Category: Paulick Report

Ask Your Veterinarian: Putting Broodmares Under Lights

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by Paulick Report Staff

 

Veterinarians at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital answer your questions about sales and healthcare of Thoroughbred auction yearlings, weanlings, 2-year-olds and breeding stock.

Question: When it comes to putting broodmares under lights for cycling are overhead lights or mask lights better? And why does it work?

Dr. Peter Sheerin, Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital: In many breeds, Jan. 1 is considered the birthdate for all horses in the breed, no matter when they are born. This can put late-born foals at a disadvantage when competing or at yearling sales. Because of this, many breeders want their mares to foal as early as possible.

The horse is considered a long day breeder, meaning they are cycling when the days are longer. Mares left at natural conditions in the Northern Hemisphere will typically start cycling late March to early April. Mares further north will start cycling later than mares closer to the equator. Researchers determined that by artificially increasing the day length and the amount of light that mares were exposed to, one could get mares to cycle earlier. Mares did not begin to cycle for 60 to 75 days after the beginning of exposure to longer days. So, for a breeding season that starts Feb. 15, one would start lights Dec. 1 at the latest.

 

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Extreme Cold Forces Oaklawn To Cancel Racing, Training On Friday

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Due to extreme cold temperatures in the region, Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark. will cancel training and racing on Friday, Jan. 21.

The National Weather Service predicts temperatures as low as 16 degrees (F) on Thursday night, with a high of just 35 on Friday. Wind chills on Friday could be as low as 7.

According to the track’s Twitter feed, the goal is to resume racing and training on Saturday, Jan. 22, with post time Saturday afternoon moved to a 1:00 PM (Central) start time.

Normal schedules are expected to resume on Sunday, Jan. 23.

Unable To Reach Final Terms: Horseracing Integrity And Safety Authority Suspends Negotiations With USADA

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The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) announced the suspension of negotiations pertaining to USADA’s potential future role as the independent enforcement agency for HISA’s Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) program. As mandated by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act of 2020, USADA and HISA had been engaged in good faith negotiations but were unable to reach final terms. To date, USADA has led the process of authoring draft rules for HISA’s ADMC program. As set forth in the HISA statute, the Authority is evaluating options for engagement with other leading independent enforcement agencies.

The draft Racetrack Safety regulations that were submitted to the FTC earlier this month will be implemented as scheduled by the FTC on July 1, 2022, following review, public comment and education periods. There will be a temporary delay in submission of the Anti-Doping and Medication Control draft rules to the FTC until a new independent agency can be identified and an agreement finalized. This will allow HISA and another independent enforcement agency to reach an agreement and build on the progress that has been made to-date with USADA. HISA anticipates this process will permit the full implementation of the final ADMC rules in early 2023.

 

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From Shetland Ponies To Graded Stakes Winners: Brian, Colby Hernandez On Continuing Family’s Racing Legacy

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Colby Hernandez (left) and Brian Hernandez Jr. (right)

Thanks to a successful year for both Brian and Colby, the Hernandez brothers are quickly ascending up the ranks of jockey sibling duos.

Brian Hernandez Jr., 36, began galloping horses at the age of 12, growing up on the backside of Evangeline Downs in Louisiana. He began his career as a professional jockey in 2003 at Delta Downs and began going back and forth between the Louisiana and Kentucky circuits the following year. Brian currently has lifetime earnings of $99,790,140 and has won 2,271 races, as well as an Eclipse Award in 2004 as outstanding apprentice jockey.

Colby Hernandez, 31, followed quickly in his older brother’s footsteps with his first start as a professional jockey coming in 2006 at Evangeline Downs. Colby rode primarily on the Louisiana circuit until 2020 when the pandemic-related track closures prompted him to give the Kentucky circuit a try. He has gone back and forth between the two states ever since. Colby has current lifetime earnings of $51,375,010 and has won 2,334 races.

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Ask Your Veterinarian: Why Are Broodmares So Prone To Colic?

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by | 11.23.2021 | 12:55pm

Veterinarians at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital answer your questions about sales and healthcare of Thoroughbred auction yearlings, weanlings, 2-year-olds and breeding stock.

Question: Why are broodmares so prone to colic, and what colic causes are most common for them?

Dr. Katy Dern, Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital: According to the Centers for Disease Control, 1.4 percent of human delivery hospitalizations in the United States in the year 2014 developed what are characterized as severe maternal morbidities. This means that, even in closely supervised and intensively managed births, 1.4 in every 100 women developed potentially life-threatening complications. Parturition (birth) has potential consequences for the mother, and broodmares are no exception to this biologic reality.

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Breeders’ Cup Diaries: Leonard Looks Back At His Racing Start In Louisiana Backcountry

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Leonard and California Angel

 

 

This is our third edition in a daily diary series following trainer George Leonard’s first trip to the Breeders’ Cup with California Angel. Find Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

It may be the first time George Leonard has brought a horse to Del Mar, but he managed to find a familiar face on the West Coast. Leonard left his regular exercise riders back home with his Indiana Grand string, and picked up the services of jockey Chester Bonnet to help him work California Angel ahead of her run in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.

Bonnet and Leonard go way back, to the days when both were still in their home state of Louisiana. Leonard transferred to Indiana and Kentucky, and Bonnet came to California to be nearer to his son.

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Jockey Miguel Mena Killed In Vehicular Accident

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Jockey Miguel Mena

 

 

Miguel Mena, one of the winningest jockeys in Churchill Downs history and a two-time winner of the prestigious Stephen Foster Stakes, was killed in a pedestrian accident on westbound I-64 between Blakenbaker Parkway and Hurstbourne Lane in Louisville on Sunday night. He was 34, just days shy of his 35th birthday on Saturday.

 

“This news is absolutely shocking, terrible and heartbreaking,” said Churchill Downs Racetrack President Mike Anderson. “Our team is devastated to learn of Miguel’s passing. He was such a courageous rider who fought to overcome several challenges and adversity. We’ll miss his bright smile. Our deepest condolences are extended to his many friends, fellow riders and family, and our immediate thoughts are with his wife April and his daughters Naelah and Montserrat.”

 

 

Mena won 2,079 races in North America and his mounts in 16,234 races earned $72,483,396 in prize money. He recorded 136 career stakes wins, including 37 against graded stakes company led by the 2010 Test (Grade 1) aboard Champagne d’Oro and 2011 Stephen Foster (G1) on Pool Play.

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Delta Downs Cancels Racing Under New LED Lighting System

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Delta Downs was forced to cancel the remainder of its Friday night program after a third-race spill and will not conduct its scheduled Saturday night program.

The Vinton, La., racetrack, which opened its 2021-22 meet with two afternoon programs on Oct. 13-14, was racing under its new LED lighting system for the first time on Friday when Its a Deal fell at the top of the stretch in the third race. Jockey Jorge Guzman fell heavily to the track.

According to the Equibase chart, Its a Deal walked off after the incident. Guzman’s condition is not known.

 

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Ellis Park Cancels Training, Sunday Card After Overnight Barn Fire

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by | 08.22.2021 | 10:04am

The receiving barn at Ellis Park is a total loss after an early Sunday morning fire.

A fire engulfed the receiving barn at Ellis Park in Henderson, Ky., early Sunday morning, leading to the evacuation of seven horses housed there. No injuries to any persons were reported while one horse suffered a minor injury in the fire.

Ellis Park general manager Jeff Inman and Baskett Fire Chief Brent Morrow held a press conference Sunday to share more information about the early morning barn fire.

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Horologist Goes Wire to Wire In Summer Colony At Saratoga

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There’s A Chance Stable, Medallion Racing, Abbondanza Racing, Parkland Thoroughbreds, Paradise Farms Corp. and David Staudacher’s Horologist made every pole a winning one in Sunday’s $120,000 Summer Colony, at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

A multiple graded-stakes winner – and the 2020 New Jersey-bred Horse of the Year – Horologist broke sharply under Junior Alvarado and never relinquished in the nine-furlong event for older fillies and mares that have not won a graded race in 2021.

Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, Horologist set splits of :23.66, :47.34, and 1:11.77 with Gibberish tracking her early foot in second position over a good and sealed main track. The pacesetter took the field into the final turn with stalkers So Darn Hot and Gold Spirit inching closer with Gibberish failing to pester.

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