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Juan Hernandez, Phil D’Amato Repeat Titlists At Del Mar

There's an old saying: 'The more things change, the more they stay the same.' It was never more evident than during the 2023 summer meet at Del Mar in both the jockey and the trainer standings.

Juan Hernandez won his second straight summer meet title despite the addition of a talented jockey, Antonio Fresu and the continued improvement of Umberto Rispoli, Hector Berrios, and Ramon Vasquez.

Hernandez won 39 races this summer, eight better than runner up Fresu. He tied for second for the most mounts with 174 despite missing four days during the meet. He posted eight victories in stakes races and compiled over $3 million in earnings, the only rider to exceed that mark.

Hernandez didn't run away with the title like he did in 2022. The outcome was still uncertain entering the final week and he didn't go wire-to-wire like last year. Rispoli led after week one and Hernandez was tied with Hector Berrios after week 2. But by the end of week three, Hernandez was in the lead and he spent the next three weeks holding off bids by Rispoli and Fresu. In the end, Hernandez was too tough and too consistent to overtake.

Fresu finished second with 31 victories. He won 10 races during week six but never got closer than five wins to Hernandez.

D'Amato notched his fourth trainer's title out of the last five meets at Del Mar. He's won the fall meet two years running.

Similar to 2022, the trainer's title came down to the final day. D'Amato went into the final day with a one-win lead over Baffert and two over Doug O'Neill. All three posted one winner on the day. D'Amato wins the summer meet title for the second straight year with 21 victories.

Last year, Bob Baffert won the G1 Del Mar Futurity with Cave Rock to tie Philip D'Amato for a share the trainer's title. This year Baffert won the Futurity with Prince of Monaco but came up one win short.

Jockey Mounts 1st Purses
Juan Hernandez 174 39 $3,332,946
Antonio Fresu 173 31 $2,008,532
Umberto Rispoli 121 25 $2,318,018
Hector Berrios 174 24 $2,224,780
Edwin Maldonado 162 20 $1,398,610
Ramon Vazquez 203 19 $1,658,900
Tiago Pereira 149 15 $1,132,396
Mike Smith 70 14 $1,192,630
Kent Desormeaux 105 13 $1,041,290
Geovanni Franco 104 12 $989,684
Trainer Starts 1st Purses
Philip D'Amato 134 21 $2,299,204
Bob Baffert 63 20 $2,409,980
Doug F. O'Neill 144 19 $1,595,434
Peter Miller 126 16 $1,193,624
Peter Eurton 63 16 $1,067,610
Mark Glatt 87 15 $990,900
Michael W. McCarthy 68 12 $798,170
John W. Sadler 83 10 $764,920
Leonard Powell 47 9 $844,620
Richard E. Mandella 39 9 $907,860

The post Juan Hernandez, Phil D’Amato Repeat Titlists At Del Mar appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Hernandez, D’Amato Repeat As Del Mar Leaders

With 39 wins and over $3 million in earnings, jockey Juan Hernandez won his second straight summer meet title at Del Mar while trainer Phil D'Amato picked up his fourth trainer's title out of the last five years.

Similar to 2022, the trainer's title came down to the final day. D'Amato went into the final day with a one-win lead over Baffert and two over Doug O'Neill. All three posted one winner on the day. D'Amato won the summer meet title for the second straight year with 21 victories.

Last year, Bob Baffert won the GI Del Mar Futurity with Cave Rock (Arrogate) to tie Philip D'Amato for a share the trainer's title while this year, Baffert won the Futurity with 'TDN Rising Star' Prince of Monaco (Speightstown) but came up one win short.

The post Hernandez, D’Amato Repeat As Del Mar Leaders appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Study Affirms That Rotational Grazing Results In Better Soil Water Infiltration

Soils of healthy pastures contain a pore system that provides soil structure and allows for the exchange of gases and water. These characteristics are key to supporting soil life and, in turn, plant growth. Animal traffic can compact the soil and limit water infiltration. Researchers aimed to compare the effects of continuous and rotational grazing on the rates of water infiltration of soil.

The grazing trials were conducted in News Brunswick, New Jersey from August 1, 2014 to November 22, 2016. Four fields of similar size (3.7 to 4.0 acres) were established in 2013 and contained tall fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, and orchardgrass. The researchers divided the two fields designated for rotational grazing into four smaller pastures. All the horses had access to shelter, water, and a hay feeder, but these resources were set up in a stress lot (dry lot) for rotationally-grazed horses. Twelve mature (14 ± 2 yrs.), Standardbred mares were assigned to either rotational or continuous grazing with a stocking rate of 1.3 acres per horse. For rotational grazing, horses were grazed when forage heights were over 6 inches and moved to the next pasture when forage was eaten down to 3 inches. Prior to rest, the pastures were dragged and mowed. Pastures under continuous grazing were dragged and mowed twice a season. Water infiltration measurements of the soil were taken multiple times during the study.

Overall, rotationally-grazed fields had taller forage, greater aboveground biomass, and more cover than continuously-grazed fields. Rates of water infiltration through large soil pores (macropores) tended to be greater for fields under rotational compared to continuous grazing during dry periods. During wet periods, infiltration of smaller soil pores was comparable or lower in rotationally-grazed fields than continuously-grazed fields. Growth of pasture grass roots likely increased during wet periods in rotationally-grazed fields and caused a decline in infiltration.

The results of this study suggest that rotational grazing better supports macropore networks in soil and greater water infiltration rates compared to continuous grazing. Macropores can increase soil water content, decrease soil temperature, and promote plant recovery from animal traffic. These functions are key to healthy soil and productive pastures. However, many factors can influence soil properties within pasture systems such as soil type, weather, or frequency of animal traffic. Therefore, further research is needed to investigate the role and interplay of additional factors.

For more information on this research, read the abstract published in Soil and Tillage Research.

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