Bookies fear the Frankie Dettori factor at Royal Ascot, says Inspiral trainer John Gosden
Trainer John Gosden is happy with the form of Inspiral as she tries to give Frankie Dettori a flying start in the opening Queen Anne Stakes on Tuesday.
Month: June 2023
Fort Erie Sees Total Wagering Up 189 Percent On Father’s Day Card
A boom in attendance helped launch the Fort Erie Race Track to enormous wagering numbers for its first Sunday card of the season on Father's Day. Before the action could begin, the track had to deal with a curve ball in the form of Gareth, a rescue dog who had been recently rehomed by one of the families living near the track property, but had escaped days earlier and was found running around the oval just as the first horses hit the dirt. With the help of a few strips of bacon, track staff worked quickly to wrangle the pup and reunite him with the owners.
With the dog chase out of the way, the horses again took centre stage and ran the track to a massive $1.4 million in total wagering for the day, which is up 189 percent compared to last year's Father's Day card. A major driver was the 79 percent increase in on-track wagering, where crowds at the track also helped push food and beverage to a 37 percent increase in sales over last year.
“Father's Day has historically been one of the biggest days of our entire meet, and Sunday was no exception,” said James Culic, the track's communications manager. “Heading to the races in Fort Erie with your old man has long been a tradition in Niagara, and we saw plenty of multi-generational families enjoying the beautiful weather, the fast horses, and other things like our vendor market.”
While the action on the oval was fast and ran like a well-oiled machine, track management are aware that everything didn't go perfectly all day in some places.
“Yes, the lines for beer or a hot dog were very long,” said Culic, who explained that once the track reaches around 10,000 in attendance, as it did on Father's Day, it's right at the upper limit of what the track can handle in terms of food and beverage staffing. “Every bar and food stand that we have was open, and every bit of staff we had was working hard to keep the lines moving as quick as manageable. We also brought in numerous food trucks to help with the lines but the trucks too were overwhelmed by the size of the crowd.”
Every other race day of the season, patrons can quickly and easily grab a drink or some food with minimal waiting, but Father's Day always presents a unique challenge due to the large crowd.
Long longs aside, attendance remained strong throughout the entire eight-race card, and the crowds were filled with a mix of people who have been going to Father's Day at the Fort Erie Race Track with their dads as a family tradition for decades, and many new faces who were making their very first trip the historic border oval with their pops.
Fort Erie Race Track also debuted two new $30,000 stakes races this year for Father's Day. The Longrun Thoroughbred Retirement Stakes, and the Longrun After Care Stakes are both named in honour of Longrun, an organization which finds new homes for retired race horses. The track will keep the momentum going with a trio of upcoming events, including a free concert with The Trip on June 27, a family day event on the Canada Day long weekend on July 3, and the ever-popular Wiener Dog Race day on July 16.
For a full schedule of this season's event, visit www.forterieracing.com
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‘Time For New Blood’: Maryland Racing Commission Chairman Michael Algeo Steps Down
Michael Algeo, chairman of the Maryland Racing Commission, announced Saturday that he had resigned from that position on June 14, 2023, according to The Racing Biz. Algeo, a retired circuit court judge, had served since 2016, appointed by then-Governor Larry Hogan as an industry outsider to serve as an impartial party.
“I believe that the role of the Maryland Racing Commission has been diminished significantly, and has been emasculated significantly,” Algeo told Off to the Races Radio Maryland. “And it's just not what it was when I started in 2016.”
Algeo was recognized with the Special Award of Merit May 18 during the Alibi Breakfast at Pimlico Race Course, joining past winners like Jim McKay, D. Wayne Lukas, Chick Lang, King Leatherbury, and Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance.
Algeo marks the fourth member of the Commission to exit in recent months, joining David Hayden, Tom Bowman, and Tom Winebrener.
“I thought it was time for new blood, younger blood, somebody that can come in and have a fresh look,” Algeo told Off to the Races Radio Maryland. “God bless them because it's a great industry with great people. And I feel very honored to have served for the past seven years. Riders up!”
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Study: Small Strongyles Now Showing Resistance To Ivermectin
Resistance to dewormers is a rapidly growing concern among horse owners as options to rid horses of worm infestations are declining. Large roundworms (ascarids) have proven resistant to all available classes of dewormers, and now a study from Brazil has shown that small strongyles (also called small redworms or cyathostomins) are also showing widespread resistance to anthelmintics.
Brazil is home to 5 to 6 million horses – one of the largest equine populations in the world. Horse owners in Brazil do not routinely use fecal egg counts to determine which horses need to be dewormed; they often blanket deworm the entire herd and routinely switch out deworming products – similarly to how deworming was done previously in the United States.
Dr. Giordani Mascoli de Favare, and other researchers from the Universidade Estadual Paulista School of Agrarian and Technological Sciences in Brazil, undertook a year-long study in São Paulo to determine the effectiveness of ivermectin as a dewormer on 123 horses on 12 breeding farms.
The study team completed a fecal egg count to determine baseline worm infestations. After anthelmintic administration, a second fecal egg count should show a reduction in egg load of at least 95 percent. If it doesn't, dewormer resistance is indicated.
None of the horses in the study had been dewormed for at least 60 days prior to the study. Each horse was given the recommended dose of ivermectin by mouth based on their weight. A second fecal egg count test was run on each horse 14 days later.
The researchers found that the second fecal egg count was below 90 percent on the majority of farms, indicating significant redworm resistance to ivermectin. Additionally, three properties showed counts between 90 and 95 percent, also indicating resistance. Only four of the farms showed a reduction of more than 95 percent.
The authors conclude that these findings highlight the urgent need to utilize different strategies to effectively control anthelmintic resistance in horses. There are no new deworming drugs being created.
Read more at Equine Science Update.
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