February, 2021 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Sunland Park Officially Cancels Remainder Of 2020-21 Race Meet

The 2020-21 race meet at Sunland Park, which never began as scheduled on Dec. 26, was officially cancelled in its entirety on Thursday. The New Mexico Racing Commission voted at a regularly-scheduled meeting to cancel the remainder of the meet, which hadn't begun because of COVID-19 restrictions in the state.

Casino facilities at racetracks elsewhere in the state have also remained shuttered due to the pandemic.

Restrictions on business capacity and operations vary widely between states and are laid out by state government. Casino facilities on tribal land are autonomous and several in New Mexico have been open for stretches of time while casino facilities at racetracks have been closed. Racetrack casino facilities were closed in the fall during a spike of COVID-19 positives in the state, per a public health order issued by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.

Sunland's meet had been scheduled to run through March 30 and was supposed to feature the Grade 3 Sunland Derby as part of the Road to the 2021 Kentucky Derby.

Ruidoso Downs, SunRay Park, The Downs at Albuquerque and Zia Park all have dates on the calendar for 2021 but it remains unclear if those meets will go ahead without the reopening of casino facilities.

Report: 18 Horses Ill As EHV-1 Sweeps Through Canadian Riding Stable

Staff at Venturing Hills Equestrian, a riding stable in Luskville, Quebec, Canada, have been working around the clock to try to save the farm's horses, which have been affected by the neurologic form of the equine herpes virus (EHV).

There are multiple strains of the equine herpes virus, including EHV-1, which can cause respiratory disease, abortion, neonatal death or neurological disease. Some horses exposed to the virus will develop neurologic signs. There is no cure for the neurological symptoms associated with EHV-1.

On Feb. 3, a healthy 5-year-old horse that lived at the farm began stumbling when he walked. His symptoms worsened and he was euthanized later that day. Samples the attending veterinarian had taken were positive for EHV-1. The second horse that died from EHV-1 was a 20-year-old horse on Valentine's Day. Both horses had been vaccinated for EHV.

Currently, 18 horses are sick, two are dead and five remain healthy. To try to keep the remaining horses disease free, staff has completely quarantined the healthy horses from the ill horses by building stalls on the property. They have also instituted biosecurity measures like limiting the people who see the infected horses, wearing hazmat suits and steaming hay nets to kill the virus.

Owner Rae Becke believes a new horse that arrived at the facility on January 15 brought the virus with him from Toronto. She later learned that three horses at the horse's former facility had died from the virus on Jan. 29. Becke was never informed of the situation, so the new horse was turned out with Venturing Hills' equine residents.

Fonner Files: Old Man Winter Frosts Opening Weekend

Fonner Park CEO Chris Kotulak shares slices of life from the Grand Island, Neb., racetrack throughout the 2021 meet in the Fonner Files.

Fonner Park begins its 11 weekends of racing this Friday, just as we begin to break free from record-low temperatures that caused the racetrack to be closed for training for the last two weeks. Many horses and horsemen have yet to arrive from Oklahoma and Texas as the polar vortex has frozen nearly an entire nation.

The interruption in training and disruption of arriving horses means short fields and fewer races for opening weekend. Fonner has begun their season in February for decades and the show will mush on.

Last year, “Fon” was at the center of the racing universe due to COVID-19, and tens of thousands of new fans were born and exposed to five-eights-mile racing. Four-furlong races, up-close action and the return of the Dinsdale Pick 5 Jackpot is all on tap as they ready to Bring On The Fon! For updated information, click here.

Groom Willie Moon gives Pickles N Me a face clip ahead of a start in Friday's opening day card at Fonner Park.

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CHRB Approves Funding Of Marketing Program, Updates Drug Classifications

The California Horse Racing Board conducted a meeting by teleconference on Wednesday, Feb. 17. The public participated by dialing into the teleconference and/or listening through the audio webcast link on the CHRB website. Chairman Gregory Ferraro chaired the meeting, joined by Commissioners Dennis Alfieri, Damascus Castellanos, Brenda Washington Davis, Wendy Mitchell, and Alex Solis.

The audio of this entire Board meeting is available on the CHRB Website (www.chrb.ca.gov) under the Webcast link. In brief:

The Board approved an agreement between the Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC), the Los Angeles Turf Club (Santa Anita), and Del Mar Thoroughbred Club (Del Mar) under which those parties will redirect some of their own revenue from Advance Deposit Wagering into a marketing program to fund player rebates, stakes recruitment, and Ship & Win incentives, among other things. This program replicates the functions of the defunct California Marketing Committee.
The Board began the regulatory process to update the CHRB classification of drug substances to align with Association of Racing Commissions International (ARCI) Uniform Classification Guidelines. The Horse Racing Safety and Integrity Act body is expected to adhere closely to ARCI guidelines as they promulgate their federal regulations.
Executive Director Scott Chaney described improvements to the CHRB website, including Racing Reforms Recommendations and the posting of Test Sample Positives in advance of the filing of complaints, pursuant to SB 800.
The Board authorized the distribution of $9,157 in statutorily mandated race day charity proceeds by the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club (DMTC) to nine beneficiaries. This amount was substantially less than the previous year's distribution because pandemic restrictions limited the on-track handle on which the program is based. DMTC voluntarily donated $105,058 to bring the total distribution to $114,215.
Public comments made during the meeting can be accessed through the meeting audio archive on the CHRB website.

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