FAIR TRADE

A filly from the first crop of the Danzig stallion RIMROD was born to Shyman Farms at Windfields Farm on Feb. 7. The gal is out of Chilean champion WOLANSTONITA (photo courtesy Windfields Farm)





















(At right) From the first crop of the Storm Cat stallion GOOD REWARD, a colt owned by Shyman Farms out of Speedy Deedy, a stakes winning Alydeed mare.

THURSDAY MORNING – WATCH CURLIN ON HPI

The Dubai races have been available to watch and wager on throughout the Carnival this month and THURSDAY, the Horse of the Year in North America, CURLIN makes his 2008 debut in the JAGUAR HANDICAP at about 1 ¼ miles.

Those who believe in weight carried by horses will be nervous, the poor guy will lug 132 pounds!

5	21:15	JAGUAR TROPHY	2000M(a10F) Dirt
		For NH 4YO+ & SH 3YO+ For horses rated 100+
Rail Position:		True	Safety Limit: 16
Total Purse:		175,000 USD	Handicap

1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th
105,000	35,000	17,500	8,750	5,250	3,500

HR	HORSE	WGT	OWNER	TRAINER
129	Curlin (USA)	60.0	Stonestreet Stables LLC	S Asmussen
110	Kandidate (GB)	51.5	The Exors of the late A J Richards	C Brittain
109	Familiar Territory (GB)	51.0	Sh Saeed bin Mohd Al Maktoum	S bin Suroor
108	Igor Protti (GB)	50.5	Godolphin	S bin Suroor
106	Engrupido (ARG)	49.5	Sh Mohd bin Khalifa Al Maktoum	M de Kock
104	Jet Express (SAF)	48.5	Ahmed Al Falasi	A Al Raihe
102	Mutasallil (USA)	48.0	Sh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum	D Watson
101	Arabian Prince (USA)	47.5	Martin Dunne	D Watson
101	Sunday Symphony (GB)	47.5	Sh Saeed bin Mohd Al Maktoum	S Seemar
100	Arqaam (GB)	47.0	Sh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum	D Watson
100	Dynamic Saint (USA)	47.0	Malih Lahej Al Basti	D Watson
100	Imperialista (BRZ)	47.0	Sh Majid bin Mohd Al Maktoum	S bin Suroor

Total Entries: 12

WEATHER WARNING SEASON FOR SALE

If you are interested in purchasing a breeding for a very good price to the new Storm Cat stallion WEATHER WARNING (Windfields Farm), send me an e-mail. It's a great deal. For more on Weather Warning - click on the advertisement above.

OTHER NOTES

Canadian champion WITH APPROVAL, Triple Crown winner and Grade 1 winner, had his 45^th career stakes winner as a sire when BROKE SHARPLY won the Curribot Stakes at Sunland Park on Sunday. The Caro stallion, who now lives overseas at Lanwades Stud, was one of the first superstars for his breeders, Kinghaven Farms.

TODAY'S THEME

A common theme in the news today are racehorse retirement places and what happens to horses after they race and old horses still racing.

Here is what was on the wires today...

RACEHORSE LEFT TO DIE IN VEGAS

One dead, one survives

Horses Left to Die Behind Texas Station

by Edward Laurence

Two starving horses, abandoned, locked in a horse trailer and left for dead were discovered late last week on vacant property behind Texas Station. Volunteers from a horse rescue program were able to save only one of the horses.

The two horses were found on Thursday and brought to Sandy Valley. The mare died Saturday night and volunteers are still working with this thoroughbred to save him.

His name is Godspeed. The thoroughbred was one day away from starving to death. Jill Curtis says two horses, which she named Godspeed and God Willing were left for dead on private land in Las Vegas behind Texas Station.

A good samaritan saw the horses on Thursday and called Curtis to help. Jill Curtis, the wife of actor Tony Curtis, founded the Shiloh Horse Rescue.

"You can feel his neck vertebrae, you can feel then right here these should be rounded and nice and fat like the horses of either side of him," she said.

Godspeed is not out of the woods yet. The mare, God Willing, seemed to be doing well but then suddenly collapsed Saturday night.

"We physically lifted her on a blanket into our horse trailer into the vet where she was hooked up to IV's and she just did not make it. She went downhill," she said.

That's why the thoroughbred is receiving special care, love and prayers.

He used to be a racing horse. There is a tattoo in his mouth with a certified racing number. All race horses get them. Curtis hopes to use that number to find out where this horse came from.

"He is not afraid of us anymore. He was afraid when he came in and he is not anymore. He just looks peaceful now. He did not look peaceful when he came in," said rescue co founder Sally Vandenberg.

Sally Vandenberg is Curtis' mother. She moved from San Diego to Las Vegas to help open the horse rescue. Godspeed joined 200 other horses here, saved from neglect and the slaughterhouse.

This is the fourth horse rescued from Clark County this month that look like this. No one knows who owned Godspeed and God Willing. Curtis says she is now focused on his well being.

"There is no excuse for this type of thing," said Curtis. She believes Godspeed was starved for about the last four months.

To see photos and a video, check out this link..

http://www.lasvegasnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=7922822&nav=168XDWn7

For Some At Aqueduct, The Older, The Better

By Jenny Kellner | February 24, 2008

Ageism (n) – The stereotyping and prejudice against individuals or groups because of their age.

Not around Aqueduct. Just look at Evening Attire, Explosive Count, Cool N Collected, Bailero, No Parole, or any number of veterans who still know how to get to the finish line in a hurry. And not only are these 9-year-olds and up still running – they’re running successfully.

In fact, the 10-year-old Evening Attire could be on the verge of making history. Should he win the 53rd running of the $75,000 Stymie Handicap at nine furlongs on Saturday, March 1, records indicate he would be the oldest horse to win a currently-run stakes race in New York.

“It would be something if he could win,” said Pat Kelly, who trains Evening Attire for his father, retired Hall of fame trainer Tommy “T.J.” Kelly, and Joe and Mary Grant

In 2007, Evening Attire became one of a handful of horses ever to win multiple stakes races at the age of 9 when he added the Grade 3 Queens County Handicap in December to his earlier victory in the Stymie.

Other 9-year-olds who have won stakes in New York include Revved Up, who won the 2007 John’s Call Stakes; John’s Call himself, who won the Grade 1 Joe Hirsh Turf Classic in 2000; the late John Henry, who won the Turf Classic in his Eclipse Award-winning season in 1984, and Affirmed Success, who won the 2003 Toboggan Handicap.

“He was unique in that he won at different distances over different surfaces at the highest level,” said Richard Schosberg, who took Affirmed Success to four Breeders’ Cups. “He won everything from the Carter Handicap to the Toboggan.”

The “King of Aqueduct,” of course, was King’s Swan, who was so much a part of the winter racing scene at the Big A his retirement was honored with a special ceremony in December of 1990. The gelding, trained by the late Richard Dutrow Sr., started 107 times – not all of them at Aqueduct, although it may have seemed that way -- winning 31 races and $1.92 million.

“He was a professional horse to be around; he did everything you wanted a horse to do,” said Dutrow’s son, Richard Dutrow Jr., in a 2006 interview.

Those who work with older racehorses voice a common theme: their professionalism.

“I love the older horses,” said Schosberg. “By the time they’re five years old, they get it. Having an older horse like that, it takes you a few years to figure out that they are actually training you. It was an honor to have Affirmed Success train me.”

That sentiment was echoed by trainer David Jacobson, who is involved with several of the more senior members of Aqueduct’s regulars.

Last Saturday, Jacobson’s elder statesman, the 10-year-old gelding Explosive Count, was claimed out of his barn for $7,500 in his 81st start. The next day, Jacobson turned around and paid $12,500 to claim the 11-year-old Cool N Collective, who had won his previous two starts (and who finished second that day in his 62nd start).

“A friend once estimated that the average age of the horses I train is over five years old,” said Jacobson with a smile. “I think the old timers, who are very experienced, are very easy to train. At that stage, they don’t have any bad habits.

Older horses, they run on their class and heart, and they love what they’re doing.”

There’s old … and then there’s really old. Jacobson said he once saw a 13-year-old horse race in Kentucky. Last year, a 15-year-old horse named Hermosilla made his 83rd start at Wyoming Downs. According to recent records, the oldest horse ever to win a race was 14-year-old Alpena Magic, who won a claiming race at Indiana Downs on May 27, 2004.

“Seeing them compete, try hard, and win with the young kids, it’s great,” said Jacobson. “It’s like anything – if you love your job, you’ll be good at it. And these old-timers, they love their jobs.”

EDITOR’S NOTE – Speaking of old horses, GOLDEN HARE, who won 14 races last year and led all horses in North America by wins, won his 2008 debut as a 9-year-old yesterday at Will Rogers Downs. It was the gelding’s 24^th career win.

from ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE..

RACERS FIND PLACE TO SLOW DOWN

IN PURPLE HAZE, HORSES GET A SECOND CHANCE AT LIFE AFTER THE TRACK

James Goodman

Staff writer

(February 26, 2008) — FARMINGTON — Michelle Weston knew at first sight that What Is was the horse she wanted to adopt.

"What Is and I kind of clicked," said Weston about her visit several months ago to the Purple Haze Center on the grounds of Finger Lakes Gaming & Racetrack.

Since it opened in November, the center — with its well-kept stalls and indoor exercise area — has housed about a dozen retired racehorses up for adoption.

Above the entrance of the 10,000-square-foot building are the words "Giving horses a second chance to be winners," which point to the purpose of the center, owned by the Finger Lakes Thoroughbred Adoption Program.

Not only is Weston, 41, of Marion fulfilling her childhood dream of having her own horse, but her adoption of What Is means that the 5-year-old thoroughbred will have a life after racing — and not end up at a slaughterhouse.

Weston plans to keep What Is at the Hillrise Equestrian Center in Walworth where she will ride for pleasure. "We need to break the track out of him so that when someone gets on his back, he doesn't take off and run.

"He can relax now," Weston said.

The adoption program at the racetrack was started about three years ago after it was learned that a Naples woman, Susan Leininger, was misleading owners of retired horses at the Finger Lakes track by telling them she would find safe homes for their thoroughbreds. One woman gave her horse to Leininger and soon after received a phone call from a horse rescue operation that outbid a slaughterhouse for the horse at a Pennsylvania auction. Leininger pleaded guilty to a first-degree count of scheming to defraud.

The Finger Lakes adoption center was established to help guarantee that horses at the track had a life after their racing careers.

"So we formed our organization; we would assist in searching for new homes," said Margaret Ohlinger, who is now the senior veterinarian at the racetrack and executive director of the adoption program.

Before the center was established, horses that the program wanted to find new homes for had to be kept in various stables in the area until they were adopted. About 300 horses have been donated to the adoption program since it was established in late 2004. All have found new homes, Ohlinger noted.

The center, west of the racetrack, adds a new dimension to the program by providing a central location where people interested in adoption can view the horses.

"This is where they get to play," said Wyatt Doremus, director of marketing and development for the adoption program, as he watched two horses, Supernational and Eye of the Comet, romp in the exercise area, licking a salt block and playing with balls.

A donation of $150,000 from Wendy Polisseni of Perinton, who owns about 100 racehorses, and two state grants totaling $120,000, secured with the help of state Sen. Michael Nozzolio, R-Fayette, Seneca County, paid for almost all of the $280,000 in construction costs.

"I firmly believe horses — I call them my babies — should have a second chance," Polisseni said.

Although the number of horse adoption programs is growing, the center in Farmington is the only one at a racetrack, according to Ohlinger. Those adopting a horse pay between $300 and $1,200, based on such factors as age and athletic potential of the horse, to help cover the center's estimated annual budget of $140,000.

The rest comes from donations and fundraising — including an annual event at the racetrack.

With a full-time staff of two and a handful of steady volunteers, the center hopes to have 125 horses adopted this year. References are checked before an adoption is finalized. "We can make it an educated decision," said Kerri Gaffney, program and facility manager of the center.

Anthea Perry, 34, of Marion, did just that when she and husband, Phil, 37, selected Daybeforeher B'day at the center. "We came out and looked at all of them," Anthea said.

Mary Bishop of Tonawanda, Erie County, recently adopted Alexander at the center. She first looked at two other horses, but didn't connect with them.

But Bishop, 37, connected with "Alex" right away, and adopted him.

She keeps Alex at a stable in East Amherst, Erie County, about nine miles from her house, and visits him before and after work.

"He really brightens my day," she said.

For pictures…http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080226/NEWS05/802270312/1002/NEWS

from SARATOGA SPRINGS, NEW YORK

Panel weighs fate of retired racehorses

Task force will explore alternatives to slaughterhouse

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

By Lee Coleman (Contact)

Gazette Reporter (www.dailygazette.com)

SARATOGA SPRINGS — A new state task force has a goal of making sure retired racehorses don’t end up in a slaughterhouse in Canada or Mexico.

“Is shipping them for slaughter our only option?” asked Jessica Chittenden, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Agriculture and Markets. “I hope not,” she said.

State Agriculture and Markets Commissioner Patrick Hooker and state Racing and Wagering Board chairman Daniel Hogan announced the New York State Task Force on Retired Race Horses on Monday in Albany.

The task force, created by an act of the state Legislature, will investigate the creation of employment opportunities for retired racehorses. The task force will also investigate the feasibility, cost and benefit of installing artificial turf at race courses. Many people believe artificial turf is easier on the horses’ legs.

Only 15 percent of all racehorses are successful, Hooker said in a prepared statement. The future for the remaining 85 percent of the racehorses is uncertain.

Diana Pikulski, executive director of the Saratoga Springs-based Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, is among the eight volunteers named to the new task force.

The Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation has horse retirement and retraining farms in 11 states, including a facility connected to Wallkill Correctional Facility near Walden in New York state.

“I bring the day-to-day practical approach,” Pikulski said Monday. “I know this can be done.”

“We take care of 1,800 horses every day,” she said about her nonprofit organization’s horse farms across the United States.

She said the foundation will open two more prison horse retraining facilities this year, one in Pennsylvania and one in Maryland.

“They work,” she said about these facilities. “They have been proven to work for the inmates [who care for the horses] and the horses.”

Pikulski would like to see the task force make the racing industry more aware that protecting thoroughbreds after they end their racing career is “good for their business.”

She said racing fans don’t like to read about racehorses that thrilled them at the track being shipped off to a slaughterhouse.

She said new legislation in the states of Texas and Illinois has outlawed the slaughter of horses in these states. But she said old, broken-down racehorses are still being shipped to Mexico and Canada for slaughter.

She said more money should be set aside by the racing industry, through a percentage of purse money and handle, for retired horses.

“We have to have fewer horses come off the track unsound,” Pikulski said. When a horse is ailing and unsound this makes it hard to retain the horse for a new life off the track.

One of the reasons the task force is studying new artificial track surfaces is that many believe these surfaces are easier on the thoroughbred’s sensitive legs and hoofs.

Chittenden said the main goal of the task force is to “figure out and review the uses of retired racehorses.”

She said there are many ways to retrain and use these horses, including the growing popularity of therapeutic riding for ailing humans.

“We will look at all these options, look at the best options,” Chittenden said.

“I don’t think there will be one answer,” she said.

The task force members include horse owner Jackson Knowlton of Saratoga Springs, an owner of Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Funny Cide; Karin Bump, equine professor in Madison County; Grace “Jean” Brown, a standardbred farm director in Orange County; Fiona Farrell, an equine attorney in Stillwater, Saratoga County; William Hopsicker, a thoroughbred owner in Oneida County; Margaret Ohlinger, an equine veterinarian in Ontario County and Alice Calabrese Smith, president and CEO of the Humane Society of Greater Rochester.

The task force will hold its first meeting on Friday in the state Department of Agriculture and Markets office in Albany.