National Thoroughbred Racing Association | Horse Racing Free Tips

NTRA Helps Secure New USDA Guidance For Equine Testing During Import Quarantine

The NTRA reported new guidance out of the U.S. Department of Agriculture which will streamline the glanders testing protocol for importing horses into the United States, the organization said in a release Friday morning.

USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service update, Veterinary Services Guidance 13407.3, introduces a new procedure effective Oct. 10 for glanders, which has been susceptible to produce false positives when horses were tested during their import quarantine.

“One of the number one issues I've heard in this job is how cumbersome USDA testing protocols slow down the import of horses and have in some instances left horses in quarantine unnecessarily for weeks,” said NTRA President and CEO Tom Rooney. “This updated guidance will help prevent needless delays for our owners and farms. We appreciate USDA and look forward to continuing to work with them to modernize common sense reforms for our industry.”

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NTRA Joins Dean Dorton for Nationwide Survey on Farm Employee Compensation

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) has joined the certified public accounting and professional business advisory firm, Dean Dorton, in conducting a nationwide survey focused on Thoroughbred horse farm employee compensation. The survey includes questions related to average hourly and salary pay rates for various positions, bonuses, health insurance, housing, visa programs, internships, retirement plans, and more.

All Thoroughbred farm owners are encouraged to complete this survey, which will allow comparison and sharing of state-specific results to those of the nationwide respondents. All information from specific respondents will remain completely anonymous.

The deadline to complete the survey is Thursday, Aug. 31.

Click here to complete the survey.

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1/ST Racing Considering Moving Date of the Preakness; NYRA Not on Board with Move

1/ST Racing & Gaming is ready to shake up the Triple Crown.

The company, which operates Pimlico Race Course, has confirmed to the TDN that it is giving strong consideration to moving the date of the GI Preakness S. so that it is run four weeks after the GI Kentucky Derby.

“We have discussed it internally and believe it's in the best interests of horses and horse safety to move the race four weeks after the Kentucky Derby,” said Aidan Butler, Chief Executive Officer of 1/ST Racing & Gaming. “This would give horses more time to recover between races to be able to run in the Preakness. Horse safety is more important than tradition. NYRA is aware and considering how this would impact the Belmont. Stay tuned.”

Butler said there would be no further comment at this time.

Should the date of the Preakness get changed, the next move will be up to NYRA, which hosts the GI Belmont. If the Preakness is moved to four weeks after the Derby that would mean that, unless NYRA also shifts the date of the Belmont, the Belmont would be run just one week after the Preakness. That may be exactly what happens.

“NYRA has concerns about fundamental changes to the structure of the Triple Crown. We have no plans to move the date of the Belmont Stakes,” said NYRA spokesperson Pat McKenna.

The current structure of the Triple Crown works far better for the Belmont than it does for the Preakness. With five weeks between the Derby and Belmont, a number of trainers pass the Preakness and go next in the Belmont.

Traditionally, the Triple Crown is run over a five-week period, with two weeks between the Derby and the Preakness and three weeks between the Preakness and the Belmont. While that may be a long-standing tradition, it has clearly become an impediment to drawing horses to the Preakness because modern trainers are very reluctant to run their horses back within two weeks. In 2022, Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike (Keen Ice) skipped the Preakness and waited for the Belmont. This year, Kentucky Derby winner Mage (Good Magic) was the only horse from the Derby to run back in the Preakness.

These developments have led to added support for changing the spacing of the races. Just last month, Tom Rooney, the president and CEO of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, penned an editorial calling for the races be spread further apart. “The time has come in Thoroughbred racing for our own change, to modernize the timeline of the Triple Crown,” he wrote.

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NTRA Releases Names of Disqualified NHC Players

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association announced the disqualification of three unnamed players from the NHC and NHC Tour for a period of two years on Thursday. After hearing input from the horseplayer community and others in the industry, the NTRA revealed on Friday that the players who colluded are Jordan Jayne, James Pauly and Ryan Patrick Scully.

“Protecting the integrity of the NTRA and the NHC tournament is among my highest priorities in this job,” said NTRA President and CEO Tom Rooney. “By not initially releasing the names of the players involved, even though our rules give us broad discretion to do so for all prize winners, I believed I was doing what was best for the NHC. The demand from the public we have received far outweighs my personal beliefs. I highly value the opinion of the horseplayers' community, without whom our sport would not be what it is and whom we work with to protect all NHC sanctioned contests throughout the year.”

These three players controlled five entries in the 2023 NHC. The event paid out to the top 78 entries. The NTRA has officially disqualified the five entries controlled by these individuals and will proceed to move all other entries up in the prize structure. The entries that finished 79-83 who did not make the initial cut will be moved into the prize structure. Additionally, the NTRA will distribute the difference in prize money for all other entries that move up in the prize structure. The NTRA will mail checks to all individuals involved and the official leaderboard has been updated.

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