Tag: The Friday Show

Earlier this week, Paulick Report editor-in-chief Natalie Voss reported on veterinary records that accompanied a necropsy report on the 3-year-old colt Havnameltdown, who suffered a fatal injury during a race on Preakness Day at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md., on May 20. A copy of the report had been obtained by a member of our staff.

The records showed multiple injections, all of which were legal and recorded properly, and there was no suggestion in the article that the treatments were linked with or caused the fatal injury the colt sustained.

Why, then, was this news?

Joining publisher Ray Paulick on this week's Friday Show, Voss explains that one of the treatments was a corticosteroid, betamethasone, that had been the subject of two positive tests in Baffert horses – Gamine in the 2020 Kentucky Oaks and Medina Spirit in the 2021 Kentucky Derby. During various lawsuits and administrative hearings, Baffert stated on multiple occasions under sworn testimony that following Gamine's failed drug test he had instructed his staff and veterinarians to no longer use betamethasone. It was a pillar of his defense that the source of the drug was an ointment containing betamethasone, and not an injection. That veterinary records showed at least one of his horses recently was treated with betamethasone was, in our opinion, news.

Voss and Paulick also review the work being done to prevent catastrophic musculoskeletal injuries, including reviews of the Equine Injury Database, and whether there seem to be any discernible patterns or common threads in these fatal events.

The post The Friday Show Presented By Woodbine: What’s News And Why appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Jim Lawson, CEO of Woodbine Entertainment, recommended to the company's board of directors in 2015 that the Toronto racetrack's main Polytrack surface be replaced with another all-weather synthetic material, Tapeta Footings. Eight years later, he is confident it was the right call.

Woodbine is one of the safest racetracks in North America, with 0.42 racing fatalities per 1,000 starts on the Tapeta surface in 2022, according to data from The Jockey Club's Equine Injury Database.  That compares to an overall 2022 average of 1.25 fatalities per 1,000 starts on all racing surfaces in North America, and a 1.44 per 1,000 fatality rate on dirt tracks.

So far in 2023, Woodbine has seen two fatal injuries from roughly 4,500 starts. From about 14,000 timed workouts, Lawson said, there have only been two fatalities.

Those numbers compare favorably to national averages on traditional dirt surfaces, which have come under fire recently after the high-profile fatal injuries to budding stars Maple Leaf Mel and New York Thunder in Grade 1 races at Saratoga in August.

Lawson joins Ray Paulick and bloodstock editor Joe Nevills on this week's Friday Show to discuss the experience Woodbine has had with Tapeta. It's not perfect, Lawson said, with maintenance difficulties during hot and cold weather (something that occurs during Woodbine's long April to December meet). Overall, however, Lawson believes the Tapeta surface has been better for the horses and for Woodbine's bottom line.

Watch this week's episode of The Friday Show below:

The post The Friday Show Presented By Woodbine: Talking Tapeta With Jim Lawson appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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We're switching things up a bit on this week's episode of The Friday Show.

If you follow us on Instagram or subscribe to the Paulick Report Insider Patreon feed, you're familiar with our “Ask Me Anything” video series, where a member of our staff answers reader questions about horse racing, or whatever else passes through the inbox.

During a recent trip to Saratoga, we decided to get some members of the racing industry in on the action, including trainer Gary Contessa, who is never afraid to share his opinion.

Contessa has had a long career as a New York-based trainer and has campaigned Uncle Sigh, Rydilluc, Eightyfiveinafifty, Rite Moment and Sippican Harbor. He has spent time both as a private trainer and managing a public barn, is a breeder, and scouts yearlings and 2-year-olds at the sale. He's also president of The Exceller Fund, which facilitates aftercare for Thoroughbreds at risk of neglect or entry into the slaughter pipeline.

Contessa was so thorough with his answers to our readers' questions that we split it into a two-part video on our Patreon.

On this week's episode of The Friday Show, we'll share one of those parts, where Contessa discusses topics including how much it costs to keep a horse in training, how a new owner can find a “clean” trainer, and what the industry can do to lower the number of equine fatalities.

If you enjoyed this “Ask Me Anything” video and want to see more like it from Paulick Report staff and Thoroughbred industry members, become a subscriber to the Paulick Report Insider Patreon account by clicking here.

Watch this week's episode of The Friday Show below:

The post The Friday Show Presented By Woodbine: Answering Reader Questions With Gary Contessa appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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An overflowing entry box for Canada's most important Thoroughbred race, the $1-million King's Plate, suggests that this year's field of Canadian-bred 3-year-olds is without a standout.

Seventeen horses are expected to be in the starting gate, with two others on the also-eligible list for Sunday's race, the highlight of a 13-race card that begins at 12:25 p.m. ET. The Plate, race 10, is scheduled for 5:39 p.m. ET.

The King's Plate, first run in 1860 and intermittently known as the Queen's Plate, is run on the all-weather Tapeta surface over the classic distance of 1 1/4 miles, with colts and gelding toting 126 pounds. Two fillies who ran one-two in the Woodbine Oaks, Elysian Field and Wickenheiser, are entered and will each carry 121.

Toronto-based racing writer and handicapper Jennifer Morrison joins Ray Paulick on the Friday Show to sort through this year's field for the Plate, and she says the race goes through Kalik, the 3-1 morning line favorite who will be making his first start in Canada and first on Tapeta. Morrison points out that the son of Collected trained by Chad Brown follows the same trail into the Plate that 2021 winner Safe Conduct took for Phil Serpe, racing in the G2 Pennine Ridge and G1 Belmont Derby on turf at Belmont Park before heading north of the border.

Watch this week's episode of The Friday Show below:

The post The Friday Show Presented By Woodbine: Does The King’s Plate Go Through Kalik? appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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