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Arapahoe Park To See Purse Increases For 2021 Meet

A recently announced $2,000 bump for all open-company overnight races is designed to reward loyal horsemen supporting the Bally's Arapahoe Park 2021 meet set to open Wednesday. The Aurora, Colo., racetrack pushed back the season from its usual mid-summer dates to allow the simulcast-driven purse fund to recover from pandemic-related OTB closures. The added time has resulted in a purse account that is as flush as it has been in many years.

In addition to the purse increase, Arapahoe is offering a new bonus structure for Colorado-breds competing against open company, with up to $2,000 in additional purse funds for a top-three finish.

First post will be 12 p.m. (Noon) MT, Wednesdays to Fridays, through Oct 15.

The mixed meet will offer Arabian, American Quarter Horse, and Thoroughbred racing. Select Thoroughbred races will be broadcast live on TVG and/or TVG2. All races are available on every prominent wagering platform.

Wednesday's Opening Day program kicks off with an Arabian maiden special weight, followed by six Thoroughbred races. The featured seventh race is a $15,500 allowance for non-winners of four races or non-winners in 2021 going 5 1/2 furlongs. The competitive field includes Docs Holiday, winner of last year's Colorado Thoroughbred Breeders Association (CTBA) Derby; Collusionist, a two-time stakes winner at Arapahoe in 2020; Doby, who ran one of the fastest races of the meet last year as a 3-year-old but was disqualified for interference; Maius, champion of the 2019 Gold Rush Futurity, the meet's most prestigious race; and King Parker, on the board in seven of 12 starts this year.

Opening week also includes Quarter Horse trials for the $75,000 Mile High Futurity (Thursday) and the $75,000 Mile High Derby (Friday). The stakes schedule features 15 Thoroughbred stakes, including six for Colorado-breds, as well as seven for Quarter Horses and three for Arabians.

Last year's leading trainer, Stetson Mitchell, is back to defend his title with 60 horses stabled here. Adrian Ramos is favored to lead the jockey standings after sharing last year's title with the legendary Scott Stevens, who retired in March.

Admission will be free for live racing. Much of the grandstand will be closed due to precautionary measures for COVID-19 but the ground-level concessions and bar will be open.

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Study Answers Key Questions About Nocardioform Placentitis, But Etiology Remains Elusive

A new study published in the peer-reviewed journal Theriogenology reveals more about nocardioform placentitis, a placental infection that has plagued breeders and stud farm managers for decades. Placentitis is believed to account for 19 percent of equine infectious abortions nationwide, but much remains unknown about the disease.

A research team led by Dr. Carleigh Fedorka at the Gluck Equine Research Center in Lexington, Ky., studied 264 mares — 145 who were suspected to have the disease and 119 with apparently healthy pregnancies — and compared characteristics of their pregnancies and resulting foals.

The study found that nocardioform placentitis tends to be associated with older mares, and it isn't contagious between mares in the same turnout group. One episode of nocardioform placentitis does not necessarily presuppose another in the same horse the following year, and mares did not seem to experience abnormal cycles or reduced fertility after a case of nocardioform placentitis. Mares who were given antibiotics and hormones throughout their pregnancies to stave off the disease were no less likely to develop a case of nocardioform placentitis than those who were not.

While one of the most classic symptoms of nocardioform placentitis is abortion, some mares whose placenta indicated they had the illness did produce live foals. The study found those foals were smaller than average, but were otherwise healthy and had normal blood counts at birth.

Interestingly, the size of the placentitis lesion on an infected mare's placenta seemed to vary according to the date of breeding, with mares bred later in spring showing larger lesions.

Nocardioform placentitis is believed to be caused by bacteria, but researchers don't know how the bacteria causes the inflammation of the placenta that's characteristic of the disease. It's characterized by premature mammary gland development, thickened placental and uterine walls on ultrasound, or visible separation of the placenta from the uterine walls on ultrasound. There are several forms of placentitis, but the nocardioform version is accompanied by a thick, brown mucous covering the placenta at the site of the lesion, which prevents the placenta from continuing to support the fetus in some cases. Nocardioform placentitis case numbers seem to sometimes wax and wane across breeding seasons, suggesting that season or weather conditions may play a role in its development.

Read the full study here.

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Author Jennifer Kelly To Serve As Paulick Report Weekend Editor

The Paulick Report is pleased to announce the appointment of author and historian Jennifer Kelly as its new weekend editor.

Kelly brings a wealth of writing experience to the role, having worked as a technical writer and college writing instructor before embarking on her first book titled 'Sir Barton and the Making of the Triple Crown,' published by University Press of Kentucky in 2019. She was inspired to write the book on Sir Barton when she wanted to learn more about the first American Triple Crown winner and realized how few resources there were in place to tell his story.

Kelly is currently working on a second book titled 'Foxes of Belair: Gallant Fox, Omaha, and the Quest for the Triple Crown.'

“We are thrilled to have someone with Jennifer's passion for racing in our weekend editor role,” said editor-in-chief Natalie Voss. “I've enjoyed her work for years and am happy to have her unique perspective on our team of contributors.”

Kelly has been a horse racing fan since watching her first Kentucky Derby in 1988 and has been a speaker at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, the Keeneland Library, and Kentucky Derby Museum.

Kelly has previously specialized in research and writing for academic and business settings. She holds bachelor's degrees in English and French from the University of Montevallo and a master's degree in English from The University of Alabama in Huntsville. From there, she shifted to teaching first-year composition and technical writing for over a decade at The University of Alabama in Huntsville.

“I am excited to join the team at Paulick Report,” said Kelly. “This is a team deep in talent and experience and I am grateful for the chance to be a part of a roster of turfwriters like this one.”

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Mcgrapth Arrested On Charges Of Animal Cruelty In Kentucky Boarding Operation Case

Xavier Mcgrapth, the subject of a criminal complaint of 13 counts of animal cruelty in the second degree, was arrested on April 13, according to an update from the Bourbon County Sheriff's Office in Central Kentucky. Mcgrapth, 24, of Versailles, Ky., came in for an interview regarding the case and was arrested at the conclusion of the interview.

“The Bourbon County Sheriff's Office and the Bourbon County Attorney's Office are working closely together to bring this case to a close,” read a statement from the sheriff's office. “At this time, all horses involved have been removed from the farm and relocated to facilities to best suit the care they need.”

Mcgrapth has yet to be arraigned and is out on a $2,000 bond, according to court and county detention center records.

About two dozen horses were discovered at a property Mcgrapth was leasing off Brentsville Road in various states of neglect in late March. Owners, many of whom were located out of state, told media at the time they had engaged Mcgrapth to board broodmares or young training horses for them after seeing his services advertised through Facebook as McGrapth Breaking and Training and/or Whispering Creek Thoroughbreds.

Read more about the case from our previous reporting here.

The investigation remains active, according to the sheriff's office.

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