, and took off at the top of the stretch, drawing clear by over seven lengths. Sent off at 17-1, Acadian Driftwood paid $37.20 for the $2 win ticket.

“The filly really showed me she could run,” said Guerrero.

Cart, who is also the co-breeder and owner of the chestnut filly, had praise for Guerrero.

“He’s a talented rider and has really improved in the last year,” he said.

Guerrero appreciates each of the trainers who name him and for the hard work of his agent, Steve Melancon. He is satisfied with his progress in the fourth year of his career.

“I’m doing what I love to do, every time I ride,” he explained. “My faith in God keeps me humble.  I wake up every morning, work hard and try to be strong and finish well.”

Guerrero joined millions of racing fans in watching the masterful run of Justify as he became just the 13th Triple Crown winner.

“Wow; that is an incredible horse,” said Guerrero. “And what a great ride by Mike Smith. I was at Lone Star last year when he came in to ride a stakes race. He is one of the nicest guys you could ever meet. I introduced myself and told him I had only been riding a few years. He was very encouraging and told me just to keep working hard.”

 

 

Trainer, Jockey and Owner Standings

As of June 20, Karl Broberg tops the trainer standings with 10 wins.  Joe O. Duhon and Henry E. Uriegas have each saddled nine winners to share second place. Danny Pish and Jorge Lara follow closely with eight wins each.

 

Big week for Emanuel Nieves who rode eight winners to take the lead from Richard Eramia. Nieves now tops the jockey standings with 25 wins. Eramia is second with 23 victories and Gerardo Mora follows with 20 wins. Joel Dominguez rounds out the top four with 17 trips to the winner’s circle.

 

End Zone Athletics, Inc. took sole possession of the lead in the owner standings with eight wins. Dream Walkin Farms, Inc. is second with seven victories and Jorge Gomez is next with five wins. Brittlyn Stable Inc, Patti Turner, P and D Racing Stables, Penny Scarberry, D & D Racing, Estate of William Gilmore, Eleuterio Martinez, Jr, Quail Ridge Farms of Hondo, LLC and Maxie Wayne Kitchings, Sr. follow with three wins each.

 

Wednesday and Saturday Race Day Promotions

Louisiana Downs offers value for racing fans each Wednesday with Dollar Day. They will be able to enjoy $1 hot dogs, $1 beer at the Paddock as well as $1 programs. Saturday’s weekly promotion is the Family Four Pack featuring four hot dogs, four sodas, a program, and a box seat for four at the affordable price of just $16.

 

The Total Rewards program is free for horseplayers. With the swipe of their card each Saturday, members will receive valuable incentives.  These include:

  • Play $250 or more to receive a 5X multiplier
  • Play $1,000 or more to receive a 7X multiplier
  • Play $5,000 or more to receive a 10X multiplier

Participant’s multiplier cannot exceed a total balance of more than one hundred thousand (100,000) Reward Credits during one promotional day after the multiplier is applied.

 

 

Post Times and Stakes Schedule

Live racing will be conducted Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and Saturday with a 3:15 p.m. (Central) post time through September 27.

 

The 84-day meet will include 14 stakes highlighted by two major events, Louisiana Cup Day on Saturday, August 4 and Super Derby Day on Sunday, September 2. As previously announced one major change for the upcoming season is that the Grade 3, $300,000 Super Derby will return to the main track at a distance of a mile and one-sixteenth on Sunday, September 2.

 

About Harrah’s Louisiana Downs

Located near Shreveport in Bossier City, Louisiana, Louisiana Downs opened in 1974 and was purchased by Caesars Entertainment in December, 2002. With annual Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing seasons, the track is committed to presenting the highest quality racing programs paired with its 150,000 square foot entertainment complex offering casino gambling, dining and plasma screen televisions for sports and simulcast racing.

 

Cabo’s Rumor First Winner for Amanecer de Oro

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Two-year-old Cabo’s Rumor broke his maiden in his second out, Monday, June 18that Louisiana Downs. The Northpointe Thoroughbreds homebred ran the 4 ½ furlongs in :53.73 to defeat his competition by a length for trainer Steven Duke.

Amanecer de Oro is a 2008 son of Afternoon Deelites. An accomplished sprinter, he was twice stakes placed as a juvenile himself before going on to win four stakes at three and four and placing in another three, retiring with an overall record of 31-7-4-4 and earnings of $401,193.

Amanecer do Oro stands at Holly Hill Farm in Benton, Louisiana for a 2018 fee of $1,250. His first crop are two year olds of 2018.

Louisiana bred Two-Year-Olds Above Average at OBS

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Four of six accredited Louisiana Bred two-year-olds offered sold for a total of $207,000 at the recently concluded OBS June Two-Year-Olds In Training Sale in Ocala, Florida. The average for the Louisiana breds was $51,750 well above the sale average of  $32,934.

The top priced Louisiana Bred was an Into Mischief filly out of Pioneer Gal. The half sister to stakes placed winner Pioneer’s Era tied for fastest under tack time of 10.0 flat. Consigned by Top Line Sales LLC, Agent, the filly named Ben’s Miss Chief, was purchased by Carlo Vaccarezza for $130,000. She was bred by Oak Tree Stables LLC.

A chestnut colt by Maclean’s Music out of multiple stakes producing Cinnamon Kisses sold for $62,000. Consigned by Bobby Dodd, agent, he was purchased by Maxis Stable. He was bred by Gulf Haven Farms, LLC.

 

Atchata First Winner for Louisiana Sire Apriority

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The 2-year-old filly broke her maiden June 15 in her second start.

Heiligbrodt’s Atchata overcame a stumble at the start to score by 1 1/2 lengths in a June 15 maiden special weight on the turf to become the first winner for freshman sire Apriority.

Despite the stumble, the 2-year-old filly settled just off the pace behind Too Foofoo for You, who took the field through a quarter-mile in :22.08. Coming off the turn in the six-furlong race, Atchata rolled to the front unchallenged and caught the timer at :44.77 for the half-mile. Pulling away in the stretch, she finished the distance in 1:08.75 over the firm turf course.

Trained by Steve Asmussen, Atchata was purchased under Heiligbrodt’s East Hickman Racing for $85,000 at the Ocala Breeders’ Sales March 2-year-olds in training sale, where Robert Brewer consigned her. She was bred in Louisiana by 4M Ranch out of the Stormy Atlantic  mare Sweet Jackie Jo.

Apriority raced from age 3 to 7 and won the 2011 Mr. Prospector Stakes (G3) as a 4-year-old. The son of Grand Slam retired with a record of 6-9-3 from 36 starts. Four of his second-place finishes were in stakes, including a nose difference in the 2011 Churchill Downs Stakes (G2). He also finished second to Morning Line  in that year’s Carter Handicap (G1).

Standing at Elite Thoroughbreds in Louisiana, Apriority has a 2018 stud fee of $2,000.

Victory Trip First Winner, Starter for Guilt Trip

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The 2-year-old colt won by 7 3/4 lengths June 13.

 

Victory Trip went gate-to-wire June 13 to represent Guilt Trip‘s first winner from the stallion’s first starter.

Victory Trip, a 2-year-old colt bred by Terry Adcock in Louisiana, broke on top to set fractions of :23.06 and :46.71 through a half-mile and finished out the 4 1/2-furlong maiden test in a final time of :53.17 over a fast track.

With no challengers in the remaining field of four, Victory Trip sped to a 7 3/4-length score.

The colt was purchased at the 2017 Equine Sales of Louisiana yearling sale by his connections for $20,000. He is out of the Songandaprayer mare Anne Margaret.

Guilt Trip, a 9-year-old son of Pulpit, was campaigned by Gary and Mary West and trainers Chad Brown, Bob Baffert, and Wayne Catalano. After breaking his maiden in his second start with Brown and following it with an allowance-level score, he was unable to make the grade as a 3-year-old. But he returned the following year to take the Strub Stakes (G2) with Baffert.

Bred by Winsong Farm in Kentucky, Guilt Trip is out of the Quiet American mare Mysterieuse Etoile. From two crops the stallion has 67 registered foals to date.

Guilt Trip stands at Jay Adcock’s Red River Farms in Louisiana for $2,500.

Reminder: LTBA Board of Director Ballots Due by June 30

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By now, all LTBA members should have received their ballots for the 2018 Board of Directors Election. If you have not done so, please complete (vote for up to 5) and mail in the return envelope provided. Envelope must be signed on the back and ballot must be received by June 30. Unsigned ballots and those received after June 30 will not be counted.

Study Narrows Focus on How Furosemide Works

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Learning how the medication works could lead to alternative treatments of EIPH.

A recently published study in Comparative Exercise Physiology found a relationship between the administration of the medication furosemide, used to prevent exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage, and an enzyme that affects the pressure within the blood vessels in a horse’s lungs.

The relationship potentially points toward new avenues to explore regarding the treatment of EIPH in Thoroughbred racehorses.

The study, conducted at Gávea Racecourse in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, analyzed post-race blood samples from 73 horses over eight race days. Of the 73 horses, 47 had been treated with 250 mg of furosemide before their race and 26 were not medicated.

These samples were then tested for levels of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE), a potent vasoconstrictor that when active contributes to higher blood pressure. Several studies have affirmed furosemide’s effectiveness in reducing incidences of EIPH, but how the diuretic drug actually works is still unknown. This study showed ACE activity was significantly reduced in the horses that had been treated with furosemide.

“Multiple regression analysis demonstrated that pre-race furosemide significantly influenced ACE activity post-race, while distance raced, temperature, humidity, and hematocrit did not,” the study concluded. “This is a novel finding which might impact on the search for the exact implications of furosemide use, and its effects on physiology and performance of Thoroughbred racehorses utilizing loop diuretics as treatments for EIPH.”

The horses used in this study were already stabled at Gávea and the treated horses were part of the racetrack’s established protocol on managing EIPH. At Gávea, a horse is entitled to pre-race furosemide if an official racetrack veterinarian has documented a bleeding episode through tracheobronchoscopy exam. A registered bleeder can receive furosemide four hours prior to post time and must continue to receive treatment for every race within 90 days from diagnosis. Horses that are younger than 3 1/2 years old are not allowed to receive pre-race furosemide, and any medicated horse is prohibited from competing in a group 1 or group 2 race.

While furosemide has proven to be the most effective method of reducing EIPH, the medication still does not entirely prevent its occurrence. In the Gávea study, 36.2% of the non-medicated horses showed some degree of post-race bleeding compared with 76.9% of the treated horses.

“This study confirms that, although furosemide might reduce EIPH severity after a single bout of exercise, it does not abolish or reduce its occurrence,” wrote the study’s authors. “This conclusion does not argue against the use of furosemide as a treatment for control of EIPH, but indicates the continuing need for better alternatives to limit the progressive and deleterious effects of repeated episodes of EIPH on the lungs of horses, and that further research into the possible role of renin-angiotensin aldosterone system components (like ACE) in developing new treatments is needed.”

The study was published by Dr. Maria Fernanda de Mello Costa, Dr. Fernanda Aparecida Ronchi, Dr. Yoonsuh Jung, Dr. A. Ivanow, Dr. Juliana Braga, Dr. M.T. Ramos, Dr. Dulce Elena Casarini; and Dr. Ronald F. Slocombe.

Aug.1 Deadline to Apply for AAEP Research Fellow Scholarships

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Applications currently being accepted for the 2018 American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) Foundation Past Presidents’ and EQUUS Foundation Research Fellows scholarships. The deadline to apply is Aug. 1.

These annual scholarships are awarded to AAEP-member veterinarians who are beginning careers in equine research in graduate school. Each recipient will receive a $5,000 scholarship during the AAEP’s 64th Annual Convention in San Francisco, Calif. Dec. 1-5, 2018.

The AAEP Foundation Past Presidents’ Research Fellow and the EQUUS Foundation Research Fellow, established in 2006 and 2011, respectively, emphasize the importance of equine research while rewarding researchers for their personal contributions.

The Foundation created the research fellows to acknowledge the increasing need to train future equine veterinary researchers.

“Companion animals – dogs, cats, and horses – play a central role in our quality of life. Horses thrill us as athletes, grace our lives as companions, instill confidence and teamwork in equestrians of all ages and perform miracles for people with special needs. The impact of horses on our well-being is significant. It is crucial now – more than ever before – that we continue to improve their health and welfare,” said Jenny W. Belknap, Chair, EQUUS Foundation.

These scholarships are made possible through the monetary contributions of AAEP past presidents and The EQUUS Foundation.

“Although it is common for veterinary graduates with an equine interest to pursue residency training in a clinical specialty, it is difficult to get them to the next level of pursuing a career in research and teaching mainly due to economic constraints,” said Richard Mitchell, DVM, MRCVS, DACVSMR, chairman of the AAEP Foundation Advisory Council. “If our knowledge of horse health is going to continue to advance, we must encourage more veterinarians to become researchers. We can’t thank the EQUUS Foundation and AAEP’s past presidents enough for supporting those pursuing careers in equine research.”

Ideal candidates for the research fellows are graduates of an AVMA-accredited school/college of veterinary medicine who have experience conducting equine research and are nearing completion of a residency or doctoral program. Applicants who are seeking funding for their research project or have secured funding from other organizations are eligible to apply, as the scholarships focus on supporting the researcher, not the project.

The scholarship descriptions and applications are accessible on the AAEP Foundation’s website.

 

About AAEP Foundation

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 allocated more than $4 million to support its mission.

 

About EQUUS Foundation

The EQUUS Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity established in 2002, also known as Horse Charities of America, is the only national animal welfare charity in the United States dedicated solely to horse welfare and the horse-human bond. Donations are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law. Contact the EQUUS Foundation, Inc.: Tele: (203) 259-1550; E-mail: mail@equusfoundation.org; or Website: www.equusfoundation.org.

 

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