Top News | Horse Racing Free Tips

In Mares Bred Category, Uncle Mo Back on Top

According to The Jockey Club, which released its annual Report of Mares Bred (RMB) Friday, Uncle Mo covered 257 mares this year, the most among any stallion standing in North America. That puts Uncle Mo back on top for the first time since 2016 when he was bred to 253 mares. He was bred to 241 mares in 2019.

With the year winding down, it was the latest positive development for the 12-year-old Coolmore sire. His progeny have accounted for 19 graded stakes wins in the U.S. on the year and he has shown that he is a sire of sires as the first-crop stallions Nyquist, Outwork and Laoban, all sons of Uncle Mo, are among the leading first-crop sires in North America.

Uncle Mo edged out Into Mischief, who was second with 248 mares covered. Into Mischief is a perennial leader in this category, having topped it in 2017 and 2018 before finishing third last year behind Justify and Mendelssohn.

For 2020, Mendelssohn came in third, covering 242 mares. The Spendthrift stallion and GI Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Vino Rosso was fourth, covering 238 mares. He was tops among all first-year stallions.

As has been the case over the last several years, Coolmore and Spendthrift stallions dominated the list. Eight of the top 10 on the list stand at either Coolmore or Spendthrift, with each having four sires among the top 10.

Their dominance, however, was challenged this year by WinStar, which had two horses place in the top 10. Constitution checked in fifth with 231 mares and Audible was eighth with 219. With GI Florida Derby, GI Belmont S. and GI Travers winner Tiz the Law leading the way for Constitution on the racetrack, he went from 85 mares to the 231 in a year’s time. Audible is a first-year sire. Last year, the top sire on the list among WinStar’s group was 2017 GI Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming, who came in 19th place after being bred to 165 mares.

The horses in the top 10 represented a number of different levels when it comes to stud fees. While Uncle Mo, whose 2020 stud fee was $125,000, and Into Mischief, whose stud fee this year was $175,000, took down the top two spots, several modestly priced stallions were also among the leaders. That list includes three sires that stood for $35,000 or less in Mendelssohn ($35,000), Vino Rosso ($30,000), Mitole ($25,000) and Audible ($25,000).

Darby Dan had a good showing, with three sires in the top 20, all of them standing for $10,000 or less. The list consists of Tapiture (186 mares, $7,500), Flameaway (183 mares, $7,500) and Klimt (172 mares, $10,000).

As expected, Kentucky-based sires dominated the list. Khozan, who stands in Florida at Journeyman Stallions, was the leading non-Kentucky sire. Having been bred to 181 mares, he was in 17th place.

In the years ahead, the list of sires who have covered the most mares will change drastically. In May, The Jockey Club adopted a rule that will limit the number of mares a horse can be bred to to 140. There is, however, a grandfather clause, and the rule will only cover horses born in 2020 or later. A total of 42 stallions exceeded the 140 number in 2020. In 2019, 41 stallions covered 140 mares or more.

In terms of individual state RMB leaders beyond Kentucky and Florida, the following stallions topped the covers list for their respective states/provinces:

New York–Solomini, 123

California–Stay Thirsty, 108

Pennsylvania–Hoppertunity, 107

Maryland–Golden Lad, 103

Oklahoma–Flat Out, 85

Ontario–Frac Daddy, 76

The Jockey Club disclosed a total of 1,067 individual stallions covered 27,970 mares in North America this year, with an estimated 2,500-3,500 additional mares having not yet been reported. The 200 reported stallions in Kentucky covered 16,391 mares (58.6% of all mares reported), a decrease of 4.3% compared to this time last year. Of the top 10 states and provinces (by number of mares bred), stallions in Louisiana, Maryland, Pennsylvania and New Mexico covered more mares in 2020 than in 2019.

Statistics for all reported stallions of 2020 are available at The Jockey Club’s Fact Book.

The post In Mares Bred Category, Uncle Mo Back on Top appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

NY Times Names Gamine As Oaks-Day Positive; Robertson Expresses Concern

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) is conducting a follow-up investigation of a class C medication positive detected in a sample returned from Kentucky Oaks day, according to a KHRC statement Thursday. Joe Drape of The New York Times reported in a story published at 6:43 p.m. that it was the Kentucky Oaks third-place finisher Gamine who returned the positive test, citing “two people familiar with the results of the drug test who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the issue publicly.”

“The Derby day samples were ‘cleared,’ showing no irregularities,” the statement from the KHRC read. “The Oaks day samples returned a finding for a class C medication in one (1) primary sample.”

The Kentucky Oaks was run at Churchill Downs this year on Sept. 4. The results “should be available” in November, a KHRC spokesperson confirmed. This year’s Breeders’ Cup is scheduled for Nov. 6 and 7.

According to the statement, “the KHRC will follow its established regulatory process in conducting a follow-up investigation of this matter. The name of the horse, trainer and owner will not be released at this time, “in accordance with that process,” the statement read.

Gamine is trained by Bob Baffert, whose attorney Craig Robertson expressed concern over Drape’s story and the fact that the result had been leaked. He released the following statement.

“The current reporting on Gamine is inaccurate and needs to be cleared up. First, Betamethasone is a legal, commonly used anti-inflammatory medication. It is not a `banned substance.’ Second, the medication was administered to Gamine on August 17 by her veterinarian and on the veterinarian’s recommendation. Importantly, the veterinarian followed established medical and regulatory guidelines in administering the medication. The withdrawal guidelines published by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission recommend that the medication not be given within 14 days of a race. In this instance, as an additional layer of protection, Gamine’s veterinarian last treated her with Betamethasone 18 days before the Oaks.

“Gamine’s test revealed 27 picograms of Betamethasone. The current threshold in Kentucky is 10 picograms. The situation with Gamine highlights two issues that are very troubling and must be addressed by the racing industry. First, the thresholds for many lawful medications such as Betamethasone are way too low. A picogram is a trillionth of a gram. 27 picograms is a minuscule amount that would not affect a thousand pound animal. The regulations governing racing must be ones that are related to pharmacology in a horse as opposed to how sensitive labs can test. Second, trainers and veterinarians must be able to rely on guidelines given them by racing officials. If they are told by regulators that a medication will clear a horses system in 14 days, they must be able to rely on that information.”

Robertson said he was also troubled by the fact that the results of the initial sample had again been leaked to The New York Times.

“It’s very troubling,” said Robertson in an email to the TDN. “There are good reasons why the rules require confidentiality until the split sample comes back and the stewards make a decision. The fact that racing commissions, with increasing frequency, do not abide by their own rules and information is wrongly leaked, poisoning an individual’s right to due process, is inexcusable. The rules are applicable to all parties and racing commissions must abide by the very rules they seek to enforce.”

The KHRC’s official laboratory, Industrial Laboratories in Colorado, conducted the initial analysis.

Churchill Downs carded 13 races on Kentucky Oaks day, including six stakes. The headline act was the GI Longines Kentucky Oaks, won by Shedaresthedevil, with subsequent GI Preakness S. winner Swiss Skydiver second and the favorite, Gamine, back in third.

The post NY Times Names Gamine As Oaks-Day Positive; Robertson Expresses Concern appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Timonium’s 10-Day Meet Could Extend Beyond Maryland State Fair in ’21

The Timonium race meet that got scrapped because of the pandemic this summer could to be back in action in 2021. The Maryland Racing Commission approved a 10-date slate for next year at its Oct. 22 meeting, with a new wrinkle to the schedule.

“One thing that is a little different here, they’re also requesting, in addition to the seven days they normally would run during the state fair, [permission to operate Sept.] 10th, 11th and 12, which is a weekend after the fair is closed,” J. Michael Hopkins, the MRC’s executive director, said prior to the unanimous vote. “It is the first time they have done that that I can recall.”

Hopkins added that Timonium has had clearance to race

10 dates in the past in conjunction with the Maryland State Fair. But in recent seasons the applicant has only scheduled seven programs, all while the fair is operational at the same property.

Hopkins said it was his belief there would be no overlap with Laurel Park, whose meet traditionally follows the fair’s short season.

“They’re having the discussions with the Maryland Jockey Club [which owns Laurel] where scheduling is concerned,” Hopkins said. “[The two racetracks] preliminarily are in agreement with all of this. Secondarily, the purpose of this [vote] is to get the dates approved, and if there are any adjustments going forward we can come back and revisit them.”

A full calendar of 2021 Thoroughbred dates was unanimously approved for Laurel, Pimlico Race Course, and Timonium on Thursday. But the specific dates of all the individual meets were not read into the record, and it was unclear whether they had even been assigned. Via email, TDN subsequently requested the full calendar from Hopkins, but that query did not yield a reply prior to deadline for this story.

The post Timonium’s 10-Day Meet Could Extend Beyond Maryland State Fair in ’21 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

’21 SoCal Dates Set; September Los Al Meet Returns After Year Absence

As in past years, the concept of “compromise” was accentuated in the assignment of 2021 race dates by the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) at its Oct. 22 meeting.

But this year, crafting a statewide racing calendar based on cooperation took on even more importance. That’s because both the Southern and Northern California circuits have been significantly altered by closures and cancellations over the past 18 months due to several spates of equine fatalities, unseasonably wet weather, wildfires and the COVID-19 pandemic.

With all of those factors in mind, the CHRB approved a 2021 calendar on Thursday by a 5-2 vote that for SoCal assigns 32 weeks to Santa Anita Park, 13 to Del Mar Thoroughbred Club (DMTC) and seven to Los Alamitos Race Course.

The CHRB also assigned a Dec. 23, 2020-June 16, 2021 block of dates to Golden Gate Fields, leaving the second half of 2021 dates in the NorCal region to be determined at a later date based on how the pandemic affects the ability of tracks at various fairs locations to open or not.

The chief SoCal change will be the return of September racing at Los Alamitos following the Del Mar meet after a one-year absence. That license technically belongs to the Los Angeles County Fair, which previously ran the now-defunct Fairplex Park meet in that time slot.

So who were the winners and losers in the 2021 dates allotment? That depends upon how much history is applied to the equation.

Another factor is an odd quirk of the calendar whereby the CHRB usually awards dates for the next year that also include the final few days of the current year (because Santa Anita traditionally opens its long winter/spring meet Dec. 26). So the true number of racing weeks for 2021 includes a smidgeon of 2020, which adds a confusing wrinkle.

Representatives from Santa Anita, which is owned by The Stronach Group (TSG), told the CHRB they believe they are being slighted in 2021 race dates from a historical perspective.

They cited data that said from 2017-20, Santa Anita annually was granted 33 weeks of racing. Del Mar, they said, was awarded 11 weeks between 2017-19 and got boosted to 14 weeks in 2020. Los Alamitos, according to TSG, ran eight weeks between 2017-19 but had its allotment cut to five weeks in 2020.

Aidan Butler, who has dual titles of chief operating officer, 1/ST Racing, and president, 1/ST Content, for TSG, said, “I’m a little perturbed that we are losing a week at Santa Anita. I don’t know what more, from a racing association [standpoint], we could have done [after] genuinely trying to do things for the greater good of the industry as a whole.”

CHRB chairman Gregory Ferraro, DVM, responded by saying that “I actually think that historical dates are irrelevant in this discussion. We need to assign dates that are in the best interest of racing and the best interest of horse safety.”

Commissioner Wendy Mitchell pointed out that a year ago, when Los Alamitos had its dates allotment cut for 2020, the CHRB gave notice that it would thereafter intend to try a two-year approach for future dates allotments that would alternate which tracks got fewer dates each year.

“This year, obviously, I am personally not happy with the outcomes at Los Al [with respect to] the horse fatalities that happened there,” Mitchell said. “So I am certainly not trying to reward them through this calendar. And I do appreciate the work that was put in by Santa Anita over the last year-plus since the horse deaths there.

“[But] having said that, I think that the compromise that we’ve put together…makes everyone unhappy a little bit,” Mitchell continued. “[And] that probably means it’s a good compromise.”

Plus, Mitchell noted “Del Mar has had less fatalities,” underscoring that the CRHB is starting to give more weight to equine safety when assigning dates.

Commissioner Dennis Alfieri didn’t agree with how the schedule got worked out. He, along with commissioner Damascus Castellanos, cast the “no” votes on the race dates, which were voted on as a block, with Thoroughbred, Quarter Horse, and Standardbred dates all batched together.

“I don’t understand why we’ve penalized Santa Anita, to be honest with you,” Alfieri said. “Santa Anita has been above and beyond the call of duty” in terms of reopening under COVID-19 conditions and improving equine safety, “while they continue to hemorrhage there from a financial standpoint,” he added

Prior to the vote, Alfieri advocated for the CHRB to slice a week of racing off of either the Del Mar or Los Alamitos schedule to boost Santa Anita’s number of race weeks back to 33.

Representatives from the two key horsemen’s organizations in California said they had no beef with the compromise schedule put forth by the CHRB.

“We’ve got all sorts of challenges right now. We have to look at what’s in front of us a lot more than we look at where we’ve been,” said Greg Avioli, president and chief executive officer the Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC).

“We support the calendar [proposed by the CHRB] as the best compromise. It is not exactly what the TOC recommended, but it’s close. Mainly, you’re talking about one or two weeks either way for a couple of tracks,” Avioli continued.

“As to the point from both Los Al and Santa Anita about Del Mar getting an extra week compared to the past, the reality is, I think by any standard, Del Mar’s earned an extra week,” Avioli said. “They have been the safest facility in the state for two years. They have the largest fields…. They have such large fields because they take really good care of the owners.”

Alan Balch, the executive director of the California Thoroughbred Trainers, said the way the 2020-21 calendar falls makes it difficult to make historical year-to-year comparisons. Otherwise, he added, the schedule seems “very logical.”

As in past years, the 2021 calendar was awarded in blocks that denote simulcast hosting status. The actual live race dates get finalized when each track’s license comes up for CHRB voting during the year.

The CHRB and several track representatives noted that the 2021 format allows for the inclusion of some breaks between race meets, which theoretically should translate to safer racing and larger fields.

“As someone that’s been in the trenches of trying to fill races for over 40 years, and given what we see in [horse] population of Southern California, I can’t impress upon [stakeholders] enough that…breaks are totally important to 2021,” said Tom Robbins, DMTC’s executive vice president for racing and industry relations. “Not just for the safety value, but for the product that we deliver.”

The 2021 SoCal dates are as follows:

Santa Anita: Dec. 23, 2020-June 22, 2021

Los Alamitos: June 23-July 6

Del Mar: July 7-Sept. 7

Los Alamitos: Sept. 8-28

Santa Anita: Sept. 29-Nov. 2

Del Mar: Nov. 3-30

Los Alamitos Dec. 1-14

Santa Anita (for simulcast status only, no live racing) Dec. 15-21

The post ’21 SoCal Dates Set; September Los Al Meet Returns After Year Absence appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post