News and Notes for March 4, 2016

TTA SALE CATALOGS NOW AVAILABLE
Catalogs for the Texas 2-Year-Olds in Training and Horses of Racing Age Sale have mailed and are also online. The auction is set for April 4 at noon, with the breeze show at 11:00am on April 2 at Lone Star Park. View the catalog here at http://bit.ly/1p4z6s6.

FIFTH ANNUAL CAMEL & OSTRICH RACES ON TAP THIS WEEKEND AT SHRP
Sam Houston Race Park will present the fifth annual Camel and Ostrich Races on Friday, March 4 and Saturday, March 5. This marks the third year that the wildly popular special event has been expanded to two nights. 

The final weekend of the 2016 Thoroughbred racing season kicks off on March 6 with ten races and 50 Cent Beer Fridays featuring 50 Cent Draft Beer and $1.50 Wine Specials from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday night’s card will include two Arabian stakes:

On both nights, in between races, members of the Sam Houston Race Park jockey colony will test their balance and agility on the super-fast ostriches as they sprint 100 yards on the main track.

Racing gets underway at 7:00 p.m. on Friday and 6:15 p.m. on Saturday evening with 1:00 p.m. cards set for Monday and Tuesday afternoon, which mark the end of the 2016 Thoroughbred meet.

ACCREDITED TEXAS-BREDS IN WEEKEND STAKES ACTION
More Than Most (Indygo Mountain – Better Than Most) will compete in a full field for the $50,000 Allen Black Cat Lacombe Memorial Overnight Stakes at Fair Grounds on Saturday afternoon.  Bred by the Estate of Clarence Scharbauer Jr., the 3-year-old filly now runs for Douglas Scharbauer and is trained by Bret Calhoun.  She has been given odds of 10-1.

LSP ANNOUNCES EHV-1 POLICY
Due to the serious nature of a recent outbreak of the neurologic strain of Equine Herpesvirus (EHV-1) at racetracks in the southwest United States, the following entry policy has been adopted by Lone Star Park at Grand Prairie. 

  1. Until further notice, no horses will be admitted on the grounds of Lone Star Park if they are coming from a county with a facility or racetrack that is under quarantine for the EHV-1 Equine Herpesvirus, or if they are coming from a county adjacent to a county where quarantine has been implemented.
  1. No trailer, van, or transport vehicle will be allowed to enter the enclosure of the racetrack unless the shipper signs an affidavit that he/she has provided the following information for every horse on their trailer, meeting the requirements below, regardless if the horse is to remain at the racetrack. The following documentation must be provided for every horse (including pony horses) at the stable gate before they will be permitted to enter the enclosure.
  2. A current health certificate issued within 72 hours prior to arrival at the track which shows the vaccination record for each horse. The horse must have been vaccinated with an FDA approved modified live or killed virus vaccine for EHV-1 not less than 14 days and not more than 60 days prior to date of entry. The veterinarian must provide the date of vaccination, the brand, serial number, and the expiration date of vaccine.
  3. The health certificate must also contain a statement by the issuing veterinarian that he/she has physically examined each horse within 72 hours of issuing the health certificate, and
  4. the horse does not exhibit any clinical signs of the virus;
  5. the temperature of the horse was normal at the time of the examination;

iii. the veterinarian verified with the owner/trainer that the horse has not been exposed to a suspected EHV-1 positive horse;

  1. the veterinarian verified with the owner/trainer that the horse has not been stabled in an EHV-1 quarantined county or adjacent county within the past 21 days.

All trainers and horse haulers are urged to take extreme caution when transporting horses to properly disinfect and sanitize their trailers if there is any chance they may have transported an exposed horse.

Lone Star Park’s stable area will open on Monday, March 7. The track will open for training on Wednesday, March 9 and official workouts will begin Monday, March 14. Gate schooling will begin Tuesday, March 22. Live racing begins Thursday, April 7.

2016 STALLION BREEDINGS STILL AVAILABLE THROUGH TTA
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to purchase a 2016 stallion breeding at a special price!

The internet auction has now closed but there are still seasons available for purchase. Check out this list of available stallions and contact Mary Ruyle at 512.458.6133. Stallions with a * indicate that proceeds will go to benefit the Texas Horsemen’s Partnership Legal Fund:

*Early Flyer $1250; Expect a Lot $500; *Jet Phone $1250; Live From Appollo $250; *Moro Tap $1500; *Mr. Nightlinger $600; Orderly $400; Swift Warrior $500; and Westover Wildcat $250.

IVAN FALLUNOVALOT SCRATCHED FROM HOT SPRINGS STAKES
Multiple stakes winner and 2015 Texas Horse of the Year Ivan Fallunovalot was among seven older sprinters entered in the $100,000 Hot Springs Stakes Saturday afternoon at Oaklawn, but the decision was made that he would not race after watching him train Thursday morning.

The Accredited Texas-bred gelding is battling a quarter-crack in his left front foot and trainer Tom Howard of Hot Springs said he was not happy with how it was holding together. It was decided the best course of action was to scratch and point toward the $400,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap (G3) April 10.  Ivan Fallunovalot was bred by Eileen Hartis and runs for Lewis Mathews Jr.

PRIMARY ELECTION RESULTS FOR TEXAS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
The following Republican candidates who received TTA PAC contributions WON:

HD 1 Gary Van Deaver                      HD 47 Paul Workman
HD 4 Lance Gooden                           HD 55 Hugh Shine
HD 7 Jay Dean                                   HD 59 J. D. Sheffield
HD 8 Byron Cook                               HD 84 John Frullo
HD 11 Travis Clardy                           HD 99 Charlie Geren
HD 12 Kyle Kacal                               HD 114 Jason Villalba
HD 14 John Raney                             HD 134 Sarah Davis
HD 17 John Cyrier

HD 121 Joe Straus III WON over ultra-conservative candidate Jeff Judson. 

The following Republican candidates who received TTA PAC contributions will be in RUNOFFS on May 24:

HD 18 Ernest Bailes (cattle rancher endorsed by TFB AGFUND) vs. Keith Strahan (endorsed by Empower Texans)
HD 64 Lynn Stucky (endorsed by TTA PAC) vs. Read King (endorsed by Empower Texans)
HD 73 Doug Miller (horse-industry friendly) vs. Kyle Biederman (endorsed by Empower Texans)
HD 128 Wayne Smith vs. Briscoe Cain (endorsed by Empower Texans)

The following Republican candidates who received TTA PAC contributions LOST:
HD 18 Wesley Hinch – did not make runoff
HD 20 Marsha Farney – lost to Terry Wilson (endorsed by Empower Texans)
HD 60 Kevin Downing – lost to Mike Lang (endorsed by Empower Texans)
HD 94 Andrew Piel – lost to Tony Tinderholt (endorsed by Empower Texans)
HD 115 Bennett Ratliff – lost to Matt Rinaldi (endorsed by Empower Texans)
HD 150 Debbie Riddle (horse-industry friendly incumbent) – lost to Valoree Swanson (endorsed by Empower Texans)

IMPORTANT DATES:
April 24 – last day to register to vote.
May 16 – early voting begins.
May 20 – last day for early voting.
May 24 – runoff elections.

For complete election results, see http://elections.texastribune.org/2016/primary-election-results/

NOTES: Equine Sales Company and Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association will partner up to conduct a Consignor Select Yearling Sale on September 7, 2016, in Opelousas, Louisiana… Beginning Thursday, March 10, purses AT Oaklawn Park will be increasing by as much as $5,000 thanks to continued good weather and strong fan support both in racing and gaming. With this second increase, maiden special weight races, which had been $68,000 at the start of the season, will now be worth $75,000 – the highest in the country this time of year. Open allowance races will be as high as $80,000.  The minimum purse is $22,500.