October, 2020 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Santa Anita Media Poll: Improbable Named Horse Of The Meet

Bob Baffert-trained Improbable, winner of the Grade 1 Awesome Again Stakes on Sept. 26, heads Santa Anita's 2020 Autumn Meet Media Poll, which recognizes equine and human accomplishments in a variety of categories throughout the 16-day meeting which began on Sept. 25 and concluded Sunday, Oct. 25.

2020 Santa Anita Autumn Media Poll

Horse of Meet: Improbable

Sprinter: C. Z. Rocket

Older Horse: Improbable

Older Filly/Mare: Mucho Unusual

Claimer: Psycho Dar

Grass Horse: United

Grass Filly/Mare: Mucho Unusual

3-Year-Old: Smooth Like Strait

3-Year-Old Filly: Harvest Moon

Trainer: Peter Miller/Bob Baffert (each had 11 wins)

Jockey: Flavien Prat (27 wins)

Apprentice: Alexis Centeno (7 wins)

Race: Santa Anita Sprint Championship

Owner: Reddam Racing, LLC

Achievement: Craig Lewis, 1,000 Career Wins

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Great British Bonus Scheme Reaches £1M Milestone

The Great British Bonus scheme has paid out the sum of £1 million in bonuses after just five months being active. A total of 63 winners have earned bonuses up to £20,000 so far, with six multiple winners already. Registration for 2019 fillies has closed, but the deadline for the 2020 filly foal registrations will close on Oct. 31, 2020. For more information on the GBB scheme and to register, please go to www.greatbritishbonus.co.uk or contact Grant Prichard-Gordon at grant@greatbritishbonus.co.uk.

“We are thrilled to have broken the magic million-pound barrier of distributed bonuses and are delighted the scheme has achieved all its ambitions in reaching every corner of the racing and breeding industry,” said scheme manager, Grant Pritchard-Gordon. “GBB is a valuable financial incentive, and has never been more needed than at this time. It is helping to reward and retain owners in the sport, as well as providing additional income and incentive for breeders, trainers, jockeys and stable staff. Many yards have won multiple bonuses, including several who have won four or more, reinforcing the value and importance of this scheme for British racing.

“From Hurdle and National Hunt races at Hereford, Bangor and Kelso to maiden races at Newmarket, Sandown and Newbury, we have seen bonus winners from every part of Great Britain.”

The post Great British Bonus Scheme Reaches £1M Milestone appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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In The Stud Presented By Kentucky Equine Research: West Coast, First Crop Weanlings Of 2020

West Coast has a champion's resume on his pedigree page and on the racetrack, and his debut foals get closer by the day to proving the same to be true for him as a stallion.

In this week's episode of In The Stud, we speak with Bill Farish of Lane's End about the Eclipse Award-winning son of Flatter whose first foals are weanlings of 2020.

Out of the champion juvenile filly Caressing, West Coast became a champion in his own right during his 3-year-old campaign, notching victories in the G1 Travers Stakes and Pennsylvania Derby, the G2 Los Alamitos Derby, and the non-graded Easy Goer Stakes.

West Coast then squared off against the top older horses in the world, turning in-the-money efforts in the G1 Breeders' Cup Classic, Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes, Dubai World Cup, and Awesome Again Stakes. He retired with earnings of $5,803,800.

The In The Stud video series, put together by our friends at EquiSport Photos, features up-and-coming names in the stallion ranks, with a focus on those whose first foals are weanlings of 2020. Paulick Report bloodstock editor Joe Nevills interviews farm staff about the stallion's appealing qualities and what mares might work best with them, while giving viewers and potential breeders a chance to see the stallion on the walk and on the racetrack.

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Study: Mare Size Affects Birth Process

Drs. Christina Nagel, Maria Melchert, Christine Aurich and Jörg Aurich created a study to determine if the size of the mare affected the birthing process. The team used 23 pregnant mares and studied hormone and heart-related changes that occur in the mare and the fetus around birth. The groups consisted of six Shetland Pony (small); eight Haflinger (medium) and nine warmblood (large) mares.

They discovered that foal weight was approximately 10 percent of mare weight, no matter the size of the mare. Placenta weight was highest in Warmbloods; it did not differ between the small- and medium-sized mares. Progestins and cortisol were also highest in the larger mares. Progestin concentrations decreased as foaling got closer and cortisol increased as parturition was imminent in all sizes of horse studied.

Heart rates in all mares increased before foaling, but the most pronounced increase was in the small mares. Overall, the small mares foaled earlier than the larger mares.

Missed heartbeats during foaling occurred regularly in the larger mares, but only occasionally in the small- and medium-sized mares. The scientists report that this is most likely because of differences in heart efficiency. Small- and medium-sized mares occasionally had missed beats during the expulsive phase of foaling and the first two hours after delivery. The researchers suggest that this is an effect of breed, not size.

The team concludes that fit, athletic horses have highly efficient respiratory and cardiovascular systems; while at rest, these horses have reduced heart rates. Fetal heart rate also went down toward birth, with the most prominent reduction in full-sized horses.

The authors determined that mare of different sizes show both similarities and differences in cardiac and endocrine changes as the time for them to give birth nears. They note that late pregnancy puts substantial strain on the mare's cardiovascular system, but that mares are well adapted to these demands, no matter their size.

Read the full article here.