Page 15 - January 2018

Louisiana Downs Meet Begins
The 2018 Quarter Horse racing season at Harrah’s Louisiana Downs began Jan. 6. The 46-day meet will include 12 stakes highlighted by the first official championship for 2-year-olds, the $100,000-added Mardi Gras Futurity on March 17. Live racing will continue through March 21.
Jockey Damian Martinez returns to Louisiana Downs off a record year that began with the title at the Louisiana track last March. He won 37 races and kept his momentum going throughout 2017, winning 124 races
to finish the year as the top North American Quarter Horse jockey in wins.
The 24 year old was born in Coahuila, Mexico, and began riding professionally in 2012. His career got a huge boost when Texas horseman Brian Stroud saw his potential and the two embarked on a prolific association with JRC Callas First. Under Martinez, the versatile Texas-bred won 10 stakes and was honored as 2014 AQHA World Champion.
“It’s a whole different atmosphere in Louisiana,” said Martinez. “Everyone was helpful and encouraging. You don’t find that everywhere.”
In 2016, Martinez won 102 races, finishing second behind to David Alvarez in AQHA standings by wins. The two Louisiana leaders were two of only four Quarter Horse jockeys in the country to eclipse 100 wins for the year. In 2017, Martinez won 124 races and purses worth $1.8 million.
okLahoMa enacts eMeRgency RuLes
In December, the Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission and the Governor of Oklahoma adopted emergency rules dealing with medication and substance thresholds. The new rules
include changes in the medication levels which now closely mirror the ARCI model rules and prohibited treatments, penalties, etc.
The changes are designed to make Oklahoma’s permitted medications uniform with the other states that have adopted ARCI model medication rules. There are also changes to eliminate potential loopholes and increase the ability of the OHRC to enforce its rules.
A significant change is that positives can be called and confirmed in any biologic sample,
not just in blood plasma or serum as in previous versions of the rule. Pursuant to the new rules no horse carrying a prohibited substance in its body shall be brought within the enclosure, entered in a race or participate in a race.
Failure to disclose the actual trainer of a horse participating in a race shall be grounds to disqualify the horse and subject the actual trainer to possible disciplinary action by the stewards or the commission. Prohibited practices also now include use of a blood gas machine or ozone generator.
“It feels great,” Martinez said of his 2017 record. “I could not have done it without
the support of so many trainers and owners.” Martinez and his wife, Bianca, are proud parents of daughter, Daila, and are awaiting the birth of their second child in July.
Visit www.caesars.com/harrahs-louisiana- downs for the track’s complete stakes schedule.
texas sets Racing caLenDaR
The Texas Racing Commission set the state’s 2018 live racing calendar in December.
Sam Houston Race Park will conduct a 20-day Quarter Horse meet from March 30 to May 12. The Houston track is projected to offer purses of $65,000 per day.
Lone Star Park will conduct a 16-day Quarter Horse season from Sept. 21 to Nov.10 with purses estimated at $150,000 per day.
Retama Park near San Antonio will conduct a 25-day mixed meet from July 6 to Sept. 5 with races split evenly between Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses.
The Gillespie County Fair in Fredericksburg will conduct races between July 6-Aug. 25 and will be an eight-day mixed-breed meet.
The total of 48 days of Quarter Horse racing is a decrease of 22 days compared to 2017 when 70 Quarter Horse dates were offered. For more information, visit the TRC’s website at www.txrc.texas.gov/.
tuRf PaRaDise enDs Phone wageRing
Turf Paradise ended phone-wagering Jan. 9. The Phoenix, Arizona, track announced the change via an announcement by track general manager Vincent Francia. “Effective January 9, 2018, all Phone Betting Accounts for Arizona residents will no longer be active.” he stated. “This includes phone betting accounts with TVG, Twin Spires, Express Bet and Turf Paradise Bets.”
Francia’s announcement stated in part:
“First, Turf Paradise apologizes for any inconvenience the cancellation of Phone Betting services in Arizona has caused you.
“Due to strict gaming regulations, we were never able to offer Advanced Deposit Wagering
(ADW) the way you, the customer, deserved: with full Internet access and the ability to use Phone Apps. So, rather than enhancing your experience by creating more and easier ways
to play and creating new fans, it resulted in quite the opposite: Phone Betting cut into Turf Paradise’s on-track and Off Track Betting (OTB) handles, the two sources from which we derive benefit for our purse account and our business.
“With Phone betting, less money was being wagered on-track and thru our OTB system. Thus, less money was available for purses and our business.”
The track offered the phone wagering for three years and during that time Francia estimated that “approximately $3.6 million has been taken from the Arizona horse racing industry.”
Customers were advised to contact account providers for a refund.
SPEEDHORSE, January 2018 13
track chatter