Popular Indiana Derby Spotlights Caesars Entertainment Equine Specialty Hospital

July 28, 2023

The college's group is joined by the winning horse and his team alongside the horse track — PVM faculty, staff, alumni, and friends gathered in the Indiana Derby Day winner’s circle after the third race with the winning horse, Caboose, jockey Joseph Ramos and owner and trainer Denis Chuley. (Photo by Coady Photography)

Purdue’s Caesars Entertainment Equine Specialty Hospital took center stage recently as the distinguished Winner’s Circle sponsor for the 29^th running of the Indiana Derby at Horseshoe Indianapolis in Shelbyville. The event was held on Saturday, July 8 and featured over $1.1 million in purses that attracted a field of more than 200 horses. Commonly referred to as Indiana’s biggest horse-racing event of the year, Indiana Derby Day was created to build a premier racing event for the young Indiana Thoroughbred racing program. The races have exceeded all expectations, even achieving prestigious Graded Stakes status following the 2001 running of the event.

winning horse and jockey cross the finish line — The Caesars Entertainment Equine Specialty Hospital was the Winner’s Circle Sponsor for the Indiana Derby July 8 at Horseshoe Indianapolis. (Photo by Coady Photography)

In conjunction with Caesars Entertainment Equine Specialty Hospital’s sponsorship, Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine Dean Willie Reed hosted a group of some 52 guests who came to see the Indiana Derby Day races. The racing got underway just after noon and continued all the way through the afternoon to the grand finale race, the Indiana Derby, at 6:40 p.m. “As a proud provider of services to equine athletes throughout the country with state-of-the-art diagnostic imaging, revolutionary sports medicine, and surgical expertise, we are pleased to celebrate these equine athletes, trainers, and owners at the summer’s biggest racing event of the year,” Dean Reed said.

The racing on Indiana Derby Day was complemented by numerous activities, including a Virtual Reality Jockey Station, Cigar Rolling Station, and an Indiana Derby Hat Contest. In addition to the over 3,000 fans in attendance, many others saw the Indiana Derby televised live by FOX Sports 2. The big winner of the day was regally-bred three-year-old colt Verifying who outlasted a late surge by Raise Cain to claim $176,400 of the $300,000 Indiana Derby purse. The favorite going into the race, Verifying is the son of the 2018 Triple Crown winner, Justify, and had the most career earning of all the contenders in the race including the most 2023 earnings.

Writer(s): Kelly Dold and Susan Xioufaridou | pvmnews@purdue.edu

Recent Stories

“Paws Up” for Jennifer Danaher – brought to you by the PVM Wellness Committee

This week we express our gratitude to Jennifer Danaher, who is department secretary for Veterinary Clinical Sciences.

‘Purdue Pursuits’: A PVM angle on Purdue’s teaching and learning reading groups

Crafting meaningful and engaging course experiences has been at the top of Dielson Vieira’s mind ever since he joined the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine’s faculty in 2024. As a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Vieira is already adept at applying innovative teaching practices to classroom environments, but that doesn’t stop him from seeking out new ideas, approaches and perspectives — insights he gains through outlets like Purdue’s teaching and learning reading groups.

Top tier biology journal publishes PVM study that unlocks secrets of a drug-resistant fungal pathogen, which causes serious infections in humans

Though the name “Candida auris” is far from a household term, public health experts know it well because the multi-drug-resistant fungal pathogen, which causes serious human infections, has been classified as an urgent threat by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Antibiotic Threats Report (2019). Dr. Shankar Thangamani, Associate Professor of Microbiology and University Faculty Scholar in the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine’s Department of Comparative Pathobiology, is researching C. auris, aided by a 2.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). New research findings, just published in Nature Microbiology, show how C. auris adapts and evades the immune system.

In Print: ‘Translational Research Methods for Tauopathies’

A just-published 300-page volume edited by Jessica Fortin, Purdue assistant professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Department of Basic Medical Sciences, provides a significant new resource for researchers studying a group of neurodegenerative diseases known as tauopathies. “Translational Research Methods for Tauopathies” provides detailed protocols intentionally selected to serve as a basis for research laboratories seeking to further treatments for such debilitating neurodegenerative diseases as Alzheimer’s and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

It’s Almost Here!

Though the annual Purdue Veterinary Conference is almost upon us, there’s still time to register and take advantage of this time-honored College of Veterinary Medicine fall tradition that combines excellent continuing education with fun opportunities for reconnecting with colleagues and classmates, networking, and learning about the latest veterinary trends and products. The 2026 Purdue Veterinary Conference takes place September 23–26 on the Purdue University campus. The annual event has something for everyone, from veterinarians to veterinary technicians, faculty, staff and students.