News from North California - Saving Bay Meadows

The appeal by the “Save Bay Meadows” Committee was heard before the 1st District Court of Appeals on September 19. By all accounts, a decision is due by the Court before the end of the calendar year of 2007.

If successful, the citizens group will push that the Bay Meadows development be put to a vote by San Mateo residents as to whether they want the proposed project to move forward. If the appeal is denied, it basically ends any hope that Bay Meadows will not be developed in the near future. It seems almost certain that Bay Meadows Land Company would start their project in the fall of 2008.
 
After months of meetings and industry input, the CHRB awarded 2008 race dates for Northern California. In what seems to a certainty, Bay Meadows will hold its final thoroughbred race meet from February 6 through May 11. In addition, the San Mateo Fair will race from August 6-8. The CTT worked hard to get Bay Meadows to agree to stay open for stabling and training in the fall of 2008. There is a real possibility that construction could commence shortly after the finish of the San Mateo Fair. Bay Meadows management has agreed to work with the CTT in establishing training hours that will work to ensure the safety of both horse and human during any possible construction times.
 
The new Tapeta racing surface that was installed at Golden Gate Fields is being embraced by the trainers thus far. The first horse set foot on the surface on October 5. In fact, a horse even worked a half mile that first morning! The trainers seem to be extremely pleased and encouraged that the surface is kinder and safer for their horses. Michael Dickinson, the creator of Tapeta, has told trainers that his goal is to reduce the amount of injuries by 50 percent. Now, that is a worthy goal!
 
Golden Gate Fields management was clearly thrilled with the first three days of entries taken as they awaited the first race run on the Tapeta surface. The number of horses entered for the first 3 days averaged 8.5 per race in comparison to the average field size in Northern California this year of 6.9. The first race run on the surface was on opening day of the Golden Gate fall meet, and a flat mile race was clocked in a very respectable 1:38:1.
 
The fair circuit was finished for the year with the running of the Fresno Fair in early October. The management of the Fresno fair should be thanked as they spent considerable funds to install rubber bricks throughout the paddock area. The Stockton Fair has announced that they are in the process of securing funds to install a new turf course at their facility. If all plans go accordingly, the first turf race will be run at Stockton during their Fair of 2009.
 
Pleasanton is aggressively seeking funding to install a synthetic surface. Once Bay Meadows closes, the CTT is very hopeful that this facility will become the second barn area (besides GGF) in the Bay Area to accommodate the stabling needs for our horses. If all goes well, Pleasanton will have installed a new surface by the end of the fall of 2008. Good luck to them…

Charles E. Dougherty, Jr. CTT Deputy Director (First Published: 01 Dec 2007)

Jerry Hollendorfer - interview with a racing legend

By Steve Schuelein

Jerry Hollendorfer is the classic case of the big fish in the small pond. Small in stature but giant in achievements, “The Dorf” has become a training legend in Northern California. During the past 21 years, Hollendorfer has led every meet at Bay Meadows and Golden Gate Fields. That staggering total reached 61 this year following his 33rd straight Bay Meadows title and 28th consecutive Golden Gate crown.

Since taking out his license in 1979, Hollendorfer has cranked out winners at such high frequency that he ranks fourth on the all-time list for career victories. Closing in on the 5,000-victory plateau with 4,890 at midyear, Hollendorfer trails only Dale Baird (9,379), Jack Van Berg (6,378) and King Leatherbury (6,202) in the career category. His career earnings have exceeded $90 million. But Hollendorfer, 61, is not a story of running up statistics with bottom-shelf claimers. When given the occasional horse of talent, Hollendorfer has shown his ability to shine at the highest level. He first came to national prominence with King Glorious, winner of the Hollywood Futurity in 1988 and Haskell Stakes in 1989, both Grade 1 stakes. In 1991, he won another pair of Grade 1’s, the Kentucky Oaks and Coaching Club American Oaks - with Lite Light. To prove the first Kentucky Oaks victory was no fluke, he won the prestigious race for a second time in 1996 with Pike Place Dancer.

Hollendorfer’s stable rolled along to $5-million years during the decade since and produced several more stakes winners. On the Kentucky Derby undercard this year, Hollendorfer struck again with another Grade 1 victory, Hystericalady in the Humana Distaff Handicap. Hollendorfer reflected on his career recently during an interview with Steve Schuelein.

What was it like growing up in Ohio, and how did you become interested in racing there?

      
I grew up outside Akron, where it was pretty rural. We had a few acres and a pony to ride. My father worked for Chrysler, my mother for the Baptist church. When I went to Revere High School in Richfield, I did a little wrestling at 112 pounds with modest success and worked at a market. I went to college at the University of Akron--now called Akron State--and graduated with a B.S. in business administration. I was always interested in going to the races in my younger years. I went to Ascot Park in Cuyahoga Falls and Thistledown and liked to go to the trotters at Northfield.

LeBron James grew up in Akron too. Has he done as much for basketball as you have done for racing?

I think LeBron’s got me beat a mile. Everyone from Akron is proud of LeBron.

What brought you to California and when?

After college, I visited a friend in San Francisco. I liked the climate right away. I went back, packed the car and drove out.

How did you get started in racing?

When I came out, I wasn’t working and wanted to see the backstretch. My degree was in marketing. That didn’t interest me enough, but the horses did. I was interested in finding out what was going on on the backstretch.

What trainers did you work for, and what did you learn from them?

I went to work as a hot walker for Dan Wilcher, who had a horse named Rigatoni King. I was working for him when he left for Southern California and recommended me to stay here with Jerry Dutton. Working for Dutton was a great experience. He made you work hard but you could learn, and he never asked you to do more than he would do. I worked my way up from hot walker to groom to foreman to assistant trainer and pony boy with him. Later I went to work for Jerry Fanning in Southern California and then back to Dutton in Northern California. Trainers don’t teach. You have to learn by observation. Dutton had a training pattern, and Fanning had a similar one. I do a lot of similar things. I kind of believe in keeping a horse on a schedule, something I learned from them. In addition, I always liked to see what other people do, especially the more successful trainers. I always pay attention and try to retain the good things they do. But it’s an ongoing learning process. I try to make adjustments every day to be a better trainer.

Early in your career, did you ever aspire to approach these heights?

In our barn, I just try to do what works well. You reflect back, and it’s just something that transpires. You accept more horses along the way, and the barn grows. Along with that, you have to be real lucky to get good people to work for you.

What do you remember about Novel Sprite?

She was a filly I claimed for $16,000 at Golden Gate Fields, and she ended up making over $400,000. She was named National Claimer of  the Year (in 1986) and gave me my first stakes win (in the San Jose Handicap). The first stakes winner always sticks with you. She was a very good horse. I credit her with giving me a big boost.

You’ve called King Glorious your best horse and winning the Hollywood Futurity your biggest thrill. Are those comments still accurate?

King Glorious was my first big horse, and the Hollywood Futurity was worth $1-million, a good race to win. (Chris) McCarron rode a great race, although I was a little worried about an inquiry because of an incident at the head of the lane. But he didn’t come down. I got a big kick out of it because Ted Aroney, owner of Halo Farms, has always been very supportive. Ted bought his mare out of a sale when she was in foal with King Glorious. I had him from the start. He caught everybody’s attention right away. He was a great-looking horse and very fast. He was a Cal- bred and only lost once. Aroney was offered a lot of money for him and sold him to the Japanese.

What do you remember about Lite Light and the Kentucky Oaks wins with her and Pike Place Dancer?

I began training Lite Light in the spring of her 3-year-old year after she was purchased privately by M.C. Hammer, the rap star. He was from Northern California, Oakland, and named his stable Oaktown Stable. (Track publicist) Sam Spear introduced me to him. Ted Aroney found out Lite Light was for sale and suggested I should try to buy her for him. After Hammer bought her, she won the Santa Anita Oaks with her old trainer, Henry Moreno. Then I put her on the stakes trail, and she won the Fantasy at Oaklawn Park and the Kentucky Oaks. We had a great rivalry with Meadow Star that summer. She got beat a nose in the Mother Goose but came back to win the Coaching Club American Oaks. It was quite amazing to work for a music star because of his large entourage, which included bodyguards. Everyone recognizes the star. I was able to stay in the background while Hammer did his thing. You never expect to repeat the performance of Lite Light in the Kentucky Oaks, and I was fortunate to win that race twice. I bought Pike Place Dancer at the Keeneland September yearling sale for $40,000 and was lucky to get her for that price. She was a half-sister to Petionville, a year younger than him before he became a stakes winner. I sold a half interest to George Todaro, with whom I have had a great successful partnership. She beat the boys in the California Derby before she won the Kentucky Oaks.

As good luck as you’ve had in the Kentucky Oaks, you seem to have been cursed with as much bad luck in the Kentucky Derby.

It’s the hardest race to win, and I’ve enjoyed trying. You can’t let it get you down. I’ve gotten to run three horses in it and been there with two others. Eye of the Tiger finished fifth (in 2003), and Cause to Believe and Bwana Bull didn’t run well (in 2006 and 2007). Event Of The Year had a hairline fracture in his knee after his last work before the Derby, a real good work (in 1998). Everyone was quite taken with his looks. He had a lot of media attention. He had a big chance. That one hurt. Globalize was entered (in 2000), and the next day, when the pony picked him up, he bit the pony, and the pony kicked him in the hock. He needed to be stitched (and was scratched). A lot of horses get close and don’t make it. That only adds to the mystique and aura of the Derby.

How do current graded stakes winners Hystericalady and Somethinaboutlaura rank among the better females you have trained?

They give a good account of themselves every time you put them in. They came to me quite differently. I bought Hystericalady at the Keeneland September yearling sale. She is by Distorted Humor, who I liked at the time. I bought Somethinaboutlaura privately (in February, 2006). She wins on turf and dirt, long and short, and is happy all the time.

Any other horses or races that have produced special memories?

There are so many. I enjoy the everyday contact with the horses. I enjoy winning, and I enjoy the work it takes to win.

You have dominated Northern California racing like no other. How important is it to keep the winning streak alive?

I don’t know how many more meetings I can stay on top. They’re getting closer. I won the last one by only eight races. It seems like we have to work harder and harder to stay on top. It’s getting more difficult to keep winning.

What are your thoughts on the current state of affairs in Northern California?

I’ve been here a long time and seen a lot of things. Bay Meadows going away is in no way a positive. We’re in a state of transition and flux, and I hope things work out. I hope the young guys coming up have as good a setting as I have had all these years. I’m pretty flexible. If my horses continue to fit, I’ll continue. If not, I’ll do something else. I could go to Southern California or another state. The fairs get in the way of my program during the summer. That’s why I race at Hollywood Park and Del Mar then.

Should racetracks embrace slot machines?

I think the state of California should have them because there are people there to gamble. It would help the house handle. There are a lot of slot machines in nearby states such as Nevada.

You’re fourth in career winnings nearing the 5,000 mark. What goals do you have left?

I don’t know. I would like to win 5,000. That’s an attainable goal. It’s hard to plan if you should cut back. As long as the people working with me want to keep doing it, I’d like to keep doing it. It takes a lot of dedication, but a lot of trainers keep going on. I can’t imagine a guy like Dale Baird winning 9,000 races. He must be the iron man of the world. I’m comfortable trying to compete. If I ever get uncomfortable, I will have to rethink it.

Tell us about your stable and key personnel.

I stable mostly in Northern California at Bay Meadows and Golden Gate Fields and ship to the fairs during the summer. I have about 100 to 110 horses in Northern California plus 25 to 30 in Southern California. I have been and in-and-outer there the last few years but would like to keep a division there. I spend a lot of time at Del Mar. My wife Janet works with me all the time and is a great catalyst to make things work in my barn. She is my right hand. Janet was on the racetrack as a teenager in Southern California and I met her while she was working for Mel Stute. Andy Wilson handles my off-track horses, and Cristy Wiebe oversees the Southern California division.

What are your thoughts on the workers’ compensation insurance situation?

It has been vastly improved through the efforts of various different groups. Great progress has been made. A lot of people on the backside - both trainers and workers - are a lot happier. The AIG group has been looking after things in a more intensified manner.

Who have been and are your most important owners?

Everybody’s important to me. I have been successful building small and large partnerships. My main partner, George Todaro, has stuck with me for more than 20 years. (The Hollendorfer-Todaro partnership led California owners in wins last year). Halo Farm (Aroney) has been with me that long. Peter Abruzzo was instrumental in bringing me to Chicago two years in a row.

 
What is the origin of your nickname “The Dorf?”

Ivan Puhich, a jockey agent, started calling me that in Northern California, probably one day when he got mad at me.
What is your training philosophy?

I like to keep horses as fit and happy as I can.

Are the current medication rules fair?

My only opinion is if you want to measure anybody’s business in nanograms and picograms, it makes it very difficult. The testing procedures are correct but they measure in such small amounts, I don’t know how fair that is for somebody trying to do the right thing. But they have to have some rules.

What do you think about the new synthetic surfaces being installed?

I’m a very conservative person. To my way of thinking, I wouldn’t automatically change all the tracks. It may be the best thing, but something may come up. We’ll know in time. But they shouldn’t change them all over until they’ve done more testing.

Do you have any hobbies?

I’m just a horse trainer. That’s all I do.

In at the deep end - Mike Back, the trainer and mechanic

By Frances Karon

Fair Meadows racetrack in Tulsa, Oklahoma is sheltered under the shade of the city’s imposing skyscrapers, yet once there the eye is riveted by the busy jumble of pick-up trucks and horse trailers, cowboy hats and shiny belt buckles. The stabling area is well stocked for the mixed racing meet. Walk down the barn and pick a nose to scratch from among the heads stretched over the doors of their cedar chip-bedded stalls: Quarter Horse, Paint, Appaloosa or Thoroughbred.

One of the truck-and-trailer rigs belongs to 37-year-old Mike Back, who has hauled his filly Hard Bargain to Fair Meadows from his home in Adair – an hour away – for a half-mile workout, once around the 4-furlong “bullring” track. This is his first of two treks to the venue today for what will be a total of four hours on the road. Later, he will run Irishrunaway in the 3rd and Bagadiamonds in the 9th races on the 12-race twilight card. Back greets his rider and leans against the rail to watch as Hard Bargain skips over the red dirt surface. “He didn’t let her roll,” says Back. “Having a big, tight hold of her made her start throwing her head around a little bit, wanting to buck. I was wanting to see her set down and work. She was just doing a lot of jacking around.” He meets them at the gap, and when they get to the vacant stall he’s found for her in the barn he pays the rider, lets Hard Bargain draw some water from a bucket he has brought from home and hoses her down. Behind the barn, he surveys the eight four-horse Equicisers, chooses one and snaps the lead onto her halter. All of the walkers have two or three unsupervised horses on them already. On one, a gray Quarter Horse has stopped flat, refusing to yield to the tug on his head. He has that unmistakably ornery look in his eye, and you feel sorry for the bay attached to another arm of the mechanized hotwalker; there will be no cooling out for him this morning. Occasionally a passer-by will scoot the gray horse along, but inevitably he will stop again as soon as he’s left on his own. In a half-hour he completes three circles. On the other side of the enclosed area, Hard Bargain goes quietly, rhythmically placing her hooves on the worn path of the small circle. When her breathing has regulated and her coat has dried, Back unhooks her, loads her on the trailer and begins his long journey home.

Training horses is Back’s second career. His day job, the one that pays the bills, is as a mechanic for American Airlines, where he has worked for 18 years. “I couldn’t afford it without my job,” he says. He has taken a vacation day to shuttle horses to and from Fair Meadows today but doesn’t seem to mind. “I get excited at these races. It’s my Kentucky Derby.” He gets philosophical for a moment. “Otherwise, if you can’t do something that drives you, why go through life?”

Returning to Adair, Back turns Hard Bargain out into a pen. Except for the ones running later, his horses are lazily sunning outside. The set-up on his 160-acre farm is simple. Where possible, he has used whatever was on hand to save money, and inside his barn many of the walls are made up of sturdy wooden boards with colorful letters stenciled on them: “Mike Back for School Board.” (He was successfully elected.) There is a breeze billowing through the aisle and fans whirring over the stall doors to cut through the Oklahoma humidity. Three of the farm’s horses are in training; one is a pregnant broodmare he’s keeping for a friend; and a field towards the rear of the property houses one gelding who was badly injured during a race last month – a horse ran up on his hind tendons – and a few ex-racehorses that didn’t make the grade. “It’s a business and if one can’t run that’s fine but I won’t ship them off to the killers. I’ll find a home for them. I may have to keep them a year.” All the horses are happy and well-tended: this is not a bad place to be a horse. Training is done in the round pen, 15 minutes a day. “When you get one [fit enough] all you’ve got to do is just stand there and they’ll go 15 minutes strong. You’ll know when they’re ready for a work or for a race.” He smiles, telling a joke on himself. “I have the poor man’s Equiciser. I’m the motor in the middle. Except I can only do one at a time!” After their workout, each will be handwalked for 10 minutes before being set loose to play in the paddock.

By major racetrack standards, Back’s method is unorthodox but he is not alone in training this way: round pens have begun to appear at various racetracks. At Lone Star, he says, they “charge ten bucks to get in it, and it’s full every day. There’s a waiting list. Some people, when I tell them [how I train], they kind of frown and say that it’s hard on their knees because they’re always turning. Well it’s hard on their knees, too, when you put a 140-pound exercise rider up. Danged if you do, danged if you don’t. It works for me, and I’ve got the tracks close enough that I can take them there and blow them out.”

 
Fed by slots at local Cherokee and Choctaw owned casinos, prize money in the state is “almost double this year.” Tonight’s Thoroughbred portion of the racecard is capped by a $14,000 maiden special weight. “Oklahoma is the perfect place. Pretty good purses. Run year round, from February to December. The purses are getting better every year. Makes the competition harder, so you’ve got to have a better horse.” In Oklahoma alone, there are three racetracks within a two-hour drive of Back’s farm, though he will go as far as he needs to. “If I can win a race I’ll go across the country, if I could win a race and it was worth it. I’ll drive across the country for a minute and a half of racing! It’s ten hours to Fonner in Grand Island, Nebraska; that’s a long drive and there’s not much to see across the canvas, long and boring, but the people are great. Drove to Retama down in San Antonio a couple years ago, got there in 11 hours and they cancelled the races because of rain. That was a nice long drive back home!”

Back was introduced to racing when his father bought a racehorse for $500 in 1990. The horse won three races for them and Back had a first taste of what he would grow to love, admitting that horseracing “is just a very addicting sport.” Still, he didn’t get more involved until six or seven years ago. He had bred a few foals out of a mare and was having trouble finding a trainer. “I put an ad in the Tulsa paper, in the horse classifieds. And this guy called me, he worked the railroad and trained horses. He lived in Arch City, Kansas, so I drove up there one weekend, took the horse up and met him.” In a twist of irony, airplane and train joined together in their passion for the original mode of transport: the horse.

 
That railroad engineer, George Blatchford, trained for Back before encouraging him to apply for a trainer’s license. Blatchford had by then retired from the railroad and moved farther away to Oklahoma City, and while continuing to train horses off his farm was not always able to saddle Back’s starters, many of whom were now trained by Back in all but name. “George has been just like a dad to me. He told me I could do it myself, that I could do what he’s doing and not pay somebody $40 or $50 a day. And he was right.” When Back became a licensed trainer in October, 2005, he won his very first race, with Dr T’s Miracle. “Should have quit,” he says, full of logic but short on sincerity. “I’d have been ahead. I should have said, ‘hey, I’m 100%, what more could you want?’”

In the nearly two years since his maiden victory, breaking into the training ranks has proved a challenge. “A lot of your trainers at the track don’t give up much information. They think it’s a big secret. I kind of have to learn on the fly, you know?” But Blatchford steps in to give a hand or a push in the right direction whenever possible. “He really is a big help,” says Back. “Why do I like him?” asks Blatchford. “Well, because I know he enjoys the horseracing. I mean, it’s nice to make money with them but he does it as a sport. He does good and he tries hard. He’s always willing to learn. We’re so helpful to each other. He goes out of his way to help me and I go out of my way to help him. He’s just a great person to work with. He doesn’t have as good horses as I’ve got. You’ve got to have the horses. We’re at the bottom of the pole here, and we’re doing it because we enjoy it. Most people, it’s a business to them.”

Turning into Fair Meadows for the second time that Friday, Back heads for the two stalls that Blatchford has saved across the shedrow from his own pair of runners. As the sun sets over Tulsa, Irishrunaway settles into his stall like the veteran he is – this will be his 40th lifetime start, fourth for Back – but Bagadiamonds gets riled up. The upper half of the stalls have bars on three sides like a cage to give the horses plenty of socialization, and the sorrel Quarter Horse gelding next to her is acting coltish. Blatchford immediately pulls out one of his laid-back geldings and switches stalls with Back’s filly. The swap has helped; the filly, while still on her toes, quiets down, if only a little. Blatchford’s horse ignores the hysterics of the gelding beside him.

Blatchford’s presence at Tulsa tonight was a lucky break for Back. In Oklahoma, no one is allowed in the paddock without a license, so finding help is a chore. “You got a license?” he asks while we’re in his truck. “It’s like that, I just have to ask. If one of my buddies like George isn’t here I have to find somebody and pay them, especially if the races are back-to-back. It’s almost a nightmare, but I make it work. Once my oldest son, Taylor, turned 16 we got him a license, and that’s been a big help. He always goes with me and helps me anyway but until this year he couldn’t go in the paddock. I just kind of make do with whoever I can find.” Sometimes, he has to make do without. “A lot of times I’ll saddle them by myself just because I don’t have any help. It’s not real easy but you have to do it. I can’t do that with all of them.”

Over the course of the day it has dawned on me that when Back does his taxes there is not enough space on the “occupation” line: airplane mechanic/owner/trainer/psychologist/groom/hotwalker/van driver. It is easy to see why, for every Mike Back, there are countless people who can’t make it work. “It’s tough,” he says. “It’s a tough thing to break into, for a little person. And the politics of the track, they’ll just kill you!”
Once when Blatchford was listed as the trainer they had a horse leading the race into the last turn. “He was a dead winner,” says Blatchford – until the jockey pulled him up. Unsaddling, the rider told them the horse couldn’t breathe and Back couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “I said, ‘there’s nothing wrong with that horse.’ I went to the stewards – I was so mad – the next morning I went back over there and said, ‘What do you want this horse to work?’ He said to work him 3/8’s and I said, ‘I’m going to work him a half.’ And he had a bullet work. Brought him back two weeks later and won a race with him. But if it hadn’t been for George pulling some strings I’d have never gotten anybody to ride him.”

Another of Back’s charges got a DNF not long ago. “Why? Well come to find out later the jockey had gotten thrown that morning, his back was hurting. I didn’t know that. The steward had had four complaints that day. The horse was going to run in the money. Instead, it put me on the vet’s list. I had to go work the horse, I had to take the horse in front of the vet, for nothing wrong with him. I can not afford for that to happen. So now I have a horse that’s got a DNF, and I’ve got to find somebody to ride him. What are they going to think? They’re going to think there’s something wrong with this horse.” With effort, he convinced a jock agent his horse was sound, the jockey took the mount and rode him to two consecutive third-place finishes. Back felt vindicated but the sting of what he might have lost remains. “It’s out of your hands once you put them on a horse. They could be costing me a race that I need to keep going through next week. That’s the whole killer, is they don’t realize how much I have riding on every race. It’s not a life-or-death deal but it’s a trying-to-get-by-to-next-week deal. Next week’s $200 feed bill and next week’s $150 this-and-that. It all quickly adds up.”

Back searches for new horses regularly. “I’m just looking for the next good horse that I could win a race with.” When studying claimers, he keys in on entries from “the bigger trainers, a horse that they’ve dropped to the bottom, that’s not working in their program,” but who’ve shown a little bit of ability in the past. “It’s so hard when you claim one. That could make or break you right there. You’ve got to be willing to lose your money. It’s an investment for the long term. I look for a horse that’s sour from the track, take one that’s not happy and just let him be a horse.” He singles out the gray Irishrunaway, who came to him through a trainer friend in Louisiana. “When I got him, I gave him some feed, a little TLC, a little time out, just to make him happy. He’d done absolutely nothing in his life. But now he’ll try, he’ll give it everything he’s got. I’ve run a second and a third with him in three outs.” His fondness for the horse – for all his horses – and for using his good instincts to learn what makes each one tick is plain to see.

He found Hard Bargain, a winner of three races for her previous owner, on HandRide.com, a website he visits frequently. “I called a guy and swung a deal with him. It was the only horse he had. She’d won a bit of money and won races last year but he had a new baby and he just couldn’t afford it anymore. And I said, ‘Yeah, I know what you mean!’” The married father of four (with a very supportive wife) drove to Henderson, Kentucky, looked the filly over and bought her. Back has pursued the online angle aggressively, e-mailing the representatives for many of the racehorses listed for sale, offering to train them unless he spots an obvious red flag indicating that there’s something wrong with their horses. “I’ll just shoot them an e-mail and they’ll either say yes or no. Most of them write back saying ‘you’re too far’ or ‘we’ll see what happens if we don’t get him sold.’ My ultimate goal is to be hooked up with somebody that wants to send horses that don’t fit the bigger circuits. I’m working on it. I just haven’t got that connection yet.”

Years ago, before he was training, Back was involved in the private purchase of an A.P. Indy colt out of Wayne Lukas’ stable. “He was my pride and joy. People would just ooh and aah when they’d see him at the track,” he says, and from the catch in his throat you know you don’t want to hear what comes next, that the horse died in a barn fire at a friend’s nearby farm. “I almost got out of it then, cause I just loved him. I wish I had him knowing what I know now, which is not a lot – but knowing what I know now and how I do it, I’d win a bunch of races with him.” His leather halter is hanging up in Back’s house.

Blatchford accompanies him to the paddock and helps with the saddling. At Fair Meadows the owners don’t use their own silks; the house silks match the numbered saddlecloths. The only statement Back is allowed are the crimson blinkers emblazoned with his initials in white – the color scheme of the University of Oklahoma Sooners. After putting Mario Galvan up into the saddle, Back and Blatchford join friends in the stands. They are easy to find; the cool weather and free admission have failed to attract many people, and the crowd is remarkably sparse. The regulars are surprised at the low turnout. Irishrunaway was left at the gate on his previous outing, and Back is worried tonight before the start of the 6½-furlong, $7,500 claiming event. He has the gelding’s owner, Linda Searles, on the phone to give her the play-by-play. His share of the $3,564 winner’s purse would make a huge difference to Back; he has “never had a paying owner” and Searles and Back have a purse-splitting agreement in place, where she has no out-of-pocket expenses. “It helps her out and gives me a horse to run so I can get my feet wet.” Searles, who lives in Louisiana, is the kind of person whovoluntarily offered to pay for half the gas when Back took Irishrunaway to Nebraska in May, where he was second. She says, “Mike is a hard-working young man, and he’s honest, which is very important to me. I hope he will get that big one so that he doesn’t have to work two jobs.”

 
For all practical purposes, Irishrunaway’s race is over as soon as it begins: he spots the field too many lengths at the start, and must make up ground going around two very tight turns on the bullring. The announcer gives him an optimistic call on the backstretch: “Irishrunaway is eating up ground!” His long stride carries him wide around the second turn and it almost as soon as they straighten out of it they hit the wire. With so much going against him, Irishrunaway finishes a creditable third. Back is encouraged. “When I run third I’m happy. I’m disappointed that I’ve run third but I’m just tickled to death, I’m the happiest guy in the world. I don’t like to get beat but if my horse runs hard, I’m happy, I’m satisfied.” More than that, this check will pay for fuel: oats and diesel, horses and horsepower. That genuine effort provides Back with what will be the highlight of his evening as he leads the gelding off to cool him out on the Equiciser. Hours later, in the maiden special over a mile, Bagadiamonds is a passive observer under Galvan and the bright lights. She fretted her race away in the stall, and as they walk down the track her dark coat blends into the blackness of night. Only the white of her right hind leg, star, shadow roll and tall trainer give her away. Blatchford has gone one better: the gelding who had the studdish horse in the next stall over (he finished fourth in his 300 yard dash) has run second in his race.

Irishrunaway is wound up, as though he were mad at himself for not being able to get there. He will, one day. For now, he squeals at Bagadiamonds…in the stall, through the barn, in the trailer. They leave for home; it will be close to midnight before they are tucked up in their stalls beneath the sleepy chickens and roosters perched in the rafters.

A window into the day of the trainer whose story is seldom told: to wonder why he does it is to be immune to the thrill of horses thundering into the homestretch, to not get goosebumps when Dave Johnson roars, “And DOWN the stretch they come!” Mike Back does not hesitate for a fraction of a second when asked if he would like to train horses full time: “Yes. Definitely. If you’re not getting excited about it, you’re in the wrong business.”

The Equine Heart - how it works to power a racehorse

Robert Keck

Exciting new advances in ultrasound image technology have provided a better understanding of both the anatomy and function of the heart at rest and during exercise. In the last 30 years many veterinary clinics and universities with equine departments that study equine physiology are able to study the heart of the equine athlete in their own sports performance laboratories, while exercising on a high-speed treadmill.

Considering that heart rate is one of the most frequently measured physiological variables in exercise tests, Thoroughbred racehorse trainers have largely failed to take advantage of the heart rate monitor as standard equipment. However, heart rate monitors are commonplace in eventing and sport horses. Understanding the heart’s function, and its response and adaptation to training, can provide trainers with a competitive edge.

ANATOMY AND FUNCTION

The heart of a Thoroughbred weighs about 1% of the horse’s bodyweight but can be as high as 1.3-1.4% in elite animals. Therefore an average 1000 pound horse has a heart weighing between 8-10 pounds. The horse has a proportionately larger heart per unit of body mass as compared to other mammals. The horse’s heart rate is 20-30 beats per minute at rest and may have a maximal heart rate of 240 beats per minute during maximal exercise. The fact that the horse is able to increase heart rate by nearly 10 times the resting heart rate is a contributing factor to their athletic superiority.

As in all mammals, the heart consists of four chambers with valves that open and close as the heart muscle relaxes and contracts to insure blood flows in the right direction. The two pumping chambers are the left and right ventricles, and the two receiving chambers are the left and right atria. The left ventricle is larger than the right ventricle.

Specialized cells within the heart conduct electrical activity that coordinates the muscles of the heart to contract in order to optimize blood pumping. Electrical impulses of both the atria and ventricles are isolated by a fibrous ring; preventing them from contracting simultaneously. The only point at which electrical activity can pass between the atria and the ventricles is via the Purkinje fibers found in the wall between the left and right ventricle. When the atria contract, blood is delivered to the larger volume ventricle that lies beneath. The right side of the heart receives unoxygenated blood from the body and pumps it to the lungs to allow the red blood cells to uptake oxygen. Oxygenated blood returns to the left side of the heart, and the left ventricle pumps it out the aorta to the rest of the body.The cardiac cycle consists of a contraction/ejection phase (systole), and a relaxation/filling phase (diastole). Stroke volume (SV) is the volume of blood pumped in each beat, and is influenced by the muscular contraction of the ventricles, their resistance to flow during systolic ejection, and their ability to fill during the diastolic relaxation. The structural integrity of various anatomic components of the heart such as the valves and septa between the chambers affect heart function.

Stroke volume in a 500 kg Thoroughbred is approximately 1.3 litres and can increase by 20-50% during exercise. Cardiac output (CO) is stroke volume (SV) multiplied by heart rate (HR); therefore CO = SV x HR. At rest the cardiac output is approximately 6.6 (25 litres) gallons per minute and increases to an amazing 79 (300 litres) gallons per minute in elite athletes during exercise.

A horse’s total blood volume is approximately 10 gallons, representing 10% of its body weight. At rest 35% of the horse’s blood volume is red blood cells, however they can amazingly increase their red blood cell count on demand to 65% of their blood volume during a race, with up to 50% of the total red blood cells stored in the spleen. The horse has a proportionally larger spleen per unit of body mass as compared to other mammals. The red blood cells are void of a nucleus and have the large protein haemoglobin that transports oxygen. The horse’s heart is able to handle the increased viscosity of the blood. During exercise blood is diverted away from internal organs such as the intestines and kidney to working muscles used in motion.

THE HEART AND VO2 MAX

The heart is a major determinant in VO2 max, a measure of aerobic capacity. VO2 max is the maximal rate of oxygen consumption that can be consumed by the horse. VO2 max is determined by cardiac output (stroke volume x heart rate), lung capacity, and the ability of muscle cells to extract oxygen from the blood. During exercise the oxygen requirement by muscles can increase to 35 times their resting rate. Sydney University studies have shown that training can increase a Thoroughbred’s VO2 max by 20% or more, with this improvement highly attributable to the heart’s pumping capacity.

VO2 max expressed as millilitres of O2 per kilogram of bodyweight per minute (or second). At rest the horse absorbs 3 millilitres of oxygen per kilogram of body weight per minute. Maximal rates of oxygen intake vary within breeds and training state, but fit Thoroughbreds have a VO2 max of 160-170 ml./min./kg and elite horses can achieve 200 ml./min./kg. By comparison elite human athletes have a VO2 max of about half or 85 ml./min./kg. Pronghorn antelopes have a VO2 max of 210-310 ml./min./kg.
VO2 max is a high indicator of athletic potential, and has been found to be highly correlated with race times in Thoroughbred horses. A horse with a higher VO2 max had faster times (Harkening et al, 1993). The ability of the horse’s muscle mass to consume oxygen far exceeds the ability of the heart and lungs to provide oxygenated blood. Therefore cardiac output is a limiting factor in performance. Conditions that improve cardiac output positively impact VO2 max.

HEART RESPONSE TO TRAINING

The heart has two initial responses to exercise, a rise in blood volume pumped and dilation of the blood vessels. The heart rate increases, and beats stronger. The stroke volume may increase from 20-50% above resting rates. Through training the heart becomes more efficient at delivering oxygenated blood to exercising muscles.

Heart mass has been shown to increase with training. This hypertrophy (enlargement) in the heart comes in two ways, a thickening of the heart walls, and an increase in the size of the chambers, especially the left ventricle. Although the effects of training on the heart are not clearly understood, heart mass has been shown to increase up to 33% in 2-year old horses after only 18 weeks of conventional race training (Young, 1999). The increase in heart size results in increased cardiac output. Stroke volume has been shown to increase by 10% in as little as 10 weeks of training (Thomas et al, 1983).

Although not yet proved, it is likely that in addition to the strengthening, improved filling capacity of the pumping chambers when the heart is relaxed may contribute to the increases shown in stroke volume. Interestingly, maximal heart rate does not increase with training, and resting heart rates (unlike humans) do not decrease with training.

Training can improve VO2 max from 10-20% in the first 6-8 weeks of training, after which further improvement is limited. The relationship between VO2 max and velocity is highly correlated, but the differences found in speed and performance of two Thoroughbreds with equal VO2 max can be explained by differences in biomechanics and economy of locomotion.

Although the heart plays an important role in determining several physiological factors related to performance, it is merely one variable in the whole physiological equation that describes the equine athlete. Not only does the heart change and adapt with the rigors of training, but a myriad number of adaptations take place in the muscle fibers at the cellular level. As a result of training, oxidative enzymes in the muscles increase, along with the size and density ofmitochondria, the powerhouse of the cell. Enhanced oxidative capacity results in increased utilization of fat and less reliance on blood glucose and muscle glycogen, being an advantage at both submaximal and maximal exercise, because fat is a more efficient energy fuel.

An improved network in the number and density of capillaries provides more efficient blood flow and transit time to working muscles, which also become more efficient in buffering lactate in anaerobic exercise. Muscle, bone, tendons and ligaments modify their structure with the stresses of training. Depending on the event, the horse develops “metabolic specificity” and neuromuscular coordination for his chosen discipline.

EVALUATING THE HEART - ULTRASOUNDS

When evaluating the equine heart, ultrasound has become an extremely valuable non-invasive tool, revolutionizing equine cardiology. The heart’s anatomical structure and physiology can be readily determined as well as measurements in heart size, wall thickness, and identifying defective cardiac valve function. Findings can determine pathology of the heart and the cause of poor performance. The ultrasound examination of the heart (echocardiogram) is now considered an integral part of cardiovascular evaluation of equine athletes.

An ultrasound machine works by emitting a beam of high frequency sound waves (>20,000 Hz) from an ultrasound transducer into the body tissues. In general, the waves can penetrate to a maximum of 15 inches (40 cm) and they interact with various tissue types in different ways. The waves can be scattered, refracted or attenuated. The reflected waves are transmitted back to the ultrasound transducer. This information is interpreted by the ultrasound machine which produces a two-dimensional black and white image called a sonogram.

The frequency of the ultrasound waves emitted by the transducer markedly influences the quality of the image, depending on the depth of the tissues. Higher frequency ultrasound waves have a shorter wavelength and yield better resolution of small structures close to the skin surface. However, more energy is absorbed and scattered with high frequency, therefore high frequency transducers have less penetrating ability. Conversely, a lower frequency transducer will have greater depth of penetration but poor resolution. The transducer selected for echocardiography should be the highest frequency available that will penetrate to the depths needed to image the heart in its entirety. Frequencies generally used for veterinary echocardiography range from 2.25-3.5 Mhz for adult horses.

The three main types of ultrasounds available to veterinarians and researchers are the M-Mode, Two-Dimensional (2-D), and Doppler. Although M-Mode yields only a one-dimensional (“ice pick”) view of the cardiac structures, it can yield cleaner images of cardiac borders, allowing the researcher to obtain very accurate measurements of cardiac dimensions and critically evaluate cardiac motion over time. Two-dimensional echocardiography allows a plane of tissue, with depth and width, to be imaged in real time. This makes it easier to appreciate the anatomic relationships between various structures. 2-D echocardiography makes available an infinite number of imaging planes of the heart. Doppler echocardiography records blood flow within the cardiovascular system when blood moving toward or away from the transducer causes a Doppler shift. From this shift, it is possible to calculate the velocity of the moving blood.

ELECTRO-CARDIOGRAM (ECG)

An ECG (electrocardiogram) is another tool commonly used in evaluating the heart. It measures the heart’s electrical conductivity can identify a part that is not contracting properly. It is the tool of choice for diagnosing arrhythmias. The ECG provides information to the researcher about the quality and rhythm of the heartbeat. The appearance of the ECG changes dramatically from rest to exercise.

Cardiac contractions are the result of a well-orchestrated electrical phenomenon called depolarization. In the myocardium are specialized fibers that are very conductive and allow rapid transmission of electrical impulses across the muscle, telling them to contract. There is uniformity in the sequence and force of both the filling and ejecting chambers, relying on a single impulse initiated by the sinoatrial (S/A or sinus) node. Another node is the A/V node (atrioventricular node) situated between the two chambers.

The ECG measures electrical activity from the P-Wave, QRS, and T-Wave. The P-Wave represents the electrical impulse measured across the atria, whereas the T-Wave measures the repolarization of the ventricles. The QRS represents the electrical impulse as it travels across the ventricles. Measurements between these impulses include the PR and ST segments and the PR and OT intervals, all of which can reveal abnormal heart function.

Electrodes are placed in strategic positions on the skin surface to pick up the heart’s electrical activity. In clinical practice, 12 leads may be used in a diagnostic ECG, but usually there are three standard leads, I, II and III, placed at different areas around the ribcage and chest. Placement of the electrodes are critical, and can change the size and shape of the ECG.

HEART MURMURS AND ARRHYTHMIAS

Vascular diseases in horses, such as atherosclerosis, which contributes to strokes and heart attacks, are rare. Two of the most common heart abnormalities are heart murmurs and arrhythmias. A heart murmur is the sound of turbulent blood flow, usually caused by an abrupt increase in flow velocity. This turbulence is caused by increased velocity due to a leak or obstruction in one of the heart valves or because of abnormal communication between different parts of the heart. Heart murmurs, which are fairly common, occur in horses of all ages. They are called “innocent” when they are soft, short and variable without any other cardiac pathology. One study detected cardiac murmurs in 81% of 846 Thoroughbred racehorses (Kriz, Hodgson, and Rose 2000).Congenital heart defects are abnormalities that are present at birth, the most common being ventricular septal defect (VSD) where a hole is found between the two ventricles.

Oxygen-rich blood from the higher pressure left ventricle passes through to the lower pressure right ventricle and pulmonary artery during ventricular systole. Because some blood bypasses the lungs, it is not fully oxygenated and will have an adverse effect on cardiac function. Depending on the size of the hole, the horse may be fully capable of moderate activities without fatigue or shortness of breath. VSD is usually detected on the right side of the chest over the cranial part of the heart, and can be fully diagnosed with 2-D ultrasound and Doppler echocardiography.

Atrial fibrillation is an electrical disorder of the heart rhythm, also know as an arrhythmia. Associated with diminished performance, the normally regular, organized atrial waves become irregular, disorganized and chaotic, and the atria fail to contract normally, leading to an unpredictable and irregular heartbeat. Accurate diagnosis using an electrocardiogram can determine type and severity, and often an oral or injectable drug such as quinidine can be administered to establish a normal rhythm. An arrhythmia can sometimes be caused by myocarditis, where part of the heart muscle tissue has died due to an infectious disease such as strangles, influenza or an internal abscess. Toxic damage to the heart muscle may occur from a severe deficiency of vitamin E or selenium.

The most commonly recognized acquired structural heart disorders are degenerative valvular deformities. These defects, involving a thickening and deformity of the valve leaflets, cause inefficiency of one or more heart valves, resulting in dilation of the chambers trying to handle the regurgitated blood on either side of the damaged valve. If the leak is severe enough, the pressure in the veins leading to the affected side of the heart increases until fluid accumulation (edema) occurs.

HEART SIZE AND PERFORMANCE

For centuries, owners, breeders and trainers have been captivated by the idea that the horse’s heart may be the proverbial “Holy Grail” to understanding athletic performance, and predicting the future elite racehorse.

The large hearts found in elite human athletes are well-documented. In the 1920’s the “Flying Finn” Paavo Nurmi, who won 12 Olympic medals in track including 9 Golds and set world records from 1500 meters to 20 kilometers, had a heart three times larger than normal (Costill). At postmortem, the legendary 7-time Boston Marathon winner Clarence De Mar was shown to have an enlarged heart and massive coronary arteries (Costill).

In 1989, it was believed that Secretariat, American Triple Crown winner of 1973, had a heart weighing over 10 kg (22 lbs.), and may have had a VO2 max of 240 ml./kg./min. Autopsies showed that the great Australian racehorse Phar Lap had a heart weighing 6.4 kg. (14.1 lbs), 20% larger than normal, and Key to the Mint, American champion 3-year old of 1972 and excellent broodmare sire, had a heart weighing 7.2 kg (15.8 lbs). Secretariat’s rival and runner-up Sham had one of the heaviest hearts recorded, weighing in at 18 lbs. (8.2 kg).

Some of the first studies that scientifically attempted to correlate heart size with race performance were conducted in the 1950’s and early 60’s. The Heart Score concept was first discovered and developed by Dr. James D. Steel, a professor of veterinary medicine at the University of Sydney in Australia in 1953. Using ECG (electrocardiography) to studying herbivores, he began studying the occurrence of heart disease in racehorses. His examinations led him to the development of the “Heart Score” which was his term to describe the correlation between the QRS (intraventricular conduction time) complexes and the performances of several elite versus average racehorses at the time. He believed that the higher heart score number based on the QRS duration using the standard bipolar leads must be correlated with the larger heart size and weight found in superior racehorses.

Steel developed a ranking system that placed male horses with a heart score of 120 or more (116 or more for fillies and mares) in the large heart category, between 103-120 in the medium to normal category, and 103 or less in the small heart category. His conclusion was based on the assumption that the QRS represents the time required for the electric wave to spread and depolarize the ventricular mass. He believed that the QRS interval corresponds to the beginning and end of ventricular depolarization. As the ventricular muscle mass increases, a longer time will be necessary for the ventricular depolarization to take place. Therefore, he believed the higher the heart score the larger the heart mass (and size) Unfortunately, Steel was wrong!

Steel’s conclusions seemed logical at a time when equine cardiology was in its infancy. But in the horse (and hoofed mammals) the depolarization process differs from that of small animals because of the very widespread distribution of the Purkinje network. These fibers extend throughout the myocardium and ventricular depolarization takes place from multiple sites. The electromotive forces therefore tend to cancel each other out; consequently, no wavefronts are formed, and the overall effect of the ventricular depolarization on the ECG is minimal. (Celia 1999) Today, we know that ECGs provide little or no information about the relative or absolute sizes of the ventricles. An ECG cannot measure heart size and cannot be used to correlate its size and / or mass. In several studies, heart score showed a relationship neither with body weight nor with ventricular mass, as determined by echocardiograph. Heart score did not correlate with heart size and cannot be regarded as an index for predicting potential performance (Lightowler et al 2004). Although a study using Danish Standardbreds showed a correlation between heart score and Timeform ratings, using these scores to determine heart size has largely been disproved.

HEART SIZE AND PERFORMANCE

Current research in the field of equine exercise physiology continues to investigate the heart and cardiac output. The size of the heart is a key determinant of maximal stroke volume, cardiac output and therefore aerobic capacity, and several new studies have proved this relationship.

A recent breakthrough study demonstrated a significant linear relationship between British Horseracing Board Official rating or Timeform rating and heart size measured by echocardiography in 200 horses engaged in National Hunt racing (over jumps)  (Young and Wood, 2001). It is the first study that positively correlates heart size to performance.

Additionally, a significant strong relationship has been found between left ventricular mass (and other measurements of cardiac size) and VO2 max in Thoroughbred racehorses exercising on a high-speed treadmill. (Young et al 2002).

Interestingly, no such relationships have been reliably been found when horses employed in flat racing were examined, suggesting that, as might be expected, VO2 max and heart size are more important predictors of performance for equine athletes running longer distances.It must be emphasized that these research studies were conducted on older racehorses that were already racing and training, very different from an untrained yearling.

CONCLUSION

Understanding the equine heart and its role in equine physiology will remain of great interest to breeders, owners and trainers. Future use of heart rate monitors and heart evaluations using ultrasound technology to identify heart pathology and abnormality will undoubtedly contribute to future breakthroughs in training and racing. The equine heart still remains just one variable in the elusive equation that makes for a great racehorse. 

Should Horsewalkers be Round or Oval?

By David Marlin

Horsewalkers (electro-mechanical devices that allow multiple horses to be exercised simultaneously in a controlled fashion) are used extensively in the management and training of horses. They permit controlled exercise of horses at walk and trot. They are less labour intensive than most other forms of controlled exercise, such as walking in-hand, lunging, riding, swimming or running horses on treadmills.

The exception might be ride and lead, but this is not a widely used technique, except perhaps in polo. Horsewalkers may be used for a variety of reasons including warming-up or cooling down prior to or following ridden exercise, as a way to relieve boredom in stabled horses, for controlled exercise as part of a rehabilitation programme and to supplement ridden exercise. Horsewalkers are often also used where ridden exercise is not desirable or possible, such as in preparation of young animals for sale or in animals that may have injury to the back and therefore cannot be ridden. The majority of horses can be trained to accept being exercised on a horsewalker within a short period of time. Any form of exercise carries a risk of injury and whilst there does not appear to be any objective information on the safety of this form of exercise, it would generally be considered that the horsewalker is a very safe form of exercise.


Until recently, horsewalkers have been exclusively of a round design in which the horse is constantly turning on a circular track. The radius (tightness) of the turn is determined by the diameter of the walker - the larger the walker, the more gradual the turn. At present commercial round horsewalkers vary from around 10 to 30 metres in diameter (i.e. 5-15 metres in radius). The conventional design is of a centre post from which radiate arms that support the moving dividers that separate the horses but also encourage them to walk as the centre post rotates, in turn moving the dividers. Other designs do not incorporate dividers but horses are hitched to arms radiating from the centre post. Whilst the majority of walkers can operate in either a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction, on the walker the horse is still turning constantly. 


Exercising at walk or trot on a circle for prolonged periods of time must be considered to a large extent unnatural for a horse. Horses at pasture, whether grazing or exercising, move in all directions and never in one continuous direction. The same is true of ridden exercise. No rider would work his or her horse continuously for 30 minutes on a circle, even when working in a confined area. For example, a Dressage test incorporates many changes in rein and exercise in straight lines as well as on turns.

Lunging is another mode of controlled, unridden exercise that is commonly used by horse owners or trainers. Lunging may be used in place of ridden exercise or to train riders or as a warm-up for the horse prior to it being mounted and ridden. Lunging may also be used in situations where a horse requires to be exercised but where fitting a rider and saddle is not desirable, for example, in the case of a sore back. However, prolonged lunging is not advisable and in addition, as with circular walkers, changing the rein frequently is common practice.

Continual turning may be deleterious to the musculoskeletal system  (muscles, bones, tendons, ligaments and joints). For example, it is widely recognised that signs of lameness are exacerbated in horses exercised on a circle. This is commonly used by veterinary surgeons in lameness investigations. It is also suspected that sharp turns may contribute to injury of distal limb structures (i.e. those structures furthest from the body such as the foot). This implies that turning exercise changes the
weight distribution through the limbs. The surface on which a horse is lunged may also determine whether lameness is apparent or not; a horse may not exhibit lameness when lunged on a soft surface but may do so when lunged on the same size circle on a firmer or uneven surface. 
Most research into how horses move has been concentrated in horses walking and trotting in straight lines, or on treadmills, and there are only a limited number of studies relating to horses turning on a circle.

Only one kinematic (movement) study has evaluated the effects of turning a corner on the distal joint motions. Horses turning in a sharp (1.5m diameter) left circle showed a shorter stride length, but stance duration (the amount of time the foot is on the ground) was longer. This work also showed that the lower leg and foot rotate as the weight of the horse moves over the limb. 
Research from Australia showed that the outside edge of the cannon bone is not loaded significantly during exercise in a straight line on a flat surface. The same group of researchers also showed in a separate study that surface strains on the cannon bone vary between inside and outside forelimbs during turning. On the inner surface of the cannon bone, compression of the bone is greatest in the outside limb, and stretching of the bone is greatest on the inside limb. On the outer surface of the cannon bone, both compressive and tensile peaks are largest on the inside limb, which also showed the largest recorded strains in compression. On the dorsal (front) surface of the bone (where bucked shins occur in young horses), compressive strains were largest on the outside limb, and were greater on larger circles. They concluded that turning exercise is required to maintain normal bone, in that low-speed exercise in a straight line only loads the outer edge of the cannon bone. 
In 2006 workers from the USA studied the effect of trotting in a circle on the centre of mass of the horse. The centre of mass is a point within or on the body at which the mass of the body is considered to act. The centre of mass may vary according to gait, speed and direction of travel. The location of the centre of mass affects the distribution and size of the loads on the limbs. These researchers showed that in horses trotting on the lunge on a 6m diameter circle at a speed of ~2 metres/second, all horses leaned inwards at an angle of ~15°. The speeds attained by these horses at trot on a circle are lower than those typically seen for horses on a straight line. As the speed was slower, the implication is that stance proportion was increased (i.e. the weight bearing phase of the stride was longer on a circle than would be expected in a straight line). Furthermore, the researchers pointed out that “horses may behave differently when turning clockwise versus counter-clockwise due to asymmetries in strength, suppleness and neural programming…”. Thus, whilst it is often assumed that an equal amount of exercise on each rein on a circular horsewalker should be applied, this may not be the case for many horses and may actually be counter-productive.

The potential negative impact of circular exercise has also been highlighted with respect to the muscular system: “Especially in the initial stages of a return to work avoid lunging, horse walkers, or work in tight circles, as well as hill work”; a quote from veterinary surgeon and muscle specialist Dr Pat Harris from the Equine Studies Group at the WALTHAM Centre for Pet Nutrition, UK.

Exercising on a circle also requires more effort than exercising in a straight line (Harris, Marlin, Davidson, Rodgerson, Gregory and Harrison (2007) Equine and Comparative Exercise Physiology, in press). For example, being lunged on a 10 metre diameter circle was around 25% more work than being ridden on a large oval track in an indoor school. In addition, being lunged on a 5m circle was around 12% more work than being lunged on a 14 metre diameter circle. Even accounting for the weight of the rider, lunging is harder work than ridden exercise, which is most likely due to the continual effort required by the horse to balance itself on a continual turn.

Oval walkers are a new concept. The premise of using oval walkers is that continual exercise on a small circle is unnatural for horses and could even lead to injury and that a walker incorporating both straight line and turning exercise would represent a more appropriate form of controlled exercise. As so little information exists on turning in horses, a study was designed by us [Dr David Marlin (Physiologist) and Paul Farrington (Veterinary surgeon)] to investigate turning stress in horses in more detail. The work was undertaken in collaboration with Dr Bob Colborne (a specialist in Biomechanics) at Bristol University, UK.

A SUMMARY OF THE RECENT RESEARCH ON TURNING


The purpose of this study was to record the forces acting on the lower limb as horses walked in a straight line, on a 14 metre diameter circle, and on a 10 metre diameter circle to provide insight into the horizontal forces transmitted up the limb during locomotion in a straight line and whilst turning.

Three fit, sound Thoroughbred horses, ages 3, 5 and 12 years of age were used in the study. Horses were walked across a force-plate (a metal plate placed on the ground that measures the force with which the horses’ foot is placed on the ground) both in a straight line and on a 10 and 14 metre diameter turn. For the turns the horse was always walking on a left-turn.

The results showed that the coffin joint had the greatest degree of abduction (movement of the limb away from the body), adduction (movement of the limb towards the body) and axial rotation (twisting movement) and that these movements were greatest at the time of impact and break-over. The first point of contact with the ground has a significant influence on the line of stress through the foot and up the limb, as does the position of the body at the same moment. On a turn the horse abducts the inside forelimb away from the body towards the line of the circle with rotation of the foot in the direction of the turn. The stride length is dictated by the tightness of the turn, as is the stance time (when the foot is on the ground). As the horse then moves forward the horse’s body moves towards the inside limb increasing the loading on the limb. The results showed that on average the forelimbs tended to behave asymmetrically (i.e. the two front legs did not behave the same) on a circle so that the forces and 
movements differ to produce different torque effects (twisting forces). The hind limbs tended to behave more symmetrically except  when the size of the circle was reduced from 14 to 10 metres in diameter.

IMPORTANCE OF HORSEWALKER SURFACES


The walking surface will likely have an effect on the stresses experienced by a limb. If the surface allows reasonably free twisting of the hoof when weight bearing, the stresses between the hoof and ground will be small. However, any ground surface that holds the hoof and impedes this horizontal rotation will probably impart higher loads to the joints of the lower limb. Large turning forces should be avoided when the limb is vertically loaded (i.e. when the weight of the horse’s body is over the limb and the limb is on the ground). It is also important that the walking surface is level to avoid tilting of the hoof during weight-bearing. A walking track that is worn in the middle and that causes rotation of the joints in the foot is likely to cause larger and uneven forces to the lower limb joints and associated tendons and ligaments.

IMPLICATIONS FOR OVAL VERSUS ROUND HORSEWALKERS


Our recent research and a review of other scientific studies show that turning is not equivalent to exercise in a straight line. Turning exercise is harder than exercise in a straight line and loads the bones in a different way. Furthermore, on small turns the inner and outer limbs may not behave in the same way as on larger circles. This may have implications for horses with pre-existing musculoskeletal injuries. The potential advantages of an oval walker is that it combines straight line and turning exercise that more closely mimics the exercise that a horse will do when being ridden or when free at pasture. 
The results of our small study have shown that the hind limb patterns were quite different on the tighter radius turns, indicating a different strategy for turning, and supporting the notion that both straight line and turning exercise should be recommended for overall loading patterns that are healthy for maintaining bone that can withstand loading forces in a variety of directions. 
The results also make clear that small diameter round walkers (~10 metre diameter or less) are less desirable than round walkers of 14 metre diameter or greater. Small diameter round walkers increase the loading and asymmetry and increase the work compared with larger diameter walkers. 
In conclusion, there appear to be significant advantages to using a walker of an oval design as opposed to a round design, as exercise on an oval loads the limbs with a combination of straight and turning movements, as would be experienced during riding or in free movement.

Reinventing the Wheel - the Kurt Equine Training System

​By Niki Sweetnam

The combined forces of Italian trainer Daniele Camuffo and the enigmatic Turkish businessman Mehmet Kurt have brought to fruition a project first dreamt up by Kurt himself more than a decade ago. 

The Kurt Equine Training System has been endorsed by some of the world’s leading veterinary surgeons and research groups, and the results of horses trained on it are already beginning to speak volumes for its future potential. From 12 juvenile runners this season, 3 have raced and all have won or placed, showing no signs of physical or mental stress at any stage.

A specialist equine vet for more than 30 years, it was Italian Marco Astrologo who introduced Kurt to the then Rome-based trainer Camuffo, knowing that Kurt was looking for a good trainer with an open mind to come and work with him in Turkey and turn his 10 years worth of research, investment, development and modification on his invention into reality. The Kurt stable had won 2 Turkish Derbys, on both occasions with European trainers (1993 with the aptly named The Best and in 1999 with Bartrobel); Camuffo had come to the realisation that there was no longer much of a living to be made out of training in Italy as costs spiralled, owners thinned and prize money levels swung. Born in 1963 and a licensed trainer since 1989, a disillusioned Camuffo travelled to Turkey on the invitation of Kurt and loved the opportunity he saw. A blank page, top class facilities at his private base near Istanbul, the chance to work with Kurt and break new ground in the application of science to the art of training thoroughbreds.

 “I’m a traditionalist” Camuffo announces, contradictory to what one may think. “I don’t like the idea of training horses by machine. Human intervention is critical, the human eye makes training an art, not a science, but in the development of his skill an artist should avail of the most modern techniques, the most high-tech instruments, the newest chemical mix of powders, resins, oils, water, in order to achieve perfection.” Since Camuffo’s move out to Turkey less than 2 years ago, the pair have modified and fine-tuned Kurt’s brain-child to perfection. Knowing precisely what they wanted to achieve, and having a dedicated team behind them has allowed them to overcome numerous minor technical and practical problems, and the fact that the invention has been funded entirely by Kurt himself has eliminated bureaucracy and red-tape. In short, the Turkish inventor’s dream has become the Italian trainer’s reality.

It is clear that the driving force between Team Kurt is Kurt himself, who has invested his cotton fortune in his passion for horses. Kurt, Astrologo, and Camuffo work closely together on the horses with the back-up of the Kurt Group office team which is overseen by Kurt’s daughters. They are joined by a small but diligent Turkish workforce at the training centre and the former Portuguese dressage trainer Jorge Almeida. “In Turkey, as elsewhere, good jockeys are hard to come by. The Kurt Training System alleviates this problem and provides a more consistent work-out for individual horses at the same time as eliminating many of the risks associated with working young thoroughbreds at high speeds. Of course we are not aiming to substitute jockey for robot, it is all about the achievement of maximum fitness with minimum risk. Our young horses do not have a different rider on board each morning, are not subject to variances in human mood, smell, handling, do not pull, do not take off, do not develop uneven muscle tone due to rider imbalance, do not work outside their ideal heart rate zone. As you can imagine, this vastly reduces both physical and mental stress for them. Consequently, when a jockey does get on board a couple of times a week, the horses are infinitely more manageable, better balanced, and thus less prone to injury. As a trainer this takes a good 80% of the risk out of the job.” explains Camuffo, leaving the obvious unsaid, that his own physical and mental stress as a trainer is consequently reduced to a minimum. In his experience, the Kurt horses are also better ‘do-ers’, stomach ulcers being one of the main manifestations of stress in a racehorse. The light-framed Camuffo keeps to a sensible riding weight as horses work typically four days per week on the system, are ridden two days and rest a day.

Whilst it may be hard to see the Kurt Training System’s acceptance in traditional European racing circles for some time to come, there has already been significant interest from the Arab Emirates and America. Given the initial level of investment required (and the fact that it is equally suitable for training camels!), this is not surprising. Indeed many of Kurt’s business contacts are in the States and word there is spreading fast, so much so that daily enquiries come into the Kurt Group office, requests for visits to Turkey so see the machines in action from vets and trainers alike.

Doctor Wayne McIlwraith from Colorado State University is one such recent visitor to Istanbul. He sites a number of uses for the Kurt Training System. The safe training of young horses up to relatively fast work with decreased need of exercise riders was the primary reason behind Kurt’s development of the system. McIlwraith goes on however to explain from a veterinary viewpoint its beneficial role in the musculoskeletal conditioning of young horses. Weanlings have been worked on the machine on an early conditioning programme to build muscle and strengthen bone with the aim of reducing injuries once they went into full training. Furthermore, McIlwraith highlights its potential use as a post-operative rehabilitation tool, decreasing the need for in-hand walking and providing a safe, consistent environment for the gentle, controlled exercise required for optimum recovery after surgery. All this can happen on a more natural training surface than that of the traditional treadmill.

Professor David Evans from the University of Sydney is another who sees multiple advantages in the use of both the rail (multiple) and single vehicle training systems. In particular he is excited about the single vehicle’s potential as a diagnostic tool. “This kind of ‘mobile laboratory’ has really opened up new opportunities for research. With racehorses, the performance limiting factors that we need to monitor generally occur only at high speed. The advent of the single vehicle training system allows us to assess accurately and in a safe environment the reasons behind poor performance in an individual because horses can work safely up to racing speed. At this speed they can be endoscoped, have pressure sensors attached to under their hooves, we can measure their oxygen uptake, lactic acid production, heart rate, and study the mechanics of their movement ie length, regularity and freedom of stride.” Such measurements also provide the trainer with the basis for an individual’s fitness programme, ensuring that each horse is neither over nor under-trained, that they work within the correct heart rate zone and don’t tie-up, data which Camuffo has at his fingertips on a daily basis to use to his advantage.

From Rome to Istanbul, Camuffo has adapted easily. Istanbul is a bustling, cosmopolitan city like any European capital and English remains the common language for international business, although a basic grasp of Turkish is helpful. There is not a strong tradition of thoroughbred racing in Turkey, the 24 founding members of the Jockey Club back in 1950 have grown to some 120. From its Istanbul headquarters it organises the racing programme in 6 racecourses nationwide as well as the Jockey Club Stud in Izmit. The Istanbul racecourse features a 2020  metre / 10 furlong turf track, a 1870 metre / 9 furlong dirt track and a separate dirt training track of 1720 metres / 8 ½ furlongs and hosts the majority of Turkey’s major races. Breeders have been able to avail of stallions such as Sri Pekan, Common Grounds, Manila, Eagle Eyed and Strike the Gold as the country has opened up to investment in the thoroughbred sector and the importation of foreign mares that meet strict quality control criteria. 
 
Last year Kurt, whose racing stock are all home bred, invested heavily in the breeding stock sales at Goffs and Tattersalls, buying mares in foal to leading European sires such as Acclamation, Dansili and Daylami. He has whittled down the 90 horses that Camuffo found upon his arrival to 70, split between mares, yearlings and horses in training all with the emphasis firmly on quality. Of these, 29 are in training, well, Camuffo is superstitious about the number 8 so he told me to write 29. When he is not training the Kurt string or avoiding the number 8, Camuffo enjoys sailing and for the immediate future is happy with his lot in Turkey. The Romans may have invented the wheel, but the formidable Kurt-Camuffo team have gone one step further!
 
THE KURT TRAINING VEHICLE

A single training vehicle in a horse-shoe shape with a driver’s cab behind. Horses are neither “pushed” nor “pulled” , the crescent being closed behind by two padded panels behind and the horse restrained by safety cables that support, contain and correct the horse’s forward movement allowing for correct carriage at the various speeds and stages of training. The vehicle is then driven around the track at speeds of up to 60km / 35 miles per hour while cameras monitor its occupant from several angles.

THE KURT MONORAIL SYSTEM

This is a train of box cars on an electric locomotive that is hauled along an overhead track which can be assembled to suit any shape or length of training track. Up to 50 horses can be trained simultaneously on this system. Both prototypes were engineered by Roush Technologies, a British company specialising in vehicle design, engineering and development, in full collaboration with the Kurt Group.

THE SILICONE SADDLE

Silicone saddles of various weights and mouldings have also been developed in conjunction with the Kurt Training System in order to accustom the horse to carrying a jockey’s weight.

Long Layoffs - training a horse to win after months of not running

By Bill Heller

With Thoroughbreds racing fresher and less frequently these days, traininga horse to win off a month layoff is commonplace. But when a trainerstretches his Thoroughbred’s layoff to six months or longer, and he winsthat first start back, that’s special. Doing it consistently stamps a trainer as one of the best in the business.

Different trainers take different approaches with workouts trying to reachthe same destination: the winner’s circle, even if the return race is a prepfor an upcoming stakes.

 “The training theories are a lot different now,” Hall of Famer Allen Jerkens said. “The horses are not quite as strong as they used to be. They’re bred a lot more for speed. It’s a different game now.”

It’s a game Jerkens, at the age of 78, continues to win. In the space of 10days at the end of May at Belmont Park, Jerkens won the Grade 2 ShuveeHandicap with Teammate and the Grade 3 Jaipur Stakes with 24-to-1 longshot Ecclesiastic and finished second with longshot Political Force in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap. All three horses are home-breds owned by Joseph Allen.

 First up was Teammate, the four-year-old gray filly who was coming off afine three-year-old season, one win and four second in 10 starts in 2006 and earnings of $350,890. She won the Grade 2 Bonnie Miss by six lengths; finished second in back-to-back Grade 1 stakes, the Alabama and the Gazelle, both to Pine Island - Shug McGaughey’s outstanding filly who suffered a fatal breakdown during last year’s Breeders’ Cup Distaff - and concluded her three-year-old season last November 4th, finishing a front-running fourth at 2-5 in the Grade 3 Turnback the Alarm Handicap. “She was running against the best,” Jerkens said. “She looked like she was home in the Alabama.”

Teammate’s first goal this year would be the Grade 2 Shuvee Handicap at one mile at Belmont May 19th. To get her there, Jerkens penciled in herfour-year-old debut in an allowance/optional $75,000 claimer at sevenfurlongs at Belmont, May 3rd.

Teammate’s first published work was April 10th at Belmont Park, when she breezed five furlongs on the Belmont Park training track in a leisurely1:04, only the 21st fastest of 27 working that day at that distance (21/27).Four days later, she worked a bullet five furlongs on the training track in1:00, best of 59 at that distance (1/59). On April 24th, she worked sevenfurlongs in 1:24 3/5, a brilliant move which wasn’t ranked because no other horse worked that distance that morning. Teammate’s final prep came on April 30th when she returned to the training track and again recorded a bullet, covering four furlongs in :46 4/5, best of 28 that day (1/28).
 
Asked about bringing her back, Jerkens said, “You jog a little bit, gallopand start breezing slow. Some horses get more out of their gallops. Shedoesn’t like to gallop too slow. She’ll gallop along in the morning. Thisyear, she’s been easier to train than last year. She seems to be morewilling. I have a good man get on her.”
 
The blazing works, especially the seven furlong move, may have been a tad faster than Jerkens preferred, but it didn’t faze him. “Some real goodhorses will work as fast as you want them to,” he said. “When you’re running with good horses, it’s a whole lot different. If you’re running $20,000 claimers, they won’t do it, and they can’t do it. I was looking for 1:26. If she had been racing every three weeks, you wouldn’t want to her to work that fast. Everything is relative to how close the race is. You don’t want to go too fast on top of a race.
 
“Years ago, I remember watching Eddie Neloy when I was younger. He would take his stakes horses and work them five furlongs in :59 three days out, then walk the next day, then gallop a mile and a half, and then do it again on the morning of the race. I watched him a lot. Ben Jones had a filly named Bewitch. She was a big fat mare. He worked her five-eighths in :59 or in a minute the day before the race.
 
“I remember Beau Purple (who upset Kelso four times). He worked 1:48 3/5 for a mile and an eighth a week before the (1962) Hawthorne Gold Cup. He was a little fat horse. He shipped to Chicago, then, three days before the race, he went three-quarters in 1:11 3/5. And it was muddy. He beat good horses.”
 
Surprisingly, in a field of just five in her 2007 debut, Teammate faced good horses, too: Todd Pletcher-trained Yachats, making her return off an even longer layoff, and Her Royal Nibs and Endless Virtue, who’d each wonmore than $150,000 in the last year and a half. Longshot Solarana completed the field.
 
Yachats, a four-year-old filly owned by Aaron and Marie Jones, hadcompleted her three-year-old season last August 19th, when she finished atiring fifth in the Ms. Woodford Stakes at Monmouth Park, April 19th. For2006, she had two wins and a second from six starts and earnings over $61,000.
Pletcher, who has won the last three Eclipse Awards for trainer and againleads all trainers in earnings this year, wanted to bring Yachats, named fora town in Oregon, sooner. “It was basically frustration,” Pletcher said. “Wehad entered the horse several times at Gulfstream Park. The races didn’tfill. So we entered her here, and we look up and see Teammate was in there.”
 
Yachats showed six works before her return, all at Palm Meadows, thetraining center in south Florida:
 
      March 4th - five furlongs in 1:01 1/5 handily, third fastest of 19 (3/19)
      March 12th - five furlongs in 1:01 3/5 handily (6/21)
      March 18th - five furlongs in 1:02 3/5 breezing (16/26)
      March 24th - five furlongs in 1:02 3/5 breezing (13/29)
      April 8th - a bullet five furlongs in 1:00 handily (1/12)
      April 15th - five furlongs in 1:01 4/5 handily (8/9).
Both Teammate and Yachats raced well in their 2007 debuts, Teammate beating Yachats by a neck. In her next start, Teammate won the Shuvee by half a length over heavily favored Sugar Shake. “We were flattered when Teammate came back (and won the Shuvee),” Pletcher said. “Sometimes, you run well and you just get outrun.”
Sometimes you don’t. Eugene Melnyk Racing Stables’ Harlington had suggested greatness early in his career for Pletcher. A son of Unbridled out of the 1992 Eclipse Champion Three-Year-Old Filly Serena’s Song, Harlington made it to the races late in his two-year-old season, winning a one-mile maiden race on a sloppy track at Aqueduct by a neck, November 28th, 2004.
Freshened over the winter by Pletcher, he returned at Gulfstream Park onJanuary 15th, 2005. Racing again on a sloppy track, he won a bottom-levelallowance race by three lengths. Harlington finally caught a fast track inhis third start, the Grade 3 Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds. Sent off the6-5 favorite in a field of 11, he raced extremely wide from the 10 post andchecked in sixth, three lengths behind the winner, Scipion.
 
“We were disappointed right after the race,” Pletcher said. “But he cameout of the race with a filling in his left front ankle.”
 
Given ample time to heal and recover, Harlington returned to the track,December 4th, 2005, at Aqueduct, and he won an allowance race by fivelengths. Pletcher again freshened him and Harlington moved up the allowance ladder, winning a non-winners of three-other-than by a length andthree-quarters over a future star, Premium Tap, at odds of 3-5, February8th, 2006.
Pletcher upped the ante, and Harlington responded by capturing the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Breeders’ Cup Handicap by a neck, March 4th, 2006.
 
Harlington moved up to Grade 1 company in the Pimlico Special, May 19th, where he finished a dull sixth to a horse making his first North American start: Invasor. Who knew? Invasor, last year’s Horse of the Year, hasn’t lost a race since.
Again, Harlington came out of the Pimlico Special with a filling in thatsame ankle. “We sent him to Eugene’s farm,” Pletcher said. “They gave him time off. Phil Hronec is there and runs the farm. He knows what level we want. Had several half-mile breezes before he came back to us.”
 
Pletcher began shopping for a spot for Harlington’s five-year-old debut,eventually selecting a mile-and-a-sixteenth allowance/optional $100,000claimer at Belmont Park, May 24th, a year and five days after his last race.

 “A horse like that is going to have to run at least a mile,” Pletcher said.“You have to have a starting point. We were thumbing through the condition book. We circled this race at Belmont. There was a back-up plan for an allowance race at Churchill Downs a couple days later. We were happy the race filled at Belmont.”
Pletcher’s workout pattern is one he has honed. “There’s really not a wholelot of variation you can do,” he said. “I’m not a breeze-him-back in fivedays. I’m a six or seven-day guy. Generally, we’re on a six or seven-dayschedule.”

Harlington had six workouts leading up to his race, the first three on theBelmont Park training track and the next three on the main track:
 
      April 8th - five furlongs breezing in 1:03 3/5 (7/12)
      April 22nd - five furlongs breezing in 1:02 (7/20)
      April 29th - five furlongs breezing in 1:02 2/5 (10/15)
      May 6th - a bullet five furlongs handily in 1:00 3/5 (1/12)
      May 14th - five furlongs breezing in 1:00 (6/46)
      May 21st - five furlongs breezing in 1:01 4/5 (41/54)
 
The gap from April 8th to the 22nd was because of a lot of rain on LongIsland. And Harlington’s final work was supposed to be on May 20th, fourdays before his race. “We got rained out again, so I had to make his workout three days back,” Pletcher said. “Because he is a large horse and carries a lot of weight, I wasn’t worried about it. We pulled him up fairly quickly after the wire. Usually, we let them go on for a quarter or three-eighths.”
 
Harlington won his return easily by 3 ¼ lengths. “I was very pleased,”Pletcher said. “I thought he raced very well. He’s a horse we’ve always feltvery good about. He put us in a position to move into a stakes. He is aGrade 1 stakes horse, and we have to prove it.”
 
Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito’s Commentator has already proven himself at the highest level of competition. His neck victory over subsequent Horse of the Year Saint Liam in the 2005 Grade 1 Whitney Handicap was one of the greatest victories in Zito’s career. He had successfully stretched out Tracy Farmer’s New York-bred speed machine to a mile-and-an-eighth. That victory was Commentator’s seventh in eight career starts as he battled an assortment of physical problems.
 
In his next start, the Grade 1 Woodward Stakes, then at Belmont Park,Commentator was cooked by two rabbits entered by Saint Liam’s trainer, Rick Dutrow, and faded to be a distant third to Saint Liam.
 
Commentator made just two starts in 2006, winning the Mugatea Stakes for New York-breds easily at 1-9 and then having terrible luck in the Grade 1 Forego, September 2nd, 2006, at Saratoga. Sent off the .90-to-1 favorite in a deeply talented field of 11, Commentator leapt up at the start, gettingaway dead last. He was rushed into contention by Eibar Coa, then faded to10th.
 
Given ample time to recover, Commentator was pointed to a new campaign this year by Zito. “We’re always talking about having a good bottom,” Zito said.
“A horse needs to have a good bottom before you can even breeze him. I’ve been doing this for a good time. Every single day, you have people come to the barn and say the horse worked great. But they don’t know how much went into it before they work. We had to gallop him for two months because he needed it. We didn’t like the way he came back from the farm.”
Zito takes pride in his ability to win with long layoff horses. “We’ve donepretty well with layoffs,” he said. “The more talented the horse, the betteryou look.”
Wanderin Boy made Zito look like a genius when he overcame a six-monthlayoff to take the Grade 3 Alysheba Stakes at Churchill Downs on May 4th by 4 ¼ lengths.
Could Commentator do the same? Zito chose a softer spot for his return, the Richmond Runner Stakes for New York-breds at 6 ½ furlongs at Belmont Park on May 28th. Only four other horses were entered, all of them considerably overmatched.
 
Commentator showed six different works before his return, the first at Palm Meadows, the next four at Churchill Downs and the final one on the deep Oklahoma Training Track at Saratoga:
       March 31st - three furlongs handily in :36 2/5 (1/3)
      April 10th - four furlongs breezing in :48 (9/49)
      April 19th - four furlongs breezing in :48 2/5 (11/34)
      April 27th - four furlongs breezing in :47 4/5 (2/22)
      May 7th - a bullet five furlongs breezing in :58 4/5 (1/27)
      May 22nd - a bullet four furlongs breezing in :47 3/5 (1/43)
Commentator ran true to his works, springing out of the starting gate as ifhe’d been shot out of a cannon, then dusting his rivals wire-to-wire by 11 ¼lengths in a sparkling 1:15 3/5 under Corey Nakatani, who barely moved his hands during the race. Commentator was back and ready for harder battles.

Getting back to the winner’s circle in his return could do nothing but help.

Hoof Matters - concentrating on the foot rather than the shoe

By Caton Bredar

In 1889, for the fourth edition of his book “The Racehorse in Training with Hints on Racing and Racing Reforms”, the English jockey turned horse trainer William Day added a chapter on shoeing, his preface stating 
“…one topic, highly important to all owners of horses, ‘Shoeing’…might advantageously be added…the aim to deal with facts and to avoid speculation.”

Day wraps up by adding that he hopes “it will be found…that the best method of shoeing and of the treatment of the foot has been not only discussed but actually verified… that the prevention which, in the diseases of the feet…is better than cure and has been placed nearer the reach of all.”
If only.

Nearly 120 years after Day and his book, the “cure” for many horsemen plagued regularly by a variety of hoof ailments and issues seems as far out of reach as ever. With quarter cracks as common as quarter poles, horsemen particularly in North America continue to play out a modern day version of Cinderella, looking for the shoe that leads to happily ever after, or at the very least, to happy and sound on the racetrack.   Among farriers, veterinarians and trainers there appears to be little agreement and much speculation when it comes to the shoeing of Thoroughbreds.

With no “best method” at hand, everyone can, in theory, agree with the familiar adage “no foot, no horse”.  But there is great controversy surrounding how to go about improving horse hooves and preventing injury, or even why horses have so many hoof-related problems in the first place.  When it comes down to the sole of the matter, at the end of the day, hoof care may well turn out to be the Achilles Heel of the Thoroughbred racing industry.

Most recently, the break-down and subsequent death of Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro brought the topic of equine injuries, and, more specifically, laminitis, to the forefront.  Since Barbaro, American racetracks have spent millions installing synthetic surfaces, all espoused to be safer and more cushioned for horses.  A record $1.1 million distributed this year by the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation to numerous equine research projects may also be a direct result of the late champion’s demise.
Last autumn, the foundation designated a Hoof Care and Shoeing Task Force, another possible throw-back to Barbaro and the subsequent focus on equine injuries. In the task force’s first official report this past April, prominent owner and breeder Bill Casner outlined one possible cause of injuries in “The Detrimental Effects of Toe Grabs: Thoroughbred Racehorses at Risk”.  Endorsed by the Jockey Club, the Grayson Foundation and the Kentucky Horseshoeing School, the report placed the lion’s share of the blame for catastrophic injuries - and hoof-related issues - on the use of toe grabs in horse shoeing. Thoroughbred anatomy plays a role, according to the report: the fact that bone structure and hoof walls aren’t matured in the average racehorse; also the length of pastern or the type of hoof. The report also briefly mentions harder racetrack surfaces. But the overwhelming research revolved around the link between injuries and toe grabs.

Such thinking, according to at least one long-time farrier, may be what’s keeping the industry from finding Cinderella’s shoe. A self-proclaimed maverick, “as far out there as I can be,” North Carolina-based farrier David Richards believes rather than looking at the shoe, researchers should look at the foot.
Richards has been shoeing horses for the last 30 years.  When asked what type or breed of horse he specializes in, the farrier replies “lame ones”. According to Richards, around 20 to 30 percent of the horses he works on annually are Thoroughbreds.  Seventy to 90 percent of all the lameness problems he sees, according to Richards, are related to the hoof wall.
“We need to look more at hoof wall as a site of failure,” the farrier says, a principal which has become the backbone of “Equicast,” a product Richards has been developing and marketing for nearly 20 years. The cast, a tape-like, fiber-glass blend, covers the hoof, extending up to the hairline at the coronet band, with a shoe attached either on top of, or beneath, the cast.  Its creator likens it to a walking cast in humans, with the event that Thoroughbreds are able to exercise while wearing it, although “there’s a big difference between hoof and human bone.”

“The key is managing lateral expansion,” Richards elaborates, “to prevent an overload of the hoof wall, causing hoof problems and pain. The hoof wall is the point of least resistance.”  The cast “provides additional support and relieves pressure on the hoof wall,” he says, adding that his product minimizes heat and moisture, factors that also play a role in weakening hoof walls.
“When you adhere a shoe to a foot, you are frequently encapsulating bacterial materials,” the farrier offers. “Also, most apoxies are heat generating, and the hoof wall is already a great conductor of heat.”

Common solutions such as vitamin or feed supplements have a minimal effect at best, according to Richards.  “The huge problem with any of that is that horses have very poor circulation to their feet.”  Circulation issues cause problems all of their own in terms of growth and healing, but they also minimize the effect of anything ingested making a difference. 
Richards believes a host of factors contribute to a general weakening of the structure of the hoof wall, “a complex and sometimes contradictory” situation that covers nearly everything wrong with feet, from quarter cracks to long toe-low heel to medial lateral imbalances and White Line Disease.
“There’s actually no problem in growing feet,” he offers.  “The problem is in growing strong feet.
“We definitely see a more volatile foot today,” he concedes, citing feeding programs that cause quicker growth, synthetic surfaces that don’t stress the feet enough, and trends in commercial breeding as just a few of the possible contributing factors.
“One of the things we’re doing wrong, we’re not stressing the feet enough,” he says.  “From the day that they’re born we’re coddling the foot.”

“I’ve never heard of a breeder breeding for feet,” Richards adds. “I can think of one really prominent sire that’s a classic example.  I have four young horses by the same sire. Four babies right now that already have conformational issues. The sire has a great mind, tremendous ability.  But his foals aren’t known for their feet.”
“You can’t knock it,” he continues.  “But you have to accept the ramifications.”  And figure out how to deal with them.
Richards looks to external factors as much as internal as a source of the problems. “Horses who run almost exclusively on turf don’t have half the problems as horses who run on sand,” he says. “They don’t have the shock factor.  It’s unfortunate, but if something doesn’t stimulate feet to get harder, they get softer.”

Another factor Richards feels may contribute to weaker hoof walls is moisture.  “Feet problems are something plaguing all horses evenly, from coast to coast,” he says.  “Very little else is constant.  Feed differs East to West, other things are different. One thing that’s constant, moisture.  And variables of moisture.” Richards laments the fact that little has been done to research the effect of moisture on feet, or whether different parts of the hoof, or different types of hooves, absorb water differently. He’s currently doing his own research on white hooves to see how they react to moisture and believes it may lead to some answers for common problems.
“The industry is very grand-fathered in mentality,” he says.  “It’s ‘my father did it that way, and his father did it that way.’  There’s a resistance to new products,” he continues. “The diagnostics now have surpassed the treatment. We’re always working with the result of the cause, rather than looking for the cause itself.  We’re looking through the answer, for the answer.” 
Looking down, rather than up, is another part of the problem according to Richards, “The goal is to balance the horse,” he offers.  “It doesn’t matter what the sport, you’re ultimately judged on symmetry.  There are times when I’m trying to figure out what’s wrong with a horse’s feet, instead of looking down at the foot, I look up to see which shoulder is higher. I’m one of a very few who are cognizant of the whole foot - not just the heel and the toe,” and just as important, how the whole foot fits with the rest of the horse.


Richards explains that the majority of the horses he looks at have one leg longer than the other, either from birth or wear and tear.  He goes on to explain that the average 1,000 lb horse exerts 54 lb’s per square inch on the hoof wall with every stride.  When that horse is shod, Richards says, the weight on the hoof wall is nearly doubled, to 95 lb per square inch. A typical racing plate exacerbates the problem even more.
“We need to transition out of the conventional shoe,” he says. “We are overloading the coronary band.”
“One of my criticisms of the industry,” he continues, “there is a total misunderstanding of what foot issues really are.  Feet are no man’s land.”
“Shoes haven’t changed much over the years,” he adds. “They’re prettier, but they’re going the wrong way.  They mask the problems rather than reverse them.  The horse may have a longer life on the track, but not a more productive or sounder one.”
“It’s a horrible misnomer to say shoes are corrective,” Richards continues. “They’re not corrective.  They are totally protective,” a line of thinking which supports the barefoot practitioners, who believe in eliminating shoes entirely at least part of the time.
“I’m a huge proponent of it,” he says.  “A horse should be totally comfortable doing his respective sport barefoot. The foot is much better at managing us than we are at managing the foot with conventional methods.”
And while at least a few trainers are known to place blame on farriers, Richards holds veterinarians just as accountable, as they are generally the ones who actually diagnose the problems.
“They know what’s wrong, but they often don’t know how to treat it,” he says.  But in defense of the vets, “there’s a lot of misinformation and a lack of communication.”   
Perhaps the biggest culprit, from Richards perspective, is a close-mindedness and lack of commitment to the finding the cause of the problem and fixing it.

“There are a lot of things we need to do as an industry,” he says.  “As an industry, we need to set a standard.  There should be an orthopedic certification program, for example, that’s taught to both vets and to farriers. The vets will have to dummy down a little and the farriers will have to bone up.” “But a lot of this is just common sense.  A horse with a foot bothering him is like having a tire with too little air in.  You wouldn’t drive a car with less air in one tire, you’d fix the tire.  You wouldn’t sit in a chair with one leg shorter than the others.”
Richards believes we ask our horses to perform that way all the time.  He believes at least some of the money for research should be re-allocated, or new money dedicated specifically to hoof issues.  “What we need is to fix a flat.”
“How much more does New Bolton really need?” he asks referring to the clinic that treated Barbaro through his final days and has since received hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations for research.  
“Problems evolve for a reason,” says Richards, who believes the reason almost always rests in the hoof wall.  “If we find an effective way to address the problem, it will make a difference that could be revolutionary.”
A difference hundreds of years in the making.

Who is Controlling Racing's TV Signals?

By Howard Wright

For all the differences between the horseracing and betting landscapes in Britain and North America - size, history, administration and race and bet types, - one similarity of principle has emerged over the last five years. The live televised racing scene has crystallised into two entities, and the impact on both the foundation and prosperity of the sport and the availability of its betting facilities has been thrown into the blender.

 In Britain, the 60 racecourses have lined up equally between the two cable and satellite broadcasters - Racing UK (RUK), with 30 tracks on board, and At The Races (ATR), with 29, but soon to become 30 when the new venue of Great Leighs attains its long-awaited completion.

In North America, the dominance and extensive exclusivity of TVG has been challenged by the major corporate racetrack owners Magna Entertainment Corp. (MEC) and Churchill Downs Inc., which have jointly formed the cable and satellite broadcaster Horseracing TV (HRTV), shutting out TVG from coverage of their many high-quality courses.

Into the mix have been catapulted bookmaking, advance deposit wagering and online betting facilities, the biggest attraction for the public and the most significant cash provider for racing outside the deep pockets of racehorse owners.

What will come out at the other end, and when, is impossible to say with any certainty. Interested parties have their own views, based on which side of the divide they sit, but it would take someone akin to a soothsayer, let alone an experienced industry observer, to imagine where the path will lead.

The road-makers are still at work, using different maps to plot their separate ways, and sometimes giving the impression they are making up the journey as they go along.

Two examples of intricacies that can only ripen confusion and spread uncertainty are worth recording, before attempting to untangle the web spun by rights-holders seeking to manage content to best advantage.

Ascot, Britain’s best-known international venue, lined up with At The Races when the second coming of that daily satellite broadcaster emerged from the ashes of a failed venture known as Attheraces in June 2004. At the time, as Ascot negotiated with its bankers over loans to service a £200 million redevelopment scheme, huge uncertainty surrounded previous rights, which may have meant Ascot having to repay a significant sum. Partly to allay the fears of financial institutions, Ascot fell in with ATR, and was given a five per cent stake in the company for its allegiance.

However, the contract, which runs until 2012, did not include pictures supplied to betting shops, and when these came up for renegotiation earlier this year, Ascot decided to jump on to the back of another media rights horse. It sided with Amalgamated Racing - Amrac for short - which had set up a joint venture with the stock market-quoted betting-shop services provider Alphameric to introduce a new channel, Turf TV, offering pictures from aligned courses to off-track bookmakers.

Until then, for 20 years the betting industry had had only one company to deal with, Satellite Information Services (SIS), which took pictures from Racing UK courses under contract, and by sub-contract from At The Races’ courses through an organisation called Bookmaker Afternoon Greyhound Service (Bags).

Bags has outgrown its title by owning horseracing rights and covering evening racing, while ATR controls no betting-shop picture rights in Britain, but it does use SIS to produce its programmes on a daily basis, and has a contract with it to distribute pictures into betting shops in overseas territories such as Sri Lanka.

Confused? You soon will be…

Explaining the decision to go with Amrac, Ascot’s finance director Janet Walker says: “We believe Amrac is the best vehicle for racing’s commercial relationship with the betting industry. And the decision has no impact on our separate satellite media rights arrangement with ATR, and should in no way be interpreted as a negative reflection on our relationship with that company.”
In North America, the picture began to get decidedly murkier in March this year, when Churchill Downs bought a 50 per cent stake in HorseRacing TV, which had previously been owned wholly by Magna.

It was the biggest in a series of deals that the two sides concluded at the time, and out of the arrangement came the formation of another joint venture called TrackNet Media Group, through which one partner’s horseracing content would become available to the other’s various distribution platforms - Magna’s advance deposit wagering (ADW) site XpressBet, Churchill’s similar newcomer TwinSpires.com.

TrackNet would also deal with providing content, from pictures to betting availability, for third parties, it emerged. These were to include racetracks, OTBs, casinos and other ADW operators - but not TVG, it seemed; well, not without a groundbreaking change of heart.

HRTV immediately took over coverage of Churchill Downs, and as contracts run their course, it picked up exclusive rights to Arlington Park on August 6, Fair Grounds in November and Calder on January 3, 2008.

It was not long before the consequences became clear. The 2007 Kentucky Derby was shown exclusively on HRTV and bet on through TwinSpires and winticket.com (whom Churchill Downs subsequently purchased). TVG and its wagering partner Youbet did not get a look-in. The same applied to the second races in the US Triple Crown, the Preakness, run at Magna-owned Pimlico, but come the last leg, the Belmont, exclusivity returned to TVG, under its contract with the New York courses.

Just before the Kentucky Derby, a contributor to the Turf’n’Sport website was moved to remark: “At the best possible time of the year for generating positive horseracing buzz, the industry has succeeded in turning on itself and creating negative headlines. At a time when online racebooks that offer betting on all major Thoroughbred tracks continue to make inroads, and at a time when the World Trade Organisation has ruled America must open up horse betting to offshore racebooks, the existing companies are bitching at each other.”

The punchline summed up: “How long will it take horseplayers to catch on and simply move their accounts offshore?”
He clearly is not the soothsayer identified earlier, who might supply the answer to what will come out of the mix. But he does have a point.

A similar observation holds good in Britain, though with a different emphasis. At times the two sets of particular circumstances in Britain and North America do run along parallel lines, but at others they are subtly interlinked and completely separate. The differences, and some of the connections, can be seen in the betting arena, where HRTV and TVG have their own direct outlets, but Racing UK has a joint venture and At The Races remains corporately aloof while relying on bookmaker partners to provide one of 30 income streams.

The key in Britain is Turf TV, the betting-shop channel set up in part by the Racing UK courses, which flickered into life with six exclusive members (including Ascot) and a small percentage of betting-shop supporters, mainly small independents until the Tote joined up, but none of the four majors, which account for 80 per cent of the UK estate.

On January 1, Turf TV will be bolstered by 25 other RUK courses. The split will be equal - just as it is in the choice facing satellite viewers, who need two TV accounts to cover the field - and the dominant bookmakers, who have lined up solidly behind SIS and the status quo, will have to decide whether they can survive on half rations for their horseracing coverage.

On that decision could depend a large slice of British racing’s future prosperity. The situation in North America depends on whether racecourse and betting operators choose TrackNet or TVG. It seems they cannot have both.

In each case, the participants have made their positions clear.

Robert Evans, president and CEO of Churchill Downs, told a shareholders’ meeting: “I understand our objectives on occasion may ruffle a few feathers. That is one of the things about competition. It is not really our intent just to go out and be disruptive. Our intent is to compete aggressively and to attract more customers to our business. There are always a few potential consequences when you challenge the status quo.”

In response to the Kentucky Derby impasse, TVG general manager David Nathanson said: “We attempted to negotiate with TrackNet Media and its owners in good faith, but thus far have not seen any terms from them indicating a strong desire to reach a mutually beneficial long-term agreement. We remain open to negotiating an agreement that is in the best interest of the racing industry, the respective parties and, ultimately, the racing fan.”

In Britain, Turf TV has become the dividing line between broadcasters and rights-holders Racing UK and At The Races.
RUK executive chairman Simon Bazalgette reflects: “Historically British racing has not been good at being commercial about negotiating its media rights, and has allowed third parties, such as BSkyB (the satellite provider) and the bookmakers, to get a lot of the economic benefit. Now racecourses can manage the business themselves, keeping more of the commercial benefit in racing and having greater control over the presentation of the sport. Turf TV is a great deal for the racecourses.”

ATR chief executive Matthew Imi takes a dispassionate view of Turf TV, since betting-shop rights do not figure in his company’s portfolio. “It will be interesting to see how it works out, but we’re not threatened by Turf TV,” he says. “The most fascinating aspect is not whether Turf TV gains any material traction among the big bookmakers, but what the net effect will be on British racing. For us, though, it’s a valuable opportunity to concentrate on our core business, which is to exploit our partners’ rights. Getting together in the UK with Racing UK is not on our radar.”

It might not be war, but for the moment, and maybe for the foreseeable future, it clearly is every man for himself.

HOW THE TELEVISION BROADCASTERS LINE UP

NORTH AMERICA
HORSERACING TV (HRTV) 
Owned by: Joint venture of Nasdaq-listed Magna Entertainment Corp. (MEC) and Churchill Downs Inc.
Operates: Subscription national cable and satellite TV horseracing network. Live racing content is acquired by sister company TrackNet Media Group. Estimated coverage 11 million homes.
Racetracks covered: 70-plus Thoroughbred, harness and Quarter Horse tracks, including Santa Anita Park (California); Churchill Downs (Kentucky); Gulfstream Park, *Calder (Florida); Lone Star Park (Texas); Arlington Park (Illinois); Pimlico (Maryland). International: UK tracks on Racing UK.
MEC operates off-track betting network, and national account wagering business XpressBet. Churchill Downs recently opened online national account wagering service, TwinSpires, and more recently acquired account wagering operator AmericaTAB and affiliates.
Overseas coverage: Racing World channel in Britain, joint venture with Racing UK.
*effective January 3, 2008

TVG
Owned by: Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc., global multi-media and technology company, including loss-making TV Guide magazine, in which Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation has 41 per cent stake.
Operates: Subscription national cable and satellite TV horseracing channel, and online betting network. Estimated coverage 50 million homes.
Racetracks covered: Turf Paradise (Arizona); Del Mar, Fairplex Park, Hollywood Park, Los Alamitos, Oak Tree (California); **Calder (Florida); Prairie Meadows (Iowa); Ellis Park, Keeneland, Kentucky Downs, Turfway Park (Kentucky); Meadowlands, Monmouth Park (New Jersey); Ruidoso Downs, Zia Park (New Mexico); Aqueduct, Belmont Park, Saratoga, Yonkers Raceway (New York); Emerald Downs (Washington). International: Japan, UK tracks on At The Races. Some contracts with tracks owned by HRTV partners due to expire over next year. Has arrangement with online account wagering operators Youbet and The Racing Channel.
Overseas coverage: At The Races in Britain, through arrangement with TRNi and the Dubai Sports Channel in the UAE.
**through January 2, 2008

BRITAIN
RACING UK (RUK)
Owned by: 30 British racecourses, split Jockey Club Racecourses (50%), Chester, Goodwood, Newbury, York (sharing 25%), 11 smaller courses (sharing 25%). Owns all rights, including terrestrial TV, except for licensed betting offices (belong to Amrac, see below and facing).
Operates: Subscription national cable and satellite (via BSkyB service, part of Setanta Sports package) TV horseracing channel, with links to small number of bookmaker partners; international channel, Racing World, in partnership with MEC and Churchill Downs; licensed betting-office channel, Turf TV, set up by Amalgamated Racing (Amrac), joint venture between Racecourse Media Services (separate company owned by RUK courses and Ascot) and betting-office provider Alphameric; overseas delivery of pictures and data from RUK courses in association with South Africa-based racetrack and betting operator Phumelela. About 200,000 subscribers (including Setanta, forecast to grow to 1 million when Premiership football comes on stream in Autumn 2007).
Racetracks covered: Aintree, Ayr, Bangor, Beverley, Carlisle, Cartmel, Catterick, Cheltenham, Chester, Epsom, Goodwood, Hamilton, Haydock, Huntingdon, Kempton, Ludlow, Market Rasen, Musselburgh, Newbury, Newmarket, Nottingham, Pontefract, Redcar, Salisbury, Sandown, Thirsk, Warwick, Wetherby, Wincanton, York. International: France, Dubai, occasional other major races;  HRTV (see above) coverage of North America on separate channel, Racing World.
Overseas coverage: North America, joint venture with HRTV; Australia, jointly with At The Races; other territories, partnership with Phumelela (South Africa).

AT THE RACES (ATR)
Owned by: broadcaster British Sky Broadcasting (46%), racetrack owners Arena Leisure (46%) and Northern Racing (2%), and racecourses Ascot (5%), Newton Abbot, Plumpton and Ripon. Owns all media rights of participating courses except licensed betting office and terrestrial TV rights.
Operates:  National cable and satellite (part of Sky Sports package) TV horseracing channel, with links to bookmaker partners. ATR courses shown in betting shops through agreement with Satellite Information Services (SIS), which sub-contracts rights from Bookmaker Afternoon Greyhound Service (Bags). BSkyB subscription platform covers 8.5 million homes in UK.
Racetracks covered: Ascot, Bath, Brighton, Chepstow, Doncaster, Exeter, Fakenham, Folkestone, Fontwell, Hereford, Hexham, Kelso, Leicester, Lingfield, Newcastle, Newton Abbot, Perth, Plumpton, Ripon, Sedgefield, Southwell, Stratford, Taunton, Towcester, Uttoxeter, Windsor, Wolverhampton, Worcester, Yarmouth. (Great Leighs will become 30th on opening). Plus all 27 Irish courses. International: France, Dubai, Germany, occasional other major races; TVG (see facing) coverage of North America.
Overseas coverage: North America, arrangement with TRNi, through to TVG; Australia, jointly with RUK; other territories, distribution by SIS.

Should sales catalogues include information on medication?

By Geir Stabell
​

Not too long ago, I saw a TV interview with Terje Haakonssen, three times World Champion snowboard rider. When talking about his lifestyle, and that of the general public, he made an interesting point; “Look carefully at what you eat, take it seriously”, he said, “People don’t. You know, a man is ever so careful about what quality of petrol and oil he gets for his new car. But when he has filled it up with the best he can find, the most expensive, he buys a full fat cheese burger and a large coke for himself.” Perhaps many of us value our cars more than we value our bodies. Look around you. It certainly appears to be the case, doesn’t it.

Haakonsen is a man obsessed with quality and image. In 1998, he boycotted the Nagano Games because he felt the Olympic image was not good enough for his sport. Can you imagine a leading owner boycotting a high profile race meeting, or a top thoroughbred breeder boycotting a leading sale, for similar reasons? Probably not. Haakonsen’s world is different to the horseracing world. He is a bit of a loner, but has many admirers way outside the circles of his minority sport, simply because he talks a lot of sense. The racing industry could do with someone like him.

Labelling of food products have become more of an issue lately, and when going to the supermarket I actually notice some reading these labels. On the other hand, I have also been stared at when taking a minute to compare the amounts of energy, fat, salt and sugar in, say, various breakfast cereals.
“Looks almost like he is studying a pedigree page”, I once heard a man say to the other as they passed behind me while I performed such a study. Living in Newmarket has its charms. I found the remark amusing too, until I began thinking about it on my way home. Actually, a pack of breakfast cereals costing less than three pounds is better labelled, by stricter regulations, than any million-dollar yearling passing through the ring at any public auction.

When studying sales catalogue pages, it strikes me more and more how much of the crucial information has been left out. It will never happen but I can assure you that if I did consider purchasing an expensive yearling, I would not base my decision on what has been printed in the catalogue. Of course, one has to do proper, independent research, but what exactly is the point of these sales catalogues, if they are not even able to give you half the story, half the truth, about this fragile four-legged product on offer? Using the sales catalogue as your source of information, you do not get the official ratings of horses that have run, nor of their relatives. You very seldom get any information about the races these horses have won or been placed in, such as distance, surface, were they handicaps or weight for age races, if in England were they ‘banded races’ and so on. There is no information on whether horses have raced with blinkers or cheek-pieces, or whether they have been bandaged when running. And, more importantly, there is absolutely no information on any use of any medication. Believe you me, that is the one piece of information that, according to common sense and law, absolutely should be included. Having run in blinkers has never made a horse less valuable to a future owner. A history of medication, and a pedigree elevated to black type status with the help of medication, certainly has. In particular in Europe, where one does not allow racing of horses on medication.

A friend of mine bought a horse at a public auction in Europe. The horse had performed well in Listed events, and he was going to Scandinavia, where his level of form would make him one of the top performers. Since the horse also had a nice pedigree, a good conformation and was consigned by one of the bigger operations in Europe, my friend was quite excited when getting the final bid. So was his trainer. Until he raced him. One run revealed why local bidders had not gone higher when he went through the ring; the horse was a bleeder. Could not win a race even in Norway, and how he had been able to perform so well for his previous owner on a few occasions remains a mystery. My friend wrote to the vendor, explaining the situation and suggesting that they should take him back. That never happened of course. So, my friend decided to send the horse to USA where, surprise, surprise, he won quite a few times, even in nice allowance races at principal tracks, when racing on Lasix.

At most major international sales, they have established a repository facility for x-rays, allowing vendors to lodge x-rays applicable to the sale of their horses. This is one step in the right direction.  When you buy an expensive horse, or any horse for that matter, is it so much to ask, if one also demands accurate information on its medical history? I don’t think so. Nor do I think it is too much to ask, if someone wants the simple information on the horse’s closest relatives; did any of them, at any point in their careers, run on medication? Let’s get briefly back to the man with the car and the hamburger. Would he buy this expensive car, if he was informed that “this is a real classic, a beautiful car, with elegant interior, sexy seats and a powerful engine, but, mind, you, the engine tends to switch itself off from time to time… it seems to be genetic and we can’t do much about it.” When you buy a horse at public auction, part of the “engine” may already be a bit dodgy. If you buy a young horse with an American pedigree, the chances are very high that you also buy a horse from a family that has, for generations, been racing on medication. If you plan to race the animal in a jurisdiction where such medication is allowed, that may be just fine. If you plan to stand the horse at stud, in a jurisdiction where medication is allowed, that is also fine. If not, you could soon be in trouble with this horse. Thus far only Germany has taken a strong stand on medication in their breeding stock. No stallion is approved if he has raced on medication. That is some difference, compared to the situation in North America. Change may be coming there also though.

There is a will in USA to do something about medication. As explained in Trainer, Spring Issue 2007, the Jackson’s Horse Owner’s Protective Association is lobbying hard for a marketplace which would allow buyers of horses to return the horse and demand a full refund, if veterinary records are falsified or information is omitted. Any administration of drugs would have to be disclosed. The association’s lawyer Kevin McGee says: ”The actual buyers and sellers of horses would like to see this in Kentucky because it would strengthen the integrity of the business. This would be an excellent way to encourage new owners to come into the business because it reduces the mystery of buying a horse.”
Exactly. Three key words; “reduces the mystery”. These words can hardly be used too often, in too many contexts, in this industry. Where better to start, than with the sales catalogues?
 
Achieving a better image, that of a clean, honest, open and transparent bloodstock market place, will not be quick process. There can be little doubt, however, that addressing the problem with medication in a serious way, and make some progress in this field, will help speeding up such a process. If you believe fallers and fatal injuries at Aintree and Cheltenham creates about the worst possible publicity horseracing can get, think again.  In the wake of any death on the track in North America, one often sees a flood of letters, articles and opinions posted and published on the internet, almost exclusively pointing the finger sharply at the use of medication.

Too many bad write ups will make it even harder to recruit new investors to the game, but bringing the issue of medication into the sales rings, might help a lot. What does a bloodstock agent reply, to the wealthy ‘newcomer’ at the sales, if he expresses a wish to bid as a yearling enters the ring and says, “I like this one, let’s go to 200,000 or so, but, by the way, does this family have a history of use of medication?”
Print it in the catalogue and, provided the man has a copy of it and that he can read, he will know the answer. Regardless of where the lot was bred or has been raced. This is not at all a problem exclusive to the US market. American bred horses, and horses with American pedigrees, fill many a page also in many a European sales catalogue. When I was asked to do this article, posing the question, “should information on medication be included in sales catalogues”, it is was so tempting to give a reply like; “Yes, do it” or perhaps one like; “Should health warnings remain on the tobacco packaging?”

Common sense does not always win through in this world, especially not when up against commercial interests. Horseracing and breeding is a global industry, and herein lies the problem. Not that it is global, but that it is an industry. More than it is a sport. It may have set out as a sport, but commercial factors are at the forefront and more and more dominant these days. Therefore, some breeders, consigners, sales companies, perhaps even bloodstock agents, may be opposed to the idea of publishing information on medication in catalogues.
In one corner of Europe, there is no need for any catalogue information on any use of medication for any of the country’s stallions. Germany is the nation where you cannot stand a stallion at stud if he has been raced on medication. That’s a good policy, and it should help improve the breed. Provided, of course, that none of these stallions have been trained on medication. And provided that all the mares bred to these stallions have also been trained and raced without the aid of medication. Not trying to complicate matters even further here, only trying to point out what a jungle this actually is.
Racehorses are bred from sires who raced almost exclusively with the aid of medication. Horses are being bred out of mares who also raced on medication, but a vast number of horses are out of mares that never raced. Disclosing the reason why these mares failed to make it to the racecourse, is probably quite impossible. One thing can be said for certain though, that any man or woman who spends a considerable amount of money on a yearling, is hoping that the animal will one day be physically capable of taking part in a race.
Everyone who buys a yearling should know that about one in five yearlings actually never become racehorses. Therefore, deciding how good the chances are for one particular individual is important. Disclosing all information about any use of raceday medication in the family, gives the purchaser a better chance of assessing a yearling’s chances of making it to the racecourse, than information on, for example, how many races a couple of grandsons of the third dam managed to win.

I would suggest that information about any use of medication, going back three generations, should be included in all sales catalogues, even if it means pushing some information low on the page off the page. With catalogues published online, even that should not be a problem – an extra few lines, or even an extra page, means nothing in this way of publishing. “Still not possible”, I hear some say.
I see. How about this line of thought then; that such steps would actually help the thoroughbred industry in its so-called strive at “enhancing the breed”.

The way things are going now, that is not exactly the case is it.

What does the future hold for Great Lakes Downs?

By Troy Ruel

Shane Spiess invested his future in the Michigan Thoroughbred industry nearly a decade ago when Great Lakes Downs opened in Western Michigan.

The veteran trainer bought an expansive ranch and moved his breeding and boarding operation across the state following the closure of Ladbroke DRC in Detroit.

“GLD has been good to us and I love this area,” said Spiess, who won the inaugural training championship at GLD in 1999. “I have put everything I have into this place. This is home now.”

For John Drumwright, his expense might be even more. Drumwright came to Michigan in 1940 — and has devoted the last 67 years to the state’s horse racing industry. It’s decades of time spent in a business he loves. “This is all I’ve ever done and all I know,” said Drumwright, 84. “You put a smile on your face and pray for the future, but I’m not sure what I’m going to do.”

As the midway point closes in on Great Lakes Down’s 100-date season, both trainers — along with the hundreds of other horsemen on the GLD grounds — face an uncertain future as the 74-year-old history of Michigan Thoroughbred racing could come to an end when the season concludes on Nov. 6.

Magna Entertainment Corp., which owns the meet license through MI Racing Inc., announced last January that this would be its final meet in Michigan unless there were “significant changes in the regulatory environment that restricts horse racing from competing at a level playing field with other forms of gaming and entertainment.”

The MEC release came early enough with a standing offer that lease agreements on the facility were possible, however, as self-imposed deadlines continue to pass, nothing has been done yet to save Michigan’s only Thoroughbred racing facility.

“It’s frustrating, and even depressing at times, but we’re doing everything we can for the future of Thoroughbred racing here in Michigan,” said Gary Tinkle, executive director of the Michigan Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association. “It’s a tough sell, but I believe it’s vital to maintain dates in 2008.”

A rich traditionThoroughbred racing kicked off in 1933 with a 31-date meet at the Michigan State Fairgrounds in Detroit and has since grown into a $1.2 billion industry statewide.

The industry was riding an emotional high in 1998 with a record-setting combined wagering handle of over $145 million at DRC, but track owners carried out a threat that they would shut its doors if casinos were allowed to be built in downtown Detroit.DRC did just that on Nov. 8, 1998, ending a run of 48 years in the state’s major metropolitan area and leaving the Thoroughbred horsemen in limbo.

The horsemen found some relief when a group of private investors re-opened Muskegon Race Course — a former Standardbred track near the shores of Lake Michigan — and eventually sold the facility to Canadian billionaire Frank Stronach, who was in the process of adding strategic venues across the country to his growing stable of MEC facilities.

The move to Muskegon was thought to be temporary as MEC won the licensing rights to build Michigan Downs, a proposed multi-million dollar entertainment complex in metro Detroit. However, the legislative climate cooled across the state and those plans since have been placed on hold.

The primary reason for the pessimism was the 2004 passage of Proposal 1 — an anti-gambling measure primarily funded by the state’s casino interests. The vote added a law to the Michigan constitution requiring statewide and local voter approval before additional gambling opportunities were added, eliminating the opportunity to add slot machine-like video lottery terminals at the state’s seven pari-mutuel facilities.

Since then, the figures have been staggering as the tracks struggle to keep pace with other states.

The combined wagering handle at GLD dipped to $14 million last year — 90 percent off the final figures from Detroit — and numbers statewide are down an additional 12.4 percent already this year. The purse pool continues to be affected as well, as last year’s total was $6.1 million, half of the 1998 numbers. The first casualty came with the closure of Saginaw Harness Raceway to begin the 2005 season, while GLD appears to be next.

Magna Entertainment Corp. estimates its annual losses to average $1.8 million and stated prior to the current season that it “can not continue to subsidize horse racing in Michigan with no prospect of future profitability.”

“We’re aware this could be the last year,” said GLD general manager Amy MacNeil. “It’s business as usual. We’re striving to make this the best year ever.”

“In a sense, we’re lucky to have Magna’s support even for this one last year,” said five-time GLD track training champion Gerald Bennett. “But, it’s tough not to think about the future. Everyone, so far, is doing their part to make the races go.”

What lies ahead?

The news was devastating — albeit not surprising — to the Thoroughbred horsemen at Great Lakes Downs.

However, the decision could create a crippling ripple effect through the state’s entire agricultural community. Horse owners and trainers are already looking to sell off a majority of their stock — creating voids in filling fields and putting a pinch on the local economy.
According to numbers supplied by the track, GLD generates $3.7 million into West Michigan through its vendors, while the horsemen generate millions more through temporary housing, feed and other job-related expenses.

As the season nears the halfway point, the effects have been noticeable. Trainers already are lightening work loads and jockeys are looking to ride elsewhere.
“You’re starting to see people cutting back or selling off, that’s what I intend to do,” said Spiess. “It’s too expensive to keep them. The drought this year isn’t helping and the cost for feed and fuel has increased. It’s a vicious circle.”

Gerald Bennett, who led the field with 430 starts and over $1 million in earnings last season, is nowhere near the leaders in starts for 2007, while former champion jockey Mary Doser chose to return to Kentucky to be closer to her family farm.

The future of the industry is in jeopardy as horse breeders also are getting out of the game. Rick McCune, who has been breeding horses since 1980 in Michigan, has witnessed the decline firsthand. “The uncertainty is killing the sales and hurting the farms,” said McCune, the acting president of the MHBPA. “When I got into the business, there were 26 farms that do what I do. Today, there are only five in Michigan. There is no market for our animals.”

McCune said he bred just 12 mares last year, down 75 percent from past years. The auction prices for the annual yearling sale saw a decrease of 66 percent from a year ago — averaging just $2,700 a head.

“No one knows what’s going to happen with the track, so a lot of people are cutting their losses and getting out of the business,” added McCune. “They’re cutting back because they just can’t afford to keep the babies.”

If Great Lakes Downs does close its doors, many of the state’s horsemen will leave in search of greener pastures. However, their options remain limited. It’s tough to break into new racing circles, while getting granted stall applications late in the game will be difficult as well.

Many may not have the stock to compete against horses from Kentucky and the East coast. Some trainers and owners are expected to ship horses to established tracks in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, Louisiana and the fall meet at Fort Erie. Once they leave, it will be hard to draw them back. Meanwhile, others will choose to get out of the business altogether.

“It’s tough to say how many would get out of horse racing here in Michigan,” said Dr. Robert Gorham, the leading trainer at this year’s meet at the midway point. “The smart ones got out of it a long time ago.”

“When you get the horse racing business in your blood, it’s hard to get out,” added McCune, 60. “That being said, there’s absolutely no way I would start all over again. I am 60 years old now and it’s just too much work and a lot of time.”

Guarded optimism

Many of the trainers at Great Lakes Downs continue to go about their daily business and try not to think about the future. Whether it’s a 
case of denial or unbridled optimism is a reason for debate.

“It’s like we have our heads stuck in the sand,” said one horse owner. “We don’t want to believe this is happening to us.”
Unfortunately, deadlines are coming quickly on the status of the track. Race date applications must be on file with the Michigan Office of Racing Commissioner imminently.

“We’re all beginning to realize we have to do something soon,” added Gorham. “It’s beginning to get more and more pressing for the horsemen. At some point, we need to all stick together and come up with a solution for the future.”

There are ideas that could impact the track’s status. There’s controversial talk about the possibility of adding instant racing — video game-like machines that offer betting on taped races — while many believe a ballot proposal to add slot machines may not be too far out in the future — even as early as 2008. There’s a growing belief that Magna Entertainment Corp. wants to be around when that happens as they still hold the license for Michigan Downs.

Other possible proposals on running a shortened season or even move to a different Michigan racing facility don’t seem realistic to many horsemen. Purse revenue this year is already down nearly 10 percent, so the track would need to run a minimal amount of dates to make it cost-worthy for Michigan horsemen to remain. And the cost of transforming an existing Standardbred facility into a Thoroughbred track would be too much.

“There’s just too many loose ends out there,” said Tinkle. “We’re trying to do something, but we’re limited in what we can do. We’re willing to work with anyone willing to put a meet on, unfortunately, there’s not a lot of people able to do that.”

Many people believe that if Thoroughbred racing went on hiatus — even for a year — that it would be a crushing blow to the industry.
“Absolutely devastating,” added Tinkle. “We lost a lot of people when we went from Detroit to Muskegon and it would be magnified if we took a year off.”

In addition, the Michigan breeders fund — which helps supply nearly $2 million to the purse pool for state-bred stakes races — is in jeopardy if the track comes to a close. Horsemen groups have petitioned ORC Commissioner Christine White to place that money in escrow, but with the financial troubles within the state, all bets are off.

The Michigan Harness Horsemen’s Association, a group that has been at odds with the Thoroughbred track in the past, has also vocally supported the efforts to keep GLD open. Many people feel that without Thoroughbred racing within Michigan, simulcast signal opportunities, as well as wagering, will fall dramatically.

The key ultimately could fall at the hands of the state legislature.“We’re still wagering the way we did in 1933 — basically it’s win, place and show and that’s it,” said Tinkle. “It’s sad to say, but horse racing has a deep tradition in Michigan and it’s in serious, serious trouble.

“And, so far, nothing’s been done in Lansing to allow us to compete fairly for the gaming dollar.” Jim Griffin, a prominent state owner and breeder, said, “In order to salvage the industry, we’re going to need a minor miracle here. “We need some cooperation from the state to give us something to survive.”

''Jarred Up'' horses - observations by a racecourse farrier

At the height of the flat racing season how many different terms are used to describe horses that lose their action? The description depends very much upon those that are explaining the condition and what is perceived to be the cause and the effect; the animal simply becomes scratchy and non free flowing in its movements. The exciting cause reveals itself as being “JARRED UP.”

At this early stage no observable foot specific secondary condition is presented. The physical condition I have become aware of horizontal striation of the dorsal wall which is rarely present in two year olds, but as a condition is fairly common in the older three year old plus groups, specifically when the animals have raced the previous season on firm ground. I feel there are several diagnostic constants which mix the primary causes of being “jarred up” with the secondary effects to form the description and source of the discomfort, these can be incorrectly described.

I feel the primary cause of the loss of action often relates to horses’ feet and acute inflammatory changes. The conclusions are drawn from physiological changes noted and only recently considered as being relevant to a loss of action some six to ten months earlier. The early foot changes are demonstrated by irregular growth patterns in the development of the dorsal surface of the hoof wall and related voids within the actual structure of the hoof. The above features progress downward locked in the structure of the hoof wall during normal growth from their area of formation, which was initially located within the tissues of the coronary crown down towards the hoof’s bearing surface. Voids are only revealed physically and visually when the attendant ridging and grooving reach ground level.

Without doubt the observations, when applied to flat racehorses, relate to an incident or repeated incidents of athletic output during the previous racing season on ground conditions unsuitable for the specific animal or its specific physiology. The animal often simply presents as not being free moving without any observable unilateral lameness. Often a few days on “The Walker” at rest and an analgesic course of medication will enable the animal to keep racing throughout the season and without any apparent loss of form, yet the animal’s action is changed and varies from slightly off to quite uncomfortable. To continue to race demonstrates just how adaptable a racehorse is.

I will attempt to describe the primary action modification most commonly noticed. My peers have long since suggested horses prepare their feet to land by lateral and medial adduction and abduction prior to their foot planting, a flaccid lower limb state, probably seeking out the nature of the ground surface and what adjustment the horse has to make to avoid injury. I have noted that the landing preparation aspect of the stride of sore / jarred up horses is dramatically visually bi-laterally exaggerated and the animal instead of abducting/adducting its feet actually assumes a base wide flight and its feet immediately prior to landing describe circular movements away from its axis, the left foot anti clockwise, the right foot clockwise. The movement described is bi-laterally matched, symmetric, which is felt is abnormal and forwards progress for the animal is somewhat mechanical [not free flowing], yet the animal is not exhibiting any unilateral [single leg] lameness. The above is felt is an outline of the noted condition, but what is actually happening? I feel there is strong evidence of coronary shunting, effected by the concussive forces transmitted through the dorsal wall of the hoof into the sensitive tissues of the coronary cushion due to a firm racing surface. It is these concussive forces that cause the coronary corium to lay down a protective fluid barrier, a “CORONARY SEROMA” [blister] or even in the most severe insults “HAEMATOMA” [blood blister], the fluids protect and buffer the vital horn growth area. It follows that this fluid area effectively becomes locked within the growing structures of the dorsal wall. The lymphatic system fairly rapidly mops up the fluid, a cellular, sometimes bloodstained and often linier void remains [non cellular] within the structure of the wall. The severity of the initial physiological insult determines the extent of the fluid, seroma/haematoma and the resultant defective area/void. The weakened hollow area now below the coronary ring is, I feel another of nature’s ways to effect an additional buffering/flexibility to dissipate any future or ongoing shunting trauma, firstly protected by a hydraulic action then an air buffered flexible space which remains within the horn tissue, a perfect and natural response for concussive protection.

The problems of shoe attachment to defective horn are at this stage are effectively still latent. How it affects the tradesman “Abraded feet” is a fairly loose term to describe the ultimate nightmare for the racetrack farrier. The distal edge of the hoof capsule has become flaky, cracked, underrun with cavities, to a greater degree loose from its underlying and adjacent supporting structures. The sole is consistently doubled, one of nature’s processes to protect the solar surface of the distal phalanx [P3] and its related soft tissues. This thickened sole is often not sufficiently matured to be mechanically exfoliated, yet it hangs below the level of the wall.

Nature takes no account within its physiological blueprint for the need of the farrier to attach a metal shoe as a base plate. The increased thickness of the double sole creates stressing forces of its own, demonstrated by the perfectly natural sideways loading on the weakened wall and to complete natural the separation of the already partly separated base structures prior to rebuilding them, which often is further demonstrated by the presence of a dorsal depression in the wall.

This is saying nothing of the now inflexible nature of the doubled sole constricting the natural processes of the sole connective tissues. It must be remembered in the wild state this horse would be somewhat in a recovery state and acutely in danger of predation. The problem is these feet seldom support a shoe in a satisfactory way. Racing plates tend to become easily detached especially during transit to the racecourse. This is a headache for the racetrack farrier, as in order to reattach a shoe, which he is employed to do, the loose unviable horn and great deal of the remaining poorly integrated glue has to be removed, just as is outlined as one of nature’s processes in the above paragraph in order to get a satisfactory layer to load a shoe onto and re-attach, nail the plate into. The problem here is that often after the defective horn is removed there is left insufficient wall horn, both in quantity and quality, into which a nail can be driven, certainly other than in the most forwards toe area and maybe one nail in each heel area. Otherwise, no viable nail supporting wall horn remains.

The thickened solar plate can in the very short term be used by a farrier to assist with a semi-secure nail attachment, as is demonstrated by the system of very low nailing and close shoe fitting sometimes seen in US stock. With ingenuity, stealth a great deal of luck and some skill a failure to reattach a shoe for the purpose of a single race is extremely rare, in my case twice in twenty six years, once due to the extreme stroppy nature of the patient not permitting re-attachment without displacing the re-attached shoe by immediately kicking it off again. The other occasion the animal was still as lame after re-attachment as it had been with the shoe absent when it arrived at the track!

Just out of interest, occasions have arisen when horses have gone to post with the nailing supported with electrical insulating tape, a very useful tool to have in the van and at other times the shoe and nailing supported in place with multiple layers of vet wrap. What happens after the animal returns to the care of its yard is fortunately another’s worry. I have these problems at home in my own daily practice when time is not of an essence. This is why it has been necessary to attempt to understand the specified racetrack scenario.

I will attempt to suggest how the condition of voids within the horn structure described in part one lead to abraded feet. It is actually a simple matter where the voids represent a wall detachment/lock up cavitation, which when the affected wall area reaches the level of bearing is imperfectly attached so as to have a loss of integrity with the underlying and surrounding horny tissue. The remaining wall structure gradually and simply fractures away from a defective basal connection and then further disintegrates under the loading associated with the stresses of athletic performance and when any attempt is made to nail into it.

There is a complicating factor in feet containing dry seroma cavities which I will attempt to explain. The integrity of feet which are affected in this way remain fine, and SEEM to remain thus until the separated area grows down to a level of the white zone junction, when the farrier’s nails penetrate into the cavity in order to attach a racing plate. The action of nail penetration seems to trigger a secondary effect, an influx of bacteria and yeast infection, associated with loose wall, seedy toe and/or white line disease kick-off, all of which assist the weakening conditions related to shoe loss and separation of the hoof wall from its junction with the solar plate. The author feels infection in itself is an induced condition and secondary to the original insult. The breakdown of the wall sole junction is without doubt related to environment and compaction by the racing/training surfaces.

To identify the onset of the syndrome takes very close observation as the initial indication is masked by the covering racing shoe and is not unusually seen as an extremely thin linier fissure, on many occasions detected by little more that a gut feeling. Having said this, if the fissure is missed at a very early stage, during the course of a full shoeing cycle great horn destruction in the area of the white zone will take place. A seedy toe, yeast-induced wall separation will happen and will unless effectively dealt with, migrate up the bi-sulphide junction more quickly than the wall can grow downwards, creating a chronic and accelerating condition. This horn decay is fortunately something that can be today easily controlled and/or reversed with recently and specifically developed products which condition hoof horn and destroy hoof related infection. I have trialled a conditioning gel product over the past two years with fantastic results.

There is when addressing problem feet today a distinct move towards the early use of hoof rebuilding materials and the attachment of alloy plates with glue products, from my viewpoint somewhat of a cop out and the equivalent of a band-aid exercise, undoubtedly. “Glue destroys the integrity of viable and healthy hoof horn.” This rebuild/attachment method is a nightmare to the racecourse farrier as these rebuilt feet and shoes attached with glue seem to be easily rejected. During the course of a year several reinforced feet / glue-on shoes are lost at the racecourse prior to racing; in fact it is fair to say the majority of front feet presented have evidence of glue/rebuild materials present. The shoes seem predisposed to falling off for many reasons. When this happens most of the lower hoof wall falls away with the polymer and /or acrylic. There is never sufficient time for the racecourse farrier to re-glue or rebuild a foot so the retained farrier has to find a way to replace the glue-reinforced/attached shoe using the traditional nailing method. There is no crisis more critical than getting a horse to the starting gate sound once it is at the racecourse premises. It is a very stressful time for everybody involved, and damaged feet are conditions best avoided wherever it is preventable.

So how can feet be made to regenerate sufficiently after having been subjected to treatment with re-enforcing material? The basic conclusion seems to be getting back to common sense methods, good diet, working on suitable surfaces (sea sand is not one of these), good husbandry, a regular shoeing cycle, sufficient hygiene, suitable bedding, pre-racing foot conditioning and the essential observant farrier. I feel a most important aspect is conditioning of the animal and its limbs in a way to assist sufficient horn keratinisation, which possibly is effected by training on suitable surfaces.

Steeplechase horses subjected to an element of road work in their preparation seem to have less hoof problems, yet this may simply be that they do not race on very firm ground, a seasonal influence. For the future, should we consider fitting a rolled toe shoe when animals are going to be asked the perform on really hard ground? There seems to be no place for the square toe being used on racehorse due to a lack of traction during the acceleration phases, but a very light roll, who knows? We will, in the next couple years no doubt! I feel there will be a niche for the rolled toe during the recovery stage from this condition but as a preventative measure? As a training aid? I will undertake such a study now that it has been suggested.

Current research on Pelvic Asymmetry in Racehorses

Steeplechase racing in particular is a high risk sport for the horse. There is currently some fairly extensive research into racehorse injuries and fatalities on the racecourse, with previously published scientific reports on the subject being widely available. The racing industry is aware of the need for such reports, as the industry itself is very much in the public eye with regard to injury rates on the racecourse. Lameness is one of the main reasons for wastage in the racehorse industry, and was the reported cause of 68% of total horse days lost to training in a study of racehorses in England (Rossdale et al. 1985).

This study also suggested that 10% of all diagnosed lameness cases were caused by tendon injury. Overstrain injuries to the superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) are amongst the most common injuries observed in the athletic horse (Goodship, 1993). It is therefore important to determine all possible causative factors of SDFT injury so that methods for preventing injury can be implemented as part of a training programme.

HINDQUARTER ASYMMETRY

The hindquarters of the horse provide the propulsion, and the forelimbs support 60% of the horse’s weight. Problems affecting the pelvic structure in the horse can lead not only to poor performance, but also to an unlevel gait and to lameness of the hindlimb. There are to date very few scientific reports on the frequency of hindquarter asymmetries in the horse, although Bathe (2002) found that most hard working horses were likely to have some degree of pelvic asymmetry.

This factor may not always affect performance, as many successful horses have been found to have asymmetry of the pelvis. Dalin et al. (1985) investigated the hindquarter asymmetry in Standardbred Trotters for any correlation with poor performance. He measured differences in height between the left and right tuber sacrale when the horse was standing square. Of the 500 horses measured 39 of them showed marked hindquarter asymmetry. In 30 horses the tuber sacrale was lower on the left, and in 9 horses it was lower on the right. The asymmetric horses had significantly inferior performance (measured by total earnings) compared to the symmetrical horses.

All the horses were trained and raced in Sweden on a left handed track. The asymmetrical horses were also of significantly larger body size than the symmetrical horses. In a recent study undertaken by Stubbs et al. (2006) in conjunction with the Hong Kong Jockey Club, a number of racehorses were presented for euthanasia (for injury and/or lameness). Racing and training details were examined in detail, and a clinical examination was carried out before the horses were euthanased. Following post mortem the thoracolumbar spine and pelvis were dissected out and examined. Although not part of the study it was noted that asymmetry of the pelvis was prevalent in many of the horses that had been dissected, the reason probably being due to a natural torsion of the pelvis as a result of training and racing on right handed tracks only.

It is suggested that asymmetrical loads on the pelvic structure caused by external factors (such as racetrack), and by internal factors (such as locomotor apparatus pain) may lead to a higher stress being placed on one hindlimb, and as a result lead to the development of pelvic asymmetry which may be apparent as pelvic rotation. Improper movement patterns of the hindquarters, due to pain caused by overuse or from fatigue, may also result in abnormal alignment of the pelvic structure.

This in turn may then cause overloading on the forelimbs (by off loading the hindquarters) and therefore predisposing the forelimbs to injury. If this can be proved then surely this would emphasise the importance of correcting pelvic misalignments using manipulation techniques such as chiropractic, osteopathic and myofascial release approaches. There is some unpublished material available to support the use of McTimoney manipulation methods and other soft tissue manipulation in the correction of pelvic rotation. Hindquarter asymmetry is often associated with sacroiliac joint lesions or with chronic hindlimb lameness.

The tuber sacrale can appear asymmetrical in clinically normal horses as well as in horses with misalignment of the sacroiliac joint (Dyson, 2004). Horses with longstanding poor performance attributed to chronic sacroiliac damage were investigated by Jeffcott et al. (1985). The majority of these horses showed some asymmetry of the hindquarters with the tuber coxae and tuber sacrale lower on the same side that the animal was lame on. Hindquarter asymmetry may be due to some tilting or rotation of the pelvis in addition to muscle wastage of one quarter, usually the side the horse is lame on.

ABNORMAL ALIGNMENT OF THE PELVIS

Pelvic rotation or abnormal alignment of the pelvis to the thoracolumbar spine can be measured by the level of the tuber coxae to the ground. If the horse is unable to produce the propulsion from its hindquarters due to discomfort in the pelvic region, then the forelimbs may be required to provide more horizontal propulsion. The horse will in effect be pulling himself forward with his forelimbs, rather than pushing from his hindquarters. This may result in over development of the shoulder muscles, thereby reducing the efficiency of the forelimb movement by adding unnecessary weight. Unpublished data has suggested a positive relationship between injury to the forelimb stay apparatus and pelvic asymmetry, particularly where the presence of functional asymmetry in the hindquarters was found to be due to pelvic rotation, and not as a result of differences in individual bone lengths of the hindlimb.

LAMENESS AND COMPENSATORY MOVEMENT PATTERNS

The compensatory mechanisms of horses with lameness have been extensively researched and reported. The potential for secondary injuries resulting from a horse’s attempt to compensate for lameness by altering its gait pattern are still unclear. Clayton (2001) found that when a lame limb is supporting body weight, the horse minimises pain by decreasing the load on that limb, resulting in a compensatory increase in the vertical forces in other limbs. The compensating limbs are therefore subjected to abnormally high forces, and these may lead to lameness in the compensating limbs. Uhlir et al. (1997) found that in all cases of diagnosed hindlimb lameness that true lameness of the left hind caused a compensatory lameness of the left fore, and that true stance phase lameness of the left fore caused a compensatory lameness in the right hind. TENDON INJURY The SDFT is the most frequently injured tendon in horses. In a recent study of steeplechase horses diagnosed with tendon and ligament injuries sustained during training, 89% occurred in the SDFT (Ely et al. 2005). It has been suggested that an optimum level of exercise is required at an early age for tendon adaptation to training, but with increasing age accumulation of microdamage and localised fatigue, failure to the tendon will occur with increasing exercise (Smith et al. 1999). The induction of injury to the SDFT occurs when loading overcomes the resistive strength of the tendon. Factors which increase the peak loading of the SDFT, such as weight of rider, ground surface, shoeing, conformation, incoordination, jumping, and speed will act not only to increase the rate of degeneration, but will also increase the risk of the onset of SDFT strain (Smith, 2006). Therefore the prevention of tendon strain-induced injuries by reducing some of the risk factors that increase loading on the tendon may provide the most satisfactory answer.

ANIMAL MANIPULATION TECHNIQUES

McTimoney Animal Manipulation aims to improve asymmetries through manipulation. There has been much anecdotal evidence for the benefits of McTimoney Manipulation Techniques on animals (Andrews and Courtney, 1999). There is anecdotal evidence to suggest that McTimoney and other manipulative therapies can make a difference where veterinary medication has failed (Green, 2006), although the application of manipulation techniques in veterinary medicine may be dependent of further research into the clinical effects of manipulation. Manipulation techniques are thought to cause muscle relaxation and to correct abnormal motor patterns which may be the result of muscular imbalances and restricted joint motion or altered joint mobility (Haussler, 1999). There is some unpublished material to support that there are significant changes in the symmetry of the pelvis after the application of McTimoney manipulation techniques, and that there is continued improvement one month after initial treatment.

CURRENT RESEARCH INTO PELVIC ALIGNMENT

In a recent unpublished study a group of 40 steeplechase horses in training, all using the same gallop, were measured for pelvic asymmetry. The measurement technique used was a somewhat simple (but reliable) method. Each horse was measured on flat, level concrete while standing completely square and weight bearing on all four limbs. Measurements were taken vertically using a horse measuring stick with a spirit level, from the most dorsal aspect of the lateral wing on the ilium (the tuber coxae) to the ground, on the left and right sides. Various data was collected on each horse, regarding race history, how many races run, whether “bumper” (flat races for steeplechase bred horses), hurdle or steeplechase, prize money earnings, handicap rating, and also brief veterinary history. The aim of the study was to compare pelvic rotation in 20 sound horses to the incidence and degree of pelvic rotation in a group of 20 horses with SDFT strain in either one or both forelimbs. Both the sound horses and the injured horses were in training with the same trainer, and therefore had used the same gallops, and underwent the same training regime. Although no significant difference was found in the number of horses with pelvic rotation in sound horses compared with the number of horses with tendon strain, there was a high incidence of pelvic rotation in the group as a whole, with a predominance towards pelvic rotation on the right.

This could have been due to training methods or gallops used, and certainly warrants further research. There was no significant association between side of pelvic rotation and side of forelimb tendon strain, but again warrants further investigation using a larger number of horses. Due to the prevalence of right side pelvic rotation it would not have been possible to show any significant associations anyway between left and right forelimb injury. The study did present some trends for age of horse, sex, and race history; showing that the number of horses with pelvic rotation and tendon injury increased with age. Geldings tended towards a higher incidence of tendon injury, and mares tended towards a higher incidence of pelvic rotation. There were equal numbers of sound and injured horses for each race type, but the degree of pelvic rotation in horses that had fallen was notably larger than in the horses that had not fallen.

FUTURE STUDIES INTO PELVIC ASYMMETRY

The preliminary investigation as described above has formed the basis for further research into abnormal pelvic alignment in racehorses, and whether or not there is any association between side of misalignment and side of forelimb injury. Further research is due to be carried out with a larger sample of horses, and from different yards, to investigate whether there is any prevalence as to the side of misalignment, or if pelvic alignment is affected by training methods and the use of different gallops.

Max Hennau on life as a trainer in Belgium

Max Hennau, a founding member and current chairman of the European Trainers Federation (ETF), used to train between 50 and 60 horses in Belgium. In 1973, he campaigned the colt Commodore to a domestic Triple Crown.

Ten years later he handled the Belgium champion Little Vagabond. Bought for 1,000 guineas at Tattersalls in Newmarket, the small horse with a big engine won six races on the bounce at home and ran third in the Prix du Petit Couvert (Gp3) before being sold on to France. 
“Those were the days…,” he says. Things have changed for Belgian racing. Things have changed for Hennau. Today, he has more committee seats than he has racehorses. What exactly has happened here?

“This will be my last season as a public trainer as I’m going to concentrate on the horses we breed to race,” Max Hennau states as we meet on a rainy day. The weather is quite similar to the atmosphere in this country’s horseracing circles. Sunny days have been hard to come by also in Belgium this summer, and sunny days for racing seem to be a thing of the past. “I will continue working for racing, and hope the sport has a future,” Hennau explains. “For myself, I want to focus on my business. Yes, I regret that I did not make a move abroad 20 years ago though, you see, things were going well for racing here then. One saw little point in moving.”

Little point indeed. Hennau was a top trainer winning most of the big races on a regular basis. During 36 years in the profession, he was never champion trainer, but that was mainly due to numbers, as his arch-rival, Jerome Martens, trained twice as many horses. When discussing the current state of affairs, Hennau backs his views with key figures, and they really do look bleak. From having nearly 60 horses in his care, Hennau is now training just six. Still, his training establishment in Les Isnes and his stud in Temploux, some 5 km away, do not have any empty boxes. One even holds two animals, but since they are sheep it is a social arrangement.

Hennau and his wife Greta have a full day working with horses, so that side of the business not a problem. At their stud, the Haras de l’Escaille, they have 40 horses, including 20 for the famous showjumping breeder Nelson Pessoa, father of the Olympic and World Champion Rodrigo. Pessoa lives nearby, “but I only see him a few times a year and he is not involved in racing,” Hennau explains before he presents a few more of the key figures, figures that quickly tell the story. 
“Twenty years ago, Belgian racing employed around 10,000 people. All told, today the sport employs around 500. Fifteen to twenty years ago, we had five racedays a week,” he adds, “and each day with Thoroughbred racing only. Today, we have one raceday per week, and these days are mixed, with four Thoroughbred races and four trotting races.” 

If some readers are not too familiar with the English phrase “next to nothing,” they should be by now, as that is the best way to give a brief description of Belgian racing. Hennau is not depressed about this decline, he says, but calls it tiring. How could it not be, to someone who has no plans for giving up? “We still have hopes for the future,” he says and it shows that he means what he says, “but changes must come, if not Thoroughbred racing will be history in my country.”  Moving on to what ought to be funding racing - the turnover on the PMU - we are presented with more figures, telling exactly the same tale.

“Twenty years ago, the turnover on a daily Tierce race was equal to 2.5 million euros,” he continues. “Today it is only 25.000 euros. While the bookmakers can afford to give 90% back to the punters, the PMU gives back just 80% and that is not good enough. The solution should be very, very simple; give a better return on the PMU and a bigger slice back to racing. Also, we have a situation where bookmakers can take bets on races abroad, while the PMU cannot. It is an impossible situation. Remember also that bookmakers take bets on racing in France and England, without paying those jurisdictions any money. They pay for live pictures, that’s all. And Belgian racing is losing out.”

So, the bookmakers have seem to have a lot to answer for, in this country where horseracing appears to be on the verge of being wiped out. “I think so,” Hennau says firmly. “Bookmakers have not contributed enough to the sport, and while it may seem that they give punters a good deal, very often they don’t. For example, when they take bets on a race in France, something they do every day, a big outsider may win. We often know that there were only ten winning tickets in France, and for a bookmaker in Belgium the situation can then be that nobody had a winning ticket. Where does the money go? Into the bookmakers’ pockets, of course. If we have a race with no winning tickets on the PMU, punters are not victims of ‘daylight robbery’. There will be a carryover, a jackpot pool the next day, so eventually the money does go back to the punters. Though that slice is way too small,” Hennau concludes, “something that, combined with the bookmakers’ stronghold on the betting market, is creating a double negative effect for the sport.”

Racing jurisdictions lucky enough to still have escaped the jaws of the bookmaking industry should take note. “Oh they are,” Hennau’s wife Greta says quickly, “In France, they are scared, very scared.”

It is a well-known fact that horseracing has been going steeply downhill since Ladbrokes moved in. There may be other factors, and this is a little bit more complicated than just pointing the finger at one big, international company taking a lion’s share of the annual betting turnover in the land. Then again, and quite interestingly, horseracing is doing a lot better in small racing nations like Sweden and Norway, where the climate is not exactly as kind to equestrian sports as it is in Belgium. Surviving despite long spells of ice and snow can only be done with one assurance: a Tote monopoly. While the Swedish Derby was this year worth 53,000 euros to the winner, the Belgian Derby winner earned just 5,000 euros for his classic success!

Hennau touched on the return to punters from PMU betting in Belgium, which is 80%, and ten per cent lower than what bookmakers can afford to offer. Does this really affect the turnover? Yes it does. Look to North America and you will find the answers. At a track like Churchill Downs in Kentucky, the “takeout” on the trifecta is 25%. This has always been considered a bad deal among punters in USA, and it rivals the worst odds of any casino game. Still, when the new ‘Global Trifecta’ was introduced in Europe this year, it was done with a lousy takeout of 29%. Racing authorities are hoping this new international bet will be a success. One can be excused for having doubts about that. Hennau agrees, as he says again and again; “the betting products must be attractive, and give a fair return.”
“Racing in Belgium is also losing its battle with other forms of gambling,” Hennau explains, “mainly the lottery, but also casino betting - though that seems to be a different market, going into a casino is more for the snobs.”  

Racecourses are wonderful melting pots. Snobs enjoy it, so called ordinary men and women enjoy it, unemployed enjoy it, girls and boys enjoy it, retired people enjoy it. Some make a living from the sport. Trainers must make a living from it.

“This is why I feel that the ‘ladder’ is totally upside down in our sport,” Hennau says, “the trainers are near the bottom, and very seldom heard, while owners, breeders and members of the Jockey Clubs are high on the ladder. This despite the fact that while trainers have this as a living, owners, Jockey Club members and breeders often have it as a hobby. Even some of the biggest breeders treat racing as a hobby. “

Ten years ago, Hennau decided to try and do something about this, and help trainers across Europe. “We got the idea of a trainers’ federation,” he says, looking at his wife, secretary and translator, Greta. “So, we wrote off to the Jockey Clubs in France, Ireland, England, Sweden, Germany, and Belgium of course, inviting delegates from each country to a meeting in Brussels.” The response was positive from all six countries, but this would cost money. “I managed to get sponsorships,” Hennau tells us. “Some owners helped us financially, in particular Monsieur Bervoets, who owns the excellent Hotel Metropole. He gave us a very good price, so we could arrange the meeting there. We also received some money from the PMU.”

The meeting in Brussels in 1996 went well, and a few months later all nations confirmed their commitments to form the European Trainers’ Federation. This happened in 1997, and the ETF will thus be celebrating ten years in existence when they have their annual meeting in Italy in December. Appropriately, the federation now has ten membership countries, with Spain joining this year.   
“You have to bear in mind that everyone involved is doing this as voluntary work,” the chairman points out, “and we are now at a phase where it is important to keep the ETF going, and make it more recognised, better known. We have achieved many things already, as for example the change that a trainer who has held a license in one country for five years can get a license to train in another country. We have a very good relationship with trainers in all countries, and it is in everyone’s interest that we work for Europe offering a level playing field. It is not good that every country has its own set of rules and regulations. There has been some harmonisation but there is some way to go yet and it is my hope, and this is my biggest hope, that all countries in Europe will one day operate under the same set of rules. I think this is the most important, immediate, task for the ETF.”

Hennau steps down as chairman this year, and a new leader will be elected when representatives meet in Italy. “Most countries have had new representatives over the years,” he tells us, “which is probably normal. It is just me and Valfredo Valiani who have been part of the ETF from day one. Maybe we need more stability, and it would be a dream if we could establish an office and afford a full time position for a manager or secretary. Today, that is not financially possible, but the ETF would become so much better known, and so much stronger, if we did have a person who could work for us, travel around and meet people, and so on. Trainers have little time, we are all trying to survive.”

Max Hennau may be about to close the final chapter of his training career, “though,” as he says with a smile, “if I get a phone call from a wealthy owner who wants me, I may reconsider” - but he is not turning his back on horseracing. “I will still be representing the trainers on the Jockey Club board,” he assures us.  He has trained somewhere over 500 winners. “Not sure,” he tells us, “but it is minimum of 500.”  A considerable number in a land like Belgium, and he has also saddled winners in France.
His son, Elie, is also now a Jockey Club board member, having been a very successful amateur rider with over 100 winners. “He is a good pilot,” his father says, “after all, he rode winners just about everywhere he went, from Epsom Downs to Dubai, St Moritz, USA and Scandinavia…”

His son is no longer riding races but still heavily involved in horseracing. The situation for amateur riders is, of course, closest to his heart.

“Did you know,” Elie asks, “that in England most amateur riders are in fact assistant trainers working full time in racing, while here and in France, that would not be allowed.” We have just been given another example of European racing badly in need of harmonising. “Not sure what you think,” the trainer’s son who is now working in insurance says, “but maybe someone in England ought to look up the word ‘amateur’…”

That is not a word his father, now 60, needs to relate to. Since his time as an ‘officer’ at the Haras du Pin (the National Stud in France), back in 1966, Max Hennau’s approach has clearly been that of a thoroughly professional horseman. Having worked his way up, he is still very much a down-to-earth man. Horses tend to like those. As a youngster, he was selected as the one Belgian student to join the stud and to be an ‘Officer Haras.’

“The system was for eight students each year,” he explains, “six from France, one from Belgium and one from Switzerland, and the selection is made by the Minister of Agriculture.”  Did many apply for this position? “I don’t think so,” Hennau says in his typical modest way, not the least bit tempted to exaggerate the importance of being the selected student. “Later on, I went to work for Philippe Lallie in France,” he continues, “we had high class horses like Irish Bold, Pyjama Hunt and Miss Dan at the time.”

Lallie trained over 100 horses, and after learning at this big yard in Chantilly, Hennau returned to Belgium and took out his license. He was just 23 years old, and a few years later he had over 50 horses, training jumpers as well as flat horses. “I had two yards,” he recalls, “in Steerebeck and Groenendael. My two best horses were Commodore, who won the Triple Crown and Little Vagabond. After he ran third in a Group 3 in France, Criquette Head bought Little Vagabond as a lead horse to Sicyos. After that he was sold on to the USA, as sire of Quarter Horses! I had bought him for just 1,000 guineas.”

None of the six horses Hennau trains this year have a value as low as that, or even the equivalent at today’s rates, but none of them have anywhere near the same class. Little Vagabond was a cheap horse, bought by a shrewd man from a small racing nation, named Hennau. He turned the vagabond into a king and a champion. Rather than use the success as a stepping stone for an international career, Hennau stayed at home, and he turned many of his days into voluntary work for Belgian and European horseracing, which he loves and knows so well. Knowledge is power, we are all being told in this world.

“Yes it is,” Hennau says with his typical, quiet smile, “but financial muscle wins when it comes to lobbying and, sadly, horseracing does not have that. I hope one day we will.”

The Equine Heart - Anatomy, Function and Performance

Exciting new advances in ultrasound image technology have provided a better understanding of both the anatomy and function of the heart at rest and during exercise. In the last 30 years many veterinary clinics and universities with equine departments that study equine physiology are able to study the heart of the equine athlete in their own sports performance laboratories, while exercising on a high-speed treadmill. Considering that heart rate is one of the most frequently measured physiological variables in exercise tests, Thoroughbred racehorse trainers have largely failed to take advantage of the heart rate monitor as standard equipment. However, heart rate monitors are commonplace in eventing and sport horses. Understanding the heart’s function, and its response and adaptation to training, can provide trainers with a competitive edge.

ANATOMY AND FUNCTION

The heart of a Thoroughbred weighs about 1% of the horse’s bodyweight but can be as high as 1.3-1.4% in elite animals. Therefore an average 1000 pound horse has a heart weighing between 8-10 pounds. The horse has a proportionately larger heart per unit of body mass as compared to other mammals. The horse’s heart rate is 20-30 beats per minute at rest and may have a maximal heart rate of 240 beats per minute during maximal exercise. The fact that the horse is able to increase heart rate by nearly 10 times the resting heart rate is a contributing factor to their athletic superiority. As in all mammals, the heart consists of four chambers with valves that open and close as the heart muscle relaxes and contracts to insure blood flows in the right direction. The two pumping chambers are the left and right ventricles, and the two receiving chambers are the left and right atria. The left ventricle is larger than the right ventricle.

Specialized cells within the heart conduct electrical activity that coordinates the muscles of the heart to contract in order to optimize blood pumping. Electrical impulses of both the atria and ventricles are isolated by a fibrous ring; preventing them from contracting simultaneously. The only point at which electrical activity can pass between the atria and the ventricles is via the Purkinje fibers found in the wall between the left and right ventricle. When the atria contract, blood is delivered to the larger volume ventricle that lies beneath. The right side of the heart receives unoxygenated blood from the body and pumps it to the lungs to allow the red blood cells to uptake oxygen. Oxygenated blood returns to the left side of the heart, and the left ventricle pumps it out the aorta to the rest of the body. The cardiac cycle consists of a contraction/ejection phase (systole), and a relaxation/filling phase (diastole). Stroke volume (SV) is the volume of blood pumped in each beat, and is influenced by the muscular contraction of the ventricles, their resistance to flow during systolic ejection, and their ability to fill during the diastolic relaxation. The structural integrity of various anatomic components of the heart such as the valves and septa between the chambers affect heart function. Stroke volume in a 500 kg Thoroughbred is approximately 1.3 litres and can increase by 20-50% during exercise. Cardiac output (CO) is stroke volume (SV) multiplied by heart rate (HR); therefore CO = SV x HR. At rest the cardiac output is approximately 6.6 (25 litres) gallons per minute and increases to an amazing 79 (300 litres) gallons per minute in elite athletes during exercise. A horse’s total blood volume is approximately 10 gallons, representing 10% of its body weight.

At rest 35% of the horse’s blood volume is red blood cells, however they can amazingly increase their red blood cell count on demand to 65% of their blood volume during a race, with up to 50% of the total red blood cells stored in the spleen. The horse has a proportionally larger spleen per unit of body mass as compared to other mammals. The red blood cells are void of a nucleus and have the large protein haemoglobin that transports oxygen. The horse’s heart is able to handle the increased viscosity of the blood. During exercise blood is diverted away from internal organs such as the intestines and kidney to working muscles used in motion.

THE HEART AND VO2 MAX

The heart is a major determinant in VO2 max, a measure of aerobic capacity. VO2 max is the maximal rate of oxygen consumption that can be consumed by the horse. VO2 max is determined by cardiac output (stroke volume x heart rate), lung capacity, and the ability of muscle cells to extract oxygen from the blood. During exercise the oxygen requirement by muscles can increase to 35 times their resting rate. Sydney University studies have shown that training can increase a Thoroughbred’s VO2 max by 20% or more, with this improvement highly attributable to the heart’s pumping capacity. VO2 max expressed as millilitres of O2 per kilogram of bodyweight per minute (or second). At rest the horse absorbs 3 millilitres of oxygen per kilogram of body weight per minute. Maximal rates of oxygen intake vary within breeds and training state, but fit Thoroughbreds have a VO2 max of 160-170 ml./min./kg and elite horses can achieve 200 ml./min./kg. By comparison elite human athletes have a VO2 max of about half or 85 ml./min./kg. Pronghorn antelopes have a VO2 max of 210-310 ml./min./kg. VO2 max is a high indicator of athletic potential, and has been found to be highly correlated with race times in Thoroughbred horses. A horse with a higher VO2 max had faster times (Harkening et al, 1993). The ability of the horse’s muscle mass to consume oxygen far exceeds the ability of the heart and lungs to provide oxygenated blood. Therefore cardiac output is a limiting factor in performance. Conditions that improve cardiac output positively impact VO2 max.

HEART RESPONSE TO TRAINING

The heart has two initial responses to exercise, a rise in blood volume pumped and dilation of the blood vessels. The heart rate increases, and beats stronger. The stroke volume may increase from 20-50% above resting rates. Through training the heart becomes more efficient at delivering oxygenated blood to exercising muscles. Heart mass has been shown to increase with training. This hypertrophy (enlargement) in the heart comes in two ways, a thickening of the heart walls, and an increase in the size of the chambers, especially the left ventricle. Although the effects of training on the heart are not clearly understood, heart mass has been shown to increase up to 33% in 2-year old horses after only 18 weeks of conventional race training (Young, 1999). The increase in heart size results in increased cardiac output. Stroke volume has been shown to increase by 10% in as little as 10 weeks of training (Thomas et al, 1983).

Although not yet proved, it is likely that in addition to the strengthening, improved filling capacity of the pumping chambers when the heart is relaxed may contribute to the increases shown in stroke volume. Interestingly, maximal heart rate does not increase with training, and resting heart rates (unlike humans) do not decrease with training. Training can improve VO2 max from 10-20% in the first 6-8 weeks of training, after which further improvement is limited. The relationship between VO2 max and velocity is highly correlated, but the differences found in speed and performance of two Thoroughbreds with equal VO2 max can be explained by differences in biomechanics and economy of locomotion. Although the heart plays an important role in determining several physiological factors related to performance, it is merely one variable in the whole physiological equation that describes the equine athlete. Not only does the heart change and adapt with the rigors of training, but a myriad number of adaptations take place in the muscle fibers at the cellular level. As a result of training, oxidative enzymes in the muscles increase, along with the size and density of mitochondria, the powerhouse of the cell. Enhanced oxidative capacity results in increased utilization of fat and less reliance on blood glucose and muscle glycogen, being an advantage at both submaximal and maximal exercise, because fat is a more efficient energy fuel. An improved network in the number and density of capillaries provides more efficient blood flow and transit time to working muscles, which also become more efficient in buffering lactate in anaerobic exercise. Muscle, bone, tendons and ligaments modify their structure with the stresses of training. Depending on the event, the horse develops “metabolic specificity” and neuromuscular coordination for his chosen discipline.

EVALUATING THE HEART - ULTRASOUNDS

When evaluating the equine heart, ultrasound has become an extremely valuable non-invasive tool, revolutionizing equine cardiology. The heart’s anatomical structure and physiology can be readily determined as well as measurements in heart size, wall thickness, and identifying defective cardiac valve function. Findings can determine pathology of the heart and the cause of poor performance. The ultrasound examination of the heart (echocardiogram) is now considered an integral part of cardiovascular evaluation of equine athletes. An ultrasound machine works by emitting a beam of high frequency sound waves (>20,000 Hz) from an ultrasound transducer into the body tissues. In general, the waves can penetrate to a maximum of 15 inches (40 cm) and they interact with various tissue types in different ways. The waves can be scattered, refracted or attenuated. The reflected waves are transmitted back to the ultrasound transducer. This information is interpreted by the ultrasound machine which produces a two-dimensional black and white image called a sonogram. The frequency of the ultrasound waves emitted by the transducer markedly influences the quality of the image, depending on the depth of the tissues. Higher frequency ultrasound waves have a shorter wavelength and yield better resolution of small structures close to the skin surface. However, more energy is absorbed and scattered with high frequency, therefore high frequency transducers have less penetrating ability.

Conversely, a lower frequency transducer will have greater depth of penetration but poor resolution. The transducer selected for echocardiography should be the highest frequency available that will penetrate to the depths needed to image the heart in its entirety. Frequencies generally used for veterinary echocardiography range from 2.25-3.5 Mhz for adult horses. The three main types of ultrasounds available to veterinarians and researchers are the M-Mode, Two-Dimensional (2-D), and Doppler. Although M-Mode yields only a one-dimensional (“ice pick”) view of the cardiac structures, it can yield cleaner images of cardiac borders, allowing the researcher to obtain very accurate measurements of cardiac dimensions and critically evaluate cardiac motion over time. Two-dimensional echocardiography allows a plane of tissue, with depth and width, to be imaged in real time. This makes it easier to appreciate the anatomic relationships between various structures. 2-D echocardiography makes available an infinite number of imaging planes of the heart. Doppler echocardiography records blood flow within the cardiovascular system when blood moving toward or away from the transducer causes a Doppler shift. From this shift, it is possible to calculate the velocity of the moving blood.

ELECTRO-CARDIOGRAM (ECG)

An ECG (electrocardiogram) is another tool commonly used in evaluating the heart. It measures the heart’s electrical conductivity can identify a part that is not contracting properly. It is the tool of choice for diagnosing arrhythmias. The ECG provides information to the researcher about the quality and rhythm of the heartbeat. The appearance of the ECG changes dramatically from rest to exercise. Cardiac contractions are the result of a well-orchestrated electrical phenomenon called depolarization. In the myocardium are specialized fibers that are very conductive and allow rapid transmission of electrical impulses across the muscle, telling them to contract. There is uniformity in the sequence and force of both the filling and ejecting chambers, relying on a single impulse initiated by the sinoatrial (S/A or sinus) node. Another node is the A/V node (atrioventricular node) situated between the two chambers. The ECG measures electrical activity from the P-Wave, QRS, and T-Wave.

The P-Wave represents the electrical impulse measured across the atria, whereas the T-Wave measures the repolarization of the ventricles. The QRS represents the electrical impulse as it travels across the ventricles. Measurements between these impulses include the PR and ST segments and the PR and OT intervals, all of which can reveal abnormal heart function. Electrodes are placed in strategic positions on the skin surface to pick up the heart’s electrical activity. In clinical practice, 12 leads may be used in a diagnostic ECG, but usually there are three standard leads, I, II and III, placed at different areas around the ribcage and chest. Placement of the electrodes are critical, and can change the size and shape of the ECG. HEART MURMURS AN ARRHYTHMIAS Vascular diseases in horses, such as atherosclerosis, which contributes to strokes and heart attacks, are rare. Two of the most common heart abnormalities are heart murmurs and arrhythmias. A heart murmur is the sound of turbulent blood flow, usually caused by an abrupt increase in flow velocity. This turbulence is caused by increased velocity due to a leak or obstruction in one of the heart valves or because of abnormal communication between different parts of the heart. Heart murmurs, which are fairly common, occur in horses of all ages. They are called “innocent” when they are soft, short and variable without any other cardiac pathology. One study detected cardiac murmurs in 81% of 846 Thoroughbred racehorses (Kriz, Hodgson, and Rose 2000). Congenital heart defects are abnormalities that are present at birth, the most common being ventricular septal defect (VSD) where a hole is found between the two ventricles.

Oxygen-rich blood from the higher pressure left ventricle passes through to the lower pressure right ventricle and pulmonary artery during ventricular systole. Because some blood bypasses the lungs, it is not fully oxygenated and will have an adverse effect on cardiac function. Depending on the size of the hole, the horse may be fully capable of moderate activities without fatigue or shortness of breath. VSD is usually detected on the right side of the chest over the cranial part of the heart, and can be fully diagnosed with 2-D ultrasound and Doppler echocardiography. Atrial fibrillation is an electrical disorder of the heart rhythm, also know as an arrhythmia. Associated with diminished performance, the normally regular, organized atrial waves become irregular, disorganized and chaotic, and the atria fail to contract normally, leading to an unpredictable and irregular heartbeat. Accurate diagnosis using an electrocardiogram can determine type and severity, and often an oral or injectable drug such as quinidine can be administered to establish a normal rhythm. An arrhythmia can sometimes be caused by myocarditis, where part of the heart muscle tissue has died due to an infectious disease such as strangles, influenza or an internal abscess. Toxic damage to the heart muscle may occur from a severe deficiency of vitamin E or selenium. The most commonly recognized acquired structural heart disorders are degenerative valvular deformities. These defects, involving a thickening and deformity of the valve leaflets, cause inefficiency of one or more heart valves, resulting in dilation of the chambers trying to handle the regurgitated blood on either side of the damaged valve. If the leak is severe enough, the pressure in the veins leading to the affected side of the heart increases until fluid accumulation (edema) occurs.

HEART SIZE AND PERFORMANCE

For centuries, owners, breeders and trainers have been captivated by the idea that the horse’s heart may be the proverbial “Holy Grail” to understanding athletic performance, and predicting the future elite racehorse. The large hearts found in elite human athletes are well-documented. In the 1920’s the “Flying Finn” Paavo Nurmi, who won 12 Olympic medals in track including 9 Golds and set world records from 1500 meters to 20 kilometers, had a heart three times larger than normal (Costill). At postmortem, the legendary 7-time Boston Marathon winner Clarence De Mar was shown to have an enlarged heart and massive coronary arteries (Costill). In 1989, it was believed that Secretariat, American Triple Crown winner of 1973, had a heart weighing over 10 kg (22 lbs.), and may have had a VO2 max of 240 ml./kg./min. Autopsies showed that the great Australian racehorse Phar Lap had a heart weighing 6.4 kg. (14.1 lbs), 20% larger than normal, and Key to the Mint, American champion 3-year old of 1972 and excellent broodmare sire, had a heart weighing 7.2 kg (15.8 lbs). Secretariat’s rival and runner-up Sham had one of the heaviest hearts recorded, weighing in at 18 lbs. (8.2 kg). Some of the first studies that scientifically attempted to correlate heart size with race performance were conducted in the 1950’s and early 60’s.

The Heart Score concept was first discovered and developed by Dr. James D. Steel, a professor of veterinary medicine at the University of Sydney in Australia in 1953. Using ECG (electrocardiography) to studying herbivores, he began studying the occurrence of heart disease in racehorses. His examinations led him to the development of the “Heart Score” which was his term to describe the correlation between the QRS (intraventricular conduction time) complexes and the performances of several elite versus average racehorses at the time. He believed that the higher heart score number based on the QRS duration using the standard bipolar leads must be correlated with the larger heart size and weight found in superior racehorses. Steel developed a ranking system that placed male horses with a heart score of 120 or more (116 or more for fillies and mares) in the large heart category, between 103-120 in the medium to normal category, and 103 or less in the small heart category.

His conclusion was based on the assumption that the QRS represents the time required for the electric wave to spread and depolarize the ventricular mass. He believed that the QRS interval corresponds to the beginning and end of ventricular depolarization. As the ventricular muscle mass increases, a longer time will be necessary for the ventricular depolarization to take place. Therefore, he believed the higher the heart score the larger the heart mass (and size) Unfortunately, Steel was wrong! Steel’s conclusions seemed logical at a time when equine cardiology was in its infancy. But in the horse (and hoofed mammals) the depolarization process differs from that of small animals because of the very widespread distribution of the Purkinje network. These fibers extend throughout the myocardium and ventricular depolarization takes place from multiple sites. The electromotive forces therefore tend to cancel each other out; consequently, no wavefronts are formed, and the overall effect of the ventricular depolarization on the ECG is minimal. (Celia 1999) Today, we know that ECGs provide little or no information about the relative or absolute sizes of the ventricles.

An ECG cannot measure heart size and cannot be used to correlate its size and / or mass. In several studies, heart score showed a relationship neither with body weight nor with ventricular mass, as determined by echocardiograph. Heart score did not correlate with heart size and cannot be regarded as an index for predicting potential performance (Lightowler et al 2004). Although a study using Danish Standardbreds showed a correlation between heart score and Timeform ratings, using these scores to determine heart size has largely been disproved.

HEART SIZE AND PERFORMANCE

Current research in the field of equine exercise physiology continues to investigate the heart and cardiac output. The size of the heart is a key determinant of maximal stroke volume, cardiac output and therefore aerobic capacity, and several new studies have proved this relationship. A recent breakthrough study demonstrated a significant linear relationship between British Horseracing Board Official rating or Timeform rating and heart size measured by echocardiography in 200 horses engaged in National Hunt racing (over jumps) (Young and Wood, 2001). It is the first study that positively correlates heart size to performance. Additionally, a significant strong relationship has been found between left ventricular mass (and other measurements of cardiac size) and VO2 max in Thoroughbred racehorses exercising on a high-speed treadmill. (Young et al 2002). Interestingly, no such relationships have been reliably been found when horses employed in flat racing were examined, suggesting that, as might be expected, VO2 max and heart size are more important predictors of performance for equine athletes running longer distances. It must be emphasized that these research studies were conducted on older racehorses that were already racing and training, very different from an untrained yearling.

CONCLUSION

Understanding the equine heart and its role in equine physiology will remain of great interest to breeders, owners and trainers. Future use of heart rate monitors and heart evaluations using ultrasound technology to identify heart pathology and abnormality will undoubtedly contribute to future breakthroughs in training and racing. The equine heart still remains just one variable in the elusive equation that makes for a great racehorse.

Should sales catalogues include information on medication - it's a case of black and white!

Not too long ago, I saw a TV interview with Terje Haakonssen, three times World Champion snowboard rider. When talking about his lifestyle, and that of the general public, he made an interesting point; “Look carefully at what you eat, take it seriously,” he said, “People don’t. You know, a man is ever so careful about what quality of petrol and oil he gets for his new car. But when he has filled it up with the best he can find, the most expensive, he buys a full-fat cheeseburger and a large coke for himself.”
Perhaps many of us value our cars more than we value our bodies. Look around you. It certainly appears to be the case, doesn’t it?

Haakonsen is a man obsessed with quality and image. In 1998, he boycotted the Nagano Games because he felt the Olympic image was not good enough for his sport. Can you imagine a leading owner boycotting a high profile race meeting, or a top thoroughbred breeder boycotting a leading sale, for similar reasons? Probably not. Haakonsen’s world is different to the horseracing world. He is a bit of a loner, but has many admirers way outside the circles of his minority sport, simply because he talks a lot of sense. The racing industry could do with someone like him.
Labelling of food products have become more of an issue lately, and when going to the supermarket I actually notice some reading these labels. On the other hand, I have also been stared at when taking a minute to compare the amounts of energy, fat, salt and sugar in, say, various breakfast cereals. 
“Looks almost like he is studying a pedigree page,” I once heard a man say to the other as they passed behind me while I performed such a study. Living in Newmarket has its charms. I found the remark amusing too, until I began thinking about it on my way home. Actually, a pack of breakfast cereals costing less than three pounds is better labelled, by stricter regulations, than any million-dollar yearling passing through the ring at any public auction. 
 
When studying sales catalogue pages, it strikes me more and more how much of the crucial information has been left out. It will never happen but I can assure you that if I did consider purchasing an expensive yearling, I would not base my decision on what has been printed in the catalogue. Of course, one has to do proper, independent research, but what exactly is the point of these sales catalogues, if they are not even able to give you half the story, half the truth, about this fragile four-legged product on offer?
Using the sales catalogue as your source of information, you do not get the official ratings of horses that have run, nor of their relatives. You very seldom get any information about the races these horses have won or been placed in, such as distance, surface, were they handicaps or weight for age races, if in England were they ‘banded races’ and so on. There is no information on whether horses have raced with blinkers or cheek-pieces, or whether they have been bandaged when running. 
And, more importantly, there is absolutely no information on any use of any medication. Believe you me, that is the one piece of information that, according to common sense and law, absolutely should be included. Having run in blinkers has never made a horse less valuable to a future owner. A history of medication, and a pedigree elevated to black type status with the help of medication, certainly has. In particular in Europe, where one does not allow racing of horses on medication.
A friend of mine bought a horse at a public auction in Europe. The horse had performed well in Listed events, and he was going to Scandinavia, where his level of form would make him one of the top performers. Since the horse also had a nice pedigree, a good conformation and was consigned by one of the bigger operations in Europe, my friend was quite excited when getting the final bid. So was his trainer. Until he raced him. One run revealed why local bidders had not gone higher when he went through the ring; the horse was a bleeder. He could not win a race even in Norway, and how he had been able to perform so well for his previous owner on a few occasions remains a mystery. My friend wrote to the vendor, explaining the situation and suggesting that they should take him back. That never happened of course. So, my friend decided to send the horse to USA where, surprise, surprise, he won quite a few times, even in nice allowance races at principal tracks, when racing on Lasix. 
At most major international sales, they have established a repository facility for x-rays, allowing vendors to lodge x-rays applicable to the sale of their horses. This is one step in the right direction.  
When you buy an expensive horse, or any horse for that matter, is it so much to ask to also demand accurate information on its medical history? I don’t think so. Nor do I think it is too much to ask, if someone wants the simple information on the horse’s closest relatives: did any of them, at any point in their careers, run on medication? Let’s get briefly back to the man with the car and the hamburger. Would he buy this expensive car, if he was informed that “this is a real classic, a beautiful car, with elegant interior, sexy seats and a powerful engine, but, mind, you, the engine tends to switch itself off from time to time… it seems to be genetic and we can’t do much about it.” 
When you buy a horse at public auction, part of the “engine” may already be a bit dodgy. If you buy a young horse with an American pedigree, the chances are very high that you also buy a horse from a family that has, for generations, been racing on medication. If you plan to race the animal in a jurisdiction where such medication is allowed, that may be just fine. If you plan to stand the horse at stud in a jurisdiction where medication is allowed, that is also fine. If not, you could soon be in trouble with this horse. Thus far only Germany has taken a strong stand on medication in their breeding stock. No stallion is approved if he has raced on medication. That is some difference, compared to the situation in North America. Change may be coming there also though. 
There is a will in the USA to do something about medication. As explained in North American Trainer, Spring Issue 2007, the Jackson’s Horse Owner’s Protective Association is lobbying hard for a marketplace which would allow buyers of horses to return the horse and demand a full refund, if veterinary records are falsified or information is omitted. Any administration of drugs would have to be disclosed. The association’s lawyer Kevin McGee says:
”The actual buyers and sellers of horses would like to see this in Kentucky because it would strengthen the integrity of the business. This would be an excellent way to encourage new owners to come into the business because it reduces the mystery of buying a horse.” 
Exactly. Three key words; “reduces the mystery.”  These words can hardly be used too often, in too many contexts, in this industry. Where better to start, than with the sales catalogues?
 Achieving a better image, that of a clean, honest, open and transparent bloodstock marketplace, will not be quick process. There can be little doubt, however, that addressing the problem with medication in a serious way, and make some progress in this field, will help speeding up such a process. If you believe fallers and fatal injuries at Aintree and Cheltenham creates about the worst possible publicity horseracing can get, think again.  
In the wake of any death on the track in North America, one often sees a flood of letters, articles and opinions posted and published on the internet, almost exclusively pointing the finger sharply at the use of medication. 
Too many bad write-ups will make it even harder to recruit new investors to the game, but bringing the issue of medication into the sales rings might help a lot. What does a bloodstock agent reply, to the wealthy ‘newcomer’ at the sales, if he expresses a wish to bid as a yearling enters the ring and says, “I like this one, let’s go to 200,000 or so, but, by the way, does this family have a history of use of medication?”
Print it in the catalogue and, provided the man has a copy of it and that he can read, he will know the answer, regardless of where the lot was bred or has been raced. This is not at all a problem exclusive to the US market.

American bred horses, and horses with American pedigrees, fill many a page also in many a European sales catalogue. When I was asked to do this article, posing the question, “should information on medication be included in sales catalogues?” it is was so tempting to give a reply like: “Yes, do it” or perhaps: “Should health warnings remain on the tobacco packaging?”
Common sense does not always win through in this world, especially not when up against commercial interests. Horseracing and breeding is a global industry, and herein lies the problem. Not that it is global, but that it is an industry more than it is a sport. It may have set out as a sport, but commercial factors are at the forefront and more and more dominant these days. Therefore, some breeders, consignors, sales companies, and perhaps even bloodstock agents may be opposed to the idea of publishing information on medication in catalogues.

In one corner of Europe, there is no need for any catalogue information on any use of medication for any of the country’s stallions. Germany is the only nation where you cannot stand a stallion at stud if he has been raced on medication. That’s a good policy, and it should help improve the breed. Provided, of course, that none of these stallions have been trained on medication. And provided that all the mares bred to these stallions have also been trained and raced without the aid of medication. Not trying to complicate matters even further here, only trying to point out what a jungle this actually is.

Racehorses are bred from sires who raced almost exclusively with the aid of medication. Horses are being bred out of mares who also raced on medication, but a vast number of horses are out of mares that never raced. Disclosing the reason why these mares failed to make it to the racecourse is probably quite impossible. One thing can be said for certain though, is that any man or woman who spends a considerable amount of money on a yearling is hoping that the animal will one day be physically capable of taking part in a race. 
Everyone who buys a yearling should know that about one in five yearlings actually never become racehorses. Therefore, deciding how good the chances are for one particular individual is important. Disclosing all information about any use of raceday medication in the family gives the purchaser a better chance of assessing a yearling’s chances of making it to the racecourse than information on, for example, how many races a couple of grandsons of the third dam managed to win.

I would suggest that information about any use of medication, going back three generations, should be included in all sales catalogues, even if it means pushing some information low on the page off the page. With catalogues published online, even that should not be a problem – an extra few lines, or even an extra page, means nothing in this way of publishing. “Still not possible,” I hear some say.

I see. How about this line of thought then, that such steps would actually help the Thoroughbred industry in its so-called strive at “enhancing the breed.” 

The way things are going now, that is not exactly the case, is it?

Racing power - supporting muscular effort through nutrition

The powerhouse for a horse in training is found in its large muscle mass. Whilst genetic makeup within the Thoroughbred breed has a large impact on a horse’s innate racing ability, dietary factors will also influence subsequent performance. There are many elements found in a racehorse’s diet that will help to support muscle function. Hydrolysable carbohydrate (sugar and starch), assisted by fermentable fibre, will help to maintain important muscle stores of glycogen (a carbohydrate fuel).

Dietary electrolytes, which are integrally involved in muscle contraction, are essential to offset electrolyte loss in sweat. Key dietary antioxidants such as vitamins E and C and also antioxidant co-factors, such as copper, manganese, zinc and selenium, are also important as part of the body’s antioxidant team which strives to reduce the formation of free radicals or reactive oxygen species, and to limit their damaging effects on the body. Free radical damage has previously been implicated in the process of exercise induced muscle damage.

GLYCOGEN STORES MUST BE REPLENISHED FOLLOWING EXERCISE

One of the most important functions of the diet is to replenish the horse’s energy stores in muscle on an ongoing basis. A racing ration needs to support the synthesis of glycogen to maintain the store of this important fuel, which is used in increasing amounts during exercise. Glycogen, which consists of a large branched chain of glucose units, is stored in both skeletal muscle and the liver and it represents one of the largest potential energy stores in the body. Horses being natural athletes, have a relatively large muscle glycogen store when compared to other species. As the glycogen content of horse muscle is influenced by the proportion of different muscle fibre types present, this means that there is a genetic influence on the overall glycogen content. Fast twitch fibres (Type IIb), which are found in increased numbers in talented sprinting horses, store relatively more glycogen than the slower type I and type IIa fibres. However, both diet and training can influence the level of glycogen stored in muscle. Exercise training for example has been reported to increase muscle glycogen content by 30-60% in horses. Logically, diet should have a significant effect on the storage of muscle glycogen as it provides the building blocks for glycogen synthesis. Glycogen can be synthesised efficiently from dietary starch, which is another polymer of glucose found in cereals. Glycogen can also be produced from certain glycogenic amino acids, released from the protein content of feed. In addition, propionic acid, which is a significant volatile fatty acid produced in the horse’s hindgut during the fermentation process, can also ultimately be converted to muscle glycogen.

In terms of the day to day diet, starch is by far the most direct and most efficient precursor for glycogen and so it is therefore not surprising that cereals, which are high in starch, have been the mainstay of racing diets for many years. In recent years we have seen the introduction of racing feeds that are lower in starch and sugar than traditional racing rations, with a greater emphasis being placed on digestible fibre and oil as energy sources. Whilst there are many health benefits attributable to this type of diet, the effect of changing the level of starch in the diet on muscle glycogen should always be considered.

MUSCLE GLYCOGEN - AN IMPORTANT FUEL BUT NOT THE KEY FACTOR IN FATIGUE

Muscle glycogen is a major source of energy (ATP) to working muscle during intense exercise, which is characteristic of racing. The amount of muscle glycogen used during training or racing will depend on its rate of utilisation, which in turn is affected by the speed and duration of the exercise undertaken. In general terms, the higher the speed, the faster muscle glycogen is broken down and used.

The duration of fast exercise is normally curtailed, which limits the overall amount of glycogen used. During slower work, although the rate of glycogen utilisation is much lower, exercise can usually be continued for a much longer time allowing more glycogen to be utilised overall (see figure 1). Total muscle glycogen content can be reduced by about 30% during a single bout of maximal exercise in horses. However, as muscle is a mix of different fibre types, the depletion of glycogen in individual fibres may be greater than this depending on the pattern of fibre recruitment during the exercise. Studies, however, have shown that even the IIB muscle fibres, which use glycogen at the fastest rate, are not totally depleted of glycogen following racing.

This supports the notion that although glycogen is an important fuel source for racehorses, glycogen depletion is not the most important factor in fatigue. However, exercise studies do suggest that power output and exercise performance can be decreased in horses where muscle glycogen has failed to be adequately replaced following a previous race or piece of hard work. This was the conclusion drawn by Lacombe and co-workers (2001) who reported that horses with replete muscle glycogen stores were able to run for longer periods during a maximal exercise test compared to horses whose muscle glycogen level remained low following a previous exercise bout. Whilst there are always horses that will buck the trend, this research emphasises the need to allow a suitable period of time between races, but also between bouts of fast work and subsequent racing to allow muscle glycogen stores to be replenished.

In contrast to human athletes, muscle glycogen replenishment in horses is relatively slow. Following racing or a hard work, research suggests that muscle glycogen can take up to 72 hours to return to pre-exercise levels when a traditional high cereal racing ration is fed. Certainly research carried out in the past 3 years would suggest that a high glycemic racing ration would be better placed to support glycogen replenishment more quickly following racing or hard work. There are many factors that affect the glycemic response to feed, which in simple terms describes the relative rise in blood glucose following feeding.

The starch and sugar content of a feed, however, is one of the most significant factors affecting glycemic response. Feeds that are high in starch and sugar e.g. a high cereal-containing mix produce a greater glycemic response compared with feeds that are very low in starch and sugar e.g. a forage only ration. Rate of glycogen synthesis following a glycogen depleting exercise bout was significantly higher in horses fed a high glycemic diet compared to those fed a very low glycemic control diet (Lacombe et al 2004, Lacombe et al 2006). In addition, absolute glycogen concentration in muscle was significantly higher both 48 and 72 hours following exercise in the high glycemic group compared to the control horses and muscle glycogen concentration had returned to pre-exercise levels following 72 hours. The benefit of a high glycemic diet for glycogen repletion does, however, appear to be time dependent. Jose-Cunelleras (et al 2006) reported a minimal difference in glycogen repletion in the first 24 hours following a glycogen depleting exercise bout between horses that were fed a high glycemic feed compared with a group where feed was withheld for 8 hours and another group of horses where only hay was fed.

A recent study also concluded that the route of administration of carbohydrate given post-exercise significantly affects the rate of glycogen replenishment. Horses that were given an intravenous infusion of glucose following exercise exhibited significantly greater glycogen storage rates and glycogen concentration in the first 6 hours following exercise compared to horses fed a similar quantity of glucose orally. In fact, the repletion of glycogen in response to oral glucose was minimal over this time period compared to the unsupplemented control horses (Geor et al 2007). Whilst it is difficult to draw direct comparisons with feeding practices used in racing, it is worth appreciating the possible differences in the rate of glycogen repletion when very high glycemic feeds are fed compared to very low glycemic feeds. The reality in many training yards I would suspect lies somewhere between these two extremes.

LOW GLYCEMIC DIETS CAN OFFER RACEHORSES MANY BENEFITS

There are many health-related benefits to feeding a ration that is lower in starch and sugar. However, one should be mindful of muscle glycogen when considering horses that are consistently fed a low glycemic diet. Specifically horses may be fed this type of ration because they are behaviourally more manageable, or because a specific condition such as the muscular disease recurrent exertional rhabdomyolysis (tying up) (RER) is present. A low starch diet is actively encouraged for horses that suffer from RER. McKenzie (et al 2003) reported that plasma creatine kinase activity (CK), elevations of which can indicate muscle damage, was significantly reduced following exercise in RER horses fed a low starch high fat diet versus a high starch low fat diet. In addition, lower resting heart rates have also been reported in horses fed a low starch high fat diet compared to the reverse.

A lower resting heart rate may be beneficial especially in RER horses where it reflects a calmer horse as stress has been implicated as a trigger factor for the condition. The current thinking on feed for horses with RER continues to be a low starch and sugar diet supplemented with oil. It is also important that the diet is well balanced, especially with respect to calcium and phosphorus. Adequate electrolyte provision is equally important, as is the intake of antioxidants such as vitamin E and other related trace minerals such as selenium. Any potential individual limitation in mineral or electrolyte absorption and retention should be investigated further with veterinary assistance in order that individualised adjustments can be made to the diet.

A SUPPORTING ROLE FOR PROTEIN IN MUSCLE RECOVERY

Whilst we are all no doubt aware that the amino acids that make up protein are important for muscle development and repair, protein and its constituent amino acids have received very little attention in horses in terms of their potential to limit exercise induced muscle damage and aid muscle recovery. In human athletes, co-consumption of a protein and carbohydrate drink during and after exercise appears to limit exercise induced muscle damage, ultimately allowing faster recovery (Baty et al 2007; Saunders et al 2004). Recent introduction of ingredients containing partially hydrolysed protein may improve absorption of these amino acids and peptides possibly offering further benefit. Finally, some nutraceutical ingredients including carnitine and creatine have been hailed as being beneficial to muscle function and recovery in human athletes. Creatine, which has been studied in the horse, has failed to offer any great advantage, largely due to its poor absorption. Likewise, carnitine has been reported to improve muscle blood flow during exercise in humans, helping to reduce muscle damage. However, this aspect has not as yet been investigated in horses and previous dietary studies with carnitine were not unequivocal about the ability of oral carnitine to increase muscle carnitine content.

Transitions in California Racing

Warren Stute has changed barns. If he can hear me, I know he will smile. I always took his smiles as more than just smiles. They were messages of approval.

 Warren exercised horses for as long as he was able. When he no longer could do that, he rode his pony until he could no longer do that. For the last few months, he would walk back and forth to and from his barn. Near the end, his son, Glen, would almost have to carry him to the track and back. But Warren wouldn’t give up. He was a horse trainer. Nobody who gives up is a horse trainer. Everyday with every horse is a new challenge and a new inspiration to keep trying.
 
He lived his life quietly and, unless you had horses in his care, he would let you have your say. Warren had very firm convictions, but he had the grace and wisdom to silently accept that others also had a right to their opinions. And, so long as you didn’t try to get him to change his mind, he allowed you the latitude to speak your mind. He learned to be that way because he came through the University of Horse Training. You don’t impose your will on a horse. You accept that a horse has legitimate reasons for the things it does. If you want a horse to change, you join with it in finding acceptable reasons to change. If you can’t come to a mutual understanding with a horse, you find it a new home. Warren dealt with people in the same way. If he disagreed with you, he didn’t have to say anything, but you knew it. His silence forced you to take a critical look at your own beliefs. Warren Stute was a very wise man, and I’m a better person for having known him. I shall miss him.
 
Warren lived through an era in horse racing when training was an art. He leaves at a time when training involves as much science as art. Modern chemistry, new medical procedures, and new technologies trump modern art. New surfaces dictate new training and racing strategies. And, in California new racing venues are soon to replace Hollywood Park and Bay Meadows. Where we go from here is the subject of continuing discussions between the CHRB, existing racing associations, fairs, the Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC), and the California Thoroughbred Trainers (CTT). The most pressing of these discussions involve how to orchestrate successful and painless transitions out of Hollywood Park and out of Bay Meadows.
 
The industry will have to create modern facilities to fill voids in the Northern and Southern California racing calendars. Those facilities will also have to handle the housing and training needs for over two thousand horses that will be displaced when the current facilities close. In the world of professional sports, public financing and contribution by local government have become the methods of choice for creating new stadiums and arenas. We find ourselves in the same situation. The high cost of land and the continually skyrocketing cost of building make it impossible to create new privately owned urban racetracks. In the North, there are no currently existing facilities that can adequately replace Bay Meadows. In the South, the only existing alternative on private land is at Los Alamitos, but plans to expand that facility have been dropped. Fortunately, the fairs are willing to come to the rescue.
 
Both the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton and the California State Fairgrounds in Sacramento have indicated a desire to become the new second home for Northern California racing. In the South, Fairplex at the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds would like the opportunity. Extensive remodeling plans have been created and expanded barn areas are planned. Racing on a year-round basis will survive, but guarantees need to be made. Bonds must be floated that would finance the new facilities. Fairplex, Pleasanton and/or Sacramento can only start construction if they are guaranteed sufficient racing dates to create enough income to pay off the anticipated debt. Thirty months from start to finish is the estimated time necessary to complete a new facility. We cannot afford to wait. One never knows how long these offers to create new facilities will remain on the table. If we don’t accept the offers soon, they could be withdrawn and we will find ourselves without alternatives. Sooner or later Bay Meadows and Hollywood Park are closing. Both the CTT and the TOC Boards of Directors have agreed that now is the time to move forward. We are asking Terry Fancher, who controls both Bay Meadows and Hollywood Park, to assist in an orderly transition. If he doesn’t, it’s going to be a complicated three-year transition. But trainers make a living by solving problems on a daily basis, so a few more problems are just part of the daily life of a trainer. Mr. Fancher has often said that he truly cares about racing. Now is the time for him to prove it.
 
In another transition worth noting, Jenine Sahadi has completed two-terms on the CTT Board of Directors. She has been President of the CTT for the past five years. During her tenure and with her guidance, the CTT has played a part in all of the major changes that have taken place within the industry. The two most notable of those changes were the requirement of the installation of synthetic surfaces and the elimination of the use of alkalizing agents. The former will allow hundreds, if not thousands, of horses to have longer and healthier careers, and the latter has helped to ensure an even playing field for all trainers and owners. As important as those accomplishments are, her dedication to the Edwin J. Gregson Foundation is likely to have the most long-lasting effect. She could but will not take credit for raising well over one million dollars for the Foundation. That money is being used to provide scholarships to the children of backstretch workers and will change lives for generations to come. It is in Jenine’s nature not to accept praise or gratitude, but both are hereby extended.

Edward I. Halpern, CTT Exec - (01 October 2007 - Issue Number: 5)

Northern California Report

As the summer fair racing circuit of 2007 starts to wind down, the anxiety as to what Northern California’s overall racing circuit will look like starts to grow. By all indications, Bay Meadows will not race after 2008.

While many horsemen held out hope that Bay Meadows would be spared of their development plans and continue to race, that scenario looks less likely each day. In fact, the Bay Meadows Land Company (BMLC) is telling the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) that they would only like to race until July of 2008. It is very disappointing that BMLC has taken this position, as they made such an issue of not originally being granted an exemption for the synthetic surface mandate. The CHRB granted the waiver, with BMLC now saying they can’t race past the summer months. Go figure! The CTT is very involved in negotiations in trying to get Bay Meadows to commit to a stabling program through the fall if they do not race after July of 2008.
 
There will be plenty of discussion surrounding the experiment of Vallejo and Santa Rosa running a combined meet this summer. Unfortunately, the handle figures did not increase, but rather decreased from previous years. Many on the circuit felt figures may have been different if Santa Rosa ran the first week of its meet without the carnival and then finished with its traditional fair meet the last two weeks. I’m sure that will be considered for next year.
 
After weeks of waiting for the City of Albany’s approval, the installation of the Tapeta racing surface at Golden Gate Fields (GGF) finally started on July 22. Horses were moved out to Vallejo, Pleasanton, and Bay Meadows during the construction time. The GGF management has set a tentative October 12 date as to when the horses can move back into the barn area. Besides the new racing surface, GGF is spending approximately $1 million to refurbish and paint all the stalls in the barn area. The areas between all the barns have been leveled off to improve drainage as well. In addition, the CTT is working closely with GGF to renovate its recreation hall for our backstretch workers.

Charles E. Dougherty, Jr. CTT Deputy Director
 (01 October 2007 )

TRM Trainer of the Quarter - Jean-Marie Beguigne

The TRM Trainer of Quarter goes to Jean-Marie Beguigne. To make it to the top of the tree in your chosen profession once is quite an achievement. To do it, fall to rock bottom and then rise to the top again is quite remarkable.

James Crispe (European Trainer - Issue 19 / Autumn 2007)