News and Notes for April 26, 2013

NEWS AND NOTES
April 26, 2013

Legislative News
Senate Bill #1340 (Seliger – SD 31) which extends the time authorized in the Texas Racing Act for a racetrack to offer pre-opening simulcasting from 2 years to 6 years has passed the Senate on third reading.  The bill has now gone to the House to begin the same legislative pathway there, most likely in the Agriculture and Livestock Committee chaired by Tracy King.

Remember Me Rescue Gala, Trainers Challenge this Weekend
Jack Van Berg, Julie Krone and Maggi Moss are scheduled to be part of a gala fundraiser for Remember Me Rescue tonight at Lone Star Park. The event will be held in the Alysheba Room on the second floor of the grandstand. Tickets are $95 per person or $700 for a table of eight and will be available at the door, according to event organizer Donna Keen. The event begins with the running of the night’s first race at 6:35 p.m.

Keen operates Remember Me Rescue, a North Texas organization that retrains and places retired racehorses. Funds raised from live and silent auctions will go toward the care of the horses. Last year, the group placed close to 100 retired racehorses with new owners, according to Keen.

With free public admission, the All-Thoroughbred Horse Show is scheduled for 7:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Saturday at the Will Rogers Coliseum in Fort Worth. The Battle of the X’s Trainers Challenge will follow at 7:00 p.m. to demonstrate that retired or rescued racehorses can be successfully re-trained in different disciplines.

Several months ago, 10 trainers from around the country selected a Remember Me Rescue horse to retrain for a rewarding new career. The Trainers Challenge is the culmination of months of hard work and preparation. After the Trainers Challenge competition and presentation to the winners of the Battle, the Challenge horses will be auctioned to go to new homes.

75% of the proceeds from the sale of the horses will fund an Intensive Care and Therapy facility for injured racehorses in the RMR program. 25% will be paid to the trainer of each individual horse to help with care and training associated with their efforts, as well as an extra bonus for a wonderful performance.

Grade 3 Texas Mile
A field of six will go forth in the G3 $200,000 Texas Mile on Saturday, including Steve Asmussen’s Master Rick and Prayer for Relief.  Completing the field is Majestic Harbor, Good Lord, Get in Da House and Donoharm, trained by Bret Calhoun.

Carded as the ninth race, the Texas Mile is the first leg of the Global Gaming Triple, which continues with the Grade 3, $300,000 Lone Star Park Handicap on May 27 and the $200,000 Governor’s Cup at Remington Park in August. The horse who accumulates the most points for his finishes in the three races will earn a $15,000 bonus, to be split equally between his owner and trainer. Horses must compete in all three legs of the series to be eligible for the bonus. The triple is named for the parent company of Lone Star and Remington.

RCI Proposes Harsh Penalties for Repeat Drug Offenders
According to a story in Daily Racing Form, a new penalty schedule for medication violations that would include harsh sanctions for multiple violations of prohibited drugs was introduced to regulators over the past several days at the Association of Racing Commissioners International convention in New Orleans.

Developed over the last 2 years, the recommended penalty schedule was presented by Alan Foreman, the chairman of the National Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association. The proposal is now expected to be distributed to stakeholders throughout the racing industry in an effort to get feedback in advance of a mid-year effort to adopt a model rule based on the new policy.

Supporters consider the adoption of stricter sanctions for repeat offenders the final stage of a multi-year effort. If all goes as planned, the penalty schedule will be affixed to a set of model rules governing allowable therapeutic medications by Jan. 1, 2014.

Under the new penalty schedule, horsemen would rack up points for violations of medication rules, with the amount of points linked to the severity of the violation. Once a trainer reaches a certain level of points, then the regulations would require additional penalties, over and above the penalty assigned for the specific violation.

Also under the proposal, points can be expunged from a trainer’s record under a timeline based on the category of the drug. However, points for a violation of a drug in the so-called A category – drugs that have a high potential to affect racing performance and which have no known therapeutic value – will never be expunged from a trainer’s record.

Equine Events set for May in Aggieland
A series of equine-oriented events will be held on Saturday, May 4, 2013 at Texas A&M University in College Station. Hosted by the Equine Science Division within the Animal Science Department of the University, the morning will begin with the Texas A&M Horse Short Course.

Running from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., the course will feature basic and advanced horse training demonstration stations and will also address nutrition, hoof care and health issues of horses.

The Horse Center will also hold an equine sale at 1:30 pm. The sale features some of the most prominent and popular performance bloodlines in the industry today. Many of these horses have been trained and handled extensively by students in basic horse training and advanced stock horse training classes. More information on the sale can be found at http://animalscience.tamu.edu/files/2012/04/2013-Horse-Sale-Flier.pdf.

The day of equine activities will conclude with a Run for the Roses Banquet hosted by the Texas A&M University Horse Judging Team. The second annual event will start at 4:30 pm at the AgriLife Center on the Texas A&M campus and will kick-off with the viewing of the 139th Kentucky Derby live on a 28-foot screen, followed by silent and live auctions, dinner and entertainment by Parker Heights. All proceeds from the Banquet will benefit the Horse Judging Team. For more information or tickets, call 979.458.2967 or go to http://animalscience.tamu.edu/teams/horse-judging/run-for-the-roses-banquet/.

NOTES… The Alpha Warrior extreme obstacle course at Retama Park last weekend drew almost 2,500 spectators and competitors, organizers said Sunday. To view a portion of the fitness event that featured 21 challenging obstacles, go to http://www.videocounty.com/videos/the-alpha-warrior-obstacle-course/… Nice article on TTA member Betty Matthews in the Bloodhorse Southwest Regional this week… Turf racing at Lone Star Park has been suspended and will not resume until at least Saturday, May 4. In the interim, all races already scheduled for the turf will be taken at their normal alternate distance on the main track…The LSP Condition Book 2 covering May 3 – 23 is now available at www.lonestarpark.com/Horsemen/ConditionBook/… May 1 is the deadline for supplemental nominations to the 2013 TTA Sales Futurity at Lone Star Park; contact Jennifer Gibbs for details at 512.458.6133 or jenniferg@texasthoroughbred.com