NEWS AND NOTES
March 15, 2013
FINAL STAKES RACE FOR SHRP 2013 THOROUGHBRED MEET
The $50,000 Auto Nation Spring Stakes, carded as race #9 on Saturday evening is the final stakes of the 2013 Sam Houston Race Park Thoroughbred meet, featuring a solid field of eight 3-year-old fillies at a distance of one mile.
Texas connections include Satin Gold, owned by Kathy Stephens and Frank Nieschwietz; Legal Mind, owned by Tom Durant; Explosive Argument, owned by Brian Poppenberg, Portales, owned by Terry Propps and Hopelands, bred by TTA Director John Adger.
Portales is the most accomplished member of the Spring cast as a stakes winner. Her score came against males in September, when she won the $50,000 Winnipeg Futurity at six furlongs at Assiniboia Downs. Portales has raced once since, and finished third to dominant winner Dancinginthecircle in the $100,000 By the Light at two-turns at Delta Downs on Jan. 4. Good luck to all!
STATUS OF LEGISLATION
Friday, March 8 was the deadline for filing legislation in the 83rd session of the Texas Legislature and the following bills that we believe to be beneficial to the Texas horse industry have been filed:
- SB 789 and SJR 36 relating to the operation of video lottery games by licensed horse and greyhound racetrack operators and SB 1494 relating to the licensing and regulation of horse and greyhound racing, (Senator Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, SD 20, McAllen);
- HB 2729 and HJR 121 which are companion bills to SB 789 and SJR 36; and HB 2375 relating to the authorization of racetrack (simulcast) extension locations, (Representative Richard Raymond, HD 40, Laredo)
- SB 1340 relating to the temporary operation of a racetrack extension location, (Senator Kel Seliger, SD 31, Amarillo)
Please be prepared to contact your State Senator and Representative to ask for their support of these bills. You are encouraged to share this information with family, friends and business associates. If you do not know who represents you, you may go to http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/Home.aspx or call the TTA office at 512.458.6133.
For more information on any bill, go to http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/BillLookup/BillNumber.aspx and enter the specific bill number.
HORSE WEEK AT THE CAPITOL
Texas HORSE (Horse Organizations for Racing, Showing and Eventing) will hold “Horse Week at the Capitol” on April 1-5. As a member organization of Texas HORSE, TTA is calling for Texas horse owners, breeders, trainers, jockeys, track employees and racing fans to come to Austin the week of April 1-5 to meet their Texas State Senators and Representatives to tell their story and ask for the legislators’ support for initiatives beneficial to the Texas horse industry.
To make reservations and receive assistance in arranging visits with their elected officials, participants should call one of these organizations: Texas HORSE at (817) 845-2917 or (512) 934-2974; Texas Thoroughbred Association at (512) 458-6133; or Texas Quarter Horse Association at (512) 458-5202. Online registration is available at http://texashorseweb.com/?page_id=1598.
NEW PROJECTS FOR GRAYSON-JOCKEY CLUB RESEARCH FOUNDATION
The board of directors of Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation has approved funding of 12 new projects to supplement five projects that are now in their second year. The 17 research projects are being unwritten by the foundation in 2013 for a total of $874,024.
This slate of research projects brings the foundation total since 1983 to $19,953,183, which has funded 299 studies at 40 universities.
The work being launched in 2013 addresses problems involving the detection of lameness in the galloping horse, laminitis, herpesvirus and the development of a rapid test for Salmonella, among other projects.
ONLINE FACT BOOKS NOW AVAILABLE
The Jockey Club announced March 13 that the 2013 edition of the Online Fact Book is available within the publications and resources section of its website at www.jockeyclub.com. Updated monthly, the 2013 editions of state fact books, which feature detailed breeding, racing, and auction sales information specific to numerous states and Canadian provinces, are also available on The Jockey Club website.
EIGHT STATES COMMIT TO UNIFORM DRUG RULES
Many TTA members have commented that Texas and our surrounding racing states would greatly benefit from regional medication and drug testing uniformity, and according to a recent Blood-Horse article, the regulators of eight states in the Northeast region have now committed to a uniform medication and drug testing program.
The agreement was spearheaded by the Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association (THA) and represents a dramatic change in medication regulation and testing which the THA believes could pave the way for national uniformity. The participating states–New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Massachusetts–will implement the Mid Atlantic Uniform Medication Program.
The program divides medications into two new categories–controlled therapeutic substances and prohibited substances. The controlled therapeutic substances category will limit horsemen and veterinarians to 24 medications that have been recognized as appropriate for therapeutic use in racehorses to treat illness or injury.
These medications will each have a specific published restricted administration time and uniform laboratory detection level which, when combined, will enable the therapeutic treatment of the horse while ensuring that no pharmacologically significant residue of the medication will be present in the horse during a race.
The testing laboratories of the participating states will uniformly test for substances using the same state-of-the-art technology and levels of detection. Under the Program, furosemide (Salix, also referred to as Lasix) will be the only medication permitted to be administered to a racehorse on race day. The regulators in the participating states have agreed to implement strict controls on the administration of this medication, including the requirement that it be administered uniformly and only by commission designees.
Of particular note, the administration of clenbuterol will not be permitted within 14 days of a race. The intra-articular administration of a corticosteroid will not be permitted within seven days of a race. In this regard, horsemen and veterinarians will be specifically cautioned against the use of methylprednisolone acetate (DepoMedrol) within 21 days of a race.
The program will require each participating state to either amend its current rules and procedures or enact statutes, depending upon how medication is regulated in the particular state. Because of the differing requirements from state to state and the need for uniform implementation, the regulators have agreed to a uniform implementation date of January 1, 2014.
NOTES… Best of luck to Texas-bred Texas Bling, running in the $600,000 Rebel Stakes (G2) at Oaklawn Park this weekend… The Paddock Foundation is pleased to participate as a sponsor of the LOPE Trainer DVD Library… Happy Birthday today to Cash Asmussen!