Punishing vet leaves another party untouched
Racing fans can only hope the recent 90-day suspension handed down in the case involving Dr. Orlando Paraliticci ("Veterinarian takes 90-day ban," May 30) is part of a compromise for his truthful testimony and cooperation. The entire episode is shrouded in mystery and a lack of transparency. While the wagering public is told investigations are still being conducted, trainer Jane Cibelli has avoided any form of penalty.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – With negotiations between Gulfstream Park and Calder at an impasse, it appears the two tracks are on a collision course to race head-to-head on weekends throughout the summer.
Gulfstream’s president and general manager Tim Ritvo said on Thursday afternoon that the two sides were far apart in their negotiations to avoid a dates conflict and that Gulfstream intends to proceed with plans to race Saturdays and Sundays during the summer.
Former California trainer Ross Brinson, whose career spanned close to 70 years, died June 13 in Lakewood, Calif. He was 101.
Brinson, whose top horses included 1947 Hollywood Gold Cup and Sunset Handicap winner Cover Up, 1952 Haggin Stakes winner Little Request, and Billy Ball, retired from training in 1992.
Brinson’s two sons are former jockeys Gary and Clay Brinson. Both are still in racing. Gary Brinson is the starter at Betfair Hollywood Park; Clay Brinson is a trainer at Canterbury Downs in Minnesota.
When Animal Kingdom made his debut at Arlington Park on Sept. 18, 2010, there was little to separate him from thousands of other young horses. But if things go well in his final race and he wins the Queen Anne Stakes on June 18 at the Royal Ascot meeting in England, he will have separated himself from every other Thoroughbred to have set foot on a racetrack.
The New York Racing Association intends to step up its marketing efforts surrounding the Belmont Stakes to draw more attention to the track in the week leading up to the third leg of the Triple Crown, NYRA’s chief marketing officer, Rodnell Workman, told a government oversight agency Wednesday.
Edward Hotaling, a journalist who wrote three horse racing books, including two about African-American jockeys, died on June 3 at a hospital in New York City from heart disease, according to numerous reports. Hotaling was 75.
A native of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Hotaling wrote “They’re Off! Horse Racing at Saratoga” (1995), “The Great Black Jockeys” (1999), and “Wink” (2002), a biography of the African-American jockey Jimmy Winkfield, one of the sport’s most prominent riders at the turn of the 20th century.
Cartel Quick, who won Sunday’s $750,000 Ruidoso Futurity for Quarter Horses at Ruidoso Downs, was euthanized Monday because of kidney failure, according to his owner, Sergio Enriquez.
Cartel Quick was vanned from the racetrack to the test barn after the 350-yard Ruidoso Futurity. Enriquez said that Cartel Quick was later treated for dehydration at trainer Alonso Orozco’s barn, and showed improvement Sunday evening before taking a turn for the worse overnight.
The Belmont Stakes broadcast on NBC on Saturday had a final national rating of 4.5 with a share of 11, slightly down from the figures last year but slightly up from the 2011 figures, according to numbers distributed by the network Tuesday.
NEW YORK – The New York Racing Association did not name a new CEO at Monday’s board meeting in Manhattan, but speculation is that Christopher Kay, a former executive with Toys R Us and a division of Universal Studios who most recently worked as CEO for a national land conservation organization, is the leading candidate to get the job.
Jockey Jorge Chavez, who has not ridden since going down in a spill on Dec. 4, 2011, at Aqueduct in New York, has filed a lawsuit against the insurance company covering riders at New York racetracks seeking a lump sum payout of nearly $1 million.
