laminitis

There was a lot to cover this week on the TDN Writers' Room podcast. Gustavo Delgado Jr., assistant trainer of Travers-bound Mage, joined to discuss the Derby-winning colt, and Dr. Raul Bras talked on the current research on laminitis following the recent passing of Art Collector (Bernardini) and Cave Rock (Arrogate).

Art Collector (Bernardini), a winner of eight stakes, including the 2023 GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational and the 2021 GI Woodward S., was euthanized Thursday in Saratoga after developing laminitis. Horse Racing Nation was first with the story. "This was sudden and a tough experience for me and my wife," said owner-breeder Bruce Lunsford. "I can summarize this pretty easily. He gave me my highest highs in this business and now my lowest low. That's as simple as I can put it. He will be in my brain and my...

Irish Hill & Dutchess Views Stallions LLC's Majestic City (City Zip) was euthanized Tuesday, Nov. 8, due to the complications of laminitis. The 13-year-old is the sire of four small crops of racing age, which include 34 individual winners and Belmont's 2021 Iroquois S. winner The Important One. "Majestic City will be sorely missed by myself and the entire team," said Irish Hill & Dutchess Views manager Bill Leak. "He was a horse you could measure others against and only hope they can come close to his quality." Majestic City's...

Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital will host the Second Rood & Riddle International Podiatry Conference, an educational seminar for veterinarians and farriers, Apr. 15-16 at the Spy Coast Equine Educational Center on Newtown Pike in Lexington, Ky. The conference aims to create a collaborative experience for veterinarians and farriers to work together, increasing and sharing their knowledge of biomechanics, laminitis, and innovations within equine podiatry. It will feature lectures and demonstrations by some of the equine industry's most notable members. Guest speakers include Dr. Renate Weller of the University of...

Spendthrift Farm's MGISW Lord Nelson (Pulpit--African Jade by Seeking the Gold) was euthanized Thursday after a long battle with laminitis. He was 9-years-old. "Upon consulting with a veterinarian team consisting of Dr. Scott Morrisson, Dr. Jim Morehead, and Dr. Caleb Harms and our stallion manager Wayne Howard, it was determined that the only humane course of action we had was to euthanize Lord Nelson following his latest difficult battle with laminitis," said Ned Toffey, Spendthrift's general manager. "It's pretty well chronicled his long fight with the disease. After several encouraging...

Classic winner and leading sire Bernardini (A.P. Indy-Cara Rafaela, by Quiet American) was euthanized July 30 at Darley's Jonabell Farm in Central Kentucky due to complications from laminitis. The 18-year-old stallion, a homebred for Sheikh Mohammed's operation, has stood at Jonabell since he was retired for the 2007 breeding season. "Bernardini was one of a kind," said Michael Banahan, director of farm operations for Godolphin USA. "From the day he was born, he exuded class. He was that crop's best foal, best yearling, and best racehorse. His brilliance was only...

Majesticperfection (Harlan's Holiday--Act So Noble, by Wavering Monarch), a Grade I-winning sprinter and sire of 2015 GI Kentucky Oaks victress Lovely Maria, succumbed to laminitis recently at Haras Rapetti in Uruguay, Turf Diario reports. He was 15 years of age. A $25,000 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky buyback as a yearling, Majesticperfection was purchased by Satish Sanan's Padua Stables for $370,000 at OBS April in 2008 and was trained by Steve Asmussen to five victories from six starts, including a track record-setting performance in the 2010 Iowa Sprint H. (six furlongs in 1:07.24)...

If pressed to pinpoint a single Achilles heel in the racehorse, it's probably a fair bet to assume many would zero in on the fetlock--the intricate joint mechanism that in a racehorse travelling at top speed proves especially vulnerable to system failure. Indeed, 19 of the 22 horses that suffered catastrophic musculoskeletal injuries at Santa Anita during its benighted winter-spring meet nearly two years ago had sesamoid fractures. In most cases, the prognosis for horses who suffer severe fetlock breakdowns is grim, but a procedure pioneered at the end of...