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The Horsemen’sNewsletter
January 2020 Vol. 29 • Number 1
Health & Safety Directives,
Approved by Commission
Training Hours Modified By MRC For Safety Concerns
Horsemen’s Health System Winter 2020 Schedule
Continued on Page 2
Continued on Page 2
The Maryland Racing Commission Dec. 19 ap-proved a host of
directives and regulatory changes tied to the safety and welfare of
the racehorse that will take effect in early 2020.
These changes have been under review and discussion in Maryland
and the Mid-Atlantic re-gion since July, and include revisions to
the Nation-al Uniform Medication Program that were formally adopted
by the Association of Racing Commission-ers International on Dec.
12, 2019.
“The Mid-Atlantic region had been looking at safety and welfare
issues well before the issues
that came up at Santa Anita during the winter and spring (of
2019),” MRC E x e c u t i v e Mike Hopkins said. “The
MRC elected to allow horsemen to be heard and to talk through
these changes. Discussions have been held.”
The implementation and monitoring of the various directives will
be the responsibility of MRC Equine Medical Director Dr. Libby
Daniel, while the stewards will monitor compliance and horse
eligibility and determine whether any penalties are necessary.
The following directives will take effect on January 1,
2020:
Any horse required to work in order to be re-moved from a vet’s
list shall work at least a half-mile in :52 or better.
If a horse hasn’t run in 45 days, it must have at least one
published workout.
First-time starters shall need three published works to be
eligible to start in a race--one work must be from the gate and one
work at least a half-
The Maryland Jockey Club said it has altered the track
maintenance schedule during training hours at Laurel Park in an
attempt to keep the surface more uniform and safer for horses.
The MJC, effective Dec. 9, announced that renovation breaks
during training would be 7-7:30 a.m. and 9-9:30 a.m. Training at
Laurel is available from 5:30-10 a.m. on race days and 5:30-10:30
a.m. on non-racing days; the first half-hour break had start at
7:30 a.m., two hours after training began.
The schedule remains in place into 2020.“We’re trying to make
each session the same
amount of time so the surface has the same con-
sistency,” Sinatra said. “The track was getting cut up (before
the first break), so we shifted the break a half-hour earlier. Most
of the horses train earlier in the morning, so we want to keep (the
surface) as uniform as possible but not take training time away
from horsemen.”
Sinatra noted training on Mondays and Tues-days is much lighter
than Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, which are live racing days
in January and February. More than 1,000 horses are stabled at
Laurel versus a couple of hundred at Pimlico, where training is
offered each day from 6-10 a.m. with one break from 7:30-8 a.m.
Increased Access To H2-B Visas Part Of 2020 Spending Bill
Trainers who utilize the H-2B guest worker visa program to fill
various backstretch posi-tions are expected to have increased
access to H-2B visas as a result of language included in the 2020
spending bill passed by Congress and signed into law by President
Trump.
The bill gives the Secretary of Homeland Security the discretion
to release additional visas above the statutory cap and also
in-cludes related labor provisions that have been in place for
several years.
“Many horse trainers are unable to
secure enough H-2B visas to fulfill their work force needs due
to the limited availability of these visas,” NTRA President and
Chief Ex-ecutive Officer Alex Waldrop said in a release. “This bill
gives trainers a better chance to ob-tain the guest worker visas
they need.”
The H-2B non-immigrant visa program al-lows U.S. employers who
meet specific stat-utory and regulatory requirements to bring
foreign nationals to the United States to fill
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The Horsemen’sNewsletter
Published by the
MTHA500 Redland Court – Suite 105, Owings Mills, Maryland
21117;
(410) 902-6842; Fax: (410) 902-6841; E-mail:
[email protected]
Website: www.mdhorsemen.com
mile within 30 days of entry. All first-time starters shall have
a gate card on file with the Racing Of-fice at entry time.
A horse that hasn’t started in 90 days shall have at least two
published works--one of at least a half-mile and another within 30
days of starting.
Unless waived by the Equine Medical Direc-tor, a horse that has
been off for more than 150 days shall be required to work three
times--one in front of a state veterinarian, with blood samples
taken for analysis; one within 30 days of entry; and one work of at
least a half-mile. In addition, the horse shall not be allowed to
enter or start un-til the attending practicing veterinarian signs
off that the horse is sound for racing, and approval is obtained
from the Equine Medical Director.
Trainers shall contact the clocker and provide the name of their
horse that is going to work and the distance prior to the horse
working. Failure to report to the clocker may result in
disciplinary action.
A horse scratched for a medical reason shall not work within 48
hours of being scratched.
Any horse vanned off or put on the vet’s list during training or
racing may not return to train-ing or racing unless the attending
practicing veter-inarian consults with the Equine Medical Director
to discuss the diagnosis of why the horse needed to be vanned off,
signs off that the horse is sound enough to return to racing, works
for the state veterinarian and has blood specimens analyzed.
A horse observed to be lame by the state vet-erinarian may be
placed on the vet’s list at the discretion of the Equine Medical
Director for an amount of time to be determined by the EMD. A horse
observed to be lame a second time within 365 days of the first time
shall be ineligible to race for 90 days, and in the case of a third
occurrence within 365 days, the horse shall no longer be eli-gible
to run.
A horse scheduled to run within seven days of its previous start
shall be flagged for additional scrutiny.
If an override is required to take an entry of a horse, that
horse may not be permitted to start
until the Equine Medical Director approves.Any horse found to
have been treated with
bisphosphonates shall be declared ineligible to run. Any
veterinarian found to have administered bisphosphonates to a horse
shall be subject to dis-ciplinary action.
Any horse entered in a race is not permitted to leave the
grounds.
No 6-year-old maidens will be allowed to start.
The following medication changes will take effect on February 1,
2020:
Lasix AdministrationAdministration of furosemide (Lasix)
shall
be restricted to 4 hours prior to post time of the horse’s race.
A horse not meeting this 4-hour re-striction shall be scratched and
there will be no exceptions. (This rule pertains to Thoroughbred
and Standardbred racing.)
Intra-Articular InjectionsThe administration of ANY
intra-articular in-
jection shall be restricted to 14 days before a horse is
anticipated to run. The attending veterinarian must report the
injection to the Equine Medical Director, and the horse will not be
permitted to run for 14 days from the date of the injection. A form
has been created for practicing veterinarians to complete on each
joint injection and submit to the Equine Medical Director. For the
purpose of counting the number of days, the day the day on which
the horse is treated shall be the first day. The horse will be
listed in a central database available to all regulators in the
Mid-Atlantic re-gion that contains the name of the horse, date of
treatment and date of eligibility to race. A horse may be entered
to race while on the list, but is not permitted to start until the
date of eligibility.
Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs)
NO NSAID CAN BE ADMINISTERED TO A HORSE WITHIN 48 HOURS OF ITS
RACE.
The new testing threshold for phenylbuta-zone (Bute) will be 0.3
micrograms per milliliter of plasma.
The new testing threshold for flunixin will be 5.0 nanograms per
milliliter of plasma.
The testing threshold for ketoprofen will be 2.0 nanograms per
milliliter of plasma.
The testing threshold for diclofenac will be limit of
detection.
The testing threshold for firocoxib will be limit of
detection.
THE PRESENCE OF MORE THAN 1 (ONE) NSAID IN A TEST SAMPLE
(STACKING) IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED AND WILL CONSTI-TUTE A
VIOLATION.
Regarding intra-articular injections, Hopkins said veterinarians
already are required to report intra-articular corticosteroid
injections within 48 hours, but staff will meet with them to
reinforce their new reporting responsibilities.
The new medication regulations, which are new national model
rules, will be moved in Mary-land as emergency regulations. Hopkins
noted that penalties, which could entail aggravating or mitigating
circumstances, are still being discussed given the regulation
changes.
“We wanted people to have the opportunity to be heard before we
implemented these rules and regulations,” MRC Chairman Mike Algeo
said. “We have been having meetings for a while, and these changes
are not reactionary but precaution-ary. We are being proactive. A
large majority of our discussions have revolved around track safety
and track-related issues. We continue to do things that
matter.”
MRC member Konrad Wayson suggested the commission in the future
discuss racing surfaces and receive a report from track management
on daily maintenance practices and a review to en-sure procedures
are being followed because “it all ties together” when it comes to
equine safety. It was noted the Maryland Thoroughbred Horse-men’s
Association is holding open bi-weekly meetings at 9:30 am in the
Laurel Park Rec Room to address any surface-related issues raised
by horsemen.
“This is a piece of the equine welfare issue,” Hopkins said.
temporary non-agricultural jobs. There is a statu-tory cap on
the total number of foreign nation-als who may be issued an H-2B
visa or otherwise granted H-2B status during a fiscal year.
Congress has set the H-2B cap at 66,000 per fiscal year, with a
maximum of 33,000 available during the first half of any given
fiscal year and 33,000 for workers who begin employment in the
second half of the fiscal year. For the past sev-eral fiscal years,
demand for H-2B visas has far outpaced the supply, so many
employers includ-ing trainers have been denied the H-2B visas they
need to operate their businesses.
For the fourth year in a row Congress will del-egate to the
Secretary of Homeland Security the authority to allocate visas
above the 66,000 cap if
the Secretary determines, after consultation with the Secretary
of Labor, that the needs of American busi-nesses could not be
satisfied with U.S workers who are willing, qualified, and able to
perform temporary non-agricultural labor.
The bill would potentially increase the total number to 130,716
new and returning H-2B for-eign temporary workers, according to
Department of Homeland Security estimates.
The NTRA legislative team, through its member-ship in the H-2B
Workforce Coalition, will work with other industries such as
hotel/hospitality, landscap-ing and seafood processing that also
rely heavily on the H-2B visa program to convince the DHS to
allo-cate the full number of visas authorized by the 2020 spending
bill.
Health & Safety Directives, Continued from Page 1
H2B Visas, Continued from Page 1
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Poker TournamentsTim Walsh was victorious the December
poker game. BJ Jones finished second with Steve Kell finishing
in third.
The next poker game is Tuesday, Janu-ary 21st in the Laurel Park
Rec Room.
Van ServiceThe MTHA Express is continuing to
help many on the backstretch for doctors, dentist, social
security, and social service appointments. To schedule a ride,
contact Dan Mangum at 410-802-5798, or see Bob-by, Jessica, or
Diana to make arrangements. Trips are on Tuesdays and
Thursdays.
Rec Report
2019 MTHA Toy Drive: A Resounding
Success!The morning of Dec. 21 in the track kitchen
at Laurel Park was a fantastic one for the chil-dren of Maryland
backstretch workers.
This year’s MTHA toy drive established a record as about 70
children were on hand to pick up their Christmas gifts courtesy of
attend-ees of the MTHA Christmas Party, a Maryland Jockey Club
Christmas give-and-get promotion and cash donations from the MJC
and jockey Victor Carrasco. Last year, about 50 children were
signed up to receive toys.
The MTHA greatly appreciates the ap-pearance of Santa Claus, who
handed out the wrapped presents to the kids, and Miguel Paz and his
family for providing hot chocolate and cookies for all who
attended.
The event began at 11 a.m. and ended at about noon. Many of the
kids along with their parents and other family members began filing
into the kitchen a half-hour early.
Another tradition continued on Christmas Day when full dinners
were served in the track kitchen at Laurel and Pimlico. About 100
meals were served at Laurel and about 50 at Pimlico.
The best of the Maryland Thoroughbred industry in 2019 will be
celebrated when the third Renaissance Awards program is held
Tuesday, Feb. 11.
The awards celebration was first held in 2018 after the Maryland
Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, Maryland Horse Breeders
Association and Maryland Jockey Club joined forces to create a
signature event to recognize racing’s human and equine
partici-pants. The Guinness Open Gate Brewery in Halethorpe will
serve as the loca-tion this year.
Organizers said the event will run from 6-10 p.m. Tickets,
priced at $150, will be avail-able for purchase soon via
Eventbrite.com. The new Guinness Open Gate Brewery regularly
hosts events and has the necessary space and catering
services.
The format will be similar to the 2019 event, which was held at
the American Vision-ery & Arts Museum in Baltimore.
The MTHA will honor the leading own-er, trainer and jockey, as
well as rec-
ognize the Grooms of the Year at Laurel Park and Pimlico Race
Course. The MHBA will pres-ent awards for breeder, brood-mare and
stallion of the year.
And the top Maryland-bred runners in the following categories
will be rec-ognized: turf, sprinter, 4-year-old and up filly and
mare, 4-year-old and up male, 3-year-old filly, 3-year-old male,
2-year-old filly, 2-year-old male and steeplechase runner. The
Horse of the Year will be selected from those categories.
Renaissance Awards Scheduled For Feb. 11
Urizar “Uri” Velazquez, who assists trainer Brandon McFarlane
with his shedrow, has been selected the MTHA Backstretch Employee
of the Year at Pimlico Race Course for 2019.
Velazquez, a 27-year-old native of Mexico, began working with
Thoroughbreds for Mark Casse in Ocala, Fla., as a teenager and
landed his first exercise-riding job with top consignor Eddie Woods
in Ocala. He later worked as an exercise rider for Sagamore Farm
and then train-er Dane Kobiskie in Maryland.
Velazquez wanted to be a jockey, and rode in a handful of races
at Gulfstream Park before returning to Maryland, where he won his
first race in August 2018 at Laurel Park. He won a few more races
at the
Maryland State Fair at Timonium before suffering an injury that
has keep him from riding.Velazquez, who hopes to eventually ride in
races again, has a passion not only for horses but in
assisting those on the backstretch in times of need and, being
bilingual, he makes himself available as a translator.
Pimlico Backstretch Worker Of The Year: URIZAR VELAZQUEZ
Laurel Park Backstretch Worker Of The Year: TROY SINGH
Troy Singh, who has served as assistant trainer for the Claudio
Gonza-lez barn for the past four years, has been selected
Backstretch Employee of the Year at Laurel Park for 2019.
Singh, a 38-year-old native of Guyana, took an interesting path
to his job—he was a racehorse owner who became so interested in
being around the horses that he went to work for Gonzalez, who he
met at Monmouth Park when Gonzalez claimed a horse for him. Singh
owned 12 horses trained by Gonzalez at the Bowie Training Center
before it closed and then became his assistant at Laurel.
Singh, who said he’s proud of the fact the Gonzalez barn will
again lead the Maryland trainer standings by wins in 2019, ensures
that all goes well in the operation of the stable by overseeing
grooms and other em-ployees, and he also handles the paperwork. The
Laurel operation has grown to about 60 horses and was less than 30
when Singh came aboard four years ago.
MarylandPride
Stop in the MTHA office at Laurel Park to pickup a free Maryland
racehorse sticker.
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MTHA500 Redland Court, #105
Owings Mills, Maryland 21117
January 2020
STANDARDPRE-SORT
US POSTAGE
PAIDPERMIT #15
WESTMINSTER, MD
Board of Directors
Timothy L. Keefe, PresidentLinda S. Gaudet, Vice PresidentDale
Capuano, Vice PresidentMichael F. Horning, TreasurerKatharine M.
Voss, Secretary
A. Ferris Allen, IIIR. Larry Johnson JoAnn Hayden
Mark B. LapidusRobert T. ManfusoHugh I. McMahonH. Graham
Motion
Charles J. ReedPhilip B. SchoenthalMichael J. Trombetta
Horsemen’s Health System Winter 2020 ScheduleJanuary 2020
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May 2020
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31
September 2020
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27 28 29 30
February 2020
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June 2020
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28 29 30
October 2020
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18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30 31
March 2020
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29 30 31
July 2020
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19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28 29 30 31
November 2020
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29 30
April 2020
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19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28 29 30
August 2020
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2 3 4 5 6 7 8
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23 24 25 26 27 28 29
30 31
December 2020
1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 25 26
27 28 29 30 31
2020 HORSEMEN’S HEALTH SYSTEM SCHEDULE
Dr. Frank DawsonDr. Kelly Ryan Dr. Je� rey Mayer Dr. Christian
Glaser Dr. Jason Pothast
January 2020
1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28 29 30 31
May 2020
1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
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17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31
September 2020
1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 25 26
27 28 29 30
February 2020
1
2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15
16 17 18 19 20 21 22
23 24 25 26 27 28 29
June 2020
1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 29 30
October 2020
1 2 3
4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30 31
March 2020
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8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30 31
July 2020
1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
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19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28 29 30 31
November 2020
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29 30
April 2020
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26 27 28 29 30
August 2020
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23 24 25 26 27 28 29
30 31
December 2020
1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 25 26
27 28 29 30 31
2020 HORSEMEN’S HEALTH SYSTEM SCHEDULE
Dr. Frank DawsonDr. Kelly Ryan Dr. Je� rey Mayer Dr. Christian
Glaser Dr. Jason Pothast
January 2020
1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28 29 30 31
May 2020
1 2
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31
September 2020
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February 2020
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June 2020
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October 2020
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March 2020
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July 2020
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November 2020
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April 2020
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August 2020
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December 2020
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2020 HORSEMEN’S HEALTH SYSTEM SCHEDULE
Dr. Frank DawsonDr. Kelly Ryan Dr. Je� rey Mayer Dr. Christian
Glaser Dr. Jason Pothast
January 2017
May 2017
September 2017
February 2017
June 2017
October 2017
March 2017
July 2017
November 2017
April 2017
August 2017
December 2017
2017 DOCTOR’SSCHEDULE
Dr. Frank DawsonDr. Kelly Ryan Dr. Jeffrey Mayer Dr. Christian
Glaser Dr. Jason Pothast
January 2017
May 2017
September 2017
February 2017
June 2017
October 2017
March 2017
July 2017
November 2017
April 2017
August 2017
December 2017
2017 DOCTOR’SSCHEDULE
Dr. Frank DawsonDr. Kelly Ryan Dr. Jeffrey Mayer Dr. Christian
Glaser Dr. Jason Pothast
January 2017
May 2017
September 2017
February 2017
June 2017
October 2017
March 2017
July 2017
November 2017
April 2017
August 2017
December 2017
2017 DOCTOR’SSCHEDULE
Dr. Frank DawsonDr. Kelly Ryan Dr. Jeffrey Mayer Dr. Christian
Glaser Dr. Jason Pothast
January 2017
May 2017
September 2017
February 2017
June 2017
October 2017
March 2017
July 2017
November 2017
April 2017
August 2017
December 2017
2017 DOCTOR’SSCHEDULE
Dr. Frank DawsonDr. Kelly Ryan Dr. Jeffrey Mayer Dr. Christian
Glaser Dr. Jason Pothast
January 2017
May 2017
September 2017
February 2017
June 2017
October 2017
March 2017
July 2017
November 2017
April 2017
August 2017
December 2017
2017 DOCTOR’SSCHEDULE
Dr. Frank DawsonDr. Kelly Ryan Dr. Jeffrey Mayer Dr. Christian
Glaser Dr. Jason Pothast
COFFEECHRISwith
MTHA is facilitating open bi-weekly meetings between interested
horsemen and Track Superintendant Chris Bosley to receive input and
discuss track surfaces.Meetings resume Jan. 3 at 9:30 a.m. in the
Laurel Park Rec Room. All are welcome to attend.
