Category: Paulick Report

Buffer Against Gastric Ulcers: Feed Hay Before Hitting The Road

louisianathoroughbred

by Paulick Report Staff

 

Offering a horse hay before he’s transported can lower the risk of gastric ulcer development before long-distance trailer rides, reports The Horse.

An Italian study has found that horses that don’t eat before getting on a trailer for longer-distance hauls are more likely to have reduced plasma oxidant levels, as well as to develop ulcers. The correlation between transport and fasting has a marked increase on stomach ulceration – more than just fasting alone, the scientists determined.

Hay ingestion before the trip helps absorb stomach acid, protecting the horse’s stomach. Eating hay also allows more antioxidants to be released into the bloodstream, balancing out free radicals, which can have physiological impacts on the body (like developing ulcers).

 

 

Read Paulick Report Article

Texas Racing’s Future Remains Uncertain; Several Stakeholders Hoping To ‘Find A Way To Participate With HISA’

louisianathoroughbred

by Paulick Report Staff

Sam Houston Race Park in Houston, Texas

With simulcasting unavailable due to ongoing disputes with the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, Sam Houston Race Park saw total handle down nearly 93 percent this year, from over $101 million in 2022 to about $6.39 million in 2023, reports the Thoroughbred Daily News.

Purse levels have remained fairly steady, thanks to a state sales tax on equine products, but several Texas stakeholders shared their concerns with the TDN for the industry’s future.

“We have some serious concerns about the direction that Texas Thoroughbred racing is headed given the resistance to participate with HISA,” Jeff Hooper, chairman and CEO of Texas’ Highlander Training Center, told TDN. “We’re certainly not saying HISA is 100% hitting on all cylinders. [But] we feel that it is in Texas’s long-term best interests to find a way to participate with HISA.”

 

Read Paulick Report Article

Desormeaux Patriarch, Founder Of Acadiana Downs Bush Track, Dies At Age 80

louisianathoroughbred

Harris Desormeaux

Harris Desormeaux died at age 80 on Saturday, April 22, 2023 at Ochsner Lafayette General Medical Center in central Louisiana. The father of Hall of Fame jockey Kent and multiple Grade 1-winning trainer Keith, Harris Desormeaux was also the founder of the well-known Acadiana Downs bush track.

“My husband was the one who had a dear love of horses, and our first argument after we married was over a horse,” Harris’ wife, Brenda Desormeaux, told the Chicago Tribune in 2008. “He was in college at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and working two jobs as a lab technician and a security guard. I was a secretary getting my PHT — putting hubby through [school].

“One day he came home and told me he had bought a Quarter Horse. I said: ‘You did what? Where are we going to put it and where are we going to find the money to feed it?’ Somehow we found the money to rent a stall and feed it. I never cared much for horse racing, but it’s part of the Cajun culture. Kent’s interest was piqued when his dad had the racetrack.”

Read Paulick Report Article

HISA Said To Be Delaying Launch Of Anti-Doping And Medication Control Program Until May 22

louisianathoroughbred

Already delayed one month by a court order, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority’s Anti-Doping and Medication Control program will not launch until May 22, according to information provided on Tuesday to the Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission by Tom Chuckas, the regulatory agency’s Thoroughbred bureau director.

Chuckas told commissioners during a regularly scheduled meeting that the program is being delayed from May 1 in part because of the Triple Crown, which gets under way on May 6 with the Kentucky Derby and continues with the Preakness Stakes on May 20. The third leg of the Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes, is run on June 10.

Chuckas said he was notified of the delay by an individual associated with the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit, a newly formed division of Drug Free Sport International contracted by HISA to administer its regulations and enforcement rules. The comment was made as part of Chuckas’ update to the Pennsylvania commission on HISA and HIWU activities.

 

Read Paulick Report Article

In The Face Of Climate Change, Experts Offer Tips For Making The Most Of Your Hay

louisianathoroughbred

by Natalie Voss

 

The cost of keeping horses has been rising for some time now, but last year was an especially bad one when it came to finding hay. According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service, hay stocks fell to the lowest point they’d seen in a decade and in December 2022 were at their lowest since 1954. After a dry late summer and fall in many places, some 37 percent of the country is still considered to be in “extreme drought” conditions, with even more sitting at milder drought ratings despite recent precipitation.

According to statistics presented at a webinar hosted by the American Horse Council, the average cost of grass hay is up to $109 per ton nationally while alfalfa has climbed to $143 per ton. (This varies widely depending on where in the country you are.)

AHC President Julie Broadway said that hay prices and availability are subject to a variety of drivers, from the weather to fuel costs to fertilizer expenses and even the pricing/demand for hay from foreign countries that import it for their grazing animals.

Tracy Brothers Granted Appeals After Delta Downs Search Turns Up Injectable Medications, Albuterol Solution, Hundreds Of Needles, Syringes

louisianathoroughbred

Trainer Greg Tracy and his brother and assistant, James “Jim” Tracy, have been issued six-month suspensions after a routine search by Louisiana State Police at Delta Downs turned up the following in their tack room: 59 bottles of injectable medications, 352 hypodermic needles, 256 syringes, and 75 packs of Albuterol Sulfate inhalation solution. Nine syringes with clear liquid were sent to Louisiana State University for testing.

The search, conducted on Feb. 4, 2023, led to a hearing conducted with three stewards on March 1, according to rulings posted on the Association of Racing Commissioners International website. Jim Tracy and Sgt. Dallas Brasseaux attended in person, while Greg Tracy and an attorney only referred to in the ruling as “Moak” attended via phone. Moak advised the Tracy brothers not to answer any questions; stewards introduced the state police report into evidence and suspended both Greg and Jim Tracy for six months, from March 5, 2023, through Sept. 4, 2023.

Each was granted an appeal on March 9, and Greg Tracy started two horses at the Fair Grounds on Sunday, March 12, finishing third and fourth in the first and fifth races, respectively.

 

Read Paulick Report Article

Texas Casino Legislation Gives Licensing Edge To Racetracks

louisianathoroughbred

Texas State Rep. Charlie Geren (R-Fort Worth) on Friday filed House Joint Resolution 97 that would authorize casino gaming at seven destination resorts across the state and require license applicants be limited to racetrack associations or designees of those associations.

The legislation seeks to amend the Texas Constitution and give Texans the opportunity to vote on the issue this November. State Sen. Carol Alvarado (D-Houston) previously filed a similar resolution in the Senate.

If passed and approved in a statewide vote, the casinos would be regulated by a newly created Texas Gaming Commission. Geren projects the casinos would create tens of thousands of jobs, billions of dollars in economic development through tourism, and billions more in tax revenue to state and local governments.

 

Read Paulick Report Article

CHRB Releases Annual Report: Fatalities Down 52 Percent Over Last Three Years

louisianathoroughbred

The California Horse Racing Board released its annual report on Tuesday, covering the fiscal year revenue of 2021-2022 and the California horse racing through the calendar year of 2022.

CHRB chair Dr. Gregory Ferraro lauded the efforts of the executive director Scott Chaney and deputy executive director Cynthia Alameda for their cooperation with the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority on racetrack safety rules: “The result has been federal regulations that reflect, in large part, that which is already in place here in California.”

Ferraro also praised the CHRB’s efforts to improve equine safety and reduce catastrophic injuries on the racetrack.

FDA Confirms Botulism Found In Alfalfa Cubes Tied To Deaths Of Nearly 50 Horses

louisianathoroughbred

The Louisiana Department of Agriculture & Forestry (LDAF), in cooperation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the California Animal Health & Food Safety Laboratory (CAHFS), has confirmed the presence of Clostridium botulinum type C in alfalfa hay cubes linked to the death of at least 20 horses in Louisiana. This incident, which has evolved into a multi-state epizootic of Equine Botulism linked to the same alfalfa hay cubes, has also been connected to at least 28 similar horse deaths in New Mexico, Texas, and Colorado, with many other horses becoming clinically ill.

Equine Botulism is a condition caused from a bacterial toxin produced by Clostridium botulinum. In this incident, the condition was likely caused from direct ingestion of the toxin produced by the vegetative bacteria through contamination of the alfalfa hay cubes.

The FDA began their investigation, in conjunction with state departments, after reports that horses in Colorado, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Texas showed neurologic symptoms consistent with botulism. During LDAF’s investigation, LDAF Investigators received information of possible alfalfa hay cube adulteration with animal remains. LDAF Investigators subsequently confirmed the presence of animal remains in an unopened 50 lb. bag of “Top of the Rockies Alfalfa Horse Cubes” (Lot # 111422), produced by Manzanola Feeds LLC, a feed manufacturing firm in Manzanola, CO. This finding indicated that material from an animal or animals may have been incorporated into the cubes during alfalfa harvesting. Clostridium botulinum, the bacterium that causes botulism, is commonly present in decaying animal carcasses.

 

Read Paulick Report Article

Louisiana Officials Revoke Ownership License Of Former Co-Defendant In Zetas Money Laundering Case

louisianathoroughbred

by Natalie Voss

 

Louisiana stewards have revoked the ownership license of Carlos M. Nayen-Barbolla after determining Nayen-Barbolla – one of the men convicted as part of the Zetas drug cartel’s drug laundering case – lied on his application.

According to a ruling dated Oct. 21, Nayen-Barbolla was affiliated with the ownership group Red Sea Racing and applied for an owner’s license on July 20.

“When filling out his application he answered ‘no’ to Question 1 Have you ever used an alias or been licensed under any other name? and Question 6 Have you or your spouse ever been arrested or charged with any misdemeanor or felony, including DWI?’” the ruling read.

 

Read Paulick Report Article