Last Friday afternoon, as I was out shopping for the Belmont Child Care Association’s holiday party, this landed in my inbox: “If you know who is responsible for the NYRA/NYS Gaming Commission’s equine injury and death database, could you please alert them to this entry for 11/20/2013. Something seems amiss.” Amiss, indeed. Over the weekend, the…
In the five months since the first target date for the Aqueduct injury report came and went, rumors and questions abounded about its contents and the process by which it was compiled. Through much of the Saratoga meet, whispers of new release dates circulated weekly, with no official information coming from either the governor’s office…
Like those poor refugees in Casablanca, here in New York, we continue to wait…and wait…and wait. We wait for Governor Cuomo’s announcement about the reconfiguration of the NYRA board, the board that will be made up mostly of the governor’s appointees, the board that will graciously allow a horsemen’s representative to attend board meetings but…
Earlier this year, the New York State Racing and Wagering Board launched a public database detailing breakdowns, injuries, and deaths at New York’s racetracks. In June, it was discovered that the database contained erroneous information (I wrote about it here and here), notably that at least two horses that were listed as having been euthanized…
The New York State Racing and Wagering Board announced today the security measures that will be in place for this year’s Travers Stakes on August 25. Those measures are: Horses participating in the Travers Stakes must be on the grounds at Saratoga on August 22. Horses will have out-of-competition blood testing taken on August 22.…
“Very soon.” That is when, according to the State Racing and Wagering Board, the report from the task force investigating the breakdowns at Aqueduct this past winter will be released. The task force began its work in March, and when I spoke with task force chair Dr. Scott Palmer in April, he indicated that the…
Earlier today, I reported that the New York State Racing and Wagering Board’s Equine Breakdown, Death, Injury and Incident Database had inadvertently published that Giant Ryan had been euthanized on Saturday, the day that he was injured in the True North at Belmont Park. According to New York State Racing and Wagering Board spokesperson Lee Park,…
Last night on Twitter and Facebook, several people reported that, according to the New York State Racing and Wagering Board’s Equine Breakdown, Death, Injury and Incident Database, Giant Ryan, injured in Saturday’s True North at Belmont, had been euthanized. When I learned of the report, I checked the database, which indicated that Giant Ryan had…
Earlier this month, the New York State Racing and Wagering Board issued an emergency rule that would void the claim of any horse that died during racing or on the racetrack following a race; the action was taken as a result of the spate of fatal breakdowns that occurred over Aqueduct’s inner track this winter.…
Brooklyn Backstretch 