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Sunday’s Racing Insights: Homebreds Debut At Gulfstream, Reigning King’s Plate Winner Returns

2nd-GP, $89K, Msw, 3yo, f, 1mT, 12:39 p.m. ET.
SF Racing's MONT SAINT MICHEL (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) makes her inaugural voyage for Brendan Walsh after she started her work regimen at Turfway in early December and then moved to Palm Meadows. The homebred is out of SP Black Dahlia (GB) (Dansili {GB}), who is also responsible for third place GI Breeders' Cup Mile runner Lope Y Fernandez (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}).

Also making the post is Alpha Delta homebred Highland Light (Uncle Mo) for trainer Chad Brown. The dark bay's dam GSW Summer Raven (Summer Squall) produced GIII Holy Bull S. champ Winslow Homer (Unbridled's Song) and his full-brother GSW Misconnect. Her most successful offspring is MGSW/MGISP Lewis Bay (Berandini), who earned over $1.1 million on the racetrack. TJCIS PPS

9th-GP, $91K, OC25k/N1X, 4yo/up, 1 1/8m, 4:07 p.m. ET.
Just before the Sunday finale in Hallandale, Paramount Prince (Society's Chairman) returns to the races after he took home last year's King's Plate S. at Woodbine. Trained by Mark Casse, the Sovereign 3-year-old male nominee is out of a stakes-placed dam who counts U.S. based sire Army Mule as a half-brother. TJCIS PPS

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Bush Tracks, Host Of Other Investigative Topics Covered On ORI Day Two

The Organization of Racing Investigators opened the final day of its Parx conference with another set of timely presentations.

Topics included the impact of bush track racing, and a variety of legal and scientific case studies, which were all geared for the investigator's toolkit.

With varied backgrounds in law enforcement and security, many attendees have experience growing up around horses. Investigators work for tracks and racing commissions, but they can never turn their backs on the chance to improve their techniques and plug into the ORI network fiber.

Kassie Creed, a Safety and Compliance Associate who works at Keeneland under Dr. Stuart Brown in equine safety, attended her second ORI meeting. She is part of the up-and-coming generation who is learning from those with decades of experience.

ORI Conference at Parx | Bill Denver/Equi-Photo

“Something I've noticed as a woman, thinking about my age, things that are relevant now will hit my generation in a different way,” she said. “I'm a small-picture person and my local horse population is my chief concern. So, when I came last year to ORI I added new skills and was able to apply what I learned here to my day-to-day processes, which really helps.”

The group began the day by hearing a talk on unregulated horse racing in North America by the USDA's Dr. Angela Pelzel-McCluskey. The epidemiologist has found 191 'bush tracks' across 30 states, and though all of them are racing Quarter Horses, she said that it is entirely possible that Thoroughbreds could be present too.

“Every time I go looking for these unregulated places, I find more, and if you think they are not in your backyard, like in New England, you'd be wrong,” she said. “The spread of diseases, the use of dirty needles, is a crisis, and there is no federal law that makes this racing illegal.”

The Association of Racing Commissioners International's Ed Martin added during his session, “We are being lumped in with unsanctioned racing and the public sees the videos and they share them. We are going to have to deal with this. It's here. This industry needs to be talking to one another. We need to get together. We need certainty.”

Presenter Ismael Navarreto | Bill Denver/Equi-Photo

Other presentations were offered by seasoned experts who work with Comisión de Juegos de Puerto Rico and from across the state of Pennsylvania. Their specialist's view concerning case studies went to the heart of equine health by examining everything from how pathology can be utilized in court cases, illegal horse ownership, and situational awareness when conducting interrogations.

The conference wrapped with Ann McGovern, the Horseracing Integrity & Safety Authority's Director of Racetrack Safety. Her presentation addressed last year's catastrophic injuries at Churchill Downs by highlighting the techniques which were implemented during the assessment.

“The process led us to found the HISA Track Surface Advisory Committee and expand on tools like an individual horse's exercise signature and their past performances,” she said.

As for ORI's next conference location, Keeneland was named as the site for 2025 with Dr. Brown serving as the conference chair.

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Investigators Tradecraft Displayed On Day One At Parx Conference

With a strong first day program which ran the gambit from the centrality of horse racing's societal license to the destructive use of xylazine to an update from the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit, horse racing investigators at the annual Organization of Racing Investigators were immersed in some of the most pressing issues affecting the sport.

Hosted by Parx Racing and sponsored by everyone from Keeneland to the Breeders' Cup, over 100 specialists who protect racetracks in America and several other countries, listened, asked questions and made connections, all in the service of equine athletes.

As one investigator said about why he was in attendance, “We are here to protect those who cannot protect themselves and being in a room with like-minded individuals on our 24/7 mission is how we stay ahead.”

Each year conference participants swap tradecraft and those conversations lead to communication which crosses jurisdictions. It is a network behind the scenes, and that is why industry afficionados and the public do not necessarily have the opportunity to see the machinery at work.

“What we talk about here isn't secret, but our members need to have a degree of anonymity as they liaise with various groups of law enforcement, and that is one of the reasons why we don't open this conference to just anyone,” said this year's conference chairman Jason Klouser.

The morning sessions included several case studies about a variety of topics including horse welfare and how investigations have yielded important results. Members of the FBI's Philadelphia Office presented how xylazine used to sedate horses can enter the drug trade on the street illegally.

A highlight was the University of Kentucky's Dr. Camie Heleski, who spoke about the need for all horse sports to improve their optics by directly addressing its societal license to operate.

In other words, developing categorical areas to focus studies like recognizing physical and emotional stress in horses, what happens to them during the other 23 hours in a day when they are not performing and how tack and equipment can be used differently to improve the overall health of the sport.

HIWU's Shawn Loehr and Shaun Richards | J.N. Campbell

HIWU's Shawn Loehr and Shaun Richards gave an update concerning their investigative operations. The pair now have four investigators on staff, along with a pair of analysts, and they will be adding more soon. Concerning states that do not have a voluntary agreement with HIWU–like New York or Oklahoma–they explained how they have come to rely on independent contractors and that their developing relationship with ORI members continues to be significant to their operations.

“Our mission is to catch doping, protect the horses, serve the Thoroughbred industry, and for instance, our 150 plus barn searches and tip lines continue to yield results,” Loehr said. “ORI is such a valuable resource and being able to talk with them during this conference is essential to our mission.”

During the evening, which shifted venues from the Parx racetrack to the casino, an awards banquet included the TDN's CEO/Publisher Sue Finley, who delivered the keynote over the power of integrity and the precarious position news outlets find themselves in when it comes to coverage of horse racing.

“Some organizations and individuals accuse us of being pro-HISA,” said Finley, speaking about the importance of independent journalism in horse racing. “The only thing we're accused of more? Is being ANTI-HISA. Sometimes, we write an article which generates complaints from some that we are pro-HISA, while others write us and say we're showing an obvious anti-HISA bias. All from the same article.”

The first day activities ended with the awarding of the organization's most prestigious honor which is named for longtime investigator John F. Wayne. The lifetime membership award went to Tampa Bay Downs's Deanna Nicol.

ORI's 28th meeting continues on Tuesday, Mar. 5. Click here to access the schedule.

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New Synthetic Tapeta Training Track Opens At Santa Anita

Edited Press Release

Santa Anita Park has opened its all-new synthetic Tapeta inner training track manufactured by Maryland-based Tapeta Footings, Inc., effective Saturday morning.

Following the Breeders' Cup, the 'Great Race Place' embarked upon an $8 million project to provide horsemen with a state-of-the-art all-weather surface that will complement its one-mile natural dirt main track and serve as a safe and viable component in the conditioning of Thoroughbreds on a year 'round basis.

“At Tapeta, our aim is to maintain the surface so that we have a soft cushion below and a slightly firmer finish on top,” said Joan Wakefield, of Tapeta Footings. “This helps to reduce kickback and provide stability without as much impact on the horse. For the training track at Santa Anita, we have used a high temperature wax specially blended to suit the California climate.”

Santa Anita's original training track, “Anita Chiquita,” was eliminated in the early 1970s when construction began on what is now The Shops at Santa Anita Mall which adjoins the racetrack off of Baldwin Ave. Subsequently, Santa Anita's current inner training track was constructed at that time. At 4,200 feet, it is just shy of 6 1/2 furlongs in circumference.

“We are delighted to have finished construction on this very important project and I know our horsemen are anxious to begin utilizing it,” said Santa Anita Senior Vice President and General Manager Nate Newby. “It's been a major undertaking and we are so fortunate to have the project headed up by Dennis and Rob Moore along with Jesse Martinez.”

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