Sid Fernando - Racing's Rich Tapestry
Plot: An ambitious two-pronged plan is hatched by some guys in Hong Kong, to take a local horse from Sha Tin Racecourse to the United States with the aim of winning the Breeders’ Cup Sprint on dirt in early November. First, though, they'll prep in a Grade 1 race on dirt at Santa Anita in California in early October as a practice run for the main event.
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Christophe Clement - The Belmont Stakes winning trainer profile
Frances Karon visits Christophe Clement and learns all about the foundations he developed in racing from such a young age starting from his french roots to his arrival in America. The successful trainer of Tonalist talks about his life on both sides of the pond and how he ended up at Belmont Park
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THIS ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED IN - NORTH AMERICAN TRAINER - ISSUE 33
Sid Fernando - The Lasix anomaly
Sid Fernando talks about how Wesley Ward's successful raids on the elite European race meetings goes in some way to dispel the myth that Lasix is a performance enhancer. Time after time Ward sends out winners in Europe at meetings such as Royal Ascot but with Lasix being a banned substance it shows that maybe there is too much faith put into the drug in America.
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Ron McAnally - Still pumping out Gr1 winners
Described as the poster boy for the geriatric set and like a fine wine we meet Ron McAnally, the trainer that will never give up. Ron McAnally has just celebrated his 82yrs old and still churning out Gr 1 winners and here we find out about how it all began in 1948 working as a groom, lifelong long friends and owners.
“Like fine wine…” flowed the words from emcee Ted Bassett at the annual Eclipse Awards Dinner to announce that John Henry had been named 1984 Horse of the Year at the advanced age of 9. The same words today could describe octogenarian Ron McAnally, John Henry’s Hall of Fame trainer and poster boy for the geriatric set. McAnally, who celebrated his 82nd birthday on July 11, ages gracefully while continuing to pump out Grade 1 stakes winners. Seated at a Clocker’s Corner table one morning in June near the end of the extended Santa Anita Park meet and looking forward to Del Mar, McAnally made only a few minor concessions to Father Time while continuing his lifelong love affair with his job.
“As long as I’m alive, that’s all I know how to do,” said the soft-spoken trainer of the regimen that keeps him young: showing up at the track early every morning seven days a week. “I don’t play golf, tennis, or cards.” McAnally admitted that he does not move as smoothly as he did when he was 41, largely the result of partial knee replacement surgery in 2012, but the anticipation of his next stakes win keeps a bounce in his step and a glint in his eye. “Dan Landers, my assistant since 1995, has been my right arm, especially since the knee surgery,” said McAnally, who conditions 15 horses at Santa Anita and another four at Pomona with Jose Miranda, an employee for 42 years. Landers walked by and alerted McAnally to the arrival of Miss Serendipity on the track. The 6-year-old Argentine-bred mare had given McAnally his most recent Grade 1 score with a 13-to-1 upset in the $300,000 Gamely Stakes on the Santa Anita turf on May 26. McAnally has not lost his touch with South American imports, who gave him a series of earlier career highlights and have provided most of his success the past two years.
In addition to Miss Serendipity, the McAnally stable also boasts Quick Casablanca, a 6-year-old Chilean-bred horse which two days before the Gamely missed winning the Grade 1 Charles Whittingham Stakes on grass by two necks in a three-way photo. In 2013, McAnally won the Grade 1 Frank Kilroe Mile with Suggestive Boy, a 6-year-old Argentine-bred who remains in training, and the Grade II San Juan Capistrano Stakes with Interaction, another Argentine-bred who was retired to stud in his native land. McAnally said the secret to Miss Serendipity was the same as most of the two dozen other South American imports he has turned into graded stakes winners: patience. “Miss Serendipity took longer than most,” explained McAnally of the mare who arrived last summer at Del Mar but did not make her U.S. debut until January at Santa Anita. “She had a skin rash that we used medicated shampoo on to clear up.”
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THIS ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED IN - NORTH AMERICAN TRAINER - ISSUE 33
Author: Steve Schuelein
Alan Balch - Insoluble Problems?
Alan Balch looks into the hope that every cloud currently hanging over California racing has the silver lining every race follower is praying for. With more racetracks closing and trainers unable to make a living the long term future of California racing is looking doubtful.
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THIS ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED IN - NORTH AMERICAN TRAINER - ISSUE 33
The TRM Trainer of the Quarter - King Leatherbury
TRM Trainer of the Quarter is awarded to King Leatherbury, the Maryland based trainer who is hoping that his stable star Ben's Cat may just provide him with the item on his wish list he has yet failed to obtain, a Cadillac convertible.
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THIS ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED IN - NORTH AMERICAN TRAINER - ISSUE 33
Veterinary research - the funding conundrum
The Thoroughbred Racing Industry is experiencing greater scrutiny than it ever has in its long and distinguished history, with the amplitude of debate and criticism from opponents of the sport on the basis of ethics and welfare reaching an unparalleled decibel.
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THIS ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED IN - NORTH AMERICAN TRAINER - ISSUE 33
Grade 1 winning owner profiles - April / May / June 2014
Profiles on Grade 1 winning owners between April and June 2014.
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THIS ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED IN - NORTH AMERICAN TRAINER - ISSUE 33
Succulents and treats for the horses - secret weapons or folklore?
Training racehorses could be described as being the epitome of art and science coming together. Whilst the latest research and recommendations are important where racehorse nutrition is concerned, there has always been a strong belief in tradition and folklore in the racing community.
Is there a place for medication in racing?
The single biggest area of debate currently in the Thoroughbred racing industry is the issue of racehorse medication. Medication is often characterized by the media and by people within and outside the industry as a black and white issue where one side of the argument is framed in terms of “hay, oats and water,” and anything else is considered permissive medication.
New research into the treatment of tendon and ligament damage in the Thoroughbred
Around 35% of the veterinary research and education budget is spent on projects to understand musculoskeletal disorders, improve their treatment, and prevent and minimize injury to racehorses.
Does racing do enough to help its backstretch workers?
Is the racing industry doing enough to support the key members of staff on the backstretch, we look into the people and associations that are working hard to provide better facilities for these invaluable racecourse workers.
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Treating outbreaks of flu in vaccinated horses
The devastating flu outbreak that rampaged through the Australian horse population in 2007 was an important wake-up call reminding us that equine influenza virus is an ever-present threat.
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Mike Maker - the leading Kentucky based trainer in profile
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THIS ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED IN - NORTH AMERICAN TRAINER - ISSUE 33
Alan Balch - Shooting the messengers?
Are we shooting messengers?
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THIS ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED IN - NORTH AMERICAN TRAINER - ISSUE 33
TRM Trainer of the Quarter - Art Sherman
Art Sherman went to the 1955 Kentucky Derby as the groom of Swaps. Forty nine years later he returns to Churchill Downs as the Trainer of California Chrome. The impressive winner of the Santa Anita Derby. For the Triple Crown season, he's our TRM Trainer of the Quarter.
CTT Trainer Profile - Richard Baltas
The trainer who turned Big Macher into a stakes performer!
The trainer who turned Big Macher into a stakes performer
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THIS ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED IN - NORTH AMERICAN TRAINER - ISSUE 32
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Author: Steve Schuelein
Sid Fernando - Dishing out the dirt
Read Sid Fernando's excellent column on how race tracks across North America are shedding the All Weather tracks and returning to Dirt surfaces. But just why would they want to do this?
Equi-N-Ice - cold compression treatment
Equi-N-Ice is an innovative, clinically proven and effective cold compression treatment for horses. Equi-N-Ice works by drawing heat out as opposed to other products that work by trying to drive cold in, such as ice packs. With Equi-N-Ice, there is no refrigeration, no mess, no mixing and no unpleasant smell. It is specially designed to conform to all the competition rules set by the FEI and all equestrian governing bodies.
Equi-N-Ice comes in a convenient reusable bandage, which is impregnated with a special cooling fluid which treats the area by rapid evaporation once applied. Cold compression is well documented as the most effective way of treating inflammation, swelling and bruising of muscles, tendons and ligaments; with Equi-N-Ice, the skin is as much as 15 degrees cooler once the bandage has been removed.
The bandage has it’s own natural elasticity, providing support and comes in a handy pack that can be resealed easily and quickly, so is an essential part of your first aid bag, whether at the barn or on the road.
Once washed, it’s so easy to re-apply the special non-irritant coolant to make the bandage damp again, and ready to store until needed again. The coolant is supplied in a handy plastic spray bottle, making it easy to re-apply without taking off the bandage.
To compliment the Equi-N-Ice bandage is The Rapid Cooler Rug, which is a quick and efficient, ideal for pre and post race, after exercise, while traveling and in all hot climates. The Rapid Cooler Rug is made from Coolmax® fabric, known for its ‘cool’ properties in reducing skin temperatures in human athletes, drawing the heat and sweat away and provides hours of cooling.
For more information visit www.equisportsint.com
or contact Joanne Louder tel: 912 281 3590