Hollywood Talent, the 10-year-old gelding who posted a 108-1 shocker in the Grade 3, $300,000 Turf Monster Stakes at Parx Racing on the Pennsylvania Derby undercard in Bensalem, Pa., on Sept. 25, has tested positive for levamisole, the Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission has confirmed. Hollywood Talent is trained by Juan Vazquez and owned by King Star LLC.
Levamisole, a Class 2 drug with Category B penalties under the Association of Racing Commissioners International guidelines, is found in commercial dewormers for cattle, pigs and sheep and can be used as an immunostimulant in horses or for treatment of Equine Protozoal Myelitis. The drug can metabolize to aminorex, a potent stimulant.
A split sample has yet to be tested. If the drug's presence is confirmed in the split sample, stewards will conduct a hearing on the matter to consider sanctions against the horse and his trainer.
Graded stakes placed at age 2 and third in the 2019 Turf Monster, Hollywood Talent, came into the five-furlong Turf Monster with 11 wins from 51 lifetime starts. He was claimed for $8,000 in September 2020 out of what was his most recent victory. The Pennsylvania-bred Talent Search gelding was transferred to the barn of Vazquez a few months later and posted a second- and third-place finish from five starts. Far back early under Ricardo Santana Jr., Hollywood Talent rallied late to win the Turf Monster by 1 1/4 lengths over California invader Beer Can Man, paying $219.20 on a $2 mutuel.
While any subsequent disqualification would not affect the pari-mutuel payoffs, the owners of Beer Can Man – Little Red Feather Racing and Sterling Stables – would stand to gain an additional $112,000 in purse money should their 3-year-old Can the Man colt be elevated to first place. The Turf Monster was not a Breeders' Cup Win and You're In Breeders' Cup Challenge Series race, but Beer Can Man's connections have indicated the Mark Glatt trainee will be pre-entered in the G1 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint Nov. 6 at Del Mar, where he won the G3 Cecil B. DeMille Stakes last November.
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