SCHOOL'S OUT

JOCKEY JEREMY ROSE, 6 MONTH WHIP SUSPENSION


(this stunning video is not for the squeamish..incident happens right near the wire)

(thanks to partymanners for posting this video on YOUTUBE)


Delaware Park stewards suspended jockey Jeremy Rose for six months yesterday because of "extreme misuse of the whip," Bloodhorse.com reported.

The mare was hit in the eye late by the whip and she threw her head. This was also written about in the chart recap on Equibase.

Rose, won the Preakness and Belmont 3 years ago aboard Afleet Alex, caused hemorrhaging around an eye of Appal to the City in the 3rd race Sunday.

The stewards ruled that Rose also will be responsible for all veterinarian bills for Appeal to the City and will be required to complete an anger-management

(from Blood-Horse)



NEW POLL ON WHIPS

I changed up the Poll this week to see what you think about whips.....(see sidebar at right)




THE FUTURE OF RACING ON ONTARIO

Horse Racing Ontario group needed

Standardbred Canada outlines the recommendations from 80-page report
Industry Review Panel Report Released


The Ontario Government today released the much-awaited Industry Review Panel report on the province's horse racing industry.

The 80-page document was put together by a three-person panel working for the Ontario Government.

The Ontario Government had appointed the panel in July, 2007 to examine the current state of horse racing, consult with stakeholders and create a long term strategic plan that will set out a roadmap of future success for the horse racing industry.


Summary of Recommendations

Recommendation #1

The government should establish a Gaming Secretariat with responsibility to:

* i) Develop and implement a comprehensive gaming strategy for the province that includes the horse racing and breeding industry
* ii) Coordinate the activities of each sector of gaming including horse racing, promote relationships and co-operation between the various sectors and ensure that decisions that are made take into account their potential impact on all sectors
* iii) Advise government on the expansion or contraction of gaming
* iv) Advise government on the structure and funding of all provincially-funded programs related to gaming including the Slots at Racetracks Program and oversee the expenditure of the funds
* v) Advise government on federal/provincial issues related to gaming including internet gaming
* vi) Oversee the province's Problem Gambling Strategy

Recommendation #2

We recommend that OHRIA be reconstituted as a Corporation to be known as HORSE RACING ONTARIO (HRO) based on the following framework:

* i) The membership on the Board of HRO should be comprised of the following: one senior official from WEG; one senior official from a not-for-profit racetrack other than WEG; one senior official from a for-profit racetrack; the presidents of each of the following organizations – the Ontario Quarter Horse Association, the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society, the Standardbred Breeders of Ontario Association, the Ontario Harness Horse Association and the Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association; and three independent members appointed by the government of Ontario. The three government appointees should be appointed for three-year terms with the option for renewal for one further three-year term.
* ii) The Chair of HRO should be elected by the Board of HRO for a term determined by HRO's by-laws. The Executive Director of HRO should be appointed by the Board of HRO.
* iii) A majority vote of the Board of HRO shall govern and determine all matters brought before it.
* iv) The Board of HRO will decide all economic industry issues and disputes among industry stakeholders, including the fixing of race dates, but excluding those disputes that relate to the contracts between individual racetracks and their respective horsemen's associations.
* v) The Board of HRO should develop the details of an industry strategic plan and inform the Gaming Secretariat with respect to any matter involving the distribution of funds derived from the Slots at Racetracks Program as described below.
* vi) HRO will require and enforce the obligation of all industry stakeholders to provide comprehensive economic data pertaining to slot revenue as directed by HRO's Executive Director.
* vii) HRO will structure and administer all province-wide programs affecting the industry such as the HIP Program, the Quarter Horse Industry Development Plan, the oversight of the expenditure of funds generated by the reduction of the tax on pari-mutuel wagering, the branding of horse racing and a comprehensive horse racing marketing strategy. In addition, HRO could also undertake industry-wide benefit plans for individual participants and education, training, accreditation and horse-ownership programs.
* viii) HRO will terminate the funding from the Slots at Racetracks Program to any industry stakeholder that fails to become a member of the Board of HRO, fails to participate in the Board's deliberations or fails to abide by the final decisions rendered by the Board of HRO, including decisions with respect to meeting industry benchmarks. The flow of slot funds would resume when the stakeholder is no longer in default. Slot funds that are withheld from stakeholders will be retained by HRO and applied to fund its programs and undertakings.
* ix) HRO will terminate the funding from the Slots at Racetracks Program to any industry stakeholder that is involved in a dispute related to a contract between an individual racetrack and a horsemen's association that results in a cessation of live racing. The flow of slot funds would resume when the dispute is resolved. Slot funds that are withheld from stakeholders will be retained by HRO and applied to fund its programs and undertakings.
* x) HRO will consult with the ORC on issues related to the integrity of horse racing, on the promulgation and/or amendment of the Rules of Racing by the ORC and on administrative issues such as the provision by the ORC of the necessary racing officials on race dates.
* xi) HRO should advise the Gaming Secretariat on all policy issues affecting the horse racing industry.
* xii) The operational funding for HRO will come from the funds made available to the industry by the Slots at Racetracks Program.

Recommendation #3

We recommend that the horse racing and breeding industry fund HRO immediately so that it can re-structure itself as set out above and commence to deal with its new decision-making mandate and the economic issues that come before it prior to the implementation of the New Slots Program. HRO should also begin to structure the programs that will be created under the New Slots Program.

Recommendation #4

We recommend:

* i) That the Ontario Racing Commission return to its mandate to regulate all aspects of horse racing that are designed to protect the public interest by insuring the highest level of integrity, and that it cease to be involved in economic issues that affect the industry as soon as HRO is prepared to take over that function.
* ii) That the budget of the Ontario Racing Commission be adjusted in consultation with the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services and HRO to reflect the above change.
* iii) That the ORC consult with HRO on issues related to the integrity of horse racing, on the promulgation and/or amendment of the Rules of Racing by the ORC and on administrative issues such as the provision by the ORC of the necessary racing officials on race dates.
* iv) That the ORC licence and regulate all horsepeople associations.
* v) That the ORC participate in any horse racing and breeding industry advisory committee that the Gaming Secretariat may establish.

Standardbred Canada's succint re-cap of the report continues here...(and it has a link to the entire report)

http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/news/iss0608/industryreviewpanelreport0624.html




THE FUTURE OF ONTARIO RACING:

THE VIEW FROM FORT ERIE


Niagara Falls Review
Racing report offers hope, call to action
Posted By JOHN ROBBINS and RAY SPITERI / Review Staff Writers


The time for studying is over.

It's time for the province to make a decision.

That’s the general consensus among those in Fort Erie who have been eagerly awaiting the release of the Sadinsky panel’s report on the future of Ontario’s horse-racing industry.

“They have to act quickly and there is nothing stopping them,” said Nick Gonzalez, a trainer at the Fort Erie Race Track for more than 35 years. “The onus is on the province.”

The 80-page report entitled “It’s All About Leadership” was released without comment or fanfare, Monday.

Yesterday, local politicians and horse-racing industry stakeholders were still trying to digest the wide-ranging document and its recommendations.

Among the suggestions contained in the report is one that encourages the province to provide “interim subsidization” to the Fort Erie Race Track to ensure its viability provided a proposed $300-million redevelopment of the property by race track owner Nordic Gaming Corp. makes sense and is likely to move ahead.

Gonzalez said the report will put “added pressure” on the province to step in with financial assistance to keep live racing in town.

“If the province was teeter-tottering one way or another, I think this (report) could push them over the edge.”

The Fort Erie Race Track has been losing money for several years.

In May 2007, representatives of Nordic Gaming Corp., the company that owns and operates the Fort Erie Race Track, went public with plans to enhance live racing at the 111-year-old border oval with the development of a “mega resort.”

Those plans call for the construction of a four-star hotel, a massive entertainment complex, a 2,500-unit timeshare/condominum complex as well as improvements to the racing facilities. The cost of the projects as envisioned is about $300-million.

The redevelopment project has been billed as the catalyst for rejuvenating the track and Fort Erie’s faltering gaming industry.

One section of the Sadinsky report deals specifically with problems facing race tracks located in border communities.

The report notes the Fort Erie Race Track and Windsor Raceway, in particular, are “struggling to survive” in the face of “external forces” largely beyond the control of track management or the industry.

Those factors include the high value of the Canadian dollar and increased competion from other gaming parlours in Ontario, New York and Michigan.

“We need help in the border tracks,” said Daryl Ezra, a horse trainer in Fort Erie for the past 13 years.

“Windsor is in trouble in their end and we have too much competition from our slots and casinos in (New York State). It’s killed our industry . . . The government either helps or we just close the doors.”

The potential closure of the track has been looming large on the minds of many people who make their living in the Fort Erie track’s backstretch.

Among them is Harry Davis, a 46-year-old second-generation blacksmith.

Just the though of Fort Erie without the race track is difficult for Davis to fathom.

“I just can’t even imagine that scenario,” he said while making his morning rounds at the track. “There is a passion for horse racing in Fort Erie and we seriously can’t let that fade away.”

Davis continued: “There is no reason this track shouldn’t be viable. I urge the government to work as closely with the track owners as possible to make a go of it.”

Fort Erie Race Track spokesman Darryl Wells said the company has received a copy of the report and is reviewing its contents.

It’s too early to comment on its implications will be should the government adopt the report’s recommendations in whole or in part.

“Obviously, it sounds positive at a quick glance, but we need a little more time to take a full look at the report.”

Niagara Falls MPP Kim Craitor said he’s pleased the report specifically mentioned the Fort Erie Race Track and a section was devoted to talking about tracks located close to the Canada-U.S. border.

“A lot of the things (the panel) suggested are things the town and myself have talked about,” he said.

Craitor said he’s glad the report spoke to the issue of interim subsidization of track operations during redevelopment.

He said there’s no need to wait for the legislature, which is on summer recess, to reconvene in order to begin talking about next steps.

“I don’t want to sit and wait.”

http://www.niagarafallsreview.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1087109



WOODBINE TONIGHT

Can't Beat It - graded SW makes Woodbine debut!


Racing tonight at Woodbine, holiday tomorrow and then a Friday, saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday stretch next week for the long weekend.

Nice card this evening - races 3, 4 5, 6 are all non-claiming events essentially.

RACE 3- allowance for Ontario sired gals on the TURF, 1 mile:

Wide open but deadly turf sire COMPADRE is up again - LA GRAN LESLIE is 3rd start off the layoff and looks strong.

RACE 4 - CAN'T BEAT IT, owned by Live Oak Plantation AND Grade 3 stakes winner, makes his Woodbien debut for Malcolm Pierce.
The Atticus 5yo has been racing his regular 90 Beyer Figuers but has not win since Dec. 2006 when the was the king of Calder racecourse.
He meets the deadly tough old timer MOONSHINE HALL (8 for 27 in his career) and the stakes placed puzzler SKIPPED BAIL.

RACE 5 - maiden allowance and a doozy:

XTRAORDINARY has the experienc and Beyer Figure edde along with KEWLAND (A 4YO).
First-timers in the race that look good are :

HELLO MAGGIE MAY - Lemon Drop Kid-Fantasy Lake (a champion), trained by Roger Attfield

FRANTIC CITY - Flintstones honoured with this name, she's a 4yo 1/2 sister to Win City

FIVE FOUR THE KIDS - trainer SUE LESLIE should have won with 1ster last week that had terrible trip...this one is a Florida-bred

WITH GOLDEN WINGS - Sam-Son, Rick Dos Ramos, new combo.Filly is bred for more distance and grass.

RACE 6 - allowance sprint - RED RAFFLES gets back to Polytrack, he does not move up on grass so he should be ultra tough with BOLD COMMENT the king of the exactor.

Don't forget to play THE SCORE 123 CONTEST...

http://thescore.123racing.ca/




QUEEN'S PLATE SADDLE TOWELS -

FOR LONGRUN!


Okay, 6 days left to bid on your favourite horse's saddle towel, Polytrack, sweat and tears and all, on eBay...The money goes to LongRun!
(and it's easy to sign up for eBay, free, painless...etc.)

http://search.ebay.ca/queens-plate_W0QQ_trksidZm37QQfromZR40QQsatitleZqueenQ27s
Q20plate



TODD KABEL NAMED ON HORSES FRIDAY

Champion jocmey TODD KABEL, who has not ridden in 2008, is named on horses on Friday's card of racing, beginning with Long Journey in race 2.