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The Friday Show Presented By Woodbine: A Racetrack’s Private Property Rights

What does it mean when a racetrack – as opposed to a board of stewards or racing commission – suspends or excludes a trainer from its facilities? That's what happened a week ago when Gulfstream Park suspended five trainers for allegedly violating house rules regarding the use of clenbuterol.

This was not unlike Churchill Downs suspending Bob Baffert from participating in racing at any of its tracks prior to the stewards or Kentucky Horse Racing Commission conducting a hearing on the failed drug test of Medina Spirit following the colt's Kentucky Derby victory on May 1.

Attorney Bob Heleringer, author of “Equine Regulatory Law,” once again joins publisher Ray Paulick and editor in chief Natalie Voss in this week's edition of the Friday Show to explain the difference between a regulatory agency's license suspension and a racetrack's ability to exclude individuals by exercising private property rights.

Like many things in racing, the right of exclusion may vary from one state to another, and there is some case law that sets parameters, Heleringer said.

Voss pointed out that tracks may be exercising those rights more frequently lately in response to public pressure over equine safety and integrity issues while cases being heard by racing commissions can drag out for months, if not years.

Joe Nevills joins Paulick to review last weekend's Breeders' Stakes at Woodbine, won by British Royalty, making the English Channel gelding our Woodbine Star of the Week.

Watch this week's Friday Show, presented by Woodbine, below:

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Inside The Grooming Bag: Braiding Manes At The Steve Asmussen Barn

The horses that run for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen can often be seen with precisely-braided manes when they come to the paddock prior to a race.

In the inaugural installment of the Paulick Report's Inside the Grooming Bag video series, Asmussen groom Hugo Morales guides us through the process of braiding the 2-year-old colt Munny Bolt.

With 10 to 15 horses to braid per day, each requiring about 20 braids down the neck plus another for the forelock, Morales has the process whittled down to about 12 minutes from the first handful of mane to the final rubber band – a blazing fast time.

The trainer himself then describes the reasons and traditions behind why the barn's runners sport the look.

Though he describes himself as “out of practice,” Asmussen said he learned how to braid horses from his mother, trainer Marilyn Asmussen, and he carries on the practice in his own stable to honor her.

“A lot of it's trial by fire,” he said. “Some of those first braids didn't look so good, but with the volume of horses we run, you get over that in a hurry. My mom braided, she was great at it and taught me how to braid, and we went from there. We've been doing it for a long time, and I'm very proud of it; especially the reason why.”

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‘From Little Fluffy Baby To Super Racehorse’: Breeder Moore Recounts Journey With Knicks Go

It was a cold and eventful January evening when Pegasus World Cup Invitational Champion (G1) Knicks Go, rated first in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings, came into this world.

Co-breeder Sabrina Moore now recounts that evening as the Maryland-bred prepares for his final start before the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) in Saturday's Lukas Classic (G3) at Churchill Downs.

Spending time with Maryland Jockey Club co-host Naomi Tukker at her Maryland farm, Moore also talks about her relationship with Knicks Go's dam, Kosmo's Buddy, and the challenging realities of running a commercial enterprise.

Moore was present at Keeneland when the enigmatic grey recorded his first Grade 1 success in the 2020 Breeders' Cup Mile (G1). She elaborates on the pride, the emotion, the ride he has taken the Moore family on.

After Knicks Go's Whitney Stakes (G1) victory in August, Sabrina was reunited with her old charge for the first time since he left their care. “Going from little fluffy baby to super racehorse” was her way of summing up the horse she knew.

The story of Knicks Go continues, with two of his siblings living under the watchful eyes of the Moore's at Greenmount farm in Maryland.

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The Friday Show Presented By Woodbine: Casse Bullish On Synthetics

“Horses were not bred to run on the dirt,” said trainer Mark Casse. “They were bred to run on the grass, and Tapeta is as close to grass as you can get.”

Casse – inducted into the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame this year after a 2016 induction in the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame – is this week's special guest on the Friday Show, joining Ray Paulick and bloodstock editor Joe Nevills to share his extensive knowledge and strong opinions about track surfaces. This week, Gulfstream Park in South Florida became the first facility in North America to have three unique racing surfaces: dirt, turf and the Tapeta Footings synthetic track.

Other tracks could follow suit, Casse said. “I think New York may be flirting with synthetic tracks somewhere down the line,” he said. “And I think it would be great and I think it would pay for itself in no time.”

What about the anecdotal contention by some horsemen suggesting that, while synthetics may result in fewer fractures or fatal injuries, more soft-tissue problems develop on a synthetic track?

“That is the biggest bunch of hogwash that I've ever heard,” said Casse. “That's the most ridiculous statement. I can tell you we have far more soft tissue injuries on dirt than we ever do on synthetics. That's somebody saying things and they don't know what they're talking about. Whenever I hear that I just laugh.”

Casse also brings viewers up to date on some of his stable stars, including two-time Grade 1 Fourstardave Stakes winner Got Stormy.

This week's Woodbine Star of the Week is Pink Lloyd, the Canadian sprint superstar who scored his 24th career stakes win last week in the Grade 3 Bold Venture Stakes.

Watch this week's Friday Show, presented by Woodbine, below:

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