As the oldest of the three Triple Crown races, the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets has seen its fair share of upsets, and the majority of those have come in roughly the last third of the race’s 153-year history.
Month: May 2021
Horse Welfare Board Appoints New Trio
Mike Etherington-Smith, Helena Flynn and Stephen Wensley were all appointed to the Horse Welfare Board, the HWB announced on Wednesday. The trio, whose roles will be funded by the Racing Foundation, will work across racing to coordinate the implementation of the Horse Welfare Strategy and will be accountable to Barry Johnson, the HWB's independent chair. Racing Foundation CEO Rob Hezel was directly involved in the recruitment process.
Etherington-Smith, who has designed multiple Olympic event courses, will be the Equine Safety Advisor. Helena Flynn has been named Programme Director and Stephen Wensley is the new Welfare Data Projects Lead. They will work closely with Claire Cuff who began in February as the Head of Welfare Communications, whose post is funded by the Horserace Betting Levy Board.
Barry Johnson, the HWB's Independent Chair, said, “We are enormously excited and encouraged by the formation of this impressive team. Not only are their skills and experience truly world class, they have also demonstrated a strong ability to work collaboratively. This was essential, as we wanted a team who would support racing and its people to fulfil our collective ambitions in relation to horse welfare.
“Helena Flynn has worked at a high level in some major global businesses and this experience, combined with her deep passion for horses and racing, gives us great confidence that she will be a real asset to racing and will help to drive the Horse Welfare Programme forward over the coming months.
“Mike Etherington-Smith is a world leader in the field of equine risk management and will not only share his formidable experience and knowledge with racing, but also to learn from the equine understanding and expertise that exists across the sport. We are delighted to have someone of Mike's calibre working with us.
“Stephen Wensley impressed us with his deep understanding of data projects and his strong project management experience. We felt he could help us ensure that racing has a clear programme of effective welfare data projects, which can be used by the whole industry to build understanding and drive improvements.”
More information on the appointees and their role with the HWB can be found here.
The post Horse Welfare Board Appoints New Trio appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.
How To Build A Poker Table
Are you interested in building your own poker table? There is an amazing sense of pride that comes from being able to tell your friends that you made, with your two hands, the table that they are sitting at. If you have ever used a tape measure, a saw or a staple gun, you can build a one of a kind poker table. Just a few simple tools, some wood and an idea of what you want it to look like are all you really need to get started.
Before you can start your project, you need to have wood. A good choice is usually Red Oak, this is because it is a hardwood which is known for its durability and beauty. This is the phase of building where you can really customize your design. If you want to add cup holders, chip holders or any other kind of holder, now is the time to do it. When you are measuring the size of your table, remember to take into account that you will be adding rails along the edge, these will take up surface space, so you will need to plan accordingly.
When building a table, you first need to find a piece of wood large enough for the table surface or two pieces what will fit together nicely to form the surface. Next, the wood needs to be cut out in an oval shape according to the size of the table. After the tabletop is made, a one-inch rim needs to be made. The rim should be cut to fit the tabletop and glued into place. Once the rim is in place, a rail needs to be measured and cut out so it fits nicely onto the rim, this will prevent cards and chips from falling off the table.
Next, a pad should be fitted to the table so the table will have a soft feeling. Holes need to be cut through the padding to fit the corresponding holes in the table that were made to hold the chips, cups, plates, etc. Then the table is, often times, covered with a soft velvet like cloth. Some people prefer a billiards table cover, which works just as well. Make sure to cut holes in the cloth to line up with the holes in the table.
After getting the table padded and covered, the rail needs to be padded. This can be completed by simply cutting out the padding to the exact measurements of your rail then covering it with a layer of vinyl. When covering the padding, be sure to pull the material tight and use a large amount of staples so it will stay that way.
Keep in mind that this is a very basic overview of how to build a poker table. The beauty of building your own table is that you can personalize it to fit your needs and wants. If you would like directions that are more precise, there are handbooks available on the subject of building a poker table, which can be purchased at almost any poker store as well as online.
Pennsylvania: New Clenbuterol Restrictions And Illegal Drugs Found In Barn Searches
At its virtual meeting May 25, the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission unanimously approved new restrictions on clenbuterol use. While previously the drug carried a 2 picogram per milliliter threshold, any detectable level of the medication will be considered a violation if the administration does not meet certain requirements. Administrations must come as the result of a prescription made for a specific horse for a specific diagnosis and the prescribing veterinarian must report the horse's identity and diagnosis to the commission. The prescribing veterinarian may be asked for a copy of the prescription also. Trainers must also report the administration to the commission.
Treatment periods for clenbuterol may run no more than 30 days, and horses will go on the veterinarian's list after treatment. They may be required to pass a drug test for clenbuterol before being allowed to enter a race. The idea of the new regulations, according to executive director Tom Chuckas, is not to ban the substance's use in all racing horses but to prevent it being in horses' system at race time.
The new regulations will apply to Thoroughbreds only.
Representatives of both the Pennsylvania Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association and Pennsylvania HBPA expressed support for the new measures, as did the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association.
Samuel Beegle, president of the Pennsylvania Harness Horsemen's Association, sounded less enthusiastic.
“I think you're digging a hole for yourself,” was Beegle's only comment to the commission prior to the vote.
Clenbuterol, commonly known by its trade name of Ventipulmin syrup, is an effective treatment for common respiratory ailments in the horse but can also have anabolic steroid-like effects.
Also at Tuesday's meeting, Chuckas revealed that barn searches had resumed at Parx after being significantly reduced during COVID-19, and produced some disturbing results during a series of raids last weekend.
“We did six total barn searches, six tack room searches,” he said. “In addition to that, we looked at five grooms' quarters and five external tack rooms. We did 66 out-of-competition tests. In our enforcement action, I can say without getting into too much detail, a significant amount of contraband was discovered dealing with medications, either unlabeled, compounded, or expired.
“I regret to say that there were contraband items that have no business on the backside, like needles and syringes and some other things that we discovered. Be advised, many of these carry an active investigation … so I'm somewhat confined in what I can share. The fact of the matter is Parx is the first step in this process … moving forward I think it's fair to say the other tracks will receive the same enforcement action.”
There were 25 scratches from Tuesday's card at Parx, including nine stewards' scratches, though it remains clear if those are connected to the results of the raids, which Thoroughbred Daily News reports took place over the weekend. Trainer Richard Vega saw all three of his entries scratched by stewards. Vega trains horses for Dun Roamin Farm, which is the nom de course for Pennsylvania Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association president Sal DeBunda. DeBunda was the only commissioner not appearing on the meeting Tuesday.
According to laws passed in 2015, Thoroughbred horsemen and breeders' representatives on the commission hold veto power on the hiring of a director, adoption of regulations including medication rules, and approval or denial of licenses to operate race meetings.
The post Pennsylvania: New Clenbuterol Restrictions And Illegal Drugs Found In Barn Searches appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
