Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association | Horse Racing Free Tips

Maryland THA Issues Warning on Adjunct Bleeder Medication

The Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association issued the following statement to its members Tuesday:

“Effective immediately, horsemen are urged to discontinue the use of any and all adjunct bleeder medications for horses in training, including in particular, aminocaproic acid–commonly called Amicar.

Amicar and several other adjunct bleeder medications were placed on the Prohibited List in 2013 under the Association of Racing Commissioners International Uniform Classification Guidelines for Foreign Substances and Recommended Penalties Model Code and the National Uniform Medication Program. Aminocaproic acid, for example is a Class 4 substance and penalty Class C.

“It is important to understand that these medications cannot be regulated by withdrawal time guidance and/or a testing threshold and their use, no matter how far in advance of a race, may trigger a positive post-race test.

“Any trainer who chooses to continue the use of these medications for training in the future will run the risk of a post-race positive test.”

The post Maryland THA Issues Warning on Adjunct Bleeder Medication appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Laurel Park Adds Seven Thursday Programs To Make Up For Lost Dates

The Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association and Maryland Jockey Club have agreed to add racing days over the next several months to make up for multiple cancellations in the winter and early spring because of weather conditions and equine herpesvirus (EHV-1) restrictions.

MJC earlier announced that the Spring Stakes Spectacular program originally scheduled for April 17 at Laurel Park has been moved to the following Saturday, April 24. Extra races listed for Thursday, April 15, will move to Saturday, April 17, and racing will not be held April 15. The program slated for Friday, April 16, has been moved to Monday, April 19. So racing will be held April 17-19 instead of April 15-18.

Only horses stabled at Laurel Park are eligible to enter and race through the end of the EHV-1 quarantine April 17. The quarantine at Pimlico Race Course is scheduled to end April 12.

Live racing had been scheduled for three days a week—Friday through Sunday—at Laurel Park in June and July. Seven Thursday programs have been added on June 3, 10, 17 and 24; and July 1, 8 and 15. The summer meet concludes with racing on a Friday-through-Sunday schedule until Aug. 22.

“We're trying to make up days for the world's trifecta—Mother Nature, COVID-19 and the EHV-1 quarantine,” MJC President Sal Sinatra said. “We'll make up the opportunities as the races fill. And hopefully, we'll be back to normal operations with our turf course in June after the Pimlico meet.

The Laurel Park spring meet ends Sunday, May 2. Pimlico will race 15 days from May 5-31. The Laurel summer meet begins Thursday, June 3.

The post Laurel Park Adds Seven Thursday Programs To Make Up For Lost Dates appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Training Schedules Return To Normal At Laurel Amidst EHV-1 Quarantine

Training hours at Laurel Park will return to the regular schedule Monday, March 29, upon the recommendation of Dr. Michael Odian, Chief State Veterinarian for the Maryland Department of Agriculture.

For the past several weeks, horses in barns that had been under quarantine because of equine herpesvirus (EHV-1) have trained on the track at Laurel after regular training hours. Laurel is now considered one quarantine facility, as is Pimlico Race Course, and as of March 28 there were no positive EHV-1 cases at either facility.

Horses that are positive are housed at the former Bowie Training Center or at private farms. Each of the three barns being used at Bowie is considered a separate quarantine facility given their spacing on the property.

Training hours at Laurel are as follows: 5:30 to 10 a.m. on race days and 5:30 to 10:30 a.m. on dark days, with renovation breaks from 7-7:30 a.m. and 9-9:30 a.m.

The current 21-day quarantine at Laurel and Pimlico calls for only symptomatic horses or those with a temperature of 101.5 degrees or higher to be tested. If there are no more EHV-1 cases, the Pimlico quarantine will end April 12, and at Laurel, the date is April 18, according to Odian.

Live racing at Laurel was canceled March 27-29 and also April 1-3. No racing was scheduled for April 4, Easter Sunday. As of now, racing is scheduled to resume Thursday, April 8, subject to there not being additional EHV-1 cases. Only horses stabled at Laurel will be permitted to race until the Pimlico quarantine expires.

Horsemen are encouraged to continue taking horses' temperatures and to report any above 101.5 degrees to Dr. Libby Daniel, the Maryland Racing Commission Equine Medical Director, or Dr. Heidi Thomas, MJC Senior Veterinarian.

All backstretch employees are urged to continue various disinfection practices for barns and equipment and to refrain from interaction with other barns at MJC facilities. Veterinary officials said it's important to open up barns as much as possible to allow fresh air to circulate. It not only helps the horses but helps reduce the chances of spread of the virus in barns. It is also important to limit horse-to-horse contact and to keep stress on horses at a minimum.

The post Training Schedules Return To Normal At Laurel Amidst EHV-1 Quarantine appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

EHV-1: Additional Laurel Barn Under Quarantine, But Restrictions Could Be Lifted Soon

The lifting of restrictions resulting from an equine herpesvirus (EHV-1) quarantine at Laurel Park hinge on the results of test results expected in the coming days, veterinary officials said March 19.

The restrictions took effect March 8 when Barns 1, 4, 10 and 11 were placed under quarantine for 14 days at the outset. On March 17, Barn 20 was added to the quarantine list after a filly was discovered the have neurologic symptoms and was sent to the New Bolton Center in Pennsylvania for treatment and testing. The first of two tests came back negative.

During a Zoom meeting hosted by Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association March 19, Dr. Dionne Benson, Chief Veterinary Officer for The Stronach Group, and Dr. Michael Odian, the Maryland State Veterinarian, provided an update on the ongoing situation. Laurel Park has continued to offer live racing with restrictions on shippers.

Benson said the filly from Barn 20 that tested negative will be retested in 72 hours, and if the second test is negative, horses from Barn 20 will be permitted to train with the regular population. Six horses in Barn 4 tested positive for EHV-1 on March 17 and were transported to the former Bowie Training Center, where a barn was spruced up for quarantine use. The remaining horses in Barn 4 will be retested March 24. Benson said if those tests prove negative, the Barn 4 quarantine would be lifted March 29.

If there are no symptomatic horses found in Barns 1, 10 and 11, the quarantine on those barns would be lifted March 27, in time for them to race that weekend at Laurel.

“We hope to be on the other side of this a week from Monday (March 29),” Benson said.

“I understand these are frustrating times and we're trying to balance everything,” Odian said. “We're also trying to show other racing jurisdictions we are doing the best protocols possible to show we have the disease under control. I've been impressed with how easy everyone is to work with. The protocols are designed with a lot of factors in mind.”

In response to a question about when horses not in quarantined barns will be permitted to leave the grounds, Benson said if there are no new EHV-1 cases and the second tests on the horses in Barn 4 are negative, the quarantine would be lifted March 29.

The MJC Racing Office, to accommodate horsemen in quarantined barns, is working on a schedule to expand training hours on dark days—Monday through Thursday—and will inform horsemen when the times are determined. The MJC also said that, effective immediately, any horses shipping to Laurel or Pimlico during the quarantine must be approved by the Racing Office.

The post EHV-1: Additional Laurel Barn Under Quarantine, But Restrictions Could Be Lifted Soon appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post