This past week the Back on Track crew traveled to south Florida and revisited some of our favorite racetracks, training facilities, and aftercare organizations. My crew was small so I only had time to snap a few iPhone photos along the way. Locations we visited included Gulfstream Park Racing & Casino, Florida Thoroughbred Retirement and Adoptive Care (FL TRAC), and the Midwest Thoroughbred Ranch that includes Thoroughbred racehorse training, rehabilitation, and retirement. On the topic of medication in thoroughbred horseracing, Gulfstream will be offering furosemide-free races for 2-year-olds in 2015. We spoke with Dr. Robert O’Neill DVM, who will be heading the on-track pharmacy that will tighten the regulation of medication. We also filmed multiple races and the event “College Day 2014” that welcomed a younger audience to the track. The Gulfstream Park Thoroughbred Aftercare Program is one of the many organizations that support Florida TRAC. We caught up with Director Barbi Moline and met several new exercise riders, grooms, and horses at the facility. Thoroughbreds that have come from Gulfstream have gone onto second careers such as mounted police horses and sport horses. Midwest Thoroughbreds, Inc. supports Thoroughbreds both on and off the track. The facility covers 170 acres and has 24 outdoor paddocks for horses that need to rest or have been retired to the farm. The facility is also a full service training facility and we had the chance to film horses swimming in a state-of-the-art aquatic training pool. The pool provides a low impact environment in which horses can exercise. The horses’ feet remain on the ground, providing safe footing while allowing water resistance. The horses loved the pool and happily walked into it when entering the building. The facility was gorgeous and we had a great time filming their daily routine.
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 17:36:36 +0000