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The February 2010 issue of The Horse, whose 48,000-plus readers make it the largest equine publication circulating in the five-state mid-Atlantic market, is now in the mail to our 17,000 subscribers and to 472 tack shops and other outlets throughout Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia.
If your nearby tack shop is already out of copies, calls us at 610 793 1425 or e-mail us at thehorse1@erols.com and we’ll send one to you free of charge.
Trial verdict sends message to horse owners
By JUDITH LEE – WEST CHESTER, Pa. – In less than an hour of deliberation, a Chester County jury found in favor of Ryerss Farm for Aged Equines and against a rider who was injured at the Pottstown, Pa. property during a fund-raising event in 2006.
Although Ryerss won the week-long civil court trial, the case is a cautionary tale for landowners and show organizers.
Ryerss Farm did not have the protection of the Pennsylvania Equine Liability Law (Act 93) because it had not complied by displaying at least two large signs stating, “You assume the risk of equine activities pursuant to Pennsylvania law”.
Ryerss had ordered the required signs, but had not yet posted them, recalled Jessica Arrowsmith, a volunteer who headed the paper chase planning.
Act 93 had gone into effect six months prior to the event at which the plaintiff, Sabina Pierce of Philadelphia, was injured.
Pierce’s attorney noted after the trial that the suit most likely would not have gone forward if Ryerss Farm had complied with the Act 93 signage requirement, which clearly states: “The Act provides immunity only where a sign [is displayed]”.
Still, ten out of 12 members of the jury denied Pierce’s claim of negligence on the part of Ryerss farm.
Photocon winners were low-tech experts
By MARTHA BARBONE – In case any budding photographers out there are too intimidated to enter our annual Photo Contest because of a lack of ultra-high tech equipment, take heart.
Two first place winners, Louisa Emerick of Elkton, Md., in the Animals category and Sara Richardson, West Grove, Pa., Candids, used pretty average point-and-shoot models with great results. Winners in the Candid division are featured on this site this month. Pet/Animal winners will be published next month and Action winners in March.
Curtain falls on bizarre episode
Special to the Horse – UNIONVILLE, Pa. – With the auction of several dozen horses that once belonged to the aptly named Pandora Farms, the curtain has come down on a bizarre episode in Chester County’s social history.
The farm was operated by Lynn Merritt, an attorney from Coatesville, Pa.,and Leonard Pellullo, described in court papers as Merritt’s long-time boyfriend and whose family, also according to court documents, was close to jailed Philadelphia crime boss Nicodemo Scarfo.
Early in the decade Pellullo, acting as agent for unnamed partners (he apparently never owned anything himself), began buying and leasing farms and buildings in the Unionville area.But Pellullo was suddenly sent back to prison to serve out the remainder of a 13-year sentence for fraud and embezzlement leaving his budding empire in a shambles.The auction was ordered by the Delaware Chamcery Court which disolved the partnerships.
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Watershed moment for Maryland
By LINDA DOUGHERTY – Maryland racing faces a watershed moment on Feb.10. But whatever the outcome, it may not end the chaos of recent years, headlined by the bankruptcy of owner Magna Entertainment Co. and the inability of the state to quickly and efficiently get its slots facilities up and running.
While the state fumbled with the process of licensing slots bidders, and a battle broke out in Ann Arundel County over zoning issues concerning prospective slots sites, the two racetracks owned by Magna and the rights to the Preakness Stakes are being put on the auction block.
Leading up to the auction of Laurel Park and Pimlico at least one thing was clear amidst the turmoil: It had come down to a battle between good guys and bad guys.
Turbo Speed appears best of PA-bred 3 year olds
By LINDA DOUGHERTY – Sylmar Farm’s Turbo Speed appears to be the class of PA-Bred 3 yearolds after a gritty effort in the $65,000 Count Fleet Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack on Jan. 2.
 It was the first race against open stakes company for the Pennsylvania-bred 3-year-old son of Louis Quatorze, bred by Mrs. Elizabeth Houghton and trained by her son, Bernie, and he ran well, finishing a close third behind Fox Hill Farms’ Laus Deo.
It was also his first defeat; in three prior starts, he had won with ease, culminating in an impressive performance in the $87,450 Pennsylvania Nursery Stakes at Philadelphia Park on Nov. 28.
In the Count Fleet, which was contested at one mile, 70 yards on the inner track, Turbo Speed sat in third position through the first six furlongs under jockey David Cora, then loomed boldly at the head of the stretch, but was outkicked by Laus Deo, a $140,000 Keeneland September yearling and a son of hot sire Medaglia d’Oro.
With budget set, new worries
By LINDA DOUGHERTY – After months of delays, a bill legalizing table games at Pennsylvania’s slots casinos was formally signed by Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell on Jan. 8, thus putting the finishing touches on a 2010 state budget which will skim millions from the horse racing industry.
The budget reduced the share of revenue horse racing gets from slot machines by about 17 percent over four years. The Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association has projected the Breeding Fund will lose about $2.7 million a year for four years.
A major concern about the passage of the table games legislation is that it will reduce the amount of slots play, thus translating into even less money for the racing and breeding industries.
An August, 2009 study released by the Pennsylvania Equine Coalition – made up of the PTHA, Pa.-HBPA, PHBA, the Pennsylvania Harness Horsemen's Association, Standardbred Breeders Association of PA, and the Meadows Standardbred Owners Association, showed that wagering on slots was likely to drop between 8 percent and 13 percent.
While some early projections had purses being reduced substantially at Penn National, Mostoller feels that several factors will help keep them at their current levels of about $170,000 per night.
New casino off to roaring start at Philly Park
By LINDA DOUGHERTY – BENSALEM, Pa. – In the wee hours of the morning of Dec. 13, workers began moving slot machines out of what had been the former grandstand of Philadelphia Park Racetrack and into the new $250 million Parx Casino, located less than a furlong away.
On Dec. 18, the glitzy gaming venue opened, right on schedule.
Gamblers dropped $97 million into Parx slot machines during the first seven days after its grand opening, an increase of $20 million compared to the same week in 2008, according to statistics provided by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.
Now that the Parx Casino is open, Greenwood has pledged to the Pennsylvania Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association that it intended to restore the grandstand back to a racing facility.
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