Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation

Officials at Kentucky Downs have announced that the track will be promoting support of the Grayson-Jockey Club Foundation during its upcoming meet by enabling owners to donate a percentage of prize money or a flat fee per starter to the organization. Owners can direct the horsemen's bookkeeper to allocate funds from their accounts to Grayson through InCompass Solutions' Track Manager system, and paper forms will be available for owners to fill out in the racing office. Kentucky Downs is kicking off donations with a lead gift of $2,500. "Our sponsorship...

The "Grayson Grass Challenge," a five-week handicapping contest benefitting the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation and sponsored by Indiana Grand Racing & Casino, kicks off the week of Aug. 10. Participants will submit selections on two specified turf races each week at Indiana Grand through the week of Sept. 7. Each contestant will be given a $500 bankroll provided by Indiana Grand, of which $100 can be wagered each week. The bankroll can be used for win, place, show, exacta, trifecta, and superfecta wagers. At the end of the five weeks,...

In the fifth and final installment of a series of Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation webinars that took the place of the canceled ninth annual Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit, Drs. Tim Parkin and Mary Scollay examined Tuesday The Jockey Club's Equine Injury Database (EID) and its findings since being launched in 2009. "The genesis of the EID goes back to Barbaro," explained Scollay, the executive director of the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium. "When he was injured in the Preakness, a lot of attention and phone calls were...

Dr. Mick Peterson, Executive Director of the Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory and Professor, Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, University of Kentucky gave a presentation entitled "Track Surfaces: International standards for racing surfaces and the expansion of the Maintenance Quality System"  Tuesday as part of the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation's weekly webinar series. The series was developed to make up for the cancellation of the ninth Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit due to the coronavirus pandemic. Peterson's presentation was divided into three parts--"current best practices for testing and documentation of...

During the second installment of its ongoing webinar series, the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation presented the "Importance of transparency in medical records; monitoring horses between starts" Tuesday afternoon. Chief Veterinary Officer of The Stronach Group's Dr. Dionne Benson moderated the discussion and was joined by private racetrack practitioner Dr. Ryan Carpenter (Equine Medical Center, Cypress, Ca.); Dr. William Farmer (Equine Medical Director, Churchill Downs Incorporated) and Dr. Scott Palmer (Equine Medical Director, New York State Gaming Commission). Leading off the 1-hour discussion was the necessity of the transparency in medical...

Following the cancellation of the ninth Welfare and Safety of the June 20 Racehorse Summit in Lexington, Kentucky, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation kicked off an educational series of weekly webinars Tuesday afternoon. Presented by Dr. Katherine Garrett, shareholder at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital, the initial segment on equine health and safety featured 'Fetlock Injuries: Palmar metacarpal disease and how the various imaging modalities can be used to help diagnose it.' During the course of the 45-minute lecture, which was followed by a short...

The ninth Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit, which was scheduled to be held in the Keeneland sales pavilion in Lexington, Ky., June 23, has been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation has announced. In lieu of an in-person event, Grayson will instead be hosting a series of weekly online seminars on equine health and safety topics starting May 12. "While we are disappointed to cancel an in-person edition of the Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit, we are pleased to be able...

Vinnie and Teresa Viola's St. Elias Stables will sponsor a research project to help develop alternate methods for detection of bisphosphonates in Thoroughbreds, the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation announced today. This gift was made following an appeal by Grayson, the Racing Medication & Testing Consortium (RMTC), and the American Association of Equine Practitioners in June 2019 for research proposals to investigate bisphosphonate administration in racehorses and in young racing prospects intended for sale at public auction. This research will be based at the University of California-Davis K.L. Maddy Equine Pharmacology...

The board of directors of Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation approved expenditure of $1,389,637 to fund 17 new projects at 13 universities, four continuing projects, and the Storm Cat Career Development Award. Since 1983, the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation has distributed over $28.8 million to underwrite 383 projects at 45 universities. One of the projects, to fund sample collection, storage, and cataloging of tissue related to nocardioform placentitis for future submitted research, was accepted because it is directly affecting the 2020 Kentucky foal crop. "All of our projects are important and...

Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation is holding an online photo contest for horse lovers to celebrate their equine companions. The contest opens Feb. 1 and entries will be accepted through Feb. 29. They are seeking original photos of horses representing all breeds, backgrounds and disciplines. Finalists will be selected by the Grayson team and the winning photo will be chosen by votes from the public on Grayson's Facebook page. The winner will receive a Grayson "swag bag," and each finalist will also receive a prize. Selected photos submitted to the contest...