Month: June 2023

Florida Regulators Dismiss ‘Stacking’ Medication Complaint Against Pletcher

Stewards at Gulfstream Park in Florida have dismissed an administrative complaint filed earlier this year against Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher after a split sample test failed to confirm the original finding of a medication violation.

Six Minus, an English Channel gelding racing for Repole Stable, Todd Pletcher, and J.J. Pletcher, was found by the state's official testing laboratory at the University of Florida to have elevated levels of two anti-inflammatories in his system, ketoprofen and phenylbutazone, following an allowance/optional claiming race win on the Gulfstream Park on Feb. 3.

It is a violation of Florida medication regulations to have more than one non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication present above certain levels, a practice commonly known as “stacking.” According to the original complaint, Six Minus had a ketoprofen level of 2.49 nanograms per milliliter and a phenylbutazone level of 0.967 micrograms/milliliter. When more than one anti-inflammatory is used, Florida has cutoff levels of 1 ng/ml for ketoprofen and 0.3 micrograms/milliliter for phenylbutazone.

Pletcher requested a split sample be sent to Texas A&M University, which reported its results back to the Florida Gaming Control Commission on June 2. According to a stewards ruling dated June 3, “Ketoprofen was not detected in the sample by LC-MS (liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry). The phenylbutazone results are inconclusive.”

Under Florida statute, the ruling added, “If the division laboratory's findings are not confirmed by the independent laboratory, no further administrative or disciplinary action under this section may be pursued.”

Pletcher has stewards hearings pending on two other alleged violations in Florida, both from Dec. 10, 2022.

All three cases preceded the installation of national regulations under the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority. The two labs involved in this complaint at the University of Florida and Texas A&M are not among the labs contracted to do testing for HISA and its affiliate, the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit.

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Saturday Insights: $685K OBS Grad Debuts At Ellis

4th-ELP, $120K, Msw, 2yo, 5 1/2f, 3:16 p.m.
OXO Equine's BALTA (Munnings), a $685,000 '23 OBSMAR purchase who went :9 4/5 during the under tack show, debuts Saturday for Paulo Lobo. The 2-year-old chestnut colt's family tree includes GISW Cupid (Tapit) and is a half-brother to SW Opus Forty Two (Mendelssohn). Opposing him will be fellow firster, trained Kenny McPeek, Northern Flame (Flameaway), who brought $425,000 at the Fasig-Tipton August sale last year. Also entered is D. Wayne Lukas trainee Just Steel (Justify), who went for $500,000 at the '22 Keeneland September sale. TJCIS PPS

1st-BEL, $90K, Msw, 3yo, 6f, T, 1:05 p.m.
A $600,000 '21 FTSAUG purchase, MISCHIEVOUS ANGEL (Into Mischief) exits the gate on debut for Peter Brant and Parkland Thoroughbreds. Trained by Chad Brown, the bay gelding hails from a female family which includes GI Florida Derby hero Audible (Into Mischief), a half-brother to his dam. TJCIS PPS

5th-BEL, $90K, Msw, 3yo/up, 1 1/16th, 3:09 p.m.
DONEGAL FOREVER (Pioneerof the Nile), who sold for $170,000 at the '21 Keeneland September sale, will make his first start for trainer Todd Pletcher. The 3-year-old bay colt's second dam Tenacious Tina (Benchmark) is a half-sister to GISW Midnight Storm (Pioneerof the Nile). TJCIS PPS

7th-MTH, $55K, Msw, 3yo/up, 1 1/16th, T, 3:22 p.m.
Homebred ASKARI (Tapit) breaks from the extreme outside for Todd Pletcher in this first maiden try. The dark bay 3-year-old colt is a half-brother to GSW Promise Me Silver (Silver City), but digging a bit deeper, he also counts GISW Try Something New (Hail the Pirates) among his family. TJCIS PPS

6th-WO, $111K, Msw, 2yo, f, 5f, AW, 3:54 p.m.
AIROSA (Uncle Mo) was a $400,000 '22 KEESEP buy for Star Ladies Racing and X-Men Racing. The Ontario-bred is out of Mrs. Hudson, who own dam MGSW Sara Louise (Malibu Moon) is a half-sister to GSW Just Louise (Five Star Day), who is responsible for GISP & MGSW Forbidden Kingdom (American Pharoah).  TJCIS PPS

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Demolition Of Arlington Grandstand Begins

Once considered among the most beautiful facilities in racing, Arlington Park met the wrecking ball Friday.

The work on the exterior portion of the track started after the Arlington Heights Building and Safety Department approved a request from the Chicago Bears for a building permit that allowed the demolition of the grandstand and other structures on the property. In February, the Bears completed its purchase of the 326-acre property from Churchill Downs, Inc. for $197.2 million. The Bears have yet to fully commit to building a new stadium on the property.

Churchill announced its plans to sell the track in February of 2021. Arlington last raced on Sept. 25, 2021.

According to the Daily Herald, the process began at 1 pm local time with a pair of excavators tearing into the southeast corner of the grandstand. About 25 minutes later, the first row of seats in that corner began to collapse. The plan, the Herald reported, is for the teardown to be done piecemeal, with crews beginning work at one end of track and finishing at the other.

It is expected that the grandstand will be fully demolished by the end of the summer and that the grandstand entrances will be gone by the end of June. At some point this fall, the offices, paddock and jockey's quarters will be demolished. The Herald reports that the Bears will pay $3.8 million to have the track demolished.

In a May 4 letter sent by Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren to the superintendents of three area school districts, the Bears official said that the demolition of the buildings would “reduce our operating cost and lower the assessed value of the land so that we can realize a realistic property tax during the predevelopment period.” The Bears are in the midst of negotiations with local schools over the amount of property taxes the football team should pay over the next two years. The Bears have said that high property taxes have put their plans to build a stadium on the Arlington site in jeopardy.

That Arlington is now in the process of being torn down is the latest chapter in a story that has been nothing but bad news for horse racing. The track opened in 1927 and was the jewel in what was then a robust Chicago racing circuit. Hawthorne is the only track left in the Chicago area.

On July 31, 1985 a fire completely destroyed the Arlington grandstand and clubhouse. Miraculously, under track owner Richard Duchossois, temporary bleachers were constructed and the GI Arlington Million was run that year on Aug. 25 in front of 35,000 fans. In need of a new grandstand, Duchossois spared no expense and built a new track from the ground up. The new Arlington opened on June 28, 1989 and was widely hailed as a marvel, one of the nicest tracks in the world. In 2002, Arlington hosted the Breeders' Cup.

Arlington appeared to have new life after casinos were legalized at Illinois racetracks. But, in a move that stunned many within the industry, Churchill Downs did not take steps to secure a casino license. It has been suggested that Churchill did not want to open a casino at Arlington because it would compete with a casino the company owns in nearby Des Plaines, Illinois.

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Into Champagne Delivers ‘Brut’ Force in ‘Rising Star’-Worthy Display

Into Champagne (f, 2, Into Mischief–Bedford Land, by Speightstown) sat a trip handy to the pace, pounced when produced and galloped away from her rivals in the late stages to complete a sweep of the afternoon's 2-year-old filly maidens for her unstoppable sire at Ellis Park and earn the 'TDN Rising Star' distinction in the process.

Drawn wide for the debut, the $300,000 Keeneland September yearling showed enough speed to sit close to a good early pace and traveled strongly while traveling comfortably for Julien Leparoux. Going ominously well behind the leaders on the turn while still on hold, the bay filly pushed away from the inside part of the track, raced up three wide while under her own courage and turned it on through the final eighth of a mile to graduate by 6 3/4 convincing lengths.

The late Eugene Melnyk acquired the winner's second dam for $475,000 at the 2003 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale and raced her to seven wins from 11 starts for Todd Pletcher, including the 2006 GI Ruffian H. Melnyk sold Pool Land, then 11 years of age, to Live Oak for $900,000 in foal to Smart Strike as part of the owner's dispersal of racing stock at Fasig-Tipton February in 2013. For Charlotte Weber, Pool Land bred 2-year-old stakes winner Old Chestnut (Speightstown) before she sold to SF Bloodstock in foal to Munnings for $57,000 at Keeneland January in 2019. The winner's dam is also responsible for a yearling Not This Time filly, but unfortunately delivered a dead foal by Practical Joke this season.

A 38th 'Rising Star' for Into Mischief, Into Champagne is bred on the exact same cross responsible for the stallion's Grade I winners Mia Mischief and Mischievous Alex and on the cross over Gone West that yielded champion and Horse of the Year Authentic. Others of Into Mischief's graded winners from Speightstown dams include GII Phoenix S. and GIII Futurity S. hero Engage and G3 Nad Al Sheba Turf Sprint victor Man of Promise.

8th-Ellis, $120,000, Msw, 6-16, 2yo, f, 5 1/2f, 1:04.18, ft, 6 3/4 lengths.
INTO CHAMPAGNE, f, 2, by Into Mischief
1st Dam: Bedford Land, by Speightstown
2nd Dam: Pool Land, by Silver Deputy
3rd Dam: Slew City Slicker, by Slew City Slew
Sales history: $300,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $69,600. Click for the Equibase.com chart or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
O-Six Column Stables, LLC, Randall L Bloch, Jim Gladden, Mike Davis & Michael Steele; B-Robert & Lawana Low (KY); T-Ian R Wilkes.

 

 

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