|
|
Post by Athena (In Memory) on Aug 31, 2021 18:10:19 GMT -5
Here's a new way for a horse to try to beat his opponent: if you can't outrace him, bite him!
It's hard to tell exactly what Firenze Fire is doing to Yaupon. In one slow motion shot, to me, it looks like he's trying to pull on Yaupon's bridle. Some say he's trying to bite Yaupon, some say he's trying to bite Yaupon's jockey. Whatever . . . I've never seen that before.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogW_eXSLyGA
|
|
|
|
Post by Twinkle (My Sweet Angel) on Sept 1, 2021 9:24:04 GMT -5
I was watching this too! I placed several bets on several races this day & won most of them. I have seen another horse "savage" another horse before, as it's called, but nothing like this!
|
|
|
|
Post by Ætheling on Sept 23, 2021 11:10:56 GMT -5
I missed reading several posts. I’ve got the thread bookmarked now so I don’t miss them anymore. Wow, that Unbridled race on the previous page was something to see!  In the Yaupon race 🤔 In the very last slow shot, the close-up version, it looks like Firenze Fire was trying to pull on Yaupon’s bridle. As a race horse, he should be plenty used to other horses’ bridles next to him! I wonder what he was thinking. “Hey, I will slow Yaupon down so I can win.“ |
|
|
|
Post by Twinkle (My Sweet Angel) on Sept 24, 2021 8:48:33 GMT -5
Swiss Skydiver & Monomoy Girl News
Swiss Skydiver to be Offered at Fasig-Tipton November
Preakness Stakes (G1) winner Swiss Skydiver , the champion 3-year-old filly of 2020, will be offered at Fasig-Tipton's The November Sale, according to owner Peter Callahan and trainer Kenny McPeek.
The 4-year-old daughter of Daredevil will get some time off ahead of the Nov. 9 sale, according to McPeek. Besides last year's Preakness, Swiss Skydiver's four other graded wins in 2020 included the Alabama Stakes (G1). This year she added a victory in the Beholder Mile Stakes (G1).
McPeek said Swiss Skydiver will be consigned by Runnymede Farm. Bred in Kentucky by WinStar Farm, Swiss Skydiver is out of Expo Gold , by Johannesburg .
Sesamoid Fracture Forces Retirement Of Two-Time Champion Monomoy Girl
Monomoy Girl, the two-time Eclipse Award winner and seven-time Grade 1 winner, has been retired from racing after she was discovered to have sustained an injury during training Tuesday at Churchill Downs.
“Monomoy Girl went out for a routine gallop Tuesday morning and came back a little off in her right front leg. We had it x-rayed and found a non-displaced fracture of the sesamoid. Obviously, we're very disappointed,” said trainer Brad Cox. “She's walking sound today and it's not anything that will require surgery. It's just unfortunate that it will end her racing career.”
Owned by My Racehorse, Spendthrift Farm and Madaket Stables, Monomoy Girl had been making a return to racing following a break over the spring since her narrow runner-up finish to Letruska in Oaklawn's Apple Blossom S. (G1) in April. The 6-year-old chestnut mare retires with 14 wins and three seconds from 17 lifetime starts. She will go to Spendthrift to start her breeding career.
|
|
|
|
Post by Ætheling on Sept 27, 2021 12:15:35 GMT -5
That’s a shame that Monomoy Girl had to retire, but it’s good it’s not anything serious enough to require even surgery.
|
|
|
|
Post by Athena (In Memory) on Sept 29, 2021 13:14:41 GMT -5
Awww, I like Monomoy Girl! I like just pronouncing her name, hee hee! Nowdays, 6 years old is ancient for a racehorse and a girl at that! Glad to see that she didn't break down and it was during training and not a race. Still, I would wait to breed her until that sesamoid bone is completely healed.
|
|
|
|
Post by Twinkle (My Sweet Angel) on Nov 10, 2021 17:24:05 GMT -5
VIDEO: ‘Somebody Just Turned The Lights Off’: Two Jockeys Injured in Bizarre Grants Pass Finale
Jockeys Patrick Henry Jr. and Alex Anaya were taken to a hospital with unspecified injuries on Tuesday night after the lights at Grants Pass Downs turned off shortly after the start of the 11th and final race of the closing night program at the Grants Pass, Ore., track.
The race was declared a “no contest” by officials.
The six horses were just starting to make their way down the backstretch for the first time in the 6 1/2-furlong claiming race on the Josephine County Fairgrounds oval when the lights went out.
“The lights just went off,” track announcer Jason Beem said when the track went dark. “Somebody just turned the lights off. All the lights went off. I've got no clue what's going on and hopefully everybody is staying safe out there, because we can't see a thing. Unbelievable.”
Two horses, Lead Actress and Don't Rub It, could be seen without their riders passing under the wire in the light of the photo finish camera. Henry had been aboard Lead Actress with Anaya on Don't Rub It. Both were racing just behind the early leader along the inside when the lights went off.
According to Beem's Twitter feed, all horses were caught and not injured.
I'm told all horses are accounted for and back in the paddock. Jockey Patrick Henry is being attended to by medics on the track. That told to me by stewards. Absolutely terrifying situation. Race is a no contest for race 11.
— Jason Beem (@beemieawards) November 10, 2021
There was a lot at stake in the race for horseplayers, including a mandatory payout in the Pick 5 that included a $51,112 jackpot going in and took in over $300,000 in new money. The payoffs leading into the 11th race, the final leg of the sequence, were $3 in the seventh race, $38.60 in the eighth, $5.60 in the ninth, and $8.20 in the 10th. The Equibase chart did not show how the multi-race wagers were resolved, but track publicist Vince Bruun said the race was considered an “all” under Oregon racing rules, meaning every selection was credited with being a winner. The bet, which effectively became a pick 4, paid $357.75, according to Bruun.
How and why the lights went off isn't clear, but the speculation is they were set on a timer to go off at approximately 10:30 p.m. and were not adjusted after the switch from daylight savings to standard time on the morning of Nov. 7.
The nine-race program on Monday, Nov. 8, ended with the final event going at 9:21 p.m. Tuesday's finale was off at 10:28 p.m.
Randy Evers, general manager at Grants Pass Downs, could not be reached for comment or additional information.
|
|
|
|
Post by Athena (In Memory) on Nov 13, 2021 2:00:57 GMT -5
That was weird. I guess the explanation is plausible that the timer to shut off the lights wasn't taken off Daylight Savings Time.
|
|
|
|
Post by Ætheling on Nov 17, 2021 16:21:04 GMT -5
 YIKES! I hope the jockeys are OK.
|
|
|
|
Post by Athena (In Memory) on Dec 7, 2021 2:21:39 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by Ætheling on Dec 7, 2021 15:58:29 GMT -5
🥺 Oh no! 🥺 I always picked him in our racing picks, because he has the same name as the county we live in. 🥺
Only 3 years old 🥺 And another Santa Anita death.
|
|
|
|
Post by Athena (In Memory) on Dec 8, 2021 12:29:53 GMT -5
I don't think it was the Santa Anita Curse, I think it was Bob Baffert. He's doping his horses and so far, getting away with it.
Go back many years: the #1 horse trainer in the nation was D. Wayne Lucas. Then doping of the horses he was training started leaking out. I'm assuming owners started removing horses from his barn and going with other trainers. Nowdays D. Wayne Lucas is hardly mentioned and hardly seen. (He's in his 80's now, but still he hasn't been at the top of the trainers' list for some time now.)
So now I think Bob Baffert is the doping expert and he's starting to get caught. Only time will tell if the owners start looking for other trainers?
Owners may switch over to Steve Asmussen but he has already been caught a few years back when some of his winning horses tested positive for drugs. Nothing lately, but he's probably just gotten better at hiding the evidence.
Poor Medina's Spirit. He tried so hard and Baffert failed him.
|
|
|
|
Post by Twinkle (My Sweet Angel) on Feb 16, 2022 11:37:29 GMT -5
Now horses are dying at an alarming rate at Turf Paradise. I found this at the Bloodhorse website.
With a current equine fatality rate at Turf Paradise more than double the national average, Arizona Racing commissioner Rory Goree met with local horsemen last week to discuss improving equine safety.
During a videoconferenced meeting of the Arizona Racing Commission Feb. 15, Goree reported he had a "great discussion going back and forth" and left with several suggestions. Those include maintaining a higher moisture level on the track, possible changes to claiming rules, and a shift to the administration of third-party Lasix.
Increased veterinary oversight and access to treatment records are also considered vital additions, participants in Tuesday's meeting added.
"I am hopeful that here in the near future we will be able to as a commission talk about some of the solutions and ideas and make Arizona the light it needs to be, that we're making the change doing the right thing instead of being the laughingstock that we are right now nationwide," Goree said.
Eleven horses have died from injuries sustained during racing at a meet that began in November, Sue Gale, the Arizona Department of Gaming's state veterinarian, told commissioners. Gale added that tally includes the publicized death of Creative Plan, who was euthanized last week at a rehabilitation facility after racing Jan. 7 at Turf Paradise.
"If anything, Creative Plan has been the great wake-up call for all of us," Turf Paradise general manager Vince Francia said. "This is an opportunity for us to get it right."
Based on approximately 3,700 starts at the meet, Turf Paradise is averaging 2.98 fatalities per 1,000 starts, Gale informed the commission. The rate of catastrophic injury in Thoroughbred racehorses in 2020 was 1.41 per 1,000 starts per to The Jockey Club's Equine Injury Database.
"The one thing that I will mention specifically is that there needs to be a greater presence of veterinarians or some type of administrative assistants so that we can do a better job of identifying horses that are at risk prior to doing the exam," Gale said.
Whether that happens will hinge on obtaining state funding, Ted Vogt, director of the Arizona Department of Gaming, told the commission.
Gale said she spends about an hour per day reviewing entries to identify at-risk horses to view more closely with a pre-race examination. She suggested up to four hours of time are needed for a review process as encompassing as one outlined by Dr. Scot Waterman, a leading expert in the field.
Equine fatality spikes have previously occurred in Arizona. The Arizona Department of Gaming conducted a mortality report after a 2016-17 racing season at Turf Paradise in which there were 31 fatalities from racing and 11 from training.
Francia said Turf Paradise currently has veteran track superintendent Steve Wood consulting on its track surface, assisting Turf Paradise's Ralph Heitzenrater III. Francia said plans call for the addition of more organic material and sand to the main track.
The Phoenix track, which runs a high volume of lower-level claiming races, has seen 441 claims at the meet, Francia said. Daily purses are averaging nearly $154,000, up from $110,000 a year ago, buoyed by supplements from the federal government and state, Francia said.
Also during the commission meeting, the ARC approved three years of race dates to Rillito Park in Tucson while encouraging the financially strapped track to be responsible in its spending.
Rillito Park general manager Mike Weiss said the track has already secured $165,000 in sponsorship pledges for a condensed 12-day meeting that begins Feb. 26.
|
|
|
|
Post by Twinkle (My Sweet Angel) on Apr 11, 2022 13:42:28 GMT -5
Fourth horse confirmed to have died at Grand National 2022 as calls for stricter safety measures
There have been calls for stricter safety measures in racing after four horses died following the Grand National festival.
Thousands spectated and millions tuned in across the globe as the most famous horse race in the world took place over the weekend.
The main event of the 2022 Aintree festival on Saturday evening saw 40 horses take to the start line to tackle 30 fences, with 50-1 shot Noble Yeats take home the title, ridden by amateur jockey Sam Waley-Cohen.
But, the event has been condemned by the RSPCA and the League Against Cruel Sports after it was revealed a number of horses had died following the three-day event.
Of the 40 horses who began the 174th Grand National only 15 finished - with two horses confirmed to have died.
Paul Nolan, an Irish racehorse trainer, announced on Saturday evening, 9 March, that Discorama had suffered a fatal injury between the 12th and 13th fences.
He said: "We are heartbroken to have lost Discorama today at Aintree. Bryan pulled him up due to injury. Our condolences to his owners Andrew Gemmell and Tom Friel."
Trainer Emma Lavelle revealed on Sunday morning, 10 March, that Eclair Surf had become the second horse to die as a result of “a traumatic head injury” at the third fence.
On Twitter, Emma said: "We are very sad to report that having sustained a traumatic head injury in yesterdays Grand National, Eclair Surf lost his fight this morning.
"He was looked after at the racecourse by a team of first class vets before being transferred to Liverpool university who treated him all night.
"However very sadly it was not to be. He was an incredibly special horse, loved by everyone and he will be missed terribly."
It is the first time two horses have died in the Grand National since 2012, after which safety changes were brought in.
Chris Luffingham, director of external affairs at the League Against Cruel Sports, has now called for stricter safety measures in horse racing.
"For two horses to die in the same race highlights the need for new safety measures to prioritise horse welfare," he said.
He called for a new independent, regulatory body focusing on the welfare of the horse.
The three-day event saw four deaths in total including Elle Est Belle, who died of a suspected heart attack on Saturday, and Solwara One who died of an injury on Friday, 8 March.
The RSPCA has condemned the deaths, saying that it is "heartbreaking" to hear that four horses died over the three days.
A spokesperson from the animal welfare charity said: "The death of any horse is always one too many so it is crucial that steps are taken to reduce the risk of such tragedies occurring."
It has urged the British Horseracing Authority explore if their deaths could have been avoided and to identify action to prevent future occurrences.
"We are all extremely saddened by the fatal injuries at the Grand National festival,” James Given, the British Horseracing Authority’s director of equine health and welfare said.
"Following a detailed review in 2011-12 the BHA and Aintree racecourse worked together to introduce a number of significant measures which have helped in the intervening years to reduce the injury rate at the Grand National meeting.
"However, welfare and safety is an ever‑evolving commitment and the BHA works constantly alongside our racecourses to further improve the sport’s safety record and reduce avoidable risk."
|
|
|
|
Post by Athena (In Memory) on Apr 15, 2022 23:59:16 GMT -5
I could never understand why they have races with jumps. Horses don't care to jump; they usually go around an obstacle.
And running at full speed with such high jumps. I'm glad steeplechasing didn't catch on much in the U.S.
|
|
