Tag: The Biz

Robertino Diodoro, leading trainer at the recently concluded Oaklawn meet, will serve a 15-day suspension at the outset of the 2023-'24 season at the Hot Springs, Ark., track as a result of a total carbon dioxide (TCO2) finding above the permitted limit.

The violation, issued by the Arkansas Racing Commission and posted on the Association of Racing Commissioners International website on Monday, said Diodoro-trained Aristocracy, sixth-place finisher in the $200,000 Bath House Row Stakes on April 22, had a TCO2 reading of 42.3 millimoles per liter, well above the permitted limit of 37 mmol/L. According to the ruling, the 3-year-old Tapit colt owned by Gordon Christoff was disqualified from purse money.

The violation is considered a Penalty B infraction under ARCI guidelines. The suspension is for 30 days, with 15 days stayed provided Diodoro has no Class A or Class B medication violations within 365 days of the May 15 ruling. The 15-day ban, reciprocal in all states, runs from Dec. 8-Dec. 22, 2023, at the start of the next Oaklawn meet. He was also fined $1,000.

Diodoro waived his rights to a hearing and will not appeal.

Purposely increasing the TCO2 levels in a horse is believed to prevent lactic acid buildup, which leads to muscle fatigue. The practice is commonly called “milk shaking” and can involve the use of baking soda and a liquid delivered via nasogastric tube. Read more about TCO2 levels here.

Diodoro said Aristocracy was not milkshaked.

“Who the heck is milk shaking a horse in 2023?” he said. “That'd be like you sitting in a bar, drunk and falling off your stool, and someone telling you, 'Hey, Ray, there's a check stop just down the road. You better not drive.' Then you have a couple more drinks and get in your vehicle and think you're going to make it through.”

TCO2 testing for most races is random at Oaklawn, though Diodoro said every horse entered in a stakes race is tested.

Still, the trainer had no explanation for how the horse's TCO2 was so elevated.

“I do not know,” he said. “The only thing I can say, and I don't want to go into detail, our feed program has been the same for 10 years and we've never had a problem. This was a new horse in the barn.”

Prior to the Bath House Row Stakes, Aristocracy was campaigned by his breeders, Gary and Mary West, and trained by Brad Cox. He ran ninth in his previous start, the March 4 John Battaglia Memorial Stakes at Turfway Park, before joining the Diodoro barn for a new owner.

Diodoro led all trainers during the 2022-'23 Oaklawn meet, with 61 wins from 266 starts. In January, he became the 37th North American trainer to reach the 3,000-win milestone. He currently has 3,077 wins from 14,770 career starts. He began training in 1995.

According to ThoroughbredRulings.com, this  is Diodoro's first medication violation since 2020. He said there are no other pending cases involving TCO2 levels for his stable.

The Oaklawn meet ended May 6.

The post Robertino Diodoro Suspended, Fined For Oaklawn TCO2 Violation appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Following its successful return to the lineup of Preakness Stakes (G1) festivities last year, Sunrise at Old Hilltop will once again offer fans a unique behind the scenes walking tour of historic Pimlico Race Course.

One of the most popular events leading up to the Preakness (G1), middle jewel of the Triple Crown, Sunrise at Old Hilltop was suspended in 2020 and 2021 amid the coronavirus pandemic. The 148th Preakness will be contested Saturday, May 20.

“Everything turned out great. People loved coming back,” tour director and guide Fran Burns said. “I think it actually gained popularity because more people had heard about it, either on television or through word of mouth.”

Admission is free to the Sunrise at Old Hilltop tours, which run on a first-come, first-served basis between 6 and 9 a.m. (ET) from Tuesday, May 16 through Friday, May 19. Patrons can sign up at the registration tent on the track apron.

Other than pre-arranged groups of 10 or more people, fans not need to register ahead of time to take the Sunrise at Old Hilltop tour.

In addition to watching the sun come up over the second-oldest Thoroughbred racetrack in the country, opened in 1870, the tours offer a glimpse of what it takes to host one of the world's biggest sporting events. Fans will watch horses work out on the track before getting a chance to see them up close, meet and greet horsemen and learn some of the history behind the Preakness.

The tour includes stops at the stakes barn, where contenders for the Preakness and other weekend stakes are stabled, as well as the jockey's room, paddock, winner's circle and grandstand. There are also discussions of Thoroughbred aftercare and famous murals depicting track life painted by Baltimore artist Raoul Middleman that have hung in the grandstand since the 1970s.

Back for a second straight year is Burns' 'mystery guest' table, featuring interaction with several industry-related people, as well as a starting gate history and demonstration. New this year, a blacksmith will be on hand to talk about the job and answer questions.

“We haven't had a blacksmith for a couple of years. There will be a blacksmith sitting down by the barns and he will talk to each group,” Burns said. “The mystery guest table rotated people that were connected to Thoroughbreds and racing on a revolving basis and people really enjoyed that.

“The biggest thing was the starting gate. That was new last year. People loved it,” she added. “We brought the gate up right in front of the horsemen's entrance. We had [assistant starter] Ed [Benson] there and he was explaining the history, and that was without a doubt a home run.”

Pre-scheduled group tours take place Tuesday and Wednesday of Preakness week. One of the traditional groups that come each year is from Arlington Elementary School, located a half-mile from Pimlico on West Rogers Avenue.

Burns said 500 kids will be making the traditional walk over to Pimlico with their teachers this year. Thanks to sponsorships from the Mt. Washington Tavern and Soybean Association, each child will receive a free Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance coloring book and box of crayons.

“We have more kids than ever,” Burns said. “The kids love this tour. This might be the only field trip they get all year.”

Parking for the Sunrise at Old Hilltop tours is in the Rogers Avenue lot at the intersection of Northern Parkway and Woodcrest Avenue.

For more information, visit https://www.preakness.com/sunrise-tours

“I hope that we get as good a turnout, if not better,” Burns said. “It all depends on the weather.”

The post ‘Kids Love This Tour’: Sunrise At Old Hilltop Returns Preakness Week appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority distributed the following open letter to racing media May 12: 

Fellow racing participants,

I wanted to take a minute of your time to share an update on HISA's role related to the events of last week along with a perspective on what's to come.

Our first priority is to support efforts to better understand, to the degree possible, the root causes of the deaths last week at Churchill Downs.

Here's what you can expect from the team at HISA and our counterparts at the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) in the coming weeks:

The KHRC is leading an Equine Catastrophic Injury Review to investigate the circumstances of and potential contributing factors to each of the fatalities that occurred. The investigations are already under way, and involve, at a minimum, interviews with the horses' connections and security personnel and review of the horses' racing, training, veterinary and pre-race exam inspection records as well as video surveillance. This is in addition to the mandatory necropsies that will be performed to further inform our collective understanding of the circumstances as outlined by HISA's Racetrack Safety Program. All findings will be submitted to HISA upon the completion of the review.

HISA will conduct its own, independent investigation of each fatality to inform whether additional steps need to be taken. HISA's investigation will include the following:

• A review of the records pertaining to each horse which died, including the necropsy report, Vets' List history, past performances, exercise history, treatment records, pre-race inspection, and video records;
• A review of Churchill Downs equine fatality rates from the recent period, the same period the year prior, and the most recently concluded year; as well as training fatality data;
• A review of racetrack maintenance records, surface measurements, and testing data;
• Interviews with the Regulatory Vet, Attending Vet, track management officials, and other relevant third parties.

HISA's findings, including the determination of whether any rule violations occurred to refer for potential enforcement proceedings, will be made public following the investigation's conclusion.

The findings associated with these investigations will also be recorded and aggregated along with other industrywide data for in-depth analysis to eventually establish a baseline for determining with greater clarity factors that may contribute to risk of injury.

While these changes take time and do little to address the immediate and pressing concerns we share as an industry, we have operational safety rules in place that by most accounts are making a difference. And soon, we'll take another critical step toward an improved, more modern sport when the Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program resumes on May 22 under the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU).

For the first time in the storied history of Thoroughbred racing, there will be one set of uniform, consistent rules across all racing jurisdictions. Under the ADMC Program there will also be greater efficiency for all participants and real consequences for those who seek to break the rules for their own benefit and to the detriment of the horses under their care. The rules also create a rational, fair system for adjudicating penalties and taking into account environmental and other accidental contamination.

There is no doubt that the combination of the Racetrack Safety Program and the ADMC Program will make our sport safer for the horses entrusted to our care.

As we move forward from this collective low, I hope it is together, united with a renewed commitment to what matters most: the safety of our horses and our riders. We owe it to them to get this right. And we owe it to them to do it now.

Yours in racing,

Lisa Lazarus

HISA CEO

The post Lazarus: HISA Conducting Its Own Investigation Into Churchill Deaths appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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On Tuesday, May 9, OwnerView hosted the fourth panel in its Virtual Thoroughbred Owner Conference series to provide information about creating a business plan as a racehorse owner.

The conference is hosted by The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and sponsored by Bessemer Trust, Stoll Keenon Ogden, and The Green Group. This panel was sponsored by Coolmore America and String Music Thoroughbred Investments.

The panel was composed of Liz Crow, co-owner of BSW/Crow and ELiTE Sales; Greg Harbut, president of Harbut Bloodstock; and John Phillips, owner of Darby Dan farm. Gary Falter, project manager for OwnerView, hosted the discussion. Attendees were able to ask questions through Zoom's Q&A feature, and questions were answered at the middle and end of the webinar. The Q&A session was sponsored by West Point Thoroughbreds.

Crow, Harbut, and Phillips discussed topics including ways to reduce risk, creating a budget, understanding costs of ownership, types of ownership to pursue when getting into the business, breeding to race versus buying to race, and claiming horses, among other topics.

“Rule number one when putting a business plan together is to have realistic expectations. The money that you put up should probably be money that you're okay parting with,” said Harbut. “So be secure with purchase price and the cost of ownership.”

“Surround yourself with people that know a lot about the sport and do this professionally,” Crow said. “The whole thing is risky, so the most important thing is understanding the risk before you go in. Having an advisor is important, especially if you're new to the sport. I often suggest people get involved with a racing partnership first to get their feet wet.”

“Your business plan is going to evolve, and who you need to listen to is the horse, because the horse will tell you — and the whole process will tell you — 'I'm only this talented,'” Phillips said. “We hope that they are all First Saturday in May horses, but the reality is you need to amend your business plan essentially to what the horse is telling you.”

A replay of all the conference panels can be viewed here: bit.ly/OVVideos.

Seven additional Thoroughbred Owner Conference virtual panels are scheduled for 2023.

The next session will be held June 13 at 2 p.m. ET and will feature videos of preparing for race day following by a discussion with owners and trainers. A full schedule can be found here: bit.ly/OVSchedule.

 There is no registration fee for the virtual conference series, but registration is required. For more information about the owner conference, please visit ownerview.com/event/conference or contact Gary Falter at 859.224.2803 or gfalter@jockeyclub.com.

OwnerView is a joint effort spearheaded by The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to encourage ownership of Thoroughbreds and provide accurate information on aspects of ownership such as trainers, public racing syndicates, the process of purchasing and owning a Thoroughbred, racehorse retirement, and owner licensing.

The need for a central resource to encourage Thoroughbred ownership was identified in the comprehensive economic study of the sport that was commissioned by The Jockey Club and conducted by McKinsey & Company in 2011. The OwnerView site was launched in May 2012.

The post OwnerView Conference Focuses On Importance Of Business Plans appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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