The Horse Racing Hall of Shame

Heat Forces Tracks to Close, Except for Saratoga, Says NYRA

2011-07-22T00:22:00.000-04:00

As record heat and high humidity make life unbearable for North-easterners,....some racetrack managers, realising the danger of running horses in high-heat, have wisely chosen to cancel all races today;http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/64120/heat-forces-tracks-to-cancel-racing

However, on the other hand, we have "managers" like the NYRA (and the equine vets that support them) attempting to justify their decsion NOT to cancel the races at Saratoga Racetrack tomorrow which also happens to be Opening Day (when record monies are made)http://capitalregion.ynn.com/content/at_the_track/550660/track-officials-prepare-for-a-hot-opening-day/?ap=1&MP4
I was disgusted (but not suprized) to see one of our own equine veternarians in this vid,...also trying to justify running horses in this heat. Sorry Doc,...there is just NO WAY you can MINIMIZE THE DANGER OF or Justify the Forcing of the Horses to Run in this heat...It just cant be done and is INHUMANE! As a veternarian who has taken an oath to put the welfare of animals first, what you SHOULD have done on a professional level was to see to it that races were cancelled tomorrow,... opening day or not.

New York Thoroughbed Racing Association, St. Clemmens, Promote Gambling Sport to Children on Opening Day of Saratoga Track

2011-07-19T08:21:00.001-04:00

If we are to promote the horse-racing industry to our children,...we should teach them also about what happens to most of the loosers and some of the winners too.

http://capitalregion.ynn.com/content/550236/sneak-preview-at-the-track/?r=5313591340

Click here to learn more about race-horse slaughter; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04mvw6tTHrs

Preakness Mascot "Kagasus" Brews Controversy

2011-05-21T10:59:00.000-04:00

Article; http://www.kveo.com/news/kegasus-kicks-off-controversy
I wonder how "Kagasus" feels about race-horses going to slaughter - WE KNOW what the racing industrys'position is, in fact, the whole of most organized "Equine Industries," the American Horse Counsel and ALL of its state branches, many of the breed registries particularly the AQHA, which of course, none of these orgs have any real love of the horse except through what profits and other exploitations can be gained through their "love of the horse." With them, "Horse-Loving" is a Business and slaughter, they claim, is a "necessary evil" of that business,...which anyone of rational mind knows it aint "necessary" at all, but it sure is evil, particularly when there are so many other alternatives & workable solutions that they dont want to recognize or even talk about, simple ones too.Once they're "beloved equines" become a liability, its sold off to slaughter they go. Exploited for profit even in death.

AMERICANS DO NOT EAT HORSES - WE HAVE SHUT ALL OF THE HORSE SLAUGHTER HOUSES DOWN IN THE USA YEARS AGO - STOP KILL-SELLING OUR AMERICAN HORSES SO THEY CAN BE SHIPPED ABROAD AND SLAUGHTERED FOR FOREIGNERS TO EAT.

Thank you.

US Against Horse Slaughter
http://unnecessaryevils.blogspot.com/

Keep Our Horses in the Stables and Off of Dinner Tables!

END AMERICAN HORSE SLAUGHTER NOW! ITS AN AMERICAN DISGRACE!

PETA Exposes Race Horse Breeding Industry - Saves Eight Belles Cousin from Slaughter

2011-05-06T12:29:00.002-04:00

Click on link to read article and see vid;
https://secure.peta.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=3699

EQUINE HERPESVIRUS, EQUINE - USA / NJ

2011-04-19T12:19:00.000-04:00

EQUINE HERPESVIRUS, EQUINE - USA (06): (NEW JERSEY)
***************************************************
A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases

Date: Fri 15 Apr 2011
Source: newjerseynewsroom.com [edited]

2nd Monmouth County horse farm quarantined amid equine herpes
outbreak
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Tourelay Farm and Overbrook Farm see activity restricted for 3
weeks.

A 2nd horse farm in Colts Neck, Monmouth County, has been quarantined
as part of a state Department of Agriculture [NJDA] investigation into
an outbreak of the neurologic form of equine herpesvirus, type 1
(EHV-1) that has led to the death of 1 horse and sickened 5 others.

The disease was discovered on Wednesday [13 Apr 2011) by a private
veterinarian treating a sick horse at the 1st farm, Overbrook Farm.
The filly was euthanized by the veterinarian after it failed to
respond to treatment. 5 other Overbrook Farm horses are recovering
from the illnesses.

The Agriculture Department's tracing activities at Overbrook Farm to
determine the extent of the outbreak led to Friday's [15 Apr 2011]
quarantine of Tourelay Farm but no sick horses have been reported
there.

Overbrook Farm was quarantined Thursday (14 Apr 2011), meaning horse
movement on and off the property has ceased and only essential farm
personnel are allowed access to limit the spread of the virus. While
the disease is not dangerous to humans, personnel must utilize
biosecurity measures, such as disinfectant foot baths, coveralls,
disposable gloves, hand washing and disinfectant hand gels, and
non-sharing of tack between horses.

The Overbrook Farm and Tourelay Farm quarantines are expected to last
21 days, unless more horses become ill. All quarantines are based on
risk assessment.

The Agriculture Department has been in contact with Colts Neck
Township officials to keep them informed of the efforts to contain the
virus and protect animals.

The EHV-1 virus spreads quickly from horse to horse, has a high
morbidity, and can cause a wide range of clinical signs, from a
complete lack of clinical signs to respiratory problems, especially in
young horses, and spontaneous abortions in pregnant mares. The
neurologic form of EHV-1, additionally, can cause an acute paralytic
syndrome, which results in a high mortality. The incubation period of
EHV-1 is typically 2 to 10 days. The virus spreads readily through
direct contact with infected materials.

The virus does not affect other domestic animals, with the exception
of llamas and alpacas.

Concerned owners should consult their veterinarian prior to taking
any action as the clinical signs of infection with the neurological
form of EHV-1 are common to many other diseases. The neurologic form
of EHV is a reportable disease in New Jersey.

More information about the disease, in PDF format, is available at
.

If an owner has a horse that is exhibiting neurologic signs or
suspects equine herpes, they are directed to call their veterinarian
immediately.

The NJDA Animal Health Diagnostic Laboratory provides testing for the
neurologic form of EHV-1. For more information for to
.

[byline: Tom Hester Sr]

--
communicated by:
ProMED-mail

[The websites provided within the article are very helpful and
thorough. - Mod.TG

New Jersey can be located on the HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive
map at . Monmouth County can be seen on
the map at
. -
Sr.Tech.Ed.MJ]

[see also:
Equine herpesvirus, equine - USA (05): (NY) quarantine lifted
20110417.1201
Equine herpesvirus, equine - USA (04): (NY) Cornell U 20110407.1083
Equine herpesvirus, equine - USA (03): (NY) Cornell U 20110405.1057
Equine herpesvirus, equine - USA (02): (NY) Cornell U, RFI
20110403.1038
Equine herpesvirus, equine - USA: (NY) Cornell University
20110402.1021
2010
---
Equine herpesvirus - USA (04): (NY) 20101129.4286
Equine herpesvirus - USA (03): (NJ) 20100408.1131
Equine herpesvirus - USA (02): (NJ) susp. 20100403.1071
Equine herpesvirus - USA: (LA) 20100101.0016]
.................................................tg/mj/sh
*##########################################################*
************************************************************
ProMED-mail makes every effort to verify the reports that
are posted, but the accuracy and completeness of the
information, and of any statements or opinions based
thereon, are not guaranteed. The reader assumes all risks in
using information posted or archived by ProMED-mail. ISID
and its associated service providers shall not be held
responsible for errors or omissions or held liable for any
damages incurred as a result of use or reliance upon posted
or archived material.
************************************************************
Donate to ProMED-mail. Details available at:

************************************************************
Visit ProMED-mail's web site at .
Send all items for posting to: promed@promedmail.org (NOT to
an individual moderator). If you do not give your full name
name and affiliation, it may not be posted. You may unsub-
scribe at .
For assistance from a human being, send mail to:
.
############################################################
############################################################

Paragallo Looses Appeal: Banned from Racing for Life

2011-04-03T09:25:00.001-04:00

Convicted thoroughbred abuser Ernest Paragallo is out of the horse racing business for good http://saratogian.com/articles/2011/04/02/news/doc4d94f5617f226892355146.txt?viewmode=default Published: Saturday, April 02, 2011 By PAUL POST The Saratogian SARATOGA SPRINGS — Convicted former thoroughbred owner Ernest Paragallo is out of the racing business for good. The Appellate Division of state Supreme Court on Thursday rejected his legal appeal, meaning he must serve the remainder of his two-year jail term. In addition, the state Racing and Wagering Board ruled that Paragallo can never again hold an owner’s or agent’s license and permanently banned him from New York racetracks, even as a spectator. Paragallo was convicted last March on 33 counts of animal cruelty following the shocking April 2009 raid of his Greene County farm where 177 diseased, neglected horses were found, several of which had to be euthanized. "I wish there was more we could do to him," racing commissioner Daniel Hogan said. "I hope he spends the rest of his life paying for what he did. It’s a black eye on the sport of racing." Fellow board member Charles Diamond said, "The Legislature, in my opinion, should consider treatment of horses in this manner a felony." At present, equine animal cruelty is a misdemeanor in New York. State Sen. Roy J. McDonald, R-Saratoga, has co-sponsored a bill that would make it a felony with more severe penalties. Lawmakers have been tied up hammering out a state budget that was approved early Thursday morning. However, McDonald said his bill will be voted on before the legislature concludes business on June 20. Mike and Mary Anne Macica of Saratoga Springs adopted three of Paragallo’s horses and several more went to the Saratoga Springs-based Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation. Greene County District Attorney Terry Wilhelm said Paragallo, who is free on bail, must appear in court soon although a date hasn’t been set. From there, barring an appeal, he would go straight to jail. Wilhelm said he doubts the Court of Appeals, New York’s highest court, would allow an appeal, but that it’s up the judges’ discretion. Continued... Last May, County Court Judge George Pulver sentenced Paragallo to the maximum penalty — two years in jail and $33,000 in fines, $1,000 for each count. Paragallo has already served one month. Prisoners are typically given one month off for every two months served, so Paragallo might only serve 16 months total, or 15 more. Neither he nor his attorney were present at Thursday’s racing board meeting in Schenectady. The criminal case dealt strictly with Paragallo’s charges of animal cruelty. His appeal didn’t challenge his conviction, but said the court’s pre-sentencing report was inflammatory and prejudicial, a claim justices rejected. "We are unpersuaded that the report improperly advocated for the maximum sentence," justices said in their decision. The racing board considered Paragallo’s animal cruelty charges. However, they were more concerned with Paragallo’s continued ownership of horses that were racing after he lost his owner’s license in March 2005. Such evidence came to light following an in-depth review of his operations following the April 2009 raid. Board Chairman John Sabini said he hopes other states follow New York’s lead and prohibit him from any future racing involvement. "The racing industry is better off without the likes of Mr. Paragallo," he said. --------

Wild Horses Couldnt Drag Me Back to Life as a Jockey

2011-03-18T09:47:00.000-04:00

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/news-analysis/wild-horses-couldnt-drag-me-back-to-life-as-a-jockey-15115553.html

Retired Racehorses Starve as Charity Established to Care for Them Fails

2011-03-18T09:07:00.001-04:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/18/sports/18horses.html?_r=2

Ok. Commission OK's Rule to Help Retired Horses

2011-02-19T20:08:00.000-05:00

Its a start;
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/article/Okla-commission-OK-s-rule-to-help-retired-horses-1020280.php

Standardbred "Full Circle" Re-Homing Plan

2011-02-02T23:41:00.001-05:00

In November of 2010, the US Trotting Association (USTA), registry for Standardbred horses, instituted a program designed to provide a safety net for Standardbreds who are no longer commercially viable and are no longer wanted by their current owners.

The program, “Full Circle,” is modeled after a similar program started by the American Quarter Horse Association. Anyone who has formerly owned, bred, trained, driven or simply had an interest in a horse can, at no cost or obligation, record their name and contact information in that horse’s USTA data file and enroll them in Full Circle.

If that horse should lose commercial value and a future owner no longer wants the horse, that owner, or in your case, that a rescue or adoption group, has the option to call the USTA (877-800-8782 x 3) to see if the horse is enrolled in Full Circle.

If so, a USTA representative will contact the person or persons who provided their contact information and inform them that a horse enrolled by them is in need. The USTA representative will provide the enrolling individual with the contact information for the person with custody of the horse, or in your case, the organization that has custody of the horse.

Those two individuals then make contact and make whatever arrangement they like regarding the horse in question. The USTA will urge due diligence by the party that enrolled the horse in Full Circle and provided their contact information. However, we have no stake or involvement in the outcome.

The types of action that may be taken between the enrolling person and the custodian of the horse may include but not be limited to: taking the horse back, facilitating placement with another individual or adoption program, providing some form of assistance, cash or in kind, to train the horse for pleasure use, provide veterinary or rehabilitation assistance.

The aim of the program is to facilitate assistance for a horse that needs it with an individual who wants to provide it. We are pleased that over 1,000 horses have already been enrolled and that number is growing each day.

As the database of enrolled horses grows, I believe that checking a horse’s status with Full Circle will yield options that are beneficial to the horse and your program. Horses may be diverted to a past connection that very much wants to care for the horse, but was unaware of their status. Those who cannot care for a horse may wish to provide a donation or other service to help with their care until adoption can be arranged.

Horses enrolled in Full Circle will soon be sporting a logo in our database indicating that they are enrolled and thus, there may be options for the horse beyond your facility. I urge you to add “Check Full Circle Status” to your intake process to see if there are additional possibilities for the horse. You will soon be able to email us at fullcircle@ustrotting.com to let us know that you have the horse and we will contact the person who enrolled the horse.

For now, however, please call our customer service department at 877-800-8782 extension 3 to ask if a horse is enrolled. If you do not know the horse’s registered name, but believe they are a Standardbred, please have their tattoo or freeze brand (5 digits, right side of neck under the mane) ready, along with markings, so that we can positively identify the horse.

I also attach a flyer about our “SOS” (Support Our Standardbreds) program, for Standardbreds that have been seized or otherwise taken in to custody by some legal authority, such as an animal control or humane officer. If we can identify that horse as a registered Standardbred, we can provide assistance for their care. If you have such a horse or know of one, I am the contact at 732-780-3700 or ellen.harvey@ustrotting.com. If you do not know the horse’s registered name, have their tattoo or freeze brand (5 digits under the mane on the right side) available, along with their markings.

Thank you for the work you do to help “our” horses. I know that there is much to be done for their welfare and we believe Full Circle provides an important piece of the puzzle.

Yours truly,

Ellen Harvey
732-780-3700

URGENT! 52 thoroughbred horses need homes.

2011-02-02T00:41:00.002-05:00

Will go to Sugarcreek this Saturday for slaughter.
Gentleman died and his son wants nothing to do with them. Most broodmares are broke and some are in foal weanling, yearlings, 2 yrs and 3 yrs old most are gelded. FREE and papered. Friend of the deceased is trying to find homes 440-463-4288...

UPDATE: Just saw this on Drafty Barn Rescue
52 Thoroughbreds in Ohio:ALL OF THESE HORSES ARE SAFE,SAFE. The barn manager has requested that ALL CALLS STOP as they now have to tie up lose ends as well as deal with a funeral. Can we... please give these folks who have worked around the clock to place these horses in good homes and with rescues, a little bit of room to RELAX and BREATHE without a phone held to their heads? Thanks

FEED RECALL / West Coast

2011-01-29T16:42:00.001-05:00

A manufacturer has issued a voluntary recall of horse feed that was distributed in California, Nevada and Oregon because it may contain a medication that can be fatal to horses if fed at high levels.

Missouri-based MANNA PRO PRODUCTS announced Friday it is voluntarily recalling FAMILY FARM COMPLETE HORSE 10 HORSE FEED, LOT NUMBER 1006 because it may contain potentially harmful levels of the medication MONENSIN SODIUM, or RUMENSIN.

The feed was distributed January 11 through January 21 to retailers in these three states. No illnesses or deaths have been reported and retailers have removed it from their stores, but the company says customers who purchased the product should STOP FEEDING IT IMMEDIATELY.

Equine Encephalitis, Honduras

2011-01-26T08:53:00.000-05:00

http://meatsubs.blogspot.com/2011/01/equine-encephalitis-honduras-lempira.html

Hoskins Must Pay for Neglected Horses Care

2010-12-01T13:44:00.001-05:00

http://www.buffalonews.com/city/communities/aurora-east-aurora/article269310.ece

EQUINE HERPESVIRUS - USA (04): (NEW YORK)

2010-11-29T12:42:00.000-05:00

*****************************************
A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases

Date: Wed 24 Nov 2010
Source: Horse Health Blogs, The Jurga Report at Equisearch.com [edited]

EHV in New York: state health official confirms disease diagnosed at racetrack
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Late Tuesday afternoon [23 Nov 2010], officials in New York State confirmed
by phone that a stable at Finger Lakes Racetrack in the western part of the
state has been placed under quarantine after a horse that had been stabled
there was diagnosed with equine herpesvirus [EHV].

Dr David Smith, director of the Division of Animal Industry of the New York
State Department of Agriculture and Markets said that the racetrack is
being very proactive about the situation, which also involves a farm where
the horse had been stabled.

On the phone this afternoon [24 Nov 2010], he said that efforts were under
way to identify and locate horses that had been stabled with the affected
horse, and that certain states had been notified if affected horses had
been shipped there.

Racing continues at Finger Lakes
--------------------------------
EHV is not a disease that limits itself to racetracks. Sport, work, and
pleasure horses are also vulnerable to EHV. Vaccinations are available,
although the disease has several strains, and veterinarians will advise
horse owners on a horse's risk factors for the disease based largely on
exposure to other horses. Outbreaks of EHV in Northern Virginia and
Wellington, Florida in the winter of 2007 virtually shut down all horse
activities in those areas.

[byline: Fran Jurga]

--
communicated by:
ProMED-mail

[Equine herpes virus was recently found in New Jersey. It is an easy
transfer across the border to NY. Readers are encouraged to read the
moderator comments on ProMED-mail post 20100403.1071. - Mod.TG

The HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive map of New York State can be seen at
. - Sr.Tech.Ed.MJ]

[see also:
Equine herpesvirus - USA (03): (NJ) 20100408.1131
Equine herpesvirus - USA (02): (NJ) susp. 20100403.1071
Equine herpesvirus - USA: (LA) 20100101.0016]

.................sb/tg/mj/sh

*##########################################################*
************************************************************
ProMED-mail makes every effort to verify the reports that
are posted, but the accuracy and completeness of the
information, and of any statements or opinions based
thereon, are not guaranteed. The reader assumes all risks in
using information posted or archived by ProMED-mail. ISID
and its associated service providers shall not be held
responsible for errors or omissions or held liable for any
damages incurred as a result of use or reliance upon posted
or archived material.
************************************************************
Donate to ProMED-mail. Details available at:

************************************************************
Visit ProMED-mail's web site at .
Send all items for posting to: promed@promedmail.org (NOT to
an individual moderator). If you do not give your full name
name and affiliation, it may not be posted. You may unsub-
scribe at .
For assistance from a human being, send mail to:
.
############################################################
############################################################

Accident at Aqueduct, Jockey Critical, One Horse Dead

2010-11-28T17:23:00.000-05:00

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more_sports/2010/11/27/2010-11-27_jockey_jason_gracia_suffers_serious_injury_after_twohorse_spill_at_aqueduct_race.html

Miami Doctor Keeps Starved Racehorses Locked in Stalls for a Year!

2010-11-17T06:08:00.001-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZ5_r4W8lWk&feature=player_embedded#!

Beyondo / The Gambler

2010-10-25T23:01:00.001-04:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aBp_c1sDEs

Kentucky Race-Horses Sent to Canada for Slaughter

2010-08-21T00:51:00.002-04:00

http://www.wbko.com/home/headlines/101012504.html

Pa. Trainer Hopes to Race 10yr Old Pregnant Mare

2010-07-15T16:36:00.002-04:00

http://tuesdayshorse.wordpress.com/2010/07/15/pa-trainer-davidovich-hopes-to-race-10-yo-pregnant-mare/

EQUINE PIROPLASMOSIS - USA (05): (NEW MEXICO) OIE

2010-06-28T06:04:00.000-04:00

***********************************************
A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases

Date: 26 Jun 2010
Source: OIE WAHID Disease Information 2010; 23(24) [edited]

Equine piroplasmosis, United States of America
-----------------------------------
Information received on 18 Jun 2010 from Dr John Clifford, Deputy
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, United
States Department of Agriculture, Washington, United States of America

Summary
Report type: Immediate notification (Final report)
Start date 26 May 2010
Date of 1st confirmation of the event 14 Jun 2010
Report date 18 Jun 2010
Date submitted to OIE 18 Jun 2010
Date event resolved 17 Jun 2010
Reason for notification: New strain of a listed disease
Manifestation of disease: Sub-clinical infection
Causal agent: _Babesia caballi_
Nature of diagnosis Laboratory (advanced)
This event pertains to the whole country

New outbreaks
Outbreak 1 New Mexico
Date of start of the outbreak 26 May 2010
Outbreak status Resolved (17 Jun 2010)
Epidemiological unit: Farm
Species Equidae
Susceptible 1
Cases 1
Deaths 0
Destroyed 1
Slaughtered 0
Affected Population: The _Babesia caballi_-positive horse was
detected as a result of New Mexico's equine piroplasmosis race track
screening programme.

Epidemiology - Source of the outbreak(s) or origin of infection:
Unknown or inconclusive. Management practices (use of shared needles
or substances between horses)?

Epidemiological comments: The USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection
Service (APHIS) and the New Mexico Livestock Board conducted a
comprehensive epidemiological investigation of this event. One
quarter horse race pony was confirmed positive for _B. caballi_. The
horse has been euthanized.

Laboratory name and type: National Veterinary Services Laboratory
(NVSL) (National laboratory)
Species Equidae
Test competitive ELISA (c-ELISA)
Test date 14 Jun 2010
Result Positive

Species Equidae
Test polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
Test date 14 Jun 2010
Result Positive

Future Reporting
The event is resolved. No more reports will be submitted.

*****
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail

[The following description is from the USDA-APHIS website concerning
the disease at
:

Equine piroplasmosis is present in South and Central America, the
Caribbean (including Puerto Rico), Africa, the Middle East, and
Eastern and Southern Europe. Only the United States, Canada,
Australia, Japan, England and Ireland are not considered to be endemic areas.

This disease is a disease of Equidae (horses, donkeys, mules, and
zebras), and is caused by 2 parasitic organisms, _Babesia equi_ and
_Babesia caballi_. Although, equine piroplasmosis is primarily
transmitted to horses by ticks, this bloodborne disease has been
spread mechanically from animal to animal by contaminated needles.
Once infected, an equine can take 7 to 22 days to show signs of illness.

Cases of equine piroplasmosis can be mild or acute, depending on the
virulence of the parasite. Acutely affected equines can have fever,
anemia, jaundiced mucous membranes, swollen abdomens, and labored
breathing. Equine piroplasmosis can also cause equines to have
roughened hair coats, constipation, and colic. In its milder form,
equine piroplasmosis causes equines to appear weak and show lack of appetite.

The greatest risk for introduction of this disease is through trading
of animals or international equestrian sports, where infected and
non-infected animals are in contact. Many disease free countries have
the climate suitable for a foreign tick vector, or have ticks which
could act as vectors.

What the website blurb presented here doesn't mention is that there
appears to be a constant dribble of cases beginning with the Florida
cases in 2008. Since then, there have been cases identified in
Missouri, Texas, New Mexico, Utah and now New Mexico again in 2010.
These incursions were the 1st ones since the disease was eradicated
from the United States in 1988.

International travel and trade of horses and the use of contaminated
syringes are thought to be risk factors for the development of the
disease. If we are to prevent the dribble of cases from becoming a
slow flow of cases over the next few years, this may be the time to
dig in and do intensive epidemiology so that we have a better answer
to questions of where these cases come from and how a single horse in
New Mexico gets infected.

The report indicates that such investigations were made. Clearly,
many times epidemiology does not reveal the source of the disease,
but the constant presence of the disease is worrisome in terms of
horse health status, and even more intensive investigations may be
warranted. - Mod.PC]

[see also:
Equine piroplasmosis - USA (04): (TX, TX ex NM) 20100607.1892
Equine piroplasmosis - USA (03): (TX, UT) 20100205.0395
Equine piroplasmosis - USA (02): (TX) 20100130.0322
Equine piroplasmosis - USA 20100129.0309
2009
----
Equine piroplasmosis - USA (12): (NM) 20091230.4394
Equine piroplasmosis - USA (11): multi-state 20091203.4128
Equine piroplasmosis - USA (10) 20091117.3963
Equine piroplasmosis - USA (09): (NJ ex TX) 20091111.3912
Equine piroplasmosis - USA (08): (TX) alert 20091030.3749
Equine piroplasmosis - USA (07): (TX) 20091024.3675
Equine piroplasmosis - USA (06): (TX) OIE 20091022.3631
Equine piroplasmosis - USA (05): (TX) 20091021.3617
Equine piroplasmosis - USA (04): (KS, MO) resolved 20090917.3262
Equine piroplasmosis - USA (03): (KS, MO) 20090729.2662
Equine Piroplasmosis - USA (02): (MO) 20090612.2172
Equine Piroplasmosis - USA: (FL) quarantine lifted 20090225.0771
2008
----
Equine Piroplasmosis - USA (04): (FL) 20080930.3088
Equine Piroplasmosis - USA: (03) (FL) 20080828.2687
Equine piroplasmosis - USA (02): (FL) 20080823.2626
Equine piroplasmosis - USA: (FL) 20080819.2579
1996
----
Equine piroplasmosis - Georgia (USA) (2) 19960116.0097
Equine piroplasmosis - Georgia (USA) 19960112.0066]
...............................................sb/pc/msp/dk

*##########################################################*
************************************************************
ProMED-mail makes every effort to verify the reports that
are posted, but the accuracy and completeness of the
information, and of any statements or opinions based
thereon, are not guaranteed. The reader assumes all risks in
using information posted or archived by ProMED-mail. ISID
and its associated service providers shall not be held
responsible for errors or omissions or held liable for any
damages incurred as a result of use or reliance upon posted
or archived material.
************************************************************
Donate to ProMED-mail. Details available at:

************************************************************
Visit ProMED-mail's web site at .
Send all items for posting to: promed@promedmail.org (NOT to
an individual moderator). If you do not give your full name
name and affiliation, it may not be posted. You may unsub-
scribe at .
For assistance from a human being, send mail to:
.
############################################################
############################################################

Reply Reply to all Forward

Paragallo Gets 2 Years / HSUS Applauds Sentence

2010-05-21T11:28:00.001-04:00

The $33,000 fine is an INSULT in view of the fact Paragallo is making a million a year off of stud fees

Subject: HSUS Applaudes Sentence in Racing Case

HSUS Applauds Sentance in Racing Case WASHINGTON, (HSUS) - The Humane Society of the United States applauds the sentencing Tuesday of convicted New York horse-racing mogul Ernie Paragallo, who received a maximum sentence of two years in jail and a $33,000 fine.

Paragallo was convicted earlier this year on 33 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty for allowing his thoroughbred horses to become severely emaciated on his farm in upstate New York. Several of the horses were too ill to recover, and had to be euthanized.Judge George J. Pulver Jr. recognized the severity of the cruelty inflicted by Paragallo. Hopefully, this case will send a strong message that animal abuse will not go unpunished.

"This case involved serious equine neglect by an owner who profited handsomely from his involvement in the world of horse racing," said Keith Dane, The HSUS’ director of equine protection. "While there is no punishment that can make up for the loss of life and severe suffering at the hands of this neglectful owner, we are grateful that Judge George J. Pulver Jr. recognized the severity of the cruelty inflicted by Paragallo. Hopefully, this case will send a strong message that animal abuse will not go unpunished.

"We hope this conviction will be a wake-up call for all horse owners who profit from their participation in the horse industry--that they have a responsibility to provide humane treatment and adequate care for their animals, even after their horses have stopped generating an income or been of use to the owner."
The HSUS calls on the court to order that Paragallo pay full restitution to animal-control officials in Greene County who oversaw the care of the horses following the May 2009 raid on Paragallo’s farm. We also call on the New York Racing and Wagering Board to permanently bar Paragallo from all New York racetracks and from holding a racing license in the state, and to apply any civil fines applicable under its regulations for the animal-cruelty charges brought by the Greene County district attorney.

NTRAs Letter to Congress / May 14, 2010

2010-05-19T20:31:00.002-04:00

Highlighting all the "improvements" the industry has made in regards to the care and treatment of racehorses, but Not a word about racehorse slaughter;
http://www.ntra.com/images/NTRA_letter_Congress05142010.pdf

Undiagnosed Respiratory Disease in Equines / Iceland

2010-05-18T22:33:00.003-04:00

Has bovine TB hit horses?
http://madcowhorses.blogspot.com/2010/05/undiagnosed-respiratory-disease-equine.html
Me thinks so, probably USA made; http://wikileaks.org/wiki/U.S._Embassy_profiles_on_Icelandic_PM,_Foreign_Minister,_Ambassador

International Boycott Against "All Things" Supporting Horse Slaughter Officially Begins Today

2010-05-11T21:51:00.001-04:00

http://friendsofequines.webs.com/

EQUINE VIRAL ARTERITIS - ARGENTINA (02): (BUENOS AIRES) OIE

2010-05-10T20:52:00.001-04:00

***********************************************
A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases

Date: 10 May 2010
Source: OIE, Paris [edited]

Equine viral arteritis, Argentina
---------------------------------
Information received on 7 May 2010 from Dr Jorge Nestor Amaya,
Presidente, Presidencia, SENASA, BUENOS AIRES, Argentina

Summary:
Report type: Immediate notification
Start date: 9 Mar 2010
Date of 1st confirmation of the event: 31 Mar 2010
Report date: 7 May 2010
Date submitted to OIE: 7 May 2010
Reason for notification: Reoccurrence of a listed disease
Date of previous occurrence: 2006
Manifestation of disease: Clinical disease
Causal agent: Equine arteritis virus
Nature of diagnosis: Clinical, Laboratory (advanced), Necropsy
This event pertains to: the whole country

New outbreaks:
Summary of outbreaks: Total outbreaks 8

(AVE 1): San Antonio de Areco, Villa Lia, San Antonio de Areco, BUENOS AIRES

Date of start of the outbreak: 9 Mar 2010
Outbreak status: Continuing (or date resolved not provided)
Epidemiological unit: Farm
Affected animals: Species (_equidae_) Susceptible (141) Cases (80)
Deaths (0) Destroyed (0) Slaughtered (0)
Affected Population: A farm with sport horses (jumping and races).
The 1st sign was abortions in mares that were with jumping mares
artificially inseminated (30 to 40 days before the abortions).
Animals from this farm went to other farms, where investigations are
on-going; in some of them, serologically positive animals have been
found. This is the index farm.

(AVE 2): Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, CAPITAL FEDERAL
Date of start of the outbreak: 11 Mar 2010
Outbreak status: Continuing (or date resolved not provided)
Epidemiological unit: Farm
Affected animals: Species (_equidae_) Susceptible (120) Cases (97)
Deaths (0) Destroyed (0) Slaughtered (0)
Affected Population: A farm with sport horses (riding) where mares
were inseminated with infected semen.

(AVE 3): Pilar, Pilar, BUENOS AIRES
Date of start of the outbreak: 27 Apr 2010
Outbreak status: Continuing (or date resolved not provided)
Epidemiological unit: Farm
Affected animals: Species (_equidae_) Susceptible (141) Cases (5)
Deaths (0) Destroyed (0) Slaughtered (0)
Affected Population: A closed district with sport horses (jumping and
polo) where animals from an infected farm (AVE 2) arrived.

(AVE 4): Ranchos, Gral. Paz, BUENOS AIRES
Date of start of the outbreak: 27 Apr 2010
Outbreak status: Continuing (or date resolved not provided)
Epidemiological unit: Farm
Affected animals: Species (_equidae_) Susceptible (100) Cases (2)
Deaths (0) Destroyed (0) Slaughtered (0)
Affected Population: A farm with sport horses where mares were
inseminated with infected semen.

(AVE 5) Suipacha, Suipacha, BUENOS AIRES
Date of start of the outbreak: 27 Mar 2010
Outbreak status: Continuing (or date resolved not provided)
Epidemiological unit: Farm
Affected animals: Species (_equidae_) Susceptible (21) Cases (4)
Deaths (0) Destroyed (0) Slaughtered (0)
Affected Population: A farm with sport horses where a mare from the
index farm arrived.

(AVE 6): San Vicente, San Vicente, BUENOS AIRES
Date of start of the outbreak: 22 Apr 2010
Outbreak status: Continuing (or date resolved not provided)
Epidemiological unit: Farm
Affected animals: Species (_equidae_) Susceptible (80) Cases (1)
Deaths (0) Destroyed (0) Slaughtered (0)
Affected Population: A farm with sport horses where a mare was
inseminated with infected semen.

(AVE 7): Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, CAPITAL FEDERAL
Date of start of the outbreak: 30 Apr 2010
Outbreak status: Continuing (or date resolved not provided)
Epidemiological unit: Farm
Affected animals: Species (_equidae_) Susceptible (195) Cases (2)
Deaths (0) Destroyed (0) Slaughtered (0)
Affected Population: A club with jumping horses where animals from an
infected farm (AVE 2) arrived.

(AVE 8): Zarate, Zarate, BUENOS AIRES
Date of start of the outbreak: 10 Apr 2010
Outbreak status: Continuing (or date resolved not provided)
Epidemiological unit: Farm
Affected animals: Species (_equidae_) Susceptible (10) Cases (5)
Deaths (0) Destroyed (0) Slaughtered (0)
Affected Population A farm where horses from the index farm came to graze.

Summary of outbreaks:
Total outbreaks: 8
Total animals affected: Species (_equidae_) Susceptible (808) Cases
(196) Deaths (0) Destroyed (0) Slaughtered (0)
Outbreak statistics: Species (_equidae_) Apparent morbidity rate
(24.26 percent) Apparent mortality rate (0.00 percent) Apparent case
fatality rate (0.00 percent) Proportion susceptible animals lost*
(0.00 percent)
* Removed from the susceptible population through death, destruction
and/or slaughter

Epidemiology:
Source of the outbreak(s) or origin of infection: *Unknown or
inconclusive Epidemiological comments: A health alert has been
declared across the country, and movements of horses are prohibited
in the city and in the province of Buenos Aires. All detected cases
are related to mares inseminated with semen from the same stud;
investigations are underway.

Control measures:
Measures applied: Quarantine; Movement control inside the country;
Screening; Vaccination prohibited; No treatment of affected animals
Measures to be applied: No other measures

Diagnostic test results:
Laboratory name and type: Virology Institute, INTA-Castelar (National
laboratory)
Tests and results:
Species / Test / Test date / Result
_equidae_ / reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)
/ 19 Apr 2010 / Positive
_equidae_ / seroneutralization test (SNT) / 05 Apr 2010 / Positive
_equidae_ / virus isolation / 31 Mar 2010 / Positive

Future Reporting:
The event is continuing. Weekly follow-up reports will be submitted.

Map of outbreak locations
Location of current outbreaks [see website for map] Click on map to zoom in.

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail

[see also:
Equine viral arteritis - Argentina ex Holland 20100509.1513]
.........................................................sb/as/mhj/msp/dk

*##########################################################*
************************************************************
ProMED-mail makes every effort to verify the reports that
are posted, but the accuracy and completeness of the
information, and of any statements or opinions based
thereon, are not guaranteed. The reader assumes all risks in
using information posted or archived by ProMED-mail. ISID
and its associated service providers shall not be held
responsible for errors or omissions or held liable for any
damages incurred as a result of use or reliance upon posted
or archived material.
************************************************************
Donate to ProMED-mail. Details available at:

************************************************************
Visit ProMED-mail's web site at .
Send all items for posting to: promed@promedmail.org
(NOT to an individual moderator). If you do not give your
full name and affiliation, it may not be posted. Send
commands to subscribe/unsubscribe, get archives, help,
etc. to: majordomo@promedmail.org. For assistance from a
human being send mail to: owner-promed@promedmail.org.
############################################################
############################################

GLANDERS, EQUINE - BAHRAIN (02): OIE

2010-05-10T20:43:00.001-04:00

********************************
A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases

Date: Mon 10 May 2010
Source: OIE-WAHID animal disease interface [edited]

Glanders, Bahrain
---------------
Information received on 10 May 2010 from Dr Salman Abdul Nabi,
Director of Animal Health Directorate, PO Box 251, Ministry of
Municipality Affairs and Agriculture, MANAMA, Bahrain

Summary

Report type: Immediate notification
Start date: 12 Apr 2010
Date of 1st confirmation of the event: 12 Apr 2010
Report date: 10 May 2010
Date submitted to OIE: 10 May 2010
Reason for notification: 1st occurrence of a listed disease
Manifestation of disease: Clinical disease
Causal agent: _Burkholderia mallei_
Nature of diagnosis: Laboratory (advanced)
This event pertains to the whole country

New outbreaks
Outbreak 1: Shakhora, NORTH
Date of start of the outbreak: 12 Apr 2010
Outbreak status: Continuing (or date resolved not provided)
Epidemiological unit: Farm
Affected animals:
Species / Susceptible / Cases / Deaths / Destroyed / Slaughtered
_equidae_/ 10 / 6 / 0 / 6 / 0

Affected Population:
The 1st 2 horses which were positive without clinical signs to
glanders originated from Syria and Kuwait and arrived 6 months ago.
They were of mixed breed. After testing, the other horses in the same
stable became positive with clinical signs.

Summary of outbreaks
Total outbreaks: 1

Epidemiology
Source of the outbreak(s) or origin of infection: Introduction of new
live animals

Epidemiological comments
The horses in the stable showed no clinical signs, and 394 serum
samples were sent to the OIE reference laboratory (CVRL). 35 were
confirmed positive by CFT, most of them without clinical signs.

Control measures
Measures applied: Control of arthropods, Control of wildlife
reservoirs, Quarantine, Movement control inside the country,
Screening, Zoning, Disinfection of infected
premises/establishment(s), Dipping / Spraying, Modified stamping out,
No vaccination. No treatment of affected animals

Measures to be applied: No other measures

Diagnostic test results:
Laboratory name and type: Central Veterinary Research Laboratory
(CVRL), United Arab Emirates (OIE's Reference Laboratory)
Tests and results
Species / Test / Test date / Result
_equidae_ / complement fixation test (CFT) / 12 Apr 2010 / Positive

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail

[The diagnosis of glanders, a zoonotic disease, in Bahrain was
reported by ProMED-mail on 28 Apr 2010. It is encouraging to see this
significant event eventually officially notified to the OIE. There
are several discrepancies between the notification and the
media-derived information dated 17 Apr 2010, in particular the
information about mortality of 2 horses, allegedly triggering the
epidemiological and laboratory investigation, as well as the relevant
timetable (see 20100417.1241).

Glanders is a reportable disease in Kuwait not reportable in Syria.
In both countries, the year of its last occurrence is unknown. Both
countries have already duly submitted their annual reports for 2009
to the OIE, from which the said information is derived. - Mod.AS]

[see also:
Glanders, equine - Bahrain 20100428.1364
Undiagnosed deaths, equine - Bahrain: RFI 20100417.1241
2007
----
Glanders, equine - Iran ex Iraq 20071129.3854
Glanders, equine - Russia (Chita) 20070707.2167
2004
----
Glanders, equine - United Arab Emirates: OIE 20041019.2836
Glanders - Brazil (South) 20040815.2265
2000
----
Glanders, human - USA (Maryland) (04) 20000630.1085
Glanders, equine - Brazil (Alagoas) (02) 20000605.0895
Glanders, equine - Brazil (Alagoas) 20000529.0858
Glanders, human - USA (Maryland) (03) 20000526.0842
Glanders, human - USA (Maryland) (02) 20000516.0769
Glanders, human - USA (Maryland) 20000515.0760]
....................................................sb/arn/msp/dk

*##########################################################*
************************************************************
ProMED-mail makes every effort to verify the reports that
are posted, but the accuracy and completeness of the
information, and of any statements or opinions based
thereon, are not guaranteed. The reader assumes all risks in
using information posted or archived by ProMED-mail. ISID
and its associated service providers shall not be held
responsible for errors or omissions or held liable for any
damages incurred as a result of use or reliance upon posted
or archived material.
************************************************************
Donate to ProMED-mail. Details available at:

************************************************************
Visit ProMED-mail's web site at .
Send all items for posting to: promed@promedmail.org
(NOT to an individual moderator). If you do not give your
full name and affiliation, it may not be posted. Send
commands to subscribe/unsubscribe, get archives, help,
etc. to: majordomo@promedmail.org. For assistance from a
human being send mail to: owner-promed@promedmail.org.
############################################################
############################################################

2010-05-10T01:52:00.003-04:00

Sue Wallis, a dirty politician from Wyoming who is spearheading the push to bring horse slaughter back to the USA, under the guise of "caring" for horses;
http://www.unitedorgsofthehorse.org/

EQUINE VIRAL ARTERITIS - ARGENTINA ex HOLLAND

2010-05-09T13:13:00.001-04:00

EQUINE VIRAL ARTERITIS - ARGENTINA ex HOLLAND
*********************************************
A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases

Date: 8 May 2010
Source: En Mercopress.com [edited]

SENASA, Argentina's National Animal and Agriculture Health Board, has
issued a statement suspending all transportation of horses in the Buenos
Aires province for 2 weeks due to an outbreak of viral equine arteritis.

The ban, in force as of this week, may be extended up to 30 days and has
curtailed horse activities such as racing, show jumping, endurance, and
auctions. The origin of the outbreak was traced to semen imported recently
from Holland for jumpers.

The disease affects pregnant mares, which abort their embryos; however,
after being infected, they become immune. Stallions that have viral equine
arteritis must be gelded. The disease can be transmitted through the air or
during breeding.

According to the Merck Veterinary Manual, equine viral arteritis (EVA) is
an acute, contagious, viral disease of equids caused by equine arteritis
virus. It is characterized by fever, depression, dependent edema
(especially of the limbs, scrotum, and prepuce in the stallion),
conjunctivitis, nasal discharge, abortion and, infrequently, death in young
foals.

The virus which causes EVA was first isolated from horses in Ohio in 1953,
but the disease has afflicted equine animals worldwide for centuries. It
has been more common in some breeds of horses in the United States, but
there is no breed "immunity." There is no known human hazard.

--
communicated by:
ProMED-mail

[Equine viral arteritis is caused by equine arteritis virus (EAV), an RNA
virus in the genus _Arterivirus_, family Arteriviridae and order
Nidovirales. Isolates vary in their virulence and potential to induce
abortions. Only one serotype has been recognized. Limited genetic analysis
suggests that EAV strains found among donkeys in South Africa may differ
significantly from isolates in North America and Europe.

Equine arteritis virus is found in the equidae. Antibodies to this virus
have been reported in horses, ponies, donkeys, and zebras. Illness occurs
mainly among horses and ponies, but clinical signs have also been reported
in experimentally infected donkeys. EAV might also be able to cause disease
in South American camelids: polymerase chain reaction assay (PCR) detected
viral nucleic acids in an alpaca that had aborted.

Equine arteritis virus can be transmitted by the respiratory and the
venereal routes. Acutely affected horses excrete the virus in respiratory
secretions; aerosol transmission is common when horses are gathered at
racetracks, sales, shows, and other events. This virus has also been found
in urine and feces during the acute stage. It occurs in the reproductive
tract of acutely infected mares, and both acutely and chronically infected
stallions. In mares, EAV can be found in vaginal and uterine secretions as
well as in the ovary and oviduct for a short period after infection. Mares
infected late in pregnancy may give birth to infected foals. Stallions shed
EAV in semen, and can carry the virus for years. Transmission from
stallions can occur by natural service or artificial insemination. Some
carriers may eventually clear the infection. True carrier states have not
been reported in mares, geldings or sexually immature colts; however, EAV
can occasionally be found for up to 6 months in the reproductive tract of
older prepubertal colts.

Equine arteritis virus can be transmitted on fomites including equipment,
and may be spread mechanically by humans or animals. This virus is
inactivated in 20-30 minutes at 56-58 C (133-136 F), but can remain viable
for 2 to 3 days at 37-38 C (99-100 F) and for up to 75 days at 4-8 C (39-46
F). Semen remains infectious after freezing.

The incubation period varies from 2 days to 2 weeks. Infections transmitted
venereally tend to become apparent in about one week.

Most EAV infections, especially those that occur in mares bred to long-term
carriers, are asymptomatic. The clinical signs are generally more severe in
old or very young animals and in horses that are immunocompromised or in
poor condition. Fulminant infections with severe interstitial pneumonia
and/or enteritis can be seen in foals up to a few months of age. Systemic
illness also occurs in some adults. In adult horses, the clinical signs may
include fever, depression, anorexia, limb edema (particularly in the
hindlimbs), and dependent edema of the prepuce, scrotum, mammary gland
and/or ventral body wall. Conjunctivitis, photophobia, periorbital or
supraorbital edema and rhinitis can also be seen. Some horses develop
urticaria; the hives may be localized to the head or neck, but are
sometimes generalized. Abortions or stillbirths can occur in mares that are
pregnant when they are exposed. Abortions are not necessarily preceded by
systemic signs. Temporary decreases in fertility, including reduced quality
sperm and decreased libido, may be seen in stallions during the acute stage
of the disease. The decrease in sperm quality has been attributed to
increased scrotal temperature and edema, and can persist for up to 4
months. The quality of the semen is not decreased in carrier stallions.
Except in cases of severe disease in foals, deaths are rare.

Equine viral arteritis should be considered when the clinical signs include
fever, depression, edema, conjunctivitis, nasal discharges and abortions.
This disease is difficult to differentiate from other systemic and
respiratory illnesses of horses.

The differential diagnosis includes equine influenza, equine infectious
anemia, and African horse sickness, as well as infections with Getah virus,
Hendra virus, equine rhinitis A and B viruses, equine adenoviruses, and
equine herpesviruses 1 and 4. Equine viral arteritis also resembles purpura
hemorrhagica and other streptococcal infections, as well as poisoning from
the toxic plant _Berteroa incana_ (hoary alyssum).

Acutely infected horses should be isolated to prevent transmission in
secretions and excretions. Precautions should also be taken to avoid
spreading the virus on fomites. EAV is readily inactivated by detergents,
common disinfectants and lipid solvents. No specific treatment is
available; however, most healthy horses other than young foals recover on
their own. Good nursing and symptomatic treatment should be used in severe
cases. Vaccination can also help contain outbreaks.

Venereal transmission can be controlled by good management and vaccination.
To protect pregnant mares from abortion, they should be separated from
other horses and maintained in small groups according to their predicted
foaling dates. Newly acquired horses should be isolated for 3 to 4 weeks.

Vaccination appears to prevent uninfected stallions from becoming long term
carriers. Stallions that are not carriers should be vaccinated before the
start of the breeding season. Prepubertal colts are given the vaccine when
they are 6-12 months old. Carrier stallions are identified and bred only to
well vaccinated or naturally seropositive mares. Similarly, semen that
contains EAV should be used only in these mares. Because 1st time
vaccinates may shed field viruses for a short time after exposure, these
mares should be isolated from seronegative horses, particularly pregnant
mares, for 3 weeks after breeding. Naturally infected mares and those that
are not 1st time vaccinates are isolated for 24-48 hours to protect other
horses from the viruses present in semen.

Portions of this comment have been extracted from
.
- Mod.TG]

[see also:
2008
---
Equine viral arteritis - Israel (02): OIE 20081111.3547
Equine viral arteritis - Israel 20081108.3515
2007
---
Equine viral arteritis - France 20070714.2260
2006
---
Equine viral arteritis - USA (NM) (02) 20061121.3317
Equine viral arteritis - USA (NM) 20060711.1903
2005
---
Equine viral arteritis - UK: OIE 20050131.0335
2002
---
Equine viral arteritis 20020209.3523
1999
---
Equine viral arteritis - New Zealand (02) 19990805.1350
Equine viral arteritis - New Zealand 19990802.1319]

...................tg/msp/sh

*##########################################################*
************************************************************
ProMED-mail makes every effort to verify the reports that
are posted, but the accuracy and completeness of the
information, and of any statements or opinions based
thereon, are not guaranteed. The reader assumes all risks in
using information posted or archived by ProMED-mail. ISID
and its associated service providers shall not be held
responsible for errors or omissions or held liable for any
damages incurred as a result of use or reliance upon posted
or archived material.
************************************************************
Donate to ProMED-mail. Details available at:

************************************************************
Visit ProMED-mail's web site at .
Send all items for posting to: promed@promedmail.org
(NOT to an individual moderator). If you do not give your
full name and affiliation, it may not be posted. Send
commands to subscribe/unsubscribe, get archives, help,
etc. to: majordomo@promedmail.org. For assistance from a
human being send mail to: owner-promed@promedmail.org.
############################################################
############################################################

URGENT: WNV Equine Vaccine Recall!!

2010-05-06T16:54:00.000-04:00

WEST NILE VIRUS - USA: EQUINE VACCINE RECALL, REQUEST FOR INFORMATION
*********************************************************************
A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases

Date: Tue 4 May 2010
Source: ZooToo [edited]

A major pharmaceutical company has announced an "urgent recall" of all
serial numbers of its West Nile virus vaccine for horses, the American
Veterinary Medical Association [AVMA] announced on its website on Tuesday
[4 May 2010].

The recall, which was voluntary, was instigated by the drug company,
Intervet Schering-Plough, on Monday [3 May 2010], "due to an increased
number of adverse event reports associated with the use of these vaccines,"
the AVMA said.

The pharmaceutical giant has recalled all 1-dose and 5-dose vials of the
PreveNile West Nile virus vaccine for horses. "Schering Plough reported an
increased number of adverse reactions to the vaccine," said Dr Kimberly
May, assistant director of professional and public affairs at the AVMA,
"but unfortunately there were no statements as to severity, or what the
number of horses affected was."

"The word 'urgent' was in the actual letter Schering Plough had sent," Dr
May said, adding, "'Urgent' in the recall world means, 'Check your stock
right now.'"

As of late Tuesday morning [4 May 2010], Intervet Schering-Plough had not
posted a recall notice on its website, or returned a phone message from
ZooToo.com. Dr May noted that it is not unusual for companies not to post
recall information on their websites. But she said the company "has
contacted all the veterinarians affected by this, as well as the distributors."

Intervet informed the USDA and the American Association of Equine
Practitioners on Monday [3 May 2010] of its recall decision.

[byline: Gabrielle Jonas]

--
communicated by:
ProMED-mail

[More information as well as copy of the letter from Intervet
Schering-Plough may be found at the AVMA website at
.

An adverse event may be anything from swelling at the injection site,
colic, fever, or a host of other negative issues. The letter by Intervet
Schering-Plough did not specify what the adverse reactions were or what
owners and veterinarians should be on the look out for, in the event they
have already administered this vaccine. The letter from the company was
issued on 28 Apr 2010. ProMED-mail would welcome further clarification of
the number and nature of adverse events.

Currently this recall seems to be USA centric but it may be more widespread
than that. - Mod.TG]

................tg/mj/jw/sh

*##########################################################*
************************************************************
ProMED-mail makes every effort to verify the reports that
are posted, but the accuracy and completeness of the
information, and of any statements or opinions based
thereon, are not guaranteed. The reader assumes all risks in
using information posted or archived by ProMED-mail. ISID
and its associated service providers shall not be held
responsible for errors or omissions or held liable for any
damages incurred as a result of use or reliance upon posted
or archived material.
************************************************************
Donate to ProMED-mail. Details available at:

************************************************************
Visit ProMED-mail's web site at .
Send all items for posting to: promed@promedmail.org
(NOT to an individual moderator). If you do not give your
full name and affiliation, it may not be posted. Send
commands to subscribe/unsubscribe, get archives, help,
etc. to: majordomo@promedmail.org. For assistance from a
human being send mail to: owner-promed@promedmail.org.
############################################################
############################################################

How R Things @ The King Ranch?

2010-04-17T12:41:00.001-04:00

As you may know, the King Ranch in Texas is one of the oldest and largest cattle
ranches in the United States. More recently though, they have diversified their
interests and have entered into the TB horse-racing / breeding arena, so thought
it important to post this info here;

King Ranch Horses Under Quarantine

http://madcowhorses.blogspot.com/2010/01/equine-piroplasmosis-usa-02-texas.html

UNDIAGNOSED DEATHS, EQUINE (Persian Gulf)

2010-04-17T10:56:00.000-04:00

BAHRAIN: REQUEST FOR INFORMATION
*************************************************************
A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases

Date: Fri 16 Apr 2010
Source: The Horse.com [edited]

An as-yet unidentified illness has killed 2 horses and sickened 10
others in Bahrain, reports the Gulf Daily News [see at
].
Authorities began investigating the situation on 15 Apr 2010, and
blood tests have been sent to a specialized laboratory in the United
Arab Emirates.

Because it had not yet been determined whether the illness is viral
or bacterial or how it spreads, horse and stable owners in the area
have been warned not to move their animals. Authorities are also
recommending that owners do not take part in equine sporting events
until more information is forthcoming.

"Two horses have already been put down since they had very severe
infection," Dr Salman Abdul Nabi, Director of Animal Wealth
Directorate, Ministry of Municipality Affairs and Agriculture, told
the Gulf Daily News. Abdul Nabi is Bahrain's Municipalities and
Agriculture Ministry livestock director.

Abdul Nabi reportedly said that he does not feel the illness is
contagious and noted that only a few of the country's 6500 horses
were afflicted.

Scott Weese, DVM, DVSc, Dipl. ACVIM, assistant professor of clinical
studies at the University of Guelph's Ontario Veterinary College, in
reporting about the situation on Guelph's EquID Blog, said that it is
probably premature to make assessments about whether the illness is
contagious.

"There are many potential causes for an outbreak like this," wrote
Weese. "Not all of them, in fact, are infectious disease, since
toxin-mediated disease must also be considered. If multiple horses
are being affected, the cause is more likely viral than bacterial,
but bacterial, viral, fungal, and parasitic diseases must be
considered."

The Kingdom of Bahrain is an archipelago of 36 islands in the Persian
Gulf off the eastern coast of Saudi Arabia and is about 4 times the
size of Washington, DC.

[Byline: Tracy Gantz]

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail

[The available information does not specify the clinical signs and PM
findings of the mentioned cases. Excluding infectious diseases,
particularly the 2, non-zoonotic equine orbiviruses, African horse
sickness and equine encephalosis, is urgently required. - Mod.AS]

[Maps of Bahrain can be seen at
and
. - Sr.Tech.Ed.MJ]

[see also:
2009
----
Equine encephalosis - Israel (03) 20091026.3709
Equine encephalosis - Ethiopia: serological evidence, RFI 20090509.1734
Equine encephalosis - Israel (02): OIE 20090501.1645
Equine encephalosis - Israel: 2008 20090401.1254
2008
----
African horse sickness - Ethiopia (02): serotype 2, update 20080930.3087
African horse sickness - Ethiopia: serotype 2, RFI 20080916.2898
2007
----
Equine encephalosis - South Africa (W Cape) 20070509.1495
1999
----
Equine encephalosis - S. Africa (Port Elizabeth) 19990428.0708]
...................................arn/mj/lm

*##########################################################*
************************************************************
ProMED-mail makes every effort to verify the reports that
are posted, but the accuracy and completeness of the
information, and of any statements or opinions based
thereon, are not guaranteed. The reader assumes all risks in
using information posted or archived by ProMED-mail. ISID
and its associated service providers shall not be held
responsible for errors or omissions or held liable for any
damages incurred as a result of use or reliance upon posted
or archived material.
************************************************************
Donate to ProMED-mail. Details available at:

************************************************************
Visit ProMED-mail's web site at .
Send all items for posting to: promed@promedmail.org
(NOT to an individual moderator). If you do not give your
full name and affiliation, it may not be posted. Send
commands to subscribe/unsubscribe, get archives, help,
etc. to: majordomo@promedmail.org. For assistance from a
human being send mail to: owner-promed@promedmail.org.
############################################################
############################################################

Learning Equine Anatomy / Legs

2010-04-15T10:17:00.002-04:00

Click on title above to see excellent learning vid whether you are just into horse anatomy, lameness issues or blacksmithing, barefoot trimming, etc.

I am trying to learn to do my own equines. It pays to start from the inside out.

Jockey Club Releases Fatality Reports

2010-04-15T06:31:00.000-04:00

Tuesday, March 23, 2010 Contact: Bob Curran Jr. (212 ) 521-5326
Equine Injury Database Statistic Released by The Jockey Club

The Jockey Club today released a North American fatality rate for Thoroughbreds based on a preliminary analysis of data collected over a one-year period in the Equine Injury Database™, the North American database for racing injuries.

The Equine Injury Database, which grew out of a need identified at the first Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit in Lexington, Ky., in October 2006, was launched in July 2008. It is part of an industry-wide emphasis on the protection of the health and welfare of its equine athletes, and the collection of data is the first step in the process of examining and preventing athletic injuries in the racehorse.

Based upon a year’s worth of data beginning November 1, 2008, from 378,864 total starts in Thoroughbred flat races at 73 racetracks participating in the Equine Injury Database, 2.04 fatal injuries were recorded per 1,000 starts.

The analysis was performed by Dr. Tim Parkin, a veterinarian and epidemiologist from the University of Glasgow, who serves as a consultant on the project.

“Data collected from a broad cross-section of racetracks in the United States and Canada will serve as an important tool for racetracks seeking benchmarks concerning the safety of racehorses,” said Parkin. “Over time, as data continues to be added, the database should yield numerous trends and factors associated with racing injuries and lead to strategies for their prevention.”

Racetracks currently have tools provided by InCompass Solutions Inc. to analyze data collected at their respective facilities. In early April, InCompass will make available an enhanced module that automates selected reports.

“Analysis of data in the Equine Injury Database is ongoing,” explained Matt Iuliano, executive vice president and executive director of The Jockey Club. “Dr. Parkin is scheduled to report additional analysis and insights on the matter at the third Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit on June 28 and 29 at Keeneland.”

The Jockey Club, through two of its for-profit subsidiary companies, InCompass and The Jockey Club Technology Services Inc., has underwritten the cost to develop and operate the database as a service to the industry. By agreement with the participating racetracks, from time to time The Jockey Club may publish certain summary statistics from the Equine Injury Database, but will not provide statistics that identify specific participants, including racetracks, horses or persons.

Eighty-one racetracks and the National Steeplechase Association participate in the Equine Injury Database, representing 86 percent of the flat racing days in North America. A list of racetracks participating in the Equine Injury Database can be found at jockeyclub.com/initiatives.asp.

The Jockey Club, founded in 1894 and dedicated to the improvement of Thoroughbred breeding and racing, is the breed registry for North American Thoroughbreds. In fulfillment of its mission, The Jockey Club provides support and leadership on a wide range of important industry initiatives and it serves the information and technology needs of owners, breeders, media, fans and farms, among others.

InCompass is a technology solutions company formed in 2001 to centralize the software applications and systems that serve North American racetracks and simulcast outlets, thereby helping these facilities achieve operational efficiencies, reduce costs and increase revenue.

The Jockey Club Technology Services is a technology company formed in 2002 to maximize the benefits of state-of-the-art communications and data management technology in support of The Jockey Club and its affiliated companies and other customers.

Jockey, Author, Dick Francis Dies at 89

2010-02-15T16:23:00.002-05:00

—From the Times of London

Had he remained in the racing world as a trainer or thoroughbred expert after retiring from riding in 1957, Dick Francis would have been remembered as one of the most successful jockeys of his era.

Mr. Francis, who died Sunday at age 89, would also be remembered as the jockey who spectacularly managed to lose in the 1956 Grand National, Great Britain's most famous steeplechase. A photograph of him within a whisker of the finish line, aboard Queen Elizabeth's horse Devon Loch, flat on its belly with four legs helplessly splayed out, is one of racing's strangest images. To "do a Devon Loch" is a still a byword for losing a race from a seemingly unassailable position.

But the disaster actually helped launch Mr. Francis's subsequent career as a journalist and then as horse racing's most eloquent writer of thrillers. Almost all his books became international best-sellers, and they made Mr. Francis a wealthy man.

Raised in a village in Pembrokeshire in southwest Wales, Mr. Francis was the son of a horse-dealer, steeplechaser and farmer. Mr. Francis learned to ride when he was 5 and won his first race at age 8. His father felt that a day hunting or show-jumping was much more valuable to a growing boy than a day at school, and allowed Mr. Francis to drop out at age 15.

In 1939, Mr. Francis joined the Royal Air Force and was later commissioned as a pilot, flying fighters and bombers during World War II. In 1947, he married a university-educated and highly literate schoolmistress, Mary Margaret Brenchley, despite opposition from both families on the ground that they had so little in common. He arrived at their wedding with his arm in a sling, having fallen from a horse.

Mr. Francis turned professional in 1948, and was for four seasons in the 1950s Queen Elizabeth's No. 1 jockey. By the time of the Devon Loch debacle he had broken so many bones that he was advised to give up racing. His autobiography, "The Sport of Queens," was published in 1957, and Britain's Sunday Express used him as a racing correspondent for the next 16 years.

Mr. Francis approached the task of writing with little confidence. But journalism didn't pay as well as racing, and realizing that their two sons' school fees had to be paid, his wife suggested that he try a novel. Drawing on his own expertise, he wrote "Dead Cert." It was extremely well received, and, from then on, he produced a book a year.

Horses, in training or racing or being sold or put to stud, are featured in all his books. Mr. Francis's heroes tend to be lonely men, often widowed or divorced; they are frequently beaten up or injured, but they strive doggedly in their pursuit of the villains and in their personal lives, proving more resourceful and resilient than their melancholy natures permitted them to expect.

The books were set in exotic locales, from South Africa to Norway to Russia. Mary Francis explored whatever specialized fields were needed, learning to paint for "In the Frame" and about the wine trade for "Proof." "Flying Finish" involved the transport of horses, so Mrs. Francis learned to fly, an experience she enjoyed so much that she started an air-taxi service conveying people to racecourses.

Mr. Francis always acknowledged his debt to his wife, although he denied one biographer's claim that she was the primary author. After she died in 2000, he was helped by his son Felix. Mr. Francis's latest book, "Crossfire" is due to be published in August.

He would prefer, Mr. Francis sometimes said, to be remembered as a jockey rather than as a writer, but then admitted that, if that were the case, he would be remembered only as the man whose horse stopped in the Grand National.

—From the Times of London —Email remembrances@wsj.com

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704431404575067671970533114.html

Thorofan Fundraiser in NY

2010-01-29T13:39:00.002-05:00

THOROFAN HONORS RACHEL ALEXANDRA AS HORSE OF THE YEAR AT HER 4TH BIRTHDAY PARTY

Raising Funds for Bobby Frankel Division of Old Friends at Cabin Creek

FREE ADMISSION

Date: Sunday Jan 31, 2010 Place: Union Grille, Saratoga Hilton 534 Broadway, Saratoga Springs, NY

Time: Seating 12-5pm

50% of tab will be donated to Old Friends at Cabin Creek by Andy Brindisi RSVP to be eligible for fab door prizes

Union Grille 518-682-2600

HILTON HOTEL HAS SPECIAL PRICING ON ROOMS AND SUITES More info? Contact: Bambii Rae (518) 695-3605 bambiirae@nycap.rr.com

GREAT FOOD, FUN PEOPLE, HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUNG TO RACHEL IN NEW ORLEANS See famed equine artist Frankie Flores create “Rachel”,
Hear infamous Artie Rigileto Vendors: pictures, jewelry, hats & clothes
DON'T MISS THE EXCITEMENT

--------

Member of: www.equinewelfarealliance.org

Penn Temporarily Bans Horses Owned by Gill

2010-01-28T13:17:00.002-05:00

By Claire Novak

Updated: Tuesday, January 26, 2010 12:55 PM
Posted: Monday, January 25, 2010 7:40 PM

Horses entered in the name of Michael Gill, North America’s leading owner by races won and purses earned in 2009, will not be accepted for entry at Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course effective immediately.
Chris McErlean, vice president of racing for track owner Penn National Gaming Inc., said Jan. 25 the temporary restriction has been put in place pending a meeting to review the necropsy results of two runners owned by Gill that recently broke down at the Pennsylvania track.

Several other runners owned by Gill have ralso eportedly suffered fatal breakdowns on the track since Oct. 1, although exact numbers have not been confirmed.

Gill, the leading owner in North America by purses earned and races won in 2003, 2004, and 2009—he led by wins and was second by earnings in 2005, the year he won an Eclipse Award—had taken a break from racing in 2006 but returned in 2008. He has 49 stalls at Penn National and stables the remainder of his 120 horses at his private training center, Elk Creek Ranch in Oxford, Pa.

Last year, 2,247 horses raced under his silks to 370 wins and earnings of $6,670,490.

“To my knowledge, regarding further entries at this point, we are going to wait until we have a scheduled meeting with Mr. Gill and his trainers once we get those reports from the most recent breakdowns,” McErlean said. “We want the ability to speak with him and his trainers to find out what’s going on and get some more information at that time.”

The practice of running and reviewing a necropsy exam on horses that suffer fatal injuries at Penn National is one instituted by the track at the start of the year in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission.

“We’ve set up a process between ourselves and the commission to do an informal review of the report, to allow the trainer to tell us of any issues they were aware of, and through looking at vet records to try to piece together any reasons why the breakdown could have occurred,” McErlean said.

McErlean said results of the necropsies should be available by Jan. 27, and a meeting could be scheduled by the end of the week.

The restriction follows a threatened boycott of Penn National’s Jan. 23 card by jockeys that were concerned over a second spill involving one of Gill’s entries in a three-day period. The Darrel Delahoussaye-trained Laughing Moon broke down after the wire under jockey Ricky Frazier in the fifth race Jan. 23. A previous incident occurred Jan. 21, when Melodeeman, trained by Anthony Adamo, suffered a catastrophic breakdown in the second race on the card.

After a lengthy delay, Adamo scratched Justin M, Gill’s only other entry on the card, from the sixth race. Trainers subsequently withdrew horses owned by Gill from ensuing race cards; horses were entered through Jan 28.

Anthony Black, a veteran Pennsylvania rider who was active in forming the Philadelphia Park Jockeys organization, said he spoke to several riders involved in the situation. Black also approached stewards at Philadelphia Park Casino & Racetrack to inform them of local riders’ concerns.

“I talked to three older riders who are based there, and they’re having second thoughts when it comes to riding races with his horses,” Black said. “They’ve not ridden good races, and they realize they haven’t, because they wouldn’t tuck in behind those horses in the blue and white Gill colors—and it makes good sense not to tuck in behind them when they’re breaking down like that.”

Gill, reached Jan. 25, said his horses did not break down at a higher rate than usual for lower-level claimers. He said he has always maintained a practice of complete transparency with racing authorities.

“They can go through all my horses at my farm, at the barn, unannounced, uninvited,” Gill said. “They can take any blood test, jog the horses, look at everything. I’ve always been that way. You find something illegal with these horses, I’ll quit.

“We ran 2,247 horses last year and did we have a bad test? Not one. How many trainers do you think can claim that?”

Gill said he believes his practice of running large numbers of horses and claiming from smaller operations has angered horsemen on circuits from Delaware to Florida. In 2003, he was involved in a similar controversy stemming from the fatal breakdown of the Mark Shuman-trained Casual Conflict, but was exonerated along with his trainer of all wrongdoing in the situation.

“The people that we’re claiming from who happen to have been in that community for the past 20-30 years are unhappy,” Gill said “It’s not new. We’re claiming an inordinate amount of horses and taking too much money off the table. I take grief because I own a lot of claiming horses, but how many people spend millions of dollars on horses that never even make it to the racetrack?”

According to Gill, in 2009 he had two horses that suffered fatal injuries at Penn National for the entire year.

“The horse that broke down (Jan. 23) was sound; he had just won the race before," Gill said. "I’ll show you his vet records. He'd never been ‘tapped.' Maybe the track was a little hard; that’s part of winter racing when you’re running at a track in January where it’s raining, snowing, and freezing, too.”

BLOGGERS NOTE: We shall await the results of the testing before entering Gill as the latest inductee into The Horse Racing Hall of Shame...as we firmly belive in the theory of innocent until proven guilty...it is the American Way.

http://ow.ly/11rZC

Pletcher fined, suspended by CHRB

2010-01-23T20:54:00.001-05:00

By Steve Andersen
Daily Racing Form

The California Horse Racing Board fined trainer Todd Pletcher $25,000 and suspended him at least 10 days for a positive test for the anesthetic procaine by Wait a While following a third-place finish in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Santa Anita in 2008.

The board adopted the recommendation of hearing officer Steffan Imhoff in a closed-door session at its monthly meeting on Jan. 15. Imhoff recommended a 60-day suspension with 50 days of the penalty stayed in the event that Pletcher does not have a positive for medications in classes 1, 2, or 3 during for a year.

Pletcher did not return a phone call Friday seeking comment.

Procaine is a class 3 medication that is commonly used with penicillin, an antiobiotic.

Pletcher, who has a small stable in California this winter, must begin his suspension and pay the fine by Feb. 20, according to racing board executive director Kirk Breed.

In his decision, Imhoff said he gave Pletcher the maximum suspension allowed under racing board rules because the positive occurred after a Breeders' Cup race. He said a majority of the suspension was stayed because Wait a While was treated with procaine at the advice of Pletcher's veterinarian and was not treated with the medication in the 18 days before the race.

Imhoff wrote, "If, as we believe, another procaine injection was given shortly before the race, there is no evidence to suggest this was done by Pletcher, or on his behalf."

Imhoff said the attorney general's recommendation for a $50,000 fine was "too high," but that a drug violation in a $2 million race demands a "substantial" fine.

http://ow.ly/ZKUv

Cincinnati Horse Trainer Charged with Cruelty, Abandonment

2010-01-09T19:44:00.001-05:00

by: Pat Raia
January 08 2010, Article # 15610

Thoroughbred horse trainer Chad Moore faces multiple animal cruelty charges in connection with the alleged abandonment and maltreatment of horses at his Ohio farm.

Clermont County animal control officials removed six allegedly malnourished Thoroughbred horses, one pony, and one donkey from Moore's Bethel Farm last month. The carcasses of at least 10 horses were also found on the property, said Clermont County Communications Director Kathy Lehr.

Moore was arrested on unrelated charges shortly after the animals' removal.

On Thursday, he was charged with two counts of animal abandonment and two counts of animal cruelty. Additional charges are pending, Lehr said. Moore remains in the Clermont County jail.

Two mares were euthanized. The surviving animals are receiving rehabilitative care at a private farm.

Read more: Two Seized Cincinnati Horses Euthanized
http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=15610

Racing Industry "Catches" Equine Disease

2010-01-04T01:42:00.003-05:00

I have got to say, if it wasent for this New Mexican Race-tracks Screening Methods, this disease might never have been detected. Nice catch NM!

EQUINE PIROPLASMOSIS - USA (12): (NEW MEXICO)
***********************************************
A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases

Date: 28 Dec 2009
Source: The Horse.com [edited]

As part of a racetrack screening program, 3 New Mexico horses have
been identified as infected with _Theileria equi_, a causative agent
for equine piroplasmosis. These infections are noteworthy as these
horses are not epidemiologically linked to those involved in a larger
ongoing investigation centered on horses from a South Texas ranch.

Information on the new cases, and an update on the Texas
investigation, was included in a 24 Dec 2009 report issued to the
World Organization for Animal Health (Office International des
Epizooties, or OIE) by John Clifford, DVM, deputy administrator of
the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

The positive New Mexico horses did not show any clinical signs of
disease. Preliminary results of the investigation indicate that the
transmission of the organism might have resulted from management
practices (use of shared needles or substances between horses) rather
than by a tick vector, the OIE report noted. More than 1300 New
Mexico horses have been tested via the screening program.

Officials in the United States have screened all imported horses for
piroplasmosis for nearly 30 years. The disease was officially
eradicated from the United States in 1988. It is spread by some
species of ticks, the use of contaminated needles, and possibly
through blood-contaminated semen of infected stallions.

Clinical signs of equine piroplasmosis can include a host of
nonspecific problems, such as fever or anemia, and some infected
horses might appear healthy. Blood tests are needed to diagnosis the
disease. The only treatment is a potent type of chemotherapy that can
have serious side effects in some horses.

The larger piroplasmosis investigation remains underway, with 357
confirmed positive horses. All of the positive horses have direct
links to the index premises in Kleberg County, Texas. The OIE report
stated these include horses that currently or previously lived on the
index premises or live on a premises immediately adjacent, or [near]
other "dangerous contacts" (a positive foal born to an infected mare
was listed as an example of such).

Positive horses have been located in 12 states, with 289 positive
horses on the index ranch in Texas, 41 on other premises in Texas, 2
in Alabama, 2 in California, 5 in Florida, one in Georgia, 2 in
Indiana, 5 in Louisiana, 1 in Minnesota, 2 in North Carolina, 4 in
New Jersey, 1 in Tennessee, 1 in Utah, and 1 in Wisconsin. All known
positive horses are under quarantine.

More than 1500 horses have been tested for equine piroplasmosis as
part of the epidemiological investigation, including 587 horses
exposed to positive horses outside of the index premises. All of
these cohorts have tested negative, the report stated.

As a result of the current investigation, Canada and several U.S.
states have restricted the importation of horses from Texas. Horse
owners and veterinarians shipping horses are urged to check with
animal health officials in your state of destination to ensure the
animals have met all entry requirements.

[Byline: Erin Ryder]

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail

[Although the horses do not appear to be epidemiologically linked to
the outbreak that started in Texas, sharing needles between horses
does not give a horse piroplasmosis unless those needles have been in
a horse with piroplasmosis. In other words, the disease had to have
come from somewhere. The question is where. Will New Mexico cast a
surveillance net to detect where the disease really came from? -
Mod.TG]

[see also:
Equine piroplasmosis - USA (11): multi-state 20091203.4128
Equine piroplasmosis - USA (10) 20091117.3963
Equine piroplasmosis - USA (09): (NJ ex TX) 20091111.3912
Equine piroplasmosis - USA (08): (TX) alert 20091030.3749
Equine piroplasmosis - USA (07): (TX) 20091024.3675
Equine piroplasmosis - USA (06): (TX) OIE 20091022.3631
Equine piroplasmosis - USA (05): (TX) 20091021.3617
Equine piroplasmosis - USA (04): (KS, MO) resolved 20090917.3262
Piroplasmosis, equine - USA (03): (KS, MO) 20090729.2662
Equine Piroplasmosis - USA (02): (MO) 20090612.2172
Equine Piroplasmosis - USA: (FL) quarantine lifted 20090225.0771
2008
----
Equine Piroplasmosis - USA (04): (FL) 20080930.3088
Equine Piroplasmosis - USA: (03) (FL) 20080828.2687
Equine piroplasmosis - USA (02): (FL) 20080823.2626
Equine piroplasmosis - USA: (FL) 20080819.2579]
...................................................tg/msp/lm

*##########################################################*
************************************************************
ProMED-mail makes every effort to verify the reports that
are posted, but the accuracy and completeness of the
information, and of any statements or opinions based
thereon, are not guaranteed. The reader assumes all risks in
using information posted or archived by ProMED-mail. ISID
and its associated service providers shall not be held
responsible for errors or omissions or held liable for any
damages incurred as a result of use or reliance upon posted
or archived material.
************************************************************
Become a ProMED-mail Premium Subscriber at

************************************************************
Visit ProMED-mail's web site at .
Send all items for posting to: promed@promedmail.org
(NOT to an individual moderator). If you do not give your
full name and affiliation, it may not be posted. Send
commands to subscribe/unsubscribe, get archives, help,
etc. to: majordomo@promedmail.org. For assistance from a
human being send mail to: owner-promed@promedmail.org.
############################################################
############################################################

Racehorse's Plight Shines Light On Illegal Slaughter Farms

2009-12-31T12:03:00.000-05:00

Posted: 7:28 PM Dec 30, 2009

Freedom's Flight is a beautiful thoroughbred with an impressive pedigree. His bloodlines can be traced to two of the greatest race horses of all time, Seattle Slew and Secretariat.
Reporter: CNN

Font Size: Miami, Florida (CNN) -- Freedom's Flight is a beautiful thoroughbred with an impressive pedigree. His bloodlines can be traced to two of the greatest race horses of all time, Seattle Slew and Secretariat.

But, unlike his kinship, Freedom's Flight's racing career ended before it had even started. It was almost two years ago when the thoroughbred's leg snapped right out of the gate at Miami's Gulfstream race track. The animal's days as a cherished racehorse came to an abrupt end.

"He came from the famous Clairborne farm and ended up on one of the worst farms in America," says new owner Richard "Kudo" Couto.

That "worst" farm in America turned out to be an illegal slaughter farm in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Couto, working for the South Florida Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, participated in a raid on the farm and rescued Freedom's Flight. The timing of that rescue may have saved Freedom's Flight's life. The horse was limping around on his broken leg, he had sores on his body, and you could see his bones protruding from his dirty coat.

Some 18 months since his rescue, Freedom's Flight looks more like the stunning race horse that was worth thousands of dollars than the injured horse that was sold for $50 to an illegal slaughter farm.

"Prior to his rescue, I didn't know that illegal slaughter farms existed in the country -- let alone under my nose in my own county," says Couto.

This new knowledge has motivated Couto. "It really made me buckle down and basically dedicate my life to shut this industry down. It's become personal for me," he says.

Couto suspects that there are more than 100 illegal slaughterhouses in the area. There is only one slaughterhouse that operates legally, Cabrera's, and there the United States Department of Agriculture inspectors are housed on its property.

Many of these illegal places are concentrated in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade County. The roads are dirt, the vegetation thick and uninviting. This is the western fringe of Miami along the rim of the Everglades, an area considered a sort of no-man's land.

There are signs in English and in Spanish advertising animals for sale. Tarps are put up to hide what is behind the chain link fences, but most of these businesses are open to the public. "You don't have to be a rocket scientist after walking the properties and seeing the dead carcasses, the guts in the trash bins, the slaughter tables, the knives -- all of the tools of running this type of operation is right in front of you," says Couto.

CNN visited several of these establishments. At one location where a pig was being carved on one table and a chicken on the other, we asked to film on the property. "This slaughterhouse isn't as clean as you can see, try Cabrera's," said the unidentified man behind the slaughter table. Like several places we visited there was blood on the floor, dirty butcher knives and an overwhelming stench.

Couto says it isn't the slaughtering of animals that has put him on this mission. It's the way the animals are treated.

"These animals are living in extreme filth. They're beaten. The way they're slaughtered is inhumane," says Couto.

Couto has been on a one-man crusade to shut down illegal slaughterhouses that are operating without licenses and without oversight by the health or agriculture departments. He was first exposed to what he calls the "dark underbelly" of the area when, with the Florida SPCA, he was investigating the slaughter of horses for their meat.

Motivated by Freedom's Flight, Couto left the South Florida SPCA to form his own organization called ARM -- Animal Recovery Mission.

For the past year he has used a video camera to collect evidence. Couto has simply walked right into dozens of slaughterhouses and has filmed bloody slaughter tables.

"I go in acting like a customer," he says, "I ask them, 'How much for the pig?' And they'll say 120 dollars. 'How much for the kill?' '20 bucks. We'll slaughter it for you for 20 bucks.' It's that easy."

One local agency that spends a lot of time in the area because sections of it are considered protected wetland is the Miami-Dade Department of Environmental Resources Management. Carlos Espinosa is in charge of enforcing the county's environmental regulations.

"When we come across other issues relating to other departments, we pass that information on to other departments," says Espinosa.

Couto took his story and his videos to every local agency he could think of with oversight responsibility. He tried to set up a task force with agencies in charge of violations such as animal cruelty, illegal structures, illegal businesses, permit problems and zoning issues. A sign-in sheet from one of these meetings shows many of the agencies attended the meeting, but Couto says nothing came of it.

CNN contacted Miami-Dade Animal Services Department, an agency that had a representative at that meeting. Spokesperson Xiomara Mordcovich said the agency does not deal with issues involving farm animals and directed us to the Miami-Dade Police Department.

The Police Department declined an interview. "We are not actively investigating any incidents involving illegal slaughterhouses," the department said in an e-mail. Then it referred us back to Animal Services and also to the code compliance department.

Charles Danger, director of the Miami-Dade Building and Neighborhood Compliance Department, admits that it was because of Couto's persistence that it is now putting together a multi-agency task force he called "Operation Miss Piggy and Mr. Ed."

According to Danger, part of the reason nothing has been done to clean up this area is because of fear for the safety of inspectors.

"Every time we go in there, we have to go in there with the police -- and even the police don't want to go in there," says Danger.

Danger says the Miami-Dade Police Department is now on the new task force, which also includes agencies such as the state health department and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. "It comes from a lot of years of illegal operation. We have to do it together because it's not going to be easy," says Danger.

One organization that will keep tabs on the progress is the Animal Recovery Mission. Couto says he will not go away quietly. He calls his mission "redemption and revenge for Freedom's Flight and what he went through."

NYRA announces anti-slaughter policy

2009-12-15T17:36:00.002-05:00

Well its about time! NYS has thee most lucrative breeding incentives in the world,....it is the least they can do.

SARATOGA SPRINGS - The New York Racing Association is cracking the whip on owners and trainers who sell their horses to slaughter.

NYRA announced a new policy Thursday -- a month after NewsChannel 13 reported that the organization didn't have written rules regarding slaughter.

While they're racing and winning, they often live the good life. After they've lost their value, it's possible for racehorses to end up at slaughterhouses -- strung up, throats slashed and allowed to bleed out.

More Information:
NYRA Details Anti-Slaughter Policy

Related Stories:

Part 1: Home stretch for thoroughbreds

Part 2: Life after the track

The movement to make sure racehorses don't end up slaughtered for food gained momentum when NYRA adopted strict new no-slaughter rules.

The new NYRA policy says any owner or trainer who sells a horse to slaughter will lose his barn privileges permanently.

"Horse slaughter will not be tolerated and those participating in this practice, either knowingly or for lack of due diligence, will not be welcome at Aqueduct, Belmont Park, or Saratoga," NYRA President and CEO Charles Hayward said in a statement.

This policy is a personal victory for John Hendrickson of Marylou Whitney Stables. Shortly after NewsChannel 13 told the story of racehorse slaughter in late October, Hendrickson took the issue to his fellow NYRA board members.

"They were very receptive. There's nobody that's for slaughter," Hendrickson said.

According to the humane society, up to 20 percent of all thoroughbreds end up slaughtered. The thoroughbred retirement foundation works to save racehorses and welcomes NYRA's new no-tolerance policy.

"This sends the absolute right message to owners and breeders, saying we have to think about these horses for their whole lives, not just when they're on the track trying to make money for us," said Diana Pikulski of the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation.

Click on title above for original article and video;
http://www.topix.com/forum/sports/horse-racing/TV5L6UAUNQ9H9O40K

Ohio Standardbred Barn Fire Kills 2 Men, 42 Horses

2009-12-07T08:52:00.004-05:00

Horse owners stood stunned as they watched heavy machinery peel back the metal roof of the collapsed structure so firefighters could sift through the debris and extinguish what remained of the blaze. -- PHOTO: AP
LEBANON (Ohio) - A FIRE ripped through a horse barn at a county fairgrounds Saturday in southwest Ohio, killing two men and 43 horses, authorities said.
The barn roof had already collapsed by the time firefighters arrived at the Warren County Fairgrounds early Saturday morning, according to Capt. Krista Wyatt of the Lebanon Fire Department.
The bodies of the men were pulled from the barn and were badly burned, said Shane Cartmill, a spokesman for the Ohio State Fire Marshal. Cartmill was unable to confirm the identities late Saturday.
A horse owner identified the men as Ronnie Williams and James Edwards, both trainers at a harness racing racetrack based at the fairgrounds. Victor Gray, who owned three of the horses that died, said he'd known Williams nearly 40 years. Lamar Moody, lead trainer at Lebanon Raceway, said two of his employees were not accounted for.
No one was supposed to be in the stables overnight and it was not clear if the two men killed were working early or sleeping in the barn. 'It's a terrible situation,' said Gray. 'This is something that didn't have to happen.' The cause of the blaze was under investigation, but state fire investigators say they have ruled out criminal intent.
Horse owners stood stunned as they watched heavy machinery peel back the metal roof of the collapsed structure so firefighters could sift through the debris and extinguish what remained of the blaze. The horses weren't pets but nonetheless were 'part of the family, our kids,' Gray said. 'We loved those horses.' In 1988, a fire in a similar part of the county-owned racetrack and fairgrounds killed 35 horses. No one was killed in that fire. -- AP

HorsePac: An UnHoly Alliance of Pro-Slaughter Equine Industrialists

2009-07-19T10:50:00.003-04:00

In this loosley disguised "HorseSlaughterPac," you will "meet the money" behind the campaigns to keep horse slaughter going; this is what we are up against in Congress.

Message from the president

March 11, 2008

Horse PAC enjoyed its widest support in 2007. With receipts of $347,604 in 2007, Horse PAC ended the year with $490,793 in cash on hand. A record 221 NTRA members contributed to the PAC this year. We thank them for their constancy and support.

The Horse PAC Board also welcomed four new Directors during 2007: George B. Bolton, Marc W. Dunbar, Robert S. Evans and J. Kenneth Luke, bringing the total number of directors to 18 for 2007. Horse PAC may have up to 25 Board members.

Horse PAC disbursements in 2007 were $294,500, a record for a non-election year. The PAC supported 10 of the "freshmen" Members elected at the start of the 2006/2007 Congressional cycle and in all, supported 84 individual candidates from 34 states.

The PAC’s most important determinant for giving remains a candidate’s Committee membership. Horse PAC’s support was spread across key committees that oversee the pari-mutuel horse racing and breeding industries, including Agriculture, Energy & Commerce, Ways & Means, Finance, Homeland Security and Judiciary.

Reaffirming Horse PAC’s mission to support only Federal political candidates and parties at the Congressional level, the Board of Directors in 2007 unanimously passed a resolution barring Horse PAC contributions to United States Presidential candidates.

As we look forward to 2008, we anticipate yet another season of growth for Horse PAC, which continues to be the largest gaming PAC after just five and a half years of operations.

With an election year upon us and a number of key legislative issues still to be addressed in the 110th Congress, we expect an active year on multiple fronts in Washington, D.C. A summary of our key legislative issues and activities in 2007 appears on pages 15 through 18 of this report.

We encourage you to keep abreast of our efforts on Capitol Hill by visiting our Web site, www.SupportHorseRacing.org. Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

Peggy Hendershot

Horse PAC President

Table of Contents

Message from the PAC President..................................1

Board of Directors ................................................................2

About Horse PAC ................................................................3

Receipts ......................................................................................4

Contributors...............................................................................5

Disbursements ........................................................................7

Legislative Summary.............................................................15

2007 horse pacboard of directors

In 2006, the by-laws of Horse PAC were amended to allow up to 25 members on the Board of Directors. Directors are appointed by the PAC President. The 2007 Horse PAC Board consisted of:

William S. Farish, Jr., Chairman

Antony Beck

George B. Bolton

Case Clay

Laura A. D’Angelo

Marc W. Dunbar

Robert Elliston

Robert S. Evans

Tracy Farmer

Terrence P. Finley

Lucy Young Hamilton

John C. Harris

F. Jack Liebau, Jr.

J. Kenneth Luke

Wilhelmina McEwan

Terence J. Meyocks

Anne W. Poulson

Joseph V. Shields, Jr.

Alexander M. Waldrop

NTRA President and CEO, ex officio

Peggy Hendershot

President & Treasurer

Barbara Fossum

Assistant Treasurer

about horse pac

Horse PAC is the Federal Political Action Committee (PAC) of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA). The Committee was activated in 2002 to promote and facilitate the accumulation of voluntary contributions from members of the NTRA and its subsidiaries and affiliates, for the support of political parties and candidates for elective office in the United States. The Committee is dedicated to the support of candidates who have taken responsible positions on issues involving the Thoroughbred racing industry. As a multi-issue PAC, the Committee gives strategic support to federal political candidates who:

• Serve on Congressional committees that oversee livestock and agricultural issues, Internet gaming, taxation, immigration and the Interstate Horseracing Act

• Are established leaders and control Congressional leadership PACs

• Endorse tax legislation benefiting race horse owners, breeders, players and businesses

• Have racetracks, breeding farms, training centers and other equine venues in their districts

• Are members of the Congressional Horse Caucus

• Are emerging leaders meriting "early support"

Key Congressional Committees for the Thoroughbred Industry

Committee
House/Senate
Issue(s)

Agriculture
House and Senate
Livestock, equine identification, Farm Bill

Appropriations
House and Senate
Bills serve as vehicles for other provisions

Banking
Senate
Internet gaming

Senate
Interstate Horseracing Act; general oversight for professional sports, including medication issues

Energy & Commerce
House
Interstate Horseracing Act; general oversight for professional sports, including medication issues

Finance
Senate
Taxes and trade

Financial Services
House
Taxes and trade

Homeland Security
House and Senate
Security for major racing events; anti-terrorism measures affecting consumers; immigration

Judiciary
House and Senate
Internet gaming, immigration

Ways & Means
House
Taxes and trade

Commerce, Science & Technology

receipts

From inception through December 31, 2007, Horse PAC has raised $1,842,970. The committee raised $731,724 for the 2003/04 election cycle and $724,538 for the 2005/06 election cycle.

Horse PAC Annual Receipts, 2002-007

In 2007 Horse PAC continued to lead all gaming PACs by receipts.

gaming pacs receipts

2007 Horse PAC Contributors

Champions – $5,000

Josephine E. Abercrombie

Lee & Carmen Ackerley

John W. Amerman

Craig Bandoroff

Ramona Seeligson Bass

Angela Levy Beck

Bill & Susan Casner

Case B. Clay

Robert & Blythe Clay

CTBA PAC

Adele B. Dilschneider

C. Steven Duncker

Robert S. Evans

Sarah S. Farish

William S. Farish, Jr.

William S. Farish, Sr.

Mr. & Mrs. Tracy Farmer

Mr. & Mrs. Gerald Ford

Mr. & Mrs. William Hamilton

Seth Hancock

Debbie Hancock

John C. Harris

William Heiligbrodt

R.D. Hubbard

E.J & Lynne Hudson, Jr.

G. Watts Humphrey, Jr.

Brereton Jones

Dr. Gary B. Knapp

Beverly Lewis

F. Jack Liebau, Sr.

Maureen O. Luke

J. Kenneth Luke

Wilhelmina McEwan

Robert McNair

Ogden M. Phipps

Arthur F. Preston

Michael L. Rankowitz

Satish & Anne Sanan

Ronald J. Sellitto

Joseph V. Shields, Jr.

Mace Siegel

Samantha Siegel

Smithfield Foods, Inc. PAC

Stuart & Anita Subotnick

William T. Young, Jr.

Winners – $,500 - $4,999

Ron Crockett

Martin Cunningham

Hugh A. Fitzsimons, Jr.

E.K. Gaylord

Helen K. Groves

Waddell W. Hancock, II

Elizabeth Jones

Robert V. LaPenta

Jeffrey & Margery Lewis

Carl F. Pollard

James & Mary Treptow

Robert B. Trussell, Jr.

Alexander M. Waldrop

Randy Zeller

Leaders – $1,000 - $,499

Gregory C. Avioli

Mr. & Mrs. Jerry Barber

Mrs. John Bell, III

Bob Bork

Nicholas Brady

James C. Brady

Mr. & Mrs. Chester Broman, Sr.

Darrell & Lendy Brown

John Brooks

Alexander G. Campbell

Thomas Clark

Deborah A. Easter

Lee R. Einsidler

Robert N. Elliston

Terrence & Debbie Finley

David C. Fogg

Mr. & Mrs. Mustapha Fostock

Thomas Gaines

Martha F. Gerry

Thomas Henrion

Ian Highet

Richard C. Imbert

Barry Irwin

Charles Kidder

John K. Leonard

Mr. & Mrs. Tom Ludt

Robert Manfuso

Mr. & Mrs. Michael Matz

Kiaran McLaughlin

James & Lisa Means

Terence J. Meyocks

Jerry Moss

Mr. & Mrs. Nick Nicholson

Phillip T. O’Hara

Paul Oreffice

John C. Oxley

Raymond Paulick

Robert Penchina

Nancy Polk

Daniel M. Rosenberg

Paul Saylor

Barry K. Schwartz

Fred Seitz

Michael & Lyn Shanley

James Squires

Beverly Steinman

Robert J. Terry

Stella Ferguson Thayer

Elizabeth Valando

D.G. Van Clief, Jr.

Peter S. Willmott

David & Holly Wilson

Jack Wolf

2007 Horse PAC Contributors

Supporters – Up To - $999

Stephen & Laura Avakian

Stephen J. Barberino, Jr.

John H. Barr

Ruth Bedford

Theodore J. Berge

Stacy S. Berge

Gary Biszantz

Frank Bonsal, Jr.

Peter Bradley

Niall Brennan

Bob R. Brooks

J. Mark Burton

Thomas Capehart

Keith E. Card

Keith Chamblin & Laura D’Angelo

Mrs. Roy Chapman

Ellen MacNeille Charles

Sherwood Chillingworth

Cindy Clark

Catesby W. Clay

Mark Corrado

Brian Culnan

Douglas Dean

Marvin Delfiner

David & Christy DiPietro

M.E. Dowell

Mr. & Mrs. Charles DuBose

Christopher Elser

William Entenmann

Tom Evans

Mr. & Mrs. Richard Feldman

Brent & Crystal Fernung

Joseph Flara

Rob & Jolene Fullerton

Jim D. Gallagher

Elbridge T. Gerry, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. Curtis Green

F. William Gue

Emory A. Hamilton

Vern Heath

Margaret Hendershot

Carolyn Hine

Neil Howard

Bruce Hundley

Robert G. Irvin

Jim D. Jackson

Annie Jones

Bill Justice

Syl Kiger

Caesar P. Kimmel

Patricia A. Klussman

Theodore Kuster

David L. Kyger

John & Louise Lally

William & Sally Landes

Louisa Lenehan

Lara Levine

Bertram Linder

W. Bruce Lunsford

Willliam Maley

Frank Mansell

Dr. Merritt W. Marrs, Jr.

Jaqueline Badger Mars

Tony Metaxas

A. Stevens Miles, Jr.

Maurleen V. Miller

MacKenzie Miller

John & Susan Moore

Mark Moran

Edmund Mudge, IV

Joanne R. Mummert

Frances Myers

John Nash

John A. Nerud

Howard C. Nolan, Jr.

William Parsons, Jr.

John W. Phillips

James A. Philpott, Jr.

Cynthia Phipps

Todd & Tracy Pletcher

Kjell H. Qvale

Dr. David Richardson

Dr. Jack K. Robbins

Josh Rubinstein

Andrew Sauve

Chris Scherf

Peter G. Schiff

Mitchell L. Schlossman

Allen Schubert

Mr. & Mrs. Wayne Smith

George Strawbridge, Jr.

John Stuart

John M. Sullivan, Jr.

Ted Taylor

Peter Van Andel

Dr. Glen C. Warren

Wheelock Whitney

Ward Williford

Henry A. Zeitlin

ntra advantage

Contributors to Horse PAC are eligible for significant savings on nationally known products like John Deere, Sherwin-Williams, UPS and more through NTRA Advantage. When you use NTRA Advantage vendors, a portion of your purchase prices goes to support the equine industry. To enjoy the benefits of group purchasing and one-stop buying, call toll-free at (866) 678-4289 or visit www.NTRAadvantage.com.

or visit www.NTRAadvantage.com

2007 Horse PAC Disbursements

Federal Candidates by Amount*

State
Amount
Rank

KY
$37,500
1

CA
$20,500
2

NY
$19,000
3

TX
$15,000
4

AR
$11,000
5

OH
$10,000
6

VA
$9,500
7

MI
$7,500
8

OR
$7,500
9

GA
$7,000
10

LA
$7,000
11

FL
$6,500
12

IA
$6,000
13

TN
$6,000
14

PA
$5,500
15

AL
$5,000
16

MN
$5,000
17

MT
$5,000
18

State
Amount
Rank

ND
$5,000
19

NH
$5,000
20

SC
$5,000
21

IL
$3,500
22

KS
$3,500
23

MS
$3,500
24

UT
$3,500
25

IN
$3,000
26

NJ
$2,500
27

NC
$2,000
28

CO
$1,000
29

ME
$1,000
30

NM
$1,000
31

OK
$1,000
32

SD
$1,000
33

WI
$1,000
34

WY
$1,000
35

Total

$234,500

*Excludes disbursements to political committees that are not associated with individual candidates.

2007 Horse PAC Disbursements

Federal Candidates by State*

State
Amount
Rank

AL
$5,000
16

AR
$11,000
5

CA
$20,500
2

CO
$1,000
29

FL
$6,500
12

GA
$7,000
10

IA
$6,000
13

IL
$3,500
22

IN
$3,000
26

KS
$3,500
23

KY
$37,500
1

LA
$7,000
11

ME
$1,000
30

MI
$7,500
8

MN
$5,000
17

MS
$3,500
24

MT
$5,000
18

NC
$2,000
28

State
Amount
Rank

ND
$5,000
19

NH
$5,000
20

NJ
$2,500
27

NM
$1,000
31

NY
$19,000
3

OH
$10,500
6

OK
$1,000
32

OR
$7,500
9

PA
$5,500
15

SC
$5,000
21

SD
$1,000
33

TN
$6,000
14

TX
$15,000
4

UT
$3,500
25

VA
$9,500
7

WI
$1,000
34

WY
$1,000
35

Total

$234,500

*Excludes disbursements to political committees that are not associated with individual candidates.

2007 Horse PAC Disbursements

Federal Contributions: ($294,500)

Democrats 54 percent ($158,000)

Republicans 46 percent ($136,500)

House Candidates/PACs 66 percent ($195,000)

Senate Candidates/PACs 34 percent ($99,500)

year-by-year pacdisbursements

Total to Date $1,351,000

0

007 Disbursements

The following candidates and political committees received Horse PAC funds in 2007:

United States House of Representatives

House of Reps
State
Re-election Year
2007 Disbursed
Congressional Committee(s)

Artur Davis
D
AL
2008
$2,500
Ways & Means/CBC

Marion Berry
D
AR
2008
$1,000
Appropriations & Budget/Blue Dog Coalition

Mike Ross
D
AR
2008
$2,500
Energy & Commerce/Blue Dog Coalition/Horse Caucus

Dennis Cardoza
D
CA
2008
$5,000
Agriculture/Blue Dog Coalition/Horse Caucus

Jim Costa
D
CA
2008
$5,000
Agriculture/Blue Dog Coalition

Devin Nunes
R
CA
2008
$2,500
Ways & Means

Loretta Sanchez
D
CA
2008
$1,000
Armed Services/Blue Dog Coalition

Adam Schiff
D
CA
2008
$2,000
Appropriations/Judiciary/Blue Dog Coalition

John Salazar
D
CO
2008
$1,000
Agriculture/Blue Dog Coalition

F. Allen Boyd
D
FL
2008
$1,000
Appropriations/Blue Dog Coalition

Tom Feeney
R
FL
2008
$1,000
Financial Services/Judiciary/Horse Caucus

Ric Keller
R
FL
2008
$1,000
Judiciary/Education & Labor/Horse Caucus

Tim Mahoney
D
FL
2008
$1,000
Agriculture/Financial Services/Blue Dog Coalition

Debbie Wasserman Shultz
D
FL
2008
$2,500
Appropriations/Judiciary

John Barrow
D
GA
2008
$1,000
Agriculture/Blue Dog Coalition

Jim Marshall
D
GA
2008
$1,000
Finance/Agriculture/Blue Dog Coalition

Leonard Boswell
D
IA
2008
$1,000
Agriculture/Blue Dog Coalition

Melissa Bean
D
IL
2008
$1,000
Financial Services/Blue Dog Coalition

Joe Donnelly
D
IN
2008
$1,000
Agriculture/Financial Services/Blue Dog Coalition

Brad Ellsworth
D
IN
2008
$1,000
Agriculture/Blue Dog Coalition

Baron Hill
D
IN
2008
$1,000
Energy & Commerce/Blue Dog Coalition

Dennis Moore
D
KS
2008
$1,000
Financial Services/Blue Dog Coalition

Ben Chandler
D
KY
2008
$5,000
Agriculture/Blue Dog Coalition/Horse Caucus

Geoff Davis
R
KY
2008
$5,000
Financial Services/Horse Caucus

Ron Lewis
R
KY
2008
$10,000
Ways & Means/Horse Caucus

2007 Horse PAC Disbursements

United States House of Representatives ( continued)

House of Reps
State
Re-election Year
2007 Disbursed
Congressional Committee(s)

John Yarmuth
D
KY
2008
$5,000
Education & Labor

Rodney Alexander
R
LA
2008
$1,000
Appropriations/Budget

Charles Boustany, Jr.
R
LA
2008
$1,000
Agriculture

Mike Michaud
D
ME
2008
$1,000
Small Business/Blue Dog Coalition

Dave Camp
R
MI
2008
$2,500
Ways & Means

John Dingell
D
MI
2008
$5,000
Energy & Commerce

Collin Peterson
D
MN
2008
$5,000
Agriculture/Blue Dog Coalition/Horse Caucus

Mike McIntyre
D
NC
2008
$1,000
Agriculture/Blue Dog Coalition

Heath Shuler
D
NC
2008
$1,000
Appropriations/Agriculture/Blue Dog Coalition

Earl Pomeroy
D
ND
2008
$2,500
Agriculture/Ways & Means/Blue Dog Coalition

Frank Pallone
D
NJ
2008
$2,500
Energy & Commerce/Horse Caucus

Steve Pearce
R
NM
2008
$1,000
Financial Serv./Homeland Security/Horse Caucus

Joseph Crowley
D
NY
2008
$5,000
Ways & Means/Foreign Affairs/Horse Caucus

Kirsten Gillibrand
D
NY
2008
$3,500
Agriculture/Blue Dog Coalition

John Hall
D
NY
2008
$1,000
Transportation & Infrastructure

Carolyn McCarthy
D
NY
2008
$2,000
Financial Services /Horse Caucus

Charles Rangel
D
NY
2008
$5,000
Ways & Means/CBC

Patrick Tiberi
R
OH
2008
$1,000
Ways & Means/Horse Caucus

Stephanie Tubbs Jones
D
OH
2008
$1,000
Ways & Means/CBC

Charlie Wilson
D
OH
2008
$1,000
Financial Services/Blue Dog Coalition

Dan Boren
D
OK
2008
$1,000
Fin. Serv./Natural Resources/Blue Dog Coalition

Darlene Hooley
D
OR
2008
$2,500
Energy & Commerce

Phil English
R
PA
2008
$2,500
Ways & Means

Tim Holden
D
PA
2008
$1,000
Agriculture/Blue Dog Coalition

Patrick Murphy
D
PA
2008
$2,000
Armed Services/Blue Dog Coalition

Stephanie Herseth
D
SD
2008
$1,000
Agriculture/Blue Dog Coalition

Jim Cooper
D
TN
2008
$1,000
Budget/Blue Dog Coalition

2007 Horse PAC Disbursements

United States House of Representatives ( continued)

House of Reps
State
Re-election Year
2007 Disbursed
Congressional Committee(s)

John Tanner
D
TN
2008
$5,000
Ways & Means/Blue Dog Coalition

Sam Johnson
R
TX
2008
$2,500
Ways & Means

Jim Matheson
D
UT
2008
$1,000
Energy & Commerce/Blue Dog Coalition

Rich Boucher
D
VA
2008
$1,000
Energy & Commerce/Judiciary/Horse Caucus

Randy Forbes
R
VA
2008
$1,000
Judiciary

Bob Goodlatte
R
VA
2008
$5,000
Agriculture/Judiciary

Ron Kind
D
WI
2008
$1,000
Ways & Means

DCCC
D
$15,000
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee

NRCC
R
$5,000
National Republican Congressional Committee

CBC
D
$5,000
Congressional Black Caucus

Blue Dog Coalition
D
$5,000

Total-House of Reps Candidates/PAC

$162,500

2007 Horse PAC Disbursements

United States Senate

Senate
State
Re-election Year
2007 Disbursed
Congressional Committee(s)

Richard Shelby
R
AL
2010
$2,500
Banking/Appropriations

Mark Pryor
D
AR
2008
$2,500
Commerce

Saxby Chambliss
R
GA
2008
$5,000
Agriculture

Charles Grassley
R
IA
2010
$5,000
Finance/Judiciary/Agriculture

Dick Durbin
D
IL
2008
$2,500
Appropriations/Judiciary

Jim Bunning
R
KY
2010
$2,500
Finance

Pat Roberts
R
KS
2008
$2,500
Agriculture/Ethics/Finance

Thad Cochran
R
MS
2008
$3,500
Appropriations/Agriculture

Max Baucus
D
MT
2008
$5,000
Agriculture

Byron Dorgan
D
ND
2010
$2,500
Homeland Security

John Sununu
R
NH
2008
$5,000
Banking

George Voinovich
R
OH
2010
$2,500
Homeland Security

Lindsey Graham
R
SC
2008
$5,000
Agriculture/Budget/Judiciary

John Cornyn
R
TX
2008
$5,000
Judiciary

John Barrasso
R
WY
2013
$1,000
Energy/Environment/Public Works

DSCC
D
$15,000
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee

NRSC
R
$15,000
National Republican Senatorial Committee

Total-Senate

$ 82,000

2007 Horse PAC Disbursements

Federal Leadership PACs

Associated Candidate
State
House/

Senate
2007 Disbursed
PAC

Blanche Lincoln
D
AR
S
$5,000
LINC PAC

Dennis Cardoza
D
CA
H
$5,000
Moderate Victory Fund

Mitch McConnell
R
KY
S
$5,000
Bluegrass Committee

Hal Rogers
R
KY
H
$5,000
HAL PAC

Jim McCrery
R
LA
H
$5,000
Comm for Preservation of Capitalism

Tom Reynolds
R
NY
H
$2,500
TOM PAC

John Boehner
R
OH
H
$5,000
The Freedom Project

Gordon Smith
R
OR
S
$5,000
Impact America

Sam Johnson
R
TX
H
$2,500
Secure America’s Majority

Lamar Smith
R
TX
H
$5,000
Longhorn PAC

Robert Bennett
R
UT
S
$2,500
Snow PAC

Eric Cantor
D
VA
H
$2,500
ERIC PAC

GRAND TOTAL

$50,000

Total Leadership

$ 294,500

2007 Legislative Summary

As the trade association for the Thoroughbred industry, NTRA focuses its lobbying efforts on legislation having direct and material effect on its members and their business activities as they relate to race horse racing, breeding and pari-mutuel wagering.

Key issues for the association include safeguarding the industry’s ability to continue to conduct online pari-mutuel wagering on horse racing as authorized by the Interstate Horseracing Act, and tax issues affecting horse owners, breeders, racetracks and players. Notably in 2007, the association secured passage of the Equine Equity Act as part of the Senate-passed version of the Farm Bill.

In conjunction with the American Horse Council, the NTRA also supports Congressional education programs on general issues – such as agricultural matters and immigration – that affect a broad spectrum of horse owners, breeders and industry personnel.

The NTRA’s 2007 legislative activities are summarized below.

Farm Bill/Equine Equity Act

In 2007, the Equine Equity Act (EEA) provision was successfully attached to the Senate version of the Farm Bill, which passed in early December. The House passed its version of the Farm Bill in late summer. The two bills must now be reconciled in Conference, a process that is likely to begin in early 2008. The combined cost of the EEA – $489 million over 10 years – requires a revenue-raising offset under the current "pay-go" rules. An EEA offset has been identified, completing an important step.

First introduced in the 109th Congress and re-introduced in the 110th Congress, the EEA would lower the capital gains holding period for horses from 24 months to 12 months and accelerate and make uniform the depreciation of race horses from seven years (in most cases) to 36 months over four tax years. EEA remains one of the NTRA’s top tax priorities for the current Congress.

Player Withholding Bill

In 2007, NTRA initiated discussions with key Members regarding legislation to eliminate or substantially increase the threshold for federal tax withholding on pari-mutuel winnings (currently set at $5,000), which places the racing industry at a competitive disadvantage. Other forms of gaming such as poker, casino games and slots, are not subject to withholding. Withholding levels for pari-mutuel winnings were last changed (from $1,000 to $5,000) in 1992. The association will seek new "withholding conformity" legislation in 2008.

Proposed Steroid Legislation

In 2007, the NTRA was contacted by staffers for the House Energy & Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Interstate Horseracing Act, regarding the use of steroids in racehorses. The query was part of a larger investigation into the use of steroids in other sports, notably Major League Baseball. NTRA representatives provided information on the horse industry’s medication rules, drug testing practices and penalties. Legislation aimed at eliminating or controlling steroid usage is in development. The association will continue to monitor legislation and public hearings regarding drug testing in professional sports.

Internet Gaming

Four separate pieces of legislation relating to Internet gaming were introduced in 2007: 1) a proposal for a government-funded study of Internet gaming, introduced by Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-NV); 2) a bill to regulate Internet gaming, introduced by Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA); 3) a bill to tax Internet gaming, introduced by Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA); and 4) a bill to expand the definition of what constitutes a "game of skill" that can be played over the Internet, introduced by Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL). All four bills remain stalled at the committee level. State Attorneys General continue to oppose any effort to undermine States’ powers to establish their own gaming laws. NTRA continues to monitor these bills.

2007 Legislative Summary

7

UIGEA Regulations

In 2006, Congress passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) to prohibit the funding of unlawful Internet wagering. UIGEA, contained in Public Law 109-347, recognized horseracing’s authority to continue to conduct online pari-mutuel wagering on horseracing as authorized under the Interstate Horseracing Act (IHA). The statute directed the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve, in consultation with the Justice Department, to produce supporting regulations. Draft regulations were issued on October 1, 2007. The public comment period for the proposed regulations concluded on December 12, 2007. NTRA continues to monitor the proposed regulations.

Immigration

After several failed attempts at immigration reform over the past 18 months, Congress has substantially backed off the issue in 2007 and is not expected to take up comprehensive immigration reform until after the presidential elections in 2008. Democratic leadership has, for the most part, resisted piecemeal efforts to pass parts of the immigration bill. Efforts by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) to attach her AgJOBS bill to the Farm Bill and by Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) to move legislation that would allow H-2B workers who have worked in the U.S. in the previous three years to be exempted from the annual visa cap of 66,000 were rebuffed. The 66,000 visa cap was met within days of the start of the new fiscal year.

To increase its role in immigration advocacy, NTRA has joined an immigration coalition for associations and industries that rely heavily on H-2B workers. The H2-B Workforce Coalition includes the American Horse Council, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Associated Builders and Contractors, American Nursery & Landscape Association and thousands of other organizations and industries employing immigrant workers.

2007 Legislative Summary

Horse Slaughter

In 2007, the House passed an Agriculture Appropriations bill that de-funds United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspection services in connection with the movement of slaughter-bound horses. The Senate version of the Ag Appropriations bill contains no similar language. Democratic House Leadership remains supportive of the anti-slaughter language, as are several key Senators. Whether the language survives in Conference as yet remains uncertain.

Also in 2007, the USDA proposed amendments to the regulations governing the commercial transportation of equines for slaughter. The changes would extend the protections provided by the Commercial Transport of Equines to Slaughter Act (CTESA) to horses bound for slaughter but delivered first to an assembly point, feedlot, or stockyard.

Currently, CTESA protections (including mandated rest periods and access to food and water) apply only to equines being transported directly to a slaughter plant, not to slaughter-bound equines that are moved to intermediate stopping points during the shipping process. The proposed amendment would close the gap in the protections afforded by CTESA.

2008 Outlook

After Democrats assumed majorities in both the House and Senate in late 2006, Horse PAC adjusted its disbursements in 2007 to reflect the new balance of power in Congress.

In 2008, the PAC will continue its pattern of bi-partisan giving. In anticipation of greater activity with respect to tax issues affecting horsemen, racetracks and horse players, Horse PAC will increase its focus on tax committees such as the House Ways & Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee. Horse PAC will also continue its strategic support for Congressional committees and PACs such as the Blue Dog Coalition, the Congressional Black Caucus, and Democratic and Republican leadership committees in both the House and Senate.

2007 Legislative Summary

9 0

For more information contact:

Peggy Hendershot

Horse PAC President

(800) 792-6872, ext. 648

www.SupportHorseRacing.org

2525 Harrodsburg Road

Lexington, KY 40504

Phone: (859) 245-6872

Fax: (859) 223-3945

Kentuckys Breeding Incentive Program; 40M to Breeders but Not a Dime for Rescue(s)

2009-07-08T15:07:00.002-04:00

Re: Fw: Kentucky Breeders' Incentive Fund (KBIF) Registration Deadline

Tue Jul 7, 2009 12:31 pm (PDT)

Studies have shown that 35% of all horses bred for racing go to slaughter. We think that is a conservative estimate!

Commonwealth of Kentucky
Public Protection Cabinet
Horse Racing CommissionKentucky
Steven L. Beshear, Governor;

Lisa E. Underwood, Executive Director
Robert D. Vance, Secretary

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Jamie Eads
(859) 246-2040
KentuckyBreeders Incentive Fund Registration
Deadline is Set.

Online registration available at www.khrc.ky. gov

LEXINGTON , Ky. (July 6, 2009) The Kentucky Thoroughbred Breeders Incentive Fund (KBIF) today announced the registration deadline for mares covered in 2009.Â Breeders may register online by going to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) web site at www.khrc.ky. govand clicking on Breeders Incentive Fund no later than Aug. 1, 2009. The registration fee is $60. Online registration instructions are available on the website as well as registration forms for breeders who prefer to pay by check.

To qualify for the program, the mare must have been covered by a Kentucky stallion and remain in Kentucky from the time of cover until foaling. Registering the mares bred this year will allow the 2010 foal to be eligible for breeder incentive awards during the foals racing careers. More than $15 million was awarded on 2008 races won by Kentucky-breds eligible for KBIF funds. The KBIF was implemented in 2005 to ensure the strength & growth of the horse industry in Kentucky .Since the funds inception, more than $40 million has been awarded to thoroughbred breeders as an incentive to breed their mares in Kentucky and keep them in the state.

For more information about the Kentucky Breeders Incentive Fund visit the KHRC web site at www.khrc.ky. govor call (859) 246-2847 or (888) KYBRED.

(Bloggers Note: New Yorks Breeding Incentive Programs are worse by far than any other in the Country, but like the others, still no money for rescue, retirement or re-homeing of the industries cast-off horses.)

Another State (NH) Ends Greyhound Racing!!

2009-07-01T09:23:00.002-04:00

Click on title above to read more about the wonderful progress we are making in ENDING Greyhound Racing in the USA -

http://animalnews2.blogspot.com/2009/07/dog-racing-ends-in-new-hampshire.html

Gambling & The Great Depression, Then & Now

2009-06-29T11:57:00.007-04:00

Excerpt from article, "Greater Depressions: Social and Behavioral Trends of Economic Collapse"

By Kathy McMahon, Psy. D.;

The Great Depression led to a much greater legalization of gambling. The antigambling mood changed as tremendous financial distress gripped the country, especially after the stock market crash of 1929. Legalized gambling was looked upon as a way to stimulate the economy…In 1933, Michigan, New Hampshire, Ohio, and California legalized parimutuel betting. The California Legislature adopted a statute in 1933 referred to as the Horse Racing Act. The statutes took effect upon adoption by the voters of an amendment to the Constitution in June of 1933. During the 1930’s, 21 states brought back racetracks….Nevada legalized most forms of gambling in the State in 1931.

Lottery sales are up. Of the 42 states with lotteries, 22 set sales records last year, including New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. They’ll do even better in 2009. But will the gamblers?

The suicide rate among compulsive gamblers is more than 20 times higher than in the general population, according to the crisis center. As during the Great Depression, some people facing financial troubles (and State Governments as well) turn to gambling as a possible salvation. In fact, those who help with compulsive gambling problems are seeing an increase in requests for help. Calls to the 1-800 BETS OFF helpline have increased 41 percent from FY 2002 to FY 2008.

Article from "PeakOilBlues," a wonderful Psy-Fi (psychology & finance) blog where Angsty Americans go; see you there or be square!
Click on title above for full article;
http://www.peakoilblues.com/blog/

Who They Are;
http://www.peakoilblues.com/who.php

Another Gimmick by the horse-racing industry to broaden their fan base, and, (wouldnt you know it) to get their gambers some tax breaks.

2009-06-21T16:57:00.006-04:00

Click on title above to see a petition for "No Tax Breaks for Gamblers"
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/no-tax-breaks-for-gamblers-at-our-expense

THOROFAN MISSION

The mission of the Thoroughbred Racing Fan Association, Inc., (ThoroFan) is to foster the growth of the Thoroughbred racing industry by providing racing fans with an organization that will actively support their interests.

THOROFAN

ThoroFan’s goals are to retain existing fans and develop new ones through education, membership benefits and communicating the voice of the fan to the racing industry. We aspire to enhance the enjoyment of racing, and knowledge of the sport by developing handicapping skills, providing a clearer path to ownership and reporting on a wide range of issues that are of interest to today’s fan. We leverage our efforts through cooperation with other organizations in the Thoroughbred community.

THE FAN

The Thoroughbred racing fan is the ultimate customer of the sport and industry. Without fan support there would be no races, racehorses, horsemen, owners, track operators or breeding farms. The fan is critical to Thoroughbred racing.

Each fan, regardless of level of participation in the sport, needs to have his or her concerns identified and supported if Thoroughbred racing is to prosper.

ThoroFan.Org

Kentucky News: Gov gets a new blog, video gambling & more...

2009-06-11T08:39:00.002-04:00

News briefs from around Kentucky at 4:58 a.m. EDT
Ky. governor starts blog
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — First it was Twitter, now Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear is going up with a blog.

The 64-year-old Democrat launched his blog Monday. Beshear says it will help Kentuckians stay updated on what's new.

Beshear says now's the best time to start the blog because he recently called the General Assembly into a special session to begin next Monday. The governor wants lawmakers to pass legislation addressing the state's estimated $1 billion budget shortfall and to legalize slot machines at race tracks.

The governor also wants lawmakers to pass economic development tax incentives and to create an authority to oversee construction of bridges between Kentucky and Indiana.

Beshear already had a Twitter account and gives weekly addresses on YouTube.

__

___

Ky. racing commission to discuss gambling
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission is scheduled to discuss a proposal to allow video gambling at tracks.

The commission's agenda says it will take up whether to support Gov. Steve Beshear's call for lawmakers to consider the proposal during a special legislative session that begins Monday.

Beshear called a special session so lawmakers could consider legislation aimed at relieving the state's estimated $1 billion shortfall in the next fiscal year. He later added the gambling proposal to the agenda.

The Democratic governor who campaigned on a promise to expand gambling says a state known for the Kentucky Derby and its majestic race horses is in danger of losing the equine industry without additional gambling revenue.

___

Auditors question TVA shoreline deals with wealthy

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Wealthy and influential people seeking private lakeshore access to the Tennessee Valley Authority's 11,000 miles of Tennessee River system shoreline appeared to receive preferential treatment, according to an audit released Monday.

TVA Inspector General Richard Moore's 85-page report found no evidence that rules were deliberately broken, but said TVA managed the program "selectively and arbitrarily" often to the benefit of "the wealthy, the influential, or both."

Among those receiving approval for boat docks or waterfront access was U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler, D-N.C., who until recently served on a House subcommittee with oversight of TVA, the nation's largest public utility.

The audit, pushed by publicity over Shuler's influence on a residential lake development near Knoxville in which he is an investor, focused on TVA's "maintain and grow" program under which it grants water-access rights to one piece of land in exchange for rights on another piece of land. The goal is to produce no net loss of public shoreline.

Moore worried the program, as it was run, may undermine TVA lakeshore management reforms adopted in 2006. The reforms for the first time set residential development limits on TVA lakes and rivers, ensuring the public could use at least 68 percent of its managed shoreline.

Others who were approved for private docks or water access were former TVA Chairman Bill Sansom of Knoxville and Charles Perry, the general manager of the Paris (Ky.) Board of Public Utilities — a TVA power distributor.

___

Governor, leaders to discuss special session
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky's House is "poised" to vote on a plan to legalize video gambling at horse racing tracks throughout the state, Speaker Greg Stumbo said Monday night, stopping short of predicting its ultimate success.

Stumbo, a Prestonsburg Democrat, agreed with Gov. Steve Beshear that lawmakers should vote this summer on whether to allow tracks to operate video gambling machines — also called slots — that could generate additional money for Kentucky's horse industry.

Still, Stumbo said the plan lacked the "full support" among leaders in the Democrat-controlled House and debate would likely drag on more than a week.

"We don't have the full support," Stumbo said during an appearance on Kentucky Educational Television's Kentucky Tonight show broadcast from Lexington, Ky. "This is one of those bills that we're just telling our members to vote what they believe their conscience is. It's too important of a decision to really twist arms or do those sorts of things."

Stumbo, Beshear, a Democrat, and Senate President David Williams, a Burkesville Republican appeared together Monday night before the General Assembly's high-stakes special session set to begin next week. Beshear has called the legislature into a special session on June 15 to deal with an estimated $1 billion budget shortfall in the coming fiscal year, and a plan to legalize video gambling terminals at Kentucky's horse racing tracks.

The governor, a Democrat, also has ordered lawmakers to consider passing legislation authorizing new economic development tax incentives, and the creation of an authority to oversee construction of major bridges between Kentucky and Indiana.

A Race Never Run: The Story of Witches Trail

2009-06-02T18:21:00.002-04:00

Cross-posting for the Cause;

This isn't a sales pitch or a marketing piece; nor will it be considered
"headline news" by a worldwide reporter; it's a real story of a real horse – in
our care and on our watch. It is the real story of a 3 year old thoroughbred
full of life, a life that he may lose and here is his story.

Witch's Trail was bred to race, but he never raced. He never made it to the
starter gate, heard the roar of the crowd or lingered in the "Winner's Circle,"
he's a thoroughbred born to race, but he was betrayed.

Pure Thoughts answered a call from a man identifying himself as the trainer for
this horse. Allegedly he didn't know what was wrong with the horse and was
unable or unwilling to spend the money to have him diagnosed but it was apparent
he would not race. The woman who was supposedly rehabbing him had lost her farm
and this man was having " a rough meet at Tampa Bay Downs" and asked if we would
take this horse. When the truck arrived, no one was there, apparently the people
had moved the week before, no one to care for him; just Witch's Trail standing
alone with no one to even bid him luck or say goodbye.

When Brad Gaver, co-founder of Pure Thoughts off loaded Witch's Trail at our
farm, there was little evidence that the horse had received any type of rehab,
the horse could barely walk up the driveway… mind you a 3 year old horse in
training to race. Physically Witch's Trail appeared to need some weight and
needed his feet done so Brad trimmed his feet, put on a set of shoes to add
support and initially Witch's Trail seemed more comfortable, but our eyes knew
there was much more medically happening to this beautiful creature.

A few days later our vet came out to the farm, and it was a horrible afternoon.
Witch's Trail was diagnosed with Wobbles/ cervical vertebra spinal cord
compressive disease. In addition, he was diagnosed with a left rear tarsal
valgus deformity with clinical bone spavin swelling. He was more than likely
born with the latter and most possibly living with wobbles for a while. The true
story of this report is the pain this horse was in – in training to race, left
in a pasture, no hoof care, lame on all four legs – but a true thoroughbred –
stoic and brave – still willing to run his heart out for the humans who betrayed
him.

Witch's Trail very well could lose the most important race– the race for his
life. No matter what the outcome, he will be kept out of pain and treated to his
favorite foods, carrots, apples, treats, baths, grooming and have legions of
volunteers loving on him for as long as he chooses. He really needs a miracle,
and we have truly seen miracles happen here before, evidenced by the productive
lives thousands of our rescues now enjoy. He isn't ready to die – he whinnies to
the babies; he is excited to watch the horses walk by; he is curious and
affectionate; he is still full of life.

This is a plea to save the life of a horse not ready to die. We are looking to
you the compassionate veterinarians, racing industry experts, organizations and
horse lovers nationwide in the equine community to be willing to take a chance
on this boy name Witch's Trail. To read updates on this boy please visit
https://www.purethoughtshorserescue.com/ottbdivision/witchstrail/index.php

We pray for a miracle and hope that someone who is reading this can rally up
some possibility and suggestions for a young thoroughbred, born to race and now
deserving to live as a horse. We could not humanely euthanize him yesterday; he
is not ready to say goodbye nor are we. Can you help?

Cheryl Hanna
Jennifer Swanson
Pure Thoughts Inc.
Thoroughbred Rehabilitation and Placement
FLTRP@PureThoughtsHorseRescue.com
Pure Thoughts Inc.
Horse & Foal Rescue
19181 Capet Creek
Loxahatchee, FL 33470
www.PTHR.org
561-254-0415

Watching a Late Night TV Show about TB Racing

2009-06-01T00:46:00.005-04:00

..and what I have learned tonite.

It is 12:50 a.m. EST and I am watching a show on channel 48 (C-NBC) about horse-racing. I have just learned that a horse must be 3yrs old or under to be eligible to run in the derby. They were talking about the pressure owners are under to get their young horses ready to run in time. I am wondering why do they have to be so young? I read somewhere that back in the early days of TB racing, horses were run older and the races were longer. I read that the older horses run faster than the younger ones. So why are we forcing them to race so young? Of course, that is a rethorical question because we all already know the an$wer.

Artist is inspired by an equine example

2009-05-27T20:25:00.000-04:00

Barbaro frames Goodman's charitable act
By Victoria Cherrie
Special to the Observer
Posted: Sunday, May. 24, 2009

Adele Goodman plays with Buck, one of three horses she cares for near her home in Rowan County. Goodman's love for horses led her to paint a portrait of the one still in everyone's heart – Barbaro – the Kentucky Derby champion whose life and death was celebrated and mourned by a nation. DAVID T. FOSTER III – dtfoster@charlotteobserver.com

To purchase this photo | Browse our store
Adele Goodman's portrait of Barbaro will be auctioned Saturday to benefit the Horse Protection Society. PORTRAIT BY ADELE GOODMAN

Adele Goodman throws down hay from the loft for one of three horses she cares for near her Rowan County home. DAVID T. FOSTER III – dtfoster@charlotteobserver.com

To purchase this photo | Browse our store
More Information
Horse Protection Auction
What: More than 300 items will be sold at a fundraising auction for the China Grove-based Horse Protection Society of North Carolina.

When: Saturday. Cocktails at 5:30p.m.; buffet dinner starts at 7.

Where: The Speedway Club, Lowe's Motor Speedway, U.S. 29, Concord.

Tickets: $35.

Details: E-mail hps@horseprotection.org.

Adele Goodman fell in love with horses in the first grade.

She drew her first one when she was 7. By the time she was 8, she was riding her own horse along the corn fields of her family's farm in the Corriher Grange community of Rowan County.

“I love to watch them run. It's like they float,” she said. “They are so powerful and strong, yet so graceful.”

From her childhood sketches, Goodman, 44, blossomed into an artist known for pastel drawings that capture soulful eyes and highlight the spiritual connection between people and their pets.

Her latest work is a 16-by-20-inch portrait of Barbaro, the beloved 2006 Kentucky Derby winner. The portrait will be auctioned Saturday to raise money for the Horse Protection Society of North Carolina.

It's one of the most tedious pieces she's ever accomplished. And it will always be more than just a donated portrait.

This piece taught Goodman how one horse became a hero to children, soldiers and cancer patients. And it should remind others, she said, that all animals are gifts like Barbaro, who – through his own death mourned by a nation – is saving other horses' lives.

“When he died, me and some of the women at work cried,” Goodman said. “He just brought out this compassion in all of us.”

For Goodman – especially when it comes to animals – that's an everyday thing.

Art studio, three horses, 100-acre farm

In a pair of rubber shoes and a lambs wool jacket, Adele Goodman stepped out on a recent chilly evening to wet down some bran mash for her horses – talking the whole time to the dinner crowd – and then topped each meal with bright-green apple pellets.

Buck stomped his feet impatiently as Prince, the youngest, got his bucket first. Inside a century-old barn, Princess, the only girl, reveled in a hearty pat before dipping her copper-toned head to eat.

“Just look at those eyes,” Goodman said, stroking the horse and leaning in for a hug. “She is my baby.”

Goodman's sweet, soft voice is as country as her living in a tiny white cottage on a 100-acre farm surrounded by barley fields and her two dogs, Dudley and Sadie. Barley blossoms swayed in the breeze as a tabby cat danced along the edge of a field near her one-room studio.

Bright sketches of horses, cats and dogs lean against the shelves in the solar-powered room where she spent about 30 hours over two months carefully capturing the ridges of Barbaro's thick veins, the right shades of his nose and the shine off his neck.

A graduate of East Carolina University, Goodman studied with known artists John Faucett and Leslie Tolles-Hudson. She works full time for Penske Racing, but her true love is art. She focuses on nudes, her pet portraits and horses like her own that she connects with through idle conversation.

When she shows up, they give her a horse's version of a purr and whip their tails around.

Goodman had drawn Barbaro's portrait before, after he died. She wanted to memorialize the young horse, who broke his leg at the Preakness Stakes in Maryland, the second leg of thoroughbred racing's Triple Crown. She hung it in her booth at art shows for weeks before sending it to Barbaro's veterinarian as a gift.

But she really didn't learn how special Barbaro was until she began trying to get permission for his portrait to make money for the charity. Permission was a requirement, since he was a licensed race horse.

A good friend of Goodman happened to know Barbaro's owners, Roy and Gretchen Jackson, from college. So she contacted them, and they gushed about Barbaro's life.

The Jacksons said a 12-year-old boy wrote that he'd kept a scrapbook about Barbaro, and now he knew he was in heaven running around with his father, who had died, she said.

Goodman said her Barbaro portrait is simple. There's no background and only a few details in his upper body.

“I wanted everyone to focus on that perfect little majestic face,” she said. “He had these eyes – they were so soulful, so beautiful. I didn't want anything distracting people from him.”

Even in death, Barbaro is still moving people, she said. Friends of Barbaro, a fundraising group started by Alex Brown Racing, has raised more than $1million and has saved more than 2,500 horses from slaughter.

Locally, the Horse Protection Society maintains a sanctuary for neglected horses to be adopted or retire. The center in China Grove also is available to people who can no longer afford to care for their horses and rehabilitates other horses in need.

“There is something about an innocent animal who is struggling or dying,” Goodman said. “I can't get my hands around what it is that touches us so much. It just does.”

Victoria Cherrie is a freelance writer.

Click on title above for full story with slide-show;
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/local/story/740345.html

Special Interest a Conflict of Interest?

2009-05-27T18:40:00.001-04:00

Click on title above to see what you think, concerning NY state racing;

http://greedybastardsclub.blogspot.com/2009/05/special-interest-conflict-of-interest.html

Further Evidence of PAST POST BETTING

2009-05-26T15:05:00.000-04:00

Posted by: XXXXXX XXX
Mon May 25, 2009 3:50 pm (PDT)

Txxxx,

I know this is something you strongly believe goes on, and I found the below link very, very interesting. A CONFIRMED past-posting incident from hollywood park recently...

I'll post the link in a second, but there were 2 incidences at the Meadowlands today that motivated me to even do a search on the topic.. Margarita Momma in the 4th today.. is 2/1 well past the quarter, and then at the next odds switch drops to 1/1... yes, i know, she was the heavy ML favorite, so maybe that can be excused... then in the 7th race, #1 Vesuvio As is 5/2 going to the quarter, and #2 Hot Shot Blue Chip is 7/2... well, Hot Shot Blue Chip makes a break, and at the next odds flash, he was drifted to 9/2, while Vesuvio As goes to 8/5...... Say what you want, but this just does not look good.....

here is the hollywood link..

http://www.paulickreport.com/blog/hollywood-park-past-posting-incident-under-investigation/

Fxxxxx,

thanks for link, well documented.....truth is these are just a few of the
stories told.

At my local HUB (OTB), I know every teller on a first name
basis........they have for years punched tickets on windows that don't close. Sometimes,
it is 30 secs after the bell, sometimes a minutes, sometimes until the race
finishes, other times it's never.

One particular instance, a Huge track like Hollywood didn't close the race
and they punched out numerous straight superfecta's. Caused the payoff to
drop to $3,000 on what should have been $8-12K.

The Feds came in and actually waxed 2 or 3 of the tellers for that
instance.....

Now toss in The Big M's survival challenge infiltrated by the upstate New
York hacker(s).

the list goes on and on.....

we have two forces of nature at play:

1> the tellers or track computer geeks that have the ability to change
things

2> the outside hackers who can figure out a way to past post.

Only way to fix some or any of the problems is a commissioner like I have
stated numerous times.

I, like you, believe it happens at the Big M a good bit, the Person(s) that
does it though is a good vandal, he strikes and then goes away....greed
has not caught up with him to do it night after night, it seems more every
3-4 months...IMO

thanks for sharing your thoughts

Txxxx

Jockey Douglas Paralyzed in Lower Extremities

2009-05-25T11:33:00.001-04:00

Not to worry, the racing industry takes good care of their disabled jockeys, right? By Claire Novak
Posted: Sunday, May 24, 2009 11:11 AM

Jockey Rene Douglas came out of a seven-hour surgery at Northwestern Hospital on May 24 without feeling in his lower extremities, and doctors there said the 42-year-old rider may not walk again, agent Dennis Cooper reported on May 24.

Douglas, who entered surgery around 2:30 a.m. (CST) and came out around 9:30 a.m., was injured in a racing accident at Arlington Park in the May 23 Arlington Matron Handicap (gr. III).

"They said he might not walk again, it didn't look like," Cooper said. "He'll probably have use of his upper body, but they gave it to me straight that he's not likely to walk. They won't be a million percent sure until after the swelling goes down in about 10 to 14 days, but it doesn't look good."

Douglas will remain in the intensive care unit of Northwestern for two weeks, until he moves to rehab.

"It's devastating," Cooper said.

Douglas was worked on by a team of specialists who made efforts to repair compressed vertebrae and damage to the rider's neck. But the main concerns centered on Douglas' spinal cord, which may have been damaged by a fragment of splintered bone, Cooper said.

Cooper said Douglas was alert and able to speak with his wife before he was moved to surgery. Doctors had him transferred via helicopter from Northwest Hospital near Arlington to Northwestern before they began the procedure. He had initially lost feeling in his lower extremities after the accident, but was reported to have regained some feeling in his legs while still at the first hospital. He was also complaining of pain in his arms and back.

Douglas was thrown from his mount in the Arlington Matron Handicap (gr. III) when the 4-year-old Born to Be was bumped by Sky Mom, clipped heels with Boudoir, and fell in upper stretch. Born to Be flipped and tossed Douglas over her head, then landed on top of the prone rider. Track workers had to drag the daughter of A.P. Indy off of Douglas before he could be transferred to a backboard. He was removed from the track via ambulance, as was his mount.

Cooper said he had been told that the horse, trained by Eric Coatreiux, had recovered from the incident. A spokesperson for Arlington Park said the filly returned to the barn and had not been euthanized on the day of the accident.

"She went straight down head over heels just like in slow motion," Cooper said. "She hit him with her whole body, dropped there on top of him and just laid there."

The filly remained on the track for several moments before being transferred to the equine ambulance. Sky Mom, who finished fifth, was disqualified for interfering with Born to Be and was placed last.

Douglas has been the leading rider at Arlington six times (2001-2004 and 2007-2008) and holds the record for most consecutive titles at the Chicago track with four (2001-2004). This season, he was tied with E.T. Baird in the early contest for leading rider honors at the track with 15 wins going into the May 23 card.

Oneida Capital LLC to Expand Racing/Gaming Operations to Idaho

2009-05-25T03:35:00.002-04:00

Another group interested in horse racing at Les Bois; Greene Group gets good news
Nick Jezierny - njezierny@idahostatesman.com
Published: 05/19/09 - Idaho Statesman

Ada County commissioners have received a letter from Oneida Capital LLC, which owns and operates racing and gaming facilities in Montana, Nevada, New York and Wyoming, stating it would like to meet with the county officials and discuss a lease proposal for Les Bois Park.

Ada County Public Information Director Rich Wright said the commissioners likely will entertain a proposal from Oneida, though no meeting date has been finalized.

Edward Spector, who signed Oneida's letter to the county, didn't immediately return a telephone call from The Idaho Statesman.

Oneida joins the Greene Group, an Alabama-based company that operates a simulcast center and a charitable bingo operation in Post Falls, as potential operators for the horse racing track located at Expo Idaho.

On Tuesday, the Greene Group received good news in its quest to be awarded the lease when the Idaho Lottery Commission gave the group a clean bill of health, which was "one hurdle" in possibly securing the lease.

Ada County commissioners stopped lease negotiations with the Greene Group because of some findings in a recent audit by the state lottery.

Those issues, many of which were about the interpretation of state statutes, are gone now.

"We have no issues going forward with them to conduct charitable gaming," said Jeff Anderson, a director of the Idaho Lottery Commission.

The public meeting also attracted Ada County staff. Commissioner Sharon Ullman said "this was one hurdle" the Greene Group had to clear before taking the next step, which appears to be the two parties negotiating terms of a lease.

"This means we have some talking to do," Ullman said. "I can't give you a timetable."

Scott Okuniewicz, the general manager of the Greene Group's simulcast operation in Post Falls and the president of the group's charitable gaming operation, said his group is waiting for the county to provide a list of equipment that is included in the lease.

"We're going to meet with them and get a list of the property that comes with the lease so we can better determine a fair lease price," Okuniewicz said.

http://www.idahostatesman.com/235/story/775519.html?storylink=omni_popular

NY to Enact Racehorse Protection Law

2009-05-23T09:35:00.002-04:00

Maybe they should call it Ernie Paragallos Law." Of course, the racehorse slaughter" issue is not even mentioned here, in this new proposed bill. There will be no protections in this bill to prevent racehorses from going to slaughter. Maybe now would be a good time to contact these NY legislators and let them know what a good idea we think it would be to write this protection in. After all, if they are really so concerned about "racehorse welfare," why in the world wouldnt they?????
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

New York lawmakers want to close cruelty loophole
>
> by Paul Post
>
> New York lawmakers plan to introduce legislation that would close an
> apparent loophole and make mistreatment of race horses a felony.
>
> On April 10, Thoroughbred owner Ernest Paragallo was charged with 22
> misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty, two days after authorities
> raided
> his Center Brook Farm in Climax, Greene County, and seized 177 horses,
> three of which had to be euthanized.
>
> Paragallo has pleaded not guilty and is free on bail.
>
> Unlike "Buster’s Law," which deals with the abuse of companion animals
> such as cats and dogs, equine cruelty does not carry felony status.
>
> Assemblyman Tony Jordan (R-Greenwich) and state Senator Roy McDonald
> (R-Saratoga) both represent portions of Saratoga County, home of
> Saratoga Race Course. The lawmakers are seeking to make cruelty toward
> race horses a felony.
>
> "As we are discovering now, a race horse breeder can be charged with
> the
> significant mistreatment of the animals he is employed to raise and
> care
> for, but there is no provision to charge him with a felony or ban him
> from complete involvement in horse racing," Jordan said. "This gap
> needs
> to be closed and this is exactly what Senator McDonald and I are going
> to work towards accomplishing by putting forward this legislation to
> bring about this necessary change.”
>
> The bill, expected to be introduced shortly, would specifically be
> geared toward race horses, not farm animals. It would fall under state
> racing and wagering law, not agriculture and markets.
>
> Jordan and McDonald said they plan to meet with racing leaders to make
> sure the law helps and protects horses and the industry. McDonald is a
> member of the Senate Racing, Wagering and Gaming Committee.
>
> "We need to ensure the safety of these beautiful and incredible
> animals,
> because they play a significant role in the agricultural community
> here
> in upstate New York," he said. "We also need to protect our nationally
> recognized breeding program by preventing these animals from being
> mistreated, and also having the means to remove the individual who
> instituted that mistreatment. It is also important to recognize that
> studies have shown that people who hurt animals will eventually cause
> harm to other people."
>
> A legal conference between prosecutors and Paragallo’s attorney is
> scheduled for June 22. The state Racing and Wagering Board and New
> York
> Racing Association have stripped him of all racing privileges pending
> the outcome of upcoming legal action.
>
> Paul Post is a New York-based THOROUGHBRED TIMES correspondent
>
>
>

Racetrack veterinarian's 5-year suspension upheld

2009-05-15T09:13:00.000-04:00

May 14, 2009
DVM NEWSMAGAZINE

Lexington, Ky. -- The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) this week upheld the five-year suspension of a track veterinarian accused of possessing banned medications, including cobra venom.
The commission decided to adopt a hearing officer's recommendation filed April 6 stating that two suspensions totaling five years against Dr. Rodney Stewart are "legally supportable" and that "the penalties were imposed in connection with the possession of the most highly dangerous substances and serious violations of commission regulations, which represent a catastrophic threat to the safety of horses and riders."

In September 2007, racing stewards suspended Stewart four years for possession of alpha cobra toxin and one year for possession of carbidopa and levodopa. Stewart also was under other suspensions for medication labeling violations and other infractions, but those run concurrently with the five-year suspension.

The five-year total is believed to be the longest one the commission has ever imposed.

Stewart, a resident of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., had appealed on grounds of the suspensions' severity, saying he had cooperated with investigators and provided all records they requested. The suspensions prevent him from practicing at any racetrack, including New York, and from practicing on any performance animals (horses, greyhounds and camels), including in Australia where he is from.

An earlier suspension against him, dating from August 2007, was dismissed based on his cooperation with investigators by turning over some records.

At a hearing before the KHRC last December, Stewart said three vials of powdered cobra venom found in a refrigerator at a training barn at Keeneland race course in Lexington were there only by chance, packed in a case in transit on his way to New York, and that he never gave cobra venom to an active racehorse. The venom, used to deaden nerves, has limited therapeutic use in non-racing horses but is banned at racetracks. There is no test that can detect it. Stewart said in December he bought the powdered venom in 2006 from a Florida veterinary supplier and used some of it only once, to treat a retired racehorse with a sore right front foot.

http://veterinarynews.dvm360.com/dvm/Veterinary+Equine/Racetrack-veterinarians-5-year-suspension-upheld/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/598302?contextCategoryId=378&ref=25

Brumbies to Dubai

2009-05-11T05:32:00.001-04:00

Running, but not wild: Dubai warms to brumbies

Andrew Stevenson in Dubai
May 9, 2009

THEIR names are Luca, Marran and Paraku. Born in the Kimberley and captured in Western Australia last year, the three brumbies are starting a new life in the stables of the deputy ruler of Dubai, Sheik Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
They and 11 other brumbies including a young colt have left life as wild bush horses far behind. In the sheik's stables they are training for the demanding sport of endurance racing.

Their arrival in Dubai completes a circle of sorts. Born wild, their pedigree traces back to the Arab horses taken to Europe over many centuries, the stock from which the modern thoroughbred was made.

The horse, once the most important animal in Australia, still stands at the heart of Bedouin culture - and when Ali Mohammed Al Mohairi, Sheik Hamdan's racing manager, heard tales of the brumbies in Australia, he wanted to know more.

Two years ago he went bush in the Northern Territory to see brumbies up close. But wild horses stop for no man.

"There was a mare and foal and they were galloping from behind and I yelled to go, I was screaming at the driver," he recalled. "It was something amazing. Then they crossed in front of us and the sparks were coming off the road. When they came to a lake, they jumped straight in and swam across.

"There was a rocky hill on the other side and I said: 'Impossible, they will not climb that'. And they did.

"My imagination cannot go as far as this. I was amazed. And [then] they were gone and we never saw them again."

But the story, worthy of an Arab Paterson in Mr Al Mohairi's retelling, took root. Sheik Hamdan, a leading racehorse owner and winner of two Melbourne Cups, was intrigued by the animals' capability in the wild but also concerned the brumbies - there are an estimated 400,000 in Australia - were being culled.

"I felt I wanted to do something to help this animal. I told him people shoot them, five or six hundred at a time, and I said we [can] get some to try," Mr Al Mohairi said.

The next step was to send a team into Lake Gregory, on the edge of the Great Sandy Desert, and to catch a dozen or so brumbies which were then trucked to Glen Innes, NSW, where they were broken in before being flown to Dubai.

One mare, Marran, dropped a skewbald colt after capture. Marjii might have grown up in Arabia but he can't hide his past.

"He's happy, friendly and playing but you can tell he's a brumby, with his face, big and ugly," Mr Mohairi said.

The horses arrived last year and since then several have been prepared for endurance racing, which is conducted under the enthusiastic patronage of Dubai's royal family, notably Sheik Hamdan's brother, Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, the country's ruler, who also competes in the events.

On the track the brumbies' results have not been a complete success. The horses have speed, and can rapidly recover after running one stage of the race, but they don't want to run again.

"They're not tired but they take care of themselves," said Mr Al Mohairi, who believes their wild instincts lead them to to preserve their energy for whenever it might be needed in the future.

But the experiment at Seeh Al Salam stables will be given at least another year. "People here are waiting to see what this stable will do. If we do well with them, they will go there and do the same as we did," Mr Al Mohairi said.

"To be honest, we spent money on them and I hope it will work. It will help me to look good in front of my boss because I asked him to do it, plus it will help the horses."

http://www.smh.com.au/news/sport/horseracing/running-but-not-wild-dubai-warms-to-brumbies/2009/05/08/1241727604379.html

Race is On for Swine Flu Vaccine: BIG Pharma a FAV to Win

2009-05-10T21:04:00.000-04:00

INFLUENZA A (H1N1) - WORLDWIDE (21)
***********************************************
A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases

Date: Fri 8 May 2009
Source: World Health Organization (WHO), EPR [edited]

For the current influenza A(H1N1) virus, WHO Collaborating Centres
for influenza (WHO CCs), Essential Regulatory Laboratories (ERLs) and
other institutions are developing candidate vaccine viruses under the
coordination of WHO (1). Once a vaccine virus is available, WHO will
announce the availability on its public website (2). For general
queries, please email to .

Candidate vaccine viruses using reverse genetics technology are being
developed by:

- WHO CC in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),
Atlanta USA, from A/California/4/2009(H1N1)swl. Expected availability
end of May 2009. Email queries to: .

- ERL in the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control
(NIBSC), UK, from A/California/7/2009(H1N1)swl and A/England/195/2009
(H1N1)swl. Expected availability end of May 2009. Email queries to:
.

- ERL in the Centre for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER),
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) USA, from
A/California/4/2009(H1N1)swl and A/Texas/5/2009(H1N1)swl. Expected
availability not yet known. Email queries to: .

- WHO CC at the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis USA,
from A/California/4/2009(H1N1)swl, A/New York/20/2009(H1N1)swl and
A/Ohio/7/2009 (H1N1)swl. Expected availability not yet known. Email
queries to: .

- WHO CC at National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID), Japan,
from A/California/4/2009(H1N1)swl and A/California/7/2009(H1N1)swl.
Expected availability not yet known. Email queries: .

- CSL Limited, Australia, from A/California/4/2009(H1N1)swl and
A/California/7/2009(H1N1)swl. Expected availability not yet known.
Email queries:.

Candidate vaccine viruses using classical reassortment technology are
being developed by:

- ERL NIBSC, UK, from A/California/7/2009(H1N1)swl, an egg virus
isolate. Expected availability not yet known. Email queries:
.

- New York Medical College, USA, from A/California/7/2009(H1N1)swl.
Expected availability not yet known. Email queries: .

- CSL Limited, Australia, from A/California/7/2009(H1N1)swl. Expected
availability not yet known. Email queries: .

Development of vaccine potency reagents for inactivated vaccines
against influenza A(H1N1) is planned in:

- ERL NIBSC, UK. Email queries to:

- ERL CBER FDA, USA. Email queries to:

- ERL, Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), Australia. Email
queries:

- ERL NIID, Japan. Email queries:

Wild type viruses have been/ are being sent to vaccine manufacturers
on request including: Baxter, CSL Limited, GlaxoSmithKline
Biologicals, MedImmune, Microgen, Nobilon International, Novartis,
Omninvest Vaccines, Pasteur, Solvay and Vivaldi.

References:
(1) WHO coordinates WHO CCs, National Influenza Centers and ERLs.
This network is monitoring the evolution of influenza viruses, both
seasonal and those with potential to cause a pandemic, including the
current influenza A(H1N1). The network also provides recommendations
and updates on diagnostics, monitors the susceptibility of emerging
influenza viruses to antiviral drugs, and selects, develops and
distributes vaccine viruses.

(2)

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail

[see also:
Influenza A (H1N1) - worldwide (20): case counts 20090510.1741
Influenza A (H1N1) - worldwide (19) 20090509.1733
Influenza A (H1N1) - worldwide (18): case counts 20090509.1728
Influenza A (H1N1) - worldwide (17) 20090508.1722
Influenza A (H1N1) - worldwide (16): case counts 20090507.1715
Influenza A (H1N1) - worldwide (15) 20090507.1709
Influenza A (H1N1) - worldwide (14): case counts 20090507.1702
Influenza A (

Magna in Bankruptcy: What, no bailout?

2009-05-09T10:06:00.001-04:00

By JOE DRAPE

Published: March 5, 2009

Magna Entertainment Corporation, which owns some of the most prominent horse racing tracks in the United States, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a Delaware court Thursday and announced that it would sell Gulfstream Park in Florida and other racetracks to its parent company and largest creditor.

In a news release, M.E.C. said it had arranged a six-month secured loan of $62.5 million from a subsidiary of M.I. Developments, its controlling shareholder. It will use that money to protect certain assets and keep racing going at Gulfstream Park, Santa Anita and its other tracks. In the filing, there is no clear arrangement to protect Pimlico, which hosts the Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the Triple Crown.

“Simply put, M.E.C. has far too much debt and interest expense,” its chairman, Frank Stronach, said in a statement. Stronach, who built his fortune with the Canadian auto parts maker Magna International and assembled his track holdings over the past 10 years, controls Magna Entertainment and M.I. Developments, whose top assets are real estate.

“M.E.C. has previously pursued numerous out-of-court restructuring alternatives but has been unable to complete a comprehensive restructuring to date due, in part, to the current economic recession, severe downturn in the U.S. real estate market, and global credit crisis,” Stronach added.

The other holdings Magna apparently values in its agreement with M.I. Developments include the Palm Meadows training center in Florida, Golden Gate Fields in Northern California, Lone Star Park in Texas and its wagering companies AmTote and XpressBet. M.I. Developments has agreed to buy the assets for $44 million in cash, the rights to a $15 million lease and a credit on $136 million in debt Magna owes to M.I. Developments. It leaves open the possibility that the properties could be sold to a third party for a higher bid.

Magna has lost $500 million over the last five years. The filing was prompted by the fact it has $200 million of debt coming due over the next few weeks.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/06/sports/othersports/06magna.html

Horse Racing As Public Good?

2009-05-09T09:35:00.003-04:00

By Marc Scribner,"OpenMarket.Org."

Maryland politicians really have their hands full as the legislative session draws to a close. Instead of focusing on their state’s looming long-term budget crisis, the Maryland General Assembly and Governor Martin O’Malley spent yesterday working on a far more important issue: authorizing the use of public resources to seize and operate the Preakness Stakes.

The owner of the Preakness and its Pimlico race track, Magna Entertainment, is currently in federal bankruptcy. Last week, a Baltimore Sun editorial compared the oh-so-dire situation to the 1984 Baltimore Colts’ move to Indianapolis (in part precipitated by the city’s threat of eminent domain condemnation), when the city attempted and failed to seize the team through eminent domain a day after it had already left for Indiana.

The presumption seems to be that municipalities and states are somehow entitled to their sports teams and facilities, regardless of current ownership and market conditions, and that spending public money on such ventures is beneficial to the local economy. But one need only look at neighboring Washington, DC’s ongoing depressing experience with the billion dollar Nationals Park/Navy Yard debacle to get a handle on how ridiculous this line of thought is. Unfortunately, given the current “stimulus” culture, this probably won’t be the last time a government decides to initiate eminent domain or subsidize development for the purpose of “saving sports.”

Who is behind the Amnesty Push for Illegal Aliens...

2009-05-09T08:36:00.005-04:00

Besides OBOMBA, Pelosi, & CONGRESS ?

By NWV News writer Jim Kouri
Posted 1:00 AM Eastern
March 25, 2009
© NewsWithViews.com

In the midst of a recent diatribe, US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi told a crowd of illegal aliens and their advocates that federal or local law enforcement of existing immigration laws is "un-American."

Pelosi, an avowed liberal-left Democrat from San Francisco, condemned operations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Then she called the illegal aliens in the audience she was addressing "very, very patriotic."

"Who in this country would not want to change a policy of kicking in doors in the middle of the night and sending a parent away from their families?" Pelosi said to a mostly Hispanic gathering at St. Anthony's Church in San Francisco.

Unbeknownst to Pelosi, her speech was being taperecorded and the audiotape was played by syndicated talk show host Mark Levin on Wednesday night and Fox News Channel on Thursday morning.

Speaker Pelosi is then heard saying, "It must be stopped....What value system is that? I think it's un-American. I think it's un-American."

Pelosi told the few reporters covering this story that she was invited to speak to the Latino congregation by Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) as part of a national tour called United Families, which he says is "intended to put a human face on the immigration debate."

Congressman Gutierrez, who in the past called ICE agents and Border Patrol agents "Gestpo" is currently collecting signatures for a petition that demands President Barack Obama to "stop the immigration raids and deportations that are tearing our marriages, families and children apart."

He told reporters that he's expected to present those petitions when Hispanic members of Congress meet with the President next Wednesday.

Referring to work site enforcement actions by ICE agents, Pelosi said, "We have to have a change in policy and practice and again ... I can't say enough, the raids must end. The raids must end.

"You are special people. You're here on a Saturday night to take responsibility for our country's future. That makes you very, very patriotic," she's quoted as saying during her church speech.

"This is outrageous that one of the most powerful government officials would call the action of sworn law-enforcement officers' actions 'Un-American.' If anyone is Un-American here, it's Nancy Pelosi!" exclaimed an angry former-NYPD detective, Sydney Frances.

"This is par for the course with these left-wing politicians: cops are the bad guys and criminals are patriotic," he added.

"This is classic Stalinist behavior: change the meaning of the term Un-American. It now means any patriot who wants US immigration laws enforced is Un-American, while lawbreakers are called patriots. It's newspeak at its worst," said political strategist Mike Baker.

Meanwhile, the Secretary for Homeland Security, former Arizona governor Janet Napolitano, ordered the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to cease their workplace investigations. Secretary Napolitano informed his immigration supervisory staff that she would order an investigation into complaints by illegal alien advocates that ICE agents were abusing illegal aliens they discovered working for US businesses.

According to ICE procedures, agents arrest illegal aliens discovered working in the US and conduct investigations of employers who hire these illegals. A background check is then conducted to discover the criminal background of some illegal aliens or to determine if illegal aliens re-entered the US after being deported, a felony crime punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison.

Bringing in and harboring certain aliens according to §1324(a)(1)(A)(iii), makes it a felony to encourage an alien to reside in the United States knowing that such residence is in violation of law. §1324(a)(1)(A)(iii).

Congress also made it a felony for anyone who "knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that an alien has come to, entered, or remains in the United States in violation of law, ...harbors...such alien in any place, including any building...," according to the Friends of Immigration Law Enforcement.

Secretary Napolitano's directive has had a chilling effect on rank-and-file ICE agents, some of whom fear they will be investigated or prosecuted by the Obama Justice Department.

"Suddenly, almost overnight, federal immigration enforcement people have become the bad guys while lawbreakers are portrayed as abused individuals. While the Bush Administration's record on border security and immigration enforcement was poor, the Obama Administration is accelerating the destruction of America's sovereignty," warns Baker.

A perfect example of the turn-around by the Obama Administration is the recent harassment of Sheriff Joe Arpaio in Arizona's Maricopa County. Attorney General Jeff Holder recently told advocates and attorneys for illegal aliens that the Department of Justice would investigate Sheriff Arpaio's department.

Arpaio's deputy sheriffs were sent to the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Georgia for training by the Homeland Security Department so that they would be certified to enforce US immigration laws. As a result, Arpaio's deputies have arrested thousands of illegal aliens, most of whom have committed crimes other than those involving entering the United States illegally.

The Department of Justice didn't provide specifics of the allegations, but Sheriff Joe Arpaio said the probe was prompted by his immigration efforts, including his crime and immigration sweeps of some heavily Latino areas in metropolitan Phoenix. Arpaio denied allegations that his deputies racially profiled people during the sweeps, according to Rachel Alexander of the Maricopa County Attorney's Office.

The U.S. House's judiciary committee also plans to hold a hearing next month on the allegations against Arpaio.

"The Obama Administration and members of the US Congress are conspiring to stop and silence those in law enforcement who do not share their liberal viewpoint regarding illegal aliens. Don't be surprised to see American citizens as well being dragged into courtrooms because they oppose illegal aliens being given amnesty," warns Det. Frances.

"These liberal-left fanatics want to replace American citizens -- who won't buy their ideology -- with Third-World peoples who don't even understand what's happening to this country," he said

© 2009 NWV - All Rights Reserved
----------------

What industry in the U.S. utilizes the most illegal alien workers?
Farming / agriculture
Horse Racing

Arguments against Amnesty
from "The American Resistance"
http://www.theamericanresistance.com/issues/amnesty.html

InfoWars;
http://www.infowars.com/articles/immigration/immigration_bill_alive_and_well.htm

http://www.newswithviews.com/NWV-News/news134.htm

OK Horsemen's bill to rescue unwanted race horses blocked; PETA paranoia blamed

2009-05-07T13:44:00.000-04:00

By Associated Press

5:19 PM CDT, May 6, 2009

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — PETA paranoia is being blamed for a bill being held up in the Oklahoma House to rescue neglected race horses who are dying of sickness and neglect.

John Smicklas, a well-known horseman and Republican contributor, says breeders have agreed to raise fees they pay to the Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission to take care of the problem.

Smicklas says the bill passed the Senate unanimously, but is being held up by a legislator who believes the measure is backed by the animal-rights group PETA, which also backs controversial federal legislation to ban horse slaughter.

http://www.kfor.com/news/sns-ap-ok-xgr--deadhorsebill,0,4533617.story

AU: Victorian jumps races suspended after more deaths

2009-05-07T13:33:00.001-04:00

May 7, 2009 - 5:05PM

Pride of Westbury died after this fall at Warrnambool yesterday, one of three horses to die in the past two days in Victorian jump races.
Photo: Liss Ralston

AdvertisementJumps racing in Victoria has been suspended immediately pending a review of the sport, with a decision on its future to be made by the Racing Victoria Limited (RVL) Board next week.

RVL CEO Rob Hines said the decision to bring forward the review was prompted after three fatalities in two days at Warrnambool's famous three-day May carnival.

Topweight Clearview Bay had to be put down after falling at the fourth last fence of the gruelling Grand Annual Steeplechase run over 5500m and 33 fences.

The nine-year-old suffered the same fate as the Robbie Laing-trained Pride Of Westbury, who fell at the last jump and died in the Galleywood Hurdle on Wednesday, while his stablemate Hassle had to be put down after shattering a sesamoid in a hurdle earlier on Thursday.

"The RVL Board has decided we need to have an urgent review of jumps racing,'' Hines said after the running of the Grand Annual.

"We have asked the Jumps Review Panel to make a report to the board by early next week on the season so far and on all the incidents that have occurred.

"The RVL Board will be having an urgent board meeting next week and making a decision on the future of jumps racing and making a statement next week.''

Hines said the three jumps events at Moe on Sunday would all be converted to jumpers' flats or highweights.

"I don't want to pre-empt what the RVL Board do, but the incidents have been so serious this season that we have to have a good hard look at it, but we need our experts, the Jumps Review Panel, to have a look at it and put the information together,'' he said.

Hines said the panel, formed as a result of the David Jones review last year, would look at issues such as were the horses going too fast and whether the jumps were too small.

"What a fantastic spectacle the race (Grand Annual) was and yet we still had a disaster,'' he said.

"So, clearly, it's very difficult and the board have got a lot of serious matters to consider.''

Hines said the number of fatalities would have to be lower than the 12 of last year.

Already there have been five this year.

"We cannot continue at the rate we are at the moment,'' Hines said.

"I think the outlook is difficult but let us do the review and we'll have a position for you in a week.''

AAP

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2009/05/07/1241289301661

Military Police at the Kentucky Derby

2009-05-05T13:23:00.001-04:00

Tue May 5, 2009 1:49 am (PDT)

_Military Police at the Kentucky Derby _
(http://www.infowars.com/military-police-at-the-kentucky-derby/)
Infowars
May 3, 2009

A Google News search does not produce a story or even a brief mention of the fact military police were on hand at the Kentucky Derby to keep restless plebs in line. However, an Associated Press photograph, posted on the Yahoo! News website, shows two MPs in combat fatigues with side arms restraining a man at the derby.

Military police detain a fan who ran onto the track
following the running of the 135th Kentucky Derby horse race at Churchill Downs

Saturday, May 2, 2009, in Louisville, Ky.

"Military police detain a fan who ran onto the track following the running
of the 135th Kentucky Derby horse race at Churchill Downs Saturday, May 2,
2009, in Louisville, Ky.," the photo caption reads.

The photo was also included in a slideshow on the _Yahoo! Sports_
(http://sports.yahoo.com/rah/news?prov=ap&slug=ap-kentuckyderby&type=lgns) website, although the text of the article does not contain a mention of military police at the event.

"The military has NO BUSINESS policing the citizens except during
extraordinarily exceptional times of national emergency by an executive order. This is very disturbing and completely un-American. Maybe even more disturbing is that no one seems to care how quietly and easily we have accepted the burgeoning police state," an article comment states.

Infowars has reported on numerous instances of military involvement with local law enforcement in violation of Posse Comitatus. In March, we reported on _U.S. Army troops dispatched to patrol the streets of Samson, Alabama, after a murder spree_
(http://www.infowars.com/army-times-reports-on-military-deployment-in-alabama/) .

On April 6, we reported on a _DHS, federal, state, Air Force, and local law enforcement checkpoint in Tennessee_
(http://www.infowars.com/massive-checkpoint-operation-in-tennessee-violated-posse-comitatus-fourth-amendment/) .
On April 3, _Infowars_
(http://www.infowars.com/infowars-story-on-illegal-tennessee-checkpoint-prompts-action-by-governor/) was instrumental in the
cancellation of a seatbelt checkpoint that was to be conducted in conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security and the 251st Military Police in Bolivar, Tennessee.

Last December, we reported on the Marine Corps Air and Ground Combat Center dispatching troops to work with police on checkpoints in in _San
Bernardino County, California_
(http://www.infowars.com/marines-establish-military-presence-on-san-bernardino-california-roads/) .

On Aprill 22, _we reported_
(http://www.infowars.com/combat-support-battalion-deployed-to-maintain-public-order-at-boston-marathon/) the deployment of
400 National Guard Combat Support Battalion troops to "maintain public order" at the Boston Marathon.
Last June, Infowars posted an article by _D. H. Williams_
(http://www.infowars.com/us-army-puts-soldiers-on-the-street-in-alabama-in-response-to-shootin
gs/) of the Daily Newscaster reporting the deployment of 2,300 Marines in the city of Indianapolis under the direction of FBI and the Department of Homeland Security.
Prison Planet´s _Paul Joseph Watson_
(http://www.infowars.com/insane-cop-arrests-abc-news-reporter-for-filming-traffic-accident/) reported a story on
April 22 covering the assault of a local television news team by an irate police officer in El Paso, Texas. A video taken by the news videographer shows uniformed soldiers working with police officers at the scene of a car accident.
The presence of uniformed and armed military police at the Kentucky Derby is part of an ongoing campaign to acclimate the populace to the presence of soldiers at public events.

Derby Winner Owner Tied to Alaskas Bribery Scandal

2009-05-04T23:34:00.000-04:00

Derby Winner Owner has ties to Alaska Bribery Scandal

Posted on Sun, May. 03, 2009
Richard Mauer | Anchorage Daily News
last updated: May 03, 2009 09:10:55 AM

ANCHORAGE — If it weren't for the plea deal that his dad, former Veco chief
executive Bill Allen, made with federal prosecutors, Mark Allen might not
have been in the winner's circle Saturday at the Kentucky Derby,
celebrating the victory of his thoroughbred Mine That Bird and a $2 million purse.
Bill Allen, in pleading guilty in 2007 to three counts related to his
central role in the Alaska public corruption scandal, won immunity from federal
criminal charges for Mark Allen.
Mine That Bird, a 50-to-1 long-shot, stunned the racing world when he came
from behind and won the Derby, America's premier thoroughbred event. Mark
Allen's Double Eagle Ranch of Roswell, N.M., along with a neighbor, Leonard
Blach, purchased the gelding last year. The racing Web site BloodHorse.com
said they paid $400,000 after the horse had initially sold for $9,500 as a
yearling.
While prosecutors haven't said whether they could have charged Mark Allen,
Bill Allen himself has testified that his son paid off a state legislator.
A felony conviction against Mark Allen would have led to revocation of his
license as a racehorse owner in New Mexico, racing officials there said.
Under Bill Allen's plea deal with the Justice Department, he was required
to cooperate fully with the government and provide "substantial assistance
to the ongoing investigation." In return, the government agreed to "not
charge Allen's son, Mark Allen, or other family members of Allen with any
criminal offenses arising out the government's investigation that have been
disclosed to the government."
Bill Allen's testimony about his son’s payoff to a legislator came in
October during the trial of former U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens. While Allen was under
orders by the judge in the case to not name any legislators who received
Veco or Allen money &mash; one would have been former state Sen. Ben Stevens,
Ted's son, and the judge wanted to avoid prejudicing the jury — Allen used
the pronoun "her" to describe the legislator paid by Mark.
In March, former Rep. Bev Masek pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit
bribery for accepting at least $4,000 from Allen. Among the overt acts listed
in the conspiracy charge was that a "relative" of Bill Allen — the name
wasn't given — gave her "several" thousand dollars in cash at a restaurant in
South Anchorage on April 18, 2003, after she complained to Allen that she
was broke.
"Masek accepted this money knowing that Veco and its (oil-company) clients
had matters pending before the Alaska State Legislature that were important
to Allen and Veco's business interests," the charge against Masek said.
Two weeks later, Bill Allen himself bribed her with $2,000 to spike a bill
that would have raised oil taxes, according to her plea.
Bill Allen’s testimony played a strong role in the convictions of two
former state legislators accused of bribery, and he was the government’s chief
witness against Stevens. Lawyers for Stevens argued that Allen had an
incentive to lie in his testimony to ensure the government would keep the bargain
and not charge Mark.
Veco Corp. itself has also not been charged, though Allen said he was told
by prosecutors that such a charge remains an option. Allen and his three
grown children, owners of most of Veco stock, sold the company to the
international engineering firm CH2M Hill in 2007. According to sales documents,
Mark Allen’s share, before taxes, was about $30 million.
The Anchorage Daily News reported last summer that Mark Allen went on a
horse-buying spree starting in 2007. He spent nearly $726,000 for eight horses
at the Ruidoso Select Quarter Horse sale in New Mexico that August, one of
the breed’s premiere events. His Double Eagle Ranch paid the highest price
for any horse at that sale — $460,000 for a colt.
Bill Allen has testified that although he tried to interest his son in
Veco, it didn’t work out.
"He didn’t like it," Allen said in the Stevens trial. "He wanted to get
back with his horses."
The family had a horse ranch in Grand Junction, Colo., then Mark bought a
place in Roswell which he owned with his wife, Peggy. The couple is
divorcing.
An older half-brother of Mine That Bird, So Long Birdie, initially belonged
to a partnership that included Mark and Bill Allen, Stevens, Double Musky
restaurant owner Bob Persons and other prominent Alaskans. Persons said
last year that the Allens had bought So Long Birdie from the partnership. The
horse stands at stud at Blach’s Buena Suerte Equine Clinic, near the Double
Eagle Ranch.
In an interview in July, Blach, who shared the winner’s circle with Allen
Saturday, claimed to not be very familiar with Mark Allen.
"I see him once in a while," Blach said then. "I just don’t know too much
about him, to tell the truth about it." (Blach told reporters on Saturday
that he and Mark Allen have "been friends for years.")
Chip Woolley, Mine That Bird’s trainer from Farmington, N.M., was also
reluctant to speak about Mark Allen when contacted in July.
"If you got questions about him, you need to call him," Woolley said. "If
you want to ask questions about Mark’s horses, call him. You don’t even
know me or nothing about me, so, well I don’t know you or nothing about you."
Mine That Bird indirectly figured into one of the strangest events in the
Stevens trial. After the jurors began deliberating, one of them, Marian
Hinnant, suddenly skipped town. Initially she told the judge her father had
died, but then admitted she had a ticket to see the Breeders Cup, a major
thoroughbred stakes race Santa Anita Park near Los Angeles.
Mine That Bird, recently purchased by Allen and Blach, ran in the Breeders
Cup Juvenile as two-year-old. In that race, Mine That Bird was true to form
— he was a 30-to-1 long shot and came in 12th.
Hinnant was replaced by an alternate, who later blogged about her
experiences. Before the Stevens case was thrown out for prosecutorial errors,
Stevens’ defense cited Hinnant and the blogger as reasons a new trial was
warranted.

http://greedybastardsclub.blogspot.com/

Program would send TB horses to prison

2009-05-04T16:47:00.000-04:00

April 29, 2009

A Southern Illinois horse lover wants to use retired racehorses to train prison inmates to become Thoroughbred groomers.

Lanny Brooks, head of the Illinois Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, says establishing a grooming instruction program at the Vandalia Correctional Center would benefit prisoners and give retired race horses a new lease on life, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Wednesday.

Brooks says his organization would foot the bills for the program so it won't cost Illinois a dime.

"The grooming of Thoroughbred horses is a skill that can be taught to inmates and can lead them to a productive life after prison," says a resolution introduced into the Illinois House by state Rep. Ron Stephens of Highland.

Brooks says eight other states have similar programs and all have proved successful.

Once his program is in place, Brooks says any trainer caught sending horses for slaughter would lose his stalls at the racetrack.

Horse-racing will eventually break-down

2009-05-03T15:56:00.000-04:00

So it's safe to watch on Saturday. Death can't happen so soon again. Can it?

It can't. The odds are against it, and supporters of horseracing are all about the odds. They can live with the number of horses dying -- with the freaking odds -- so we'll assume they're right. Death can't happen again this soon. So if you have even a shred of curiosity about horse racing in general or about the Derby itself, you might want to watch this weekend. Because the sport won't be around forever.

For full article, click on title above;
http://www.cbssports.com/columns/story/11696235

Statistics
for horse deaths at the track don't even include Barbaro, who was
euthanized at an animal hospital. (AP)

Take the derby Challange & Save a Racehorse from Slaughter

2009-05-01T13:57:00.001-04:00

On May 2nd, many of the world's fastest thoroughbreds will compete
in the 135th running of the Kentucky Derby. The racetrack success of
these equine stars was once supposed to guarantee them a safe and
long retirement. But according to Melodee Shelley-Bolmgren, founder
of Chez Chevaux, a Washington-based nonprofit thoroughbred rescue
organization, times have never been tougher for these magnificent
creatures.

It's possible — even likely — that one of the horses running in
Saturday's race will end up on a dinner plate somewhere overseas.
This was, in fact, the fate of Ferdinand who won the 1986 Kentucky
Derby and 1987 Breeders' Cup Classic. He was voted the 1987 Eclipse
Award for Horse of the Year, but later proved unsuccessful as a
stallion and his economic value dwindled to the price of the meat on
his bones. In 2002, 16 years after he won the Kentucky Derby,
Ferdinand was shipped off to a slaughterhouse in Japan with little
fanfare. His death served as the catalyst for the Ferdinand Fee, a
donation program to help keep old racehorses alive.
Exceller, the only horse ever to beat two Triple Crown winners,
which he did in the 1978 Jockey Club Gold Cup, died in a Swedish
slaughterhouse in 1997. Phantom on Tour, who ran sixth in the 1997
Kentucky Derby, might have met a similar fate if rescue groups
hadn't intervened before it was too late.

In part due to the poor economy, donations to rescue organizations
are reported to have reached record lows and thoroughbreds, some of
whom have earned hundreds of thousands of dollars for their previous
owners, are being shipped to Canada and Mexico for slaughter.
Without sufficient funds, nonprofits are unable to save these ex-
racers.

"What makes this situation even more tragic is that we see so many
healthy, young thoroughbreds shipped abroad to be slaughtered," says
Shelley-Bolmgren.

To help save the lives of thoroughbreds and retrain them for second
careers as pleasure or show horses, Chez Chevaux has issued a Derby
Day Dollar Challenge. The nonprofit organization hopes to raise
$135,000 in recognition of this year's 135th Derby. Shelley-Bolmgren
says she already has an email box overflowing with requests to help
horses that are in dire need.

According to the Humane Society, the United States sent 98,363
horses to Canada and Mexico for slaughter last year. As of March 28,
2009 17,758 horses had been sent to those two countries for
slaughter. Polls have historically shown that the vast majority of
Americans are against the slaughtering of horses. In Texas (formerly
home to two of this country's equine slaughterhouses), 72 percent of
those polled in 2006 said they were opposed to the slaughtering of
horses for human consumption. That sentiment is shared by most
members of Congress.
But unfortunately the people's voice isn't always heard or honored
in Congress. In September 2006, the United States House of
Representatives approved H.R. 503, the American Horse Slaughter
Prevention Act, which would ban the slaughter of horses in the
United States. However, the bill never made it out of committee in
the Senate. For a multitude of reasons, cattlemen's groups, the
American Quarter Horse Association and the American Association of
Equine Practitioners have gone on the record as "pro-slaughter" and
have found ways to keep this practice alive.
The recent rise in the number of unwanted and neglected horses in
Kentucky has renewed the debate over whether reopening
slaughterhouses in the United States (the last ones closed in 2007)
would help address the problem.
To take the Derby Day Dollar Challenge, please visit Chez Chevaux to
make an online tax-deductible donation. No amount is too small. "If
enough people contributed even a single dollar to horse charities
that would help us save so many animals from certain deaths,"
Shelley-Bolmgren says.
Facts about horse slaughter:
During the last few decades, millions of horses have been
slaughtered in the U.S. and Canada and their meat exported to Europe
and Japan for human consumption.
It is estimated that a third of all slaughter-bound horses in the
U.S. were bred for racing.
Thoroughbreds and other horses are often shipped up to 30 hours
without food or water. When they reach the slaughterhouse, they are
driven into a killing factory and bludgeoned with a four-inch bolt
gun which drives a spike into their skulls. Their throats are then
slit, often while they are still conscious.
Most horses sold at auction are bought by middlemen for slaughter
plants; the horses often go straight to slaughter without disclosure
to the original sellers.
Very little horse meat is used in dog food; some cuts sell for over
$20 per pound for human consumption.
Do you plan to watch the Kentucky Derby this weekend? I encourage
all horse enthusiasts to place your bets on Chez Chevaux or another
horse rescue organization for a guaranteed return on your investment.

Click on title to read more, see video and leave comments;

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/pets/detail?entry_id=39238

Update: Polo Pony Deaths / Selenium Overdose to Blame

2009-04-30T11:24:00.001-04:00

UNDIAGNOSED POISONING, EQUINE - USA (05): (FLORIDA) SELENIUM
************************************************************
A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases

[1]
Date: Tue 28 Apr 2009
Source: Yahoo News, Associated Press (AP) report [edited]

Officials blame mineral overdose in horse deaths
------------------------------------------------
Florida's top veterinarian on Tuesday [28 Apr 2009] blamed the deaths
of 21 elite polo horses on an overdose of a common mineral that helps
muscles recover from fatigue.

Florida's state veterinarian, Dr Thomas J Holt, said toxicology tests
on the dead horses showed significantly increased selenium levels.

The horses from the Venezuelan-owned Lechuza Caracas team began
collapsing [19 Apr 2009] as they were unloaded from trailers at the
International Polo Club Palm Beach in Wellington before a
championship match. Some died at the scene, others hours later.

"Signs exhibited by the horses and their rapid deaths were consistent
with toxic doses of selenium," Holt said.

The team was preparing to play in the sport's US Open and was seen as
a top contender.

A Florida pharmacy that mixed a brew of vitamins and minerals for the
team on order from its Florida veterinarian said Tuesday [28 Apr
2009] that the strength of selenium was incorrect. Jennifer Beckett,
chief operating officer for Franck's Pharmacy in Ocala, Florida,
would not say whether the incorrect amount was specified in the
veterinarian order or was a pharmacy error. "We continue to cooperate
fully with the authorities as their investigations proceed," she
said. "We cannot discuss further details." Lechuza had no comment on
the toxicology report.

The polo team had hoped to get a compound similar to a name-brand
supplement known as Biodyl. The supplement is used around the world
but hasn't been approved by the Food and Drug Administration [FDA] in
the US.

Veterinarians often turn to compounding pharmacies like Franck's for
medications that can't be found on shelves, but the dispensaries
generally can only recreate unapproved drugs in limited
circumstances, such as for health reasons.

The FDA and state authorities are investigating.

Biodyl is a supplement made in France by Duluth, Georgia-based animal
pharmaceutical firm Merial Ltd. It wasn't clear how close Franck's
mixture came to the name-brand drug. Lechuza said what they ordered
was supposed to contain vitamin B, potassium, magnesium, and selenium.

The injections provided by Franck's were given to the horses just
hours before their deaths.

Dr Murl Bailey, a toxicology professor at Texas A&M University's
College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, said selenium
is a common mineral needed in small doses by humans and animals for
growth and tissue stabilization. It can also help muscles recover
from fatigue.

"It's a naturally occurring mineral in the Earth's crust," Bailey
said. But he said it was generally not needed as a supplement since
most people and animals get it in their food.

Bailey said an overdose of selenium can cause the veins in the body
to dilate, "so there's really no blood coming back to the heart."

"The horses go into shock," he said. Necropsies previously revealed
bleeding in the horses' lungs.

Dr Tam Garland, a toxicologist at the Texas Veterinary Medical
Diagnostic Laboratory, said the horses' deaths would likely have been
painful, and irreversible after the overdose. "Hemorrhaging in the
lungs tells me these horses couldn't breathe," Garland said.

[Byline: Brian Skoloff]

--
Communicated by:
Sara M Volk, PhD
Department of Pathology
Center for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases

University of Texas Medical Branch
Galveston, Texas
USA

******
[2]
Date: Thu 23 Apr 2009
Source: Fox News.com, Associated Press (AP) report [edited]

A Florida pharmacy said Thursday [23 Apr 2009] that it incorrectly
prepared a supplement given to 21 polo horses that died over the
weekend [19 Apr 2009] while preparing to play in a championship match.

Unable to legally bring a supplement into the US to make their horses
more resilient, a Venezuelan polo team had the pharmacy mix up the
concoction. What happened next, though, was disastrous. The chemicals
were mixed wrong, and the 21 horses given the brew died in rapid
succession, some collapsing just before taking the field in a
championship polo match. The others fell soon after, one by one,
shocking a well-heeled crowd gathered to watch the US Open at the
International Polo Club Palm Beach in Wellington.

The Lechuza polo team had hoped to get a compound similar to a
name-brand supplement used safely around the world to help horses
with exhaustion but hasn't been approved by the Food and Drug
Administration. Veterinarians commonly turn to compounding pharmacies
for medications that can't be found on shelves, but the dispensaries
can only recreate unapproved drugs in limited circumstances.

A Florida pharmacy that mixed the medication said Thursday [23 Apr
2009] an internal review found "the strength of an ingredient in the
medication was incorrect." Jennifer Beckett, chief operating officer
for Franck's Pharmacy in Ocala, Florida, would not say whether the
incorrect amount was specified in the order that came from a Florida
veterinarian.

Lechuza said the order was for a compound similar to Biodyl, a
supplement that includes vitamins and minerals. The team has been
using the supplement for many years without problems, but typically
uses the manufactured version instead of going to compounding
pharmacies.

"Only horses treated with the compound became sick and died within 3
hours of treatment," Lechuza said in a statement. "Other horses that
were not treated remain healthy and normal."

While Biodyl isn't approved in the US, the supplement made in France
by Duluth, Georgia-based animal pharmaceutical firm Merial Ltd. is
widely used abroad. The president of the Argentinean Equine
Veterinarian Association, Fernando Ruiz, said the supplement is
commonly used on horses that compete there, and he's not aware of any
deaths.

It wasn't clear how closely Franck's mixture came to the name-brand
drug, though. Lechuza said what they ordered was supposed to contain
vitamin B, potassium, magnesium, and selenium, a mineral that can be
toxic in high doses.

Compound pharmacies can, among other things, add flavor, make
substances into a powder or liquid or remove a certain compound that
may have an adverse reaction in different animal species.

FDA spokeswoman Siobhan DeLancey said the agency's interest is now
"heightened" with news the deaths could have been caused by a medical
mistake at a pharmacy -- one that not only produces drugs for
animals, but also people.

Florida's State Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and
the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office are also investigating the
deaths, and the pharmacy and polo team said they're cooperating. The
state agriculture department wouldn't comment on the latest news, but
said testing for chemicals in the horses' blood and tissue continued.
They hoped to have some results by Friday [24 Apr 2009]. Necropsies
of the 21 horses found internal bleeding, some in the lungs, but
offered no definitive clues to the cause of death.

On its website, the FDA says it generally defers to state authorities
to regulate compounding of drugs by veterinarians and pharmacists but
would "seriously consider enforcement action" if one of the
pharmacies breaks federal law. It isn't yet clear Franck's broke the
law. The pharmacy has had no complaints lodged against it, according
to the Florida Department of Health.

A veterinarian not involved in the case said the laws pertaining to
compounding are unclear, and there is little oversight. "It's
confusing to all of us," said Miami veterinarian Zachary Franklin.
"We're not lawyers, we're veterinarians. Almost no one follows the
exact letter of the law," he added.

Franklin said veterinarians often turn to compounding pharmacies to
recreate drugs such as antibiotics, but it is much less common to
compound vitamin and mineral supplements, because the ingredients are
usually readily available. "I don't know what it is about this Biodyl
that they like so much," Franklin said. "There probably is no good
scientific reason to do that."

While polo's US governing body doesn't test horses for drugs,
officials in horse racing wouldn't bother checking for the
ingredients of Biodyl, said the head of a group that helps develop
policies for regulating the racing industry. "There's nothing in it
that would be worth testing for in terms of performance," said Scot
Waterman, the executive director of the Racing Medication and Testing
Consortium. "It's B vitamins and a mineral."

He said there's some concern in his industry about compounding
pharmacies, which can be difficult to monitor. "There are FDA rules
on what can and cannot be compounded but there is little oversight,"
Waterman said. "They play a very important role for the equine
practitioner but there is also potentially a dark side to the
compounders."

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-MBDS

[Selenium is an essential nutrient in horses. However an IV overdose
has disastrous consequences. The consequences of this may be more far
reaching as the FDA has taken an interest in the compounder.

Compounding pharmacies are extremely important in veterinary medicine
as there are many useful and needed medications that pharmaceutical
companies have deemed not profitable enough to manufacture. - Mod.TG]

[Wellington can be located on the HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive
map of Florida at
. - CopyEd.MJ]

[see also:
Undiagnosed poisoning, equine - USA (04): (FL) 20090423.1533
Undiagnosed poisoning, equine - USA (03): (FL) 20090422.1520
Undiagnosed poisoning, equine - USA (02): (FL) 20090422.1512
Undiagnosed poisoning, equine - USA (FL) 20090420.1494]
...................................tg/mj/lm

HR 2140: A Bill to Give Gamblers a Break at Taxpayer Expense

2009-04-30T08:48:00.003-04:00

Horseplayers,

Last night, Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KY) introduced a bill that would eliminate the automatic 25 percent federal withholding on pari-mutuel winnings of $5,000 or more for bets that carry odds of 300-1 or higher. Rep. Charles Boustany, Jr. (R-LA) is the bill’s lead co-sponsor.

The “Pari-mutuel Conformity and Equality Act of 2009” (H.R. 2140) or PACE Act was introduced by the Congressmen in the U.S. House of Representatives. Both Congressmen have race tracks in their respective districts and are members of the powerful Ways & Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over tax matters.

Compared to other gaming industries, the pari-mutuel industry currently suffers from an inequitable tax law that requires wagering facilities to automatically withhold federal taxes from certain pari-mutuel winnings as defined above. This burden impacts the amount of dollars horseplayers have to re-bet, which subsequently affects handle figures and ultimately purse levels and bloodstock markets.

Please watch for information from the NTRA on how you can help change the antiquated and unfair taxation of pari-mutuel winnings. We also encourage you to follow the bill’s progress at www.HorseplayersCoalition.com and ask you to consider supporting the NTRA’s legislative effort by becoming a member of the Horseplayers’ Coalition today.

Sincerely,

Joe Bacigalupo

Director of Membership Development

NTRA

Phone: 859-422-2677

e-mail: joeb@ntra.com
----------------------

Hey, no one istwisting their arms to gamble their money away. Why should we give them a tax-break at taxpayer expense,...now at a time when we need every dollar to get our deficit down?
Just say NO to tax-breaks for gamblers!

Click on title above to see and sign the petition;
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/no-tax-breaks-for-gamblers-at-our-expense

Fla. Pharmacy Admits Blame in Death of Polo Ponies

2009-04-23T13:44:00.001-04:00

Fla. pharmacy tells AP it made mistake in making supplement for dead polo horses
By BRIAN SKOLOFF , Associated Press

Last update: April 23, 2009 - 12:19 PM

Click on title above for full article and place for comments;
http://www.startribune.com/nation/43539127.html?elr=KArks:DCiUocOaL_nDaycUiacyKU7DYaGEP7vDEh7P:DiUs

Update: 4/23/09 Polo Pony Deaths

2009-04-23T13:21:00.000-04:00

-- Pharmacy that supplied medicine for polo ponies that later died says the medicine was incorrectly prepared.

From CNN Late breaking news;

>+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=
Don't miss a prime time event: "The CNN National Report Card."
On President Obama's 100th day in office, CNN wants you to tell
us who made the grade. Rate the president, Congress and state
leaders Wednesday night 8 p.m. ET. http://www.cnn.com/reportcard
>+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=

One CNN Center Atlanta, GA 30303
(c) & (r) 2009 Cable News Network

This message was sent to you at cjubic@NYCAP.RR.COM.

Gambling Lawyer Sues Casinos

2009-04-23T01:40:00.000-04:00

March 10th, 2008 ·

Arelia Margarita Taveras had it all: she was a successful lawyer with her own law practice; she appeared on television shows; she was making a lot of money. Then to relieve stress and take a break, she decided to head to Atlantic City. That was the start of a downward spiral that she couldn’t control. She was addicted to gambling and lost over $1 Million. She stole money from her clients. She was disbarred and faces criminal charges. She lost her New York apartment, her parents’ house and owes the IRS $58,000. Eventually, she spent a year in rehab to come to grips with her gambling addiction. She now lives in Minnesota and works at a telephone call center.

So what does she do? She files a $20 Million lawsuit against the casinos claiming they should have known she had a problem and not allowed her to continue gambling. I understand that when someone has an addiction that it can control her life and she will do things that would otherwise be unthinkable. Nevertheless, I also think this is a case of someone not taking personal responsibility. She is going to have a hard time showing that the casinos owed her a duty to send her home. She was treated as a high roller at the casinos. She enjoyed free limo rides and brought her dog with her to the gambling tables. How would a casino know that she didn’t have enough money to gamble as she did? Why would it be a casino’s responsibility to monitor all of its gamblers to insure that there are no addicts?

Ms. Taveras is working to get her life back together. She should accept responsibility for her actions and move forward in a positive direction. Instead of wasting her time with this lawsuit, perhaps it would be beneficial for her to help other addicts in their recovery process. This might just be the career change she needs. It was her decision to gamble, she stole money from her clients, she spent days at the casinos. Does anyone take responsibility anymore?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23538746/

SOS for "Refinery"

2009-04-22T20:21:00.000-04:00

REFINERY - A DEAD(ENED) RACEHORSE

Bred by Dr. Lance Bell of Kentucky, Refinery is a 2003 son of Victory Gallop who sold for $200,000 at the 2003 Fall Breeding Stock Sale at Keeneland. He would be sold again at Keeneland in 2005 as a two year old in training bringing a price of $425,000. Unfortunately, Refinery's racing career would not be nearly as lucrative as his purchasers had hoped.

Refinery ran his most impressive race on August 24, 2006 when he came in under the wire first and brought home $40,000 for his connections. At some point, while under the care of, and being trained by, Richard Mandella, Refinery underwent a posterior digital neurectomy which effectively deadened the rear portion of one of his hooves.

The procedure is commonly known as "heel nerving". The "logic" here is if the horse can't feel the pain, he will be able to continue to race,perform better, and bring in more money for his connections.

Refinery would only run twice more for trainer Mandella and owner B. Wayne Hughes before being claimed for $50,000 by Dan MacFarlane for owner Les Blake. Refinery quickly dropped in class.

Refinery did not race in 2007. We don't know the exact reason(s) why, but we presume that after being claimed by MacFarlane, Refinery was sent to Arizona to race. For reasons unknown to many, Mr. MacFarlane was not informed at the time he claimed Refinery that he had been nerved. Only two states ban nerved horses from racing and Arizona is one of them.

This grand gelding was sent back to race in California in 2008.

With no ban on nerved horses, Refinery was allowed to race eleven times on his now- deadened heel. He brought in only $13,000 for his connections. His days of running in stakes races are long over as he continues to run at the claiming level.

Refinery has been raced eight times in 2009 already, with two of his races being a mere six days apart. As is common for sore horses, Refinery attempted to go wide on the turn for home in his April 10 race as he had in previous races. He felt the sting of the whip 12 times as his jockey attempted to keep him from bearing out as well as to get the last bit of effort out of the gelding.

Refinery has been claimed twice thus far this year, first by James Haverty in January and then by Jerry Hollendorfer in April.

Every time Refinery steps onto the track, his life is in danger as are the lives of every other horse and jockey going out with him. When will he be allowed to quit? When he becomes an Eight Belles? Or will it be when he too is found standing crippled and terrified in a direct to slaughter pen at an auction? Read full article >>

TAKE ACTION

Please help us save Refinery and others from being put directly into harm's way.

1. Contact the Thoroughbred Owners of California and in the subject line type "Attention Marsha Naify, Chair" and email her at toc@toconline.com .

2. Contact Mike Marin of the California Horse Racing Board at mikem@chrb.ca.gov or call him at 714-240-1870.

3. Contact Alex Waldrop of the NTRA at AlexWaldrop@ntra.com and Eric Wing at the NTRA at ewing@ntra.com .

4. Email James Gowen at the Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau jgowen@trpb.com .

Let all of these people know that you neither support the racing of heel nerved horses nor the deception perpetrated on the betting public.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TUESDAY'S HORSE

Tuesday's Horse is not fully posted, but there is still plenty of news for Members, and non-Members.

Go here to view: http://tuesdayshorse.wordpress.com/

That's it, and thanks everybody.

Cheers,

Vivian Grant,
President

Int'l Fund for Horses
Become a Member
Pledge a Monthly Gift
Donate to the Fund
Donate to Charities
Visit Our Website
Tuesday's Horse
Subscribe to Alerts
IFH on Twitter

Skype us at fund.for.horses
Call Vivian at 202.657.5275

Int'l Fund for Horses, Member League of OIPA
Organisation Internationale pour la Protection des Animaux
OIPA is an NGO associated to the UN Department of Public Information

Tainted Vitamins to Blame in Polo Pony Deaths?

2009-04-22T16:00:00.002-04:00

UNDIAGNOSED POISONING, EQUINE - USA (03): (FLORIDA)
***************************************************
Will Insurance Cover these "accidental" deaths?
Hummmmm.....

A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases

Date: Wed 22 Apr 2009
Source: The Miami Herald, Palm Beach Post report [edited]

Polo captain: tainted vitamin killed 21 ponies
----------------------------------------------
The 21 polo ponies that died in Wellington Sunday [19 Apr 2009] were all
injected before the game with a vitamin supplement called Biodyl, and team
members believe a tainted dose caused their deaths, the team's captain
said. Juan Martin Nero, captain of the Lechuza Caracas polo team, told the
La Nacion newspaper in Buenos Aires that all of the horses had received
Biodyl injections before the game. "We don't have any doubts about the
origin of the problem," Nero said. "There were 5 horses that weren't given
the vitamin and they are the only ones that are fine."

Biodyl is a French-made supplement that contains vitamin B, selenium, and
chromium, La Nacion reported. Nero said that Biodyl "is what the horses are
always given. For us, the suspicions are that there was something bad in
the laboratory," Nero said. "They're common vitamins that aren't given to
improve performance but rather to help them recover from exhaustion."

Dr Scott Swerdlin, a veterinarian at the Palm Beach Equine Club who helped
treat the animals as they were dying, told the Post that Biodyl is not
approved for use or sale in the United States. But a licensed veterinarian
could obtain Biodyl by submitting a prescription to a pharmacy containing
the recipe for the supplement, he said.

If Biodyl shows up on the tests, now being done in Kissimmee and
Gainesville, an independent lab should determine if the Biodyl mix was
correct, said Swerdlin. "Biodyl is routinely used in Europe as a vitamin
supplement," Swerdlin said. "My practice does not use it."

"It's dangerous," Kentucky-based veterinarian Fernando Garcia told La
Nacion. "Ordering it from France isn't an easy task because you have to
specify what its use will be and in what animal. In the case of the polo
ponies' deaths, I don't think it was Biodyl but it could have been an
imitation."

Well-known Wellington polo patron Neil Hirsch, who co-owns the
Bridgehampton Polo Club on Long Island, said vitamins are commonly used but
rarely administered on a game day. "Everybody gives their polo horses
vitamins," Hirsch said. "But they're given on a Monday or Tuesday when no
one's playing. You just don't give them the day of a match."

Dr Christie Ward, a veterinarian at the University of Minnesota, said that
supplements are generally unlikely to harm horses but that some contain
substances that could prove harmful in large quantities. Selenium, a
substance found in Biodyl, "can be toxic when administered at too high a
level," she said. But she added that "in general, there does not seem to be
any high incidence of adverse reactions."

As the investigation into the horses' deaths presses on, a swirl of
speculation is surrounding the renowned polo team's Argentine veterinarian.
Felix Crespo, a former competitive polo player, was the Lechuza Caracas
team's top man in charge of the horses' health, and he would have been the
one to oversee their diet and any supplements or injections they may have
received, people familiar with the team say. A call to Crespo's cell phone
in Argentina was answered by his daughter, who said he was still in Palm
Beach County.

[byline: Andrew Marra, Bill DiPaolo]

--
communicated by:
ProMED-mail

[Biodyl is manufactured by Merial in France. The product is not sold in the
US, but it is believed that the team purchased a generic brand in the US.
If that is the case, then it may be a compounded (specifically made by a
pharmacy) product. This is mentioned in the article above.

Even if the product is a compounded product it does not mean the pharmacy
is at fault. Any person seeking to maliciously harm the team or the animals
could have injected the bottles. Although the team captain seems certain it
was the supplement, it remains unproven as of this writing.

There is also the possibility of a mixing error, and that there is too much
or too little of a substance in the mixture. The moderator understands that
University of Florida at Gainesville, completed the gross necropsies and
that now the task of testing tissues and examining them histologically will
begin. Perhaps the university will reach out to other diagnostic
laboratories to help diagnose and confirm what has happened. There are a
number of good toxicology and veterinary drug testing laboratories across
the country.

We remain hopeful that urine on these animals was collected as it is an
excellent sample for testing for drugs, in the event the bottles of vitamin
mix were tainted with something. - Mod.TG

The state of Florida can be located on the HealthMap/ProMED-mail
interactive map at . - CopyEd.MJ]

[see also:
Undiagnosed poisoning, equine - USA (02): (FL) 20090422.1512
Undiagnosed poisoning, equine - USA (FL) 20090420.1494]

Accused Craigslist Killer Owed Gambling Debts

2009-04-21T10:01:00.004-04:00

I wonder if he played the ponies?

By LISA FLETCHER, MICHELE MCPHEE, JIM AVILA, RICHARD ESPOSITO and SARAH NETTER
April 21, 2009

A police source close to the investigation of the Boston man charged with robbing two women he met on Craigslist and killing one says a search of Philip Markoff's house turned up guns and plastic ties, and police believe his motive in the crimes was to pay off gambling debts.

Medical student engaged to be married charged with killing a masseuse in Boston.But Markoff's fiancee, who lived with him, said police have got the wrong guy.

At first glance, Markoff doesn't seem to fit the murder-suspect stereotype -- the blond, clean-cut 22-year-old is a medical student and is engaged to be married this summer.

But according to police, he robbed two women he solicited throughpersonal ads on Craigslist, killing one of them, Julissa Brisman, in an upscale Boston hotel.

Markoff was charged with murder in the shooting death of Brisman, 26, at the Copley Marriott Hotel April 14. He was also charged with armed robbery and kidnapping in an alleged attack on another woman April 10 at the Westin Hotel, according to a statement released by the Boston Police Department.

His fiancee Megan McAllister told ABC News the police are wrong.

"Unfortunately, you were given wrong information as was the public," McAllister wrote to ABC News in an e-mail. "All I have to say to you is Philip is a beautiful person inside and out and could not hurt a fly! A police officer in Boston (or many) is trying to make big bucks by selling this false story to the TV stations. What else is new?? Philip is an intelligent man who is just trying to live his life so if you could leave us alone we would greatly appreciate it. We expect to marry in August and share and wonderful, meaningful life together."

-----------
UPDATE: April 22, 2009

Latest news story on the Craiglist Killer is that a search of his home turned up items belonging to the victims.
Wonder what girlfriend has to say about her honey now. Will she blindly stand by her man in light of this new evidence?
"There is none so blind as those who refuse to see"

Poison Suspected in Death of Polo Ponies

2009-04-20T22:01:00.004-04:00

Ginny Powell of the Palm Beach Equine Clinic administered care to a dying horse on Sunday.

by Karen Crouse, NYTimes

April 21, 2009

WELLINGTON, Fla. — The Lechuza Caracas farm is set off from the road by a giant hedge, and through bare patches, one could see at least 10 horses, their tails flicking as they grazed in a field, in a tableau of normalcy that no longer exists.
On Monday, the deaths of 21 polo horses from Lechuza Caracas, a Venezuelan-based team, were being mourned. The team was preparing to compete in a quarterfinal match of the United States Open Polo Championship on Sunday when a few of its horses collapsed at the International Polo Club Palm Beach. As they were being tended to, several other horses became disoriented and collapsed in a dominolike chain.

By Sunday night, 15 horses were dead. Six others died overnight. In a few frantic hours, Lechuza Caracas’s most treasured performers had been lost. In the world of polo, the riders are considered less valuable. Some horses belonged to the owner of Lechuza Caracas, the Venezuelan multimillionaire Victor Vargas, and some were owned by the team’s individual riders.

Peter Rizzo, the executive director of the United States Polo Association, said that his organization opened an investigation Monday as state agriculture scientists in Kissimmee began performing necropsies on eight carcasses.

“We’re still reeling from this,” Rizzo said in a telephone interview. “I cannot even process the horror from yesterday.”

He added that veterinarians who treated the animals said they believed the blame lies with a toxin that all the horses consumed. An examination of the tissues, organs and blood of the dead animals should reveal whether the toxins were ingested or injected.

The veterinarian Paul Wollenman of the Palm Beach Equine Clinic, said in a statement, “We do know that based on overwhelming clinical evidence, this event was isolated to the Lechuza barn horses and the initial evidence shows no infectious element.”

At the Lechuza Caracas horse farm here, a makeshift memorial composed of bouquets of roses and perennials took shape at the foot of the keypad outside the front gates. Rizzo, who has been in contact with Vargas, said, “He definitely is in shock and mourning.”

The Lechuza Polo team said in a statement: “For the last three decades, Lechuza Polo has participated in polo championships and tournaments all around the globe. In that time, we have not encountered such a dire situation like this as our horses receive the most professional and dedicated care possible.”

Spectators at the competition described a surreal scene: blue tarps popped up on the field as team officials tended to fallen horses, and veterinarians raced from the stands to form a triage unit to help the wobbly animals. Each of the horses was 10 or 11 years old and worth about $100,000.

“I’ve been playing polo for 20 years and I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Nacho Figueras, a rider for Black Watch, the team that was to oppose Lechuza Caracas. “The horses started collapsing. It was really a bad scene. Me and the other riders went and helped all the grooms. There were 20 vets on site and they were all trying to help.”

The horses began becoming ill 45 minutes before the scheduled start of the match. Several minutes later, officials announced that the match had been canceled and an exhibition match featuring the Black Watch team would be held instead.

The Lechuza Caracas team withdrew from the competition. The other players and club representatives have opted to continue with the event as a way of honoring the Lechuza horses. The semifinals will be held, as scheduled, on Wednesday.

John Wash, the president of club operations at International Polo, said in a statement, “We continue to stay in contact with everyone touched by this event and share in their grief.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/21/sports/othersports/21polo.html?_r=1&hp

Mishap claims Two Horses at Finger Lakes track

2009-04-19T09:07:00.001-04:00

Tin Cup Chalice

Kevin Oklobzija • Staff writer • April 18, 2009
_http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20090418/SPORTS/904180333_
(http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20090418/SPORTS/904180333)

---- and ---

Tin Cup Chalice killed in training
Race horse with North Country ties killed in freak accident
Published April 18, 2009 12:04 am - Champion race horse was raised in Ray
Brook by co-owners.

_http://www.pressrepublican.com/0300_sports/local_story_108000431.html_
(http://www.pressrepublican.com/0300_sports/local_story_108000431.html)

ROCHESTER, NY (AP) — Tin Cup Chalice, a champion race horse raised in Ray
Brook, was killed Friday in a freak training accident at Finger Lakes
Racetrack.

Tin Cup Chalice, a 4-year-old gelding, was owned by trainer Mike Lecesse
of Farmington and Ray Brook residents Scott Van Laer, a forest ranger, and
Michale Glennon, a Wildlife Conservation Society biologist. He was raised on
the couple's Glen Laer farm in Ray Brook.

Tin Cup Chalice was jogging near the outside fence at the track in
Farmington, 25 miles southeast of Rochester, when he collided with Zany, a
4-year-old colt that had bolted.

Jockey Pedro Rodriguez was treated at a Rochester hospital for undisclosed
injuries and released. Both horses were destroyed. Tin Cup Chalice
sustained a catastrophic spinal injury, a veterinarian said.

"It's like losing a best friend, a brother," Lecesse told the Rochester
Democrat and Chronicle.

Tin Cup Chalice was named the 2008 New York-bred champion 3-year-old male
last Monday. Tin Cup Chalice also was chosen 2008 Horse of the Year at
Finger Lakes after earning $827,280.

Tin Cup Chalice last year became the first horse to sweep the Big Apple
Triple for New York breds. He captured the Mike Lee Handicap at Belmont Park,
the New York Derby at Finger Lakes and the $150,000 Albany Stakes at
Saratoga Race Course. The sweep earned his owners a $250,000 bonus.

He was being pointed to a stakes race at Mountaineer Park May 10.

Tin Cup Chalice overcame two near-death experiences as a foal and a
weanling.

According to the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, the collision occurred
at about 6:20 a.m. Friday. Tin Cup Chalice was galloping in a clockwise
direction, or the opposite way horses race in North America. He was on the
outside fence, which is where horses training in an opposite direction always
gallop.

Zany was participating in a full-speed workout and bolted as he came off
the turn at the top of the stretch. The horses collided about halfway down
the stretch.

Tin Cup Chalice was eastbound and the rising sun played a factor.

"Pedro (Rodriguez) said he didn't even see the horse," track veterinarian
Bob Tugel said. "Five minutes before or five minutes after, he wouldn't
have been blinded (because the sun would have been at a different angle)."

Track veterinarians worked more than 90 minutes on Tin Cup Chalice before
it became apparent the injuries were catastrophic.

Lecesse said the horse was insured.

Ironically, Tin Cup Chalice was scheduled to make his season debut Friday
at Finger Lakes, but the race didn't fill.

"If he would have been in today, he wouldn't haven been on the track this
morning," said Lecesse, who added, "it's nobody's fault."
----------------------------------------------------------

UPDATE: Paragallo Horses Ready for Adoption, Free to Good Homes

2009-04-18T09:57:00.002-04:00

Shame on the "well-known authorized agent" of thoroughbreds, Ernie Paragallo, who let this happen to 177 thoroughbreds on a 500-acre farm in Upstate NY. The perp was ONLY CHARGED with 22 counts of MISDEMEANOR animal cruelty. All of his racing privileges have been revoked.

Click on title above to see VIDEO: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/30263095#30263095

ARTICLE: http://allday.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/04/17/1895781.aspx ----> I love Jill Rappaport; she writes: "Thoroughbreds--once beautiful thriving animals--were left for months during one of the worst winters we ever had to fend for themselves."

The Columbia-Greene Humane Society was tipped off and raided the farm, where they seized all the horses. However, the perp has only signed over 67 of the horses to the Humane Society, which ARE UP FOR ADOPTION, FREE to approved homes.

PLEASE CONTACT KATRINA at the Columbia-Greene Humane Society/SPCA at (518) 828-6044, x101; and/or e-mail at cghsuser001@aol.com (@aol.com). For more info, go to their website: http://www.cghs.org/horses.htm.
PLEASE INCLUDE your name and phone # on all phone and e-mail messages.

** DONATIONS ARE GREATLY NEEDED and APPRECIATED! **
Donate here: http://www.cghs.org/donation.htm

Banned Suffolk Trainers Reinstated

2009-04-17T22:16:00.001-04:00

By Esther Marr

Updated: Friday, April 17, 2009 3:50 PM

Three of the five trainers that were banned from Suffolk Downs last fall for violating its zero tolerance policy toward horse slaughter have been reinstated and will be allowed to saddle horses for the East Boston, Mass. track’s 2009 season, which runs May 2-Nov. 7.

The trainers--Wayne Sargent Jr., Gerry LaFleur, and Tony D’Angelo--last November turned over five of their retired Thoroughbreds to Pam Pompell, who assured them she was taking them to a farm to be retrained for children’s camps or other types of programs.

In reality, Pompell and another trainer, Al Michelson, apparently transported the horses to a farm in Southeastern Massachusetts. Less than a day later, the horses were discovered going through the ring at a small auction house in New York that is known for selling horses to “killer buyers” who will re-sell them for slaughter.

“Gail Vacca, who rescues horses from auctions where they’re going to head to slaughter was the one that tipped off us that (the horses) were down there,” said Chip Tuttle, Suffolk’s chief operating officer. “We bought them out of the auction and donated them to the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation. So at the time, we made the decision to ban all five trainers.

“But we never said it was a lifetime ban. We never published a policy or put out a press release. We started this policy more than two years ago, and no one even knew about it for a year. We weren’t looking for attention on this; it was just our internal policy.”

Tuttle said over the course of the winter, Sargent, LaFleur, and D’Angelo, who were also refused stalls at Tampa Bay Downs because of the incident, had personally asked to be reinstated at Suffolk, but were denied. It was only after the New England Horsemen’s Benevolent Protective Association came up with an official proposal for why Suffolk’s decision should be reversed that the officials reconsidered.

“The New England HBPA really took up the cause for these three guys,” said Tuttle. “They said they were duped, that they shouldn’t have been duped, and that the circumstances were extenuating. (In the proposal), it said the trainers would each write letters acknowledging they violated the policy, promising that they wouldn’t do it again, and donating $1,000 to Canter New England and the TRF.”

After significant discussions with the trainers and the HBPA, the proposal was accepted.

“The decision was difficult, but none of these guys had an issue or a record of this in the past,” Tuttle explained. “The story that all three told was consistent, so we decided to let them back in.

“With the New England HBPA, we have stepped up our efforts to ensure this doesn’t happen again, and that every trainer on the backstretch understands whose responsibility this is,” Tuttle added.

He explained how the HBPA had developed its own video that every trainer will be shown as part of an orientation program. Suffolk has also standardized a bill of sale to be used on the backstretch so there are no more misunderstandings in horse transactions.

“There’s no transfer of horses without this bill of sale, and it spells out that the horses cannot be transported to or caused to be transported to one of these auction facilities,” he said.

Tuttle hopes all trainers will from now on comply with the track’s retirement placement program, which takes unwanted horses at the end of each meet. The program humanely retired more than 40 horses to different organizations from its racing stables last year.

http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/50247/banned-suffolk-trainers-reinstated

Equine Strangles at Fraser Racetrack, BC

2009-04-17T20:37:00.000-04:00

Click on title above to read more

http://unnecessaryevils.blogspot.com/2009/04/equine-strangles-canada-british.html

Thoroughbred Rescue Initiates Derby Day Challenge

2009-04-16T20:20:00.002-04:00

On the eve of the 135th Derby in Kentucky, an expert in retraining former race horses for second careers says more thoroughbreds are in danger of going to the slaughterhouse.
Every day we see more and more thoroughbreds sold to be slaughtered
These are animals that have often earned millions of dollars during their racing careers.
What makes this situation even more tragic is that we see so many healthy, young thoroughbreds shipped abroad to be slaughtered
These are horses that are perfectly able to perform well at second careers as pleasure or show horses.
If enough people contributed even a single dollar to horse charities that would help us save so many animals from certain deaths or starvation

Monroe, WA (PRWEB) April 14, 2009 -- On May 2 some of the world's fastest thoroughbreds will race in Kentucky's annual Derby. Yet Melodee Shelley-Bolmgren, founder of the nonprofit organization Chez Chevaux, which rescues and retrains thoroughbreds, says that ex-racers are in greater danger than they have been in years of being sold for slaughter and today announced the Derby Dollar Challenge to raise funds to support expanded thoroughbred rescue.

"Every day we see more and more thoroughbreds sold to be slaughtered," Shelley-Bolmgren says. "These are animals that have often earned millions of dollars during their racing careers." She says Chez Chevaux has received record numbers of calls in recent months from horse owners who can no longer care for their animals.

Shelley-Bolmgren says it costs thousands of dollars to care for a horse each year and, unlike cats or dogs, unwanted horses are often shipped to Canada or Mexico to be sold for meat. "What makes this situation even more tragic is that we see so many healthy, young thoroughbreds shipped abroad to be slaughtered," she says. "These are horses that are perfectly able to perform well at second careers as pleasure or show horses."

Like many other nonprofits, though, Chez Chevaux cannot take any more animals without additional funding as pleas for assistance have increased dramatically during the recession. She says even a dollar's contribution can help save their lives.

The Derby Dollar Challenge:
The inaugural Derby Dollar Challenge is attempting to raise $135,000 by May 2 in recognition of this year's running of the 135th Derby. Donors can make online contributions to Chez Chevaux. Contributions can be made via check or PayPal and are tax-deductible.

Shelley-Bolmgren says even small contributions from individuals help prevent the killing of thoroughbreds, noting that donors should not feel uncomfortable offering what they consider small amounts. "If enough people contributed even a single dollar to horse charities that would help us save so many animals from certain deaths or starvation," she says.

How to Contribute to the Derby Dollar Challenge:
A donation of just a dollar can help save the lives of animals. To take the Dollar Challenge, please go to Chez Chevaux: www.chezchevaux.org.

Facts about Horse Slaughter:

During the last few decades, millions of horses have been slaughtered in the U.S. and Canada and their meat exported to Europe and Japan for human consumption.
It is estimated that a third of all slaughter-bound horses in the U.S. were bred for racing.
Young, sound and purebred horses, as well as those that are infirm and old, are sent to slaughter.
Thoroughbreds and other horses are often shipped up to 30 hours without food or water. When they reach the slaughterhouse, they are driven into a killing factory and bludgeoned with a four-inch bolt gun which drives a spike into their skulls. Their throats are then slit, often while they are still conscious.
Most horses sold at auction are bought by "killer buyers," middlemen for slaughter plants, and often go straight to slaughter without disclosure or the knowledge of the original sellers. Horse slaughter was often not the intent of the animal's owner.
Very little horse meat is used in dog food; it's too expensive, with some cuts selling for over $20 per pound.
Chez Chevaux rescues and retrains thoroughbreds. Founded by noted horsewoman, Melodee Shelley-Bolmgren, Chez Chevaux operates to retrain at-risk thoroughbreds, saving them from abuse and slaughter. Chez Chevaux is a 501C-3 nonprofit, which can be found on the Web at http://www.chezchevaux.org. Melodee is a frequent speaker at events such as The Homes for Horses coalition http://www.homesforhorses.org and has received numerous grants from groups such as the ASPCA and Thoroughbred Charities of America. A video detailing Melodee's efforts in rehabilitating a starving thoroughbred can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ddYDd8Lymw.

###

Click on title above to see vid;
http://www.prweb.com/releases/horseslaughter/kentuckyderby/prweb2323154.htm

April 13, 2009: UPDATE on Paragallo Horses

2009-04-15T20:02:00.001-04:00

Click on title to see article and pics;
http://license.icopyright.net/user/viewContent.act?clipid=254077470&mode=cnc&tag=3.5721%3Ficx_id%3D20090413-pf1apon-V6647

New York Thoroughbred Breeders Association to go "No-Slaughter?"

2009-04-15T19:54:00.002-04:00

According to this article, apparently they are thinking about it, and more!

New York Thoroughbred Breeders, an owners' group, has proposed a task force to broaden programs that assist thoroughbred owners forced by financial hardship to sell their horses, while developing a policy that punishes any owner, breeder or trainer who either directly or indirectly allows a horse to be sent to slaughter.

Click on title above to see full article;
http://license.icopyright.net/user/viewContent.act?clipid=254077470&mode=cnc&tag=3.5721%3Ficx_id%3D20090413-pf1apon-V6647

Another Brainless PSI "Horse Lover"

2009-04-13T12:25:00.003-04:00

Click title above to go to the Pro-slaughter blog and comment (rebuttals) Needed please! This is another PSI (pro-slaughter idiot) so-called horse lover who believes horse slaughter is necessary and furthermore she argues, it is NOT evil! Also, like so many other PSI's (blind because they refuse to see) ...she blames the closing of the U.S. equine slaughter houses on the "over-population" of "unwanted" horses today.

Does PSI NOT do her homework? Does she NOT know that more American horses are being shipped to slaughter then ever before? What does she NOT understand about meat-market auctions and feedlots in every state or that SLAUGHTER IS STILL AN OPTION for any American who wants to slaughter their horses?

Sheik Mohammed in Hot Water

2009-04-13T10:07:00.003-04:00

SHEIK MOHAMMED is under investigation following the positive swabs returned
by one of his endurance horses after races in Dubai and Bahrain. Of course,
Sheikh Mohammed is the head honcho of both Godolphin and Darley racing and
breeding juggernauts and ironically his wife, Princess Haya al-bint is the
president of the International Equestrian Federation, who will hear charges
against Sheikh Mohammed.

Princess Haya has long campaigned for a drug-free sport and has informed the
seven person committee that she will stand down from her position and take
no part in the hearing and adjudication on the charges against her husband.

His horse horse Tahhan - tested positive for Guanabenz - used to treat
hypertension.

The horse also tested positive after a Bahrain race to 16b-Hydroxy
Stanozolol and anabolic steroid used to build muscle and build oxygen
carrying red blood cells. The drug is a metabolite of Stanozolol which was
used legally on Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown but was also the drug
responsible for seeing Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson disqualified from the
Seoul Olympics.

Sheikh Mohammed's staff issued a statement saying that he strongly condemned
the use of the drugs and was totally unaware of their use on his horse.

The statement did however add that "His Highness has volunteered his
acceptance that he is "the person legally responsible."

PARAGALLO RAKING IN MILLIONS IN STUD FEES

2009-04-11T11:53:00.003-04:00

He's gonna need all the money he can get, to pay the vet bills on 177 starving and neglected horses.

Paragall Raking in Millions By Ray Paulick

Ernie Paragallo may or may not have financial problems in his private life. But he very likely has a legal problem, stemming from the reported discovery on his upstate New York farm of horses that were not being fed or cared for properly or humanely. Police in New York on Wednesday took control of Center Brook Farm and its 170-plus equine occupants.

In one published report, Paragallo claims to be spending $5,000 per week on feed for the horses on his farm. That sounds like a lot of money to many of us, but Paragallo has played at the top end of the racing and breeding world. One of his racing stable’s former stars, Unbridled’s Song, winner of the $1-million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile in 1995, has been an extremely successful stallion, standing as the property of a syndicate at Taylor Made Farm in Kentucky.

Unbridled’s Song is the sire of two of this year’s leading Kentucky Derby contenders, Old Fashioned and Dunkirk.

According to sources, Paragallo owns as many as 20 of the 40 shares in Unbridled’s Song, whose 2009 live foal stud fee is $125,000 (down from $150,000 in 2008, and $200,000 in 2007). Each of those shares leads to roughly two live foals per year, meaning that if Paragallo owns 20 shares he will get $5 million or more in revenue in stud fees from Unbridled’s Song when this breeding season’s foals are born in 2010 (20 shares=40 foals, times $125,000 stud fee). Over a three-year period (factoring in the higher fees from 2007-08), Paragallo’s revenue from Unbridled’s Song could approach $20 million.

Yes, he certainly can afford to feed and provide proper veterinary care for his horses.

http://www.paulickreport.com/blog/paragallo-raking-in-millions-in-stud-fees/

GOTCHA! CAMERA CATCHES CHARLES TOWN CLERK, JOCKEYS FUDGING

2009-04-11T11:50:00.001-04:00

More Black for the Industry Eye

"Gotcha!" By Ray Paulick

Michael Garrison had his occupational permit revoked and he was fined $1,000 and suspended indefinitely as the clerk of scales at Charles Town Races & Slots in West Virginia after an investigation determined he was not reporting overages of assigned weights of riders weighing out before races. Seven jockeys were suspended 30 days and fined $1,000 each for violation of the West Virginia rules of racing pertaining to riding weights and dishonest or corrupt practices.

Garrison was escorted off the Charles Town premises by security personnel following the first race March 27, according to chief steward Danny Wright and association steward Robert Lotts. Acting on an anonymous tip, track security had installed surveillance cameras in the weigh-out area adjacent to the clerk of scales office and Garrison was allegedly observed being derelict in his duties by not reporting overweights of the riders.

After hearings were conducted on Wednesday, the fines and suspensions were announced. The seven jockeys suspended are: Alexis Rios Conde, Tony Maragh, Anthony Mawing, Luis Perez, Lawrence Reynolds, Jesus Sanchez, and Dale Whittaker. The suspensions are effective from today (April 9) through May 8.

Garrison refused to testify at the hearing, according to Kelli Talbott, deputy attorney general representing the West Virginia Racing Commission. He was suspended for failing to use due diligence in the performance of his duty as clerk of scales, in violation of West Virginia rules of racing.

No evidence was presented that bribes may have been involved.

“No riders admitted to accepting or giving money or anything of that nature,” Wright told the Paulick Report. “That never materialized.”

Former rider Mark Munden has assumed the clerk of scales duties.

http://www.paulickreport.com/blog/gotcha-camera-catches-charles-town-clerk-jockeys-fudging/

Paragallo: Investigations before the Bust

2009-04-11T00:30:00.002-04:00

NY - Under Investigation, Paragallo Says Some Horses He Owns Are Underweight

By JOE DRAPE
Published: April 6, 2009

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is investigating
whether Ernie Paragallo, a prominent New York thoroughbred breeder
and owner, has neglected and abused horses on his Center Brook Farm.

Ron Perez, the president of the Columbia-Greene Humane Society/
S.P.C.A., said investigators had been on the farm in Climax, N.Y., south
of Albany, within the past 10 days. He also acknowledged that a woman
who had picked up two horses that were malnourished and infected with
parasites filed a complaint with the state police on Saturday.

The woman, Colleen Segarra, said she was allowed into a barn where at
least 16 other horses showed signs of distress and neglect. She said they
had no bedding, like woodchips, and were severely undernourished.

"You could see their hips and spines and they had lice," said Segarra, who
is a member of the New York State Horse Council, an animal-protection
group. "They were in debilitating condition."

Segarra said she offered to take more horses off the farm as well as to
summon and pay for a veterinarian to tend to them, but was told by
Center Brook's farm manager that she could not without Paragallo's
permission. She told the police that the manager had said that he
had not been provided with enough food over the winter and that he
had trouble properly feeding the more than 125 horses on the
511-acre farm.

Paragallo denied those charges and said he had spoken to and was
cooperating with investigators from the S.P.C.A., a nonprofit organization
that has legal authority to make arrests in cases of animal cruelty.
Paragallo said he provided 14.7 tons of hay and 5,000 pounds of feed
a week for his horses.

"It was a rough winter," Paragallo said Monday. "I'm not going to lie —
there's seven or eight that are maybe 75 or 100 pounds underweight.
The investigators suggested we change our feed, and we're doing so.
There's a mare there that we're feeding three times a day."

Paragallo has been a fixture on the American racing scene since the
early 1990s when he was a leading buyer of yearlings and 2-year-olds
at auctions in Kentucky, New York and Florida. On Saturday, he was
at Aqueduct watching his colt Cellar Dweller compete in the Wood Memorial.

In 1994, Paragallo purchased Unbridled's Song for $200,000 at a Saratoga Select Yearling Sale, and the colt went on to win the Florida Derby and the Wood Memorial, where he sustained a cracked hoof. That injury was blamed for his disappointing fifth-place finish in the 1996 Kentucky
Derby, where he was the favorite. Still, Unbridled's Song — of whom
Paragallo owns half — is one of the most successful stallions in horse
racing, commanding a $125,000 stud fee and producing more than
100 horses that won $1 million.

Since 1996, Paragallo's family-owned Paraneck Stable has been among
the nation's leading racing outfits, starting 4,686 runners that have
earned $20.6 million in purse money.
The S.P.C.A.'s Perez declined further comment because the investigation
was continuing. In New York, a person found guilty of animal cruelty, a
misdemeanor, can face up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine for each
count.

Several individuals and rescue groups have come forward with harrowing
tales of horses under Paragallo's care. Last month, four undernourished
and neglected former racehorses belonging to him were rescued from a
New York kill pen, one step from being slaughtered.

They were among more than 20 horses from Paragallo's farm that were
sold to slaughter for $680.

Paragallo said he had given the horses to a Florida-based breeder in
December with the agreement that he could breed the mares back to one
of his stallions based in New York or Florida. However, a horse transporter,
Richie Baiardi, said that he had picked them up at Paragallo's farm at the
end of February with the intention of taking them to Florida but could not
because of they were "bags of bones, literally walking hides," and would
not have survived the trip.

All four mares are being rehabilitated by Another Chance 4 Horses, a
horse-rescue group, at its farm in Bernville, Pa. Three other mares are
recovering at a boarding and training center in Fulton, N.Y., operated
by Lisa Leogrande, who discovered the horses in the kill pen.

In January 2007, another rescue group, Equine Advocates, took three
horses from Center Brook; they required more than a month in an equine
hospital in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. The veterinarian who treated them,
Dr. Bill Barnes, said the horses were "starving to death."

Another Chance 4 Horses and Equine Advocates have produced
photographs that show the horses coming off the farm undernourished
and unhealthy.

Segarra said the two horses she removed Saturday, a mare named
Hunter's Circle and a yearling she produced by the Paragallo stallion
Griffinite, were "badly debilitated."

She said: "The yearling looked like a weanling, and the veterinarian I
had look at them said it would take at least six months to rehabilitate
both of them. I wanted to take more with me. The ones I had to leave
behind are haunting me."

NY TB Breeder Starves 177 Horses

2009-04-10T17:58:00.005-04:00

Thursday, April 9, 2006:

One-hundred and seventy-seven (177) neglected thoroughbred horses were confiscated today from Paraneck Stables, a thoroughbred breeding farm in Greene Co., NY., manged by Ernie Paragallo, owner of "Center Brook Farm," another thoroughbred breeding facility.

Article; http://www.lohud.com/article/20090409/NEWS05/904090483

Please call the appropriate authorities as listed below to request full prosecution of this case. Remind them that animal cruelty and neglect are serious crimes and we are talking about 117 living beings here!

New York State Dept. of Agriculture & Markets
John Huntley, DVM, Director (518) 457 - 3502
http://www.agmkt.state.ny.us/AI/AIHome.html

Greene Co. Prosecutor,Stephen K. Haller
(937) 562 - 5250
http://www.co.greene.oh.us/prosecutor/default.htm

The horses are in the care of;
The Columbia Greene Humane Society
and SPCA;
http://www.cghs.org/

CGHS/SPCA has been helping animals since 1955, they are a no-kill facility that receives no public support. We heartily urge you to give them support now if you are able. You can imagine the cost involved in caring for 177 severley neglected horses. I am sure anything you may be able to give, even the smallest amount, will be greatly appreciated.

You can email them at;
GCHSuser001@aol.com
for more information or
you can make a donation through Paypal by clicking the link below;

http://www.cghs.org/navigation.htm

or give by credit card over the phone.
Contact Katrina or Ron at (518) 828-6044 and tell them you would like
to contribute to the horse fund.

Click on title above for petition calling for full prosecution of this case;
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/ny-tb-breeder-starves-177-horses

NY Breeders Out of Control

2009-04-10T14:26:00.000-04:00

New York State has some of the most lucrative race-horse breeding incentive programs in the entire country. For New York breeders, the rewards go beyond the mere selling off of offspring, as they continue earning dividends throughout their horses' New York racing careers. And at the $30,000 claiming level and above, owners can earn additional money for simply campaigning a New York-bred in New York State. For registered New York stallions, the stallion owner continues to benefit financially beyond the standard stallion stud fees as his or her stallion's progeny race and earn purse money at New York racetracks.
In addition, there is the New York Stallion Stakes Series, which is restricted to eligible progeny of nominated registered New York-based stallions.

More on the "NY Bred" Fund; http://www.nytbreeders.org/program-awards.asp

On Thursday, April 9, 2009, 177 starving and neglected NY
Thoroughbred racehorses were confiscated from Ernie Paragallo's
"Center Brook" Horse Farm in Coxsackie, Greene Co., NY.

Article; http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20090409/NEWS01/90409004

Last summer, 82 starving and neglected NY Thoroughbred racehorses were confiscated from Geraldine Trupia's "Norcrest Farm" in Troupsburgh, Steuben Co., NY.

Article; http://www.steubencourier.com/news/2008/1005/front_page/001.html

There is no doubt that breeding incentives (including state and federal
tax breaks to the equine industry) cause overbreeding. Studies have shown that when breeding incentives are in place, horse-slaughter statistics rise; http://unnecessaryevils.blogspot.com/2008/09/breeding-incentives-cause-spike-in.html

Independant studies as well as the USDAs own reports show that
most horses sent off to slaughter are young, healthy registered
American Quarter-Horses and racing horses. No one denies that
there is a problem with over-production of equines in America today, particularly in these tough economic times. No one can deny that overbreeding results in an increase of equine starvation and
neglect, and needless, senseless slaughter.

While we strongly urge full prosecution of any case of animal abuse
or neglect, we believe it is time for the industry to step up to the plate
and take responsibility for their part in the promotion of such
irresponsible breeding. While organizations such as the American
Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) and the National (and New York)
Racing Associations encourage us to "breed baby breed," nothing is
ever mentioned about the concept of "responsible" breeding or a
long-term after care plan for their industry casts-offs.

Please contact the following organizations to let them know, NOW is the time to take responsibility for the part they play in the over-production, abuse, starvation, neglect and needless slaughter of so many horses.
Tell them they need to get their breeding under control. Replace
incentives with rewarding disincentives. The breeding of less horses
but of better quality would be a boon to the industry, as would the establishment of a long-range retirement plan for all NY bred ex-racehorses. Tell the New York Racing Industry to "set the pace" for
the rest of the horse-racing world; less breeding and more retirement plans would be a good start;

New York State Thoroughbred Breeding & Development Fund Corporation
Saratoga Spa State Park
19 Roosevelt Drive
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
Phone: (518) 580-0100 Fax: (518) 580-0500
E-mail: nybreds@nybreds.com
Website: http://www.nybreds.com/
Martin G. Kinsella, Executive Director
Jim Zito, Web Site and Advertising Coordinator

New York Thoroughbred Breeders, Inc.
57 Phila Street, 2nd Floor
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
Phone: (518) 587-0777 Fax: (518) 587-1551 Fax
E-mail: info@nytbreeders.org
Website: http://www.nytbreeders.org/
Jeffrey A. Cannizzo, Executive Director

Genesee Valley Breeders Association
P.O. Box 301
Shortsville, NY 14548-0301
Phone/fax: (585) 289-8524
Mary Beth Hasenauer, Secretary

Finger Lakes Racing Association
Route 66 & Beaver Creek Rd.
Farmington, NY 14425
Phone: (585) 924-3232
Website: http://www.fingerlakesracetrack.com/

New York Racing Association
P.O. Box 90
Jamaica, NY 11417
Phone: (800) 221-6266 (outside New York)
(800) 522-5554 (within New York)
E-mail: nyra@nyrainc.com
Website: http://www.nyra.com/
Paul J. Campo, Racing Secretary

New York Stallion Stakes
Phone: (718) 641-4700 ext. 3806 (Aqueduct)
(516) 488-6000 ext. 4806 (Belmont and Saratoga)
Website: http://www.nyra.com/Aqueduct/Horsemen/NYStallionSeries/NYStallionSeries.shtml
Carmine Shirlaw, Coordinator

Please also see the petition we have made asking for full prosecution
of the Ernie Paragallo / Center Brook Farm case involving the neglect
of 177 racehorses;

Thanks for caring.

Together, we can make a difference!

Click on title above to see and sign petition;
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/ny-breeders-out-of-control

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/ny-breeders-out-of-control

NYRA "Shocked and Appalled" at Paragallo Plight

2009-04-10T14:14:00.003-04:00

Of course, they knew about the situation since 2005 when they suspended Paragallos licence for financial instability. Still, Paragallo racing, the neglect and the breeding went on,...

The NYRA also fails to mention that there was horses confiscated from ole ernies farm back in January 07' wherein Sue Wagner of Equine Advocates in Chatam Ny wound up caring for some of his neglected horses.

(see post entiteld Paragallo: Investigations Before the Bust)

Click on title above to read a Times Union article

SOS for Tampa Bay Downs TB's

2009-04-10T14:01:00.002-04:00

Urgent Plea For Thoroughbreds Destined For The Slaughter House
Posted by: "xr7catcar" minivoyager@usa.com xr7catcar
Thu Apr 9, 2009 11:55 am (PDT)

Hello, My name is Donna , I'm a volunteer for the Hankes Horse Ranch in Zephyrhills, Fl. We're contacting everyone who has a love for horses to find out if you've heard about what is going to happen to the horses at Tampa Bay Downs in Oldsmar, Fl at the end of the racing season in April. Have you heard about that? I hadn't heard about it either til I started volunteering for their Horse Rescue in Zephyrhills...

Well, basically, the thoroughbred racing horses at Tampa Bay Downs, that for one reason or another, are no longer wanted by their owners are abandoned in their stalls. Tampa Bay Downs then has to find a way to dispose of these poor animals. Usually they are bought very cheap by slaughter house buyers and they are doomed to a torturous death. I'm not going to upset you with the details but trust me it's not pretty. The good news is, it doesn't have to happen! Why should these beautiful horses who have raced their hearts out be doomed to die when they can go to the Hankes Horse Ranch in Zephyrhills? They've got 7 acres of pasture all ready for them to retire on, a loving reward for all their years of service to racing. And you can help!

Julie & Bruce Hanke have made it easy for us to help the horses because they've already done the hard part, they've started up the ranch and opened their arms and seven acres to these horses. Aren't they wonderful? Without them we wouldn't stand a chance of saving these horses, now all we have to do is help them help the horses! Will you help the horses?

Here's how you can help and here's what they need: Hay, feed, and Vet care. You can donate once $5.00 - $1,000 towards all of the horses or sponsor one of the horses with a $100 monthly donation. Please remember, no donation is too small because all of these donations together from caring people like you make it possible to save their lives. When you choose to sponsor a horse monthly we'll email you pictures every month and update you on the horses progress. Every donation brings these horses one step closer to the ranch and we're truly racing against the clock right now because these horses will literally die the end of this month if the Hankes can't intercede as soon as possible.

So do you wish to sponsor a horse monthly or do you prefer a one time donation towards saving their lives? Please call me ASAP @ 727 475 1300 so I can give you the Ranch address and answer any questions you may have. On behalf of these beautiful horses I thankyou so much, Donna

Paragallo is done...

2009-04-10T09:45:00.000-04:00

Our local (no-kill) humane society just confiscated all 177 of his horses, all
badly neglected;

Click on title above to see article;
http://www.lohud.com/article/20090409/NEWS05/904090483

Please if you can help out the wonderful people at
Colombia Green Humane Society and SPCA.
They are caring for all 177 of these horses.
Call Katrina at (518) 828-6044
or email her at: CGHSuser001@aol.com

Thanks for caring

CJ/MK

"PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE THEY ARE DOING ENOUGH
WILL NOT DO MORE".
~ Greg Baum ~

NY TB Breeder Floods Killpens w / "Unwanted" Horses

2009-04-06T11:57:00.007-04:00

No wonder the New York Horse Counsel is so Pro-Slaughter!

NY Breeding Incentives Partly to Blame;

Prominent Horseman Faces Questions About Neglect Posted

Sun Apr 5, 2009 4:59 am (PDT)

Click on title above to read article in the New York Times;
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/04/sports/othersports/04horses.html

By JOE DRAPE
(with bloggers annotation in parenthesis)

Published: April 3, 2009

Four undernourished and neglected former racehorses belonging to Ernie Paragallo, a prominent New York thoroughbred breeder and owner, were rescued from a New York kill pen last month, one step from being slaughtered. They were among more than 20 horses from Paragallo’s Center Brook Farm in Climax, N.Y., that were sold to slaughter for $680.

"Finely Decorated," who had lice, was one of four rescued mares.

The four mares were “hundreds of pounds” underweight, infested with lice and parasites and in “horrible condition,” according to Dr. James Holt, a Pennsylvania
veterinarian who examined them.

While Paragallo says he had given the horses away four months ago and was not aware of their sickly state, the discovery comes at a time when the thoroughbred industry is under increasing scrutiny of the health and welfare of its equine
athletes.

Paragallo’s colt "Cellar Dweller" will run in the
$750,000 Wood Memorial on Saturday at Aqueduct, and his most famous
horse, Unbridled’s Song — of whom he is half-owner — commands a
$125,000 stud fee in Kentucky.

Paragallo said Thursday that he had given the horses away to a Florida-based breeder, whom he did not identify, in December with the agreement that he could breed the mares back to one of his stallions based in New York or Florida. In fact,
Paragallo said, he had intended to ship another batch of horses to the
man.

“We were going to move 60 horses and get the added benefit
of earning the breeder’s reward if any of the babies did well at the
racetrack,” he said, referring to a New York state incentive program
for breeders. “It was a home run for business.” (herein lies the peoblem)

Paragallo said he could not remember the last name of the man he gave the horses to,
his telephone number or his farm address. (Yeah, right) On Friday, however, a horse
transporter, Richie Baiardi, said he had picked up the horses at
Paragallo’s farm at the end of February with the intention of taking
them to Florida but could not because of their poor condition. (Indicating, of course, that the horses were in poor condition when he picked them up at Paragallos' Farm)

Baiardi said that he subsequently called Paragallo, who was not at the
farm at the time of the pickup, and complained about the horses’
condition. Baiardi, who said he was in North Dakota on Friday, said he
had van logs, receipts and other documentation at his home in Florida
to show that he had picked up the horses in February.

“They were a bag of bones, literally walking hides,” Baiardi said. “I knew I
couldn’t get health certificates for them, and I didn’t even think
they’d make it to Florida. I didn’t want to take them, but the guys
working on the farm said if I didn’t they were just going to die right
there. They told me, two had already died that morning.”

It was Baiardi who took them to the kill pen, and sold them for the $680, or
about $25 per horse. He said he had no other choice.

Paragallo,reached by telephone Friday, denied Baiardi’s account and said that the
150 horses on his farm, which is about 20 miles south of Albany, were
well cared for. (Of course, these are the ones that could possibly still earn income for the owner, they havent become liabilities, yet)

“We keep our barren mares thin, and we found that has worked for our breeding program,” Paragallo said. (Thin is one thing, starved is another)

He also said that the workers on his farm could not have urged Baiardi to
take the horses or anything else. “None of them speak English,” he said.

Holt, the veterinarian, said that blood and fecal tests showed that the
mares had suffered extreme neglect — they had bacteria infections, were
riddled with parasites like lice and worms and had skin diseases and
open wounds.

“It didn’t happen overnight,” Holt said.

Two of the mares had won races for Paragallo’s family-owned Paraneck
Stable. "Theonlyword," who had a puncture wound in her leg and carried
lice, won more than $50,000 and "Coconut Martini," who had a swollen leg and lice, nearly $35,000. The 17-year-old mare "Finely Decorated," who was also infested with lice and is possibly in foal, was purchased for $80,000 as a 2-year-old. She was the dam of Interior Designer, who won
more than $174,000. The mares’ injuries and ailments were documented by
Dr. Holt at the behest of Another Chance 4 Horses, a rescue group whose blog first reported the discovery of the mares. All four mares are being rehabilitated at their farm in Bernville, Pa.

Lisa Leogrande, who operates a boarding and training center in Fulton, N.Y.
tipped off the group to the Paragallo horses. She said she goes to
auctions for horses intended for slaughter in the hope of saving them.
In mid-March, she said, she went to the kill pen and saw the horses’
name bands, which are often used by big breeding operations to identify
their horses in pasture. She traced several back to Paragallo.

She rescued three of them — including an 18-year-old mare named "Casa
Eire," who had won nearly $280,000 and two graded stakes races — and now
has them at her training center. She then notified Another Chance 4
Horses, which is led by Christy Sheidy, in the hope that her group
could rescue the rest.

Sheidy said the kill pen operator, who does not want to be identified, (the unholy alliance thing) said the horses were in such bad condition that he had to feed them for several weeks just to get them in shape for the trip to the slaughterhouse. (

Sheidy’s group bought the four mares, but was too late to save the rest from slaughter.

“There were a bunch of mares that someone didn’t care about anymore, and
that’s awful because they had been substantial contributors to that
breeding operation, were well-bred and valuable,” Leogrande said. “I
couldn’t understand why someone would leave them like this.”

After news of the mares’ rescue broke Thursday, chatter began to make its way around Internet message boards and blogs like the Paulick Report, inflaming a long-contentious issue.

It became so heated that Paragallo posted a long response Friday, asserting that he did not know of the mares’ ultimate destination.

“In December two vans arrived at our farm and picked up the 24 barren
mares, the drivers said they would be back in a couple of days to pick
up the rest,” he wrote. “After a week we called back the gentleman who
had called us but I never got an answer, safe to say he never came back
for the rest.”

While Paragallo denied responsibility for the mares’ condition, he said he was responsible for their fate. “They were my horses and what happened to them is a tragedy and a travesty, and I take full responsibility, but I didn’t send them to the killers,” he said. (No, he just starved them near to death and sent them to someone else to send to the killers)

Could mans best friend be a horse?

2009-04-02T09:43:00.001-04:00

By Barry Tompkins
Posted: 03/28/2009 04:09:12 PM PDT

People keep asking me about Bill the Dog and why I haven't written about him for several months. Well, Bill's just fine, but he hasn't come up with any good column ideas for me for quite some time, so I couldn't really justify droning on about how our house remains safe from squirrels (Bill's primary job), or how he inevitably finds the lap of the house guest who least likes dogs to prop his head on at a dinner party. While we get big laughs out of our guest's wild-eyed wondering when exactly Bill's teeth will sink deeply into their privates, it's not quite column fodder.
Until today, when Bill's book club began reading the latest tome from Joe Camp - the creator of one of Bill's heroes, Benji. Joe has written a book, "The Soul of a Horse," in which he suggests that we mere humans have something to learn from our equine friends.

Now I must admit that at first blush I was looking for something humorous in that premise until I started doing a little research of my own.

To begin with, other than the Budweiser Clydesdales, the only horses I ever took notice of had numbers on their saddle cloths and were ridden by little Hispanic gentlemen with names like Jorge and Braulio. I didn't even know they named the critters until I was in my 30s. It was always, "C'mon 2, baby needs a new pair of shoes."

Rumor around the back barn was always that a horse was dumber than a pig. And, while I had never measured a pig's IQ score, I assumed that it was somewhat low in reading comprehension and thus a horse was pretty much akin to a bag of rocks on the intelligence scale. Until the man who gave us Benji gave me insight.
Camp suggests that we humans accept leadership as innate, but that we could develop better leadership skills by acting like a horse. He says that the herd hierarchy mirrors relationships among people. "The stallion," Camp says, "doesn't bully the herd. His job is procreation and protecting the herd from predators. The true leader is the matriarch - the older and wiser mare. She's the one who decides when everyone eats, rests, moves and sleeps."

The mare uses discipline with discretion, but more often politely seeks good behavior. No intimidation. Thus, the herd fortifies its belief in her as a leader. What a concept for humans.

Upon further review - as they say in the National Football League - it turns out that horses share many of the same qualities as we humans: Adaptability, mischief, playfulness, loyalty, jealousy and stress. I guess it's just my luck that I happened to pick the ones with mischief, jealousy and stress every time I go to Golden Gate Fields.

Horses are also social and accepting of others. They meet each other with necks extended and bowed, they touch noses and exchange scents by blowing short blasts of air into each other's nostrils (ironically, exactly the same way I met my wife). It is, say the equine experts, the equivalent of exchanging business cards - which, of course, would be impossible because scientific research has proven that horses have neither wallets nor pockets.

I sincerely hope that Bill the Dog and his book club friends learn something from Joe Camp's book. I've been telling him for years that when meeting a peer, the other end generally smells better.

As for myself, I no longer am using the daily racing form for source material and prior performance statistics when I go to the racetrack. I'm merely looking for innate leadership skills.

Barry Tompkins is a longtime sports broadcaster who lives in Marin. Contact him via lifestyles@marinij.com.