January, 2022 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Study Indicates High Insulin Sensitivity In Newborn Foals, Challenging Existing Research

Though longstanding literature suggests that newborn foals have impaired glucose tolerance due to immaturity of their endocrine system, scientists at Ohio State University recently determined that newborn foals are actually more sensitive to insulin than mature horses.

Led by Dr. Hannah Kinsella, the team evaluated glucose and insulin levels in healthy newborn foals and compared them to the levels of healthy horses using intravenous glucose tolerance test samples. Twelve healthy Standardbred foals between 24 and 60 hours old were used in the study; eight horses of other breeds that were between 3 and 14 years were also used.

The results suggest that a newborn foals' pancreas can secrete a high level of insulin, which allows it to save energy. Baseline glucose in foals was found to be significantly higher than in horses, showing that foals are insulin sensitive in their first days of life.

The ability to maintain normal glucose levels may also prevent low blood sugar right after birth. The team suggested that this may indicate evolutionary adaptations that allow the foal to transition to life outside the womb.

“Published reference ranges for glucose in the neonatal foal are higher than those used for adults, and the results of this study further solidify that this should be taken into account in the clinical management of the neonatal foal,” Dr. Kinsella reported. “The question of whether the use of tight or liberal glycemic control is more beneficial in the treatment of the critically ill neonate continues to remain controversial, and additional investigation is warranted.”

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Read the study here.

Sam Houston: Pinky Ring Bling, Eagle Express Favored In Thursday’s Texas Stallion Series Stakes

The first two stakes of the 2022 Sam Houston Race Park Thoroughbred season will take place Thursday, Jan. 20. The $75,000 My Dandy and $75,000 Darby's Daughter will be run at the distance of five and one-half furlongs on the main track. Post time for Thursday's card is 4:00 pm (Central) with the My Dandy running as the opener and the Darby's Daughter to follow.

The Texas Thoroughbred Association sponsors the Clarence Scharbauer Jr. Texas Stallion Stakes Series (TSSS), a set of races for progeny of nominated Texas-based stallions. The series features three sets of races, each split into two divisions (colts/geldings and fillies) for a purse of $75,000 per division. The races honor notable Texas horses of the past.

The Thursday afternoon card begins with 3-year-old colts and geldings in the $75,000 My Dandy. Trainer Ronnie Cravens will saddle the 2-5 morning-line choice, Pinky Ring Bling, who will be ridden by Ernesto Valdez-Jiminez, who piloted Carbon Stryker to victory in last year's edition of the stakes.

The son of Too Much Bling will be making his sixth career start for Lone Star Racing Club. He ran third in the Texas Avenger at Lone Star Park and most recently, in the Kip Deville at Remington Park. Cravens is optimistic that the colt will win his first stakes on Thursday.

“He's just starting to mature,” said Cravens. “ We are seeing more of a professional look to him.”

Cravens and his wife, Melodie, set up an ownership group four years ago. Jerry Cate and Big E are among the Lone Star Racing Club members and several other individuals are proud owners of Pinky Ring Bling, who was a modest $5,000 sale purchase and has already won $36,860.

“We have a nice mix of individuals in our group; some owned Quarter Horses and were interested in getting involved in Thoroughbred racing as well,” added Cravens.

Mary Rampellini, who covers racing in Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma and New Mexico for the Daily Racing Form, reported that this would be the first stakes win for Cravens, who won his first career race in 2003.

One other note of interest is that two jockeys riding in the My Dandy share a unique status in Thoroughbred racing; both have fathers who are also active riders. Lane Luzzi, who will pilot Sam Sherman's Bodymoor Heath, is the son of New York veteran rider Mike Luzzi. Jansen Melancon, who will break from the rail aboard Moro Code is the son of Louisiana-based Gerard Melancon.

The field for the My Dandy, from the rail, with riders and morning-line odds:

Moro Code, Jansen Melancon, 10-1; Regal Prize, Stewart Elliott,15-1; Pinky Ring Bling, Ernesto Valdez-Jiminez, 2-5; Bodymoor Heath, Lane Luzzi, 9-2, and Grami's Boy, Alfredo Triana Jr, 7-2.

My Dandy was a 1925 Texas-bred foal who boasted a lifetime record of 191 starts with 47 wins and earnings of $137,923. A true “iron horse,” he ran from 1927 to 1935 and in 1930 made 43 starts in a single year.

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Five fillies will enter the starting gate in the second feature of the day, the $75,000 Darby's Daughter with Eagle Express in pursuit of her second stakes victory.

Bred and owned by W.S. Farish, the daughter of Eagle is trained by Steve Asmussen. The bay filly made two starts last year at Lone Star Park, winning the Texas Stallion Stakes on June 13 before running sixth in the Grade 3, Schuylerville Stakes at Saratoga. She has earned $65,260 in five starts.

“She a nice filly and already a stakes winner,” said Asmussen, who has been dividing his time between Oaklawn Park and Fair Grounds. “We expect a good effort from her.”

Valor Farm in Pilot Point Texas, is well-represented in both features. Too Much Bling has topped the standings from 2013 -2019, and their stallion roster also includes Braedster, My Golden Song, Competitive Edge and first crop sire, Eagle.

“Eagle is a son of Candy Ride and we have always respected the quality of horses bred by Mr. Farish,” added Asmussen, who has won 13 Sam Houston Race Park training titles.

Trainer Danny Pish has two starters in the Darby's Daughter. Its a Gee Thing, sired by Early Flyer, who he owns along with GFB Racing LLC and Mike Renfro. Pish will also saddle Kim's Texas Bling, a filly by Texas Bling, bred and owned by Halls Family Trust.

Last year's winner, Michael Grossman's Star of the North also captured the $75,000 Two Altazano Stakes at Sam Houston before returning to Canterbury Park. The filly by The Hunk added three more victories and a runner-up finish in the $110,00 Minnesota Oaks. She completed her 2022 campaign with seven wins from ten starts and earnings of $299,850.

The Darby's Daughter will run as race two. The field from the rail, , with riders and morning-line odds:

Its a Gee Thing, Danny Sorenson, 6-1; Amazonian Queen, Gerardo Mora, 4-1; Texas Thunder, Ernesto Valdez-Jiminez, 15-1; Eagle Express, Stewart Elliott, 6-5, and Kim's Texas Bling, Jose Alvarez, 8-5.

Darby's Daughter made her racing debut in 1988, winning two stakes at Louisiana Downs, the Grade 2, Miss Grillo at Aqueduct and the San Clemente Handicap at Del Mar. She retired with an impressive record of five wins from 15 starts and earnings of $435,104.

The post Sam Houston: Pinky Ring Bling, Eagle Express Favored In Thursday’s Texas Stallion Series Stakes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Fix to Delta’s Light Woes Might Not Arrive by End of Meet

A new lighting system at Delta Downs that was only operational for three races on the first night of the season back in October and has been repeatedly tweaked since then might not end up being deemed safe or usable for racing by the time the current Thoroughbred meet ends Mar. 5.

Ironically, after more than three months of debate over alleged shadows and perceived inconsistencies with how the patterns fall on the racing surface, the lighting installer and a consulting firm retained by Delta are now trying to rectify the problem not by increasing candlepower, but by actually turning down the intensity of the lighting from about 90% of full illumination to around 60% on each of the poles around the six-furlong track.

“The jockeys are basically saying that there are lights that are very bright, and then it goes into shadows, which they're afraid that the horses will be spooked [by],” Steve Kuypers, Delta's vice president and general manager, told the Louisiana State Racing Commission (LSRC) during a Tuesday meeting.

“That's what is taking so long, is [because] they have to go pole by pole, light by light,” Kuypers said. “And they do this by flying a drone up so [it gives a picture of] the candle width or the candle light, so they can adjust light by light. So we're hoping in the next couple of weeks they will come with a full report to get the entire track to a candle light that is acceptable, and then we'll invite the jockeys over, let them ride, hopefully they will say it's okay.”

Delta's jockeys did not speak on the issue during the Jan. 18 meeting. But the last time the LSRC took up this issue, on Dec. 13, a lawyer for The Jockeys' Guild told commissioners there were “grave concerns” with the light-emitting diode (LED) system, which was necessitated by the old lights getting wrecked by a hurricane in August 2020.

One month ago, the jockeys' concerns about shadows were offset by an initial report issued by the lighting experts that had proclaimed the new Delta lights to be “tremendously better than the pre-hurricane lighting.”

Tuesday, commissioner Tom Calvert pressed Kuypers on why the fix was taking so long.

“This problem that we're having is difficult, because we were supposed to have Delta running at night and Fair Grounds running during the day,” Calvert said. “And now we have two of our major tracks competing against one another for the daytime patrons, and it's a bad situation. And we would like some expedition on behalf of your experts, and it doesn't seem like it would take a month to figure it out.”

By unanimous voice vote Tuesday, the LSRC extended permission for Delta to continue racing during daylight hours for another 60 days, a period of time that extends beyond the meet's closure in seven weeks.

The commission also mandated that Delta provide any new report authored by its lighting experts within 15 days. Delta can also come back before the LSRC at any time before or after then to request a switch back to night racing if jockeys end up okaying the most recent round of fixes to the lighting system.

Three races into the first night program of the season Oct. 15, a horse fell at the top of the stretch. Fueled by complaints from some jockeys and trainers that areas on the turns were dangerously dark and shadowy, the remainder of that card and the Oct. 16 program were cancelled. Delta, a longtime night-racing fixture, has raced only afternoons since then.

The post Fix to Delta’s Light Woes Might Not Arrive by End of Meet appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Riding A Dream Academy Accepting Applications For Second Residential Week

Applications have today opened for the Riding A Dream Academy's second Residential Week which is aimed at supporting talented young riders aged 14-18 from underrepresented communities, diverse backgrounds and those that ride at urban equestrian centers.

The Academy, which is funded by the Racing Foundation, was set up following Khadijah Mellah's win in the Magnolia Cup at Goodwood when she became the first British Muslim woman to win a UK horserace. It aims to help broaden diversity and inclusion in racing by providing opportunities for other young people. The Residential Week acts as a fun introduction to British horse racing and will once again be held at the British Racing School (BRS) from Monday, May 30 to Friday, June 3. The closing date for applications, via the website www.ridingadreamacademy.com/the-residential-week, is Sunday, Feb. 13.

So far the Academy has supported 18 young riders from underrepresented groups and urban equestrian centers through its first Residential Week in 2021, and the Khadijah Mellah Scholarship which runs for a year and currently has eight students. To date, 72% of the Academy's cohort have come from diverse ethnic backgrounds.

ITV presenter Oli Bell, who co-founded the Academy alongside Great British Racing's Naomi Lawson said, “At the Academy we are passionate about providing opportunities for young people from diverse backgrounds, who have learnt to ride at an urban equestrian centre or city farm so that we can help to make racing more diverse and inclusive. We are thrilled to have supported so many talented riders so far and are looking forward to welcoming our next Residential Week group later this year. We'd love to uncover more stars of the future but more than that, this is about giving opportunities to people who might not otherwise have had it and showing what a wonderful sport racing is.”

Feedback from students and parents has been incredibly positive with one student rating the week, “100/10. Having an experience like this has really enforced what I want to do. I LOVED it.” A parent also said, “I can't praise the week highly enough – it's a ground-breaking opportunity that has educated me more in a week than all the years I have been trying to find out what potential there may be for my child in the horsey world.”

Andrew Braithwaite, Finance Director at British Racing School said, “Everyone involved at the British Racing School in the Academy has thoroughly enjoyed hosting the students on the Residential and the Scholarship and it is simply wonderful to see young people being given the opportunity to get involved in racing and experience the thrill of riding thoroughbreds – both groups have been an inspiration. There are obviously a range of initiatives within racing aimed at widening access and giving opportunity to those from underrepresented backgrounds but I would venture few will have as much impact as this.”

Whilst on the Residential Week students benefit from the brilliant coaching of the British Racing School instructors and learn to ride racehorses for the very first time. They learn how to hold the jockey position and bridge their hands, whilst also learning how to look after our horses. Students also have the chance to find out more about the sport by going to the races, visiting studs and other racing establishments and going up onto Newmarket's famous gallops.

The post Riding A Dream Academy Accepting Applications For Second Residential Week appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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