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View From The Eighth Pole: Lessons From The Past About Toothless Tigers And Herding Cats

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Twenty-five years ago, Brian McGrath was introduced during a luncheon at the 21 Club in midtown Manhattan as horse racing’s first “commissioner.” Well, maybe not the commissioner for all of horse racing – just for the racetracks who were members of Thoroughbred Racing Associations, which had hired him. McGrath had no juice with regulatory bodies, Thoroughbred owners and breeders or jockeys. The truth is he couldn’t even get TRA members to agree on things. As Stephen Keller, then in charge of Santa Anita, said: “Getting racetracks to work together is like herding cats.”

Yet McGrath, who came to this $700,000 a year job from an accomplished career marketing  the Olympics and soccer, had big plans for racing, as shaped by the TRA board of directors. He said he planned to address the integrity of the sport, push for national medication rules, seek marketing and licensing partnerships, expand racing’s fan base and leverage technology. Except no one told him he had little to no authority to do any of those things. McGrath, no matter his accomplishments in other sports, was a toothless tiger in horse racing.

Eighteen months later, the Office of the Commissioner of the TRA was closed, never to be filled again.

A few years later, in December 1998, Breeders’ Cup creator John Gaines went public with a business plan for the National Thoroughbred Association (NTA), an owner-driven league office that would create a racing circuit loosely modeled after the PGA Tour, which is governed by professional golfers through a commissioner. Gaines and his supporters believed that the Interstate Horseracing Act of 1978 gave them the authority, as horse owners, to control the product – the horses – the game depended on.

That proposal ran afoul of the racetracks, The Jockey Club and most of the alphabet soup organizations whose fiefdoms were threatened. Gaines, who had many powerful owners and breeders behind him, capitulated to the opposition and agreed to make the NTA more inclusive, allowing racetracks and existing horsemen’s organizations into the tent.

The NTA then morphed into the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, which for a number of years was merged operationally with the Breeders’ Cup. Some good things were done with television and marketing, but infighting and struggles over control eventually led to a divorce between the NTRA and Breeders’ Cup. The NTRA was marginalized and today is pretty much a lobbying arm for the Thoroughbred industry in Washington, D.C., as well as a handicapping tournament organizer.

That’s why the response to the current crisis over horse welfare has been so underwhelming. There really is no one who can speak for or take action on behalf of the industry. The same old alphabet groups still exist, and nothing gets done because no one is in charge.

At Keeneland on Tuesday, a coalition that includes a number of racetracks  and the Breeders’ Cup is expected to announce it is working together under the name “Thoroughbred Safety Coalition” in hopes of changing that. (Yes, I know, just what we need in an industry full of borderline useless organizations is another organization.) This didn’t start earlier this year when an equine death count at Santa Anita became a national news nightmare. It’s actually been a work in progress, initiated by Churchill Downs Inc. executives, more than two years ago. The CDI proposal was for a so-called “office of racing integrity” and started out as a counter-proposal to the Horseracing Integrity Act, legislation supported by The Jockey Club to create a national oversight body to regulate medication policies and enforcement under the umbrella of the United States Anti-Doping Agency.

That CDI proposal has taken on more urgency in 2019 as equine fatalities throughout the country are getting more coverage in local and national media and having an impact on the public’s view of horse racing. Congressional support for the Horseracing Integrity Act has grown as well, with California Sen. Dianne Feinstein the latest cosponsor of the bill. Despite the growing support, however, the bill’s chances appear dim as long as Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell is the Senate’s majority leader. McConnell, a Louisville resident, apparently has given a sympathetic ear to Churchill Downs in its opposition to the Horseracing Integrity Act.

But why should this loosely bound coalition be taken any more seriously than the ill-fated commissioner hired by the TRA in 1994? Can a new volunteer organization do more than the NTRA’s existing Safety and Integrity Alliance already does – namely put a Good Housekeeping style “seal of approval” on tracks that comply with certain standards?

That’s the rub. Anyone can come up with a set of standards and rules to improve racing, but in an industry that is regulated on a state-by-state basis, how do you put teeth into enforcement?

Early iterations of this proposal called for non-compliant tracks to be excluded from simulcast signals from coalition members. Another thought would be to exclude non-compliant tracks from having their data collected and entered into Equibase, the racing industry’s official database (majority owned by Thoroughbred Racing Associations members).

But that calls into question antitrust or restraint of trade issues, which suggest that the only way forward for the coalition to have true authority may be through federal legislation granting the industry the type of antitrust exemption Major League Baseball enjoys. Other professional sports leagues have to do a delicate dance around those issues.

I’ll be interested to learn whether or not this coalition is heading in that direction or will be just another failed attempt to herd cats.

That’s my view from the eighth pole.

The post View From The Eighth Pole: Lessons From The Past About Toothless Tigers And Herding Cats appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Promising Juvenile Maxfield Out 60 Days After Surgery For Ankle Chip Removal

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Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity winner Maxfield, scratched earlier this month from the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile due to what was initially diagnosed as a foot bruise, underwent surgery on Monday to remove a “mildly displaced” chip in his ankle.

The 2-year-old son of Street Sense will be out 60 days, according to owner Godolphin, after which he is expected to return to trainer Brendan Walsh’s barn at Palm Meadows.

“While it was obviously disappointing to miss the Breeders’ Cup, the welfare of the horse comes first and we brought him home for a full evaluation with Dr. (Larry) Bramlage (of Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital),” said Jimmy Bell, president of Godolphin’s U.S. operations. “We will give the horse all the time he needs before resuming what we hope to be an exciting season for him next year.”

Maxfield will be aimed at making the Kentucky Derby in 2020, but no specific race plans have been announced.

The post Promising Juvenile Maxfield Out 60 Days After Surgery For Ankle Chip Removal appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Maxfield Has Surgery to Remove Ankle Chip

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Godolphin’s Grade I-winning juvenile Maxfield (Street Sense), who was revealed last week to be getting the rest of 2019 off, had surgery Monday at Rood & Riddle to remove a “mildly displaced chip” from his ankle and will get 60 days away from the track, Godolphin announced in a press release.

An impressive winner of the GI Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity, the undefeated colt was preparing for a start in the GI TVG Breeders’ Cup Juvenile before being scratched the week of the race. Following his two-month respite, the bay will return to trainer Brendan Walsh at Walsh’s Palm Meadows base.

“While it was obviously disappointing to miss the Breeders’ Cup, the welfare of the horse comes first and we brought him home for a full evaluation with Dr. [Larry] Bramlage,” said Jimmy Bell, president and director of racing for Godolphin in the United States. “We will give the horse all the time he needs before resuming what we hope to be an exciting season for him next year.”

The post Maxfield Has Surgery to Remove Ankle Chip appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Princess Dorian Euthanized

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Despite the best efforts from her owner and trainer to save her, Princess Dorian (Idiot Proof) was euthanized Monday after developing acute laminitis in both hind legs.

The story was first reported by Daily Racing Form.

Princess Dorian was co-owned by trainer Andrew Lerner and Colorado Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson. She broke down in an $8,000 claimer Nov. 10 at Del Mar, but Johnson, determined to save her, had her sent to the San Luis Rey Equine Hospital, where surgery was performed last Monday.

“[Sunday night] Princess Dorian’s condition rapidly deteriorated,” Johnson said via text. “She developed severe acute hind limb bilateral laminitis and the humane thing to do was euthanize her. My heart breaks for her and for everyone who loved her. I commend the on-site vets at Del Mar, the team at the San Luis Rey Equine Hospital and trainer Andrew Lerner for their terrific care of her. If there was anything more to be done for her I would have done it. I loved Princess Dorian and will miss her greatly.”

Lerner, who was not available for comment Monday afternoon, told DRF: “She became very uncomfortable behind. It happened so quickly. It took everyone by surprise, owing to the way she had been doing.”

Three horses broke down on the Nov. 10 card at Del Mar. Two were euthanized shortly after being injured, but there was considerable hope that Princess Dorian could be saved. Huddling with Lerner, Johnson told his trainer to “do whatever you can to save this horse’s life. I don’t care what it costs. She deserves it.”

The initial prognosis was optimistic as Lerner said the 5-year-old mare had come out of the surgery in good shape.

“She was a good patient and has such a big heart.” Lerner told the TDN Saturday. “That fighting spirit has helped her get better. She has a long way to go before she is fully recovered and we are all aware of that. We cleared one hurdle with the surgery. She’s bearing weight on it now. We’re hopeful she’ll come out of this OK and lead a fun life on the farm.”

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