US Approval For New Mare Reproductive Health Drug

In the US, after “years of intensive research, a product called SucroMate has achieved the coveted status of FDA-approved for reproductive health in mares” reported thehorse.com. This is “no easy feat as only 2 veterinary drugs obtained FDA approval in 2010”. SucroMate “is licensed to induce ovulation in mares being bred with fresh, cooled or frozen semen” & Edward Squires PhD (a specialist in equine reproduction at the University Of Kentucky's Gluck Equine Research Center) explained: “SucroMate contains a drug called deslorelin acetate. It is administered intra-muscularly once the mare has an egg-containing follicle on her ovary measuring 35mm in diameter or larger, is in estrus & has a open cervix. Ovulation should occur within 48 hours of administration.” Pre-approval studies found that after injecting 140 mares, 72% of mares ovulated within 48 hours of treatment with SucroMate, compared to only 27% of the 143 mares in the placebo group. Squires noted: “This new deslorelin acetate product is a very effective tool for inducing ovulation in mares & is produced in a FDA-inspected facility here in Louisville in Kentucky. This product should replace compounded deslorelin products & give veterinarians an FDA-registered product to use for inducing ovulation in mares.”  

NZ Minimum Weights Up 1kg From Feb 1

Minimum riding weights in NZ handicap flat races will increase by 1kg from February 1. NZ Thoroughbred Racing announced the decision “has been made to enhance the health & welfare of riders” after advice provided by NZTR’s medical advisor Dr Phil White showed “the weight of the general population has increased by about 5% in the last decade” which “equates to about 2.6kg for a 52kg rider”.

Wyong Satellite Stable For Trevor Bailey

Gold Coast trainer Trevor Bailey will open a satellite stable next week at the Wyong track on the NSW Central Coast just north of Sydney. The 15-box stable will be managed by former Paul Perry foreman Keyren Forbes. Bailey (who grew up at Wyong, where his father Alan Bailey was a leading trainer before relocating to the Queensland Gold Coast in the 1980s) noted: “Wyong is an ideal location, being within an hour of most of the major tracks around Sydney. It also has good access for our Queensland clients, with direct flights to Newcastle from both Brisbane & the Gold Coast.” Bailey will continue to prepare a 30-horse team from his main Gold Coast base.

Higgins Says “Too Much Money” Tempts Young Jockeys

Former champion jockey Roy Higgins declared in The Winning Post: “Why is it so many young jockeys go through hell before either disappearing from racing altogether or somehow getting their careers back on track? Well, I think the reason is obvious – money, too much of it.” Higgins noted: “Kids these days can earn between $500 & $1,000 a day in losing rides. They can be out of their apprenticeship at 18 & have access to massive amounts of cash. Most parents with adult children will remember a time their kids went a bit ‘off the rails’ late in their teenage years. That may have involved drinking to excess or doing silly things. Imagine the temptation for a kid with sudden access to huge amounts of money. And remember we are in a time of another great evil in easily accessible & dangerous drugs, which incidentally, could be seen as an ideal alternative (to beer) for a jockey fighting to keep weight off.

Shinn & Robl Betting Appeals To Be Heard Separately

Racing NSW stewards “will hear the appeals of jockeys Blake Shinn & Peter Robl against their lengthy riding bans on separate dates next month,” reported The Daily Telegraph. Chief steward Ray Murrihy confirmed Shinn's appeal (against a 15-months ban) “is set for February 22, while Robl's (against a 12-months ban) is due 2 days later”. Shinn & Robl “were found to have placed numerous bets on a TAB telephone account”.

Racing Qld $1.55m Flood Relief Package

Racing Queensland announced “an industry relief package to assist racing industry stake-holders devastated by recent catastrophic floods”. RQ chairman Bob Bentley said the relief package “would assist in keeping Rockhampton & other affected racing communities afloat” & “is aimed at providing access to critical funds for those licensee groups unable to ply their trade due to the closure of Callaghan Park for training & racing.” Bentley added: “RQ believes this package will protect & ensure members of our racing fraternity can survive this hiatus & that facilities are quickly made safe to recommence full training & racing activities.” Bentley said there will be 2 tiers of funding available:

• $1 million facility remediation fund;
• $550,000 licensee relief & relocation package. 

Real Quiet Dies In Paddock Accident At 15

Former Vinery Stud shuttler & 1998 Gr1 Kentucky Derby winner Real Quiet (Quiet American-Really Blue, by Believe It) died in a paddock accident at Michael Jester's Penn Ridge Farm in Pennsylvania aged 15. Jester told bloodhorse.com: "He broke 5 cervical vertebrae from C-5 through C-9, which is basically from his withers to his head." Real Quiet (purchased at auction for just US$17,000 by owner Mike Pegram) was "nosed out of becoming US racing's 12th Triple Crown winner" in 1998: after winning both the Gr1 Kentucky Derby & Gr1 Preakness Stakes, he "led by 4-lengths at the eighth pole (in the Gr1 Belmont Stakes) but succumbed to Victory Gallop's relentless drive & was beaten a nose". He also won the Gr1 Hollywood Futurity (as a 2YO) & both the Gr1 Pimlico Special Handicap & Gr1 Hollywood Gold Cup Handicap (as a 4YO); shortly after the Gold Cup victory, Real Quiet "suffered a fractured sprint bone in his right front leg & never raced again".

Video: Workforce takes 2010 Arc

Racecaller's nightmare

Croaky throat scratched: "Listen to veteran broadcaster Jim Jacques bravely battle through a harness race call as his voice fails him"

TVN deals hit TABCORP for six

TVN, the racing broadcaster in Australia owned by the country's major raceclubs has moved into dealmaking overdrive, as Breeding&Racing sums up:

TVN "is negotiating with Telstra to ink a broader 'new media' rights deal worth up to $10 million a year, which would enable punters to place bets & watch Sydney & Melbourne races on their mobile phones". The paper revealed "TVN chief executive Peter Sweeney met Telstra executives in Sydney yesterday after the TVN board unanimously recommended that shareholders accept an offer by James Packer's Publishing & Broadcasting to take up a 25% stake for $25 million". Telstra's Big Pond has shown Sydney & Melbourne races since 2004, but "sources said yesterday a much broader, bigger relationship is on the table. The potential of putting together, in a mobile package, race vision with the ability to make considered bets is huge." (Mar 28)