After coming off the board for the first time in his 22-race career in last Saturday’s Breeders Crown final for 3-year-old male pacers, multiple veterinary examinations have determined that Louprint (Dear Lou) had broken ribs, co-owner Mark Weaver said Wednesday.
His connections traced the possible cause of the injuries to an incident earlier this week in which Louprint got his front legs stuck over the fence of his stable. Weaver said the horse showed no obvious signs of any injury heading into the Breeders Crown final.
“We had no idea,” Weaver says. “There was nothing to indicate the severity of it, and it could have been something where the racing aggravated the situation. If you look at the race, he made a little break in the first corner, and that’s not him. Obviously we wouldn’t have raced him if we had known. We cut him from the Meadowlands Pace (in July). He would have been 100 percent scratched on Saturday.”
After the race, Louprint seemed wary as trainer Ron Burke examined him, especially around the chest. Louprint was sent to the stable’s regular veterinarian, Dr. Keith Brown of Brown Equine Hospital in Pennsylvania, who after taking x-rays, suggested Louprint go to Dr. Kent Allen of Virginia Equine Imaging. A bone scan and ultrasound confirmed Louprint’s injury.
“We now know what it is and it’s certainly a logical explanation as to why he had the only bad race of his career,” Weaver said.
Louprint, the Dan Patch Award winner for best 2-year-old male pacer in 2024, has 10 wins and a second in 12 starts this year with $1.02 million in earnings. His wins include two Grade 1 stakes, the North America Cup and Little Brown Jug. He entered the Breeders Crown final as the No. 1 horse in the Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown poll, a spot he held unanimously for two weeks and twelve weeks in total.
Over his career, the son of Sweet Lou-Rockin Racer has won 17 of 22 races, finished second three times and third once, and raised $1.76 million. He is owned by breeders Burke Racing Stable, Weaver Bruscemi LLC and Phil Collura, as well as Larry Karr.
“He’s like my kid,” Weaver said. “He’s had a great career and I hate to see it potentially end this way. He’s had a great career.”
A decision on the future of Louprint will be made soon.
Through Ken Weingartnerfor the USTA
#Rib #fractures #explain #Louprints #problems #Breeders #Crown