June, 2021 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Mohaafeth Misses The Derby, Is Ascot Bound

Shadwell's Mohaafeth (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) was taken out of Saturday's G1 Cazoo Derby due to the ease in the going and will head to Royal Ascot, trainer William Haggas explained. Visibly disappointed as he made the declaration on ITV Racing, the Newmarket-based handler was not happy to chance the Listed Newmarket S. winner on the good-to-soft ground following Friday's heavy rain. “After lots of soul searching and discussion, we have decided to scratch and go to Ascot,” he said. “It was a decision that essentially was left by Sheikha Hissa to me and I have never felt the horse is comfortable on soft, dead ground. It's not soft, but it is dead and I don't really want to run in a race I don't think I can win. I'm very grateful for the support and I'm sure it's the right decision, but we'll never know whether it's right or wrong. We all want to win the Derby, every owner, jockey and trainer wants to win the Derby, but we want to have a fighting chance. This is a young horse with a lot of potential and he's got a lot more to offer, so I think it will be a bump in the road running him today. So yes, it's sad, but in a way I'm relieved.”

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Record Rainbow 6 Jackpot at Pimlico Grows to $915,457 for Saturday

There were no unique winners of the 20-cent Rainbow 6 Friday at historic Pimlico Race Course, pushing the Maryland state record jackpot to $915,457.43 heading into Saturday's eight-race program.

First race post time is 12:40 p.m. Doors will open at 11 a.m. to accommodate an 11:35 a.m. first post from Belmont Park on Belmont Stakes Day. The Belmont (G1), featuring 146^th Preakness Stakes (G1) winner Rombauer, goes off as Race 11 with a 6:49 p.m. post.

No horses were live to take down the Rainbow 6 jackpot heading into Friday's eighth-race finale, won by Shanghaied Astoria ($6.40). A total of $63,115 was put into the popular multi-race wager on top of a carryover of $895,264.82 from Monday's special Memorial Day holiday program. Multiple tickets with all six winners each returned $4,326.98.

The Rainbow 6 jackpot is paid out only when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. On days when there is no unique ticket, 60 percent of that day's pool goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners while 40 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool.

Introduced in Maryland April 2, 2015 on opening day of Pimlico's spring meet, the Rainbow 6 had its previous state record carryover reach $345,898.33 spanning 31 racing programs before being solved by one lucky bettor for a life-changing $399,545.94 payout April 15, 2018 at Laurel Park. The winning ticket was purchased through Maine off-track betting.

Video: https://youtu.be/HMriT7HmtLU

Saturday's Rainbow 6 starts in Race 3, a six-furlong claiming event for maiden fillies and mares age 3, 4 and 5. Races 4, 6 and 8 are claimers scheduled for the turf which attracted a total of 32 entries, the latter pair being five-furlong sprints. The feature comes in Race 7, an entry-level optional claiming allowance for females 3 and up going 1 1/16 miles on the main track where Claudio Gonzalez-trained Tayler's Chrome is the narrow 5-2 program favorite from the rail in a field of six.

Notes: Jockey Leonardo Corujo, who finished the month of May with three wins from 36 mounts, is off to a strong start in June after registering a hat trick Friday aboard Sommer Velvet ($17.20) in Race 3, Revolutionary Road ($12.60) in Race 4 and Speightster Red ($4.40) in Race 6. Jockey Horacio Karamanos doubled with McCain ($12.20) in Race 5 and Shanghaied Astoria ($6.40) in Race 8.

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Meadowlands Championship Meet Honors Joe DeFrank

Meadowlands Racetrack, East Rutherford, NJ – Harness racing Hall of Famer Joe DeFrank left an unforgettable legacy at the Meadowlands Racetrack.

Together with the Hambletonian Society, the Meadowlands made the decision to name the 2021 Championship Meet in honor of Joe DeFrank, who died in December at the age of 87.

“The Meadowlands owes its tremendous success to Mr. Joe DeFrank,” said Jason Settlemoir, COO & GM of the Meadowlands Racetrack. “Honoring him on the biggest stage in harness racing is a fitting tribute.”

Joe DeFrank was recruited by the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority management team tasked with opening the Meadowlands Racetrack in 1976 and GM Bob Quigley went on the hunt for a rising star rather than cull from the ranks of existing talent.

He found DeFrank at Windsor Raceway, recognized his keen abilities to assess both horse and driver talent along with his fresh approach to racing, and convinced DeFrank to come east to the Meadowlands. DeFrank was the first and only race secretary at the flagship racetrack for 25 years. He created many popular winter series along with races such as the Meadowlands Pace and Woodrow Wilson, both of which offered purses of more than $1 million. The Woodrow Wilson purse also reached as high as $2 million, the most ever offered in the sport. The Meadowlands Pace, an instant classic, remains one of the most sought victories 40 years later.

DeFrank was also instrumental in bringing the Hambletonian from the Midwest to the Meadowlands in 1981. Always the innovative race secretary, DeFrank introduced a new concept to the Meadowlands in 1986 – a number of big-purse races for youngsters on the same night, called the Million Dollar Babies.

Joe DeFrank was inducted into the harness racing Hall of Fame in 1994, with presenter Stan Bergstein, a former race secretary himself, noting, “I realized quickly and instinctively that he was going places. I simply underestimated how far he was going, how fast he was going, and how impressively he would get there. No one in our business has mastered his craft more completely, elevated its power and stature, introduced more new ideas, commanded more respect or ruled with such absolute power as the man we now honor.”

John Campbell, Hall of Fame driver and now President and CEO of the Hambletonian Society, stated in his Facebook tribute to Mr. DeFrank, “Every driver, trainer, owner, stallion owner and breeder in our industry today is deriving benefits as a result of Joe DeFrank`s vision, innovation, and presentation of major stake races. Harness racing had never imagined purses that the Meadowlands Pace and Woodrow Wilson were going for, and, imitation being the best form of flattery, other tracks soon changed their outlook and approach to their stake programs. The Metro, North America Cup, Breeders Crown, and many others all evolved after the success of Joe's vision at the Meadowlands and he started the Final Four races at Garden State Park, as well.”

The 2021 Meadowlands Racetrack Championship Meet in honor of Joe DeFrank culminates Saturday, Aug. 7 — Hambletonian Day.

The post Meadowlands Championship Meet Honors Joe DeFrank appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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How Sedated Is My Horse? Research Provides A Scale To Help Non-Veterinarians

A practical tool to help assess the depth of equine sedation has been developed. The facial sedation scale, called FaceSed, is based on the Horse Grimace Scale, which uses equine facial expressions to assesses pain.

Dr. Alice Rodrigues de Oliveira and other scientists at São Paulo State University in Brazil noted that there was only one objective measure of sedation in horses that didn't require interpretation: head height above the ground. Other methods being used to assess depth and quality of sedation were subjective and based on the observer's experience with sedated horses.

Though there are typical facial responses to sedation, no studies have measured their validity and reliability. The research team sought to create a scale that measured equine sedation based on facial expression. They adapted three of the facial measures used in the Horse Grimace Scale: ear position, eye opening, and relaxation of the lower and upper lips.

To test their pain scale, the scientists sedated seven horses both lightly and heavily, and photographed the horse's face before sedation, at the height of sedation, in the middle, and at the end of sedation. Images were sent to four vets who were trained on the FaceSed scale.

There was agreement and consistency between all four vets. The scientists determined that the FaceSed scale is a reliable tool to assess and determine sedation in horses. They recommend further studies be completed in clinical settings and using inexperienced observers.

Read the article here.