TEXAS CONNECTIONS IN UPCOMING STAKES
There are several Texas connections racing Saturday at Fair Grounds for Louisiana Champions Day:

• In the $100,000 Lassie, Steve Asmussen trains 5/2 favorite Vacherie Girl for Bill & Corinne Heiligbrodt, and Danny Pish trains 10/1 Sincerity.
• In the $100,000 Ladies Sprint, Carl Moore owns 7/2 Midnight Fantasy, and World War IV Racing (Warren McFatter and John Christmann) own 20/1 Diamond Cutter.
• Asmussen will saddle 5/1 Pickens for the Heiligbrodt’s in the $100,000 Juvenile.
• In the $100,000 Turf S., 9/2 Theoryintopractice is trained by Asmussen while Karl Broberg trains and co-owns 6/1 Budro Talking.
• Israel Flores Horses owns 10/1 Pound for Pound in the $150,000 Classic.
• Karen Scrivener owns 10/1 Savvy Shipman in the $100,000 Ladies Turf Stakes.
• In the $100,000 Sprint Stakes, Karl Broberg trains 8/1 Double Barrel Man and Larry Robbins owns 12/1 My Friend Flavin.

On Sunday at Remington Park:

• Steve Asmussen has four Kentucky-breds: 10/1 Best Intentions, 8/5 Princesinha Julia, 20/1 Spanx Legacy and 6/1 Caribbean Sea; Danny Pish has 2/1 favorite Trixie Racer (KY) in the $100,000 Trapeze S.
• In the $100,000 She’s All In Stakes, Terry Eoff trains 20/1 Terra’s Angel (KY), who he owns in partnership with Johnny B. Evans.  Asmussen trains Kentucky-breds 8/5 Blue Moonrise and 15/1 Magical.
• Karl Broberg will send out 9/2 Dance to My Song (OK) for Eric Archer in the $70,000 Jim Thorpe Stakes for Oklahoma-breds. Danny Pish trains 3/1 D Toz, Kenneth Sykes owns 20/1 Last I Knew, and Michael & Linda Mazoch own 5/1 Dobbins G.
• Asmussen trains Kentucky-breds Timeline and Lookin at Lee, both at 15/1, in the $100,000 Jeffrey A. Hawk Memorial Stakes.
• Finally, in the $400,000 Springboard Mile Stakes, Asmussen will send out three: 7/2 Rowdy Yates (OK), 15/1 Jungle Runner (KY) and 5/1 Shoplifted (KY).  Bret Calhoun trains 20/1 Alternate Time (KY), Hal Browning co-owns 30/1 Kirkcules (OK), and Tommy Piwonski owns 50/1 longshot Slew Tag Clan (KY).

Best of luck to all.

LATE BREEDERS’ CUP FOAL NOMINATIONS CLOSE DECEMBER 15
The Breeders’ Cup issued a reminder that Sunday, December 15 at 11:59 p.m. ET is the last opportunity for horsemen to nominate weanlings of 2019, for a $1,500 fee, to the Breeders’ Cup program.

The $1,500 nomination entitles each foal with lifetime eligibility to the Breeders’ Cup World Championships and the Breeders’ Cup Racing Programs. All foals sired by a fully-nominated North American Breeders’ Cup stallion are eligible for nomination to the Breeders’ Cup program in their year of birth at the weanling rate.  

In addition to the racing benefits, in 2020, Breeders’ Cup foal nominators will earn $10,000 USD for every victory in a Breeders’ Cup Challenge “Win and You’re In” race and are also eligible to win nominator awards in every Breeders’ Cup World Championships race if the nominated horse places first through fourth.  The individual nominating the foal receives these nominator awards even though the horse may change hands throughout its racing career.

For more information and to nominate online visit www.members.breederscup.com. 

TATTOO PROJECT PROGRESSING SMOOTHLY
With the introduction of a digital tattoo system now less than four months away, the Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau (TRPB) announced that it has conducted technician training in 25 states (including Texas) and five Canadian provinces, and that more than 900 Thoroughbreds have already received their digital tattoos. The new system is scheduled for full implementation by January 1, 2020.

“Effective January 1, 2020, all Thoroughbred horses that have not previously been TRPB lip tattooed must have a Digital Tattoo for race day identification,” said J. Curtis Linnell, executive vice president of the TRPB. “This Digital Tattoo indicates that the Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau has confirmed the identity of the horse and uploaded updated digital photographs to the breed registry database at The Jockey Club.”

The TRPB provides authentication of identity for every Thoroughbred racing jurisdiction in the United States and Canada. The transition to the TRPB Digital Tattoo was preceded by a requirement by The Jockey Club which calls for any Thoroughbred foaled in 2017 or after to be microchipped prior to being registered. In essence, the digital tattoo is an electronic validation of the identity of a horse performed by a TRPB Technician. The technician uses a scanner to read the horse’s microchip and that microchip number hyperlinks to electronic registration information consisting of high-resolution digital photos of the horse and its markings.

Linnell said the current practice of branding horses on the inside lip will be discontinued at the end of 2019. He also said that the new system has received encouraging responses when TRPB personnel and TRPB technicians have met with racing officials, regulators, horse identification employees and other industry officials over the course of the past two years. “For the most part, they seem excited about Digital Tattoos,” he said. “They realize it will provide a more efficient and effective system of identification.”

The TRPB, based in Fair Hill, Maryland, is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Thoroughbred Racing Associations of North America and serves as a national investigative agency in the horse racing industry with the goal of maintaining public confidence in the sport of Thoroughbred racing. Additional information about TRPB and the Digital Tattoo is available at trpb.com.

NOTES: Ballots for the TTA Board of Directors election must be received by December 15^th; and will be tabulated in the TTA office on Tuesday, December 17^th.  If you would like to participate as an observer, please contact Mary Ruyle at 512.458.6133.