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Fair Grounds Must Pay Record Fine in Clean Water Act Settlement

In an attempt to resolve years of federal Clean Water Act (CWA) violations at its Fair Grounds racetrack in New Orleans, Churchill Downs Louisiana Horseracing Company, LLC, has agreed to pay a $2.7 million penalty–the largest civil fine ever paid by a concentrated animal feeding operation in a CWA matter.

Under the terms of the settlement announced Sept. 29 by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ), the limited liability company that runs Fair Grounds must also implement $5.6 million in operational changes and construction projects to eliminate the unauthorized discharges of manure, urine, and wastewater from the track’s stable area.

“We are pleased to announce an agreement with Churchill Downs to address years of CWA violations at its Fair Grounds racetrack in New Orleans,” said principal deputy assistant attorney general Jonathan Brightbill of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “This consent decree will stop the flow of untreated process wastewater into the local sewer system, which leads to local waters used for fishing…in a way that recognizes the challenges presented by the racetrack’s urban location.”

According to the joint EPA/DOJ press release, the federal complaint alleges that Fair Grounds violated the CWA, “including the terms and conditions of its Louisiana Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit. Specifically, the complaint alleges that since at least 2012, Fair Grounds has regularly discharged untreated process wastewater into the New Orleans municipal separate storm sewer system that leads to the London Avenue Canal, Lake Pontchartrain, the Mississippi River, and ultimately to the Gulf of Mexico.”

According to the release, Fair Grounds’s permit prohibits any discharge unless there is a significant rain event (i.e., when 10 inches of rain falls in 24 hours).

“In violation of their permit, Fair Grounds has discharged wastewater after as little as a half-inch of rain, as well as in dry weather,” the EPA/DOJ release stated. “The complaint alleges that unauthorized discharges of contaminated wastewater occurred more than 250 times between 2012 and 2018. The untreated wastewater contains manure, urine, horse wash water, and other biological materials that are ‘pollutants’ as defined by the CWA, the facility’s permit, and the applicable EPA and Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality regulations.”

The release stated that the consent decree “includes a provision requiring Fair Grounds to implement additional remedial measures if these measures do not successfully eliminate unauthorized discharges.”

The settlement was lodged Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana and is subject to a 30-day public comment period. The penalty is due within 30 days of the effective date of the consent decree, the release stated.

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Hurricane Aftermath: Commission Orders Fair Grounds Open To Evacuees, Churchill Goes To Court

Last Thursday evening marked the second time this year that the Louisiana State Racing Commission has issued an emergency order related to stabling, reports nola.com. After a request from the Louisiana Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, the commission ordered both the Fair Grounds in New Orleans and Louisiana Downs in Bossier City to take in Thoroughbreds from Evangeline Downs (Opelousas).

Hurricane Laura's path of destruction left Delta Downs, in Vinton, La., in bad shape, and though an evacuation order was in place for the area, as many as 500 Quarter Horses and their caretakers had nowhere else to go. All managed to survive the hurricane, but now many are in temporary stabling locations with nowhere to train.

Evangeline Downs ended its Thoroughbred meet this weekend, and the horses at the Opelousas track would normally shift to Delta Downs for the next Thoroughbred race meet, while Delta's Quarter Horse population would shift to Evangeline. Since Delta is not in any condition to host racing, there simply aren't enough stalls to accommodate both populations at the same time.

The commission's decision would send Evangeline's Thoroughbreds to the Fair Grounds, while the Quarter Horses would be able to take up residence at Evangeline. However, Churchill Downs, Inc., the Fair Grounds' parent company, has said that the New Orleans track is not prepared to take on horses at this time. The track is in the midst of preventative maintenance, New Orleans has been a hotspot for Covid-19, and hurricane season is not yet ended.

“We would love to help,” Fair Grounds attorney David Waguespack said during Thursday's commission meeting, according to crescentcitysports.com. “We're just not able to do what the Commission wants us to do.”

The commission's order included that both Fair Grounds and Louisiana Downs provide: stabling for the horses, “customary accommodations” for their caretakers, training hours, and the necessary security and maintenance staff.

On Friday, Churchill's lawyers lodged a legal challenge asking an Orleans Parish judge to halt the order. A hearing is scheduled for this Friday, Sept. 11.

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Mr. Big News’ Experience Should Play A Big Role In Saturday’s Blue Grass Stakes

After Mr. Big News finished fifth in the Fair Grounds' G2 Risen Star Stakes in February, trainer Bret Calhoun was excited about the 3-year-old colt's prospects heading down the Road to the Kentucky Derby. Unfortunately, a large number of entries meant that Mr. Big News was excluded from the Louisiana Derby in March.

“I felt like he had a big chance that day, but we got excluded,” Calhoun said on an NTRA conference call on Tuesday afternoon.

Calhoun shifted gears and entered the Chester Thomas-owned colt in the listed Oaklawn Stakes on April 11. Mr. Big News was sent off at odds of nearly 47-1 in the $200,000 contest, but Calhoun had a lot of confidence in his charge.

“I think Gabe Saez gave him the kind of trip he had been looking for (in the Oaklawn Stakes),” Calhoun said. “He wants to be more of a free-running horse and use his stride. He gained a lot of experience in his earlier races, being down on the inside and taking the kickback, and I think that prepared him for that race. The pace scenario set up for him that day, and he was able to get home a winner.”

Mr. Big News charged from near dead-last to win the Oaklawn by a half-length, earning a spot in the starting gate for the Arkansas Derby, rescheduled for the first Saturday in May. Calhoun elected to skip that race, as well as the opportunity to earn Kentucky Derby points when he shifted his home base to Churchill Downs, in the Matt Winn Stakes in late May.

“I thought it was a little quick back from Arkansas, and he was being a little finicky eating for four or five days,” Calhoun explained. “I decided that the (Kentucky) Derby wasn't until September, so it would be best to have him at 100 percent.”

Initially, the plan had been to target the Indiana Derby on Wednesday night, since Triple Crown contender Maxfield was said to be pointing to the Blue Grass at Keeneland. When Maxfield defected, Calhoun decided to stay closer to home and enter the rescheduled Blue Grass Stakes on July 11.

“A lot of people may not believe in him because the Oaklawn win came in the mud,” Calhoun said. “His physical and mental maturity have improved a lot… I'm excited like the rest of the horsemen are to be back racing at Keeneland.”

Though Saez was handed a 30-day suspension by stewards in Indiana, he has been granted an exemption to ride Mr. Big News in the Blue Grass this Saturday.

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‘Right Horses In The Right Spot’: James Graham Hoping Luck Holds Again This Summer At Ellis Park

James Graham won last year's Ellis Park riding title amid what likely was the toughest jockey colony in track history. Now he'll try to repeat his crown against an even deeper assembly of riders during the RUNHAPPY Summer Meet at Ellis Park that begins Thursday and runs through Aug. 30.

Graham won the 2019 Ellis title with 26 wins to nip the 25 accrued by three-time defending champion Corey Lanerie and Tyler Baze, who had just relocated from California to Kentucky. Graham has been adept this past year in winning meet championships in photo finishes, taking the Fair Grounds winter title in New Orleans with 63 victories, one better than Mitchell Murrill and three more than Colby Hernandez, both of whom will be based at Ellis Park for the first time.

Lanerie, who has won five Ellis titles overall, was out of state riding on the last day of the 2019 meet, when Graham won two races to secure his first crown at a Kentucky track.

“We got lucky,” Graham said. “Corey was out of town the last weekend, just about. If Corey had been there, would he have won two or one? Would Tyler have gotten lucky? With a couple of better trips from the horses he rode, he might have won it, too. Just luck. Riding the right horses in the right spot in the right time.”

But don't think that the 41-year-old doesn't take deep pride in winning his first riding title in Kentucky, after having won riding titles at Chicago's Arlington Park and New Orleans' Fair Grounds.

“Always, always,” Graham said. “Every win is an achievement.”

Still, he insists he didn't think about winning the title until the final days.

“I don't think about stuff like that,” Graham said. “I just think about the here and the now and riding races. I didn't realize I was as close as I was. I was just doing my work, enjoying it, because I enjoy riding. And that's what it's about. It's not about, 'Yeah, we knew we were close, but we didn't know if we were actually going get there.' Because you're worried about now and not what's going to happen in three or four days from now.”

With 15 wins, Graham also had a big meet at Churchill Downs, whose meet ended this past Sunday.

“You can never expect too much in horse racing,” he said. “You hope to have a good meet. The bonus is coming out of it without being hurt, making it through and making a living for yourself.”

Graham, a married father of three, grew up in Dublin, Ireland, coming to the United States in 2002 and working as an exercise rider in Lexington. His first summer as a jockey in America came in 2003 at Ellis Park before he moved on to ride at Chicago's Arlington Park in the summers and then on to California before returning to Kentucky fours years ago.

As the purse money got better at Ellis Park, so did the competition to win races.

Last year Florent Geroux and Baze were among those deciding that it works well to stay in Kentucky for the summer, riding at Ellis Park except when stakes business drew them out of state. Geroux is a five-time Breeders' Cup winner, including on Horse of the Year Gun Runner and Kentucky Oaks winner and champion Monomoy Girl. Baze was the Eclipse Award-winning apprentice jockey in 2000.

New for 2020 are two-time Eclipse Award-winning jockey Julien Leparoux, California mainstays Joe Talamo and Martin Garcia, Louisiana stalwart Colby Hernandez (brother of Kentucky-based Brian Hernandez) and the up-and-coming Mitchell Murrill, along with the return of two-time Ellis champ Rafael Bejarano after 13 years in California. That's in addition to the strong cast of regulars: Graham, Lanerie, Brian Hernandez, Miguel Mena, Shaun Bridgmohan and — oh, by the way — three-time Kentucky Derby-winner and Hall of Famer Calvin Borel.

“No matter where you go in Kentucky, it's always tough,” Graham said. “You've got a lot of good riders. Miguel Mena has a fantastic meet wherever he goes because he's a very good rider. You've got Mitchell Murrill coming in; he's been second at the Fair Grounds a couple of times. It's not like it's going to be easy anywhere being leading rider. And you've got Corey and you've got Brian. You got Colby Hernandez. A lot of guys are staying in Kentucky this year.

“… The riders here win races everywhere. To me, you hope everything goes well, hopefully get on some pretty nice stock. You look at the stock that ran last year, there were a lot of good horses who went to the Breeders' Cup, a lot of good 2-year-olds that broke their maidens at Ellis. The quality of horses in Kentucky has always been good. The quality of the maidens at Ellis Park have always been decent, but they've gotten better over the past couple of years. People don't want to go to New York and run against the heavy-heads like Todd Pletcher, Chad Brown and a couple of those guys who are always loaded. But we've got good horses. It's been very competitive the last couple of years in Kentucky with young horses and everybody kind of wanting to stay at home.”

With the exception of Churchill Downs meet-leader Tyler Gaffalione and Ricardo Santana Jr., who both will go to Saratoga for the summer, Ellis Park's jockeys' room will be much the same as the Louisville track. And Santana is riding the first two days at Ellis.

“I don't think there's ever been an Ellis Park jockey colony this deep, and I've been going to every meet since I was a kid,” said Jimmy McNerney, Ellis Park's announcer and race analyst. “Since we raised our purses and the quality of racing, every year the colony has gotten better. This is obviously the strongest one to date. You can go 12 deep in here. There's never been that many Derby and Breeders' Cup-winning jockeys at Ellis.”

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