Kentucky Oaks 2025 Owners - John Ed Anthony (Shortleaf Stables) with Quietside

John Ed Anthony’s lasting legacies in the timber industry and horse racing in Arkansas are forever linked by the names he chose for his stables, Loblolly and Shortleaf: “They’re both pine trees. The loblolly is a larger tree, and the shortleaf is a higher quality and more dense tree. I’ve been running sawmills all my life.”

His family’s business, Anthony Timberlands, was started by Anthony’s grandfather Garland, when he took ownership of the tiny Harlow Sawmill, in 1907. Seven generations later, Anthony Timberlands still prospers: “There were 19 mills in south Arkansas when I came home from college (University of Arkansas) when my dad died in 1961. Now ours is the only remaining privately-owned timber company. My son, Stephen, is president. My second son is Anthony, and he is the pedigree expert.”

At the age of 86, he is the all-time leading owner at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, and when Quietside annexed the $750,000 Gr. 2 Fantasy Stakes on March 29th, he also became the all-time leading stakes winning owner with 40: “They gave me a sign to hold. I just passed John Franks’ record, which I didn’t know… They kept up on those things. I bought {my first horse] a horse in the fall of 1971. My first win was in 1972. I’ve been in the business for 54 years. I guess after so long, you’ve kind of seen it all. Lots of things have changed.”

He's known victory and tragedy on the racetrack. When asked why he enjoys horses as much as he does, Antony laughed and said “first of all, it’s a challenging endeavor. I kind of go back to what Napoleon said in his comeback mode: `If you set out to capture Vienna, take Vienna.’ With the Arkansas Derby, okay? Here we go.’”

He's won three Arkansas Derbies with Temperance Hill (1980), Demons Begone (1987) and Pine Bluff (1992).

“It’s the challenge of the horses,” Anthony continues. “This is the only sport out there when you lose four out of five, you’re doing great. I had to train myself many years ago. As much as I enjoy winning and running well, I had to decide I’m not going to let a horse race ruin my day.”

Demons Begone and Prairie Bayou tested that. Demons Begone went off the 2-1 favorite in the 1987 Kentucky Derby when he bled profusely during the race. “We have the distinction of running the horse that didn’t even finish the race,” Anthony said.

But at least he survived. Prairie Bayou, named for a bayou between Little Rock and Hot Springs, won the Gr. 1 1993 Blue Grass Stakes and went off the favorite in the Kentucky Derby. He was too far back early, but rallied to finish second to Sea Hero. He bounced back to win the Preakness Stakes, a year after Pine Bluff won the race. But Prairie Bayou broke down during the Belmont Stakes and had to be euthanized.

Temperence Hill, Vanlandingham and Prairie Bayou were Loblolly champions. Temperence Hill, who won the Belmont Stakes and Travers Stakes, was the Eclipse Champion Three-Year-Old Male in 1980; Vanlandingham, the Champion Older Male in 1985 and Prairie Bayou the Champion Three-Year-Old Colt in 1993.

Much earlier in his owner career, Anthony and his former wife, Mary Lynn Dudley, had great success with Cox’s Ridge. “One of the biggest problems was finding people who love to race in New York,” Anthony said. “No one wanted to go to Hot Springs, That’s changed in recent years.”

Cox’s Ridge won 16 of his 28 starts, capturing the 1978 Razorback Handicap, Excelsior Handicap, Oaklawn Handicap and the Metropolitan Handicap. The following year he won the Tom Fool Handicap.

Cox’s Ridge was a phenomenal sire, the father of seven millionaires: two-time Champion Life’s Magic, who won more than $2.5 million; Little Missouri, the sire of Prairie Bayou; Vanlandingham, Cardemania, De Roche, Lost Mountain and Sultry Song. Anthony raced Little Missouri, De Roche and Lost Mountain.

Loblolly Stable and its famed chocolate brown and yellow silks ranked fourth nationally in earnings in 1993 off 50 victories from just 204 starts, but soon afterwards, Loblolly was disbanded when Anthony and his wife divorced. “We had to have a dispersal in 1993,” Anthony said. “She finally wanted out. So we decided to start over.”

Shortleaf Stable was born and then reorganized in 2010 with the assistance of Anthony’s son, Ed, a pedigree and bloodstock analyst.

Trainers Joe Cantey and Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey were key to Loblolly’s success. “I’ve never liked to have horses with the big-name trainers,” Anthony said. “They have horses in so many places. They’re not the trainer. They’re managing. We focus on bright, shiny new trainers like Lindsay Schultz and Johnny Ortiz.

Ortiz has done an outstanding job with Quietside, and now Anthony and a lot of his family are headed to Churchill Downs, where they’ve never won a Kentucky Derby or Kentucky Oaks: “I spent the morning speaking with people at Churchill Downs about how many seats we could have for the Kentucky Oaks. It’s a lot of fun, but there’s an awful lot of us. We have a big family. Churchill is super in supporting us to make it as easy as possible. We’ve been in seven Derbies. The best place to see the Kentucky Derby is on television, but they built new suites since I was last there. Churchill puts on a really good show nowadays. I enjoy going back. A lot has changed in racing in my life for sure.”

Transitions - tips for training on synthetic and racing on dirt

“He not busy being born is busy dying,” to borrow from a Bob Dylan song. It has application to Thoroughbred horse racing. 

Oh, there’s been dying—Arlington Park, Calder, Hialeah, Hollywood Park, Suffolk Downs and Golden Gate Fields to name but a few major tracks that have passed since the turn of the century.

But there’s rebirth, too. (The lyric above is from a song ironically entitled,  “It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding).”

The “bleeding” in racing, if not minimized, is way less than in the past. In its relative infancy HISA, the self-regulatory agency, has significantly impacted the use of illegal medication; racetrack fatalities are at a record low thanks to better track maintenance (along with med regulation); and still to be rebirthed in 2026 is a new Belmont Park. 

For traditionalists, that pesky synthetic surface is still around. If there hasn’t been a rebirth with synthetic surfaces, it is at least on its proverbial feet in horse racing despite Del Mar, Keeneland, and Santa Anita laying then lifting it to return to dirt.

 Belmont Park will include it with their dirt and turf courses with something vitally important: an infield tunnel enabling horses to reach all three surfaces with no interruption for horses crossing one track to get to another. 

Training on synthetic surfaces for dirt racing is standard practice for many trainers and inherently practical. One, it’s all-weather—impervious, precipitation-wise, to everything short of a monsoon. Two, with the exception of freezes, it is now “all-climate.” No longer is it “tight” during morning workouts in colder temperatures and loose and sticky in hot weather.  

Three, and maybe most critically, trainers have learned how to train on it for dirt races. 

 “Horses just skip across it,” said trainer Mark Casse, a proponent of synthetic surfaces. In fact, the ease with which they travel over it requires an adjustment from normal training on dirt. “When you train on dirt, the horses run in it. It's a solid where there is no rebound effect from the dirt. On the synthetic it actually bounces back a little bit.”  

Richard Budge, a former racetrack trainer on four continents who is now general manager at Margaux Farm, a training center in Midway Kentucky, elaborated on Casse’s observation. “Without the ‘bounce’ on synthetics a horse on a dirt surface feels impact straight up to their knees and shoulders, which tires them and adds bone stress.”

“You have to train them a little harder, a little quicker, more often, in my opinion,” he added.

Casse expressed it thusly: “When things take less effort, then you have to do more than get them right, get them fitter.”

Even with a more stringent training regimen on synthetics as opposed to dirt, there are benefits beyond fitness. Trainer Eoin Harty, a self-described fan of synthetic surfaces, points out the obvious: “If your horse is sounder longer, it runs more often, it has a lengthier career. 

“I think in general, dirt tracks certainly seem to have gotten better over the last four or five years, but in general, they take a toll on them.”

The bottom line is the synthetic surfaces of ten years ago are not what horses are training and running on now. Specifically, manufacturers of synthetic surfaces tweaked the composition of elements, reducing the slide that occurs when front hooves strike the racetrack surface. 

The reduction is much less than in the past and much less than what happens on a dirt track. This is why a term often heard is horses run “over it.” Front hooves essentially don’t penetrate deeply into a synthetic surface like they would on dirt. 

Also the surface needs minimal maintenance, far less than the frequent and necessary harrowing of dirt. It’s a flat base that doesn’t wash down toward the rail. There’s also minimal kickback so that track basically stays in place as opposed to dirt literally dug up and thrown back during races, producing a surface that is “cuppy” with divots. 

The benefits with maintenance are immense and economical for trainers.  “[On dirt] there's a break at six-thirty. There's a break at seven forty-five. And there's another break at eight-thirty,” said Harty. That’s an hour and a half of your daily training schedule that's lost.  

“You're forced to hire more help just in order to get your horses out. It makes things more expensive, whereas, if you're at Turfway Park and you've got thirty horses, you can pretty much get them out to exercise in two hours with two exercise riders.”

Mark Casse, who is Florida-based, offers a more extreme example of low maintenance required with synthetics. “In one day, with two year old sales--working at seven o'clock in the morning and breezing two-hundred horses into the middle of the afternoon--you won't see a whole lot of track change.

“That would never be the case in Florida on dirt. You'd have to be putting so much water on it, we'd be having breaks every forty-five minutes. “

Perhaps not surprisingly, most horses like synthetic surfaces, according to Mark Casse. It would stand to reason both for the feel of it as they run and also familiarity. They all grew up running on grass, Casse said. Synthetic surfaces are the closest approximation to it.  

“I would say that probably seventy-five or eighty percent of horses will move well over turf. You hardly find a horse that doesn't move better over the turf. I would say about the same number on synthetic, maybe eighty or ninety percent of horses will run on and like synthetics.” He estimated that probably only thirty to thirty-five percent of horses actually like running on dirt.

Richard Budge said the preference with most horses is immediately evident watching a horse travel over synthetic and how it differs from dirt. “You can tell the way that they move over the surface. Horses really spring over it.”

Budge, Casse, and Harty would tell you that while there are expectations in training, they should be confined to horse health. A horse race is still a horse race where anything can happen. The one hedge or angle that might possibly be a first timer to a dirt race who has trained on synthetics or better, raced over it before running on dirt. 

“On the synthetic side, there's not a whole lot of kickback. There's a little bit, but it seems to settle right back where it came from. On a dirt track, of course, you’re going over it at thirty-five or forty miles an hour. When a horse puts his hooves down and pushes off, there’s a clod of dirt that was under his hoof that is now twenty feet behind them,” said Harty.

“With all that sand kicked in their face it's overwhelming for a lot of horses, and they just don't like it,” he added. “With synthetic, any kick back kind of bounces off and it’s not really much of a bother. Horses can sit mid-pack or at the back before making a stretch run.

“Look at the spread from first to last in a synthetic race compared to a dirt race. In dirt racing it can be up to thirty lengths, but with a synthetic they're more bunched.” Harty believes the difference in kickback between dirt and synthetic is the reason also for how horses finish. 

Rarely will you see horses running five wide down the stretch like you will in races over a synthetic surface. The reason? They haven’t been deterred by heavy kickback.

One practice to familiarize a horse with kick back on dirt is to run them behind one or even two horses to feel and get cast-off to kickback. 

The synthetic surface at the new Belmont should garner a lot of attention for its novelty as well as its effect on racing as a whole. “You'll see a big influx of Canadian horses going there for the winter to run,” Casse believes.

He envisions a circuit of Belmont, Woodbine, and Turfway. So, too, does Richard Budge foresee it with something added: a synthetic Triple Crown.

Recently he looked at a Saturday card at Turfway and noticed nearly every race had overfilled. That is a handicapper’s delight. 

With the current Triple Crown, trainers like Casse and Harty aren’t shy about training at Turfway (a mere  94 miles away from Churchill Downs) on that track’s Tapeta surface. Rich Strike, the Kentucky Derby winner in 2022 trained at Turfway. Currently Eoin Harty has a Triple Crown series contender, Poster, training there. 

It seems as if the bias against synthetics has weakened considerably over the last decade. One piece of evidence comes from Mark Casse. 

“About twenty years ago NYRA had a special committee to look into synthetics. I think at the time, they probably would have done it, but they couldn't afford it.” 

Casse remembered a trainer telling him, “‘We can’t do it. We have to worry about tradition.” He responded, “You’re not going to have to worry about tradition because you’re going to be history.

“I want to say about two years ago he called me and said, ‘You were right.’” Tradition hasn’t blocked the synthetic surface going in at Belmont.

“If you stand still, you get run over,” said Casse.

Horses will keep running no matter if there are fewer racetracks or fewer races. And they’ll do so on the best surfaces in the history of the sport—synthetic or dirt.

“He not busy being born is busy dying.”

“And away he goes” - reflecting on Trevor Denman's race calling career and his influence on his protégé Frank Mirahmadi

Article by ED GOLDEN

Like Babe Ruth, Michael Jordan, Jim Thorpe and Jesse Owens, Trevor Denman was a game changer.

Until Denman arrived from his native South Africa to the United States in 1983, no one had ever called a live horse race like he did. Gone were old school traditionalists like Clem McCarthy and Fred Capossela.

For some four decades, Denman and his description of a race would become the gold standard in a historic sport dating back centuries. To crestfallen fans everywhere, at the age of 72, he decided to hang up his microphone, announcing his retirement on March 6, 2025.

“This is one of the hardest decisions I have ever made,” Denman said in a Del Mar press release. “But my soul is telling me that now is the time.”

His colorful calls, famous for their descriptive adjectives, were worthy of Triple A ratings, for accuracy, anticipation and attention to detail. 

Fans could bubble with enthusiasm when they heard Denman say their horse was “moving like a winner” or “looked like he just jumped in at the quarter pole.” Conversely, they could trash their mutuel tickets if Trevor said so and so “just threw in the towel,” or my favorite, so and so “was never happy today.”

It has been said that fame creates its own standards, and no one painted the portrait of a race like Denman.

His reputation is well-founded and well-earned. He was a part-time jockey and exercise rider in South Africa. He started calling races there in 1971 at age 18. He called two races at Santa Anita in 1983 and was named the track’s permanent announcer when hired by the track’s multi-faceted executive Alan Balch, presently a regular contributor to this magazine.

While fractional times varied during Denman’s countless race calls, he always maintained a steady pace for himself.

“Trevor arrived at Santa Anita and from the very start his skill at the microphone was immediately and almost universally acclaimed,” Balch said. “This was particularly noteworthy because his style and method was entirely new to American racing, and novelty is usually not welcome in our ancient sport.  In the face of all the compliments and laudatory coverage, what struck me most about Trevor was his humility.  He was private and self-effacing from the start and he remains that way, even with all the accolades still flowing.”

In December 2015, Denman announced he would be retiring as Santa Anita’s race caller after 33 years. Rather reclusive away from the track, he since limited his race-calling the past two meets to the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, 20 miles north of San Diego, before calling it a career.

This affords him the opportunity to enjoy life full time with his wife, Robin, on a remote farm near Kellogg, Minnesota, where he guards his privacy like he’s living at Fort Knox, renting his pasture for 30 dairy cows.

Kellogg, population 469, is located in the beautiful Mississippi River Valley along Highway 61. A hunting and fishing hub surrounded by many beautiful state parks open to the use of ATV’s and horse-back riders, Kellogg is known for its annual watermelon festival. The nearest “big town” is Red Wing, 40 miles away, population 16,000.

Denman, worldly and well-read, favoring great authors and philosophers, made his most memorable call in the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Classic when the mythical mare Zenyatta came from out of the clouds as was her wont to defeat males, Denman labeling her stunning rally “Un-be-liev-a-ble!,” accenting the five syllables with pregnant pauses for dramatic emphasis.

If a movie is ever made about Zenyatta’s career, phony races won’t be required for excitement. The real ones are breathtaking in their authenticity.

Frank Mirahmadi currently calls the races at Santa Anita and Saratoga, two of the world’s most historic and prestigious race tracks. 

Mirahmadi, 57, born and raised in Los Angeles, seems even more meticulous and scrupulous than Denman in his passionate pursuit of perfection. His admiration of Denman knows no bounds, as the following glowing homage attests:

“When Trevor arrived in the U.S., I was in high school. Racing fans certainly felt lucky to have Dave Johnson as the Santa Anita announcer, but it didn't take long for them to recognize that Trevor was in a league of his own.  His ability to read a race was remarkable, and he did it day in and day out.  

“It was also clear that Trevor loves horses and the sport. That came out not only in his calls, but also through his commentary on the nightly replay show, which aired on KDOC channel 56, well before the internet.  I looked forward to the replay show to not only enjoy the racing action but also to hear Trevor's insights into what happened, and which horse(s) we should watch going forward.

“At Santa Anita, there was an on-track radio station (KWIN), which you could only listen to while on the property.  The hosts would give insights, conduct interviews, and, most importantly to me, they would send it up to Trevor about a minute before each race, and he would give his opinion on the race, as well as the on-track appearance of the main contenders, etc. That would be strictly for the KWIN audience.  After the race, he would give a post-race recap for KWIN’s listeners. 

“For me, I believe KWIN took my level of interest and fascination with announcers to another level.  I had been imitating track announcers for many years, and Trevor had certainly earned his place as my favorite, but the opportunity to get a chance to hear his thoughts before the race changed the need for me to come to Santa Anita with friends.  As far as I was concerned, all I needed was a SONY Walkman so I could hear Trevor.

“In 1990, Golden Pheasant made his debut in an allowance race.  Trevor hosted a segment on KWIN 'Foreign Form,’ where he would explain how the international form of runners making their first start in the U.S. stacked up against the competition.

“Trevor said when he saw Golden Pheasant in the race, he ‘thought it was a misprint,’ because Golden Pheasant had the credentials to participate in a long-distance graded stakes race. But he qualified for the allowance condition. Golden Pheasant broke slowly against a talented field, but still unleashed a strong rally to win. I truly believe this horse played a big role in my becoming an announcer. I started following Golden Pheasant, and also called Trevor in the booth to let him know what a genius he was.

“Golden Pheasant went on to win the Arlington Million for trainer Charlie Whittingham with future Hall of Famer Gary Stevens aboard. A couple of weeks after the Million win, I went to Del Mar and Trevor invited me up to the booth. We had a great conversation and went over a lot of things.  It was like a baseball fan getting to visit the dugout with Babe Ruth.

“I wanted to let Trevor hear my impression of him, and in early 1992 a friend of mine was working on a series of shows on Sportschannel, with some Triple Crown prep races and the Santa Anita Handicap on the schedule.  He hired me as an associate producer, so I got to visit the jockeys room, backstretch, etc. to help him conduct interviews.  One night, when we were getting tapes of races to use on the show, we taped me as Trevor Denman calling the world-record performance of Spectacular Bid from the Strub Stakes of 1980 (Dave Johnson had called the race at SA). 

“I mailed it to Trevor and asked what he thought.  He said he was ‘flabbergasted,’ adding, ‘I played it for a couple of people and they thought it was me. That was an amazing tape.’ 

“I was so happy and truly believe that it inspired me to call Hollywood Park management in December 1992 to let them know I could imitate their vacationing announcer Trevor Denman as well as the late father of the gentleman filling in, Gary Henson (his father was Harry Henson, who called at HP for 24 years). I had no experience, but eventually Hollywood Park management let me call two races in the press box into a tape recorder, and that led to me being invited to call two races on closing day.

“Trevor wrote me a recommendation letter in 1994, and I sent that along with a tape of my calls to 60 tracks around the country.  I got a break at Hialeah Park, filling in for four days in May 1995. The following year, they hired me as their full-time announcer.

“His letter:

‘This letter is to state my backing for Frank Mirahmadi as a track announcer. Frank is talented and has a knack for calling races.  He has confidence and, given the chance, should develop into a fine announcer.’

“How amazing is that?  Trevor is such a nice man, and his backing certainly helped me open a few doors.  He also has given me incredible advice throughout my journey calling races.

“When I got the Santa Anita job, he was so happy for me.  I know he wanted me to get this job. Trevor has become a great friend. So has his wife, Robin. We talk on the phone every month or two, and although he specifically said he didn't want to give me any critique, he offered what he calls ‘helpful hints’ about minor things in my calls.  

“To me, it's like Picasso telling an art student how to make a few subtle changes. My career has been inspired by his brilliance, and I have such fond memories of hundreds if not thousands of his race calls.

“My favorite Trevor Denman call all-time is his 1989 Preakness.  Many don't realize he was calling at Pimlico back then.  He gave an epic call of Sunday Silence and Easy Goer for the on-track audience.

“Trevor sees what the average person can't see in a race.  Go watch Songbird's debut.  He basically told us she is a superstar.

“I also love this call of Best Pal winning the Big Cap . . .  "Kent Desormeaux pushes the button on Best Pal . . . Best Pal in a formality, what a superstar he's turned out to be . . . Best Pal romps home in the Big Cap.”

In a game where critics are at the ready with all eyes and ears awaiting the slightest blunder in the call of a race, Mirahmadi is a refreshing original, his fertile brain replete with specious thoughts. An example: in the fifth race at Santa Anita this Feb. 28, a three-year-old gelding named I’m a Bad Boy won the one-mile turf event, setting less than frenetic fractions of 23.69 for the first quarter, 48.95 for the half-mile and 1:12.78 for six furlongs, dawdling home a mile in 1:36.57.

The relatively slow early times were at the forefront in Mirahmadi’s mind as the even-money favorite neared the finish line, alluding to the major reason for the two-length victory, he said that the three-year-old “moved softly early.” 

He didn’t utter more common phrases, such as “went slow early, or “set leisurely fractions early” but “moved softly early,” likely a first for any race track announcer.

Another luminous example came in the third race at Santa Anita on Jan. 24 when Sophisticate, favored at 10 cents to the dollar, overwhelmed three hapless rivals, drawing away at will through the stretch to win by a length after attending the early pace, Mirahmadi declaring at the time, “the drama’s over.”

Drama? That’s a word more commonly used in theatre, not horse racing, but Mirahmadi dug to the depth of his vast vocabulary for a more propitious fit. 

No surprise, really, since Mirahmadi is candid about his love of the game, confessing, “I’m a fan first,” adding, “It’s a privilege to be Trevor’s friend and I think of him every day in what I still call ‘Trevor’s booth’ at Santa Anita Park.”

The sentiment is reciprocal for Denman, who unabashedly admits, “Frank and I are close friends. He is the best announcer in America right now.”

They are both welded to the emotion of the race.

And away they go!

Triple Crown 2025 contender owners - Jim and Claire Bryce (Jim and Claire Limited) - Heart Of Honor trained by Jamie Osborne

This time last year British based trainer, Jamie Osborne, came up with the idea of putting together a group of dirt bred horses to campaign in Dubai this past winter.

Heart of Honor, a British bred son of Honor A.P. was one that made the trip. He has now run six times and never finished out of the first two including a placed effort in the Gp.3 UAE 2000 Guineas before finishing a heart wrenching nose behind Admire Daytona in the UAE Derby (Gp.2) on the first Saturday in April - thus earning himself a guaranteed spot in the Kentucky Derby starting gate.

On his return from Dubai, Osborne indicated that Heart of Honor would more than likely bypass the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs and instead aim his colt for the last two legs of the Triple Crown.

If he does make the trip over, Heart of Honor will be a first runner in the US for owners Jim and Claire Bryce. The Bryce’s involvement in racing has grown exponentially over the last few years, since selling their software business. In addition to the horses they have in training with Jamie Osborne, they also own the famous Rhonehurst Stables in Lambourn, from where their jumps trainer, Warren Greatrex is based.

Jamie Osborne is no stranger to running horses in major international races having trained Toast Of New York to win the UAE Derby in 2014 before finishing his 3yo season with a near miss in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (Gr.1) at Santa Anita when finishing a nose behind Bayern.

Be proactive rather than reactive with equine biosecurity

“In the equine industry, true biosecurity is hard to achieve because horses move around a lot, and many diseases are always present,” says Ontario Veterinary College infectious disease specialist Dr. Scott Weese. “However, it's still important to try to prevent diseases from entering and to have plans in place to manage any outbreaks.”  With frequent horse movements, endemic pathogens and emerging diseases, there is a need for improved understanding and motivation to adopt better infection control practices.

Infection control begins in the barn and works best when the focus is pro-active rather than reactive.  This includes having an access management plan, proper quarantine protocols for new and returning horses, and training EVERYONE who comes on to the property or handles the horses.

Access Management

Controlling how horses, humans, equipment and vehicles can move into and around your farm are all aspects of access management aimed to reduce the transmission of pathogens.  

Access management begins at the entrance, where a training facility may use fencing and gated entries to restrict access to the stables and training areas, ensuring only authorized personnel can enter.  Procedures at controlled access points such as hand sanitizing and boot cleaning help prevent the spread of infections.  Both staff and service providers need to be made aware of any infection control measures in place.  Clean outerwear that has not been worn to another barn are also recommended to prevent potential spread of disease.

A sign in procedure can be made mandatory for visitors.  A log can be helpful to help trace the problem in the event of a disease outbreak. Providing guided tours can ensure they do not enter restricted areas.  Additional signage can let visitors know where they can and cannot go.

Controlled access zones can designate specific areas for different activities, such as quarantine zones for new arrivals and separate zones for resident horses, with controlled access points to manage movement.

Isolation/Quarantine

When horses return home or new horses arrive, such as from a sale, it is a good idea to implement quarantine and/or isolation protocols.  Ideally this involves housing in a separate building away from your resident horses, but it may be the end of an aisle with several empty stalls in between.  

New and returning horses are kept separate and monitored for at least 14 days.  This involves twice daily temperature checks and health checks including watching water consumption, appetite, urination, manure and any signs of illness.

Turn out paddocks should also be away from other resident equines, especially if that includes higher risk horses like broodmares and foals.  

Effective quarantine includes using separate equipment for isolated or quarantined horses to avoid cross-contamination.  This includes water buckets, feed tubs, grooming equipment as well as wheelbarrows, brooms, pitchforks and other cleaning tools.   

Ideally, new and returning horses are handled by separate staff.  Otherwise, quarantined horses are worked with last & hands are washed before & after each interaction.  Strategically placed alcohol-based sanitizers can also be used.  If wash stations are limited, this makes it easier for staff and visitors to follow infection control protocols.  Disposable gloves, disposable shoe covers & protective clothing are also best practices.  Barn cats and other pets should not be allowed to enter the quarantine area.

If you have a number new or returning horses in quarantine and one shows signs of illness, it should be further separated into isolation and seen by a veterinarian ASAP.  Horses should remain in isolation until cleared by the vet, as the horse may have recovered from clinical signs but still be infectious.  Signage once again should alert unauthorized persons at the entrance of any areas used for isolation or quarantine.

Not Sharing is Caring and Hygiene Practices

Of course, those new or returning horses should be housed in a stall that has been both cleaned and disinfected prior to their arrival.  

Cleaning involves removing all visible manure, bedding and soil before washing the area with soap and water and then allowing it to dry.  Then apply a disinfectant such as Virkon or other disinfectant recommended by your veterinarian.  All disinfectants have strengths and weaknesses and are best used for specific purposes.   Bleach has drawbacks as hard water can affect its effectiveness, it can be inactivated by organic material, and it can be irritating to the horse.  Steer clear of pressure washers as they can aerosolize certain viruses.  

An often-misused step, if you will pardon the pun, is the foot bath.  One cannot just walk through without first going through the same routine as mentioned above, both cleaning and disinfecting.  First remove debris from the footwear, including the soles using a brush or hose to get all the dirt out of the treads.  Immerse the entire bottom of footwear in the disinfectant and scrub.  Following the contact time on the product label is important and a dirty footbath does little in the way of boosting biosecurity.  Then wash your hands.  Other options include dedicated footwear and disposable shoe covers.

Hand hygiene cannot be overstated as one of the most important infection control measures.  Best practices on application time for the soap or alcohol-based sanitizer is 20 – 30 seconds.

Everyone knows not to share communal water, but it is also important not to become blasé about biosecurity when it comes to filling or refilling water buckets. Submersing a hose from one bucket to the next or letting it touch the buckets can be a free ride for a pathogen looking for its next host.  So instead of multi-tasking while filling buckets, one could be enjoying a beverage with their free hand. 

Not sharing should extend beyond grooming equipment to tack, pads, blankets, and of course medical supplies like syringes, needles and dewormers.

More disease prevention measures include minimizing the presence of rodents and insects by keeping feed secure, eliminating standing water and regular removal of manure from stalls and paddocks and as well as management of manure storage areas.

Vaccination

Vaccination is a crucial aspect of equine healthcare, but vaccines do not provide immediate protection; it can take days or weeks for a horse to develop optimal immunity after vaccination, so timing is very important.  Planning ahead will allow vaccines to be given well in advance of the next stressor such as travelling or competition.  

While no vaccine boasts 100% immunity, horse owners can rest assured that they are taking proactive steps to maintain their horse's health, minimizing the risk of unexpected veterinary expenses.  Vaccines significantly reduce the risk of disease which means if a vaccinated horses does get sick, they will generally experience milder symptoms and recover more quickly.

Working closely with a veterinarian to develop and maintain a vaccination program is an important step for optimal equine health.  In addition to core vaccinations, your vet will know what diseases are endemic and emerging in your region or regions you will be travelling to.   The frequency of your vaccinations or boosters will depend on a number of factors including special circumstances, such as an extended vector season or even a significant wound if it is incurred over 6 months after a Tetanus shot.  The length of your competition season may also necessitate a booster of certain shots to maintain optimal immunity. 

Emerging Diseases

Infection control specialist Dr. Weese says, “Understanding potential mechanisms of transmission is the basis of any infection control or biosecurity program.”

Most diseases in horses are caused by pathogens that mainly infect horses. They can spread continuously without needing long-term hosts (like the equine flu virus).  They can remain in the horse without causing symptoms for a long time (like Strangles). Some cause infections that can come back at any time (like equine herpesvirus).  Others may be part of the normal bacteria in horses but can cause disease if given the chance (like staphylococci and Enterobacteriaceae).

Horses can spread these germs even if they seem healthy, before showing symptoms, after recovering, or as part of their normal bacteria. This makes it hard to identify which horses are infectious. Some symptoms, like fever and diarrhea, strongly suggest an infection, but any horse can potentially spread germs. Therefore, it's important to have strong infection control practices to manage the risk.

In 2024, the Equine Disease Communication Center (EDCC) reported 577 Alerts for 813 confirmed cases of disease in North America. The most frequently reported disease was Strangles with 186 cases. Because Strangles is not reportable in all states or provinces the disease is likely much more prevalent than reported to the EDCC. Other frequently reported illnesses include: 153 West Nile Virus (WNV), 125 Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE), 109 Equine Infectious Anemia, 73 Equine Herpesvirus- Neurologic, 8 Equine Herpesvirus- Respiratory, 34 Equine Influenza.

1. Strangles: A bacterial infection caused by Streptococcus equi, leading to swollen lymph nodes and respiratory issues.  It is highly contagious and spread through contact.  This could be nose-to-nose between horses or via contaminated surfaces or equipment such as: shared halters, lead shanks, cross ties, feed tubs, stall walls, fencing, clothing, hands, the hair coat from other barn pets, grooming tools, water buckets, communal troughs. 

After an outbreak, cleaning should involve removal of all organic material from surfaces and subsequent disinfection of water containers, feeders, fences, stalls, tack and trailers. 

1. West Nile Virus (WNV): a mosquito-borne virus leading to neurological issues such as inflammation of the brain and spinal cord.  WNV can be fatal and survivors can have residual neurological deficits for a period of months to permanent disability.

2. Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE): another virus transmitted by mosquitos Eighty to ninety percent of infected horses develop acute and fatal neurologic disease.  

3. Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA): is a blood-bourne virus which can be transmitted by insects, medical equipment or passed from mare to foal in utero.  With no treatment or cure, horses confirmed positive by a Coggins test can be quarantined for the rest of their life but are usually euthanized.

4. Equine Herpesvirus (EHV): This virus had multiple strains and can cause both abortion and neurologic symptoms.  Spread via aerosol particles from nasal discharge or from contaminated surfaces.  There are vaccines for respiratory and abortive strains but not the neurologic form of EHV-1 (EHM).

These diseases highlight the importance of biosecurity and vaccination in managing equine health.  West Nile Virus and Eastern Equine Encephalitis are among the core vaccinations recommended by veterinarians.

In February 2025, Equine Guelph partnered with the Equine Disease Communication Center (EDCC), to help horse owners assess and manage infectious disease risks with the relaunch of Equine Guelph’s Biosecurity Risk Calculator (TheHorsePortal.com/BiosecurityTool).  The interactive free tool is full of useful information from quarantine protocols, best practices for cleaning, and easy to understand practical access management tips.  In just 10 minutes, you can assess and minimize biosecurity threats for your barn.

"Applying routine and basic biosecurity is the best way to prevent infectious diseases," says Dr. Nathaniel White the Director of the EDCC. "This includes isolation of new horses introduced to facilities, monitoring horses' temperature and preventing horse to horse contact while traveling and keeping vaccinations up to date. Being aware of disease prevalence using information from the EDCC and the updated "Biosecurity Risk Calculator" can help owners use management practices to decrease disease risk." 

Equine Infection Control Measures During Transport

Pre-transport preparations entail more than just having your paperwork in order.

Taking the time to clean and disinfect the trailer or make sure the trailer you have hired always cleans between loads is of paramount importance.  If the trailer smells like horses, it was not adequately cleaned.  Perform a horse health check before you leave the property.  It is not worth the gamble to stress a horse with travel when it is ‘not-quite right’.  

Being particular about your horses traveling companions is just as important as the cleanliness of the trailer.  Avoid travelling with horses from other locations as being in close quarters increases the risk of picking up an infectious disease.

Tie the horse loosely if possible.  Horses tied short are less ability to lower their head to clear mucus.  Allowing freedom of head movement can reduce stress and the bacterial load in the airways.  Similarly, hay nets that are hung high, encouraging a high head position, and introducing dust and debris, can challenge mucous clearance.

Ventilation is another important consideration as improving air exchange can reduce the dust and mold spores hanging in the air.  Drafts on the other hand can blow particles around in the trailer.

Many prefer shipping in leather halters because they will break in an emergency but there is a biosecurity benefit too as they are easier to clean.  Bacteria can linger in the webbing of polyester halters.

Biosecurity is just as important on the road and when visiting other venues. Disease is easily spread through equipment sharing.  While visiting venues off the farm be sure to bring your own broom and shovel for cleaning your trailer.  Be sure to pack a thermometer along with your tack and other equipment.  Clean & disinfect your equipment when you get ready to leave your off-site location.

Upon returning to the home farm, the cycle begins again, monitoring horses for possible delayed onset of symptoms.

To ensure effective infection control, it is crucial to maintain a proactive approach starting right in the barn with a plan. Implementing access management, enforcing proper quarantine protocols for new and returning horses, and thoroughly training everyone who enters the property or handles the horses are essential steps. By taking these practical steps, we can significantly reduce the risk of infections and promote a healthier environment for all.

Tips for feeding horses prone to gastric ulcers and ulceration

Risk factors for squamous or ‘non-glandular’ ulcers are well documented and include low forage diets and long periods without eating, diets high in non-structural carbohydrate (NSC) or ‘starch and sugar’, intensive exercise and stress, as well as prolonged periods of stabling and travelling. While some risks may be unavoidable for racehorses in training, diet is one that can be influenced relatively easily. 

In this article, Nutritionist, Sarah Nelson, discusses some of the science and provides practical advice on the nutritional management of horses prone to non-glandular ulcers. While glandular ulcers may be less responsive to changes in diet, the same nutritional management is generally recommended for both glandular and non-glandular ulcers. 

Evidence that diet makes a difference

Research published by Luthersson et al (2019) was the first to show that changes in diet can reduce the recurrence of non-glandular ulcers following veterinary treatment. In this 10-week trial, fifty-eight race/ competition horses were paired according to their workload, management and gastric ulcer score (non-glandular ulcers graded 0-4). One horse from each pair continued with their normal diet while the other had their normal ‘hard feed’ replaced with the trial diet which was divided into three equal meals. Horses with grade 3 and grade 4 ulcers were also treated with the recommended dose of omeprazole for four weeks. All horses were scoped at the start of the trial, immediately after omeprazole treatment had finished and 6 weeks after treatment had stopped. 

The majority of horses improved as a result of omeprazole treatment regardless of diet. Diet had no effect on grade 2 ulcers. At the end of the study, gastric ulcer scores in the horses that were fed the trial diet were not significantly better or worse than in horses that were not fed the trial diet. Overall, gastric ulcer scores in horses that were fed the trial diet remained improved 6 weeks after treatment had stopped. Six weeks after treatment had stopped, gastric ulcers scores had worsened in the majority of horses that remained on their normal feed so that overall, there was no difference between pre and post treatment scores.  

Importantly, this research shows that changes in diet can help to reduce the risk of gastric ulcers recurring after treatment, even if other changes in management are not possible. There was also no apparent long-term benefit of omeprazole treatment alone, highlighting the importance of other strategies in the long-term management of horses prone to gastric ulcers.  As this study only evaluated changes in ‘hard feed’, it is possible that greater improvements could have been achieved if changes to forage were also made. 

Recent research reveals unexpected results

Regular turnout often isn’t possible for horses in training and while the risk of gastric ulcers generally seems lower in horses at pasture, recent research carried out in Iceland by Luthersson et al (2022) has highlighted this may not always be the case.

In Iceland, horses typically live out at pasture, often in large herds and if stabled, they are generally fed a high forage, low starch and low sugar diet. While Icelandic horses do get gastric ulcers, it’s been suggested that the overall incidence is low. 

The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence of gastric ulcers in Icelandic horses moving from pasture into light work. Prior to the study, all horses had lived out in large herds for their entire adult lives (age range 3-7 years), had never been in work and were fed supplementary forage in winter months only. All horses were scoped within two weeks of being removed from pasture (prior to starting ‘training’) and were scoped again approximately after 8 weeks of being stabled and doing light work. Most horses were fed forage only during the training period, but 11 were given very small amounts of soaked sugar beet and 3 were given a small amount of commercially produced feed. However, in all cases, starch and sugar intake from ‘hard feed’ was equivalent to less 250g per meal for a 500kg horse which is well within the current recommendations for horses prone to gastric ulcers.

Approximately 72% of horses had non-glandular ulcers (grade 2 or above) at scope 1. The prevalence and severity of gastric ulcers improved after eight weeks of stabling and light work - approximately 25% of horses had non-glandular ulcers (grade 2 or above) at scope 2. Horses given forage three times per day as opposed to twice per day were almost 18 times more likely to improve! Over-all, the incidence of glandular ulcers decreased from 47% to approximately 41%. 

The high prevalence and severity of non-glandular ulcers at the start of the study, and the subsequent improvement following the training period was unexpected. Not only is this research an important reminder that horses at pasture are still at risk of gastric ulcers, it highlights the importance of regular forage provision. 

Forage focus

Forage is critical for mental wellbeing and digestive health in all horses but sometimes receives less attention than ‘hard/ concentrate’ feed, particularly for performance horses. When it comes to reducing the risk of gastric ulcers, one of the main benefits is promoting chewing. 

Saliva provides a natural buffer to stomach acid but unlike people, horses only produce saliva when they chew, which is why long periods without eating increase stomach acidity. In one study, the risk of non-glandular ulcers was found to be approximately 4 times higher in horses left for more than 6 hours without forage, although the risk may be greater during the day. 

Research by Husted et al (2009) found gastric pH drops in the early hours of the morning, even in horses with free access to forage. Not only do horses generally stop eating/ grazing for a period of time during the early hours of the morning, they are normally less active at night, reducing the risk of gastric splashing.

It should also be remembered that forage is a source of fuel – even average hay fed at the minimum recommended amount may provide close to 45% of the published energy requirement for a horse in heavy exercise. Forage analysis can be a useful tool, especially if you can source a consistent supply. 

Routine analysis normally includes measuring / calculating the water, energy and protein content, as well as providing an indication of how digestible the fiber is - more digestible forages yield greater amounts of energy and can help to reduce the reliance on feed.

Minimum forage intake

Ideally all horses, including racehorses in training should be provided with as much forage as they will eat. However large amounts of bucket feed, intense training and stress can affect appetite so voluntary intake (how much is eaten) should be monitored wherever possible. 

In practice, this means weighing the amount of forage that’s provided, as well as any that is left in a 24-hour period.  Ideally, total daily forage intake should not be restricted to less than 1.5% body weight per day on a dry matter basis, although an absolute minimum of 1.25% bodyweight (dry matter) is considered acceptable for performance horses, including racehorses in heavy training. 

On an ‘as fed basis’ (the amount of forage you need to weigh out), this typically equates to (for a 1100lbs / 500kg horse without grazing):

• 20lbs / 9kg of hay if it is to be fed dry or steamed (or an absolute minimum of 17lbs / 7.5kg)

• 24-26lbs / 11-12kg* of haylage (or an absolute minimum of 20-24lbs / 9-11kg*)

The difference in feeding rates can cause confusion but essentially, even unsoaked hay contains some water and the water doesn’t count towards the horse’s forage intake. 

*based on a dry matter of 65-70%

How much starch and sugar is ‘too much’?

The fermentation of starch by bacteria in the stomach results in the production of volatile fatty acids which in conjunction with a low pH (acidic environment), increases the risk of ulcers forming. Current advice, which is based on published research, is to restrict non-structural carbohydrate (NSC) or ‘starch and sugar’ intake from ‘bucket feed’ to less than 1g per kilogram of body weight per meal and ideally less than 2g per kilogram of bodyweight per day. For a 1100lbs / 500kg horse, this is equivalent to:

• Less than 500g per meal 

• Ideally less than 2lbs / 1kg per day

Traditional racing feeds are based on whole cereal grains and as a result, are high in starch. By utilizing oil and sources of highly digestible fiber such as sugar beet and soya hulls, feed manufacturers can reduce the reliance on cereal starch without compromising energy delivery. 

Meal size matters

There are several reasons why horses should be fed small meals but one that’s of particular importance to managing the risk of gastric ulcers is reducing the amount of starch and sugar consumed in each meal. 

Large meals may also delay gastric emptying and in turn, lead to increased fermentation of starch in the stomach, especially if cereal based. Restrict total feed intake to a maximum of 4.4lbs / 2kg per meal which is equivalent to approximately 1 Stubbs scoop of cubes.  

Feeding ‘chaff’ to prevent gastric splashing

The horse’s stomach produces acid continuously (although at variable rate). Exercise increases abdominal pressure, causing acid to ‘splash’ onto the stomach lining in the non-glandular region where it increases the risk of ulcers forming. Exercise may also increase acid production.

Feeding short chopped fiber helps to prevent ‘gastric splashing’ by forming a protective ‘fiber mat’ on top of the contents of the stomach and may be of increased benefit to horses on restricted forage diets. Current advice is to feed 2 liters of short chopped fiber volume – equivalent to 1 Stubbs scoop – within the 30 minutes prior to exercise. Ideally choose a fiber containing alfalfa as the high protein and calcium content is thought to help buffer acid.

Supplements safety & efficacy

Supplements are often an attractive option, with owners and trainers from various disciplines reporting benefits. Unfortunately, scientific evidence is currently limited with some studies producing conflicting results which means specific recommendations regarding the optimum blend of ingredients and recommended daily intakes have not been established. 

However, ‘ingredients’ that may help to support gastric health include pectin and lecithin, omega 3 fatty acids, fenugreek, threonine, licorice and maerl, a marine derived source of bioavailable calcium. But don’t forget, there are some important safety considerations, both for horse health and mitigating the risk of prohibited substances. 

• Supplements should never be used as an alternative to veterinary treatment or an appropriate diet.

• Beware of bold claims – if it sounds too good to be true it probably is!

• It is illegal for manufacturers to claim products can cure, prevent or treat gastric ulcers. Words like ‘soothe’ and ‘improve’ are also prohibited. While bold or illegal claims do not automatically mean a supplement presents are unsafe, it does raise questions over the company’s ethics. 

• Speak to a nutrition advisor before feeding supplements containing added vitamins and minerals as some can be harmful (or even toxic) if oversupplied.

• Avoid supplements (and feeds) containing added iron.

• Be cautious of supplements containing iodine, including naturally occurring sources such as seaweed.

• Ensure the total diet provides no more than 1mg selenium per 220lbs / 100kg body weight (5mg per day for a 1102lbs / 500kg horse).

• Natural does not always equal safe – avoid herbs of unknown origin.

• Only use supplements produced by an authorized feed manufacturer. Approval numbers must be included on the label but knowing what to look out for can be tricky.

Conditioning for the Triple Crown series

Article by Bill Heller

The only constant in preparing a young horse for a shot in the Triple Crown is its difficulty. That hasn’t changed over the years.

“It’s just as difficult or more difficult now to have horses that come in healthy, and that’s your main goal: try to get them well-prepared and healthy,” trainer Todd Pletcher, a two-time Kentucky Derby winner with Super Saver (2010) and Always Dreaming (2017), said. “That’s always been a challenge, but probably more so now than ever.”

While the road to the Triple Crown was revamped with the Kentucky Derby point system beginning in 2013, the reality of the Triple Crown is the same: a horse is only going to succeed if he has a proper foundation.

“It’s like any athlete,” trainer Barclay Tagg said. “You have to get the bottom into them and bring them along slowly. It takes a while. You can’t go fast miles. They have to be slow miles. You’re building bones; you’re building tendons; you’re building ligaments all at the same time. You have to have a horse that can handle it, too. He’s got to be able to handle the effort of getting fit, just like a human athlete does. You have to have a hell of a horse to begin with. There’s a lot that goes into it.”

Tagg won the 2003 Kentucky Derby and Preakness with New York-bred Funny Cide. Seventeen years later, his New York-bred Tiz the Law won the Belmont Stakes and Travers Stakes and finished second in the Kentucky Derby. “You had to approach them differently,” Tagg said.

Both Funny Cide and Tiz the Law had three races as a two-year-old in much different company. Funny Cide won all three: a New York-bred maiden race and a pair of New York-bred stakes. Tiz the Law won a maiden race and the G. 1 Champagne before finishing third in the G. 2 Kentucky Jockey Clubs Stakes.  

Tagg’s life partner/assistant trainer and exercise rider Robin Smullen, rode both horses: “Funny Cide was impossible to gallop, and by the time I started galloping him, he had holes on both sides of his mouth which bled every day, two holes from trying to run off. The ring bit put holes in the corners of his mouth.”

Tagg originally spotted Funny Cide in a yearling sale and wasn’t impressed: “I didn’t pay attention to him. I took one glance at him and didn’t like him.”

A year later, Tagg was watching Tony Everard train his young two-year-olds: “Then this horse comes barreling by me. It sounds very stupid, but it was the best thing I’d ever seen a horse do. Unbelievably fast. I just fell in love with him right away. I thought this horse ought to be a Derby horse. I know that sounds like a bunch of bull, but it’s the truth.”

It was Funny Cide. “He was so tough to ride,” Tagg said. “Robin had a division for me down at Delaware. I said, `I need you to come ride this horse.’ I got Robin to do everything for him. The rest is history.”

Tiz the Law was much easier to ride. Smullen said, “Tiz the Law was not a Funny Cide. When we were getting him ready for his maiden, we never breezed the horse fast. He had standard breezes of :48 and :49. At Saratoga one day, Mike Welsh (of the Daily Racing Form) called me and asked, `Did you really gallop this horse two miles today?’ I said, `Yeah.’ He said, `Well, there’s not too many people who work a horse two miles.’ And I said, `He likes it. He was very able to do it.’”

Smullen believes strongly in the way she and Tagg develop their young horses: “You have to warm them up well. You should never even think about galloping a horse until you’ve jogged a mile. If he can jog a mile every day, then you turn around and gallop. Even in their yearling year when you’re breaking them. You have to work them up so you don’t mess them up before you get to a race. It’s very important for bones and ligaments and tendons and the whole muscular structure.” 

Once they’re fit, they begin an arduous journey. The road to the Kentucky Derby is full of potholes and detours. “The Derby is the only time when a good horse gets beat 35, 40 lengths,” trainer Bob Baffert said. “I’ve seen great horses and great trainers get beat, not win it. You have to break well, take the kickback and get into rhythm.”

You can’t win it when you’re not in it, and Baffert is returning to the Kentucky Derby after a three-year suspension at Churchill Downs following the disqualification of what would have been his historic seventh Derby winner, Medina Spirit, for a failed drug test in 2021. 

Medina Spirit died in December that year when he collapsed after a workout. That didn’t make the Derby suspension any easier to deal with for Baffert: “I just blocked everything out. I figured I can’t go. I just said, `Hey, it’s not going to happen.’ It was just weird. I just focus on what’s ahead. I don’t look in the past.”

Baffert’s past in California traces back to legendary trainer Charlie Whittingham: “I watched Charlie Whittingham. He’d put a foundation into his horses before he’d run them. I put a pretty good foundation into them. It’s the way you breeze them.”

Baffert’s first Derby starter, Cavonnier, had six starts as a two-year-old and four as a three-year-old before the Derby: “I didn’t have a program then. Cavonnier took me there.”

When Cavonnier got there, he was confronted in deep stretch by D. Wayne Lukas’ colt Grindstone, beginning a rivalry still going on 30 years later between two trainers who have combined to win 10 Kentucky Derbies.

It took several agonizing minutes before Grindstone, who had drifted to the middle of the track, was declared the winner of an incredibly tight photo. “I thought he won,” Baffert said. “How do you run a mile and a quarter and lose by a nose? That was probably my worst defeat ever. I didn’t think I’d ever get back.”

Wrong. He won the next two Kentucky Derbies and Preakness Stakes with Silver Charm and Real Quiet. If Cavonnier had won that photo, Baffert would have won three straight Kentucky Derbies.

Despite Cavonnier’s narrow loss, Baffert changed his outlook on the Triple Crown: “I said that was a lot of fun. I’m going to change my program to be like Wayne Lukas. Cavonnier got me started. And people started sending me horses. Once I got a taste of it, I made my whole program like Lukas and Pletcher.”

When told of Baffert’s comment, Lukas said, “That’s an ultimate compliment from a guy that’s probably won more often than anybody.”

  Baffert won two Triple Crowns with American Pharoah in 2015 and Justify, who did not race as a two-year-old, but is still the only undefeated Triple Crown winner, in 2018. “I usually put a good bottom in them before I run them,” Baffert said. “If you get a horse like Justify, he was a big, strong, heavy horse. I sort of ran him into shape. By the Derby he was at his best.”

Lukas has been at his best for decades, winning his first Triple Crown race- the 1980 Preakness Stakes, with Codex and his latest 44 years later with Seize the Gray. He’s won four Kentucky Derbies with Winning Colors (1988), Thunder Gulch (1995), Grindstone (1996) and Charismatic (1999).

There are many avenues available for trainers to prep for the Kentucky Derby: through California, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Kentucky and New York. Each route offers qualifying points mandatory to get into the Kentucky Derby. “You have to get somewhere to get your points,” Tagg said. “Now, you have to be ready for the races that get you there.”

In the 1995 ‘Run for the Roses’, Lukas saddled three horses, with Timber Country and the filly Serena’s Song joining Thunder Gulch. Timber Country, who would win the Preakness Stakes, was one of the favorites and Thunder Gulch, sent off at 24-1. “I thought Timber Country was our best chance,” Lukas said. “We worked them that Monday and Donna Barton Brothers worked all three horses. She was an excellent work rider and was doing work on a lot of horses for me. Thunder Gulch was last, and when I picked her up on Thunder Gulch, I just casually said, `Well, you just had the best seat in the house. Which one’s our best chance?’ She said, `This one.’ I said, `Are you kidding?’ She said, `I like him the best.’”

When asked if he had changed anything about training horses for the Triple Crown, Lukas said, “I haven’t changed my philosophy at all on it, but I’ve noticed that some of my colleagues, the younger people, are a lot more conservative about the approach they’re taking.

“Back in the ‘50s and the ‘60s, Calumet, with all their success, always used the Derby Trial, which was one week away, as a prep. I paid attention to that a lot. Remember, the old Blue Grass was two weeks in front of the Derby, and it was one of the major preps. Now they keep moving the stakes back, like the Arkansas Derby. It had always been three weeks, now it’s five weeks. They move it back, I think, to appease the mindset of a lot of the younger trainers now. I particularly have found that most of my horses run better, horses that I have had really good success with, not necessarily winning but were competitive, ran within a month of the Derby. I used the Lexington a couple of times, and they ran well, maybe 10 days before the race.

“One of the things that I find in watching it for 50 years is, if Bob Baffert worked a horse in 1:12, the press would come over and tell everybody. A lot of these younger trainers will think, `Geez, maybe I better work my horse in 1:12.”

Lukas doesn’t: “I just think if you put good, stout gallops into them and build them up to the race, you’re better off. The reality is, if the horse is dead fit, his pedigree will either get them there or not. Strong, solid works and strong morning gallops are more instrumental. I think you put a solid bottom in them and get them into a good work pattern. Reading the horse is the hardest thing for the Derby.”

Deciding which route to get there is challenging. New York has a surprising trend. From 1930 to 2000, 11 winners of the mile-and-an-eighth Wood Memorial, now a Gr.2 stakes, won the Kentucky Derby, the last being Fusaichi Pegasus in 2000. Triple Crown winners Gallant Fox, Count Fleet, Assault, Secretariat (who finished third to his stable-mate Angle Light in 1973), all ventured to Aqueduct to compete in the Wood. From 2001 through 2024, the Wood winners haven’t added the Kentucky Derby to their resumes, though Empire Maker, Vino Rosso, Tacitus and Mo Donegal won other Gr.1 stakes.

However, another New York-bred Derby prep race, the Gr.2 Remsen Stakes for two-year-olds, annually run at Aqueduct in November after the Gr.1 Breeders’ Cup, has become an important stepping stone to future success. 

Catholic Boy, the 2017 Remsen winner in a rout, returned at three to win the 2018 Travers by daylight. Mo Donegal (2021) won the 2022 Belmont Stakes. In the 2023 Remsen, Dornoch nosed Sierra Leone. Dornoch subsequently won the 2024 Belmont Stakes and the Haskell. Sierra Leone won the Blue Grass, finished second by a nose in the 2024 Kentucky Derby and won the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Dornoch’s trainer, Danny Gargan, won the 2022 Remsen with Dubyuhnell, and chose the 2023 Remsen for Dornoch. He relished the Remsen distance of a mile-and-an-eighth: “That’s why we picked it. We always knew the further the distance the better for him. We wanted to get a two-turn race into him. You never knew going in that Sierra Leone was going to be in there. It became a key race. Both of them are multiple Grade 1 winners. One of them won the Breeders’ Cup Classic and the other won the Belmont. So it was a key race.”

Gargan appreciates the Aqueduct surface: “I’ve won the Remsen a couple of times. Aqueduct is a deep, demanding track, and it takes a fit, strong horse to be able to get that distance on that track. I think it’s beneficial if you want to get to the Derby to have a horse that can go that far. That’s the longest two-year-old race of the year. I think it helps them. There’s been some nice horses win the race the last few years. Everybody wants to say it’s not a key race, but it sure has been the last three or four years. People can say what they want, but it brings out the true distance horse. It’s all timing when you train these horses. You have to be lucky enough to have a horse that can go that far at that time.”

Though he trains in California, Eoin Harty thought the Remsen made a lot of sense for his two-year-old Poster last year. He’d won his first two starts on grass, a maiden race at Ellis Park and an allowance race at Keeneland in his first two career starts: “It was a good opportunity to see and find out whether he was capable of running on dirt. He’s a big angular horse. He’s been like that since Day One. That’s why I stretched him to a mile on the turf first time out.”

He said putting a bottom in a horse is important, but doesn’t guarantee success in longer races: “You could get an average horse, and you can put all the bottom in the world into him and he’d barely get a foot over six furlongs. It’s important, but by the time most trainers, myself included, get their hands on these horses, that baseline has been put up there. We all get these horses around the same time, usually May of the two-year-old year. And by then, it’s too late. It’s usually something I just don’t have to worry about.”

He didn’t worry about it in the 2024 Remsen. With Flavian Prat in the saddle for the first time, Poster won the Remsen by a nose. In his three-year-old debut in the mile and a sixteenth Sam F. Davis at Tampa Bay Downs, Poster got away last in the field of 10 and rallied wide to finish third by 2 ¾ lengths to John Hancock.

Harty thinks Poster will make the Derby’s mile-and-a-quarter distance if he’s given that opportunity: “I predict that he can make it, but he’s going to have to prove to me that he can make it. I mean, if, by the grace of God, I get into the starting gate on Derby Day, his ability to make a mile and a quarter won’t be a question for me. It’s up to me to have him fit to go a mile and a quarter. At some points, genetics take over. The horse will get home on his own. I think he’s the kind of horse that will go a mile and a quarter for sure.”

The work being done by the Thoroughbred Charities of America - supporting thoroughbreds and those who care for them

Article by Ken Snyder

There are many gifts that keep on giving but few that give back like the Thoroughbred Charities of America’s annual auction of stallion seasons. The 2025 auction offered seasons to top Thoroughbred stallions such as Volatile, Charlatan, Blame, Liam’s Map, and Violence. Without question, the resulting foals from these seasons could give back rewards on the racetrack dwarfing a winning bid. Moreover, rewards aren’t limited just to successful bidders. 

“The Thoroughbred industry is extremely charitable,” said TCA’s executive director, Erin Halliwell. That charity begins with season owners who willingly donate a stallion season. This year, 2016 Kentucky Derby-winner Nyquist, who stands for a fee of $175,000 in 2025 and who earned $5.1 million in purses, was the top seller, bringing a winning bid well above his fee. Owner of Nyquist, Godolphin, donated 100% of money from the bid to TCA.

 Historical gross auction totals range between $700,000 to $1 million produced annually, according to Halliwell. 

TCA’s stallion seasons are offered on a “no guarantee” basis. Meaning,  “the buyer takes on more of the risk, but the reward is that you can potentially get a season for quite a bit lower than the live foal fee, sometimes around fifty percent,” said Halliwell. Successful bidders can and do take out insurance on breeding to mitigate risk.

To ensure quality and depth of the auction each year and generate maximum donations, TCA seeks stallions with full breeding books. “In the case of Vekoma [winner of two Grade One races and the Grade Two Toyota Bluegrass Stakes] and Nyquist, there were no more seasons. The only place you can get a season was at the TCA auction. And we love that.” 

It is a “win-win-win” for all parties. Season owners give back to worthwhile causes in the industry with a breeding season; bidders can score a potential racetrack star foal from a breeding to a top Thoroughbred; and  TCA can continue raising money for non-profit organizations working to support Thoroughbreds and the people who care for them. 

Since the organization’s founding in 1990, TCA has distributed over $27 million to more than 200 Thoroughbred industry organizations. Grants span the gamut of Thoroughbred aftercare organizations and support to workers in the Thoroughbred  industry. Aftercare grantees can be divided between organizations, those focused on retiring or retired horses (like Old Friends, for example) or rehabbing, retraining and re-homing organizations  like New Vocations, Canter, or Second Stride--according to Halliwell. “Those types of more traditional organizations are taking possession of the horses, working with them to ultimately get them into a new home, and into a second career. 

“Then also within aftercare, we support organizations that are working to incentivize equestrians to choose a Thoroughbred as their next horse,” she added. These grantees include the Retired Racehorse Project, which hosts an annual “Thoroughbred Makeover” event at the Kentucky Horse Park. This event takes retired Thoroughbreds from the racetrack and provides an opportunity for them to compete in  disciplines ranging from Ranch Work, Barrel Racing, and Competitive Trail to Dressage, Eventing, and Show Jumpers. Trainers compete for prize money with retired Thoroughbreds transitioned to a new discipline or disciplines. 

Lastly, TCA also supports several on-track placement programs.  

“These organizations work directly with owners and with trainers on the backside by helping them to find an appropriate aftercare facility for their horses. 

She added, “When it comes to aftercare, Thoroughbreds have more programs in place than any other breed. Success or position, however, doesn’t alter TCA’s goals. “ But, we're not there yet. There's a lot more that needs to be done in aftercare.”

At the same time, TCA is unique in the Thoroughbred industry as it supports  organizations that  provide health and human services to backstretch and farm workers.. “To the best of my knowledge, there aren't any other organizations that are granting to both types of organizations. “

Bridging human and horse needs evolved from a desire by TCA founders to be inclusive, which then led to flexible funding guidelines. This enables TCA to fund the Grayson Research Foundation, which, in turn, supports studies of advanced veterinary medicine in the breeding, raising, and healthcare of horses. In 2025, expenditures of $2.4 million from Grayson will fund 11 new projects and 13 continuing projects at 14 universities in the U.S. In total, since 1940 Grayson has provided more than $42.3 million to underwrite more than 437 projects at 48 universities.

Projects include a study to improve the diagnosis of spinal cord disease in horses, development of a vaccine to control and prevent equine rotavirus B infection in future foaling seasons, and a study to establish fetlock screening that uses computed tomography for diagnosis of horses with a high risk of serious injury. 

In the past several years TCA has also expanded its support in emergency aid for horses and their caretakers resulting from neglect and natural disasters. Specifically, TCA saw, according to Halliwell, a need beyond aftercare in the wake of a number of cases and events. 

“In 2016 there was a large-scale abandonment-of-horses case in Kentucky. At that time, TCA had a small emergency fund for something like this.” The TCA responded immediately with Halliwell contacting a hay supplier to get hay to the horses. 

“I remember coming back from the horses and a former board member, Jamie Roth, with LNJ Foxwoods Stable, called me and said, ‘I want to do something more.’ 

She had talked with her family, and they wanted to start a fund for situations like this because we don’t have the time to raise money or have a fundraiser. She said, ‘I just want a fund there that we can tap into like the Red Cross.’”

Thus was born TCA’s Horses First Fund. The Fund has provided support in other equine-neglect cases and even gone offshore. Hurricane Maria, which struck Puerto Rico in September 2017 trapped 1,000 horses at the Camarero Racetrack behind debris that had fallen,  preventing owners from getting to their horses along with other damage to the island.

“We worked with several other agencies, including Caribbean Thoroughbred Aftercare, to get a load of feed and supplies into the track.”

Through industry connections and the help of numerous other organizations, TCA’s Horses First Fund was able to assist with the transport and delivery of plane loads of vital feed and supplies to the Thoroughbreds at Camarero in the wake of the hurricane. 

“The Horses First Fund was so important to that situation.” Only four months later, the Horses First Fund assisted in the wake of fires that destroyed nine horse barns and killed 46 horses at the San Luis Rey Training Center in Southern California. Firemen and barn workers successfully evacuated 475 horses. In this instance, the Horses First Fund supplied both supplies to horses and backside workers. 

A question often asked about the auction is who is the most outstanding foal that came from a stallion season. It is a horse named Heart to Heart foaled in Canada and sired by English Channel out of Ask the Question by Silver Deputy. This horse earned Canada’s Sovereign Award in 2014 as champion three-year-old. 

“It's so ironic,” said Halliwell. “His star on his forehead is in the shape of a heart and TCA’s logo is a heart. 

“He was our cover boy for a while on some of our auction marketing, because, you know, he was one of the successful foals, right?”

And a horse who kept on giving, indeed. Heart to Heart won two Grade One Stakes, two Grade Two Stakes, and seven Grade Threes. The earnings and rewards to the successful bidder for a stallion season to English Channel?  A mere $2,035,090. 

“Successful” is understating it.

#Soundbites - Do three-year-old fillies deserve better treatment in the Triple Crown series?

Compiled by Bill Heller

Since 2013, when the Kentucky Derby began using a point system to determine who starts in the Run for the Roses, no filly has raced in the Derby. This year, only seven of the 373 three-year-olds nominated for the Triple Crown were fillies. Do three-year-old fillies deserve better treatment, either by making Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks points interchangeable and/or by making a more meaningful and permanent filly Triple Crown? 

Bret Calhoun
I think the only way they can get points is one of the prep races against the males. Honestly, I think it’s a fair enough system. In my mind, if they’re going to take them on in the Derby, they probably should have to be proven against some of them in their prep races.

Kevin Attard

I do think they should have the option to run in the Oaks or take on the boys. Obviously, it takes a very special filly to win that race. Having a Triple Crown for the fillies I think is a wonderful idea. A series for the fillies would be something of significance. In today’s age of social media, you can reach out to a broader audience. In Canada, they do have the Triple Tiara. It’s not the equivalent to the colts. It doesn’t get the attention of the real Triple Crown.

Ron Moquett

I would say make a more permanent and meaningful Filly Triple Crown. Or there could be a deal where you could give up your status as a filly and only run in the Derby preps to get your own points and make yourselves eligible for the Kentucky Derby. That’s fine. That’s good because you did it against the competition that you are required to meet. You can’t get Derby points by beating fillies to run against colts. But I think we should constantly be looking at things to evolve the sport and keep moving forward. In the end, you’ve got to remember the whole thing we’re trying to do is to breed a better horse. So every decision we make sincerely should be about showcasing the best of our breed.

Neil Drysdale

Interchangeable points don’t work because you can’t run colts against fillies, but I think fillies should be running in the Triple Crown, especially looking back in history. The point is if you’ve got a filly and you want to run a mile and a quarter (the Derby distance) instead of a mile and an eighth (the Oaks distance), you should be allowed to do that. My own opinion is that the point system seems to be quite arbitrary. The point system needs to be continually revised until they get it right.

Todd Fincher

Well, as long as they’re not transgender it’s okay (long laugh). I don’t think it’s against the fillies. If they want to run in the Derby, they just have to face the boys in the preps. The filly races are pretty lucrative. There’s so much money not only in the purses, but in winning a Grade 1 with a filly. So unless you think you’re a real monster, you just stay in your lane. If you think your filly is good enough, well, run with the boys.   

Peter Eurton

Wow, that is a good question, because I’ve never really even thought about it. For me, I would think that they should have an opportunity, but then it’s going to keep out some of the colts. That would be the biggest issue.

Richard Mandella

The Oaks is a big purse, and it’s at a very high level. You kind of hate to have too many fillies in the Derby. Maybe there could be a committee, people from Kentucky, California, New York and two other places, that allows starters to get in the Derby as a special case.

The Alan Balch Column - Artists of the air

There are ever fewer of us around who can clearly remember the world before the advent of television.  And the Internet.

But as I thought about the retirement of Trevor Denman, and all his illustrious contributions to American racing, nostalgia overtook me.  As it does quite often these troubling days.

Those of us who have been around for eight decades or more remember when sports were largely heard, not seen.  If you couldn’t get yourself to a ballpark, or college football stadium, or race track (there really weren’t that many of them, considering the size of the United States, or any country) in the 1940s, or earlier, you followed sports on the radio.

Baseball games were often, even mostly, recreated, with appropriate sound effects.  Believe it or not.  I was just a kid when I realized that the pop of the ball into the glove was phony, because it was the same for each pitch.  Same thing for the sound of a batted ball!  The crowd effects were ridiculously similar from inning to inning and park to park.  The telegraph wires provided the “facts,” and the announcers re-created the action.  Someone named Ronald Reagan began his career doing that kind of sports announcing.

Then there were the movie theater newsreels, which almost always had the leading sports.  You could “thrill” to Clem McCarthy calling a race, whether it was the first Santa Anita Handicap in giant clouds of dust, or Seabiscuit beating War Admiral at Pimlico, and actually see them.  After having heard them on the radio when the races were run.

So, the radio was how racing first came into my life.  And into millions of other lives.  Joe Hernandez was the original Voice of Santa Anita.  He called its first 15,587 consecutive races, never missing one at the winter meeting, from Christmas Day 1934 until he fainted at the microphone in January 1972, and died several days later from the effects of being kicked on the backstretch at Hollywood Park during morning training.  That iron-man streak was one of the most remarkable achievements in sport, in its own way, ranking up there with Lou Gehrig’s.  

Countless of us, particularly throughout California, only knew racing through Joe’s lilting, accented radio calls, all beginning with his booming, “There they go!” -- whether from Santa Anita or Del Mar or tracks in the north.  “From the foot of the majestic San Gabriel mountains, this is your announcer Joe Hernandez at spectacular Santa Anita,” he would intone, and your imagination took over.  Just like it did in other sports on radio, when the artist was . . . well, an artist!

Hearing him from childhood, live and also re-creating the day’s races, hawking “Turf Craft winners” for a sponsor, I couldn’t believe my good fortune meeting him when I was first employed at Santa Anita.  We immediately started using his artistry in commercials, and he gifted me with all his old recordings, which he had meticulously kept since 1934.  I pestered him constantly, and he was an unsurpassed raconteur.  He unhesitatingly told me the greatest race he called was the Noor (117 pounds, Longden) and Citation (130, Brooks) battle in the 1950 San Juan Capistrano. They hooked each other for almost the entire mile and three-quarters on the main track.  Noor won by a nose.  Let your own imagination take over: “the two raced head and head for five-sixteenths, the lead see-sawing back and forth, in the most protracted drive,” said Evan Shipman in the American Racing Manual.  “They were to continue locked right down to the wire, where, with the luck of the nod, the camera caught Noor’s nose in front.”  Broken down by quarters, the race reads:  24, 23.4, 24.3, 25.3, 24.3, 24.3, 25.3!  Citation led at the mile and a half mark, two-fifths faster than the American record at the time; the two set a new track record by almost six full seconds, and a new American record.

His 1940 call of Seabiscuit becoming “a new world’s champion” in the Santa Anita Handicap still rings in my ears, from the souvenir we produced, “70,000 fans going absolutely crazy, including your announcer, and he broke the track record, it’s up there.”

Is it any wonder that a bust of Hernandez graces the Paddock Gardens at Santa Anita?  Perhaps the only such recognition for a race caller in the world? 

As Joe’s most luminous and artistic successor, Trevor has long-since joined the pantheon of the world’s great artists of the air waves, but in an entirely different era.  With the advent of racing being televised lived, he couldn’t have gotten away with any of Joe’s famous antics:  he once sat down after calling the horses through the stretch to the wire off the hillside grass course, when they still had another mile to run.  Waking up to what had happened as the horses turned into the backstretch, with his customary aplomb he simply blew into the mike and tapped it twice, then proclaimed, “TESTING, TESTING,” and continued as though there had been a power outage.

Having once yearned to be a jockey, Trevor’s viewpoint has always been unique.  He asked permission to walk the courses at Santa Anita his first day.  Asked why, he said to me, “I have to see everything from the riders’ perspectives.”  He was the first American caller seamlessly to integrate the riders’ names and styles in his pictures, as he painted the race.  He also seemed to know instinctively just how much horse each jock had at all times.  If you listened carefully to his tenor, many were the times when you knew who the winner would be at the half-mile post.  

Still, all the tributes to him can be summed up very simply:  he has been, in short, “UN-BE-LIEVE-ABLE.” 

All in the Family: Larry Rivelli Finds Another Level Thanks to Trust, Relationships

Article by Jennifer Kelly

In an era of super trainers with even larger owners behind them, the sport of horse racing still has at its foundation a legion of owners and trainers who operate on a smaller scale but nonetheless make big news on the racetrack. These are the men and women who have built their lives around the equine athletes in their care, their knowledge passed down through generations, supporting racetracks at all levels. These are breeders, owners, trainers, and many more who think of themselves as a family, one bonded by the love of horses. 

For Larry Rivelli, a third-generation horseman, family is at the heart of his barn. Lessons learned by his grandfather’s and uncle’s sides have informed his approach to his work and his relationships with owners as he takes his career to a new level. 

Windy City Boy

A Chicago native, Rivelli comes by his horsemanship honestly: his late grandfather Pete and uncle Jimmy DiVito both made their livelihoods in the sport. Pete made his life with horses, preferring his education on the track rather than in a schoolroom as early as 5th grade. He galloped horses for Bing Crosby, worked with horses during his stint in the Army, and then returned to racing in Chicago and California afterward. He trained for Louis B. Mayer, Harry James and Betty Grable, and Lindsay Howard, son of Charles Howard, owner of the famed Seabiscuit. He returned to Chicago for good in the 1960s and spent the rest of his career there. 

Son Jimmy followed him into the business as well, his home base also in Chicago. Alongside both worked Larry Rivelli, son of Pete’s daughter Julie and Jimmy’s nephew. While his mother worked, “I stayed with my grandparents a lot. And it was just racing forms and programs on the kitchen table every day. I would read them. My grandfather would read them. We would just go back to the track. The track was eight minutes from the house.” 

DiVito put his grandson to work cleaning stalls when he was nine or ten years old; later, he worked with his uncle Jimmy during school breaks, both giving Rivelli opportunities to learn the skills that would serve him when he went out on his own. The young Rivelli always had athletic ambitions at heart – “I either wanted to be a professional football player or a horse trainer,” – leading the state in rushing in his junior and senior years of high school before going on to St. Cloud State University in Minnesota. There, he played wide receiver and kick returner for the Huskies, and after graduation, found his opportunities at the next level were limited. Instead, he turned to the family business. 

“[Training] was always just something that I really was enamored with as a little kid. That's what I really wanted to do, train racehorses, and I think that's why I've been so successful,” Rivelli shared. “It's just not even a job to me. Being a horse trainer, it's just a way of life. You either got to love it or you're not going to be able to do it. You have to have a passion for it.”

With his mother Julie and stepdad Victor in his corner, Rivelli went out on his own as a public trainer, taking out his license in 1999, the year after his grandfather died. He made Chicago his base, staying close to home while building his business and his family. On the home front, Rivelli has daughter Brittany, a competitive synchronized skater, and son Dominic, a collegiate hockey player, continuing the family’s athletic tradition. 

His foundation made the transition from football to training an easy one, a natural progression for a young man who grew up idolizing his famed grandfather and uncle. 

Training Methodologies

Rivelli’s background as a football player and his emphasis on family has inspired his approach to training since he hung out his shingle as a public trainer 25 years ago. His experience as an athlete has cultivated an awareness of the relationship between how a horse feels physically and how they will perform on the racetrack. While such a correlation might seem obvious, first-hand understanding of that dynamic helped Rivelli manage his equine athletes in a manner that emphasizes both fitness and work ethic in his starters. 

“If you've been an athlete, you’ve dealt with injuries and setbacks and therapy differently than people that, let's just say, never played a sport,” Rivelli shared. “It's a sport, and horses get hurt. They want to try to work through these injuries where horses are so much bigger and heavier than humans. And they're putting all that pressure on about the size of our legs. So, if something goes wrong, I take steps back and time heals everything most of the time.”

Dr. Jean White, an Ocala, Florida veterinarian and part of the Rivelli team, describes the trainer’s approach as one where “he would rather do less and have the horse want to do more. If he doesn't think the horse can win, he doesn't want to run it. If it needs rest, let it rest. If it needs its feet fixed, fix them. If it needs us to evaluate it and figure out why, then do that.” 

“It's just like a human being. People go to the gym and absolutely kill themselves every day, and then they don't feel so great,” she observed. “It's a different style. It's a different thought process, a different mentality.”

That emphasis on fitness means the trainer is “a four to six weeks [between races] guy. Occasionally or situationally, you'll have something come up sooner.” 

“Back in the day [2002-2006], I had a turf sprinter, Nicole's Dream, and she was really, really good,” Rivelli remembered. “They had a boys race and a girls race in Chicago, and they were separated by a week. There was no other races on the planet for her for three and a half months, so I ran her back. And she won. She was an extremely sound horse, too, so it made that decision easier.”

The native Chicagoan prefers to run his horses in winnable spots so that they are not asked to give too much over and over again: “I take pride in running most of my horses. I'm a bad loser, so I won't run one if I don't think they can win, really. I'll take as much time as we need to get them to that point. We'll even stop on them and back off and send them home and turn them out and bring them back. If something's not going right during the process instead of getting ready, we're just going to stop. Horses, they only got so many races in them.”

Instead, the trainer prefers to give a horse time off and only bring them back “when they’re 100% and ready to go. And that's why he has horses that run ‘til they're eight,” White shared. “They're wanting to train, wanting to run.”

Vincent Foglia of Patricia’s Hope, one of Rivelli’s biggest owners, points out what he sees is behind the trainer’s success: “He does the same thing every day, seven days a week. He's got that set list. He's always looking at that big sheet. He's always writing down who's going to be walking, who's going to be galloping, who's breezing. It's like clockwork. His consistency, the amount of time he puts into it, is very regimented. Very consistent and meticulous. That's his approach. That's great. And he always does what's right by the horse every time. That's first and foremost.”

That emphasis on consistency and care has helped the third-generation trainer build a solid career in his native racing scene. In 2000, his first full season, Rivelli’s barn had 57 starts and an 8-7-9 record, for 14% win and 42% win-place-show percentages; in 2024, his 25th season, he had 279 starts and a record of 89-45-26, for 25% win and 50% WPS percentages. Nationally, Rivelli has been in the Top 50 by wins in 12 out of the last 15 years. His career win percentage of 26% and WPS of 56% reflects his ability to put his horses in the right spots for success. To this point in his career, much of that has been in the Chicago area.

He won his first training title at Arlington Park in 2011, and then was the track’s leading trainer from 2014 to its final season in 2021. Rivelli then shifted his stable to Hawthorne, the lone racetrack remaining in the Chicago area, and won leading trainer titles there for their 2021-2023 spring meets. This native son emphasizes his roots, saying “I'll still consider myself a Chicago trainer [even] if there are no tracks in Illinois.” 

For his winter racing, Rivelli has horses stabled in a private barn at Fair Grounds in New Orleans, one he purchased from former owner Louis Roussel, an acquisition that signaled his intent to make a long-term investment in Louisiana. “The state is thriving as far as races. They got four tracks in the state, and they're all doing their thing,” Rivelli shared. In addition, he has horses at Turfway Park near Cincinnati and then shifts back to his home base at Hawthorne the rest of the year. In addition to being on home turf there, the track’s proximity works in his favor as “it's easier on the help and on yourself,” plus “I [can] ship to Churchill, which is four hours. To ship to Keeneland is three and a half hours, three hours to Indiana. So, all these tracks around us, it's not a big deal to ship. You ship over a couple of days before or a week before. I like the fact that the horses are all under one roof.”

Staying in this area also helps Rivelli maintain the relationships that he has built with owners like Patricia’s Hope and Richard Ravin, both of whom found ample success at the Windy City’s racetracks. The bonds the trainer has formed with those two owners exemplify his approach to doing business: keeping it all in the family. 

Bonded with Success

Two ownership mainstays in the Rivelli barn include Richard Ravin and the Foglia family, the Chicago-area entrepreneurs-turned-philanthropists behind the Patricia’s Hope stable. Ravin’s investment in the sport includes both his current racing-age horses in Rivelli’s barn and the broodmares that Dr. White keeps on one of her Ocala-area properties. Both owners have been with Rivelli for more than a decade and count the trainer as more than just a partner in the sport. They are a team, and as the trainer puts it, “these are my guys, and they know that. It’s very rare that you have people like that that are in the game with you, and they are happier for you when we win than they are for themselves.”

An Ohio native who settled in the Chicago area in the 1960s, Ravin retired from the insurance business and got into horse ownership after a chance encounter with a friend who had bought into Nicole’s Dream, one of Rivelli’s earliest successes. Ravin partnered with Dare to Dream Stable in the sprinter and then expanded into breeding as well. He met Rivelli through “the four or five guys that we got together as a horse ownership group, and they're the ones that picked him. I didn't know him. I got to know Larry since we had the Nicole's Dream and a couple others when we made a couple of purchases early on, back in 2000, 2001. And I've been together with Larry ever since.” 

The Foglia family got into the ownership game after years of trips to Arlington that became bonding moments for mother Patricia and son Vincent, Jr. Father Vincent founded Sage Products, Inc., a medical supply company in Cary, Illinois. The company’s prosperity allowed the family to start the Foglia Family Foundation, which supports health care and education in the Chicago area. The younger Foglia wanted to expand their love of the sport into ownership in 2010. They met Rivelli when they wanted to claim a horse and immediately hit it off: “I knew he was winning most of the races at Arlington. That was it. I knew nothing. I got a quick introduction to him on the phone because we were going to claim a horse at Gulfstream. We just hit it off. We have similar backgrounds and are real close in age and became friends really quickly,” Foglia remembered. 

“He is like my brother that I never had. We are like two very similar people as far as just the way we are and ended up just being a great partnership and an even better friendship,” the trainer shared. That friendship led to a partnership that dominated at Arlington Park. While Rivelli was leading trainer for much of the track’s final decade, Patricia’s Hope was the leading owner. Rivelli also introduced the Foglias to Ravin, which led to the trainer and owners forging a solid partnership behind horses like Grade 3 stakes winner Jean Elizabeth and Grade 2 turf sprinter One Timer. 

Patricia’s Hope also has brought Rivelli Breeders’ Cup success. Their Cocked and Loaded was the trainer’s first Breeders’ Cup starter at Keeneland in 2015, and turf sprinter Nobals gave both their first Breeders’ Cup winner with his neck victory over Big Invasion in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Santa Anita in 2023. The Foglias were also partners in Two Phil’s, second in the 2023 Kentucky Derby behind Mage. They bought into the colt, who became both the trainer’s and the owners’ first Derby starter, on Rivelli’s recommendation. 

“I'm tight with Larry. I'm his biggest investor. I'm his biggest owner. And we're very good friends,” Foglia shared. “The Sagans, who owned [Two Phil’s], they were trying to sell that horse from the sale on out. They wanted the money. I'm like, should I go in? He [Rivelli] goes, ‘Absolutely.’ I said, I'll take as much as I could get. I ended up getting 80%.” 

That trust is at the heart of Rivelli’s relationship with his owners. As Ravin puts it, “First of all, he's a very loyal guy and he just totally exemplifies honesty, integrity, and character. Those are the type of people I really want to be associated with. When you got a person like Larry, it then becomes a friendship, even more so than the partnership.” The Foglias echo that sentiment, the younger Vincent sharing that the trainer “always tells the truth. He's always working hard, and he does right by the horse, and he's honest about everything.”

That honesty translates into a trust that makes the relationship between Rivelli, Ravin, the Foglias, and Dr. White a collaborative effort where “there is plenty of room between the owners and the two of us for somebody to raise their hand and go, ‘Wait. What are we doing? Wait a second.’” White observed. “That is allowed. Every once in a while, somebody goes, ‘yeah, we need to look at the situation differently.’”

In the end, what each appreciates about working with team Rivelli is “the friendship, the team working together, being honest and direct, being upfront, it's just a tremendous experience,” Ravin shared. “My wife threw a very special 80th birthday party for me down here last year. And there was Larry flying from Chicago, coming down and being there as a surprise. So that's the person, that's the relationship, and that's as good as I can give an example of what a quality person he is.”

Rivelli echoes those sentiments whenever he talks about owners like Ravin and the Foglias. “I'm so fortunate right now that the people that I have, my main owners, I can literally say, I love these people,” the trainer shared. “These are my people. If they said tomorrow we quit, I'd say, ‘All right, where are we going for breakfast?’ These are my guys. And they know that, and I know that. And it's very rare that you have people like that that are in the game with you, and they are happier for you when we win than they are for themselves. Like me, I'm so happy for my guys, like for Vinnie and his mom and Richard Ravin and when they win, than I am for myself.”

So much of the success a trainer builds over the course of their career depends on the relationships they cultivate with racetrack officials, jockeys, veterinarians, and most of all, owners. As Dr. White shared, the dynamic between Rivelli and his owners can best be summed up with “Vinnie would just [say], ‘okay, whatever you want to do, whatever you think is best, Riv. That's what we're going to do.’”

That kind of trust, especially when Arlington closed leaving them without the site of much of their early success, led to a rethinking of their business model and one of Rivelli’s highest profile horses to date. 

A Change in Perspective 

Rivelli and team may have dominated Arlington’s last decade, but the track’s closure meant Patricia’s Hope, Richard Ravin, and their trainer needed to rethink their approaches to racing going forward. While they have found success after shifting to Hawthorne, they have changed the type of horses they want in their barn. “The game plan for the owners and myself has changed. Whether we're at Hawthorne or Turfway or Fair Grounds, that's really not important. It's all just a matter of what's running,” the trainer observed. “Focusing our efforts on buying more expensive horses, so to say, or better horses instead of filling the barn with the 20s, 30s, 8s, 12s, because you wanted to have one for each spot. Now we're looking for the best horses we can get all the time.”

That shift to quality over quantity means a multi-layered approach to acquiring horses, mostly through either private purchases or through sales like the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Two-Year-Olds-in-Training Sale. “Our thing is we really do a little bit of everything,” Rivell shared. “There's no method to this. There's no foolproof approach. If we just go to the sale every year, the two-year-old sales, we're going to get couple, of course. I bought One Timer, who has made over a million dollars, as a yearling for $21,000 on the way out of a sale just walking out. I thought I had a big budget that year. I spent a lot of money. That was the cheapest horse I bought. He was little. He's put together good, and I liked him. He looked like he would be fast. He grew up into this beauty, and he's woin over a million dollars. He's just a real nice racehorse.”

Nobals, on the other hand, “we bought him after he ran, so he was a proven horse.” Rivelli purchased the gelding by Noble Mission out of the Empire Maker mare Pearly Blue for $150,000 from owner/trainer Leland Hayes. “And then at the [2022 OBS] two-year-olds in training sale we saw Two Phil’s. The breeder gave him to me, said he wants to sell the horse. Patricia's Hope [the Foglia family] bought the piece that the guy wanted to sell.” Add in Richard Ravin’s broodmares as well as Two Phil’s now standing at stud, Rivelli and company also “breed a few. [Vinnie] will be breeding a couple because he stayed in for a percentage on Two Phil’s. So, we're going to have a lot of action. And you never know where it's going to come from.”

This new focus brought Rivelli his three most successful seasons to date, including 2023, with $4.9 million in earnings and a win percentage of 31%. “It's just a coincidence, but it's funny. The first year we decided to change the motto was the year we won the Breeders’ Cup [with Nobals] and almost won the Derby [with Two Phil’s],” he shared. “We couldn't make a wrong move that year at all. It was great.”

As his highest profile horses to date, One Timer, Two Phil’s, and Nobals are the best illustrations of the trainer’s approach to buying, preparing, and racing his horses. All three were acquired in different ways, each catching Rivelli’s attention based on their physical appearance or performance; Nobals’s lone start at Presque Isle at age two prompted Rivelli to pursue buying the gelding. After acquiring the talent comes planning a campaign. Even if the trainer envisions a specific goal for a horse, like the Kentucky Derby or the Breeders’ Cup, he still approaches the season start by start. 

Nobals was already a stakes winner prior to his 2023 Breeders’ Cup win, taking the listed Arlington-Washington Futurity at age two and following that with two black-type stakes wins at Turfway at age three, all on synthetic. Rivelli also tested him on turf: his first win at age four came in the Grade 2 Twin Spires Turf Sprint on the Kentucky Derby undercard at Churchill Downs, a three-quarter-length victory that had Rivelli circling the Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita on his calendar. To get there, the gelding went to Horseshoe Indianapolis and won the William Garrett Handicap; to Saratoga, where he was second to Cogburn in the Grade 3 Troy; and then to Colonial Downs for the Da Hoss, which he won by a head, before his trip out west to Santa Anita. Each start was about four weeks apart with eight weeks between the Da Hoss and his win in the Turf Sprint. With Nobals returning for his six-year-old season, Rivelli knows his sprinting star has fewer options if he wants to build toward a second try at the Breeders’ Cup: “For Nobals, for those type of individuals, there are less select races for a five-eighths turf specialist and sprinter. Wherever they're at, you got to go to.”

When Two Phil’s (Hard Spun – Mia Torri, by General Quarters) landed in his barn in 2022, Rivelli was not thinking about the Kentucky Derby trail until his Grade 3 Street Sense win over a sloppy Churchill Downs surface, his third win in five starts at age two. That 5¼-length win came around two turns, the colt’s second try at 1 1/16 miles after finishing out of the money in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland. After that, “we took a little closer order on what races we were going to run him in and stuff like that,” the trainer remembered. “Now, if he had run a third in that race, maybe I wouldn't have gone the route I went, but he won pretty convincingly.” 

Trying for the first Saturday in May “always is in the back of your mind, but when you don't have the opportunity or you don't have those type of horses all the time, it's hard,” Rivelli observed. “I’ve had one or maybe two. It's because I know what it takes to have those horses. I could have taken several horses that I've made hundreds of thousands of dollars with by running them in other races besides those races and try to qualify for the Derby, but I knew they weren't good enough, even though other people or other trainers might have gone down that road just for the fact to go down it.”

The Street Sense win showed Rivelli and the partnership, including Patricia’s Hope, that the colt had the potential for a try at the Run for the Roses. To get there, the trainer sent his colt to Fair Grounds, where he was third behind Angel of Empire in the Grade 3 Lecomte that January and then second behind Instant Coffee in the Grade 2 Risen Star four weeks later. Rivelli then sent his colt to Turfway for the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby Steaks, which Two Phil’s won by 5¼ lengths. Six weeks later, Rivelli was on the backside of Churchill Downs with a serious Derby contender and a barrage of media seeking out the chestnut colt and his Windy City connections. 

Two Phil’s and regular rider Jareth Loveberry, another Arlington refugee, entered the gate on the first Saturday of May as one of the four horses with single digit odds, fourth choice behind Angel of Empire, Tapit Trice, and Japanese hopeful Derma Sotogake. Loveberry stalked the pace set by Verifying and Kingsbarns through the first mile and then edged clear by 1½ lengths with three furlongs to go. Mage mounted his bid on their outside, building enough momentum to pass Two Phil’s in the final furlong. Though they were not victorious, “the overall day, with the Derby and with Nobals winning the half million-dollar race, that was probably the best day,” Rivelli shared. 

The trainer then broke with tradition and opted not to send Two Phil’s to Pimlico for the Grade 1 Preakness Stakes two weeks later. “We ran in the Derby, ran in the biggest, the baddest race in the planet, and we almost won,” Rivelli reflected. “What do you do now? Okay, that's done. Horse is doing great. Let's find spots where we can't lose. Not what we can maybe win, where we can't lose.”

That choice to skip the Preakness reflects this veteran trainer’s philosophy about both spotting his horses and timing their starts. The two-week turnaround makes the two races “too close, especially that caliber of race. I know they've been talking about backing it up, which I think would be a good thing.” 

Instead, Rivelli chose to follow up Two Phil’s second-place turn at Churchill Downs with a jaunt to Thistledown for the Grade 3 Ohio Derby six weeks later. “There's only so many times he's going to ask a horse to give a hundred percent of its effort,” Dr. White shared. “He's much more likely to ship to some other racetracks away from the crowd and ask them to run to 70% or 80% of their potential and leave that 100% for a spot here or there.” The nine-furlong stakes was another tour-de-force performance from the son of Hard Spun. Once again, he laid just off the pace, took over in the stretch, and finished strong, beating second-choice Bishops Bay by 5¾ lengths. 

“He was spectacular that day. We were so glad to see that he was back, and we was really looking forward to what he was going to do next,” Rivelli remembered. “We were all high fiving on the plane, drinking, partying on the way back. And then the next day, it's like, ‘Oh, my gosh.’ Hit right in the gut.”

After his Ohio Derby win, the colt started showing lameness in his left front ankle. Radiographs showed that the issue was a fractured sesamoid. The injury was not life-threatening, but it was career-ending. Two Phil’s was retired with a 10-5-2-1 record and $1,583,450 in earnings. He now stands stud at WinStar Farm, with both Rivelli and the Foglias retaining shares. 

The veteran trainer was realistic about Two Phil’s injury and retirement. “The prognosis is generally not very good. His was not that bad, but it wasn't insignificant. If you gave him a year off, he probably could be fine, or you could go back to training him,” Rivelli observed. “Me, like I said, being an athlete, knowing this stuff, you could be fine, but you're going to lose a step or two or three. What will be the point? What does he need to prove? He doesn't owe us anything. You always want to do right by the horse.”

With 65 to 70 horses and 30 employees in his barns, with a close-knit group of owners and team that have helped take him to a new level, Larry Rivelli is ready for 2025 and beyond. 

The Next Thing 

For this Chicago native, the name of the game is adapting. “Life throws stuff at you. You got to adapt anyway. And that's the key to it is, if you can keep adapting, you're on good footing,” Rivelli shared. “It's like coaching a football team. You got to keep the players healthy as you can for as long as you can. Meanwhile, trying to win races and be in the right spots where you're not going to run fifth, sixth, eighth, and put miles on your horse and not make your owner money.” 

With racing in his hometown down to one racetrack, this native son hopes that Hawthorne will add a casino to its facility, which will help keep the sport afloat in Illinois as such additions have elsewhere. In the meantime, his fellow Chicagoans Richard Ravin and the Foglia family will be along for the ride with complete trust in the man caring for their horses. 

“I have never thought about calling, watching, doing, or anything else with anybody except Larry,” Ravin shared. The retired insurance executive cites his trainer’s best advice about racing – having patience – as the foundation behind his confidence: “If we're patient and care about our horses, I think we'll be rewarded both for doing the right thing because it's the right thing to do, and we'll be rewarded by getting the wins that we need to get to make it a viable operation.”  

Vincent Foglia, Jr. received similar advice from Rivelli: “Don't get too excited about one start. Don't try to rush anything. Do what you think the horse can do. Stay within your limitations of the horse you have and its ability. Relax.” That perspective got the Foglias within a length of a Kentucky Derby. It is an experience that the family behind Patricia’s Hope would be willing to repeat, and they “would only do it with Rivelli. I've had people who want me to go in with them on other horses, and I will say, ‘Sure, but who do you want to train?’ Anyone that says different from Riv, I say, ‘I'm out.’”

The trainer’s 2025 does include another possible Derby contender, Murdock (Vekoma-Saucy At Midnight, by Midnight Lute), owned by Carolyn Wilson. “He won first time out by 10. He ran in one of the first two-year-old races of the year in Chicago. And he won like I thought he would,” Rivelli shared. “And then he had a couple of setbacks, and then he had a testicle up in his stomach, and we had to operate. Then he had something wrong with his foot. But he's a serious horse.” 

The year also includes another potential Breeders’ Cup campaign for Nobals, who is set to make his first start soon; and for One Timer, the new year brings a possible return to Kentucky Downs, the site of his Grade 2 Franklin-Simpson victory and a track that the gelding has run well over. 

“He [Nobals] can run in the race because he's won the Breeders’ Cup, and he's a Grade 1 winner, so he probably will get in as long as I spot his races. I probably would either turn him out for a little bit, but he was lightly raced last year, and he's doing really good. I don't think I want to campaign him from now all the way to the Breeders’ Cup. That would be one whole year of training,” Rivelli shared. 

“One Timer, I'll probably keep him on the Polytrack and then run him in a Churchill or Ellis race, places like that,” the trainer said. “He's a little different horse to train, a little different horse to keep going. So, when he's going good, we're going to keep him in action.” 

As for goals in this new year, short and long, Larry Rivelli is a realist. “Short-term goals is to wake up tomorrow,” the native Chicagoan laughed. “If you start making too many long-term plans in this game, I think it ends up biting you in the ass because you push yourself. It's like, okay, I got the next three races for this horse, and then tomorrow something happens.”

“The owners I have are great. They're not sweating, saying ‘we got to run.’ They let me do my thing, which is great. And I think that's why we've been so successful,” he shared. “It's just a pretty good team. And my help, the people that work for me. Obviously, none of this would happen if I didn't have them.” 

On race days big and small, his grandfather is never far from his thoughts, especially when Rivelli is getting his picture taken in the winner’s circle. “When I point, is actually I'm pointing to my grandfather,” this third-generation horseman shared. “I used to point up in the sky to him. That's back at him.”

For Larry Rivelli, racing is all about family, both blood and chosen, and the trust in each other that brings the successes they have all enjoyed. And he would not have it any other way.

Fuelling the racehorse - time for a paradigm shift!

Article by Dr Katie Williams

What does it take for received wisdom to be overturned and new approaches adopted? Revelatory research findings? Social demand for change? Both could actually result in a change to the way racehorses are fed today as welfare and sustainability in equestrian sport are increasingly scrutinized and researchers find ways to feed and manage horses more sympathetically and sustainably. 

Can we feed a racehorse more sympathetically - evolutionary considerations 

The horse is a herbivore and as soon as we prevent them eating as they have evolved to do, there are repercussions for their health and well-being. The increasing frequency with which ulcers are being diagnosed may account for why the recommendations for the minimal amount of forage a horse requires has increased in recent years. Rendle et al. (2020) cite 1.5% of bodyweight on a dry matter basis which is the level most equine nutritionists would advocate for the long-term health of the horse. 

The glandular region of the horse’s stomach contains glands that secrete hydrochloric acid, pepsin, bicarbonate and mucus. The stomach secretes acid continuously; as the horse is a trickle feeder it has evolved to do so continuously and it is important to note that this process continues even when the horse isn’t eating. This is why periods of more than 6 hours without access to forage are a risk factor for ulcers. The volume of secretion has been shown to be around 1.5l of gastric juice per hour although this does vary at different times during the day. Consuming too little fiber and eating materials that are high in starch, means acidity levels increase in the stomach. This not only increases the risk of ulcers but also changes the environment in the stomach sufficiently to impact the microbes that live there. Microbial dysbiosis in the stomach is increasingly being linked to an increased risk of gastric disease, particularly in the glandular region which is now recognized as an inflammatory disease rather than an ulcerative one.   

There are other potential health issues to consider too. It has been shown in trials in mice for example, that a low fiber diet increases the permeability of the gut – a phenomenon known as leaky-gut syndrome. When fibre is fermented in the hind gut, one of the volatile fatty acids produced is butyrate and this is the energy used by the colonocytes (gut cells) themselves. Insufficient fiber and therefore butyrate, can compromise the health of the cells creating bigger gaps between them which allows contents of the gut that shouldn’t pass through, to do so. The racehorse is repeatedly exposed to new and different environments when travelling to different racecourses and encounters pathogens they might have no previous immunity to. Their reduced defensive barriers in the gut mean they are more vulnerable to these pathogens which can result in digestive upsets.  

So can more fiber be fed without compromising performance? 

Researchers at the Lab to Field research center in Dijon, France believe so.  In work funded by the French government and published in Frontiers in Physiology, they found that Standardbred horses in training fed a third of their total ration as alfalfa with just 7% oats, performed comparably with those fed 33% oats (the remainder of the diet was hay). The horses were monitored over an 8 week period rather than just in a one-off standardized exercise test (SET). The replacement of a significant proportion of oats with alfalfa had no detrimental effects on performance or muscle tone and in fact, altered energy metabolism in such a way as to potentially improve performance and recovery the authors suggest (Martin et al., 2023). Studies back in the early 2000s (Nadeua et al, 2000; Lybbert et al, 2007) showed that alfalfa was more beneficial for horses with ulcers compared to grass forages because it helps counter the increased acidity that occurs when feeding cereals. This latest study suggests that alfalfa can actually replace a significant proportion of the cereals as an energy source too. 

The prevalence of gastric ulcers means it is an issue that needs to be addressed especially when viewed in the context of equine welfare in sport. Two recent studies have again shown how alfalfa has a key role to play in this regard too. The Lab to Field research group demonstrated that clinical success with horses with EGGD was 47.7 times more likely in horses fed alfalfa pellets as part of their ration compared to those on concentrate only rations (Julliand et al., 2023). 

In addition, a study published in 2024 showed that a combination of alfalfa, sugar beet and cereal fiber fed alongside the existing ration, aided the reduction in recurrence of gastric ulcers when fed during the healing and post-medication periods. This is key for when ulcer medication is stopped and the recognized rebound increase in acid production can occur (Menzies-Gow and Shurlock, 2024). 

A key point from these studies is that the quality of fiber matters. Alfalfa and sugar beet both contain higher proportions of digestible fiber such as pectin and hemi-cellulose, rather than indigestible fibrous elements such as lignin. This means they aren’t sitting in the gut for so long but they are being digested and utilized as an energy source. If fed in chopped forms they help to increase the amount of chewing the horse does and more chew time might actually be a relatively simple step in the right direction from a welfare perspective. The pros and cons of turning out racehorses have been widely debated but for those where it isn’t (currently) practical, it is surely a positive action to at least provide the horse with high fiber materials to eat when stabled, especially when it isn’t having a negative impact on their performance.

Dispelling Myths - Facts about Fibre

How much sugar does sugar beet contain?

The pulp fed to horses is actually really low in sugar – less than 5% assuming no molasses has been added back in. This is because the sugar has been extracted for use in the human food industry and the fibrous pulp is used for animal feed. 

Why does alfalfa contain more calcium than grass forages? 

Alfalfa has really deep roots – about 3 to 4 meters – and the calcium at this depth in the soil is more available for absorption. This means that alfalfa plants can take up more calcium than grass – chopped alfalfa contains between 30 - 50% more calcium than grass forages. Early studies suggest that omeprazole is reducing calcium absorption in the horse as is seen in humans and in Swanhall et al’s (2018) study, they recommend using bio-available calcium sources in the diet to help counteract this effect. Plant based sources of calcium such as alfalfa are much easier for the horse to absorb than inorganic sources such as limestone flour. 

Why is alfalfa so low in starch?

Like other plants alfalfa makes sugar when photosynthesizing but it stores any surplus sugar as starch in its roots – the part that horses don’t eat! Grass plants tend to store sugar as fructan in leaves and the stem which is why they supply the horse with more sugar. 

What contribution can forage make to a racehorse’s requirements? 

Remember that grass-based forages contain sugar, both simple sugar (glucose, fructose etc) and as water soluble carbohydrates or storage sugars (fructan). 10kgs of hay can provide around 1kg of simple sugar and in the region of 2-2.5kgs of storage sugar. This supplies around 20% of the energy required by a 500kgs horse in intense training. Additionally, forage provides energy from the fiber it contains and so overall, including the contribution from sugar, 10kgs of hay would supply around 60-70% of the horse’s energy needs depending on the quality of the forage. 

Earlier cut forages tend to be more digestible and therefore supply more energy. These tend to be the wrapped forages in the UK and other wetter and colder European countries as there just aren’t long enough periods of dry weather to make good hay very often. Why is this significant? The way forages are conserved has changed over the years so now, a more accurate description of many forages previously defined as haylages, would be ‘wrapped hay’ as they are often very dry which has meant that little or no fermentation has occurred. This means the levels of acidity are no different to a normal hay which can be seen from the analysis results in table 1. Using lactic acid levels as a marker of acidity levels shows that most of the wrapped forages analyzed in the UK are too dry for fermentation to occur and so the level of acidity is no different to hay. 

Table 1 A comparison of different forages 

Concern about using a true haylage for horses with ulcers relates to the increased acidity from the fermentation that occurs. Clearly this doesn’t apply if the forage hasn’t fermented and so a wrapped hay may well be a really useful option for a horse with ulcers. They tend to be more palatable and softer than hay. It is important to know the level of acidity before making the decision to use a wrapped forage and having it analyzed is therefore advisable. 

So if the paradigm shift happens, what will a racehorse’s diet look like in years to come? 

The basis would be a good, early cut wrapped hay. The daily bucket feed would consist of 1-2kgs of oats with 1.5kgs of alfalfa pellets, 1.5kgs of chopped alfalfa and 0.5kgs of soaked sugar beet. The chopped alfalfa  contributes to the horse’s overall forage requirement so if the dry matter of the wrapped hay is around 75%, a 500kgs horse would need a minimum of 8kgs per day to supply 6kgs of additional fiber on a dry matter basis. 

Key takeaways 

• ESGD risk factors are well established and include too little fiber and too much starch 

• Feeding at least 1.5% of bodyweight on a dry matter basis is the minimum amount of forage required for long term gastric and digestive health

• Wrapped hays that have not fermented and so are no more acidic than hay are also appropriate to use for horses with ulcers

• EGGD is still not fully understood but increasingly it is acknowledged by researchers that stress is a key contributing factor

• Studies have shown alfalfa to be beneficial as an alternative energy source compared to cereals for horses in training

References 

Julliand et al (2023) Effect of diet composition on glandular gastric disease in horses. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine

Lybbert et al (2007), Proceedings of Annual Convention of the AAEP, Orlando, Florida, 2007. 

Martin et al (2023) Effect of high-starch or high-fibre diets on the energy metabolism and physical performance of horses during an 8-week training period. Front. Physiol. 14:1213032. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2023.1213032

Menzies-Gow and Shurlock (2024) The effect of feeding a commercial feedstuff on equine gastric squamous disease. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science. 133. 

Muller and Uden (2007) Preference of horses for grass conserved as hay, haylage or silage. Animal Feed Science and Technology, 132, (1-2) 66-78

Nadeau et al (2000) Evaluation of diet as a cause of gastric ulcers in horses. American Journal of Veterinary Research. Jul;61(7):784-90.

Pratt et al, (2022) Assessment of agreement using the equine glandular gastric disease grading system in 84 cases. Veterinary Medicine Science, 8 (4) 1472-1477doi: 10.1002/vms3.807

Swanhall et al (2018) Mineral and Vitamin Supplementation Including Marine Derived Calcium Increases Bone Density in Thoroughbreds. Proceedings of the Australasian Equine Science Symposium

State Incentives 2025 - The different state incentives for owners and breeders across North America

Words - Ken Snyder

There’s an old saying, “the more things change, the more they are the same.”  “Same,” in the case of Thoroughbred breeding, might actually be desirable, as in a leveling off of declining foal crops and short fields not getting any shorter. 

“Change” is borderline cataclysmic. To wit, the possibility of decoupling racing at Gulfstream Park from the casino poses an existential threat to the racetrack, and dark clouds are beginning to loom over Santa Anita that’s not coming from the recent fires.

Still, the industry soldiers on. 

It’s ironic that Kentucky, the hub of the Thoroughbred industry in North America, prospers with record-high purses and full to overflowing fields. 

On the positive side for breeders and the industry as a whole, sale prices increased over 2023 in the weanling, yearling and broodmare divisions. 

Keeneland’s September Yearling Sale, one major barometer of industry health, broke a cumulative sales record on the 10-day mark with sales topping $405 million, beating the prior record set in 2022. 

Total yearling sales receipts across North America increased by just over 4% year on year with an average price also increasing just over 6% above ’23 averages. With an inflation rate of 2.89% at time of writing (down from the astronomical 9.06% in 2022) breeders could actually spend some of their sales revenues.

Naysayers, however, might snidely ask horse purchasers, “Where ya’ gonna’ race ‘em?”

The answer is states where racing venues operate with breeding incentives, thank you very much. For that matter, one of the states —New York– will boost state-bred incentives by 15% in 2027 in time for renovated Belmont Park. That would be 15% of $42.8 million (the total for 2024 New York-bred races) or a cool $6.4 million in 2027. 

It seems, by the way, New York breeders are ahead of NYRA. The state actually experienced a foal crop increase from 1,446 to 1,524 at time of writing with full results not yet in… one of the few states with a plus number last year.

Also in the plus column is Pennsylvania. Foals numbers are projected to remain the same through 2023 to 2024. But with ten new stallions to hit the breeding sheds this year, including 2022 Kentucky Derby-winner Rich Strike, that number will likely increase in years to come. Rich Strike is one of approximately 45 stallions standing in Pennsylvania, according to Brian Sanfrantello, executive secretary of the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association.

The Keystone State might be the best place for breeding awards east of Kentucky. Last year, Warriors Reward topped stallion standings with $199,664. Add breeder totals to that and you have $927,518. 

Speaking of Kentucky, there was $58.1 million last year in Owners’ Awards, but no stallion owners’ awards. But Kentucky has the Kentucky Thoroughbred Breeders’ Incentive Fund (KBIF). Awards since the fund’s inception in 2005 total over $200 million for winning eligible races. 

The KBIF also solves a mystery for most racegoers in the Commonwealth in racing programs. It is common to see purse money added to by the “Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund.” That money comes from a 6% sales tax on breeding to a Kentucky stallion.

Peripheral but important to many small breeders in Kentucky for the coming season has been both Spendthrift Farm and Taylor Made Stallions cutting fees for six stallions and seven stallions respectively. 

In total, fee reductions for thirteen damn good stallions went from a total of $205,000 last year to $124,750 in 2025. The cuts enable a wider market of breeders to pass through Spendthrift’s gates and might generate new blood in the sport.

In Florida the absence of a state income tax carries over to horse breeding. Unlike Kentucky, there is no tax on stallion seasons spending; horses purchased from an original breeder are sales-tax exempt; there is no personal state income or individual capital gains tax; and feed/animal health items are tax exempt. 

The incentives require a journey into the proverbial weeds with different awards for Gulfstream and Tampa Bay Downs--some bonuses for a maiden special weight and allowance races but not handicap races; a percentage of a gross purse for winning a Black-Type stakes race; and bonuses on open overnight races. 

The incentives vary between Gulfstream and Tampa. Suffice to say, according to the FTOBA’s website, Florida breeds - "Registered Florida Stallions”-- are eligible for “purse and race incentives plus the $1.2 million 2-year-old stakes series at Gulfstream Park.”

My guess is the trainer, jockey, and maybe even some owners just wait till they get their check from a track’s payroll clerk to know what they won.

Louisiana is much simpler. A horse sired by a Louisiana stallion and foaled in the state who finishes first, second or third at a Louisiana track earns a 25% award. (Purses with this award structure are capped at $200,000.) A horse sired out of state but foaled in Louisiana earns 20% for first, second, and third if the race is within the state. A “non-resident” filly or mare, can earn an award of 10% if sired by a Louisiana stallion and racing in the state. It’s win, place, and show for these horses, too. The smallest award is 9% to resident and non-resident mares sired by out-of-state stallions. This includes mares bred back to an out-of-state stallion.

Arkansas might be the easiest incentive program to understand. Stallion awards are to an owner of an Arkansas-bred stallion for first through fourth place for any race in North America. Awards are “calculated on the earnings of 1st through 4th place finishes.” 

California’s breeding awards are not complicated but vary by race condition and purse size. It’s pretty straightforward (unlike the Kentucky Thoroughbred Breeders’ Incentive Fund) and is available in the state-by-state breakdown of incentives.

Staying Close to Home: Cynthia McKee Continues a Legacy of Success in West Virginia

Article by Jennifer Kelly

Of the twenty-seven states that are currently home to Thoroughbred racetracks, twenty also feature state breeding programs, incentives meant to reward breeders for keeping their bloodstock close to home and owners for racing their horses in their birth state. The money generated supplements purses and enables both groups to invest more in the places they call home. 

For Cynthia McKee and Beau Ridge Farm, benefits like the West Virginia Thoroughbred Development Fund have allowed her and her late husband John not only to put down roots in their childhood home but also to flourish, building a program that has brought them success in the breeding shed and on the state’s racetracks.

Mountain Mama

Cynthia McKee’s roots in West Virginia racing date back to the opening of Charles Town in 1933, long before the breeder/owner/trainer herself was born. Her father Charles O’Bannon was a 14-year-old boy watering the horses that pulled the starting gate when the racetrack opened and worked his way up to track superintendent, a position he held for more than 40 years. For the O’Bannon family, the sport and the equine athletes were a way of life, making McKee’s lifelong devotion to both a natural progression. 

“My dad was the track superintendent, and my mom, she worked part-time in the admissions. I just grew up around horses and I liked them,” she recalled. “I guess I was five or six, and I got my first pony. My dad did a lot of stuff with the 4-H Pony Club around here.”

From there, McKee graduated to show jumping, “but I couldn't make a living with show horses. I wanted to stay with the animals and the racing was the only way to do it.” First, she galloped horses and then went to work for Vincent Moscarelli, who along with his wife Suzanne bred and raced horses in the state, their Country Roads Farm producing Grade 1 winners Soul of the Matter and Afternoon Deelites for Burt Bacharach. It was Moscarelli who gave McKee a chance to take charge of his barn when he went away for a few days. “He came back, and he said he really thought he'd leave again because I'd won quite a few races,” she recalled. “He did it again the following year. But by then, I had started dating John [McKee].” 

Raised in Kearneysville, John McKee graduated from Charles Town High School, served in the Navy, and then returned to the area to raise and breed Black Angus and Pinzgauer cattle. He started training racehorses in 1969 and bought the original Beau Ridge Farm near Bunker Hill in the early 1970s. By the latter part of the decade, he was racing in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and his home state. He met the former Cynthia O’Bannon through the racetrack when her hunters happened to be stabled in his barn: 

“He said to me one day, he said, ‘Wouldn’t you rather have your two horses on a farm somewhere and you could move your jumps out there? I'd really like to have some more stalls. They just don't have any more stalls. You could just move your horses up there and set your show jumps up in that field,’” she recalled. “I moved my show horses up to his farm and he raced horses in my stalls. And I guess that's how it started because I was up there every day taking care of my horses and riding.”

From there, John McKee and Cynthia O’Bannon were partners in breeding, owning, and training horses, making their home at Beau Ridge and taking turns traveling to tracks like Atlantic City to race their horses. They later moved to Kearneysville, where the couple built a three-furlong training track and a breeding program that has become quite the juggernaut for the Mountain State. In addition to their 170 acres, the McKee’s greatest investment to this point has been the stallion Fiber Sonde. 

A Foundation Named Fiber Sonde

Bred by Aaron and Marie Jones, Fiber Sonde is a 2005 foal by Unbridled’s Song, sire of Arrogate and Liam’s Map, out of the Storm Cat mare Silken Cat. An incident with a fence left the colt with a broken shoulder, keeping him off the racetrack; John McKee then bought the two-year-old prospect at the Keeneland November Sale in 2007 for $8,000. The couple opted not to race him and instead sent him to stud at Beau Ridge. The gray stallion went on to become a superstar, topping the state’s sire list from 2018 to 2023 and finishing second to Juba in 2024 despite the 20-year-old’s fertility issues. 

“We can only breed him once a day, and I try to be very selective with him,” McKee shared. “I don't breed too many outside mares, but the people that supported us from day one with him, I still let them breed some. Indian Charlie is a really good cross with him, so we've bought a few Indian Charlie mares over the years. Distorted Humor also is a good cross with him. Those mares are going to come first.”

The most notable successes for the Fiber Sonde pairing with an Indian Charlie mare include four of his foals with the mare Holy Pow Wow: Late Night Pow Wow, Muad’dib, Duncan Idaho, and Overnight Pow Wow. Racing for Javier Contreras and Breeze Easy, Late Night Pow Wow became the son of Unbridled’s Song’s only graded stakes winner when she took the Grade 3 Charles Town Oaks in 2018 and the Grade 3 Barbara Fritchie at Laurel the following year. The mare also had five black-type stakes wins, including the Cavada, one of the nine stakes on the West Virginia Breeders’ Classic card. 

Local trainer Jeff Runco purchased both Muad’dib and Duncan Idaho for owner David Raim. The former was second in the 2022 edition of the Grade 2 Charles Town Classic and won the Sam Huff West Virginia Breeders’ Classic Stakes the same year in addition to two other black-type stakes victories. Duncan Idaho captured the WVBC Dash for Cash Stakes this past October. 

The McKees also bred Overnight Pow Wow, a 2021 foal that Cynthia convinced her husband to keep rather than sell as they had done with other Fiber Sonde-Holy Pow Wow foals. “He was more for selling than me,” Cynthia reflected. “I don't like selling them.” Her instinct to keep the filly has reaped rewards, though John McKee, who passed away in early February 2023, missed out on Overnight Pow Wow’s thrilling start to her career. The now four-year-old amassed eight wins in 11 starts in 2024, including a win in the WVBC Cavada against older fillies and mares in addition to her two black-type wins at their home track. The success of the Fiber Sonde-Holy Pow Wow’s pairing made the mare’s untimely death in late December a bitter pill for McKee. 

“The only thing I could tell you is, when that mare died, it like to kill me,” she shared. “I cried for a week. I was going to sell everything and move to Charleston, South Carolina, and retire on Folly Beach. Then I got to thinking about Fiber Sonde and our many other mares. This is home.” 

Beau Ridge is also home to five other stallions, including Redirect, another unraced prospect that could pick up where Fiber Sonde leaves off. McKee’s Direct the Cat, who has two WVBC stakes victories already, is a daughter of Redirect out of the Fiber Sonde mare Cat Thats Grey, another WVBC winner who has also become a producer for Beau Ridge: her 2022 colt Im the Director won last year’s West Virginia Futurity, and her 2017 gelding Command the Cat was black-type stakes placed. A son of Grade 1 winner Speightstown out of the Seattle Slew mare alternate, Redirect stands for the same stud fee as Fiber Sonde, $1,000. That fee remains unchanged for 2025, allowing both to stay competitive in a state where the breeding reward program is such a draw. 

“To me, the money is in the development fund awards,” McKee said. “So, the more [mares] I can get to them, the better.” 

Mountain State Racing 

The state currently boasts two Thoroughbred racetracks, Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races, located near Charles Town in the state’s eastern tip, and Mountaineer Casino Racetrack and Resort, in Chester, near New Cumberland in the Northern Panhandle. These two racetracks hosted 285 race days in 2023, with 2,300 races total and an average field size of 7.4 horses. 

Both tracks currently have casinos in addition to their racing facilities, their revenues providing more than $1 billion in funds for purses since the state legalized video lottery machines in 1994 and then added table games in 2007. The state also sets aside $800,000 in purse money for more than a dozen state-bred stakes, including the West Virginia Futurity for two-year-olds at Mountaineer, the Sadie Hawkins Stakes for fillies and mares three years old and up at Charles Town, and the Robert G. Leavitt Memorial Stakes for three-year-olds, also at Charles Town. Both racetracks write one to three races per day for accredited state-breds as well.

Additionally, the West Virginia Thoroughbred Development Fund, established in 1983, incentivizes breeders and owners to not only breed in the state, but also to race there, paying a percentage of the accredited horse’s earnings at the state’s racetracks. Each year, breeders get 60%, owners 25%, and then 15% goes to the owners of the winning horse’s sire. To qualify, the horse’s breeder must be a resident or keep their breeding stock in the state, or the sire must be a resident of the Mountain State. 

The Supplemental Purse Awards program, also known as the 10-10-10 Fund, distributes up to 10% of the winner’s share of the purse to the owner, breeder, and/or sire owner of an accredited state bred and/or sired winner. In all, the WVTDF awards up to $5 million to breeders, owners, and sire owners of state-bred or -sired horses that earn money at the state’s two racetracks. For Beau Ridge and McKee, this kind of money not only rewards their bloodstock investment in the state but also allows them to concentrate their racing there. 

“We get around a large check in February every year. If that horse makes a penny and it's by my stallion, then I make a penny. It's based on your horse versus what other horses earn,” McKee shared. “The purses come here and there, and then the development fund, you get this big chunk of change all at one time. I tried to put enough away that I could operate for five weeks without having to touch any savings. Because you know in this business, you can be on top of the world one minute and you're bottom of the heap the next time.”

In a state with a population of 1.77 million, one that has sustained racing for more than 90 years, the Thoroughbred Development Program shows that “at even one of the smaller racetracks, that you can be successful,” McKee observed. “You don't have to be on the center stage to be successful. Do we make the money they make in New York and California? No. But even the little man that's only got one horse, he's going to get that check in February, too.”

No matter the size of the operation, whether it’s Beau Ridge with their six stallions, 30 mares, and racing stable of about 35, or a smaller operation, the state wants them to breed and race there and programs like the WVTDP enable that grassroots investment that keeps these circuits going. “Most are investing it all back in the industry, and they're excited to be a part of it,” McKee said. “A lot of them pay all their bills off then. It wipes the slate clean, and we can play again.”

Between Mountaineer and Charles Town, the Mountain State will see upwards of 280 days of racing in 2025, with at least one race written for state-breds each day. In addition to the plethora of racing days and the WVTDF, the West Virginia Breeders’ Classic card provides stakes opportunities for state-breds each autumn; modeled on the Maryland Million, this special night of racing was the brainchild of the late Sam Huff, former NFL player and breeder. All of these encourage stables like McKee’s close to home rather than traveling to Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, and beyond: “I haven't [raced elsewhere] much lately because of the breeding program. I mean, I almost lose money going out of state,” the trainer shared. 

John’s death in 2023 has kept the former Cynthia O’Bannon at Beau Ridge more than ever. This native daughter remains focused on the sport in her home state, putting her time and energy not only into promoting the breeding program that sustains her but also continuing the program that she and her late husband spent years developing. 

Balancing Act

When Cynthia O’Bannon met John McKee in the late 1970s, they developed a partnership that lasted nearly 50 years. By the time the couple decided to build a life together, he had purchased Beau Ridge and started investing in bloodstock, determined to breed good horses and then race them. From there, the couple would take turns traveling around the Mid-Atlantic, starting horses at racetracks in Maryland, New Jersey, and Virginia. 

In later years, they consolidated their racing to their home state and brought on stallions like Fiber Sonde, building their broodmare band to capitalize on their pedigrees. The couple became involved with the West Virginia Thoroughbred Breeding Association, John serving as a past president and Cynthia now occupying the same position. John’s passing at age 83 left both his wife and his farm bereft of the guiding hand that had been at the helm for so long. 

“When he first passed away, I wanted to go to bed and pull the covers over my head. I couldn't do it,” McKee shared. “But I had all these horses. I had employees. I had to go. And thank God that I did. Because if I would have sold everything, probably two or three months later, I'd be so damn bored, I wouldn't know what to do.”

Crediting her late husband as her training mentor, Cynthia McKee continues running Beau Ridge and their racing stable, wearing the mantle of owner-operator, saying that “I just found that it’s easier if I do it myself.” She oversees 12 full-time employees between both facets of her business, which includes not only boarding many of the mares that her stallions cover but foaling them as well. She has also focused on cutting down the farm’s broodmare band: “There were 60 some mares here when he passed. I do have it down to 30. I'd like to cut it down to about 20 mares and maybe 20, 25 in training.”

Though she downplays her training skills – “I always tell everybody [John]'s a better trainer. I'm a better caretaker” – McKee had her best years as a conditioner yet in 2023 and 2024, earning $829,141 and $972,117 and finishing with a win percentage of 22% and 20%, respectively. This comes on the heels of her husband’s best years in 2020-2022, three seasons where they earned more than $1 million each year. She won two West Virginia Breeders’ Classics in 2023, with No Change taking the Onion Juice and Direct the Cat winning the Triple Crown Nutrition Stakes, and then four in 2024, with Catch the Humor, Direct the Cat, No Change, and Overnight Pow Wow. As the 2025 racing season begins, she looks forward to more from Overnight Pow Wow and Direct the Cat plus several two-year-olds, all aiming to make this year’s Breeders’ Classic night another banner night for Beau Ridge. 

“With these two-year-olds, getting them ready, you got to let them tell you, you can't rush them too much. You got to let them tell you when they're ready to move on. You might think they're ready to work, and they might not even know what that means. So, you got to work with the horse a little bit and let them know what's going on,” she shared. She aims to give each horse three weeks between starts, though “sometimes you have to do it in two, depending on how the condition books fit you.” 

With six stallions, including a life changer in Fiber Sonde and a promising successor in Redirect, standing at Beau Ridge, a band of broodmares that continue to produce runners, and a stable full of established winners like Overnight Pow Wow and up-and-coming two-year-olds, Cynthia McKee is “not ready to hang it up quite yet.” She carries on, running the show while giving her late husband his due credit for what they built together. This horsewoman, though, “just [does] it. I get up in the morning and I just go, and I do as much as I can that day. There are times that I'm glad I'm busy because there are things that happen that you just feel like going to bed, pulling the covers over your head, and crying. But I can't stop long enough to do that.” 

“The main thing that kept me going is the horses, like Fiber Sonde. I couldn't put him somewhere. I couldn't do that. He built this farm. This is his home. He built this and [Holy] Pow Wow, and Ghost Canyon. They've given us everything, and now they got some age on them. What am I supposed to do? Boot them somewhere? I just kept thinking about that,” McKee reflected. 

Instead, she keeps going, planning, and racing, proof that staying close to home, thanks to the support of programs like the West Virginia Thoroughbred Development Fund, can sustain the sport as much as deeper pockets and larger stables have. Beau Ridge and Cynthia McKee show that long-term sustainable success in the sport of horse racing takes many forms and benefits from investment at all levels, a reminder of the many ways that men and women across the country and around the world make their living caring for and competing with these equine athletes. 

Mark Davis and Craig Dado – Raging Torrent

Article by Bill Heller 

Talk about a power lunch. Five years ago, Mark Davis, owner, and president of an electric power company and a restaurant owner, had lunch with horse-obsessed 14-year-old Gillian Guerra, and instantly dived into horse racing, even though he’s allergic to horses.

         His partner Craig Dado, a long-time executive at Del Mar and Santa Anita before starting his own company, tells the story of the lunch which got Davis into racing: “I got a call from Gillian’s dad. He was a chef at Mark’s restaurant. Gillian worked there, too. He said, `I’ve got this daughter who’s horse crazy. She loves horse racing.’ He said, `What can I do?’ I said, "Okay, let me set something up.”

         Dado went to trainer Doug O’Neil’s barn and ran into Steve Rothblum, a former trainer who is now a bloodstock agent for O’Neil. Dado takes up the story “Steve and I are tight. I said, will you have lunch with this girl?” He does and another gentleman is there. It was Mark Davis. So the meeting goes well. All of a sudden, Mark pops in and said, `I want to buy a horse for her.’ They claimed a horse for Gillian. The point is Mark loved what Steve did for her and said, `I want to buy horses.’ Then he writes a big check. That’s where Raging Torrent came from. Mark is head over heels in horse racing. He’s buying a farm in Kentucky. Gillian is now a freshman at the University of Kentucky. He’s paying her way through college. He’s an amazing, generous person.”

       Asked about paying Gillian’s college costs, Davis described the concept of paying it forward, being nice to someone because someone was nice to him; “When I was 16, someone did something for me. She helped me with the horses five years ago. She’s a pretty special girl.”

         Gillian said, “I’m eternally grateful for him. He saw I had a passion for it.”

         Davis does, too. He didn’t let his allergy to horses stop him from having more than a dozen horses on his California farm, including three Clydesdales: “We got the first Clydesdale, Becky, when she was pregnant. The sire is a Quarter Horse. We might be starting a new breed.”

Davis named the nine-month-old foal Pegi for his company, the Precision Electric Group, Inc., with offices in Seattle and San Diego.

         Davis’s love of Clydesdale is immense: “They are gorgeous. They are so beautiful.”

         Thoroughbreds are too, and Davis has more of them than he ever imagined: “It got a lot bigger than I thought it was getting. We bought five horses at the Keeneland Sale, two with Jeanie Buss, one of the Lakers owners. Jeanie never owned a horse other than with her family.”

         Davis’s horses have taken him to Dubai, which is where he expects Raging Torrent to make a start, and possibly South Korea: “I’m still learning, because I’ve only been in racing for five years. I’m 71 years old. I don’t have to work very hard. I like doing all this stuff. It’s worth trying.”

         Raging Torrent is why. Purchased for $75,000 as a two-year-old, he upset likely Sprint Champion The Chosen Vron by a head in the Gr. 2 Pat O’Brien at Del Mar. After finishing seventh from the rail in the Gr. 1 Breeders’ Cup Sprint, he captured the Gr. 1 Malibu by a length and a quarter on opening day at Santa Anita, December 26th.

         The two victories were especially meaningful to Dado, who was an executive at Santa Anita and Del Mar for 30 years: “It was pretty surreal to be in the winner’s circle for both the Pat O’Brien and the Malibu. I’ve been there presenting the trophy.”

         Dado started working as an intern at Santa Anita in 1990 and worked his way up to executive roles there, from 1991-2000, and at Del Mar from 2001-2021.

         Along the way he started Great Friends Stable in 2007: “I was Chief Marketing Officer at Del Mar and I wanted to bring fans into the game as new owners. Let current fans into the game. It’s very different from My Racehorse. We only have 20 shares.”

        He left Del Mar in 2021 to start his own company in San Diego, Sports Injury Central: “Basically, it’s a media site helping gamblers and fantasy players with updated injury status and how it’s going to affect the outcome of games. My partner, David Chow, was the team doctor for the Chargers. We thought there was a void in the market, especially football. It’s very challenging but it’s a lot of fun watching the company grow. We had 750,000 people come to the website.”

         He called Raging Torrent’s victory in the Malibu “Amazing. I worked at Santa Anita for 10 years. Opening day was always the highlight.”

Al Gold (Gold Square LLC), Dr. Michael Lee and George Messina – Cyclone State

Article by Bill Heller 

Three men with ties to racing longer than four decades, Al Gold, the majority partner of Gold Square LLC, Dr. Michael Lee and George Messina, celebrated Cyclone State’s emphatic 3 ½ length victory in the $150,000 Jerome Stakes at Aqueduct, January 4th, his third straight victory in his stakes debut. “They’re great guys,” Cyclone State’s trainer Chad Summer said. “Michael brought his wife and three girls to the track. They had a great time in Times Square. He’s a guy who just loves the game. George has a trainer in his family. We’ve got a lot of people on this horse’s back. It’s been a great ride.”

       Cyclone State’s victory was the first graded stakes score for both Lee and Messina, who are related through marriage. Gold’s horses, however, have been in the national spotlight many times.

       Though he grew up near Monmouth Park in New Jersey, his first visit to a racetrack came in upstate New York. His family routinely spent vacations in the Catskills at the then-famous Grossinger’s Hotel in Liberty, N.Y. and at the Concord in nearby Monticello. When he was 16, he overheard men talking about a horse they liked racing that night at Monticello Raceway. Gold went to the track that night, cashed a bet and never looked back. “A lifetime of enjoyment for me,” Gold said. “That got me addicted to it. You just walked into the place, and it was electric, Monticello. Everybody looked so happy.”

        Later in his life, he frequented Monmouth Park: “I went 90 minutes before post time. I just loved it so much.”

        He made his career in the family business of real estate: “I never really liked it. I needed the money to get horses and go to the track.”

       He bought his first Thoroughbred in 2004. He named several of them uniquely: My Italian Rabbi, Meet the Mets, Geaux Mets, Full Court Felicia, Who Hoo That’s Me and Howard Wolowitz for a character in the TV comedy The Big Bang Theory.

       But he gave his best horse a serious name, Cyberknife, because that device helped him survive prostate cancer. He learned the bad news on December 7th, 2020, his 65th birthday. A cyberknife is a robotic radiation therapy device. Despite its name, a cyberknife is part of a noninvasive procedure which delivers radiation to cancer cells without damaging other healthy issues or cells. “There’s a more accurate name for it now,” Gold said. “Fortunately my doctor caught it earlier. Cancer hit me in three more spots, but I get a blood test every three months. A shot every six months. My last tests have been clear.”

       He hoped Cyberknife, a $400,000 purchase at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Selected Yearlings Showcase, would tell others that prostate cancer can be treated and is no longer a death sentence.

       Trained by Brad Cox, Cyberknife gave Gold his first Gr. 1 stakes victory in the 2022 Arkansas Derby; a start in the Kentucky Derby finishing far back, and another Gr. 1 win in the Haskell. He also finished second to Epicenter in the Gr. 1 Travers and second by a head to Horse of the Year Cody’s Wish in the Gr. 1 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. Cyberknife earned $2,137,520 with five victories, four seconds and one third in 13 career starts. Gold sold Cyberknife's breeding rights to Spendthrift Farm, and he entered stud in 2023.

       Asked about his best moment in racing, Gold said, “When my kids, Dayna and Bryan (now 37 and 34), are there with my wife Holly and they are smiling and happy, like when we did the walkover for the Derby.”

       Lee, his wife Jennifer, and their three children, Emma Claire, Annalise and Ellie, 20, 18 and 16, enjoyed visiting New York City and, of course, the victory in the Jerome. “Super exciting,” Lee, a 50-year-old ear, nose and throat doctor in Mobile, Alabama, said. “We watched the race from the rail in the winner’s circle. Cyclone State took over. It was exciting. The kids enjoyed the attention.”

         Lee’s grandfather, Willys Rhodes, was a trainer in South Mississippi: “He had a small track and a barn. I used to go out there and train horses that would ship into the Fair Grounds. My uncles helped train a few horses. I was probably around 10. It always starts with the love of animals. The people surrounding them are super entertaining. The whole atmosphere. It’s hard to understand if you’re not in it.”

        Lee and Messina have partnered on several horses: “George’s son, Trace, is an assistant for Brad Cox. I met Al through Steve Margolis. He trains for me in New Orleans. We met at the sales. Al and I both kind of hit off. Through Trace, I got to know Chad Summers. Al had some horses with Brad at the time. At Saratoga, we hung out with Chad and Al. At the Keeneland Sales, they approached us. We said Al doesn’t usually do partnerships, but we all knew each other.”

         Lee’s been smiling ever since: “We’re having a great time with this horse.”

        Messina has a catering service in New Orleans which started in 1961 and now does all the catering for the Fair Grounds.

        “My interest in horses started when my dad had a restaurant close to Jefferson Downs,” Lee said. “Fair Grounds horsemen stopped there. Owners, too. We put up pictures. My dad owned a couple of horses. My wife’s grandfather, Willys Rhodes, was a breeder, owner and trainer, all Louisiana-breds. In 1997, we put together a group, all family members, 18 of us. We bought a horse, Skyy Me Up.”

         Skyy Me Up won three of nine starts in 1997 and ’98. “We bought a couple more horses,” Messina said. “I stayed in the game.”

        He had more luck as a partner on T.B. Track Star, who captured the Gr. 3 1999 Lone Star Derby.

       He’s delighted that Lee is his partner: “Mike was part of Skky Me Up. Mike had a love for the horses just like I did. He did well with his medical practice. We decided to partner up. We were lucky that Al asked us to partner with him on Cyclone State. I’ve owned horses, but I’ve never been on the Derby Trail. It’s beyond my wildest imagination.”  

Rich Mendez (Morplay Racing), Sheila Rosenbloom (Lady Sheila Stables) and Joey Platts – Guns Loaded

Article by Bill Heller 

Only Thoroughbreds could bring together Rich Mendez, a music executive from Puerto Rico who believes he was conceived at Saratoga Race Course; Sheila Rosenblum, a ballet prodigy from Switzerland; and Joey Platts, a Wyoming cowboy and oil and gas industry executive. Guns Loaded did that when he captured the $145,000 Mucho Macho Man Stakes by a neck at Gulfstream Park January 4th.

         “We’ve been very blessed,” Mendez, who founded Morplay Racing with his son Josh and partners Randy Hartley and Dean DeRenzo, said. “It’s been an amazing ride so far, and it taught me a lot because you never know when that next one comes.”
        Mendez’s uncle, Victor Sanchez, was a jockey. “My uncle has been here at Gulfstream Park for 52 years,” Mendez said. “My mom used to walk horses at Saratoga with my dad. The story is I was conceived somewhere at Saratoga Race Course. I’m sure it was in a barn somewhere.”

        It didn’t take long for Mendez to fall in love with horses: “I’ve always loved horses. The smell of being around the barn. It intrigued me. I just always loved watching the big races on TV. You always saw the white-haired trainer, Bob Baffert. He was a rock star.”

         Mendez would work with rock stars in his career as a music executive at Rich Music, an independent record label he founded with his son Josh in 2007.

         After purchasing his first property in Ocala, he met Harley. Then DeRenzo. Harley and DeRenzo let Mendez into their pinhooking operation. They, in turn, joined Morplay Racing.

         At the September 2022 Keeneland Sales, Harley and DeRenzo landed an Iowa-bred colt named No More Time for $40,000. Racing as a two-year-old for trainer Jose D’Angelo, No More Time finished second in his maiden debut then won a maiden by 6 ¾ lengths.

         No More Time made his three-year-old debut in the Macho Mucho Man Stakes and finished fifth. He rebounded to win the Gr. 3 Sam F. Davis Stakes by a length and a quarter, Morplay’s first graded stakes victory, and then finished second by a neck to Domestic Product in the Gr. 3 Tampa Bay Derby.

         D’Angelo trains Guns Loaded, an $800,000 purchase at Keeneland. He too, finished second in his maiden debut and also won his maiden in second start. Stepping up to stakes company, he won the Macho Mucho Man.

         Mendez said, “I love the fact that he is winning. My trainer and I, we’ve got a unique relationship. My trainer has become a really good friend. We talk probably three or four times a day.”

         D’Angelo said, “I’m very happy to train for them. They have a lot of confidence in me. At the end of the day, you need good horses to be a good trainer.”

         Sheila Rosenblum’s Lady Sheila Stable employs three talented trainers, D’Angelo, Linda Rice and Brad Cox. Two of them have her horses on the early Derby trail, Guns Loaded, trained by D’Angelo, and the undefeated, four-for-four New York-bred Sacrosanct, who is trained by Cox. “It’s your reason to wake up early every single day,” Rosenblum said. “You have a dream: be there in May. It’s very rare to have two possibilities on the same path for the Derby. It would be so amazing to me.”

         She’s on an amazing run. Besides Sacrosanct, she and partners own the undefeated four-for-four New York-bred With the Angels, who is trained by Rice.

         Rosenblum had a whiff of the Derby trail nine years ago when Matt King Coal finished fourth by 2 ½ lengths in the 2016 Wood Memorial. He didn’t make the Kentucky Derby, but he earned $662,650 in his career from just 13 starts.

        Lady Sheila Stables top earner was La Verdad, the 2015 Eclipse Champion Female Sprinter who won 15 of 21 starts and earned $1,458,100. La Verdad died on May 10th, 2020, from complications with colic. Just six days earlier she had foaled a healthy colt by Into Mischief.

        Dancing, not horse ownership, seemed her destiny. Born in Basel, Switzerland, she spent years at the Royal Ballet School in London, then the School of American Ballet, the associate school of the New York City Ballet in New York City: “I went there as a ballet dancer when I was 14 and I stayed.”

         She would turn to modeling, working with the well-known agencies Wilhelmina and Ford, and then to horses: “My family didn’t like animals but I turned it into a way of life.”

         She founded the all-female Lady Sheila Stable more than 10 years ago: “That was a dream come true from my ex-husband. He wanted to buy a dressage horse for me. I had this wonderful idea to get a couple of Thoroughbred yearlings. And he did. And that’s how it started. It’s the most humbling sport and profession. It’s been lovely. I’ve met a group of wonderful people.”

        She is a board member of the March of Dimes, an advocate for children’s rights and is deeply committed to after-care for horses: “I’m very pro aftercare, especially New Vocations. We are all involved with them.”

       Now, she is officially on the Derby trail with two horses: “The Derby is my son Erik’s birthday. All I can do is pray.”

      She is realistic: “I don’t have the numbers others do. I have a handful. I’ve now spread my wings to breeding. It’s something I’m sticking to with a passion.”

     Joey Platts’ passions are horses and rodeos. Born in the small town of Lyman, Wyoming, Platts won a silver belt buckle in team roping. His wife Wendy was Miss Rodeo Wyoming in 1981. They keep rodeo horses on their 30-acre farm in southeastern Wyoming near the Utah border.

       Platts bought his first Thoroughbred from Becky Thomas of Sequel Stallions in the early ’80s, and they are still working together four decades later.

       Looking for a tax write-off for his heavy construction business, the Platts claimed Lusty Latin for $62,500 after he finished second by a nose at Hollywood Park on November 29th, 2001. The following year, after finishing third in both the Gr. 3 El Camino Real Derby and the Gr. 1 Santa Anita Stakes to Came Home, Lusty Latin took the Platts to the Kentucky Derby. Lusty Latin finished 15th, way behind War Emblem. Lusty Latin would go on to finish his career with six victories, six seconds and nine thirds in 50 starts, earning $439,729.

Robby Norman (Norman Stables LLC) - Coal Battle

Article by Bill Heller 

Fourteen years ago, Alabama grocery owner Robby Norman needed a new direction in his life: “I went through a divorce, something I really didn’t want. We actually had just bought a new home. I had two young sons. I went to stay in an apartment in downtown Thomasville by the railroad tracks. I was flipping through channels on TV. On TVG, they were doing a story about Union Rags (2012 Belmont Stakes winner). I said, ‘You know what? This divorce stuff is negative. I’ve got to do something to get out of this.’ I watched that story.”

         Then he went on the internet and learned all he wanted about Thoroughbred racing: “There’s a lot of stuff you can google.”

         He found a partner and bought a Louisiana-bred. “It became a passion,” Norman said. “I guess we just thoroughly enjoy horse racing. Me and my ex-wife get along very well now. I named an Arkansas-bred for my ex-wife. We focus on the regional market: Oklahoma-bred, Texas-bred, Louisiana-bred.”

         His star Louisiana-bred Secret Faith had a tremendous year in 2024 with six victories and a second by a head in seven starts for trainer Jayde Geiner. Racing against state-breds, she won five stakes by margins of three-quarters of a length, 14, 6 ¼, six and 7 ¼ on December 29th. Purchased for $75,000, she has already earned $367,022.

         But she’s not the stable star. Norman’s Kentucky-bred. Coal Battle, purchased for $70,000, upped his dirt record to four-for-four by taking the $250,000 Smarty Jones at Oaklawn Park, virtually wire-to-wire by four lengths January 4th for trainer Lonnie Briley, who posted his first million-dollar year in 2024 ($1,055,476), his 34th year of training.

         Norman recounted their connection: “My brother Mark, who also bought a few horses, was doing some googling and noticed a training center in Opelousas, Louisiana. The person who owned the training center recommended Lonnie. We wanted somebody who was honest. I have two trainers, Jayde and Lonnie, and I could not ask for better trainers. They let us get involved. It’s made it a very fun family business.“

         And he knows all about family business. He majored in accounting at Troy University, and his first job was at a grocery warehouse. Then he made a dream come true for his father. “My dad had brain surgery when he was 21. He passed away at 52. His dream was to be in the grocery business. Mark and I just went and did it. He was alive when we had the first store.”

         One store, Norman Food in Thomasville, Alabama, has grown into eight and includes ones in Mississippi, Florida and Georgia.

         When Norman wants to get away from groceries, he turns to racing. “What horse racing does is vacations. We go to Lone Star Park or we race in Houston and go down to Galveston. We like to go to the Ocala Breeders Sales and we stop at the beach. We know all the best steak houses. We’re simple people, but we thoroughly enjoy it. You’ve got to take the good with the bad. It is a roller coaster of emotions.”

         Briley is deeply appreciative of Norman’s perspective: “He’s a great guy, a good person. If you run 1-2-3 in a race, he’s happy. He loves the game. He likes to go to the sales. He’s a friend, more than an owner.”

         Norman and Briley saw the Smarty Jones Stakes as the first important step in Arkansas to get on the Kentucky Derby trail. Norman said, “I slept good the night before the race, but the night before that, I didn’t hardly sleep at all. I just tossed and turned all night. My son Drew and I drove over eight hours to Oaklawn. I think he relaxed me. My step-son Logan was there too. My other son Nathan missed it. He stayed home. We were all excited about Coal Battle. I thought he looked good in the race. Reading the pace was very important. Juan (jockey Juan Vargas) did an excellent job.”

         Briley was very surprised Coal Battle vied for the early lead: “Normally, we take him back. Vargas just couldn’t hold him. The fractions were slow. In the stretch, Vargas told me he just grabbed the bit and he was gone.”

         In a post-race TV interview, Briley said early in the race he thought, “I’m going to kill that jockey.” Of course, he was much more appreciative of the rider, who’s ridden Coal Battle in five of his six starts, afterwards. Then he spoke of Coal Battle: “He’s a gutsy little horse. Don’t know if it’s sunk in yet. No. It’s crazy for the little guy, you know.”

         A lot of people are rooting for the little guy’s horse. In his previous start, Coal Battle had won the $100,000 Springfield Mile at Remington Park. At the end of the Smarty Jones Stakes, the announcer called him “The pride of Remington Park.”

         Coal Battle certainly gets around. He’s also raced at Evangeline Downs, Kentucky Downs, Keeneland and Delta Downs. “He’s easy to train,” Briley said. “He’s easy to be around. He’s run on slop, turf, muddy and fast tracks. The horse will run anywhere.”

         At Churchill Downs on the first Saturday of May?

        Of course, the phone started ringing after the Smarty Jones Stakes. “We have got calls about selling him,” Norman said. “Lonnie gets more calls than me. I got one last night. We’re going to let things calm down. As of right now, the decision is not to sell.”

Suppressing unwanted hormonal behaviors in breeding stock

Article by Kate Dugher

The desire to suppress unwanted behavior in the horse can present for many different reasons. The behaviors that we are talking about can be anything from poor performance to hyper-excitability, distraction, discomfort on girthing up, not responding to the jockey, bucking, rearing, squealing, kicking or aggression.  

Is it hormonal? 

Often it is assumed that overt behaviors are hormonally driven; however, it can be easy to discount many other possible causes of these behaviors, especially those that are related to pain.  A full clinical examination by a veterinarian is always warranted when considering unwanted behavior in the horse in order to appropriately identify the cause and consider the most appropriate treatment options. 

Common causes of abnormal/unwanted behavior can include: 

• Musculoskeletal pain (lameness)

• Gastric ulceration

• Dental disease

• Poorly fitting tack

• Stress

• Hormonal influence

• Learned behavior 

There are also many reasons for normal and abnormal behaviors that can be associated with the reproductive system. Some of these could be identified as undesirable behaviors when associated with performance. 

The equine reproductive cycle

Horses are seasonal long day breeders and are influenced by daylight length. This means that the majority of mares have inactive ovaries in the winter and do not exhibit estrus behavior during this time. In comparison, in the summer months, they exhibit a reproductive cycle that lasts an average of 21 days. They spend, on average, 5-7 days in estrus, ‘in season’, and 14 days in diestrus, ‘not in season’. 

In the spring and autumn months the mare undergoes a transitional period. During this time, estrogen concentrations are variable, and estrus behavior can be seen irregularly. While stallions are also affected by seasonality, they still exhibit reproductive behavior all year round. The mare’s reproductive cycle can also be influenced by artificial light and therefore, it is worth considering that performance horses who are exposed to stable lights beyond the normal daylight hours in spring, autumn or winter may cycle for a longer period of the year or even throughout winter. 

Puberty

Timing of puberty in the horse is varied and affected by both genetic and environmental factors. Not only by age but also by time of year in which they were born, body condition and social cues. Puberty in fillies is usually at around 12-19 months compared to colts at around 10-24 months, however, there are wide variations from these reference ranges. 

Normal reproductive behavior in the mare

Normal estrus behavior occurs under high estrogen and low progesterone influence. Commonly associated behaviors include receptivity to stallions/geldings, vocalization, increased frequency of urination and presentation of hindquarters in a wide based stance.

Normal diestrus behavior under a dominant progesterone state includes repulsion to the stallion and can occasionally be associated with aggressive behavior to other horses. During pregnancy, the mare will also be under a dominant progesterone influence and is unlikely to exhibit estrus behavior particularly in the first trimester. Later in gestation a peak in testosterone and estrogen levels may be associated with changes in behavior. 

Abnormal reproductive behavior in the mare

Ovarian pain

Many mares will show an obvious reaction upon rectal palpation of the ovary when close to ovulation, suggesting that the dominant follicle/ovary can sometimes be tender at this time. Comparatively, humans often describe some ovarian pain around the time of ovulation. Therefore, it can be assumed that some mares could also experience discomfort around the time of ovulation. 

Other possible causes of ovarian pain that can occasionally occur in normal cyclicity include ovarian hematomas and haemorrhagic anovulatory follicles. It is also a consideration that external pressure placed onto the lumbar region close to the ovary around the time of ovulation could rarely elicit a painful response in some individuals.  

Vaginal pain

Vaginal pain has occasionally been associated with conditions such as vaginitis and pneumovagina. These conditions describe inflammation and/or air in the vagina. These are most commonly associated with poor perineal conformation and can be evident in some performance mares. 

If vaginal pain is suspected due to poor perineal conformation, then placement of a caslicks vulvoplasty may prove to be beneficial. If concurrent infection or urine pooling is suspected, then further intervention may be required. 

Reproductive tumors 

Reproductive cancer affecting the ovaries is one of the most common causes of cancer in the mare, the most common being the granulosa theca cell tumor (GTCT). These are generally locally invasive and are unlikely to cause any further health problems if the affected ovary is removed. They are often identified with a change in behavior. On rectal examination a common finding would be to identify one enlarged and one small ovary. 

Depending on which reproductive hormones the tumor secretes is likely to influence the associated behavior. This can include stallion-like behavior, aggression, persistent estrus behavior or complete absence of reproductive behavior. The severity of this often depends on the stage at which this condition is identified. Other types of ovarian tumors are less common but depending on if/which hormones are secreted will dictate which hormonal behaviors are associated. It is suspected that occasionally there could be ovarian pain associated with some of these cases particularly when the ovary is very large in size. 

Reproduction related treatment options

Mares

To have the most successful outcome in controlling reproductive hormonal behavior in the mare, it is important to understand whether the unwanted behavior is being exhibited all year round or just in the summer months and whether it is related to a particular stage of the estrus cycle. 

Whilst it is commonly assumed that most behavior problems are associated with the mare being in season, occasionally some mares can show unwanted aggressive behavior under the influence of progesterone – when they are not in season. 

Furthermore, it can be tricky to interpret this when trying to link hormonal behaviors to performance based unwanted behaviors and these signs can often be very individual. Keeping records of behavior versus stage of the reproductive cycle can help to try and decipher whether reproductive hormones are likely to be playing a part in the unwanted behavior. However, this does require careful monitoring and, most likely, multiple reproductive ultrasound examinations.

The other consideration is that unwanted behaviors are related to reproductive pain or abnormal hormone production due to pathological conditions of the reproductive tract as previously described. 

Ways to mimic the diestrus state and suppress estrogen related behavior

Progesterone/Progestins 

Progesterone is the dominant hormone produced by mares in diestrus. There are a multitude of systemic progestin (progesterone-like medications) available for use in horses in injectable and oral formulations. 

Altrenogest is a synthetic progestin commonly used to suppress estrus behavior by acting as a progesterone agonist. This means that the horse is likely to exhibit normal diestrus behavior for that individual whilst it is being administered. Altrenogest is molecularly very similar to the anabolic steroids trendione and trenbolone. Occasionally the product may contain trace levels of these anabolic steroids. Therefore, its use for horses in training is to be taken with extreme caution and withdrawal times adhered to. It is banned for use in racing thoroughbreds in some countries. 

There is also evidence to show that altrenogest can exhibit a reduced stress response and sedative-like effects in some horses, particularly mares. This effect may be beneficial in anxious individuals in training circumstances. However, arguably, dependent on the individual, a reduced stress response could have either a positive or negative effect on performance. 

Injectable progesterone applications have been used in racing thoroughbreds with appropriate clearance times before racing. These are often available in oil-based preparations which are commonly associated with injection site reactions and therefore, many trainers would avoid administering these within 3 days of racing. 

Upon cessation of progesterone supplementation, many mares will present with estrus signs 2-7 days after treatment, as this mimics normal luteolysis at the end of the diestrus phase. Therefore, the timing of administration and cessation of progesterone/progestin treatments is a crucial consideration when being used for the prevention of estrus behavior.

Intra-uterine devices (IUDs)

IUDs have been historically utilized to mimic early pregnancy in the mare with varying success. These require an ovulation to act upon to extend the life of the corpus luteum by blocking the hormonal release that normally brings them back into season. Therefore, they are only useful once the mare is already cycling. 

Glass marbles have been the most used IUD historically; however, these are no longer recommended due to multiple evidenced side effects including risk of glass fragmentation in the uterus. The use of PMMA spheres or magnetic devices such as the iUPOD would be a preferable and safer alternative if an IUD was going to be used.

Interestingly, in the author’s experience speaking with clinicians who have administered these devices, there is surprisingly positive client satisfaction despite the inconsistent and variable evidence of the success of these devices in the literature. 

Oxytocin

Administration of the hormone, oxytocin, at specific time points when the mare is in diestrus can extend diestrus by up to 60-90 days. This technique is evidenced by multiple studies. For optimal success, reproductive ultrasound would be used to identify ovulation and carefully plan the timing of injectable administration. 

However, some studies have also evidenced successful extension of the diestrus phase without known timing of ovulation. The major downside of this technique is the need for administration of multiple injections/multiple reproductive examinations to time ovulation. 

Immunological approach

Gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH) is a hormone produced by the brain that is responsible for stimulating follicle growth in the ovaries and activation of a hormonal cascade to bring the mare into estrus. 

GnRH vaccinations generate an immune response against GnRH, suppressing the hormonal cascade and ovarian activity and therefore, estrus behavior. An equine licensed product has previously been available in Australia. However, this is no longer in production. We have the option of a swine formulation, Improvac®, which has commonly been used in equids off license. 

Major drawbacks for the use of this are common adverse injection site reactions, risk of anaphylaxis and concern over extended length of ovarian suppression. Therefore, this option would not be recommended in mares with a future breeding potential. 

Surgical approach

Ovariectomy is a treatment option for hormonal behavior in mares. The ovary is the only supply of progesterone in the horse but is not the only supply of estrogen. 

Ovariectomy has been associated with good client satisfaction in many cases to resolve unwanted hormonal behavior. However, in some mares, whilst removal of the ovaries would prevent cyclicity, it can occasionally result in persistent estrus behavior in the absence of progesterone produced by the ovaries. This is also a permanent option that will remove breeding potential.

The techniques discussed so far are not exhaustive and there are many other methods that have been used to affect cyclicity or hormonal behavior including pregnancy, induction of diestrus ovulation, GnRH analogue medication and infusion of intrauterine medical grade plant oils. 

Colts/stallions

There are a few medicated options for hormonal manipulation in males. Progestagen administration e.g. oral altrenogest administration can quieten stallion like behavior in males but is banned for use in racing and training. 

Immunization with off-license GnRH vaccines such as Improvac®, suppresses pituitary-gonadal hormone production aiming to cause a ‘chemical castration.’ However, results can be variable, particularly in mature stallions. As mentioned previously with mares, the downside of these vaccines are injection site reactions, risk of anaphylaxis and risk of prolonged sterility in future breeding animals.

Occasionally nutritional supplements have been used with effect in stallions such as L-tryptophan, a precursor of the neurotransmitter serotonin. This has induced calm and fatigue-like behavior in a number of species. 

Synthetic preparations of calming pheromones based on an equine appeasing pheromone produced in perimammary gland secretions of lactating females have also been used with such success. Of course, the use of these to calm behavior vs the desire to generate an athletic performance animal is a consideration and results are likely to have wide individual variation.

Alan Balch Column - In search of . . .

Article by Alan Balch

I’ve always thought racing is the world’s greatest sport for many reasons, chief among them the fact that human and animal are united in an athletic contest that mirrors and condenses “real life” in every single race.

The struggle to compete, and to win, with the outcome unknowable in advance.  Potentially accessible to and witnessed (and participated in) by the entire range of humanity, from most to least exalted, almost all of which can bet on the outcome.  With the resulting winners and losers.  And all the possible ramifications of that, financial and otherwise.

Add to that the track’s abundant social life, especially on race days, the beauty and majesty of horses and so many of racing’s settings, not to mention the sport’s sheer entertainment value . . . it’s hard to believe that it’s struggling to survive in much of America.  

Particularly California.

How can this be so?  I’m searching for answers.  Reasons.  And outcomes?  Every individual race, after all, presents the same challenge, a search -- in microcosm.

All of us should also be searching for solutions to the serious problems our sport faces, if it is to endure.  Let alone prosper.

In this vein, there could be no greater tribute to the late, esteemed, and highly accomplished Ed Bowen, than finally to act with sincerity on his 1991 plea, if it isn’t already too late . . . that “leadership by narrow vision should be replaced by a sense of common goals.”  Nearly thirty-five years ago, in a very important sense, he predicted what has now befallen us, particularly in the Golden State, owing to a pronounced failure to reject the “narrow vision” of our sport’s leadership.  Especially since that deficient, occluded vision has now metastasized, with very predictable results.

There can be little doubt than an utter failure to embrace effective strategic planning (including “a sense of common goals” among all of the sport’s interdependent parts) has led California racing to the precipice.  Are other major jurisdictions, such as Florida, far behind?

It didn’t have to be this way.  In the early 1980s, California and particularly Santa Anita racing were on the crest of a dynamic wave of strong, even record-breaking business, powered by investments in marketing, management, and new technology.  The public companies which owned California’s major tracks were future-oriented.  I vividly remember Robert Strub leading lengthy discussions among what have become known as racing’s “stakeholders,” including owner/trainer representation of course, and legislators, to assess our weaknesses and the potential future threats to our success.  As a member of Santa Anita’s management myself at the time, I knew first-hand the projected value of our 440 acres; we sought to inspire and elaborate a business plan that would protect the future of racing while at the same time carefully developing the property from its perimeter inward, with training and stabling to be increasingly located elsewhere, principally at Pomona’s protected county property. 

The details, plausibility, and ultimate strategic viability of any ancient planning are not what’s important now, in California or elsewhere.  What is important is the “sense of common goals” we had then, as opposed to the “narrow vision” which continues to afflict us now, and even threatens our once-vibrant communities in California and Florida particularly.

The Strubs of Santa Anita -- Dr. Charles Strub and his son Bob -- were known above all else for their unflinching and rock-solid integrity.  Some of their positions and initiatives were unpopular, but they were never shy about expressing the reasons for them, and sharing those reasons and their vision with their interdependent partners in the sport, while always considering counterpoints.  Above all, they taught the gospel that Bowen espoused: “The approach that, Without us, there would be no game, stands in the way of progress.  It is a simplistic approach, blinkered on both sides, for it is so self-evident in every case that it hardly bears repeating.” 

However, that very simplistic and blinkered approach Bowen cited decades ago, wherein track ownership makes decisions in a vacuum, then dictates to everyone else, whether legislators, regulators, owners, trainers, breeders, jockeys, fans, or media, is what has brought us to the edge.  Along with their well-documented failures to honor commitments, conflicting and even rival statements from within the same company management, and a revolving door of inexperienced and inexpert “leaders.” 

Do all successful businesses “win” because they see the future so well, better than their competitors?  Consider that the particularly difficult enterprise of racing, in all its aspects, especially risk, is essentially future-oriented – it begins with breeding race horses, with the annual foal crop.  That fact alone requires knowledgeable track ownerships to comprehend where racing is headed many years in advance, based on objective evidence.  And it mandates sophisticated guidance to tracks by breeders, trainers, and owners, whose own interdependent businesses require understanding of critical trends, that may not be readily apparent to others.  Especially to any track owner who chooses to operate and make decisions about their racing enterprises in a vacuum, rather than with an objective, truly experienced strategic team.  

When track ownership is apparently immune to the true interests of the human and equine populations on whose backs their profits have been generated . . . when its highly compensated managers and representatives either pretend to listen to other viewpoints or don’t even try . . . is it any wonder that all the rest of us are left to search the skies for the answers we seek, or possibly even divine intervention?