September, 2022 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Feds Skewer Fishman’s Attempt to Avoid $13.5M Forfeiture

Federal prosecutors told a judge Friday that convicted veterinarian Seth Fishman's recent claim of illegality regarding the $13.5 million forfeiture imposed upon him “is predicated on a number of unfounded and easily disprovable presumptions.”

Fishman, who is currently imprisoned in Florida but appealing his 11-year sentence for two felony drug-supplying convictions in a decades-long international racehorse doping conspiracy, had stated in a Sept. 12 filing that the forfeiture order signed by the judge back on July 11 “is not authorized by statute and is therefore unlawful in its entirety.”

A response filing Sept. 30 by the legal team that successfully prosecuted Fishman stated that, “In arguing that the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) does not authorize forfeiture, the defendant elevates form over substance, ignores past precedent, and, in so doing, deliberately misreads the FDCA and several applicable forfeiture provisions to reach the defendant's desired outcome of avoiding forfeiture altogether.”

The filing by the feds also noted that at the time of his sentencing, “then-counsel for Seth Fishman contended that he wished to contest the amount of the forfeiture money judgment, not the basis for forfeiture itself.”

But shortly after his sentencing date, Fishman hired a new lawyer who now “wishes to revisit the availability of forfeiture entirely.” That new legal tactic has no merit, prosecutors contended.

“The defendant's strained reading of the law provides no support for his view that forfeiture is 'unlawful' in this case,” the government attorneys wrote.

Forfeiture “is lawful and mandatory; consequently the Court's forfeiture order entered at Fishman's sentencing should be left undisturbed,” the prosecutors wrote.

“The defendant argues in passing that the Government has not demonstrated that Fishman 'actually acquired' any forfeitable property,” the feds wrote. “The evidence that Fishman, the owner-operator of [the drug company] Equestology, controlled the adulterated and misbranded drugs subject to the forfeiture action is undisputable. So long as the defendant had control over the forfeitable property, which he did, he has acquired that property…”

Fishman had argued otherwise, writing in the Sept. 12 filing that “Misbranding is not a forfeiture crime. The misbranding statute under which the government seeks forfeiture against Dr. Fishman…only permits the government to confiscate the misbranded or adulterated products themselves and any equipment used to manufacture those products.”

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Northern California Trainer Duane Offield Passes At Age 82

Golden Gate Fields is deeply saddened by the passing of longtime Northern California trainer Duane Offield, who passed away on Thursday after a lengthy illness. He was 82 years old.

Offield began his training career in 1976. Throughout a career that spanned well over four decades, Offield saddled 721 winners from 8,038 starters, with lifetime purse earnings of $10,009,202. His most significant win came in the 1990 Grade 1 Haskell at Monmouth Park with Restless Con.

Offield also trained Lilacs and Lace, who broke her maiden at Golden Gate in 2004 before moving to the barn of John Terranova back east. She subsequently went on to win the Grade 1 Ashland at Keeneland. Among Offield's other notable trainees were stakes winners Filomena Galea and Tense Wager.

“Our racing community here at Golden Gate will greatly miss Duane Offield,” said Golden Gate Fields Vice President and General Manager David Duggan. “Duane was a soft-spoken man who simply loved coming to the track and training his horses. Our hearts and best wishes are with Duane's family and friends during this undoubtedly difficult time.”

Owner Rozamund Barclay, who has employed Offield to train a large portion of her horses since 2014, called Duane “a wonderful man.”

“His horses and his people that worked for him were everything,” said Barclay. “He took care of his barn help and horses like his family. Duane always felt that it was a privilege to make a living doing what he loved.”

Services for Duane Offield are pending.

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Frizette: Vedareo ‘A Little More High Strung’ Than Champion Half-Sister Vequist

Swilcan Stable's stakes-winner Vedareo will look to carry on her family's successes and make the grade when she takes on the Grade 1, $400,000 Frizette on Sunday at the Belmont at the Big A fall meet.

The winner of the one-mile Frizette will receive a berth into the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies on November 4 at Keeneland as part of the “Win And You're In” qualifying series.

In 2013, veteran conditioner Butch Reid, Jr. landed the winning bid of $15,000 for a 2-year-old Mineshaft filly, who was later named Vero Amore, at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale. He saddled her to two victories, including a runner-up finish in the 2014 Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan for Swilcan Stable. Vero Amore would go on to produce 2020 Champion 2-Year-Old Filly Vequist, and subsequently, Vedareo.

Reid, Jr. said Vero Amore has proven to be a wise investment.

“We bought that mare and she's been a very prolific broodmare to say the least. She's been fantastic,” said Reid, Jr.

Vequist, a daughter of Nyquist, became one of Reid, Jr.'s best runners to date with her Championship campaign, posting wins in the Grade 1 Spinaway at Saratoga Race Course and Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies before making one start as a sophomore and retiring with earnings of over $1.2 million.

Reid, Jr. noted the similarities between the siblings.

“Mentally, Vedareo is a little more high strung and physically, she isn't quite as big as Vequist is just yet,” said Reid, Jr. “But she looks just like her and by the time she gets into her 3-year-old year, she's going to be very close to her big sister. She looks like her mother more than anything – a jet black filly just like her.”

Vedareo will vie to finish one better in the Frizette than her accomplished sibling did in 2020 when she rallied from off-the-pace to finish a close second to Dayoutoftheoffice. A daughter of Daredevil, Vedareo is the only horse in the field of seven to have raced at a mile. She won at that distance last out in the Sorority on August 21 at Monmouth Park, leading at every point of call and widening her margin down the stretch to post a convincing six-length win.

“We thought that [she'd stretch out] all along. She's a natural route of ground horse just like her big sister, so I'm glad we got that one in her,” said Reid, Jr.

Vedareo arrived at the Sorority from a pair of sprints that included her debut maiden victory going 4 1/2 furlongs in June at Parx and a well-beaten fifth-place finish in the Grade 3 Schuylerville at Saratoga.

“I liked it a lot,” Reid, Jr. said of the Sorority. “You can see she was a little cranked up the first part of it coming off the sprint races, and then down the backside, she dropped her head down and was moving nicely and finished well. That gives us confidence coming back at the same distance.”

With a 2-for-3 lifetime record, Vedareo's only blemish came in the Grade 3 Schuylerville on July 14 at the Spa where she bobbled at the start and bumped hard with a foe before going two-wide and coming up empty down the lane under Joel Rosario.

Reid, Jr. said the troubled trip and a deep main track were reasons for him to draw a line through the outing.

“We had some horses at Saratoga this year and found out early in the meet that it's a very deep track,” said Reid, Jr. “She had been training at Parx and only got up there a couple days before the race and I don't think she was quite fit enough for that level of competition or the depth of the racetrack. She got down to Monmouth and got that race under her belt, so we'll draw a line through the Schuylerville.”

Vedareo posted a sharp half-mile work on September 23 at Parx Racing, breezing over the main track in 47.91 seconds, the sixth-best time from 22 works that day.

Reid, Jr. said he is looking forward to another chance at a Frizette victory.

“She had a real nice breeze last week and that should set her up real nice for this,” said Reid, Jr. “She's galloping real strong. We're very happy and ready to go.”

Vero Amore, who also produced the Reid, Jr.-trained Grade 3-placed Mainstay, gave birth to a filly by Accelerate in 2021.

Jose Ortiz has been tasked with the ride aboard Vedareo from post 5.

Reid, Jr. celebrated another strong showing from 3-year-old filly Morning Matcha last Saturday when she rallied from 14 1/2 lengths off the pace to finish a game runner-up to Society in the Grade 1 Cotillion at Parx.

Owned by LC Racing, Cash is King, and Gary Barber, the Pennsylvania-bred daughter of Central Banker made her home track proud with her effort in the Bensalem oval's biggest race for fillies, building upon a resume that includes a victory in Parx's Main Line in March. The Cotillion marked her second graded stakes placing.

Reid, Jr. said the sturdy filly has consistently held her form since debuting at Monmouth Park last June.

“She's been a trooper all along and going steadily since last year. She ran the race of her life on Saturday and to do it in front of the home crowd was really exciting,” said Reid, Jr. “I'm really happy for her more than anybody else.”

Morning Matcha has picked up five other stakes placings, including runner-up efforts in Aqueduct Racetrack's NYSSS Fifth Avenue and Busanda. Reid, Jr. said a return to the Big A this fall for the Grade 3, $175,000 Comely on November 25 may be in the cards.

“She gives it her best effort every time. She may not always win, but you know she's going to make a run. There's nothing really left down here at Parx against straight 3-year-olds, so we see off in the distance that the Comely might be the last chance to run against straight 3-year-olds, so that's definitely a possibility.”

Out of the multiple stakes-placed Iam the Iceman mare Home Ice, Morning Matcha was an $18,000 purchase at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton Eastern Fall Yearling Sale and has banked more than $630,000 in her two seasons of racing.

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Voiding A Void Claim: Arizona Track Noticed For Not Complying With National Rule

Arizona Downs was served with a notice of suspected violation by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority earlier this month after state officials prevented a void claim from going into effect.

According to a notice sent to the track by Authority chair Charles Scheeler on Sept. 12, a horse called Ag Minister was claimed by trainer Justin Evans from the fourth race at Arizona Downs on July 23. The horse cooled out in the test barn and the examining veterinarian determined the horse was lame in its left front leg.

Greg Stiles, who serves as the HISA steward for Arizona Downs, began the process of voiding the claim.

Track safety rules promulgated by the Authority earlier this year make provisions for a claim to be voided if a horse is declared unsound in the test barn, among other circumstances. Prior to the safety rules set forth by the Authority earlier this year, Arizona did not have a void claim rule.

Veterinarians and regulatory specialists generally favor void claim rules because they reduce the incentive for a trainer acting in bad faith to run a horse with a known medical issue in a claiming race with the hope the horse will be claimed. Void claim rules, which have existed for years in other states, are also thought to grant trainers looking to claim horses some confidence they won't be required to put out money for a horse that may have a limited racing future.

Read our previous reporting on void claim rules and what the national rules mean for states like Arizona here.

According to the Authority's violation report, Stiles was notified by Arizona chief state steward Jason Hart that the claim would not be voided.

“Hart stated that he had been informed by his supervisors at the Arizona Department of Racing that HISA Rule 2262 would not be enforced by the Arizona stewards,” the report read. “Because Arizona does not have a void claim rule, the claim was not voided and ownership of Ag Minister passed to the claimant.

“Stiles informed general manager of Arizona Downs Mike Weiss about these developments. The Authority has reasonable grounds to believe that Arizona Downs violated or failed to comply with HISA Rule 2262(4).”

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A spokesman for the Arizona Department of Gaming confirmed that Ag Minister was inspected at the test barn and determined to be lame. He was put on the veterinarian's list and has had no timed workouts or races since July 23, according to Equibase.

In that race, Ag Minister was taking a significant step down in price for former trainer and co-owner Kevin Eikleberry. His previous race at Arizona Downs on June 25 was a maiden optional claimer where his claim price was $30,000, and he finished sixth. A month later, in his July 23 start, his claiming price was $3,500.

Max Hartgraves, public information officer for the Department of Gaming, said there had been no other instances so far where a HISA steward had tried to void a claim in Arizona but had that decision reversed by state officials.

Arizona's Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association affiliate is one of the entities which recently sought to join a federal lawsuit against the Authority. The suit claims the Authority and the Federal Trade Commission have violated two amendments to the U.S. Constitution and other regulations around federal agency policy-making.

“The Department has worked cooperatively with HISA stewards involving rulings where new HISA rules and state rules conflict,” said Hartgraves via email. “The Department has reached out to HISA for additional guidance and opened a new rule-making docket with the Secretary of State's Office to conform rules and ensure ongoing compliance.”

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