March, 2022 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Hickman, Fixture of Texas, Louisiana Industry, Dies

Willie Stuard Hickman, who served in several roles in the Thoroughbred industry in Texas and Louisiana, passed away Mar. 15. Had been hospitalized with pneumonia and was 64 years old.

Born in Red Rock, Texas, Hickman at various times trained racehorses and worked in the racing office at Sam Houston Race Park for over two decades. As stall superintendent, jockey room coordinator and most recently, stakes coordinator, Hickman had lasting relationships with horsemen in both Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing. He also did an excellent job as jockey agent to rider Alfonso Lujan. One of the most successful Quarter Horse jockeys in the region for 11 years, Lujan won over 2,100 races prior to his retirement in 2018.

“Willie was a valued member of the Sam Houston racing office and was well-respected by our horsemen,” said racing secretary James Leatherman. “We appreciate his many years of service and extend our deepest condolences to his family.”

Hickman is survived by his daughter, Cheyenne Hickman; brother, Jimbo Hickman; niece and nephew, Chelsea and Justin; aunt, Betty Davis; and numerous cousins and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, William Earl and Mattie Ruth Hickman; and his daughter, Savannah Hickman.

Services for Willie will be held on Monday, March 21, 2022, at 2 p.m. at Johnson and Robison Funeral Home, 107 W. Napoleon St., Sulphur, LA. Burial will follow at Mimosa Pines Cemetery in Carlyss. The family will receive friends on Monday at the funeral home from 10 a.m. until the time of service.

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Longtime Racing Office Employee Willie Hickman Passed Away On March 15

Willie S. Hickman, who served in numerous capacities in the Texas/Louisiana racing industry, passed away in Houston on March 15. He had been hospitalized with pneumonia and died at the age of 64.

Born in Red Rock, Texas, Hickman was involved in many roles in the racing community, from training racehorses to serving in a variety of duties in the Sam Houston Race Park racing office for over 20 years. As stall superintendent, jockey room coordinator and most recently, stakes coordinator, Hickman had lasting relationships with horsemen in both Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing.

He also did an excellent job as jockey agent to rider Alfonso Lujan. One of the most successful Quarter Horse jockeys in the region for 11 years, Lujan won over 2,100 races prior to his retirement in 2018.

“Willie was a valued member of the Sam Houston racing office and was well-respected by our horsemen,” said James Leatherman, Racing Secretary. “We appreciate his many years of service and extend our deepest condolences to his family.”

Veteran horseman Lewis “Tooter” Jordan has known Hickman for six decades.

“I galloped horses for Willie's dad and have known him since he was a baby,” said Jordan. “Willie excelled in everything he did and worked very well with the horsemen. I remember that when he was the stall superintendent at Sam Houston, he walked the barn area every morning at 6:00 am, checking with each trainer to make sure they had what they needed. We will miss him a great deal.”

He is survived by his daughter, Cheyenne Hickman; brother, Jimbo Hickman; niece and nephew, Chelsea and Justin; aunt, Betty Davis; and numerous cousins and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, William Earl and Mattie Ruth Hickman; and his daughter, Savannah Hickman.

Services for Willie will be held on Monday, March 21, 2022, at 2 PM at Johnson and Robison Funeral Home. Burial will follow at Mimosa Pines Cemetery in Carlyss. The family will receive friends on Monday at the funeral home from 10 AM until the time of service.

The post Longtime Racing Office Employee Willie Hickman Passed Away On March 15 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital Installs Standing Pet Scanner

Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital announced March 16 the installation of an equine positron emission tomography scanner at the Lexington, Ky. hospital.

A PET scanner is used for diagnostic imaging in select lameness cases and can be used in standing, sedated horses. It does not require general anesthesia.

The scans produce quantitative, three-dimensional, cross-sectional images that can help accurately pinpoint the location and severity of a problem. Any area on the limb from the foot to the carpus (knee) and tarsus (hock) can be imaged.

Two different types of scans can be performed. One looks at areas of increased bone metabolism and is useful to identify subchondral bone disease, signs of impending fracture, suspensory ligament attachment disorders, and osteoarthritis. The other looks at the overall tissue metabolism and is useful in cases of soft tissue injury or laminitis.

Rood & Riddle is the fourth location for this standing PET scanner for horses globally and is the site of the first installation at a private practice.

“We are excited to introduce this new technology for our patients,” said Dr. Katherine Garrett, Rood & Riddle's director of imaging. “PET scans will increase our ability to detect bony injury in horses, which will hopefully lead to improved outcomes.”

Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Larry Bramlage said: “We started with radiographs alone, and they depended on celluloid and silver ions for an image. Then, digital radiographs moved us forward in the quality of what we could see. Nuclear scintigraphy was the next step because we could image physiology, not just anatomy. Then, the three-dimensional imaging with computed tomography (CAT) scans and magnetic resonance imaging further expanded our capabilities. We have now moved forward to another level with PET scanning, which combines the physiology of nuclear medicine and the three-dimensional capabilities of CAT and MRI into a three-dimensional image of bone physiology. It can also look at the three-dimensional activity of some soft tissues. PET adds significantly to our imaging and understanding of the true status of the equine athlete.”

In 2015 Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation funded the first-ever research project that performed PET scans on equine athletes and followed that up with additional research funding in 2019. Now this new cutting-edge research will assist vets coast to coast in identifying lameness problems that are hard to locate.

“Grayson has been a longtime supporter of research on the efficacy of PET scans in diagnosing injuries in horses, and we are pleased to see a PET scanner installed at one of the premier equine hospitals in the world,” said Jamie Haydon, president of Grayson. “We are proud to have contributed to the development of a technology that will help countless horses at Rood & Riddle for years to come.”

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Cyberknife To Represent Cox Barn in Arkansas Derby

Gold Square LLC's Cyberknife (Gun Runner) will make his next start in the $1.25-million GI Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park Apr. 2, trainer Brad Cox told the Oaklawn press office.

A $400,000 acquisition by owner Al Gold out of the 2020 Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearling Showcase, the chestnut is unbeaten in two starts going long outside of stakes competition, having graduated in his first route attempt at the Fair Grounds Dec. 26 before tacking on a three-length allowance victory at the New Orleans oval Feb. 19. In between those efforts, he was a well-beaten sixth in the Jan. 12 GIII Lecomte S. Cyberknife worked five furlongs in 1:00 flat at the Fair Grounds Mar. 12.

“He's probably going to continue to work down [at the Fair Grounds], but we've pretty much zeroed in on the Arkansas Derby,” Cox said. “He's a tough horse to deal with, he always has been. He's gotten better. He appears to be improving. I thought his last race was a step forward. Got a really good figure the last race. I think it's going to stack up and probably be one of the better ones in the Arkansas Derby and if he runs that race, I think he's a player.”

Cox's other main GI Kentucky Derby hope is 'TDN Rising Star' Zozos (Munnings), who is being pointed at the GII Louisiana Derby Mar. 26.

Nominations to the Arkansas Derby, which offers 170 points (100-40-20-10) on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, close this Friday, Mar. 18.

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