Two-Time Graded Winner Kanthaka Retired

West Point Thoroughbreds' Kanthaka (Jimmy Creed–Sliced Bread, by Noonmark), a dual graded-stakes winner on dirt and Grade I placed on turf, has been retired. According to a tweet from the New Jersey-based partnership, John H. Haines, a partner in the 6-year-old gelding, adopted Kanthaka and moved him to a ranch in Oregon, where he arrived Sunday.

A $140,000 purchase out of the 2017 Barretts March Sale, Kanthaka was at first based in California with trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, for whom he won the GII San Vicente S. and GIII Laz Barrera S., both at seven furlongs, in 2018. Placed three times at the graded level at four, including a third when trying the turf for the first time in the GIII Daytona S. in 2019, Kanthaka was sidelined for better than a year and made his return to action in the 2020 GI Jaipur S., his first start for trainer Graham Motion. Sent off at 16-1, the chestnut made a run to the lead inside the final furlong, only to be caught late by Oleksandra (Aus) (Animal Kingdom).

Winless in three trips to the post this term, Kanthaka retires with three wins from 17 starts and earnings of $456,635.

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Safety Initiatives Paying Off in California

Edited Press Release

The state of California has seen a 50% decline in equine fatalities over the last two fiscal years, owing to steps taken by the industry to increase safety at the state's racetracks. In fiscal year 2018-2019, a total of 144 horses died from racing or training injuries or other causes while stabled at CHRB facilities. The number dropped to 72 in fiscal year 2020-2021.

According to information provided by the California Horse Racing Board, equine fatalities have been trending downward since 2005, but the last fiscal year marked the most significant improvement in a single year. Continuing the actions of previous Boards, which included establishing an entry review panel for Santa Anita at the direction of Governor Gavin Newsom, the current commissioners expanded the review panel program to all tracks to make certain that entered horses are fit to compete.

Over the last 19 months, CHRB Chairman Dr. Greg Ferraro, Vice Chairman Oscar Gonzales, and Commissioners Dennis Alfieri, Wendy Mitchell, and Alex Solis, later joined by Commissioners Damascus Castellanos and Brenda Davis, have taken more than 40 regulatory actions intended to either directly or indirectly protect horses, thereby reducing fatalities and protecting riders. Among the more significant actions, the commissioners:

 

  • Adopted rules limiting the use of the riding crop, which at the time were the strictest rules in the nation, while enhancing penalties for violation of those rules.

 

  • Required trainers to participate in a full postmortem examination review to make them aware of the nature of the injuries and to discuss ways to prevent such injuries in the future. This has helped lead to a culture change in the California horse racing industry whereby participants are placing a higher priority on the protection of horses.

 

  • Allowed Official Veterinarians to require diagnostic imaging prior to removing horses from the restrictive Veterinarian's List and permitting them to train or compete.

 

  • Prohibited or severely restricted the use of bisphosphonates, thyroxine, extracorporeal shockwave therapy, and intra-articular injections prior to workouts and racing.

 

  • Took significant steps to make veterinary treatments transparent to authorities and in certain cases new owners.

 

The CHRB recently created the new position of Chief Official Veterinarian, naming Dr. Timothy Grande to oversee veterinarians, veterinary procedures and practices throughout the state. Dr. Jeff Blea was also appointed to the role of Equine Medical Director.

“I took this job a year-and-a-half ago because I recognized this Board's and the Administration's commitment to real, significant, long-term reform in the arena of animal welfare,” said CHRB Executive Director Scott Chaney. “It has been gratifying to be a part of this sea change in racing, and the results are undeniable. We clearly have more work to do, but with this reform-minded Board, dedicated staff, and committed stakeholders, the future is bright.”

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Golden Pal Confirmed For Nunthorpe

Trainer Wesley Ward reports star sprinter Golden Pal (Uncle Mo) to be firing on all cylinders ahead of an intended tilt at the G1 Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe S. at York Aug. 20.

Last season's GII Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint winner made a spectacular return to action in the GIII Quick Call S. at Saratoga last month and Ward has now given the green light to a trip to the Knavesmire, with Frankie Dettori in line for the ride.

Ward told PA Sport: “He had an unbelievable breeze on Saturday at Arlington Park (4f on soft turf in :51.80) and we're headed for the Nunthorpe. Straight after his last race we really didn't know what direction we were going. There was the option of waiting a couple more weeks for the G1 Flying Five (at the Curragh Sept. 12), but he's doing great and he's scheduled to leave Aug. 13.

“I had a talk with Paul Shanahan (of Coolmore) and he had a talk with Mr. Magnier, Mr. Smith and Mr. Tabor (owners). The Nunthorpe is kind of a stallion-maker race and carries a lot of weight at this time of year.

“He's got a direct flight from Indianapolis to Stansted and then off we'll go. Frankie is going to ride and we're excited.”

Golden Pal's task at York has, on paper at least, been made easier by the retirement of dual Nunthorpe hero Battaash (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), a horse Ward admits he is full of admiration for.

“It's always a shame for racing every time a great old warrior like that is retired,” Ward said. “I have certainly been a big fan of his and have watched him for all these years. He got a big following, so any time the curtain is pulled down it's never good for racing. I wouldn't want to be taking him on when he's breathing fire, that's for sure!”

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Fasig-Tipton To Offer Cryptocurrency Payment, Rewards Services At Saratoga Sale

Fasig-Tipton, North America's oldest Thoroughbred auction house, will become the first Thoroughbred auction company to accept cryptocurrency as payment for equine purchases.

The company will offer the service at its upcoming 100th Saratoga Sale of selected yearlings, scheduled for August 9 and 10 in Saratoga Springs, New York.

To facilitate the payment of horses with cryptocurrency, Fasig-Tipton has partnered with Crypto.com, the world's fastest growing crypto app. Crypto.com Pay – the company's cryptocurrency payment solution for merchants – provides a secure payment platform for the world's estimated 220+ million crypto users.

Those that pay for yearlings with cryptocurrency at Saratoga will receive cryptocurrency rewards, courtesy of Swapp Protocol, the official Cryptocurrency rewards partner of the Saratoga Sale. The buyer of the most expensive horse paid for with cryptocurrency at the Saratoga Sale will receive 1 million SWAPP tokens, which are exchangeable for various fiat and cryptocurrencies.

Boyd Browning, President and Chief Executive Officer at Fasig-Tipton commented: “As Fasig-Tipton approaches its 100th Saratoga Sale, we are excited to partner with Crypto.com and Swapp to offer cryptocurrency payment and rewards services at our flagship yearling sale. Crypto.com has established itself as a flagbearer of security and privacy in the crypto world and Swapp is a forward-thinking company making innovations in the world of data security and monetization.

“Fasig-Tipton aims to be a forward-thinking member of the Thoroughbred industry and we are proud to be the first Thoroughbred auction company in the world to embrace cryptocurrency. Through these partnerships we will introduce individuals and parties that participate in the crypto space to the exhilarating world of horse racing for the very first time, and growing our sport is a priority of the utmost importance at Fasig-Tipton.”

Kris Marszalek, Co-Founder and CEO of Crypto.com said, “We feel very fortunate to have the support of Fasig-Tipton, one of the oldest and most respected brands in the horse auction industry. Our mission is to accelerate the world's transition to cryptocurrency, and we are excited to play a part in pioneering payment innovations in a century-old industry. Together with Fasig-Tipton, we have just taken a major step forward towards reaching our goal.

Tural Bayev, Founder and CEO of Swapp commented: ”Swapp is proud to be a part of the Saratoga Sale, which will bring together champions of the horse racing world with the future champions of data security and monetization. We at Swapp believe the road to mass adoption and inclusiveness in the crypto space starts with education, privacy and safety. Swapp is gaining mass adoption by displacing the bloated middlemen who are currently profiting off of your data and giving it back to the people.”

Founded in 2016, Crypto.com today serves over 10 million customers with the world's fastest growing crypto app, along with the Crypto.com Visa Card — the world's largest crypto card program — the Crypto.com Exchange and Crypto.com DeFi Wallet. Recently launched, Crypto.com NFT is the premier platform for collecting and trading NFTs, carefully curated from the worlds of art, design, entertainment and sports.

Crypto.com is built on a solid foundation of security, privacy and compliance and is the first cryptocurrency company in the world to have ISO/IEC 27701:2019, CCSS Level 3, ISO27001:2013 and PCI:DSS 3.2.1, Level 1 compliance, and independently assessed at Tier 4, the highest level for both NIST Cybersecurity and Privacy Frameworks.

Swapp Protocol is a revolutionary blockchain-based DeFi platform leading a movement to democratize the $1.2 trillion/year data industry by enabling consumers to start getting paid for their online data.

At the core of the Swapp business model is the smartphone app built for iOS and Android. The app enables users to, “install, authenticate and earn”, which allows 100 percent of the data monetization profits to flow back to the users.

Join the movement as Swapp levels the playing field of retail data by empowering consumers to truly “own” their data and enhance user privacy. As the AdTech industry shifts into a cookieless world, Swapp plays a pivotal role in providing the solution. Finally, the consumer will start being compensated for the data they are unknowingly giving away.

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