TRM Trainer of Quarter - Steve Hobby

Steve Hobby's breakout meet at Oaklawn Park this spring may not include a training title, but Hobby was conceding nothing in late March when he trailed defending Oaklawn champion Steve Asmussen, the runaway national leader in both victories and earnings, by just two wins, 21-19.

"I would love to be leading trainer, but realistically, he's just so powerful right now," Hobby said with 2 ½ weeks left in the Oaklawn meet. "I'm going to try to beat him."
Even if he doesn't, Hobby's Oaklawn meet was dazzling right from the start when he posted five wins, 11 seconds and four thirds in the first 11 days, validating his decision to nearly double his stable size from 25 to 40.
"This is home for us," the 51-year-old trainer said. "A lot of our clients live in this area. They're in the stands every day. So it's a big deal for us to do good. We gear up for this meet."
It shows. On March 15th Isabull finished third in the $300,000 Grade 2 Rebel Stakes, stamping his ticket to the $1 million Grade 1 Arkansas Derby for Hobby's biggest client, Alex Lieblong, the president of a financial advisory firm in Little Rock. Lieblong and his wife Joann continue to purchase well-bred yearlings and two-year-olds hoping to latch onto a Kentucky Derby starter.
The very next afternoon, Hobby recorded his first training triple at Oaklawn Park, winning with Real Officer and Wolf Branch for the Lieblongs and with Mama's Lil'Mon, one of five horses Hobby claimed at the meet for Bill Hardin, a retired FBI agent, and his wife, Jane.
Hobby's other major owner is Carol Ricks, who campaigned the retired million-dollar earner Chindi and now concentrates on breeding, though she also races. "Right now, I've got a nice situation," Hobby said. "Alex is a high-end buyer, Bill Hardin likes claiming and Carol is a breeder."
Chindi, who retired three years ago at the age of 11, has discovered a second career as Hobby's stable pony. "He likes that," Hobby said. "He's really happy. He raced for nine years. It's the only thing he knows."
Hobby, too. He grew up in Englewood, Colorado, where he learned the horse business from his dad, Gerald, a trainer who became a steward. Hobby worked for his dad, then rode for four years before turning to training in 1976. He started out with Quarter Horses in the late 1970s in Colorado and New Mexico, then transitioned to Thoroughbreds thanks to Ricks'late husband, Ran. "I got fortunate and hooked up with Ran Ricks," Hobby said. "He got me out of New Mexico and into this part of the world."
 
Hobby ran Ricks'farm and trained his stable for several years before adding on new clients. After training at Oaklawn Park from 1985 through 1988, Hobby raced at Remington Park in Oklahoma when it opened in 1988 and returned to Hot Springs in the early ‘90s. He and his wife, Metzie bought a house in Hot Springs seven years ago.
Hobby has trained multiple major stakes winners Brush With Pride and Belle of Cozzene, and hopes to add Isabull to the list. "He's still very immature; he's still learning," Hobby said. "I think he's got a lot of room for improvement."
If he improves enough to make an impact in the Arkansas Derby, Hobby could have a starter in this year's Kentucky Derby. "I hope I have that decision to make," he said.
He is not weighing a decision to move away from Oaklawn Park. "I love it here," he said.
When Oaklawn closes in mid-April, Hobby shifts his stable to Arlington, then to Churchill Downs and Prairie Meadows.
If his stable continues to prosper, he may be moving to higher-profile meets. "When you win, people notice you," he said. "My wife and I can go anywhere. We'll go anywhere our horses take us."

By: Bill Heller- (26 June 2008 - Issue Number 6)

Eco-trainers - turning a profit from manure

Chantilly trainers have gone green and are soon to be the envy of their contemporaries around the world with a ground-breaking manure-disposal project. Faced with piles of manure, the bane of all trainers’ lives, Chantilly professionals are working together to launch a pioneering scheme which looks set to solve all their problems and at the same time reap both environmental and financial rewards.

The 10-million euro project, which should be operational towards the end of 2009, is at the cutting edge of technology and consists of using a process of methanisation to convert the waste into electricity which will then be sold to the EDF (French Electricity Board), and into heat which will be used locally.

CHANTILLY TRAINERS LEAD THE WAY

With some 2500 thoroughbreds currently in training in and around the towns of Chantilly, Gouvieux and Lamorlaye, the region is France’s leading training centre and among the most prestigious sites for preparing racehorses in the world. A further 700 polo ponies and 800 riding horses are stabled in the area to make a grand total of 4,000 equine inhabitants. Slightly less glamorous than the haul of Group 1 victories which the four-legged stars of Chantilly bring home each season is the waste they produce. Each horse creates one tonne of manure per month. The muckheaps of Chantilly are overflowing and a solution is urgently needed.

Dual-purpose handler Richard Crépon was one of the first to react to the issue, and in early 2006 he became president of the Lamorlaye Bio-Resources Association. “We started to research ways to deal with our large quantities of manure and initially came up with the idea of converting it into compost, or incineration. Local farmers made a small contribution by spreading shavings-based manure on their land. But none of these systems were perfect and we realised that we needed to take control of the situation ourselves”. It was then that the current CUMA (Co-operative for the Utilization of Agricultural Material) was born, again under the presidency of Crépon.

All of Chantilly and the surrounding area’s hundred or so licence holders, as well as the towns’ riding school, livery and polo proprietors, have been invited to invest the modest sum of 100 euros to join the co-operative which, as Crépon explains, “needs manure in order for our project to be feasible”. The CUMA’S methanisation project offers a mutually-beneficial solution to a relatively new problem.

Until recently trainers had been able to rely on the abundance of mushroom producers in Chantilly to dispose of their troublesome “by-product”. The farmers had chosen Chantilly for its combination of an unending supply of the horse manure necessary for their fungus to grow, and the geological characteristics of the surrounding area. Chantilly is built on valuable limestone which has been excavated over the centuries, notably to construct the spectacular Grandes Ecuries and Chateau which give such charm to France’s Classic racecourse. The quarrying left vast underground caves perfect for mushroom cultivation and thirty years ago the area was home to around 25 mushroom farms. “They used to pay us to take away our manure. Nowadays, the industry has largely moved to Eastern Europe, leaving only 4 mushroom producers in Chantilly. We have trouble to get anyone to empty our manure pits and it costs more and more”. In Chantilly it now costs 15 euros per tonne for trainers to dispose of their organic waste.

TRAINERS WARY OF CURRENT POLLUTION RISK

Aside from the purely practical inconvenience of evacuating the tonnes of waste produced weekly, fellow trainer Tony Clout, making a regretful gesture towards a steaming skip full of manure, comments, “we don’t realise it, but we contribute to the greenhouse effect every day with all this manure”. Clout is another board member of the French Trainers’ Association who is an active player in the CUMA. Like all his trainer colleagues, he is primarily concerned by another form of pollution. “Horse manure is officially considered as a waste product and we are responsible for it until it has been completely destroyed. At the moment we have no control over where it ends up. In the current crazy situation, our manure is transported the length and breadth of France. It is always worrying to see piles of manure left standing in fields across the countryside, as they could easily have originated in our stables. There is a real risk that effluent from the waste will pollute the ground water in these instances and the trainer will be held liable and fined”.

PERFECT MOMENT TO ‘GO GREEN’

The increased environmental awareness on the part of the authorities, aside from making them more likely to take trainers to task for inadequate disposal of their waste, has another more beneficial side for the CUMA. “The timing has been ideal for us”, explains Crépon. “We started to think about environmentally-friendly ways to recycle our manure at the same time as the government was creating grants and finance schemes for exactly this type of project”. One such policy is that proposed by EDF, who pay a special tariff of 140 euros per megawatt hour (compared to usual rate 60 euros MW/h) for electricity produced by renewable sources. This price operates on the basis of a 15 year contract, which the CUMA has secured. “All this is possible thanks to our contract with EDF”, states Clout.

Although the finer details have yet to be settled, the principle behind the Chantilly project is the same as that used in Germany by around 4,000 methanisation plants for pig slurry. Nevertheless this will be the first time the technology has been used for horse manure. Bruno Battistini, consultant to the Lamorlaye Bio-Resource Association, explains, “We are setting a European and worldwide precedent. The pig manure operations are common in Germany and function in the same way as sewage processing plants as the slurry is highly-concentrated and in liquid form. However this is the first time anyone has attempted the process with dry matter, although it is similar to that used for household waste”. In France there are two such plants, in Calais and Lille, for recycling household waste but there remain a number of unknowns concerning Chantilly’s innovative project and the CUMA is still conducting research in conjunction with the INRA (National Institute for Agronomic Research) of Narbonne. “Our primary concern is to verify that our horse manure is compatible with the anaerobic breakdown process. We must also be sure of the levels and composition of the biogases produced, and finally that the equipment will stand the test of time”. At the current time, around 18 months before the project is due to leave the starting stalls, Battistini and the trainers are certain that the process will work with straw-based manure and are expecting confirmation from the INRA that shavings will be able to be recycled in the same conditions.

WHAT IS METHANISATION?

Methanisation is an anaerobic fermentation process through which the waste is decomposed by bacteria in an air-free environment. The manure will therefore be collected in giant sealed silos, where it will ferment to give off biogas consisting largely of methane and carbon dioxide. These gases will in turn be used to drive turbines which produce the electricity destined for EDF. “While EDF is our guarantee of income”, explains Battistini, “we have a legal obligation towards them according to which, in order to benefit from their favourable rates, we must not waste potential energy”. The latent heat generated during the methanisation process therefore becomes a secondary resource. In addition to its utility in heating the plant’s reactors, which need to be maintained at an operational temperature of 55°C, it will also be sold locally for heating purposes. A 1 ½ hectare site has been chosen for the plant, on land owned by the Institut de France and subsidised by France Galop. Its central location at Mont de Po, between the training centres of Chantilly and Lamorlaye, while being practical for trainers, is of vital logistical importance for the sale of the heat. Within just a few hundred metres of the site are the AFASEC jockeys’ school and the Bois Larris Red Cross Hospital, the two major clients whose heating systems are to be supplied by the warmth created by the turbines. Their proximity means that a minimal amount of heat will be lost during transfer. Another bonus with the location is that there is already a 20,000 volt cable running underground across the site to cater for the hospital, which means that no unsightly pylons will be required.

VALUABLE WASTE IS LEFT OVER FROM METHANISATION PROCESS

After the three-to-four-week methanisation process has been completed, around 60% of the initial volume will remain as biologically stable residue. “Our profitability is also dependent upon the use we make of this residue”, says Battistini. “The heat we sell to the hospital and the AFASEC will be running at 100% of its potential in December and January, however that will be reduced to 10% in the summer months. This seasonal issue will affect our global efficiency and in order to qualify for the subsidies on offer, we need to prove that we utilize at least 75% of the energy produced”. The solution to this final conundrum is to recycle the residue a second time to create fuel briquettes. The latent heat which is surplus to requirements over the summer will be used to dry, and then carbonise, the waste from the digestors at temperatures of up to 400°C. The resulting matter will be compressed into briquettes for use either in households or possibly by the AFASEC or the hospital if their boilers could be converted to use this type of fuel. The CUMA are also keen not to leave the remaining mushroom-growers in the lurch and are working together to determine whether the farms can make use of the residue.

A WELL SUPPORTED SCHEME

The project is expected to cost in the region of 10 million euros. “We have yet to finalize a finance plan as we are still awaiting the various technical validations from the INRA. When we have these we will be able to make an accurate evaluation of the cost of the plant and then source funding for our operation”. However Battistini does not have any concerns on this score. In addition to the EDF contract, a whole range of grants and support dedicated to the development of biomass projects and the recycling of waste are proposed on regional, national and European levels, including Grenelle Environment and Brussels. The scheme is supported by the government ministries of agriculture and environment as well as by Minister of Budget, Public Accounts and Civil Service Eric Woerth, who is Mayor of the prestigious racing town.

Indeed the town of Chantilly itself, thanks to its status as a Pole d’Excellence Rurale (Centre of Rural Excellence), is eligible for European money dedicated to this type of project. Another source of income could quite simply be a bank loan. This may be more simple than it first appears, as Battistini confirms, “According to a law which was passed five or six years ago, all the major French high-street banks offer loans called ‘Sofergies’ which are dedicated to the financing of this type of equipment. The interest rate is negotiable but the real advantage of the idea is that banks must give priority to innovative projects such as ours which will produce renewable energy”. In the future, carbon credits may be recuperated by the CUMA, although there is still work to do on this front as they are currently only available for porcine and bovine schemes. Battistini intends to change this state of affairs. “We are lobbying the CITEPA (Technical Interprofessional Centre for the Study of Atmospheric Pollution) to convince them to change this ruling and hope to benefit from carbon credits within a year or two”.

OUTLAY WILL BE REPAID WITHIN A DECADE

Richard Crépon and Tony Clout aim to have written off the cost of the factory within seven or eight years, whereas Battistini offers the slightly more conservative estimate of ten years. Whoever is right on this minor issue, the CUMA seems assured of success on both economic and ecological levels. “Once we have repaid the cost of the plant, the trainers, who are the shareholders in the CUMA, will reap the financial benefits”, says Clout. “In the future we should be able to return to a situation in which trainers are paid for the removal of their manure, and not vice versa”. While the renewable energy supplied to EDF and local services will make a small impact on country-wide electricity production, the project is also advantageous in cutting down on primary pollution which currently originates from the currently steaming muckheaps of Chantilly.

The CUMA will seek to standardize manure storage for all the region’s trainers so that all waste is kept in covered pits or containers prior to transportation to the plant’s closed fermentors, thereby considerably reducing current methane emissions. While the project is far from completion, the ensemble of favourable circumstances mean that the members of Chantilly’s CUMA can be confident of a cleaner, cheaper future in which they will be in control of the manure their horses produce. Their progress will be followed with interest by trainers around Europe and the world.

Stabling and health specifically for racehorses

In looking at this subject, it is important to see the needs of the racehorse as being different from horses kept for any other sporting purpose. Its management, feeding, training and stabling are all critical and unique. For racing, all body organs must function efficiently and, in so much as these can be affected by stabling conditions, it might pay to take a critical look at the elements involved. Our discussion is particularly about the way stabling and stable management influence lowgrade or ‘sub-clinical’ disease. It is not about major diseases like flu or strangles, although aspects of stabling can affect the degree of illness as well as recovery times in these conditions too.

VARYING NEEDS Stabling standards differ from country to country and from season to season. Horses racing in a UK winter, for example, face more climatic fluctuations than in summer or than others might in warmer places, like Dubai, or Florida. Yet the principles of management are similar for all. The horse’s needs vary with prevailing conditions and change has to be recognised and accounted for. To limit infection, it is necessary to understand how organisms set up disease as well as how horses resist infection. In my lifetime, there has been a seachange in stabling ideas generally and it is appropriate to ask why and with what degree of logic. 1 An increased racehorse population from the Sixties onwards meant bigger yards, a movement towards barn-type buildings on economic grounds. The importance (and difficulty) of controlling temperatures and airflows was overlooked until problems arose and these were reflected in results on the track. 2 Condensation in old damp buildings, where water ran from walls and ceilings, was resolved by radically increasing ventilation. This reduced dampness – but the negative consequences brought an increase in lowgrade infection. 3 Vets treating horses with severe respiratory disease, like COPD, saw a need for more air. Bigger holes were made in stable walls, even between individual stables. No one asked if the fit racehorse, not being ill, might be unique in not tolerating this.

DEFENCE AGAINST THE ENVIRONMENT It is essential to the health of racehorses that their stables are clean, warm and draft-free. The defences against infection operate best when environmental conditions are stable and unchanging, when there is warmth to maintain body temperature without a need to burn-off stored energy to combat the cold. Consider that the stabled horse cannot generate heat from movement and cannot remove itself from unhealthy or unpleasant conditions. In fact, with certain variations, the horse’s resistance to infection runs very close to that of humans in similar conditions. Having a thick skin and hairy coat does not prevent disease; besides, we are obliged to clip coats, automatically reducing the insulating influences of fat through the training programme. Furthermore, warm clothing cannot compensate for drafty airflows and a cold horse loses weight as well as the fuel it needs for work. It also loses some of its ability to resist infection at a cellular level. Add to this how intensive training affects fluid balance and demands fine tuning of all body systems, and disease at even a sub-clinical level is easier to understand.

RESISTANCE Natural resistance in otherwise healthy horses decides the length of time from infection to recovery and this, with most known organisms, is never open-ended. Resistance is, in fact, a measure of normal health that can be lost through disease, malnutrition or age. While recovery from debilitating conditions may be slow, sub-clinical infections should be overcome in days rather than weeks. Where this is not the case, external influences are likely to be involved. Stabling factors are a common cause. In recent times, all sorts of ‘medicines’ have been used to bolster resistance, but with little effect – because the answer frequently lies in the stable, not the horse.

ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE In horse management generally, many ideas and accepted facts are anecdotal and always have been. That is, they have come by word of mouth, from the trial and error investigations of individuals rather than through scientific research. Racing history suggests our ancestors knew as much about the horse as we do today, that despite talk of new levels of fitness, modern training methods are superior to those of the past. Many old ideas came from people who relied on their horses for work, transport and enjoyment. They were never backed by science because it was never possible to do so. But poor science, based on assumption, is no better than anecdote and there has been much of that. Technology hasn’t helped either and we should never dismiss knowledge as ‘unscientific’ unless there is solid evidence against it. For example, some today keep their horses in Arctic-cold conditions while others speak of heating stables. Both cannot be right.

SUB-CLINICAL DISEASE The term ‘sub-clinical’ describes any disease condition where the symptoms are obscure, whatever the cause. In the main, it refers to viral and bacterial conditions where the affected animal is not obviously ill, but racing performance suffers. The organism, when isolated, might not be thought capable of causing disease. That it becomes so is a reflection of stress, something in the horse’s management that favours infection. There have been numerous examples in modern times. One reason acceptable research is lacking is because medicine has no fool-proof way of identifying sub-clinical infections, especially when the final measure is the racecourse. A negative laboratory finding is worthless if the horse runs badly and, in fact, no research into performance-related problems can ever be fruitful if lowgrade conditions are not accounted for. In the absence of science, of course, anecdotal evidence is all there is. But, to be acceptable, it must come from informed sources, from volume experience and the studied observation of people educated to see and know. It won’t come from those who interpret tests and machines, or from the experiences of those in non-racing areas.

DECISIONS ON BUILDING Stables are often built with cost a first priority, even with the comfort of humans put before horses. Then, when disease appears, questions are raised about whether or not building design might be a cause. Opinions have often been provided by individuals with no understanding of the elements involved. ‘Experts’ emerged from areas like pig management, which was novel. The needs of sedentary animals reared to produce fat are not the same as those in whom fat is distinctly unwanted. Ultimately, disease has to be dealt with by professionals. Any infection needs to be investigated to provide understanding and control. In an ideal world, organisms are isolated and identified. But, as we know, unexplained outbreaks – loosely described as ‘the virus’ - have ruined the careers of both horses and trainers. Their true cause might never have been defined, but a list of the victims contains some distinguished names as well as many who never got off the ground.

‘THE VIRUS’ In relating health and stabling then, we are addressing a problem that has plagued UK racing for years. Inevitably, busy yards are exposed to organisms that arrive from different sources and can cause disease at any time, sometimes leading to outbreaks that last long periods, belying accepted patterns. Mixed or sequential infections are a feature of this and one organism may simply follow another, or become re-activated, as appears to happen in herpes infections. Actually, the term ‘the virus’ means nothing specific. It can represent infection by a single virus, but more commonly reflects a lowering of resistance that gives opportunity to any organism going the rounds. The distinction between debilitating conditions and ‘the virus’ lies in the clinical effect. In a serious infection, a horse is sick and evidently so. With ‘the virus’, animals look healthy but are unable to show their form. A range of mild symptoms may be seen, but observers comment on how insignificant they are. Most eat and drink normally, look ‘big’ and well; others have dry coats, lose condition and seem to lack energy. The general view is that they are not sick, as trainers regularly insist. Some, that appear to work well, are only found wanting when raced. Looked at more closely, the lining membranes may be inflamed, lymph glands enlarged, there may be watery, or thicker, discharges from nose and eye. However mild, these are signs of disease. Lowgrade liver involvement may occur and is a serious impediment to racing. The horse will not return to form for months rather than weeks. Bleeding from the lungs is also more common in the presence of infection. It is likely to become chronic where the aggravating factors are not removed.

MEASURING FITNESS As a practising vet, I cut my diagnostic teeth on viral outbreaks that initially involved stud farms, then moved to racing with a view to defining the parameters of infection and monitoring horses as they returned from illness to full training. The task was to relate this to form on the course and, ultimately, to see if it was possible to diagnose with certainty and predict with any degree of accuracy. To do this, it was necessary to find a simple way of measuring health in a fully fit horse and to pit this against expectation, or effort on the track. An effective method had to give instant information, prove reliable and be consistent. It, ideally, needed to be effective the day before a race and would prove worthless if not accurate to a high degree. It was necessary, too, to recognise that a horse with no identifiable infection might have other physical problems, be unwilling or temperamental. So the exercise was complex and movement, for a racing animal, is as important as heart-beat or lung expansion. THE HEART An idea came after Roberto, an Irish Derby favourite trained by M. V. O’Brien, ran down the field; and the belief that such a performance had to be predictable through the heart’s action, which it would have been. While the technique doesn’t have a wide use, because of the complexity of issues and the difficulties of interpretation, it has proved extremely useful in evaluating management factors that influence health and stabling. The heart of a healthy racing animal is obliged to operate with ease and strength during work, the ability for which is best judged when at rest in the stable, preferably some hours after exercise. As training progresses, it adapts to its greater workload and strengthens; the resting beat-per-minute (bpm) rate also reduces. The sounds in a healthy horse are consistent and reliable, although there are many normal variations as well as changes that verge towards the clinical. They can, with experience, be interpreted to provide a reliable measure of health in a fit horse. There is a whole range of factors that might influence heart sounds, not just illness or infection, and the predictability of peformance relies as much on precisely how fit an animal is as on its state of health. The task of evaluating sounds is complex, too, and the variety of changes from normality is extensive. Any imposition on the heart’s working capacity (by infection, dehydration, anaemia) brings changes that are recognisable with a stethoscope, therefore open to interpretation; they can be related to performance capacity once all necessary information is included in the opinion. The extremes of heart function are heard in serious clinical infection (when the beat is usually loud and the bpm elevated) and with the least intrusive organisms (when changes are more subtle). The likely influence on peformance is often a fine judgment, especially so where infection is slight and the horse is overcoming it.

RESEARCH All this, of course, is subjective, therefore unlikely to satisfy scientists, but it works in the field and makes it possible to understand and differentiate between causes in a way that other systems cannot. Infection is probably the most common cause of performance disappointment. By using this kind of monitoring, it is possible to move affected animals from one stable to another and evaluate how they react and how quickly infection is overcome, the racecourse being a critical test of the decisions made. Thousands of horses in a variety of management conditions have provided private research facilities with material and are the basis of the opinions expressed here. Many horses were monitored on a daily basis, even through the course of a racing season. There are, sadly, no records, but the opinions have come from many years of working with both Flat and National Hunt animals, in yards that varied in size from a handful to a hundred-plus. As a general rule, no attempt was made to isolate organisms – mainly because of past problems with isolation and interpretation. At times, organisms were isolated which, on all the evidence, looked responsible for disease yet were considered at laboratory level to be insignificant. While this situation may have changed, the necessity clinically is to assess the situation and act; there is no time for delay. In most of my work, the diagnosis of infection was based purely on symptoms. Old and new yards were involved, old and young horses, old and modern buildings, barns as well as single-stable units. It proved possible to relate performance to specific conditions and origins. Once the complexity of the exercise was overcome, it was simple to assess infection and follow it through its course from start to return of full performance expression.

Distinguishing between the responses of horses kept in different stabling and environmental conditions became routine. Even in infected yards, some were kept racing while others about them were ill, as long as the management elements were understood and permitted it. The very successful jumps trainer Fulke Walwyn achieved great success at a time when very different attitudes pertained to today. Known as ‘a windows man’, it was common for him to be seen adjusting windows in an effort to control airflows as conditions and temperatures changed. His horses ran with great consistency, as did those of Tom Dreaper, who appears to have held similar principles, judged by pictures of Arkle in his stable. Perhaps both knew from instinct things we overlook now, or they may simply have followed the advice of their forebears without giving it too much thought. Finally, it needs to be stressed that this exercise was conducted on fundamentally healthy horses, to interpret and control performance on the track. For it to work, management generally has to be of the highest standard and that applies to everything that surrounds the life of a racing animal

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Pre-race deterrents - how its surroundings can affect a horse's race

It is an ordinary raceday at Newmarket’s Rowley Mile Racecourse. I am taking my notes by the pre-parade ring. This pre-parade ring is much better than the one over at the July Course, I say to myself. It is a relaxing place for the horses, not least for the young horses. Quite spacious, it is an inviting place. At the July Course, on the other hand, the pre-parade ring is charmingly embraced by tall trees. That, however, makes it a tight and enclosed place, not one for the claustrophobics among us, be it on two or four legs. Trees on all sides and a fence on the one side also mean that the horses cannot see what is making that odd sound, when a trolley is being pushed along on metal wheels on the tarmac just a couple of yards away. Or glass is being smashed into a bottle bank behind the fence.

No, the Rowley Mile is a much nicer place to stretch one’s legs before a race. It must be. Then, as a ten-year-old gelding walks calmly past me, something odd happens. And it makes me think. The old gelding virtually explodes. From having walked around so quietly, getting ready for his 39th race, he swirls round, then kicks out three or four times, hitting the plastic rail again and again. The rail goes to bits, the handler manages to control the horse with one hand, while the animal is still shaking and looking worried. Why with only one hand? Because the other hand is holding a mobile phone.

A couple of weeks later I see another horse who spooks violently from having been seemingly relaxed, as it is being led past a spectator whose mobile phone rings. Do racehorses react to mobile phones? Most people would probably say no, and perhaps these incidents were pure coincidences. However, they do lead us to an interesting thought: what are the most common deterrents in the preliminaries to a race? How can racecourses improve in this department, and how can a trainer best prepare to avoid, or at least minimise, the effects of various deterrents? Another question is, of course, is it in the best interest of safety to let handlers use mobile phones when leading up horses for races? Perhaps there are enough risk factors around them already.

Some trainers are noticeably good at delaying their horses, in particular their juveniles, on the way to the paddock, ensuring that the runner experiences as little stress as possible before the race. What is it that they are trying to avoid? Surely, letting the horse have a little walk, and loosen up, before he canters down to the start is a good move. Still, time and time again one sees horses that are deliberately late entering the paddock, making just one of two laps in front of the public, then leaves the paddock to go down to post. Many trainers also take a dislike to the parades prior to big races, as the walk in front of the stands can upset the horse, and make it nervous. This can be described as another ‘deterrent’ but some have voiced the opinion that a parade is a part of the test for a racehorse. Just like breaking smartly from the stall, travelling with ease through the race, and being able to quicken when it’s needed. What is the main difference here? The main difference is of course that racehorses are being trained to do all these things, they are given plenty of practice at home. But for one thing, they never practice a parade. Not even in the prep races leading up a big race, where a parade is required, offer the chance of practicing a parade.

Horses are animals of habit. Thoroughbred racehorses are much happier, more relaxed, when they know what is going on and what is expected of them, than when they are faced with a new scenario. A racehorse with some experience knows that, when he is led out of the paddock onto the track, he is expected to canter down to the start. Is it then so peculiar that he gets worked up on the day when the handler does not let him go, the jockey takes a hold of the reins and both humans try to make him keep walking. Could this have the same effect as it has on a dog to take a strong, firm grip on the lead when a stranger approaches? To most dogs, this is a bad signal, and they normally assume that the stranger represents a danger. Hence the owner’s strong grip.

Horses are not as intelligent as dogs but it is my guess that many of them do get extra anxious when they are asked to do a parade before a race. It is something new, it is something unexpected, and the horse simply wonders why this is happening. Can we put it on our list of deterrents? Yes, doing a parade can probably be called a deterrent. On a normal raceday, however, there are no parades. There are other phases the horse needs to negotiate, before the race is off and running. From travelling to the racecourse, being saddled, going to the paddock, to eventually being loaded into the starting stalls. When asking a keen paddock watcher which deterrents are observed the most in the preliminaries, we get this short list as a reply: Loud intermittent noise (like car alarms), windy rain, children running towards the paddock screaming and musical bands too close to the paddock area. It is a varied mix, don’t you think? One common denominator is simply, something the horse did not expect.

Yorkshire trainer Mark Johnston has some interesting views. “There will always be deterrents when a horse goes racing”, he says. “In my opinion, the most unnecessary of these are the bands many racecourses have. Often they are far too close to the paddocks, and this causes a risk. Also, the big screens at the racecourses can be a problem. Don’t get me wrong, I think these screens are good, and we all like to have them, but when they put a screen up at Goodwood the horses seemed never to able to take their eyes off them. It is too low. There is also a big screen close to the horses in the paddock at the Newmarket Rowley Mile course, but this one is higher up and does not bother the horses at all. In the pre-parade ring at the same course, there is big statue of Brigadier Gerard in the middle, and some horses get scared by it. There are many things that can be called deterrents. “I think the whole idea of saddling boxes sighted by the public is misplaced, and this can cause problems”, Johnston continues. “It is an attraction for the racegoer but not in the best interest of the horse. It is almost like letting fans into the dressing room at Old Trafford before Manchester United play a match. Of course, everyone would agree that would be ridiculous. All we want is to get the horse to the race in the best possible way, and to saddle in a poor, uninviting saddling box, with lots of people quite close, is not ideal.” Sir Mark Prescott takes the same view: “The one thing you can do to avoid that the horse ‘chucks it away’ before the race is to saddle in the stables, when you can get permission and when it is feasible to do so. I think it is interesting to note that Aidan O’Brien always saddles his horses outside, obviously thinking that they are then less likely to be upset. We all have our little ideas, which may or may not help.” When we talk about paddocks, pre-parade rings and saddling boxes, which are the better courses? “The paddock at Longchamp must be one of the best in the world”, Johnston says. “You know how packed it is on Arc day, and how noisy it can get, yet the horses are always calm and relaxed there. I believe that is because the crowd is higher up, and also because the horses cannot see open spaces. Horses don’t like seeing unfamiliar open spaces. When it comes to saddling arrangements, the best courses in Britain are Haydock and Ayr, where we saddle in the stables right next to the paddock”.

The issue of upsetting factors for horses prior to races are obviously related to young horses, more than older and experienced horses. “Yarmouth, for example, is a good place for a juvenile to make his debut”, Johnston says. “We saddle in the stable, there is no pre-parade ring, the paddock is right next to the course and there is not a walk out to the racecourse.” Yarmouth is 240 miles away from Johnston’s base in Middleham but he often sends juveniles to the seaside course, which is just 70 miles away from Newmarket. It is easy to see why trainers Newmarket trainers like Henry Cecil, Sir Michael Stoute and John Gosden run many of their debutants at Yarmouth. “One bad place for juveniles, however, is the July Course in Newmarket”, Johnston comments. “The pre-parade ring there is dangerous, sooner or later someone will get kicked. It is too tight, there are too many people there and the area is often very noisy.” Johnston is not at all keen on another place either, the much closer to home racecourse at York, where a long walk is required before racing. “This is the worst place”, he says, “we need to walk the horses all the way across the Knavesmire from the stables to get to the paddock. One can get special permission and take them around in the horsebox, but that is not at all practical, with parking problems and so on. Horses often get upset when walked across the track like this”.

When we mention parades, Johnston’s opinion is that they should be “scrapped altogether”. He continues, “cantering the horses down in racecard order should be fine and become the standard”, he says, “but parades are not good. I do not feel it is right to expect a racehorse to parade for big races. They are not used to it and many get stirred up. It can also give you an advantage, though, as I found out when I trained Bijou d’Inde. Nothing fazed him and he was like a big, old police horse. Other horses, like Quick Ransom and Yavana’s Pace, always got upset in a parade.”

Racecourses allow music, crowds quite close to the horses in the saddling areas and pre-parade rings, but virtually every racecard has a warning about flash photography – something they do not allow. “This is quite interesting”, Johnston says, “as I have never seen a horse being bothered by a flash from a camera.” Camera flashes are very quick, probably much quicker than most people would guess. Mostly they light up for only between 1/800 second to 1/20,000 second (though there are some high-speed mode cameras giving out series of flashes, each of about 1/300 sec.). Can horses catch these flashes of light? According to Rayetta Burr, a two-time Eclipse Award winning photographer working for Benoit & Associates at Santa Anita and Hollywood Parks in California, where they stage some twilight meetings, the use of flash is not upsetting horses. She says, “Regarding flash photography in the paddock or winners’ circle, this has never been a problem here on the West Coast”. It seems that racecourse managements are focusing on something that really is no problem, while totally overlooking other risk factors.

Henry Cecil has an interesting comment, when we ask him about deterrents in the preliminaries. “I feel that the most incidents occur due to horses being upset in the paddock by umbrellas”, he says. Of course! An umbrella cannot be a good thing to swing around a racehorse, not least since they are in use on wet, sometimes windy days, when the horse will be a bit on edge anyway. My suspicion of mobile phones, on the other hand, does not get professional support. Mark Johnston is not too concerned. “I have no experience of horses getting upset by phones”, he explains. “Obviously, we are not too happy if the handler is on the phone when leading up the horse, but I do not think the sounds from phones are a risk. Our senior riders always carry a mobile phone”.

So, my theory that the old gelding smashing that rail at Newmarket did so because his handler was answering the phone may not hold much credence. Johnston must have seen thousands of horses close to ringing and active mobile phones. Other than distracting the handler, which can be bad enough, they do not cause a risk. A crowded saddling box, a loud band, the sight of an umbrella, a big screen or the prospect of a rather bouncy parade, are factors far more likely to put the thoroughbred off balance prior to a race. And, different as they are, these factors have one thing in common: unlike wind and rain, they should all be easy to eliminate.

Pilates For Horses - enhancing performance and reducing injuries

Pilates is increasingly used amongst professional athletes as a method to enhance athletic performance and to reduce injuries.

Nicole Rossa (European Trainer - issue 21 - Spring 2008)

Eoin Harty - profile of the former assistant to Bob Baffert

Therewas always an air of levity at Bob Baffert's barn when Eoin Harty worked there. Not that the game they played wasn't serious. It was. Preparing 1,000-pound equine athletes with spindly legs to perform at their peak on the world's stage is not a job for anyone in short pants.

During the seven years Harty was Baffert's assistant, they won the Kentucky Derby twice–with Silver Charm in 1997 and Real Quiet in 1998–and missed by a heart-breaking nose with Cavonnier in 1996. But in between the regimented tedium, there was always time for a good hoot. Fact is, it was and still is part of Baffert's DNA.
"He's got a sense of humor," Baffert said of Harty. "He has a good disposition and we liked to have a lot of fun, so he fit in well."

But work came first, and Harty had his priorities in order. His foundation was ingrained. Lean and sinewy with chiseled features, Harty hails from a family of Irish horsemen that extends back at least five generations. His grandfather, great grandfather, and great-great grandfather were trainers in their native Ireland. Eoin (pronounced Owen) began to hone his craft under the learned wing of the late John Russell before joining with Baffert, who saw a master in the making.

"Eoin showed up every day," Baffert recalled. "He works hard and he's passionate about what he does, and I like that in all my assistants. He made sacrifices that have to be made in this business. He loves what he does."

Not that Harty doesn't have a touch of rebel in him. In fact, it was his streak of independence and his flair for adventure that brought him to America, not loyalty to convention. His sense of humor, indigenous to the Irish, helped, too. Asked how his clan developed their wit, Harty said it was "a case of poverty and depravation." Still, it was not mandated that he follow in his forebearers' footsteps.

"No, it was not pre-ordained that I would train horses," Harty said. "I left high school and came over here. I can't say I graduated; my time in high school was up, so that's why I ended up here. There was nothing going on in Ireland. Jobs were really hard to find. It was pretty much a third-world economy at the time, and America's the land of opportunity."

Following one year working for the Irish National Stud, Harty came to the United States at the age of 17.
"I had always worked around horses as a kid, so when I came here in 1981, I got a job at the track and worked for John Russell for a long time," Harty said. "He was winding down and Bob was starting up and I was lucky enough to get a job.

"I learned common horsemanship and basic training methods. Both were very good trainers, just different. John trained a lot of European grass horses and was kind of old school. Bob was more into developing 2-year-olds and 3-year-olds. They had different philosophies."

Harty struck out on his own in 2000 and was hired by Godolphin to take over the Darley Stud Management arm of Sheikh Mohammed al Maktoum's racing empire, with emphasis on developing young runners, an undertaking termed Godolphin's "American project."

In his second full season, he saddled Tempera to win the 2001 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. She earned an Eclipse Award for her achievement, but in 2002 was euthanized due to colitis and laminitis. Training her was a challenge.

"We tried to work together on Tempera," recalled David Flores, who rode her in the Juvenile Fillies. "She was not an easy filly and Eoin did a great job getting her to settle down, because she was one that wanted to run off. She was kind of flighty, but he got her to relax. I was so pleased when she was ready to go to the Breeders' Cup, and it was mainly due to Eoin's perseverance."

Now, if the fates allow, the clock of destiny will click Harty towards the Kentucky Derby on May 3, thanks to a robust 3-year-old named Colonel John, one of 25 horses Harty has in training at Santa Anita. A bay son of two-time Horse of the Year Tiznow owned by the Versailles, Kentucky-based WinStar Farm of Kenny Troutt and Bill Casner, Colonel John was preparing for the Santa Anita Derby at press time and was a leading Kentucky Derby contender. The colt looked like a million bucks in the post parade for the Sham Stakes on March 1 before winning that race, handing El Gato Malo his first defeat in the process.

In measured terms, Harty discussed the possibility of Colonel John capturing the Run for the Roses, a race in which Harty has never flown solo.

"I think Colonel John is good enough to run well, but I don't know if he's good enough to win," Harty said. "He's certainly good enough to show up and I feel pretty confident that he's a contender."

Winning the Derby would be a crowning achievement, of course, but not necessarily one that would perpetuate the Harty family custom to the next generation. Eddie, the 15-year-old son of Eoin and his wife, Kathleen, is not destined to be a horseman.

"Racing is a 24-7 business, with no days off, no vacations and no benefits," Harty said. "You have to love it and I wouldn't want him to do it unless he wanted to. I wouldn't push him. It's a tough life. There's got to be a better way to make a living."

Not that Eoin Harty is looking for one, especially if he wins the Kentucky Derby.

Then he can laugh all the way to the winner's circle.

26 June 2008 - Issue Number: 6

Ed Halpern's observations on being a horse trainer

Training thoroughbred horses is a wonderful occupation. Many who quit training miss it for the remainder of their life. Why then is it that the community of thoroughbred horse trainers seems so unhappy? Even the most successful of trainers walks around in the morning head down. During training hours, if you engage in conversation with a trainer, it will most likely be a serious conversation. In trackside conversations, trainers can be smiling and engaging, but there is usually a sense that their minds are on other things. I also observe in many an anger that lies just below the surface waiting to reveal itself at the slightest provocation. Sure there is humorous repartee, but it is covered by the shadow of failure. This is a subject I have wanted to look at for a long time, but I have hesitated because it always sounds like whining.

Certainly, we have nothing to whine about. We work in some of the most beautiful settings to be found anywhere: Del Mar, Santa Anita, Keeneland, and Saratoga. We work outdoors. We work with animals. Unlike doctors or judges, our decisions are not life and death. Unlike our young soldiers in Iraq, we don't have to deal with snipers or bombs hidden along our paths. Unlike stockbrokers, our decisions are not likely to bring financial ruin or even great harm to our clients. Unlike criminal lawyers, our mistakes are not likely to end in a jail sentence for a client. The investments made in racing by most of our clients are made with disposable income. If a life is changed because of what we do, most likely it is because someone hits the jackpot or spent unforgettable moments in the winners circle. So, why the long faces?

Training horses successfully is a very difficult pursuit. I once told a friend I was going to become a thoroughbred horse trainer and he observed, "Why would you want to go into a profession that is programmed for failure?" (Some would say I have lived up to his expectations.) He was right. Very few trainers are financially successful. He was right, even that small fraternity of trainers who make a decent living face some kind of failure every day. And he was dead on right because even the superstars lose 5 or 6 times for each time they win. Even Hall of Fame trainers can lose 9 out of 10 times and do it year after year after year.

Training horses is a very demanding pursuit. Once in a great while, a trainer gets to give an owner good news, but most of the time, it is a trainer's fate to convey bad news. It is very hard to get used to doing that. One is required to get up early, work long hours, work seven days a week, forgo vacations, and give up time with one's family. The job requires attention to every detail. Because of the trainer-insurer rule, a trainer without any culpability can find himself on the wrong end of a medication violation and be subject to fines, disqualifications, public ridicule, and humiliation. In addition thereto, a trainer has to depend on the skills and loyalty of grooms, hotwalkers, exercise riders, and jockeys.  In many cases, the program that the trainer has outlined is in the hands of others and totally outside the control of the trainer. The best laid plans for a workout can go totally awry; a well-planned slow workout can go fast, and a well-planned fast workout can go slow. After months of preparation, a race can be a fiasco caused by other horses, other jockeys, or one's own jockey, and all in the course of a few minutes.

Finally, training horses is a heartbreaking pursuit. Some mornings, a shed row will resemble a hospital emergency room. Each morning brings new injuries, new illnesses, and a plethora of other problems. Even if racing or training injuries are avoided, horses have nothing to do all day but find ways to hurt themselves. Sooner or later, they usually do. It matters not if a horse is a superstar or a cheap claimer, a career can end in the blink of an eye. Therefore, it is a trainer's lot to live while always holding his or her breath, at least a little bit.

It is no wonder that, on the surface, so many trainers seem so unhappy or overwhelmed with worry. But few would give it up. Many are octogenarians before they retire. Some breathe their last breath in the barn area. There is no occupation that offers higher highs or lower lows. Ultimately, the moments of joy outweigh the hours of disappointment. There is enough happiness in those moments to make it all worthwhile. For those who dedicate their lives to the training of horses, satisfaction is found in the entire process. Catch a trainer away from the stress of the workplace for a few minutes and you are likely to find that he or she is one of the happiest people you know.


Ed Halpern
 (26 June 2008 - Issue Number: 6)

TRM Trainer of the Quarter - Ian Williams

The TRM Trainer of the Quarter goes to Ian Williams who has been training for over ten years and, having served lengthy apprenticeships with Jenny Pitman, Francois Doumen and Martin Pipe, it comes as no surprise that the Alvechurch handler has landed one of England's most sought-after races.

James Crispe (European Trainer - Issue 22 / Summer 2008) 

Tom Amoss - the secret behind his amazing success rate

THIS IS A SCANNED IN ARTICLE - FROM OUR PRE DIGITAL DAYS!

This article first appeared in North American Trainer - Spring 2008 - issue 7

Pelvic asymmetry in racehorses - increased risk of injury?

By Nicole Rossa

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 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.

Oiling the Wheels - using oil as a supplement in the diet of racehorses

Historically, oil has not featured highly in the diets of horses in training, or indeed those of other horses. 
The natural oil content of pasture and other forages is quite low at between 2-3% on a dry matter basis, yet despite this, horses digest oil extremely well. Oil added to the racehorses’ diet is tolerated well, with no major palatability problems having been reported.

There are many advantages to feeding an oil supplemented diet to horses in training. For feed manufacturers, the addition of increasing amounts of oil in a feed formulation allows the addition of energy or ‘calories,’ without any contribution towards the starch and protein content of the feed. This means that lower starch feeds can be produced, whilst maintaining the total energy content of the feed. This type of diet can help prevent the digestive system from being overwhelmed by the presence of starch in the diet. Additionally, beneficial effects of this type of diet on behaviour have also been reported and horses that are prone to tying up may also gain.

Oil supplementation can also potentially bring other beneficial effects e.g. on coat condition and on respiratory health or mobility and performance. However these additional desirable effects are likely to depend not only on the quantity of oil within the daily ration, but also on the nature of the oil included.



OIL - MORE ENERGY THAN MOST INGREDIENTS IN FEED


The energy or calorie content of oil is higher than any other ingredient commonly used in the manufacture of racing feeds.

In a direct comparison with oats, vegetable oil such as corn oil provides about 70% more energy for a given weight. From a trainer’s perspective, top dressing oil onto an existing ration allows an increase in the energy density of the feed i.e. more calories for the same volume of feed. This is particularly useful for fussy feeders helping to keep their meal sizes relatively small.
Ingredient Energy (MJ/kg)
Corn Oil 38 
Oats 12.5 
Racing Mix 13
 Hay 7.5


Oil is usually added into the diet in oz or ml rather than in kilograms. So for a more practical comparison, a coffee mug of oil, which is equivalent to about 250ml (225g), would provide about 9 MJ of energy, which is equivalent to about ¾ of a flat scoop of oats (750g).

There are many types of oil besides corn and soya that have been fed to horses over the years. Vegetable oils derived from rapeseed or canola, sunflower, safflower, coconut and even peanut have been previously fed. Fish oils such as tuna oil, salmon oil and cod liver oil have also been used. Cod liver oil should, however, be used sparingly due to the high fat soluble vitamin content.

Other high oil containing ingredients that are commonly used in racing feeds, or in some cases to top-dress racing diets, include rice bran, linseed meal, full fat soya and naked oats.

Whilst the oil content of all of these ingredients is relatively high, the starch content varies quite significantly. In terms of oil delivery and starch content, linseed meal would clearly be a good choice for oil supplementation where a low starch containing diet was desired.
 
Ingredient % Oil Content % Starch Content
Ricebran 16-20 15-27 
Linseed Meal 37 5.5 
Full Fat Soya 20 4.5 
Naked Oats 10 53

EFFECTS ON BEHAVIOUR


There has been some suggestion in the scientific literature in recent years that feeding a ration that is high in oil and fibre and low in starch can have a beneficial effect on behaviour, in terms of reducing excitability.  Studies on Thoroughbreds with recurrent exertional rhabdomyolysis (RER) reported decreased excitability and nervousness, as well as lower resting heart rates, when they were fed a low starch high oil containing diet, compared with an isocaloric diet that was low in oil and high in starch. This effect, however, is likely to have been mostly due to the reduction in starch intake from cereal, rather than the oil content per se. The use of increased amounts of oil in the diet does, however, facilitate the reduction in starch content without leaving an ‘energy gap.’   
 


BENEFICIAL PROPERTIES FOR TYING UP


More recently, stress has been implicated as a trigger for RER in susceptible horses and so the potentially beneficial effects of oil supplemented diets that are also low in starch and high in fibre have been extolled. Accordingly, lower plasma concentrations of creatine kinase (CK) following a standard exercise test have been reported in response to such diets, in comparison to traditional racing type diets that are high in starch and low in fibre and oil. Specialists on RER have successfully advocated the use of such diets for horses in training that are at risk from RER. In addition, there is a strong argument for the use of such diets during pre-training and the early part of actual training. Significant oil supplementation during full training, if the starch content of the diet is also drastically reduced, is more controversial due to the metabolic effects that can be induced and so the potential effect on subsequent exercise performance.

METABOLIC EFFECTS OF OIL SUPPLEMENTATION


Putting this section into context, the metabolic adaptations to oil supplementation have been reported to occur when relatively large quantities of oil are fed, typically where near to 20% of the total dietary energy intake is provided by oil. For a cube or a mix fed at, for example 6kg per day, this would require a 10% declaration of oil for that feed. For comparison most racing feeds would contain oil at the level of inclusion of 5 - 8.5%.

A high level of oil supplementation has been reported latterly to decrease resting muscle glycogen concentration and improve the use of fat as a fuel source during low and moderate intensity exercise (trotting through to slow cantering) through metabolic adaptation at the muscle level. This offers the possibility of sparing muscle glycogen stores during low intensity exercise training, but equally may impede muscle glycogen replenishment following hard work or racing, which may disadvantage (see European Trainer Issue 19 Racing Power - Supporting Muscular Effort through Nutrition).


The effect of oil supplementation on high intensity exercise performance such as racing is very controversial. Some studies show little or no effect, whilst others have shown a beneficial effect. As a result the scientific community are divided and so the jury is still very much out in this respect.

OTHER HEALTH BENEFITS OF OIL SUPPLEMENTATION


Dietary oil also provides a source of what are termed essential fatty acids, namely linoleic acid, which belongs to the omega 6 family of fatty acids and α-linolenic acid, which belongs to the rival family the omega 3’s. Most ingredients found in a racehorses’ diet are rich in the omega 6 type of fatty acid with much less omega 3 fatty acid present.

The role for dietary omega-3 fatty acids which has been proposed in maintaining joint and skin health, and in supporting immune function, fertility and respiratory health, makes them an attractive nutraceutical ingredient for racehorses. The use of linseed meal has recently increased in proprietary horse feed and supplements. However, although α-linolenic acid is a precursor of the longer chain more bioactive omega 3’s, eicosapentanoic acid (EPA) and docosahexanoic acid (DHA), the efficiency of conversion is quite low.

Therefore nutraceutical ingredients that provide a more concentrated source of either or both EPA and DHA are becoming more widely used. Ingredients such as micro-encapsulated and deodorised fish oils e.g. tuna oil, as well as green lipped mussel, and more recently plant sources of DHA in the form of algae are now more commonly seen in equine products, primarily supplements.

Few studies into the efficacy of omega-3 fatty acids have, however, been published in horses. In a preliminary study using ponies with sweet itch, a beneficial effect of linseed on inflammatory skin conditions was proposed. Encouraging results have also been reported for the effect of supplementation with a combination of EPA and DHA on arthritic horses.

In humans there is some evidence to support a protective role for omega-3 fatty acids in human asthma, a condition that is not unlike recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) in horses, but the results are not indisputable.  A recent supplementation study with omega 3 fatty acids in horses, however, did not significantly alter clinical indicators of pulmonary function, although the leukocyte counts in epithelial lung lining fluid were reduced in the omega-3 supplemented horses. This may suggest an effect of supplementation on pulmonary inflammation.

HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH AND CAN THERE BE TOO MUCH?


The answer to this question is not straightforward as if you are intending to top dress oil onto feeds, the quantity required will largely depend on how much is present in the basal diet already.  Certainly, where the oil is being used to increase the energy density of the diet and reduce the inclusion of starch rich ingredients, a level of 250-300ml per day to replace a kilo of oats or other racing feed would not be inappropriate, where the basal diet contained a low level of oil. For horses that struggle to maintain condition, addition of 100-150mls of oil daily into the existing ration is likely to help.

One should always remember, however, that oil does not provide any protein or vitamins and minerals and so must be fed in conjunction with a balanced diet, particularly with respect to antioxidant vitamins such as vitamin E. Oil should always be introduced to the diet slowly and the daily amount spread over several meals. In addition, any adverse affect on dropping consistency may be a warning that the level of oil in the total diet is too high and the level should be reduced.

As far as the neutraceutical omega 3 fatty acids are concerned, we know much less about the quantities required, but hopefully research will continue in this area to investigate their potentially beneficial effects.

Derby Starters - where do they go from there?

By Bill Heller

Led by Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense, the three-year-old crop of 2007 rearranged a lot of people’s thinking on what it takes to succeed on the first Saturday of May and beyond.

Street Sense not only became the first colt to win the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and the Run for the Roses the following spring, but along with the Derby's second and third place finishers, Hard Spun and Curlin, thrived later in the year. So did Tiago and Any Given Saturday, who finished seventh and eighth in the Derby and joined the top three in the starting gate for the Breeders' Cup Classic.

"Maybe they did wind up in the Classic because they weren't burned out," said Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito, whose undefeated 2007 Two-Year-Old Champion Colt War Pass will attempt to give him his third Kentucky Derby victory. "Last year was an exceptional crop."

The leader of the crop was Curlin, who didn't make his career debut until last February 3rd, showing that not racing at two doesn't preclude greatness at three. After winning the Preakness, Jockey Club Gold Cup and Breeders' Cup Classic, he was 2007 Three-Year-Old Champion and Horse of the Year.
So how do trainers of this year's top Kentucky Derby contenders plan their horses' schedules? Specifically, how much time off do they give their colts between their last start at two and first start at three? Has everything changed because of last year?

The 20 horses that entered the starting gate for last year's Kentucky Derby had layoffs ranging from 20 to 133 days before beginning their three-year-old campaign. Hard Spun's was just 26. Street Sense was 133.

Todd Pletcher, who led North American trainers in earnings for the fourth consecutive year, saddled four other starters in last year's Derby besides Any Given Saturday. "There's an obvious trend toward more time between races," Pletcher said last December. "The spacing of races is obviously critical. You want to peak on the first Saturday in May, but there are big stakes that you also want to do well with. There's a fine line between having a horse ready and fit to run in his first start at three and still be able to build on that. It's a delicate balance."

Pletcher's 2007 Derby quintet had layoffs ranging from 70 to 98 days. "If anything, I would lean toward making my first start even later, and maybe having only two or three starts before the Derby," he said. "If I had a horse with a real good foundation leading into winter, I'd consider going into the Derby with just two starts, one in March and one in April.

That's what Carl Nafzger did with Street Sense, the 2006 Two-Year-Old Champion Colt. Nafzger's work getting Street Sense to last year's Derby was nothing short of brilliant. "I think Carl Nafzger did a masterful job with only the two preps," Zito said.

As a two-year-old, Street Sense had five starts, culminating with his breathtaking 10-length romp in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Churchill Downs after finishing third by 1 ¾ lengths to Great Hunter in the Grade 1 Breeders' Futurity over Keeneland's Polytrack surface.

"I had five starts as a two-year-old, but it's not how many times he ran, it's how many times he played the New England Patriots vs. how many he played against a weaker team," Nafzger said. "We played against the best two starts in a row. My horse wasn't mature. He needed some time. He was still growing and developing."

Nafzger decided Street Sense would enter the Derby off two races at three. Then he delayed Street Sense's three-year-old debut an additional 2 ½ weeks until a showdown with Any Given Saturday in the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Derby last March 17th. "We had a three-week window," Nafzger said. "The horse got light on his feet. He was a little crabby traveling. We needed a couple more weeks. Actually, going into that race, I was scared Any Given Saturday would pull away and he (Street Sense) wasn't going to get enough out of it. I might not be as tight as I needed to be. I didn't want to win it as much as I needed a race I had to work hard in. He won anyway (by a nose)."

Street Sense then was nosed by Dominican in the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland before winning the Derby by 2 ¼ lengths, Nafzger's second Run for the Roses, following Unbridled's victory in 1990. "If he only had two races as a two-year-old, I wouldn't have given him only two preps," Nafzger said. "I would have run him maybe four times before the Derby. The horse had what he needed."

So did Hard Spun, who had three starts as a two-year-old neatly spaced out. In fact, entering the Derby, Hard Spun had made one start in October, November, December, January, February and, in his final Derby prep, the Grade 2 Breeders' Futurity, on March 24th. His first start at three was just 26 days after his final start at two, and he won both of them. Hard Spun's gutsy second in the Derby affirmed trainer Larry Jones' wisdom in spacing his races.

"We felt like it was the right schedule for him," Jones said. "He got his career started a little late (last October 22nd). We never felt we had the time to put him into the racing wars, then give him time off. We figured how many races it would take to peak without training him hard. We tried to pick spots where he could move forward and not overmatch him. We felt once a month would take him into the Derby and have him educated enough and be able to increase his distance to keep moving forward to the mile and a quarter (of the Derby). We could probably do that 20 more times, and it wouldn't work for 20 other horses."

What will work this year?

The man with the horse to beat is Zito, seeking his third Kentucky Derby following the triumphs of Strike the Gold in 1991 and Go for Gin in '94. Both had four preps at three.

Strike the Gold, who won one of three starts as a two-year-old, had two allowance races at three before finishing second by a length in the Grade 1 Florida Derby and winning the Blue Grass by three lengths leading up to his 1 ¾-length victory in the Kentucky Derby. "He was a throwback in many ways," Zito said.

Go for Gin, who won three of five starts at two, prepped for the Kentucky Derby by winning the un-graded Preview Stakes, finishing second by three-quarters of a length in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth, finishing fourth in the Florida Derby and running second in the Grade 1 Wood Memorial preceding his two-length victory in the Kentucky Derby, his 10th career start. Last year, the Kentucky Derby was Street Sense's eighth lifetime start.

"At one time, you had to have four races before the Derby," Zito said. "But you're looking at 1991 and 1994," Zito said. "I don't think you can do that now. War Pass can't do that. Anak Nakal (who won the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Juvenile at Churchill Downs last November 24th), I don't know. He's not a big horse. Unfortunately, they don't make the horses like they used to anymore."

They also don't follow the same schedule. The inception of the Breeders' Cup in 1984 gave trainers of precocious two-year-olds a tangible reason to have their juveniles peak in late October or early November. "The Breeders' Cup had a lot to do with it," Zito said.

In last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile, War Pass completed his perfect two-year-old season at four-for-four with a 4 ¾-length romp that left no doubt as to who the winter-book favorite for the Derby would be. Interestingly, Zito didn't follow War Pass's debut victory at Saratoga with a step up to stakes, but rather in an allowance race. War Pass then won the Grade 1 Champagne and Breeders' Cup. "He's a tremendous horse, an exceptional two-year-old," Zito said. "I don't know what he'll be at three, but boy what a heck of a two-year-old."

Zito's initial intention is to give both War Pass and Anak Nakal two or three separate Derby preps. "The thing you love to do is keep them separated until the big show," he said.

Whether War Pass will be the star of that show won't be revealed for months. "It's exciting, but I'm worried," Zito said. "Let's face it. It brings a lot of pressure. I wouldn't say bad pressure, but we'll see. I know one thing. He's talented, that's for sure."

Resistance Training - can it be applied to racehorses?

By Caton Bredar

The termalone, "resistance training," invites at the very least skepticism, and in some cases, even a trace of joviality. As Hall of Fame conditioner Dick Mandella remarked when asked about it, "I'm very familiar with resistance training. For many years, I've had owners who resisted my training. I've had a few horses who resisted, too."

As he is known to do, Mandella was joking.  But as he, and most in the Thoroughbred industry would attest, finding safer ways to train and develop racehorses is no joking matter.

While lacking in research and data, at a basic level resistance training is a tool some equine conditioners - including Mandella - are incorporating at least on a small scale into their training systems.  At a very sophisticated level, a few horsemen are taking the idea of resistance training very seriously. 
It's a type of exercise not without misunderstandings.  Even in the training of human athletes, where resistance training arguably originated, there's some confusion.

Wikipedia defines resistance training as having "two different, sometimes confused meanings." 
The broadest definition, according to the on-line encyclopedia, is any technique that "uses a resistance to the force of muscular contraction (better termed strength training)".  In this sense, weight lifting is a basic form of resistance training with the weights offering resistance in direct opposition to the contraction of the muscle or muscles.

The second, more specific, definition refers to elastic or hydraulic resistance, or any type of training in which external devices -- such as resistance bands or exercise machines, are used to create the opposing force.  In the case of horses, think underwater treadmill.

The American Sports Medicine Institute elaborates on the goal of resistance training, again in human terms, as:  "gradually and progressively overload(ing) the muscular-skeletal system so it gets stronger."
A stronger muscle and skeletal system may well be the goal for any type of athlete.  But when the athlete is four-legged, and already loading hundreds of pounds of pressure on a relatively smaller and decidedly more fragile bone structure, the problem gets increasingly complex.  Take sports injuries in human athletes and multiply them four-fold.

That type of paradox - developing bigger, stronger, more durable racehorses while not breaking them down in the process - has already led some of the biggest names in harness racing to resistance training.
 
Joe Geiser, CEO of a company called Racehorse Conditioning Systems, is a proponent of resistance training and specifically, resistance carts.  According to Geiser, resistance carts have been used for decades in Europe, with "thousands" of the carts in use there today.  Perhaps even more noteworthy, in the United States, more than a third of the winners over the past 20 years of the Hambletonian and Hambletonian Oaks - harness racing's version of the Kentucky Derby and Oaks - have been trained using a particular type of resistance cart that Geiser markets and sells.
 
The theory is admittedly complex.  On his website, Geiser points to several types of muscle fibers, including slow twitch, or aerobic muscle fibers, and fast twitch, or anaerobic fibers.  The aerobic fibers are fueled by oxygen, the anaerobic fibers by glycogen.  Anything needing a short burst of explosive energy, Geiser writes, requires fast twitch, or anaerobic muscle fiber.  Resistance training works to target the anaerobic muscle fiber, but when combined with variations in speed and resistance, can also serve to impact the aerobic muscle fiber.  When done properly, so that the glycogen supplies are depleted and then built back up again, the muscle learns how to produce and store more, which ultimately builds endurance.

Essentially, using a resistance cart is "basically like training a horse on a hill," says Geiser, "and you determine the length and steepness of the hill."

Geiser describes the resistance carts as slightly heavier jog carts equipped with two hydraulic pumps, one on each wheel of the cart, that in theory allow a trainer to increase the horse's workload and/or heart rate, while decreasing the amount of speed involved.  When the trainer depresses a pedal, pressure on the wheel is released, so the horse has to pull - or work - more, even if he's actually slowing down or traveling at a walk.
"The horse doesn't feel the heavier cart, because it's balanced," Geiser says.  "You control the amount of resistance and for how long you apply the resistance.  The resistance itself is against the wheels," rather than directly against a horse's joints.  Muscle groups, in essence, get a workout, without any unnecessary or added wear and tear on the skeletal system.

The majority if not all of the work on resistance carts is done at a walk, also reducing the potential for injury, according to Geiser.  It's done in conjunction with a heart monitor, a key component of the entire program. "The key to the warehouse is the heart monitor."

A Pennsylvania resident, Geiser has trained andowned Standardbred horses on and off for the past six years.  He advocates a system of training that also includes a very specific feeding program, ample recovery time between workouts, meticulous record-keeping, and a knowledge of the horse's maximum heart rate.  He also stresses the importance of a positive attitude, and claims for the horses he has worked directly with, resistance training has almost always led to a healthier horse with a more willing spirit during workouts.

That positive attitude extends to Allentown, a 6-year-old gelded pacer Geiser has been working with, primarily using a resistance cart. 
 
"Allentown has bad knees.  Conventional wisdom told me to get rid of the horse," he offers.  "I laid him up for five months, did a lot of walking with him.  He went out every four days."
With ample recovery time in between resistance cart sessions and a minimum of traditional training - never at an all-out or extreme speed, Allentown returned to the races to record a fifth, a third, two seconds and two wins in six starts, including a win in January of this year.
 
"Fundamentally, the system is pretty easy to use," he adds.  "But it's also easy to over-use and a trainer has to have a lot of patience."

Besides developing a better racehorse over-all, Geiser believes "this is about taking the cheaper horse and getting him to be productive," a principle he thinks could well be adapted to the Thoroughbred racing world.
"I know it's sacrilegious to consider a Thoroughbred pulling a cart," he says.  "But there is some value holistically to teaching a horse to pull a cart."

The famed Thoroughbred conditioner Preston Burch might agree.  First published in 1953, his "Training Thoroughbred Horses" is still considered among horsemen a reliable overview of the fundamentals of training.  Burch writes, "Some trainers have their yearlings broken to harness before they are broken to ride.  This is an excellent idea because it accustoms the yearling to bridle and teaches him to handle himself before weight is put on his back."

In principle, Leonie Seesing, owner and founder of the company Equi-Gym, also agrees.  Now based in Kentucky, Seesing may be one of the first licensed Thoroughbred trainers in America, by Geiser's estimate, to purchase a resistance cart.  A member of the Association of Equine Sports Medicine, Seesing started in Wyoming working as a jockey, owner and trainer before devoting herself to developing an alternative method of training.

"I saw these wonderful, beautiful horses going by the wayside," she claims.  "I believed there had to be a better way."
With very little research to turn to, Seesing looked to human conditioning for inspiration, and says she also was influenced by progressive training "guru" Tom Ivers.

"Thinking out of the box, I tried to stop thinking about what we know about racehorses," and turned to what she could learn about humans, who, according to Seesing, adapt and respond to exercise in much the same way equines do.

"When I started looking at humans," she says, "I started becoming much more innovative, and I found it worked.  The end result was that they race a whole lot better."

Since 1983, Seesing has been a practitioner of progressive training, a form of training she describes as a combination of interval and resistance training, with the goal of increasing heart-rate while lowering impact.
"By going into the anaerobic system and progressively loading your exercise program," she says, "you build the body stronger."

"There's a benefit" to resistance training alone, she says, "but it's not as great.  And for the amount of effort involved, it's kind of foolish…you're missing the most powerful part of training.  With interval training, [the horses] become tough."

Similar to Geiser, Seesing believes in the need to "get inside a horse's head," along with thorough record-keeping, heart-rate monitoring, and a greater understanding of equine physiology.

"Resistance training can be a pretty good-sized tool, used throughout and done with high intensity at the end of a training program.  It teaches the anaerobic system to become more fuel efficient."
 
Seesing finds uphill treadmills and resistance carts to be the most effective means of anaerobic, or resistance, conditioning, and, also similarly to Geiser, believes the greatest benefit may be for the lesser horses.
"Junk horses," she says in describing the majority of the horses she has owned or trained, but points as well to her success rate at getting horses to the races over a five year period - 94 percent, according to her calculations, well above the national average and an indicator that her program is working.

"The majority of trainers have horses like mine," she concludes.  "When you use unconventional methods, you make more money, and you do better."
"Learning good physiology skills…how to manipulate the body.  It takes work to learn," she adds.  "There is so much more to it.  It is overwhelming.  But there are a lot of people who are tired of trashing their horses."
Noted Veterinary Surgeon and Director of Orthopedic Research at Colorado State University, Dr. Wayne McIlwraith stops short of endorsing interval training or putting a cart behind a Thoroughbred, but he does see some potential in resistance training.

"How a horse lands in his stride is innate.  It can't be changed much.  But a lot could be mitigated potentially, with resistance training."

McIlwraith agrees about the importance of muscle fiber.  "Muscle tone is certainly critical," he continues.  "The more fit they are, the more stable the joint, the less disease.  It does come back to muscle."
"There's a lot of logic to it," he concludes, while admitting the research is limited.   "If you can stimulate muscle without wear and tear…if you could train slowly and without impact on the joints…it would absolutely be safer. There's always potential, but I haven't seen any data."

McIlwraith is credited on the website of a relatively new equine resistance training concept called "Cyclone Theory."  Patterned after a new human training concept called "parachute technique" - in which wind resistance is created by a parachute attached to an athlete's waist as he or she sprints - the theory as described on their website  is that wind resistance is transferred to the legs and applied to all the muscles directly involved in moving the body forward, so higher power at high speeds is ultimately achieved.  In the case of Thoroughbreds, the resistance is created by a band stretched consistently and horizontally from the horse, and controlled by the pace with which the horse travels.

"The two things that hurt horses," says McIlwraith, "are weight and speed."  Anything that reduces those two factors, he says, is worth exploring.

Which brings us back to Mandella.  Known, in particular, for his success with older horses like top turf performer Sandpit or, more recently, The Tin Man, Mandella says over the years he's used an underwater treadmill for horses returning from injuries and/or long lay-offs, as an intermediate step prior to returning to the racetrack.
That time period, the time between walking and jogging or galloping, according to McIlwraith, is critical.
"Resuming training is a big transition," he says.  "It's always a difficult transition going from walking to galloping, when rehabbing from an injury.  Anything that can make it not as big a shock is beneficial."
  
About a year ago, with the advice of his veterinarians, Mandella added a device called the Astride to his program, as a way of transitioning some horses between minor injuries and their return to the racetrack.

"We've been kind of experimenting," he says of the device, which allows varying amounts of weight to be deposited in saddlebags on either side of the horse.  The weights are secured to a surcingle or belt girthed around the horse's barrel, then attached via reins to a headstall and bit.

"We use it for horses you can't really train - maybe they've grabbed a quarter," Mandella elaborates.  "You vary or increase the weight.  It keeps you from going backwards."

Mandella uses the device on horses standing in the stall or walking around the barn and cautions that it's not a replacement for regular training, but rather an effective stop-gap measure. "We're finding it just works better with weight," he concludes, something other trainers, by McIlwraith's estimation, are discovering as well.
"Anything that's putting on increased muscle…without increasing risk.  Bottom line, there are a number of ways to try and accomplish that. It's a tradition-laden sport," McIlwraith admits, "and there's going to be a certain amount of skepticism about many things.  But things are changing.  We surely have to find a better way than we do it now."

"People are looking at different ways," McIlwraith proclaims.  "Of course that doesn't mean there are better ways.  But people are trying to find a better way."

And as to whether resistance training is that better way, "there are many subjective feelings…now we have to work on proving them."

Global Superbet -can it take horseracing to a bigger stage?

By Geir Stabell

Twenty-five years ago John R. Gaines in Kentucky came up with an idea: the Breeders' Cup series. Gaines felt that Thoroughbred racing needed a high profile day, which would make it possible for the sport to compete with NFL, NHL and NBA in the media picture. Everyone involved in racing agreed, just as much as they agreed that Thoroughbred breeding and racing needed new innovations, offering opportunities for more international competition with chances of winning bigger purses. Has it worked? Partly, and the Breeders' Cup has most certainly been more a star actor than just another face to the stage.

Last year, the International Federation of Horseracing has been working on another new idea, of a totally different nature. Again, the reason for exploring new products for the sport is that we are badly in need of legs to stand on in the increasingly competitive betting market. While turnover on horseracing, according to figures released by the bookmaking industry, has levelled out, it has increased markedly in other sports. In Europe, football is the sport attracting the biggest betting figures. One big difference between the two sports, as far as betting is concerned, is how international football has become. The Champions League, the UEFA Cup, World Cup Finals, European Cup Finals and their qualifying rounds, and the Copa America, combine for a huge, huge betting market – just in Europe. Add in markets like Hong Kong and Australia and the total figures are truly staggering

With football fans from all over the world logging on to bet on and tuning in to watch these big international matches on a weekly basis, it is almost unbelievable that no betting firm has come up with a weekly "Football Superbet." For instance, a multi-leg wager where you need to predict home win, draw or away win in, say, ten or twelve high profile games. With a global, massive pool, it would become a lottery for the thinking fan. Strange as it may seem, quite a few in this world still prefer to use their brain, their own knowledge, when betting. They do not want to bet on numbers games where the odds are stacked heavily against them. Without products to stimulate them, these brains will soon no longer be potential players, not when it comes to horseracing betting, that's for sure. They will either turn their backs on betting altogether or they will look for other challenges. There is no longer a shortage of alternatives. Poker and bridge, to name but two card games, are tailor made for internet wagering involving thinking players. And these products are considerably cheaper to produce, and run, than horseracing. There is no comparison. 

Let's get back to the idea of a superbet. While other sports do not seem to have grasped such an idea, horseracing is, for a change, a couple of lengths ahead. Last year, the International Federation of Horseracing began developing and testing a new bet, called the  "Global Trifecta." This wager is very much in its infancy, and it has been a complicated baby to conceive, but it is an excellent idea that ought to be given all the backing it can get. It has already been tested with international pools on a small number of flat races this season, but with a "soft launch approach," according to Totesport's PR manager Damian Walker.  If it can be refined, and marketed, in the right way, it has every chance of becoming a big success. Not just as a betting product, but also as a tool to promote the sport of horseracing worldwide. 

"Mauritz Burggink, at the IFH in Paris, is the man behind the idea of a superbet," Damian Walker explains, "it is all quite simple. With bigger liquidity in the pool, there will be bigger dividends, and a bet like this can compete with all the lotteries. A lot of work has been done already, and the ultimate aim is to have a Global Superbet every week. We have tested it, but I must stress that the betting on a few races in 2007 has been nothing more than ‘dipping a toe in the water' as there are various complications to overcome. Not least the fact that different countries have different IT-systems, and local laws also affect what we can and cannot do."

Walker explains how punters in big markets like Australia, Hong Hong, USA, South Africa, Singapore and Europe were last year given the opportunity of betting into a global trifecta pool on some Group One events. 

"The product cannot be properly tested without real bets, though testing such a product must begin on a relatively small scale," he says, "and that is why we have given this a quiet launch. I am convinced that this will be a big success, and it can change the world of betting on horseracing dramatically. The progress of this project will be high on the agenda when representatives meet in Tucson, Arizona." 

The global trifecta – where one has to select the first three home in the exact order – was opened for betting on the Prix de Diane at Chantilly in June, 2007. This is not a high profile race internationally, my guess is that a large proportion of racing fans in Australia, Hong Kong and USA have never heard of the race. Walker agrees, but a guinea pig is a guinea pig, and he has some interesting figures from this race. "The turnover was 60,000 euros," he tells us, "and the dividend was 1,767-1. If the bet had been settled on the UK pool alone, the dividend would have been just 929-1. This shows what a difference a bigger pool can make."

That may be, but the pool was nowhere near what it will, hopefully, be one day, and it was too small to provide the operators any sort of hard conclusions. To the customers, however – the punters – a 60,000-euro pool is big enough to enable them to assess the value of the product. Did this trifecta pay over the odds, under the odds, or just about normal? Well, UK punters probably would not have a clue, as they are absolute beginners when it comes to trifecta betting, most of them not even that. Most gamblers in the USA, on the other hand, would have been able to take a quick glance at the result, the odds for the first three home, the number of runners, and say whether a 1,768-1 return was good or bad value. 

The Diane had 14 runners and was won by West Wind, who returned 9-2. She beat Mrs Lindsay (14-1), with Diyakalanie (40-1) third. Almost as a rule of thumb, a North American exacta, on a race like this, will return at least the product of multiplying the tote win odds on the two horses involved. Plus some if the shortest priced horse is second, minus some if the shortest priced horse in the winner. In this case that would be 5.50 (9-2) multiplied by 15 (14-1), which is 82.50. So, with a 40-1 shot finishing third, was 1,767-1 good value?  Finding a race to compare this to in the USA is not at all difficult. The Breeders' Cup Mile has a habit of returning trifectas that include both a winner at a fair price and a real longshot, and also excludes the favorite. And it is a race with a pool made up of punters from all kinds of corners of the world. The 2003 edition of the BC Mile produced an almost identical trifecta to the one seen in the 2007 Diane. Six Perfections (5-1) beat Touch of The Blues (12-1) and Century City (39-1). The race had 13 runners. The trifecta returned 2,627-1. 

 Which is a whopping 48% higher than the global trifecta on the Diane. Although interesting enough, this is not at all a fair comparison, as the trifectas on the Breeders' Cup races nearly always pay well over the odds, simply because the majority of the pool is made up of punters with little or no knowledge of racing. The pool on the Diane was almost certainly made up of punters who knew racing well, and also knew enough about the sport to know that the bet existed. 1,767-1 was therefore a very good return, indicating that it could easily have paid 2,600-1 with a bigger pool. For the record; the trifecta pool on the 2003 BC Mile was $2.3 million. A whole different ballgame, and also where one is aiming to take the global superbet.

 "The global superbet does not necessarily have to be a trifecta," Walker continues. "There is a good chance that it will be a carbon copy of the Triple Trio, a highly successful bet in Hong Kong." 

The Triple Trio is a multi leg bet where one has to select the first three finishers, in any order, in three consecutive races. At last year's Hong Kong International day, when the bet was made up of two handicaps and the Hong Kong Sprint, the dividend was 301,707-1. No space here to take an analytical look at the combined odds of all the nine horses involved, but it makes sense to mention that the three winners paid 14-1, 5-1 and 3-1. A win treble at these odds would return 359-1. It may be a pure coincidence but it is interesting to note that the Triple Trio returned 840 times the win treble, which is not at all 840 times easier to predict. We can understand why a bet like this is a real alternative to playing the lotteries. On the other hand, offering a global triple trio may have its disadvantages, as one is then asking punters to analyse three races, possibly staged in three different countries. Nobody, nowhere, will be confidently familiar with the form of all the horses. Thus, perhaps a trifecta on one race is a better way to go. 
 
"Another issue we need to address is the cases when the bet is not won, and creates a rollover, or jackpot if you will," Walker comments. "Punters in one country may not be too happy about their money moving on to a different jurisdiction, where they will be at a disadvantage when getting involved."  
 
When betting on horseracing, local knowledge does count for a lot, but these are changing times, and he or she who can find the right angles on and the right understanding of international racing will stand the best chance of collecting on a global superbet. Nevertheless, without the local customers - the two-pound, two-euro or two-dollar punters joining in - the pool will never be massive enough to compete with the lotteries. 
 
Perhaps there is a simple solution to this problem. The weekly races will probably have to be scheduled in advance, but "reserve races" could be assigned the following week in the country where the race or races take place, meaning that, when there is a rollover, the global bet stays in one place until it is won. Of course, this could take weeks, especially if the bet is a triple trio, though perhaps not if it isa one-race trifecta. Has an American style superfecta been discussed at all?

"Yes, it has," Walker replies. "The global trifectas we have had have mainly been like lab testing, and various models will be discussed and analysed before we land on one model. We are testing technical solutions just as much as we are testing the nature of the bet."

I love the idea of a global superbet, but wonder, will it really happen?  Will it be a success? This is early days, but, please, make sure that those two words are not too easily swallowed too often within horseracing, in particular when it comes to creating and promoting new products. We have heard them so many times before. Sometimes those ‘early days' become ‘all time.' Horseracing authorities and regulators, in Europe in particular, so often come across as so incredibly conservative and as such a stubborn bunch, that the one word that springs to mind is ‘immature.' Racing still seems to be run from offices that are, if not totally then at least seriously partly, lagging behind the rest of the world.
 
I would be delighted to be convinced that I am wrong about this, as I also fear that this state of affairs will be one of the biggest stumbling blocks for a new global superbet. Things are simply moving way, way too slowly.
 
Take the lack of European racing rules, a topic that came to the fore after the 2007 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Of course, this has been discussed before, but nothing seems to happen. Why not make a couple of quick moves, why not just do it? Make those changes. Toss a couple of coins if need be to settle a couple of disagreements between the English and the French, and get on with it. 
 
Bookmakers taking more and more and more bets on football, and fewer and fewer on racing, do not care about the lack of a sensible set of international racing rules. They are busy making money, and giving the gambling market new, lucrative products, which is precisely why the development of a new global bet must be speeded up. 
 
Why? I'll tell you why. Because as soon as this concept becomes more high profile, through proper marketing and media coverage, bookmakers will grab the idea, adapt it to some other sport, maybe even other sports, and create a new product within a matter of weeks. All of a sudden, racing will be behind, again. The International Federation of Horseracing may be a couple of lengths ahead with their development of a global pool bet at the moment. A couple of lengths, however, is not exactly a comfortable and commanding lead on a playing ground which is changing so fast, and is so volatile, as the betting market.  

Not when you are involved in the race for the betting dollar, euro, or pound.  Unless you are by far the biggest, financially strongest player, it can actually be a disadvantage to lead the way. It is only an advantage if you are smarter, considerably smarter. Let's hope we are.

Hong Kong - Far Eastern racing run by an American

The view in one direction frames an expanse of the endless Hong Kong skyline, in another the emerald Happy Valley Racecourse, but this is unmistakably the working domain of an American. Portraits of Man o' War, Spectacular Bid and presentation photos made after races at Belmont Park, Aqueduct and Saratoga decorate the walls, the occupant standing beside Orientate, Sulamani and Funny Cide.

 In the early years of the Breeders' Cup, which remains a young event when considered within racing's historical context, Bill Nader would leave his various duties at Rockingham Park in New Hampshire, where he took his first racetrack job as a press box aide while still a student, for an assignment on the event's notes team, which gathers information concerning the participants for dissemination in the media. The world looks much different from the corner office on the top floor of the Hong Kong Jockey Club headquarters.

The executive director of racing in Hong Kong - the first American ever appointed to a position of such influence in what is a unique racing and gambling enterprise that has for more than a century impacted on the life of almost every citizen of the former British colony (returned to Chinese control in 1999) – is less than a year removed from New York, where at times it appeared that Nader was single-handedly guiding the daily business of a listing ship that has for years been imperiled.

Nader was the face of the New York Racing Association and its most reliable voice at a time when every day, it seemed, brought new crisis. Five years of tumult began with the turn of the century and a scandal spawned among betting clerks that progressed upward through what most consider the most important of American racing organizations. The guilty clerks were imprisoned on various tax fraud and money laundering changes as were two mid-level executives. Key people left the association, retired or resigned voluntarily, some on the day they qualified for a pension. Highly placed executives were forced to resign. Barry Schwartz, the outspoken and sometimes controversial chairman of the board, stepped down in frustration. The state's politicians and media turned the association's troubles and the question of franchise renewal into a public circus. Nader was left, usually alone, in the storm's eye.

The Association faced an array of threatened federal indictments avoided only by a long period of operation under the thumb of a court-appointed monitor and eventually filed the papers necessary for reorganization within the framework of bankruptcy law. Nader, originally hired to head the simulcasting network, watched the New York Racing Association's workforce shrivel and took up the slack left by manpower and expertise that once departed was not replaced. As the morass thickened, Nader rose to the position of senior vice president and chief operating officer calling on experience and skills honed in the heat of political, legal and financial battle for survival learned in New Hampshire.

Thoroughbreds no longer have a home at Rockingham Park, which now conducts only harness racing.

 It was always a bootstrap operation, a fine place for the education of a young person with designs on a career in racing, and Nader steeped himself in a curriculum impossible to duplicate in the traditional halls of academia. He worked in the publicity department, developing relationships with the media; sharpened handicapping skills when charged with assigning morning-line odds; developed relationships with horsemen while working in the racing office, gained an understanding of their concerns and needs; couriered videotape to the local television station for the evening replay programs; negotiated simulcast contracts; learned to call races when the principal announcer was absent. It is also the place in which the direction of his life first took shape and form.

"I lived a bicycle ride away from Rockingham and worked in the press box as a summer job while attending the University of New Hampshire," Nader said. "When I was 21, I became the track oddsmaker. In that role, I further developed my handicapping skills and also my strong interest in the sport.

"I first became interested in racing through one of my best friends, my father, and we would go racing once a week. Racing helped our father-and-son bond and we spent a lot of time together discussing and enjoying the sport, especially in his later years of life and that is something I will always treasure. I had always turned him down when he asked me to go to the racetrack because I was active playing sports and being a horse racing spectator had no appeal to me. It took Secretariat to open my eyes in the 1973 Belmont Stakes. I watched on network television and that was the turning point.

"Rockingham provided a foundation because out of necessity you got an idea of how every department at the racetrack should work.  And we had some good races there – the New Hampshire Sweepstakes and the Spicy Living Handicap, races that New York trainers and others would send horses to, so I was exposed to what was at the time a higher level of racing. Still, the move to New York was an awfully big step.
"When I was first offered the job in New York, I turned it down. I didn't feel as though I could leave Rockingham in the middle of a meeting. But when the meeting was over, the job was still open and I moved to New York at the beginning of the fall meeting at Belmont in 1994. Luck. If they'd found someone else during that time, I may never have had the opportunity in New York. The people at Rockingham didn't believe I was going to a place that big, but if you love racing and the New York Racing Association calls, that was it."

New York, however, besieged by posturing politicians and those who sought to take over the racing franchise upon expiration at the end of 2007 quickly became Kafkaesque, far from the utopian professional environment Nader envisioned.

"The problems and politics surrounding NYRA and its franchise were personally challenging and incredibly frustrating at times," Nader said, "but, in all honesty, I could fight the fight with the best of them. I came from a humble racing background and the privilege of being intimately involved with the high quality of racing in New York was a great equalizer. I could take the punishment as long as I knew there was a Grade 1 on Saturday and that Saratoga was only a few months away. With all of the personnel changes over my 14 years at NYRA, I knew there were many people in that organization that looked to me for leadership and for someone they could identify with. There was no chance of my leaving NYRA or so I thought, until the Hong Kong Jockey Club called. I had long admired the HKJC from a distance and I knew I would not get a second chance at the opportunity of a lifetime."

The move from New York to Hong Kong was for Nader like walking through a looking glass. He left pathos, which continues in his absence, for an organization unlike any in the world. In a city of seven million people among whom gambling is central to the culture, racing is not the sport of kings but the king of sports and membership in the Jockey Club, a requirement for those who aspire to ownership of racehorses, is a symbol of status considered almost priceless.

With the possible exception of the Japan Racing Association, the Hong Kong Jockey Club is easily the world's most prosperous racing enterprise, made more so by a gambling monopoly that includes the lottery and wagering on international soccer matches. Originally established as the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club after the introduction of racing in the region by the British, who constructed a racecourse in 1845 on the only suitably flat land on the island –f a drained malarial swamp with the whimsical name, Happy Valley – the Jockey Club, after the Chinese government, is the region's most important organization and in real terms perhaps the most important based on its impact upon the lives of Hong Kong's citizens.

Though the British first brought racing to the island, the native Chinese have taken the sport to heart in a way that has no frame of reference outside Asia, participating with a fiscal enthusiasm unprecedented elsewhere. In 2006, Hong Kong bettors wagered $63.86 billion – $8.2 billion in U.S. funds – though the Jockey Club holds just two days of racing, or 16 races, per week, from September through June. This is more than half the $15.6 billion wagered on 58,851 races run in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico – population 338.5 million – during the same year

The people of Hong Kong, only an hour by ferry from the explosion of opulent casinos in Macau, wagered another $30.2 billion -- $3.9 billion U.S. – on soccer matches and $6.6 billion – more than $848 million U.S. – on the lottery. The Club, conduit for all money wagered legally in Hong Kong, is the region's largest taxpayer and supports the majority of charitable institutions, research organizations, medical facilities and recreational programs. It is impossible to travel far in Hong Kong without seeing the Jockey Club logo on everything from hospitals and schools to parks and animal shelters.

The two Hong Kong racetracks are pristine and in almost perpetual renovation. The management, a multinational team of highly experienced executives imported by the Jockey Club, is progressive, deeply interested in maintaining an atmosphere in which the integrity of racing is beyond question. It meets challenge with action, as it did last year when in response to the migration of high-level bettors to offshore bookmakers offering rebates, the Club responded with its own rebate program, which effectively reversed the trend.

The Club takes virtually every facet of racing into its own hands and employs everyone required for the conduct of racing except trainers, who under the circumstances suffer no burden of payroll or slow-paying owners. The Club maintains testing laboratories and veterinary hospital, pays for feed and medication and though only eight percent of bets are placed on-course, when the gates open at Happy Valley or Sha Tin, the tracks are animated by huge crowds of people with a collective focus – betting, which is in turned shared in the most remote corner of Hong Kong, where the speculators and the tote are joined by wireless device.

In the 16 hours of flight time between New York and Hong Kong, Nader went from holding a finger in a crumbling dike to occupying one of the highest positions of authority in a racing organization that is boundlessly successful, astoundingly affluent and held in a position of almost reverent esteem by the members of the community it serves.

"The thing that impressed me immediately was the attention to detail and the commitment of the people," Nader said. "There is a refusal to settle for second best. Everything is first-class. Then came an appreciation for Asian racing and its structure, which I found fascinating, much more so than I ever expected."

Eight months after arriving in Hong Kong, Nader celebrated his 50th birthday on the day of the Cathay Pacific-sponsored International Races, four Group I events run at the end of a week of lavish parties at the expansive and electric Sha Tin. "Before I moved here, the man I replaced (Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, who was promoted to chief executive officer) told me that it would take two years before I really had a handle on job. I don't think it will take two years, but this has been an eye-opening experience. For instance, the betting on the international races will be less than you would expect because the bettors don't know the foreign horses. But we're running two races after the Hong Kong Cup and the last race of the day has the potential to generate more betting handle than the total for the day at Aqueduct and Hollywood Park combined."

The superficies run deep in Hong Kong.

"This is a place of great wealth. The economy is strong, the stock market is strong and many people are able to afford horse ownership," Nader said. The equine population of horses in training is just 1,200 and no owner is permitted interest in more than four. There is currently a 16-month waiting list of those who have applied for membership in the Jockey Club on a level that permits horse ownership. Those eventually admitted to what may be Hong Kong's most exclusive circle will have survived an exhaustive background check and examination of financial resources and paid a $250,000 (HK) initial fee.

The inevitable and enviable denouement is a model for the world that is impossible to duplicate. "The resources here allow you to do things you'd never consider anywhere else," Nader said, "but other things done here are possible to reproduce anywhere. If you can knock down the barriers and wipe the slate clean, these are things that can be done anywhere."

Foremost, Nader said, is attention to the concerns of every segment involved – from owners, trainers and non-owner members to bettors. "We maintain a customer-friendly racing environment and the state-of-the art drug testing is one thing, but the way the racing is governed is a key element. The jockeys and trainers may complain that fines are too stiff, but safety is a key element in the decision making process and the club demands respect for the rules. What separates racing here from virtually everywhere else is the transparency."

At the end of the day, the unfolding international races, with sprinter Sacred Kingdom and miler Good Ba Ba impressive in victory, only strengthened the upwardly mobile position of Hong Kong-trained horses on the global stage upon which the membership of the Jockey Club aspires to excel in the mold of their British mentors.
If Hong Kong will not be duplicated, it can at least be emulated.

"We have great expertise in specific areas that we are willing to share," Nader said. "The Club has brought great talent here from a number of countries.  There is also great expertise here in the construction, drainage and maintenance of turf courses, which is important to all the stakeholders, including the public. European horsemen come here knowing that the ground will always be good to firm, no matter what the weather. There are things that can be learned here and people come here from other parts of the world to observe. We're very interested in doing whatever we can to assist those in the industry from other countries."

There is much to be learned in Hong Kong, but it is first necessary to make the trip.

Increasing Oxygen Concentration in the Blood of the Racehorse

Oxygen is the fuel of life and its efficient use is the key to athletic fitness. The respiratory system of the racehorse must work hard to harvest the 20 percent of oxygen present in the air we all breathe. Observing a horse after his work on a cold morning provides a visual reminder of this, as the breath surges from his nostrils.

The respiratory process
Glucose and oxygen interact via a process called aerobic respiration, resulting in the production of energy. This cellular process powers all of our bodily functions, from breathing and digesting food to sprinting for the winning line. Carbon dioxide and water are by-products of this reaction.

Cells can also produce energy in the absence of oxygen (anaerobic respiration). In this case, glucose is also broken down to release energy. However, the lactic acid formed by this reaction is a more noxious compound than the carbon dioxide and water created by aerobic respiration. Its presence in cells results in muscle cramps and fatigue.  This lactic acid must be broken down into carbon dioxide and water, but this reaction again requires oxygen. Essentially, anaerobic respiration allows muscles and other cells to function for a short time in the absence of oxygen, building up an ‘oxygen debt.' This must be repaid later to allow the lactic acid to be broken down.
A good measure of a horse's fitness is how quickly breathing and pulse return to normal after exercise. This is because aerobic respiration is more efficient in fit horses, so they build up less of an oxygen debt while exercising. Less oxygen is required to breakdown lactic acid once the work has been completed.
Oxygen is delivered to the body tissues via the respiratory and cardiovascular systems. The respiratory system of the horse includes everything from the nostrils to the lungs. Air is delivered to the lungs, where oxygen diffuses into the bloodstream and is taken up by red blood cells. These cells are the body's carriers for molecules of oxygen and they are pumped around the body by the heart through arteries, capillaries and veins.
Physical causes of inefficient oxygen delivery
Trainers and veterinary surgeons must make sure that all of the components of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems are working to their full potential. This ensures that the body delivers oxygen as efficiently as possible to the muscles, in order that they have the energy necessary to win races!
The following may all be considered surgical conditions of the upper respiratory tract, in that a surgical procedure is often necessary to effect a cure:
Some of the main clinical problems that affect the upper respiratory tract (nostrils, larynx and pharynx) are related to physical obstruction of these ‘tubes.' Anything which reduces the diameter of these tubes will reduce the amount of air, and thus oxygen, which is delivered to the lungs. Physical obstructions of the upper respiratory tract are generally diagnosed by endoscopic examination carried out by a vet. Some conditions, e.g. profound cases of laryngeal hemiplegia, can be seen and thus diagnosed when the horses are at rest. Other conditions only occur when the horse is exercising. In these cases dynamic endoscopy, i.e. endoscopy whilst the horse is actually exercising on a treadmill, may be needed to fully elucidate the problem (Figure 1).
Horses are obliged to breathe through their noses, and cannot breathe through their mouths as many other species can. Sometimes the alar folds (skin folds above the nostrils) are incriminated as the cause of abnormal respiratory noise. Nasal strips are marketed as a means of stopping the soft outer nasal passages collapsing during exercise, thus increasing airflow into the lungs. Relatively common causes of reduced airflow through the nasal passages are space-occupying lesions such as cysts within the sinuses, or vascular growths (ethmoid hematomas). Surgical removal is often necessary.
The pharynx and larynx are other areas which may be affected by conditions which physically restrict the amount of air pulled into the lungs. Probably the best known of these is laryngeal hemiplegia. The larynx is a dynamic structure, which closes to prevent food entering the windpipe and opens to allow air to enter the lungs. Provided that the muscles controlling the larynx are functioning properly, the larynx can be opened to form a diamond-shaped structure. However, it is relatively common for the left side of the larynx to become paralyzed (Figure 2).  This results in only half of the larynx opening, reducing airflow into the lungs. Horses that suffer from this condition often make a characteristic ‘roaring' sound. Surgery is usually indicated to correct this. A laryngeal tieback, whereby a suture is placed through the left side of the larynx to permanently hold it open is often the treatment of choice for roarers. Normal procedure combines this with a ‘hobday' operation, which removes the vocal folds from the larynx and further opens the airway. Treatment for dorsal displacement of the soft palate, another relatively common condition affecting the upper respiratory tract, is more controversial. Some horses respond to conservative management, including the use of drop-over nosebands or tongue ties. Others need more invasive treatment. This may involve producing scar tissue on the soft palate so that it is ‘less floppy,' and thus less likely to displace. Thermocautery of the soft palate under general anaesthetic is an option, but perhaps a more elegant means of achieving this is the use of a laser. This may be performed in the standing, sedated horse. More recently, an operation which mobilizes the larynx to prevent dorsal displacement of the soft palate (‘Tie Forward') has been developed. Other physical conditions that may impede airflow through the pharynx include entrapment of the epiglottis by the folds of soft tissue (aryepiglottic folds) which lie alongside it, and chondritis or inflammation of the cartilages which form the larynx.
Medical causes of inefficient oxygen delivery
A number of medical conditions may also affect the amount of oxygen available to the horse.
Exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH, or ‘bleeder') is a relatively common condition in which a blood vessel within the lungs bursts, and bleeds into the airways. The severity and amount of blood associated with such an incident can vary markedly. Sometimes relatively large volumes of blood are seen escaping from the horse's nostrils. In other cases, the volume of blood is relatively small and remains confined to the distal airways. This can only be detected after the event by endoscopy and examination of the cell types within the horse's respiratory secretions. Either way, blood takes the place of air within the airways and less oxygen is available to diffuse into the bloodstream. In addition, blood within the airways is a good medium to support bacterial growth and this may predispose horses to bacterial respiratory infections.
The exact cause of EIPH has yet to be elucidated. It may be due to increased blood pressure within the lungs during exercise, concussive damage to the blood vessels as the horse gallops, or a combination of both. Some horses appear to be more prone to this condition than others, and it appears that concurrent respiratory tract infections may also predispose horses to a pulmonary bleed. A variety of treatments have been tried. Furosemide is a diuretic drug, which essentially makes horses urinate more and this in turn dehydrates the horses slightly. It is postulated that this results in less fluid within their circulation and reduced blood pressure within the lung's small capillaries. Its use is permitted on race days by state racing authorities, but this may not be the case forever. However, as a prohibited substance likely to influence performance, it is banned in European racing. In spite of this it retains its place as a drug for training, as when given on work mornings, the chances of a bleed are said to be reduced. Some studies have also suggested that the use of nasal strips may reduce the chance of a bleed occurring, without any untoward side effects. These too are currently banned in European racing but can be used for training purposes. In England, known bleeders often have their water intake restricted before a race in an attempt to reduce blood pressure and thus the chances of a bleed. Clearly, to strike the correct balance between giving the horse sufficient hydration to perform well on the track and lessening the chances of a bleed, the eye of an experienced horseman is required.
Respiratory tract infections may also interfere with optimal oxygenation of the blood. Firstly, infections are associated with an increase in the amount of mucus within the respiratory tract, which may form a physical barrier to airflow and diffusion of oxygen. It is possible to vaccinate against the well-known respiratory viruses, such as influenza and herpes, and some racing authorities require proof of vaccination before a horse can race. However, every horseman will be aware of the non-specific ‘virus,' which results in coughing horses performing at levels below their potential. Viruses may also sensitize the airways, leaving horses more prone to secondary bacterial infections, or post-viral coughs. In addition, it is not uncommon for horses to become anemic following a viral infection. The reduced numbers of circulating red blood cells will lead to sub-optimal oxygen delivery. A number of supplements are available which aim to enable the horses to manufacture more red blood cells.
The importance of good stable hygiene and maintenance of a dust-free environment should not be understated in hastening recovery from airway infections. Even a healthy racehorse should only be exposed to quality roughage feed (good hay or haylage, etc.) and dust-free bedding material.
The cardiovascular system
The heart, which pumps oxygenated blood around the horse's body, must also be in excellent condition to ensure effective oxygen delivery. It should come as no surprise that research has shown that horses which have bigger hearts, as measured by ultrasound, are more likely to perform at the top level. An excellent example of this is the 1973 American Triple Crown winner, Secretariat, whose heart was recorded as weighing 21 lbs. at post mortem. It is clear that horses which have problems with their heart function are likely to perform poorly. The heart must beat in a rhythmic manner to allow coordinated filling of its chambers, followed by a coordinated contraction so that blood is pushed around the body in an efficient manner. Arrhythmias, such as atrial fibrillation, prevent this synchronization and are reflected in disappointing efforts on the racecourse. Diseases of the heart muscle itself (cardiomyopathy), alongside problems with the heart valves and abnormal openings in the walls of the heart are further causes of poor performance. Diagnosis of cardiac conditions may require echocardiography (ultrasonic examination of the heart) to assess the structure of the heart and blood flow within it. Electrocardiographic (ECG) evaluation will identify problems with the heart's rhythm and the electrical activity responsible for setting it.
The act of breathing is fundamental to animal life and so optimal uptake and use of oxygen is the foundation upon which equine training regimes are based. The horse's respiratory system must be fine-tuned to perform to its full potential and the skilled trainer must make himself aware of any problem which may be impeding this.

Barry Sangster 
(14 February 2008 - Issue 7)

Strengthening Young Thoroughbreds' Limbs

One of the major challenges in training racehorses is keeping them sound. Not unlike a human athlete, a racehorse's ligaments, tendons, bones and joints are susceptible to injury throughout its career and, at times, it seems impossible to avoid some sort of musculoskeletal mishap.

A vast number of components can comprise any musculoskeletal injury but many believe the economics of the Thoroughbred industry - namely the preparation of young horses for 2-year-old sales and racing 2-year-olds - are the main culprits for these sorts of injuries.
Training for most race horses commences when they are 18 to 20 months old. The skeleton of a horse often does not reach full maturity until they are four years old so training at a young age might predispose horses to a multitude of career-limiting or -ending injuries.
Shin soreness or bucked shins is an extremely common condition in young racing Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses (and occasionally Standardbreds.) It involves the front portion of the cannon or metacarpal bone and is the result of rapid bone modeling.
Before a horse begins training, its cannon bones have the same thickness all the way around. When horses start galloping, there is a considerable increase in stress on the front of the cannon bone.  To contend with the stress, the equine body responds by adding new bone to the area in duress. Ultimately, this creates stronger bones but early on this new bone is prone to microfractures similar to the stress fractures that human athletes endure during training.
The severity of bucked shins can vary greatly, but most horses will exhibit pain when the cannon bone area is massaged, will be lame while trotting, and have a short, choppy stride. Another symptom is swelling in this area of the leg.
The condition is usually diagnosed by recognizing the clinical indicators in a horse when it begins its first training and/or racing campaign. Horses suffering from shin soreness must be rested until all signs of lameness have disappeared, which can take several days or many months.
For example, New York-based trainer Barclay Tagg's then 2-year-old colt, Tale of Ekati, had sore shins and returned after a month of light training to triumph in the Grade 2, $250,000 Belmont Futurity on September 15th of last year.
"One shin was very sore, but he got over it very quickly," Tagg said. "I got two real good works into him."
While Maimonides, a 2-year-old, owned by Ahmed Zayat, exited the Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes held at Saratoga Race Course on September 3 with the same affliction, his recovery was expected to take a bit longer. Sonny Sonbol, Zayat's racing manager, said he needed "three to four weeks to get over his shins and start back training and get ready for the winter."
Estimates vary, but it is believed between 65 and 90 percent of all Thoroughbreds in the United States and more than 40 percent of all Thoroughbreds in Australia buck their shins early in training.
About only 12 percent of young English racehorses buck their shins. Unlike the United States and Australia, much less emphasis is placed on 2-year-old racing in England and English horses are trained on straight tracks, so less strain would be placed on the cannon bone.
However, the English are not immune to their young horses being injured. In a study of 314 young Thoroughbreds in Newmarket more than 50 percent experienced some period of lameness, and in roughly 20 percent of those horses, the lameness prevented them from racing.
Also, bucked shins are not exclusively relegated to 2-year-olds but to all horses which are just beginning intense training. Some horses can suffer recurrences of shin soreness after a period of stall of paddock rest. Therefore, bucked shins do not discriminate based on the age of a horse, but depend on how intense the training is and if the horse is undertaking the action for the first time.
Dr. David Nunamaker, VMD, PhD, is an orthopedic surgeon and chair of the research department at the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center who had conducted extensive research on bone development from 1982 to the present. Dr. Nunamaker, Dr. William Moyer, DVM, chair of the Large Animal and Surgery Department at Texas A&M University and Dr. John Fisher, DVM, an equine veterinarian and Maryland horse trainer, analyzed their research results and established a training system created to reduce the severity of bucked shins or erase them.
"We found that a horse's bone shape alters in response to its training," Dr. Nunamaker said. "The way most conventional training is conducted, a bone changes in a way it should not and that is why you get into trouble with bucked shins. Also saucer fractures seem to occur only in horses that have previously bucked their shins. This could lead to catastrophic fracture."
Dr. Nunamaker concluded a problem will become evident after 50,000 cycles of trotting and galloping. A cycle is equal to one swift stride.
"The Standardbred doesn't have issues with bucked shins because you never see a pacer do anything but pace while Thoroughbreds train with a variety of gaits, such as walking, trotting and galloping," Dr. Nunamaker said. "Thoroughbreds do not run while they are training and when they do run it's only every 10 to 14 days. The bone remodels to what it experiences - which is not racing."
Speed work is very important because when a horse runs at speed, the angle of strain is much greater. So horses that breeze more often remodel their bones for racing.
Utilizing the research results, Dr. John Fisher adheres to a training program that stresses and stimulates the cannon gradually.
"When a horse is breezed, the bone sees it as an emergency and immediately begins laying down new bone," Dr. Fisher said. "This new bone is weak and needs to be strengthened through later remodeling, which would be triggered by further breezes spaced closer together. If remodeling is not allowed to take place and the horse is asked to do too much before he is ready, the new bone will be weak and prone to injury. The bone-strengthening is entirely based on stress and recovery to gradually increase bone density and strength."
In Dr. Fisher's program, horses transition from a one furlong work at 15 seconds to a half-mile or more in 13 seconds over a 16-week period.
If there are more than four days between short distance works, Drs. Nunamaker and Fisher have discovered the new bone will stop rebuilding and actually weaken, with no additional stress after five days.
Once the program has been finished, a horse is prepared to begin conventional training because he should have accumulated enough bone strength that he will not buck shins. However, if a horse is subjected to different track conditions or circumferences, such as a European horse racing on American dirt, the threat of shin soreness resurfaces.
Even though Dr. Fisher has modified the program throughout the years, he is still quite pleased with its performance.
"We just don't have many injuries at all," Dr Fisher said. "No more tendons, no more suspensories, no more fractures."
How much high-speed work and distance are required to signal the bone to remodel itself correctly and not form weaker bone? Research is still being conducted but Dr. Nunamaker claims the goal is to correctly change the bone at the slowest possible speed over the shortest possible distance.
 
"Maybe two furlongs, maybe one furlong," Dr. Nunamaker said. "Maybe it won't even have to be that far. We just don't know but there is a fine line during a crucial time period as to what is too much and what is not enough."
Once the bone has attained maximum strength by becoming thicker at its stress points, it should stay that way.
"When we looked at the timing of the injuries that occurred in horses that have shin injuries, we found that when the horse reached four years old, it no longer had shin injuries," Dr. Nunamaker said. "It may develop injuries to other parts of its body, but not to the shins. It is in the first two years of its training program, if it starts at two years of age, that it is going to have shin injury problems. After that no more shin injuries."
It is important to note the bones are the slowest part of the body to train. In most cases, the cardiovascular system and soft tissues are prepared for the stress of racing before the bones.
Study results presented at the 2005 Australian Veterinary Association depict shin soreness or bucked shins can be avoided. Certain training techniques place horses at risk for this condition.
The most significant factor was how far the horse trained and how quickly he went. If a horse trained at a speed greater than 33 mph during its first ten weeks of training, he tended to have some shin pain.
"A gradual increase in the weekly distances at these speeds is the key to reducing the number of cases," Dr. David Evans, BVSc, PhD and associate professor of veterinary science at the University of Sydney and one of the researchers on the project, said.
The study also revealed that using short gallops of 200-300 meters at 33 mph or greater can decrease shin soreness; training horses to induce shin soreness will not reduce the risk of contracting the condition during subsequent training; and shin pain occurred much less often in horses that began training at an average age of 30 months.
Dr. Evans acknowledged that much more research was necessary before any authoritative program could be implemented.
K.L.P. Verheyen, DVM, MSc, PhD, MRCVS, of the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) in London, agrees with Drs. Nunamaker and Evans that training methods are associated with injury risk.
"Stress injuries are repetitive loading injuries," Dr. Verheyen said. "Compare it to a paper clip and if you keep bending it, it will break. Interval training (alternate periods of hard exertion and rest) is a better option because high-speed exercise is as not bad as previously thought. It actually stimulates bone to respond, because bone is a living tissue and is constantly remodeling. If the same exercise is repeated again and again, the bone will stop responding, which is what we think is happening with the low-speed exercise and stress fractures."
While more research must be conducted to provide greater insight into how equine bones adapt and grow, even less is known about how tendons and ligaments respond to training. In a series of recent studies, Allan Goodrich, a professor at the Royal Veterinary College and the University College of London, discovered that the tendons of young horses (less than two years) strengthen in response to training. These results raise the possibility that early training enhances the development of the limb's support structures and could diminish injuries during training and racing.
After reviewing training methods and treatments, it is obvious much more research must be completed before any sound strength management program can be introduced.
"We just don't have all the answers yet," Dr. Nunamaker said.

Kimberly French 
(14 February 2008 - Issue 7)

TRM Trainer of the Quarter - Bill Mott

TheTRM trainer of the quarter award has been won by Bill Mott. Bill and his team will receive a TRM product portfolio worth in excess of $1,500. The portfolio will consist of TRM tack bags and saddle pads as well as a large selection of the world famous TRM product range.

On a single afternoon in January, Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott squashed any chance of a letdown following his outstanding 2007 season by winning three races in the Sunshine Millions January 26th. Their combined purses were $2 million.

He was lucky for the opportunity. So was every other trainer with horses in the half of the Sunshine Millions at Santa Anita, which somehow dodged rain long enough to have a day of racing. Races were cancelled at Santa Anita for two days before and after that single afternoon.
Mott won both the $1 million Sunshine Millions Classic with Go Between and the $500,000 Filly and Mare Turf with Quite a Bride at Santa Anita. At Gulfstream Park, site of the other Sunshine Million races, Mott's War Monger captured the $500,000 Turf. That allowed Mott to be ranked second in the country in earnings through the first four weeks of 2008.
‘You imagine days like this,' Mott said.
War Monger had not started since taking the Rutgers Handicap at Monmouth Park, Oct. 24th. The victory was War Monger's third in his last four starts and made him four-for-seven in his career. Mott said, ‘When he switches leads, he's got a nice punch.'
So does Quite a Bride, who upset the 3-5 favorite, Nashoaba's Key, to improve her lifetime record to 10-for-18.

Go Betweem, a five-year-old son of Point Given, improved his lifetime record to seven-for-27 by taking the Classic under Garrett Gomez, the 2007 Eclipse Award winning jockey who also rode Quite a Bride.
Success is hardly new to Mott. When the 54-year-old native of Mobridge, South Dakota, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1998, he displaced Allen Jerkens as the youngest trainer ever inducted. That was 30 years after Mott bought and trained his first horse, a mare named My Assets he purchased for $320. Mott worked for Hall of Fame trainer Jack Van Berg for three years before opening his own stable in 1978.

He has prospered ever since. Mott's horses are invariably well-prepared when they go into the starting gate, reflecting Mott's dedication to giving his horses the proper foundation before they race. Mott's ability to win with horses off long layoffs is second to none, evidenced by War Monger's winning return.
 
While Mott will be remembered forever for his brilliant management of two-time Horse of the Year Cigar, who won 16 consecutivce races, he has never been celebrated for his work with two-year-olds.

He changed that perception dramatically at Saratoga in 2007, when he ended Todd Pletcher's five-year leading trainer reign by winning 27 races, giving Mott his first Saratoga title since 2001.. Eleven of those 27 victories were with two-year-olds. ‘We might have been a little more aggressive with our twoyear-olds,' Mott said. It worked, as Mott took a huge lead early in the trainer standings then maintained it through Saratoga's 36-day meet. ‘It was gratifying, but the best part has been the last five years not being on top, because you learn a lot more that way,' Mott said. ‘I'm very serious about that. It's been very humbling.'

Others marvel at Mott's horsemanship. Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux, who rode War Monger to victory in the Sunshine Millions Turf, said, ‘Bill's done a great job of training this horse. When I first rode him, I couldn't get within two lengths of another horse.'

By: Bill Heller
 (14 February 2008 - Issue Number: 7)

Taking Time to Review your Hiring Procedures

The Federal Government has stepped up enforcement and prosecution of EMPLOYERS who hire undocumented workers. Felony criminal prosecution and fines are being imposed for employers who cannot show they have taken the steps required in the hiring process.

If as an employer you have a perspective employee fill out the Form I-9 (U.S. Department of Homeland Security Employment Eligibility Verification form), and you examine the required documents, you will not be fined or prosecuted, even if it turns out that the documents were falsified and the employee turns out to be an undocumented alien. Of course, if you knew the worker was undocumented, you can still be fined or jailed.

Therefore, it is strongly recommended that you follow the procedures that are outlined below.

1. Have the employee complete Section One of the I-9 Form. He/she must sign the form. If the form is completed by someone other than the employee, that person must also sign;

2. You must complete and sign Section Two of the I-9 Form.  To do so, you must examine one document from List A, OR one from List B AND one from List C;

3. You must accept any document(s) from the List of Acceptable Documents presented by the individual which reasonably appear on their face to be genuine and to relate to the person presenting them. You may not specify which document(s) an employee must present;

4. You must retain the I-9 Form for three years after the date the person begins work or  one year after the person's employment is terminated, whichever is later; and

5. Upon request, provide Forms I-9 to authorized officers of the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Department of Labor, or the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practices for inspection.
Another area of concern is "document abuse." This is the term used to describe unlawful practices by the employer related to verifying the employment eligibility of employees and discriminatory use of the I-9 form. An employer with four or more employees may be charged with unlawful discrimination for any of the following reasons - these practices should be avoided:

1. Improperly requesting that employees produce more documents than are required by the Form I-9.

2. Improperly requesting that employees produce a particular document such as a "green card," to establish identity or work eligibility.

3. Improperly rejecting documents that reasonably appear to be genuine and belong to the employee presenting them.

4. Improperly treating groups of applicants differently when completing Form I-9, such as requiring certain groups of employees that look or sound "foreign" to produce particular documents that the employer does not require other employees to produce.
Here are a few more tips that may be helpful

• Be certain you have complete I-9 forms 
 for all new hires, including U.S. Citizens.


• Make sure that all staff that process new 
 hires are trained to properly complete  
 the I-9 process and are trained to properly 
complete the I-9 form. Periodically interview staff to make sure they are properly processing new hires.   
Incomplete or improperly completed I-9   
forms will result in exposure to liability!


• Complete the forms at the same point in 
 the employment process for all employees 
 - after you have made the decision to hire 
 the person.


• The law does not require you to 
 photocopy documents. However, if you 
 wish to make photocopies, you must do 
 so for all employees, and you should 
 retain each photocopy with the Form I-9.


• Periodically review your I-9 procedures, especially prior to the employment of seasonal workers. Conduct occasional "spot checks" to ensure the procedures are being followed and the forms are being filled out correctly.


• Make sure your system is programmed to "flag" I-9's 90 days before the expiration date of any work authorization document!


• Periodically review your record retention practices. Be certain you keep I-9 forms on file for three years after the date of hire or for one year after termination of employment, whichever date is later.

Although following these suggestions does not guarantee that you will be protected against criminal or civil charges, it does minimize the possibility and will help to give you one less thing to worry about. If you would like more information on this subject, please contact me at the California Thoroughbred Trainers office.

Edward I. Halpern
  (14 February 2008 - Issue Number: 7)

Dale Romans - his career and his views on welfare issues

THIS IS A SCANNED IN ARTICLE - FROM OUR PRE DIGITAL DAYS!

This article first appeared in North American Trainer - Winter 2007 - issue 6