News and Notes for December 4, 2015

ACCREDITED TEXAS-BREDS IN WEEKEND STAKES ACTION
Gulfstream Park plays host to this weekend’s Claiming Crown, and three Texas-breds will be competing on Saturday.

Disarm (City Street – Detonate) and Doddsprivatelabel (Suave – Dodd) are part of a field of 14 in the $110,000 6-furlong Claiming Crown Express Stakes for 3-year-olds and up.  Listed at 15/1, the Tom Durant-bred Disarm runs for owner Richard Ciavardone.  Doddsprivatelabel, given odds of 12/1, was bred by Victoria Ashford and Suave Syndicate and runs for owners M-Z Racing Partnership.

Seneca Destiny (Seneca Jones – Dixie’s Destiny), bred by Keith Asmussen, will take on 11 competitors going a mile and a sixteenth on the turf in the $125,000 Claiming Crown Tiara Stakes. Running for Double Dip Stables LLC, the 4-year-old filly is listed at 12/1.

Good luck to all.

TRC ISSUES NEW ID REQUIREMENTS
The Texas Racing Commission has announced new requirements for all persons applying for a TxRC license which require fingerprints.

The new fingerprint technology requires that each applicant present an unexpired photo ID card issued by the federal government or by a State or outlying possession of the U.S. This must include a federal agency, State or State agency seal or logo. State university IDs and permits (such as gun permits) are not considered valid identity documents.

A license issued by another state racing jurisdiction will be acceptable as long as it has a state seal on it. Renewal applications will only require a current TxRc license.

Please pass this along to other horsemen as there is no live meet in progress. Flyers are being posted at the tracks, and this information is also available at http://www.txrc.texas.gov/agency/news/news.php.

ONLINE AUCTION OF 2016 STALLION BREEDINGS NOW OPEN
Thanks to the generosity of stallion owners across the region, you have the opportunity to purchase a 2016 breeding season while at the same time helping the TTA’s Political Action Committee, General Fund, Texas Thoroughbred Educational Fund or Paddock Foundation.

Internet bidding for the auction is now open with a closing deadline of 5pm Central on December 18, 2015. Contact Mary Ruyle in the TTA office at 512.458.6133 for details, or to donate a season.

Go to https://texasthoroughbred.com/stall…/online-stallion-auction/ to see the list of available stallion seasons and to place your bid.

TTEF SCHOLARSHIPS
The Texas Thoroughbred Educational Fund helps place young Texans on the road to success by providing grants and awards to benefit Texas Thoroughbred Association members and their children and further their educational opportunities. More than $280,000 has already been awarded through the TTEF.

These promising newcomers to the Thoroughbred industry are a product of our proud Texas heritage and deserving of our commitment. Donate to the Texas Thoroughbred Educational Fund using the following form: https://texasthoroughbred.com/wp-content/uploads/Donation-Form-Banister-Ln-Address.pdf.

Applications for scholarships for the 2016 – 2017 school year are now available, with a submission deadline of February 15, 2016.  Contact Mary Ruyle in the TTA office at 512.458.6133 for details.

PADDOCK FOUNDATION
Horse racing is a truly thrilling sport, the “Sport of Kings.” Fans come for the excitement, the glamor, the beauty…and the horses. The horses are the centerpiece of the sport, powerful athletes with glossy coats, pricked ears, flaring nostrils, keen, intelligent eyes. Every day, thousands of Thoroughbreds answer the bugler’s call. They go and run with all they have and more. But there can only be one winner in any given race.

Many go on to run other races on other days. Some end up winning. Some end up on breeding farms.  What about the others? The Paddock Foundation’s goal is to answer that question.

The Paddock Foundation is a nonprofit corporation with a mission to support and advance the care of Thoroughbred racehorses after their racing careers by supporting rescue, retirement, rehabilitation, retraining and rehoming.

The Paddock Foundation and the Texas Thoroughbred Association are in the process of developing a stallion database to assist people who are interested in a second career Thoroughbred. Go to https://texasthoroughbred.com/stallion-database-for-second-careers/  to enter your horse in the database.

Go to https://texasthoroughbred.com/wp-content/uploads/Foundation-One-Pager-new-address.pdf to download a donation form.

END-OF-YEAR DEADLINE FOR JOCKEY CLUB REGISTRATION APPROACHING
The Jockey Club reminds owners of unregistered yearlings and 2-year-olds that the requirements for registration must be completed by December 31, 2015, to avoid additional late registration fees.

The late registration fee increases from $550 to $800 after December 31 of the yearling year and from $800 to $2,025 after December 31 of the 2-year-old year.

Interactive RegistrationTM (IR) is the most efficient means to complete the Application for Foal Registration and other registration requirements. IR enables customers to check the status of their applications and, through the Registration Center, view and resolve outstanding conditions of registration.  Sign-up is free at registry.jockeyclub.com.

NOTES: Sam Houston’s Ladies Classic Stakes has been upgraded from Listed to Grade III… The next meeting of the Texas Racing Commission will be on Tuesday, December 15th…The November/December issue of American Racehorse (formerly Southern Racehorse) magazine is now available online at www.americanracehorse.com …Consignment forms for the 2016 Texas Thoroughbred Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale scheduled for April 4 at Lone Star Park at Grand Prairie are now available online at www.texasthoroughbred.com … Ballots in the TTA Board of Directors Election must be received by 5pm on Tuesday, December 15th and will be tabulated in the TTA office at 4009 Banister Lane, Ste 230, Austin, TX 78704 on Wednesday, December 16th.  If you would like to attend the tabulation as an observer, please call Mary Ruyle in the TTA office at 512.458.6133 by Thursday, December 10th.