Saturday’s $1.25 million Runhappy Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course is shaping up to be a terrific race and perhaps the most important of the summer with a chance to go a long way toward determining this year's champion 3-year-old male.
Month: August 2022
Baffert Takes Stand in Day One of ’21 Derby DQ Appeal
Trainer Bob Baffert spent 2 1/2 hours on the witness stand testifying at a Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) appeal hearing Monday.
Baffert's intent by filing the appeal is to clear from his record a 90-day suspension he has already served while also reversing the KHRC's disqualification of Medina Spirit from the 2021 GI Kentucky Derby.
Those penalties were the result of the Baffert-trained colt returning a positive for betamethasone after crossing the finish wire first in America's most historic and important horse race.
Beyond the already-served suspension (which ran from early April through early July) and a pending KHRC fine for $7,500 (that is also being appealed), Medina's Spirit's betamethasone overage also triggered separate banishments and sanctions from racing at the Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI) portfolio of racetracks, plus at the New York Racing Association tracks.
Baffert has either fought or is in the process of fighting both of those sanctions in court, but right now he is precluded from having a trainee in the 2023 Derby because of CDI's actions against him (as part of a two-year ban, CDI had also denied Derby participation to the Hall-of-Fame trainer in 2022).
Monday's hearing rekindled many of the same pro-and-con arguments that have been repeatedly articulated by both sides over the past 16 months in various courtroom and hearing settings.
This latest KHRC hearing process could last the entire week.
Horse Racing Nation (HRN) published live updates of the Aug. 22 proceedings in Frankfort, Kentucky.
HRN reported that Jennifer Wolsing, general counsel for the KHRC, framed the case in straightforward terms during her opening statement.
“This is a very simple case,” she stated. “Betamethasone is a class C medication which has been prohibited in Kentucky.”
Clark Brewster, who represents Baffert, countered with his own opening statement that focused on disputing the KHRC's claim that there was an applicable “limit of detection” rule while also disputing the KHRC's assertions that Baffert had a pattern of medication rulings against him.
HRN also reported that, “Brewster also sought to discredit Industrial Labs, which returned the positive test on Medina Spirit, suggesting that the company needed to come back with positive tests to stay in business.”
Brewster also claimed there was a difference between injecting betamethasone (which Baffert has denied) and using it topically as an ointment like Otomax (which is Baffert's explanation of how the drug got into Medina Spirit), according to HRN.
“I won't say it was a mistake [to give Medina Spirit an ointment the day before the Derby],” Baffert was quoted as saying in HRN. “If you use an ointment to humanely heal a rash, it's not a mistake.”
At one point during testimony, Wolsing questioned Baffert's knowledge about medication rules in Kentucky, and asked Baffert to read aloud the ingredient list for Otomax, which includes betamethasone valerate.
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NY Proposes Rules Tweaks for Challenging, Voiding Claims
The New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) advanced a Thoroughbred claiming rules proposal Monday that would address the voiding of claims and ineligible potential claimants, establish procedures for resolving challenges to claims, and outline a specific procedure for horse custody if the stewards discover a claimant had been ineligible.
The proposal passed by unanimous voice vote with no discussion or debate among commissioners. The full text of the amended rules will now be published in the New York State Register. After a public commentary period, the NYSGC will reconvene to take a final vote on the measure.
In a brief that was included in the Aug. 22 meeting packet, NYSGC general counsel Edmund Burns explained the overall intent of the proposed changes to the rules under section 4038.
“It is in everyone's interests for any objections to a claim and any stewards' order in regard to ownership of a horse be raised and resolved as quickly as possible, so that custody of the horse may be determined promptly,” Burns wrote.
“This proposal would make explicit the current practice that it is the responsibility of the track's racing secretary to verify the eligibility of potential claimants and conduct the disposition of the horse by lot in the event of multiple claims,” Burns wrote.
“The proposal would establish a deadline of one hour after a race for an objection to a claim award to be made, in which case the stewards would hear from the interested parties the same day and determine whether to void the claim and then award it to a remaining eligible potential claimant, by lot if there is more than one eligible potential claimant remaining.
“There would be no further appeal to the Commission so long as this process was followed, given the need for finality to determine the custody and care of the horse,” Burns wrote.
“Similarly, according to this proposal, if the stewards discover, even absent an objection by a horseperson, that a claim had been awarded to an ineligible claimant, the stewards would need to act within 24 hours of the race to be able to order the delivery of the horse to a different owner or trainer,” Burns wrote.
“The proposal would make explicit that a horseperson who enters a potential claim despite being ineligible, and track office personnel charged with verifying eligibility who fail to do so properly, may face Commission discipline.
“The proposal would make explicit that a claim shall be void for any horse that is scratched before the race is started,” Burns wrote.
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CARMAthon Raises Over $300,000
The California Retirement Management Account's summer fundraiser CARMAthon raised over $300,000 at Del Mar Saturday. The non-profit, which is dedicated to Thoroughbred aftercare in the state, joined with TVG, whose on-air commentators promoted the event throughout the day and played videos showcasing Thoroughbreds who retired through CARMA's Placement Program in their second careers as sport horses.
The fundraiser was on pace to meet its goal of $150,000 when an anonymous donor put forth a dollar-for-dollar matching fund up to $150,000. This was met by the end of the day, bringing the total raised to over $300,000, making it CARMA's most successful event.
“Today has been about the horses, about the racing industry coming together, about supporting our equine athletes, and about all the non-profit organizations dedicated to Thoroughbred Aftercare,” said Billy Koch, CARMA's President and Little Red Feather Racing Founder and Managing Partner. “I know I speak for the entire CARMA Board of Directors when I say we are overwhelmed by the generosity and support the racing industry has shown today. Aftercare is not an afterthought–and that was proven today.”
CARMA Executive Director Lucinda Lovitt added, “We can't thank everyone enough for all their support today. CARMA only has one major fundraiser a year, so having the racing community come together in such a big way means so much. And of course, all our success was magnified by the generosity of an anonymous donor whose matching fund of $150,000 knocked this year's goal out of the park. We cannot even begin to express how big of an impact these additional funds will have on our programs and for our aftercare charity partners this year.”
For more information and to donate to CARMA, visit CARMA4horses.org or contact Lucinda Lovitt at (626) 574-6622 or lucinda@carma4horses.org.
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