Month: December 2022

Turfway, Hawthorne Cancel Friday Programs Due To Freezing Temperatures

Officials from Turfway Park have announced they will cancel its Friday night program Dec. 23 due to freezing temperatures and a forecasted wind chill as low as 25 below zero.

Hawthorne race course in suburban Chicago has also said it is cancelling Friday's card due to extreme weather. Hawthorne races originally carded for Friday will be added as extras for the final weekend of racing Dec. 30-31, when the track plans to offer 11-race cards.

The National Weather Service forecast for Friday in Florence, Ky., where Turfway is located, calls for a 20 percent chance of snow showers and a high of 6 degrees. The breezy conditions could lead to wind chills ranging from 10-25 below zero.

Turfway Park is scheduled to resume racing Wednesday with a first post of 5:55 p.m. (all times Eastern) The Holiday Meet is scheduled to run through Saturday, Dec. 31 and the Winter/Spring Meet will begin with a special New Year's Day card on Sunday, Jan. 1.

Director of Racing Tyler Picklesimer will add, and re-draw, the races from Friday's card to racing next week.

For more information about racing from Turfway Park, visit www.TurfwayPark.com.

In other news, Turfway Park has been approved by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission to begin offering a 50-cent Late Pick 5 wager starting Wednesday, Dec. 28.

Turfway currently offers bettors an early Pick 5 wager in Races 1-5 at a low 15 percent takeout. The Late Pick 5 wager will have the same 15 percent takeout and will span the final five races each day.

Any carryover from the Early or Late Pick 5 will be added to the next day's Late Pick 5 pool.

Turfway will conclude its Holiday Meet Saturday, Dec. 31 and have a mandatory payout in all wagers.

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Judge Sets Jan. 18 Hearing On Baffert Motion For Injunction Against Churchill Downs Ban

Federal Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings  has ordered a Jan. 18, 2023, hearing to consider a motion by Bob Baffert for a preliminary injunction to end the ban against the Hall of Fame trainer imposed by Churchill Downs that runs through the 2023 spring-summer meet.

Churchill Downs Inc. CEO Bill Carstanjen banned Baffert for over two years from all of the company's properties in May 2021, citing private property rights. The ban also prevents Baffert-trained horses from earning qualifying points for the Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby.

The action came after Baffert-trained Medina Spirit tested positive for betamethasone after finishing first in the 2021 Kentucky Derby. It was the second betamethasone positive for a Baffert runner in a major Churchill Downs race, following Gamine's failed drug test after a third-place finish as the odds-on favorite in the Kentucky Oaks in 2020. Baffert runners failed three other drug tests outside of Kentucky in 2020, including Charlatan in the G1 Arkansas Derby.

Medina Spirit was subsequently disqualified from his Derby win and Baffert was handed a 90-day suspension by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission that he served earlier this year. Amr Zedan, the owner of Medina Spirit, has appealed the disqualification. Medina Spirit died following a workout in December 2021.

The complaint, filed in February 2022 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, is against Churchill Downs Inc., its CEO William Carstanjen, and CDI chairman Alex Rankin. A motion for injunctive relief came soon thereafter. A second motion for a preliminary injunction was filed Dec. 15, and on Tuesday the judge in the case ordered the Jan. 18 hearing at 1 p.m. at the Gene Snyder Courthouse in Louisville, Ky. Defendants have until Jan. 3 to respond to the renewed motion for a preliminary injunction.

“Bob was not afforded a simple conversation before Carstanjen announced a penalthy and lengthy suspension,” said Clark Brewster, attorney for Baffert. “It was unprecedented and from his announcement it was clear he had no basic knowledge of the KHRC rules or the facts which led to the report 21 picogram Beta report.”

 

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Hay Vs. Grass: Diet Can Affect Drug Absorption In Horses

Researchers from the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Poland, were curious as to why horses in their region had small strongyles that were showing resistance to ivermectin. The scientists tested the ivermectin absorption rate at different times of year. 

The first phase of the study took place in May; nine warmbloods were given a standard dose of ivermectin and had their blood drawn at regular intervals to determine medication levels. Fecal samples to test efficacy were also taken before and at regular intervals after deworming. 

The same protocol was repeated with the same horses in November. 

The research team found that ivermectin absorption varied by season. The drug was found in the horse's blood in significantly higher concentrations in the spring, four hours after administration, than it was in the fall. However, the effect was temporary; maximum ivermectin levels were found within 36 hours after administration in both spring and fall. 

The scientists suspect that this variability in absorption is related to diet, rather than time of year. In the winter, the study horses consumed hay instead of grass. Hay has more crude fiber that can absorb the ivermectin until it is broken down further in the horse's digestive tract. They noted that the slower absorption does not affect the drug's efficacy and there was complete elimination of parasite eggs in both groups within four days. 

The researchers note that diet may affect the absorption of other drugs and medications administered to horses. 

Read more at EQUUS magazine. 

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