Thistledown

Rocco Bowen was suspended 30 days by the stewards at Belterra Park Tuesday for "intentionally" engaging in "rough riding" when finishing second aboard the 3-10 favorite during the stretch run of the $75,000 Miss Southern Ohio Stakes last Friday. But because the veteran jockey has agreed not to appeal the ruling, the penalty has been cut in half, to 15 days. Bowen's agent, Cory Hayes, confirmed to TDN that the reduced suspension will be in effect from Sept. 29 through Oct. 13. "It's pretty self-explanatory in the [ruling]," Hayes said....

After well-publicized track management issues last month that saw racing and training suspended for a short period, Thistledown has been back up and running since August 4 with a new track superintendent. But that doesn't mean the work is done. The task of keeping a racetrack in good shape is an ongoing daily headache--just ask Michael "Mick" Peterson, professor of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering at the University of Kentucky and executive director of the Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory (RSTL). The RSTL is the centralized hub where track operators transmit back maintenance information...

After a couple of lost training days last week because of escalating safety concerns with the dirt surface, racing resumed Monday at Thistledown, but another tragedy was not far behind. In the first race of the day, the 5-year-old mare Tayyara (Khozan) broke down and had to be euthanized. Thistledown canceled the remainder of the eight-race card. According to a Horseracing Safety and Integrity Authority (HISA) spokesperson, HISA Chief Executive Officer Lisa Lazarus asked Thistledown to cancel after the first race and they agreed to do so. She also asked...

Thistledown Racino in Ohio fired its track superintendent on Monday, and management at the Cleveland-area track has brought in outside racing surface consultants and is working with the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) in the aftermath of four lost days of racing and training this week because of escalating safety concerns with the dirt surface. But Sean Wright, who was only on the superintendent's job four months before his abrupt termination July 21, told TDN in a Wednesday phone interview that Thistledown's troubles on its one-mile dirt oval extend...

He may have taken a right turn out of the starting gate and drifted in the lane, but Mo Plex (c, 3, Complexity--Mo Joy, by Uncle Mo) made a beeline for the finish line in the nine-furlong GIII Ohio Derby, gliding through his first attempt at two turns with efficacy. Chunk of Gold (Preservationist), recently profiled on these pages after his GI Kentucky Derby ninth, was second, while McAfee (Cloud Computing), the GIII Peter Pan Stakes runner-up and half to Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna), was third....

The new Maryland Jockey Club (TMJC) has hired veteran John Banno as Director of Racing Surfaces, the organization said in a press release on Friday morning. Previously the superintendent at Thistledown, Banno brings over 30 years of industry experience to the role. He will oversee the TMJC track team as they maintain the dirt surfaces at Laurel Park, Pimlico Race Course, and the brand-new training center at Shamrock Farm. "John is the perfect fit for the Maryland Jockey Club," said President and General Manager Bill Knauf. "He has a proven...

Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country. Following a full hearing in Cleveland between April 23 and April 25 before HISA's anti-doping and medication control program arbitration panel, Ohio veterinarian Scott Shell has been suspended for 21 months and fined $20,000 for possessing four banned substances on Sept. 28 last year at Thistledown Racetrack. The four substances in question were two jars of Carolina Gold/GABA (an amino acid that can be used as a calming...

Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country.   NEW HISA/HIWU STEWARDS RULINGS The following rulings were reported on HISA's "rulings" portal and through the HIWU "pending" and "resolved" cases portals. Resolved ADMC Violations Date: 09/12/2024 Licensee: Robert James Gherardi, trainer Penalty: A fine of $500; imposition of 1.5 Penalty Points. Admission. Explainer: Vet list medication violation for the presence of Firocoxib--controlled medication (Class C)--in a sample taken from Kell's Kiss on 8/6/24. Date: 09/12/2024 Licensee:...

2nd-Thistledown, $33,900, (S), Msw, 8-28, 2yo, 6f, 1:11.64, my, 13 lengths. SUPERWOLF (g, 2, Instagrand--Sunshineandsilence, by Speightstown) debuted in the local Cleveland Kindergarten Stakes Aug. 10 and argued the pace through the middle furlongs before settling for a promising runner-up effort. Accordingly off at 1-20 against maidens this time around, the Marion Gorham runner sprinted clear under a good hold to lead after a furlong and never truly took a deep breath under hands-and-heels encouragement in decimating his rivals by a baker's dozen in good time. The ninth winner for...

Jockey Ferrin Peterson suffered a broken, displaced collarbone when the horse she was riding, Chargina (Fed Biz), broke down in the third race at Thistledown Tuesday. Peterson was taken by ambulence to the nearby Cleveland Clinic for precautionary X-rays, where she was diagnosed with the break. Chargina suffered a catastrophic injury and was euthanized. The incident occured near the half mile pole, and another horse, Sushi Q (Palace), stumbled over her and unseated her rider, Roberto Perez. Both Perez and his mount were uninjured. "They took X-rays and I have...

A veteran of two-thirds of this year's Triple Crown series, Albaugh Family Stables' Catching Freedom (Constitution) gets a fair bit of class relief while facing nine others in Saturday's $500,000 GIII Ohio Derby at Thistledown outside of Cleveland. Winner of the GII Louisiana Derby to earn his spot in the field for the GI Kentucky Derby, the $575,000 Keeneland September acquisition gave an excellent account of himself on the first Saturday in May, delivering a rails rally in the stretch to round out the superfecta, a length and three-quarters behind...

When two members of Gulfstream Park's security team and a veterinarian descended on his barn on the morning of June 2, the 62-year-old trainer Jeff Poole didn't think he had anything to worry about. According to the Jockey Club's Thoroughbred Regulatory Rulings website, Poole, who has been training since 1989, had never had a violation of any kind. And his recent record--he had won 11 races combined since 2021--hardly suggested that he was a trainer who was taking an edge. Even when investigators found in his office a tube of...