The Fasig-Tipton Midlantic sale of 2-year-olds in training ended its two-day stand on Tuesday in Timonium, Md., with mixed results. On the positive side, the number sold and gross revenue both increased while the buy-back rate declined. The average price, however, suffered a moderate setback, and the median price fell significantly.
As of noon May 22, the Kentucky Livestock Disease Diagnostic Center had received only one additional aborted equine fetus for diagnostic testing/evaluation.
The University of Kentucky conducted an interview with Jeanne Cox-Owens, general manager of Cobra Farms, as of May 22. In the interview she updates the status of her farms.
A sequence of events surrounding the equine health crisis in Kentucky.
<i><a href="viewstory.asp?id=4304">Continued from part 2</a></i>
<i><a href="viewstory.asp?id=4303">Continued from part 1</a></i>
When it comes to the Triple Crown in America, many believe the air of heaven blows between Bob Baffert's ears.
He may ride for a Saudi Arabian prince, but Gary Stevens hasn't lost touch with the common man. As the 38-year-old native of Caldwell, Idaho, was leaving the winner's circle ceremonies following Point Given's redemptive victory in the Preakness Stakes (gr. I), Stevens spotted Gladys McHargue, a female outrider, perched on her pony, tears streaming down her cheeks. He turned to wife Nikki, who was carrying a bouquet of black-eyed Susans, plucked out a single flower, and handed it to McHargue, then reached up to give her a warm embrace and exchange a few private words.
It's hard to enjoy a private and special moment with 100,000 screaming fans around you. But after Point Given rolled to a 2 1/4-length victory at Pimlico May 19, trainer Bob Baffert grabbed his cell phone and tuned out the roar of the Preakness (gr. I) crowd. While watching the big red colt jog toward the winner's circle, Baffert called his 78-year-old mother in Nogales, Ariz.
American Horse Council president Jay Hickey and National Thoroughbred Racing Association deputy commissioner Greg Avioli are meeting in Washington, D.C., Tuesday afternoon with Caroly Cooksie, deputy administrator of the U.S. Department of Agriculture disaster relief loan programs. The meeting is a follow-up to talks held last week in Washington involving Hickey and NTRA commissioner Tim Smith and a number of federal legislators, including Rep. Larry Combest, an Amarillo, Texas, Republican who is chairman of the House Agriculture Committee.
Prince Ahmed Salman likes quality, and he believed he had the goods in Point Given. He made the long trip from Saudi Arabia to Kentucky for the first Saturday in May to chase immortality. The Thoroughbred Corp., his racing and breeding operation, has been cranking out top racehorses for years. There have been three Breeders' Cup winners, owned exclusively or in partnership, but no classics trophies in the United States.
They have similar hair styles and both train good horses, so perhaps Bob Baffert was beginning to panic when Kentucky Derby winner John Ward got all the air time to launch one-liners on NBC's coverage of the Preakness. With Baffert's Point Given knotting the score with Ward's Monarchos, however, expect a tight battle of witticisms for the upcoming Belmont.
Following is a summary by Tom Priddy meterologist in the UK College of Agriculture, regarding weather and growing conditions for years when there were reported early fetal/foal losses in Kentucky in 2001, 1980, and 1981.
Godolphin has five horses on the list for the Cup, including Fantastic Light, who finished second to Daliapour last year. Fantastic Light, though, is expected to compete at the Curragh in Ireland Sunday in the Tattersalls Gold Cup.
The death of Dubai Millennium from grass sickness has again highlighted the devastating effects of the disease, and brought to prominence research tied to finding causes and a cure.
The National Thoroughbred Racing Association has gotten a great deal of mileage out of a charitable gift to nationally syndicated radio host Don Imus, host of "Imus in the Morning."
Don't blink now because Sadler's Wells might have caught Mr. Prospector as you are reading this. The Irish stallion chalked up stakes winner No. 171 on May 20, when his son Sligo Bay captured the Cinema Handicap (gr. IIIT) at Hollywood Park.
An informal survey of Central Kentucky farms on May 21 suggests the worst may be over as far as mare reproductive loss syndrome is concerned. While heavy losses already have been incurred, particularly involving maiden and barren mares bred in February, the good news is that mares bred from late March on appear to be holding their pregnancies at close to normal percentages. Based on the surveys and on the normal distribution of Kentucky foals born between January and June, <i>The Blood-Horse</i> estimates the 2002 Kentucky foal crop will decrease by no more than 21%.
<i>By Kimberly S. Graetz</i> -- While we are extremely fortunate in Central Kentucky to have skilled and learned professors, veterinarians, researchers, nutritionists, agronomists, and all the other people with degrees, it's the people who touch the horse every day who have been the unsung heroes during this spring's equine health crisis.
<i>By Ray Paulick</i> -- An informal survey of Central Kentucky farms on May 21 suggests the worst may be over as far as mare reproductive loss syndrome is concerned.
Irish stallion Darshaan, whose 65 stakes winners included 1993 U.S. Horse of the Year Kotashaan, was euthanized May 21 at an Irish clinic because of a ruptured jejunum, which is part of the intestine.
The first bid by an off-track betting corporation to operate a racetrack in New York has taken a major step forward after a bill sailed through the state Assembly.
A deal to sell the New York City Off-Track Betting Corp. still awaits final approval from New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, and the delay could thwart the plan for this year.
The University of Kentucky's coordinating group has been studying details of mare breeding records for 2001. This identified more precisely the time of the critical insult giving rise to the syndrome- -between April 17 and 23. Based on information provided, late abortions, the birth of weak foals, and early fetal losses appear to be linked to the same causal event.
As of noon May 21, the Kentucky Livestock Disease Diagnostic Center had received 12 additional aborted/stillborn equine fetuses/foals (one early-term and 11 late-term) for diagnostic testing/evaluation.
Peter Taaffe, owner of Taaffe Farm near Midway, Ky., in this interview with the University of Kentucky provides an update for his farm as of May 21.
Peter Taaffe, owner of Taaffe Farm near Midway, Ky., in this interview with the University of Kentucky provides an update for his farm as of May 21.
At Monday's daily briefing from the University of Kentucky, it was announced that the scientific investigating team, with the Kentucky Association of Equine Practitioners and the Kentucky Thoroughbred Farm Managers Club, will hold an information sharing session on Thursday, May 24, similar to the session held on May 10. The session will begin at 5:00 pm at the Keeneland Sales Pavilion. The entire session will be web-cast live from the Website at www.keeneland.com.
