Off Track Thoroughbreds

Mrs. Ellen Charles, owner of Hillwood Stables LLC, presenting the trophy to Rachael Lively and Bet A Quarter winners of the $7,500 Hillwood Stable Jumper Speed Stake (3’7”).
Photo: MJC/Rough Coat Photography

A record number of donors—including Triple Crown winner American Pharoah’s Zayat Stables— stepped up this year to support the 4th annual Totally Thoroughbred Show at Pimlico Race Course; and in a big way!

Because of generous support from the pinnacle of racing, including Stonestreet Stables, which donated proceeds from its 2015 Black-Eyed Susan win, the horse show for ex-racehorse Thoroughbreds was an affair that brought out the best in everyone, says horse show manager Phoebe Hayes.

“Because of the generosity of our sponsors, we were able to bump up our purse money and we had one of our best years ever,” says Hayes, who notes that the Totally Thoroughbred Show is especially grateful to Ellen Charles of Hillwood Stable LLC for making the Jumper Speed Stake so exciting and rewarding this year.

Thanks to heavy sponsorship, the Totally Thoroughbred Show was able to distribute $17,000 in prize money and donate $9,624 to two OTTB charities, Hayes says. The charities are MidAtlantic Horse Rescue, operated by Beverly Strauss, and the Foxie G Foundation.

Pimlico Perpetual trophy presented in memory of Wiseman’s Ferry by Dana Point Farm and Wiseman’s Ferry Syndicate. Trophy presentation to My Name’s Shane, owner/rider Jennifer Campbell. Presentation by TTHS judge Wendy Davis and TTHS founder, MJC Vice President Racing, Georganne Hale.
Photo: Equiery/Linda Davis

“I think the most exciting aspect to this year’s show was the incredible support we had from sponsors,” says Hayes, who took over the reins from Hale in the management of the show this year. “Zayat Stables and Stonestreet Farms are both new sponsors for us this year, and I hope they help start a trend.”

As the popularity of the Pimlico show grows every year since its founding by Maryland Jockey Club Racing Secretary Georganne Hale, the goal is to go even bigger next year. “We hope to have even more classes and more prize money next year,” Hayes adds.

This year’s top prizes went to ex-racehorse Thoroughbred Bet A Quarter, who with rider Rachel Lively won the Hillwood Stable LLC Jumper Speed Stakes, taking home $7,500 in purse money and to My Name’s Shane and owner/rider Jennifer Campbell, who won the Pimlico Perpetual Trophy; an award given in honor of Wiseman’s Ferry, sire of Wise Dan. The trophy is awarded to the team earning the greatest total points, Hayes says, noting that if this year’s winners come back and win it two more times, the trophy will be engraved and retired with their names on it.

The Totally Pimlico Show drew approximately 152 Thoroughbreds who competed in over 300 classes, says Hayes, noting that the show helps to kick off the Thoroughbred Alliance Show Series, and 19 shows throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.

Hayes adds that the show would not have been possible without tremendous support from a long list of sponsors, including the Jockey Club, and an army of volunteers, as well as judges Wendy Davis, Rodney Jenkins and Steuart Pittman. She notes that the course was designed by Tim Tullock, a Maryland-based trainer and accomplished show jumper.

At the end of the day, after the last jump was cleared, and the last ribbon awarded, Hayes sized up the show as a powerful force for good: Riders and OTTBs were able to compete for prize money donated by the Thoroughbred racing industry, while demonstrating the inherent worth of the Thoroughbred sport horse.

John Moore, CEO and president of the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, walks with wife Susan and their filly, multiple graded stakes winner Zaftig. Photo by Adam Coglianese

Horsemen and horseplayers reacted with hope tinged with a healthy dose of skepticism to the Thoroughbred Horseracing Integrity Act of 2015, a new piece of bipartisan legislation introduced last Thursday, which seeks to enact unified medication standards and policies in an industry said to be so lacking in this area.

The act, which was introduced by Congressmen Andy Barr (R-Ky.) and Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.), the co-chairs of the Congressional Horse Caucus, seeks to establish an independent, nongovernmental, anti-doping authority to establish a uniform, national standard governing the use of medications in racehorses, according to a press release.

Citing the “fractured” set of rules governing racing in 38 separate jurisdictions, the bill’s sponsors introduced the Integrity Act by stating, “We must tear down the silos that divide the industry and replace the existing state-by-state system of conflicting and inconsistent rules with a national, uniform medication program that facilitates interstate commerce, promotes safety, and enhances public confidence in the integrity of the sport.”

The news was met by both hope and skepticism by Thoroughbred industry thought-leaders, who spoke with Off Track Thoroughbreds about their gut reaction to the Act. On the positive side, the effort marked a good first step in helping to “clean up racing so it can be the thriving wonderful sport it is,” says John Moore, CEO and President of the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, and co-owner of M and M Thoroughbred Partners. He owns the racing partnership with his wife Susan.

Horseman Ann Banks of Kentucky says she’s skeptical the newly introduced Integrity Act will be effective in horse racing.

“This has been the Wild, Wild West of United States racing, and it has long needed a sheriff to come in and straighten things out.” Moore says, noting that the bipartisan effort is a “step in the right direction.”

His hope is that any new law demanding racing integrity would be a well-funded effort that would root out bad trainers who flout doping laws, which in turn increases the safety of the sport for horses and jockeys, and the integrity of the sport for horseplayers.

Len Friedman, a successful horseplayer, partner in The Ragozin Sheets, a race-day publication, author and contributor to the New York Times blog The Rail, says the jury’s still out for how effective the Integrity Act would be. “I’m skeptical that one central body can solve the problem,” Friedman says. “For one thing, there has to be a way to distinguish between an individual positive (for drugs) and a pattern of positives. The only way you can do that is by freezing samples and keeping them for a long period of time.” Friedman’s point: it will take money and serious enforcement to weed the trainers guilty of heavy doping infringements out of the sport.

Through the years, he’s seen those trainers riding the pinnacle of success, the “miracle trainers” who get miraculous results from horses who failed in other hands. “These trainers are the ones who have horses who, in the middle of the stretch when all the other horses are getting tired, are getting a second wind,” he explains. “Drugging has been going on since I started handicapping in the 60s.”

Jan Vandebos of RanJan Racing in California is optimistic that the Integrity Act will help clean up racing.

In his opinion, there are relatively few trainers in the sport who are flouting doping laws; perhaps 50 nationwide, he estimates. “The problem is that they win a lot of races, which means the owners have more money, and they have a disproportionate effect on the jurisdiction they’re in,” he says. “This isn’t limited to big-money places like New York and California. There’s people in all racing venues … would a central agency ensure it wouldn’t happen, would it help? I’m not convinced.”

Nor is Kentucky horseman Ann Banks convinced that a central governing body will be a cure-all.

“First and foremost, I understand the excitement that everybody has for this (Integrity Act),” Banks says. “Everybody understands that there has to be a level playing field, and a uniformity in medication. But, I’m concerned about establishing a uniform entity that will be taking away all the power from the states.

Further concern centers on the cost of such a board. “They have no funds for this, and they’re saying they’re going to get loans, donations, and they’re going to charge each state on a monthly basis a fee for every racing start,” she says. “Where are the racing commissions going to get that money?”

Rep. Andy Barr (left) and Rep. Paul Tonko co-sponsored the Integrity Act.

Though excited that the concept of racing integrity and uniformity has reached the highest levels, her concerns also take her to the controversial issue of Lasix, a drug used therapeutically in racehorses to prevent bleeding. “I’m concerned this is a backdoor way to get to the Lasix issue, and I am very supportive of allowing Lasix use,” she says. “I’ve dedicated my life to humane horsemanship and horse-friendly racing. Lasix is a humane, therapeutic drug, and not a performance enhancer.”

Jan Vandebos of RanJan Racing of California saw the Integrity Act more positively.

Like Banks and Moore, Vandebos adds her name to the list of horsemen who support the continued use of Lasix, a drug used to prevent bleeding in racehorses.

But, she is more optimistic about the possible impact of the Integrity Act.

“They’re trying to create some uniformity across the country,” Vandebos says. “Right now, the way it works is that if a horse runs in California and then ships to Kentucky, we’re dealing with different medication rules,” which could prohibit the same horse from running in both states. “If we had uniformity, the trainers would all know where they stand, and what they can use, and that’s positive.”

And for Vandebos, the best possible outcome would be that trainers who break doping rules would be exposed, and ultimately driven out of the Sport of Kings.

“I think it’s going to help the horses, the owners and the breeders. That’s just my opinion,” she says. “The business needs to get cleaned up. I don’t think a lot of young people (will be attracted to the sport of racing) if we don’t take care of these horses.”