1/ST Racing | Horse Racing Free Tips

XBTV to Offer Morning Works From Saratoga, Del Mar

This summer, XBTV will provide workouts from both Saratoga and Del Mar without cost to those with 1/ST Racing accounts. For the past few years, XBTV has logged more than 3,000 morning workouts a year at various venues, including Gulfstream Park in Florida and Santa Anita Park in California.

To set up a free 1/ST account, visit XBTV.

The post XBTV to Offer Morning Works From Saratoga, Del Mar appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Proposed Berkeley City Council Ordinance Threat To Golden Gate Fields

A proposed Berkeley City Council ordinance has been introduced that, if passed into law, would put Golden Gate Fields' future in serious jeopardy.

The proposed ordinance makes it illegal to keep a horse stabled for more than 10 hours a day and requires that every horse has access to a minimum of one-half acre pasture turnout.

While reaffirming state and federal laws surrounding animal abuse and cruelty, the proposed ordinance also makes it a crime to conduct training and racing under a “reasonable expectation” that it could substantially injure or harm the animal.

“Such reasonable belief would be based upon substantial evidence, which may include, without limitation, the animal's physical condition, indicia of pain or suffering, musculoskeletal limitations, age or other relevant factors,” the ordinance states.

“Obviously we're concerned,” said Craig Fravel, chief executive officer at 1/ST Racing and Gaming, a company under The Stronach Group (TSG) umbrella, which owns Golden Gate Fields.

Fravel said that he was alerted to the ordinance on Friday. As such, TSG has not yet had a chance to conduct a legal analysis of the ordinance, or to plot a clear response, he said.

“I'm not going to over-react at this point, and just try to be constructive in our approach,” said Fravel. “There will be some time to engage and I think educate people on our safety record and our protocols and efforts that we go through.”

The proposed ordinance, introduced by Berkeley City councilmember Kate Harrison, has been referred to the Council Health and Life Enrichment Committee for hearings. The ordinance would need a recommendation from the committee before being taken up by the Berkeley City Council.

Harrison declined an interview, saying that she was on vacation. Harrison added, however, that she would discuss the proposed ordinance when committee discussions begin.

The nine-page proposed ordinance is specifically focused on horseracing and excludes other facilities within city limits where animals are housed, including animal rescue and adoption agencies.

It makes, however, several glaring misrepresentations and distortions of the Thoroughbred racing industry. This includes an erroneous suggestion that Thoroughbred racehorses, on average, live to only three to five years of age.

“Many fatalities in horseracing are euthanizations after horses suffer catastrophic injuries, cutting their lives unnaturally short,” the ordinance states. “When CBS Bay Area reported on the most recent horse death at GGF in May of this year it cited the fact that 'live into their 30s, but the average age of is [only] three to five years old.'”

The ordinance also states that “horse deaths continue to rise at the horse racing tracks within City limits.”

According to the Jockey Club Equine Injury Database, race-day equine fatalities are declining nationwide. Last year saw the lowest statistical equine fatality rate since 2009, when record keeping began–1.29 fatalities per 1000 starts.

When it comes to Golden Gate Fields, the track's equine fatality rate has been consistently below the national average since 2017. Last year, the rate was 0.56 fatalities per 1000 starts–a number less than half the national average.

“I'd like to push back pretty solidly against some of the suppositions,” said Scott Chaney, executive director of the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB), who added that the CHRB is “aware and certainly concerned” about the ordinance.

Golden Gate Fields | Vassar Photography

“Fatalities are not on the rise at Golden Gate Fields. The opposite is true,” said Chaney. “And while it is true that racehorses generally race from three to five, that is not their average life expectancy.”

The ordinance argues that the City of Berkeley, a charter city, has the legal authority to “establish regulations” and the jurisdiction to “protect and promote the public health, safety and welfare by establishing safeguards for animals” as long as those regulations don't conflict with state and federal law.

“It is in the public interest to adopt an ordinance prohibiting inhumane or abusive treatment of animals held, owned, used, exhibited or otherwise kept for sport, entertainment or profit within the City limits,” the ordinance states.

Chaney is less sure of the city's ability to establish such a law. “I believe that there would be some major legal hurdles in attempting to pass such a thing,” said Chaney.

He added, however, that the CHRB hasn't yet conducted a thorough legal analysis of the proposed ordinance to identify what those legal obstacles might be.

One possible hurdle would presumably concern how Golden Gate Fields straddles two adjacent cities, Berkeley and Albany.

The ordinance outlines a set of tough penalties, beginning with minimum fines of $5,000 per animal, per violation, per day, or imprisonment for periods between 30 days and one year.

In explanation of the proposed requirement to provide racehorses access to open pastures for a good portion of the day, the ordinance argues that how colic, laminitis, and pleuropneumonia are issues worsened by excessive confinement.

“Confining a 1200-pound animal to a 12×12 stall is akin to confining an elephant to a box car or a killer whale to a swimming pool. Equine veterinarian, Dr. Kraig Kulikowski, compared this to locking a child in a 4×4 closet for 23 hours a day, abuse punishable by law,” the ordinance states.

In recent years, Golden Gate Fields has found itself the target of animal rights activists.

In March of 2021, protestors disrupted racing by running onto the track before lying in a circle with interlocking pipes.

The protestors belonged to animal rights organization, Direct Action Everywhere, which seeks to see Golden Gate Fields shut down.

The post Proposed Berkeley City Council Ordinance Threat To Golden Gate Fields appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

6-Mo. Extension to Maryland Racing Agreement; Details Not Disclosed

Tuesday's Maryland Racing Commission (MRC) meeting yielded the news that the state's horsemen, breeders, and the operator of Pimlico Race Course and Laurel Park have agreed on yet another six-month extension agreement to keep racing going after a 10-year deal expired at the end of 2022.

The placeholder agreement will go into effect for the final six months of 2023, and it follows a similar six-month extension reached earlier this year that is set to sunset June 30. The eventual goal is to come up with a longer-term contract.

Mike Rogers, the president of the racing division for 1/ST Racing, which owns the Maryland Jockey Club, which in turn owns both Pimlico and Laurel, led off his monthly presentation with the announcement of the agreement with the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (MTHA) and Maryland Horse Breeders Association.

But when commissioner Robert Lillis asked Rogers to elaborate on a June 6 news story published in Maryland Matters that dealt with the MTHA agreeing to use purse money to subsidize operations at the two tracks, Rogers balked at answering.

“I don't think I'm at liberty to talk about the details of the extension agreement. I'm not authorized to talk about those terms,” Rogers said.

At that point, MRC chair Michael Algeo stepped in to clarify that he didn't feel the parties were required to disclose such details at this time, because the announcement of the agreement extension was not a matter that the commission had to act on or vote on that afternoon.

But another commissioner, George Mahoney, wanted to know, “At any stage, will the Maryland Racing Commission be privy to the terms of the six-month agreement?”

Rogers replied that, “I would have to defer to our lawyers on that. I don't know what the disclosure requirements are on that.”

Alan Foreman, an attorney who serves as the legal counsel for the MTHA, then offered to give an explanation from the horsemen's perspective.

“In fairness to all the parties, and in response to commissioner Lillis's question, the horsemen and the tracks and the breeders have been a party to a 10-year agreement that expired at the end of 2022 in which the horsemen and breeders [already] were helping to subsidize the operations of the racetracks,” Foreman said.

“That was no secret. That was the agreement entered into with the commission back [in] 2012 to stabilize the industry,” Foreman said.

“What the parties have done is to extend the [expired] agreement [from] January to June 30, and the extension now through Dec. 31 is under almost identical terms,” Foreman said.

“So there's nothing new here. It's what's been continuing since the beginning of the 10-year agreement, and ultimately, if and when there's a longer-term agreement, that issue will be addressed. So the so-called subsidy from the horsemen and breeders is not a new item,” Foreman said.

Algeo, a retired Maryland Circuit Court judge, then weighed in again.

“If I could kind of frame the issue so we make certain it's very clear, at this juncture this is not being presented today for the commission to motion, to rule on it, or to discuss,” he said.

“I mean, quite obviously, at least I'm not going to approve anything without knowing what's in the agreement,” Algeo said. “And so, we don't know what's in the agreement, so there's nothing for us to address.

“My understanding [is] that this is a courtesy on behalf of the Maryland Jockey Club and the horsemen and the breeders to indicate that they have extended it, which they have done, by the way, frequently… If it was required for us to approve that now, to address it, then obviously we would have to know the contents of the agreement.”

The post 6-Mo. Extension to Maryland Racing Agreement; Details Not Disclosed appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

1/ST Racing Invests In MyRacehorse

MyRacehorse has entered into an agreement with 1/ST Racing, which is among a group that has invested $7 million in the company that sells fractional ownership and will help market MyRacehorse at its family of tracks, according to a joint press release from the groups Thursday morning.

Michael Behrens, the founder and CEO of MyRacehorse, told TDN that his company was looking to add investors with the passing of B. Wayne Hughes. Hughes, who owned Spendthrift Farm, was an early supporter of MyRacehorse and an investor in the company. MyRacehorse continues to own horses in partnership with Spendthrift but the farm itself is not an investor in the company.

“I've been talking to people globally now that we're in Australia, Ireland, the UK and the U.S., and have put together a nice collection of investors, led by 1/ST,” Behrens said. “We raised $7 million collectively. This is the next chapter in our journey and validation that people see what we've done in democratizing ownership and getting more and more people involved is working. 1/ST has been a big supporter since day one. With 1/ST's commitment to innovation, this made a lot of sense and I was happy they decided to come in.”

1/ST will not have an ownership stake in any of MyRacehorse's horses and will have no influence over any decisions that are made regarding a horse's career or racing schedule, said Behrens.

“1/ST's mission to introduce and engage the next generation of fans and owners in innovative and entertaining new ways aligns perfectly with the MyRacehorse concept,” said Aidan Butler,
Chief Executive Officer, 1/ST RACING & GAMING. “The ability to become an owner of a Thoroughbred racehorse and to be part of an ownership experience that until now has been inaccessible for many, is truly exciting. We have seen firsthand the success of MyRacehorse and we look forward to helping scale this platform across racing, wagering and beyond.”

“The majority of this investment will go toward the building out the framework of the technology to continue to provide better technology for mass ownership for horse racing and set us up for expansion into other sports,” Behrens said. “It's 1/ST. There will be a lot of interesting collaborations around the on-track experiences and gaming through their ADW. They own all the assets that are symbiotic with ownership and I think that you will see an evolution of the product and the ownership experience.”

Behrens said MyRacehorse will team with 1/ST to provide on-track experiences and perks available to MyRacehorse customers and that new initiatives will be announced in the months ahead.

“(1/ST CEO) Aidan (Butler) and the whole team at 1/ST have always been big supporters and have always helped us to provide the best possible experience,” Behrens said. “With this partnership there are a bunch of things in play that we will be announcing over the next months and quarters that will be incremental to the ownership experience. We will plan on larger and larger events now that we have the partnership solidified. The race-day experience you will see right away will evolve at those tracks.”

The funding will also be used to allow MyRacehorse to expand its stable of horses, Behrens said. Launched in Los Angeles in 2018, MyRacehorse offers prospective owners the chance to buy into a racehorse for as little as $100. Hughes was one of the investors in the seed-round funding, and became an active partner, campaigning the 2020 Kentucky Derby winner Authentic in partnership with MyRacehorse, among others.

“In our first chapter we have served nearly 100,000 users and the app has enabled us to fractionalize more than $50 million in racehorse offerings,” said Behrens. “We see this partnership and investment as the start of new chapter–one of significant scale and growth. Just the fact that we are well capitalized and have raised $7 million, that gives us access to not only having liquidity in the company but also being able to get more money through credit lines to buy more horses. Luckily, we've been in a position where the majority of our horses sell out relatively quickly. We've been trying to balance our growth. When Wayne first came in, we went from buying a handful of horses to dozens of horses. I would expect another step change. We went from being very modest founder-funded to being able to capitalize with our partnership with Spendthrift. It was a major step change. I see this as another move. We now have the ability to go out there and meet demand.”

The platform currently boasts more than 50,000 active owners and 100 active horses who have won over 160 races worldwide, with earnings in excess of $20 million. MyRacehorse is
predominantly focused in the United States and Australia and has recently expanded to the United Kingdom and Ireland.

The post 1/ST Racing Invests In MyRacehorse appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post