February, 2021 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Gamine Disqualified From Third-Place Finish In Kentucky Oaks, Baffert Fined $1,500

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission has released its official ruling on Gamine's positive test in the Kentucky Oaks, disqualifying the filly from her third-place finish and issuing her trainer, Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, a $1,500 fine after he waived his right to a hearing.

Gamine's prize money from that race, $120,000, was ordered redistributed, while fourth-place finisher Speech has been elevated to third.

Gamine's post-race test after her third in the Kentucky Oaks on Sept. 4 at Churchill Downs showed a positive for the Class C drug betamethasone. It was the Into Mischief filly's second positive test of 2020: Gamine ran on Arkansas Derby day (May 2) at Oaklawn Park, winning an allowance race, but subsequently tested positive for lidocaine and has since been disqualified.

Another Baffert-trained runner, Arkansas Derby winner Charlatan, also tested positive for lidocaine and was disqualified.

Baffert plans to appeal the Arkansas rulings, but will not appeal the ruling by the KHRC, attorney Craig Robertson told bloodhorse.com.

Gamine developed into one of the top 3-year-old fillies of the year, earning an Eclipse Award as the top female sprinter after wins in the G1 Test and G1 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint.

The post Gamine Disqualified From Third-Place Finish In Kentucky Oaks, Baffert Fined $1,500 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

U.S. Handle Up 9.5% in January

With $959,602,269 wagered, total all-sources handle for the sport rose by 9.57% in January, according to figures released Thursday by Equibase.

The January numbers reflected a fairly seamless comparison between January 2021 and January 2020 because the racing schedules for both months were not impacted by the coronavirus.

There were 2,211 races run this year, only a slight drop from the 2020 number of 2,352. Based on the amount wagered per race day, the industry saw an increase of 21.6 %.

Comparing figures during most of 2020 was particularly difficult because of the many adjustments that had to be made to racing schedules due to the pandemic.

But it may be too early to predict what patterns are going to persist for the rest of the year because January, 2021 included five Saturdays and Sundays versus just four the year before.

“I thought the month was better this year than it was last year in part because there were two more racing days on the weekends,” NTRA President and CEO Alex Waldrop said. “While it's always nice to be up 9%, I wouldn't draw any conclusions just yet. It's always good to look at something like this over time. I think we'll need three months of data before anyone can say anything definitive.”

The January numbers also provide some evidence as to whether or not the sport picked up a meaningful amount of new customers while it was “the only gambling game in town” during the first few months of the pandemic. The top ADWs thrived in 2020 and most reported a large increase in terms of new customers. TVG and its sister website, FanDuel Racing, reported that it had signed up 50,000 new customers during the year. But with total handle for the year down by just less than 1%, the numbers weren't conclusive and it was hard to gauge whether or not the sport was enjoying growth or whether or not the same pool of money as normal was being bet, just spread around differently.

The January numbers marked the second straight month that there was a healthy increase in handle. The sport saw a 6.24% jump in betting in December.

Largely due to the fact that there was less racing, purses were down throughout much of 2020, including in December when they fell by 13.24%. But the numbers in that category seem to be evening out as purses dropped by just 1.41% during the month. Average purses per race day were $278,832, for an increase of 9.42%.

Average field size was 8.09, a 1.75% improvement over January 2020.

The post U.S. Handle Up 9.5% in January appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Grade 3 Winner Bourbon Resolution Retired To Peru

Grade 3 winner Bourbon Resolution has been retired from racing, and he will enter stud at Haras Gina Santa Rosa in Peru, the South American publication Turf Diario reports.

The 6-year-old son of New Year's Day finished his career with four wins in 17 starts for earnings of $325,421. His most notable score came in the Grade 3 Ben Ali Stakes in 2019, where he drew off to win by 4 1/2 lengths as an 18-1 longshot.

Bourbon Resolution was owned during his racing career by Bourbon Lane Stable, and he was trained by Ian Wilkes. The horse was offered at this year's Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale, where he went to Tasmania Farms for $27,000.

Bred in Kentucky by Gary and Mary West, Bourbon Resolution is out of the winning Vindication mare Vindicated Ghost.

Bourbon Resolution joins a stallion roster at Haras Gina Santa Rosa that also includes Grade 2-placed Power World, Grade 3-placed Minister's Joy, the multiple Peruvian Group 3-winning Empire Maker son Empire King, and the former English-based runner Zerfaal.

The post Grade 3 Winner Bourbon Resolution Retired To Peru appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Fifth Annual International Forum For The Aftercare Of Racehorses To Be Held Virtually In April

The International Forum for the Aftercare of Racehorses (IFAR) announced today that it will be hosting its fifth forum as a virtual series on each Tuesday during the month of April. The sessions, which will include a combination of prerecorded content and live discussions, will be held on 6, 13, 20, and 27 April at 12 p.m. GMT and will each last approximately one hour. The timing has been selected so that people can dial in wherever they are in the world – evening for the Australasian time zones, middle of the day for the European time zones, and early morning for the American time zones. Recordings of the events will also be made available on the IFAR website.

Expected topics to be covered during these sessions include owner and trainer responsibility, traceability, the use of racehorses in equine-assisted therapy, case studies for aftercare progress in different racing jurisdictions, and the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on racehorse aftercare. The full list of topics and speakers, which will include representatives from around the world, will be announced at a later date.

“Although the continuing effects of COVID-19 have prevented us from being able to host a traditional live IFAR conference, we are looking forward to being able to reach an even wider global audience to discuss aftercare and its importance to the racing industry,” said Di Arbuthnot, chair of IFAR. “We wanted to advise the racing and breeding industries of our plans as soon as possible so that interested parties could save these dates in April for what promises to be an enlightening series of presentations and discussions.”

IFAR has previously been held in conjunction with the Asian Racing Conference in Cape Town, South Africa, in February 2020; the European & Mediterranean Horseracing Federation's General Assembly in Oslo, Norway, in May 2019; the Asian Racing Conference in Seoul, South Korea, in May 2018; and the Pan American Conference in Washington, D.C., in May 2017.

IFAR is an independent forum that recognizes geographical and industry differences among racing countries and is designed to enhance Thoroughbred aftercare worldwide. Working with the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities, IFAR will raise awareness of the importance of welfare for Thoroughbreds, improve education on lifetime care, and help increase demand for former racehorses in other equestrian sports. For more information on IFAR, visit internationalracehorseaftercare.com.

The post Fifth Annual International Forum For The Aftercare Of Racehorses To Be Held Virtually In April appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post