Santa Anita Park has opened its all-new synthetic Tapeta inner training track manufactured by Maryland-based Tapeta Footings, Inc., effective Saturday morning.

Following the Breeders' Cup, the 'Great Race Place' embarked upon an $8 million project to provide horsemen with a state-of-the-art all-weather surface that will complement its one-mile natural dirt main track and serve as a safe and viable component in the conditioning of Thoroughbreds on a year 'round basis.

“At Tapeta, our aim is to maintain the surface so that we have a soft cushion below and a slightly firmer finish on top,” said Joan Wakefield, of Tapeta Footings. “This helps to reduce kickback and provide stability without as much impact on the horse. For the training track at Santa Anita, we have used a high temperature wax specially blended to suit the California climate.”

Santa Anita's original training track, “Anita Chiquita,” was eliminated in the early 1970s when construction began on what is now The Shops at Santa Anita Mall which adjoins the racetrack off of Baldwin Ave. Subsequently, Santa Anita's current inner training track was constructed at that time. At 4,200 feet, it is just shy of 6 1/2 furlongs in circumference.

“We are delighted to have finished construction on this very important project and I know our horsemen are anxious to begin utilizing it,” said Santa Anita Senior Vice President and General Manager Nate Newby. “It's been a major undertaking and we are so fortunate to have the project headed up by Dennis and Rob Moore along with Jesse Martinez.”

The post New Synthetic Tapeta Training Track Opens At Santa Anita appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Gessmann spoke in the wake of Oct. 4 oral arguments in the Fifth Circuit case that pits the HBPA and 12 of its affiliates against the HISA Authority and the Federal Trade Commission. On May 4, a lower court deemed that the now-in-effect version of HISA is indeed constitutional because a 2022 rewrite of the law fixed constitutionality problems the Fifth Circuit had identified. Shortly after that lower court's ruling came out in the spring, the HBPA plaintiffs then swiftly filed for another appeal back to the Fifth Circuit, which agreed to hear the case on an “expedited” basis.

“Both sides left the [Fifth Circuit] hearing feeling positive that they made good arguments and that they would win,” Gessmann said. “So it's also been stated by both parties, no matter what the result is, the next step is the U.S. Supreme Court. We'll see when we get a ruling. Usually it takes about 30 to 60 days to get a ruling.”

Gessmann then segued into updating the AZRC on a related project spearheaded by the HBPA, which is federal legislation filed Sept. 26 to repeal HISA and replace it with a voluntary interstate compact to govern the nation's Thoroughbred, Standardbred, and Quarter Horse racing.

That bill, named the Racehorse Health and Safety Act (RHSA), would establish a governing body known as the Racehorse Health and Safety Organization (RHSO), which would oversee breed-specific Scientific Medication Control Committees tasked with drafting and recommending drug rules for each breed.

There would also be racetrack safety oversight based on existing standards as set forth by both the National Thoroughbred Racing Association and the model rules of the Association of Racing Commissioners International.

Individual states would decide whether their own racing commission or the RHSO got to enforce the new federal rules, which would supersede existing state statutes. States wouldn't have to opt into the RHSO, but the cost of not doing so would jeopardize their racetracks' ability to simulcast out of state.

“So far, we've got a lot a lot of reviews on it, and it seems to have gained some traction, so hopefully something can be done there,” Gessmann said, adding that the bill has been “well-received and is moving through the process in the legislature in Congress.”

Asked by commissioner Linda York if he had any sense of a timetable for when the bill might make it to the Congressional floor, Gessmann said, “We have not been advised of anything, how quickly it could get there. Unfortunately, the National HBPA doesn't have a very large pack [of lobbyists] to help move things through.”

The RHSA's sponsor is Rep. Clay Higgins, a Louisiana Republican. More than two weeks after its introduction, the bill has not yet been assigned to a committee. It has thus far gained one co-sponsor, Rep. Doug Lamborn, a Colorado Republican.

The post Former HBPA Prez On 5th Circuit Appeal: ‘No Matter The Result’ Both Sides Expect Supreme Court To Decide HISA’S Fate appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

In her 20-year career in racing, Bungert has worked as a groom, exercise rider, veterinary assistant, assistant trainer, racing official and program director at several Kentucky racetracks.

“Safety is the responsibility of everyone involved in racing,”  said Jamie Eads, executive director of the KHRC. “Centralized communication between officials, racing participants and track management is a key aspect of both safety and compliance. We're excited to have Beth join us, because she is someone who understands daily operations and can identify potential improvements in safety protocol. And, importantly, she is a long-time horsewoman who cares about the safety of the sport.”

Bungert added, “This position is the culmination of a career on the racetrack. I have been involved in almost every aspect of racing and look forward to bringing those experiences together for the safety of both horse and rider.”

The safety steward will make recommendations to racetrack management and regulators for the welfare of horses and riders, integrity of racing and compliance with horse racing laws and regulations.

The post Beth Bungert Named KHRC Safety Steward appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Why?

Because in analyzing data on Thoroughbred fatalities from 2020, Palmer said he has determined the COVID-19 pandemic could be considered a novel risk factor for fatal injuries last year. Overall, there were 24 percent fewer fatalities per 1,000 starts in the region in 2020 as compared to 2019, but Palmer noticed some shifts in the types of fatalities that did occur. The number and percentage of overall fatalities that occurred during racing (versus training or other activities) went down, which Palmer said was to be expected since the pandemic pause resulted in resulted in fewer race cards in 2020 versus 2019.

He did see a change in the proportion of fatalities occurring in training, however – especially in juvenile runners.

“We had a very unusually high number of fatalities in 2-year-old racehorses, particularly at Saratoga Racetrack this summer,” said Palmer, who presented the data during a teleconference hosted by the Association of Racing Commissioners International. “There are always many factors that enter into fatalities and I'm not going to try to tell you COVID was the only reason for that, but you put COVID on top of a really crummy winter where it was tough to train anyway, and it wasn't like we could move the Saratoga meet back to September.”

Once racing was cancelled, Palmer said it didn't make sense for some owners that keep their horses on the farm to send them to the track as usual and pay a day rate when they had no idea how much longer racing would be shut down. Some 2-year-olds didn't post their first official timed works until June, much closer to their debuts than usual. Out of the eighteen 2-year-old fatalities in 2020, eight occurred in horses that had never made it to the races.

“That's a really big deal,” Palmer said. “That was an enormously different experience than we'd ever had before.”

Palmer pointed out that many horses, including those 2-year-olds, did not get the usual timeframe for the bone remodeling process which is crucial to preparing the skeleton for the rigors of racing.

(Read more about the way racing and training impacts the skeleton for young horses here.)

Equine (and human) skeletons undergo a constant cycle of response to environmental stressors, with the bone surface absorbing micro damage, then removing damaged bone cells and replacing them with new cells. In this way, the skeleton can respond dynamically to the stresses it undergoes, which is why a period of gradually-increasing workload ahead of a race prepares the horse for the rigors of running. The removal of damaged bone cells is quick, but Palmer said the creation of new, stronger bone is much slower. It's not always clear to a trainer where a horse is in the development process, since horses may appear sound throughout.

By the time horses did get to the races last year, many ran fewer times overall than they would normally have in a calendar year, reducing the opportunities for their skeletons to respond to intense exercise before the next race.

Palmer also reported that in New York, the pandemic had a serious impact on the number of out-of-competition tests (OOCT) that could be administered. OOCTs typically happen with two regulatory staff getting in a car together to collect the needed samples; during COVID-19, that kind of travel couldn't happen. It's hard to say whether trainers were using more medication out of competition to patch horses through a busy summer and fall because they simply weren't tested as much.

That's why he wants you to get vaccinated – horses, trainers, and regulatory veterinarians can only return to their regular duties as COVID-19 rates continue to come down and developing herd immunity will contribute to that, he said.

The Mid-Atlantic region has generally improved its fatality numbers with time; when expressed as a rate per 1,000 starts, racing-related fatalities are down 43 percent from 2010 to 2020, which officials find encouraging. For the first part of the decade though, the Mid-Atlantic tracked higher than the national average rate. Those rates have become more similar in the past five years, and while the national data from the Equine Injury Database is not yet published for 2020, Palmer expects they will once again be very close. The racing fatality rate in the Mid-Atlantic for 2020 was 1.39 per 1,000 starts.

The way numbers are expressed makes a big difference in their specificity and their context for regulators, and Palmer said the public and the media do not always grasp the importance of this. For example, New York saw 24 fatalities from 14,895 racing starts last year, and 42 fatalities from timed workouts; that would make it seem as though working out is more dangerous than racing in New York, but leaves out the context that there were 49,073 official timed workout events. The state's racing fatality rate was 1.6 per 1,000 starts, but its training fatality rate was 0.8 per 1,000 timed workouts. Expressing numbers as rates also makes it easy to compare data between years like 2019 and 2020 when the state had drastically different numbers of races.

The EID has yielded numerous reforms to improve racing safety, but Palmer said commissions need to begin focusing on making appropriate changes in the morning, too.

“We don't regulate training in the same way we regulate racing,” Palmer pointed out.

Even in jurisdictions where there are regulatory veterinarians observing morning training, there may not be enough of them to visually cover all parts of a track, and it's easy for a trainer to sneak a horse with questionable soundness through a different gap before the sun is up.

Video surveillance can help veterinarians pick up on problems (though, citing the case of Mongolian Groom ahead of the 2019 Breeders' Cup, Palmer pointed out it's only as good as the monitoring of that video).

Palmer believes regulators need a better idea of how much medication horses have on board for timed workouts; he pointed to California's recently-updated rules prohibiting non-steroidal anti-inflammatories within 24 hours of a timed work and subjecting horses to post-work sampling to verify compliance. Even if a jurisdiction doesn't have that rule, Palmer suggested random sampling as a fact-finding endeavor, as well as sampling any training fatalities.

Palmer also suggested that track maintenance become a priority in the mornings. He recently conducted a study of moisture levels at Belmont and found significant differences between the main and training track. During a drought, it's difficult to keep New York's sand-heavy track surfaces sufficiently watered in the afternoons, but the water trucks and harrows can make much more frequent passes over the surface than they can in the afternoon.

Data showed the main track surface at Belmont is considerably wetter than the training track surface.

“Is that good? Is that bad?” he said. “I have no idea … what I do know is we want to have a consistent surface for all horses and I'd submit to you that this is not as consistent as it needs to be.”

The final component for improved safety, according to Palmer's recommendations: mandated continuing education for licensed trainers, to make sure those who might miss this story have all the information they need.

Currently, trainer CE will be required in Delaware, Maryland, New York, and Virginia in 2022. It will be a condition pending legislative approval next year in West Virginia, and is still “under consideration” in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

The post Palmer: Want To Make Racing Safer? Get Your COVID-19 Vaccine appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

The main dirt track at the Arcadia oval has not had a single racing fatality in 2020, including during the Winter/Spring Meet which began in December. There have been a total of five 2020 racing fatalities from 5,069 individual starts, or 0.98 fatalities per 1,000 starters. That number is below the national average. According to Santa Anita, it is currently the safest racetrack in the nation.

“These results are the efforts of the racing community to put the safety of the horse first at every turn, including additional veterinary regulations and observations, training approvals, and analysis of entries,” said Chief Operating Officer of 1/ST Racing Aidan Butler. “Last year, we set a course to reform the sport of horse racing for the next generation. This year, we are seeing the results of the hard work everyone has put into this effort. We especially appreciate the dedication of the owners, trainers, veterinarians, and hardworking men and women who care for the horses, of the jockeys who have adapted their riding styles, the California Horse Racing Board which regulates the sport, and veteran trackman Dennis Moore and the entire Santa Anita track crew, who tirelessly work the surface day and night with safety top of mind.”

Santa Anita is home to the largest training facilities in the country, operating nearly year-round with over 400,000 annual training sessions. Live racing in Southern California will move to Del Mar beginning Saturday, Oct. 31, and is not slated to return to Santa Anita until Dec. 26.

The post Zero Fatalities at Santa Anita’s Autumn Meet appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

“We must do everything possible to make horse racing safer for animals and jockeys, and this bill takes another step in that direction,” Dodd said. “I thank the legislature for approving my plan, which will help ensure track conditions are right and horses are fit before they hit the starting gate.”

Last year, 37 horses died at Santa Anita Park, prompting calls for immediate action. Sen. Dodd wrote Senate Bill 469, which was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, allowing the California Horse Racing Board to suspend racing at tracks where dangerous conditions exist.

Sen. Dodd's new bill, Senate Bill 800, is expected to incorporate reforms recommended by the California Horse Racing Board, including improved veterinary medical review prior to races and increased transparency in drug testing.

It passed the Senate and Assembly Sunday night, and heads to Gov. Gavin Newsom for a signature.

Sen. Dodd chairs the Senate Governmental Organization Committee, which sets policy for the horse racing industry, among other things.

To view the bill's language, click here.

The post California Bill For Improved Racing Safety Passes State Legislature appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

At a meeting of the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) conducted via teleconference last week, CHRB equine medical director Dr. Rick Arthur reported that April saw nine medication violations, only one of which was in a post-race sample, while there were six medication violations in May, two of which were in post-race samples.

Three of April's nine violations were from horses working before the state veterinarian, and the other five were out-of-competition samples taken on horses recording workouts.

“Of the nine violations in April, six would not have been violations in other states,” said Arthur. “I suspect two others would not be violations in most states.”

Four of May's six positives were horses working for the official veterinarian. Arthur guessed only one of the six would be a violation outside of California.

In mid-March, new regulations placed restrictions on the use of “local anesthetics, narcotic analgesics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatories” on horses within 24 hours of a timed workout, and prohibiting more than one NSAID in a post-work sample. In late February, regulations went into effect prohibiting NSAIDs within 24 hours of post time.

“To my knowledge, California is the only state currently regulating these medications during training,” said Arthur. “I'm usually not sympathetic to trainers and veterinarians not paying attention to our rule changes, but we have made numerous regulatory changes recently and from discussions with trainers and veterinarians, the new rule is not as clear to licensees as I would have hoped or expected. Trainers and veterinarians appear confused between house rules and CHRB regulations.

“The most difficult change has been the new medication regulations during training. Keep in mind, regulating medication during training is a new concept in racing.”

Arthur said he is working with California Thoroughbred Trainers to guide a series of webinars aimed at educating trainers and veterinarians on the new rules. And not a moment too soon — as he pointed out, several more veterinary regulations are set to go into effect July 1, including the transfer of a health record for claimed horses and a prohibition on bisphosphonates.

The post Violations Show New Medication Rules In California Require A Learning Curve appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post