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Budweiser Clydesdales Return to Saratoga

After a 15-year hiatus, the Budweiser Clydesdales will appear at Saratoga Race Course in partnership with Anheuser-Busch and local distributor Saratoga Eagle. The Budweiser Clydesdales will return to Saratoga Wednesday, Aug. 10 and Friday, Aug. 12.

“It's an honor to welcome the Budweiser Clydesdales back to Saratoga Race Course,” said Don Scott, NYRA Vice President of Marketing. “These horses are globally renowned and we are thrilled that our fans will have the opportunity to see them in person. We thank Saratoga Eagle for helping to secure the Budweiser Clydesdales and Anheuser-Busch for including historic Saratoga on the 2022 national tour for these magnificent animals.”

To kick off their visit Wednesday, the Budweiser Clydesdales will be stationed at select Saratoga admission gates to greet fans from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. That afternoon, a Budweiser Clydesdale will parade before guests in the Paddock and visit the Winner's Circle. On Aug. 12, fans can enjoy photo opportunities with the full hitch of eight Budweiser Clydesdales. The hitch will be stationed near Horse Sense, located across from Gate A, near the Berkshire Bank Family Zone. Between races, the Budweiser Clydesdales will parade for fans on the main track in front of the grandstand.

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HISA Rules Back in Force Nationwide After Appeals Court Ruling

A temporary “administrative stay” ruling issued Wednesday night by a panel of three judges from the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit means that “pending further consideration,” Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act Authority (HISA) rules are back in effect nationwide.

The Aug. 3 court order trumps a preliminary injunction issued July 26 by a lower U.S. District Court (Western District of Louisiana) judge that had halted the HISA rules in Louisiana and West Virginia pending the outcome of an underlying lawsuit in that court.

In that June 29 civil case, the HISA Authority, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and board members and overseers of both entities are alleged to have violated the Fourth, Seventh and Tenth Amendments to the Constitution, plus the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), which governs the process by which federal agencies develop and issue regulations.

The plaintiffs are the state of Louisiana, its racing commission, the Louisiana Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, the Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association, the Jockeys' Guild, the state of West Virginia, its racing commission, and five individuals regulated as “covered persons” under the HISA Act.

The Aug. 3 temporary ruling at the Appeals Court level didn't state a specific timetable for how long it might be in effect.

In addition to setting aside the injunction pertaining to the HISA rules, the stay from the Appeals Court will also put a hold on the lower court making any sort of ruling on a dispute over the wording in the injunction itself.

Plaintiffs and defendants have different interpretations of whether the geographic scope of the injunction applied to entities in just Louisiana and West Virginia or also included all Guild-member jockeys, regardless of where they ride. The defendants had asked the lower court to issue a clarification.

In support of its request that the Appeals Court stay the lower court's injunction, the FTC defendants wrote in an Aug. 1 filing that, “Both the government and the public will be irreparably harmed if the district court's preliminary injunction setting aside the Commission's regulatory program in its entirety in two States remains in effect until this Court resolves this appeal on the merits.

“The Commission's regulations, particularly the approximately five dozen rules addressing racetrack safety, are designed to protect and promote the health of horses, jockeys, and other horseracing participants. The district court's order eliminates those protections, impeding the Commission's ability to accomplish the Act's public purpose and threatening the very harms the regulations are aimed at preventing.”

The FTC filing continued: “The district court's order, entered three weeks after the Commission and Authority began implementing the Commission's regulations, also threatens to sow confusion within the horseracing industry with respect to the rules governing horse races, undermining the Commission's and Congress's interest in a uniform and predictable set of rules governing the conduct of horseracing. Conversely, any harm to plaintiffs from a stay will be slight, if it exists at all.”

In opposition to the motion to stay, the plaintiffs disagreed in an Aug. 3 Appeals Court filing:

“The irreparable harm Plaintiffs would suffer from a stay puts the public interest and balance of harms beyond doubt. Any harm to Defendants' nonexistent interest in furthering an illegal regulatory scheme is easily outweighed by Plaintiffs' irreparable harms,” the plaintiffs wrote.

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Hayes Steps Down as Independent Chair of Ontario Racing

Ontario Racing (OR) confirmed that John Hayes will step down as its Independent Chair, after leading the organization since March of 2018.

“Horse racing is a unique partnership between all participants including owners, breeders, horsepeople and racetracks,” said Hayes. “If one of the cogs is experiencing an issue, the other gears will not work as well. Building strong relationships with these partners and trusting those relationships allowed us to achieve our goals and overcome challenges in these past four years.”

The Long-Term Funding was among initiatives established under Hayes. Katherine Curry, the first Executive Director of Ontario Racing, worked closely with Hayes during her time in the role, when the Long-Term Funding Agreement was instituted.

“The Long-Term Funding Agreement represents an unprecedented level of collaboration between the

horse racing industry and its government partners, and John helped Ontario Racing lay the groundwork for its current and future success,” said Curry, current Ontario Racing Board Member, and Vice President of Legal and Compliance at Woodbine Entertainment Group.

While the Long-Term Funding Agreement and the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic were the largest items on OR's agenda the last four years, Hayes' influence also impacted the work the organization has done with breeding programs, equine welfare, and aftercare.

Added Sue Leslie, Ontario Racing Board Member and President of the Horsemen's Benevolent Protective Association of Ontario, “John has a lot of class, and he has led with dignity. When you have class and dignity at the top, it sets the tone, and everyone follows. Ontario Racing will miss him, and his leadership.”

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Conagher Gets His Shot, Saratoga’s Allen Jerkens Up Next

The speedy sophomore Conagher (c, 3, Jimmy Creed–You Should Be Here, by Niagara Causeway), a very sharp wire-to-wire winner of Monday's Housebuster Overnight H. at Colonial Downs, will get his chance at the big leagues in the GI H. Allen Jerkens Memorial S. at Saratoga Aug. 27.

“We'll find out how high we can go with him,” trainer Michael Tomlinson said. “Saratoga is an exciting and fun place to be. The atmosphere is unmatched, that's for sure.”

Off as the 2-5 favorite from his inside draw, Conagher flashed his usual speed and was hounded through early fractions of :22.37 and :44.44. He began to shake loose as they straightened for home and kept finding in the stretch beneath Joe Rocco, Jr. to score by 2 1/4 lengths while stopping the timer for seven furlongs in an eye-catching 1:21.42.

“This horse is probably as fast a horse that I've ever trained,” Tomlinson said.

The Patricias Hope LLC and Mark Farrar colorbearer is a perfect three-for-three sprinting on dirt this season, including an impressive 5 1/4-length victory over subsequent GII Amsterdam S. winner Gunite (Gun Runner) in a very live optional claimer at Churchill Downs June 3. Conagher earned a career-high 104 Beyer Speed Figure that day.

For comparison, the only 3-year-olds to run faster races around one turn this term are Jack Christopher (Munnings) (107 Beyer/GI Woody Stephens S.) and Charge It (Tapit) (111 Beyer/GIII Dwyer S.), respectively.

Conagher is likely to face off again with last year's aforementioned GI Hopeful S. winner Gunite as well as the ultra-talented Jack Christopher in the highly coveted stallion-making race at the Spa later this month.

“We obviously beat a good horse in Gunite,” Tomlinson said.

“That was his first race off a layoff, but we beat him the right way. So, we'll see. It sure looks like Gunite likes Saratoga, his record there is impeccable. Then you've probably got Jack Christopher coming back [after a third-place finish in the GI Haskell]. Might be a big challenge for us. It's gonna be a loaded race for sure.”

Conagher was turning back in distance for the Housebuster after giving two turns a shot while making his stakes debut in the Iowa Derby July 9. After leading by four lengths in the stretch, he held his own in defeat, finishing second behind next-out Iowa Stallion S. winner Ain't Life Grand (Not This Time).

“We weren't disappointed, but just decided that he's a better sprinter than he is going two turns, so we backed him up,” Tomlinson said. “We wanted to give him a prep race before we went to New York. I thought the race fell in line timing wise just fine. Just felt like he needed a little sharpener as opposed to having to work him two or three extra times.”

Conagher, just a mere $9,000 FTKOCT yearling graduate, was purchased privately by these connections following a debut second behind subsequent GIII Sanford S. runner-up and $550,000 OBSMAR graduate Headline Report (Gormley) for owner/trainer Robert B. McCutchen as a 2-year-old during last term's Keeneland spring meet.

“I've known Bobby and Jason McCutchen for a long time and have bought several horses off them,” Tomlinson said. “When I was told that Bobby was high on this horse, I ventured over to Keeneland and took a look at him after he ran that one time. We made a deal and purchased him for two of my good owners. I put them together and the rest is history. They sure have had a lot of fun since.”

Fun, indeed.

Bred in Kentucky by La Bahia Stud Inc., Conagher sports a record of 9-4-3-1 and career earnings of $312,353. His lone off-the-board finish took place while making his 3-year-old debut on the Gulfstream grass in February. That was his first start since graduating at fourth asking over the Colonial lawn last July.

“He just needed some time,” Tomlinson said of the layoff. “Little 2-year-old infirmities, so we gave him all the time he needed. It felt like he was a nice colt all long.”

Since launching his training career in 1991, the Louisville-based Tomlinson has tightened the girth on 635 winners, led by graded stakes winners like Barbados (Speightstown), Jordan's Henny (Henny Hughes), Kettleoneup (Victory Gallop), Sir Cherokee (Cherokee Run) and others. Barbados, winner of the 2015 GIII Hutcheson S., also finished third as the favorite for Tomlinson in that term's GII Amsterdam S. at Saratoga.

“I'm kind of a little guy,” Tomlinson concluded. “I have a medium-sized stable with about 40 head. We've had some good horses in the past. But we've had a little bit of a drought for a few years. It's kind of refreshing to have a good one for a change.”

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