News | Horse Racing Free Tips

After Gmax Tweaks, Del Mar Expects ‘No Problems With Turf Timing’

Del Mar Thoroughbred Club (DMTC) president Josh Rubinstein told the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) Sept. 24 that he expects the track will no longer have to rely on hand-timing turf races at its upcoming fall meet because its inaccurate Equibase Gmax GPS timing system has since been tweaked to fix problems that produced numerous wrong clockings throughout the summer season.

TDN reported back on Aug. 18 that some dirt and turf final times at Del Mar were mis-clocked anywhere between .07 seconds and 1.19 seconds by the industry’s official data-keeper during an August portion of the meet. Those times—initially derived from global positioning metrics—were retroactively hand-clocked, adjusted, and reposted as official without any public disclosure of the corrections.

In an Aug. 20 statement, Equibase acknowledged “inconsistencies” in its Del Mar turf clockings, but said its dirt timings were “highly accurate.”

At that time, Equibase also stated that its Del Mar chart callers would utilize hand-clockings for turf races for the remainder of the meet, which wrapped up Sept. 7.

The Gmax system had just been installed prior to the July-September season. It’s used at 11 other North America racetracks.

“On the turf, when rail positions were moved, there were some challenges,” Rubinstein said Thursday in response to a direct question about the accuracy of the Gmax system from CHRB vice chair Oscar Gonzales.

“So when we discovered the issue we hand-timed our turf races for the final week and a half [of the meet],” Rubinstein continued. “And [since] the conclusion of the summer meet, over the last two weeks, our turf course is being re-surveyed digitally. And that [data] will be installed into the new Gmax GPS system.

“We expect no problems with turf timing through the GPS system this fall,” Rubinstein emphasized.

“The main track was terrific,” Rubinstein added. “All of the [dirt] GPS times checked out with our backup hand-timed system.”

Gmax debuted in North America 2018. But problems date to at least 2019, when early-adopter Laurel Park discontinued its usage of the system for a period because of inaccuracies, according to an article earlier this month in The Racing Biz.

CHRB commissioners did not press DMTC officials any further on the issue on Thursday after Rubinstein’s assertion that the upcoming meet would be timed problem-free.

The Del Mar fall meet will span 15 race dates from Oct. 31-Nov. 29.

Tom Robbins, DMTC’s executive vice president for racing and industry relations, said stabling will open Oct. 25, with the main track open for training the next morning.

“Unlike the summer meet, where we usually stable around 1,900 horses, the fall meet is largely a ship-in meet with about 350 to 400 horses stabled on-site,” Robbins said.

Last week DMTC announced a 10% overnight purse hike compared to the same autumn meet last season. The reason cited was increased handle revenue.

Robbins also noted that “because of better-than expected business from the summer meet, four stakes races that appear in our license application at reduced levels [the GI Hollywood Debry, GI Matriarch S., GII Seabiscuit H., and GII Hollywood Turf Cup] have been restored to their previous levels.”

With regard to the purse hike, DMTC racing secretary David Jerkens said that “in today’s climate, with many tracks that are cutting back across the country, this is an accomplishment.”

Alan Balch, executive director of the California Thoroughbred Trainers, asked the CHRB to extend the previous race-meet agreement for Del Mar even though one isn’t currently in place, as is required for the track’s licensure.

“We’ve made ourselves available for further conversations and negotiations so we can try to get this resolved,” Balch said of the necessary contract. “But I would want to take this opportunity [to] express the trainers’ appreciation for [track management’s] continued efforts to improve the conditions at Del Mar.

Balch, in particular, lauded Del Mar’s “Ship and Win” bonus program.

“They’ve constantly monitored the objective data, and I just want to emphasize the point [that this bonus program] benefits all of California racing, and it’s critically important [to bringing] more horses to California.”

The CHRB unanimously voted to give Del Mar the go-ahead for its fall meet.

The post After Gmax Tweaks, Del Mar Expects ‘No Problems With Turf Timing’ appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

New Standing MRI Has Already Helped Diagnose Nearly 70 Horses At Santa Anita

Can MRI technology, the gold standard for diagnosing human sports injuries, offer an effective diagnostic solution for veterinarians and racehorse trainers who prepare their horses to prevent racetrack fractures?

A group consisting of the Dolly Green Research Foundation and The Southern California Equine Foundation as well as several individuals, recently came together to purchase and install a Standing Equine MRI system, from Hallmarq Veterinary Imaging, at Santa Anita Park racetrack. The group is working closely with the Stronach Group, owners of Santa Anita, to introduce the technology to veterinarians and trainers.

“The Stronach Group is excited about the addition of a standing MRI to the existing diagnostic options for horses at Santa Anita Park,” said Dr. Dionne Benson, chief veterinary office for The Stronach Group. “Together with the standing PET (Positron Emission Tomography) system, which was installed at Santa Anita late last year, these new modalities greatly improve the ability to identify preexisting conditions, is an important step in ensuring horse safety and welfare.”

The groups began fundraising for the MRI last fall and were able to reach their target goals to allow purchase and recent installation.

“Hallmarq's Standing Equine MRI (sMRI) system brings the same diagnostic capability to equine clinical practice as the human sports medicine field” said Dr. Dan Brown, vice president and chief customer officer, at Hallmarq. According to Brown, there have been close to 70 horses diagnosed using the Hallmarq MRI at Santa Anita.

Brown said that soft tissues are very hard to evaluate on radiographs and bone changes will show up on MRI weeks before they can be seen on x-ray, which can make a big difference for a horse trainer contemplating entering a horse in an upcoming race.

With the equine patient being at the forefront of every design decision, Hallmarq's unique sMRI capability avoids the risks associated with general anesthesia and allows equine veterinarians to offer clients the most advanced lameness diagnosis method on an outpatient basis.

“Traditional lameness diagnosis is often a cycle of trial and review that relies on a slow process of elimination,” said Brown, a former veterinarian with over 20 years' experience in the veterinary profession.

“The integration of Hallmarq's standing MRI to our diagnostic imaging center at Santa Anita has been seamless,” said Dr. Ryan Carpenter, one of the on-track veterinarians at Santa Anita. “Being able to identify bone pathology at the earliest stages allows us to intervene long before these abnormalities could be seen on radiographs. Knowing that we have this technology at our fingertips where horses can literally walk out of their stall, undergo sMRI and be back in a matter of a couple hours speaks to the commitment to greater safety for our athletes.”

Hallmarq has developed unique equine expertise over almost two decades by imaging more than 100,000 horses at 100 sites over six continents. With Q-Care, Hallmarq's world-class support system, customers have experienced uptime of greater than 99% and upgrades to their systems to ensure that practices enjoy a diagnostic rate in excess of 90%.

Other racetracks have used the system, including the world-famous Hong Kong Jockey Club.

“We installed the Hallmarq standing MRI in 2013 and since then have performed hundreds of examinations of the lower limbs primarily in Thoroughbred racehorses,” said Dr. Paul Robinson, Head of Veterinary Clinical Services at the Hong Kong Jockey Club. “We have found the information obtained to be invaluable in the identification of injuries that are not visible on conventional imaging modalities and it has helped us to manage a variety of conditions using an objective, targeted approach. Of great interest in our population is the capability to perform multiple follow-up studies of the region of interest to monitor the healing process of subchondral bone lesions in the lower cannon bone of our thoroughbred population.”

Read more about standing MRI in this 2015 Paulick Report feature.

Standing Equine MRI Benefits:

MRI can show problems that are not visible, or at an earlier stage than they would show up on any other imaging method.
Standing MRI occurs under very light sedation, without anesthesia. This both eliminates risk of injury and makes it much easier for a client to say “yes” then conventional 'down' MRI.
MRI involves no radiation unlike, CT, bone scanning or radiography.

The post New Standing MRI Has Already Helped Diagnose Nearly 70 Horses At Santa Anita appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Gulfstream: Friday’s Rainbow 6 Guaranteed At $900,000, Mandatory Payout Sunday

A mandatory payout of the 20-cent Rainbow 6 pool is scheduled for Sunday's closing-day program of the Spring/Summer Meet at Gulfstream Park.

The popular multi-race program went unsolved for the 13th consecutive racing day Thursday, when multiple tickets with all six winners were each worth $2,967.68. The carryover jackpot pool grew to $636,676.56. However, there will be a jackpot pool guarantee of $900,000 for Friday's Rainbow 6.

The Rainbow 6 carryover jackpot is usually only paid out when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. On days when there is no unique ticket, 70 percent of that day's pool usually goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners, while 30 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool. However, on mandatory-payout days, the entire pool is paid out to the bettor or bettors with the most winners in the six-race sequence.

Should the Rainbow 6 go unsolved Friday and Saturday, the pool is expected to build into the millions.

Friday's Rainbow 6 sequence will span Races 4-9, including a second-level optional claiming allowance featuring Tatweej's quest for three wins in a row.

Trained by Todd Pletcher, the late-developing 4-year-old, who brought a bid of $2.5 million at the 2017 Keeneland September sale, has scored dominating back-to-back victories at Friday's distance of a mile. The son of Tapit, who finished third in his June 21 debut at Gulfstream, broke his maiden in front-running style by 3 ¾ lengths July 25. The Kentucky-bred colt, who is out of Grade 1-stakes winner Tiz Miz Sue, came right back to score by 2 ½ lengths Aug. 22. Edgard Zayas has the return mount Friday, when Tatweej will take on five rivals, including Brewmeister, who will also be seeking his third straight victory at Gulfstream.

Formerly trained by Chad Brown, Brewmeister finished third June 13 in his first start for Lisa Lewis, before graduating at 6 ½ furlongs July 4 and coming right back to rally from far back to score by a half-length. Ron Allen Jr. has the return call on the 3-year-old gelded son of Point of Entry.

Saturday's Rainbow 6 sequence will be highlighted by six juvenile stakes, including the $400,000 In Reality and the $400,000 My Dear Girl, the final legs of the FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes series for 2-year-olds sired by accredited stallions standing in Florida.

The $150,000 FSS Wildcat Heir, a mile stakes for 3-year-olds and up, will kick off the sequence in Race 6, followed by the $75,000 Hollywood Beach, a five-furlong turf sprint; the My Dear Girl, the 1 1/16-mile final for fillies; the $75,000 Armed Forces, a mile turf stakes; the In Reality, the 1 1/16-mile open-division final; and the $75,000 Our Dear Peggy, a mile turf race for fillies.

The post Gulfstream: Friday’s Rainbow 6 Guaranteed At $900,000, Mandatory Payout Sunday appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Baffert Will Leave Awesome Again Strategy Up To Riders Of Maximum Security, Improbable

Maximum Security, the nation's leading older horse, has run at six different tracks in his brilliant 12-race career and will add No. 7 when he debuts at Santa Anita in Saturday's Grade I Awesome Again Stakes.

It is one of five Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” Challenge Races presented Saturday, offering the winner a fees-paid berth to their respective Breeders' Cup races at Keeneland Nov. 6 & 7.

Maximum Security is trained by Bob Baffert, who has horses entered in four of the 11 races, seven of them stakes. Four of Baffert's runners also are in “Win and You're In” events: Princess Noor, Varda and $4,000 supplemental nominee Illumination in the Grade I Chandelier Stakes for two-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles, and Spielberg in the Grade I American Pharoah Stakes for two-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles.

Luis Saez is reunited with Maximum Security and also rides Spielberg and Illumination. Drayden Van Dyke is back aboard Improbable in the Awesome Again. They won the Grade I Gold Cup at Santa Anita on June 6.

As for strategy, Baffert tends to leave it up to the riders.

“Saez knows the horse really well and Drayden knows Improbable really well, so they'll just figure it out themselves,” he said. “They know what to do.

“Even in a small field the break is very important, but both horses are doing exceptionally well. Hopefully they'll use this race as a steppingstone to the Big Show (Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland on Nov. 7).

“I hate to really run them against each other, but it gives Improbable an extra two weeks to get ready for the Breeders' Cup. He runs better when he's a bit fresher, so that's why we're running them together.”

Improbable doesn't have to carry his track around with him. Of his 13 career races, eight have come on different tracks: Santa Anita, Saratoga, Oaklawn Park, Parx, Del Mar, Pimlico, Churchill Downs and Los Alamitos.

A multiple Grade I-winning son of City Zip, the four-year-old chestnut has won six times with three seconds, earning $1,529,520.

Maximum Security is coming off two straight wins for Baffert at Del Mar, including the Grade I TVG Pacific Classic. The four-year-old son of New Year's Day has won 10 of 12 career starts with an enormous bankroll of $12,191,900.

The bay colt looms an odds-on choice, one of two in that category Baffert has entered Saturday, the other being Princess Noor in the Chandelier Stakes.

Baffert also has the maiden Spielberg entered in the American Pharoah. The chestnut son of Union Rags out of the Smart Strike dam Miss Squeal was second to Dr. Schivel in the Grade I Del Mar Futurity at seven furlongs on Sept. 7.

A $1,350,000 daughter of the prodigious young stallion Not This Time, Princess Noor drew the rail against four rivals, two of them also trained by Baffert. She will be going two turns for the first time, having won her debut race on the lead by 2 ½ lengths at 5 ½ furlongs before taking the Grade I Del Mar Debutante at seven furlongs on Sept. 6, coming from just off the pace to vanquish three others by 6 ½ lengths.

She was the 7-10 favorite in both starts, each time ridden by Victor Espinoza, who guided American Pharoah to a Triple Crown sweep for Baffert in 2015 and who retains the mount on Princess Noor Saturday.

“She's fast; she's shown brilliant speed,” Baffert said. “She's coming back a little quick but she's been handling everything we've thrown at her, so we're looking forward to the race.

“I think Spielberg should like two turns. They went really fast early in the Futurity (45 flat for four furlongs and 1:10.60 for six furlongs) and he got beat by a really nice horse.

“I really think two turns will be better for him, just the way he moves and all. He's bred for it.”

The Chandelier, race three: Princess Noor, (2-5) Victor Espinoza; Make Mischief, (5-1) Abel Cedillo; Varda, (8-1) Drayden Van Dyke; Illumination, (6-1) Luis Saez; and Miss Costa Rica, (6-1) Flavien Prat.

The American Pharoah, race eight: Touchdown Brown, (5-1) Juan Hernandez; Rombauer, Mike Smith; Dyn O Mite, (20-1) Victor Espinoza; Notable Exception, (7-2) Abel Cedillo; Spielberg, (3-1) Luis Saez; Get Her Number, (7-2) Flavien Prat; Weston, (6-1) Drayden Van Dyke; and Waspirant, (6-1) Umberto Rispoli.

The Awesome Again, race 10: Take the One O One, (20) Jose Valdivia Jr.; Improbable, (8-5) Drayden Van Dyke; Sleepy Eyed Todd, (12-1) Umberto Rispoli; Midcourt, (6-1) Victor Espinoza; and Maximum Security, (3-5) Luis Saez.

First post time for Saturday's stakes studded card is 12:30 p.m.

The post Baffert Will Leave Awesome Again Strategy Up To Riders Of Maximum Security, Improbable appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post