August, 2020 | Horse Racing Free Tips

California-Sired Weanling Offered At Auction To Benefit Paralyzed Jockey Anne Von Rosen

The slate of offerings at the SporthorseAuctions.com August Internet Auction includes a weanling California-sired racing or sporthorse prospect whose proceeds will benefit former jockey Anne Von Rosen, who was paralyzed in a 2014 spill at Turf Paradise.

The weanling colt, born Feb. 11 and named Talk of the Town, is by Uptown Rythem, a winning son of Speightstown who won a pair of six-furlong races at Santa Anita Park. His first foals are 2-year-olds of 2020. Because the colt is California-sired, he is eligible for Golden State Stakes Series, as well as all other races with enhanced purses restricted to California-sired horses.

Bred in Arizona by Dr. Dorothee Kieckhefer, Talk of the Town is the first foal out of the winning Henrythenavigator mare Lookinfor Mr Right. The dam is a half-sister to Grade 3 winners Tammy the Torpedo and Seek and Destroy, while his extended family includes Grade 1 winner Carriage Trail and Grade 3 winners Criminologist, Inspector Lynley, and Five Star General.

The colt is currently located at Columbiana Farm in Paris, Ky., and the sale listing notes that, “he has been well socialized. Also, he's been handled daily and taught to lead, get his feet trimmed, receive vaccinations, etc.”

A native of Germany, Von Rosen hung her tack at tracks around the country after beginning her riding career in 2001, but she was most often a regular at Turf Paradise and Canterbury Park. She won 666 of 4,939 Thoroughbred starts over her 14-year career, and her mounts earned $5,725,969, with stakes wins in Arizona, Minnesota, Idaho, and North Dakota.

Von Rosen's career came to an abrupt end following a March 2014 Quarter Horse race at Turf Paradise when her mount collapsed shortly after crossing the finish line and left her pinned underneath. She suffered a severed spinal cord from the incident, and procedures in the immediate aftermath saved her life, but left her paralyzed.

Despite the prognosis, Von Rosen said after the injury that she was determined to walk again, and she remains driven to do so. Money raised from the weanling's sale will go toward Von Rosen's ongoing rehabilitation costs.

Bidding on the colt ends Tuesday, Aug. 5 at 7 p.m. Eastern, with extended bidding going beyond that time in the event of last-minute bids.

SporthorseAuctions.com is operated by Tim and Cathy Jennings, who also run ThoroughbredAuctions.com.

To view the colt's pedigree page, click here.

To view the offering and bid, click here.

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Kentucky Governor Fields Questions About Derby Spectators, Watching State’s COVID Numbers Carefully

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear told press Tuesday that he will meet with officials at Churchill Downs next week to confer about safety protocols for this year's Kentucky Derby. Beshear answered questions from reporters after an announcement that the Indy 500 will take place with no fans.

Beshear said that if the race were about to be run in the coming days, he would like to see changes to the track's plan, which calls for reduced capacity in all areas of the facility. According to the Louisville Courier-Journal, plans approved by Beshear in May call for a 33 percent capacity in outdoor dining areas, 61 percent fewer general admission tickets, and 57 percent less outdoor seating. Churchill Downs officials said on an earnings call last week that the track had stopped selling its limited offer of general admission tickets recently despite not selling out.

The Courier-Journal reported Churchill Downs staff are in regular communication with Beshear's office and public health officials and will be monitoring COVID-19 statistics particularly closely through the next week. Daily statewide totals of coronavirus positives have increased sharply from what they were in March and April. The state's positivity rate has also climbed to 5.24 percent Tuesday based on a seven-day rolling average. State health officials have urged Kentucky residents to avoid travel to states experiencing spikes in COVID-19 positives, and to quarantine for two weeks after returning from travel to states with a 15 percent positivity rate or higher.

Read more at the Louisville Courier-Journal

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New Partnership Between Schools, Kentucky Thoroughbred Businesses Seeks To Mold Future Industry Leaders

Middle and high school students in Central Kentucky will soon have more opportunities than ever to become a part of the state's Thoroughbred industry. A three-year partnership announced Tuesday between Fayette County Public Schools and the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association/Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders will send $322,000 from 22 area farms and equine businesses to develop a more robust equine studies program at the county's schools.

The core of the new program will be three years of courses (in the classroom and hands-on) in addition to an internship or apprenticeship a student could complete at one of the area's Thoroughbred farms. The program will offer older students the ability to customize their studies to focus on equine business, horsemanship/training, or horticulture through the lens of a horse farm. It will also include club activities to attract younger students to horses before they are old enough to have classes available to them. Those activities will coincide with existing chapters of the Future Farmers of America (FFA) and the National Society for Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences (MANNRS).

The school system's Locust Trace AgriScience Center already offered some equine studies for the high school students from six area schools, in addition to other agricultural, environmental science, and food science courses. Now, those opportunities will be expanded. Thanks to the industry grant, the Fayette County Public Schools will go from one full-time teacher covering equine studies to two, as well as funding for middle and elementary school outreach programs, transportation, and additional operational resources. School officials project a total enrollment of 2,480 into the new equine programs across all grade levels, with 160 to 175 new students attending new equine classes at Locust Trace.

High schoolers will have the opportunity to take dual credit or dual enrollment courses via Bluegrass Community and Technical College, which also offers equine studies programs through the North American Racing Academy.

“Once you get inside the door of the horse industry it's really eye-opening how many avenues there are, but most of them fall back onto those basic horsemanship skills,” said Braxton Lynch, chair of the KTA/KTOB. “I think just that first step of exposure will open up so many doors for them, and really it's up to them where they want to go.”

School officials anticipate the educational programs at Locust Trace could eventually expand to include adult education in the evenings for those who want to build skills to work in the horse industry.

As diversity has become a recent focus in the equestrian and racing industries, Fayette County Public Schools superintendent Manny Caulk said he is working with the Legacy Equine Academy and others to ensure students of all backgrounds recognize that these programs are available to them.

“As our national grapples with the issues of racial and social justice, our moral imperative as a district is to provide access and opportunities for students who otherwise wouldn't have those advantages,” said Caulk. “People of all races have a rich history in the Thoroughbred industry and we want this generation of students to not only see themselves in that history but also to take ownership for writing their own future. That story will be continued as they find themselves and find their life's passion in the equine industry.”

For the industry stakeholders in the project, the investment in the school programs is something of a long-term investment. All involved are hopeful students will complete the program with basic horsemanship skills they can apply to a job in any portion of the business from a breeding farm to a training barn to a bloodstock agency.

“Locust Trace has been here quite a while; our industry has been here for two centuries,” said Chauncey Morris, executive director of the KTA/KTOB. “It's really incumbent on us to maximize how it's going to provide services not only to our industry but to the community as a whole. We look at this very much as a down payment on the community. We know that the instructors and additional operational funds that are being added to this, it's going to take those three years to really see how that's going to mesh in our industry, but we're looking forward to that.”

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EQUITANA USA’s 2020 Exhibition Canceled Due To COVID-19

Due to increased concern over public safety resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, EQUITANA USA's live three-day celebration of the horse is canceled for 2020. The world's largest equestrian trade fair and expo was originally scheduled for Sept. 25-27, at the Kentucky Horse Park. The event and its exhibitors, fans and performers will look forward to the 2021 event, slated for Oct. 1-3, at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Ky.

“EQUITANA USA is a shared place and time for all disciplines, breeds, ages and levels of the equine industry,” said Meghan Margewicz, the event's director. “But the safety of everyone associated with the event is always our first priority. After many discussions with the Kentucky Horse Park, exhibitors, presenters and attendees, we made a difficult, but necessary decision to cancel this year's celebration and work to create an amazing reunion for everyone in 2021.”

All EQUITANA USA 2020 ticket holders will be refunded electronically. No further action by ticket holders is required.

EQUITANA USA invites equestrian professionals, enthusiasts, and everyone interested in learning more to follow its social channels and e-newsletters for updates on the live 2021 event, a virtual celebration kicking off this September, and a year-round celebration of our community through digital education, entertainment and conversation.

Exhibitors interested in the 2021 event, virtual celebration, or year-round promotional opportunities can learn more here or by contacting Kaitlyn Fritz at kfritz@reedexpo.com.

About EQUITANA USA & Reed Exhibitions: EQUITANA USA is a three-day celebration of the horse that invites equestrian professionals and enthusiasts of all riding levels and ages, disciplines and breeds to gather for education, entertainment, instruction and shopping. Reed Exhibitions, producer of EQUITANA USA is a leading global events business. It combines face-to-face with data and digital tools to help customers learn about markets, source products and complete transactions at over 500 events in almost 30 countries across 43 industry sectors, attracting more than 7 million participants. Reed Exhibitions is part of RELX, a global provider of information and analytics for professional and business customers across industries.

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