The Texas Division of Emergency Management is conducting a survey to identify damages across Texas and to help emergency management officials gain an understanding of damages that have occurred during the recent winter weather. The TTA encourages horsemen to participate so that our industry is properly represented. Reporting damage to Emergency Management is a voluntary activity, is not a substitute for reporting damage to your insurance agency, and does not guarantee disaster relief assistance.
Prentiss Neal McFadden, 77, was called home to be with the Lord on Tuesday, February 23, 2021 after a short illness. Proceeded in death by his parents, Elgin McFadden, Sr. and Ruby Wilks McFadden, his maternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. W.I. Wilks, and his paternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. R.P. McFadden, a brother, Richard “Buddy” McFadden and a nephew, Ben McFadden. He leaves behind his wife of 30 years, Mary McFadden, a brother, Elgin McFadden, Jr., a sister-in-law, Sue McFadden, and stepson, John Silva, nephews Michael McFadden, wife Sheri, Joe McFadden, wife Christy, nieces, Surmartha Wallace, husband Jim, Abby Cates, husband Steve, Cynthia Simmons, husband Ron. Nieces, Vanessa Menhennett, husband Chris, Chastity Adams, husband Chad, nephew Matt Brunson, wife Polly. He also leaves behind several great nieces and nephews and a great-great niece and four grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren.
Neal was born on July 23, 1943 in Ruston, Louisiana. He attended A.E. Phillips Elementary School and graduated from Ruston High School in 1961. He then attended Louisiana Tech University and graduated with a B.S. Degree in Business Administration in 1965. He began his career as a Pharmaceutical salesman and worked for Pfizer, Abbott Labs, and Beecham Pharmaceuticals.
In 1978, he established General Veterinary Supply in Lafayette, La., where he owned and operated along with his wife Mary for 30 years.
His association with horses in the veterinary supply business led to the establishment of McFadden Farm, where he and his wife raised Thoroughbred racehorses and running Quarter horses along with his best friend and business partner, Jay Adcock, until he died. Neal had a passion for broodmares and foals. When he was active at the farm, he didn’t miss many foals coming into the world, being there for almost every delivery, which numbered into the hundreds.
Neal served on the Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders board for 30 plus years, serving as President, 1st Vice President and 2nd Vice President. He served on the Breeders Cup Board for five years, and also served on the Animal Health Board of Louisiana. Retiring in Baker, Florida, he still stayed connected with his Louisiana bred horses and also enjoyed raising Tennessee Walking horses, as well as Rocky Mountain horses on his farm in Florida. He enjoyed trail riding with his wife, Mary, and their many friends. Neal never met a stranger; he made new friends everywhere he went.
Neal was raised in a Baptist church in Ruston, Louisiana where he made friends who still visited and enjoyed attending church with him through the years, both in Lafayette, Louisiana and at Good Hope Baptist, a sweet little country church in Escambia Farms, Florida.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Good Hope Baptist Church Building Fund, 1895 Olin Cotton Road, Baker, Florida 32531.
The Jockey Club announced today that the 2021 edition of the Fact Book is available in the Resources section of its website at jockeyclub.com.
The online Fact Book is a statistical and informational guide to Thoroughbred breeding, racing and auction sales in North America and is updated quarterly. It also features a directory of Canadian, international, national, and state organizations. Links to the Breeding Statistics report that is released by The Jockey Club each September and the Report of Mares Bred information that is published by The Jockey Club each October can be found in the Breeding section of the Fact Book.
Among the data included in the Fact Book are import/export and sales trends, all of which appear to have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Namely, when compared to 2019, imports decreased 23.3%, exports decreased 35.6%, and mean yearling price decreased 19.9%. The Fact Book’s racing data, some of which was released as part of Equibase Company’s year-end Thoroughbred economic indicators advisory last month, also indicates the impact of the pandemic on the industry.
The 2021 editions of State Fact Books, which feature detailed breeding, racing, and auction sales information specific to numerous states, Canadian provinces, and Puerto Rico, are also available on The Jockey Club website. The State Fact Books are updated monthly.
The Jockey Club, founded in 1894 and dedicated to the improvement of Thoroughbred breeding and racing, is the breed registry for North American Thoroughbreds. In fulfillment of its mission, The Jockey Club, directly or through subsidiaries, provides support and leadership on a wide range of important industry initiatives, and it serves the information and technology needs of owners, breeders, media, fans and farms. It is the sole funding source for America’s Best Racing, the broad-based fan development initiative for Thoroughbred racing. You can follow America’s Best Racing at americasbestracing.net. Additional information is available at jockeyclub.com.
Churchill Downs Incorporated announced Tuesday that it has launched a process to sell the 326 acres in Arlington Heights, Ill. that are currently the home of Arlington International Racecourse. CBRE will bring the redevelopment opportunity to market on behalf of CDI.
CDI is committed to running Arlington’s 2021 race dates from April 30 – Sept. 25, and does not expect any sale of the Arlington site to close prior to the conclusion of Arlington’s 2021 race meet or that the conduct of the sale process will impact Arlington’s racing operations this year.
Spendthrift Farm, Ashford Stud and Three Chimneys Farm are suing The Jockey Club in federal court over the “stallion cap” rule that went into effect in 2020, alleging that the 140-mare breeding limit now being phased in amounts to a “blatant abuse of power” that acts as an “anti-competitive restraint” and threatens to disrupt the free-market nature of the bloodstock business.
The plaintiffs contend that the stallion cap “serves no legitimate purpose and has no scientific basis” while alleging that the nine stewards of The Jockey Club who voted to adopt the rule change purportedly did so based more on a desire to satisfy their own “conflicting economic interests” rather than their organization’s stated purpose of “facilitating the soundness of the Thoroughbred breed.”
CARENCRO ~ Funeral services will be held Saturday, February 27, 2021 at a 12:00 p.m. Liturgy of the Word in St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church in Lafayette for Carl James Mathieu, Sr., age 50, who passed away Monday, February 15, 2021 at his residence in Carencro.
Interment will be in Evangeline Memorial Gardens. Deacon Wynard Boutte will officiate at the services.
Carl was a loving husband, father, son, brother, uncle, and friend with a big heart to all those he came in contact with.
He was a graduate of Lafayette High School and attended Lafayette Regional Technical College for Small Engine Repair, he was later employed as a Supervisor at LPSS for 30 years. He had a love for horses and demolition.
Carl went on to prosper into having entrepreneurship of his very own businesses, Babyface Demolition Breeding Farm and Carl’s Interior & Demolition, he was an active member of the American Quarter Horse Association and Louisiana Thoroughbred Association.
He leaves to cherish his memories his loving wife of 26 years, Lisa Alfred Mathieu; one son, Carl James Mathieu Jr; his father, Ernest Mathieu; three sisters, Brenda Ozene (Kevin), Lisa M. Johnson (Stephen), and Angela Mathieu; two brothers, Mark Mathieu (Monica) of Carencro, LA and Patrick Mathieu (Almera) of Lafayette, LA; mother-in-law, Anna Lou Alfred; four aunts, Maudry Aguillard, Viola Cross, Lou Ann Moses, and Paulette Mathieu; one uncle, John Boutte; four Godchildren, Keith Cross, Jamal Campbell, Cori Alfred, Presley Mathieu; along with a host of nieces, nephews, his work crew and extended family and friends.
He is preceded in death by his mother, Mary Helen Boutte Mathieu; one brother, Kenneth Mathieu; maternal grandparents, Annabelle Labbe-Boutte and Wilson Boutte; and paternal grandparents, Hilda and Joseph Mathieu.
A rosary will be prayed at 9:00 a.m. Saturday in the funeral home.
The family requests visiting hours be observed from 7:00 a.m. Saturday until service time on Saturday.
The Mathieu family would like to greatly thank Mr. Matt Arceneaux and Chuck Alleman for assisting endlessly.
Melancon Funeral Home, Evangeline Memorial Gardens Chapel, 4117 N. University Ave., Carencro, (337) 896-3232, is in charge of arrangements.
Thoroughbred owner/breeder, Houston businessman, and philanthropist Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale again opened his main Gallery Furniture store to people in need, this time to city residents seeking refuge from cold, dark homes without safe water to drink.
In an interview Feb. 18 with Michael Strahan on ABC’s Good Morning America, McIngvale said he had almost 1,000 people show up at his Houston, Texas, store and about 300 of them stayed overnight each day Feb. 16-17. Multiple days of freezing temperatures left nearly three million Texans without power Wednesday, with more than a million of them in Houston, according to multiple reports. The state also warned residents that water pressure is so low it might be unsafe to drink. Boil water notices were issued throughout the city.
Proper training of the equine athlete can produce results in more than just muscle mass: it can and should create physiological changes in the lungs, spleen and heart.
Proper athletic conditioning can increase the actual size of the heart, which is a factor in cardiac output. Cardiac output is a combination of heart rate and stroke volume. The more blood that pumps through the heart, the more oxygen arrives at the muscles.
A horse that has been trained properly will have healthy lungs, which can take in more oxygen. The oxygen is then carried by the blood and distributed to the muscles. Called maximum oxygen uptake, this process provides power for a longer time. If all other equine systems are in order, the horse’s performance level is directly related to maximal oxygen uptake, which can increase by 35 times between rest and intensive exercise.
Sam Houston Race Park has canceled live racing through Saturday, Feb. 20, due to continued winter weather, the Houston track announced Feb. 17 via Twitter. Racing on Wednesday had also been canceled.
Five stakes races for state-breds as part of the Texas Preview Day program had been scheduled for Saturday but are now moved back a week.
“Due to ongoing weather conditions in Houston, SHRP has canceled racing through Feb. 20,” Sam Houston wrote in a tweet.
“Texas Preview Day is now rescheduled for Saturday, Feb. 27.
“The 5 Stakes Races will not be redrawn.”
Texas Preview Day will feature the $75,000 Houston Turf Stakes for 4-year-olds and up at 1 1/16 miles, the $75,000 H-Town Stakes for 4-year-olds and up at seven furlongs, the $75,000 Jim’s Orbit Stakes for 3-year-old colts and geldings at six furlongs, the $75,000 Miss Bluebonnet Turf Stakes for fillies and mares 4-years-old and up at a mile, and the $75,000 Two Altazano Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at six furlongs.
Jockey Diego Saenz won four stakes races at Delta Downs on their richest program of the year to earn Jockey of the Week honors for the week of Feb. 8 through Feb. 14.
The award, which is voted on by a panel of racing experts, is for jockeys who are members of the Jockeys’ Guild, the organization which represents more than 950 active riders in the United States as well as retired and permanently disabled jockeys.
Under jockey Diego Saenz and riding for trainer Tom Amoss and owners Maggi Moss and Greg Tramontin, No Parole was an easy winner in the Premier Day Sprint. No Parole covered the 5-furlong distance in 57.37 the fastest clocking of the season at that distance.
Trainer Bret Calhoun gave Saenz a leg up on Southern Beauty in the Premier Day Matron. Saenz roused her to the lead turning for home in the five-furlong sprint for older fillies and mares. The win was the fourth of the day for Saenz.
Eclipse award-winning trainer Brad Cox teamed with Saenz on Australasia in the Premier Day Starlet for 3-year-old fillies at one mile. Under Saenz, Australasia set the early pace and then took off to win by 7-1/4 lengths.
Riding for trainer Ronnie Averett in the Premier Day Bon Temps Starter, Saenz and Wild Mallory won the five-furlong test in front-running style.
Saez, who was born in Chihuahua, Mexico, has been riding professionally since 2004 primarily on the Louisiana circuit. He has won numerous riding titles at Delta Downs and currently sits in second place.
Lifetime to date, he has won 2,326 races and more than $47 million purses.
Saenz out polled fellow riders Eric Cancel who was leading jockey by number of wins and won a stakes at Aqueduct, Florent Geroux who won two stakes races at Fair Grounds, Gerard Melancon who won three stakes at Delta Downs and Flavien Prat who won a stakes race at Santa Anita.
Prentiss Neal McFadden, 77, was called home to be with the Lord on Tuesday, February 23, 2021 after a short illness. Proceeded in death by his parents, Elgin McFadden, Sr. and Ruby Wilks McFadden, his maternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. W.I. Wilks, and his paternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. R.P. McFadden, a brother, Richard “Buddy” McFadden and a nephew, Ben McFadden. He leaves behind his wife of 30 years, Mary McFadden, a brother, Elgin McFadden, Jr., a sister-in-law, Sue McFadden, and stepson, John Silva, nephews Michael McFadden, wife Sheri, Joe McFadden, wife Christy, nieces, Surmartha Wallace, husband Jim, Abby Cates, husband Steve, Cynthia Simmons, husband Ron. Nieces, Vanessa Menhennett, husband Chris, Chastity Adams, husband Chad, nephew Matt Brunson, wife Polly. He also leaves behind several great nieces and nephews and a great-great niece and four grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren.
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