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Normandy Invasion To Be Retrained For His Next Career As A Sport Horse

The National Thoroughbred Welfare Organization (NTWO) announced this week that former Spendthrift stallion Normandy Invasion has been gelded and will be retrained and rehomed by the organization.

NTWO farm manager and trainer Tayja Smith said that the multiple graded stakes placed earner of $551,900 is doing better than she had expected with the adjustment after she was warned he could have some aggressive tendencies.

“We pulled him off, and he was dead quiet,” Smith said. “He had his head right where it needed to be, walked super respectful in, settled right into his stall, and rolled and relaxed.”

Smith said that she is planning on trying group turn out soon after giving him some more time to get adjusted.

The 10-year-old son of Tapit has not begun any training yet. Smith said that she wants to allow him to pick up some herd dynamics as well as pass a veterinary check before she begins training with him. She plans to start his training on the ground and go from there.

“They kind of tell you what to do, I think,” Smith said. “I do everything by feel.”

Smith said it usually takes a week or two to get a horse where she wants on the ground, and then she starts the under-saddle training. When asked about what she might look for in a potential adopter for Normandy Invasion, Smith said that most importantly it should be someone who has experience with a stallion and someone who really bonds with him as a horse instead of just wanting him because he is well known.

“While he's very, very well mannered,” Smith said. “If he ever does decide to show stallion tendencies, I would rather it be somebody who is going to be confident with those tendencies.”

“I kind of want him to choose.”

Normandy Invasion was runner-up in the 2012 Grade 2 Remsen Stakes and the 2013 G1 Wood Memorial Stakes. He was bred in Kentucky by Betz/Kidder/Gainesway/Graves/D.J. Stable/Cole and is out of the Boston Harbor mare Boston Lady. Normandy Invasion was a $230,000 purchase as a 2-year-old by Fox Hill Farms, which campaigned him throughout his racing career with trainer Larry Jones. Fox Hill's Rick Porter is the founder of NTWO. Normandy Invasion is the sire of 13 winners from 43 starters, and his first foals are 3-year-olds of 2020.

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Standardbred Owners Group Contributes To The Standardbred Racing Investigative Fund

The Standardbred Owners Association (SOA) of New York has contributed $25,000 to the SRIF (Standardbred Racing Investigative Fund) to help meet the challenge of the $250,000 matching fund grant from Hanover Shoe Farms that was announced in April by Hanover Shoe Farms' president and CEO Russell Williams and executive vice president Bridgette Jablonsky to promote integrity in harness racing.

The SRIF announced its formal launch on Tuesday, Sept. 29. SRIF is a 501(c)(3) corporation formed to fund expert investigations into matters concerning the health and welfare of horses in the harness racing industry, such as prohibited medication practices and fraudulent trainer listings.

The SOA of NY encourages other horsemen's associations, track operators and specifically those individuals most vocally concerned about integrity in harness racing to do whatever they can to assist the SRIF.

All contributions should be made out to the Standardbred Racing Investigative Fund and sent to:

Standardbred Racing Investigative Fund

PO Box 339

Hanover, PA 17331

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Soumillon Off Sunday Mounts In Hong Kong Pending More COVID-19 Tests

The Hong Kong Jockey Club has been informed by jockey Christophe Soumillon that he has been requested by the Department of Health to undergo further COVID-19 tests.

It is unknown at this stage when the testing will be completed and when Soumillon will be released from quarantine.

Soumillon was licensed by the club on the basis that he would undergo a mandatory 14 days' quarantine under the compulsory quarantine of persons arriving at Hong Kong from foreign places regulation (Cap. 599E). Soumillon arrived at Hong Kong on Nov. 26 and commenced this 14 days' quarantine.

Despite having cleared his initial COVID-19 test on his arrival, he has yet to receive an unconditional release from quarantine in order to ride on this coming Sunday.

The Club has taken advice from its chief medical officer. Given these circumstances the stewards have decided to stand him down from Sunday's riding engagements. The club is in the process of informing the relevant connections. The change of riders will be published in due course.

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Kentucky Horse Racing Commission Approves More Regulations On Clenbuterol

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission approved modified race dates for Turfway Park, a request from Churchill Downs to convert their noncontiguous track extension facility into a simulcast facility, and new withdrawal requirements for administration of clenbuterol in their bi-monthly meeting on Dec. 8, 2020.

Turfway Park was originally granted 39 days for their 2021 Winter Spring meet. They did not request to change the number of days already allowed for their meet, just the specific dates and times during which the meet would take place as well as ship in dates.

“Turfway Park has already been awarded 39 days of racing for January, February, and March of 2021,” KHRC deputy general counsel Chad Thompson said.”The shift of dates will fall within the same months as the dates that were recorded. In addition, the shift in dates will not conflict with those of another thoroughbred track.”

The reason for the shift is a delay in the construction schedule at Turfway, which is undergoing a complete renovation by owner Churchill Downs Inc.

There was a series of amendments made to pre-existing regulations on clenbuterol use. The first amendment was made to make a new section within a drug regulation rule to include clenbuterol and specify that it is prohibited unless certain conditions are met. The first condition is that a clenbuterol prescription must be made for a specific horse based upon a specific diagnosis. The second condition is that the vet is required to provide a copy of the horse's treatment sheet to the equine medical director for review within 24 hours of administration. The third condition is that the horse must be placed on the vet's list for 21 days post-administration and must pass a blood and urine test at the end of the 21 days to be removed from the list.

The second amendment on clenbuterol regulations was made to a regulation on the acceptable threshold of clenbuterol. This new amendment states that the acceptable threshold is the level of detection in urine serum and plasma. The last amendment made states that clenbuterol may be administered if the treatment is pursuant to a prescription and reported to the commission.

Although the amendments were ultimately approved, there were some points made in regards to how the amendments are affecting the Standardbred community since those horses race more frequently than Thoroughbreds do.

“This, I think, is a case of punishing harness racing for the sins of the Quarter Horse people and Thoroughbred people,” Said commissioner Alan Leavitt in response to the proposal of the clenbuterol amendments. “There have been, as far as I know, no instances reported of a Standardbred being overly treated with clenbuterol in order to get a steroidal effect.”

The commission unanimously approved the conversion of the Louisville Thoroughbred Society to become a simulcast facility.

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