penn nat
randyf
Senior Member
Horses Die, Jockeys Boycott and Owner Blames a Track
Michael Gills competitive drive has often served him well. The owner of a mortgage brokerage company based in New Hampshire, he won 370 races in 2009, more than any other racehorse owner. But with those victories has come controversy, and Gill now finds himself the target of an unusual protest in which jockeys at Penn National Race Course are refusing to ride in any race in which a Gill-owned horse is entered.
The jockeys, citing concerns for their safety, pointed to repeated instances in which horses owned by Gill broke down on the Penn National track since Oct. 1. According to The Daily Racing Form, six Gill-owned horses have had fatal breakdowns during that period, an unusually high number.
In a telephone interview Monday, Gill contended that the racing surface at Penn National, in Grantville, Pa., was unsafe and was to blame for the breakdowns. However, Gill added that he did not have the heart for a prolonged fight with Penn National management and jockeys and instead would soon start liquidating his stable so that he could leave racing.
Im going to sell every single horse, and Ill have a health certificate and veterinarians certificate on purchase attesting to the soundness of the horse, Gill said from his mortgage companys headquarters. Ill sell them all, they can look at it, and then when the horses still break down at Penn, theyll know what the problem is.
Penn National has long been considered a minor league track, but the introduction of slot machines has allowed it to drastically increase the size of purses and also improve the quality of its races. It now finds itself as the latest flashpoint in a continuing debate about the care that racehorses receive, and the use of drugs, both legal and illegal, to keep them on the track.
The Penn National dispute erupted Jan. 27 when a Gill-owned horse named Laughing Moon broke down after crossing the finish line in that nights fifth race and had to be euthanized. Afterward, Penn National jockeys convened and told management they were boycotting all future races that included Gill horses.
From the viewpoint of the jockeys, the danger was clear: should an owner or trainer run an infirm horse, all jockeys involved in the race could be in danger because a fallen horse could trigger a chain reaction putting other horses and riders in jeopardy. After the jockeys met, the rest of the racing program continued that night only after the remaining horse owned by Gill on the card was scratched.
Penn National management then issued a temporary racing ban on all Gill horses pending further investigation. That has since been lifted. Gill has entered four horses for Wednesday nights program at Penn National, but the jockeys boycott remains in place. Of the 44 horses entered to run in those four races Wednesday, only eight have been assigned jockeys. The list includes Gills horses, all four of whom are scheduled to be ridden by Jose Baez. Im going to run my horses Wednesday, Gill said. Those other guys can do whatever they want.
After the breakdown of Laughing Moon, Penn National asked the Pennsylvania Racing Commission to investigate. According to Justin Fleming, the press secretary for the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, which oversees the racing commission, the inquiry is continuing. It included necropsies on Laughing Moon and a Gill horse named Melodeeman, who broke down in a Jan. 21 race at Penn National and was humanely destroyed.
Gill said he was told by racing commission officials that the necropsies did not reveal any prerace problems that may have led to the horses deaths. Fleming declined to reveal the results of the necropsies. Angel Quinones, the jockey aboard Melodeeman, has not ridden since the Jan. 21 accident. He could not be reached for comment.
Eric Schippers, Penn Nationals vice president for public affairs, said that unless the Pennsylvania Racing Commission acted against Gill prior to Wednesdays races, the Gill-owned horses would be allowed to race. It is not clear how the track will deal with the jockey boycott.
As of now, his horses are scheduled to run in the races on Wednesday, he said. Were hoping for more clarity on the situation prior to that.
Thomas Clifton, who has been riding at Penn National for more than 15 years, said that the track was safe.
The racing surface at Penn National right now is as good a racing surface as they have had since Ive been around, he said. Its been cold, but theres been almost no precipitation.
Thats a red herring, he said of Gills assertion that the racing surface was to blame.
Gill, 54, has been a controversial figure since his stable expanded drastically in 2000. In 2003, after a horse he owned broke down in a race at Gulfstream Park, a veterinarian sawed off the horses leg. Some concluded that that was an attempt to hide evidence of possible wrongdoing. Gill and his trainer at the time, Mark Shuman, were exonerated. A year earlier, he was barred from racing at Delaware Park; no reason was publicly given.
Gill also led the nation in victories every year from 2003 to 2005 and won an Eclipse Award as the nations outstanding owner in 2005. Gill grew disillusioned with the sport in 2006 and also said at that time that he was leaving racing. He did reduce the size of his stable substantially but started to build it back up in 2008. He said he currently owned about 100 horses, many of whom race at Penn National.
I have made hundreds of millions of dollars, and people actually think Im going to put a jockey on the back of a $5,000 claimer, knowing the horse is sore and risking the guys life? Gill said. Im not going to go on under those circumstances.
Michael Gills competitive drive has often served him well. The owner of a mortgage brokerage company based in New Hampshire, he won 370 races in 2009, more than any other racehorse owner. But with those victories has come controversy, and Gill now finds himself the target of an unusual protest in which jockeys at Penn National Race Course are refusing to ride in any race in which a Gill-owned horse is entered.
The jockeys, citing concerns for their safety, pointed to repeated instances in which horses owned by Gill broke down on the Penn National track since Oct. 1. According to The Daily Racing Form, six Gill-owned horses have had fatal breakdowns during that period, an unusually high number.
In a telephone interview Monday, Gill contended that the racing surface at Penn National, in Grantville, Pa., was unsafe and was to blame for the breakdowns. However, Gill added that he did not have the heart for a prolonged fight with Penn National management and jockeys and instead would soon start liquidating his stable so that he could leave racing.
Im going to sell every single horse, and Ill have a health certificate and veterinarians certificate on purchase attesting to the soundness of the horse, Gill said from his mortgage companys headquarters. Ill sell them all, they can look at it, and then when the horses still break down at Penn, theyll know what the problem is.
Penn National has long been considered a minor league track, but the introduction of slot machines has allowed it to drastically increase the size of purses and also improve the quality of its races. It now finds itself as the latest flashpoint in a continuing debate about the care that racehorses receive, and the use of drugs, both legal and illegal, to keep them on the track.
The Penn National dispute erupted Jan. 27 when a Gill-owned horse named Laughing Moon broke down after crossing the finish line in that nights fifth race and had to be euthanized. Afterward, Penn National jockeys convened and told management they were boycotting all future races that included Gill horses.
From the viewpoint of the jockeys, the danger was clear: should an owner or trainer run an infirm horse, all jockeys involved in the race could be in danger because a fallen horse could trigger a chain reaction putting other horses and riders in jeopardy. After the jockeys met, the rest of the racing program continued that night only after the remaining horse owned by Gill on the card was scratched.
Penn National management then issued a temporary racing ban on all Gill horses pending further investigation. That has since been lifted. Gill has entered four horses for Wednesday nights program at Penn National, but the jockeys boycott remains in place. Of the 44 horses entered to run in those four races Wednesday, only eight have been assigned jockeys. The list includes Gills horses, all four of whom are scheduled to be ridden by Jose Baez. Im going to run my horses Wednesday, Gill said. Those other guys can do whatever they want.
After the breakdown of Laughing Moon, Penn National asked the Pennsylvania Racing Commission to investigate. According to Justin Fleming, the press secretary for the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, which oversees the racing commission, the inquiry is continuing. It included necropsies on Laughing Moon and a Gill horse named Melodeeman, who broke down in a Jan. 21 race at Penn National and was humanely destroyed.
Gill said he was told by racing commission officials that the necropsies did not reveal any prerace problems that may have led to the horses deaths. Fleming declined to reveal the results of the necropsies. Angel Quinones, the jockey aboard Melodeeman, has not ridden since the Jan. 21 accident. He could not be reached for comment.
Eric Schippers, Penn Nationals vice president for public affairs, said that unless the Pennsylvania Racing Commission acted against Gill prior to Wednesdays races, the Gill-owned horses would be allowed to race. It is not clear how the track will deal with the jockey boycott.
As of now, his horses are scheduled to run in the races on Wednesday, he said. Were hoping for more clarity on the situation prior to that.
Thomas Clifton, who has been riding at Penn National for more than 15 years, said that the track was safe.
The racing surface at Penn National right now is as good a racing surface as they have had since Ive been around, he said. Its been cold, but theres been almost no precipitation.
Thats a red herring, he said of Gills assertion that the racing surface was to blame.
Gill, 54, has been a controversial figure since his stable expanded drastically in 2000. In 2003, after a horse he owned broke down in a race at Gulfstream Park, a veterinarian sawed off the horses leg. Some concluded that that was an attempt to hide evidence of possible wrongdoing. Gill and his trainer at the time, Mark Shuman, were exonerated. A year earlier, he was barred from racing at Delaware Park; no reason was publicly given.
Gill also led the nation in victories every year from 2003 to 2005 and won an Eclipse Award as the nations outstanding owner in 2005. Gill grew disillusioned with the sport in 2006 and also said at that time that he was leaving racing. He did reduce the size of his stable substantially but started to build it back up in 2008. He said he currently owned about 100 horses, many of whom race at Penn National.
I have made hundreds of millions of dollars, and people actually think Im going to put a jockey on the back of a $5,000 claimer, knowing the horse is sore and risking the guys life? Gill said. Im not going to go on under those circumstances.