Career paths of some horses give one pause
I applaud Mike Watchmaker's May 12 column, "Mishandled Toccet finally gets a break." It is really sad to see the way some horses are handled, and Toccet is a perfect example. Let's hope that fine horse has something left and trainer Bobby Frankel can bring it out while owner Daniel Borislow stays on the sidelines.
The Senate passed a bill on Tuesday night that would clear the way for U.S. tracks to seek out customers in other countries and to allow Canadian residents to wager directly into U.S. pools.
The bill would repeal a 30 percent withholding tax levied on racing bets placed outside the country. Officials from U.S. tracks have said that the withholding tax prevents them from opening up U.S. pools to international bettors, and the tax runs counter to the position of the World Trade Organization.
Jockey Rick Wilson's condition was upgraded on Wednesday from critical to serious-but-stable in the Shock-Trauma Unit at the University of Maryland Hospital in Baltimore. Wilson suffered head injuries Saturday at Pimlico after being thrown from his mount and kicked in the head. . . . A bill placing the issue of gaming at racetracks in Oklahoma on the Nov. 2 general election ballot passed the state House by a 58-42 vote on Wednesday. The bill, previously passed by the state Senate, supersedes legislation passed earlier in the session enabling gaming devices at the state's tracks.
Rick Wilson, the 50-year Maryland rider who suffered severe head trauma during an accident on Saturday at Pimlico Race Course, remained in critical condition Tuesday at the University of Maryland Shock-Trauma Unit in Baltimore. On Monday, Wilson was able to speak with his wife and four children, according to his agent, John Salzman Jr.
It's not uncommon to see a trainer change careers and become a jockey agent, but it is an unusual move for a racetrack vice president. In the case of Charles Ashy Jr., who represents jockeys Kerwin Clark and the comebacking Tracy Hebert at Evangeline Downs near Lafayette, La., becoming an agent made sense.
Ashy used to be the track's vice president and director of racing and simulcasting, but the facility changed ownership and he was let go following the live racing season in 2002.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The attorney who filed a $48 million libel lawsuit on behalf of jockey Jose Santos said Monday that he believes The Miami Herald and its parent company, Knight-Ridder Inc., "should be held accountable," while his opponents countered that they plan to "vigorously" defend their position.
A Nevada judge has ruled that California trainer Frank Monteleone and his assistant, Linda Mikus, are liable for compensatory and punitive damages of $635,000 from a civil suit brought by horse owners Joseph Hirshfeld and Ron Holguin.
Hirshfeld and Holguin argued they were defrauded of $100,000 in the purchase and training of two horses from Europe that were supposed to be acquired and trained on their behalf by Monteleone.
The ruling was issued on May 4 by District Court Judge Jennifer Togliatti in Clark County, Nevada.
An In Excess-Dealinwiththedevil colt, an In Excess-Scrod gelding, and a Distinctive Cat-Semeli Semeli filly breezed a furlong in 10.00 seconds for the fastest time over that distance at the May 7-8 under-tack preview for the Barretts May juvenile sale in Pomona, Calif, which was to be held Tuesday. The fastest quarter-mile time was 21.10, posted by a Lite the Fuse-Sweetheart Slew colt and a Belong to Me-French Lavender filly. A Crafty Prospector-Kidnap colt had the fastest three-furlong time of 33.50.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Jockey Jose Santos and Sackatoga Stable last week filed a lawsuit seeking unspecified damages against the Miami Herald and its parent company, Knight Ridder, alleging the jockey was libeled in an article published a week after Santos won the Kentucky Derby last May aboard Sackatoga's .
