The two that scored at Salisbury were ridden by stable jockey Tom Queally, with Ryan Moore on the mark at Doncaster.
Queally is looking forward to a number of rides for the yard at Royal Ascot, most notably Joyeuse who created a good impression when winning first time out at Lingfield last month.
Frankel’s half-sister quickened away from her opposition but Lord Grimthorpe, who manages the Abdullah horses, urges caution.
“She won a maiden if everyone’s not too clear on that,” he said.
“She’s stepping up in class and distance so we’ll have to wait and see.”
Animal Kingdom is coming a long way to Royal Ascot, chasing one last win.
The winner of the Kentucky Derby in 2011 and the $10 million Dubai World Cup this year is to be retired to stud after running in the Queen Anne Stakes today. Animal Kingdom has been stabled at Graham Motion’s farm in Fair Hill, Md.
Not since 1936 has a Kentucky Derby winner competed at Royal Ascot. On that occasion, 1935 Triple Crown winner Omaha finished second in the Gold Cup – the signature race at Ascot.
“Royal Ascot is a bonus for me because I thought Dubai was his last race,” Motion said. “I feel very fortunate that [the owners] have taken on this very sporting challenge at Royal Ascot.
“In the States, we have a lot of opportunities for easy pickings so it’s more of a sporting challenge to come here. It would be a shot in the arm for America if he was to win at Royal Ascot.”
Victory, though, will not come easy for Animal Kingdom, the odds-on favorite by British bookmakers. Accustomed to racing on dirt and on a left-turn track, he will have to contend with the up-and-down nature of Ascot’s famous straight mile.
“Animal Kingdom is a very good horse, but this will be a different game for him,” said Patrick Barbe, racing manager for Animal Kingdom’s biggest rival, Elusive Kate.
A second win abroad will clearly boost the injury-prone horse’s value as a stallion. It also will be a milestone for Motion, who is based in the U.S. but was brought up 6 miles from the racing hotbed of Newmarket in England.
Last year, unbeaten Black Caviar ran at Ascot for her first appearance outside Australia, winning the Diamond Jubilee Stakes for her 22nd straight win. She was retired this year with a 25-0 record.
Horse racing: Animal Kingdom seeks one last win | The News Journal | delawareonline-com
IT'S A busy week on the international scene. Here are some of the burning questions we hope to answer in the next seven days.
Will Animal Kingdom get Royal Ascot off to a flyer?
Scientists have proved you're now more likely to be overrun by a stampede of steaming bull while debating Animal Kingdom's chances at Royal Ascot than on the narrow streets of Pamplona.
Forget all this 'first run on a straight track', 'first run in Europe', 'never won at a mile' nonsense. Animal Kingdom will win the Queen Anne Stakes.
He is the clear best horse in an otherwise weak renewal of the race and he's also unbelievably versatile. It would take an improver or an incident to beat him - and improvers look thin on the ground.
This is a horse who was the first in history to win the Kentucky Derby on his first start on dirt; a horse who won the Dubai World Cup on his first start outside the States; a horse who has posted world class performances on dirt, turf and synthetic surfaces.
He may not be the classiest individual at Ascot this week but he holds a distinct edge over these rivals and factoids like 'never won on a Tuesday' or 'never won when the Queen is in attendance' will not stop him proving it.
So the short answer is: yes, and the false debate should get you a better price and tasty money back concessions just in case he does meet incident.
Will we see the Arc winner in Japan this weekend?
Japanese race fans endure the same highs and lows every year. It's just like what kids go through when you tell them you're off to Disneyworld when you mean Eurodisney: they get their hopes up before a brief trip to Paris and bitter disappointment.
It may be a small world but the Japanese have found travelling to Longchamp exceedingly tricky in the last decade. Fans flock in their thousands to watch their home stars in the Arc but they always leave with nothing more than a losing betting stub.
Even last year when Orfevre was the best horse in the race and running away from his rivals inside the final furlong they still failed to convert Euros to Yen.
This year, however, the tsunami could be coming with a handful of talented Japanese contenders all setting their sights on this one, elusive prize.
Sunday's Takarazuka Kinen has given a good steer on the Arc in recent years, being won by Deep Impact, Nakayama Festa and Orfevre en route to a top three finish at Longchamp.
Orfevre suffered a small bleed in training last week and will miss the big showdown at Hanshin on the weekend but the rest of the talented team are set to hammer out an order of peck.
The selection is Gentildonna, who finished second to St Nicholas Abbey in the Sheema Classic last time out. She's a seriously high class filly with an excellent record over middle-distances - including a victory over Orfevre in the Japan Cup.
Her chief rivals are Gold Ship, who flopped in the Tenno Sho Spring last time out, and Fenomeno, who picked up the pieces.
As far as the Arc goes Gentildonna, or whoever wins on Sunday, would be a worthy challenger. Orfevre (as long as he gets over his latest set back) should also make any shortlist and leading three-year-old Kizuna could be interesting if he joins the raiding party.
Short answer: maybe, but keep fingers crossed that Orfevre comes back safe and well to gain redemption for last year. Can Cirrus Des Aigles become world champion this year?
In cricket you can apparently make money betting on no balls. You can do the same in horse racing providing the no balls you're betting on is Cirrus Des Aigles.
When the French gelding lost his babymakers he also lost his chance to make a fortune at stud and even run in the Arc. If he felt embittered by his position he may have a chance to get one over on the establishment this year.
They took his pride, his potential for fatherhood and the option to run in his nation's greatest race, but in 2013 he could beat a whole year's worth of future sires and broodmares by becoming the gelding world champion.
The French grinder pushed Frankel harder than any other horse last year, finishing within two-lengths of Sir Henry Cecil's legend in the Champion Stakes. That run earned him an RPR of 132 which makes him the highest rated horse in training.
His progress over the years has been a gradual climb to his peak in October last year. A wholesale drop in form is unlikely this year, although turning seven is rarely an indicator to further improvement.
Fans of the mud-loving bay will hope he can at least maintain last season's form, even if just for a couple of runs, to give him a shot at the world title.
He tends to str ip fitter for a racecourse outing, so whether he will fire a big rating on his return to action on Sunday is doubtful.
He does, however, hold a clear class advantage in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud, so let's hope he can win by a decent margin as a springboard to a championship campaign.
Short answer: it's too early to predict a world champion, but if he can still run to 132 he'd have an excellent chance.
Can Fort Larned set the dirt division alight?
The last time I got excited about a dirt horse was at the launch party for James Dyson's new ride-on vacuum.
That was a waste of money - it refused every time it got to the chair. And there were emissions problems. It basically sucked.
In the equine world the last dirt horse to really set the pulse racing was the mighty Zenyatta, who suffered a crushing defeat in her final race at the hooves of the aptly named Blame in the 2010 Breeders' Cup Classic.
Since then multi-surface specialists like Wise Dan and Animal Kingdom have been stealing headlines in the US, leaving the leading dirt performers to wallow in the shadows.
But here we have Fort Larned. He's already bagged one Classic and he looks poised to take another after running away with the Stephen Foster Handicap and earning a world leading RPR of 128 on Saturday.
Captaintreacherous continued to dazzle the harness racing world with not only his speed, but also another gritty performance in winning the 30th edition of the $1 million Pepsi North America Cup on Saturday night at Mohawk Racetrack in Campbellville, Ontario.
Co-owned by Joe Sbrocco of Brecksville, the 2012 Horse of the Year as a precocious 2-year-old was already considered the horse to beat in the 3-year-old pacing classics this season.
Captaintreacherous won't be getting much rest after winning the world's richest pacing race of the season, said Sbrocco. He will race Saturday in a $25,000 Hempt Memorial qualifier for a shot at racing in the $500,000 Hempt Memorial on June 29 at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Then it's on to the $500,000 Adios on July 27 at The Meadows Racetrack in Washington, Pa.
Captaintreacherous is expected to make an Ohio appearance at the 68th annual $550,000 Little Brown Jug at the Delaware County Fairgrounds on Sept. 19. The Tony Alagna-trained son of Somebeachsomewhere has now won 11 of 14 career races and $1.46 million.
The fans of 7-5 favorite Captaintreacherous did have anxious moments. The sophomore standout needed another late charge to capture his third win in three starts this season. Fourth in the final turn, about four lengths behind the leaders, driver Tim Tetrick took Captaintreacherous to the outside and blasted past Fool Me Once and Captive Audience for a length-and-a-half victory. Captaintreacherous stopped the clock in 1:48.3.
"I thought we had the best horse," Tetrick told the U.S. Trotting Association. "We were a little out of position, but my horse made up for it. Those final few steps were awesome. I knew he had it. I was just trying to not fall out of the bike."
Animal Kingdom fails in finale: Animal Kingdom, winner of the 2011 Kentucky Derby and this year's $10 million Dubai World Cup, stumbled trying to live up to his favored status in his career finale Tuesday afternoon in the Queen Anne Stakes at Britain's fabled Royal Ascot.
Declaration of War and jockey Joseph O'Brien, at 15-2 odds, captured the Queen Anne Stakes for older horses on a straight, soft, undulating turf course.
Ridden by John Valazquez, Animal Kingdom faded over the last half-mile to finish 11th in the 13-horse field. Owned by Barry Irwin's Team Valor syndicate, which includes Youngstown fireworks magnate Bruce Zoldan, Animal Kingdom is being retired to Arrowfield Stud in Australia after winning more than $8 million.
Rini, Rosario hit milestones: Cleveland's favorite jockey for decades, Tony Rini became a trainer in 1983 after an accident at Oaklawn Park ended his riding career.
A member of the Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame, Rini saddled Perfecton Princess for his 500th winner in Sunday's third race at ThistleDown Racino. Just for good measure, Rini added win No. 501 in the fourth race with Valentine Shoes.
As a jockey, the Cleveland native rode 2,438 winners and had more than $10 million in winnings, including an Ohio Derby victory aboard Our Native in 1973.
Jockey Hector Rosario Jr. added a trio of wins at ThistleDown over the weekend to push his career victory total to 1,406 since 1999, with $3.2 million in career earnings. Rosario has won 47 of 164 races this season and leads the ThistleDown standings with 31 victories, followed by Irwin Rosendo (24 wins), Luis Antonio Gonzalez (17) and Ricardo Feliciano (16).
ThistleDown's top trainer is Nabu Morales, with 27 wins in only 72 starts, followed by Jeff Radosevich (19 wins), Tim Hamm (14) and Jevon Crumley (13).
Trotting up a storm: Victory Is Coming ($4.20) has sparkled in Northfield Park's weekly trotting feature, taking Monday's $6,000 Open Trot with Mt. Vernon trainer Ammon Hershberger in the sulky for Mt. Vernon owners Betty and John Red Shaw. Victory Is Coming set the track mark of 1:55.1 for older pacing mares on June 10. Lislea Moran ($5.60) was a repeat winner in Monday's $6,000 Open Pace in 1:53 with Ryan Stahl driving. He is trained by Andy Rickert and owned by Thomas O'Donnell of Berlin Center.
In Monday's 12th race at Northfield, the long shots ruled and the trifecta payoff was large. Sunburned Vern ($72) was followed home by Rebel Jet (12-1) and Terror Of Thetrack (50-1) for a 5-8-6 combination that paid $10,683.
Ronnie Wrenn Jr. drove six winners on Tuesday's card, clicking with Village Boss ($4), Friskie Town ($2.10), Rosebud-Sharkalert ($5), Rare Commodity ($15), Ridge Park ($3.60) and Goin Home Ray ($11.20) on the 14-race card.
Captaintreacherous rallies to win $1 million Pepsi North America Cup: Horse Racing Insider | cleveland-com
After recent years of flood and now drought, the small community of Alpha in central western Queensland is celebrating the return of country racing.
Horses will race tomorrow in the town for the first time in more than a decade.
The Alpha Jockey Club says the last race meeting was in 2002 but under the State Government's push to support country racing, the community has worked to rebuild the racecourse and put together the event.
Spokesman Rob Bauer says it is expecting a huge crowd and the support has been overwhelming.
"We've had figures from 500 to 2,000, so I really don't know," he said.
"I think over the last few years we've had floods and now we've got dry times and we are a country of extremes unfortunately and it just shows what a community can do when they are given the opportunity.
"The facilities that are there are second to none."
Mr Bauer says the community has put in more than 3,500 volunteer man-hours to restore the racecourse facilities.
He says they have also been overwhelmed with support and prize money.
"It's almost $90,000 including bonuses," he said.
"It has just been overwhelming, the support we've had ... from the volunteers, the sponsors, everyone - it's just been extremely overwhelming and a credit to the community.
"Anyone who lives in the bush will know that once clubs or events close, they very, very, very seldom come back again, so this has just been amazing."
Horse racing returns to Alpha - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
SPRINTERS take centre stage as the final act of Royal Ascot is played out on Saturday when two of Newmarket's fastest - Society Rock and Duke Of Firenze - aim to take home two of the big prizes.
Society Rock has previous, having won the Diamond Jubilee Stakes in 2011 before running a luckless fifth to Black Caviar last year.
He's back for more in the Group 1 dash and comes to the meeting in top form after winning the Group 2 Duke Of York Stakes last month under his big-race partner Kieren Fallon.
Trainer James Fanshawe said: "I have been very happy with him coming into the race. The ground isn't an issue as there was ease in it when he won at Ascot two years ago and it was firm when he won the Group 1 Sprint Cup at Haydock.
"It's a big field and so it's going to be tough but his form stands up and he looks really well."
Chief among Society Rock's rivals are Prix de la Foret winner and Sprint Cup runner-up Gordon Lord Byron, Group 1-winning Aussie speedball Sea Siren, Duke Of York runner up Lethal Force and last year's Wokingham winner Dandy Boy.
This year's Wokingham takes place directly after the Diamond Jubilee and marks the reappearance of Duke Of Firenze, who unleashed the wow factor on Derby day with a blitzing late rush to win the Dash having traded at 1000 in running.
He's vying for favouritism for another mad scramble and connections fear a draw hard against the stands' rail will scupper their chances. They could take heart from the outcome of the 27-runner Buckingham Palace Stakes on the same straight course on Friday when the winner, Lightning Cloud, broke from the same stall that will house Duke Of Firenze.
John Marsh, senior manager at Cheveley Park Stud, owners of both Duke Of Firenze and Ladyship, who has drawn stall 17, said: "It's a tough task for Duke Of Firenze and his draw (stall 31) is not ideal as he's right on the rail.
"He's in good form, Sir Michael [Stoute] is happy, but the draw is a concern. Ladyship will have her day. Everything will have to go right for her as she's right in the middle, but there is nowhere else to go with her and she's a good horse."
The official going at Ascot was maintained at good to firm at the end of racing on Friday.
Chris Stickels, clerk of the course, said: "We are not going to water tonight. The forecast is to possibly have the odd shower or two tomorrow."
Royal Ascot Speed kings centre stage on final day | Horse Racing News | Racing Post
IMPRESSIVE Albany Stakes winner Kiyoshi will step up to seven furlongs for her next start after blitzing her Royal Ascot rivals last week.
The daughter of Dubawi, who races in the colours of Qatar Racing Limited, finished fourth on her debut over five furlongs at Newmarket in April before an easy success over a furlong further at Goodwood last month.
She added to that over the same trip in the Albany when, despite hanging right, she drew clear readily.
The victory earned her a place at the top of the betting for the Qipco 1,000 Guineas and although no plans for her next race have been made, she is set to be tried over further.
Trainer Charlie Hills, appearing in the Jury in Monday's Racing Post, said: "She has done it very well and the way she picked up was impressive. She's very exciting as we hadn’t done a lot with her.
"We're not going to rush her and she'll run over seven furlongs next time. Whether we then go for the Fillies' Mile, we'll see, but it’s a possible aim. She's also in the Moyglare."
'Exciting' Kiyoshi set for step up to seven furlongs | Horse Racing News | Racing Post
Drug tests on hair samples from horses could be added to the weapons deployed against corruption in racing, the British Horseracing Authority said yesterday. The technique is of particular use in detecting the use of anabolic steroids, which have been at the centre of two separate drug-abuse scandals in recent months.
Anabolic steroids are a more pernicious threat to the integrity of racing than many other performance-enhancing substances such as bicarbonate “milkshakes” or painkillers, because the extra muscle growth and general wellbeing that their use promotes can continue to improve performance many weeks or even months after the steroid itself has left the horse’s system.
The hair in a horse’s mane or tail, however, can provide evidence of the substances in its body throughout the time that the hair has taken to grow. As a result, tests on hair samples could prove invaluable in detecting sustained use of steroids, such as that conducted by the disgraced former trainer Mahmood Al Zarooni at the Godolphin-owned Moulton Paddocks stable in Newmarket earlier this year.
“At HFL [Horseracing Forensic Laboratory] Sport Science there is a team whose role is to constantly research methods of improving our sampling techniques,” Robin Mounsey, the BHA’s media manager, said yesterday, “and, if it was deemed an effective method of testing and of benefit to achieving our objectives, then the introduction of hair samples is a possibility. It has been explored in the past and could be incorporated to our rules and procedures in the future.”
In all, 22 horses at Moulton Paddocks tested positive for either ethylestranol or stanozolol, both of which are banned anabolic steroids, during the BHA investigation into Zarooni’s doping programme. Zarooni was banned from racing for eight years and all 22 horses are barred from competition for six months.
Guardian Service
British Horseracing Authority may introduce drug testing on hair samples from horses - Racing Results | Horse Racing Times, Race Cards & Winners - Tue, Jun 25, 2013
A new chapter in the story of Phar Lap is about to be added by the University of Sydney as it leads an attempt to sequence the famous horse’s DNA.
“Phar Lap’s heart is in Canberra, his hide is in Melbourne, and his skeleton in the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Now the museum has agreed to a 60 mg piece of tooth from that skeleton coming to Sydney so we can unravel his genetic history,” said Dr Natasha Hamilton, the team leader from the University’s Faculty of Veterinary Science. Professor Claire Wade, also from the Faculty, will be in charge of the genetic analysis.
The DNA extraction will be performed at the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA (ACAD), at the University of Adelaide, before being analysed at the University of Sydney.
“We are doing this out of scientific curiosity and all our data will be made publicly available. The DNA sequence will tell us if Phar Lap’s genetic make-up looks like star racehorses of today, including whether he is a sprinter or a stayer (genetically better suited to running long distances),” Dr Hamilton said.
“We believe that no other southern hemisphere racehorses have had their whole genome sequenced before. By contrast, in Europe this research is quite popular and DNA analysis has been performed on notable horses such as Eclipse, racing’s first superstar and an ancestor of 95 percent of today’s thoroughbreds, and Hyperion, a popular sire from the 1930-50s who is found in numerous pedigrees.”
The information will be used in current Faculty of Veterinary Science research such as international studies to understand the basis of genetic diversity in different breeds of horses, the structure of the thoroughbred breed and the genetics underlying the physiology of exercise across all horse species.
The skeleton was treated by being boiled in a corrosive solution which will have fragmented the DNA.
“There is a possibility that we will not be able to get much usable DNA, as they were obviously not thinking about the possibility of future DNA extraction when they prepared Phar Lap’s skeleton in the 1930s,” said Professor Alan Cooper, ACAD Director.
Professor Claire Wade said that despite this limitation current whole genome sequencing methods can work with small pieces of DNA, so the researchers are hopeful they will be able to generate usable information.
The fragmentation of the DNA also means it would not be usable in other projects that require large amounts of good quality DNA such as cloning.
“So, sorry punters, there is no hope of Phar Lap II running around a few years from now,” Dr Hamilton said.
This is not Phar Lap’s first association with the University of Sydney. According to research quoted by Museum Victoria the horse was named by Aubrey Ping, a medical student at the University in the 1920s.
Welcome to Warped Wednesday. On this, we'll put out the rush to judgment mat, go a little too far and have a little fun. Will it be funny? Sometimes. Will it be crazy and largely unbelievable? Probably. Will not everyone get it? Definitely. That means this isn't real.
To celebrate Kentucky week and provide some pre-race entertainment for the fans who will be undoubtedly still stuck in the parking lot from the night before thanks to the unbearable traffic, NASCAR is planning a horse racing tribute at Kentucky Speedway.
The plan involves both drivers and crew chiefs, but some modifications will need to be made, because, well, do you really expect drivers to carry their crew chiefs on piggyback around a dirt track? (We'll leave the visuals to you.)
So instead of mimicking the type of thoroughbred racing that you typically see in the Kentucky Derby, the exhibition race will instead recreate the awesomeness that is harness racing.
Each driver will be harnessed to a sulky, where the crew chief will sit and command the race and be able to relay in-race adjustments to his driver. However, those adjustments won't be able to entail much other than "run faster!" or "pick this lane!" because each driver will obviously be running. No bicycles allowed; NASCAR sees this as a great opportunity to promote its drivers' athleticism. No word if wheelbarrow races will follow.
While the duo of Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus is favored (NASCAR has been instructed to inspect Chad's state of the art carbon-fiber sulky extra carefully) with Kasey Kahne and Kenny Francis a close second, don't count out Clint Bowyer and Brian Pattie. Sources close to Warped Wednesday say that Pattie has set up traps to try to get Jeff Gordon to trip and fall into Bowyer at some point before the race to properly enrage Bowyer and prepare him to run.
Horse racing, whose local popularity traces back to the 1800s, needs to move into the 21st century.
The sport of kings is not the sport of youth, and if that doesn't change soon, racing will head down the same gutter as bowling, boxing and other ventures that failed to maintained their popularity into this millennium.
There are those who believe that the horse folks could take a major step by adopting and embracing a technology that would allow miniature cameras to be attached to a jockey's helmet.
Michael Jones, who operates JonesCam.tv out of Hudson Falls (and moving soon to Saratoga Springs), spent eight years developing such technology. The latest version of what he calls "JonesCam" weighs four ounces and has passed all the safety tests.
"This is something we should have done so long ago," trainer Gary Contessa said. "I can't quote you the statistics, but I read about how millions of dollars has been generated by the cockpit camera in NASCAR. People go home on their computer, and for X amount of dollars they can log into a camera on the driver's dashboard, and they can be part of that sport. They can be part of NASCAR. I've been a proponent of this for so long."
Whether it's "JonesCam," "SmithCam" or "ZitoCam," those who run the sport need to get on board with this.
Jones' version, which he wants to have approved for the opening day of the 150th Saratoga Race Course meet July 19, is further along than others.
The New York Racing Association seems to be intrigued but insists there are a number of administrative and safety hurdles to be cleared.
The Jockey Guild has given its OK, and Jones is pressing for a meeting with the NYRA stewards to get their approval.
"I had nothing to do with it," said Bob Hughes, executive producer of Carr-Hughes, which produces Saratoga races for the NBC Sports Group, "but I would bet you the first time they started talking about a camera on a (race) car, there were a lot of people who were saying that can't be done or they don't want that done. There's just natural resistance.
"Think about this. Horse racing is a betting sport. You're a bettor. The camera is going to weigh something. How are you going to handle that? It has to be in a manner that doesn't affect the competition at any level. Not only could it make a difference potentially between the race, if it was done poorly, but it could affect how people put money down."
Four ounces doesn't seem like enough to create a fuss. Jones has said all along that safety is his first concern, and the Jockey Guild's endorsement seems to show that.
Beyond the financial implications, technology is what defines the young generation. Finding a way to incorporate it into a long-time sport seems like a natural step.
"We're losing our older fans and owners and trainers," Jones said. "There's got to be something done to energize this industry, and you've got to start making changes. One of them is to go after more TV, which they've done, and to provide more ways of educating and entertaining the fans that we have, and to energize that younger market."
Hurry up. The horses are already out of the gate, and no one is seeing where they go.
Pete Dougherty is the Times Union's sports TV/radio columnist • [email]pdougherty@timesunion-com[/email] • 518-454-5416 • @Pete_Dougherty
Sound bytes
1 The Professional Bowlers Association has signed a five-year contract extension with ESPN, which will increase the number of hours by 43 percent. Unfortunately, few of those hours will be live, which the sport truly needs to be viable on the sports front. It shows the importance that leagues — and the PBA isn't the only one — places on having an association with ESPN.
2 Syracuse's entry into the Atlantic Coast Conference could lead to some new places to watch the Orange play. The ESPN family will have the major games. Two new players to the ACC, MSG and YES Networks, have acquired regional cable rights, according to a story on syracuse-com. Once the sale of WNYA (My-51) to the ownership of WNYT (NBC-13) is to be finalized next month, both of those stations will carry games from the ACC Network.
3Having trouble finding a Yankees game when it isn't on the YES Network? A lot of Capital Region folks are. Sinclair Broadcasting picked up a 21-game Yankees package from WWOR in New York and is distributing them over one of three stations: WCWN (CW-45), WRGB (CBS-6) and WRGB digital channel 6.2. The folks on Balltown Road need to do a better job of letting its viewers know how to find 6.2 (it's 1896 on Time Warner).
TV: Let's see high tech in horse racing - Times Union
Regulators who have long been focused on potential abuses of medications given to thoroughbreds are turning their attention to a newer worry — improper use of shock wave treatments.
The concern is that extra-corporeal shock wave therapy — which uses high-energy sound waves to speed the repair and healing for various maladies including tendon, ligament and stress fractures — may sometimes be used too close to a race, potentially improving performance but increasing the possibility of injury to horse and rider.
It’s prohibited in Kentucky within 10 days before a race, to give sufficient time for its pain-masking effects to wear off. And the veterinarians who give it at Kentucky tracks and training centers are supposed to report it within 24 hours.
But regulators who want to tighten the rules face challenges, including the fact that there is no test to show if or when the treatment was given — and no good data on how often the therapy is misused.
Dr. Foster Northrop, a veterinarian and member of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, which is exploring new rules for shock therapy, said he has no idea how often it’s abused.
“I hear rumors all the time, but I have no idea if it’s true or not,” Northrop said in an interview earlier this month after the commission’s safety committee took up the issue, adding that he thinks some of the stories may be exaggerated.
But Jeff Johnston, a retired rider who acts as a regional representative for The Jockeys’ Guild trade association, said he fears shock wave abuse is potentially more dangerous than some controversial medications.
“There’s concern among jockeys that shock wave therapy may be masking pain,” Johnston said. “And masking pain could be a detriment and cause serious injury to the horse.”
Possible revisions to the Kentucky rule include licensing of shock wave machines, according to Kentucky Horse Racing Commission Executive Director John Ward, who told the safety committee that it needs to “tighten down” existing rules, with the hope that ongoing research will create an effective test.
More to read: www-courier-journal-com/article/20130628/BUSINESS/306280087/Horse-racing-regulators-looking-whether-shock-wave-treatments-help-performance
FRANKIE DETTORI is set to come in from the cold thanks to a potentially mouthwatering new riding contract with Sheikh Joaan Al Thani, one of the rising forces in the owning and breeding world.
The Racing Post understands that the former champion jockey could be on the verge of signing a deal to ride for the brother of the Emir of Qatar, coming at the perfect time for Dettori as he tries to re-establish himself in the top rank of jockeys.
Dettori's long and highly successful partnership with Godolphin ended last autumn and he was then hit with a six-month drug ban, from which he returned only on the eve of the Investec Derby on May 31.
The 42-year-old has ridden five winners from 81 rides in Britain since his return, but drew a blank at Royal Ascot last month, the first time he had done so since missing the meeting through injury in 2005.
Dettori is in action on the all-weather with two rides at Wolverhampton on Monday afternoon, but could be back at the top table if a deal with Sheikh Joaan comes off.
The Qatari is building a string of top-class horses, headed by St James's Palace Stakes runner-up Toronado and Group 1 winner Olympic Glory, both trained by Richard Hannon, and the Marco Botti-trained Dubai World Cup third Planteur.
Rider and owner have teamed up twice this season, both at Royal Ascot, notably when the Richard Fahey-trained Sandiva chased home Kiyoshi in the Group 3 Albany Stakes.
Sheikh Joaan, who owns the 125-hectare Haras de Bouquetot stud in Normandy, last year bought Olympic Glory and had his first runners in Britain earlier this year.
Dettori on brink of deal to ride for Sheikh Joaan | Horse Racing News | Racing Post
FRANKIE DETTORI has landed on his feet within a month of returning to the saddle. The Italian did not have a winner at Royal Ascot and has not had one since but that has not deterred a member of the Qatar royal family from making him his jockey of choice.
Sheikh Joaan Al Thani is to retain Dettori who will now ride the likes of Planteur, Sandiva and Mshawish, though Richard Hughes will continue to ride Toronado and Olympic Glory for his father-in-law Richard Hannon. Sian Jones, representing Sheikh Joaan, said: “Although Richard will stay in our first colours for all our runners Mr Hannon sends out, we have horses all over France with different trainers and in England with Marco Botti, Sir Michael Stoute and Lady Cecil, so there are plenty of good horses for Frankie.”
- William Hill and Stan James are paying out in full on Extra Noble who was judged to have dead-heated with Fire Fighting in the Kempton 7.20 last Wednesday. It turns out that Extra Noble won by a nose.
Cash refunds can be claimed after lunchtime today. Online and mobile accounts have already been credited.
Frankie Dettori stays in favour with Sheikh | Horse Racing | Sport | Daily Express
FLEMENSTAR is reported to be recovering well from a severe virus and a wind operation, according to owner Stephen Curran, who said he was too sick to do himself justice after Christmas.
After illuminating the first half of the last jumps campaign by seeing off Sir Des Champs in the John Durkan Chase at Punchestown, Flemenstar suffered defeats over three miles in both the Lexus Chase and Hennessy Gold Cup at Leopardstown before proving no match for Sprinter Sacre in the Melling Chase at Aintree, when beaten almost 24 lengths into third. However, according to Curran, it was illness rather than ability that hampered him.
“He was never right after Christmas,” Curran said. “He couldn’t do himself justice at all. His temperature was reaching highs of 102. The mucus coming out of him after Aintree was unreal and he swelled up everywhere, especially around his neck. Our vet Paddy Kelly had to spend 12 days constantly with him.
“He’s had a small wind operation too, but I think his wind was affecting him only in the last 100 yards or so of his races. He was just a sick horse. He looks fantastic and you won’t see the best of Flemenstar until this season, mark my words.”
Flemenstar is recovering at Curran’s home in Dunsany, County Meath, where he always spends his summers, and trainer Peter Casey is looking forward to the forthcoming campaign, which he has already mapped out.
Casey said: “We’ll go to Navan and Punchestown for the same two races he won last year and then on to Leopardstown at Christmas – but for the Dial-A-Bet Chase over two miles, not the Lexus. We’ll wait until the Hennessy in February this time to try three miles.”
Irish ace Flemenstar on way back after sickness | Horse Racing News | Racing Post
For the many years that the slot money was pouring in the Ontario racing industry held itself up as one of the major success stories in the sport. The thoroughbreds at Woodbine and Fort Erie and the standardbreds that competed at the 16 tracks spread across the province ran for big money and the breeders were pumping out horses by the thousands to fill the many racing cards.
But, underneath the fat purses, something was wrong. The sport had veered off the tracks, so infatuated with the slots that racing and racing fans had become a necessary annoyance. Its soul had gone missing, its very existence dependent not on its core product but on a government-run slots program that many politicians saw as a handout to a failing business.
That's not the definition of success nor it is a recipe for long-term success, and that's the message a group of political appointees drove home last week when they unveiled a tough but fair blueprint for the industry's future.
When the Ontario government concluded that there were better uses for the millions that were going directly from slot machines to racing the industry was angered, felt betrayed and wondered if it could survive. At some of the smaller harness tracks the purses were almost 100 percent dependent on slots money.
The furor wasn't necessarily misplaced. The government so abruptly pulled the plug on the slots money that owners, breeders and trainers were blindsided. One day they were racing for huge purses, the next they had no idea if they could survive. Lives were shattered. But that's the position you put yourself in when your business can't stand on its own two feet. Ontario horse racing, by itself and with the way it was set up, was no longer viable.
From the time it was announced that the slot money would no longer go toward racing there's been a scramble to figure out how to save the industry. Racing people wanted the government to rethink its decision to end the slots program, but that was never going to happen. From the government, though, it got the next best thing, an honest pledge to work with the sport to fix what had ailed it.
The provincial government put together a Horse Racing Industry Transition Panel that was put in charge of coming up with a plan to make the sport viable. Most within the industry remain so bitter toward anyone and anything that has anything to do with the end of the slots program they can't look at anything the panel does objectively. If they did they might see that the panel seems genuinely committed to the sport's future, understands that some form of government assistance is vital to keep it going and has come up with a commonsense, tough-love plan that could actually make a stripped-down sport get healthy again.
The panel understood that for the sport to get back on track the people in charge of it have to start caring again about the fans and the product. It continually scolds the industry for losing its focus when it came to racing, saying "the industry became disconnected from its customers and had little incentive to face the challenge of a changing entertainment market by investing in a better consumer experience."
Much of that criticism is directed at the smaller harness tracks and not Woodbine, where management never stopped caring about racing. But it's true that the entire sport grew complacent. No one cared much about the facilities, at least the non-slots sections of the buildings, the quality of the racing or, really, if anyone bet on it or not.
"The industry has lost its way," the report read. "The focus has shifted to producing more, not better, races and racehorses." To get the sport to start to care about the bettors and the product again the panel came up with an ingenious plan. It is calling for the government to match the amount each track takes in on its handle. For instance, if a track handles $1 million and makes $200,000 in commissions off the handle the government will pay it an additional $200,000. In the past, government/slots money was given to the tracks and they had no incentive whatsoever to care about racing. Now, the only way they can get ahead is to do everything possible to increase handle, and the only way to do that is to put on a good show, treat the customers right and aggressively market the sport.
The panel went several steps further, providing a roadmap for the sport to get its act together.
They want a defacto racing czar or central office for the sport to end all the infighting and the dysfunctional aspects that come with it. The sport will be run by an organization called Ontario Racing Live, which will have control over racing dates and how purse money is allocated.
They want racing schedules that make sense and the type of racing cards that bettors like. "Much of the industry is built on racing that is not attractive to the consumer. This has to change," the panel wrote. To do this, there has to be less racing and the racing that continues has to improve. The panel wants to discontinue harness racing at Woodbine and create a circuit of high-quality racing that includes just five tracks. There's little doubt that the amount of thoroughbred racing offered at Woodbine will be reduced.
It will take a while for the new system to be put in place but when it is Ontario racing, both thoroughbred and harness, will have a commissioner's office, the emphasis will be on less is more when it comes to racing, the product will be improved, taking care of the bettor will be a priority and harness racing will revolve around a high-quality circuit.
Maybe ending the slots program wasn't such a bad thing after all.
Ontario tracks forced to refocus on horse racing? - ESPN
BRIAN TOOMEY is in intensive care in Ninewells Hospital in Dundee after suffering serious head injuries in a crashing fall from Solway Dandy in the conditional jockeys' handicap hurdle at Perth on Thursday.
Toomey, a 3lb claimer, was taken to hospital by ambulance on Thursday night and remained in intensive care on Friday morning, an NHS Tayside spokeswoman said. A further update on the jockey's condition is expected later.
On Thursday, Toomey's girlfriend Amy Ryan, last season's champion apprentice, drove from Haydock, where she had been riding, to be with him.
Earlier clerk of the course Harriet Graham said: "We called for the air ambulance, but after it landed the medics decided to send Brian by road. I have no specific news on his condition, but he is seriously injured."
Solway Dandy, the 11-4 favourite trained by Lisa Harrison, came down at the third-last - the final flight before the home straight - when attempting to get back into contention.
It is understood Toomey lost consciousness and that he required assistance from paramedics to aid his breathing before leaving the course.
Toomey, whose riding licence is held by Amy's father, Hambleton trainer Kevin Ryan, has ridden 49 winners since 2008 of which his three successes this season came within the space of four mounts for three different trainers just over a month ago.
The news has hit the racing world hard. Richard Fahey tweeted: "Lets spare a thought for Brian Toomey. Hope all goes well for him." Hambleton Racing, who have horses with Kevin Ryan, tweeted: "Very concerned to hear the news about Brian Toomey this evening, thoughts with him and Amy."
Brian Toomey in intensive care with head injuries | Horse Racing News | Racing Post
Superman made his debut as a comic book character in 1938. Also that year, on June 10, Hollywood Park opened amid much ballyhoo and five weeks later on July 16, the first Hollywood Gold Cup was won by super horse Seabiscuit, ridden by George Woolf.
The Grade I, $500,000 Hollywood Gold Cup, Betfair Hollywood Park's signature race, will be contested for the 74th and final time today.
If you're doing the math, it is the 74th instead of the 76th because Hollywood Park was closed for two years during World War II. The Inglewood track will be closing down for good Dec. 22, a day that will mark the swan song for the historic facility often referred to as the "Track of Lakes and Flowers."
There is a possibility the Gold Cup will survive, but not as the Hollywood Gold Cup. It might be called the Santa Anita Gold Cup. With Hollywood Park closing, the Arcadia track's traditional winter-spring meet will extend into July next year. There has been talk of moving the race across town.
But for now, the Hollywood Park version of the Gold Cup is on, and the horse getting the most attention going into the race is Game On Dude, the defending champion and a heavy favorite in a field of only five entries.
It isn't the smallest Gold Cup field in history. Only four horses competed in 1999, with Real Quiet winning. Bob Baffert trains Game On Dude and has another horse in the field in Sky Kingdom. If Game On Dude and Sky Kingdom finish 1-2, that would give Baffert an unusual distinction. He would be the trainer of the top two finishers in the Hollywood Gold Cup three years in a row.
In 2011, First Dude nosed out Game On Dude. Last year, Game on Dude, ridden by Chantal Sutherland, beat 2-5 favorite Richard's Kid by 1 1/2 lengths.
Game On Dude, now ridden by Mike Smith, will carry a career-high weight of 127 pounds in the 1 1/4-mile handicap race. The last Gold Cup winner to carry that much weight was Perrault in 1982. Triple Crown winner Affirmed carried a record 132 pounds to victory in 1979.
Game On Dude toted 124 pounds in winning last year. If he wins for a second time, he would become only the third multi-winner of the Gold Cup. Native Dancer (1965-67) and Lava Man (2005-07) were three-time winners. Lava Man will lead the post parade for today's race.
Game On Dude, 3 for 3 in races this year, is part-owned by former New York Yankees and Dodgers manager Joe Torre, who is expected to be in attendance today.
Also on the 10-race card is the Grade II $150,000 Royal Heroine Mile for fillies and mares on the turf course. The Royal Heroine is the fifth race and the Gold Cup is the ninth. First post is 1 p.m.
The program includes Laffit Pincay Jr., a nine-time Gold Cup winner, presenting the 10th annual award named in his honor to fellow Hall of Fame jockey Eddie Delahoussaye.
HORSE RACING: Hollywood Park set for final Gold Cup - LA Daily News
Four months after the province cancelled the Slots at Racetracks program, those in the horse-racing industry will get to sound off on a draft plan meant to keep Ontario racing sustainable.
A public meeting is being held Monday at Western Fair, the first of four public meetings around the province this week.
A government panel struck to help the industry find a way forward will be at the meeting to get feedback from breeders, trainers, horse owners, racetracks, drivers and others involved about the plan that will be put to the government in October and rolled out in April.
And while the ink on the draft plan is barely dry, key parts that call for a cut in the number of standardbred racing tracks aren’t going over well with some.
If a plan moves ahead to cut the number of racetracks to five from 12, the industry will contract and you won’t need as many drivers or horses, making it difficult to groom new ones, said Brian Tropea, general manager of the Ontario Harness Horse Association.
“It’s like having the NHL and eliminating all the minor leagues. Essentially you can say, ‘Well, we’re still going to have hockey.’ Well yeah, but as soon as those guys are old and retired and you’ve got nowhere for those other people to learn how to play hockey and come up, eventually the league dies. And that’s my fear here,” he said.
“It’s just a path to failure.”
Tropea, who will be at the public meeting Tuesday at Woodbine, is looking for clarity on the transition panel’s intent and what the draft recommendations mean — such as one that calls for a partnership with the Ontario Lottery Gaming Corp. that is already handing gaming over to private operators.
“The two things don’t really match up. If they’re going to get out of the gaming industry and strictly be a regulator, I’m not sure what that partnership would look like,” he said.
The draft plan is a good framework for the industry moving forward, said Hugh Mitchell, Western Fair District’s general manager.
“It’s really for our industry to amend the draft as we as an industry see fit, but it’s a pretty good starting point.”
The draft plan is not without questions, though.
There are questions about what integration with gaming means and the logistics of that, what the business model will look like, and the new governance structure and the new body that will oversee horse racing, Mitchell said.
“I think it’s up to us, though, rather than sit back and be critical of what we see, I think it’s wise for us to find the things we’re aligned with and then on the things we have questions about seek out solutions on our own to offer to the panel, rather than just bringing up the problem areas.”
Since the government announced it planned to end the Slots at Racetracks program — a revenue-sharing agreement between the province and the horse racing industry that in 2011-2012 injected $345 million into horse racing — breeders have been struggling to digest rapid changes in a breeding cycle that’s three years long.
“We did not breed any of our mares (this year),” said longtime breeder Jack McNiven of Killean Acres in Ingersoll, who plans to attend Monday’s meeting.
Three major breeding farms have also had a 50% drop in breeding compared to last year, he added.
“Our summer income is down, so we did not have the money to invest.”
SATURDAY'S 54th John Smith's Cup is the biggest betting race of the weekend and with £150,000 up for grabs it is not just punters who are keen to find the winner and trainer Ed Vaughan is hopeful he has just the horse with Robin Hoods Bay freshened up for the race. It is a year since Robin Hoods Bay ran on turf and four months since he has seen a racecourse and the five-year-old is a best-priced 25-1 for the 1m2½f heritage handicap.
"Robin Hoods Bay is in great form," said Vaughan. "He had a good six week break and came back looking fantastic. I am pleased with his work and feel he is in the same sort of form as in the winter.
"He is rated 101 and this is a good opportunity to see if he can be effective off this mark. The prize-money right down to sixth is worth running for - it's better than most Group 2s.
"Although much of his recent form has been on the all-weather, I think he is equally as good on turf. His third to Danadana [subsequent Group 3 winner] at Newmarket reads very well and his form in general is very strong.
"In terms of ground, he just doesn't like extremes. Good ground or just the fast side of good is ideal for him. It is a good place to start and I couldn't be happier with him."
Robin Hoods Bay was sent off joint-favourite with Miblish on his last start at Kempton, finishing fourth less than three lengths behind the horse who has subsequently finished fifth in both the Prince of Wales's Stakes and the Coral-Eclipse.
Vaughan hopeful Robin Hoods Bay can steal Cup | Horse Racing News | Racing Post
Queally is looking forward to a number of rides for the yard at Royal Ascot, most notably Joyeuse who created a good impression when winning first time out at Lingfield last month.
Frankel’s half-sister quickened away from her opposition but Lord Grimthorpe, who manages the Abdullah horses, urges caution.
“She won a maiden if everyone’s not too clear on that,” he said.
“She’s stepping up in class and distance so we’ll have to wait and see.”