At Del Mar, Progress Through Safety Initiatives
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FRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2018 AT DEL MAR, BREEDERS= CUP MEETS, DECIDES AGAINST SPLIT EVENT PROGRESS THROUGH The Breeders= Cup board of directors met Thursday in Lexington to discuss the possibility of dividing its event into two SAFETY INITIATIVES separate race days in November and December, but ultimately the idea was dropped, according to a statement released by the Breeders= Cup Thursday afternoon. According to a Wednesday report in the Daily Racing Form, the suggested concept would have moved four races--including the GI Breeders= Cup Classic-- to a card on a later-than-usual date in December. AThe Breeders= Cup Board of Directors met today and among the items under discussion was a >bifurcation= concept generated by the Company=s Innovation Committee,@ read the statement issued by Breeders= Cup Limited. Cont. p7 IN TDN EUROPE TODAY Del Mar | Breeders= Cup/Eclipse Sportswire O’LEARY FLYING HIGH ON FIVE by Dan Ross Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O’Leary at last won the Using the information fed into the Jockey Club's Equine Injury Cheltenham race that carries his company’s name with Balko Database (EID) concerning race-day equine fatalities, the Des Flos on Thursday. numbers nationwide appear to have declined over the past few Click or tap here to go straight to TDN Europe. years, from a rate of two every 1000 starters back in 2009, to a little over 1.5 in 2016. The latest EID figures for 2017 are due to be published next week. This trend hasn't been uniform, however. Some jurisdictions and individual racetracks have come under fire for equine fatality rates that have been higher than this national average-- few more so than Del Mar, where their boutique summer meet always sits beneath a harsh media glare. But last year, the track boasted a marked decrease in racehorse fatalities during both morning training and racing--five during the 2017 summer meet, compared to the summer prior, when 17 horses died. Which means that, with this year's summer meet only months away and as preparations step up, track management aren't experiencing quite the same eye-watering pressure compared to years past, and are hopeful that the myriad changes instituted before last year's summer meet will have an enduring, positive effect. "What a difference a year makes," said Tom Robbins, Del Mar's executive vice president of racing and industry relations. "Things started fitting into place." Cont. p3 PRESIDENT & CO-PUBLISHER Barry Weisbord @barryweisbord [email protected] SR. V.P. & CO-PUBLISHER Sue Morris Finley @suefinley [email protected] V.P., INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS Gary King @garykingTDN [email protected] EDITORIAL [email protected] Friday, March 16, 2018 Editor-in-Chief Jessica Martini @JessMartiniTDN Managing Editor Alan Carasso @EquinealTDN Senior Editor Steve Sherack @SteveSherackTDN Racing Editor Brian DiDonato @BDiDonatoTDN News and Features Editor Ben Massam @BMassamTDN Associate Editors Christie DeBernardis @CDeBernardisTDN Joe Bianca @JBiancaTDN Assistant Editor Bobby Klatt ADVERTISING [email protected] Director of Advertising Alycia Borer Advertising Manager Lia Best Advertising Designer Amanda Crelin Advertising Assistants Alexa Reisfield Michelle Benson Photo Editor/Dir. of Distribution Sarah K. Andrew @SarahKAndrew Love is in the Air(drie). On a visit to Airdrie Stud to see first-season sire American [email protected] Freedom, Andre Stock, an assistant to trainer Larry Jones, surprised Laurel Social Media Strategist Humbert, an accountant for Keeneland, with a wedding proposal. | EquiSport Photo Justina Severni Director of Customer Service Vicki Forbes MAKER, RAMSEY TO STABLE AT WOODBINE 7 [email protected] Trainer Mike Maker will stable a string of horses for chief client Ken Ramsey in 2018, reports Perry Lefko. Maker trained Sir Dudley Marketing Manager Alayna Cullen @AlaynaCullen Digges (Gio Ponti) to win the 2016 Queen’s Plate for the Ramseys. Director of Information Technology Ray Villa TOM BENSON DIES AT 90 9 [email protected] Tom Benson, the owner of the New Orleans Pelicans of the NBA Bookkeeper and the NFL’s New Orleans Saints, passed away Thursday at the Terry May age of 90. In his later years, Benson and his wife Gayle campaigned [email protected] the likes of GSWs Tom’s Ready and Mo Tom under the GMB Racing WORLDWIDE INFORMATION banner with trainers Dallas Stewart and Tom Amoss, respectively. International Editor Kelsey Riley @kelseynrileyTDN [email protected] European Editor Emma Berry [email protected] Associate International Editor Heather Anderson @HLAndersonTDN Newmarket Bureau, Cafe Racing Sean Cronin & Tom Frary [email protected] 60 Broad Street, Suite 100 Red Bank, NJ 07701 732-747-8060 | 732-747-8955 (fax) www.TheTDN.com TDN HEADLINE NEWS • PAGE 3 OF 13 • THETDN.COM SATURDAY • MARCH 3, 2018 Del Mar cont. from p1 So, how was this managed? The approach was multi-pronged, with some changes designed to have direct and immediate effect. For one, racing at Del Mar started a week later than usual, to give management longer to ready the tracks. And, in order to alleviate the pressure-cooker intensity of a morning, 10% less horses were stabled on the property, while a 10-minute window after each renovation was left open only to horses working. But other measures were designed to have a more indirect, but no less potent, impact. "You want people to self-regulate," said California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) equine medical director, Rick Arthur. To achieve this, the CHRB, in cooperation with Del Mar, flagged certain horses deemed at relative risk of catastrophic injury. And two additional state veterinarians were drafted in to assist the usual team of official veterinarians to routinely monitor these horses, so that, by the time any flagged horse made it to the usual pre-race examination, they had been seen--typically multiple times--in the preceding weeks and months. The Jockey Club's InCompass system provided a daily itinerary of horses that fell within two broad parameters: horses that hadn't raced for a period of 120 days or more, and those that hadn't started before four years of age or older. That same list also included other important information points for context, like whether the horse had previously been on the vet's and Steward's lists, as well as the date of its last two workouts, the distances and times. As an additional layer of scrutiny, the past performances were pulled on entry day, to identify other horses not included on the daily InCompass list, but whose profiles set off alarm bells nonetheless, including horses being dropped in claiming price, and those shipping in from Northern California or out-of-state. Tom Robbins | Benoit photo TDN HEADLINE NEWS • PAGE 4 OF 13 • THETDN.COM SATURDAY • MARCH 3, 2018 Del Mar cont. At the same time, he altered the banking of the turns, raising them about a foot to "pretty much" match the geometric shape "It was a monumental effort," Robbins said. "But I think it paid of Santa Anita's main track. When satisfied, he re-laid the pretty good dividends in preventing something potentially surface and, with a maintenance routine that mirrored the one catastrophic." at Santa Anita, set about perfecting the techniques used when On top of that, those out on the track routinely every morning, the racehorses would arrive that summer. along with a state veterinarian and safety steward posted on the "We had a little extra time this year, and what we did was we grounds seven days a week, were asked to keep their eyes simulated race-days," he said. "We would water and harrow, peeled for any warning signs during training, said Robbins. But, water and harrow, just like if we'd have ten races for the day, 20 as he sees it, Santa Anita track superintendent, Dennis Moore, minutes apart. We did it enough times where we were set up who early last year assumed responsibility over Del Mar's main where we wanted to be." track, played a vital role in reducing catastrophic injury It's not just Del Mar's main track that has endured heightened numbers. scrutiny in recent years. Between 2013 and 2014, Del Mar's turf "He saw a few things that concerned him," said Robbins. course was widened, the banking was raised slightly, and a new One of the problems Moore immediately noticed was that the Bermuda grass surface was laid on top of new soil and a new "grading"--i.e., the level-of the surface--was wrong in places. irrigation system. But the bespoke course suffered initial "There were inconsistencies," he said. teething problems when a number of horses were After conducting an initial survey of the track, he dug it up catastrophically injured during its first couple weeks of official entirely, and re-surveyed and re-graded the base, which is a use, prompting a temporary suspension of turf racing that material of decomposed granite. As a fail-safe in the event of summer. technological glitches with the equipment used, Moore hired a certified surveyor to "check behind" the original company charged with grading the base. Cont. p5 $575,000 The HIGHEST PRICE of the opening session by a freshman sire at OBS March sold to 4 OXO Equine LLC after breezing :20 /5 $260,000 filly bought by Ben McElroy, Agent, after a : 4 breeze 9 /5 Other buyers included Ken McPeek HIP 282 Macho Uno—Ponche de Leona, by Ponche Inquiries to Ben Walden (859) 221-8757 $10,000 Live Foal S&N www.AdenaStallions.com | (859) 987-1798 TDN HEADLINE NEWS • PAGE 5 OF 13 • THETDN.COM SATURDAY • MARCH 3, 2018 Del Mar cont. "We're always trying to speed things up and create conditions Currently, while the grass is on the patchy and short side, the that are beneficial to horse racing," said turf course track is being aerated to promote drainage.