Nor Cal Flexes Muscle in Millions

Yesterday northern California trainer Steve Spect and Jockey Frank Alvarado landed in the Gulfstream Park winner's circle after wiring the field in the Sunshine Millions Classic. It's great to see a couple of our boys on the backstreatch get their piece of a million dollar race.

Nor Cal racing fans are extordinarily lucky to have such talent, and it doesn't stop there. Last year we enjoyed Russell Baze breaking the all time record for most wins. Jerry Hollendorfer was 4th in North America in wins. We also lay claim North America's leading trainer by winning percentage, Steve "Leftest Rebel" Miyadi.

Movement Taking Time Off

We gave Movement the twice over and there doesn't appear to be anything physically wrong with her to explain her dull effort. We decided to turn her out and sent her to a ranch in the Sierra foothills for some R&R. She's been in training now for a year and she may have become track sour. We're hoping that after some pasture time she'll want to put her mind on racing again, as she's shown she can. She'll let us know when she's ready to come back, but she should be ready before the summer fairs.

Movement Throws Clunker

Movement ran an uninspired third in a very soft spot in her last race. After two scratches, including the Wygod first time starter I expected to be tough, Movement went off as the post time favorite.

Her effort was like downtown surface parking: Ugly and inefficient. She broke well from the gate, but immediately began running with her head cocked as she did in her most recent breeze. She was also getting out in the lane. She finished a well beaten third in a slow race with a weak field.

"Like in any sport, you practice how you play," trainer Jamey Thomas said, noting she ran just like she breezed the week before.

Despite her dull effort, one highlight of the day was watching the race from the rail. And I don't mean on the apron, but right on the track at the rail where the track photographer stands. Being that close to the action is truly amazing.

CHRB at Center of Another Scandal

Horse owner Les Blake is considering legal remedies after Dr. Rick Arthur, the California Horse Racing Board, and Hollywood Park may have failed to follow proper protocol regarding a heel nerving procedure performed on a racehorse by Dr. Arthur. That horse, Refinery, was later claimed on behalf of Blake by trainer Dan McFarlane on December 2, 2006, but both were unaware the horse had undergone the procedure.

Heel nerving, or more properly posterior digital neurectomy, is a surgical procedure in which the nerve supply to the navicular area is removed which desensitizes a portion of the foot. The connections became aware the horse had been nerved only after attempting to enter a race in Arizona where it is illegal for nerved horses to compete.

Dr. Arthur performed the procedure as a private vet before becoming the CHRB Equine Medical Director.

California law requires approval from the State Vet before nerving a horse (See title 4 section 1850 of California Administrative Code). According Larry De Respino, attorney for Mr. Blake, the CHRB has provided no record that Dr. Arthur received approval before performing the procedure. Dr. Arthur reportedly did notify CHRB Official Vet after the procedure, which is also required by law.

Refinery was claimed during the Hollywood Park meet, however Hollywood Park racing office officials could not be reached for comment. According to Santa Anita racing office staff, there is not a separate heel nerve list, but horses that have been heel nerved are included on the vet list for tracking purposes. Whether this is a new tracking procedure is unclear. According to CHRB staff, all additions, changes and removals to or from the vet list are the responsibility of CHRB’s State Vets and are provided to each track’s racing office.

Record that the horse had been nerved had previously been attached to the horse’s registration papers. However, according to Santa Anita racing office staff, the horse was only added to the vet list indicating the horse had been nerved after this matter came to light in the last few days, presumably at the behest of the CHRB or the State Vet. That such a list is maintained by the racing secretary is also required by law.

Notice Once Again at Issue
De Respino is primarily concerned with the inability of his client to reasonably know a horse had undergone such a procedure before dropping a claim. “The intent of the law is to provide notice. Had my client been aware of the nerving, he never would have claimed the horse,” De Respino said.

The CHRB has been challenged with regard to offering proper notice in the past. During the CHRB medication violation cover-up scandal the CHRB fined a vet for the violation without naming the horse or race in question. Later when the matter came to light CHRB Executive Director Ingrid Fermin stated there could be no appeal of the race’s outcome because “any protest of the result would have had to come within 72 hours of the race.”

Not Too Swift, Blogger Extraordinaire

John of Not to the Swift, your favorite horse racing video blogger, has another project I've been tardy in highlighting in these pages. He writes the official blog for derby hopefully and Delta Jackpot winner Birdbirdistheword.

In his The Race is not Always to the Swift blog John recently posted on a particularly worth while video series put out by Capital OTB. The series discusses bandages, young horses, shoes, and other racing and handicapping details not often encountered in the grandstand with just a Form and a program.

Trainer Grant Forster Interviewed

Wander over to love da goat and listen to this week's interview with guest Grant Forster. Keep an eye on this guy, and one day you'll get to say, "I knew about him way back when..."

From a 2005 Kentucky Oaks press release, which he entered the filly Rugula:

Forster has only been training horses on his own for three years, but his experience in the industry goes back much farther, thanks in part to working with his father through the years. A graduate of the University of Arizona's Race Track Industry Program, Forster also has worked in the field of media relations at Emerald Downs. He officially got his trainer's license in January 2003.

"To be here already in my career, I'm having a ball. This is what it's all about," Forster said.

Movement Entered in Thursday's Nightcap

Entries were drawn on Friday for a $20,000 maiden claimer for three year old fillies going six furlongs over the main track at Golden Gate Fields. From a glance at the PPs she looks to fit with this bunch, but is by no means a standout on paper. Nonetheless, I think the tough competetion will come from the first time starts. Partying Pam Wygod© and husband Marty don't send horses north for a tag just so they can enjoy a weekend in the city by the bay. Generally they want to win and have their lesser stock claimed. The Wygod's are stakes people, not low end claiming folk like me.

NTRA Site Adds Ask and Answer Functionality

The NTRA website now includes a "Virtual Q & A" page that offers an attractive, and what passes for young at a racetrack, woman that will answer your questions about horse racing. As all of these are, the subject matter is limited. "What is a gelding" is dispatched with quite well, but "What brand of hair gel does Dan Illman use" is more difficult for the lass. Terms such as steroids and breakdown also yield no results.

Any question prefaced with "Who is" and concluded with a question mark refers the surfer to the Stats section of the website, whether that person is Todd Pletcher or Milkshakey McShakingham.

Of course I'm taking completely unfair pot shots at them. Honestly, I love to see them trying. They've done great work with the site and I hope they keep it up. It's not nba.com with their realtime active content or even mlb.com (which has also been a laggard) but they've made great leaps with the site in a short amount of time. Here's just one, but Kentucky Joe has noted a number of the advancements on his blog.

We can be interactive over here at the Tote Board Brad Blog, too. Post your favorite questions and subsequent results in the comments section.

Movement Posts Lackluster Work

Movement breezed a half mile on Wednesday in a pokey 51 flat. As with her previous breeze, which was impressive, the time is irrelevant but the trainer's perception of it is paramount: "She worked like shit."

She breezed with her head cocked for most of it and was getting out quite a bit, which is to say she drifted. This is in stark comparison to her last breeze, which was downright dreamy. We don't know exactly why she did this, as the rider, equipment, and track were the same as in the last breeze. She may have fought with the bit, or she may have just been headstrong, wanting to do her own thing. She came out of the work fine, was not lame and did not show any indication of ill health.

We're pointing her for a 20k maiden claimer on January 11th to be contested at six furlongs over the main track. This was not the ideal workout before a start, but does add an element of drama to the proceedings.

Eclipse Voter Swayed by Blog Comments

But the peculiar evil of silencing the expression of an opinion is, that it is robbing the human race; posterity as well as the existing generation; those who dissent from the opinion, still more than those who hold it. If the opinion is right, they are deprived of the opportunity of exchanging error for truth: if wrong, they lose, what is almost as great a benefit, the clearer perception and livelier impression of truth, produced by its collision with error.

--John Stuart Mill, from On Liberty

Dan Illman of FormBlog revealed that after considering arguments made in the comments section of his blog, he was convinced The Tin Man is more deserving of the Champion Turf Horse award than is Dan's initial choice of Aragorn.

you guys may have influenced me more than the other way around. At first, I was going to vote for Aragorn over The Tin Man for champion turf horse. After reading the intelligent posts concerning the division, and then going back over the past performances, I flip-flopped to The Tin Man.

That Dan's interaction in this forum made him more confident in his eclipse ballot, and even brought him to a new more defensible conclusion in one instance, is perhaps the greatest reason why discourse is supremely important. In matters of horse racing or politics, J.S. Mill had it right. Discourse is important. The collision of ideas yields truth and we should not stifle this collision.

Movement Breezes 12/28

Movement was scheduled to breeze yesterday, but the power was out at the track, and in much of the Bay Area due to a storm system that will be blanketing Colorado with snow again shortly. She was able to glide over a track graded "Good" this morning, though, stopping the clock at 1:03 2/5th. Of 25 workers at the distance her time was 21st fastest. Or fifth slowest. But time only matters in prison. She worked well and her gallop out pleased Jamey. "She just kept on going," the conditioner said.

'Tis the Season

Movement asked me to pass along her best wishes to all readers during the holiday season. As you can see, she has plenty of Christmas spirit. Whether she dons a party hat or a lamp shade for New Year's remains to be seen.

Golden Gate Report 12/22/06

Vic Stauffer was trackside at Golden Gate this morning. He will be huslting book for Jason Lumpkins, who is scheduled to begin riding at Golden Gate on December 29th according to Stauffer, who is not new to the profession. Stauffer has kept book for many Jocks over the years at the Fresno meet.

In past years Stauffer was calling races at Gulfstream Park during this time, but Larry Colmus will take over the mic for the meet. Gulfstream's loss is NorCal's gain. One trainer noted "Vic actually works the backstretch. We've got the sorriest bunch of agents of most any circuit, but Vic hustles."

I'll look for a rebuttal from another agent when the Golden Gate meet opens on Tuesday. Mark and Steve, agents for C. Martinez/C. Millwood and P. Flores/L. Martinez respectively usually talk good smack.

Sunday Breeze

Movement breezed a half mile in 48 and change on Sunday, good for the 9th best time among thirty-something works at the distance. I didn't attend the work or talk to Jamey afterward, but I'd guess it's like all the other recent works. She settled nicely and finished well. If one thing we glean, it may be that she's not put off by an off track. Let's hope, because we'll see plenty of that over the next couple months in NorCal.

Update: Jamey said almost exactly what I printed above, and seemed quite happy with her effort. There's really nothing in the book for us right now, but maybe something will pop up on the overnights.

Movement Gallops Friday

Here's video of Movement galloping (high res version here, GooTube below) this past Friday on a muddy, but reasonably deep track. There's nothing notable here, but judging by the number of views these videos get they're popular even if redundant. Nonetheless, you'll be treated to the stylings of the best bluesman you've never heard of. Jimmy "Duck" Holmes laid down eleven bottom of the pocket blue reels for Broke & Hungry Records last winter. If you only buy one blues album this year, it should be this one.

Industry Critics and Defenders Appear on L.A. Radio Program

By now you've all read the articles about California race horse doping in in the Orange County Register (part 1, part 2, and part 3), now listen to the author, CHRB Vet Rick Arthur, and Ed Halpern discuss some of the points made. The Los Angeles NPR station KCRW had all three as guests during their Which Way L.A. program on Tuesday December 12th.

I think Arthur and Halpern could have done a better job of explaining why a "positive" in California is different than a "positive" in New York or Illinois, as we have a more graduated system.

What was left wholly unaddressed was Arthur's failure to implement a sensible plan when it comes to TCO2 tests.

With regard to the TCO2 test, the problem is in the design itself. Dr. Rick Arthur was previously a private racetrack vet who worked for many trainers. Somehow he has ingratiated himself with the CHRB brass to secure an extremely high paying cushy government job with little oversight. He designed the TCO2 test and the thresholds, but his methodology has not been peer reviewed. He draws the conclusion that banned alkalizing agents have been administered to a horse within 12 hours if that horses test returns a ~37 or higher. This does not follow. I have spoken to a CHRB vet personally that believes the test as designed is fundamentally flawed. Also, there's even been horses that tested over the limit (Doug O'Neil trained one) then were placed in a detention barn and tested again, AND WERE STILL OVER THE LIMIT. This proves that the conclusion drawn from the test results is faulty. If someone performed a double blind study, there's no doubt in my mind that Arthur's methods and design would be discredited. Alas, it hasn't happened.

A further problem created by the CHRB's incompetence is a false bifurcation of the discussion. Horsemen who complain of the CHRB's failure in design and implementation of testing standards are labeled as soft on medication violations. Conversely, If you support more strict medication rules, clearly you must also support Ingrid Fermin's & Rick Arthur's design and methods, no matter how flawed. This does nothing to advance the debate.

As an industry we need to develop methods and systems, which represent sound science, that accurately and fairly address medication issues. The vast majority of this work has been done, but the CHRB is unable or unwilling to implement a sound program.

Lucky Hood Brings Luther Home

In the opener at Bay Meadows Wednesday, the Jamey Thomas trained At a Boy Luther notched another win [chart - pdf warning] with help from this blogger's lucky blinkers. If you look closely at the pic above, you see the Tote Board Brad Bluenote emblazoned on the headgear.
Some readers may also remember that this is the gelding I touted about a month ago. These were the same conditions and today he got it done, albeit at a shorter price.

TBA New York Meet-Up

This past weekend while in New York I met up with several TBA members at Aqueduct Racetrack. I can't overstate how much I enjoyed talking track with folks. Even in a brief afternoon I was able to learn plenty from my cohorts, and wish I could spend every weekend at the track with them. They are each such experts in the game compared to your average fan, and as you know an average fan is hard to come by in itself.
I much prefer to go to the racetrack not because of the facility. My couch, television, Tivo, internet connection, and fully stocked bar offer a more comfortable and more technologically advanced racing experience. But, I go so that I can talk racing with people who get it. This step up in quality of experience is even greater when comparing discussing racing with folks at my local track and members of the TBA. These aren't just fans, but students of the game, and they are at the head of the class. Thank you.

The Big A Gets a Bad Rap

While Rubin of Average Horseplayer is at the Racing Symposium standing up for bloggers, and Alan of Left at the Gate is embarrassing turf writers everywhere with his prolific and hard hitting investigative news, and Patrick of Pulling Hair is digging up new content sources outside the MS(HR)M, I am in New York for three consequetive days of race trackery.

I have always heard that Aqueduct is a toilet; that it represents the worst of thoroughbred racing facilities. I'm here to say, it ain't so. I found the Big A warm, inviting and with plenty of ammenities. For one, it only costs $1 to get in. Then, another $1 to get to the swanky section upstairs. On the upper level in one unheralded corner there are these high end sofas pointed at TVs. No, there is no additional charge to sit there, living room style, and enjoy the feed. I even fell asleep on one for in excess of twenty minutes and was left unmolested.

As Alan has reported, the grandstand is closed, and ontrack attendence looked to be in the hundreds. Well, that just means more for me.

I only bet one race on the day. I couldn't pass up the Don Rickles Stakes. Alas my top choice ran 2nd and the other half of my exacta box finished up the track. Even so, it was a great day at the track. And, can we give it up for the Don Rickles Stakes? In honor of Rickles, post your favorite insults in the comments section.

Baze Passes Pincay

You've seen the news reports and the now iconic photo of Russel holding one finger up. That pic is credited to Bill Vassar (although several others, myself included, got the same shot) and really is a good one, in my opinion. I believe the shot I've seen in the papers was actually taken by his assistant, but it may have been Bill himself. The truely interesting thing is that when Bill wasn't immediately getting the iconic pic he wanted, he kind of made it happen. Take a look at these two pics I took. In the first Bill is holding his index finger up, indicating to Russell to do the same. I didn't hear exactly what he shouted to him, but it was along the lines of "Russell, hold your finger up like this."