racehorse | Horse Racing Free Tips

Shelley Mann Named Executive Director Of Secretariat Center

The Secretariat Center is pleased to welcome the appointment of Shelley Mann as its new Executive Director. With a lifetime of equine experience and more than 18 years in nonprofit leadership driving the advancement of strategic goals, Shelley will take the Secretariat Center's reins beginning September 14.

A long time Bluegrass resident, Shelley most recently served as the Director of Marketing and Communications for The United States Pony Clubs, Inc. In that role, she promoted equine education with a focus on safety, health and management by putting educational and leadership resource in homes, schools and barns.

“I am thrilled to be joining the Secretariat Center team,” says Shelley. “The care and placement of retired racehorses and providing these equine athletes a second career is something I am deeply passionate about. I look forward to utilizing my background in marketing, education and resource development to expand community outreach and share the Center's mission with equine enthusiasts across the United States.”

“We are very excited to have Shelley join the Secretariat Center team, and I look forward to seeing her promote our mission and new strategic plan going forward,” said Secretariat Center President Dr. Holly Schmitt. “She has dedicated much of her professional career to understanding equine health and to supporting community programs. Her experience and skills will be crucial to promoting this organization as the gold standard in Thoroughbred retraining.”

The Secretariat Center was founded in 2004 as a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization to prepare off-track Thoroughbreds for happy, healthy, and successful post-track careers through rehabilitation and by giving them a broad-based foundation of skills to ensure a harmonious match with their adopters. While advocating for the athleticism and versatility of the American Thoroughbred, The Secretariat Center also seeks to provide educational opportunities for human development through horsemanship. Located in the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky, the Secretariat Center showcases adoptable Thoroughbreds and uses its illustrious location to herald the athleticism of this amazing breed by teaching new skill sets to horses of all levels of ability. Visit www.secretariatcenter.org to find your next partner, make a donation or get involved today.

For more information contact Secretariat Center at 859-246-3080 or info@secretariatcenter.org.

The post Shelley Mann Named Executive Director Of Secretariat Center appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Del Mar And Santa Anita Prioritize Equine Safety With Shuttling Program

Equine diagnostic equipment based at Santa Anita Park has been credited with catching minor equine soundness issues before they become major problems in racehorses at both Del Mar and Santa Anita racetracks, reports the Daily Racing Form.

A joint effort between both tracks, Del Mar subsidized the shipping of horses to Santa Anita to use the advanced services, which include positron emission tomography (PET), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and nuclear scintigraphy. These tools are provided by the Southern California Equine Foundation (SCEF), a nonprofit, charitable organization dedicated to protecting the interests and promoting the welfare of the equine athlete.

Dr. Joe Dowd, president of the SCEF and a local veterinarian, and Del Mar's Josh Rubinstein, president and chief operating officer, and Tom Robbins, executive vice president of racing and industry relations, were three key players in finalizing the arrangement.

Study Provides Information On Fate Of Australian Racehorses

Scientists at the University of Melbourne created a study to determine why some Australian Thoroughbreds did not enter race training. Drs. Meredith Flash, Adelene Wong, Mark Stevenson and James Gilkerson examined the records of Thoroughbreds born in 2014 to determine how many horses had not entered race training by the end of their 4-year-old season (August of 2018).

They discovered that 13,677 Thoroughbreds were born in 2014. Of those, 66 percent started training and 51 percent had raced before the beginning of their 4-year-old season in Australia. The scientists chose a geographically diverse sample of 4,124 horses to use as part of a study. Of those, 1,275 horses had not entered race training.

Breeders of the 1,275 horses that had not entered race training were sent an online survey, then received a follow-up call to discover what happened to the horses. Fifty percent of the breeders responded. The researchers discovered that each horse fell into one of four categories:

Alive and active within the Thoroughbred racing industry
Alive and active outside of the Thoroughbred racing industry
Exported
Deceased

The scientists discovered that 154 horses were actively training or racing and 84 horses had been sold at a public or private sale. Many breeders indicated that they were not sure what happened to the horse once it sold. Only one horse was reported as exported.

There were 83 horses reported as retired or rehomed, with 61 percent of these never having any official training. Illness or injury and then poor performance were cited as the main reasons for retirement.

The reports discovered that 239 horses had died, with just over half dying in the first year of their lives of reported congenital malformation. In total, 73 percent of the horses that died passed before they turned 2 years old; these horses were not eligible to start in a race when they died.

Twenty horses had owners that were still intending to race them; the fate of the final 35 horses was unknown, meaning the owners stated they could not remember, did not know or did not choose a response.

The scientists extrapolated the results and concluded that most Thoroughbred deaths in the 2014 foal crop were related to non-training illnesses or injuries. They suggest that research into farm design and infrastructure might provide information to lower the fatality risk to horses. They also note that while official race records indicate the number of horses that start, data underestimates the percentage of foals that enter training.

Constitution Filly Lives Up to the Hype

5th-Saratoga, $62,000, (S), Msw, 7-24, 2yo, f, 5 1/2f, 1:05.02, ft.

IRISH CONSTITUTION (f, 2, Constitution–D’wild Ride {MSW, $622,841}, by D’wildcat) had a lot of buzz heading into this debut and was backed down to 7-2 off a 12-1 morning-line quote. The chestnut dueled for early control through a :22.81 first quarter before gaining a length advantage. Three wide turning for home, she was confronted by Party at Page’s (Gemologist) to her inside and was briefly headed by that rival, but battled back in the final strides to score by a nose. The winner’s dam produced a Bodemeister colt in 2019 and an Always Dreaming colt this year. Sales history: $40,000 Wlg ’18 KEENOV; $165,000 Ylg ’19 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $34,100. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

O-Perrine Time Thoroughbreds and West Paces Racing; B-SF Bloodstock LLC (NY); T-Raymond Handal.

The post Constitution Filly Lives Up to the Hype appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post