Tag: Horse Care

In what was a landmark day for veterinary medicine nationally—and for New Jersey—Gov. Phil Murphy and other state officials and veterinary medicine leaders joined the Rowan community on April 28 to celebrate a $30 million gift for the state's first veterinary school.

The gift from South Jersey businessman and staunch animal welfare advocate Gerald B. Shreiber was announced during a groundbreaking ceremony on Rowan's West Campus in Harrison Township, N.J.

The school will be named the Shreiber School of Veterinary Medicine, a fitting tribute to the successful business leader and entrepreneur from South Jersey who has generously supported education and animal health and wellness for decades.

“Just think about it…there's going to be a very good chance that not too far in the future, graduates of Rowan University will be providing medical care to every member of a family living in New Jersey,” Murphy said to the capacity crowd at the future home of the veterinary school adjacent to the South Jersey Tech Park of Rowan University.

“When the Shreiber School of Veterinary Medicine is added to all else that Rowan University does so well, this institution is truly living up to its motto, 'Education, hope of the world.'”

Three medical degrees

With the addition of the veterinary school, expected to welcome its first class in 2025, Rowan will be one of only two universities in the nation to offer three medical degrees: D.V.M., D.O., and M.D. Currently, there are just 33 veterinary schools in the United States and only five on the east coast.

Shreiber's gift, announced by Rowan President Ali A. Houshmand to thundering applause and a prolonged standing ovation, is the third-largest gift to the University (and the second-largest gift from an individual).

A generous supporter of the University for more than two decades, Shreiber in 2019 pledged $3 million to establish the Shreiber Family Pet Therapy Program. Since then, the program has provided group and individualized therapy animal visits for more than 8,000 Rowan students and employees.

'His confidence in us is both humbling and inspirational'

With Shreiber's gift to the veterinary school, the University will have the means to offer scholarships to veterinary students, Houshmand said. The school will address an increase in demand for veterinary professionals in New Jersey and across the nation. It will help keep state residents seeking veterinary careers in New Jersey and also attract out-of-state students.

The American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges has predicted a shortage of 15,000 veterinarians in the nation within two decades.

“Gerry Shreiber's generosity has literally changed the lives of students at Rowan University. His confidence in us over the years is both humbling and inspirational,” Houshmand said.

“Thank you, Mr. Shreiber, for your investment in Rowan, in New Jersey, in education, and in the health and welfare of animals for years to come. Your gift will be used to support scholarships, making attaining a veterinary degree more accessible and affordable. And that will happen in perpetuity.”

Addressing affordability

Affordability is an important issue for veterinary students, Shreiber School of Veterinary Medicine Founding Dean Matthew Edson said. The gift and its support of scholarships will distinguish the Shreiber School as it works to keep veterinary students in New Jersey, said Edson, who earned his D.V.M. degree from Kansas State University.

“I'm a Jersey guy. I grew up here and I knew what it was like to have to leave our state to obtain a veterinary education,” he said. “The ability to fix that for future generations is really incredibly important to me.

“Affordability of veterinary education is one of the big problems that we have in our industry,” he added. “Folks come out with a large amount of debt and that's a struggle. We don't want to be that program. Donations like what Mr. Shreiber has provided for us are really going to allow us to fill that gap and our students can pursue that career that they want after they graduate–and not just pursue a paycheck.”

Health care for animals impacts all of us, Edson added. Veterinary care includes caring for livestock and addressing zoonotic diseases—infections that are spread between people and animals.

“Veterinary medicine isn't just about pets,” Edson said.

Lifelong animal lover

Chairman of J&J Snack Foods Corp., Shreiber said he is pleased—and proud—to support the veterinary school.

In 1971, Shreiber, who grew up outside Atlantic City, purchased a bankrupt soft pretzel company and transformed it into a multi-billion-dollar snack food and beverage industry that has been listed on the FORBES list of “200 Best Small Companies' seven times. The company's brands include SUPERPRETZEL, ICEE, LUIGI'S and Minute Maid.

A lifelong animal lover, Shreiber has used his business success to generously support education and animal welfare. He created SAFE (Shreiber Animal Foundation Enterprise), which made a transformational gift to establish a pet therapy program at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

“I've been very fortunate in business over the years,” he said. “I'm honored to give this gift. Animals are my passion, so I couldn't think of a better way to give something back to make a positive impact on their lives,” Shreiber said.

“I'm excited to see the development of the veterinary school and to know I have a role in that. I believe New Jersey needs better veterinary care and if I can do my small part to help that, I'm happy to.”

The post Snack Food Magnate With Passion For Pets Donates $30 Million For New Jersey’s First Vet School appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Old Friends, the Thoroughbred Retirement Facility in Georgetown, Ky., will host its 18th Annual Homecoming Event on Sunday, May 7th, beginning at 12 noon.

The event features a live and silent auction of artwork, prints, and racing memorabilia, including several premiere collectible stallion halters.

For those unable to attend the event, absentee bidding for these exceptional halters opens today. On the block are halters worn by:

* Afleet Alex, the 2005 Eclipse Award winning Champion 3-Year Old Colt is best known for his wins in the 2005 Preakness and Belmont Stakes, after losing a bid for the Triple Crown when he stumbled badly out of the gate in the Kentucky Derby, where he still finished third. Today he stands at Gainesway Farm where he's had a good breeding career.

* Charismatic, the 1999 Eclipse Award winner as Horse of the Year and Champion 3-Year Old Colt, won that year's Kentucky Derby and Preakness. He is also known for his loss in the Belmont Stakes due to an injury near the finish line when his jockey, Chris Antley, jumped off the horse and held his leg up until medical help arrived. The rider is credited with saving the horse's life. After healing from the injury, he entered stud at Lane's End, and then in 2002 was sent to JBBA Shizunai Stallion Station in Hokkaido in Japan for the rest of his stud career. He was repatriated to the United States and arrived at Old Friends on Dec. 4, 2016.

* Constitution, who was trained by Todd Pletcher, is a son of Tapit. In his race career, he won two major graded-stakes races, the Florida Derby and the Donn Handicap. Standing at Winstar Farm, he has had a successful stud career, which includes siring Tiz The Law, the 2020 Belmont Stakes and Travers Stakes winner.

* Da Hoss, who was trained by Michael Dickinson, won the 1996 Breeders' Cup Mile, and then is best known for making an amazing comeback when, after being away from the track for two years due to injury and having only one prep race prior to the 1998 Breeders' Cup Championships, he again won the Mile in exciting fashion. In the race, he was leading in the stretch, but was passed by Hawksley Hill. But, Da Hoss came back and passed his rival to get the win. His comeback from injury and in the race was cemented into history by track announcer, Tom Durkin's now famous call, “This the greatest comeback since Lazarus!”

* Essential Quality, who is a son of Tapit, is a multiple graded-stakes winner with his biggest wins coming in the 2020 Breeders' Cup Juvenile and the 2021 Belmont Stakes. For his efforts in those two years of racing, he won Eclipse Awards as 2020 Champion 2-Year Old Colt and 2021 Champion 3-Year Old Colt, respectively.

* Feathered, a daughter of sire, Indian Charlie, won one graded-stakes race in her racing career, the Edgewood Stakes (G3), and was also stakes placed in multiple other stakes races. However, her biggest claim to fame came in 2018 as a broodmare when, in foal to Tapit, she gave birth to Flightline, the 2022 Horse of the Year. Feathered lives across the street from Old Friends at Summer Wind Farm.

* Lava Man is a multiple-graded stakes winner with wins in the Pacific Classic; the Santa Anita Handicap twice; and the Hollywood Gold Cup three times. A one-time claimer, Lava Man earned over $5.2 million in his career. His other claim to fame was being a pony horse for his trainer, Doug O'Neill, guiding the trainer's horses to the track for 13 years, which earned him the nickname, “Coach.” He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2015 and arrived at Old Friends in Nov. 2022.

* Nashville, who was sired by Speightstown, won four of his eight career races for trainer Steve Asmussen. He was undefeated in his first four starts, which included the Perryville Stakes and the Malibu Stakes. In the Perryville Stakes, he set a new track record at Keeneland of 1:07.89 for six-furlongs.

* Pioneerof The Nile was a multiple-graded stakes winner. In his career, he strung together a four-race win streak over two seasons that included the 2008 CashCall Futurity, and the 2009 Robert B. Lewis Stakes, San Felipe Stakes, and Santa Anita Derby that propelled him into the Kentucky Derby where he finished second to 50-1 upset winner, Mine That Bird. Pioneerof The Nile, who tragically died young at age 19 in 2019, is also well known as the sire of American Pharoah who broke the 37-year Triple Crown drought when he won it in 2015 to become the 12th horse to accomplish the feat. He also won that year's Breeders' Cup Classic to complete the newly named accomplishment, the Grand Slam.

* Silver Charm is a multiple graded-stakes winner, with top wins in the 1997 Kentucky Derby and Preakness, and the 1998 Dubai World Cup. Owned by Bob and Beverly Lewis, and trained by Bob Baffert, Silver Charm won the Eclipse Award in 1997 as Champion 3-Year Old Colt. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2007. He began his stud career at Three Chimneys Farm, before being sent to complete his stud career in Japan. He was repatriated to the United States and arrived at Old Friends in Dec. 2014.

* Tapit, a graded-stakes winner, he only raced six times and won three times, with his biggest wins coming in the Laurel Futurity and Wood Memorial Stakes. However, his best known accomplishment is that, since his retirement, he has become one of the greatest sires of all time. Standing at Gainesway Farm, he has “sired 31 Grade 1 winners, 33 yearlings to bring $1 million or more at auction, and earners of over $198 million on the racetrack for the most progeny earnings of any North American sire ever,” according to the farm's website. In addition, he is a three-time Champion Sire and the only top 5 sire 11 of the last 13 years.

Each halter is accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity. Interested buyers unable to attend on Sunday can absentee bid on these items beginning today. To bid, email your name, address, and phone number along with your highest bid to: horses@oldfriendsequine.org

Old Friends is grateful to the private collectors who donated these exceptional halters to our auction.

The post Old Friends Homecoming Auction Premiere Halters Now Available For Absentee Bidding appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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As the Kentucky Derby ticks closer, local and national media have made note of the fact Churchill Downs has seen four equine fatalities in the last week: Kentucky Derby contender Wild On Ice, who suffered a catastrophic injury in training on April 27; Take Charge Briana, who was injured and euthanized in a turf race May 2; plus two horses who suffered “sudden deaths,” meaning their cause was not immediately apparent and did not seem to be due to external trauma or musculoskeletal injury.

The sudden death horses both came from the barn of trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. Parents Pride collapsed and died after failing to finish a race on April 29, and Chasing Artie suffered a similar fate after finishing last, beaten 28 ¾ lengths, in a May 2 turf sprint. Joseph trained the horses for Ken Ramsey.

The attention ahead of the track's biggest event prompted track management to release a statement, reassuring fans that it will “continue to press for answers.”

Three more horses pulled up during the May 3 race card – two of them were vanned off, and one walked off the track. The Daily Racing Form's Dave Grening later tweeted both horses who were vanned are recovering back at the barn and are not considered to have life-threatening injuries.

Sudden deaths are statistically rare events, taking place in .13 per 1,000 starts, according to Equine Injury Database figures published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association in 2022. That study looked at 4,198,073 race starts made by 284,387 horses at 144 North American tracks from 2009 to 2021 and discovered 536 sudden deaths.

Joseph acknowledged to WDRB that the odds of having two horses from the same shedrow suffer a sudden death in such a short time are absurdly long.

“I'm shattered basically, you know what I mean?” Joseph told WDRB. “I know it can't happen – it's mind-boggling. The odds of it happening twice is just a trillion. I run almost 4,000 horses, and it never happened like that. So it doesn't, it doesn't make sense.”

The trainer told WDRB he is currently investigating the deaths within his operation. He had one horse, Accomplished Girl, entered in Wednesday's Mamzelle Overnight Stakes at Churchill Downs, but the 3-year-old Street Boss filly was withdrawn from the race by Joseph. He has a single entry on Thursday and Friday at Churchill Downs, then seven horses on Saturday's Kentucky Derby card, including Lord Miles in the Derby itself.

While Churchill Downs pointed out that the horses were transported to the University of Kentucky Veterinary Diagnostic Lab for necropsy, as per standard practice at Kentucky racing facilities, it's likely those examinations won't yield many answers about what happened in the case of sudden deaths.

Sudden death in racehorses has stumped veterinary pathologists, as it could have a variety of causes. Most are believed to be pulmonary or circulatory in nature, but necropsies aren't always able to discern what went wrong. A 2011 study published in the Equine Veterinary Journal found that in 268 sudden death cases of Thoroughbreds around the world, a cause of death was only identifiable in 53 percent of them after necropsy. Another 25 percent had a presumptive cause determined, and 22 percent remained a total mystery.

Read our 2022 reporting on the necropsy of Medina Spirit, which details the challenges with identifying causes of sudden death.

This is probably because the systems that went haywire ahead of the horse's death can't be observed in action afterwards. It is typical for necropsies of these horses to reveal congestion of blood vessels in certain high blood supply organs like the lungs or spleen, but this may be more a reflection of where blood gathered just after death, rather than an abnormality that was present while the horse's heart was working normally.

Heart attacks do not happen in horses the way they do in humans. In humans, the term refers to a coronary blockage that results in the death of heart tissue. That tissue would appear to be dark, indicating necrosis, on examination. Instead, horses tend to have problems with heart rhythm which may or may not be accompanied by physical abnormalities that would be visible after death. Veterinarians think most of these arrythmias are due to incorrect electrical impulse signaling in the heart, but electrical impulses leave behind no markers to help trace their movements. Many arrhythmias are also believed to be exercise-induced in horses, meaning they wouldn't have had observable problems standing in the barn, either – which is part of what makes cardiac issues in horses so hard to discover and diagnose.

In the case of Medina Spirit, many fans had questions about toxicology testing done on the horse, particularly for thyroxine, after his death. Researchers pointed out that they didn't have a validated testing method for thyroxine levels in a deceased horse – the testing is more commonly done for diagnostic purposes on a living horse – and also that the test could not tell the difference between synthetic and naturally-occurring thyroid hormones. If officials are able to get blood samples from a horse before euthanasia or just after a sudden death, those may be tested for drugs. Tissue testing of organs can be used to uncover exposure to heavy metal or other poisons.

Ramsey told Horse Racing Nation Wednesday that “preliminary” bloodwork on both horses showed no abnormalities.

The 2022 JAVMA study identified 15 risk factors associated with sudden death in racing, which included horse age, season, race purse, race distance, and horses' recent history of injury. Trainer was not found to be a statistically significant predictor of a horse's likelihood to experience a sudden death.

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission mandates mortality reviews between state officials and a horse's trainer after a final necropsy report has been completed in an effort to identify potential causes or risk factors. The agency has not yet uploaded any mortality review reports from 2023, but past mortality reviews are available here.

Meanwhile, the timing of the deaths has prompted mainstream media attention with harsh headlines, a few of which are included below.

Sports Illustrated: Horse Deaths Cast A Shadow Over The Kentucky Derby

The Guardian: What Do Horses Feel AT The Kentucky Derby? Mostly Fear And Pain

CNN: Churchill Downs: After Four Horses Die, Home Of Kentucky Derby Calls Circumstances 'Unacceptable' And 'Troubling'

ESPN: Churchill Downs To Work With Investigators After Four Horse Deaths

The post Churchill Saw Two Sudden Deaths Of Horses From The Same Trainer In Four Days; What Does It Mean? appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The Churchill Downs Media Office released the following statement to the press on the afternoon of May 3:

Transparency is an important component of our commitment to safety and accountability in horse racing. We share the concern of our fans who have questions about the recent equine fatalities at Churchill Downs Racetrack and we extend our sincere condolences to those who love and cared for these horses.

Since Opening Night of Kentucky Derby Week, two horses trained by Saffie Joseph Jr. have died suddenly of cause yet to be identified: Parents Pride on Saturday and Chasing Artie on Tuesday. Two other horses sustained musculoskeletal injuries from which they could not recover: Wild on Ice last Thursday while training on dirt and Take Charge Briana during a turf race on Tuesday. Wild on Ice was transported to Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital for care, but both were ultimately euthanized for humane reasons.

While a series of events like this is highly unusual, it is completely unacceptable. We take this very seriously and acknowledge that these troubling incidents are alarming and must be addressed. We feel a tremendous responsibility to our fans, the participants in our sport and the entire industry to be a leader in safety and continue to make significant investments to eliminate risk to our athletes. We have full confidence in our racing surfaces and have been assured by our riders and horsemen that they do as well.

Each horse was transported to the University of Kentucky Veterinary Diagnostics Lab for complete necropsies.  We continue to press for answers and are working with regulators to conduct swift and thorough investigations.

The safety and well-being of horses is a critical issue for which everyone in the industry shares responsibility; however, we will continue to take every measure to ensure that we are providing the safest possible environment  for horses on our property.

The post After Four Equine Deaths In Six Days, Churchill Will ‘Continue To Press For Answers’ appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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