New Study From Unique Herd That Hasn’t Been Dewormed In 40 Years

The University of Kentucky maintains a unique herd of horses that hasn't been dewormed since 1979.

According to Dr. Martin Nielsen, parasitologist at the University of Kentucky Gluck Equine Research Center, while the horses have a lot of parasites, they are healthy.

He and his team recently published a study describing parasite infection patterns in these horses over the course of a calendar year. Some of the findings include:

  • Mare pregnancy, foaling and lactation did not affect parasite fecal egg counts
  • There were no differences in parasite egg shedding between seasons
  • Horses had antibodies to the bloodworm (Strongylus vulgaris) throughout the year and the parasite was steadily detected in fecal samples
  • Mares passed these antibodies onto their foals through the colostrum

“We learn so much from this unique herd of horses,” Nielsen said. “First and foremost, they remind us that parasitism is a natural state, and that worms only extremely rarely cause disease or ill-thrift.”

Nielsen said that several of the findings made in the study were surprising. Seasonality in parasite egg shedding had been reported in other countries, and many people had speculated that pregnancy and foaling could affect parasite transmission.

“This study demonstrates the importance of investigating these things properly, and this research herd offers excellent opportunities for doing so,” he said.

The full scientific paper can be found here.

Read more here.

Martin Nielsen, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVM, Schlaikjer professor of Equine Infectious Disease at the University of Kentucky Gluck Equine Research Center, provided this information.

The post New Study From Unique Herd That Hasn’t Been Dewormed In 40 Years appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Muad’dib, Star Of Night Tie For 2021 West Virginia Horse Of The Year Honors

Muad'dib and Star of Night finished in a dead heat for Horse of the Year honors during the West Virginia Thoroughbred Breeders Association's 2021 Annual Dinner and Awards Presentation, held March 6 at Charles Town Races.

Muad'dib a 5-year-old Fiber Sonde gelding, was unbeaten in six starts during her 2021 campaign, and he remains undefeated in nine career races, all at Charles Town.

He started his season with a trio of allowance victories, then he made his first foray into stakes competition for the Frank Gall Memorial Stakes, which he won by a head. Muad'dib then stretched out to 1 1/8 miles to win the West Virginia Breeders' Classic Stakes by 2 1/4 lengths. His season came to a close in the A Huevo Stakes, also at 1 1/8 miles, which he won by 1 3/4 lengths as an imposing favorite.

Muad'dib was bred in West Virginia by John McKee. He is trained by Jeff Runco for owner David Raim. The gelding was also named West Virginia's champion older male for 2021.

Star of Night, a 5-year-old daughter of Creative Cause, earned at least a share of West Virginia's Horse of the Year title for a second straight season, after winning the award outright in 2020. She also went unbeaten last year, winning all five her starts, all at Charles Town.

Following a pair of allowance scores to kick off her campaign, Star of Night rolled off three consecutive stakes victories, starting with a 1 1/4-length score in the seven-furlong Sadie Hawkins Stakes. She remained at that distance to win the West Virginia Cavada Breeders' Classic Stakes, then she proved her mettle at 1 1/8 miles when she drew off to win the My Sister Pearl Stakes by three lengths.

Bred in Heinz Steinmann, Star of Night is owned by Huntertown Farm, and she is also trained by Jeff Runco. She earned additional honors as West Virginia's champion older female.

Muad'dib's unbeaten run also influenced several of the evening's other awards.

His sire, Fiber Sonde, was named Stallion of the Year. Standing at Beau Ridge Farm, the son of Unbridled's Song saw his progeny tally 109 wins in 2021, with combined earnings of more than $2.7 million. Beyond Muad'dib's award-winning season, his runners were led by stakes winner Penguin Power, and 10 additional stakes-placed runners.

Holy Pow Wow, the dam of Muad'dib, was named West Virginia's Broodmare of the Year. The 14-year-old Indian Charlie mare is the dam of three winners from four foals to race, also including the multiple Grade 3 winner Late Night Pow Wow, also by Fiber Sonde.

Both Fiber Sonde and Holy Pow Wow are owned by John McKee, who was named the state's Breeder of the Year.

Following is a complete list of winners from the WVTBA Awards Presentation.

Champion 2-Year-Old Female: The Sky Is Falling
Cupid x Miss Henny Penny, by Half Ours
Breeder: Catherine Jennings & Scott Mallory
Owner: David Raim
Trainer: Jeff Runco
2nd: Fancy Her Up; 3rd: OK Smarty Pants

Champion 2-Year-Old Male: Run to Daylight
Runhappy x Daylight's Coming, by Stormy Atlantic
Breeder: James Miller
Owner: David Raim
Trainer: Jeff Runco
2nd: Jungle Beast; 3rd: Amidships

Champion 3-Year-Old Female: Door Buster
Speightster x Miss Henny Penny, by Half Ours
Breeder: Catherine Jennings & Scott Mallory
Owner: Jay Reese
Trainer: Ollie Figgins III
2nd: Moonlit Shadow; 3rd: Peppa Star

Champion 3-Year-Old Male: Social Chic
Upstart x Tres Chic, by Harlan's Holiday
Breeder: James Miller
Owner: Smart Angle, LLP
Trainer: Jeff Runco
2nd: Golden Key; 3rd: No Change

Champion Older Female: Star of Night
Creative Cause x Splendiferous Moon, by Malibu Moon
Breeder: Heinz Steinmann
Owner: Huntertown Farm
Trainer: Jeff Runco
2nd: Our Diamond Girl; 3rd: Privately

Champion Older Male: Muad'dib
Fiber Sonde x Holy Pow Wow, by Indian Charlie
Breeder: John McKee
Owner: David Raim
Trainer: Jeff Runco
2nd: Hypothesis; 3rd: Penguin Power

Champion Male Sprinter: Hypothesis
Algorithms x Ideal Thoughts, by Not For Love
Breeder: Francis Daniel III
Owner: Jill Daniel
Trainer: Crystal Pickett
2nd: Penguin Power; 3rd, Command the Cat

Champion Female Sprinter: Our Diamond Girl
Windsor Castle x Go For Diamonds
Breeder: Timothy & Judith Grams
Owner: Grams Racing Stable
Trainer: Timothy Grams
2nd: Privately; 3rd: Peppa Star

Horse of the Year (Tie): Muad'dib & Star of Night
Runner Up: Super Garner

Broodmare of the Year: Holy Pow Wow
Owner: John McKee
2nd: Miss Henny Penny; 3rd: Splendiferous Mood

Stallion of the Year: Fiber Sonde
Owner: John McKee
2nd: Windsor Castle; 3rd: Golden Years

Breeder of the Year: John McKee
2nd: Heinz Steinmann; 3rd: Francis Daniel III

Sam Huff Award: Carol Holden

The post Muad’dib, Star Of Night Tie For 2021 West Virginia Horse Of The Year Honors appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

MATCH Series Returns In 2022 With Additional Races At Parx, Penn National

The highly popular Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championships Series (MATCH), the only one of its kind in racing, returns for 2022 with additional partner racetracks, a $2.2 million stakes schedule that spans April 16 through Oct. 3 and more than $400,000 in bonus money for owners, trainers and breeders.

After a successful 2021 Series concentrated in Maryland and Virginia and designed to serve as a bridge to the future given the cancellation of MATCH in 2020 due to widespread COVID-19 restrictions and the suspension of live racing for several months, Parx Racing and Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course return to the lineup. They will join Laurel Park in Maryland and Colonial Downs in Virginia for 2022.

Turf racing also returns to the schedule this year. The four divisions are 3-Year-Olds and Up Sprint—Dirt; Filly and Mare Sprint—Dirt; 3-Year-Olds and Up Long—Turf; and Filly and Mare Long—Turf. There will be five stakes in each division for a total of 20.

The 2022 schedule, which includes multiple events on weekdays, is as follows: Saturday, April 16, and Saturday, April 23, at Laurel; Tuesday, June 14, at Parx; Friday, June 17, at Penn National; Saturday, July 16, at Laurel; Tuesday, Aug. 16, at Colonial; and the championship day, Monday, Oct. 3, at Parx.

The bonus money distribution for 2022 offers up to $92,500 per division and $30,000 for the overall champion by points. For each division, first place pays $30,000 to the owner and $15,000 to the trainer; for second, $20,000/$10,000; and for third, $10,000/$7,500. For the overall champion, the owner receives an additional $20,000 and the trainer $10,000.

The Maryland Horse Breeders Association, Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association and Virginia Thoroughbred Association have each agreed to offer $5,000 bonuses to the breeders of the top male and female Maryland-bred, Pennsylvania-bred and Virginia-bred points-earners in the overall standings for a potential total of $30,000.

The 2022 participating organizations are the Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, Pennsylvania THA, Pennsylvania Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, Parx Racing, Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course, Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association, 1/ST Racing, Maryland THA, Laurel Park, Maryland Horse Breeders Association, Colonial Downs, Virginia HBPA and Virginia Thoroughbred Association.

The post MATCH Series Returns In 2022 With Additional Races At Parx, Penn National appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Thoughts from Ocala Part 3: Finding Value in Freshman Sires

   Justify, City of Light, Mendelssohn, Good Magic and Bolt d'Oro all received glowing reviews by various consignors in parts one and two of our 'Thoughts from Ocala' series. Logically enough, this select group of freshman sires holds the top five stud fees amongst their stallion crop in the U.S., each standing for $20,000 or more in 2022.

While 'value' and 'freshman sires' are two terms rarely used in the same sentence in this industry, as buyers can surely attest, we asked consignors to point out a few first-crop sires who might be flying under the radar now, but could very well be making headlines when their 2-year-olds take to the sales ring and the racetrack. The responses we received were all across the board, but each of the freshman sires noted stand for under $15,000 this year and could eventually wind up creating valuable opportunities for breeders and buyers alike.

 

CIARAN DUNNE: Wavertree Stables

Our sleeper horse is probably Always Dreaming. We only have two, but if they're reflective of what the rest of them are, I would think that he's a horse with a big future.  They've got a beautiful way of going and they act like horses that will stay all day long. We have a colt out of Silent Candy (Candy Ride {Arg}) who goes to OBS March [Hip 121]. He's a half-brother to Epicenter (Not This Time), who wants to go long, so we have high hopes for him.

Mor Spirit is obviously a horse that we're a little bit biased on having had him as a yearling and selling him as a 2-year-old, but the colt out of Follow My Tail (Indian Charlie) was probably one of his more expensive yearlings [$160,000 at FTJuly] and he has trained accordingly. He's going to OBS March [Hip 437] and I think everybody will know who Mor Spirit is when he's done.

Another stallion who maybe is a little under the radar is Good Samaritan. Again, we have a very small sampling. We only have one, but she is just a wonderfully-athletic filly. She came to us late, but she's done everything right and she's going to the March Sale [Hip 404] because she pointed herself there rather than us deciding it for her. We're quite excited about her. I think she'll be a neat filly down the road.

JIMBO GLADWELL: Top Line Sales

We have a Tapwrit filly that has really shown a lot of speed early and should be a nice filly over at OBS March [Hip 309]. She has looked like she would go 10 flat from the day we bought her. All we've done is maintained that and kept her going in the right direction. She's good-minded and a really good-moving filly with a lot of balance and muscle. We're very happy with the way she's broken out. Tapwrit was a sire that kind of flew under the radar for us, but she's really gone the right way and is going to be really fast at the sale.

We also have a really nice U.S. Navy Flag filly that came over from Europe. She's doing really well and we're very happy with her. She handles the training and has had no issues with anything we've thrown at her. I think she's going to really throw a big work over at OBS March [Hip 368] and we're very happy with the way she's coming along.

NIALL BRENNAN:

Obviously there are a lot of nice freshman sires this year, but there are a few I don't have any by so it's hard to comment.

However a stallion that I feel like could be very much under the radar is Cloud Computing. I've got two lovely fillies by him that are big, strong, scope-y, classy fillies. They're beautiful movers on the racetrack. They're very light on their feet, very athletic and they act like they've got speed.

One is out of a Malibu Moon mare and the other one is out of a Rock Hard Ten mare. They're both bred to run all day, but they sure look like they'll get over the ground pretty quick to me. I'm impressed with them. Just because of those two fillies, I'm going to pick him as an under-the-radar stallion.

NICK DE MERIC:

Bucchero is as a local stallion in Florida. He's a son of Kantharos, who is a sire that we've had great luck with over the years and we are particularly fond of. We've sold some good Kantharos 2-year-olds over the years. Bucchero seems to be getting nice individuals. We've seen a lot of them at local yearling sales. They seem to be precocious, athletic and quick, and we have a Bucchero filly going to the OBS March Sale [Hip 473] who would fit that description on all accounts.

SUSAN MONTANYE: SBM Training and Sales

I have an Always Dreaming colt that actually is the half-brother to We the People (Constitution), who just broke his maiden for Rudolphe Brisset. This colt is potentially targeting the OBS April Sale. I might even wait until Maryland, depending on what the brother does. He's a big, two-turn, cool horse. I think Always Dreaming might be a little bit under the radar. I know there are other people who have some and they think that they're a little on the early side as well.

I have an Army Mule colt going to the OBS March Sale [Hip 3]. He's more of a two-turn horse. He's a big, pretty colt and has been straightforward. I have another Army Mule filly going to OBS March [Hip 298] as well, and she is going to be hopefully really fast. She's more of a sprinter type. Fingers crossed, she should work lights out and I think Army Mule should be well received. I don't know that the Army Mules are stamped as only sprinters or only two-turn horses. I think he could kind of get you both.

The post Thoughts from Ocala Part 3: Finding Value in Freshman Sires appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights