Despite his obvious popularity, I almost failed to notice Johnny Depp both times I walked by the barn at Saratoga. Once he was sitting casually in a chair, ruminating over a cup of coffee with Conor Foley. The other time he was brooding under a tree in that way only the most handsome can brood, like they're ready for a camera as he contemplated shimmying up the trunk.
Did I not mention that Johnny Depp is a cat? Probably should have.
Carol Fisher, assistant to Danny Gargan, said the striking black cat showed up earlier this summer, at which point her phone was filled with daily headlines from the movie star's very public civil lawsuit. Fisher had always been a Depp fan, and the new cat needed a name, which is now engraved on a tag on his collar.
Johnny first appeared near the Chad Brown barn, and Fisher helped to catch him. She'd expected it would be a longer-term project, since everyone assumed he was a feral kitten.
“He came right up to them and was so happy to have a friend,” Fisher said. “That day I made an appointment to take him to the vet. His coat was all matted. I said do whatever you need to do, worm him, shots, neuter him. They said he was already neutered.
“I asked how old they thought he was, and they said he was about 11 months. So I think he was just so malnourished and skinny and it probably stunted his growth a little bit.”
Johnny got his coat clipped to shed the matted hair, which has revealed lighter gray patches of fur brightening up his black coat. His tail, which was not clipped, stands out like a graceful plume behind him. Fisher says he looks “a little funny” with the haircut, which is starting to grow out, but Johnny doesn't seem to be self-conscious about it.
Johnny isn't necessarily a devoted hunter; barn staff reported this week he briefly grabbed a pigeon before it casually flapped away. Otherwise, he's more of a stalker than a carnivore. That isn't really the point of him, though. Instead, he's more of a morale booster inside and outside the barn.
“He'll come out here and kids will pick him up and he just loves it so much. He just loves people,” she said, gesturing toward the snack stand on the backstretch, which is often mobbed by tourists and owners grabbing a bite during morning training.
Johnny enjoys some snuggle time. Photo courtesy Carol Fisher
In recent days, Johnny has been learning to ride on the golf cart, whizzing around the barn area with Fisher and other Gargan staff. He seems more focused on the opportunity to enjoy lap time than anything else. In the way that only cats can, Johnny also seems talented at recognizing a dog person when he sees one. On a recent morning, he climbed into the lap of the one visitor to the barn who characterized himself as 'not really a cat person,' put his head down, and closed his eyes.
Even in his relatively brief interlude at the barn thus far, Johnny is already incredibly popular. Fisher said that the stable maintains a string at Saratoga through the fall and in the spring, but it's not yet clear where Johnny will spend his winter. Gargan is tempted to take him to Florida, but isn't sure he'd take to the condo life. Still, as he carts Johnny around in his arms like a baby, it's hard for Gargan to imagine not seeing him every day.
Gargan cradles Johnny on a recent morning at Saratoga
“He's the best thing I've ever rescued,” said a beaming Gargan.
Fisher has thought about bringing him in for the winter, but she already has two former barn cats living inside with her. One of the grooms is hopelessly devoted to Johnny. Fisher jokes “he has about 30 people fighting over him.
Back by popular demand! The annual Maryland Racing Bowling Bash will again be held at Greenmount Bowl in Hampstead, Md., on Sunday, Sept. 4 at 7:00 p.m. Just like in previous years, the Beyond the Wire Thoroughbred aftercare program will receive 100 percent of all proceeds collected.
Everyone is invited to join the fun for a great night of bowling, drinks and shenanigans with all facets of the racing industry to benefit a great cause.
The bowling center is a short drive from Timonium racetrack, located at: 1625 N Main Street, Hampstead, Md. 21074. It is right next door to Greenmount Station Restaurant, Greenmount OTB and the soon-to-be-open Greenmount Sportsbook.
Greenmount Bowl is a 24-lane entertainment facility consisting of 12 Duckpin and 12 Tenpin lanes featuring a fully stocked bar and tons of modern amenities. The center has become known as a community favorite, proud to have the honor of winning the title of Carroll County's Best Bowling Alley as named by the Carroll County Times and featuring touchscreen scoring throughout…plus a new mammoth 1,000 sq. ft. video wall just installed this summer!
Maryland Racing Bowling Bash
Sunday, September 4, 2022 at 7PM
$40/per person
Sunday, July 24, 2022, will go down as an historic day for Bally's Arapahoe Park — and not just for what took place at the racetrack in Aurora, Colo.
On the track, Collusionist won his tenth career stakes race at Bally's Arapahoe Park in the six-furlong Arapahoe Park Sprint. The 6-year-old dark bay Colorado-bred gelding loves racing in his home state. The stakes milestone was his 14th total victory in 18 starts at Arapahoe since his especially memorable “Silky Sullivan” debut in July 2018.
But that's only part of what the racetrack would celebrate on July 24. That's because 1,000 miles away in Kalispell, Mont., there were two horses from Arapahoe Park competing in international competition at The Event at Rebecca Farm, one of the most prestigious horse shows for the equestrian sport of eventing in the United States. Both finished as the highest-placing Thoroughbreds in their respective levels after show jumping rounds on July 24 that closed out the weekend of competition. They were Outrageous Dance ridden by Katy Robinson in the CCI4*-Short, a stepping stone toward the CCI5*-Long level at the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event or at the Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill, and Del Mar Belle ridden by Amy Bowers in the CCI2*-Long, the first long-format level recognized by the Fédération Équestre Internationale (FEI).
It's not the first time that a small group of horses from Arapahoe has taken the spotlight at a major sporthorse competition. At last year's Mega Makeover presented by Retired Racehorse Project, out of the approximately 400 horses that competed in the 10 disciplines offered, there were three that raced at Bally's Arapahoe Park. All three finished in the top 10, and two made the finale as part of the top five, with one of them in the finale in two different disciplines. Mr. Park and Brit Vegas were second in eventing and fourth in show jumping for the class of 2020. Ms. Battlefield and Autumn Sorensen were second in field hunters for 2020. And, Itybityquikasakity and Britany Chism were ninth in freestyle for 2021.
“We race for three months in the summer, but that's only part of our story,” said Shannon Rushton, Director of Racing at Bally's Arapahoe Park. “Our horses make an impact year-round, and that's a credit to our horsemen making a commitment to their wellbeing when they're here, as well as when they're done racing.”
The Colorado Horsemen's Association (CHA), the group that represents the horsemen that race at Bally's Arapahoe Park, has taken a different approach to Thoroughbred aftercare than most racetracks. Instead of partnering with aftercare organizations that oversee the rehoming of horses from the track, the CHA decided to directly support the people who have horses that used to race at the track. That has come in the form of cash prizes at horse shows, like the Spring Gulch Horse Trials, where 13 of the 129 entries in May raced at the event's local racetrack. The track sponsors a prize for the highest-finishing horse that previously raced in Colorado competing at the Retired Racehorse Project Thoroughbred Makeover.
Out of the approximately 400 horses at the Mega Makeover, three raced at Arapahoe Park, and all three had top-ten finishes. From left to right, Mr. Park and Brit Vegas, Ms. Battlefield and Autumn Sorensen, and Itybityquikasakity and Britany Chism. Photo by Ashley Horowitz
“There are so many great people that take on the responsibility of working with our horses,” said Kim Oliver, president of the CHA. “The horses give us so much on the track, so we want to give back when they've finished racing, and what better way than to the people that now have them.”
Creating a direct line between the racing connections and sporthorse connections of the OTTBs from Bally's Arapahoe Park gives Colorado's racehorses tremendous support to succeed on big stages around the country.
“There's something to be said for the eventing culture of Colorado,” said Robinson, who rode Outrageous Dance in the CCI4*-Short at Rebecca Farm. “There's a lot of people who are into the horsemanship and starting them themselves, and then they get ambitious. It's the nature of eventing in Colorado that you have to cross state lines, so it means you have horses that come from humble beginnings and get spread throughout the country doing the important things because of what it means for the eventing culture of Colorado to be doing milestone events.”
Outrageous Dance, a 10-year-old bay gelding bred in Idaho, raced nine times from July 2014 to July 2016 with one top-three finish. His first United States Eventing Association (USEA) recognized event was in July 2017. At Rebecca Farm in July 2022, he moved up from 20th after dressage to 10th in the final standings following clear jumping rounds where they only added time penalties to their score.
“Every time I think I've found his upper limit, I haven't,” said Robinson, who has also competed Outrageous Dance up to a height of 1.3 meters (4-feet-3) in show jumping. “I have not picked a limit for him, and I will figure it out when I get there, but I don't think I've found it yet.”
Both Del Mar Belle and Amy Bowers, who were profiled in “Horowitz on OTTBs” last month were moving up to the CCI2*-Long level for the first time at Rebecca Farm. They rose from 27th out of 45 after dressage to 17th in the final standings, ahead of the other Thoroughbreds competing at the level.
These horses from Bally's Arapahoe Park are now inspiring their sporthorse riders to become more involved in racing. For Bowers, that means studying racing breeding lines.
“When I bought Belle, I didn't know who Tiznow was because I'm not in the racing world,” she said, referring to Del Mar Belle's Breeders' Cup Classic-winning sire. “But everything I've researched on Tiznow, when you get a chance to buy one, you buy one. And then the dam side with Fusaichi Pegasus, this is great, they have sporthorse stuff on both sides. They didn't realize they unintentionally bred a great eventing horse.”
For Sorensen, who rode Ms. Battlefield to a runner-up finish in field hunters at the Thoroughbred Makeover, it means taking a position at the racetrack as a veterinarian on behalf of the state racing commission starting in 2021.
“I've gotten so much more perspective about racehorses,” she said. “It's been nice to see how the trainers love their horses and take really good care of them.”
Ms. Battlefield returned to Bally's Arapahoe Park to be a pony horse on July 26, three years after running her last race at the track.
It also came full circle for Ms. Battlefield when the mare returned to the track to fill in as a pony horse during the races on July 26.
“I got her the day after her last race, and this was the first time she's been back to the track,” Sorensen said. “I didn't realize you just don't show up and jump right in as a pony horse. I don't even think she's ever had a Western saddle on before. But she'll do anything I ask her to.”
At the end of the day, these horses never actually lose their identity as racehorses.
“He's the easiest to ride at a dead gallop, which makes sense because he's a racehorse,” Robinson said about Outrageous Dance.
So, it's only fitting that the racing connections that work so hard for the success of their horses on the track get to celebrate it when it comes off the track as well.
Veterinarians at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital answer your questions about sales and healthcare of Thoroughbred auction yearlings, weanlings, 2-year-olds and breeding stock. Email us at info@paulickreport.com if you have a question for a veterinarian.
Question: What are some of the differences in treatment and prognosis for laminitis vs. navicular syndrome?
Dr. Craig Lesser, Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital: Having the diagnosis of laminitis or navicular syndrome can be terrifying. The diagnosis of either disease has traditionally been considered to be career-ending. However, in recent years with advances in medicine and farriery, many of these horses can return to their previous careers.
The diseases are, in many ways, polar opposites. Most laminitis cases involve inflammation of the dorsal lamina and pain in the toe, whereas navicular syndrome exhibits pain in the back half of the foot.
There are a variety of medical treatments to help reduce inflammation and slow the progression of the disease. However, mechanical stabilization in the form of therapeutic farriery is essential for a positive outcome. The basics of therapeutic farriery are to transfer loads away from structures that hurt to structures that can handle the extra load.
In regards to laminitis, this means protecting and unweighting the toe and recruiting the frog and bar into load sharing, in addition to decreasing the tension on the deep digital flexor tendon (DDFT), which is pulling against the inflamed lamina, causing the rotation. Early intervention is critical. When the condition is treated aggressively before there are any radiographic changes, we will hopefully prevent rotation and get us back to performance faster. However, once there is rotation, it takes a full year for a new healthy hoof to grow out completely. While shoeing these horses, it is essential to have your veterinarian and farrier work together and be willing to change the plan depending on the horses' response to therapy. There are many different shoeing options with varying application techniques, making treatment very much an art, and what has worked for one horse may not work for the next.
Horses with navicular syndrome can have many of the same concepts apply. Reducing concussion through the back half of the foot, where they are painful, can be achieved with various applications, including pads, heel plates, or floating of certain aspects of the foot. Reduction in the tension of the DDFT as it runs over the navicular bone is often vital, as the tendon uses the bone as a fulcrum for leverage. This can be achieved with stagnant wedges or mechanical wedges with something like a rocker shoe. However, no matter what is placed on the foot as an apparatus, if the trim isn't correct, they will not function properly, which is why sometimes radiographs can be helpful in guiding this therapy.
Dr. Craig Lesser
Suppose your horse is diagnosed with either of these. In that case, it is important to be aggressive not only with medical therapies but also with mechanical therapies to ensure your athlete makes it back into performance or even so that they have a long and healthy life.
Dr. Craig Lesser, CF graduated from Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2015. Following the completion of an internship at Anoka Equine, he moved to Lexington to complete a podiatry fellowship at RREH and has continued with us as an associate. As an extension of podiatry Dr. Lesser has an interest in lameness and imaging.
