Tag: OTTBs

Jockey Antongeorgi Adopts Beloved Mount Gratzie After Her Retirement

Thirteen-time winner Gratzie has been retired and will spend her post-race life in North Carolina on a farm run by jockey William Antongeorgi III and his mother. Gratzie, who went out a winner on Feb. 4 against claiming competition, ended her racing career with earnings of $261,610.

Antongeorgi, who guided Gratzie to four lifetime wins, is excited about spending more time with her in the future. In total, Antongeorgi rode Gratzie in eight different races.

“She was always really honest,” said Antongeorgi. “Even if we didn't win, she was right there-second or third. I would always go see her in the barn and give her lots of attention. We formed a strong relationship.

I told [trainer] Manny [Badilla], 'I love this mare. If the owners are willing, I'll ship her back to my place in North Carolina and she'll be able to go out in the field and live out a good retirement on our farm.' We were able to make it happen.”

Antongeorgi relayed that Gratzie arrived in North Carolina on Tuesday in good order.

“She's a world traveler,” said Antongeorgi. “She's from England. She's traveled before. From what I understand, she had a very smooth trip across the country and looks really happy. We've got a pony named Dusty right next to her. They're already hitting it off and in love with each other, so that's really cool. We'll take her out on the trails, and she'll enjoy her life living out there in the pasture.”

Gratzie, by Grade 2 winner and Juddmonte homebred Three Valleys, was bred in Great Britain by John Troy and Robert Levitt and began her racing career as a 2-year-old in 2013. Three years later, she was sold to American owners Ron Charles and Sam Gordon for $25,685 at the Tattersalls Horses-In-Training Sale of 2016. Since the purchase, Gratzie won 7 races in America, raking in U.S. earnings of just over $150,000. Throughout her career in the states, Gratzie was conditioned by Manny Badilla.

“She's a barn favorite for sure,” said Badilla. “She was always so sweet. You could come up and pet her and feed her and love on her. What I'll remember about [Gratzie] is her heart: not only was she sweet around the barn but she tried so hard in every race she ran in. She never got sour. She always tried and loved being around our team. We'll miss her here.”

With that, Manny had just one more thing to say.

“It's the greatest thing ever to send her somewhere nice.”

 

— Matt Dinerman (@3coltshandicap) March 10, 2021

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Tune In: Schedule Released For Virtual IFAR Conference Next Month

The International Forum for the Aftercare of Racehorses (IFAR) announced today its lineup of topics and speakers for its fifth conference, which will be held as a series of four virtual sessions on 6, 13, 20, and 27 April. Each webinar will begin at 12 p.m. GMT and last approximately an hour.

The 2021 IFAR will kick off on 6 April with “Aftercare in 2021,” a session that will provide an update on IFAR's activities from Chair Di Arbuthnot and feature perspectives from Jessica Harrington, trainer (IRE); Tik Maynard, eventer (U.S.); Graham and Anita Motion, owners, Herringswell Stable (U.S.); and Nemone Routh, racing office manager, Aga Khan Studs (FR). The discussion will be moderated by international racing broadcaster Nick Luck (U.K.).

“By hosting this year's IFAR virtually, we are able to include participation from a greater range of aftercare advocates, experts, and regulators from around the world,” said Arbuthnot. “Each session that we have planned will offer listeners the opportunity to learn from our speakers, engage with them through a live Q&A, and share the best practices they have learned with their native racing jurisdictions.”

The remaining schedule of topics and speakers can be found below:

 

13 April, 2021: Aftercare for Racing Administrators and Regulators

Moderator: Caroline Searcy (AUS)

Panelists:

–       Martin Burns: General Manager, Welfare & Sustainability, New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing

–       Simon Cooper: Director, Weatherbys, General Stud Book (U.K.)

–       Dr. Anna Smet: Manager, Animal Welfare, Racing and Wagering Western Australia

 

20 April, 2021: Global Insights on Aftercare (Aftercare Providers, Equine Charities)

Moderator: Donna Brothers (U.S.)

–       Stacie Clark: Operations Consultant, Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (U.S.)

–       John Osborne: Director of Equine Welfare and Bloodstock, Horse Racing Ireland

–       Dr. Ignacio Pavlovsky: Veterinarian, Owner, and Breeder (ARG)

–       Lisa Coffey: Founder and Director, Racing Hearts Equine Assisted Therapy (AUS)

–       Kristin Werner: Senior Counsel, The Jockey Club (U.S.); Administrator, Thoroughbred Incentive Program

 

27 April, 2021: Aftercare for Racing Industry Participants: Owners, Breeders, and Trainers

Moderator: Francesca Cumani (U.K.)

–       Mark Fisher: Kotare Bioethics Ltd, Wellington, New Zealand

–       Dr. Eliot Forbes: Chief Executive Officer, AniMark Ltd. (AUS); member, IFAR Steering Committee

–       Tom Reilly: Chief Executive Officer, Thoroughbred Breeders Australia and Aushorse

–       Dr. Christopher Riggs: Director, Equine Welfare Research Foundation; Chief Advisor, Veterinary Science, The Hong Kong Jockey Club

 

All sessions are free, but registration is required. For more information about the conference and to register, please visit internationalracehorseaftercare.com/virtual-ifar/. Recordings of each session will be made available on the IFAR website.

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Webinar: Tips For How To Train When Riding Isn’t An Option

Winter weather often limits training for horses of all kinds, and although much of the country is now experiencing warmer temperatures, spring rains could continue to create headaches for equestrians.

With this challenge in mind, the Retired Racehorse Project recently hosted a webinar titled, 'How To Train When You Can't Ride' to offer tips for riders of all sports to keep horses physically and mentally engaged when the ground is icy, rain-soaked or snow-covered.

A few key takeaways:

  • Dr. Shannon Reed, associate professor of equine surgery at The Ohio State University and off-track Thoroughbred advocate, said that even for a horse in rehabilitation from an injury, there are ways to keep things from being monotonous. If a horse is limited to hand walking, check with your veterinarian to see if it's ok to hand walk outside rather than in the barn aisle, whether tack walking or trailer loading practice are acceptable forms of exercise. Stall-bound horses may still be able to work on vocal cues and lateral work (“Move over”) in the stall. Walking over ground poles or under saddle may also be an option for some horses.

    “You should come out of six months of rehab with a better horse than what you went in with,” said Reed. “There are a whole lot of things that you can do with your horse that have nothing to do with being under saddle, which is someplace we sometimes put ourselves under pressure.”

  • Always check with the veterinarian when brainstorming things that could fit within the guidelines – don't ask the Facebook peanut gallery.
  • Hand walking, especially a brisk walk, can be a surprisingly good way to get a horse (and rider) fit. Reed recommends hand walking in whatever environment you safely can. While walking the roads of her neighborhood, Reed was able to introduce her OTTB to ditches, mailboxes, driveways, trash cans, and other items. The horse learned to stop and wait for people to pass, and to turn on the forehand when required.
  • Reward curiosity in your horse. It's better for a horse to encounter something new in a low-pressure, non-time sensitive situation than at a competition.
  • Hand walking is a safe way to begin teaching herd bound horses that they will return to their friends eventually, and that it's ok to trust and focus on the human handler despite separation anxiety. That trust will likely translate to under saddle work.
  • Lateral work can be done in hand with the help of a dressage whip to help direct a horse's haunches. Lateral movement from the walk is a good way to help a horse stretch and stay limber without putting stress on joints and soft tissues.
  • Walking through puddles is another easy lesson that doesn't require a perfect surface. Water can reflect light and movement in unexpected ways, and even if you don't plan to run your horse cross country and encounter water on a routine basis, odds are that he will encounter a puddle at some stage that must be crossed safely.
  • Standing and ground tying are underestimated skills. Horses, especially young or high-energy horses, need to become comfortable with some degree of boredom waiting for their class at a horse show, or waiting by a trailer. Standing by the mounting block is also a challenge for many horses, since they don't realize the significance of the block and may be used to being mounted while in motion.
  • Ask your local farm supply shop for old sale banners that you can add to your arena so your horse has experience with something bright that may flap in the wind.
  • Trailer rides don't always have to be about going somewhere for competition. Those who have a truck and trailer have the opportunity to not only haul horses to schooling shows as non-competitors to stand and watch the proceedings. They also have the chance to take horses on short errands, like running to the grocery store for 10 minutes and taking the horse back home. This will make traveling less of an “event” and keep horses relaxed about the process – especially if they have a hay net to munch on.

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Phillips: TAA Isn’t There Just To Care For Horses, But To Protect Racing’s Future

“I take care of my own,” responded the prominent owner who declined to make a commitment of financial support to the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance.

In that response is a lack of understanding about the purpose of the TAA. While the “goal” of the TAA is to assure that Thoroughbreds exiting racing receive a soft landing with a new owner who promises to assume responsibility of care, thereby relieving the racing industry of its responsibility. The “purpose” of the TAA is to protect the sport of horse racing and thereby assure its future. The goal and purpose are very different things.

It makes little difference to the TAA if you believe that horses are just livestock or that horses are a revered companion animal worthy of better treatment. These are individual values, a debate about which the TAA need not engage. What is incontestable, however, is that if we want Thoroughbred horse racing to survive, all of us must commit to a broad scope of aftercare, more than just “taking care of my own.”

Racing participants understand that Thoroughbred racing is essentially a pyramid with graded stakes at the top, descending through a myriad of classes to a very broad base of claiming ranks at the lowest end of performance. While owners and breeders of every ilk aspire to the pyramid's peak, the reality is that everyone who has owned, trained or bred horses for very long has had their share of disappointments. These disappointments work through the system and generally depart the sport through these bottom claiming ranks. All know this and rely upon the broad base to hold up the value of those special horses at the top of the pyramid. Without this base the economics of the sport will not function.

It is wonderful that so many top breeders, trainers and owners have special outlets or their own field of equine pensioners that they take care of post racing. But not all Thoroughbreds are so lucky and with the mobility and breath of our sport, keeping track of a horse you bred, raced or trained is an effort. And besides, people say, isn't that someone else's responsibility once ownership of the horse was transferred?

In a perfect world, it is the transferees' responsibility, but this is not a perfect world. Those “special equines” who earn private pensioner status rely on a healthy sport with its broad base of the less talented through which they rise to earn that “special” pensioned treatment. To be clear, the TAA vigorously pursues all sectors and all levels, including the most modest of our sport, to help finance their on-the-ground partners who do the work of retraining, rehoming and sanctuary. These efforts most certainly include education and fundraising at the very base of the pyramid. But efforts at the base of the pyramid, while financially helpful, burn a lot of oxygen and are more long-term approaches at a time when the public demands immediate results.

John Phillips

This sport is a privilege. Those of us who have enjoyed its thrills and love its culture, however experienced, must do more than just “take care of our own.” We must take care of the future of the sport and if that means we must do more than our share of aftercare, then so be it. To whom much is given, much is also required.

The TAA, with an ever-increasing number of partners (the total is now estimated to be at 83) with 175 retraining, rehoming or retirement facilities, is desperately trying to defend the sport by answering the public's clear demand for a soft landing of our athletes as they exit racing competition. TAA is a well thought-out, practical and effective answer to the public's concern. Our “first exit from racing” philosophy is getting closer every year to assuring that all horses exiting racing get this soft landing from the sport.

Whether you're an owner, breeder, buyer or seller, a stallion farm or trainer, when the TAA seeks your support, keep in mind that our “purpose” is to protect the sport. And now with COVID-19 negatively impacting TAA's income, we need those who “take care of their own” for which the TAA is most appreciative, to take one further step and help the TAA take care of the sport.

John Phillips is a third-generation horseman, owner of Darby Dan Farm near Lexington, Ky., and manager of Phillips Racing Partnership. Phillips has served on a number of board positions in the racing industry and has previously been a director of the board of the Bluegrass Conservancy, Thoroughbred Club of America, and Breeders' Cup, and is currently a director of The Jockey Club Information Systems and is on TOBA's executive committee. Phillips also served two terms as a racing commissioner in Kentucky. He is the immediate past president of the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance and serves on its board and executive committee.

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