NYRA to no longer accept entries from horses who ran <14 days ago

[ateamstupid]

NYRA issuing reforms to address the recent string of fatalities at AQU..

Per Matt Hegarty on Twitter:

1) NYRA will maintain "poor performance" list, effective today, of horses that will need to work 4F in :53 seconds or list after a bad race. A "poor performance" will be any start in which a horse is beaten 25 lengths or more, NYRA said.

2) NYRA will reduce all weekday (Wed-Fri) race cards to 8 races per day, effective Jan. 22.

3) NYRA will raise the bottom level for claimers from $12,500 to $16,000, effective Jan. 22.

4) Effective Jan. 22, NYRA will no longer accept entries on horses that have started within the last 14 days.

The last one is obviously the most significant of the steps and will be hotly debated.

[Kasept]

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - This afternoon, the New York Racing Association (NYRA), in consultation with the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (NYTHA), announced additional steps to further enhance stringent safety protocols for thoroughbred racing already in place at Aqueduct Racetrack.

"The safety of our equine athletes and jockeys at Aqueduct Racetrack is a high priority," stated Christopher Kay, Chief Executive Officer and President. "In that spirit, the New York Racing Association continues to work together with the NYTHA leadership and the New York State Gaming Commission in these important endeavors."

The New York Racing Association will be implementing the following protocols:

• Effective today, the New York Racing Association steward will keep a "poor performance" list. Horses will be placed on this list after performing in a race at Aqueduct and losing by a margin of 25 lengths or greater. Once on the poor performance list, said horse must complete a half-mile workout in 53 seconds or less to be permitted to enter in a future race. This list will be available to the public on NYRA.com.

• Effective Thursday, January 22, the New York Racing Association will reduce weekday race cards (Wednesday through Friday) to eight races. First scheduled post time will be moved from 12:20 p.m. to 1:20 p.m. on weekdays, and 12:45 p.m. on weekends.

• Effective Thursday, January 22, the bottom level for maiden claimers will be raised from maiden $12,500 to maiden $16,000.

• Effective for entries beginning with the race card for Thursday, January 22, and until further notice, entries will no longer be accepted at Aqueduct on any horse that has participated in a recognized race within 14 days of that start. Horses will be permitted to start on the 15th day following said race.
"The measures announced by NYRA today constitute an important step toward addressing the troubling situation at Aqueduct. We continue to thoroughly investigate the circumstances of each fatality and work closely with NYRA management in order to determine if additional actions need to be taken to protect horses and riders," said New York State Gaming Commission Executive Director Robert Williams.

"New York horsemen continue to work with the New York Racing Association to make adjustments and raise the bar to protect our equine athletes and their riders on their backs," said Rick Violette, Jr., President of the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association.

These four steps complement additional measures implemented during the current Aqueduct winter meet. During this time, the New York Racing Association has:

• Requested and secured approval from the State of New York to implement two lengthy breaks in Aqueduct's winter schedule. One break was completed prior to Christmas, with a second scheduled during March. Both are designed to provide additional rest opportunities for our equine athletes.

• Instituted stringent workout requirements at Aqueduct, mirroring strict requirements previously implemented on the Southern California circuit. These new requirements mandate a minimum number of official, recorded workouts, as well as minimum distances, for various types of horses.

• Implemented stricter processes, procedures and standards at Aqueduct for shockwave therapy, a non-invasive treatment which can speed the healing of orthopedic and soft tissue injuries.

• Reviewed, and continues to review, our racing inventory to eliminate non-competitive horses from participating in racing.

• Implemented State Equine Medical Director Dr. Scott Palmer's direction that necropsies be ordered for all equine fatalities taking place on the grounds of Aqueduct, including off-track, non-racing and training.
Over the course of the past two years, the New York Racing Association has implemented a series of reforms which has resulted in a decrease in the number of catastrophic injuries since the State's 2012 task force report.

[pointman]

So if a horse runs in the Carter and is beaten by 25 lengths, they end up on the poor performance list?

If a talented maiden blows the doors off a field by 15 and the second finisher is 10 ahead of the rest of the field, the rest of the field is on the poor performance list?

How does reducing weekday cards to 8 races help curb breakdowns?

Is there any evidence of increased breakdowns of horses running a race within 14 days of their last race?

On the one hand it is nice to see that there is not a complete assumption that every breakdown is due to the surface of the track and that some focus is being placed on horseman who may be running horses that are lame leading to breakdowns, on the other hand, I am having a bit of a hard time finding how these changes correlate to reducing breakdowns.

[Cannon Shell]

3 and 4 are pointless.

There is no difference between the two levels, its silly to even suggest that any horse running for maiden 12500 wont be entered for 16000.

Not allowing horses to run back on less than 14 days should be up to the discretion of the racing secretary, not some steadfast rule.

I understand that they need to "do something" but those changes are not helpful in anyway except in the most egregious cases which should be dealt with through the new maintaining of a non-competitive list. I have always maintained that ridiculous entries should be refused by the racing sec.

They still have to yet to work up the courage to tackle other issues that are causing NYRA cards to be far weaker than they might otherwise be. Hopefully they will get a period of safe racing, just hope they dont chalk it up to these changes and not consider other grander changes.

[pointman]

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

3 and 4 are pointless.

There is no difference between the two levels, its silly to even suggest that any horse running for maiden 12500 wont be entered for 16000.

Not allowing horses to run back on less than 14 days should be up to the discretion of the racing secretary, not some steadfast rule.

I understand that they need to "do something" but those changes are not helpful in anyway except in the most egregious cases which should be dealt with through the new maintaining of a non-competitive list. I have always maintained that ridiculous entries should be refused by the racing sec.

They still have to yet to work up the courage to tackle other issues that are causing NYRA cards to be far weaker than they might otherwise be. Hopefully they will get a period of safe racing, just hope they dont chalk it up to these changes and not consider other grander changes.

This is really comical as if those being entered for $12,500 will not be entered for $16,000. When you really think about it now they will be running for even more purse money arguably placing the lower level horses against slightly harder competition which makes them even more hopeless and theoretically subject to increased chance of breakdowns.

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by pointman

So if a horse runs in the Carter and is beaten by 25 lengths, they end up on the poor performance list?

If a talented maiden blows the doors off a field by 15 and the second finisher is 10 ahead of the rest of the field, the rest of the field is on the poor performance list?

How does reducing weekday cards to 8 races help curb breakdowns?

Is there any evidence of increased breakdowns of horses running a race within 14 days of their last race?

On the one hand it is nice to see that there is not a complete assumption that every breakdown is due to the surface of the track and that some focus is being placed on horseman who may be running horses that are lame leading to breakdowns, on the other hand, I am having a bit of a hard time finding how these changes correlate to reducing breakdowns.

Where they will wind up with issues with the poor performance rule is when turf races get rained off (obviously not an issue now) and some blowout winner spread eagles the field against a bunch of turf horses running on the dirt. It isnt a huge issue but it can be a disincentive to stay in.

I rarely am a proponent of fewer races however in the case of NY winter racing I think that there is a point that might be valid that few have publicly stated. That is that because turf racing is so much more important that it was in years past and a far greater % of races are written on the grass in the spring-fall it makes sense that the pool of horses in NY to compete successfully on the dirt in the winter is smaller. Trainers likely have a greater % of turf only or preferred horses in their barns as compared to years past. Most regular trainers arent able to fill those stalls of the turf only horses in the winter with horses of equal ability so they take lessor/cheaper horses or just cut back. With Parx purses still pretty strong and Maryland racing on the upswing there arent that many out of town horses to attract either.

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by pointman

This is really comical as if those being entered for $12,500 will not be entered for $16,000. When you really think about it now they will be running for even more purse money arguably placing the lower level horses against slightly harder competition which makes them even more hopeless and theoretically subject to increased chance of breakdowns.

Its just "doing something". It wont help or hurt

[Danzig]

Not being able to enter within 14 days is absurd.

[pointman]

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

Where they will wind up with issues with the poor performance rule is when turf races get rained off (obviously not an issue now) and some blowout winner spread eagles the field against a bunch of turf horses running on the dirt. It isnt a huge issue but it can be a disincentive to stay in.

I rarely am a proponent of fewer races however in the case of NY winter racing I think that there is a point that might be valid that few have publicly stated. That is that because turf racing is so much more important that it was in years past and a far greater % of races are written on the grass in the spring-fall it makes sense that the pool of horses in NY to compete successfully on the dirt in the winter is smaller. Trainers likely have a greater % of turf only or preferred horses in their barns as compared to years past. Most regular trainers arent able to fill those stalls of the turf only horses in the winter with horses of equal ability so they take lessor/cheaper horses or just cut back. With Parx purses still pretty strong and Maryland racing on the upswing there arent that many out of town horses to attract either.

Great point on the off the turf races. I can also envision jocks who would otherwise wrap a hopelessly beaten horse up to come back and play another day now pushing the horse to try to make sure they are beaten by less than 25 lengths to avoid getting on the dreaded list.

As far as setting the rule of 8 races per day during the week, I agree that there are certain races that they should not be carding at Aqueduct and considering the variables you have stated there should be less racing. What I don't get is setting an arbitrary number of the amount of races run as opposed to instructing the racing secretary to stop carding some of the lower end races altogether in their discretion and having some cards with less races.

I am just having a hard time finding how these changes actually helps reduce overall breakdowns, the correlations appear to be lacking to me.

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by pointman

Great point on the off the turf races. I can also envision jocks who would otherwise wrap a hopelessly beaten horse up to come back and play another day now pushing the horse to try to make sure they are beaten by less than 25 lengths to avoid getting on the dreaded list.

As far as setting the rule of 8 races per day during the week, I agree that there are certain races that they should not be carding at Aqueduct and considering the variables you have stated there should be less racing. What I don't get is setting an arbitrary number of the amount of races run as opposed to instructing the racing secretary to stop carding some of the lower end races altogether in their discretion and having some cards with less races.

I am just having a hard time finding how these changes actually helps reduce overall breakdowns, the correlations appear to be lacking to me.

I had a turf horse a long time ago at Tampa that was entered in an allowance race on the grass. He was all turf but when the races came off the turf in tampa not many scratched and they all got "super dates" meaning that you had little chance to get back in if you didnt run. So Zito had a really nice horse (cant remember name) in MTO and when the race came off he was 1-9!. Well his horse wins by something like 18-19. My horse runs 4th beaten 25 1/2. We beat more than 1/2 the field.
A day later the security guards drop off a envelope saying my horse was on the vets list. So I call the state vet and ask why I was on vets list, my horse came back fine. They said you got beat more than 25. I said that makes my horse unsound? They said house rule and had to breeze 1/2 faster than 52 to get off. Well there are no turf works there and I wasnt sure that the horse could actually break 52 on the dirt in the morning.
I wound up just passing on the rest of the meet and waiting for KY.

[Kasept]

Originally Posted by Danzig

Not being able to enter within 14 days is absurd.

Restriction on short run backs isn't so much to guard on that immediate next start, but the possibility of 3-4 starts, etc., in too intense a burst.

[dellinger63]

PR and that's it.

Like Martin Brody yelling shark only in NYRA's waters nothing is there.

Squeaky wheel always gets the grease!

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by Kasept

Restriction on short run backs isn't so much to guard on that immediate next start, but the possibility of 3-4 starts, etc., in too intense a burst.

Will they have exceptions to the rule? For instance, if a horse du.ps his jock at the break of a race and doesnt run..be cant enter for two weeks?
i get why they made the rule, but we have all seen horses run back fine immediately after. The frankel mare who won 2 stakes a week apart comes to mind.
trainers are supposed to be pros...if you have a trainer not being professional, and being too hard on his horses, i would expect him to be ruled off, rather than a rule like this.

[Kitan]

Effective Jan 22, David Jacobson will be relocating his stock.

[Round Pen]

Hmmm the 14 day rule would have put Oscar out of business in his day, heck he would win 4 races in 14 days with same horse.

[Frost King]

And maybe that is how they have finally gotten rid of Jacobson, with these new rules.

[ScottJ]

If the bottom claiming level is upped from $10,000 for Open Claimers and $12,500 for Maiden Claimers, my understanding is that NYRA has estimated that this will cost them fields for at least three races per week which explains the shortening of the weekday race cards to eight races. As these levels only appear at Aqueduct's winter meet, my guess is that nine race cards will return with either the main track opening or surely at the Belmont meeting.

If Steve's view is correct that the 14-day rule is designed to prevent triple or quadruple runs during a fortnight, the rule really should be written that way. Since several horses have been running on a seven or ten day cycle and helping to fill cards, this will lead to shorter fields.

I do however like the idea of a vet's list for non-competitive runners although basing those nominations on losing distance seems wrong. As one reader has pointed out, what happens is you lose the Carter by 25 lengths? The idea of qualifying races, a more stringent version of mandatory gate works or workouts, might have finally found their place in thoroughbred racing.

Short of qualifiers, perhaps any horse that is eased in the final quarter mile of races 5.5 furlongs or less, final 3/16s of 6 furlongs, or final eighth at a mile or more should be placed on the vet's list. In other words, try to make it a combination of the jockey's interpretation of the horses competitive level and performance on the track.

[jnunan4759]

To me this is purely PR and will have little or no truly measurable result. Fatalities often happen seemingly in bunches, then average out over the long term. It's like a slot machine that hits a lot one day and then goes dead for a few days. Often it's just randomness.

To me this seems like an attempt to shift any responsibility to the trainers, vets and stewards.

[parsixfarms]

Originally Posted by ScottJ

If Steve's view is correct that the 14-day rule is designed to prevent triple or quadruple runs during a fortnight, the rule really should be written that way. Since several horses have been running on a seven or ten day cycle and helping to fill cards, this will lead to shorter fields.

In concept, I am not a fan of the 14-day rule. I would rather the racing office exercise its reasonable discretion to accept or reject entries. Having said that, based upon discussions with racing department officials about other rules, my sense is that they went with a bright-line rule on entry dates rather than having to be put in the position of having to explain why Horse A was allowed to run back in less than 14 days while Horse B was not allowed to run back in such a time frame.

I'm not sure that this rule will necessarily lead to shorter fields. It may make certain races harder to fill, but those races that do fill may end up with larger fields (as each condition tends to come up every three weeks in the condition book, and if you pass one book race, you may not run for six weeks).

[rgustafson]

It looks like we have the last three horses to beat the 14 day rule in today at Aqueduct.