October, 2022 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Contamination Case: Harness Trainer Won’t Have To Serve Two-Year Suspension For Ractopamine

The United States Trotting Association has opted not to issue a two-year suspension to trainer Byron Hooley over a pair of positives for ractopamine, according to it's weekly Fines and Suspensions Bulletin, because the positives were proven to be a result of feed contamination.

Ractopamine is a feed additive for cattle and swine designed to create lean muscle. When used in horses, it reportedly acts similarly to anabolic steroids in building muscle mass. The standard penalty for a ractopamine positive, a Drug Class C, Penalty Class A violation, is a minimum one (1) year suspension, a fine of $5,000, and six (6) Multiple Medical Violation (MMV) points absent mitigating circumstances, in addition to a loss of purse.

Hooley's trainees Stella Rose and Coaches Corner each tested positive for the drug after racing at Hoosier Park in Fort Wayne, Ind., on Aug. 17 and Aug. 25, respectively.

Hooley presented proof from his feed company that the contamination was a result of a batch of feed for cattle which was mixed just prior to his own. That cattle feed contained Optaflex (Ractopamine hydrochloride). The feed company confirmed that Hooley's feed mixture has never had ractopamine added to it.

USTA judges found Hooley not culpable for the contamination, and ordered that his two trainees only be penalized by loss of purse. Stella Rose, winner of the seventh race on Aug. 17, forfeited $33,000, while Coaches Corner, winner of the eighth race on Aug. 25, forfeits $3,750.

Read more at the USTA's Fines and Suspensions Bulletin.

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Pletcher Stable Graduates Excel On List Of Leading North American Sires

Which trainers produce the most successful stallions? The logical answer is that it's the trainers who have the most successful racehorses. the classic and Grade 1 winners with good pedigrees who are sought by stud farm owners.

But not all Grade 1 winners are created equally and success on the racetrack does not guarantee similar results in the breeding shed.

Over the last 25 years, six trainers have led the year-end earnings list in North America: Todd Pletcher, 10 times; Chad Brown, 4; Steve Asmussen, Bob Baffert, and the late Robert Frankel, 3 each; Brad Cox, 1. Brown holds a narrow advantage over Asmussen and Pletcher in 2022, with a lot of money still to be earned in the final 10 weeks of the racing year.

Of those six trainers, Baffert is the leader by Grade 1 wins, with 235 since his first G1 victory in 1991. Pletcher has won 183 G1 since 1998; Frankel 171 since 1979; Brown 133 since 2011; Asmussen 76 since 1999; and Cox 33 since 2018.

Not on the list of year-end money leaders since 1998 but worth mentioning are three horsemen with more than 100 Grade 1 wins each: D. Wayne Lukas (leading money winner in 14 of 15 years from 1983-'97) with 220 G1 wins; William Mott, 135 G1; and Shug McGaughey, 130 G1.

With those accomplishments as prologue, let's look at which trainers have produced the most successful sires with current runners.

To compile a list of the most successful sires, I used three sire lists from Bloodhorse.com. Included are the top 50 sires by Average-Earnings Index, the top 50 sires on the current-year earnings list, and the top 10 from the list of leading sires of 2-year-olds of 2022.

After duplicates were removed, the list comprises 79 sires that stand or stood in North America and have current-year runners.

Twelve of those 79 stallions (15 percent) were trained by Pletcher, the all-time leading money-winning trainer whose clients supply him annually with a steady stream of elite homebreds and high-priced auction graduates. It's 14 if you include Quality Road and Keen Ice, who began their careers and won major stakes for James Jerkens and Dale Romans, respectively, before joining the Pletcher stable.

Ten of those 14 are in the top 50 leading sires by 2022 earnings, including Quality Road (2), Uncle Mo (5), Munnings (7), Speightstown (9), Constitution (11), and Violence (20).

By 2022 stud fees, eight of the Pletcher 14 (including Quality Road) stood for $25,000 or higher, led by Uncle Mo ($160,000). The others are Quality Road ($150,000), Speightstown ($90,000), Constitution ($85,000), Munnings ($85,000), Liam's Map ($40,000), Daredevil ($25,000) and Violence ($25,000).

Baffert, who also has deep-pocketed clients with their sights set on classic races, is next with 10 of the 79 sires in our hybrid list of leading stallions, including current freshman sire leader Justify and the late Arrogate, second behind the sensational Gun Runner on the second-crop list.

Of the Baffert 10, five are among the top 50 leading sires by 2022 earnings: American Pharoah (12), Pioneerof the Nile (13), Midshipman (22), Arrogate (38) and The Factor (41).

Baffert graduates Justify ($100,000) and American Pharoah ($80,000) stand for stud fees of $25,000 or higher.

Asmussen is next with five on our hybrid list of 79 leading sires, all five of them in the top 50 by 2022 earnings.

The leader of that group is Curlin, ranked fourth by 2022 earnings and who stood for $175,000. Gun Runner, with just two crops to race, is No. 6, standing for a private fee; Maclean's Music, No. 17, stood for $50,000. Kantharos ($20,000 stud fee) is 26th and Tapiture ($10,000), 29th.

Note that Curlin began his career for Helen Pitts and was purchased and transferred to Asmussen before his second start.

Nine other trainers each have two horses on our hybrid list of 79 leading sires: Chad Brown, Robert Frankel, D. Wayne Lukas, Richard Mandella, William Mott, Aidan O'Brien, Doug O'Neill, Dale Romans (three if Keen Ice is included), and Al Stall Jr.

Brown is relatively new to having former runners standing at stud. His two entries on the hybrid list of 79 leading sires, Good Magic and Practical Joke (with one and two crops to race, respectively), made our list by virtue of being top 10 sires of 2-year-old runners in 2022. Unlike Pletcher and Baffert, Brown's program has tilted more toward fillies and turf racing but seems to be evolving.

Brad Cox is an even later arrival to the supply chain for stallion farms, having not won his first Grade 1 race until 2018. It will be several years before we have any indication of how well his former runners perform at stud.

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The Casino Blackjack

In casinos there are lots of games for players and out of them many are tough where as others are easier as compared to others. Blackjack is such a game which is very easy to play and a new player can play with ease when he gets acquainted with the rules and the regulations. The objective of the blackjack is very simple and the player has to simply get the required 21 points or instead get closer to it to maximize the chances of winning a hand. However, to play the blackjack in the casinos you have to first understand the rules of the game.

The player must know how to get that magic figure of 21 or at least get nearer to it. For this one has to first understand about the cards and their values in the game. The number cards that are sued in the blackjack that means from two to ten are counted as per the value printed on them, the face cards K, Q and J are worth ten points where as the Ace has two separate values one or eleven. The blackjack players have to deal with the two cards at the start of the game. So in order to make 21 points you just need an ace and the face card or ten. This way the player gets the much needed 21 points which is also known as blackjack.

The rules regarding the blackjack in the casinos are almost similar in most of the casino. When the player gets his two cards he has four options to deal with and he has to select one from them. Those options are hit, stand, double down, split or sometimes surrender. When the player hits it means he wants another card in the quest of making 21 points or closer where as stand means to keep what the player has already. The double down option means the player has to double his bets in exchange of another card. When the player has two similar cards he can split in order to play each card differently. When the player surrender it means that he withdraws the hand and receives half of the bet back.

While playing blackjack at casinos the player has to ensure which table he wants to select. In casino there are blackjack tables that are color coded and the minimum bet may varies from 3 to 100 dollars. You have to careful while playing blackjack at the casinos; you have to play with a minimum amount and remain stick to that to avoid losing more money.

‘He’s An Underdog’: Thoroughbred Phelps Finishes Third In Morven Park International CCI4*-L

Mia Farley rounded out the top three in last weekend's in the Morven Park International CCI4*-L on David O'Connor's 9-year-old off-track Thoroughbred gelding Phelps, jumping a double-clear round Sunday to finish on their dressage score of 34.4.

According to Eventing Nation, Phelps came to Farley somewhat by accident, after Joanie Morris tipped O'Connor that she had a line on a nice Thoroughbred that needed a new job.

“We basically got him from Kentucky for a dollar,” Farley told EN. “And he's just been that kind of horse that keeps stepping up the levels.”

After jumping double clear in both cross country and stadium last weekend Farley was extremely pleased with the progress of the horse she's been partnered with since he was a 5-year-old.

“He actually looked great this morning [after] yesterday with all the terrain,” said Farley of Phelps. “Show jumping's not his strong suit. So I just felt like I was putting a lot of pressure on myself for him to jump clean for his team. But he was wonderful. He answered every question. He's [usually] quite weak through triples. He can't really hold his body in the last element. But I just gave, and he used his body and jumped clean.”

“It's such an honor [to finish in the top three here],” Farley continued. “I've always loved Morven. Coming from the west, it's actually always been a show that I kept an eye on. So finishing third here behind Will (Coleman, runner-up aboard Chin Tonic HS) and Tamie (Smith, winner aboard Solaguayre California) just feels amazing.”

For the immediate future, Farley is also looking at giving her horses some rest time.

“We're giving the horses probably eight weeks off,” she said. “And then we'll bring them back and shoot for another long in the spring, and then look at what we can do in the fall with Phelps.”

Reflecting on her training program with owner David O'Connor, Farley shared: “We have our system with Phelps, and I think all the things are slowly coming together. I couldn't have done it without [David]. Phelps has been a little bit hard for me, but he's so great. He's an underdog. I feel like I've been along for the ride and he's proved us all wrong.”

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