Month: April 2023

MJC Cancels Laurel Park’s Saturday Card To Evaluate Racing Surfaces

The Maryland Jockey Club canceled Saturday's live program at Laurel Park out of an abundance of caution to do a full evaluation of the racing surfaces.

Live racing was not scheduled on Easter Sunday. Live racing will resume with an eight-race program Thursday, April 13, including the first race of the 2023 turf season.

In 2021, a four-month, multi-million-dollar reconstruction of Laurel Park's dirt surface included the replacement of the cushion, base, and substructure. The Maryland Jockey Club also enhanced the turf course irrigation infrastructure for more consistent water application and improved the turf drainage with an aggressive deep-tine aeration program.

Last September, MJC track maintenance crew added some clay to portions of the track's dirt surface—mainly from the half-mile pole to the eighth pole to make the composition consistent with the rest of the surface heading into the cold-weather months.

Laurel Park remains open Saturday for full card simulcasting.

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Clean It Up: Hay Refusal May Have Multiple Causes

Quality forage is the cornerstone of a healthy equine diet; horses that refuse to eat their hay can be more than simply frustrating for farm management, they may be lacking in key nutrients needed to maintain their health. 

Dr. Anna Pesta Dunaway tells The Horse why a horse might not be eating all of its hay. 

Possibility 1: The horse may not like the type or quality of hay being fed. Older horses may have trouble eating more mature, stemmy hay and picky eaters may choose to leave this hay behind. To rectify this problem, source softer, less-mature hay that is easier to ingest. Second cutting of orchard grass is a good option, Dunaway said. 

Possibility 2: A senior horse may have trouble chewing and digesting any type of hay – even the very soft variety. Even if he can chew, his hindgut may have trouble extracting calories from the hay. If the horse can't maintain body condition a forage replacement may be necessary. The most digestible option is a complete senior feed, which has forage built in and can partially or totally replace hay (or pasture). 

Possibility 3: Determine if hay quality is really the issue. Horses that don't feel well, like those that have gastric ulcers, for example, may be reluctant to clean up the hay. This can create a cycle where he doesn't finish the hay because his stomach hurts, but his stomach hurts because he isn't ingesting hay and receiving the buffering effect from saliva and hay. 

Read more at The Horse.

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Santa Anita: Mandatory Payout In Pick 6 Jackpot On Santa Anita Derby Program

There will be a mandatory payout in Santa Anita's 20 cent Rainbow Pick 6 Jackpot, with the likelihood of a $3 million-plus pool on Runhappy Santa Anita Derby Day on Saturday.  With 59 horses entered and eligible to run in the Rainbow 6 sequence which covers races seven through 12, players can look forward to average field size of roughly 10 runners per race.

Saturday's Rainbow 6 party was nearly ruined, however, as there was one “live” horse in the Friday's ninth and final race.  Number 12, Club Cal, finished second, beaten 1 ¾ lengths at 43-1.

The 86th running of the Grade 1, $750,000 Runhappy Santa Anita Derby, to be contested at 1 1/8 miles, has produced the winners of 20 Kentucky Derbies, dating back to longshot Gallahadion in 1940.

In addition to the Runhappy Santa Anita Derby, five other stakes, the Grade 2, $400,000 Santa Anita Oaks, the Grade 2, $200,000 Charles Whittingham, the Grade 3, $200,000 Monrovia, the $150,000 Echo Eddie and the $150,000 Evening Jewel will serve to highlight an incredible day of racing.

First post time for a 12-race card on Derby Day is set for 12 noon PT.  With the Rainbow 6 comprised of the final six races on the program, leg one will be Saturday's seventh race, the Echo Eddie, which has an approximate post time of 3:20 p.m. PT.

The Runhappy Santa Anita Derby, which will be broadcast live on NBC, will be carded as Saturday's sixth race, with Derby post time set for 2:43 p.m. PT.

Admission gates will open on Derby Day at 10 a.m.  For additional information, please visit santaanita.com or call (626) 574-RACE.

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