Making Claims - October 2013

The topic of cloning has emerged as a hot-button issue in the horse racing world this year, due to the ongoing legal battle to admit clones into the American Quarter Horse Association registry.

At the time this was written, a West Texas U.S. District Court had ruled against the AQHA, requiring the breed organization to accept clones and allow them to participate in all AQHA-sanctioned events, including racing. The AQHA plans to appeal the ruling.

Meanwhile in Northern California, the great race mule Sarah Nelson drew national attention to the state’s county fair circuit over the summer when she squared off against her clone, Lil Sarah. Striking a blow for originals everywhere, Sarah Nelson defeated her doppelganger, who finished third.

Both Quarter Horses and mules are racing breeds that moved beyond the strict “live cover” guidelines of the Thoroughbred breed’s Jockey Club and ventured into artificial insemination (AI) and embryo transfer (ET); innovative ways to breed horses without both parties having to be in the same breeding shed. As such, both registries have taken the next step into allowing cloned competitors, or will be dragged kicking and screaming into accepting them until the legal process sorts itself out.

This got me thinking about the Arabian breed – one that allows AI and ET. As a highly international breed, those processes have helped Arabian racing bloodlines have a bigger reach than they ever would if limited to strictly live cover matings.

At the same time, the breed is also through the proverbial looking glass in regards to setting a precedent for science to intervene in the natural breeding process. Once that line is crossed, it becomes difficult to exclude new methods such as cloning, as Quarter Horse breeders are now finding out.

The Arabian Jockey Club does not currently allow cloned horses to compete, and that does not look to change anytime soon. However, as breeding technology advances and courtrooms begin setting precedents on the subject, there could come a time when the Arabian racing community is faced with the possibility of having to admit cloned horses.

Where do I stand on the cloning of racehorses? I find it to be a fascinating case study in the “nature vs. nurture” debate, sure, but I am generally opposed to the idea. What makes our athletes special is that there is only one of them, and it takes catching lightning in a bottle to get that one. I have no moral qualms with the practice, but when it comes to the purity of the sport, it just feels like cheating.

With Arabian racing in such a unique position, I wanted to get the opinions of industry leaders on the topic to get a feel for where the breed stands and where it is headed in regards to cloning.

To get that perspective, I queried three of North America’s leading breeders of racing Arabians:

Kathy Smoke, Mokee Arabians
Todd Moak, Todd Moak Proven Bloodstock/Burning Sand International
Alan Kirshner, Cre Run Farm

Each has skin in the game on multiple levels and brings a unique perspective to the issue on a national and global scale. Following is what they had to say regarding the subject of cloning in Arabian racing.

1) If the issue were brought forth, where would you stand on the registration of cloned Arabian horses, especially with regards to racing?

Kathy Smoke: Absolutely do NOT want cloned Arabian horses for any discipline.

Todd Moak: I would not support the registration of cloned Arabian horses in any regard.

Alan Kirshner: I am against the registration of cloned Arabian horses to be used for cloning.

2) Do you think the current situation with the AQHA will have any bearing or precedence that might ripple into the Arabian registries? 

KS: Absolutely. We ended up allowing ET because the Quarter Horse industry lost in court and the Arabian registry knew it didn’t have the funds to fight this issue if anyone in the Arabian industry brought this to the table.

Also, we can’t even regulate the number of ET’s per year. That would hold true for cloning, sad as it is. There are countries that have regulated the number of ET foals from the same mare that can be registered for racing purposes.

This type of breeding and/or cloning benefits the wealthy who can afford it. This stacks the deck against the small breeder who can only afford one AI or natural cover per mare per year.

TM: I do not think the situation with the AQHA will likely have any bearing or influence. Different breeds have maintained separate standards and accepted practices. While all breeds have common interests to some extent, I don’t think one registry’s decision should influence another, but more the membership of its constituents. 

AK: The situation at AQHA will have a bearing on all registries that allow the use of shipped semen. It all began with the ability to have more than one foal out of the same mare in the same year, the Quarter Horse association lost on that and the other breeds except the Thoroughbreds chose to accept. I think the reason the Thoroughbreds can get away without it is the fact that they require the mare and the stallion to have natural mating.

3) Quarter Horse and mule racing both allow artificial insemination and both now allow cloning, or are at least seriously facing the possibility of it in their registry. Is cloning the next logical step in breeding once a registry has moved past live cover and into AI?

KS: Cloning is NOT AI. I was for the use of AI especially when trying to preserve a bloodline that was being lost. Cloning is messing with nature; and who can tell what cloned genetic DNA will do, down the line, to our horses? I would not breed to, or own, a cloned animal of any kind. Go to Wikipedia for a short review of Dolly [the first cloned sheep] and her life. Raises many questions. There’s tons of info out there if one wants to get educated on “cloning”.

TM: I do not think that cloning is the next logical step to AI. Further, I do not think that cloning is breeding. It is a totally different means of reproduction. The practice of AI benefits the majority of Arabian breeders for its practicality in access to stallions in our country and worldwide. It is a method of breeding that potentially is beneficial to all breeders. 

AK: This doesn’t answer No. 3 but I do not believe that cloning will necessarily produce an athlete with the same athletic ability as the original horse. It may look like the horse but it does not necessarily have the other things that make up a champion. 

I think that you would find that full siblings are genetically closer to each other than a clone to the horse. We all know that full brothers and sisters are not automatically good athletes.

4) Do you see cloned Arabians on the racetrack as a realistic possibility sometime in the future?

KS: If the courts continue to treat “livestock” as they do “securities” and allow this type of law based on “fair trade” it may be inevitable.

TM: Cloned Arabians on the racetrack are a possibility, as the science is available. However, I doubt that this will become reality as I do not think the registry would approve it. As most know, even if the registry approved, the entities that regulate racing would also have to allow these horses into competition. So I think the possibility is very remote.

AK: The cost of cloning and the cost of embryo transplants is very expensive and no one is their right mind would do this in today’s Arabian racing market. A few years ago Deb [Mihaloff] and I did embryo transfers. While we only did five or six, we do not feel that these transfers were as strong as those that were carried naturally by their mother. This definitely is not a scientific fact, but our gut feeling.

5) If cloning were allowed for racing Arabians, how would you react? How would it affect your business? 

KS: When and if that day comes, I’ll quit breeding and racing Arabians completely. Kudos to The Jockey Club (Thoroughbreds) for holding fast. They must have known that moving to AI would be the slippery slope it has now proven to be.

TM: My reaction would not be favorable. As a breeder that has created some very successful runners, I think it could negatively affect my business, because the buyers of top runners around the world might invest in cloning of proven successes instead of buying other horses bred for the international market.

While I could potentially create clones from my top stallion, broodmares and runners, which could benefit my business financially, this would not be the case for the industry participants as a whole, which would be detrimental the industry.

AK: It doesn’t make any difference to me if they clone them or not. I have chosen to stay in the business even though I question the authenticity of some horses who claim to be full blooded Arabian horses. I would certainly not change my mind if they decided to clone.

6) Any other thoughts on the topic of cloning, especially in racing, that you would like to share?

KS: I understand that nurture over nature plays a large part in the development of any animal whether it results from natural cover, AI, or ET. However, ET is completely different from cloning.

I am 100% against cloning for purposes other than to preserve a species (not bloodline) that is becoming extinct. Even in this scenario this should only be done under the guidance of qualified scientists in a very controlled environment. I don’t even want to think about using cloning to bring back extinct species and yet I’ve read that is one use of cloning that scientists propose.

TM: As far as my knowledge of the success of cloning of mules, the performance of the clones has not equaled the donor. I agree with opinions I have read on the subject – science can recreate the physical specimen, but cannot duplicate other factors of great influence, such as mind and spirit of the clone and environmental factors.

Cloning, in my opinion, takes away from the art of breeding. As all breeders know, the success of a runner created from ones own ideas, care and management, is very satisfying. To duplicate by cloning is not in the same realm. The ability to create a clone is a matter determined by having the financial means to do it. This would create more disparity in the breeding community. It would discourage participation in breeding and racing.

Though the goal would be long term, the creation of a clone reaches further than the racing career of the cloned horse. Cloning could be practiced on a very successful gelding to recreate that individual as a stallion. Fillies could be cloned for breeding, in an attempt to recreate a great broodmare. While I respect the science, I think that the use for Arabian racing would cause harm to our industry. 

Making Claims - October 2011

“Ain’t nothing I know of can make you fall in love like a night at the county fair.”

It took me six months to work a line from my favorite country music artist, Chris LeDoux, into a column, but I finally found the right spot to do it.

Don’t worry. I’ll explain.

On the way back from spending Labor Day weekend in Michigan visiting family and, of course, going to Mount Pleasant Meadows, I took a detour to the Van Wert County Fair in Van Wert, Ohio.

What drew me off the beaten path to this modest county fair in the middle of nowhere Ohio?

Horse racing. Duh.

The Van Wert County Fair is one of a very small handful of fairs east of the Mississippi River to offer pari-mutuel flat track racing. As readers out west surely know, the fair circuit is still kicking on their side of the country, but for whatever reason, the tradition has largely died out as one heads eastward.

The Van Wert fair runs a one-day, quasi-sanctioned card of Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing each year on Labor Day. The purses are modest, the races don’t show up on Equibase and the starting gate is as rickety-looking and claustrophobic as they come. After seeing photos of the Van Wert races on the Facebook page of some friends who took their horses to run there, I knew this was a place I needed to see.

I arrived in Van Wert in time for the sixth race after a late start getting on the road. The program stand was sold out, so I took the advice of a mutuel teller and hung around the garbage bins until somebody discarded one. It took me a while, but I finally managed to snag a clean program. Not surprisingly, the information was spotty at best. Lots of handwritten information.

In the last four days, the track’s surface had hosted two days of harness racing, a truck and tractor pull and, on the night prior to the races, a demolition derby. Nobody was going to blame his or her horse’s performance on the surface being too deep.

Additionally, there was no inside rail – only pylons from the harness racing days to mark where the suggested boundaries lie, with one pylon surrounded by a long, neon green Styrofoam tube to mark the finish line.

Instead of a booth above the grandstand, the announcer and placing judges were situated on an elevated platform next to the finish line. If riders wanted to file an objection, they rode their horses right up to the stand and state their case.

As for the riders, their assignments were announced over the loudspeaker as they entered the paddock. One jockey puffed on a cigarette while riding through the post parade. I am not an advocate of smoking, but this was truly something to behold.

At this point, it would be understandable to wonder where I am going with this, aside from describing an offbeat racing destination. Again, don’t worry. I’ll explain.

As I noted earlier, the programs sold out by the sixth race. Unless the printer broke down, that means the place drew a crowd, which it most certainly did. The grandstand was packed and it was just as populated around the track’s turns and backside with tailgaters who grilled and enjoyed spirits like they would for a football game.

The crowd demographic was quite a bit different from the average racetrack. The stereotypical down-and-out degenerates that populate the bigger tracks were few and far between, or at least their cries were drowned out by the brass band that played in between races.

It seemed like the coveted “young people” demographic was not terribly in force, but the “very young people” group was there in spades, and they can be just as valuable.

The number of kids with what appeared to be a legitimate interest in what was going on was rather staggering. Even if some of them were still deciding on which horse they wanted to “vote”, they still formulated legitimate analyses on the races before them while their supervising adults filled in the blanks.

These kids may not be able to put money through the windows, but creating the desire to play the races down the road is worth just as much.

Warranted or not, most racetracks do not have a reputation for being a great place to take the  “very young people” demographic unless they grew up in the industry. Generations of real and imagined stories about shady dealings and Runyon-esque characters are enough to convince most parents to look elsewhere. The advent of casino gaming at the racetracks has only furthered this notion.

A county fair does not carry this stigma. The family and agricultural atmosphere creates a safe environment for parents and grandparents to bring their young ones once or twice a year and teach them about racing. To bring it back to the Chris LeDoux quote, the county fair is a great place for kids to get an up-close, hands on introduction to horse racing and fall in love with the sport.

For those who believe we can’t count on tomorrow to save today, consider the size of the crowd and the money they put through the windows. With no extended meet to worry about maintaining purse structure or facilities, there is a good chance a significant portion of the handle goes to the county fair, strengthening the community without leeching tax dollars from the public.

Somewhere along the line, the eastern part of the country appears to have lost its way in regards to fair racing. The sport has lots to gain in reviving the tradition, from generating local grassroots interest to giving horses and connections a place to run in an era of consolidation.

Besides, horse racing is way more fun on anything on the midway.

Click here to watch a video of the Van Wert County Fair races.

Making Claims - May 2011

One of my favorite things about horse racing is its vast array of venues – from the massive palace built to honor equine competition to the modest bullring at the local fairgrounds.

My travels have taken me to racetracks across the country, and each offered a different take on a day at the races. Each track also offered different flavors and philosophies on concession stand service.

Many of my racetrack meals are hastily scarfed down between races, but when something strikes me as particularly good, I take note of it. Over time, I have compiled a list of the best concession stand meals that have crossed my path.

This list does not include meals enjoyed in clubhouses and press boxes. If it’s served above the track’s second floor, the food is supposed to be good. Also, there are some tracks where I just didn’t get around to eating, so there will be some unfortunate snubs.

But now is not the time to think about what didn’t make the cut. It’s time to dig in!

The Ellis Park Cheeseburger

Over the years, I have received plenty of touts on horses. Excited owners proudly announce that their champion is primed for a big effort, followers of a particular circuit may laud a horse shipping in as noteworthy, and sometimes someone just has a good feeling and needs to share it.

However, the only tout that ever yielded life-changing results was not for a horse, but a sandwich. Throughout my internship at Thoroughbred Times, one of my fellow editors, Jeff Apel, repeatedly praised the Ellis Park cheeseburger. Near the end of my stay, we made the three-hour trek to Henderson, Ky. to try it out. It absolutely lived up to the hype.

The burger stand is nestled away from the action, behind the grandstand and pole barns. A mid-summer day is usually sweltering at Ellis Park, so standing over the grill is surely an unenviable task, but great art often comes from great struggle.

It is hard to explain what makes the Ellis Park burger racing’s greatest concession stand meal. Whatever the fellow behind the grill does to the beef patties borders on magic; and like most magic tricks, some things are best enjoyed without worrying too much about the “hows” and “whys”. Simply put, the Ellis Park burger is so good that I eat it with nothing but cheese between the burger and the bun, and I normally put ketchup on everything.

Ellis Park is now a staple of my western Kentucky itinerary because of its burgers. Few can say that a tout on a sandwich had a significant impact on their lives. Do yourself a favor and become one of those people.

The Turfway Park Grilled Cheese Sandwich

It’s hard to screw up a grilled cheese sandwich. It’s even harder to make one worth an eight-hour drive.

Located on the Florence, Ky. track’s ground floor, straight inside from the finish line, the concession stand offers a well-rounded selection of short-order options, but none impress like the grilled cheese.

The sandwich itself is nothing outstanding – just cheese on buttered bread. Where this particular grilled cheese shines is in its ratios.

The bread is the perfect thickness – not so big that it’s hard to eat, but not flimsy – and buttered just right. The cheese appears to be straight from the standard issue “64 slices of American cheese”, but in that sandwich, it becomes plump without turning gooey.

Back home, I have had family and short order cooks attempt to re-create the Turfway Park grilled cheese, and all have come up short. Truly gifted are those who can make the ordinary become exceptional.

The Arlington Park Loaded Mac ‘n’ Cheese

Positioned in the center of the Chicago grandstand’s ground floor is a mall-style food court. As I perused the circular arrangement of food stands, I stumbled across this gem on the menu of the barbecue station.

On the surface the concept of loaded mac ‘n’ cheese seemed like a gamble. Macaroni and cheese is awesome, and BBQ pulled pork is equally awesome. Dumping one on top of the other could have gone either way.

My concern was unwarranted. The two flavors transitioned well into each other, especially near the bottom of the bowl when the two parts had time to settle and blend together.

The only drawback was its piping hot serving temperature, which meant fighting through a burnt tongue to eat the whole thing before the next race. Those who dine with more patience, however, will surely enjoy what they have before them.

The Prairie Meadows Pulled Pork Sandwich

While browsing the internet, I came across a map of the United States displaying each state’s alleged “specialty dish”. As I scanned the flyover states, I couldn’t help but nod approvingly when I saw Iowa’s contribution was the pulled pork sandwich.

The Altoona, Ia. racetrack offers quick dining options in the grandstand and on the apron, but the barbecue shack within shouting distance of the winner’s circle is the place to go.

Like any good BBQ establishment, the portions were generous. The meat was good enough on its own that the barbecue sauce was almost unnecessary. Clearly, the Iowans knew what they were doing.

The sights and sounds of the racetrack are what make the sport great, but it can get even better when the smells and tastes fall into place behind them.