#Soundbites - How much do you rely on veterinarians’ input for day-to-day decisions?

By Bill Heller


Mark Hennig

I wouldn’t say I rely on them on a day-to-day basis. We evaluate horses after a workout. But day to day, there seems to be a horse we want to look at. If a rider has any kind of negative comment, we make a point of going over those horses at the end of the morning. And we also go over the previous day's workers. We do have vets if there is a soundness issue or a horse needs scoping.

Tim Hills

I’m married to a vet, Laine, so I very much respect their opinions. I’m not old-school. They only get a vet when the horse is near death. 

Ron Moquett

Very little after what I’ve seen over the years. When I first started, the vets and blacksmiths weren’t allowed on the track until after the break. I use them for preventive stuff, taking care of the joints, because we’re asking these horses to do strenuous things. Other than that, I don’t rely on them at all.

Bret Calhoun

We use them when things get beyond our control—things like X-rays, ultrasound, scoping, things like that. Obviously we depend on them quite a bit for that. As far as day to day, we know our horses better than them. We see them every day. When there’s a change in them, obviously I bring them [vets] in for consultation. We use them for routine stuff like Lasix medications. Other than that, we don’t use them that much.

Mike Maker

Basically, we use a veterinarian as far as illness and lameness, and that’s about it.

Cliff Sise Jr.

I go over the horses myself pretty good. But sometimes a veterinarian’s suggestions are good, too. We have to rely on them in California. They check them for workouts; they check them for races. So we rely on a good vet.

Mark Glatt 

How much do I rely on them? Because of the rules now, the veterinarians are heavily involved. Most of these horses are checked twice a week.  

Eoin Harty

It all depends. You might go through a period where you only have a vet come to scope or vaccinate a horse. Then you go through a rash of bad luck, and you might have a veterinarian come for seven, eight days in a row. But the more experience you have, the less you rely on veterinarians. You see so much over the years. You can’t buy that education.


#Soundbites - Are there adequate protocols and security on the backstretch to prevent outsiders from tampering with horses? If not, what would you suggest?

Ralph Nicks

RalphNicks.jpg

The answer is yes. The tracks have fences around all the way—all the tracks I’ve ever been at.

Tom Amoss

I believe that because of the changing environment and the stigma of getting a positive test, more needs to be done—not only increased penalties. Getting to a horse on the backstretch is very easy to do. Ninety-nine percent of the people back there would never bother a horse. What about the other one percent?

Charlie Baker

Charlie Baker with Joking.jpg

At Belmont and Aqueduct, we’ve got enough protocol coming into the track. Every now and then, someone can slip through the cracks. There’s no foolproof security. If someone is totally intent on doing something, if they want to come over the fence, they can. If they are intent on doing it, they will. At Saratoga, there’s parking on the backside, and it’s more wide open. Most of the people are fans, but it’s wide open. You have to make sure someone is around.

SimonCallaghan .jpg

Simon Callaghan

I think there is. Tracks are different. At Santa Anita, security is tight. We’ve got a night watchman. I have people at my barn 24/7. We’ve been doing that for quite a while. It’s very important to have someone there at night. We want to make sure that there are no problems.

Kathleen O’Connell 

I think on the backside at Gulfstream Park, people are very protective. I think we have a good network including workers in the barn. Multiple times, security makes sure badges are worn. I don’t see any strangers on the backstretch, especially the last couple years. We don’t have owners coming in and out since the whole COVID thing started.

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#Coronavirus Soundbites

By Bill Heller

We asked trainers how they are handling the coronavirus pandemic and what advice they have for getting through this ordeal

Todd Pletcher

We had to close down our Belmont division. There were workers with symptoms. They went to the clinic and were quarantined. More than anything, it was making it difficult to have a safe workplace. At that time, we thought there wasn’t going to be racing in New York for a while. We had 20 horses at Belmont. That normally would be the time we’d be sending horses to Belmont. We had to put that on hold.

We left it up to owners to decide what to do with their horses. Some went to their farms; a couple went to Fair Hill; some went to Ocala and some went to Palm Beach Downs. We did not move any workers [but] have about 100 horses at Palm Beach, a small string at Gulfstream Park [and] four at Oaklawn scheduled to run. We’ve been fortunate with Gulfstream being able to run. We’ve been able to keep some schedules. It’s juggling a lot of schedules. It’s trying times for everyone. We want to make sure to keep our horses and our employees healthy.

Current practices at Palm Beach?

We’re just going by the recommendations as to what the government is saying. Masks are optional. Some are wearing them; most are not. At Gulfstream, we’re just trying to use common sense, keep people from congregating, keep six feet apart. The one thing we are learning is that social distancing is working. We try to keep that policy in mind.

Planning ahead?

That’s something I have to work around. I’m a target-oriented trainer. I like pointing to specific spots. At Aqueduct, the condition book is in the garbage—Keeneland, too. These are unique times. You have to adjust on a daily basis. Everyone’s in the same boat. Everyone’s facing several challenges.

Suggestions?

Use common sense. Take care of your horses and your staff. In time, we’ll return to normalcy. Try to remain positive.

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Eoin Harty

It’s been no harder for me than everybody else. You worry about your family, in California and Europe. Every day you wake up, that’s the first thing on your mind. With horses, you have to take care of them every day. It would be a lot worse for me if we were home 24-7.

Eoin Harty

Precautions?

You can feel that tension in the air. I check every person in the barn; nobody’s coughing. Everyone is wearing gloves and masks—masks for sure around the barn. You don’t have to ask people twice.

Racing?

There’s been a lot of speculation about Santa Anita using Los Alamitos. I don’t know if it’s viable. I think we could be racing at Santa Anita again. The best case scenario is racing at the end of the month or in May. We haven’t had a single case on the racetrack. There hasn’t been a single one. That’s a good thing.

Personally?

I keep six feet away—don’t touch anything.

Suggestions?

Do what you have to do to protect yourself and your family. Right now, it’s common sense. Look out for your friends. Racing will take care of itself.

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Graham Motion

Graham Motion

My family is all home. My wife is trying to run the business from home. As far as the barn, we’re taking a lot of precautions. We have one person disinfecting everything first thing in the morning and last thing in the evening. He takes everybody’s temperature when they come in the morning. We’re trying to have employees not group up in the tack room. After a week or two, you have to remind them.

Six feet away?

We try to. It’s not totally realistic. You have to give a leg up. Most of the time with gloves. We try to do the best we can.

We’re going to try to get everybody to wear masks. We tried to order some. We have 100 employees all told at all the locations: Fair Hill, Palm Meadows. Normally, we would have pulled out from Palm Meadows for Keeneland, but now we’re staying at Palm Meadows.

Normally I train down there while my son, Chappy, goes to spring break. We got from Fair Hill to North Carolina. We planned to overnight in North Carolina. Once we got there, things were getting bad. We spent two nights in North Carolina, and we decided we’d rather be in Maryland. We went back to Fair Hill. It kind of reminded me of 9-11.

Advice for horsemen?

I think in general, the horsemen are lucky. We get to keep on doing what we do. The horses have to get out of their stalls. I think the unsettling part is not knowing when we’ll race again. We worry about our owners who are paying training fees every day. I’m worried about them. We have 60 horses at Fair Hill and 20 at Palm Meadows. I just brought in a few two-year-olds.

When new people come in, they stay away for two weeks. We’re trying to follow the guidelines.

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Tom Proctor

 I’m in a little better shape than most. Other than Gulfstream and Tampa Bay, I have horses at Oaklawn, and the rest are at Glen Hill Farm south of Ocala. Most of my horses are gathered up at Ocala. We probably got 25 in Ocala and a dozen are at Tampa Bay. I’m spending most of my time in Ocala.

Precautions?

We did have horses at the Fair Grounds. We kept those people from Fair Grounds separate for two weeks. We did get out of New Orleans pretty early—about the middle of March. 

Tom Proctor

In Ocala, gloves and masks?

Most of our people don’t leave the farm. We’re not really wearing masks. We’re washing our hands. The zip code we’re in hasn’t had a single case.

When you go to the track, do you take precautions?

I’ve stayed away from people—social distancing when I can. For a trainer, it’s easier than most. I check on the horses when nobody else is around.

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Tom Amoss

(Tom Amoss was exposed to the virus by being with New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton, who contracted the virus, at the Fair Grounds. Amoss self-quarantined for two weeks while continuing to work from home for TVG.)

Did you have the virus?

 I never really found out. When it happened, it wasn’t easy to test. I stayed at home for two weeks. Now I’m going to work every day. They really don’t want us up and around in New Orleans. I’m here at my barn every morning from 6-10. My routine is the same.

Protocols at Fair Grounds?

 That’s an evolving thing. Our temperature is taken when we come into the track. We’re not allowed in the buildings. Social distancing is a requirement. Fifty percent of the people on the backstretch are wearing masks. We’ve had zero issues in my barn, and none in other barns as well. There’s a reason for that. My help lives on the racetrack. They’re self-contained. There’s a grocery on the backstretch—Canseco’s. We’re the opposite of how New Orleans is doing. We have nothing bad in our barn. I haven’t heard of one case.

Suggestions for other horsemen?

It’s a tough question. Look, there’s a difference between our horses and the horses in California. Our horses are allowed to ship to Oaklawn. No people are shipped. I’ve got a barn up there. I’m blessed in the fact that I already have people there.

Stables?

Ever-changing. There are a lot of horses I have who race on grass. They have been sold or turned out. Other horses who don’t fit the condition and book at Oaklawn have been sold or turned out. We’ve down-sized about 20 percent.

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Linda Rice

Linda RIce

Handling this?

We’re doing very well. We’re being very careful on Long Island. We know New York City has a lot of cases. We’ve been using masks, gloves and social distancing. We’ve been doing that for three weeks now. We have a regular training schedule at Belmont. It’s good to have a routine. We’re happy to go to work every day. A lot of people are stuck at home. They can’t work. We can.

Response so far?

The help is doing great. Everyone is concerned. We watch the news. It scares the hell out of you. But it’s the old adage: the outside of a horse is good for the inside of a man, or a woman.

What’s going on with racing in New York?

Aqueduct, obviously, is being used as a hospital. I think everyone here is under the impression that we’ll be racing at Belmont. It’s just a matter of when. We’re looking at June 1st. If it’s sooner than that, great.

Outlook?

The entire world is dealing with this. If there is small business assistance, that’s great if it can get processed. Unemployment for those out of work will help. We’re making sure of helping everyone on the backstretch who needs it. We’re making sure our horses and our people are safe.

#Soundbites - Would creating a uniform standard for drug testing horses be good or bad?

By Bill Heller

The Horse Racing Integrity Act currently before the U.S. Congress would create a uniform standard for drug testing horses that would be overseen by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. Would that be good or bad?

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Ralph Nicks

It would probably be good. It would level the playing field. We need standard medication rules.

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Rick Schosberg

The jury’s out. I think uniform medication rules are a good thing. Whether it’s the government’s job to do, I’m not sold on that. A lot of people have been working very hard in the industry to get all the jurisdictions on the same page without government intervention. But absolutely it’s important that it gets done. 

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Eoin Harty

I think it would be good. Anything that’s going to enhance the public perception of our industry would be good. I believe this is a step in the right direction. I think it’s very important to enhance confidence in our industry. I think it’s at an all-time low. Anything that would improve that is a good thing.

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Norm Casse

I’m all for uniform rules, but I’m not in favor of the government being involved. It doesn’t seem like it ever works. I think we’re an industry that should be able to regulate ourselves rather than have someone else do it.

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Tom Proctor

When is the government getting involved ever a good thing?

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Ian Wilkes

Bad. I don’t think we need Congress getting involved in our sport. I think our testing is very sophisticated now anyway. I think it’s quite good. Yes, we need uniform rules, but we don’t need Congress involved.

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Jim Bond

It would be bad, though the way it is now is chaos. It’s sad. Ninety-nine percent of the people in our business are good people. You can have all the rules in the world, but they don’t punish the people that have overstepped boundaries hard enough. Not 60 days or 90 days. Make it real. Put some teeth into it. But getting the government involved would not be good. It never seems to work.

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Tim Hills 

If it’s properly instituted, I think it would be good; but horsemen must be included on how it would be set up and how it would be implemented. The horsemen have to have a seat at the table. They would have to be included in setting guidelines. We must be included in how it’s written up. 

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Chris Englehart

I guess it all depends on what the rules were. You’re talking about uniform rules. That would be fine, unless the rules included banning Lasix. I wouldn’t be in support of that. Where would we race our bleeders? I think it would be a good thing to have uniform testing. In a lot of ways, it would be great.


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Relative Values - Edward & Eoin Harty

With 5 generations of horsemen behind them, it was inescapable that the Harty brothers' lives would also revolve around racing. Edward trains in Ireland close to his father, Grand National winning jockey Eddie Harty; Eoin is in the US. But their shared passion keeps their familial bond strong.

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