Arnold Kirkpatrick Column - A True American Hero

Unlike most people of my vintage, I consider memory loss to be one of the benefits of the aging process. Unfortunately, though, my memory just isn’t going fast enough for someone who loves the Thoroughbred game and cares about the future of racing the way I do. For instance, the recent announcements that The Jockey Club has hired the international consulting firm McKinsey & Company – undoubtedly at enormous expense – to generate “a comprehensive study of the current state of Thoroughbred racing and the potential for growth of breeding and racing in North America” over the next decade is a laudatory endeavor at the very least. The problem is that damned memory thing.

By Arnold Kirkpatrick

First Published (25 July 2011 - Issue Number: Issue 20)

After the Run for the Roses, what comes next?

Every trainer in North America tries to get their three- year-olds to peak on the first Saturday of May. Then

what? What happens to the Kentucky Derby alumni after that grueling mile-and-a-quarter Classic?

By Bill Heller

First Published (20 April 2011 - Issue Number: Issue 20)

Is it time to change the way stakes are scheduled?

Graded stakes scheduling across the country has become farcical in recent years, says Sid Fernando, with too many races for the same types of horses clustered together to make them meaningful events in their own right, on many levels.

By Sid Fernando

First Published (20 April 2011 - Issue Number: Issue 20)

FAIR HILL - A training center success story

The 300-acre, 17 barn, two-track training facility has had its ups and downs during its 28-year history, but it is now regarded as one of the country’s most thriving Thoroughbred establishments. And that’s down to the people who have worked there for many years.

By Joe Clancey

First Published (20 April 2011 - Issue Number: ISSUE 20)

Sports nutrition - Horses and humans - What parallels can we draw?

Nutrition significantly influences athletic performance – at least this is what a recent international olympic Committee (ioC) statement on human sports nutrition has stated. they have also advised that all athletes should adopt specific nutritional strategies before, during, and after training and competition to maximize both their mental and physical performance and recovery. this may not seem earth shattering, but perhaps the significance is that nutrition is held in such high regard as a factor that helps athletes attain optimum exercise performance. Within horseracing, we have tended to regard nutrition as being ‘the icing on the cake’ and perhaps not fundamental to performance. So are there any pointers that we can draw from the approach to sports nutrition in human athletes?

By Catherine Dunnett Bsc, Phd

First Published (20 April 2011 - Issue 20)

Building on the night racing brand

Some people would say the Marx Brothers had it right when they called it A Day at the Races and left evening entertainment to A Night at the Opera.However, a lot has changed in our beloved sport in 70 years, and while racing lends itself to appreciating athletic activity in the sunny outdoors, nowadays working people make up the core racing audience of the 21st century.

By K.T. Donovan


First Published (20 April 2011 - Issue Number: Issue 20)

The French Model - Keeping ahead of the racing game

“The best system in the world” has been one of the many compliments used to describe the success of the French model by professionals and enthusiasts across the globe in recent times.

By Isabel Mathew


First Published (20 April 2011 - Issue Number: Issue 20)

The Whip Debate

Whipping offenses are arguably the most controversial part of horseracing when it comes to opinion of a non-racing public, to whom hitting a racehorse is strictly a punishment and a cruelty as opposed to a safety tool or a reminder to keep a horse’s mind on task. At North American Trainer, we were interested in how this topic is viewed across some of the major racing countries and compiled thoughts from writers based in Australia, the United States, and Europe.

By Mitchell Lamb, Gary West, Colin Mackenzie

First Published (20 April 2011 - Issue 20)

Is it all in the genes? A trainer's knowledge of a horse’s genetics might influence its training program

Is knowledge of the basic genetic make-up of a yearling the future? Genetic tests might be used to make decisions about which sire and dam to breed together. Once born, a genetic test may decide which foals should be sent to the sales and which to keep and race. As a trainer knowledge of a horse’s genetics might influence its training program and the direction of its racing career. Until recently, such genetic tests have not been available, but now this area of technology is changing fast.

By Dr David Marlin

First Published (20 April 2011 - Issue 20)

Piroplasmosis: Is the tick the most feared insect in horse racing?

Stacey Oke, DVM, MSc discusses why a tiny, blood- loving, parasitic protozoan is making such a huge impact

on horses and the racing industry.

By Stacey Oke, DVM, MSc

First Published (20 April 2011 - Issue 20)

TRM Trainer of the Quarter - Jeff Bonde

The TRM Trainer of the Quarter award has been won by Jeff Bonde. Bonde and his team will receive a selection of products from the internationally-acclaimed range of TRM supplements, as well as a bottle of fine Irish whiskey.
By Bill Heller

First Published (20 April 2011 - Issue Number: Issue 20)

Popular “Mr. Cho” enjoys big results from his small stable

Aplethora of thoughts and emotions will flood trainer-owner-breeder Myung Kwon Cho when he watches the Kentucky Derby from his California home on television this year. Cho will remember the excitement of his first two trips to the Run for the Roses with a pair of longshots. He will agonize briefly over what might have been with Premier Pegasus, a homebred colt who was considered a leading contender before being sidelined with an injury a month before the race.
By Steve Schuelein

First Published
 (20 April 2011 - Issue Number: 20)

The Arnold Kirkpatrick Column - History Lesson

UNLIKE most people of my vintage, I consider memory loss to be one of the benefits of the aging process.  Unfortunately, though, my memory just isn’t going fast enough for someone who loves the Thoroughbred game and cares about the future of racing the way I do.
By Arnold Kirkpatrick

First Published (20 April 2011 - Issue Number: Issue 20)

Leading racehorse trainer Graham Motion in profile

His parents were heavily involved in racing and it rubbed off on their son, who started training in 1993and 11 years later won his first Breeders’ Cup event with Better Talk Now in the Turf. That win threw the mild-mannered Englishman into the limelight and he hasn’t looked back.

By Frances J. Karon

First Published (20 April 2011 - Issue Number: Issue 20)