Latest News – The Horse

The much anticipated race between Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta? Well, it's on, but only on paper. Horse racing's top two ladies will duke it out among voters for Horse of the Year honors after never meeting on the track.

Each of them have stellar credentials in trying to become the first female to win the year-end honor since Azeri in 2002.

Rachel Alexandra

Naming rights to a wild Assateague Island foal will be auctioned online starting Nov. 8. This is the second auction organized by the Assateague Island Alliance.

The four foals will be placed in the Assateague Island Alliance's Foster Horse Program for adoption with the names chosen by the auction winners. There are only four chances to win, so participants must act

Steeve Giguère, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, a University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine professor and the Marguerite Thomas Hodgson Chair in Equine Studies, recently received the Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health Applied Equine Research Award for his research achievements.

The award was presented at the 11th World Equine Veterinary Association (WEVA)

A ribbon cutting ceremony on Nov. 2 marked the unveiling of a new PET/CT (positron emission tomography/computed tomography) scanner at the Colorado State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital that is the first of its kind in any hospital in the world and the only PET/CT scanner dedicated to serving the needs of veterinary patients. The scanner is specially tailored for veterinary

Thoroughbred Lillie Langtry, the beaten favorite in the Nov. 6 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, suffered a slab fracture in a knee during the race.

John Magnier of Coolmore, co-owner of the filly, was quoted in The Racing Post as saying, "She has a small fracture in her knee. It was nobody's fault and everybody here at Santa Anita dealt with it efficiently

This holiday season horse owners can help equestrians and horse lovers with disabilities each time they purchase bags of Manna Pro horse treats at retailers across the U.S and Canada. In this new partnership, a portion of the proceeds from Manna Pro Horse Treats will go directly to NARHA, whose centers provide equine-assisted activities and therapies to children and adults with special

On Dec. 14 EquestrianProfessional.com will continue its horse business seminar series with "What Every Equine Business Person Needs to Know About the Law." The guest speaker will be renowned equine law expert and author Julie I. Fershtman, attorney at law.

According to the seminar organizers, Fershtman is

The Race Track Chaplaincy of America (RCTA) has announced John Harris, a leader in California agribusiness and racing, as the RCTA Community Award honoree. Harris currently serves as chairman of the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB). Harris was honored at the 7th annual White Horse Heroes Luncheon at Oak Tree Racing Association at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., on Thursday (Nov.

Gulch, the 1988 champion sprinter the year he won the Breeders' Cup Sprint (gr. I), has been pensioned from stallion duty because of declining fertility at William S. Farish's Lane's End Farm near Versailles, Ky. In other news, Lane End's has reduced A.P. Indy's fee to $150,000 from $250,000 for 2010.

Gulch, one of the leading sons of Mr. Prospector as both a

Perhaps the Horse of the Year title is not a foregone conclusion. Zenyatta gave the crowd what they waited for–and the patrons responded by cheering, clapping, and waving–as she ran her unbeaten streak to 14 with a magnificent performance in the Breeders' Cup Classic Nov. 7 at Santa Anita.

Zenyatta looked uncomfortable for the first 200 yards and was last the first time by

Failure to conceive and early embryonic death both negatively impact the equine breeding industry; however, late-term abortions also occur and should not be ignored, said Michelle M. LeBlanc, DMV, Dipl. ACT, from Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Ky., during the 11th Congress of the World Equine Veterinary Association, which was held Sept. 24-27, 2009, in Guarujá, Sao