Hit It Once More: A Tribute To a War Horse and a Wake Up Call

The passing of the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Act by the House of Representatives and Senate Monday, Dec. 21 was the best news for American horse racing in 2020. The Act outlined as “developing and implementing a horseracing anti-doping, end-medication program and a racetrack safety program for covered horses…” will soon be signed into law and will take effect early in 2022.

Horse racing worldwide has been battered around in the year of the COVID-19 pandemic bit before the deadly virus hit the world, racing was dealing with some major problems. Most notable of these, the FBI round-up and indictments of trainers, including big names such as Jorge Navarro and Jason Servis, vets, pharmacists and drug makers for administering illegal drugs to racehorses.

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The arrests have been a huge wake-up call to the industry that has struggled with public perception. Tremendous gains have been made in horse welfare awareness and it is certain that the majority of horsepeople have deep love and respect for the racehorse.

But nine months later, as we approach the holidays and dream of a fruitful new year, sad and avoidable incidents continue.

On a recent Saturday afternoon during a card of racing at Aqueduct the 7-year-old HIT IT ONCE MORE, sadly appropriately named, took a bad step late in the stretch run of a $25,000 claiming race. His rider Luis Rodriguez Castro appeared to be ready to pull the horse up but instead, allowed the horse to gallop out past the finish line where he took more bad steps and lost the rider. Hit It Once More was put down.

His young trainer Amira Chichakly, who had only had the horse for two races, the Dec. 19 outing and one 8 days earlier, was understandably upset about the horse not being pulled up after taking a bad step and said “she called a top surgeon” in an attempt to save the horse.

Not much was said about Hit It Once More on social media in tribute. There were angry tweets and one ‘horse watch’ site had been observing the horse’s fall from stakes winner in 2016-2018 to a horse who had gone more than 2 years without a win and just a single top-three placing.

Hit It Once More was bred by JMJ Stables LLC in New York and was a son of Hard Spun – Sunday Break (Jpn). He was bought at a 2015 2-year-old sale for $90,000 by Gary Sciacca for Bill Parcells, NFL Hall of Famer and former football coach.

Following 5 outings as a juvenile, Hit It Once More blossomed as a 3-year-old, winning the New York Derby and four of seven races. He earned $348,190. He had a modest year in 2017 but came back to win more stakes races in 2018, earning $150,000.

However, the horse began to decline in form in 2019 and was away from May until this past June. He began the class drop to $25,000 claiming and then was taken over by Yellow Moon Stable and Chichakly before his Dec. 11. race in which he finished last.

This is a horse who won a lot of money for a single owner and trainer and won at Saratoga, Finger Lakes, Aqueduct, Belmont and Parx. In those wins he was surrounded by people who were thrilled he won. Unfortunately, no one was looking out for him in 2020.

It begins with owners and trainers but racetracks and race offices and veterinarians and jockeys must wake up. If nothing can be done before an entry is accepted and the horse is vet checked pre-race, then take action after the fact. NYRA went on the record about the important arrival of the Horse Racing Integrity Act; perhaps it should be first to correct some of these terrible wrongs.

HIT IT ONCE MORE’S lifetime Past Performances, courtesy Daily Racing Form