Following the abandonment of Gowran Park's Wednesday meeting, a replacement fixture has been scheduled at that venue for June 14, Horse Racing Ireland announced on Thursday. Entries for the afternoon meeting will close at noon on June 9, with declarations to be made by 10 a.m. on June 12. The first post will begin at 1:45 p.m.
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The California Horse Racing Board has filed a complaint against trainer John Sadler after graded stakes winner Flagstaff tested positive for clodronic acid, a bisphosphonate sold under the brand name Osphos, following a second-place finish in the Grade 2 Santa Anita Sprint Championship Stakes Sept. 27, 2020, at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif. A split sample confirmed the presence of the drug.
Flagstaff, a now 7-year-old gelding by Speightstown, is owned by Lane's End Racing and Hronis Racing LLC. He recently scored his first G1 victory in the Churchill Downs Stakes on Kentucky Derby day at Churchill Downs.
Because clodronic acid is not included on the CHRB's current list of prohibited substances, under the regulatory body's rules it automatically falls under the most severe drug category, Class 1. A medication classification proposal working its way through the CHRB's approval process recommends classifying clodronate (clodronic acid) as Class 3, but in the A penalty category.
Proposed amendments for medication violations require a one-year suspension absent mitigating circumstances along with a minimum fine of $10,000 for Category A penalties. Owners face loss of purse and potential placement of a horse on the vet's list for up to 90 days.
Complicating Sadler's status is the fact he is on probation as part of a settlement agreement issued in June 2020 for three medication violations from April and May 2019. Sadler received a 60-day suspension, but 45 days of the ban were stayed provided he have no Class 1, 2 or 3 violations during a probationary period that ends June 28, 2021.
Bisphosphonates are a class of drug approved by the FDA in 2014 and prescribed to prevent bone loss in people and to treat navicular syndrome in horses, a common cause of forelimb lameness. The drug is not approved for horses less than four years old.
Equine surgeon Dr. Larry Bramlage of Rood & Riddle warned about the use of bisphosphonates Osphos and Tildren in young horses during a client education seminar in 2018, saying the drug can have unintended, detrimental side effects. Many racing states moved to ban the drugs.
The CHRB banned bisphosphonates effective July 1, 2020, saying that any horse administered the drug in the previous six months – effectively a cutoff date of Jan. 1, 2020 – was prohibited from stabling on CHRB regulated grounds.
Sadler referred questions to attorney Darrell Vienna, who said Flagstaff was legally treated with Osphos on an unspecified date “late in 2019” when Flagstaff was 5 years old.
Vienna cited the extended half life of Osphos as an explanation for the positive test, saying it can linger in a horse's system for many months or even longer than a year.
Sadler, whose best horses include 3-year-old filly champion Stellar Wind and Horse of the Year Accelerate, is the trainer of this year's G1 Santa Anita Derby winner Rock Your World, a prospective starter in the G1 Belmont Stakes on June 5.
The complaint against Sadler was ordered on April 28 but not published on the CHRB's website until Wednesday, May 26. No hearing date has been set at this time.
The post Sadler Faces Class 1 Drug Complaint After Flagstaff Tests Positive For Bisphosphonate appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
The John Sadler-trained Flagstaff (Speightstown) tested positive for Clodronic Acid, a bisphosphonate otherwise known as Osphos, after finishing second at Santa Anita Sept. 27 last year, according to a California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) complaint.
As per the complaint, dated Mar. 24, an Osphos positive is a Class 1, Category A penalty. A split sample confirmed the original finding, the complaint states.
Sadler is currently on a year's probation in accordance with a settlement agreement and mutual release with the CHRB, as part of which Sadler was fined $15,000 and handed a 60-day suspension–45 days of which were stayed–for three medication violations dating from 2019.
The suspension ran June 29 through June 13 last year. The year-long probation period ends June 28, 2021.
As stated in the agreement, “If John Sadler violates the terms of his probation, the 45 days of stayed suspension shall be imposed following a noticed hearing.”
Sadler referred the TDN to his attorney, Darrell Vienna, who pointed out that Osphos is listed a Class 1 drug because it's unclassified in California at the moment, but is currently going through the administrative process of being classified a Class 3 medication.
Vienna said that it was his understanding Flagstaff was administered Osphos in late 2019, but that due to an extremely slow rate of elimination in a horse's system–sometimes years–Osphos showed up in last year's test.
“I don't think anything in the report shows any evidence of misfeasance or malfeasance by Sadler,” said Vienna. “This isn't him denying the administration. It's a case of the administration being completely legal at the time. The finding is a result of the pharmacology of the substance, not of any wrongdoing.”
Since the settlement agreement was inked last year, Sadler has been fined $1000 and $1500 accordingly for two positive findings related to timed workouts.
The post Sadler’s Flagstaff Tests Positive for Biphosphonate appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.
The Monmouth Park racing office appeared to have no problem attracting horses and jockeys for Saturday's card when entries were taken Thursday. A 12-race card attracted 107 entries and there are 22 jockeys named to ride. There had been concerns that the track would fall short in both categories because some of the top riders have decided to sit out the opening weekend at Monmouth because they are concerned about new rules that prohibit whipping in the races, with the only exception being instances when there are safety concerns.
“We are happy with the way things have worked out,” racing secretary John Heims said. “We have some really good races for Saturday. It is a very nice card.”
When asked if the absence of some of the regular jockeys was making it harder to fill entries, Heims said: “It's not a factor and it wasn't a factor for Friday's card either. I read a lot of what was written and one thing that bothered me was somebody writing that we had to scrounge up these riders. We didn't scrounge up anybody. That's not fair to the guys who wanted to ride and feel comfortable doing so.”
The jockey colony for Saturday will include some notable names who are not scheduled to ride Friday. Ferrin Peterson, second leading rider last year, has four mounts and Nik Juarez, seventh in the standings in 2020 will ride four. Both will sit out Friday's card because they were serving suspensions. Hector Diaz Jr., last year's fifth leading rider, will also join the colony after accepting mounts for Friday at Belmont. Seven of the top 12 riders in 2020 will ride Saturday, the notable exceptions being Joe Bravo and Antonio Gallarado. Leading rider Paco Lopez will also be missing, but will be honoring previous commitments he made to trainers to ride this weekend at Gulfstream Park.
The pool of available riders Saturday also includes New York regular Dylan Davis, who will be riding for, among others, Chad Brown. He has seven mounts. Davis was sidelined earlier this year when breaking his clavicle in a spill and has not ridden since March 20.
While there will be one six-horse field Saturday, there is also a 16-horse race, an 12-horse race and an 11-horse race. Heims said he could have attracted even more horses, but decided to only card four grass races because of the threat of rain Saturday.
The post For Second Day of Meet, Monmouth Will Have Plenty of Jockeys, Horses appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.
