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Trainer Orseno Responds to Bleeding Incident

When MGSW Imprimis (Broken Vow) finished second by a nose to Bound for Nowhere (The Factor) in Saturday's GII Shakertown S. at Keeneland, he returned bleeding from both nostrils. The horse had broken through the gate prior to the start and banged his head, but was examined on the scene by the state veterinarians and pronounced fit to run. Trainer Joe Orseno, who said he “thought [his] horse bled horribly,” issued a statement Thursday morning through the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA) in response to the incident. It read, in part:

“Published reports and social media have had some incorrect information about what did and didn't happen to my horse Imprimis…Saturday while racing without the anti-bleeder medication Lasix. I want to set the record straight.

“Thank God the considerable blood coming from Imprimis' left nostril after the race was not pulmonary hemorrhaging. It also was not from what has been erroneously reported as being a cut on his nose sustained when he broke through the gate prior to the start. Imprimis does have a sizable bump on his nose–about six inches from his nostril–from where his head apparently hit the gate, but he did not sustain any cuts. The endoscopic examination that I had my private veterinarian conduct did reveal trace levels of Exercise Induced Pulmonary Hemorrhaging [EIPH]. I'm just so thankful that it wasn't more severe.”

Orseno reported Imprimis is doing well this week, but does have a large bump still visible on his nose. He stands by what he said about the new Lasix rules.

“I also don't retract what I told journalists after the race. I'll say it again right now: It's not good for the industry what they're doing forcing horses, particularly older horses, to run without Lasix in stakes races. And apparently that's not just one trainer's opinion. I didn't know so many people had my phone number, all the horsemen who called or emailed me and said, 'Thank you for speaking up'–trainers I don't even know. Someone in California called me out of the clear blue and said, 'Thank you, someone had the guts to say something.' I don't look at it that way. At the time, it wasn't about guts, it was about being very upset over my horse. I've been doing this 44 years and it's not just my livelihood, it's my life.

“I made my statement that someone has to explain to me why we're making horses bleed, older horses that have run on Lasix their whole life, and now all of a sudden you're going to penalize the best horses in the country. It's not good for the game, when we can stop it with an easy fix.

“My veterinarian's endoscopic exam of Imprimis showed that most of the blood was from banging his head. He did have traces, a trickle down his throat, showing that he did bleed a little in the trachea. We were very lucky.

“There are many horses that bleed significantly but not always externally. It is wrong and naive to think no damage is being done to horses just because they didn't bleed through the nostrils. It is also deceptive for those who are trying to label an EIPH episode only by visible blood from the nostrils. How are you going to tell an owner this horse is going to only run four times this year instead of eight or nine because I need more time in between to heal them up because he bleeds and we can't use Lasix? They are going to start to get disgusted, and horses will be hurt if they return at all. Owners are not going to be as excited about buying horses and racing if they can't run them more than four times a year.

“I am on the board of the Florida HBPA. We are scoping stakes horses–which must run without Lasix at Gulfstream Park–and we're paying for it so we hopefully can all learn something and together make informed and intelligent policy decisions from transparent data going forward. I'd say overall that the overwhelming majority of these horses are bleeding to some degree. The numbers aren't good. Do we really want to do this to our horses? I sure don't.”

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Kentucky Commission: Hidden Scroll Was State’s First Epistaxis Case Since 24-Hour Lasix Ban

Hidden Scroll, who pulled up after crossing the wire seventh in Saturday's Grade 3 Commonwealth Stakes, is the first case of epistaxis from exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH) in Kentucky since the state implemented new furosemide administration rules in 2020. The Brad Cox trainee went off at odds of 2-1 for his first start without the race day medication, which is commonly known by its trade name of Lasix or Salix.

Kentucky began a partial phaseout of race day furosemide last year, beginning with 2-year-old races and expanding to include stakes races this year. The drug may now be given no closer than 24 hours before post time in those contests.

Dr. Bruce Howard, equine medical director for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, confirmed that Hidden Scroll's case of epistaxis (visible bleeding from the nostrils) due to EIPH was the first on record since the new rules were implemented. EIPH can occur without visible bleeding from the nostrils and is often detectable only on endoscopic examination; more severe incidents may result in epistaxis.

A frustrated Joe Orseno, who trains multiple graded stakes winner Imprimis, told media immediately after the horse's runner-up effort in the G2 Shakertown that he believed his horse also suffered from epistaxis due to EIPH. Orseno said he could see blood on the horse's nose at the finish, where he was just edged by Bound for Nowhere.

“You're not allowed to run on Lasix anymore,” said Orseno. “They're taking the best horses in the country and they're penalizing them. My horse bled today, visibly. Blood coming out of his nose. How is that good for the public's perception of Lasix? Somebody needs to answer that question. It's not fair to take a horse like this and make 'em bleed. It's just not fair. I wish you'd print every word of that, because it's total bullshit.

“My horse didn't have to bleed. Let him run on Lasix … I care about my horse and his physical condition.”

Orseno pointed out that a bleeding event from EIPH can knock a horse off its training schedule.

“I was supposed to run him in two months, now it's going to be four,” he said. “So I've got to tell the owners, forget the Jaipur, now maybe Saratoga, maybe not, because who knows. I don't know. You never know the damage it does to horses.”

The full interview, courtesy of the Kentucky Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association's Jennie Rees, is available here, following comments from Bound for Nowhere trainer Wesley Ward:

Howard said that besides Hidden Scroll, there was one other incident on Saturday's card related to blood on a horse's nose, but it wasn't a result of EIPH.

“I think the other one which might have been commented on was a horse who broke through the starting gate before the start,” said Howard. “It was examined and reloaded, and ran its race. Post-race, there was a small amount of blood noted in a nostril. The horse was examined in the test barn and a small abrasion or laceration was noted. The private veterinarian came and scoped the horse and there was no bleeding noted in the lower airways.”

Imprimis broke through the starting gate before the start of the Shakertown.

Kentucky's commission voted unanimously for the partial furosemide phaseout in December 2019 and racetracks implemented house rules preventing the administration of furosemide less than 24 hours before a race for 2-year-olds beginning in spring 2020, as a stopgap until the new rule worked its way through legislative approval and became law. The Kentucky HBPA took the tracks and commission to court over the house rules and commission regulation changes. A judge ruled in favor of the tracks and commission in November 2020.

Kentucky does keep records of epistaxis events, and is also participating in a multi-jurisdiction study to administer scopes post-race on horses subject to the 24-hour furosemide rule. The academic study, led by Washington State University, will compare scope results from jurisdictions with a variety of furosemide administration times. Data collection is ongoing and the university is not expected to release results until analysis is complete. Howard was unable to comment on the data collected from Kentucky.

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Bound For Nowhere Does It Again: 7-Year-Old Captures Second Shakertown Stakes

Twenty percent of his career starts have come in the Grade 2 Shakertown Stakes at Keeneland in the Spring, and this Saturday, the 7-year-old Bound For Nowhere made a big late run to win by a nose as the 2-1 favorite. The son of the The Factor has now run his record in the Shakertown to 2-1-1, with his previous win coming in 2018; he was second and third by a neck in 2019 and 2020, respectively.

Owned and trained by Wesley Ward, Bound For Nowhere ran the 5 1/2 furlongs over the turf rated “good” in 1:02.19. Joel Rosario, winning his third race on the card, had to work out a trip from the outside stall in a field of 12 rivals, but had the older horse flying late to run down Imprimis, the 2019 Shakertown winner, by a nose.

“He's a really hard horse to train,” Ward said. “He's got a lot of issues that he's overcome. Just minor deals, but major setbacks when you're trying to keep him at this level. I've got to give all the credit to his rider who rides him every day, Julio Garcia, who's ridden him the majority of his career. He was supposed to ride him today and he said, 'No Wesley I'm officially retired.' But he's on him every day for all these years, and I can't thank that little fella enough.”

Imprimis broke out of the gates ahead of the start, but was cleared by the state veterinarian to re-load and start. Johnny Unleashed and The Critical Way were sharpest off the blocks, speeding through a first quarter in :21.42. Imprimis was in fifth position near the inside, while Bound For Nowhere was about eight lengths off the leaders and five wide.

The Critical Way and Johnny Unleashed stayed on strong until mid-stretch, but Imprimis had found clear room on the outside and took command at the sixteenth pole. Bound For Nowhere had perfect aim on him, though, and laid his heart down to get his nose down on the wire. Imprimis settled for second with The Critical Way Third, and Johnny Unleased fourth.

Bound For Nowhere has now won nine of his 15 lifetime starts, earning just shy of $1 million. Bred in Kentucky by Wayne, Gray, and Bryan Lyster, Bound for Nowhere is out of the Alydeed mare Fancy Deed, herself a half sister to multimillion-dollar earner Midnight Lute.

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Previous Winners Bound For Nowhere, Imprimis Clash In 2021 Shakertown

Wesley Ward's Bound for Nowhere and Breeze Easy's Imprimis, respective winners of the 2018 and 2019 runnings of the Shakertown (G2), headline a field of 13 3-year-olds and up entered Tuesday for Saturday's 25th edition of the $200,000 race going 5½ furlongs on the grass course at Keeneland.

The Shakertown will go as the eighth race on Saturday afternoon's 11-race program with a 4:57 p.m. post time.

Also trained by Ward, Bound for Nowhere was caught late in the past two runnings of the Shakertown, finishing a neck behind Imprimis in 2019 when running second, and a neck behind Leinster and Totally Boss in last year's running that was his most recent start. Joel Rosario has the mount and will break from post position 13.

Trained by Joe Orseno, Imprimis has a victory and a runner-up finish in his 2021 starts. He ended last season with a troubled trip in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1) here in which he finished 13th. Paco Lopez has the mount Saturday and will exit post position two.

Soaring Free (2004-2005) is the only two-time winner of the Shakertown.

The field for the Shakertown, with riders and weights from the inside, is: Smart Remark (Rafael Bejarano, 122 pounds), Imprimis (Lopez, 124), Chess Master (Jesus Castanon, 122), Hollis (Gabriel Saez, 124), Turned Aside (Chris Landeros, 124), Readyforprimetime (Mitchell Murrill, 122), Kanthaka (Javier Castellano, 122), American Butterfly (Drayden Van Dyke, 122), Just Might (Colby Hernandez, 122), Johnny Unleashed (Gerardo Corrales, 122), High Crime (Julien Leparoux, 122), The Critical Way (Luis Saez, 124) and Bound for Nowhere (Rosario, 122).

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