dr. patty hogan | Horse Racing Free Tips

A Quick Study on Track, Celestial City Now Teaches at Lowell

By Francis LaBelle, courtesy Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation

Celestial City learned how to be a racehorse by continually proving himself against top competition. Each time he raced, he showed that the lessons he was learning were taking hold. Celestial City became a graded stakes winner, but just when his promising career was finally taking flight, he sustained an injury that ended his days as a racehorse. Now, he has a new home and a new purpose.

On February 12, Celestial City joined the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation's (TRF) herd at the Lowell Correctional Institution for Women in Ocala, FL. He will provide vocational training in equine care and stable management as part of the TRF's Second Chances Program. The TRF is the nation's oldest and largest Thoroughbred rescue organization.

Forty years ago, the TRF started Second Chances at the Wallkill Correctional Facility in New York. The idea was that inmates would learn how to take care of horses and maintain the stable and grounds, while the horses got daily, supervised care. Many Second Chances graduates have gone on to find careers as farriers, veterinary technicians, and even farm managers. Since its start in 1984, Second Chances has expanded to several states. TRF expanded to Lowell in 2002 and has since added a Second Chances Youth Program located near the women's prison. Both the women's and youth programs have achieved deserving praise for helping horses and people find better lives.

At five years old, Celestial City is the youngest member of the TRF's national herd, half of which are 20 years or older, and average a stay of 15 years. Unlike the majority of other horses, Celestial City had a standout pedigree, terrific connections, and every reason to succeed.

A son of Uncle Mo, Celestial City's racing education was the responsibility of Hall of Fame trainer Claude “Shug” McGaughey. Under McGaughey's management, Celestial City had a record of 3-2-2 from 10 starts and earnings of just under $350,000. Two years ago, Celestial City came up short in a pair of stakes races at Saratoga Race Course. Both times, Celestial City's efforts were encouraging. He was figuring out racing while McGaughey was figuring him out.

Then in late October of 2022, Celestial City overcame a stumble at the start and posted a 2 1/4-length victory in the GII Hill Prince S. at Aqueduct. There was plenty of reason to be optimistic about Celestial City's 2023 racing season.

“He was doing well, and we gave him a blowout,” McGaughey said. “He was on the training track at Belmont and he fractured his right-hind ankle. He had surgery, and he would look like he was doing good, but then he would have a setback. We finally decided to pull the plug and not race him anymore.”

Celestial City's ankle was operated on by Dr. Patty Hogan, a noted veterinary surgeon who works with Thoroughbreds and Standardbreds. She is also a staunch advocate of aftercare for racehorses and encourages owners to include an aftercare plan for each horse they race. McGaughey had such a plan already in place.

Since Celestial City had his early racing education at Niall Brennan Stable in Ocala, he was assured a safe landing after he could no longer race. Niall Brennan and his wife, Stephanie, have developed racehorses since they went into business 33 years ago. In 2009, they started their own non-profit Thoroughbred aftercare program, Final Furlong Horse Retirement, to make sure that any horse that had been in their care for any length of time would find a decent home and, perhaps, a new career.
While most of McGaughey's retirees join Final Furlong, Stephanie had her own plan for Celestial City. As a TRF board member since 2022, she felt that Celestial City would be a perfect fit at TRF's Second Chances at Lowell.

“The inmates would learn how to 'let down' a racehorse and down the line, he will be a great horse for their riding program,” Stephanie said.

While TRF and Final Furlong are independent of one another, the chance to work together for the good of a horse will always be accepted.

“Later on, if Celestial City gets adopted, his connections will know that he is guaranteed a lifetime placement with TRF,” she added. “So, if circumstances should change, he can always come home to TRF. That is a huge selling point. Very few aftercare programs offer that safety net.”

Celestial City wasted no time in winning over everyone over at Lowell.

“The women are used to working with much older horses,” Stephanie said. “Along comes Celestial City and he is young, slick and fit. They were excited to meet him and they have taken good care of him. Now, they are helping him get used to being around other horses.”

“That shouldn't be a problem. He has always been such a cool horse.”

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Hogan To Receive Charles J. Hesse Award

Edited Press Release

Dr. Patricia Hogan, DVM, one of the leading equine surgeons in the country, has been named the recipient of the Charles J. Hesse Award that will be presented during the eighth annual Charles J. Hesse Golf Outing on June 13 at the Beacon Hill Golf Course in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey.

The Hesse Golf Outing is sponsored by the New Jersey Horsemen's Charitable Organization.

A New Jersey native, Hogan is among a few equine surgeons equally proficient in both soft tissue and orthopedic surgery disciplines. She has devoted her life to the care of horses and owns the Hogan Equine Clinic in Cream Ridge, NJ, where she and her staff donate their surgical skills to retired race horses, including those in Second Call, Monmouth Park's Aftercare Program.

The Hesse Award is given to someone who “epitomizes hard work and dedication to New Jersey's Thoroughbred Community.”

Hogan is internationally renowned for her equine surgical skills and has been a leader in the field of equine surgery for two decades.

Previous winners of the Charles J. Hesse Award (none was given in 2020 due to Covid-19 restrictions, nor was one presented the first year of the golf outing in 2014) are: Marianne Hesse (2021); Gov. Phil Murphy and Tammy Murphy (2019); Mike Musto (2018); Dennis Drazin (2017); Dr. Angelo Chinnici (2016) and J. Willard Thompson (2015).

For more information on the afternoon golf outing and/or the dinner later that evening, contact Liz Dowd at 732-239-4569 or Oliver Keelan at 732-859-8042.

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‘Let’s Talk’ Explores the Obstacles Facing Vets

The TDN's 'Let's Talk'–a podcast series featuring TDN's Christina Bossinakis and TVG's on-air analyst Gabby Gaudet, offers candid discussion on personal and professional issues often faced within the racing community.

The latest edition presents a trio of successful veterinarians–The Stronach Group's Chief Veterinary Officer Dr. Dionne Benson, equine surgeon Dr. Patty Hogan (Hogan Equine Clinic in Cream Ridge, NJ) and longtime racetrack practitioner Dr. Bill Hawk, who counts Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen among his vast clientele.

Over the course of the last decade, racing has faced significant growing pains, transitioning from the norms of yesterday into the necessities of today. And veterinary medicine is no different, having seen its equine professionals put under increasing scrutiny and pressure. Also, long work hours and weekends and keeping pace with the enormous volume of work among a dwindling community of peers are just a few of the factors making it increasingly harder to entice graduating vets and to keep existing ones in the equine branch.

“It's an incredible career but it does have some real highs but some real lows,” admitted Dr. Hogan.

One of the highs in the industry, according to Dr. Hawk, is a communal approach among vets, including both track practitioners and regulatory veterinarians, who help propel the industry in the right direction.

“This is where practicing and regulatory veterinarians in my view work very well together,” he said. “Every time that I had an incidence where I thought there was not proper care being delivered or stalls bedded properly or certainly an injury not properly taken care of, I spoke to our regulatory veterinarians anywhere I've ever been and I always found that was attended to almost immediately.”

While equine health and safety is generally among the key talking points in the industry, the health–both physical and psychological–of the equine veterinary community is one that is often overlooked. However, the emotional investment by the equine vet underscores the unwavering commitment to made to the animal and their clients.

“I'm like a high-end auto repair shop for sports cars, but these sports cars are animals that have personalities and they react to you,” said Dr. Hogan. “When I have a particularly hard case, and I lose that case, it's very tough. I still think of horses that I had to euthanize 20 years ago. They are all individuals. That's the hard part for me. They're real-life animals and you get to know them.. So it's still very personal for me because I have very individual relationships with these horses.”

And like other professions in racing, veterinarians have come under fire of late for the behavior and actions of a few bad apples, however, the vast majority of vets remain staunchly motivated to do right, and passionately work to help protect the animals they oversee on a day-to-day basis.

“I get really offended when somebody mistreats one of these horses,” admitted Dr. Hawk. “Let's be honest, this is an entertainment industry and they are giving there all for our entertainment..and we're not doing our part if someone does not take care of that animal and then we don't say anything about it. It's just wrong on every level.”

Despite all the hard work and oftentimes thankless press, the men and women that are charged with caring for the sport's equine athletes are often driven by the most basic of forces–the sheer love of the horse and the commitment to its health and welfare.

“I can't look at the day-to-day, because I'm going to have really bad days and, hopefully, a lot of really great days,” Dr. Benson added. “I look at where we're headed. Are we improving the industry? Are we making things better? Are we seeing fatalities drop? Are we seeing horses racing healthy longer. If I feel like we're still moving, that's what keeps me going personally is that I feel like there are still things we can do to help.”

To watch the 'Let's Talk' podcast, click here and to listen to the audio only version, click here.

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Racing Supports Amendment on Transport for Slaughter

Several horse racing professionals in the U.S. have given their support to a U.S. House amendment that would ban the transport of American slaughter-bound horses across state lines and over the borders for butchering abroad. Led by U.S. Representatives, Troy Carter (D-LA), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), and John Katko (R-NY), the amendment will be offered to the Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation in America (INVEST) Act, H.R.3684, which is slated to be on the House floor in the next few weeks.

Last month, the Save America's Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act, H.R.3355 was introduced in the U.S. House. If passed into law, it would prohibit horse slaughter facilities from opening on U.S. soil and ban the export of horses across the borders.

“After years of pressing for a ban on the slaughter of our American horses, I am thrilled with this latest development and applaud our leadership in Washington for their commitment to the issue. Stopping the transport of slaughter-bound horses will be a game changer,” said Stone Farm's Staci Hancock. “It is time to end this brutal practice in the U.S. once and for all. Horses are bred for sport, competition, and companionship, not to be part of the food chain. As owners and breeders we must be the stewards of our horses' safety and welfare. They look to us for their care and protection and to allow them to go to a horrific slaughter is unconscionable.”

Industry Professionals who support the amendment:

“We had a close call this year getting our Grade I Santa Anita Derby winner The Deputy released from a kill pen. And this was far from our first rodeo,” said Team Valor's Barry Irwin. “I support any initiative that will end this cycle.”
Trainer Graham Motion said, “It is high time that we end the transport of American slaughter bound horses across state lines and over the borders. We at Herringswell are committed to finding other careers for Thoroughbreds once their racing days are over. The practice of transporting horses for slaughter is abhorrent and it must come to an end.”
“Now that the state legislators of New York have done the right thing, I would hope that the Federal Government will join and ensure that our racehorses are provided a fitting home when their careers are over,” said Jeff Gural, proprietor of Allerage Farm and owner of the racetracks, Meadowlands, Tioga Downs and Vernon Downs. “Allowing them to be sold for slaughter should have been eliminated years ago.”
“As a multiple Kentucky Derby winning jockey and a person who has enjoyed a Hall of Fame career, my passion for my outstanding equine athletes has never wavered. The Carter, Fitzpatrick, Katko amendment to the INVEST Act that will stop interstate travel across state and international borders for horse slaughter is a must,” said Gary Stevens. “There is always a place for our beautiful friends to retire and live out the life they all deserve.”
“Everyone in racing should support the Carter, Fitzpatrick, Katko amendment–and every effort to end the slaughter of our horses. Aftercare organizations work tirelessly and at great expense but the slaughter of our horses, or the extortion of our horses under threat of slaughter, will never end until slaughter is stopped at the federal level,” said Victoria Keith, President of the National Thoroughbred Welfare Organization. “We urge every racing entity to step up now and make this push together to stop this profound injustice to our horses and public relations nightmare for racing.”
“If at the very least, you care about horses, and at the very most, you make your living working with horses, then providing support to the Carter, Fitzpatrick, Katko amendment is so obvious that one should not have to think twice about it,” said Dr. Patty Hogan of Hogan Equine. “Welfare issues are at the absolute forefront of public concern for any sport or industry associated with horses in this country, and to ignore that fact is to do so at your own peril and demise. Getting this amendment passed will finally close the dangerous loopholes that still exist out there for our most vulnerable members of the U.S. equine population.”

Additional supporters who endorse the amendment: Additional horse racing professionals who endorse the amendment include; Claiborne Farm, Cobra Farm, Crawford Farms, Equine Advocates, Fawn Leap Farm, Foxie G Foundation, Gainesway Farm, Jack Knowlton-Sackatoga Stable, Lael Stable, Machmer Hall Thoroughbreds, NP Zito Racing Stable, Neil Drysdale, Pin Oak Stud, R.A.C.E. Fund, Shadowlawn Farm, Shaun Dugan Agent, Tranquility Farm, U.S. Harness Racing Alumni Association, West Point Thoroughbreds, and numerous others.

To add a farm or organization name in support of HR3684, 'Carter, Fitzpatrick, Katko amendment,' click here.

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