Month: May 2021

NTRA Legislative Annual Report Released

Edited Press Release

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) 2020 Legislative Action Campaign (LAC) Annual Report is now available on the association's website and can be downloaded here.

The report reviews the NTRA's federal legislative activities in 2020 and the fundraising programs that support them. Specifically, the report includes:

 

  • A federal legislative summary of issues that are important to horse racing and breeding, including the latest on the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act, Sports Betting, Three-year Racehorse Depreciation, Immigration and other legislation;

 

  • A list of 2020 contributors to the NTRA's Legislative Action Campaign through the 1/4% Check-Off Program and other related NTRA fundraising programs;

 

  • Sale company calendars; and

 

  • Member discount information from NTRA partners like John Deere, Sherwin-Williams, Office Depot and Big Ass Fans

 

“We thank the buyers, sellers and consignors who supported our federal legislative advocacy in 2020 by participating in the 1/4% Check-Off Program through sales hosted by our partners at Keeneland, Fasig-Tipton, Ocala Breeders Sales (OBS), the Washington Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Association (WTBOA) and the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association (CTBA),” said NTRA President and CEO Alex Waldrop. “We appreciate these sale companies for all they do to help facilitate the Check-Off Program and we also thank the farms, breeders and National Horseplayers Championship (NHC) Tour members who contributed through other fundraising programs. It was a difficult year in many ways but, once again, the industry rallied in support of our efforts on Capitol Hill.”

The post NTRA Legislative Annual Report Released appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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What’s In a Name: Hester Prynne (GB)

Congratulations to whoever named the very first winner by the Galileo (Ire) stallion Mondialiste (Ire). The 2-year-old filly won a novice at Beverley on May 3 for trainer David O'Meara and is out of Dame Hester (Ire) (Diktat {GB}). The Geoff and Sandra Turnbull-owned filly is named after the most famous Hester of all: Hester Prynne (GB), the complex and dignified heroine of the American classic The Scarlet Letter–the 1850 novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

The narrative takes place in a Puritan community in Massachusetts in the 1640s; the protagonist of the book has a child out of wedlock and is sentenced to have the letter “A” stitched to the front of her dress for the rest of her life. The abominable nature of this cruel public humiliation has resonated for decades, and the novel has drawn the attention and the praise of other great writers (George Eliot, DH Lawrence, etc), not to speak of the eternal interest from songwriters, playwrights, and film directors. Good luck to the equine Hester Prynne, hopefully as independent and hard-headed as her namesake–and a bit more fortunate.

The post What’s In a Name: Hester Prynne (GB) appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Hair-Raising Drug Positive Disclosed In United Arab Emirates

Among a handful of stewards rulings distributed this week by the Emirates Racing Authority in the United Arab Emirates was one that could make the hair on the back of a trainer's neck stand up.

Trainer Ahmed bin Harmash was fined 25,000 UAE dirhams (about US$6,800) and the horse Sa'ada was disqualified from a Nov. 27, 2020, win at Jebel Ali Racecourse after the prohibited substance minoxidil was detected in a post-race sample by the Dubai Equine Forensic Unit. The drug was subsequently confirmed in a split sample.

According to the ruling, bin Harmash was “unable to offer an explanation for the findings” until he was advised of the nature of the substance. Minoxidil is a “human product used to treat hypertension and baldness,” according to the ruling, which went on to say that the drug “would act upon the cardiovascular system, have the potential to decrease exercise induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH), altering the horse's performance and there is considered a prohibited substance under the ERA Rules of Racing.”

Minoxidil is an ingredient in numerous over-the-counter hair-growth products, including Rogaine.

It was after being notified of what the drug is used for that bin Harmash produced a bottle of “New Hair Lotion” he obtained from the exercise rider of Sa'ada. The same individual was the regular exercise rider for two other horses in bin Harmash's barn and the trainer requested that they be withdrawn from upcoming races out of caution and also be tested for the drug. One of the two horses tested positive for minoxidil.

Despite evidence that the positive test likely resulted from contamination,  stewards nevertheless disqualified the horse and levied the fine against the trainer.

This was not the first time a hair-growth product led to the disqualification of a performance horse for minoxidil. In 2017, a horse tested positive for the drug following a showjumping event in South Africa. An investigation by the governing body of the sport, the FEI, discovered that the horse's owner was a longtime user of a hair-growth product containing minoxidil and likely transferred enough of the drug to the horse while hand-feeding grass to him.

The post Hair-Raising Drug Positive Disclosed In United Arab Emirates appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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