The Stronach Group | Horse Racing Free Tips

After Fatality-Free Month, Snow Poses First Challenge to New Laurel Surface

The work-in-progress new dirt racing surface at Laurel Park has made it through 10 racing dates and nearly a month of training without a catastrophic injury after being closed for 11 days in late autumn after eight equine fatalities. But a Monday snowstorm followed by a sharp drop in overnight temperature provided the first 2022 challenge to a track that has historically been prone to problems during winter weather.

Training was cancelled at Laurel Monday and Tuesday but will reopen Wednesday at 6:30 a.m. without timed workouts being permitted as a safety precaution. A chance of freezing rain is in the Wednesday forecast ahead of the next scheduled race date on Thursday, Jan. 6.

Mike Rogers, the president of the racing division for The Stronach Group (TSG), which owns Laurel, gave an update on the track to the Maryland Racing Commission (MRC) during Tuesday's monthly meeting.

After Rogers accentuated the positive aspects of the project, commissioner R. Thomas Bowman, a veterinarian who chairs the MRC's Equine Health, Safety and Welfare Advisory Committee, reported that despite the progress, he has concerns that the expert consultant hired to represent the horsemen is not having his input fully acted upon by TSG, which is relying more heavily on the expertise of its own consultants.

Bowman said that he is “absolutely confident that everybody is trying to do the right thing” to keep the track safe. But, he added, “I am fairly disappointed, however, in the apparent disagreement on which of the experts that has been brought in is actually the pilot of the ship.”

When speaking remotely via teleconference, Rogers had introduced both Chris Bosley, the MJC's track superintendent, and Glen Kozak, who served in that same capacity in the mid-2000s before being hired by the New York Racing Association, in case the commissioners wanted to ask questions. Bosley handles the day-to-day operations while Kozak has been hired to consult.

Not introduced was John Passero, who years ago was Laurel's superintendent but has recently been retained by the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association as its consultant. It was not clear if Passero was on the call in listen-only mode; in December he had been previously introduced alongside the other experts to speak at MJC meetings.

According to Bowman, Passero “has the confidence of the horsemen–at least the rank and file horsemen–and there seems to be a disconnect in what John proposes to do and what some of the other experts propose to do. And John Passero has been very, very quick to point out that he is not trying to be critical of anyone else's opinion. But he does feel frustrated when his input is not being heeded.”

Bowman continued: “Everybody has tried to be cooperative. Everybody has offered me what I think is an honest opinion. But when it gets down to it, somebody's got to call balls and strikes, and it would seem that the person most able to do that would be someone that is on the grounds on a regular basis.”

After Bowman aired his concerns, Rogers addressed what he said he believes to be the discrepancy among the consultants.

“All experts are on the same page. The only disagreement is timing on one of the issues,” Rogers said.

That issue has to do with a “pad” of compressed cushion that sits on top of the limestone base. It was established weeks ago as a protective measure while the body of the cushion gradually gets rebuilt through the addition of coarse sand. Laurel's crews have already added 2,000 tons of sand, with another 1,000 tons to be slowly mixed in.

“At some point, we all know that pad will not be able to be maintained,” Rogers said. “And the crew is going to have to dig into that pad, and we do not want to do that until we feel the cushion has the body in it to do that.”

MRC chairman Michael Algeo said he appreciated that explanation, but he underscored to Rogers that the commission wants to avoid a problem that has happened in the past, whereby TSG keeps telling the MRC, “everything's going okay, and all of a sudden we have a track issue. And then we repair it a little bit, and then we have a track issue.”

Recent history bears out Algeo's point of view. The autumn cluster of fatalities was only the latest safety blow at Laurel. After years of freeze/thaw and drainage troubles that TSG attempted to fix via piecemeal repairs, the main track was in such bad shape last spring that Laurel ceased racing on Apr. 11, 2021, to begin an emergency overhaul, which morphed into a multi-million-dollar rebuild from the base up. What was initially supposed to have been a closure of about one month ended up taking five months before racing could resume.

“The racing commission is charged with making certain that we have a safe track. At the same time, our commission cannot be the 'track police,'” Algeo said. “This is a period of time which most concerns me, because this is the type of weather–the change of weather, the deep freeze, the snow–is where the track surface issues seem to happen in a 24-48 hour period.”

Bosley expressed confidence that the Laurel surface made it through Monday's test of four inches of precipitation followed by a dramatic temperature drop to 17 degrees Fahrenheit.

“The way that we maintenanced the track [Monday] night was with the drag harrows, pretty much every single drag harrow we had, with added weights and the draw bars down,” Bosley said. “And that's important because with added weight and the draw bars down, the drag harrows will be riding on top of or will be into the pad that we established.”

After crews worked all night, Bosley said it was “very impressive” how the track reacted to the winter weather.

“That's a really good sign,” Bosley said. “An early inspection of the pad [Tuesday] morning [revealed] that we still have a pad … That means that the plan we submitted is working. It means that the sand that we have added into the track is working. That doesn't mean that we need to stop adding this coarser sand into the track. We definitely need to add more. But we're definitely heading in the right direction.”

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GGF Fatalities Down Overall, but November Spike Concerns CHRB

Golden Gate Fields twice came within one vote Wednesday of having its upcoming December-June license to conduct racing either curtailed or not granted at all because of California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) concerns over a recent four-horse uptick in equine fatalities.

The meet was eventually approved by a 4-3 vote, with CHRB chairman Gregory Ferraro, DVM, casting the deciding vote and pledging that he will be personally responsible for making sure Golden Gate executives understand that the “or else” consequences of not having a better safety record could mean the suspension of racing or a loss of license.

The polite but tense debate Dec. 15 unfolded against the backdrop of Golden Gate actually having fewer equine fatalities from racing and training so far in 2021 (17) than in 2020 (19).

When Golden Gate's license was up for renewal at this time last year, equine fatalities were a non-issue in the voting.

The difference this year has to do with the recency of some of the deaths. Of the 17 on the year so far, four of them have occurred since Nov. 14. The last previous training death at Golden Gate had been in September; the last previous racing death in May, according to stats on the CHRB website.

The highly charged topic also is reflective of the industry-wide heightened sense of awareness about equine safety.

CHRB vice-chair Oscar Gonzales pre-empted the vote for Golden Gate's full six-month license by suggesting a shorter three-month license would better allow the CHRB to “monitor the situation as closely as we can.”

Gonzales continued: “There' something going on here, and all I'm asking is allow for there to be a watchful eye on what transpires over the next three months, and then they will come back before us and we will then determine whether they're fit to have racing. And if not, we seek other alternatives.”

His argument had echoes of the CHRB's December 2020 meeting, at which Gonzales pushed hard for granting Los Alamitos Race Course only a six-month Quarter Horse license instead of for a full year over concerns that Los Al's management wasn't doing enough to mitigate the 29 equine deaths that occurred at the track in 2020.

Last year, the CHRB initially voted 5-1 to slice Los Al's licensure in half. Los Al's executives at first threatened closure of the track over the way that license was awarded.

But when the board next convened in January 2021, it restored the full license by a 4-3 vote after a more conciliatory Los Al management implemented a more comprehensive equine safety plan. Since those changes have been made, there have been just 11 racing and training deaths at Los Al so far in 2021.

Commissioner Dennis Alfieri didn't buy Gonzales's line of reasoning.

“I think this is totally different than Los Alamitos, quite frankly,” Alfieri said.

In contrast to what had been perceived as a lack of a safety game plan by Los Al, Alfieri said that The Stronach Group (TSG), which owns both Golden Gate and Santa Anita Park in California, has demonstrated “integrity” by continually investing in equine safety measures.

“[TSG is] all over this. This is not just 'business as usual,'” Alfieri said. He likened the recent four-horse spike in deaths to “accidents” as opposed to some glaring safety defect that TSG is not remedying.

Alfieri also pointed out that track operators in the state are well aware their safety records are examined microscopically by the CHRB.

“The reforms that we've made, and the pressure that we've put on these facilities throughout the state, it has their full attention,” Alfieri said.

Alfieri also noted that it's already within the CHRB's power to halt racing by a vote over safety concerns. He advocated for granting the full six-month license to Golden Gate “so things are organized properly,” and with the stipulation that the CHRB will be reassessing the situation every time it meets monthly.

“I don't understand what three months does. I say let's monitor it every 30 days, and then come back immediately if we see that there's a pattern of serious problems,” Alfieri said.

Ferraro pointed out that he, CHRB executive director Scott Chaney, and equine medical director Jeff Blea already visited Golden Gate last week to meet with trainers and track executives over the fatalities.

“So it's not like we're not doing anything,” Ferraro said. “We can always stop racing. We have the ability to do that. So unless we see some improvement, we can come back and…make a motion to stop racing.”

Both Gonzales and commissioner Wendy Mitchell expressed doubts that the board could actually come up with enough votes to halt racing if it had to, because the severity of the safety issues will always be subjective for each commissioner.

“We're not doing anything to address these deaths that we are seeing,” Mitchell said. “I'm concerned that we're kind of moving past it even though we see something happening.

“Commissioner Alfieri may be absolutely right that if there is a big problem we'll have the vote,” Mitchell continued. “But why are we going to take the risk at this point ahead of something even more catastrophic happening instead of just giving them a shorter license?”

Gonzales's motion on granting Golden Gate just a three-month license failed, 4-3. He, Mitchell and commissioner Brenda Washington Davis voted for it. Commissioners Alex Solis, Damascus Castellanos, Alfieri and Ferraro voted against it.

When Alfieri moved the question for a full six-month meet, the vote carried 4-3 with the same alignment of commissioners.

Upon casting the deciding vote, Ferraro said, “I'm sorry. I take into account Mr. Gonzales's concerns and Ms. Mitchell's concerns. [But] I think you can count on Mr. Chaney and myself and Dr. Blea to make an extra effort to turn things around at Golden Gate.”

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Racing At Laurel Could Resume By Dec. 16

Live racing at Laurel Park could resume by next Thursday, Dec. 16, officials relayed to the Maryland Racing Commission during a regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday. Timed workouts could resume as early as Friday, Dec. 10.

Entries had been taken for Friday, Dec. 10, but those races will not be held.

During Tuesday's meeting, comments from trainers and the public showed a perception that Maryland Jockey Club and Stronach Group officials were over-emphasizing science rather than experience, specifically referencing that of on-the-ground track maintenance professionals, trainers, and exercise riders. MJC acting president Mike Rogers countered that all feedback is welcomed and taken seriously, but Stronach's chief operations officer Aidan Butler added that ultimately the final decisions lie with the track operator.

Racing and timed workouts at Laurel have been cancelled since Nov. 28 after an alarming number of fatalities – four from racing injuries and three while training – occurred between Nov. 6-28. It was the second time in 2021 that racing at Laurel was halted because of track conditions. The first occurrence was in April after a spike in musculoskeletal injuries, which led to racing being shifted to Pimlico on an emergency basis. Track ownership undertook a multi-million dollar track renovation project that wasn't completed until August, with racing resuming at Laurel in September.

Track management launched a new investigation into the racing surface on Nov. 28, with help from noted trackmen Dennis Moore from California, Glen Kozak from the New York Racing Racing Association, and former MJC track superintendent John Passero. The process involved peeling back the track cushion to examine the base.

Rogers detailed that the most likely explanation is that water seeped into a seam in the base material of the stretch before that base material was able to cure, causing a slight depression. That has been repaired, and several additional changes have been made, including adding 50 tons of coarse white sand into the cushion.

Rogers added that this is typically the time of year that the racetrack surface needs specific maintenance ahead of the winter months, but that the entirely new surface hadn't reacted to changing conditions in the way it was expected to.

Only the outermost part of the racetrack was opening for light training through Monday, Dec. 6, but the entire width of the dirt course was scheduled to open for light training on Tuesday, Dec. 7.

Whether racing resumes on the 16th will depend on a satisfactory safety review of the repairs, officials said. Another commission meeting will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 14 to detail the outcome of that safety review and to grant approval for the resumption of racing.

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Cluster of Deaths At Laurel Puts Maryland Racing In Limbo

Seven Laurel Park horses have died since Nov. 6, and eight total have perished this autumn after sustaining fractures while racing or training over the newly installed main dirt track there.

The most recent death occurred in Laurel's eighth race Nov. 28, and training has been curtailed in the three days since then. A portion of the surface has been dug up in mid-stretch to allow an influx of track maintenance consultants to try and discover if there is an underlying problem that needs to be addressed.

Laurel's next scheduled racing date is Friday, Dec. 3, but it could be in jeopardy, according to Alan Foreman, an attorney who represents the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association.

“We've looked at every potential factor, and what we're focusing in on right now is the racing surface at Laurel,” Foreman said. “I think everybody understands that's what we're looking at, because with this red-flag cluster of fatalities, most of them were happening at about the same spot on the racetrack,” which he described as being in the middle of the homestretch.

“If there is a short-term remedy, then we'll try to implement a short-term remedy. If it's a longer-term issue, we'll have to address all of those factors. The expectation is that we're going to be able to start training on the surface this weekend, and we can resume racing next week,” Foreman said.

But, Foreman was quick to add, “We should not allow these horses to race on this surface until we feel certain that it's a safe racetrack.”

At 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Mike Rogers, the president of the racing division for The Stronach Group (TSG), which owns Laurel, told TDN via phone that he could not immediately comment on when racing would resume. He said a press release detailing that decision was in the process of being drafted by TSG executives.

No timed workouts have been allowed at Laurel since Sunday, although horses have been permitted to gallop around the cordoned-off section of the homestretch, Rogers said.

Rogers said that on Nov. 23, a “minor maintenance” issue was identified in the homestretch. “It was a minor settlement in the base that we dealt with. Our crew found it. We're dealing with it. So that was the reason that the 'dogs' were up. We pulled up the cushion, and did some maintenance to that little bit of settlement that took place….before the sixteenth pole,” he said.

“We're planning timed workouts for Saturday, Dec. 4,” Rogers said.

The cluster of fatalities is the latest safety blow at Maryland's premier racing and training venue. Laurel had ceased racing back on Apr. 11 to begin an emergency, multi-million-dollar overhaul of the main track, which got rebuilt from the base up over the course of four months in an effort to solve substantial deterioration brought on by years of near-daily usage and piecemeal repairs to fix myriad problems.

“Whenever you put a new surface down, that can create problems of its own, so you have to be careful when you come back,” Foreman said. He added that when the new main track at Laurel opened Sept. 9, “We started out fine with it.”

The Maryland Racing Commission (MRC) confirmed the names and dates of the horses who have perished by providing an equine fatalities report to TDN on Wednesday. Counting only deaths from fractures on the main track since the new surface was installed, Laurel's first catastrophic injury occurred Oct. 3, when a $10,000 maiden-claiming filly named Kyosha lost her action near the three-quarters pole in a seven-furlong sprint. The Equibase chart stated she was vanned off.

There were then no main-track fatalities until Nov. 6, when the 3-year-old filly Bella Thyme died either during or after a workout.

On Nov. 13, Bust'em Kurt, a 2-year-old colt, was racing in the first flight of a pack of horses in a MSW six-furlong sprint when he unseated his rider at the top of the stretch after suffering a fatal injury.

On Nov. 19, the fatally injured 3-year-old gelding Gale Winds was vanned off after being pulled up in the early stages of a six-furlong NW2L $10,000 claiming sprint.

On Nov. 25, the 5-year-old gelding Manicomio fell while on lead at the three-sixteenths pole. The Equibase chart stated he was euthanized on the track.

The MRC fatalities report lists a horse named Golden Sky as having died during or after a Nov. 27 workout (Equibase does not list any currently active horses of racing age under that name).

Two horses trained by prominent Maryland conditioner Dale Capuano also recently perished: One was the 2-year-old gelding American Playboy, who, according to Equibase, was “injured past the eighth pole and had to be vanned off” this past Sunday in a six-furlong allowance/optional claimer.

The other was the promising Moquist, a 3-year-old filly with a 4-for-4 record who was a half-sister to recent GI Breeders' Cup Sprint victor Aloha West (Hard Spun). According to the MRC, she died Nov. 21 during or after a workout.

Michael Hopkins, the MRC's executive director, told TDN that from his perspective, all stakeholders appear to be working together in an effort to solve whatever is causing the fatalities.

“The commission's concerned about it, number one,” Hopkins said. “Number two, TSG has brought their people in from California. [Noted track superintendent] Dennis Moore is here. The horsemen have hired John Passero, who used to be the track superintendent [in Maryland] as an independent party to give his opinion of what he sees one way or the other.

“Hopefully, they'll come to a conclusion of what is best to address any issues that the track may have,” Hopkins continued. “My understanding is that they're being collaborative [and] understanding each other's positions and points of view. [But] where that sits right now I just don't know. John has been here since Monday. Dennis came in Tuesday night, I think.”

One aspect that has been a factor in the stability and safety of previous versions of the Laurel main track could be coming into play right now: the most recent seven fatalities have all occurred since the onset of colder weather, which, when coupled with moisture, can cause unevenness to develop.

During a Nov. 10 teleconference, Laurel track superintendent Chris Bosley said that the clay content in the new dirt track “is higher than was anticipated, so we'll be adding straight silica sand, which is 100% pure and has smaller grains. It will help break up the material a little bit, help loosen up the track, and help dry it out quicker. Moisture stays underneath and the material is bonding, so we'll introduce silica sand to break it up and probably slow down the track a bit. Silica sand is aggressive–and expensive–so we're going to do the process really slow.”

Although both Hopkins and Foreman told TDN the onset of colder weather could be a contributing cause to the racetrack's problems, they both underscored that equine fatalities can be deeply multi-factorial in nature, which makes it difficult to pin down any one issue that needs to be corrected.

“They're looking at everything. They're looking at a very broad spectrum here to make sure everything is right. Just from what we see, something's not right. It doesn't feel right,” Hopkins said. “Are there problems with the horses? I don't know. We have not had the opportunity to gather the facts as far as medical histories, vet records, and those types of things off of those horses to sit down and evaluate them one by one.”

Added Foreman: “It's not the horsemen. It's not medication. It's not running bad horses. You look at everything, but you look for the common denominator. It appears to be the racing surface, and that's what we're focusing in on.”

If the fix ends up being more complicated than expected, the prospect of having to transfer racing over to Pimlico Race Course (TSG's other Maryland track some 30 miles north in Baltimore) would be a much more daunting endeavor during the winter than it was last spring, when Pimlico was getting ready for its GI Preakness S. meet but ended up hosting Maryland racing through August. At that time, all horses were moved out of Laurel and split between stabling areas at Pimlico and the Timonium fairgrounds. But at this point in the year, neither of those venues is winter-ready to host massive numbers of horses.

“The problem with Pimlico is there's no place for the horses to train, unless we allow training at Laurel,” Foreman said. “That's the problem with the consolidation of racing here–we don't have a backup if the dirt surface at Laurel is out of commission.”

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