February, 2022 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Arrest Made In 37-Horse Animal Abuse Case In California

The Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department in California has made an arrest in the equine abuse case that saw 30 horses seized by animal services back in December, reports The Modesto Bee.

Lisa Dunckley, 53, was arrested Thursday at a Stanislaus Animal Control hearing and booked on a felony animal abuse charge.

Thirty horses, including multiple pregnant or nursing mares, were seized during the course of an animal welfare investigation in Riverbank, Calif. on Dec. 20. All 30 were taken to the Oakdale Equine Rescue, which later took in seven additional horses.

“I can tell you the animals were in very poor condition,” Annette Bedsworth, executive director of Stanislaus County Animal Services, told modbee.com on that date. “This was unnecessary. It did not need to happen.”

Authorities and individuals with past dealings believe Dunckley had been keeping up to 80 horses at multiple locations, but no information on the other horses was available.

Dunckly posted bail and was released, and arraignment details were not immediately available as the Omicron variant of COVID-19 has delayed court proceedings.

Meanwhile, a dispute on Jan. 13 between several of the horses' owners and the Oakdale Equine Rescue over payment for the horses' veterinary care may also result in lawsuits.

Pletcher Derby Dreaming? Emmanuel Impressive In Tampa Bay Allowance

As Pablo Morales returned to the jockeys' room alongside assistant trainer Juan Aguayo after his victory aboard Emmanuel in Tampa Bay Downs' sixth race on Sunday, a fan pretty much summed up what he felt privileged to observe.

“That was a magic carpet ride,” the spectator said. Morales nodded in assent.

Emmanuel, whose scheduled 2022 debut here on Jan. 7 was pushed back after he spiked a temperature, made the wait worthwhile today with a highly professional 4 ½-length victory from Glider in the sixth race, the mile-and-40-yard Cody's Original Roadhouse Race of the Week.

Already considered a Kentucky Derby prospect by a number of experts, the Todd Pletcher-trained 3-year-old colt broke alertly under Morales and led the six-horse field throughout. Trainer Mark Casse's colt Glider challenged at the 1/8-mile pole under Antonio Gallardo, but Emmanuel, as it turned out, was just getting started, as he finished in 1:40.24, impressive time on the fast but slightly tiring dirt surface.

Pletcher's other horse in the race, In the Union, finished third.

“I'm very pleased with the way he handled the two turns,” Pletcher said via text message. “We will keep all options open for his next start.”

Pletcher added that the Feb. 12 Sam F. Davis Stakes would be too soon to bring him back, but Tampa Bay Downs Racing Office officials will be working overtime to land him for the Grade 2, $400,000 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby on March 12.

Morales was more expansive in his comments, having piloted the Ferrari-like colt around the track.

“Just a class horse. I felt like I had so many gears underneath me,” Morales said. “Every time I would just move a hair, he would take off a little bit more and just do it easily. He felt (Glider) coming on the inside down the lane, so I decided to give him a little bit of a hand ride and I could feel him extending more and more.

“He just did it easy – it felt like a workout for him. He acts like an old horse who has run 100 times and he gives you what you ask out of him. I'm thankful I was considered to ride him. It was a pleasure.”

To casual observers, Emmanuel, a son of More Than Ready out of the Hard Spun mare Hard Cloth, seems to be setting out on a similar 3-year-old path as Pletcher's Always Dreaming in 2017. Always Dreaming broke his maiden at Tampa on Jan. 25 at the mile-and-40 distance in his third career start. What came next? Victories in an allowance/optional claiming event and the G1 Xpressbet Florida Derby at Gulfstream, followed by a triumph in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands.

Owned by WinStar Farm and Siena Farm, Emmanuel was a $350,000 yearling purchase at the Keeneland September sale. He was bred in Kentucky by the Helen K. Groves Revocable Trust, out of a half-sister to both multiple Group 1-winner and $4.7 million-earner Hawkbill as well as Grade 1 winner Free Drop Billy.

The post Pletcher Derby Dreaming? Emmanuel Impressive In Tampa Bay Allowance appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Study: Racetrack Fatalities In Sweden, Norway Often Result Of Sudden Collapse

A new study reveals that the main cause of racetrack fatalities in horses racing in Norway and Sweden is sudden collapse, not catastrophic injury, as was previously suspected.

Dr. Ingunn Risnes Hellings and a research team looked at fatalities recorded by the Norwegian and Swedish Trotting Associations from Jan. 1, 2014, to Dec. 31, 2019; 48 horses died during this period—38 Standardbreds and 10 Norwegian-Swedish Coldblooded Trotters. The scientists looked at breed, age, sex, frequency of starts, time of year, and racing distance in an attempt to identify risk factors. They also noted whether the horse competed in a trotting race under saddle or in harness.

Fatalities were included in the study if the horse was euthanized after becoming injured immediately before the race, during the race, or within an hour of racing.

The researchers found that 14.5 percent of fatalities were from traumatic or orthopedic injuries, while the rest were considered “sudden athletic death.” This is a distinct difference from the primary cause of racetrack fatalities in Thoroughbred racehorses, in which most suffer catastrophic orthopedic injuries. Sudden athletic death in Thoroughbreds occurs at a rate of between 9 and 19 percent.

The team also found:

A higher number of starts in the last 30 days increased risk of sudden death
30 horses died of acute circulatory collapse due to cardiac or pulmonary failure
10 horses died from hemorrhaging after blood vessel rupture
Seven of the 48 study horses were euthanized because of catastrophic injury
70 percent of the 40 horses in the sudden athletic death category had marked bleeding in the lungs
The rate of sudden athletic death was similar between both breeds

The scientists determined that the rate of catastrophic injury fatalities was comparatively low and that suspected or confirmed cardiopulmonary causes of death were similar to previous studies. They note that additional investigation into the pathologies causing the cardiopulmonary events is warranted.

Read the full study here.

Cox Hopes Concert Tour Can ‘Bounce Back’ In Allowance Race

A well-beaten favorite in the Jan. 15 Fifth Season Stakes, his first start for eight months, Concert Tour will be pointed to an easier spot for his next start.

Trainer Brad Cox told bloodhorse.com that an allowance race is the most likely option for the multiple Grade 2-winning son of Street Sense.

“He came out of the Fifth Season fine. We'll just regroup and probably try to find a conditioned allowance race for him,” Cox told bloodhorse.com. “Obviously he didn't have things go his way in his return. He's a very sound horse and he trains well. Hopefully he can bounce back.”

The 4-year-old Concert Tour is owned by Gary and Mary West. He began his career in the barn of embattled trainer Bob Baffert, winning his debut, the G2 San Vicente, and the G2 Rebel Stakes through his first three races before finishing third in the G1 Arkansas Derby. After a ninth-place effort in the G1 Preakness Stakes, Concert Tour went to the sidelines for eight months before resuming his career under Cox's care.

In Oaklawn's $150,000 Fifth Season Stakes, Concert Tour was within striking distance while three-wide in the one-mile contest. He faded badly in the stretch run, beaten 15 lengths as the heavy favorite.

Concert Tour has returned to the Hot Springs work tab since that effort, breezing four furlongs in 48.40 seconds on Jan. 28.

Overall, the colt's record stands at three wins from six starts for earnings of $857,350.