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Kentucky Downs VP Of Racing Ted Nicholson Joins TDN Writers’ Room

It's the meet that keeps getting bigger, richer and better every year. During the seven days of racing that makes up the Kentucky Downs meet, there will be 11 stakes races worth at least $1 million and it looks like the all-turf establishment is on track to set another handle record. How has Kentucky Downs done it? Ted Nicholson, the track's vice president of racing joined the TDN Writers' Room Podcast presented by Keeneland to talk about one of the sport's great success stories. He was this week's Green Group Guest of the Week.

With so much money available for purses and with such a short meet, some wonder why Kentucky Downs doesn't add race days? Nicholson said the main reason for not doing so is to make sure the turf course is not overused.

“What's obviously on everybody's mind these days is safety,” Nicholson said. “So, if I added a day, it would have to be a day where it would be almost like a spare day. Because the reality is we run 75 races over a turf course and we have three lanes. That means you're running an average of 25 races on each lane. That's a lot of pounding. I've got the best turf guy in the business with Butch Lehr, who was at Churchill for 45 years. But even Butch would shake his head and say, 'no, I wouldn't do it.' I think we're going to be at seven days for a little while until I can figure out how I can add a fourth lane.”

Kentucky Downs has always been known for having one of the lowest takeouts in the sport, so it came as a surprise when it announced that the takeout was going to be increased by one percent in all pools this year. The horseplayers weren't happy.

“It wasn't an easy decision and it wasn't made in a vacuum,” Nicholson said. “The decision was really a tough one and the reason behind it was that I had to find a way to find some revenue. It's great to have great big purses and we had a record handle last year. But when you're running only for two weeks, you have an inordinate amount of expenses to put on a temporary show. I have a lot of tents, I have a lot of temporary expenses. I have 60 people that live here temporarily, which means I put them up in hotels to pull off this show for two weeks or three. They're here typically for three weeks. So, I have a lot of expenses. They're all going up. Even the people that you see in between the races, those folks that are on the turf and they're tamping down those divots. Those folks used to work for $10 an hour. Now it's $25. So, you can see where my expenses have gone. On top of that, you we got a bill from HISA for $650,000 for a seven-day race meet. Before I was paying the state of Kentucky $48,000 for the same exact thing. Because our expenses have been skyrocketing, I felt like had to go a little higher.”

Will Kentucky Downs ever erect a grandstand? It's unlikely.

“I can't tell you many times people have said to me, 'I love this atmosphere, so don't ever change it,'” Nicholson said. “When it comes to putting up a grandstand, I think would change the genuine feel of of what Kentucky Downs is really all about. I think people love the ability to just pull up and tailgate at the top of the stretch or pull out their folding chairs and set up on the rail. That's the essence of what this place is. We want to try to improve every year, but not lose the real true essence of what this place is all about.”

Elsewhere on the podcast, which is also sponsored by the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association, Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders, WinStar Farm, XBTV.com, Stonestreet Farms, Lane's End and https://www.threechimneys.com/ West Point Thoroughbreds, the team of Zoe Cadman, Bill Finley and Randy Moss reviewed the Saratoga meet, touching on what went wrong, what went right and the changes that may be coming to the upstate New York track. Those changes include moving the 2024 and 2025 GI Belmont S. to Saratoga while Belmont Park is being rebuilt and installing a synthetic track that would complement the dirt track and the two turf courses. Also, the team looked back at the GI Pacific Classic, won by Arabian Knight (Uncle Mo), as well as the 32-day suspension handed down to Del Mar rider Antonio Fresu for whip violations.

Click here to view the podcast video or here to listen to the audio version.

The post Kentucky Downs VP Of Racing Ted Nicholson Joins TDN Writers’ Room appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Mark Casse: “I’m Not Proud Of Our Sport”

Appearing as the Green Group Guest of the Week on this week's TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland, Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse grew emotional when the subject of the rash of fatalities that have plagued the sport this year came up. Believing that the industry has not done all that it can to help alleviate the situation and that tracks must embrace a return to synthetic surfaces, Casse admitted that his outlook on his profession and the sport has changed for the worse.

“This is sad to say, but I'm not as proud to be a horse trainer as I used to be,” he said. “I'm not proud of our sport. That's sad. In my opinion, it's dangerous and I'm going to do whatever I can do to help it. Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn who I piss off or upset.”

Casse came on to discuss some of the opinions he expressed earlier in the week from a Q & A that ran in the TDN. Because he has stables at Woodbine, where all racing is conducted on either the Tapeta surface or turf, and at U.S. tracks where the predominant surface is dirt, Casse, perhaps more so than any other trainer, is well versed in the differences between the various types of surfaces. He has become an outspoken supporter of synthetic tracks and insists that U.S. racing needs to make the conversion from dirt to synthetic.

“I think it is,” he answered when asked if the time has come for dirt racing to be replaced. “We've got years and years of data that says it's far safer. The path we're going down right now is ugly and we have to do something and we have to do it quickly. It's going to take a drastic measure.”

Some believe that the end of dirt racing would be a huge blow to the breeding industry, where hundreds of millions of dollars have been invested in sires and bloodlines meant to produce top-class dirt horses. Casse argues that the potential problems have been exaggerated.

“It's not as big a worry as they make it out to be,” he said. “From my experience, maybe one out of ten horses don't like synthetic. Most good horses will run on anything pretty well. And I can tell you, they'll run a lot longer and last a lot longer.”

This isn't the first time that Casse has been outspoken about industry issues. He has also been vocal about what he saw as the widespread and ill-advised use of clenbuterol. He said his only motivation is to try to make this a better, safer sport.

“I'm going to give you everything I have,” he said. “I'll go down fighting. You can only do so much but I will do my best. I'm doing my best. I'm not a good loser.”

Elsewhere on the podcast, which is also sponsored by the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association, Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders, NYRABets.com, WinStar Farm, XBTV.com, Stonestreet Farms, Lane's End and West Point Thoroughbreds, the team of Zoe Cadman, Bill Finley and Randy Moss also tackled the subject of synthetic surfaces, an issue that drew more attention after a tragic Saturday afternoon at Saratoga, which included the breakdown of New York Thunder (Nyquist) in the GI H. Allen Jerkens Memorial S. All three agreed with Casse that switching to synthetics has become a necessity. There was also a look at the GI Travers. S., won by Arcangelo (Arrogate) and an admission from Moss that he underrated the horse that is now the sport's leading 3-year-old male. The team also took a look back at the remarkable career of Hall of Famer Jonathan Sheppard, who passed away this week at the age of 82.

To watch the Writers' Room, click here. To view the show as a podcast, click here.

The post Mark Casse: “I’m Not Proud Of Our Sport” appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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With Woodbine Continuing To Compile Admirable Safety Numbers, Lawson Remains Big Fan Of Synthetic Surfaces

When it comes to breakdowns, the Tapeta surface at Woodbine isn't perfect. But it might be as close to perfect as any surface on the continent.

While horses throughout North America broke down on the dirt at a rate of 1.44 per 1,000 starts in 2022, the rate of breakdowns over the synthetic surface at Woodbine was 0.42. This year, after about 4,500 starts over Tapeta there have been only two fatalities during races. Also, there have been about 14,000 published workouts over Woodbine's synthetic tracks and only two fatalities there.

Woodbine CEO Jim Lawson is proud of those numbers, but not surprised.

“The statistics don't lie,” Lawson said.

Lawson, like most in the industry, has grown gravely concerned about the many high-profile breakdowns that have occurred this year in racing and believes that the sport must do something to combat the problem. Does that mean a massive shift from dirt surfaces to synthetic surfaces? While he is hesitant to tell someone else how to run their racetrack, he's not shy about telling Woodbine's story.

Woodbine replaced its dirt track with a Polytrack synthetic surface in 2006. By 2016, there was a need for a new racing surface and Lawson said he was under intense pressure to go back to dirt.

“I was under a lot of pressure and was attacked for considering that we go with Tapeta,” he said. “We wanted to be transparent about it, so we polled all our horsepeople. There was maybe a slight preference for Tapeta, but the people who were advocates of going back to dirt were nasty about it. I can't describe it any other way. We did the right thing when we moved to Tapeta.”

The Tapeta surface has consistently been one of the safest tracks in North America.

“It's come time for the industry to take a harder, more honest look at what's going on,” Lawson said. “As an industry, we are in a difficult position. The industry seriously needs to consider a change.”

Woodbine Racetrack's Tapeta surface | Michael Burns

An owner and breeder before he got involved in management at Woodbine, Lawson is well versed in dirt racing. He said that changing weather conditions make it difficult to maintain consistency on dirt tracks and that inconsistent tracks can be unsafe tracks. That was particularly an issue in Canada, where the early spring and late fall can be include a lot of nasty weather.

“A dirt surface is very good as long as the conditions are perfect and it's well maintained,” he said. “These major tracks, they do a good job. But they are dealt the hand they are dealt. You get cold weather and moisture and have to deal with drying out tracks. It's just not the same when it comes to consistency. Inconsistency with dirt surface is what is causing a lot of the problems. That's what we saw in California when they had their problems. It was watery on top, hard underneath. Or you would have a drying out track that would get lumps. It's much easier to keep a synthetic track, especially when you factor in weather, consistent and safer for the horses.”

Lawson has heard all the arguments made for sticking with dirt, namely that switching to synthetics would cause an upheaval in the breeding industry. He's not buying it.

“When we were deciding whether to go to Tapeta or back to dirt, I kept hearing that these stallions, particularly traditional dirt stallions in Kentucky, would be affected,” he said. “I have never seen any evidence that horses by high-end stallions won't do just as well on the Tapeta. Most horses like the Tapeta, regardless of who their sire is. It's the rare horse that doesn't like Tapeta. I have never bought this argument that it is somehow going to change the breed if we as an industry move significantly toward synthetic surfaces. I don't think anymore than 10 or 15 percent of the horses don't like Tapeta.”

The Breeders' Cup has been run once at Woodbine, in 1996 when the main track was dirt. Though the Woodbine facility is a good fit for the event, it has not come back since and Lawson is among those who believe one of the reasons is that the Breeders' Cup team does not want to upend things by switching its traditional dirt races to synthetics.

“I quietly campaigned a couple of years ago to have the Breeders' Cup take a hard look at Woodbine again because of our turf courses and our synthetic track,” he said. “I thought they could make a statement that this is potentially the future of the industry.” He has not given up on having the event return to Toronto.

“I think that it would be a bold statement to move the Breeders' Cup to Woodbine at some point,” he said. “For there to be meaningful change, it's going to take someone to step up. I would love to see them give Woodbine another chance at the Breeders' Cup. That's not me campaigning for the Breeders. Cup. I think the industry needs to recognize it has a serious problem and that this is a way to address this issue.”

The post With Woodbine Continuing To Compile Admirable Safety Numbers, Lawson Remains Big Fan Of Synthetic Surfaces appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Dr. Raul Bras, Gustavo Delgado, Jr. Join TDN Writers’ Room Podcast

There was a lot to cover this week on the TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland, including the upcoming GI Travers S. and last week's gut punch that was the deaths on back-to-back days of Grade I winners Art Collector (Bernardini) and Cave Rock (Arrogate), both from laminitis.

That's why this week's podcast had two Green Group Guests of the Week.

Dr. Raul Bras, a specialist in laminitis who practices at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital, explained why laminitis remains such a serious problem and gave an update on the efforts being made within the veterinary community to combat the condition.

With a victory in the GI Kentucky Derby on his record, Mage (Good Magic) has already had a standout campaign. But his connections are looking for more and will be looking for a second Grade I win on the year in Saturday's Travers. To get the latest on Mage, assistant trainer Gustavo Delgado, Jr. shared his thoughts on the 10-furlong feature. He said the entire Mage team was very pleased with the colt's second-place showing in the GI TVG.com Haskell S., pointing out that he wasn't fully cranked.

“We really were aware that he wasn't 100% for the Haskell,” Delgado said. “Not even close. So we were happy with the effort.”

Mage has proven he can win at the highest level, but he has not proven that he can beat Forte (Violence), the morning line favorite in the Travers. He finished behind him in both the GII Fountain of Youth S. and the GI Curlin Florida Derby. Why might it be different this time?

“The thing that has changed the most is the lack of experience he had before,” Delgado said. “He was in the Fountain of Youth in only his second start. That's what we had to do. We had to do that in order to gain the points to get into the Derby. If we hadn't done that we probably wouldn't be talking about a Derby winner because he got 10 points in the Fountain of Youth and then 40 in the Florida Derby. He's more experienced now. He's not just a baby. He's more mature and we got to know him better, too.”

Elsewhere on the podcast, which is also sponsored byhttps://coolmore.com/https://lanesend.com/ the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association, Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders, NYRABets.com, WinStar Farm, XBTV.com, Stonestreet Farms, Lane's End and https://www.threechimneys.com/ West Point Thoroughbreds, the team of Zoe Cadman, Bill Finley and Randy Moss took a look back at the GI Alabama S. and the front-running win by Randomized (Nyquist) and the impressive debut of the latest foal from Beholder (Henny Hughes), Tamara (Bolt d'Oro). The filly earned 'TDN Rising Star' status when she broke her maiden Aug. 19 at Del Mar. The team also took a moment to remember owner and breeder Anthony Manganaro of Siena Farm, who passed away last week at the age of 79.

To listen to the audio of the podcast, click here; to watch the video, click here.

The post Dr. Raul Bras, Gustavo Delgado, Jr. Join TDN Writers’ Room Podcast appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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