While fans won’t be able to attend the Breeders’ Cup World Championships this year at Keeneland Race Course on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 6-7, there will be ample opportunity for everyone to stay directly connected from home to all of the action during horse racing’s biggest week. America’s Best Racing and the Breeders’ Cup will be live streaming dozens of hours of coverage on Breeders’ Cup week.
Month: October 2020
Merneith Split Sample Confirms Presence of Dextrorphan
A hearing has been set for November 12 before the California Horse Racing Board’s Board of Stewards after a split sample confirmed a positive result for the presence of Dextrorphan, a cough suppressant, in the sample from the Bob Baffert-trained Merneith (American Pharoah), who was second in the fourth race at Del Mar July 25, 2020.
“Unfortunately, it’s just another case of contamination,” Craig Robertson, Baffert’s attorney, told the TDN. “One of Bob’s grooms had COVID, and he was the groom who was handling Merneith. He was taking both DayQuil and NyQuil and that’s where you find Dextrorphan. it’s a cough suppressant. You would never give a cough suppressant to a horse. It’s another case of clear contamination, along with these others, and it’s just unfortunate that all of these have occurred within a relatively short time frame.
According to Wikipedia, Dextrorphan “is a psychoactive drug of the morphinan class which acts as an antitussive or cough suppressant and dissociative hallucinogen.” It is contained in DayQuil, NyQuil, Robitussin and other popular cough suppressants.
According to the CHRB complaint, posted on their website, “the Official Blood Sample #DM15986 taken on 7/25/20, was reported by Dr. Ben Moeller of the Maddy EACL at UC Davis to contain Dextrorphan, a metabolite of Dextromethorphan. This sample was taken from the horse MERNEITH which ran in the 4th race at Del Mar that day and finished 2nd. Dextrorphan, a metabolite of Dextromethorphan, is a prohibited drug if detected in a horse’s blood or urine when tested following a race. The trainer of record is Bob Baffert. A split sample was requested by Baffert, which confirmed the original violation. Dextrorphan, a metabolite of Dextromethorphan, is a Class 4 drug with a Penalty Category B.”
“A number of my staff were sick with COVID this summer, including Merneith’s groom,” Baffert said via email to the Paulick Report, which was the first to report the story. “I learned he had been taking over-the-counter cough syrups that contained Dextrorphan. This has been an issue in other states where contamination has lead to positive tests. That’s what happened here. This is clearly another case of contamination. Ultimately, this is my responsibility. It’s really embarrassing for the barn, but that’s what happened. #2020 sucks.”
The CHRB explained that the posting of this level of complaint was indicative of a new, more transparent policy.
“The California Horse Racing Board has expanded the posting of complaints on its website for alleged medication violations to include Class 4 and Class 5 violations,” said the CHRB in a press release. “The CHRB has been posting complaints for the more serious Class 1, 2, and 3 violations, which require disqualifications and forfeiture of purses. However, with the increased emphasis on all medication violations in horse racing, the CHRB has elected to add Class 4 and Class 5 complaints as well. The complaints stem from all drug testing, including alleged violations during racing, training, and from out-of-competition testing. To view complaints filed by the CHRB, go to the website (www.chrb.ca.gov) and click on the tab for Administrative Actions, then select Complaints from the drop-down menu.”
The CHRB cautioned that the posted rulings are not yet final.
“Be aware that complaints are filed for alleged violations prior to hearing. The cases have not been adjudicated at the time they are posted. Pursuant to a new statute, potential medication violations will be posted on the CHRB website beginning January 1, 2021, with the identification of all drug positives once the split sample is confirmed or even earlier if the licensee declines to request split-sample testing. Those positives will be posted before any complaints are issued.”
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No Breeders’ Cup For Wonderful Tonight
Wonderful Tonight (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}), winner of the G1 Prix de Royallieu and the G1 British Champions Fillies & Mares S. this month, will bypass this year’s Breeders’ Cup with a 4-year-old campaign in mind.
“She’s not going to the Breeders’ Cup–I don’t think it would be fair,” said trainer David Menuisier. “If the filly was four and it was her last ever race, maybe we would have rolled the dice, but in this instance I think it would be greed. I would be scared to ask too much of her and it’s a long way, especially to Kentucky because you have to catch a flight from Amsterdam to New York and then another flight from there. There’s no direct flight, so it would be quite daunting for a youngster.”
Menuisier had previously mentioned next year’s G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe as a goal, but he said options are open as to how Wonderful Tonight will arrive there.
“It’s early days, let’s get through the winter and think about it next year,” he said. “The programme will be written for her really, because being a Group 1 winner you don’t have many choices. Early in the season you have the [G1] Prix Ganay at Longchamp and the [G2] Dahlia S. at Newmarket, and we’ll see where we go from there. We hope she’ll be running in the Arc next October, and before that you have either the [G1] Prix Vermeille or the [G1] Irish Champion S., or there’s the big race in Germany, the [G1] Grosser Preis von Baden.
“How we get to the end of next year, I don’t know yet, it will all depend on the weather. If Royal Ascot is wet we could think about that, or there’s the [G1] King George at Ascot at the end of July. For the moment, we’ll reflect on how good the year has been this year, enjoy it and reload for next year.”
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Online Option for Goffs Autumn Yearlings
Following the news that the Goffs Autumn Yearling Sale would be rescheduled for Jan. 12-13 as a result of the tightening COVID-19 restrictions in Ireland, there is now an online option to sell these yearlings, Goffs announced on Tuesday. The online auction is slated for Nov. 17-18, as the January dates were not preferred by many vendors. Any Goffs lots that are sold or bought in “under the hammer” in this way will still be qualified for auction races in Ireland or the UK, Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) and the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) confirmed. Any vendors interested in this new online option must confirm to bloodstock@goffs.ie by 5 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 30 regarding their participation and to submit any specific questions. The catalogue for the sale will be finalised next week, and Goffs will confirm whether the Goffs Autumn Yearling Sale would be a timed online sale or a live auction. Each lot will retain its original lot number. For more information, please visit www.goffs.com.
Please note the following must be provided to Goffs:
- A copy of the passport of each lot to show the lot’s information, markings and vaccinations
- Conformation video footage of each lot
- Veterinary Certificate (dated not earlier than 14 days prior to the Sale) for each lot
- Any Condition/ Vice/ Wind Operation not in the catalogue which could otherwise result in the cancellation of the Sale by the Purchaser under the Goffs Condition of Sale
“The ever-evolving 2020 landscape prompted us to review the options for our Autumn Yearling vendors again after a number of vendors voiced concerns about the rescheduled January 2021 dates,” said Goffs Group Chief Executive Henry Beeby. “Online bloodstock sales are still in their infancy worldwide, but we have been hugely encouraged by the online participation at all Goffs sales this year, starting with the breeze up and right throughout the yearling sales, so we believe this is the best available option at the current time in Ireland.
“While we cannot guarantee how buyers will respond to an online inspection platform for yearlings, we will market this online offering with renewed determination and hope that this low cost platform will be seen as an attempt by Goffs to offer a viable marketplace when so many factors are conspiring against us.”
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