Page 76 - New Mexico Horse Breeders 2019 Stallion Register

There are rules in place. All are important. None are frivolous. All have a purpose.
There was a vote taken and the New Mexico- bred requirements were relaxed. No longer were mares forced to reside in the state during their long pregnancy.
In the beginning, it was the Thoroughbred community pushing the hardest for the change but, as things turned out, more than half of the 2017 ladies were Quarter Horses. The total was 91, with 53 Quarters. Revenue generated for the NMHBA through the $500 registration fee for New Mexico stallion breedings was $45,500.
In 2018 (as of July 24), there were 84 out-of- state mares paying the registration fee for New Mexico stallion breedings, generating $42,000 for New Mexico Horse Breeders. At that time, 62 were Quarter mares. It’s reasonable to anticipate the final 2018 numbers will surpass 2017.
Generating revenue is not the primary
focus of this program. Obviously, the money
is a good thing but far better is the fact that
the New Mexico gene pool can now spread wider. The New Mexico influence will gain greater recognition and the eventual value of the “breeds” will rise. Those are all very good things.
Going Clean
One of the primary reasons for New Mexico’s long typecast history as the Redheaded Stepchild was, quite frankly, it’s horrible reputation for dirty racing. Everybody, or just about everybody, knew it. Trainers. Jockeys. And, truth be told, a fair share of owners.
Then, on March 25, 2012, The New York Times pulled on its boots, loaded for bear and jumped into the fray. It. Was. Real. Nasty.
The title of the dark, biting piece of journalism the iconic newspaper produced was “Mangled Horses, Maimed Jockeys – Death and Disarray at America’s Racetracks.” And they grabbed that little Redheaded Stepchild and dragged it into the bright sunlight. And they stood him next to a brutal, color photo of a two-year-old dead colt that had been lugged to a trash heap within plain view for anybody to see. That made it even worse since it seemed to scream, “So what? It’s just a dead horse.”
Next to the bizarrely-angled body was a dilapidated toilet. Surely, at one time, the chestnut colt must have been someone’s shining promise of future possibilities. Now, his legs were bent....rigor mortis (“the stiffness of death”) was invading the once-lithe body....his final resting place was the bare dirt, surrounded by weeds and garbage.
Ugly.
Fast forward to April 5, 2018, in a meeting room in Hot Springs, Arkansas. It was a gathering of The Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI). Sitting in a chair in the audience was Ismael “Izzy” Trejo, Executive Director of the New Mexico Racing Commission
(NMRC). Sitting next to him was Ray Willis, NMRC chairman. The two men were there to accept an award from ARCI president Ed Martin, for the “NMRC’s exemplary service to the cause of racing integrity.”
What in the world happened during those intervening six years?
The award came as a direct result of the heroic efforts of the NMRC and its staff to raise the level of trust in, and the integrity of, racing in the state of New Mexico. The scene had moved from a pitiful, heart-breaking dead horse to the NMRC being asked to speak at several industry conferences. Other states wanted details and examples; they wanted advice and guidance from the NMRC about the tools being used to clean up racing in New Mexico.
Actually, to be accurate, NMRC began receiving such calls and invitations in 2016, making it only four years since that horrible article that the turn-around began.
Remember....New Mexico had been the butt of the industry with less respect than Rodney Dangerfield. It lived under the very real shadow of ruthless, vicious Mexican drug cartels such as the cruel Zetas. Now, in less than six years, industry people in high places listen when New Mexico speaks. National notice has focused on the state’s rule changes and the expanded testing efforts that have taken fierce hold over the past two years.
The state works according to a tough, uncompromising guideline when it comes to trainers and owners who violate the drug rules. Heavy, life-changing sanctions have been levied on cheaters, tantamount to a death sentence
in terms of racing participation. The result? A dramatic drop between 2016 and 2017 in drug positives, especially in the Class I substances that are particularly dangerous for both horses and riders. That decrease continues into 2018.
The improvements didn’t “just happen.” Instead, they’re the product of some bottom line, gutsy moves on the part of the state. First, out-of-competition testing expanded by the proverbial leaps and bounds. Then, in July, 2017, the sometimes controversial hair testing procedure was added to the tool kit. Finally, people accepted that New Mexico was not kidding. How much more serious could things get than kicking horses out of big-money races? Including the All American Futurity. The message is finally loud and clear: Racing is going clean. Stay home if you don’t like it.
Another move greatly facilitating the New Mexico clean-up was when the NMRC joined forces with the New Mexico Board of Pharmacy. Now, horsemen illegally possessing clenbuterol are subject to prosecution under the state’s controlled substance act.
Clenbuterol abuse has declined sharply in the past two years but it isn’t gone. Unfortunately,
there is still a small number of horsemen who just can’t seem to nail down the definition of “zero tolerance” when it comes to this particular substance. The NMRC feels joining with the New Mexico Board of Pharmacy just might help to clarify that definition.
And, certainly, let’s not forget about the adoption of Section 15.2.6 D.5 in an emergency action on June 26, 2016. It was written by Dr. Scott Waterman, NMRC Medical Director, and is now part of the New Mexico Administrative Code (NMAC). At its core, the rule says: A horse with a positive test, as determined and reported by the official lab, in specific categories shall be placed immediately on the stewards’ list. In other words, we just described “summarily suspended.”
The affected horse(s) remains on the stewards’ 60-day list. They may return to racing at the end of those 60-days provided they test clean.
Management teams at all the New Mexico tracks, the New Mexico Horsemen’s Association and the New Mexico Horse Breeders’ Association all locked arms and marched in united endorsement of the new, strict measures. In April, 2016, following the authorization of Out Of Competition Testing (OOCT), Ray Willis said, “This project will be an aggressive procedure to let the public know that New Mexico is going in the right direction and we will start the testing immediately.”
Fred Hutton, Director of Racing for Zia Park, expressed a sentiment shared by all the tracks when he said, “I commend the aggressive approach taken by the NMRC.”
Dan Fick, acting on behalf of the NMRC, hired Trejo, who claimed the role of Executive Director for the NMRC in March, 2016. Many
of his friends and colleagues, quite frankly, didn’t feel his brain was functioning properly when
he accepted the position. They referred to New Mexico racing as a “snake pit.” They said the job would not be a positive addition to Trejo’s resume. They said Trejo would be nothing but a figurehead with no authority. They said the NMRC was the worst racing commission in the industry.
A weaker man might have reconsidered his decision after hearing all the negative remarks, but Trejo just marched ahead. He honestly believed everything he’d done since graduating from the University of Arizona’s Race Track Industry program had come together to prepare him for taking on the challenge of what was then rag-tag New Mexico racing.
Trejo walked into the job with an extremely simple philosophy. It goes something like this: There are rules in place. All are important.
None are frivolous. All have a purpose. Everything is designed to protect horses,
jockeys, trainers, owners and the integrity of the entire racing industry, especially in New Mexico.
Follow the rules and all is well. Smooth. Problem-free.
74 New Mexico Horse Breeder