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He Thought His Horse Had Been Retired, So Why Did It Show Up at Chippewa Downs?

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After Nepal Up (Will Take Charge) finished fifth in a Sept. 1 handicap race at Monmouth last year, owner Brad Altschuld knew it was time to retire the horse. He was nine and had been put on the vet’s list as the result of the general wear and tear that can develop when a horse races for so many years.

Nepal Up had made 46 career starts, earned $283,630, and his claim to fame was that he won the 2025 Trail’s End at Oaklawn, the mile-and-three-quarters race traditionally run as the last race on the last day of the meet. It has a purse of $125,000.

But unlike many 9-year-olds, Nepal Up was a stallion. So Altschuld thought it might be a good idea to find someone who would be willing to stand the horse at stud. He knew the horse was a longshot to make it as a stallion, but was pleased to find someone who said they were  willing to give the horse a chance to make it as a stallion in one of the sport’s smaller markets.

According to Altschuld, Christina Nelson, who operates Acyn Farms in Curtis, Nebraska, agreed to take the horse. Altschuld said he gave her the horse for free and paid for the shipping.

He said that Nelson, who did not return a phone call from the TDN or answer an email, told him that Nepal Up had been bred to eight mares. It is not clear if the horse was ever bred. In a Jan. 1 Facebook post from the Nebraska Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association, Inc., he is listed as a “Nebraska-based stallion.”

So Altschuld thought he had achieved his goal, that the horse had been retired and would have a good home. That is until he discovered that Nepal Up had a May 14 workout at Harrah’s Columbus Nebraska.

“I asked (Christina) why did he work,” Altschuld said. “She said he wasn’t supposed to work and that she was going to kick someone’s ass for that. She said that was her other horse that was supposed to work and that they just wanted to exercise (Nepal Up) because he was too aggressive from being a stallion and they couldn’t hold on to him.”

Twenty-four days later, Nepal Up was entered in an allowance race with a $4,000 purse at Chippewa Downs in Belcourt, North Dakota. He finished third and earned $480. There was only $109 bet in the mutuel pool and $6 in the exacta pool.

Altschuld was livid, and he wanted his horse back.

“I am very worried about him,” he said. “I have a great record so far with safety and retirement. I don’t care about what they’re trying to do in North Dakota. I just want the horse out of there.”

He said he contacted both trainer Junior Dolphus and Nelson and asked what it would take for them to return the horse to him. He said he has yet to hear from either one.

He also contacted North Dakota Racing Commission Executive Director Bruce Johnson and exchanged several texts with him. The exchange started off as cordial but then broke down.

In texts Altschuld shared with the TDN, Johnson wrote, “…as much as you see us as an unethical bush track, we work very hard to do things the right way with very little of the same support many of the larger tracks enjoy. Furthermore, many hardworking, conscientious horsemen work just as hard to make this meet happen.”

He gave Altschuld the trainer’s phone number and then continued: “That’s as far as my efforts will go on this. Good luck Brad and please leave our racing secretary alone as well.”

“His attitude is that I’m the bad guy because I’m bothering him and the racing secretary and they have a job to do and they are hard-working people and I am looking down on them,” Altschuld said. “I don’t care about that. I care about the horse and his safety.”

This is what happens when horses fall through the cracks, and Nepal Up is not alone. On Jan. 6, a horse named Mischievous Intent (Into Mischief) finished second in a $5,000 claimer at Chippewa. He cost $1.4 million at the 2023 Keeneland September Sale.

Altschuld admits that he didn’t handle the situation well, that he was naive and didn’t do his due diligence. For one, he made the mistake of sending the foal papers to Nelson.

“I made two mistakes,” he said. “I trusted someone I didn’t know and thought they would follow through as intended. I also should have had his papers marked as retired with The Jockey Club. These were mistakes made from inexperience. I’ve only had horses since 2020 and my mom passed in 2024 and would have been the smart one to make sure everything was done. I honestly just wanted to find a home where he could be a stallion.”

Now he just wants to get the horse back and find a home where he knows Nepal Up will be well treated and safe. He will continue to fight to do so. Perhaps his efforts will eventually pay off. He’s not sure.

The post He Thought His Horse Had Been Retired, So Why Did It Show Up at Chippewa Downs? appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Cy Fair Not “Acting Her Usual Self the Past Few Days”, Will Miss Royal Ascot Tilt

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Medallion Racing, Swinbank Stables, Joey Platts and Mark Stanton’s Cy Fair (Not This Time) will miss an intended engagement in the June 16 G1 King Charles III Stakes at Royal Ascot. The King Charles is a ‘Win and You’re In’ to the GI Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, which will be held at Keeneland this fall.

A Medallion Racing statement read on X Monday: “We have made the decision to skip Royal Ascot with Cy Fair. George [Weaver] felt like she wasn’t acting her usual self the past few days. Out of an abundance of caution, we missed her final breeze for Ascot and didn’t feel comfortable shipping her yesterday until we felt she was 100%.”

“She is completely sound and hopefully will be back on the work tab in the next week or two.”

Named a ‘TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard’ following a Saratoga score last summer, the bay was narrowly bested in the Bolton Landing Stakes before taking her next two–Woodbine’s Algonquin Stakes and the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at Del Mar last Halloween. She kicked off her sophomore campaign with a third behind Slay the Day in the GIII Limestone Stakes on Apr. 10 before turning the table on that rival to win the GIII Mamzelle Stakes at Churchill Downs on Apr. 30.

The post Cy Fair Not “Acting Her Usual Self the Past Few Days”, Will Miss Royal Ascot Tilt appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

He Thought His Horse Had Been Retired, So Why Did It Show Up at Chippewa Downs?

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After Nepal Up (Will Take Charge) finished fifth in a Sept. 1 handicap race at Monmouth last year, owner Brad Altschuld knew it was time to retire the horse. He was nine and had been put on the vet’s list as the result of the general wear and tear that can develop when a horse races for so many years.

Nepal Up had made 46 career starts, earned $283,630, and his claim to fame was that he won the 2025 Trail’s End at Oaklawn, the mile-and-three-quarters race traditionally run as the last race on the last day of the meet. It has a purse of $125,000.

But unlike many 9-year-olds, Nepal Up was a stallion. So Altschuld thought it might be a good idea to find someone who would be willing to stand the horse at stud. He knew the horse was a longshot to make it as a stallion, but was pleased to find someone who said they were  willing to give the horse a chance to make it as a stallion in one of the sport’s smaller markets.

According to Altschuld, Christina Nelson, who operates Acyn Farms in Curtis, Nebraska, agreed to take the horse. Altschuld said he gave her the horse for free and paid for the shipping.

He said that Nelson, who did not return a phone call from the TDN or answer an email, told him that Nepal Up had been bred to eight mares. It is not clear if the horse was ever bred. In a Jan. 1 Facebook post from the Nebraska Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association, Inc., he is listed as a “Nebraska-based stallion.”

So Altschuld thought he had achieved his goal, that the horse had been retired and would have a good home. That is until he discovered that Nepal Up had a May 14 workout at Harrah’s Columbus Nebraska.

“I asked (Christina) why did he work,” Altschuld said. “She said he wasn’t supposed to work and that she was going to kick someone’s ass for that. She said that was her other horse that was supposed to work and that they just wanted to exercise (Nepal Up) because he was too aggressive from being a stallion and they couldn’t hold on to him.”

Twenty-four days later, Nepal Up was entered in an allowance race with a $4,000 purse at Chippewa Downs in Belcourt, North Dakota. He finished third and earned $480. There was only $109 bet in the mutuel pool and $6 in the exacta pool.

Altschuld was livid, and he wanted his horse back.

“I am very worried about him,” he said. “I have a great record so far with safety and retirement. I don’t care about what they’re trying to do in North Dakota. I just want the horse out of there.”

He said he contacted both trainer Junior Dolphus and Nelson and asked what it would take for them to return the horse to him. He said he has yet to hear from either one.

He also contacted North Dakota Racing Commission Executive Director Bruce Johnson and exchanged several texts with him. The exchange started off as cordial but then broke down.

In texts Altschuld shared with the TDN, Johnson wrote, “…as much as you see us as an unethical bush track, we work very hard to do things the right way with very little of the same support many of the larger tracks enjoy. Furthermore, many hardworking, conscientious horsemen work just as hard to make this meet happen.”

He gave Altschuld the trainer’s phone number and then continued: “That’s as far as my efforts will go on this. Good luck Brad and please leave our racing secretary alone as well.”

“His attitude is that I’m the bad guy because I’m bothering him and the racing secretary and they have a job to do and they are hard-working people and I am looking down on them,” Altschuld said. “I don’t care about that. I care about the horse and his safety.”

This is what happens when horses fall through the cracks, and Nepal Up is not alone. On Jan. 6, a horse named Mischievous Intent (Into Mischief) finished second in a $5,000 claimer at Chippewa. He cost $1.4 million at the 2023 Keeneland September Sale.

Altschuld admits that he didn’t handle the situation well, that he was naive and didn’t do his due diligence. For one, he made the mistake of sending the foal papers to Nelson.

“I made two mistakes,” he said. “I trusted someone I didn’t know and thought they would follow through as intended. I also should have had his papers marked as retired with The Jockey Club. These were mistakes made from inexperience. I’ve only had horses since 2020 and my mom passed in 2024 and would have been the smart one to make sure everything was done. I honestly just wanted to find a home where he could be a stallion.”

Now he just wants to get the horse back and find a home where he knows Nepal Up will be well treated and safe. He will continue to fight to do so. Perhaps his efforts will eventually pay off. He’s not sure.

The post He Thought His Horse Had Been Retired, So Why Did It Show Up at Chippewa Downs? appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Cy Fair Not “Acting Her Usual Self the Past Few Days”, Will Miss Royal Ascot Tilt

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Medallion Racing, Swinbank Stables, Joey Platts and Mark Stanton’s Cy Fair (Not This Time) will miss an intended engagement in the June 16 G1 King Charles III Stakes at Royal Ascot. The King Charles is a ‘Win and You’re In’ to the GI Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, which will be held at Keeneland this fall.

A Medallion Racing statement read on X Monday: “We have made the decision to skip Royal Ascot with Cy Fair. George [Weaver] felt like she wasn’t acting her usual self the past few days. Out of an abundance of caution, we missed her final breeze for Ascot and didn’t feel comfortable shipping her yesterday until we felt she was 100%.”

“She is completely sound and hopefully will be back on the work tab in the next week or two.”

Named a ‘TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard’ following a Saratoga score last summer, the bay was narrowly bested in the Bolton Landing Stakes before taking her next two–Woodbine’s Algonquin Stakes and the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at Del Mar last Halloween. She kicked off her sophomore campaign with a third behind Slay the Day in the GIII Limestone Stakes on Apr. 10 before turning the table on that rival to win the GIII Mamzelle Stakes at Churchill Downs on Apr. 30.

The post Cy Fair Not “Acting Her Usual Self the Past Few Days”, Will Miss Royal Ascot Tilt appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.