March, 2023 | Horse Racing Free Tips

OBS 2023 Spring 2-Year-Old Sale Catalog Now Online

The catalog for the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's 2023 Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training is now available via the OBS website at obssales.com.

A total of 1,221 juveniles have been cataloged for the four-day sale, now set for Tuesday through Friday, April 25 – April 28. All sessions will begin at 10:30 a.m.

– Hip No 1 – 306 will sell Tuesday, April 25.

– Hip No. 307 – 612 will be sold Wednesday, April 26.

– Hip No. 613 – 918 will sell Thursday, April 27.

– Hip No. 919 – 1222 will be sold Friday, April 28.

The Under Tack Show will be divided into seven sessions, set for Sunday through Saturday, April 16 – April 22, all beginning at 8 a.m.

– Sunday, April 16: Hip No. 1 – 175

– Monday, April 17: Hip No. 176 – 350

– Tuesday, April 18: Hip No. 351 – 525

– Wednesday, April 19: Hip No. 526 – 700

– Thursday, April 20: Hip No. 701 – 875

– Friday, April 21: Hip No. 876 – 1050

– Saturday, April 22: Hip No. 1051 – 1222

The catalog's front cover is graced by photos of OBS Spring Sale graduates, winners of major graded stakes from coast to coast and overseas.

Commonwealth Thoroughbreds, LLC, Winstar Farm LLC and Zedan Racing Stables, Inc.'s Country Grammer, a four-time graded stakes winner, with victories in the Dubai World Cup and Grade 1 Hollywood Gold Cup. He was also second in the recent Saudi Cup. The 6-year-old son of Tonalist was purchased for $450,000 by Bradley Thoroughbreds LLC, Agent, out of the Wavertree Stables consignment at the 2019 OBS Spring Sale after turning in an Under Tack quarter in :21 flat. Trained by Bob Baffert, he has compiled a 16-5-6-1 career record and earned $14,897,320.

HRH Prince Saud Bin Salman Abdulaziz's Emblem Road, who captured the 2022 Saudi Cup and third in the 2023 Saudi Cup. Consigned to the 2020 OBS Spring Sale by Wavertree Stables, Inc. (Ciaran Dunne), Agent, and purchased for $80,000 by Bruno DeBerdt, Agent, after breezing a quarter in :21 3/5 at the Under Tack Show. The 5-year-old son of Quality Road, trained by Ahmad Abdulwahid, is now 13-8-1-2 and has earned $12,021,492.

Gerard Augustin-Normand's Onesto (IRE), later exported to France, was consigned to the 2021 OBS Spring Sale by Wavertree Stables, Inc. (Ciaran Dunne), Agent, and sold to Hubert Guy Bloodstock for $535,000 after breezing an Under Tack eighth in :10 flat. At three, he captured the G1 Grand Prix de Paris at Longchamp. It was the second graded stakes win for the now 4-year-old colt by Frankel (GB), trained by Fabrice Chappet. To date, he's now 9-3-1-0 with earnings of $660,260.

LNJ Foxwoods' OBS April Sale graduate Lighthouse was purchased for $375,000 out of the Randy Miles consignment by Solis/Litt after she breezed an Under Tack eighth in :10 flat. The daughter of Mizzen Mast was a graded stakes placed stakes winner in the U.S. and a five-time stakes winner in Australia. She ended her racing career with a 19-8-5-1 record and earned 1,003,342.

Robert E. and Lawana L. Low's Colonel Liam, was a three-time grade one stakes winner, including consecutive renewals of Gulfstream's Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes. The son of Liam's Map, trained by Todd Pletcher, retired to stud with four graded stakes wins, a 12-7-0-1 career record and $1,812,565 in earnings. At the 2019 OBS April Sale, he turned in an Under Tack quarter in :20 4/5 and was purchased for $1,200,000 out of the Wavertree Stables consignment.

OBS will again offer Online Bidding during the Spring Sale. Buyers will be able to go to the OBS website and register to gain bidding approval, then access the OBS Bidding Screen with their credentials. For complete information on registration and online bidding please go to the OBS website: obs-online-bidding

The online catalog's main page contains a link to a sortable master index providing searchable pedigree and consignor information as well as access to pedigree updates occurring since the catalog was printed. Under Tack videos, walking videos and conformation photos are also available.

The post OBS 2023 Spring 2-Year-Old Sale Catalog Now Online appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Commentary: The National HBPA’s Shameful Hypocrisy

All I hear these days from the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA) is how bad the federal Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) is for Thoroughbred horse racing. The National HBPA says there is no need for uniform track safety and no need for nationwide medication rules.

Is the National HBPA living on Mars?

The National HBPA sanctimoniously proclaims it doesn't want Washington meddling in our business. It claims that HISA is unconstitutional and that the government cannot give a private organization control over the affairs of other private entities. And the National HBPA is spending no-telling how much money in court seeking to prove its point and destroy nationwide anti-doping and safety standards.

So, what is going on here? Why is this group, which falsely presents itself as somehow representing all horsemen, outrageously asserting that track safety and doping don't need a national solution?

This raises troubling questions. What really is the National HBPA? Who runs it? Why in the world would it go to such extremes to sabotage better controls on safety and drugs?

Have the leaders of the National HBPA suddenly (and conveniently) developed memory loss? Don't they remember the media firestorm over horse fatalities at Santa Anita that threatened to shut down California racing?

Have they forgotten the federal indictments and convictions of Jason Servis, Jorge Navarro, and 25 others for years of illicit drug doping right under the noses of state regulators?

All this made me wonder where the National HBPA gets its money and power. So, I did a little research. Here is what I learned.

The National HBPA is an umbrella organization that is funded by state HBPAs. Now here's the interesting part: State HBPAs get their money, and their clout as a result of federal legislation passed 45 years ago – the Interstate Horseracing Act of 1978. This law allowed horse racing to engage in nationwide betting via telephonic and electronic means, something that was not allowed for any other sport.

However, interstate wagering can't happen unless a racetrack gets the approval of the horsemen's group representing the majority of horsemen there. It is known as the “horsemen's veto” and must be incorporated into a catch-all agreement “regarding the conduct of horse racing” at the track. If you think that takes in a lot of territory, you're right. It gives the state HBPAs enormous leverage.

We all know that approximately 90% of Thoroughbred racing's handle comes from off-track wagering. Holding the key that unlocks this giant revenue stream is a big deal. The key holders, HBPAs, wield their veto right to control all aspects of racing.

The local HBPAs heavily influence how much of all track revenue streams (on-track, off-track, sponsorships – not just what the veto applies to) go into purses; how all this money is handled; details regarding stalls and other track facilities; vendor relationships; backside expenditures, even details concerning non-racing events at the track.

Moreover, these agreements require the track to pay money directly to the HBPAs for unspecified “services to horsemen.” And, as we know, these amounts are not small.

Some of the concessions horsemen's groups get from tracks under the threat of exercising the veto are beneficial. But what gets under my skin is the two-faced nature of the National HBPA and some state HBPAs – all private organizations given power by federal law to control a wide range of important issues in horse racing, including the allocation of racing's entire revenue stream – and then gets paid handsomely for doing it!

Even worse, the National HBPA and the state HBPAs answer to no one.

All the while, this unregulated, private group, authorized by federal law, beats its chest and protests that the federal government has no business empowering another private group – HISA, which does answer to a higher authority, the Federal Trade Commission – to oversee just two aspects of racing: clean competition and safety.

Apparently, the “H” in HBPA really stands for “hypocrite.”

Anthony Manganaro is CEO of Siena Farm LLC in Paris, Ky.

The post Commentary: The National HBPA’s Shameful Hypocrisy appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Study: Additional Care Needed To Lessen Risk Of Eye Injury Under General Anesthesia

A new study has shown that eye injuries could be somewhat common in horses that undergo general anesthesia, reports EQUUS magazine.

Scientists at the University of Liverpool in England examined the eyes of 40 horses that were about to undergo elective surgery that was not related to their eyes. Their eyes were stained with fluorescein dye to determine whether any of the horses had pre-existing corneal abrasions. None were found.

The horses then went under anesthesia. Ophthalmic ointment was applied to the eyes, a standard procedure to protect the cornea.

The eyes of each horse were examined again 24 hours after surgery. The researchers found that 17.6 percent of the horses had sustained minor corneal abrasions during surgery. The team investigated multiple potential risk factors for the abrasions, including the horse's weight and age, and duration of anesthesia and length of recovery.

The only factor that seemed to increase the risk of eye injury was recumbency on the operating table. The team is unsure why this is a factor in eye abrasions. It could be from how the horse is placed on the table, how the horse's head is repositioned while on the table or physical monitoring of the blink reflex during surgery.

None of the study horses showed any outward signs of eye injury and each abrasion healed within 24 hours of treatment with an antibiotic ointment.

The scientists note that their findings aren't significant enough to suggest that every horse be checked for eye trauma after undergoing a surgery that required they be recumbent. They do suggest that the findings are enough to warrant additional care be taken to lessen the potential for eye injury in horses undergoing surgery.

Learn to Bet on Horse Racing: How to Play the Two-Headed Monster Odds Board

To recap, if the problem for new fans to racing is not knowing how to win and have fun, one solution is understanding the Odds Board. The plan is to first learn to bet, then learn to handicap. The Odds Board is the starting point. Thoroughbred racing is a game of opinion, and the parimutuel Odds Board presents that opinion. We began this series discussing the “Monster Board,” the one-horse race, the “kiss” horse, the heavily bet favorite so loved by the crowd they could kiss it.