Another successful Colonial Downs race meet will culminate on Virginia Derby Day, highlighted by a dedication to the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA).
The Kitten's Joy Stakes (G3) will be presented by the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance on Virginia Derby Day. A presentation of a TAA blanket and swag bag will be made to the winning connections following the running of the race.
“We're thrilled to again partner with the TAA in sponsorship of the Kitten's Joy Stakes,” said Colonial Downs Vice-President of Racing Operations, Jill Byrne. “We appreciate and value the importance of what the TAA provides to the industry and are happy to recognize their great efforts on our biggest day of the year, especially with a race named after one of the greatest Virginia Derby winners ever.”
The TAA will host the Best Turned Out Horse awards sponsored by the Virginia Horsemen's Benevolent Protection Agency (HBPA) for every stake race on the Sep. 6 card.
Winning grooms of the Best Turned Out Horse awards sponsored by the Virginia HBPA will receive a $100 cash prize and a TAA swag bag and will be streamed on the live simulcast feed at the New Kent, Virginia-based track.
“The Virginia HBPA is happy to sponsor and recognize the fine care that grooms provide our horses,” said Virginia HBPA Executive Director, Frank Petramalo Jr. “We at the Virginia HBPA are so appreciative of what the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance and its accredited organizations provide for these horses after they retire.”
Initiated in 2019, Colonial Downs and the Virginia HBPA have each pledged $15 per start at the Colonial Downs meet to the TAA.
“Both Colonial Downs and the Virginia HBPA are staunch supporters of the TAA, and we are thankful for their recurring inclusion of the TAA on Virginia Derby Day,” said TAA President, Jeffrey Bloom. “We look forward to this event every year and the opportunity it provides to work alongside TAA supporting racetracks and horsemen's groups to promote Thoroughbred aftercare.”
Two more South Carolina horses have tested positive for Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA), bringing the total to five positive cases in the past 30 days, said South Carolina State Veterinarian Dr. Michael Neault. All the cases originated from a bush racetrack; all five horses have been euthanized.
EIA does not affect humans. In horses, it can be transmitted by bloodsucking insects, but it can also be introduced to a horse through the use of infected needles that have been reused, or through medical, dental, or tattoo equipment. Reusing needles when vaccinating or administering medications should be avoided at all costs, even if it saves money, as it invites the spread of disease.
Horses infected with EIA can have a fever and little appetite, and they can also become severely anemic, weak, or depressed. An infected horse may have rapid heart and respiration rates, swelling or bleeding from the nose, or they may die suddenly.
There is no treatment for an EIA; if infected horses don't die from the disease, they become lifelong reservoirs and must be permanently quarantined or euthanized.
A Coggins test screens for EIA antibodies. EIA is reportable in all 50 states. The infections are the first in South Carolina since 2014.
In its continuing commitment to global sustainability, Boehringer Ingelheim has partnered with international recycling leader TerraCycle® to create a recycling program for Aservo® Equihaler® (ciclesonide inhalation spray). ASERVO EQUIHALER is the world's first approved inhalant glucocorticoid therapy for horses suffering from severe equine asthma. This program will ensure the device will not contribute to the increasing problem of overcrowded landfills. As an additional incentive, for every ASERVO EQUIHALER device returned to TerraCycle, senders can earn points which can be donated to a non-profit, school or charitable organization of their choice.
Participation in the program is free and simple. Veterinarians and horse owners sign up here, download the prepaid shipping label, affix the label to any box and ship the empty ASERVO EQUIHALER to TerraCycle. Once collected, the plastic material is melted down, pelletized and shaped into hard plastic to be used in creating new products such as shipping pallets and park benches.
The ASERVO EQUIHALER is designed for single, 10-day usage, making it important to be part of a recycling process. “This product is bringing great innovation to the equine industry for multiple reasons,” said Amanda McAvoy, Head of U.S. Equine Business. “It's the first approved inhaled glucocorticoid treatment for horses with severe equine asthma, it is made from up to 50% recycled materials and is now able to be recycled through this collaboration with TerraCycle. We're proud to continue being part of the team that is devoted to equine health care.”
“On the global level, Boehringer Ingelheim is committed to other sustainability practices such as the BE GREEN – Future by Choice Program that encompasses water stewardship, use of renewable energies and overall reductions in energy usage,” said McAvoy. “We are excited that the equine team in the U.S. can align with this global commitment.”
“The ASERVO EQUIHALER Recycling Program is a great example of a targeted waste stream that has huge potential to do great things both for animal health and sustainability in the veterinary industry,” said Tom Szaky, CEO and Founder of TerraCycle. “TerraCycle's partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim marks an exciting opportunity to engage horse enthusiasts, animal lovers and veterinarians with sustainability in a way that hasn't been done before.”
The ASERVO EQUIHALER Recycling Program is open to any interested individual horse owner or veterinary practice.
With horses comes grain. With grain comes mice and rats. It's a universal truth battled by horsemen in many ways through the years, from sturdy bins to cats to a Jack Russell Terrier named George.
Trainer Amira Chichakly has a different solution. They require an oversized plastic cage, and often confuse her toddler's toys for theirs.
Their names are Jagger and Slim Jim, and they are ferrets.
“I had a ferret when I was a kid briefly,” said Chichakly. “And I knew they would go after mice, and that even the smell of them would drive away mice. Actually the first time I brought them to Belmont, the rats cleared out. They didn't disappear, but they stopped coming into the barn. Then they got used to it a little bit, they came back, and then I started letting [the ferrets] loose in the shed.”
When Chichakly first acquired them from a pet store near Belmont a few months ago, they were too young and too unfamiliar with a stable setting to roam freely around the barn. About the time they got big enough to do some serious hunting, it was time for Saratoga, where there isn't a rodent problem. While she doesn't have a lot of data to go on, she suspects they're going to earn their keep as rat-catchers when they return to Belmont.
“I'm excited to let them loose at Belmont to let them hunt for a few hours instead of just 30 minutes a day,” she said. “People apparently sell ferret-soaked papers and bedding to get rid of mice, so you don't even really need the ferret. But my guess is the genetically-modified pseudo rats we have at Belmont wouldn't care so much. They'd figure it out.”
Jagger and Jim are both leash-trained and (sometimes) come when called. They're also faster than you may expect of a creature with such short legs, darting around and disappearing into holes they've made under the barn office or storage shed. They spend training hours in their cage in the shade outside Chichakly's barn and hop around the yard after horses are put away for the morning. Chichakly will sometimes leave one in the cage while the other plays to keep them from getting bold and wandering too far, but they mostly seem, like a barn cat or dog, to know their territory and stay nearby on their own. They showed some initial interest in the horses, but have learned decorum at the ripe age of five months.
Saskia (the dog) comes face to face with Jagger and Jim
“They seem to have no understanding of their own mortality,” she said. “When I first got them, Jimmy, day one, goes into the stalls, bites a horse on the foot. Looks at it, sniffs it, bites. Now that they're a little older, they now know the foot is attached to a whole horse and you don't do that.”
At the time, the three-month-old ferret's teeth weren't much to write home about and didn't even leave a mark on the horse's pastern. Rather, the filly snorted at the ferret in surprise, and he evidently rethought his priorities.
Ferrets are odd creatures for those unfamiliar with them. Chichakly says they have the attitude of a puppy with the fluid spine of a snake. If you pick one up, they feel much like a furry Slinky toy, wriggling and wobbling in all directions without a care.
That's assuming you can catch one. Jim and Jagger spent a recent morning darting from one side of Chichakly's storage shed to another, trying to make off with a bath sponge, and ignoring a bag of their own feed while trying to climb into a bag of the horses' grain.
They've gotten used to being carried or slung over the shoulder of Chichakly's daughter Kriya, who enjoys carting them around. Although they're not given to sit still long enough to request pats from humans in the same way a dog or cat would, they are social.
Chichakly's daughter, Kriya, frequently carries the ferrets from place to place, which they don't seem to mind.
“They're unlike anything and they're both terrifyingly creepy and adorable,” she said. “They want to be a part of our family. They'll search us out.”
Despite their quirks, Chichakly said the mischievous pair have a certain charm to them.
“They're very loyal animals,” she said. “And I'd say they're a lot smarter than your average Labrador. You'll see them figure things out. You have to watch the latches [on the cage] and double latch them because they'll figure that out from the inside. They come in the feed room all the time, and they know where they left things. You'll see them plan things. It probably serves them well when it comes to hunting rats and mice.”
