Coady Media/Churchill Downs
An Op/Ed by Ashley Tamulonis
Churchill Downs, Inc. has pushed through some questionable decisions in recent years, from the buying out and shutting down of tracks like Arlington Park to arbitrarily extending the ban they imposed on Bob Baffert. Horsemen and fans alike have been up in arms about these decisions, myself included, so it’s a sad day indeed when I actually agree with an action taken by CDI.
To backtrack, the Louisiana State Racing Commission recently approved rule changes that would reduce withdrawal periods for the bronchial drug clenbuterol and the pain-relieving, anti-inflammatory steroid Depo-Medrol, for starters. After much criticism, including from CDI, the Louisiana commission reversed itself on those two measures but left other changes untouched.
The issue that arises with these lax changes in the state of Louisiana is that they are weaker and incredibly inconsistent with standards in every other racing jurisdiction, nationally and internationally. This has led to the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority to state that if the changes did come back up to their standards, then horses shipping from Louisiana to tracks in other states would be forced to be placed on the veterinarian’s list due to being “medically compromised and unfit to race.”
That leaves horsemen with a big decision to make. They can take fewer horses to Louisiana, leave the state early enough to ensure that their charges have enough time to clear the vet’s list, or not race at all in Louisiana. Leaving the state early to ship to Kentucky has its own set of consequences as there is already a backlog of horses on the vet’s list that would only increase with a large volume of other horses opting to avoid Louisiana in favor of the Blue Grass State.
If the Louisiana commission refuses to back down and agree to HISA’s terms, we will be looking at a very different Road to the Kentucky Derby for 2025. Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans hosts four Kentucky Derby preps. The 1 1/16-mile Gun Runner Stakes in December offer points to the top five finishers on a 10-5-3-2-1 scale. That’s followed by the 1 1/16-mile Grade 3 Lecomte in January, which also offers points on a 10-5-3-2-1 basis. February brings the 1 1/8-mile Grade 2 Risen Star Stakes, the first of the Kentucky Derby Championship Series in which the points are increased to 50-25-15-10-5. The 1 3/16-mile Grade 2 Louisiana Derby wraps up the Fair Grounds Road to the Kentucky Derby and offers points on a 100-50-25-15-10 scale.
Due to the Louisiana Commission’s decision to be more lenient with their medication rules, CDI has threatened to straight out cancel the Louisiana Derby or potentially hold all Kentucky Derby preps along with several other key races at a different track. Conceivable alternative locations include Churchill Downs, Ellis Park, and Turfway Park, though Turfway Park’s tapeta surface would completely change the complexion of those races.
Not running those preps at all would also have a huge impact of the Kentucky Derby. All four Fair Grounds preps produced Kentucky Derby 11th place-finisher Track Phantom. The Grade 2 Risen Star produced Kentucky Derby runner-up Sierra Leone, 4th place-finisher Catching Freedom, 6th place-finisher Resilience, and 8th place-finisher Honor Marie. Sierra Leone and Honor Marie also ran 1-2 in the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby before their Run for the Roses. So the Fair Grounds Road to the Kentucky Derby produced five of the top 11 finishers this year.
And that was just this year alone. Taking just the Louisiana Derby into consideration, last year winner Angel of Empire was 3rd in Kentucky while 3rd-place finisher Two Phil’s was 2nd in Kentucky. In 2022, winner Epicenter and 3rd-place finisher Zandon were 2nd and 3rd at Churchill Downs. In 2021, winner Mandaloun was awarded the Kentucky Derby victory after the disqualification of Medina Spirit while 3rd place-finisher Midnight Bourbon checked in 6th under the Twin Spires. The point is that while the Fair Grounds runners don’t necessarily win the Kentucky Derby, they do perform extremely well in Kentucky.
The ultimate goal here is the safety of the horses and jockeys, as well as the integrity of the sport. One of the biggest concerns is that the newly established threshold for Flunixin would mask unsoundness of any horse to which it is administered. Our breeding practices have already resulted in slimmer legs less capable of carrying the weight of our beloved Thoroughbreds. The last thing we need is lax standards that would further jeopardize the lives and livelihoods of the horses, jockeys, trainers, owners, and breeders. Hopefully the Louisiana Commission will see reason and back down. Otherwise, for once, I trust Churchill Downs, Inc. to do the right thing: protect our horses and avoid more scrutiny of a sport that’s already under a microscope. So certainly, run the races elsewhere or leave them out altogether. We do not need anymore unnecessary tragedies.
