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NFL Legend, Savior Of West Virginia Horse Racing: Tribute Paid To Sam Huff At Memorial Service

“Sam Huff saved the Thoroughbred breeding and racing industry in West Virginia.”

That declaration was made by Ken Lowe, the chairman of the West Virginia Racing Commission, as approximately 150 friends and business acquaintances gathered Monday afternoon at the Middleburg Community Center in Middleburg, VA. to pay tribute to Robert Lee “Sam” Huff. The Pro Football Hall of Fame football player and Thoroughbred owner and breeder died Nov. 13, 2021 from complications of dementia in Winchester, VA.

Lowe was one of several speakers at the service, which was held just a few furlongs from the farm where Huff lived with his longtime partner Carol Holden.

Among them was J.W. Marriott, Jr., the 89-year-old executive chairman of Marriott International, who fondly recalled Huff's long association with the company as the vice president for special markets. He told the story about Huff's persistent request for one of the parking spots at Marriott headquarters that were reserved for Marriott board members.

Shortly after Mr. Marriott granted Huff's wish, several other vice presidents complained. So, Mr. Marriott told those who complained that those spots were reserved “for board members and anyone else in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.”

Leonard Shapiro, a former sports writer and editor at The Washington Post, who co-authored Huff's autobiography “Tough Stuff,” talked about Huff's upbringing in a coal mining camp near Farmington, WV.

Frank Herzog, one of Huff's longtime radio broadcast partners covering the Washington Redskins, shared tales of their time together in press boxes across the country. (Huff spent more than 30 years as a broadcaster for the team.)

Keith McIntosh, a regional representative for Sen. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, also made some remarks to the attendees.

The 35^th edition of the West Virginia Breeders Classics, co-founded by Holden and Huff in 1987, was held Oct. 9, 2021. The event has now generated more than $29 million in purses for the breeders and horsemen of West Virginia. In recent years, Huff served as the chairman emeritus; Holden still serves as president.

Lowe read an official resolution honoring Huff from the West Virginia Racing Commission that read in part:

“Sam Huff's efforts grew the West Virginia Breeders Classics into a premier event, bringing local and national television coverage to showcase the State of West Virginia, Jefferson County, Charles Town and the hard working people of the racing and breeding industries of West Virginia…The West Virginia Racing Commission would like to issue this resolution in honor of Sam Huff for his support, contributions and unwavering dedication to the Thoroughbred racing industry, the West Virginia Racing Commission and the State of West Virginia.”

In addition to starting the West Virginia Breeders Classics, Huff and Holden co-hosted a syndicated weekly radio show called “Trackside” for many years on their Middleburg Broadcasting Network.

The service also featured a video highlighting Huff's coal mine experience, his popularity as a member of the New York Giants and the cover story on him in TIME magazine.

Also in attendance was trainer Graham Motion, who trained Huff's stakes-winning filly Bursting Forth.

The service concluded with some personal remarks from Huff's namesake and grandson Robert Lee Huff III and music provided by the Mount Pisgah Baptist Church's gospel chorus.

Contributions in Huff's name may be made to Aftercare Charles Town, PO Box 136, Ranson, WV 25438. The 501(c)(3) organization is responsible for rehoming Thoroughbred racehorses that have raced at Charles Town.

The post NFL Legend, Savior Of West Virginia Horse Racing: Tribute Paid To Sam Huff At Memorial Service appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Trainer/Owner Adolfo Macias Suspended 90 Days After Barn Search

Adolfo Macias has had both his owner's and trainer's licenses suspended for 90 days by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, beginning Dec. 1 and running through Feb. 28, 2022. According to a ruling issued on Nov. 13, the suspension stems from a barn search at Ashwood Training Center on July 28, 2021, which turned up injectable medications, hypodermic needles and syringes.

In an additional ruling issued on the same date, Macias' trainee Enraged has been disqualified from his win at Ellis Park on July 9, 2021. Industrial Laboratories indicated that a post-race sample from Enraged was positive for dexamethasone, and the split sample was confirmed by Texas A & M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory. The KHRC also fined Macias for the violation, his first in 365 days.

Macias, who has been training since 2005, has saddled 127 winners from 1,165 starters.

According to thoroughbredrulings.com, Macias has previously been cited for positives of phenylbutazone (Jan. 22, 2009; March 7, 2009; May 3, 2011), flunixin (May 3, 2011), and dexamethasone (Dec. 30, 2012)

The post Trainer/Owner Adolfo Macias Suspended 90 Days After Barn Search appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Louisiana Commission Sides with Broberg in CDI Exclusion Dispute

The Louisiana State Racing Commission (LSRC) unanimously passed a motion Tuesday that owner and trainer Karl Broberg believes will allow him to race horses at the upcoming Fair Grounds meet despite an exclusion order imposed last month by that track's corporate owner, Churchill Downs Inc. (CDI).

“I am allowed to enter and run at the Fair Grounds,” Broberg told TDN hours after the LSRC ruled that the private-property exclusion by CDI doesn't carry the same reciprocity as a ruling issued by a board of stewards or state racing commission.

According to the Blood-Horse, which first reported the story, the LSRC questioned whether Broberg had been afforded due process when CDI barred him from participating at all of its properties over allegations that he didn't properly care for a gelding who returned sore after a race at Churchill Downs Sept. 18.

According to previously published reports in the Blood-Horse and the Paulick Report, the Broberg-owned and trained Rockandahardplace (Hard Spun) came back sore after a sixth-place finish in a $10,000 claiming race. The 5-year-old had been claimed, but the claim was voided post-race when the horse was determined to be lame by a Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) veterinarian.

After a preliminary investigation, CDI alleged that “the horse was returned to his stall [but] there was no responsible representative of the trainer on-site to make veterinary decisions or to take appropriate steps to protect the welfare of the injured horse.”

Broberg, the nation's winningest trainer by victories between 2014-19 (he was second in both 2013 and 2020), had said last month that Rockandahardplace was indeed treated, but had been left in the Churchill receiving barn because he was too sore to travel immediately, according to the Paulick Report.

Broberg pointed out to TDN that CDI didn't want to hear his side of the story before issuing the multi-track ban, yet the Churchill stewards did not sanction him in any way after explaining what happened when he met with them last month.

CDI, Broberg told TDN in an Oct. 26 phone interview, “just came with this out of nowhere, with no facts or reason.”

Broberg continued: “I was sad that I never even had the opportunity to weigh in with the facts that Churchill, to this day, still hasn't even heard. The stewards were willing to [hear me out], which is why they made no ruling, because there was [no wrongdoing] there.”

Broberg was at Tuesday's LSRC hearing, but he didn't get to testify there, either. Neither did Dr. Will Farmer, the equine medical director for CDI. The commissioners did hear from CDI's attorney, Haley Nix, but after ascertaining there were no known rulings against Broberg in this matter, the board voted unanimously to pass the measure in Broberg's favor.

On the way out of that meeting, Broberg said “I did hand [CDI's] counsel some information that I wish they had prior to them making the decision that they did. I can only hope that it doesn't fall on deaf ears.”

Broberg continued: “This is the epitome of cancel culture just going crazy. I can only try to hope and work to mend the relationship. I mean, obviously, I don't want to poke the bear. I want to be able to get along with everyone. Most racing secretaries love me with the way they get starts per stall.”

Asked if he has a Fair Grounds stall application pending or plans to file one soon, Broberg said, “It's way too early to say at this point. This is unchartered territory I'm in right now.”

As to whether he plans to challenge CDIs ban of him at its flagship track in Kentucky via the KHRC or through the courts, Broberg said, “One step at a time.”

The post Louisiana Commission Sides with Broberg in CDI Exclusion Dispute appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Australian Study: Why Do Thoroughbreds Retire?

A new study out of Australia has found that 17 percent of 37,750 racehorses retired during the 2017-18 racing season there left the track because of poor performance or at their owner's request. In addition, the study found that 2.1 percent of racehorses that left racing during that timeframe died.

Dr. Kshitiz Shrestha of the University of Melbourne and a research team emailed a questionnaire to the last registered trainers of a sample of the 2,509 Thoroughbreds listed as “inactive” in that timeframe. An “inactive” horse is one that has not worked or raced in the last six months of the racing season, or those horses that were recorded as inactive by Racing Australia.

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In total, 1,750 responses were received. Of those, 43 percent had only temporarily left racing; those horses raced the following year. One-third of the retirements were because of injuries, predominantly tendon or ligament issues.

The study determined that the median age of the 780 horses that were retired was 5 years. Females were 1.2 times more likely to be retired than males, but male horses were more likely to become riding horses than females, many of which went on to breed.

The scientists also found that 90 of the 96 horses that died did so because of injury or illness; 54 percent of the horses had experienced an injury while exercising — 24 of them while racing and 19 while training. The other 6 were injured while participating in a trial.

The researchers note that their findings are consistent with previous Australian and New Zealand studies that report that most racehorse retirements are voluntary in nature because of poor performance or owner request.

They note that the decision to retire is based on an accumulation of factors, including performance. The median age of retirement shows that most horses are not forced to retire because of an injury. This information can be used as a benchmark to evaluate programs designed to track Thoroughbreds as they leave racing.

Read the study here.