Eric Kruljac eyeing up the cup

Words - ED GOLDEN

Joseph Eric Kruljac might have been a contemporary of Dick Butkus save for a twist of both fate and knee, so instead of perhaps joining the Hall of Fame linebacker in the National Football League circa 1970, Kruljac became a thoroughbred horse trainer.

It was an appropriate transition in waiting.

At 71, Kruljac (call him Eric) has enjoyed virtually every moment under the shed row, currently guiding the bountiful fortunes of a six-year-old gelding named The Chosen Vron, a California-bred son of Vronsky that has won 19 of 25 starts including streaks of eight and six in a row, highlighted by back-to-back Grade I wins against open company in the 2023 Bing Crosby Stakes and again last July 27 at Del Mar.

Only two of his 25 races were less than incipient, finishing fifth each time while uncharacteristically failing to make or challenge for the lead.

The current ultimate goal is the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Del Mar on Nov. 2. The speedy chestnut was fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Santa Anita last year but has an affinity for Del Mar, with six wins from eight starts at the seaside oval. His career earnings stand at $1,571,678.

Favored at 1-2, The Chosen Vron lost by a neck to Doug O’Neill trainee Raging Torrent in the Grade II Pat O’Brien Stakes at Del Mar on Aug. 10, taking the lead by a head entering the stretch of the seven-furlong race but failing to overtake his stubborn rival who was on the rail and in receipt of seven pounds,125 to 118.

After the Pat O’Brien, Kruljac had considered running in the Grade II Santa Anita Sprint Championship at six furlongs on Sept. 29 before the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, but put the kibosh on that. Odds-on favorite Straight No Chaser won the Santa Anita Sprint by 6 ¼ lengths in impressive front-running fashion.

“We ran in two tough races (winning the Bing Crosby July 27 before his second in the Pat O’Brien) close together,” Kruljac said, “so he’s been just jogging and galloping since. We’ll go in fresh.

“You have to listen to your horse, especially early on in their career. We had to stop on him after we had run a couple times, then we gave him extended time off, and now we’re being paid for it in bushels, because we gave the horse a chance to get over his problems and mature.

“We didn’t ask him for a whole lot after we gave him a break and it worked out well because he just turned into a machine. A trainer has to stay at the ready when it comes to a horse’s health.

“You have to check them every day, because they’re like strawberries: they can spoil overnight.”

Fortunately for Team Kruljac, it is enjoying the fruits of The Chosen Vron’s labor, and how sweet it is.

“Every horse is different even in some minor ways,” Kruljac said. “Depending on how the horse is handling training, you might back off if he isn’t cleaning up his feed after a workout. Others might be very resilient and eat a hole in their feed tub after a stiff work or a tough race, whereas lesser doers, as we call them, might need more time and have to be treated differently.

“You can tell when a horse likes his feed and it agrees with him if they bury their head in the feed tub after a workout or a race. You’ve got to read the horse.

“The Vron likes what he’s doing. He eats a hole in the bottom of his feed tub every morning. It’s horses like this that make people want to be owners and trainers to come to the barn in the morning. A horse like the Vron is all I need. I just have to keep him together.”

The solicitous Kruljac owns 20 percent of The Chosen Vron along with Sondereker Racing, LLC (40 percent), Robert Fetkin and Richard Thornburgh (each also 20 percent).

“John (Sondereker) is a prince of a man and was at the (Keeneland) auction in Kentucky with me when we bought The Chosen One’s dam (Tiz Molly) as a yearling,” Kruljac said. “He worked the sale with one of my sons (Mack) and I, and that was the beginning of The Chosen Vron.

“Tiz Molly showed a lot of run at the sale, won her first couple outs, then hurt herself, so we formed a partnership, started breeding her and we hit gold. Her second foal wound up being The Chosen Vron.”

Sondereker, 81, principal owner of The Chosen Vron, has enjoyed his days in racing since he started innocuously at the age of 15, mucking stalls and walking hots at tracks near his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. “Nothing serious,” he said with a chuckle. “Just a dollar-an-hour job. I doubled that now at two bucks an hour collecting social security, so I’m doing a lot better.”

He's doing a lot better in no small part thanks to The Chosen Vron, an unanticipated success story that prospective young owners might enjoy should good fortune smile on them. 

John’s tip to them for full gratification: get in on the ground floor

“Mine is a familiar story,” said Sondereker, who grew up around horse racing. “My dad took me to the track when I was young, so I got the bug. I loved the horses, went to school, went into the Service and worked for Wells Fargo for 40 years. I was in finance, traveled for them extensively with operations all over the country and spent five years in Latin America. 

“I had a couple of cheap horses when we opened Prairie Meadows back in the late 80’s but I always liked to live on the West Coast and wanted to see what I could do in racing and have fun with it when I retired, because it was my passion. Now I live on the West Coast, have a home in (Las) Vegas and one in Del Mar where I spend the racing season.

“I’m a realist and I never expected to have a Grade I winner, since I never had one during my first two or three decades. I never expected one this late, and when I saw Vron right after he was born at Harris Ranch, I had no clue this cute, crooked-legged little horse would develop into what he has. He was still around his mom when he was a few weeks old and wouldn’t let me get near him.

“I couldn’t get close to him until he was taken to Arizona where they broke him, then he came back and it looked like he had some potential against California-breds. That was all good, and the next thing you know, we couldn’t stop him from being successful.

“Everything kind of gelled together and I’m blessed because we have an outstanding groom who works with him—he has a three-part Mexican name but I just call him Herlindo. He’s been with Vron since he was a baby and is a major part of the horse’s success.

“Vron’s regular rider, Hector Berrios, stops at the barn almost every morning to see him, so it’s a caring team, but there’s a lot of luck involved, too. Everything came together and I’m just happy to sit on the sidelines.”

Sondereker offers this advice for rookie horse owners: “What makes it fun for me is for the most part I have learned to buy my own horses at the sales, although I haven’t bought any in the last year as I’m getting older and cutting back. I’ve got ‘Vron’ and that’s enough for me now, but the sales aspect of it means so much.

“When you’re confident enough to buy your own horses at a grassroots level, even though there’s more disappointment than there is success, you’re into the whole process. 

“Otherwise, you’re outside of that experience, pay bills and don’t know what’s going on. It’s fun to go to the races when one of your horses is running, but it’s a lot more fun if you bought it and are in it from the start, although it takes some capital to do that, obviously.

“That’s what has kept me in the game, going to the sales and learning my way around. Eric taught me a lot about buying horses. I didn’t understand it well until I started going to Keeneland with Eric.

“Early on I thought I knew it all, and you can make a lot of mistakes, but it’s really a treat to go to a place like Keeneland or Saratoga for their sales. You don’t have to buy anything, because mostly when I go, we’re the underbidder.

“That’s my nickname. I answer to The Underbidder,” Sondereker said, laughing. “But seriously, you get involved in the sport, meet wonderful people, most very cordial. They don’t care if you have a budget of $60,000 or five million, they treat you right. It becomes a passion for you.”

That’s what The Chosen Vron has become for his entire team.

“The horse is just all class, at the barn and on the race track,” Kruljac said. “He’s a gelding, so that reduced some of his heat. He’s quiet until you put a saddle and a bridle on him. He thoroughly relishes training and running in races. Around the barn we just call him Vron, because he’s Vron of a kind.”

The Chosen Vron’s partner in his last 17 races has been Berrios, a 37-year-old native of Chile who began riding at 17 and became a star in his native country, coming to California for the first time in 2011. He has ridden the gallant gelding in his last 17 races, winning 14.

“He breezes him, too, whenever we breeze,” Kruljac said. “Hector’s like a lot of the South American riders. They’re all true horsemen. They’re not just jockeys. They were born to sit on the backs of horses.”

Kruljac had a football scholarship at Arizona State when he suffered a knee injury, dashing hopes of blitzing the likes of the late, great Walter Payton. “I was basically just a target after I got hurt,” said Kruljac, who was 6’1 and 237 pounds in his sophomore year. He’s a svelte 210 today.

“I still walk with a limp to this day,” he said. “As time goes on, old injuries come back and haunt you.

“I had a massive tear in my meniscus. It was bad, but I was still practicing,” continued Kruljac, who left college a semester early and started a private investigators agency in Phoenix, expanding it to 10 before entering racing as an owner, with his brother, Edward, training. Eric sold his business and started his own stable in the early 1990s.

Before attending Arizona State, he spent winters in Phoenix and summers in California as a youngster. His grandfather, Walter Markham, a cattle rancher and a horse owner, employed eventual Hall of Fame member Buster Millerick as his trainer. Kruljac caught the bug and never lost it.

Millerick began training in his twenties, and shortly after Santa Anita opened in 1934, was hired to condition horses for Charles Howard and would work under head trainer Tom Smith when the stable in 1936 acquired Seabiscuit, who would become a global phenomenon.

“Millerick was a very good young trainer,” Laura Hillenbrand wrote in her 2001 multiple award-winning book ‘Seabiscuit, An American Legend’, “but for his new yearlings and the hundred-grander-caliber horses he planned to have soon, Howard wanted the best. In 1935, he went looking for him.”

That man would be Seabiscuit’s taciturn trainer, Tom Smith.

Millerick, reticent bordering on being irascible in public, trained Hall of Fame gelding Native Diver, winner of 34 stakes from two through eight, including three straight editions of the Hollywood Gold Cup. He was the first California-bred to earn $1 million, but the recalcitrant Millerick avoided the limelight like a plague. Louis K. Shapiro, a Millerick client, is quoted as saying, “You never saw him in a winner’s circle photograph.”

“My grandfather used him as a trainer and they were really good friends,” Eric said. “Buster didn’t like owners but he loved my grandfather because he was a cattleman and also a produce broker. He was very outgoing to me and would always give us his box for the races, but he was very tough around the barn.

“An owner would come in without making an appointment and he’d tell him to get the hell out. He’d send his dog, Buttermilk, after him.”

Meanwhile, Joseph Eric Kruljac, one of racing’s good guys, soldiers on, remaining a sedulous stone in racing’s floundering foundation.

One might say The Chosen Vron is Kruljac’s Seabiscuit.

“I’m on the last leg now,” he said philosophically. “The Chosen Vron has just kept me going. It’s so unusual to have a horse like this allowing me to experience all these great things in the twilight of my career. It’s just a blessing. It defies description. I think he’s going to have a good shot in the Breeders’ Cup

“With the exception of this horse, I probably would have bowed out a year or two ago. You take the worst of the game and hopefully live with what’s left of it.

“I’m basically down to one horse, The Chosen Vron, with seven horses total at Los Alamitos which I’m using as a starting point for them, but only three or four are racing right now. 

“I’m way down on stock. This might be my last hurrah, but I’m thoroughly enjoying having a horse like this in the barn.

“For me, I just try to make the horses as comfortable and sharp as we can,” Kruljac said when asked about his training philosophy. “When you see they don’t clean up (their feed) or drink their water, little things that are just different, it’s a signal.

“Once you’ve had a horse for a period of time, you can read them when they might be off their feed a bit or have sore muscles. For great, big, powerful things they sure change at a moment’s notice.”

Eric has four children, one of whom, Ian, 36, is also a trainer currently supervising 12 horses in Southern California. Eric also has two other children, Chance and Meghan, in addition to Mack and Ian.

“Ian’s career started with a bang,” Eric recalled. “The first horse he  ever trained won the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint at Santa Anita in 2016 when he was just 28.”

That was Finest City, a four-year-old daughter of City Zip sent off at 8-1. It was one of only two wins for Ian that year.

Obviously, Ian was delighted with the victory, but was mature enough not to fully bask in its glory.

“I realize it takes a small army to succeed; it wasn’t just about me,” Ian said. “To win, everything has to go right, including the timing. But the hardest part is finding the horse. Then when you do, your entire staff has to be moving in the right direction.” 

Both father and son adhere to the adage ‘patience Is a virtue’ in developing successful thoroughbreds.

“One of the most important things my dad taught me was give a horse time when needed,” Ian said. “That’s what I did with Finest City. She didn’t make the races as a two-year-old but it certainly paid off when she won the Breeders’ Cup.

“We just have to do what’s right by the horse and hopefully racing will benefit in the future. These horses were bred to run and if they’re treated right, they will, and that’s what racing needs.

“My Dad’s my best friend,” Ian continued, speaking on behalf of the entire brood. “He’s a great father to all his kids. I learned a lot from him on how to take care of horses and about life.

“He’s a great man.”

D Wayne Lukas - Doing It His Way: Passion & Purpose Keep D. Wayne Lukas Coming Back for More

In his signature white Stetson hat and sunglasses, the white-haired gentleman made his way from his grandstand perch through an undulating crowd toward the infield winner’s circle. The veteran horseman moved purposefully through the fray, his cane his only concession to his age. His peers, many of them decades younger, clasped his hand in congratulations as the masses parted for this icon. Under a gray sky, beside a glossy gray horse draped in yellow and black, D. Wayne Lukas reaped the rewards of his passion and perseverance as he collected another record: at 88 years old, the oldest trainer to win a Triple Crown classic. 

As an elder statesman of the sport, Lukas is a man of contrasts. He grew up on a rural Wisconsin farm cultivating an innate love of horses and then pursued that passion while he developed his leadership skills working as a high school teacher and basketball coach. That legacy carried over to training Quarter Horses and then Thoroughbreds, his nickname ‘the Coach’ carried over from the court to the racetrack. As the ultimate visionary in racing, he built a career innovating the sport while staying committed to simplicity, even eschewing the now-ubiquitous smartphone for its understated cousin, the flip phone, and continuing to supervise both the horses and the people in his charge daily. Successes from the grind of earlier decades have afforded him opportunities that few get: the chance to continue doing what he loves on his terms and his timeline, simultaneously unhurried and ambitious. 

At an age when most might have already called it a day, the Wisconsin native continues to find joy in rising before the sun, mounting his pony, and overseeing the collection of current and future stars in his barn, including Preakness winner Seize the Grey. In his decades on the racetrack, Lukas has filled a multitude of roles – from trainer of equine athletes to teacher of generations to ambassador for the sport he loves – and he has done it all his way. 

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To say that Lukas has won only two Triple Crown classics plus a Kentucky Oaks since 2013 is a statement about the impact that he has had on the sport nearly fifty years after switching from Quarter Horses to Thoroughbreds full time. His resume is familiar to the generations that watched him at the track or on television during his most dominant years in the 1980s and 1990s, a tally of achievements that make his enduring drive all the more extraordinary. 

Since 1978, D. Wayne Lukas has won the Kentucky Derby four times, first with Winning Colors, the third and most recent filly to win the Run for the Roses, in 1988; the Preakness Stakes seven times, from Codex’s victory over Genuine Risk in 1980 to Seize the Grey’s gate-to-wire win in 2024; and the Belmont Stakes four times, including dual classic winner Thunder Gulch in 1995. The trainer was on the cusp of the Triple Crown in 1999, the same year he was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, after Bob and Beverly Lewis’s Charismatic won the Derby and the Preakness and then was on the lead in the Belmont stretch before an injury ended both that bid and the horse’s career. 

In addition to his success in the three-year-old classics, Lukas has trained five Hall of Famers (Lady’s Secret, Winning Colors, Azeri, Serena’s Song, and Open Mind); had former assistant Todd Pletcher join him in the Hall of Fame in 2021; and then was inducted into the Quarter-Horse Hall of Fame in 2007. He claims a record 20 Breeders’ Cup victories, four Eclipse Awards for leading trainer, and nearly fifty Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred champions, numerous graded stakes winners, and a multitude of fans from the kids he pulls into the winner’s circle to names like MyRacehorse’s founder and CEO Michael Behrens and journalist Christina Bossinakis, co-author of Lukas’s 2019 book Sermon on the Mount. 

His latest Preakness win with Seize the Grey is his third graded stakes win of 2024 and his second with the son of Arrogate, who also took the Grade 2 Pat Day Mile on the Kentucky Derby undercard. Lukas also enjoyed success with Secret Oath, a daughter of the late Juddmonte sire with whom the trainer got his fifth Kentucky Oaks in 2022. “I've had such good luck with the Arrogates,” the trainer reflected. “Boy, that's tragic that we lost him because he was destined to really be a good one.”

Seize the Grey is part of Arrogate’s last crop of foals, bred by the late Audrey “Tolie” Otto’s Jamm Ltd., and purchased by MyRacehorse for $300,000 at the 2022 Saratoga Yearling Sale. When it came time to choose a trainer, Michael Behrens, founder and CEO of the microshare syndicate, thought the colt would be a great fit for Lukas’s program. 

“I saw his success with Secret Oath, and that was an Arrogate, and that got him back in my purview and watching and just being a little bit more cognizant of what he was doing down in Oaklawn. Watching the success that he was having at a later stage in his career, I was impressed,” Behrens shared. “This horse was built like a horse that we thought would do well in his program. We know that Wayne is not afraid to run a horse, and that's one thing that we love to do is race. With his strength and physical attributes, he just felt like a horse that we thought would thrive in that type of environment.”

Additionally, Behrens knew that bringing Lukas on was going to create a special connection for each person that paid $127 to buy a share of Seize the Grey. Even before the colt made his first start, having the Hall of Fame trainer attached was an irresistible opportunity for potential owners. “To say, I own a horse with D. Wayne Lukas, [became] the reason they bought the horse,” Behrens shared. “It didn't matter what the horse looked like, the walk, the pedigree. So many people come to me and say, ‘I bought in because of one reason: I just wanted to own a horse with the Coach.’”

Lukas understands the significance of his part in the Preakness win for those owners. After his first reaction to the colt’s victory – “Well, I did it again” – the trainer knew that “I had just made 2,570 people happy. I didn't realize how happy, but they were really happy.” The winner’s circle was filled with just a fraction of the men and women who had treasured the possibility of winning with D. Wayne Lukas enough to invest their money with no promise of a return. When it comes to the Hall of Fame trainer, though, nothing is outside the realm of possibility. 

Seize the Grey is the first horse MyRacehorse has sent to Lukas; Behrens and company has since added two more to his barn. The Hall of Famer has become “an ambassador of MyRacehorse, which has been great. He'll say things like, ‘I got to go check with the 2500 owners first before we make a decision,’” Behrens laughed. “Everybody loves it. It's great for us. It really reinforces all the time that this horse is fundamentally owned by the people. It's given our brand just a lot more awareness. It's given it more clarity, which has been helpful.”

Seize the Grey gave Lukas his 15th Triple Crown classic victory. That number is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what the Wisconsin native has achieved since he started training Quarter Horses full-time in 1968 and then switched to Thoroughbreds a decade later. 

* * * * * * * * *

Lukas’s resume puts him on par with legends like “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons and Ben Jones, both of whom were private trainers for the sport’s largest owners in a time when a singular home base was the norm. In his time as part of a sport deeply rooted in tradition, Lukas turned that on its head and molded racing’s previous business model into one all his own. From the paddock on race day to the backside every day, he has left no aspect of his operation untouched by his vision and influenced the practices of many other trainers in the process. 

“When I first started with the Thoroughbreds, I came to the paddock a couple of times, and I didn't have the right blinkers. I did have some of the things I wanted, the pommel pad and so forth. So, I thought, that's a simple fix,” Lukas remembered. “We got these bags made, big shopping bags, and we put our stuff in there. Do you know that within, I'm going to say two weeks, almost every trainer on the backside had their shopping bags made up?” 

In the early days at Santa Anita, “we'd bed deep on straw. Everybody then was pulling a drag sack, where they threw everything on it and dragged it to the bin. And so, I thought this is not the way to go,” the trainer shared. “I went right down to the maintenance guy, and I said, ‘I want you to make this big wide wheelbarrow. It just barely fits through the doors of the stall [and] go at least three quarters in. Just put a nice big tire on it and everything.’ He made, I think, four or something like that. Guess what? Soon everybody else had one, too. Two months later, Western Saddlery mass-produced them and sold them all over the country.”

His innovations went beyond his California base and spread coast to coast. Building on Jack Van Berg’s multiple divisions, Lukas had four barns coast-to-coast, each staffed by a star-studded list of assistants, and supported multiple racetracks rather than focusing on one or two. “He didn't have 200 horses at one location. We ran at Monmouth, we ran at Belmont, and we ran in Kentucky” former assistant trainer Kiaran McLaughlin recalled. “Today, Todd and Chad would have over 100 horses at Saratoga trying to be the leading trainer, but Wayne never really did that. He kept the horses at different locations and helped each racetrack that we were stabled at.”

The former educator and basketball coach translated his experience managing players and students into mentoring his employees, especially his legion of assistant trainers, as he taught them to do it his way. “As a head coach, you have to delegate responsibility in some of the teaching or training. And that came out real strong with me,” Lukas shared. “Every one of those four divisions that we had were not any different. You could go to any one of them, and you would absolutely know exactly what the policy was.” 

That background extended to the horses in his barns, as the trainer placed his charges where they would perform best, giving each one a shot in the right conditions rather than focusing on a chosen few as other trainers would do. “When we first started out, I said, ‘You know what you need to do here is we need to grade these horses. And then after we grade them, we need to decide where they can compete effectively,” Lukas explained. “Can these four horses or five horses or six horses, can they compete at Turfway? Or are they a better set of horses that we can take maybe to Monmouth.’ And we started grading those. We started grading three levels. Pretty soon we had four because we got so many horses.”

In the late 90s and early 2000s, as clients like William T. Young’s Overbrook Farm and Gene Klein passed away and other owners got out of racing, Lukas had progressively fewer horses to work with. That change meant the Wisconsin native had to adapt. His stable gradually transitioned from four barns to one. The same practices are there, but on a different scale. Lukas maintains that “the only thing I've changed, I think, is that I read into the horse a little bit better.” He still marks his training chart after each day’s session. He talks with assistant trainer Sebastian Nicolls, listens to feedback from his employees, “and then I sleep on it. The next morning, I walk in there and maybe say, ‘You know what? That filly, she's only had seven days’ rest, and she's going to run back in three weeks. I think I'll give her two more days.’” 

At the core of his ability to adapt are the skills that brought him the most success: his innate relationship with the horse. “I think, fundamentally, he was practically born on a horse. He certainly grew up on horses. He wasn't exposed to the greatest of horses when he was a very, very young man. He really learned all the basics of horsemanship from the ground level,” co-author and friend Christina Bossinakis observed. “I think he also been able to create a system and a discipline within his operation that has been proven to be successful.”

In addition to the day-to-day work with his current charges, Lukas finds the possibility of what’s next inherent in yearling sales as thrilling as a Grade 1 win. “At this period of my life, I probably should have somebody look at them and make a short list and give me the short list. But I don't do that. I get right in there and go barn to barn. I'll have a score on each,” the horseman shared. “I look at everyone there and enjoy the whole process.”

His ability to pick out future athletes is one part of the process that has propelled Lukas from high school basketball coach to horse trainer. That fresh blood motivates him to look forward to the next race, the next season, giving the restlessness that comes from his indomitable drive an outlet. Yet if observers imagined that he has another Kentucky Derby win or another Breeders’ Cup victory motivating him, Lukas makes it clear that is not what drives him. Rather than the big picture, this horseman’s focus is simpler: “My goals are daily. My goals, they fall in there. Here's the way I live my life: Every morning when you wake up, you or me, I want you to try this. You have a few seconds of an attitude adjustment. Now, I wake up and I say, ‘look, I'm tired. I know I'm tired.’ But I wake up and I say to myself, ‘I've been blessed by God to have a talent that is unique. I'm not going to waste it today. I'm going to use this talent today to get better than I was yesterday.’ And with that, will come a Derby or a Preakness.” 

“I wake up with the idea that I need to give my clients a fair chance to succeed. And it's not easy with every horse, but I think that it's very important that I go to work trying to give them a chance to succeed,” the Hall of Famer shared. “If any client moves a horse tomorrow, I wouldn't worry because I feel comfortable that I at least gave it every chance to succeed.”

Never one to rest on his laurels, Lukas strives to get the best out of his horses, his employees, and, most of all, himself each day. His passion for what he has done since his youth and the success he has cultivated from his skill set both propel him forward and free him to enjoy the journey there. 

* * * * * * * * *

Seize the Grey’s Grade 1 wins are a reminder not only of what the man conditioning him has accomplished, but also the horsemanship that brought him multiple graded stakes wins nearly every season for the last 46 years. “We're such a result-oriented sport, like most things are,” MyRacehorse’s Behrens observed. “The reality is that it's these big wins that bring everything back to everybody's memory. It’s nice for him to have the acknowledgement again of his success and his expertise.” 

The Preakness shows who the Hall of Famer truly is as his barn and his business has changed. How does he still do it at age 88? “I mean, it's simple. He has a recipe. He has optimism, and he has the work ethic,” fellow trainer Ron Moquett, who has known Lukas since the 1990s, said. “If you believe you can do something, and you're willing to work it doing something, then you can do it. And he's proven it over and over. Age doesn't matter. He believes he can do it. He's willing to put forth the effort to do it, and he shows everybody he still can do it.” 

“He's just always been a very driven human being. Very driven. He likes perfection. He likes success. He likes accomplishment. He likes to get things done,” Bossinakis shared. “When we were working on the book, he would call me early, like super early in the morning. And then maybe I might not answer, and then I'd call him back at 8:00. And he would say to me, ‘What? Why? You're still sleeping? You've missed half the day!’”

Even with fewer horses, both Secret Oath and Seize the Grey show that this coach still knows how to find the best in his charges. As McLaughlin observed, “a good coach needs good players, and he's capable with good stock. And he used to buy the best of horses, and that has slowed down some, obviously, because he doesn't have that many owners to buy for. He went from buying maybe 50 horses to 8 or 10. So that's all just different. But he's still a very capable trainer and a great horseman, and as long as his eyesight is good, he can train.”

The only change evident in Lukas is his age. Everything else about the 88-year-old edition mirrors his earlier iterations, from his rise and shine time to his attitude about his work in his latest decade. He may have one barn and 40 horses rather than four with 150 head, but he remains the same trainer, supervising his equine athletes while advising his staff and mentoring his contemporaries. “With winning comes a certain amount of passion to keep you going,” the trainer reflected. “But also, when you win and you win consistently, those guys that are coming behind mind you, the younger ones, they're watching.” 

That competitive drive makes this Hall of Famer ageless and fuels him to continue moving forward, as wife Laurie noted. “It's just the passion for it. I mean, I have a lot of passion for the horse business and for horses, but I can't match [him]. I don't think anybody can match his passion. I've never seen anything like it.”

“He's very proactive. I think that's part of just his makeup. But I also think it's what keeps him driven to keep accomplishing and doing more,” Bossinakis echoed. 

That passion not only drives Lukas to the barn every morning, his 35-minute commute a chance to reflect on what he can do with his day, but it also moves him to share a lifetime’s experience working with equine athletes with his younger contemporaries. 

* * * * * * * * *

Lukas’s childhood in Wisconsin provided the foundation for two essential aspects of the man: his love for horses and his drive to teach and to develop. First, he spent nearly a decade as a high school teacher and basketball coach, using his summers to train Quarter Horses on the side. His eventual shift to training full-time did not diminish his joy in coaching as he used those skills with his employees as he had done with his students. Early on, when he was building his stable and making a name for himself, he was focusing his mentorship on those working under him, trainers like Kiaran McLaughlin and Dallas Stewart.

“He was a fabulous coach and teacher. Not that many of us spent every day with him, but we spoke to him, and we knew what he wanted every day, and we acted as though he was there with us in our daily work,” McLaughlin remembered. “He was a great example of being at the barn at 4:45 in the morning every day and calling back in the different operations or his assistants. In the morning, he would talk to everybody. He was a very organized person, and he was great to learn from and work with.”

Stewart spent a dozen years working for Lukas during the 1980s and 1990s, when the trainer seemed to be everywhere, winning everything. “It was a different level. People had a lot of nice horses, and we learned how to handle the intensity,” the Louisiana native remembered. “You always followed his lead, but he was there every day. I mean, I wouldn't want it done in any other way. I feel fortunate that I worked for him.”

When Moquett first met Lukas at Del Mar, he noted that the famed trainer was “very sharp, very intense, and I thought he held himself like a businessman and horseman. The reputation, the aura was huge, right? And it was all I could do to muster up the courage to ask if he had any horses for sale. But I figured out after about five seconds of talking to him that he's very much on principle, and based on the way I was raised, I related to that very quickly. We made fast acquaintances, and as intimidated as I was to go see the man, it was that quick that I was just enthralled with just listening to him.” 

While he works with his own horses on the backside at Churchill Downs or Oaklawn Park, the lifelong horseman does not miss a chance to share his experience with those around him. Whether he is watching a gatework or sharing his perspective on a common experience, Lukas is there ready to chime in with advice. “The other day, we were at the gate, and they were trying to load this one horse, and he kept turning his side into the gate. I said, ‘If you were just turning the other way, walk up there and turn him the opposite way, he's going to walk right in,’” Lukas remembered. “Everybody looked at the horse, and said, ‘What do we got to lose?’ Walked right up, turned him the other way, and he walked right in.”

Lukas’s counsel extends beyond working with equine athletes; his reputation as a sharp-dressed professional in high-quality suits demonstrated his understanding of perception and how that can help your business as a trainer. He shares the benefits of that attention to personal details where he can. “He told me that the only thing that separated me from everybody else that's doing this job is the fact that nobody else has the opportunity to wake up and decide what I wear. And I'm there to represent the horse, the owner, and my employees. So, if I'm representing them, then I can't show I'd go up dressed like a mucksack,” Moquett shared. “That lit a fire into me. How can I expect anybody to respect me with their investment in a horse? And how can I expect the people in my barn to respect me if I'm dressed like a groom?”

With all that he has achieved in his career, why then does the lifelong horseman feel this pull to mentor? “You walk around the backside and people say, ‘Horsemanship is gone. It's lost.’ A lot of it is that horsemen are not there and being developed and so forth,” he reflected. “There's a lot of truth to that because the young people that come to the backside to train, you know where they come from? McDonald’s or someplace. They wake up and say, ‘I'd like to be a horse trainer.’ They say, ‘I'll walk hots.’ And then they walk hots. The next thing you know, they're grooming. And then they're an assistant. Next thing you know, they got a trainer's license.” 

“I feel obligated to share, and I can't help myself,” the horseman shared.

“That's just the way he is, and he is one of the best of all times at doing what he's doing,” McLaughlin said. “If anybody ask a question, he's happy to answer it. He's mentored many of us on and off the racetrack. He was very influential to all of us.” 

The trainer’s habit of pulling young people into winner’s circle photos is another way of imparting his enthusiasm for the sport to a new generation and creating new fans in the process. He keeps a folder of letters from those who reach out to him, some of whom report keeping that photo in their office or parlaying that experience into further investment in racing. 

“He is very good with his fans in terms of keeping drawing people in. And I say to this day that the reason I'm in racing today is because of him. And that's true. And not only from that first experience of having met him, but also even later on in the later years,” said Bossinakis. “He started off as my idol, and then became more like a mentor.” 

“I've picked up a lot of things that he is really well known for and incorporated them into my own life. He always speaks in terms of ‘we.’ He doesn't say I; he says ‘we,’” his co-author shared. “Very much team oriented. The people around him, the importance of that, I've picked that up.”

As Moquett observed about his friend and peer, “as good as a horse trainer as Wayne Lukas is, and he's one of the best that's ever done it, he's even more going to be known for a motivator.” 

* * * * * * * * *

When Oxbow went gate-to-wire in the 2013 Preakness, a performance echoed in Seize the Grey’s in 2024, Lukas had not won a classic since Commendable’s Belmont Stakes in 2000. The trainer had not stopped the same grind that had earned him a spot in the Hall of Fame but faced a transition: as the owners he had his biggest successes with passed away or left racing, the horseman had to compete with rising stars like Bob Baffert and Todd Pletcher among others for new clients. That meant fewer horses and fewer opportunities to use the skills he had built over a lifetime. 

He could have stepped away then to parlay his boundless drive into other efforts. “In the last 10 years, I think people feel that maybe I would be thinking that way. And I've had opportunities to take, I'm going to say, an administrative situation, managing something,” Lukas shared. Instead, the Wisconsin native prefers to ply his trade, professing that “I get too much joy and satisfaction out of dealing one-on-one with those good horses. And I don't think I would ever go that way. Selfishly, I don't have any other interests.”

With his 89th birthday coming in early September, any talk about this Hall of Famer hanging it up is quickly quieted. Lukas is not about looking back and exudes optimism about the future in each conversation. “Like he says, I'm not really working on my resume anymore,” wife Laurie Lukas observed. “He's just going on pure love of the horse and the sport.” 

“At 89 years old, I want to keep them all in front of me so I can be hands-on, as they say, train each horse individually and be responsible for each choice. Now, I have an outstanding system that really makes it easy,” he shared. “Obviously, with forty head, I've got less clients, too. But I've got a couple of real strong, powerful clients in John Bellinger and Brian Coehlo of BC Stables.” 

Lukas and assistant trainer Sebastian Nicholl split the year between Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas and Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, both deliberate choices for the trainer who formerly had stables from coast to coast. “Through the '80s and '90s, we were Californians, with Hollywood Park and everything. But during that era, Marge Everett told me that California was going to have trouble holding on to the industry. I thought, ‘Well, if it all goes to hell in a handbag, where will it be the last one to go?’” the trainer recalled. “It's going to be Louisville and Lexington. They'll fight and claw to keep it going. So, I picked up and moved back here.”

Now at home in Arkansas and Kentucky and soon Saratoga, where stars like Winning Colors were launched, D. Wayne Lukas has shown once again his determination to do things his way. His life away from the barn is populated with his family, including wife Laurie, grandson Brady and granddaughter Kelly and their spouses, and his two great-grandchildren. “He loves his family. He's very committed to his grandkids and their spouses, and now his great grandchildren. It is hard, as he talks about it, it's hard to balance that. But I think as he's gotten older, and maybe since I've come in the picture, he also really embraces my family,” Laurie shared. “I just think that's a side the public won't see of him, his sensitivity and the importance of helping people and helping.”

At the barn is Seize the Grey and a few two-year-olds that remind the trainer why he rises before the sun and makes that drive to the backside. As often as his age comes up, the Hall of Fame trainer shows that he is steadfastly himself. 

“He hasn't changed that much over the years. Obviously, he went from managing over 100 horses down to 30 or 40, but he still has a great eye for a horse,” McLaughlin observed. “That was something that was just a given talent to him. He's great at purchasing yearlings and looking at horses, and he still has it in buying horses, and he still gets up at 3:30 or 4:00 in the morning, and he works every day, gets on his pony, and so he loves what he's doing.”

“I think the core of him is the same. At the core, that intensity, that drive to win, that positivity, he’s always had that. Wayne is not a looking behind guy. He's very forward-thinking,” Bossinakis shared. “I will say the biggest change that I've seen in him personally, he's become – I don't even like me saying this – a little bit softer around the edges, which I love. I think there is a level of him that's an emotional guy, that's a sentimental person. I think he's always been that. He probably just never really showed it.”

Master horseman, innovator, and mentor, D. Wayne Lukas not only focuses his prodigious energy on those closest to him, enjoying his role as husband and patriarch, but also on the promising young horses now hitting the racetrack, their potential as exciting as that scene in the Preakness winner’s circle. “Our two-year-olds are very, very good. And I can see it coming. I can see what's about to happen. I get up every day and I know. And I think, ‘oh, boy, here we come.’”

Studying the feed behavior of horses in training - why we keep on losing the battle with ulcers?

Keeping a racehorse healthy inside and out can be a real challenge. The nature of training and the environment in which racehorses live presents a constant set of risks. Managing those risks and balancing them against what is needed to achieve success is a fine art. 

So where does risk come from when it comes to digestive function? Are those risks manageable within the racing environment? What can you realistically expect to achieve with changes to feed, feeding practice and the use of supplements?

One of the biggest risk factors for digestive health is the stabled environment and the pattern of feeding required to fit in around a typical working day for stable staff, coupled with the need to get out on the gallops. On top of this is then the individual’s feeding behavior, something that can easily be overlooked when the ‘what is fed’ is the same for all horses in the barn. Individual behavior is perhaps one of the hardest aspects to tackle, whilst replicating a natural feeding pattern is nearly impossible.

The most common digestive concern is gastric ulcers, and many feeds and supplements are now available and marketed for this condition. Yet ulcers still exist and continue to frustrate many trainers despite making dietary changes. Why is this? The answer lies in gaining a better understanding of what a ‘good’ feed pattern and diet looks like from the horses’ perspective versus what is effective for performance and realistic in a typical racing stable. 

What is a natural feeding pattern?

Free ranging horses typically show 10-15 distinct feeding bouts in a 24-hour period (1).

Time spent resting or engaged in other non-feeding activities will not normally exceed 3-4 hours per session (2). Meaning the stomach is rarely truly empty.

The majority of feeding behavior happens during daylight hours, typically 60-70% of time available (3).

During nighttime hours the amount of time spent as feeding behaviors reduces to 40-50% of those hours (3).

The total amount of time spent grazing across multiple feeding bouts is connected to the season and daylight hours. During summer months intake is around 14 hours in total versus 12 hours in the winter (4).

The natural feeding pattern is driven by the design of the horses’ digestive anatomy and is key to good health and normal function. The further away from these patterns we move any horse the greater the risk of dysfunction. 

What is a typical feeding pattern for a horse in training? 

The time study above shows the time taken for a group of 5 horses in training to eat their bucket feed and forage allocations in a 24-hour period. All horses in this observational study were in full training and worked in the morning of the study at different time points depending on their lot. Horses were observed from 4:45 am until 9:15 pm.  

One of the key aspects of natural feeding behavior is the amount of feeding periods or ‘mini-meals’ a horse consumes. For 4 out of the 5 horses from completion of their evening forage to the next meal of breakfast was a period of time in excess of 8 hours, approximately 33% of the 24-hour period. During these nighttime hours feeding behavior normally occurs in free ranging horses and supports regulation of the digestive system. 

For wild horses the total time spent eating is 12-14 hours in a 24 hour period. They do not normally have periods exceeding 12 hours in every 24 without some form of intake. For 4 out of the 5 horses there were distinct periods where all feed and forage had been consumed. The amount of time without any feed or forage available for the horses ranged from as little as 3 hours and 40 minutes up to 15 hours 30 mins in a 24-hour period.

Natural feeding patterns rarely see more than a 3-4 hour gap between each ‘mini-meal’ and at these points where gaps exist, it is important to remember that food has been available for 24 hours without restriction leading up to these chosen breaks in forage intake. The break in intake is short and during this time the stomach is unlikely to be truly empty. For horses in training it is easy to have periods in excess of 3 hours without any intake of feed or forage. 

Although the period from finishing breakfast to morning forage being given was for some horses less than 3 hours, the stomach when receiving that breakfast was in a fasting state. Ordinarily in the natural environment the stomach is rarely truly empty as it can take anywhere from 2-6 hours for the stomach to empty depending on what and how much has been consumed (5). When giving a bucket feed to a horse in a fasting state the rate of transit of that feed through the stomach will be relatively short, and depending on which lot the horse is pulled out for, can result in the horse being worked on an empty or near empty stomach. 

Why does this matter? 

One of the common causes of squamous ulceration is ‘acid splashback’ which relates to strenuous exercise and the movement of acidic content from the lower glandular region of the stomach to the unprotected squamous area (6). When the stomach contains feed or forage it is more difficult for the acidic content to be forced upwards to the squamous area. This is why it is recommended to include chaff in the breakfast feed or provide a small amount of forage as these fibrous sources are slower to pass through the stomach and can help reduce the level of acidity seen in the proximal portion of the stomach. The key point here is reduction not elimination. The practice will not prevent ulceration occurring, but it will reduce exposure.

The table below shows the difference between horses that were fasted for only 2 hours before exercise and those fasted for 18 hours. 

One of the challenges in racing is the differing amount of time between the breakfast feed and being saddled up for work. On top of this some horses will naturally consume their allocated feed faster. Even within the small number of horses observed in the study in Figure 1 there was notable variation in the time taken to eat the same amount of bucket feed given. Some of this variation comes from giving all horses the same breakfast by weight, which represents a different meal size against their bodyweight. Variation also exists as racehorses are individuals and appetite is flexible and influenced by other factors such as level of fitness and stress.  

Figure 3 shows the amount of dry matter provided in the breakfast feed to each horse and considers it against the bodyweight of the individual horse. The breakfast given was 4.85lbs / 2.2kg of a cubed racing feed alongside 1.3lbs / 0.6kg of an alfalfa based chaff. 

Can feed intake be slowed down?

In terms of feed format, pelleted feeds are consumed faster than mueslis or ‘sweet feeds’ (7). The addition of chaff mixed with the feed can slow intake, but for it to be effective there must be a reasonable amount given compared to the amount of pelleted or textured feed. As a rough guide, providing an additional 30% of the hard feed weight as a chaff will make a notable difference to the rate of intake. 

Whilst the aim is to slow intake it is important to keep in mind that feeding hard feeds too close to strenuous exercise is not recommended. Ideally feed is withheld for 2 hours before exercise. Forages, eg hay, haylage and alfalfa chaff, do not need to be removed but intake should be restricted to a small amount, typically 1kg. Providing a small amount of forage in this format helps maintain saliva production, which assists with regulation of acidity, and provides some fill for the stomach. 

Does forage intake matter?

Risk factors for gastric ulceration and colic when it comes to forage are similar. Diets low in forage and high in concentrates increase risk, along with intermittent feeding patterns and/or periods of fasting. 

In addition to what is given and the pattern that fits practically at a yard, is the fact that horses, like many other species, do not have a fixed rate of intake when a meal of any sort is presented. The majority will have a higher consumption rate at the start of feeding than at the end. With the observed horses hourly weigh backs of forage were carried out for a period of 6 hours to determine rate of consumption. During this time no bucket feed was present.  Figure 4 shows the individual intakes.

In the case of horses in training this is another problem to consider when it comes to evening feeds. Whilst the amount of forage given may be reasonable and in line with expected appetite, the feeding behavior of the horse means there is not a consistent or regular intake of forage observed until the following morning feed.  True feeding of ad-lib forage, above what a horse needs or could eat in a 24-hour period, is rarely given and often impractical. The reality is that most horses in training will have a prolonged period of zero feed or forage intake during nighttime hours, which is the opposite of natural feeding behavior. 

This is a practical challenge which for many yards is not easily overcome. Ideally forage should be fed at more regular intervals, rather than twice daily, to more closely replicate the 10-15 feeding bouts observed in wild horses. 

What can be done to improve feed patterns?

Simply put the longer a horse spends eating the better. 

An enthusiastic eater that is ‘keen at the pot’ might be taken as a sign of good health, but a speedy intake that leads to a feeding pattern with longer periods between any sort of meal isn’t necessarily a good thing. A horse that appears a little slow with their forage but still consumes a good amount over a daily basis is not a bad thing as the pattern of eating is closer to multiple mini meals. 

• Using a good amount of chaff in every feed will prolong feed intake and requires additional chewing which helps increase salivation. 

• In the case of morning feeds ideally a little hay or haylage could be given, particularly for later lots to ensure the presence of some fiber in the stomach when working. Such a presence will not completely stop acidity in the delicate squamous area of the stomach, but it will reduce it. 

• Providing the evening forage as late as is possible to reduce the amount of time between evening forage being consumed and breakfast given. 

• Taking note of ‘speedy eaters’ and considering if hay nets or hay feeders would be appropriate to prolong the time taken to consume their evening allocation. Hay nets in different locations in the stable, for example one at the front and one at the back, can also influence how quickly all the forage is consumed. 

• Consider the type of forage given. Hay can be easier to provide on more of a free choice basis as horses will consume less hay than haylage on a dry matter basis in a set period of time (1).

What is a realistic expectation for managing digestive health?

The need for high energy intakes to fuel performance means reliance on hard feeds and a limited amount of forage. The horse does not have an unlimited appetite and even when provided with additional forage will not necessarily consume enough or consume it in a regular fashion. Replicating a natural feed pattern for horses in training is close to impossible and inevitably results in digestive disorders, but making changes and trying to reduce that risk is worth doing. The differences made may be small, but winning margins can be just as small.

The purpose of feeding low starch diets to horses in training is to reduce the specific element of risk that comes from high starch feeding. In doing so that element of risk is managed and the diet is one step closer to a more natural fiber-based diet. But it is one area of risk alone and mitigating this risk does nothing to control the risk of ulcers or colic from intermittent feeding, the impact of withholding water,  the effect of travel and the physical effects on the stomach from strenuous exercise in the case of ulcers.

Using supplements that support healing of tissues, the function of mucus barriers or buffer acidity in the stomach are all part of trying to manage gastric ulcers, a disorder that is created through the training environment and the intensity of work required to achieve a race fit state. Such supplements are not designed to treat or prevent ulcers, they are not medicines and should not claim to do so, but they play an important part in trying to maintain a healthy digestive system.

Equally using supplements that support hindgut function through promoting the growth of beneficial bacteria, stabilizing the pH of the hindgut or ‘mopping up’ pathogenic bacteria are all part of trying to maintain a healthy hindgut, which has many benefits, and reduces the risk of disorder within this section of the digestive anatomy. 

The most important thing when considering gastric ulcers and other digestive disorders is to be realistic about what you can achieve within your environment, and to be realistic about what difference feeds and supplements alone can make. Any steps that can be taken to reduce risk are worth implementing as the aim is to keep the digestive system as healthy as possible so that the food you provide is converted to the nutrients needed to maximize performance and maintain general good health.

References

1. Ellis,A.D.,2010. Biological basis of behaviour in relation to nutrition and feed intake in horses. In A.D. Ellis, A.C.Longland, M.Coenen & N.Miraglia, ed. The impact of nutrition on the health and welfare of horses. The Netherlands: Wageningen Academic Publishers, 53-74

2. Ralston,1984; Vulink,2001, cited in Ellis,A.D.,2010. Biological basis of behaviour in relation to nutrition and feed intake in horses. In A.D. Ellis, A.C.Longland, M.Coenen & N.Miraglia, ed. The impact of nutrition on the health and welfare of horses. The Netherlands: Wageningen Academic Publishers, 58.

3. Vulnik,2001; Boyd 1988; Berger et al.,1999; Edouard et al.,2009 cited in Ellis,A.D.,2010. Biological basis of behaviour in relation to nutrition and feed intake in horses. In A.D. Ellis, A.C.Longland, M.Coenen & N.Miraglia, ed. The impact of nutrition on the health and welfare of horses. The Netherlands: Wageningen Academic Publishers, 58.

4. Vulnik,2001 cited in ELLIS,A.D.,2010. Biological basis of behaviour in relation to nutrition and feed intake in horses. In A.D. Ellis, A.C.Longland, M.Coenen & N.Miraglia, ed. The impact of nutrition on the health and welfare of horses. The Netherlands: Wageningen Academic Publishers, 59.

5. Frape, D. (2010) Equine Nutrition and Feeding. 4th Edition. United Kingdom: Wiley-Blackwell

6. Lorenzo-Figueras,M. Merrit,AM. Effects of exercise on gastric volume and pH in the proximal portion of the stomach of horses. Am J Vet Res. 2002;63(11):1481-1487

7. Hintz et al 1985 cited in Geor,J. Harris,P. Coenen,M. (2013) Equine Applied and Clinincal Nutrition. China: Elsevier

What would you do to make California racing great again? We canvas a cross section of opinions from those involved in racing and breeding in the Golden State

Words - John Cherwa

There is no doubt that horse racing in California is at a crossroads.

The closure of Golden Gate Fields in June signaled the possible end of full-time racing in the Northern part of the state. There is a long-shot plan to keep it alive at Pleasanton, but not everyone in the business is routing for success.

In the South, Santa Anita is still only racing three days a week and field sizes are not always impressive. Purses are not competitive with the rest of the country. The track sits on a piece of land in Arcadia that is worth at least $1 billion, so does it really make sense to run a few days a week for half the year? 

So, what are the views of those deeply involved in California racing on a day-to-day basis as a way forward? 

What follows is a question and answer session with prominent executives, trainers, owners and breeders. There are disagreements and obvious animosity. Although everyone interviewed has the same goal, keep racing in California alive. The solution to problems facing the most populous state in the country, might just be in here.

The answers to the questions we posed have been edited for clarity, brevity and to avoid too much repetition.

Can a one-circuit system (in the South) work?

Aidan Butler, chief executive 1ST/ Racing and Gaming: Absolutely. California is a huge betting state and it’s not just the horse population or purse disparities that separate us from other states that get additional revenue. There is a huge cost of running an operation that is an obstacle. So, putting all of the resources and effort into one area is the only way to go.

Alan Balch, executive director California Thoroughbred Trainers: It's highly doubtful, given that California is now more an "island" than at any time in at least 50 years.  There's very little chance of alternate circuits (Arizona, Washington) serving as viable or sustainable racing destinations for California breeders.  Successful Northern California racing was an integral and vital, if unsung, component of world-class California racing from the 1960s onward.

Bing Bush, equine attorney and owner: That’s to be determined but it’s difficult to envision that. I happened to be at Golden Gate Fields on the last day, I saw a lot of horsemen walking around in a very full grandstand, all thinking the same thing: “I wish all of these people were here during our days and then we wouldn’t be closing down.” I don’t see how Santa Anita hopes to fill that gap. It’s going to be a real challenge I hope we can meet. I’m hopeful but very concerned.

Phil D’Amato, a leading trainer at Santa Anita: I definitely think so. For me, we have the horses, we have the population. I just think we need to improve our purse infrastructure. When you get more money, people will come and owners will be more willing to put horses in the California racing system. 

Greg Ferraro, chairman California Horse Racing Board: Yes, I think it can. The problem is we don’t have enough horses, plain and simple. We’ll see how they do in Northern California with the dates we awarded them. I’m hopeful for them but I’m not optimistic. I’m worried that we don’t have enough horses for two circuits. Consolidating everything in Southern California may be the only way we can survive.

Eoin Harty, trainer and president of California Thoroughbred Trainers: If certain powers have their way, we’re going to find out. Personally, I don’t think so. The whole business hinges on breeding. The largest part of the horse population in California is Cal-breds and they don’t all belong in Southern California. If they don’t have a venue to run at, what’s the point in breeding them? And if you don’t start breeding them, where does the horse population come from? The economic impact on the state is huge. If we lose that, the fall is catastrophic.

Justin Oldfield, owner/breeder and chairperson of the California Thoroughbred Breeders Assn.: I think there was a misinterpretation of what a one-circuit system means. A one-circuit system is not defined by fulltime racing in the South and summer fair racing in the North. That is not the definition of a one-circuit system. I think what people mean is a one-circuit system that includes Los Al, Santa Anita and Del Mar and does not include the fairs. The fairs garner a lot more representation from the Legislature and the fan base across the North. I don’t think there is anyone who is saying we should end racing at the Fairs. I think no one would be in favor of a one-circuit system if it means only racing at one track at any one time.

Bill Nader, president and chief executive of Thoroughbred Owners of California: A one circuit system in California would allow the resources that are generated across the whole state be targeted into one single circuit which would effectively make better use of that money and funding. The problem with a two-circuit state like we have now is that if one circuit isn’t carrying its weight, like it is now, it takes its toll on the other region. 

Doug O’Neill, a mainstay trainer in California and two-time Kentucky Derby winning trainer: No. The track surface needs a breather throughout the year. I think with training and racing it needs some maintenance to bounce back. I think it’s really important to have some time between meets and that’s where it helps to be racing at a different circuit or track. 

Josh Rubinstein, president and chief operating officer at Del Mar: Yes. Nationally the foal crop is about half of what it was 30 years ago so that has affected every state. California simply doesn’t have the horse population to operate two year-round circuits. 

Is contraction the best way to stabilize the market?

Butler: We believe contraction is the best way to stabilize the market. There is  only a certain amount of purse money and a certain amount of population. Despite the hardship of the people at Golden Gate, concentrating all our efforts in the South is the only way to keep the state going.

Balch: The unplanned and devastating contraction announced by Santa Anita ownership, without consultation or notice to any of its interdependent partners in California racing, is the single most destabilizing event in California racing history since World War II. Given the contraction of the North American foal crop, particularly since 2008, all track owners and horsemen working together with the regulator and Legislature might have been able to develop a model where it could have been a stabilizing influence.

Bush: I think it will turn it into chaos unless we can turn it into something more attractive than it is today. If we can’t make California racing more attractive, I don’t see how contracting can help it.

D’Amato: As it stands now, it’s looking to be inevitable unless we find another revenue source. You would like to have two circuits. It definitely gives owners more options for varying caliber of horses. But if it has to be, it has to be. We need just one additional revenue source to help get these purses up and allow California to sustain. If we don’t get that, consolidating into one racing circuit  is probably the only option that we would still have. 

Ferraro: The best way to stabilize the market here is to increase the purses. That’s our problem and the reason we are short of horses is because we can’t compete purse-wise. We don’t have any way of supplementing purses like Kentucky does with Historical Horse Racing. If we had purses that were more competitive with the rest of the country, most of our horse shortage problems would go away.

Harty: I don’t believe so. I believe expansion is the way to save the market. You’ve seen what happened through contraction, small field sizes, people aren’t betting on us, which hurts our handle which just compounds the problem. We need to expand and plan to expand. Hopefully it’s not too late, but without some sort of addition to our purse fund where we can make it more lucrative for people to come to California, we’ve got nothing.

Oldfield: No. Contraction assumes there is a consolidation of not only the tracks but a consolidation of the horsemen and trainers and the employees. The assumption that trainers and owners would go South was probably false and unwisely made. Look at the trainers who have moved South, it hasn’t been a resounding success. To assume that if you close the North that it means a shift to the South is a pretty naive thing to consider.

Nader: It might be the only way to stabilize the market. Now if the North is able to hit its targets and meet the criteria we’ve agreed to then there is no need for contraction. If the North can’t hit their targets, I don’t think we’ll have any recourse but to contract to stabilize the market and secure Southern California and make sure the state of California is still relevant, healthy and has a future. 

O’Neill: For us to grow, we need to build on what we have and not shrink what we had. I think the whole industry has done a really good job of being a safer, more transparent sport. And to see tracks closing is not what the whole plan was, or at least I hope it wasn’t. I think the way the sport is going, we should be growing and building and not closing and shrinking.

How do you compete with no supplemental revenue streams?

Butler: You just have to try and be innovative, offer a product that people still want to bet, and continue to try and concentrate on a single circuit and there should be enough wagering dollars in state to keep the product moving forward.

Balch: Clearly, you don't, unless you develop alternate sources of supplementing purses, for example major corporate sponsorship, or otherwise. You need sources that could only be developed by all track owners and horsemen working together with regulators and legislators in serious strategic planning.  Fifty percent of track revenues formerly came from non-wagering sources at the track.  The nearly complete abandonment of marketing efforts for on-track business has cost all tracks in terms of profit and compromised California racing's future.

Harty: We can’t. I don’t see how it’s sustainable. It’s hard enough to attract horses to California in the first place. The level of racing is very competitive. There is a lot more bang for your buck somewhere else.

Nader: We need to find ancillary revenue so we are more competitive with other states that enjoy that advantage. That’s where California needs to be applauded for what it has achieved over the past 10 years without the benefit of a secondary income stream and still remains relevant on a national stage.

Oldfield: I couldn’t agree more that we need other revenue streams for the funding of purses. For horse racing  to survive long term, both in the  North and the South, we need outside sources of income, whether that’s Historical Horse Racing machines or some other mechanism. If the North were to go, it slows the bleeding but doesn’t stop it. I think the North is in a better position to survive without outside sources of income because of what it costs to raise a horse and race a horse in the North because we’re really not that far off the purse structure we have for the fair meets. Those machines are the lifeblood, not just to purses, but to keep racing in California alive.

O’Neill: It’s a little tricky with the Stronach business model because they own the ADW and the race track. In an ideal world there would be separation there and you would have the people or company that owns the race track try and do everything they can to get people to come out and have a great time, Concessions would be booming and ideally you would build on getting some on-track betting. 

Rubinstein: We have to close the purse gap that is widening from states that have subsidies that are supporting the purses. That is the one thing we can do here, increase purses, that would give California a shot in the arm.

What one thing can be done that would make a difference?

Butler: Obviously, getting another source of gaming revenue would make a huge difference in the state. For quite a while we were competitive from a purse perspective, but it’s become more and more difficult to find another source of gaming revenue.

Balch: Immediately convene the leadership of all tracks, labor, agriculture, owners, and trainers’ groups, for no-holds-barred strategic planning, to include ways and means of communicating with California's legislative leadership, to understand and save the massive economic impact on this industry in California.  It almost certainly cannot be saved without government assistance and stimulus.

D’Amato: We’ve got the weather and great training facilities. Santa Anita just added a synthetic training track to handle all weather situations. Del Mar is perennially a great racing circuit. So, to me, we just need bigger purses. We’re pretty much the model for what HISA based its safety structure on. California to me is on the forefront of all those things with the exception of bigger purses. If we get money, people will come.

Ferraro: If we can come up with something like Historical Horse Racing our worries would not be over but would be decreased.

Oldfield: I don’t think there is a single person I’ve talked to, North or South, who doesn’t agree those machines are absolutely necessary. I think that should be a rallying cry from every stakeholder in the North to every stakeholder in the South, from the horsemen to the trainers, we need to get behind. Why aren't we rallying around this instead of sitting in CHRB (California Horse Racing Board) meetings arguing about dates? Why are we not working collectively on a strategy to get these machines? If there is one thing this industry needs right now is unity and the industry needs to unify behind that. 

O’Neill: We need to rebrand to really celebrate the men and women who work alongside horses for a living. It’s just so important to get that mindset back that people are actually working and it’s not computers and gadgets that are doing all the work and that humans are actually getting their hands dirty. These are really a bunch of amazing men and women who have chosen to work alongside horses for a living and hopefully we never lose the hands-on approach that is so important. Our sport provides a lot of jobs and housing for thousands of people and that’s really important.

What is California racing doing better than anyone else?

Butler: If you look at the safety record for one and the operational performance without supplemental revenue we can be pretty proud of ourselves to where we are now. California has shown it can operate on a globally high level of safety and quality without having lots of cash coming in to help things. We should be pretty proud of that.

Balch: Very little if anything beyond what it's not responsible for:  enormous potential markets, great weather year-around, and unrivaled facilities, mainly Del Mar, given the deterioration of Santa Anita and the demise of Golden Gate.

D’Amato: I think in terms of how Santa Anita and Del Mar take care of their owners, I think they go above and beyond in our racing jurisdiction. I think it’s a little bit tougher in other states. For what we have to offer, we try to roll out the red carpet for our owners and offer a really nice place to run your horses.

Ferraro: The quality of the racing surface and our effort for safety and soundness. HISA basically copied our rules. So our health and safety rules are better than anyone.  

Harty: I think we have better venues than anyone else. There is not a prettier race track than Santa Anita. Del Mar offers the summer vacation package.

Oldfield: The one thing I can say about California racing is we’ve got a great fan base. California as a whole is an agricultural state, the largest in the country. The economic driver of the equine industry in California is largely horse racing. People tend to forget about the agricultural component to that, it’s huge. We would be dead without our Cal-breds, which also produces jobs and livelihoods for many people and in many cases provides an economy for smaller communities in California.

O’Neill: We are so blessed we can train day in and day out throughout the year and I think you have a lot fitter horse that comes from California than a lot of the country. That’s the one thing that no company or no family can screw up. We have the best weather in the world.

Is this too far down the road to fix?

Butler: We don’t think so. If we can find additional sources of revenue that’s going to really, really help. You get the purses, you have a far better chance of getting the horses. There is much more to the ecosystem when you’ve got the purses. We, as a company, want to make it as good as we can for trainers. We think of them as our customers and we want them to be successful. We’ve just got to try.

Balch: If you say you can't, you're already done.  If you say you'll try, you've at least begun.  No one person or one entity can do anything of true impact alone. It takes the entire interdependent industry together.

Ferraro: I hope not. I think the next year will tell. We’ll see how Northern California does. If they succeed that will be a positive thing. If not, then we will have some worries. If Santa Anita and Del Mar can keep a decent racing program going that would help. If we end up with six-horse fields and two days or racing instead of three, that’s going to be a terrible turn. 

Oldfield: Absolutely not. You go to the fairs and they are packed. There is an appetite for horse racing in California. We’ve just got to do a better job of figuring out how to market that. You can’t determine whether what happened at Golden Gate over the last couple of years or 10 years is indicative because they did not market the place. They had a tree that covered up their sign and it wasn't until it was in the press that the racetrack was closing down that people started to show up. You can’t use that standard to see if there can be success because what was done wasn’t that good. There is an absolute appetite in California for horse racing and we need to tap into that. If the machines were to come in tomorrow, we wouldn’t be talking about if the sport will survive but what are we going to do with all this money we are bringing in.

Nader: The jury is still out. We’ve established the metrics that CARF (California Authority of Racing Fairs) and the CHRB have agreed to and it’s too early to tell because we don’t have any data to pass judgment. It’s on the brink. As the North has stated on many occasions, “Give us a chance.” But I do think the chance comes with the obligation that the industry has to come together and make the call. It can’t be something like the North would be able to go forward with proving  its worth in the final quarter of 2024 because the balance is too delicate with no secondary income in the state and the fact that both circuits are linked to each other to create a sustainable future. 

O’Neill: Absolutely, not. I think it can be reversed in a positive way very quickly. I would love to see us turn someplace like Santa Anita into an equestrian center. If you could bring in that equestrian label, I think it has a better brand and reputation. And you would have a bigger pool of horse lovers and I think we have plenty of room here to do just that. If I hit the lottery and was president of Santa Anita for a couple years, my approach would be to focus on jobs and housing. I’d put new dormitories here, which gives you a bigger pool of horse lovers here who would work alongside horses for a living. I’d turn the back parking lot into an equestrian center or at least a mini-version of one. 

Rubinstein: Absolutely not. California is a state with over 40 million people. We have loyal fans and a rich history of thoroughbred racing at the highest level. We have California people betting on the races, we have California owners at the sales. I talk to many high-level people and they all agree that California is essential to the long-term success of the industry. 

How much time is left?

Butler: We’re not really looking at it in that way. We’re just looking to see what we can do at the moment to improve racing and the ecosystem around the track that involves the trainers and owners. We need to find that fine line where we can get everything we need to be done here.

Balch: Absent serious strategic brainstorming, less every day.

Bush: The question hinges on the success of Santa Anita. I think that question could best be answered by Belinda Stronach.  

Ferraro: Sometimes it feels like we have a couple of days. I think we’ll know by the end of this year how bad a shape we’re in.

Oldfield: I think we still have time because we have the ability to do something we haven’t had in years and that’s chart a new course in the North. The North is not going to be the savior of the South but we have the ability to demonstrate that things can work and we can do things better and we can set those examples for other parts of the state. The future of racing is publicly held companies. What does that mean for Santa Anita? I don’t know. As a horseman in California, I absolutely want to see Santa Anita flourish, but I don’t know how that intersection of public and private could work to keep Santa Anita alive.

Nader: It would be advantageous if you could start with a clean slate and start over, but that’s not going to happen because of the complexities in the state and the way things are done.  The key would be to get the secondary income stream and then chip away at the building blocks underneath to create a better structure. But you need that big change at the top.

Rubinstein: We have time and we’re focused on what we need to stay competitive with purses. I do think it’s important for us to stop and take a breath and look at the new dynamic without Golden Gate Fields. Losing Golden Gate changed the dynamic significantly.

What are the optimistic signs you see out there?

Butler: We’ve had numerous conversations with the TOC (Thoroughbred Owners of California) and they seem extremely supportive and seem to understand exactly what needs to be done in California. We are a little bit disappointed in the organizations that really don’t seem to grasp the amount of investment we continue to make to operate racing in California.

Balch: There simply aren't any. Even Santa Anita's decision to make a multi-million dollar “investment” in a synthetic training track was made in a vacuum, without considering other potentially more important and lasting changes.  Other commitments made at the time for California breeding stimulus and major backstretch improvements, have been ignored.

D’Amato: I see my owners continue to buy horses from all over, not only inside the country but outside of the country, and continue to funnel them into California. We still have that going for us despite the disparity of purse money with Kentucky, Arkansas and New York.  But as things start to go in opposite directions that window could change.

Ferraro: The loyalty of the horsemen here, and that Kentucky and the others are beginning to realize that they need California for them to be successful as well. Enthusiasm from trainers who want to make it work, that’s the best thing we have going for us.

Harty: The only optimistic signs are rumblings and rumors that the attorney general is looking into and searching for ways we can shore up our purse accounts. I was optimistic seeing the CHRB offering Northern California a lifeline. They are very, very small victories. We’re in a huge urban market. If Southern California can’t make a go of it, who can? 

Oldfield: The one thing that is very optimistic is when Golden Gate announced it was going to close, there was this idea that everyone would scatter to the wind. But ultimately the horsemen in Northern California united more and better than I’ve ever seen. That alone was very optimistic and heartwarming. That gave me a level of hope about this industry. 

Nader: It’s a huge state with so much importance nationally. We’ve got tremendous bandwidth as far as our buying power and our betting power not just in California but across the country. We’re over 20% of the national handle. The race tracks are so beautiful, the climate is great. The number of races that are carded on the turf that can actually run on the turf is high. It’s very conducive to horse players because of its reliability.

O’Neill: Closing day at Santa Anita you had 11 races on Saturday and 12 on Sunday. That’s optimistic. There was a record handle this year at the Kentucky Derby. That’s an optimistic sign.

Rubinstein: The progress of safety and that the Breeders’ Cup will be in California three straight years. The community, here at Del Mar, supports racing and the business leaders know how important racing is to the local community. On the racing side, Del Mar’s product has been as good as anyone’s over the last two years.

Can breeding in the state be sustainable with fewer Cal-bred races? 

Butler: The breeders have been absolutely brilliant considering the circumstances. We’ve got to continue to offer a wide variety of Cal-bred races so we can give them a reason to continue their operations. The breeders have been working with us and understand what needs to be done and to try and get this fixed.

Balch:  The issue is incentivizing breeding in California, wherever the Cal-breds run, whether in restricted or open company.  California-bred thoroughbreds comprise the critical population of horses running at all California tracks, in all races except unrestricted graded stakes.  California racing simply cannot be sustained without those horses filling races, especially overnights, since handle on overnights is what funds stakes purses.

D’Amato: Near the end of the Santa Anita meeting, there were 20 horses entered in both the 2-year-old Cal-bred girl and boy races. That’s a really good sign the California breeding industry is still going in the right direction. I don’t think we can survive as a circuit in California without a very strong Cal-bred program.

Ferraro: No, it can’t be. They have to be able to produce a certain number of horses to be viable. If there is not enough racing, there is not enough calling for those horses. Otherwise, you can’t sustain the breeding industry. 

Oldfield: The awarding of dates by the CHRB, stabilized the breeding industry. A lot of people didn’t know if they were going to breed at all in California. When those dates were awarded it gave people hope to continue and breed. I don’t think racing in the state can be sustainable without Cal-breds. Most of the horses that run in the North are Cal-breds. If you look at the races that card the most horses, those are Cal-bred races. If Cal-bred races were to go away, it would have a devastating impact on racing and the horse population.

Nader: Yeah, I think it just has to be managed well. You just have to be smart and understand. The number of foals in California was 3,800 in 2003 as there are 1,300 today. There has been plenty of contraction and if there would be more it would be unfortunate. But in the end, if it’s managed correctly while still maintaining the quality of Cal-breds, I think we would be OK.

O’Neill: No. That part of California racing needs to be tweaked and fixed . I don’t know where they come up with the money to invest in the programs. It’s working on the negative as it is. If I had a genie and one wish it would be to have a guy like Paul Reddam to run the track. You would see an instant turnaround. He has that kind of business mindset that people would be tripping over each other to get into the track. There are people like that who just don’t fail. The Rick Carusos of the world, and if they do, they don’t fail long. I would love for a guy like Paul Reddam to own a track like this for a year or two and see what would happen.

What is the most important issue to address?

Butler: It’s really improving the purses which will allow us to improve the inventory, which improves the betting.

Balch: Saving, incentivizing, and stimulating California breeding. All you have to do is compare the behavior and commitment from New York, New Jersey, and Kentucky to racing. It demonstrates the critical importance of governmental action in a state-regulated industry like ours. Sadly, that regulatory/legislative constituency in California, which was once the hallmark of attention and education by California tracks, owners/trainers, labor, farms, agriculture, etc., was largely and effectively abandoned once California track ownership began evolving in the late 1990s.

Bush: Purses, perspective and the image of horse racing with our younger generation. We need to figure out how to get influencers involved. And get them to understand how much love goes into the care of these horses by people who have a passion and a bond with those animals. 

Ferraro: The size of our purses. All of our problems stem from that one thing. The purses aren’t high enough so we don’t have enough horses, so we can’t run enough races. The public recognizes when you have a good race card, they come out. But when you have a lot of ordinary race cards, like we’ve suffered this year, they just won’t show. 

Harty: The purses and the breeding. If better minds than I, like the California breeding industry, can get together with other Western states, so instead of it just being Cal-breds, New Mexico-breds, Arizona-breds, Washington-breds, Oregon-breds. They do that in other states, so it’s not a new idea, but it would help incentivize racing in California.

Oldfield: Most important issue is an outside source of income to address the purses. It’s something that everyone can unite behind . Not a single stakeholder would disagree with that. It would put California on a level playing field with other states.

Nader: I’ll speak on behalf of the horse player who looks to California racing and recognizes what it brings to the betting population. We have to make sure the product hits the brand and reputation from the expectation of horse players, the competitiveness, the field sizes and meet the expectations of horse players. We have to maintain our standards and make sure our purses and field sizes respect the great reputation of California.

O’Neill:  The horseman moral is just about as low as I’ve seen it. I think we need to boost that up and what would boost it up is knowing that something is in the works that indicates we’re trying to build on-track business and on-track handle.

Rubinstein: We’ve obviously been on a very good run with safety and we can never be complacent with that. Business side we need to secure supplemental revenue sources.

The latest Strangles research available testing for ultimate sensitivity to avoid infection

Strangles, the highly contagious upper respiratory disease caused by the bacterium, Streptococcus equi (S. equi) has been front and centre on social media lately with numerous disease alerts being posted.  These alerts are triggered by positive test results for S. equi and reported by an official laboratory to the provincial or state veterinary office.  Given the potential ramifications of a positive test, such as animal movement restrictions for several weeks and increased costs to horse and facility owners, a lot rides on the interpretation of these test results and the associated risk of disease spread to other horses, on and off the premises. 

Testing for S. equi helps determine that a horse is free of S. equi or, in other words, not an S. equi carrier.  It is usually done when the horse has recovered from clinical signs of Strangles to determine they are no longer infected and capable of transmitting S. equi, or upon request by equine facility managers, to screen a horse for carrier status prior to coming to their facility.

The two tests utilized for S. equi testing are the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and bacterial culture.  Testing utilizing bacterial culture detects living S. equi.  Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing is much more sensitive than culture but detects DNA from both living and non-living bacteria. While the PCR sensitivity level can be useful as it can detect carrier horses that have a very low level of bacteria present in their guttural pouches, it can also detect transiently exposed/infected, asymptomatic horses, which rapidly clear the infection within a week. PCR can also flag horses that are less likely to be infectious at the time of sampling which can aid in risk management for that horse and the herd.

While these tests have their pros and cons, the relationship between S. equi PCR and bacterial culture has not been extensively studied. This is what Dr. Scott Weese of the Ontario Veterinary College and collaborators from OMAFRA and the University of Prince Edward Island set out to determine in a 2023 research study funded by Equine Guelph; ( tinyurl.com/guelph-strangles)

The relationship between quantitative real-time PCR cycle threshold and culture for detection of Streptococcus equi subspecies equi. 

The 2023 study compared PCR and culture results from 158 equine respiratory tract samples submitted to an Ontario animal health laboratory for S. equi PCR testing.  Of the samples that were PCR positive (CT < 40), only a minority (7.6%) were positive for S. equi on culture. That suggested that most PCR positive horses were likely a low risk for transmitting the bacterium at the time of sampling. A qPCR cycle threshold (CT ) of 34.2 was the breakpoint established, signifying that the likelihood of finding culturable S.equi above a CT of 34.2 was less likely and that the horse had a lower risk of being infectious at that point in time. These results were specific to this particular laboratory and cannot be applied to other laboratories which use their own testing procedures.

The line is not meant to be a green or red light but an indicator to aid in assessing the risk of disease transmission. Horses with PCR CT levels above 34.2, and who have developed a carrier status, can go on to produce lower CT levels (higher bacterial counts) over time and be a risk for S. equi shedding down the road. More research is needed to understand the S. equi shedding dynamics in carrier horses. 

Combining culture and PCR testing is an option which comes at a higher cost to the horse owner but can be useful for an in-depth way to investigate bacterial loads and the risk of transmission at the time of sampling.  While opting for ultimate sensitivity can help make sure no potentially infected horses are missed, it can start the domino effect of excessive control measures and costly interventions if not put into perspective related to the goals of testing, which may vary significantly between facilities (e.g. busy show barn, racetrack or closed herd).

Strangles has existed in horses since the 1800’s and isn’t going away anytime soon. Testing as part of a recovery plan from a Strangles outbreak is a no-brainer, but when it comes to using S. equi testing as part of a sickness prevention plan for your horse or facility, talk with your veterinarian and understand the impact a positive test result might have on your horse/herd and wallet BEFORE you start testing.

Gerald Leigh Lectures 2024 - Optimizing Youngstock Growth and Development

Adam Jackson MRCVS

Beaufort Cottage Educational Trust hosted the annual Gerald Leigh Memorial Lectures at Tattersalls in Newmarket, UK on June 11th.  These lectures are in association with the Gerald Leigh Charitable Trust as a way of recognising Mr. Leigh’s achievements as a racehorse owner and breeder as well as continuing his passion for scientific knowledge and welfare of horses in the race industry and the equine industry as a whole.  

Dr. Chavatte-Palmer provided a very insightful and interesting talk on the influence of maternal and environmental factors during the prenatal period on athletic performance.  The lecture discussed the phenomenon of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHAD) which is demonstrated with the increasing evidence of the role in parental nutrition and environmental conditions, from periods preceding conception and throughout gestation, on phenotypic development in horses.  She described how the nutritional environment before birth can affect the postnatal performance of the offspring as it is believed that nutrients can alter the way genes are expressed resulting in developmental trajectories that have repercussions on postnatal development.  With a strong understanding and knowledge in DOHAD, nutritional strategies can be considered and developed to optimize youngstock growth and development.  This is an exciting field as further research will potentially allow veterinarians and breeders to work cooperatively to optimize athleticism as well as the wellbeing and health of foals and mares. 

Dr. Joe Pagan of the Kentucky Equine Research to discuss equine feeding management practices and equine nutrition in sports medicine. His first lecture discussed the effects of season on mare and foal nutrition.  Through various studies some conclusions could be made and these conclusions do appear to be a global trend.  It was found that colts are heavier and taller than fillies.  

After 1 month of age, fillies were fatter than colts.  Foals born in January and February were smaller at birth and grew more slowly in early life but by 150 days of age this lag disappeared.  In addition, mare weight changes and body condition scores were related to season and management factors, as winter-foaling mares lost weight and had lower body condition post foaling than spring-foaling mares. 

Dr. Pagan continued with a lecture on the right balance for optimal growth and development of youngstock.  Recent research has shown that the health of the offspring of overweight mares may also be compromised. In addition, studies have shown that excess maternal nutrition during pregnancy can alter glucose and lipid (fat) metabolism in foals until 160 days of age.  Another study reported a higher incidence of osteochondrosis (OC) in foals born to dams that were fed concentrates during gestation rather than forage. 

A more recent study on the nutrition of the mare during the last trimester and subsequent foal health revealed some interesting observations.  It was found that the growth of foals from 6-24 months of age was not affected by maternal diet and maternal undernutrition appeared to affect bone growth as foals from dams fed forage only had narrower cannon bones than foals from dams fed forage and barley.  In addition, it was found that overfeeding negatively affected yearlings from mares fed barley and forage more than yearlings from broodmares fed only forage.  

Finally, there was a decrease in insulin sensitivity and enhanced insulin levels suggesting insulin dysregulation in yearlings from mares fed both barley and forage and not yearlings from forage-only mares.  Another exciting field of research that will also lead to greater cooperation of breeders and veterinarians in providing good health and wellbeing to foals and mares.   

These lectures had the pleasure of hosting Paul Overton, who is an equine agronomist with a strong understanding of pasture management.  His passion for his area of expertise and in helping with improving management of studs was abundant as he outlined the aims of pasture management that included the need to provide safe grazing pastures from parasites, colic and grass sickness, atypical myopathy and other ailments as well as to provide a safe area to exercise horses of all ages.  In addition, he made clear that fresh leafy bite grass in the paddocks all year round is key.  

We were reminded of the fundamentals of good basic pasture management that included a removal programme for muck, providing a dense leafy grass sward, sharing and mixing the paddock use with other livestock (sheep and cattle) and moving horses to various paddocks around the stud to maximize rest of all paddocks. To optimize paddock health, it should be remembered that all paddock management follows the horses around the seed, be guided by the weather rather than the calendar and work quickly to maximize rest periods. Finally, good simple paddock and grassland management can help a multitude of issues and every marginal gain is helpful. 

Julian Dollar gave us a wonderful insight into a stud manager’s approach to soundness.  It was an integral part of the lecture programme as it provided the audience with another perspective of stud management. He made it clear that a variety of factors must be considered when breeding and raising sound horses but two main criteria is a strong team and an attention to detail. 

The team needed is one that is completely dedicated and passionate about their horses and should consist of a veterinary service, farriers, nutrition/feed and land management support. There must be a cooperative work ethic in order to provide the best all round management as possible. This team must strive for excellence and work on marginal gains.
A sound breeding and rearing programme starts with mating focusing on sound parents, especially the mare, to produce sound offspring.  It is important to work with mother nature rather than interfering with it, thus focusing on a healthy environment. This strategy must be flexible that will allow one to provide the horses with a quality paddock. 

The offspring should be between 121lbs - 132lbs (55-60 kg) and they should have a seamless transition from birth to exercise and living out.  In addition, the foals should be monitored and assessed closely in order to achieve timely and maximum beneficial interventions that may include selective surgeries.  Finally, it is believed that the perfect preparation for a yearling to go into training would be some controlled exercise combined with turnout the rest of the time. 

Professor Jacqui Matthews, the director of Austin Davis Biologics, provided some sobering information on parasites and their resistance.  She explained that intestinal worms are found in most grazing animals and most breeding premises are at high infection risk due to the presence of young animals grazing permanent pastures as well as having a history of interval deworming treatments. 

In addition, wormer resistance is being reported in all major parasitic worms of horses.  Therefore, it is vital to have control plans that include a risk-assessment approach.  Professor Matthews made it very clear that we need to be concerned regarding parasites and their resistance to wormers and we need to act now.  She explained the action that is needed which includes evidence-based worm control.  This approach requires risk assessment that allows one to identify potential issues in the management, the avoidance of all horses regularly being treated, the assessment of wormer effectiveness as well as the effectiveness of interventions. 

With respect to the management, there are some principles behind reducing anthelmintic use.  Good pasture hygiene can substantially reduce infective egg and larval stages in the environment and the lowering of this pasture contamination decreases parasites acquired when grazing.  Pasture management must include: 

• Dung removal works! Full removal of dung at least once per week and place it away from pastures and water courses.  

• Maintain low stocking density 

• Rest pastures – ideally 12 months and avoid grazing foals on same paddocks every year 

• Consider grazing with ruminants between equine groups 

With respect to treatment, make informed choices by using various tests such as fecalfaecal worm egg counts, fecal egg count reduction test, antibody-based tests to identify worms, and other tests.  Ultimately, do not blindly treat horses without considering the reason for worming and assessing wormer effectiveness. 

Professor Matthews followed up with a second lecture on integrating diagnostics into sustainable equine helminth control programmes.  An integrated diagnostic-led control programme should consider: 

• Fecal egg worm count in late winter if grazing year-round.  Recommend treatment if 200 or more eggs per gram and select your anthelmintic according to its sensitivity. 

• Tapeworm test in spring to identify individuals with tapeworm burdens and treat infected individuals as these horses will contaminate the paddocks with cestode eggs. 

Late spring/early summer perform fecal egg worm count reduction test in order to assess anthelmintic effectiveness annually.  Worm all horses that have FEC of >200 eggs per gram.  Perform FEC test at day 0 and 14 days after treatment. Calculate the mean percentage.

• Reduction in FEC between 0 and day 14 post treatment. 

• In late summer/early autumn perform tapeworm test to identify individuals that have, over the summer grazing period, accumulated high tapeworm burdens which may put them at risk of colic  

In late fall perform a small redworm test.  In low infection-risk situations, test in late autumn/winter to identify individuals that do not require treatment for small redworm.  Use in low-risk groups where owners usually apply all-group larvicidal treatments.

With good pasture management one can lower the selection for resistance, leading to a lowering the need for wormer treatments, a lowering in the proportion of horses that test positive and a lowering of paddock contamination; therefore, less horses are likely to be infected and more likely to have lower burdens. 

With his 20 years of buying and selling thoroughbred bloodstock, Jamie Railton gave us a wonderful insight into the business of foal purchasing.  He discussed all of the variables that must be taken into account when selecting foals for purchase.  Skill and experience are needed in spotting the foal with the potential to increase in value because of its physical improvement and its pedigree.  He explained that a team of people are required as well as having a system to select foals; however, the system must be flexible and one must still want to continue to learn from the process and adapt and later the selection criteria. In addition, he discussed the need to reinvent oneself with the continuous change in the trends seen in the market. 

Dr. Rebecca Mouncey is a veterinary surgeon and post-doctoral research fellow, currently investigating early-life determinants of performance and economics of Thoroughbred breeding.  

Dr. Mouncey discussed how musculoskeletal disease and injury remains the greatest barrier to thoroughbreds being retained within the industry and realizing their maximum athletic potential, and is likely to have important economic consequences.  She explained that lameness/musculoskeletal injury and disease are the most common barriers to performance.  The causes of these conditions of developmental orthopedic diseases are fractures and tendon/ligament injuries. 

By improving the foal’s/yearling’s strength to withstand training and resist injury, while avoiding trauma, one can help with the prevention of these diseases.  Unfortunately, there are still important knowledge gaps. It is possible to optimize musculoskeletal health during early-life with exposure during critical stages of growth and development that changes the distribution of cell types, alters metabolic function and ultimately altering the susceptibility and injury in adulthood.  

Postnatally the period of greatest plasticity, response to external stimuli/exposures is during periods of most rapid growth and development.  By 24 months of age, the horse is 96% mature bodyweight and 98% mature height and reached peak bone mass.  There must be a balance in early-life exercise and activity as too little will delay musculoskeletal development and too much will cause tissue damage and trauma.  We must always consider the animal’s growth, nutrition and exercise as a whole and not mutually exclusive.  

Abigail Kent MRCVS from Rossdales Veterinary Surgeons, presented an interesting lecture on the diagnosis and treatment of limb deformities in foals.  Dr. Kent is very knowledgeable in all aspects of equine elective and emergency surgery and has a particular interest in orthopedics, specifically arthroscopy, angular limb correction and fracture repair.  

Limb deformities in foals are developmental orthopedic conditions, that can be subdivided into 2 major groups: 1) angular limb deformities, in which there is deviation, primarily in the frontal plane, originating at a joint and/or growth plate and 2) flexural limb deformities, in which there is persistent hyperflexion or hyperextension of the limb. 

These conditions may be acquired or congenital and the etiology is multifactorial.  Early appropriate intervention is the key to the best outcome. Angular limb deformities are relatively common in foals and strategies for management, including surgical techniques, are well established.  Early recognition, diagnosis and monitoring are essential in order to ensure optimal outcomes. 

In cases of severe deformities that fail to respond adequately to conservative approaches (restricted exercise, splints, corrective hoof trimming and shoeing) other treatments such as timely surgery may be used.  Transphyseal screws are effective for the corrections of both forelimb and hindlimb limb deformities.  Flexural limb deformities can be treated conservatively with the mainstays of limited controlled exercise, nursing care, manipulation of the foot with trimming/shoes, splinting/casting and pain management.

Surgical intervention is typically recommended when conservative treatment is not effective or for severe or rapidly worsening deformities. The goal of surgery is to release tension in the restrictive musculotendinous unit, allowing for greater stretch and more normal range of motion of the affected joint. 

In conclusion, all the contributors provided the participants a very interesting and illuminating day.  This event highlighted the lengths that all stakeholders and the veterinary profession are taking to constantly improve the health and wellbeing of the horses and the health of the race industry.  

Bloodstock Briefing - opinions on enhancing yearling sales

Compiled by - Jordin Rosser

The ecosystem of the Thoroughbred racing industry, like all ecosystems, requires its components to be interconnected and interdependent to be a functional system. If one of the components disappears or is compromised, the ecosystem as a whole suffers. Today, the racing industry has shown trends that the middle market is on the decline, risking a lack of market diversity. To restore the Thoroughbred racing industry ecosystem to its full potential, other areas need to be supportive – the bloodstock industry is one we can start the discussion with. 

To discuss ideas on how the bloodstock industry can strengthen the middle market, we gathered the opinions of racing secretaries, bloodstock agents, and middle market buyers. Keith Doleshel, a NYRA racing secretary, and Tracy Egan, the executive director of the New York Thoroughbred Breeding and Development Fund, bring to light the benefits of auction races to New York’s racing program. Clark Shepherd of Shepherd Equine Advisors, a well-known bloodstock agent in addition to a respected pedigree analyst, weighs in on middle market client strategies at auctions. Lastly, Charles Weston: an experienced and knowledgeable middle market buyer who has seen success over the last 30 years through partnerships and bloodstock selections. 

Q: What can the bloodstock industry do to support the middle market? 

Note: This is strictly opinion and does not reflect the stance of any organization. These points are intended to be read as conversation starters and used to fuel the discussion around what might be good for the health of the industry.

Based on the panelists’ experiences as a bloodstock agent or as a middle market buyer, they have compiled a list of suggested starting points: 

Education for New Investors 

Many new investors may be overwhelmed at the amount of knowledge required in selecting new additions to their stable, the processes of training horses, and general strategies on how to be a successful racehorse owner. Shepherd is an avid believer that the new middle market investor can learn the skills to see a horse’s “potential value” to give confidence in the process and in their agent’s decisions but only if they in turn are trained on what is expected. 

Technology Advancements

Auction houses’ ability to provide transparency and information accountability has given rise to more disclosures thereby improving information surrounding the bloodstock for sale, in turn making it more important to purchase the “right '' horse. Shepherd recommends genetic testing, cardio scans, and performance analytics to give more insight on purchasing the “right” horse, who will be both successful and profitable. 

Breed for Racehorses not Commercial Horses

Recently, breeders are becoming more “savvy” according to Shepherd with regards to breeding their bloodstock to become racehorses instead of commercial horses (meaning horses for the sales ring). Racehorse attributes include the right pedigree and conformation to be quality horses destined for the track. With the continued decrease in commercial horses, the ratio further trends towards more quality racehorses for owners to become more profitable. 

Create more ‘Coupons’

Weston affectionately calls registrations, certifications, auction races, and other nominations by the term ‘coupons’. These provide incentives for extra purse money for owners, breeders awards, and more to go into the pockets of middle market buyers and breeders. When attempting to make their bloodstock investment profitable, one strategy Weston uses is to have certifications and nominations be as geographically local as possible which allows for easy shipping between tracks for options in race conditions, incentivized purse structure, and in the case of auction races the ability to be competitive. 

Partnerships

One of the main concerns discussed amongst the industry is rising costs in training bills and initial purchase prices due to supply and demand concerns. Partnerships can provide an avenue through which buyers can own significant percentages of a horse but split the costs of ownership amongst others. A strategy Weston uses is to send his horses to a trainer who wishes to be a co-owner as it allows for the individuals’ training bill to be lowered and incentivizes the trainer to select the best racing conditions while offsetting risk.

Q: Does breeding to the sons of top stallions for less in stud fees provide a benefit to the middle market? 

A consensus was reached among the panelists indicating the profit margin is most apparent in bloodstock whose sires are sons of top stallions with the exclusion of the top freshman stallions. Due to the stud fee being cheaper, the initial cost needed to break even with respect to the stud fee as a breeder is significantly lower compared to other stallion options. Thus, when the breeder wishes to sell, the profit margin may not be as large as if the bloodstock was by a top stallion with a good conformation or movement, but it still does provide the opportunity for profit – particularly if the resulting bloodstock does have good conformation and movement. From a middle market buyer’s perspective, if a horse is purchased anywhere from $15,000 to $50,000 and requires class relief to the claiming ranks to be competitive, the purchaser is less likely to be impacted negatively as there is opportunity to offset both the initial and recurring costs.  Weston has found success with this method with many purchases he has made for himself or in partnerships inclusive of Con Lima, who was a multiple graded stakes winner earning nearly $900,000 and sired by the A.P. Indy stallion Commissioner.  

Q: If the large-scale introduction of auction races were to be implemented, how would that affect the market? 

Thoroughbred racing in Europe launched auction races into prominence with their racing programs and due to their popularity, the concept was brought to America via tracks in New York and Kentucky. Many of the benefits of these races include giving “trainers and owners who do not own expensive horses a chance to win at important venues”, an “outlet for middle market and regional stallions to sire winners in what has become a hyper competitive marketplace”, and “an opportunity to play on a level [playing] field” according to Tracy Egan. Given the overfilling of auction races in New York, Keith Doleshel believes the idea will begin to “trickle down” to other racetracks. In general, striking a balance between the different levels of racing is required to maintain a high-quality meet, and these auction races provide additional opportunities for the middle market to find success and stand out.

For the racing industry to flourish, the middle market is needed not only at the auctions but at the racetrack. If the middle market were to shrink further, the purchases of middle market horses would primarily be conducted through claiming races. Given breeding operations need a healthy profit margin to continue through auction purchases, claiming horses would only incentivize breeders to narrow their operations. Beyond this, racetracks need bloodstock at all levels to be sustainable and continue to be competitive for the racing enthusiasts, betters, and horsemen. How else can one progress otherwise, after all? Racing is a global economic engine and to preserve it, a successful middle market must exist. To do this, we must come together as a community to bring new blood into the market in a well-informed manner where the newcomers believe they have a genuine chance at success.

Graded Stakes Winning Owners - Atlantic Six Racing, owners of Book'em Danno

Whether you’ve been passionately involved in racing for decades, or was recently lured into the game by your brother, winning a Grade 1 stakes at Saratoga is as good as it gets. Book'em Danno gave six guys from Jersey, who race as Atlantic Six Racing, LLC, that thrill, taking the Woody Stephens Stakes on June 8th. “It was incredible; you had to pinch yourself,” Jay Briscione, the group’s managing partner, said.

Briscione, a 70-year-old real estate appraiser, began hotwalking at Monmouth Park in high school, then left college (Fairfield University) for one semester to be a groom at Hialeah. “I was in the same barn as Seattle Slew in his three-year-old season,” Briscione said proudly. “I watched him get ready for the Triple Crown. I had never been around horses at all. Being young, it was a pretty cool thing. Once it’s in your blood, it’s in your blood.”

His partner Mark Rubenstein, whose family business was doing municipal revaluations in Jersey, knows that feeling: “I dropped out of law school (Antioch Law School in Washington, D.C.) to work at the racetrack. It was the best time of my life: seven days a week at Hialeah. I was rubbing and grooming three horses. I just loved being around the Thoroughbreds.”

Both Briscione and Rubenstein worked their way up at the racetrack before resuming a more stable livelihood. “As I got older, there were no vacations,” Briscione said. “If I had gotten tied up with somebody at the high-end of racing, I might have stayed. I went back to school and got into real estate soon after college.”

But his feelings for racing never left him completely. “Always, I stayed interested,” Briscione said. “We tried to buy a horse with two friends. It didn’t work out. I owned a couple bad horses. But I always went to the races in the summer and to the big races, the Preakness, the Belmont and the Breeders’ Cup.”

Rubenstein put together small partnerships with relatives, racing as Red Flag Stable in the ‘80s: “We claimed a mare, Cuca’s Lady, for $25,000, at Monmouth in the late ‘80s. She went on to win seven stakes for us.”

Cuca’s Lady became a turf sprinter. She broke the track record at Monmouth Park for five furlongs, and in her next start she set the track record at The Meadowlands for the same distance. Later, she won eight straight races. She finished her career with 24 victories from 70 starts with 10 seconds, 11 thirds and earnings topping $350,000. “She was our big horse back then,” Rubenstein said.

By then, Briscione had put together Atlantic Eight Stable “Jim Ryerson was our trainer and a friend,” Briscione said. “The third horse we owned, Relaunch Lass, won her debut by 6 ½ lengths on a sloppy track at Monmouth.”

She won an allowance race in her next start at Philadelphia Park and retired with 11 victories, eight seconds and 16 thirds in 80 starts, making $179,673.

“Then we bred her,” Rubenstein said. “She died in foal to Mining. The foal died, too. That was our only attempt at breeding.”

Atlantic Eight lasted until the mid-‘2000s, In 2019, Briscione started Atlantic Six LLC, which included two partners from Atlantic Eight, Jim Scappi, who does equipment leasing, and real estate broker Frank Camassa. Camassa brought along his close friend Jeff Reshnikoff, an attorney. “Jim and I have been friends for 30 years,” Briscione said. “Frank was a hotwalker in Jersey before becoming a real estate agent. Jeff had owned horses before.”

Briscione called up Rubenstein. “I asked him, how about doing it again?” Briscione said. 

Rubenstein said, “Jay and I, we’ve known each other for years. He contacted me five years ago when he was reestablishing a racing partnership. He asked me if I was interested. I was out of the business. I said, `Sure.’”

Then Rubenstein called his younger brother, Jim, a semi-retired radiation oncologist in Fort Myers, Florida, who had never been in the business. “He didn’t know a hock from a toothpick,” Rubenstein said.

He didn’t mention that when he dialed his brother. “He was up front,” Jim said. “He’s done it before. He said, `You’re not going to make a fortune.’ Then he pulled out the grandchildren card. They can visit the horses in Monmouth, and in Tampa, where we’re near. I have 12 grandchildren. So I’m in.”

Good decision.

Atlantic Six’s first good horse was Counterfeitcurency (sic), a hard-hitting Jersey-bred who earned $199,152. “He was just retired,” Briscione said, “He’s going to be a show horse in Florida. He gave us the money to parlay into Book'em Danno. When we buy these, we’re basically looking for a Counterfeitcurency and maybe run in Jersey stakes. That’s a home run for us. When we got Book'em Danno, we knew we might have something.”

They bought the son of Bucherro out of the Ghostzapper mare Adorabelle privately from his breeders, Greg Kilka and Christine Connelly of Bright View Farm and gelded him before he started training.

Mark Rubenstein named the yearling: “I’m a child of the ‘60s, and Hawaii Five-O was one of my favorite TV shows. In quite a few episodes, they got the bad guy and they said, `Book'em Danno.’ I have no idea how that popped into my mind.”

Book'em Danno’s trainer, Derek Ryan isn’t known for cranking up his first-time starters. That made Book'em Danno’s debut even more impressive: a 9 ½ length victory in a Jersey-bred maiden race at Monmouth. He followed that with a two-length victory in the Smoke Glacken Stakes and a 6 ½ length romp in the Futurity at Aqueduct. He finished his juvenile season by finishing second by three-quarters of a length in the one-mile Nashua Stakes there.

Displaying no intention of sending his three-year-old on the road to the Triple Crown, Ryan picked the seven-furlong Pasco Stakes for his first start this year at Tampa Bay, and he won by 12 ½ lengths as the 1-5 favorite.

His next start would be in the one-mile $1.5 million Grade 3 Saudi Derby. “It’s shocking to believe that this horse took us to Saudi Arabia,” Briscione said. “Derek had brought this up in September. He had been approached by them.”

All Book'em Danno did was finish second by a head to unbeaten Forever Young. When Forever Young then finished third by a head in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby, Book'em Danno was flattered. Then Book'em Danno won the seven-furlong $500,000 Woody Stephens Stakes by a half-length at Saratoga June 8th. “Amazing,” Jim Rubenstein said. “I was there.”

That made Book'em Danno five-for-seven with a pair of close seconds. He’s earned $835,625.

“To be in the business for such a short time, I know people put a lot of money into this, put a lot of time into this,” Jim Rubenstein said. “You almost feel unworthy.” 

Graded Stakes Winning Owners - Judy Hicks with Thorpedo Anna

Judy Hicks, who is forever linked to her incredible home-bred three-year-old filly Thorpedo Anna, overpaid for another filly 35 years ago: $10. That filly, Phoenix Sunshine, posted nine wins, nine seconds and three thirds in 47 starts, earning more than a quarter of a million. She was even better off the track, foaling six winners including half-a-million dollar-earner Boss Ego. Hicks calls Phoenix Sunshine “the anchor of my broodmare band.”

Learning from her Phoenix Sunshine purchase, Hicks only paid $6 for the foal of a mare whom the original owner kept eight years later. The foal was Miss Pink Diva, who was one-for-14 and made $111,780. She was second by a head in the 2016 Grade 3 Locust Grove Stakes, but in her next start, the Grade 1 Spinster Stakes, she broke down and had to be euthanized.

Both purchases came from an unpaying owner for boarding his horses at Hicks’ farm. “I’m stubborn,” Hicks said. “I’m a California girl. I didn’t know male chauvinism existed until I moved to Kentucky and that women weren’t allowed to speak. When I had somebody not pay their bill, I said, `This isn’t going to happen, so what do I have to do?’”

Hicks began researching state law and found out that if you give a client a month to pay and if you don’t hear from them, you have a legal right to have a sheriff’s sale, which is then advertised. “Nobody goes to them,” Hicks said. “There were two horses. The colt, I just let him go. But the filly I really liked.”

She liked her even more as the years went by.

Now Hicks owns Thorpedo Anna, five-for-six with one second and earnings of more than $1.7 million in her career. If there was an eclipse vote in mid-2024, she’d be a walk-over three-year-old filly champion and a contender for the Horse of the Year.

But Thorpedo Anna would never have been born if Hicks didn’t save her dam, Sataves, when common sense and logic suggested to give up on her.

Hicks has never believed in giving up.

Born in Chicago, Hicks’ family moved to California when she was six. “We had a little farm,” Hicks said. “We started having horses and go-karts.”

She chose horse racing over a career in NASCAR.

She spent five years finishing a double major of biological and animal sciences at California Poly. She wanted to go to vet school at UC-Davis, but didn’t get in. 

Through her grandfather’s connections – he knew the president of Texas A & M - she got into vet school there. She didn’t stick. “I was in vet school for six months, cleaning lab cages,” she said. “They had this Great Dane puppy in one of the experimental cages.” When she didn’t see him in his cage one morning, she asked, “Where’s Duke?’” She was told Duke’s remains were in several jars. “They had killed him,” she said.

That killed her desire to be a veterinarian.

Through another of her grandfather’s connections Hicks journeyed to Kentucky and was an intern at Forest Retreat Farm. While she was there, she met Dr. Donald Applegate and Cecil Horne. They were looking for a farm manager at their Mint Springs Farm. That’s where she met her husband, R.W.

In 1983, they purchased 600-acre Brookstown Farm in Versailles. It needed a lot of work, which has never stopped Hicks from doing anything she wanted. They began boarding Thoroughbreds, then began breeding and racing them. 

Sataves, a daughter of Uncle Mo out of the unraced Stormy Atlantic mare Pacific Sky, was born extremely premature.

“She was born six weeks premature,” Hicks said. “She was 40 inches tall. I didn’t weigh her, but she was maybe 60 pounds. A few weeks later, her owner came and saw her. Her hocks were crushed. The owner gave her to me. I said, `Let me see if I can keep her alive.’ I named her for Sataves, a Buddhist god.”

Hicks waited three years until conceding to the reality that Sataves was never going to race. “Because of her hocks,” Hicks said. “I bred her to Tourist.”

That foal, Charlee O, won two of 18 starts and earned more than $100,000 for Hicks and R.W.

They bred her back to Fast Anna, a Grade 1-placed sprinting son of Medaglia d’ Oro. Fast Anna’s crop that year was his last. He died of laminitis at the age of 10.

Thorpedo Anna was born on January 27th, 2021. “She was tough,” Hicks said. “She had a mind of her own. She was not an easy foal to raise.”

Trainer Kenny McPeek bought her for $40,000 at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale.       

“I didn’t know Kenny,” Hicks said. “I went over and introduced myself. I asked him for 45 percent. All he did was laugh.”

Regardless, she maintained an undisclosed percentage of Thorpedo Anna, joining partners Brookdale Racing, Mark Edwards and Magdalena Racing’s Sheri McPeek, Kenny’s wife.

“I wasn’t familiar with Judy,” McPeek said. “She approached me after I signed the ticket. It worked out.”

Thorpedo Anna’s first race was at Keeneland. “Kenny couldn’t be there,” Hicks said. “He said, `you better go because she’s going to win by a lot.’”

She did, by 8 ½ lengths. She then won an allowance race by nine lengths and finished second by 5 ¼ lengths in the Grade 2 Golden Rod in her final start at two at Churchill Downs.

This year, no filly has been close to her. She won the Grade 2 Fantasy Stakes at Oaklawn Park by four lengths. She captured the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks by 4 ¾ lengths, the first half of McPeek’s incredible weekend. The next day, McPeek’s Mystik Dan won the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby by a nose.

Asked about the Oaks, Hicks said, “I don’t think I expected her to win, but when she started drawing away, I went crazy. I was hugging Kenny. It was amazing. People said, `You don’t realize what you’ve done. The ultimate dream if you own a mare is winning the Oaks.’”

How about winning the Grade 1 Acorn Stakes at Saratoga, too? Despite losing a shoe during the race, she triumphed by 5 ½ lengths. Her next planned start is the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga July 20th. 

“We have yet to ask her to run,” Hicks said. “I think she’s going to go down as one of the greatest fillies in history.”

Graded Stakes Winning Owners - Steve and Debbie Weston (Parkland Thoroughbreds) with Porta Fortuna

Steve and Debbie Weston will never forget the phone call from their daughter, February 14th, 2018, telling them the horrible news of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Seventeen people, including 14 students, had been killed. Fourteen more had been injured.

The Westons, who were at their second home in Saratoga Springs, live in Parkland. They met on blind date at a pizzeria in Parkland. They had named their stable Parkland Thoroughbreds three years earlier.

”You always think it happens somewhere else,” Debbie said.

Steve said, “We were on Route 9 going down to a car dealer. We couldn’t believe it. By the time we got to the car dealer. It was all over the TV.”

Six years later, they still struggle to understand. “Parkland is a great place,” Steve said. “We have very little commercial development, only a handful of stores. It was rated as one of the safest cities of America.”

Are there any safe cities in America now? “It’s happening all over America,” Steve said.

Debbie said, “I don’t think anyone in America hasn’t been touched by gun violence. I think the most important thing is to have people remember Parkland for something other than the shooting.”

The success of their modest-sized stable has people talking about Parkland Thoroughbreds.

Last year, their two-year-old filly Jody’s Pride, who is co-owned by Sportsmen Stable, won the Matron Stakes and finished second by a neck to unbeaten Just FYI in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Filly at Santa Anita. At three, she won the $200,000 Busher Stakes before finishing off the board in the Grade 1 Ashland at Keeneland. She was freshened and is back at Saratoga training for her return.

Less than an hour after Jody’s Pride finished second in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Filly, Parkland Thoroughbreds and Medallion Racing’s turf star Porta Fortuna finished second by a half-length to Hard to Justify in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Filly Turf. Earlier last year, she captured the Group 3 Albany Stakes by one length in a field of 17 at Royal Ascot, then won the Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes at Newmarket. Donnacha O’Brien, the son of Aidan O’Brien, trains Porta Fortuna.

In her 2024 debut, Porta Fortuna finished second in the Group 1 One Thousand Guineas at Newmarket. 

Her second race this year was at Royal Ascot, where she benefitted from a fine ride by Tom Marquand and won the Group 1 Commonwealth Cup by one length, becoming a rare repeat winner at the world-famous meet. “It was incredible,” Weston said.

His day got even better moments after the race: “We were on stage and told the King was coming. He came up and shook our hands. And then I was talking with the King for three to five minutes. He was very cordial, really nice. It was amazing, just amazing. There must have been a hundred cameras. It was a dream. So much more than winning a horse race.” 

Steve Weston, now 78, could never have dreamed of such success when he got hooked by harness racing decades earlier. “I’ve been going to the track in Detroit since 15,” he said. “Also Hazel Park and Northville Downs. All three are gone. I loved the racetrack. I wasn’t old enough to get in. I had to wait for the last four races when they opened the door.”

After graduating from high school, he and three friends teamed up to buy a $10,000 claimer, Our Stewart. “We won our first race with Our Stewart at Wolverine. It’s always exciting. It doesn’t matter if you have a put of $1,700. It never matters. Even today, if you have a claimer or you’re in a stakes race, when they’re coming down the stretch, it’s the thrill of victory. It doesn’t matter what the purse is.”

Yet he did say this: “One day I want to buy a Thoroughbred.”

Born in Brooklyn, Weston moved to Detroit, then to Parkland in 1989. He partnered with Bob Edwards and Joe Anzalone. After Weston bought Thoroughbreds, Edwards and Anzalone did, too. Edwards races as e5 Racing Thoroughbreds and Anzalone as Magic Cap Stables. e5 Racing campaigned two-year-old champion Good Magic, the sire of this year’s Derby top contender Dornoch.

Debbie Weston also has roots in New York. She was born in Syracuse, then lived in Albany. “My grandfather, every summer, went to Saratoga,” she said. “I never knew what it was.”

Now she can’t get enough of horses. Their home in Saratoga Springs abuts the Oklahoma Training Track. “The horses are practically in our backyard,” she said. “It’s a blessing to be there. I fell in love with the horses once I petted one of their faces. Racing is such a small part. The joy is to watch them train, feed them and hang out with them.”

She didn’t begin hanging out with Steve until they met on that blind date. “I was working as a hospital nurse, Steve was a sweetheart. He kept pursuing me. I gave him another chance and I’m glad I did. Steve was widowed several years earlier.”

The Westons began Thoroughbred racing in 2015 and have entered a myriad of partnerships. At last count, there were 50 of them in just 10 years.

They chose Parkland Thoroughbreds as their stable name because of the many horse farms in the area.

Then tragedy forever changed Parkland.

“Fortunately, we didn’t have any children attending, but we knew other people who did,” Steve said. My niece was an instructor and one of her kids was involved. I can’t begin to describe it. It’s a very small community.” 

  The Westons wanted to do anything they could to ease people’s pain, so they named their gelding - Parkland Strong, a son of Goldencents out of Inceptive by Empire Maker.

In a better world, Parkland Strong would have won the Triple Crown, or the Kentucky Derby or at least one of his nine starts. Trained by Abreu’s brother Fernando, Parkland Strong did post one second and four thirds, earning $28,850. “He lives with a person who breaks a lot of our yearlings in Ocala,” Steve said. “He has a good life.”

Better horses have followed, but none as good as Porta Fortuna and Jody’s Pride. Steve still doesn’t believe he actually won a stakes race at Ascot two years in a row. “Oh, it was incredible,” he said. “The way British people treated us; we were treated like royalty. Just being there was fantastic.”

Alan Balch Column - Principles of Marketing

Article by Alan F. Balch

When I first joined the management of Santa Anita in 1971 (that’s right, over a half-century ago), one of the earliest meetings I had with its leadership made an everlasting impression on me.

Indoctrinating me were Robert Strub, son of the track’s founder Charles H. “Doc” Strub, and General Manager Fred Ryan, who had worked for Eugene Mori (of Hialeah, Garden State Park, and Tanforan fame).  Giants of American racing evolution.  

I had been placed in charge of ‘public relations’, which included advertising, promotion, and publicity.  The term ‘marketing’ had only recently become relevant to most businesses and had not yet been applied to racing management anywhere in the world.  The first thing I had to remember, I was told, was that free admission to boost attendance was never to be suggested.  As Mori had once famously said, “the view alone at Santa Anita is worth the price of admission.”  Ryan added, “we have the tightest gate in racing, and it’s going to stay that way.”  Non-betting sources were 50% of revenue then, remember.  

Then, Strub had his say.  “My father always warned that we can’t let ourselves go the way of buggy whips.  We continually need new, young thinking, and that’s why you’re here.”  I guess I don’t have to add that way back then, there was a thirty-year age gap between mine and the next older department head on the track staff.  My assigned task, my only task, was to drive attendance.  “Don’t worry about anything else,” Strub advised, “you get them here, and the betting will take care of itself.”  True then.  Still true.

Marketing for profit never changes.  What’s old is new.  In these pages two years ago, I extolled the virtues of Royal Ascot.  Especially its continually advancing marketing, under Ascot’s director of racing and public affairs, Nick Smith, who says (and way more important, does) the right things.  

So, too, says (and does) Mark Taylor, of Taylor Made Farms and through Medallion Racing a partner in a Royal Ascot Group 1 winner Porta Fortuna. 

Both of them understand marketing in the old Santa Anita way, now lost from much of American racing, especially in California.  Real marketing is an investment, not principally an expense.  It is also an attitude.  A way of doing business.  The only way ancient businesses (which racing and breeding certainly are) can survive a constantly changing and increasingly competitive world.  Engaging and funding proper marketing, rightly understood, is the necessary if not the sufficient condition for the survival of any business enterprise in the modern world.  And, sad to say, most of what now passes for ‘marketing’ in California racing is anything but.

Here’s Taylor, for whom Royal Ascot was “beyond my wildest expectations.  However they have done it, everybody who works there genuinely takes an interest in the customer experience.  What I really took away from it for our organization is more training and spending more time getting each employee to really put themselves in the customer’s shoes.  And say, ‘how can I make this an incredible experience for them and let the person know I care.’”  

This very quotation could have been lifted right out of Philip Kotler’s foundational textbook, ‘Principles of Marketing’,  which was the inspiration for modern marketing beginning in the late 1960s.  “Marketing is sales from the customer’s point of view.”  Further, Kotler advised that marketing point of view had to be ingrained in all functions of any organization, from operations to finance to production, in order to optimize success.  And that was no easy task, since that marketing point of view . . . as it begins to succeed at all levels and results in growth . . . creates more and more hard work for everyone in every function, as well as a new mindset. 

Emphasizing the critical nature of attendance at the races, not just betting, Ascot’s Smith mirrored those comments:  "Hospitality was at record levels this year, with 13 Michelin stars across the kitchens, but that top-end fine dining option is quite resilient whereas general ticket sales aren't always.  The racing is at the heart of it for a lot of people.  You have a competitive interest betting product as well as racing at the highest level, and all of these things need to come together.  We have huge positives which we need to promote and be proud of.  This is a time to step back and say let's look at what's really good about the sport, promote it, be proud of it and build from it."  Amen, I say.

Where racing is struggling (including California), failures of marketing and management are critical reasons.  Even Del Mar, long the brightest light in the West, has dimmed.  Where boisterous big turnouts of over 40,000 stormed the track in the last decade, the largest attendance last year was barely over 20,000.  For the last three years, just over the 10,000 mark attended its marquee $1-million Pacific Classic, half to a third of what it had drawn historically, supposedly in the name of ‘superior customer experience’ for the relatively few present!  The abysmal attendance at the last Breeders’ Cups at Santa Anita, and on its own prestigious days, were actually fractions of the figures announced. 

Since its origination some 300 years ago, racing as a sport and enterprise has been relentlessly confronted by change and competition.  That it has survived at all is remarkable, I suppose, but also a tribute to its majesty and allure . . . when presented, managed, and marketed properly.  Look not just to Ascot, but also to Belmont at Saratoga, to Keeneland, and to Churchill Downs:  investment, renewal, and sophisticated, integrated marketing, both industrial and consumer, with all its modern tools, are essential to racing’s future.

Many say that the future of racing has little to do with attendance at the track.  If that is so, where will all the breeders, trainers, owners, and bettors come from?

#Soundbites - What's the hardest aspect of training?

Christophe Clement

You’ve got to be kidding. The list would be too long and you will not have enough room to cover it in one page. You’ve got to find the talent; you’ve got to find the help; you have to keep your owners happy; you have to find the right races. The list is endless. It’s not getting any easier. That's all I can tell you. In 2024, compared to twenty years ago, it’s not a one-man job anymore. It’s a team job now. It cannot be one individual. It’s got to be a team, I’m very lucky. I’ve got a great team.

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David Donk

Overall, probably the administration work. Managing the regulatory and administration of the business. With horses, I don’t think there is one. Just be patient and do the right thing every day.

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Joe Sharp

The most difficult aspect of training would probably be the human resources, managing people’s expectations and things like that. I would say that the animals are the easy part of the business.

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Tony Dutrow

I think the most difficult aspect of training for almost all trainers is the quality of the horse, trying to get their hands on a good horse. Now, once I have that good horse, I don’t think there’s anything difficult about training a good horse. A good trainer, and there are a lot of them, knows how to train. I can only hope that I’m on the same page as my client. That’s where I want to be. The client and the trainer can’t be feuding and fighting about where he is going to run and the details of all that. The horse will feel that.

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Mark Glatt

The most difficult thing about training is keeping horses racing sound. They’re athletes, of course, and they get injured. We have to put them in the best situation we can. Keeping them from getting injured is a difficult task.

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John Kimmel

That’s an interesting question. I think the most difficult thing is to run it as a business model that actually doesn’t cost you money. It’s a poor business model to begin with. For all the time and effort, if you just look at what it takes to train horses, the increasing labor costs, the increase of feed price, it makes it very difficult to train a horse and break even. It’s basically a negative cash flow pattern. That to me is the most difficult part of the business. I think the biggest problem that we face as trainers is trying to be somewhat cost effective. I think that’s why a lot of people are dropping out. It’s very tough to run things the proper way. 

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Craig Dollase

The horses don’t talk back. They can’t speak for themselves. You have to be a good horseman, always do the right thing by the animal. Dealing with the animals who don’t speak back to you is the tough part of training. You’ve got to be inquisitive about things and always put the horse first. It can be a difficult task at times. You have to be in tune with the horses.

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Eoin Harty

Where do I begin? I would say the most difficult aspect of training is obtaining new owners and keeping the owners you have happy. It’s a very competitive industry, and there’ll always be somebody that seems a little bit more attractive than you do. So you have to constantly deal with that, you can never rest; you can never turn your phone off. You need to appease a disgruntled client or attract a new one.

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Scott Lake

(Laugh). Honestly, it’s probably dealing with all the different personalities in the industry. Each owner handles good news and bad news differently. Your help might not like the way you say something.  One guy’s fine with you yelling at him; the other guy’s not. In every aspect of the business, there are different personalities.

Danny Gargan - the trainer of 2024 Belmont Stakes winner - Dornoch

Article by Bill Heller

Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito didn’t have a horse in either the Grade 1 Ashland Stakes at Keeneland April 5th nor the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes the following day. But he hoped for a personal daily double of those races with two of his protégés, Jorge Abreu and Danny Gargan, saddling a top contender in each race - Abreu with Jody’s Pride in the Ashland and Danny Gargan with Dornoch in the Blue Grass. 

Zito didn’t get what he wanted. Jody’s Pride ran out of gas in the Ashland and is getting a freshening before resuming her three-year-old campaign later this summer. Dornoch finished fourth in the Blue Grass and is now all systems go for a run in the Kentucky Derby.

Come the first Saturday in May, Danny Gargan will remember his first Kentucky Derby runner, Tax, who he claimed for $50,000 in his second career start in a maiden claimer at Keeneland on October 21st , 2018. Tax took Gargan to the 2019 Kentucky Derby, when he finished 15th, beaten 15 lengths at odds of 35-1.

Tax went on to win the Grade 2 Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga and the Grade 3 Harlan's Holiday Stakes at Gulfstream Park and in the process became Gargan’s highest-earning horse with $1,102,160. “He’s my favorite,” Gargan said.

Gargan did his homework to nab Tax, a son of Arch out of the Giant’s Causeway mare Toll. “I watched his video in his first race,” Gargan said. “He’s a really well-bred horse. He looked beautiful in the video. He sprinted that day. I was in New York, looking around for horses. He popped up in the entry box at Keeneland. I flew from New York to Kentucky to claim him.”

When he did, he called two of his owners, Randy Hill of R.A. Hill Stable and Dean Reeves of Reeves Thoroughbreds. “He called me up and asked me if I wanted in on Tax,” Hill said. “I said yes. Obviously, that worked out well. Danny’s one of my favorite guys, Danny’s a very good trainer. He’s finally gotten a chance to work with some good horses. He’s a terrific guy, he deserves this.”

Reeves said, “We had a lot of fun with that horse. It was a great run. Winning at Saratoga especially a big race up there.”

Gargan loved Tax: “He was a wonderful horse to be around, big and beautiful, just a kind soul in the barn. You loved seeing him there every day. He had a long career. He stepped into a grate and got his ankle caught. He missed more than a year.”

Tax came back off a 16 ½ month layoff to win a $100,000 stakes at Delaware on July 9th 2022, an outstanding feat by Gargan. “He was a pretty cool horse,” Gargan said.

Gargan has now trained three sons of Good Magic and all are now stakes horses. First up was Dubyuhnell who in 2022 Gargan thought might take him back to the 2023 Kentucky Derby after he captured the Grade 2 Remsen Stakes in his final start as a two-year-old. Instead, he finished 8th in the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis and 11th in the Grade 1 Florida Derby.

Now in 2024, Gargan has two sons of Good Magic in the Kentucky Derby. Dornoch, who finished fourth in the Grade 1 Blue Grass and Society Man, who finished second in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial at odds of 106-1.

Dornoch looks as talented as his full brother, Mage, who won the 2023 Run for the Roses. “They look opposite,” Gargan said.

“My horse is a real big bay. Mage is a medium chestnut. They don’t look the same, but they both have big hearts. You can’t breed that.”

Dornoch, was bred by Grandview Equine and sold for $325,000, $90,000 more than his full brother Mage, at the 2022 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. 

Last November Mage and Dornoch’s dam, Puca, went through the ring at Keeneland and was sold privately for $2.9m. This year, on April 4th, Puca produced her third colt by Good Magic who like his esteemed brothers all share an April birth date.

Dornoch’s name is intriguing, referring to the Royal Dornoch Golf Club in the Scottish Highlands where golf has been played for more than four centuries.

Born one year and four days after Mage was foaled, Dornoch spent his early days at historic Runnymede Farm in Paris, Kentucky.

For his early education, Dornoch was sent to Raul Reyes at King Equine in Ocala, Florida. Reyes detected that Dornoch wasn’t moving comfortably in his behind and discovered that one of Dornoch’s testicles hadn’t descended. The testacle was removed, and Dornoch showed vast improvement immediately.

Reyes called it a 360-degree turnaround in a story in Blood-Horse. Gargan thinks Dornoch will offer him a different experience if he makes it into the Derby starting gate. 

“Tax got us there. We were lucky enough to do the walk-over. This is different. This horse can win it. I’m happy to be a part of it. He reminds me of Louis Quatorze (the 1996 Preakness Stakes winner trained by Gargan’s former boss, Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito). I’m hoping Dornoch can win a Triple Crown race. I’m preparing him the same way Nick did with Louis. Just keep moving forward. In horse racing, you have to hope you have a great day. In the past, we were just happy to be there. Now we have a horse that could win it.”

Zito, has been a fan of his protégé for a long time: “Danny was probably the best one I ever got along with. He read my mind. The guy actually read my mind, which I loved. He wants to win so bad. He communicates with horses so well. He said Dornoch resembles Louis. It shows his remembrance of great horses. That’s what I admire about Danny Gargan. Danny’s not taking a back seat to anybody at the Derby. He’ll have his horse ready to run.”

If Dornoch or Society Man win the Kentucky Derby, it will come 51 years after Gargan’s father, also named Danny, rode Bag of Tunes to win the 1973 Kentucky Oaks.

Unfortunately, Gargan, a native of Louisville, was just four when his father died. “I was so young, I don’t remember that,” Gargan said. “I grew up on the backside of Churchill Downs. I loved it from the start. It’s just something in your DNA.”

Asked how he got onto the Churchill Downs backstretch, Gargan said, “It was 30 years ago. Back then, they let everybody in.”

He worked for Nick Zito off-and-on for several years, eventually becoming his assistant. “Me and Nick are real good friends to this day,” Gargan said.

Gargan, though, came to a conclusion: “It takes a lot of money to be a horse trainer.”

So he switched careers, becoming a jockey agent. “I did it for a few years,” he said. His clients included Pat Valenzuela, Brian Hernandez Jr. and Jesús Castañón.

He called his jockey agent days “a lot of fun,” but he eventually became bored with it. He hooked up with owner Merrill Scherer on a few horses and, after two real good meets at Saratoga in 2011 and 2012, Gargan, decided to begin training on his own. He credits P.J. Campo, the racing secretary and then vice- president for racing of the New York Racing Association, for pushing him in that direction.

Gargan began a modest-sized stable in 2013, broke the $1 million mark in earnings in 2015 and has had at least $1.8 million in earnings every year since. “I race at Gulfstream Park and New York,” he said. “I don’t train a ton of horses, eight in New York and 22 in Florida. When you get so few young horses, it’s a blessing to have one,” he said. “It’s not every year. I’ve been lucky to have some nice horses in the past, and you have to be just thankful.”

Tax was not his only great claim.

On May 15th , 2017, Gargan claimed Divine Miss Grey for $16,000 for R.A. Hill and Corms Racing Stable off a three-quarter length victory as the 1-2 favorite.

Divine Miss Grey turned into a star for her new connections, finishing second in the 2018 Grade 1 Beldame at Belmont Park and capturing the Grade 2 Chilukki Stakes at Churchill Downs. She finished her career 12-for-26 with six seconds, one third and earnings of $934,172. “You get lucky sometimes,” Gargan said. “The good thing about what she did for me, was she brought me Dean Reeves and Randy Hill. They are the ones who probably brought me to train Dornoch. They wanted me to train younger horses. Without those two supporting me, I might have never made it to this point.”

Hill is one of many partners on Dornoch. Reeves is not.

When asked about his success, Gargan said, “I’m pretty lucky in that I trained for some good people, like Dean Reeves and Randy Hill. They want the horse put first. Always put the horse first. I’m blessed for having them. I don’t have to work the horse or race the horse. When you have owners that understand that stopping and doing the right thing for the horse is the most important thing, that’s great. That’s what’s changed for me the last four, five years is to be able to always put the horse first.”

He knows what he’s up against: “This game can be tough. You try to keep them happy, keep them healthy and keep them racing. It’s something we’ve always believed. With the young horse, it’s a tremendous factor. You watch other trainers and learn. Nick was a big fan of giving a horse his first race. Bill Mott does that, too. They don’t have to win first time out. They’re going to get better with racing. That’s our philosophy. Who knows if I’m right or wrong. That’s what we believe.”

Dornoch lost his maiden debut at Saratoga, too, finishing second. He finished second again, in the Sapling Stakes at Monmouth, before breaking his maiden at Keeneland and, just like Dubyuhnell, took the Remsen by a nose, defeating a potential Kentucky Derby rival, Sierra Leone. 

Racing on the lead on the rail, Dornoch set a pressured pace, opened a two-length lead in the stretch and then was confronted and passed by a fast-flying Sierra Leone. But Dornoch wasn’t done. He gamely fought back and re-took the lead just before the finish line. Like Gargan said, you can’t breed heart.

Winning his three-year-old debut in the Fountain of Youth pushed Dornoch to the front of many Derby contender lists. He was fourth to Sierra Leone in the Grade 1 Blue Grass, but he didn’t get his preferred trip pressing or making the pace. 

“We wanted to train him to sit behind horses,” Gargan said. “Sometimes, they have to experience things to get educated before they can improve. That was the first time he had dirt in his face and he fought it the first three-quarters of a mile.”

Dornoch is owned by West Paces Racing, Belmar Racing and Breeding, Two Eight Racing, Pine Racing Stables and R.A. Hill Stable. Gargan offered a piece to Reeves Thoroughbreds, but Reeves declined. “He asked me to buy into the horse,” Reeves said. “At the time, it just didn’t work. I passed. Too bad. I’m happy for those guys. I’m pulling for those guys. I hope he can get it done. He’s a great horse.”

Larry Connolly, who began West Paces Racing, mostly with his golf buddies in Atlanta in 2019, grew up in Rye, New York, and frequented Saratoga and Belmont Park. In 2012, Connolly sold his company, Connolly LLC, the largest global-recovery auditing firm, freeing up capital to buy Thoroughbreds. “It was a good time to jump in the deep part of the pool,” he said.

The final push into ownership came after five years of visiting Cheltenham races in England with his friend Lawrence Kenny, a retired steeplechase jockey. “After five years at Cheltenham, the racing was so good and the people were so nice,” Connolly said.

“We used to go to the pubs and see a lot of horsemen. I said, `Wouldn’t it be great if we could pool our resources together and get into a big race?’”

Connolly got involved with two partnerships, Donegal in 2014 and then Starlight. Connolly was able to enjoy the winner’s circle after Donegal’s Keen Ice upset Triple Crown Champion in the 2015 Travers Stakes at Saratoga.

Connolly said Royal Dornoch is his favorite golf course in Scotland. One of his partners on the horse is retired baseball star Jayson Wirth, an outfielder who played 15 seasons with the Blue Jays, Dodgers, Phillies, and Nationals.

Asked about Dornoch’s Derby pursuit, Connolly said, “It’s just super exciting. Every day is like Christmas Eve. What gets me excited about Dornoch is, he looks the part: size, grit, determination.”

West Paces Racing, Gargan and GMP Stables LLC are the owners of Society Man, who was stepping up to graded stakes company in the Wood off an impressive maiden victory. Three starts back, Society Man was eighth in the Grade 3 Withers. “He had a rough trip in the Withers,” Gargan said. “We’ve always liked him. He’s a nice horse.”

Gargan said Dornoch is bigger than Society Man, another son of Good Magic out of You Cheated by Colonel John. ‘They breeze together a lot,” Gargan said. “He worked with Dornoch for the Remsen.”

Asked about Society Man’s jump up in class in the Wood, Gargan said, “Sometimes you roll the dice and it works out. He’s improving at the right time and he can get the distance.”

Dornoch’s work tab was modest as he prepared for the Blue Grass Stakes on April 6th. “We just wanted to keep him healthy and sound,” Gargan said. “He’s a big colt. He can be playful. A little rambunctious. He’s not mean. He’s a big strong horse, just under 17 hands. He’s just under it.”

After his Fountain of Youth victory, Gargan told a TV interviewer that he guessed he had Dornoch at 85 percent for his three-year-old debut. The obvious goal is 100 percent on the first Saturday of May. “I don’t think we’ve seen the best from him,” Gargan said. “He’s going to be fun for a long time.”

Graded Stakes Winning Owners - Emily Bushnell and Ric Waldman (Resilience)

Talk about a tough act to follow. In their first venture together as Thoroughbred owners, Emily Bushnell and Ric Waldman have a Kentucky Derby contender, Resilience, who captured the Grade 2 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct on April 6th by 2 ¼ lengths.

Emily’s parents, Marty and Pamela Wygod, bred Resilience, a son of Into Mischief out of Meadowsweet by Smart Strike. “It means everything,” Bushnell said. “The love of the sport, just hoping you have one horse this special. It’s really, really exciting.”

Waldman, a Louisville native, said two days after the Wood, “It’s starting to sink in now. To have an ownership with Emily, a long-time client and friend, it is very emotional. It’s the first racehorse I’ve owned in many years.”

Bushnell was born for this: “I started riding basically before I could walk. My dad had horses when I was growing up. My dad started in the 1960s. He was a hotwalker. He grew up really close to Belmont. It’s been part of my family before I’ve been around.”

Sadly Marty Wygod passed away six days after the Wood victory. Wygod, who was born on February 1st, 1940, in Elmont, New York. He went to high school with Bobby Frankel and was a business administration graduate from New York University. In 1964, he was hired by Roy Nutt and Fletcher Jones for their stock brokerage firm, Computer Sciences Corporation. The following year, Jones, who owned Westerly Stud Farms near Santa Ynez, California, gave Wygod two Thoroughbreds as a 25th birthday gift.

In 1977, Wygod switched careers to the healthcare industry, purchasing Glasrock Medical Services. Five years later, he sold it for a huge profit. He then established Medco Containment Services, Inc., and built it into the largest mail order pharmacy in the country. In 1993, he sold Medco to Merck & Co. for more than $6 billion.

Wygod bought 240-acre River Edge Farm in the Santa Ynez Valley. In 1995, the Wygods moved to Rancho Santa Fe, California.

His slew of top Thoroughbreds includes Exotic Wood, Tranquility Lake, Sweet Caroline, After Market and Life Is Sweet. Wygod is a member of the Jockey Club, a trustee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and a member of the Del Mar Board of Directors. Wygod oversees two Breeders’ Cup Charities, the Rose Foundation and the WebMD Health Foundation.

Wygod’s River Edge Farm stood top California stallions, including Benchmark, Bertrando and Pirate’s Bounty. 

Bushnell carved her own niche in Thoroughbred racing. She is the Executive Director, a Therapeutic riding instructor and a mentor of Endeavor Therapeutic, now in its 10th year in Bedford, in Westchester County, New York. Its programs are for veterans, at-risk youth, incarcerates women and children and adults with disabilities. They serve 125 people a week. “Horses have been so important in my life,” Bushnell said. “I wanted to do something with them to help people. Also, horses need jobs.”

She is making a difference.

“She is a lovely woman,” Waldman said. “The whole family is lovely. I’ve worked for Marty and Pam for more than 25 years.”

Waldman, a native of Louisville, has been around Thoroughbred legends, including Storm Cat, Deputy Minister, The Minstrel and Northern Dancer, most of his life. He began his career at Fasig-Tipton Company in 1973 and advanced to general manager in 1981. He was the business manager at Airdrie Stud from 1981 to 1984. He was consultant and syndicate manager of Overbrook Farm from 1986 through 2009 and the vice president of operations and syndicate manager for Windfields Farm from 1987 through 2008.

In 1994, he established Ric Waldman Thoroughbred Consulting, Inc. When Overbrook and Windfields ceased operations, Waldman focused on two long-term clients, Marty Wygod and Samantha Siegel of JayEmEss Stables. He’s been working with them for more than 25 years.  

His association with Overbrook’s William T. Young, led him to manage the immortal stallion Storm Cat. But Storm Cat struggled initially. “I started managing Storm Cat in his third year and we sort of limped through his third and fourth year,” Waldman said in a 2013 Blood-Horse story by Evan Hammonds.

Working with a star and owning one are different endeavors. 

Resilience is the culmination of 18 years of planning, purchasing and breeding. The Wygods purchased Tranquility Lake, a daughter of Rahy out of the multiple graded-stakes placed dam Winter’s Love, for $250,000 at the 1996 Keeneland July Sale of Selected Yearlings. She is a half-brother to 1983 Belmont Stakes winner Caveat. Russell Drake, the late River Edge Farm Manager, selected Tranquility Lake.

All she did was win more than $1.6 million, taking the 1999 Breeders’ Cup Handicap at Hollywood Park and the 2000 Yellow Ribbon Stakes at Santa Anita.

She was bred to Storm Cat five times, and her first foal was After Market, a multiple graded stakes winning turf star. Her second foal was Jalil, who was sold to Godolphin for $9.7 million and won a Group 2 stakes. Tranquility Lake also produced multiple graded-stakes winner Courageous Cat. Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, who trains Resilience, trained Courageous Cat.

After producing seven foals, all male, Tranquility Lake was bred to Smart Strike and foaled her first filly, Meadowsweet, the dam of Resilience.

Through their breedings with Storm Cat, the Wygods got to know Waldman. “All the horses we’ve done together, talking with him and my parents on the breeding, working together for quite a while … owning this colt together and being on this journey, Ric and I are on the same page,” Bushnell said. “This is our first one, our first horse together. It was an opportunity for all of us to work together, have a good time together.”

She never imagined how good their first horse would be. But it took a bit of time.

Resilience finished sixth, second and third before winning a maiden race by 4 ¼ lengths. On a sloppy track in the Grade 2 Risen Star, Resilience contested the pace and held on well for fourth.

Mott decided to add blinkers for Resilience’s next start in the Wood Memorial. He relaxed well behind the pacesetters, then pounced on them, winning impressively and sending Waldman and Bushnell onto the Kentucky Derby for the first time. 

Graded Stakes Winning Owners - Dennis Albaugh, Albaugh Family Stable (Catching Freedom)

Before he could afford to buy Thoroughbreds, Dennis Albaugh had to succeed in business.

And though the start of his one-truck company out of his garage in Ankeny, Iowa, in 1979 was an utter disaster that nearly wiped him out, Albaugh preserved and now owns the ninth largest agricultural chemical company in the world, selling in 44 countries and manufacturing in nine.  

Though he grew up on a farm with a couple of riding horses, he was intrigued with agriculture: “I was always intrigued that you can spray crops with chemicals to protect them.” After two-years of college, he worked for a chemical company for three years. When the company asked him to relocate his family to Birmingham, Alabama, he declined. “I started my own company,” he said. 

That wasn’t easy. “I had to convince my wife to take a second mortgage on the house,” he said. She agreed. “She trusted in me, I guess,” Albaugh said.

The second mortgage allowed Albaugh to receive a $10,000 loan from the Small Business Administration. “It was very tough, I was very new in the business. It was a start-up company.”

 He purchased an old oil tanker, bought weed-killing chemicals from a company in Des Moines and delivered them to a company in South Dakota on his very first run. “It was a 200-mile run,” Albaugh said. “On the way up, I thought this truck was running smoother and smoother.”

He reached his destination. “I put the hose in the receiving tank,” he said. “Nothing was coming out. I opened the lid. It was empty. I said, `Oh, boy, I just spent $8,000 of my $10,000.’ It was very scary.”

The seals on his truck had failed, and he had dumped his entire load on the trip. “I called the Department of Agriculture and told them I dripped chemicals, but nothing toxic,” Albaugh said. “They said, `Thanks for killing all our weeds.’”

Telling the Department of Agriculture was easier than telling his wife what had happened. She asked him, “How did your first delivery go?”

He told her. She didn’t blink.

Undeterred, Albaugh got a couple days' leeway from his buyer in South Dakota. He quickly bought a new truck and made the same delivery.

And then he grew his company. In 1993, he bought his company’s biggest competitor. “We really soared after that,” he said. “I don’t know the word `no.’”

His incredible success in business mirrored his ongoing success with Thoroughbreds, which also had humble beginnings after his son-in-law Jason Loutsch, who is now Albaugh Family Stables Racing Manager, nudged him into the business. Last year, the stable had three runners in the Kentucky Derby including the favorite, Angel of Empire, who finished a fast-closing third. This year, Catching Freedom has them returning to Louisville on the first Saturday of May.

Loutsch still can’t believe it: “Growing up, my best friend had a horse farm two miles from Prairie Meadows,” Loutsch said. “We made believe we were jockeys.”

Loutsch bought a horse, Mr. Mingo, in 2003, and shared the experience with Albaugh. Mr. Mingo finished second in a $59,000 Iowa-bred stakes in his second start for his new owners. “Dennis said, `This is a lot of fun. Let’s get more horses,’” Loutsch said.

They did, buying a half-share of a two-year-old Trippi filly for $42,000 at the Ocala Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale in June, 2005. They named the filly Miss Macy Sue for Albaugh’s granddaughter, and gave her to trainer Kelly Von Hemel.

“She took us all over the country,” says Loutsch, “Then she turned into one of the best broodmares in the country. It really got our juices flowing.”
Albaugh said, “It was unbelievable. We went around the country and she kept doing well.”

Their talented filly won 11 of her 25 starts, including the Grade 3 Winning Colors Stakes at Churchill Downs and five other stakes. She had five seconds and three thirds, including a third in the 2007 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint at Monmouth Park. She earned $880,915.

But she wasn’t done making money. She produced Liam’s Map, who had six wins and two seconds in eight starts, earning $1,358.940,  Matera, a four-for-10 winner who earned $309,040 and Taylor S, who went three-for-seven and made $121,518.

Tired of not racing her talented progeny, Albaugh bred her to Giant’s Causeway and named her colt Not This Time. After finishing fifth in his debut, he won a maiden race by 10 lengths, the Grade 3 Iroquois Stakes by 6 ¾ and finished second by a neck to Classic Empire in the 2016 Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.

He’d already made $454,183, but he didn’t race again. He’d hurt a tendon in the Breeders’ Cup race, making his performance even more impressive. Retired to stud, Not This Time finished 2023 as the eighth leading stallion with $13,223,548 in progeny earnings. He stands this year at Taylor Made Stallions for $150,000. “He pays a lot of bills,” Albaugh said.

 Along the way, Albaugh and Loutsch began an earnest pursuit of racing’s greatest prize, the Kentucky Derby. In 2016, their Brody’s Cause finished seventh. The next year, J. Boys Echo was 15th. In 2018, Free Drop Billy finished 16th. Dale Romans trained all three horses.

Last year, Angel of Empire, trained by Brad Cox, was third and Cox-trained Jace’s Road, owned in partnership with West Point Thoroughbreds, was 17th. Albaugh Family Stable and Castleton Lyons-owned Cyclone Mischief was 18th.

Catching Freedom, who is trained by Cox, has them dreaming again. “This is the 150th Derby,” Loutsch said. “We know how hard it is. It’s extremely hard to win. There are so many things that have to go right. There are so many factors going into it. This horse definitely wants to go a mile and a quarter. Hopefully, we’re fortunate enough to get a good trip.”

Albaugh said, “Just to get to the Kentucky Derby was a big honor. Having three horses last year was unheard of. We checked the history. We think that’s the record. We’re very thrilled to get back this year.”

Family is an integral part of Albaugh’s life. Loutsch and Albaugh’s daughter Tiffany have two girls, Julianah, 24, and Milan, 18. “They’re in charge of social media,” Loutsch said. “They go to all the races.”

Asked how hard it is to work for his father-in-law, Loutsch said, “Not hard at all. He’s truly one of the best guys in the world. He makes life real easy. No ego. Most importantly, he is fair and honest. He’s invested a lot in the game. We have a lot of fun together.”

Albaugh said, “My son-in-law got my interest going, it’s a whole family. It’s a lot of fun to go with all your family, it’s a lot of fun to get together.”

Especially if it’s in the winner’s circle on the first Saturday in May.

Graded Stakes Winning Owners - Eric and Sharon Waller (Stronghold)

Though Eric Waller was 10 years old when he accompanied his father to Santa Anita, he never really felt connected to Thoroughbreds.

His success with Barranca Insurance, which opened in Rancho Cucamonga in 1972 and is now run by his daughters, allowed him to purchase a couple of horses.

“Not Thoroughbreds,” Waller said. “One was a Paint, and one was a Quarter Horse. I wanted horses to ride. I thought that might be fun. It was at that time I realized I did feel something special about horses. I didn’t realize that was inside of me until I bought those horses. I found inner calmness and appreciation for the animal.”

That would be tested after he bought and began breeding Thoroughbreds. His early struggles and then continuing success on the track was tempered by horrible happenings trying to develop a broodmare band. But the Wallers never gave up and they now have a home-bred Kentucky Derby contender, Stronghold, a horse they can proudly point out traces back to four generations of their own Thoroughbreds.

Despite two of their stars dying while giving birth. Despite two mares who savaged their own foals.

Asked how he got through the rough parts, Waller said, “I wish I could tell you. I’m not a quitter. I believe someday, somehow, I’m going to get me a Grade 1 winner. I feel that was my goal. I hadn’t achieved it, so I couldn’t quit.”

Stronghold, who won the Grade 3 Sunland Derby by 2 ¼ lengths in an impressive three-year-old debut, added the Santa Anita Derby April 6th in his final prep for the Kentucky Derby. He is already the Wallers’ highest earner. Stronghold’s dam, Spectator, is second and Stronghold’s third dam, Swiss Diva, is third.

The Wallers’ entrance into Thoroughbred racing was disappointing. “My wife knew a retired jockey,” Waller said. “He had an old mare. She was in foal to a stallion named Lucky Sack. I went ahead and took the mare. I didn’t know anything about racing. I had that foal and decided to race that foal. That was about 1995. Of course, I didn’t have any success. I said, `I’m going to try a different route.’ There was a sale in California, Barretts. There was a mare in there by the name of One Stop. She was by Mr. Leader, in the family of Distorted Humor.”

One Stop is the fourth dam of Stronghold.

One Stop won just one of 19 starts and made $34,985. Waller bred her to Swiss Yodeler. The resulting filly, Swiss Diva, is the third dam of Stronghold.

Swiss Diva won her first three starts, including a $138,000 stakes for California-breds, by 8 ½ lengths, then finished fifth by 4 ½ lengths to superstar Rags to Riches in the Grade 1 Las Virgenes. Swiss Diva finished her 14-race career with four victories, three seconds and earnings of $240,399.

Put into perspective, the Wallers had won just seven of 76 starts from 2002 through 2013.

Envisioning a foundation broodmare, Waller bred Swiss Diva to Henny Hughes. Swiss Diva died foaling Diva’s Tribute. Though unraced, Diva’s Tribute is Stronghold’s second dam. 

Bred to Jimmy Creek, Diva’s Tribute delivered Spectator. She won three of her first four starts, including the Grade 2 Sorrento Stakes at Del Mar and was second to Midnight Bisou in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Oaks. Spectator retired with three victories, one second and one third from nine starts with earnings of $323,951.

“Spectator died giving birth to her foal,” Waller said. “A punctured colon. I was just sick. There are just so many lows in this business. There’s nothing lower than losing a horse.”

But the foal who survived was Stronghold. “Stronghold grew up on a nurse mare, just as his mother did,” Waller said.

“The people at Mulholland (Mulholland Springs Farm, where Stronghold spent his early days) told me this horse was a man among boys, a very classy looking individual that shows a lot of quality,” Waller said. “I took that seriously because these people are commercial breeders. They see hundreds of yearlings.”

In April of his two-year-old second, Stronghold was sent to California-based trainer Phil D’Amato, who had a string of horses in Kentucky. “Stronghold cast himself in the stall,” Waller said. “We wound up missing several weeks of training. Then, finally, things returned to normal.”

Stronghold finished second and first in a pair of maiden races at Ellis Park and Churchill Downs, then finished second in the Grade 2 Bob Hope Stakes to undefeated Nysos at Del Mar. He was second again by a half-length to Wynstock in the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity.

Stronghold’s handy victory in his three-year-old debut in the Grade 3 Sunland Derby sent him soaring up the list of Kentucky Derby contenders. His sensational :58 2/5 work should have him moving forward as he tackles tougher opponents.

If all this is exciting, Stronghold doesn’t seem to notice. “He’s so quiet in the paddock, Phil thinks he’s sleeping,” Waller said. “He doesn’t turn a hair.”

Gamely bulling his way through horses, Stronghold won the Santa Anita Derby by a neck, giving Waller his ultimate goal, the one he stuck to despite all the heartache. “The Santa Anita Derby was our first Grade 1,” Waller said. “That’s why I’m in the business. It’s not about the money anymore, it’s about the achievement.”

And his determination. Achievement can’t happen if you give up.

Trust Your Gut – the importance of nutrition for health, performance and longevity

Article by Dr. Richard McCormick, M.V.B., Dip. Eq.Sc., M.R.C.V.S. 

The science of equine nutrition is really quite simple – The horse is a flight animal and in the wild, needs to be able to escape from predators using a short burst of energy. Nutrition and subsequent ‘energy’ for survival is all provided by grass which has the required balance of vitamins, minerals, immune supportive nutrients and  fiber to maintain a healthy gut microbiota and keep the horse in adequate health for reproduction. Proper functioning of the gastro-intestinal tract (GIT)  in horses is dependent on a broad range of micro-organisms and more than half of the energy requirement for their survival comes from the microbial fermentation occurring in their enlarged caecum and colon (Chaucheyras-Durand et al 2022). The bacterial populations resident in the various compartments of the horses intestinal tract vary greatly (Costa et al 2015) and there is more DNA in the bacteria located in the gastro-intestinal tract  than there is in the entire body. Because of this, having a healthy gut flora is critical to having a healthy immune system.

In modern times, our demands of horses for performance for our pleasure rather than their survival has led to their need for increased energy that cannot be provided from grass alone. Because of this, the intricacies of diet (in particular the consumption of starch, fiber and fat) has come under scrutiny. Equine feed manufacturers have looked for additional sources of starch, a carbohydrate and a natural component of grass that is ‘essential  to provide energy, fiber and a sense of fullness’ (Seitz 2022). Today, most horses and rapidly growing foals are commonly fed diets with >50% of total ration by weight in the form of grain ‘concentrates’ and carbohydrates from oats, maize, soya, barley and wheat. These grain based feeds contain high concentrations of soluble, easily fermentable starches but can be deficient in certain minerals and vitamins so getting an optimally balanced feed ‘right’ is difficult.

Too much of a good thing  

With advances in scientific knowledge, we now know that when a horse is exposed to surplus starch, the hydrogen ion concentration of their gut increases promoting  the production and absorption of lactic acid, acetate and propionate through the activity of fermentation (Ralston 1994). The process is quick, with lactic acid entering the bloodstream within 3 hours of feeding and calcium subsequently being excreted in the urine.  In order to combat this nutrient loss, the horses’ hormone system triggers the release of parathyroid hormone into the bloodstream, activating the release of stored calcium (to maintain optimal blood levels) but unfortunately causing  bone demineralisation. Clinically, the horse experiences health consequences of varying degrees including digestive diseases (eg: gastric ulcers, diarrhea, colic or colitis), muscle dysfunction (eg: rhabdomyolysis (known as ‘tying up’), defective bone mineralization (expressed as increased incidence of stress fractures and developmental orthopedic diseases), systemic diseases (such as laminitis, equine metabolic syndrome and obesity (Chaucheyras-Durand et al 2022) as well as potential causes of fatigue.

The ideal equine diet 

There is little equine focused research available on the benefits of individual nutrients (due to limited numbers in trials and their subsequent evaluation) of grain ‘concentrates’. But we do know that ingredient availability and quality is regularly influenced by market pressures. 

The table (fig 1) below outlines the sugar, starch and fiber components of the various ingredients commonly found in horse feeds. The optimal grain for equine nutrition with its efficient energy source through lower starch content (relative to other grains) and its high level of soluble fiber (relative to other grains) are oats.

The healing power of omegas and short chain fatty acids 

While grass provides optimal equine nutrition in its own right, the ‘curing process’ when making hay depletes the valuable omegas 3 and 6 intrinsic in grass. These ‘healing’ nutrients naturally protect the lining of the gastro-intestinal tract by increasing mucous production and alleviating ‘auto digestion’ (via hydrochloric acid). For horses, bacterial fermentation in the hind gut also results in the production of Short Chain Fatty Acids (SCFAs), namely acetic, proprionic and butyric acids. These SCFAs ‘cross talk’ with the gut immune system providing local immunity in the gut as well as protection of the respiratory system, the brain and other tissues against disease. In human medicine, it has been repeatedly established that a dysfunctional gut microbiome is associated with respiratory problems. This is evidenced by the fact that when gut disorders such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome  (IBD) or Coeliac disease exist in humans, they are commonly associated with a higher incidence of respiratory infections and related asthmatic like conditions. Barragry (2024) explores the relationship (Fig 2) between gut microbiome and the immune system's ability to support health and combat disease in cattle. A scenario mirrored in the equine.

The stabled horse should be provided with SCFAs daily to support proper functioning gut microbiome. This critical dietary consideration should ideally be provided in the form of flaxseed which has the highest ratio of omegas 3 and 6 (in the ideal ratio 4:1) in the plant world and is most suitable for the equine herbivore.

The health benefits of flaxseed for both humans and equines has been recognized as early as 3,000 BC. Flaxseed was used for various medicinal purposes such as the treatment of gastric disorders, as a soothing balm for inflammation and as a laxative (Judd, 1995). Horsemen (who relied heavily on their equines) and trainers (who sought optimal performance from their charges through natural means) also used flaxseed as a way to supplement the diet with omega-3’s and fiber to produce high quality proteins. Now, thirteen centuries later, we have research to substantiate the knowledge of our ancestors. The renowned German researcher of ‘fats’ and pioneer in human nutrition, Dr. Joanna Budwig, as early as the 1950’s reported that “the absence of highly unsaturated fatty acids causes many vital functions to weaken". Dr. Budwig’s life’s work focused on the dietary ‘imbalance’ between omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in humans has been a cornerstone to the exploration of the role of inflammation and the development of many diseases of the coronary, respiratory, metabolic and immune system.

The small seed of the flax plant is also an excellent source of high-quality protein (exceeding that of soybeans and fish oils) and potassium (a mineral that’s important for cell and muscle function). But, the true power of flaxseed lies in three key components: 

Omega-3 essential fatty acids – Also known as "good" fats, omegas enhance the oxygen usage of cells and in combination with alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) are anti-inflammatory in their effect within the body.

Lignans – Flaxseed contains 750 - 800 times more lignans than other plant foods (McCann 2007, Yan 2014). Lignans are a group of compounds with antioxidant properties which also contain plant estrogen. Lignans are linked to a reduced risk of developing osteoporosis, heart disease and cancer.

Fiber - Flaxseed contains both the soluble and insoluble types of fiber essential for maintaining ‘gut’ health.

In equines, adding flaxseed to the diet has the immediate benefits of a shiny, healthy coat and fewer skin allergies. Consistent use of flaxseed has multiple long term benefits including strong hoof quality, improved joint health, reduced muscle soreness, faster healing of ulcers (Sonali et al 2008) and significantly impacts inflammation associated with chronic skin conditions (commonly known as ‘sweet itch’). In breeding stock, increased Omega-3 levels in mares’ milk leads to boosted immunity in foals with higher stallion fertility and improved conception rates in broodmares documented (Holmes, 2015).

How diet can influence performance 

It is easy to think that ‘providing more is better’ when it comes to using nutrition to support performance. But having excess levels of essential vitamins and minerals being processed by the horses’ sensitive gut has a direct impact on their behavior and willingness to perform. Today, we have greater ‘choice’ at the feed store with a broad range of commercial feeding offerings available including mixes, mashes and supplements but the discerning horse owner can be forgiven for being overwhelmed by the range of diet options for every ailment and stage of life.

In modern times, despite advances in nutrition offerings, we have seen a falloff in performance (Fig 3). During the late 1960s, the U.S. Jockey Club stats noted that racehorses averaged 12 starts per year – a far cry from today's horses racing in the U.S. where the average of 3 ‘starts’ was highlighted by leading US Trainers in 2020 (www.ownerview.com). Unfortunately, this is not just a U.S. based problem, but a phenomenon noted worldwide.

The first equine pelleted feed was formulated in the US by the Cistercian  monks in Gethsemani, Kentucky in 1957. Prior to this, all horses were fed ‘straights’ (primarily oats as their energy source and flaxseed as their protein source). My own understanding of the link between modern feeding practices and compromized performance since the 1960s has been curated off an understanding of “what was different” then, as well as a career of observations, clinical practice and scientific review. Fact is, the equine diet of the 1960s was lower in starch and high in fiber. It consisted of oats, minerals, and flaxseed as the “norm”. Hay was the preferred forage (Fig 4).

Today, soya (with one fifth of the omega 3 content of flaxseed) has practically replaced flaxseed as the protein source in equine nutrition. This small change has seen a significant drop in omega-3 and 6 (needed for prostaglandins) in the diet with consequential gastro-intestinal and joint issues. Other dietary changes include those recommended by the National Research Council (NRC) in 1978, who suggested doubling the recommended calcium levels for horses with a subsequent increase in levels of Osteochondrosis (OCD) and Osteopetrosis in the equine population (Krook and Maylin, 1989). Additional moisture in the diet too has led to excess mould formation in convenience feeds and with severe exposure causes liver damage (Buckley et al 2007). Stabled racehorses today mostly lack the nutritional protection afforded a previous generation of horses. The impact has been noted clinically in the widespread increase in equine gastric issues and as stated by J.E. Anthony “Racing fans are missing about half of what they once enjoyed in racing.”

The role of the gut bacteria in the prevention of disease

The gut microbiome begins populating and diversifying from the moment of birth. Though ‘sterile’ in utero, gut derived DNA immediately drives immune health with exposure to nutrition. Recent research suggests that the gut microbiome can be stimulated by using proven probiotics with a track record in enhancing gut health (Barragry 2024). But it is the protective power of SCFAs to allow ‘cross talk’ between the lungs and the gut microbiome that is critical to supporting horses through their life span. 

Nutrition using grain ‘concentrates’ is currently at approximately  99% saturation in today’s equine population so a return to feeding ‘straights’ is a swim against the tide of modernity. But, knowing the influence of nutrition on health, performance and longevity it falls on horse owners to be mindful of the consequential  impacts  such convenience feeds have on the gut microbiome and immune system. Random supplementation and high starch feeds are leading to dietary health issues such as gastric ulcers, hyperinsulinemia and  hyperlipaemia (obesity) as well as increased risk of laminitis . So trust your gut and keep it simple – a diet of oats, flaxseed, a multi-vitamin balancer and ad lib hay will not only meet your horses’ energy needs but will keep them happy and healthy too.

REFERENCES

Barragry. TB (2024) WEB https://www.veterinaryirelandjournal.com/focus/254-alternatives-to-antibiotics-probiotics-the-gut-microbiome-and-immunity

Buckley T, Creighton A, Fogarty (2007)  U. Analysis of Canadian and Irish forage, oats and commercially available equine concentrate feed for pathogenic fungi and mycotoxins. Ir Vet J. 2007 Apr 1;60(4):231-6. doi: 10.1186/2046-0481-60-4-231. PMID: 21851693; PMCID: PMC3113828.

Budwig, Dr. J (1903-2008) WEB https://www.budwig-stiftung.de/en/dr-johanna-budwig/her-research.html

Chaucheyras-Durand F, Sacy A, Karges K, Apper E (2022). Gastro-Intestinal Microbiota in Equines and Its Role in Health and Disease: The Black Box Opens. Microorganisms. 2022 Dec 19;10(12):2517. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms10122517. PMID: 36557769; PMCID: PMC9783266. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9783266/

Holmes, R (2015) Feeding for stallion fertility. WEB 

https://www.theirishfield.ie/feeding-for-stallion-fertility-172113/

Judd A (1995) Flax - Some historical considerations. Flaxseed and Human Nutrition, S C Cunnane, L U Thompson. AOCS Press, Champaign, IL 1995; 1–10 [Google Scholar]

Martinac, P (2018) What are the benefits of flaxseed  lignans?  WEB https://healthyeating.sfgate.com/benefits-flaxseed-lignans-8277.html

National Research Council. 1989. Nutrient Requirements of Horses. Washington D.C.: National Academy Press.

Ralston, S VMD, PhD, ACVN (1994) The effect of diet on acid-base status and mineral excretion in horses in the Journal of Equine Practice. Vol 16 No. 7. Dept of Animal Science, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08903

Seitz, A  (2022) What to know about starch_Medically reviewed by Seitz, A - MS, RD, LDN, Nutrition — WEB https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/what-is-starch#benefits

Sonali Joshi, Sagar Mandawgade, Vinam Mehta and Sadhana Sathaye (2008) Antiulcer Effect of Mammalian Lignan Precursors from Flaxseed, Pharmaceutical Biology, 46:5, 329-332, DOI: 10.1080/13880200801887732

Todd Fincher - From Sunland Park to Saudi Arabia

Article by Ken Snyder

Ask Todd Fincher how he got Senor Buscador from Remington Park to Riyadh and the $10 million dollar Saudi Cup winner’s purse, and you won’t get an answer; you’ll get a bunch of answers.

“There’s honesty. There’s hard work. Being able to evaluate horses and place them in the right spot. The feeding program. Your help. Not cutting corners. All that stuff.”

Got it, Todd. Now, what’s the formula for blending all of that? If it could be quantified and applied, we’d all be Thoroughbred trainers. Todd Fincher can’t tell you exactly how he arrived in the winner’s circle after the Saudi Cup. But there may be a reason why. 

“You celebrate in the winner’s circle and then you walk out of there. You have your mind on other things, other responsibilities.”

At the post-race press conference, it was obvious he really had left any whooping, hollering, and hugging back in the winner’s circle. Maybe he smiled once as jockey Junior Alvarado and owner Jerry Peacock fielded questions. There’s pre-occupation and then there’s Todd Fincher pre-occupation. His mind was already on “other things,” specifically Sunland Park in New Mexico and his string of 90 horses.

He “came back immediately” from Saudi Arabia, which might have meant a red-eye flight that night. He came to Saudi Arabia as he departed, with no days or hours wasted with idle time.  

“I didn’t go over until a couple of days before the race,” said Fincher. Instead, he sent assistant Oscar Rojero with Senor Buscador on the 13th of February for a race run on the 24th. Want to know about Saudi Arabia? Rojero, not Fincher, is your man. 

An assessment of Fincher as a classic “big fish in a small pond” is subject to re-examination only partially because of the Saudi Cup win. Last year he shipped Senor Buscador to Del Mar to win the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap and finished second with two other horses--Flying Connection and Bye Bye Bobby in graded stakes at Del Mar. All total, his horses hit the board in graded stakes in four out of six races in San Diego. It’s not hard to imagine Fincher duplicating the success he has achieved in New Mexico in racing’s big ponds—Keeneland, Santa Anita, Saratoga, Belmont. Add to that an eye-popping 24% career win rate.

Looking back at Del Mar he understates his success considerably. “That’s starting to compete at the top level. Not Bob Baffert yet, but, you know, with the few numbers we have of those type of horses, I think we’ve done pretty well.”

Take note of that word “yet.” Fincher has thoughts of setting up a division at Del Mar in the future and is venturing into Oaklawn this year with “a few. But not a full string,” he added. Yet...

“Big farms aren’t going to look my way because I’m in New Mexico and I understand that, but I will eventually, maybe this year, start running two separate barns,” He added that he will "keep New Mexico going.”

Fincher is a defender of New Mexico racing and pointed out the state has produced both a Kentucky Derby winner in 2009 (Mine that Bird) and a Kentucky Oaks winner in 2011 (Plum Pretty).

“We got a lot of people in New Mexico who are great horsemen. You can develop a horse through our stakes schedule with good purses.” 

If it’s a long way to Saudi Arabia from New Mexico, getting to Kentucky may be more manageable with more promising two-year-olds than ever in his barn.

“Last year when I broke babies, I had two Kentucky-breds. Two fillies and one colt.

“This year I had some people step up and fill my barn a little more. We broke fifteen yearlings this year that are Kentucky-breds or Louisiana-breds.

“It’s just very rare for me to get that many,” he added.

Roots in New Mexico run deep for the 52-year-old Fincher. His grandfather, Albert, was a trainer stabling at the old La Mesa Park in Raton, New Mexico as well as at Sunland. Albert’s son, Leroy—Todd’s father—also trained Quarterhorses and Thoroughbreds after a jockey career. As if that isn’t enough pedigree, Todd’s mom Leslie trained Quarterhorses and Thoroughbreds.

It is said that half of life is just showing up. Fincher has had only the other half to figure out. The major lesson he got from family was “Show up every day to work. That’s  basically what I derived from my family.

“I worked in the barn. We had jobs at the barn. I would do the water buckets and he would do the hay bags. We were in charge of holding horses for the baths and raking the shedrow. I’m talking from an early age—probably nine, ten years old.”

New Mexico racetracks were also a playground for the Fincher boys. “Your parents would be working, and you’d be running around the grandstands walking back to the barn screwing around and just running loose basically.”

“Play” also included putting down a bet or two at the betting windows with mutuel clerks who knew the Fincher boys. “I could barely reach up to the window. I‘d put my two dollars up there and bet at an early age. That was illegal, but back then everything was a little quieter. “

Fincher’s dream was to follow in the family bootsteps and become a jockey. The lanky, six-feet tall averaged a respectable 14% win rate before waving the white flag to weight after ten years of riding in 1997 and immediately hung up his own shingle the next year. Fincher never worked as an assistant but started with eight horses, the most expensive of which was $5,000.

Transitioning from jockeying to training might have been the equivalent of a family doctor performing brain surgery. “The one thing that really shocked me about training is how much I didn’t know.

“You’ve heard jockeys don’t make good trainers. That’s basically because they’re two completely different jobs.

“There’s a lot of jockeys that don’t know horses. They just learned how to ride a horse and that’s all,” he added.

He believes his time on the ground grooming as an adolescent and teenager for his dad taught him the importance of understanding a horse. When it came time to sit astride one and break from the gate, that experience was invaluable…to a point.

“I could get on a horse and tell you everything about it…evaluate the horse. 

“As a trainer watching, it was a brand new thing. It took a long time to be able to watch a horse and differentiate certain things about a horse—how good they looked when they were running, if they’re just average. Watching the horse move was the biggest challenge, I think.

“You learn from there, then the next year you get some more horses, and every year from then on. It’s grown, and we’re pointing for the quality and not the quantity. We kind of have both now.”

Fincher says 90% of his horses come to him as yearlings. “If I have somebody bugging me to claim horses, we will, but I really have no interest.

“You claim a horse, odds are you pay twenty-thousand dollars, and you got a twenty-thousand dollar horse.

“We’re looking for the home runs to develop a horse into a classic-type horse or stakes winner—the top level.”

Mission accomplished. They don’t get any more top level than Senor Buscador and the Saudi Cup and Fincher knew it.

He was confident the horse could beat the best in the world if he got an honest pace.

“As far back as he gets, he can get himself in a lot of trouble,” said Fincher. True to form, Buscador was far behind the field by as many as six lengths, loping along next to Japanese starter Ushba Tesoro. Entering the stretch, Senor Buscador fell in behind the Japanese entry then popped out from behind him to the outside. Again, true to form, he spotted Ushba Tesoro as much as three lengths in the stretch before cruising by ten horses, including his Japanese runner by a nose at the wire.  

“I think he just lets them get after it first and enjoys running by horses. That’s exactly what it is. He’s got enough speed. He can go to the front if he wanted but he refuses.”

For Fincher, with his total focus, it’s not hard to believe that “validation and vindication” for Senor Buscador meant more than the purse. “Everybody talks about the purse, which is outstanding. For him to beat the best horses in the world was much, much greater for me than the value of the race.

“I’ve been making excuses for this guy for a long time knowing how good he is.”

Adapting to the horse rather than the other way around might have been still another  additional factor in the win. “If I really tried, I guess I could probably change his running style, but I think it would be detrimental to him.

“The ability is there, and I think he’s the best horse. I don’t question that.”

Fincher’s abilities as a trainer sort of mirror Senor Buscador’s performance in the Saudi Cup. All the horse needed was a clean trip. All that Fincher needs is the opportunities. Racing has probably not seen the last of him at center stage like the winner’s circle at King Abdulaziz Racecourse, but you’ll have to hurry to catch him before he’s gone. 

Other things. Other responsibilities.

Todd Fincher would amend lyrics to an old song from the 1950’s movie Cinderella "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes" to “A Dream is a Wish your Hands and Feet Make.”

The dots don’t connect between Sunland Park and Ruidoso Downs in New Mexico and King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Saudi Arabia and Meydan Racecourse in Dubai…unless you’re Todd Fincher. 

A win in the $20 million Saudi Cup with Senor Buscador and a third place showing in the Dubai World Cup (earning a mere $1.2 million) are dreams most trainers wouldn’t ever entertain. 

For those who know him any length of time, it is no surprise to hear him say on reaching the highest of heights in racing, “I’ve always been planning on it and hoped to get there. Those are goals that I set. I hope we can reach some more goals pretty soon.”

Gulp.

At first you might not take him seriously until you consider that, well, he did it once, and yes, he did it based in Sunland Park, New Mexico.

Asked what he did after Saudi Arabia and Dubai, the laconic cowboy simply said, “Came home and went back to work. That’s what we do. Go to work every day.”

And make dreams come true.

The Principles of Genetic Research and its Impact on the Thoroughbred Racing World

Article by Holly Robilliard and Cassie Fraser

GMO Thoroughbreds? Superhorses created in the lab? Is genetic doping a real “thing”? It’s time for a reality check and a good, hard look at what’s real, or even possible, and how it can hurt or help the Thoroughbred industry.

Breeders, trainers, and owners continually seek a competitive edge, striving to produce horses with the speed, stamina, and resilience needed to succeed on the racetrack. Concurrently, there is increasing pressure and responsibility to minimize animal discomfort, injury, and death in a public forum. Therefore we must carefully examine and balance all the tools at our disposal before determining which ones to use and how.  

Interestingly, there is a growing technology that may be of more notable controversy than even horse racing: The power of genetics. Perhaps the greatest power man has ever wielded, genetics has sparked numerous debates over the good and evil it can bring. As with most new things, there is a significant fear of the unknown, so how do we even begin to understand it? In short: research, homework, and fact-finding. Let’s look at what is fact, scientifically known, and possible today, and then consider what may be possible in the future. 

Genetic Influences on Equine Performance

DNA, often called the “blueprint of life,” holds the key to a horse’s inheritance and development, from its physical prowess, size, and speed, to temperament and abilities. By studying their genetics, we can unravel the intricate code that dictates the pre-existing traits and characteristics of these powerful athletes. This information can then be utilized in our breeding and performance programs to improve suitability and success, all while upholding ethical standards and preserving the integrity of the sport.

The general rule for Mendelian traits is that a foal inherits one allele from each parent for a given gene. If the inherited alleles are the same, the horse is called homozygous for that gene. If they are different, they are heterozygous. As heterozygosity goes up, genetic diversity is increased, resulting in more variation in the genetic content. This results in a greater adaptability to environmental stressors and change, leading to a more robust animal and population. With equine genetics, we tend to focus on three kinds of genes: Causatives - genes/variants that directly cause a trait or condition, Correlatives - genes/variants that appear alongside, or in common, with a trait or condition, and Risks - genes/variants that increase their likelihood/risk of acquiring that trait or condition. 

A Thoroughbred study by Momozawa et al. found an association between the dopamine d4 receptor (DRD4) gene and a measure of temperament. In the study, “curiosity”, defined as, “an interest in novel objects and a willingness to approach them”, was prevalent in horses with a particular gene variant. Horses preferring to observe carefully, from a distance, were of the opposite variant type, named “vigilance”. Although further research is required, it is not unreasonable to consider that temperament affects a horse's ability to learn, break from the gate, or handle the pressure of large crowds on race day.

Another performance trait, perhaps of more notable interest to Thoroughbred enthusiasts is the “speed” gene, myostatin (MSTN). This insertion results in increased muscle growth in horses and other mammals. Genetically, horses can have two copies of the “Sprint” variant, two copies of the “Endurance” variant, or one copy of each, “Sprint/Endurance.” Thoroughbreds homozygous for the Sprint variant tend to excel earlier in age, at shorter distances (8 furlongs or less) with quick bursts of speed. Horses homozygous for Endurance excel later, and at longer distances (9 furlongs or more). However, heterozygous horses won at all distances, having both quick bursts of speed  and endurance capabilities (Fig 1).

Using genome-wide association studies (GWAS), scientists can analyze equine DNA and identify specific genes associated with various health and performance traits. This research holds immense promise, pinpointing genes responsible for desirable traits like speed, temperament, gait, size, and overall health. So how can we use it to produce horses with optimized genetic profiles for racing, while minimizing risk and injury? The answer lies within our breeding programs.

Breeding & Buying Optimized With Genetics

For generations, breeders have been making selections for observed traits, such as pedigree, racing history, prior offspring performance, and conformation. Additionally, “Nicking,” the strategic crossing of certain lines with an observed affinity for one another, is another well-known method used to make breeding decisions. These techniques may be successful, as the chosen bloodlines possess underlying genetic traits that express and complement one another. Given science today, the next evolutionary step in this process is to genetically test and confirm the desired traits are present and will be passed on in the most advantageous combinations.

Inbreeding (having drastically reduced genetic diversity) poses a significant challenge within the Thoroughbred racing industry due to the closed nature of the studbook. Science shows that a 10% increase in inbreeding reduces a horse’s likelihood of successful racing by 7%. Essentially, higher genomic inbreeding correlates with poorer performance. Traditionally, we have relied on pedigree and conformation to make mating decisions. Today, using actual genetics, we can calculate accurate genomic inbreeding and work toward decreasing it. On paper, two mares (full siblings) would appear to have the same inbreeding value. In reality, they can differ greatly, and if bred to the same stallion, may produce foals with drastically higher, or lower, genomic inbreeding values.

Using myostatin again, let’s look at a stallion that, by conformation and pedigree, appears to be the perfect match for your mare. Genetically, the mare is Sprint/Endurance and the stallion is Sprint/Sprint. This would result in a foal who is 50% likely to be Sprint/Endurance and 50% likely to be Sprint/Sprint. Now, if you breed that same mare with a stallion who has, at a minimum, one copy of endurance, the foal would still have a 25% chance of being Sprint/Sprint. However, it would also have a 50% chance of being Sprint/Endurance, and a 25% likelihood of being Endurance/Endurance, giving it longer-distance capabilities.

Beyond discovering performance-related traits, genetic research plays a vital role in promoting the overall health and sustainability of the breed. Health and soundness risks, such as Recurrent Laryngeal Neuropathy (RLN), or “roaring”, Kissing Spines, and Tendinopathy are being actively developed as genetically testable variants. Some of these traits can limit a Thoroughbred's pre- or post-racing career. Other predispositions, like Chronic Idiopathic Anhidrosis (CIA), or “non-sweater,” or Fracture Risk, can be life-ending if they go undetected. 

Through the use of genetic testing and associated technologies, breeders can “Build-A-Horse” to their specifications by crossing specific sires and dams using confirmed, heritable genetics, that create that optimal foal. By making breeding decisions based on math and science, we can reduce the presence of undesirable health traits in our programs.

As more Thoroughbred owners utilize genetics, collaborating researchers will continue identifying areas of strength and vulnerability in health and performance. This knowledge empowers breeders and buyers to make informed decisions that preserve genetic diversity and ensure the long-term strength of Thoroughbred bloodlines. Given the considerable investment of both resources and effort involved in the production and training of horses destined for the track, decreasing risk and increasing financial management is paramount. Remarkably, the cost of utilizing genetic testing to ascertain a horse’s optimal race distance is less than one week's feed, and can ultimately save owners and breeders both time and money.

Navigating Ethical Considerations

As genetic research becomes increasingly integrated into the Thoroughbred racing industry, it’s wise to approach this technology with foresight instead of fear. Whilst it offers unprecedented opportunities for improvement and advancement, this research also carries the potential for unintended consequences and ethical dilemmas that must be carefully navigated. 

The topic of cloning has been hotly debated in the last decade. The first reaction appears to be to “ban” it in certain registries and competitions. Interestingly, the fears stoked by this technology have not materialized into truth for a seemingly simple reason: You can replicate the genetic code of an animal, but it’s another thing entirely to replicate the uterine environment, the training, feeding, life experiences, and competition circumstances.

Another recent concern within the industry is the concept of “gene doping” to create superhorses, which involves artificially modifying an athlete's genes to enhance their performance. For example, the myostatin gene may become the target of genome editing in horses, as it alters the amount and composition of muscle fiber types. Although there are no known foals born, to date, with genetically altered myostatin, could it happen? Maybe. Would the effect be instant in something like myostatin? No. Why? Because that’s not how it works! A live animal has a fully formed physical plan in place, especially for things such as muscle, tendons, and bone. Today’s most advanced gene therapies tend to be extremely targeted regions, take months to years to work, and are extraordinarily expensive. 

Assuming it’s possible to change the myostatin disposition of a horse, could we detect that it was manipulated? The answer, according to multiple experts, is a very strong, “maybe”. Technique and timing would matter as would the simple question of, “Could this foal’s parents have passed on this genotype?” As technology advances and provides the opportunity for a competitive edge, it’s safe to say that someone will try it. What then? The answer may just come down to numbers, like everything else on the track.

So, with all of this knowledge, can someone choose a bunch of genetic traits and create a Superhorse? Although you hear about it every day, complex genetic editing is just in its infancy. It is possible to change a gene or variant within an embryo- We’ve been doing it for decades already. So why not a Superhorse? Well…consider the following:

1. It’s not easy to insert a single correct genetic edit that results in a living animal. 

2. It takes a large number of iterations and time for that one change.

3. The process can be super expensive. Multiply this by many dollars and much more time for every additional genetic change you wish to add.

4. Once you’ve produced genetic change, now you have to wait years to see the foal perform at which point your choice of changes may no longer be the winning combination!

Although we are likely years away from this being a feasible, let alone common, issue, we need to take steps now to understand genetics and devise a reasonable path forward. Preventing the misuse of gene editing could be as simple as creating a standardized genetic testing requirement via hair sample in addition to the standard parentage verification. This initial hair sample would serve as a genetic baseline, offering a comparison for those taken at a later date when genetic modifications are suspected. 

By adhering to rigorous standards of ethical conduct, transparency, and accountability, we can harness the full potential of genetic research while safeguarding the welfare and integrity of Thoroughbred racing.

Conclusion

Genetic research and testing represent a game-changing advancement for the Thoroughbred racing industry. It is a powerful tool for enhancing the quality, health, and performance of racehorses- all of which are required to maintain the sport's integrity. As we increase our understanding of equine genetics and discover new traits applicable to the Thoroughbred, we can produce healthier, more competitive horses, while reducing the historical struggles of inbreeding and breakdown. Although we must be careful to adhere to the ethical code set forth within the industry, by utilizing genetics to build the next generation of improved thoroughbreds, we can take ownership of the technology and usher in a new era of excellence and innovation within the sport.

Sources

Hill, E. W., Stoffel, M. A., McGivney, B. A., MacHugh, D. E., & Pemberton, J. M. (2022). Inbreeding depression and the probability of racing in the Thoroughbred horse. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 289(1977). https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2022.0487.

Momozawa, Y., Takeuchi, Y., Kusunose, R., Kikusui, T., & Mori, Y. (2005). Association between equine temperament and polymorphisms in dopamine D4 receptor gene. Mammalian genome, 16, 538-544. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00335-005-0021-3

Rooney, M. F., Hill, E. W., Kelly, V. P., & Porter, R. K. (2018). The “speed gene” effect of myostatin arises in Thoroughbred horses due to a promoter proximal SINE insertion. PLoS One, 13(10). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0205664 

Tozaki, T., Ohnuma, A., Nakamura, K., Hano, K., Takasu, M., Takahashi, Y., ... & Nagata, S. I. (2022). Detection of indiscriminate genetic manipulation in Thoroughbred racehorses by targeted resequencing for gene-doping control. Genes, 13(9), 1589. https://doi.org/10.3390/genes13091589

Bloodstock Briefing - examining the sire lines which are no longer popular and asking what has caused their demise?

Article by Jordin Rosser

The first breeders of the modern-day thoroughbred had imported 197 Middle Eastern stallions to breed to their English mares in the 17th and 18th centuries, but only three of those stallions’ sire lines are present today – the Darley Arabian, Godolphin Arabian and Byerley Turk (1). Of these three foundational sire lines, the Darley Arabian has dominated the bloodstock industry, with both the Godolphin Arabian and Byerley Turk sire lines having dwindled in number. Even with the abundance of the Darley Arabian line, there are branches in this foundational sire’s line which have been lost or are endangered.

To discover why these sire lines are disappearing, we must look at the thoroughbred breed on a global stage. We have gathered pedigree analysts and breeders from Europe, United States, and Australia to examine the less popular sire lines and what factors caused their demise. Suzi Prichard-Jones (the author of Byerley, The Thoroughbred’s Ticking Time Bomb and founder of The Byerley Turk & Godolphin Arabian Conservation Project) and Alan Porter (a pedigree analyst for Pedigree Consultants LLC and co-creator of TrueNicks) are pedigree experts from Ireland/United States and United States, respectively. John Messara (the founder and owner of Arrowfield Stud in NSW, Australia), David O’Farrell (the operations manager of Ocala Stud in Florida, USA), and Kirsten Rausing (the owner and operator of Lanwades Stud in Newmarket, England) are breeders whose high profile, highly successful, stud farms are shaping the landscape of the thoroughbred breed. 

Q: Why do you believe the Godolphin Arabian and Byerley Turk sire lines have become less prevalent? 

The pedigree analyst panelists weighed in with a history of these three foundational sires, explaining how the first champion progeny sires, born in the mid-1700s, are a coordinated blend: Herod (Byerley Turk sire line – Darley Arabian mare), Matchem (Godolphin Arabian sire line – Byerley Turk mare), and Eclipse (Darley Arabian sire line – Godolphin Arabian mare). 

These champion sire lines dominated the breed utterly until the 20th century.  The beginning of the fall of the Godolphin Arabian line in America, most recognizable as the Man O’ War line, occurred around World War II when a tremendous number of horses were being imported from Europe. 

Alan Porter mentions, “at that point, European horses were just better – dirt, turf, any surface. They swept aside the North American sire lines”. Furthermore, Porter mentions “for a 36-year period (from 1939 – 1974), with the exception of 5 times, a European stallion or son of a European stallion was the leading sire in America”- giving scale to the domination of the European imports in American pedigrees. 

During this period, Northern Dancer dominated the global bloodstock due to the mixture of American pedigree and European (specifically Darley Arabian) sire lines. Suzi Prichard-Jones believes the Byerley Turk and Godolphin Arabian lines dwindled for a different reason: Temperament. The Byerley Turk horses are very intelligent and high-spirited where the Godolphin Arabian horses are tough, hardy, and determined. These characteristics, Prichard-Jones explains, require a lot of time and patience which often leads to gelding the colts, thereby ending their chance to continue the sire line. 

Q: Given the dominance of some Darley Arabian sire lines over others and the shrinking of the Godolphin Arabian and Byerley Turk sire lines, what impacts on the breed do you expect if these sire lines disappear? 

One of the pedigree analyst panelists, Suzi Prichard-Jones, spoke extensively on this topic. She theorizes the Thoroughbred breed’s success relies on the “balance” between the three foundational sire lines. Due to at least one other foundational sire line being found within the first six generations of every modern Thoroughbred, she believes the traits of the Godolphin Arabian and Byerley Turk are maintaining the breed to be “fit for purpose”. 

Prichard-Jones speculates if these two sire lines disappear, Thoroughbreds will be “fast but heartless horses” due to the spirit, temperament, toughness, and hard-headedness characteristics the two sire lines bring. However, we truly do not know what impacts the narrowing sire lines will have as there has been insufficient genetic research available to produce future breed projections. 

Q: Does the bloodstock industry place more importance on results in the sales ring or results on the racetrack – particularly involving selection of sires or predicting future success of sires? 

Many panelists agreed: most of the market will select only sires whose progeny there will be a market for. Alan Porter mentions, “other than a few very high net worth individuals, a higher proportion of breeders, particularly in the US, are breeding with the expectation of selling” – dictating the change in the bloodstock industry from mostly “breed to race” operations to breeders providing a sustainable sales model. 

The panelists concur that the market believes when selecting stallions for breeding mares, the stallion’s own results on the racetrack matter first, then the narrative changes to the sire’s progeny performance after the first few crops. 

John Messara follows this approach and states he “is more interested in athletic performance and believes results in the sales ring will follow racetrack success”. He also mentions that Japan’s current model of breeding, by breeding the high performers with other high performers, has brought significant success on the track across the globe – giving much credibility to their methodology. 

However, there are also instances of the opposite, as there are a few examples where “stallions can give progeny better than themselves”, as mentioned by Kirsten Rausing, in reference to stallions such as Danzig, who raced only 3 times in his career and is a sire of champions.  This phenomenon is rare however, as the success rate of Danzig’s progeny provide a counterpoint to the conventional wisdom.

Q: How do we attempt to preserve unpopular sire lines or prevent narrowing the genetic pool of the breed? 

Fortunately, there are a few tactics to help: global shutting of stallions and importing stallions to allow for outcrossing. Outcrossing, a practice that brings in “new blood” to the region’s bloodstock, typically crosses stallions who are progeny of successful stallions in other geographical regions and/or stallions that do not have any inbreeding within four generations with a chosen mare. 

David O’Farrell of Ocala Stud says he is “a big believer of the outcross and not afraid to breed to certain sire lines that may not be as fashionable”. Ocala Stud is known for having stallions intended for outcrossing to local mares – many of their success stories include Girvin, Kantharos and the up-and-coming Win Win Win. Similarly, Kirsten Rausing’s Lanwades Stud has had success in “offering breeders and broodmare owners something outside of the ordinary” and a stallion who will “complement the mare population of Europe” including their current stallions Study of Man and Bobby’s Kitten. 

Over the years, the industry has seen how the importing of stallions has strengthened the breed to perform well on the racetrack and in modern times, particularly in Australia and Europe, the practice of shuttling of stallions is proving to have similar results. 

Through all these discussions, some panelists mentioned a glimmer of hope for the Byerley Turk, Godolphin Arabian and endangered Darley Arabian sire lines. There are multiple examples of sire lines coming back from the brink of extinction – a few favorites from the panelists include Fappiano’s Cryptoclearance line reemerging with Candy Ride (ARG), Nasrullah’s Caro line resurging with Uncle Mo, and the most successful story: Storm Bird’s Storm Cat line with 5-time American leading general sire Into Mischief. Each of these resurgences occurred after the use of the outcross technique, leading to future successful stallions and breathing new life into their sire lines. 

Prichard-Jones, Suzi. “The Thoroughbred’s Genetic Cocktail”. Chart. Suzi Prichard-Jones: The Byerley Turk & Godolphin Arabian Conservation Project. Suzi Prichard-Jones, 2021. https://suziprichard-jones.com/the-byerley-turk-godolphin-conservation-project/, 04/01/2024.