May, 2021 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Baffert: Kentucky Derby Winner Medina Spirit Tests Positive For Betamethasone

Trainer Bob Baffert announced Sunday morning that Medina Spirit, winner of the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby on May 1, has tested positive for betamethasone, a corticosteroid, and faces a possible disqualification from the race – the first medication DQ since Dancer's Image lost his Derby victory in 1968 after a disputed positive test for the anti-inflammatory phenylbutazone.

If the drug is confirmed in a split sample it would be Baffert's fifth medication violation since May 2020.

Baffert said his assistant, Jimmy Barnes called Baffert yesterday while he was en route to the airport in California for a flight to Kentucky, notifying him that he had been served by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission after the post-race sample came back positive for 21 picograms of the medication.

Baffert insisted Medina Spirit has never been treated with betamethasone. “I don't know what's going on, but there's something that is not right,” Baffert said.

“it's not official till the split sample comes. Usually we wait fo that, but I wanted to get in front of it,” Baffert said.

A split sample typically is requested by the trainer and, if it confirms the original finding, a hearing is conducted with stewards.

Last November, in the wake of his fourth medication violation in 2020, Baffert issued a statement saying, “I want to raise the bar and set the standard for equine safety and rule compliance going forward.”

Baffert-trained Chalatan and Gamine both tested positive for lidocaine at Oaklawn Park on May 2, 2020, resulting in a 15-day suspension for the trainer and disqualification of both horses (Gamine from an allowance race and Charlatan from the G1 Arkansas Derby) – sanctions that were ultimately reversed by the Arkansas Racing Commission. Baffert was fined $5,000 instead.

Gamine then tested positive for betamethasone after a third-place finish in the G1 Kentucky Oaks on Sept. 4. She was disqualified and placed last and Baffert was fined $1,500. A fourth positive test came when Merneith was found to have dextrorphan in her system after finishing second in a July 25 allowance race at Del Mar. Baffert received a $2,500 fine for that violation.

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Questionnaire May Help Arthritic Equines Get Help Earlier

Osteoarthritis can be a painful condition in horses but, unlike people, horses can't talk with their veterinarians about where and how much it hurts. Now, a newly funded study from Morris Animal Foundation is testing to see if a simple questionnaire can help horse owners recognize and monitor signs of chronic osteoarthritis (OA) pain in their horses – helping their equine charges get earlier, more effective treatment and improving their quality of life.

Dr. Janny de Grauw, from Utrecht University in the Netherlands, and Diane Howard, PhD, MSc., Equine Science Master graduate from the University of Edinburgh, in the United Kingdom, are the recipients of the Donor-Inspired Study grant, funded by Dr. Wendy Koch, a veterinarian who has supported the Foundation for nearly 30 years. Dr. Koch has closely followed equine behavior and welfare research over the years and wanted to increase the amount of funding available for studies in these fields.

To effectively treat pain, caregivers and clinicians need a way of monitoring and quantifying the amount of discomfort felt. However, a survey of horse owners in the United Kingdom found that owners have limited ability to identify pain and disease in their horses, underlining the need for a simple way of helping people to recognize chronic pain in their equine companions.

“As veterinarians, we want to treat horses with painful and debilitating conditions like OA as effectively as possible,” said de Grauw. “How well we can manage their condition critically relies on recognition of subtle signs of (worsening) pain by owners and caregivers, who can then seek help.”

Under Dr. de Grauw's supervision, Howard developed the 15-item questionnaire based on changes in horse behavior through interviews with owners of horses diagnosed with osteoarthritis. The questions cover posture, facial expressions, movement and behavior.

She will validate the questionnaire by having 60 owners of horses with chronic OA pain and 20 owners of horses without OA complete it. The owners with OA horses will complete the questionnaire twice in two days while their horse's pain does not fluctuate, to evaluate how robust and reproducible the scoring instrument is.

The research team hopes the easy-to-use questionnaire will help horse owners recognize when their animals are in pain and contact a veterinarian for appropriate treatment. The instrument also may help owners monitor treatment effectiveness and pain progression over time, and guide owners and veterinarians in making quality-of-life decisions.

“Many horses may deal with pain that is not recognized, particularly in its early stages,” said Dr. Janet Patterson-Kane, Morris Animal Foundation Chief Scientific Officer. “Giving their caregivers effective tools for detection, monitoring and decision-making has the potential for significant animal welfare impact.”

Osteoarthritis is a major cause of chronic pain in horses but is an underrecognized and undertreated condition. Though often associated with advanced age, it can also occur in young horses. In addition to being painful, OA can severely curtail a horse's athletic career, and impact the bond between horse and owner if the condition limits a horse's ability to be ridden.

The Foundation's Donor-Inspired Study program allows individual donors and foundations to directly support research topics for which they have a passion and there is a pressing need. Applications for this grant were reviewed and rated, based on impact and scientific rigor, by a scientific advisory board, made up of equine behavior and welfare experts.

Morris Animal Foundation is one of the largest nonprofit organizations worldwide that funds health studies benefiting cats, dogs, horses, llamas, alpacas and wildlife. The Foundation currently is funding 150 studies encompassing a broad spectrum of species and diseases.

Neige Blanche Noses Out Rideforthecause In Santa Barbara

All in while three deep a quarter mile from home, French-bred Neige Blanche managed to nip Rideforthecause by a scant nose after a marathon mile and one half on turf in Saturday's Grade 3, $100,000 Santa Barbara Stakes at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif. Ridden by Juan Hernandez and trained by native Frenchman Leonard Powell, Neige Blanche, which translates to white snow in English, registered her first North American stakes win while stopping the clock in 2:28.01.

Starting mid-way up Santa Anita's legendary hillside turf course, heavily favored Tapwater, with Flavien Prat up, appeared to be in firm control on the lead as longshot Star of Africa tracked her in second, about one length off the lead as they crossed under the wire for the first time.

Turning up the backside, Tapwater maintained her one length edge, but Hernandez had a handful of horse, about three off the lead heading to the far turn and in a thriller, gained joint command along with Rideforthecause a sixteenth of a mile out as Tapwater faded late to run third.

“It was really close, it could probably go both ways, 50-50, inside or outside and thanks to my filly, we got it,” said Hernandez who chalked up his third win on the day and his seventh stakes win. “It was better, because last time (a fourth place finish in the Grade III Santa Ana Stakes March 27) I think we were a little too close to the pace and today, I was a little bit more (relaxed). Two horses in front of me and she relaxed pretty well. Around the quarter pole, when I asked her to go, she responded really well.”

A Group 3 winner in her final French start on June 6, 2020, but winless in four stateside starts, Neige Blanche was off at 5-1 in a field of seven fillies and mares three and up and paid $13.40, $7.00 and $3.60.

“No, honestly, I thought the inside got it,” said Powell when asked if he thought he had won the tight photo finish, in which Neige Blanche was positioned outside the runner-up. “If we were going to be in front, it was going to have to be a lucky bob and it was a lucky bob. Today, she proved that she belongs and that she was worth the investment. I want to thank the partners, Madaket Stables, Marsha Naify and (Laura) De Seroux for trusting us with her.”

A 4-year-old filly by Anodin out of the Muhtathir mare Bianca Neve, Neige Blanche now has four wins from 11 starts and with the winner's share of $60,000, increased her earnings to $177,112.

In a gut wrenching defeat, Rideforthecause, ridden by Mario Gutierrez, finished 1 ¾ lengths in front of Tapwater and paid $6.20 and $3.40 while off at 6-1.

Trained by Richard Mandella, Tapwater was off at even money and paid $2.40 to show.

Fractions on the race were 23.72, 48.08, 1:13.56, 1:39.27 and 2:03.80.

Racing resumes with a nine-race card on Sunday with first post time at 1 p.m.

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Channel Cat Holds On By A Nostril Under Velazquez To Win Man O’ War

Providing an encore for a Kentucky Oaks-Kentucky Derby sweep is a tall order, but Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez was up to the challenge, piloting Channel Cat to the lead at every point of call and fending off 3-2 favorite Gufo's furious late charge in the final jumps to hang on for a gate-to-wire victory by a nose in Saturday's Grade 1, $700,000 Man o' War for 4-years-olds and up going 1 3/8 miles on Belmont Park's inner turf.

Velazquez, who last weekend won the Grade 1 “Run for the Roses” aboard Medina Spirit and the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks with Malathaat, added to his record for graded stakes wins, seeing Channel Cat break sharp from post 5 and lead the eight-horse field through fast fractions of 22.69 seconds for the quarter-mile with the half in 47.53 on the turf rated good. Field Pass tracked from second position as Channel Cat led the field through three-quarters in 1:12.45 and maintained his advantage out of the far turn.

Channel Cat, seeking the first win of his 6-year-old campaign, continued to press on as Moon Over Miami challenged to his inside. Velazquez kept his charge alert but then had to fend off Gufo's late outside bid.

Under Joel Rosario, who was bidding for his fifth win on the day, Gufo closed the deficit in the final sixteenth and the two challengers nearly arrived at the wire simultaneously, with Channel Cat winning the head bob and hitting the wire in 2:13.34 to give trainer Jack Sisterson his first career Grade 1 victory at Belmont.

“I didn't think we went that fast,” Velazquez said. “I knew we were going fast, but not quite 22 and change. I gave him loose reins and he was a happy horse up front. I was happy with the way that he was doing things. I felt [Gufo] coming when I was asking him to run.”

Added Sisterson: “I left it [the trip decision] in Johnny Velazquez's hands. I told him last weekend [winning the Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby] was pretty incredible. I didn't sleep last night. I wasn't nervous about Channel Cat, I was nervous about letting John Velazquez down because I didn't want to ruin last weekend's celebrations.”

Channel Cat posted his first win in 10 starts and first victory since the Grade 2 Bowling Green in July 2019 at the Spa. The son of English Channel finished second or third in three graded stakes during that stretch, including a runner-up effort last out in the Grade 2 Elkhorn going 1 1/2 miles on April 17 over a Keeneland turf course rated good.

“Thanks to Channel Cat and the staff back at the barn, who do all the hard work to win a Grade 1,” said Sisterson, who now has a Grade 1 win at all three NYRA tracks following Vexatious' win in the Personal Ensign last year at Saratoga Race Course and True Timber's victory in December at Aqueduct Racetrack. “I don't take any credit for this. It's all due to the people behind the scenes that people don't see.

“He was coming into the race in great shape,” he added. “He ran a great race in the Elkhorn off the layoff and finished up good, closing into fast fractions.”

Off at 8-1, Channel Cat returned $18.40 on a $2 win wager. The Calumet Farm homebred earned millionaire status, extending his earnings to $1,383,522 with a career record of 6-3-5 in 26 starts.

“It's nice to win a race for the owner,” Sisterson said. “He's so passionate and supportive of the sport.”

Sisterson said Channel Cat remains a possibility for the Grade 1, $750,000 Resorts World Casino Manhattan on Belmont Stakes Day June 5.

Otter Bends Stables' Gufo, the 124-pound highweight, looked sharp in his first start off a layoff of more than five months, besting Moon Over Miami by a neck for second. The Christophe Clement trainee, who won his previous start on the course in the Grade 1 Belmont Derby in October and added a win in the Grade 3 Kent as a sophomore, has finished on the board in all nine career starts, improving to 5-2-2 for trainer Christophe Clement.

“Whenever you get beat first race off the layoff like that with such a good race, it's disappointing because I love the horse,” Clement said. “Especially considering we were giving six pounds to the winner. But I tip my hat to the winner, he ran a good race. Gufo will improve from the race. We'll go to the Manhattan and just hope we don't have to give six pounds to everyone else and go from there.”

Summer Wind Equine's Moon Over Miami, conditioned by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, was 1 1/4 lengths ahead of Shamrocket to earn black type for the third consecutive start in his 4-year-old year, adding to his third in the Grade 2 Mac Diarmida in February and second in the Grade 2 Pan American in March at Gulfstream Park.

“He's such a cool horse. He always gives you a good run,” said Moon Over Miami rider Junior Alvarado. “He always tries and no matter where you put him, he's always there for you. Eventually, I think he'll win a big race. He deserves it. He can do a lot of different things. He's been knocking on the door in some big races this year. He's definitely one with a future ahead of him.”

So High, Ziyad, Sovereign and Field Pass completed the order of finish.

The 62nd running of the Man o' War, named for the Hall of Famer who made the debut of his legendary career at Belmont Park in 1919, was the headliner of a card featuring five graded stakes that included Firenze Fire winning the Grade 3 Runhappy, Harvey's Lil Goil capturing the Grade 3 Beaugay, Victim of Love winning the Grade 3 Vagrancy and Promise Keeper taking the Grade 3 Peter Pan.

Live racing continues Sunday with a nine-race card and a 1 p.m. Eastern first post. The slate is highlighted by the $100,000 Gold Fever for sophomores going six furlongs on the main track in Race 8 at 4:51 p.m.

Starting on May 1, Belmont Park re-opened to a limited number of spectators. All admission must be purchased in advance at nyra.com/belmont/tickets/.

For comprehensive information on health and safety protocols in effect for the Belmont Park spring/summer meet, please visit: https://www.nyra.com/belmont/visit/plan-your-visit.

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