Robin Goodfellow’s Racing Tips: Best bets for Tuesday, January 4
Sportsmail's racing expert Robin Goodfellow dishes out his tips for Tuesday's meetings at Lingfield, Newcastle and Hereford.
Month: January 2022
Letter to the Editor: Steve Venosa
You've all heard this song before, I'm sure, but humor me. I was co-owner of a horse who was running at Turfway Park last week. So I sent the requisite information to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission to get licensed in the state before the horse ran Dec. 31. In speaking with a woman in the office, I was asked if I wanted to get a one-year or two-year license. Since I don't often run horses, I decided on the shorter option only to be told my “one-year” license would only be good for the one remaining day of 2021. So my choices were to pay for a one-year license that would be good for one day or pay for a two-year license I don't need. I politely pointed out to the woman that this made very little sense and she agreed with me, but told me there was nothing she could do. I know we have plenty of problems in our industry–and this probably isn't near the top of the list–but if we can't get stuff like this right, how can we possibly handle the big stuff?
Steve Venosa, SGV Thoroughbreds
The post Letter to the Editor: Steve Venosa appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.
Online Gambling-Financial Security/Safety
You must realize that not all online casinos are the same. If you go out and pick any casino you see and sign up, you are making a big mistake right there. The following is the first thing you’ll want to look for in a trustworthy gambling site:
Never and I repeat Never hand over your hard earned money, credit card numbers, or bank account information to any online gambling site until you have done your research. Trust me you will want to do this research if it saves your butt from losing money. It is imperative to check out their reputation. Do they have several years of successful operation? Ask around for the best online casinos. Don’t just believe what you read in their sites and in their advertisements. Find out what other people think about their services. Visit online gambling forums and see what others are saying and what their opinions are. Has the online casino been blacklisted? There are many casinos which have been blacklisted for one reason or another. You should avoid online casinos that are
in several blacklists. You can also view reports of problem companies from the Offshore Gaming Association at OSGA.com.
Reputable online casinos do their best to keep their customers happy. Find out what type of, if any, customer support is available. Find out if the casino has an email, fax and toll-free phone numbers. Do they have live customer support that is available 24/7/365? Are they friendly? Helpful? Respectful? Easy to communicate with? These are crucial factors when considering online gambling casinos. It is also important to find out which software the company is using to run their online casinos. If a company uses software from major software providers, such as Microgaming, Net Entertainment, Cryptologic, Random Logic, and Boss Media, it means that they are serious and can be trusted. The main reason for this is because of the expensive nature of the software. If they are willing to spend the big bucks on this high quality software, odds are they are safe. Your personal information and money deserves to be protected by nothing short of the best.
NYRA Amends Charges Against Baffert to Include Bute Overages
by Bill Finley and Dan Ross
The New York Racing Association (NYRA) has amended its Statement of Charges issued against trainer Bob Baffert to include a pair of positive tests for phenylbutazone that occurred in 2019 in California and a subsequent inspection of the trainer's barn in which it alleges that 25 improperly labeled medications were found.
NYRA's Statement of Charges now contains allegations that, over a 16-month period prior to the 2021 GI Kentucky Derby, six horses under Baffert's care violated rules and regulations in six separate races.
Having charged Baffert with engaging in conduct detrimental to the best interests of racing, NYRA has sought to temporarily ban the trainer from its tracks. A hearing on the matter is scheduled to begin Jan. 24.
Baffert has had numerous drug positives in recent years, including the finding that Medina Spirit (Protonico) had the substance betamethasone in his system when winning the 2021 GI Kentucky Derby.
After a July 27, 2019 race at Del Mar the gelding Cruel Intention (Smiling Tiger) tested positive for a bute overage and Baffert was fined $500. One week later, the Baffert-trained Eclair (Bernardini) also tested positive for bute and Baffert was fined $2,500.
While the two bute overages were not new news, the details of the barn inspection had not previously been made public. According to the Statement of Charges, Baffert's barn was inspected by the CHRB on or about Aug. 16, 2019 and the inspection “revealed that 25 medications were not properly labeled and there was no lock on the medication cabinet.” NYRA also claims that Baffert told the CHRB that he did not know how the bute got into the horses' systems and said that he would be offering a reward to solve the case.
Rick Arthur, who was the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) equine medical director at the time of the violations, told the TDN that, while he couldn't remember specifics of the case, such barn inspections are “routine” after a post-race medication positive to “try to identify potential sources of the violation and advise trainers how to better manage their stables.”
Arthur added that there is no regulatory requirement for drug cabinets to be locked, even though the board strongly encourages medications to be securely stored.
Furthermore, the proper labeling of medications is primarily the veterinarian's responsibility, Arthur said, and that a crucial question is: What were the mislabeled drugs?
“If it's Gastrogard tubes out of the box,” said Arthur, pointing to a commonly used ulcer medication, “it's a technical violation, and not a serious one at all. If it was serious, an official warning or complaint would have been filed against either the trainer or the dispensing veterinarian.”
The amended charges also cite a rule change implemented by Churchill Downs in which no horses trained by Baffert are eligible to earn points for the Derby or the GI Kentucky Oaks and Baffert's claims that he would hire a veterinarian to ensure against future rule violations. The veterinarian, Dr. Michael Hore, was never hired.
In addition to conduct detrimental to the best interests of racing, NYRA is charging Baffert with conduct detrimental to the health and safety of horses and jockeys and conduct detrimental to NYRA business operations.
Peter Sherwood, a retired New York State Supreme Court Justice, will serve as hearing officer in the Baffert matter.
By deadline for this story, Baffert's attorney Craig Robertson had not returned a phone call seeking comment.
The post NYRA Amends Charges Against Baffert to Include Bute Overages appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.
