Close Encounters of Many Types

It's a good thing most horseplayers don't follow harness racing outside of their immediate area of interest; their favorite tracks and maybe the big races in North America, for if they followed what is going on abroad, the trotting sport would have been given a gut check.

I am talking about the reports of French trainer Fabrice Souloy having four top trotters testing positive for high levels of cobalt.  You may be wondering who Souloy is.  Over here, he is known as the trainer of the fabulous trotter Commander Crowe.  One of his horses who tested high for cobalt raced in the Elitlopp and the Oslo Grand Prix, Grade 1 events in Europe.  We aren't talking slightly over the permissible level, but way over the limit.

What makes this so bad?  As one racing insider said, while you may expect to see this in the lower rent district of racing, you wouldn't expect to see this at the top classes of racing.  Unfortunately, it appears the temptation to cheat is universal.


Well, I recall rabbits, birds, and deer interfering with harness racing, but I think the runners have one over us, at least in England.

Golf anyone?  More specifically a golf ball.  Over at Sandown Park a horse kicked up a golf ball which hit a jockey in the helmet which then ricocheted in front of another one to spook it; causing the jockey to fall to the turf.  Fortunately, no one was hurt in the incident.




Let this be a note to anyone considering building a race track in the future.  Being next to a golf course may not be the best thing.

Of course, in last night's finale at the Meadowlands, the local wildlife once again raised its ugly head.  Certainly not in a colorful encounter such as above or in causing an accident, but one where Kiwi Ideal N was credited with an interference break, the result of an opossum which ran right in front of him around the first turn as well as running underneath two other horses which either didn't see or have fear of the marsupial mammal.  This after a skunk crossed the track earlier in the evening but fortunately missed the field of race horses which was a good thing because let's face it, any contact between skunk and equine may have been a smelly affair.  But alas, you build a racetrack in former swampland and you are bound to get these visitors every so often.


And yes there was some racing from last night to discuss.  What is there to say about the Ewert Memorial at Scioto Downs where Always Be Miki went a brutal trip and yet managed to beat Wiggle It Jiggleit in a track record (tied world record) 1;47 mile?  WIJI may have lost the race in not being able to catch the lead early, getting parked out the first quarter in :25.2 but make no mistake, Always Be Miki didn't see the rail for a half mile on the lead so he had every excuse to falter.  You can see the video here, starting at the 3:50 mark so you can get right to the race.

While I still give the edge to WIJI, it looks like Miki and WIJI will be the main contenders in the upcoming stakes.

Earlier in the evening, Homicide Hunter continues his mastery when under Chris Oakes' tutelage going wire-to-wire in the Chip Noble Memorial in a track record 1:52.1.


I assume it is due to a short two week meet with two year olds featured and the stakes action out of town but for the last two nights, the Meadowlands didn't break the two million dollar mark with $1.7+ and $1.8+ million dollar handles; something which I don't recall seeing in a long time.  These two weeks are excusable but when the fall meet begins, such a continuation will be problematic.


For those curious, in broadcast and major cable channels, the anti-North Jersey Casino forces are winning the battle of the airwaves.   Of course, their ads are being sponsored not only by South New Jersey interests, but by existing casinos in New York and Pennsylvania who don't want their share of NJ gaming money to disappear.  Perhaps highlighting where the funding for the anti-gaming forces is coming from may help the pro-gaming forces prove their argument.  We don't know the advertising plans for pro-gamng forces, but it would appear they have a lot of catching up to do unless they have polling which suggests otherwise.

Scared into Doing the Right Thing

Well, apparently in New South Wales, horsemen of both codes (thoroughbred and standardbred) heard the message real clearly when the Government shut the greyhounds down over cruelty issues.

Today, Horse Racing NSW, which represents the runners announced a program where 1% of all prize money will go to a program to retrain and place thoroughbreds whose days on the track are over.  This A$2 million will be used for re-training, vet expenses, and working with other groups on the benefits of re-homing thoroughbreds.

The standardbred industry, in particular Harness Racing NSW has yet to finalize their program but it is expected to also include a levy on prize money, perhaps the same 1% figure.

This is not to say the industries didn't promote rescue efforts in the past, but seeing an entire racing segment eliminated with the stroke of a pen certainly woke up both codes into more action.  It is a shame the two codes couldn't work together to come up with a single program which would be more cost effective.


Meanwhile, back on these shores, the thoroughbred industry has a program in place to take care of retired race horses, but sadly the standardbred industry lags behind.  Other than patchwork efforts funded to various degrees, there is very little done.  There was a proposal to charge a $10 starting fee to go to standardbred rescue and I am sure it doesn't surprise anyone this proposal went nowhere fast.  My guess is as with the horsemen in NSW,  the only way the standardbred industry is going to get together and put a unified program together with a reliable funding source will be when the cows fly or there is a "Come to Jesus" moment (in a secular sense).

Supreme Court Follies

A case we had previously covered back in 2011 has finally worked its way to the Supreme Court (no on said justice is fast).  While the case concerns thoroughbred racing, it does have an impact on  harness racing.

The case is  Jamgotchian v. Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, a case awaiting on a decision by the Supreme Court whether or not to issue a writ of certiorari, meaning the court will take the case on.  If the case were to be taken on, the issue to be decided, as per Scotusblog (a great site) is "Whether the jail time restriction contained in 810 Kentucky Administrative Regulation 1:015, Section 1 at Article 6(a)-(b), which prohibits purchasers of thoroughbred race horses at claiming races in Kentucky from racing or transferring their horses out of state for a prescribed time period, violates the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution by impermissibly discriminating against interstate commerce".

The Kentucky Supreme Court upheld lower court decisions affirming the permisability of the jail-time rule which requires a horse claimed in one state to remain in the same state for a specified period of time.  Their decision indicates since the horse was claimed with knowledge of the jail time rule, the Commerce Clause doesn't apply.  We will see if the Court takes the case on or lets the lower court's decision stand.


Back to racing.  How great is Wiggle It Jiggleit in winning the Canadian Pacing Derby this past weekend?  For a four year old to be able to take it to the sports best older horses is amazing considering how often the four year old season in the FFA ranks is a case of 'taking your lumps' before earning your stripes.   I will not say he is the best (my heart belongs to Niatross), but he is certainly a rare type of horse.  All I can say is 'Thank God' for geldings for if he was intact, we may not have raced as a four year old, or certainly not as much.  Barring a collapse, you may as well engrave the Horse of the Year trophy with WIJI's name.  If you get a chance to see him race live, do so.   An opportunity to see a great horse doesn't come around that often.

The 2016 New York Sire Stakes

Last year Ron Burke topped the New York Sire Stakes with $1.5 million in earnings, more than double that of George Ducharme and Linda Toscano, who finished second and third. Burke is ahead again as of the end of August, but he’s only $94,000 up on Toscano, who trains two of the richest pacing fillies in North America/NYSS, Robin J and Planet Rock. And there are plenty of others to back them up.

Ken Jacobs, the leading owner in the NYSS program, supplies Toscano with much of her stock. He never has a large stable, but thanks to his uncanny ability to zero in on successful colts and fillies from the pedigree pages of any catalogue he picks up, the winners just keep coming. Jacobs found Heston Blue Chip at the 2010 Harness Breeders Sale for $30,000, and this year that one’s paternal brother Missile J, a gelding that was purchased for $100,000 at the same sale and did not race at two, has won 8 of his 17 starts, including the Rooney, for $314,000, including $91,000 within the NYSS program. Jacobs also owns the aforementioned Robin J and Planet Rock.

Tim Tetrick, who is the regular driver for Toscano, finished 34^th on the NYSS list in 2015, but he’s riding high at number four right now. Of course, Jim Morrill Jr is still the King of the program: He currently sports earnings of more than a million dollars, double that of second place Matt Kakaley. The latter does much of his driving for Burke, who doesn’t have a dominant Gural Hanover type in the program this year, but continues to overwhelm with sheer numbers.

Ake Svanstedt, who finished 28^th on the 2015 driver’s list, is currently 10^th, and he’s fifth on the trainer’s list. Dante, Non Stick and The Royal Harry are three of his standouts. Scott Zeron went from 12^th to 6^th, while Jim Marohn Jr went from 44^th last year to ninth at the end of August. And Mark MacDonald, who finished the 2015 season in ninth, is sitting in third.

Last year the Bettor’s Delight sophomores closed out a dominant ten year run in the NYSS for the prolific son of Cam’s Card Shark. It was hoped that his brother Roll With Joe would fill his shoes, and that may happen in time, but right now American Ideal is on top among two and three-year-old pacers. Soft Idea, Missile J, Penpal, American Passport, Fresh Cut, Manny, Ideal Son, Time On My Hands and American Ivy are some of his better ones. Then there’s Eternal Camnation winner Candlelight, who apparently shares her trainer’s aversion to the program and hence isn’t participating.

Roll With Joe edged out Art Major and American Ideal at the top of the NYSS freshman rankings last year, and both of his crops are currently in second. Adios and Hempt winner, Racing Hill, who is closing in on a million dollars for the year and is favored in Saturday’s Messenger, sticks to the Grand Circuit, so he’s no help to Joe in his SS ranking.

Three-year-old filly No Clouds Bluechip, winner of the $239,000 EBC final; Dime A Dance, who won the NYSS Championship last year; and Miso Fast are a few of Joe’s good ones.

Art Major is third on both lists, although he has no dominant sophomore this year. Travel Playlist was expected to fill that role, but he is on the shelf for the entire season. World Apart and Roaring To Go are promising freshmen, while Artmagic, Talk Show and Tony Alagna’s Craftship, who has earned $128,000 overall, but only has one win, are talented sophomores.

Rocknroll Heaven, who won’t exhaust his NYSS eligibility until 2019, has struggled early on, but he has turned out some outstanding fillies. Planet Rock fits right in with Divine Caroline, Sassa Hanover and Band Of Angels. The half-sister to Fireyourguns is 6 for 6 and recently set a 1:55 track record at Buffalo, where she gapped the field. She has earned $124,000, making her the third richest filly in her division.

Angels Rock Pink has also shown ability, while Ron Burke’s colt Fine Diamonds has earned $128,000 on four wins overall and $95,000 within the program.

On the trotting side, Credit Winner has had to overcome diminished crops in recent years. In 2013 he only had 25 freshmen to carry the torch for him. In subsequent years that number increased to 59, 73 and 88. He currently tops the two and three-year-old lists in the NYSS. Julie Miller’s Money MacIntosh, who romped in a split of the Lew Barasch September 1, is the division leader, followed in the second spot by Devious Man, who completed a sweep of the Barasch for them. Paul Kelley’s full brother to Archangel, Such An Angel, looked like a star in the making  until his last two starts.

Three-year-old Dante tops his NYSS division with $86,000. His overall record is 4 for 8 and $273,000. That make’s Ake’s charge the fourth richest on the Grand Circuit.

The sophomore filly Fad Finance also tops her division with $167,000 within the program and more than $200,000 overall. Trond Smedshammer, who has been successful this year and last in the NYSS, handles her.

Conway Hall ranks third among both two and three-year-old trotters. Dayson, who recently won a split of the Townsend Ackerman for Ron Burke and just took a $59,000 program split on August 31 at Batavia, is his premier offspring in this time frame. The speedy but fractious gelding has won 7 of 11 overall for $230,000 and $145,000 within the SS program. Burke’s Heels On Wheels is also promising.

Dewey sent out his first NYSS crop, while Crazed sent out his last sophomore group, for the time being anyway.

The Like A Prayer stallion, Prayer I Am, has been responsible for very small crops in New York since 2012. His freshman filly Mighty Surf been pounding her more fashionable bred opponents in sire stakes races.

RC Royalty has The Royal Harry, who has done well for Ake, and Swinging Royalty has clicked for the Ducharme Barn.

Cash Hall’s last New York freshman group hasn’t done much, but sophomore Smalltownthrowdown, who goes in Saturday’s Yonkers Trot, has won 5 of 13 starts for $167,000 for Dan Daley. He recently set a 1:56.3 track record at Monticello in a $58,000 SS split.

Lucky Chucky’s freshmen are fighting an uphill battle in Pennsylvania, but Svanstedt’s Non Stick, who won the $225,000 EBC final at Vernon Downs, has taken 5 of 8 for $233,000.

Joe FitzGerald

 

 

Kicking and Screaming

While the majority of the standardbred industry in North America needs to be dragged along kicking and screaming, in other parts of the trotting world stake holders have their eyes wide open.

One such place is Phoenix Park in Port Pirie, South Australia where it is a foregone conclusion whips will soon be a thing of the past.  At Harness Racing SA's latest meeting, CEO John Lewis indicated whips were gradually being phased out; within a couple of years.

Why you may ask?

"We don’t live in a bubble … we have an obligation to respect people’s opinion".

Notice it doesn't say we have to respect horseplayer's opinions, it says people's opinions.  This means punters, fans, and those who have no interest in wagering on the horses.  One can't ignore globally there is a growing concern regarding animal welfare.  You can debate how far this concern goes, but concerned they are.  People don't want to see horses whipped, they don't want to see the whip used as a goading device, used in between their legs, nor do they want to see a horse nudged by a foot  If horses are going to be raced, they want them to race on their own.

If whipping doesn't get American racing to evolve, it is certain what happens to our horses after they race will be a growing concern which will force the industry to finally address the situation in a meaningful manner.  We are fortunate the problem with unwanted horses hasn't exploded upon the scene yet, partially thanks to the fact there is no real way to track what happens to horses.  New York went back to see what happened to the fate of horses which raced in recent years and their committee on animal welfare was only able to track 27% of the horses.  Without the use of microchips, there is really no way to keep track of each horse which benefits those who are so callus about animal welfare post racing.

Don't get me wrong.  There are those who love their horses and will do their best to to make sure their horses land well after concluding their racing career.  Unfortunately, those who don't are protected by the same 'I see nothing' attitude people have towards cheaters in racing because they don't want to be known as troublemakers.

The time will come where it will change.  It will just require some kicking and screaming to happen.