The fields for the 14 races that comprise the Breeders’ Cup World Championships really begin to come into focus in summer and fall and this regular feature will offer a snapshot profile of one of the previous weekend’s standout stars.
Month: August 2023
HIWU Weekly Update: Two More Trainers Provisionally Suspended For Methamphetamine
Three more positive tests for methamphetamine were reported this week on the pending violations list on the public disclosures section of the website for the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU), the enforcement arm of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA).
One was for Prairie Meadows-based trainer Dick Clark, who already had two runners test positive and added another this week.
The other two were from trainees conditioned by Randy Preston at Belterra Park and Ramon Rechy at Horseshoe Indianapolis.
Other notes of interest this week include the 22-month suspension of trainer Jeffrey Poole for possession of Thyro-L. Poole told the Paulick Report a veterinarian in Ohio prescribed the drug in September 2022 for a horse in his barn that subsequently was sold and that it was mistakenly packed up when his stable moved to Tampa Bay Downs and then Gulfstream Park. He said the drug was not given to any other horses in his care.
Trainer Chad Brown also has a pending violation for the controlled substance omeprazole from a post-workout test on a horse at Monmouth Park.
Last week's edition of the HIWU Weekly Roundup is available here, and all public disclosures can be found on the HIWU website.
Pending Violations – Provisional Suspensions For Banned Substances
The following cases include pending violations for banned substances, those that are not permitted in horses. New cases are listed in italics at the top of the list, and active suspensions have the trainer's name listed in bold.
Postponed suspensions, those for substances yet to be confirmed by split sample, have the trainer's name underlined and are listed with an asterisk (*).
- Trainer Dick Clark – possession of Levothyroxine, three runners have tested positive for methamphetamine (one horse was positive three times)
- Kissed a Cadet tested positive after finishing first in a maiden special weight at Prairie Meadows on June 22.
- Colonel Klink first tested positive after finishing second in an allowance optional claiming race at Prairie Meadows on June 19. The 7-year-old gelding has since raced three more times, finishing first in a claiming race on July 3, third in a starter allowance on July 9, and second in a claiming race on July 22. Colonel Klink also tested positive on July 3 and 22.
- My Heart's On Fire tested positive after finishing first in a maiden special weight race at Prairie Meadows on June 19.
- Trainer Randy Preston – Fly Home tested positive for methamphetamine after winning a maiden claiming race at Belterra Park on July 20.
- *Trainer Jim Lewis – Hughie's Holiday tested positive for clenbuterol after winning a claiming race at Ruidoso Downs on July 8.
- Trainer Ramon Rechy – Night Livin tested positive for methamphetamine after winning a claiming race at Horseshoe Indianapolis on July 7.
- Trainer Milton Pineda – seven runners have now tested positive for the vasodilator diisopropylamine – find more information in this Paulick Report story, including why a supplement may be to blame for the positives
- Wegonahaveagoodtime won a $12,500 claiming race at Los Alamitos on July 4, after which he tested positive.
- Keep Your Coil won a $25,000 claiming race at Los Alamitos on July 2, after which she tested positive.
- Catbernay won a $10,000 claiming race at Los Alamitos on July 1, after which he tested positive.
- Chollima won an $8,000 claiming race at Los Alamitos on June 23, after which she tested positive, and has since finished second in a $12,500 claiming race
- Big Splash won a $16,000 waiver claiming event at Santa Anita on June 10, after which he tested positive. Big Splash has since finished third in an allowance optional claiming race at Los Alamitos on June 24.
- Flatterwithjewels finished second in a $12,500 claiming race at Santa Anita on June 9 and was claimed by Flurry Racing Stables and trainer Phil D'Amato. The claim will be voided under HISA rules.
- Bella Renella won a $20,000 claiming race at Santa Anita on June 2, after which she tested positive. The 6-year-old mare has since won a starter optional claiming race at Santa Anita on June 18.
- Trainer Natalia Lynch – possession of Levothyroxine, and a gelding in her care tested positive for altrenogest.
- Motion to Strike tested positive for altrenogest after the gelding finished fourth in a claiming race at Monmouth Park on June 24. He was claimed from that race by owner/trainer Silvino Ramirez, and has since finished third in a claiming race at Monmouth on July 14. Under HISA rules, the claim will be voided.
- *Trainer Bruno Tessore – Tenebris, a gelding, tested positive for altrenogest on July 18 (no races or workouts listed on that date by Equibase).
- Trainer John Pimental – Golovkin tested positive for methamphetamine after finishing last (sixth) in a claiming race at Monmouth Park on May 29. A claim on the horse was voided from this race.
- Trainer Lorenzo Ruiz – three runners have tested positive for the vasodilator diisopropylamine
- Kant Beat The Rock tested positive after finishing second in a starter allowance race at Los Alamitos on July 4.
- American Cat tested positive after winning a $16,000 claiming race at Los Alamitos on June 25. The 4-year-old gelding has since finished third in an allowance optional claimer at Los Al on July 9.
- Facts Matter tested positive after winning a starter allowance race at Los Alamitos on June 23. The 8-year-old gelding has since finished fifth in a claiming race at Los Al on July 8.
- Ruiz is a multiple stakes-winning Quarter Horse trainer based at Los Al, though he has not started any Quarter Horses since 2022. Since HISA/HIWU have no jurisdiction over Quarter Horse racing, whether or not Ruiz would be able to race Quarter Horses will be up to the state racing commission and/or local racetrack. Ruiz has not started any horses, Thoroughbred or Quarter Horse, since July 9.
- *Trainer David Reid – Maligator tested positive for venlafaxine (an anti-depressant and nerve pain medication) after winning a claiming race at Hawthorne on June 25. The 8-year-old gelding has since finished second in a claiming race at Hawthorne on July 16.
- *Trainer Javier Morzan – Lady Liv tested positive for metformin (a commonly used prescription drug that treats diabetes) after finishing third in a starter optional claiming race at Delaware Park on June 24.
- *Trainer Mary Pirone – Benny The Jet tested positive for altrenogest after the gelding finished fifth in a claiming race at Emerald Downs on June 24. He was claimed from that race and moved to the barn of trainer Jorge Rosales, and has since won a claiming race at Emerald on July 14. Under HISA rules, the claim will be voided.
- Trainer Joseph Taylor – two runners have tested positive for both methylphenidate and clenbuterol
- Classy American finished second in a starter allowance at Parx on June 20
- Cajun Cousin finished second in a claiming race at Parx on June 18. The 4-year-old filly has since won a claiming race at Parx on July 12, prior to the positive being called. Cajun Cousin was claimed out of that race by trainer Michael V. Pino for Smart Angle LLP; the claim will be voided under HISA rules.
- *Trainer Donald H. Buckner – In the Midst tested positive for clenbuterol after finishing fifth in an allowance race at Thistledown on June 15.
- *Trainer Guadalupe Munoz Elizondo – Quinton's Charmer tested positive for metformin, a medication commonly prescribed in humans for type 2 diabetes, on June 11, 2023 (the New Mexico Racing Commission's Izzy Trejo confirmed that the positive test was incurred after a work before the state veterinarian in an attempt to remove Quinton's Charmer from the vet's list).
- Munoz Elizondo is also a multiple graded stakes-winning Quarter Horse trainer. Since HISA/HIWU have no jurisdiction over Quarter Horse racing, Munoz Elizondo will still be able to train and race Quarter Horses in New Mexico. Trejo said that HISA gave guidance last year that jockeys suspended for whip violations on a Thoroughbred could ride in Quarter Horse races, so the NMRC has applied the same logic to a trainer with a HIWU suspension. Thus, Munoz Elizondo is permitted to participate in Quarter Horse races. Trejo added that the commission is pushing for a state rule that will apply reciprocity at the NMRC level for HISA suspensions, but that isn't in place yet.
- *Trainer Reed Saldana – Ice Queen tested positive for the vasodilator diisopropylamine after finishing third in a starter allowance at Santa Anita on June 16 – find more information in this Paulick Report story, including why a supplement may be to blame for the positives
- Dr. Luis Jorge Perez, DVM – possession of levothyroxine (violation date June 9)
- Trainer Dennis VanMeter – Templement tested positive for isoxsuprine after finishing sixth in an allowance race at Thistledown on June 7, 2023 (see above, horse also returned positive test for controlled substance phenylbutazone)
- Trainer Jeffrey Poole – possession of levothyroxine (violation date June 2)
- Trainer Jonathan Wong – Heaven and Earth tested positive for metformin after winning a maiden race at Horseshoe Indianapolis on June 1 – Wong's suspension had been reverted to postponed status, but the split sample test returned a positive result for metformin so the trainer's suspension was reinstated.
- Trainer Ray Handal – HIWU has lifted the provisional suspension of trainer Raymond Handal, who was told June 30 a horse in his care tested positive for the banned substance zeranol, but the equine anti-doping notice has not been withdrawn. (Attorney Clark Brewster told the Paulick Report that literature shows mycotoxins found on corn or grain can produce zearalenone. Zeranol is a metabolite of zearalenone.)
- Trainer Mario A. Dominguez – Petulant Delight tested positive for cobalt after winning a claiming race at Parx on May 24.
New Case Resolutions
The following cases have recently been resolved by HIWU, either by early admission and acceptance of consequences (EAAC) or by final decision (FINAL).
- Trainer Tina Chamberlain – Rosebud Ryde tested positive for methocarbamol following a workout at Finger Lakes on June 28. Chamberlain has been fined $500 and imposed 1.5 Penalty Points (EAAC).
- Trainer Climaco Galindo-Torres – Delaney's Grace tested positive for Salicylic Acid following an eighth-place finish in a maiden claiming race at Belterra Park on June 8. A claim on the horse was processed for owner/trainer John Howard, and Delaney's Grace has since finished eighth in a maiden special weight race at Belterra on July 8. That claim will now be voided under HISA rules. The horse was ordered disqualified from the June 8 race, with purse money ordered returned, and Galindo-Torres was fined $500 and imposed 1.5 Penalty Points (EAAC).
- Trainer Jeffrey Poole has been suspended for 22 months over possession of Thyro-L, fined $10,000, and ordered to pay $8,000 in arbitration costs (FINAL).
- Trainer Sandino Hernandez, Jr. – Jonas' Dream tested positive for naproxen after winning a maiden special weight race at Gulfstream Park on May 25. The horse has been disqualified with purse money ordered returned, and Hernandez was fined $500 and imposed 1.5 Penalty Points (EAAC).
Pending Violations – Controlled Substances
The following cases include pending violations for controlled substances, those that are permitted for therapeutic purposes (new cases in italics at top of list).
- Trainer Sergio Alvaraez – Mischief Mame tested positive for methocarbamol after finishing third in a maiden claiming race at Emerald Downs on July 8.
- Trainer Chad Brown – Forced Ranking tested positive for omeprazole after a work at Monmouth Park on July 7.
- Trainer Jeff Flectcher – Tier One tested positive for flunixin (banamine) after a win at Thistledown on July 6.
- Trainer Benjamin Feliciano – Orville Street tested positive for both phenylbutazone and methocarbamol on June 25. (horse appears to be based at Laurel Park, but has not started and no workout was record on that date.)
- Trainer William Martin – Alkalinization or use of an alkalinizing agent (TCO2) on Wild Agent prior to his win in a claiming race at Presque Isle Downs on July 3.
- Trainer Samuel Calvario – Griffith Park tested positive for triamcinolone after a work at Pleasanton on June 30.
- Trainer Mario Serey, Jr. – Harper's Do tested positive for phenylbutazone after finishing seventh in a claiming race at Delaware Park on June 28.
- Trainer Jose Camejo – Fire King tested positive for promazine sulfoxide and methocarbamol after a work at Monmouth Park on June 11.
- Trainer Javier Hernandez – two trainees tested positive for salicylic acid
- Chief Mystique won a claiming race at Belterra Park on June 10
- Fast Fall won a maiden special weight at Belterra on June 10
- Trainer Dennis VanMeter – Templement tested positive for phenylbutazone in an allowance race at Thistledown on June 7, 2023 (finished sixth after clipping heels at the start). VanMeter is also provisionally suspended as Templement returned a positive test for the banned substance isoxsuprene in the same race.
Last week's edition of the HIWU Weekly Roundup is available here, and all public disclosures can be found on the HIWU website.
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Millionaire Field Pass Gets Class Relief In Find Stakes At Laurel Park
There is little that Three Diamonds Farm's multiple graded-stakes winning millionaire Field Pass hasn't done over five seasons of racing, but the well-traveled 6-year-old veteran will be trying something new when he returns to Maryland for Saturday's $75,000 Find at Laurel Park.
The 42nd running of the Find for Maryland-bred/sired 3-year-olds and up, scheduled for 1 1/16 miles on the Fort Marcy turf course, co-headlines a 10-race program with the $75,000 All Brandy for fillies and mares 3 and older.
First race post time is 12:25 p.m.
Trained by Mike Maker throughout his 34-race career, Field Pass has run at 15 racetracks in seven U.S. states and Canada with nine wins, all at different venues. Bred in Maryland by Mark Brown Grier and purchased for $37,000 as a yearling at Timonium in 2018, he will be facing state-breds for the first time in the Find.
Field Pass has raced just twice this year, finishing eighth in the Feb. 4 Tampa Bay (G3) and a July 20 optional claiming allowance at Saratoga, both going 1 1/16 miles. His most recent win came via disqualification in the Texas Turf Classic last July at Lone Star after finishing second by a neck as the favorite.
Since then, Field Pass' best finishes have been fourths in the 2022 Mint Million (G3) at Kentucky Downs and Knickerbocker (G3) at Aqueduct, beaten 4 ¼ combined lengths.
“He hasn't been running up to par in the last several races,” Maker said. “So, hopefully going up against state-breds will help him find his way back to the winner's circle.”
Field Pass has run three times previously in Maryland. At Laurel he finished fourth as the favorite in the 2019 Laurel Futurity, beaten one length for it all, and third in the Henry S. Clark to open his 2022 campaign. The winner of that race, Chez Pierre, would go on to take the Maker's Mark Mile (G3) in April.
An eight-time stakes winner, Field Pass captured the 2021 Baltimore-Washington International Turf Cup (G3) at historic Pimlico Race Course, the fourth of his five graded-stakes victories. Others have come in the 2020 Jeff Ruby (G3), Transylvania (G3) and Ontario Derby (G3) and 2021 Seabiscuit Handicap (G2).
“He's the kind that's never had to take his track with him. He's won from the East Coast to the West Coast and everywhere in-between,” Maker said. “We're looking forward to seeing how he does here.”
Overall, Field Pass owns nine wins, three seconds and five thirds with nearly $1.2 million in purse earnings. Maryland's leading apprentice, Axel Concepcion, will ride from Post 4 at topweight of 126 pounds in a field of 11 that includes Galerio, entered for main track only.
“He's been a special horse for us for a long time,” Maker said. “We're very proud of him and everything that he's done over the years. He's had a great career.”
Maryland's leading trainer, Brittany Russell, who is battling with Jamie Ness for Laurel's summer meet title heading into its final weekend, entered The Addison Pour and Wish Me Home, both 4-year-olds owned by Stuart Grant's The Elkstone Group.
“They both still have the two-other-than condition, but they're both Maryland-breds and they're doing great so it's a good race to take a swing like that,” Russell said.
Russell claimed Wish Me Home, by Midshipman, for $40,000 out of a June 4 race at Pimlico where he finished second by a head but was placed first following the disqualification of next-out winner Chelonian. In his first start for the new connections, Wish Me Home was a front-running 1 ¾-length open allowance winner July 15 at Laurel; both races came on the grass at the Find distance.
“Stuart called me and said, 'Claim this horse.' It was pretty point blank. I'm glad I listened to him,” Russell said. “He seems like a good claim. He's all racehorse. He's a tryer. I felt like that last one was a really, really good race. Honestly, I wasn't expecting that race from him, so it was exciting to see especially off the claim.”
Carlos Lopez is named on Wish Me Home from Post 8.
The Addison Pour is a homebred son of Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Tonalist that began his career on the dirt, winning two of five starts before going to the bench last June. He returned in February and lost twice before rallying to win each of his first two starts after being moved to the grass this spring, both going two turns at Laurel.
“As a 3-year-old he did a lot of good running on the dirt [but] I kept getting a lot of feedback to try this horse on the grass. Honestly, I was pretty disappointed with him [so] we gave him a break,” Russell said. “He's a big horse and he really filled out and matured. He came back and was training well, and he just really wasn't running well on the dirt. It felt like the right time to try the grass.”
The Addison Pour, in for a claiming price of $25,000, cruised to a 5 ¼-length victory May 5 going 1 1/8 miles in his turf debut and followed up by rallying from next-to-last in a field of nine to edge Crabs N Beer by a neck in a restricted 1 1/16-mile allowance June 17. Crabs N Beer also returns in the Find.
“Naturally when he won, we ran him for that tag but at the same time I was a little concerned that maybe he had gone the wrong way, so we needed to sort of pick his head up and get some confidence and I think between the grass and that it did a lot,” Russell said. “I think he ran really well last time. I like him. I think he's doing great and he's definitely a better grass horse.”
Russell's husband, Sheldon Russell, returns to ride from Post 3 after being up for each of The Addison Pour's two grass wins. Arnaldo Bocachica was up in the most recent start, a one-mile optional claiming allowance July 14 at Laurel where he made a late bid to be third, beaten 2 ½ lengths.
“I think Bocachica rode him really well last time. It was unfortunate because Sheldon got sick and he couldn't ride that day,” Russell said. “He'll have Sheldon back up and that's key, too. He really, really knows him and you can see how well they've done together, so I think that'll be helpful.”
Wicked Prankster, owned and trained by Sam Davis, is winless with two thirds in four starts this year after ending 2022 with back-to-back victories including a gate-to-wire triumph in the 1 1/8-mile Maryland Million Turf. He exits the same July 14 race as The Addison Pour, where he led the way for a half-mile before fading to seventh.
Mint Meadows Farm and Donald Metzger's B Determined will stretch out after winning and finishing second by a nose in a pair of restricted turf sprints at Laurel. A head winner of the 2021 Maryland Million Turf Starter Handicap, the 6-year-old gelding was third, beaten a half-length, in last year's Find and owns two seconds and two thirds in six lifetime tries at the distance.
Sky's Not Falling, winner of the 2022 Maryland Million Turf Sprint that was most recently third in the 1 1/8-mile Prince George's County July 15 at Laurel; Tappin Cat, a stakes winner on dirt that was third in his turf debut going 7 ½ furlongs July 13 at Delaware Park; My Boy Paddy and Tom Hagen complete the field.
The Find is named for the Sagamore Farm homebred that raced through age 11, starting 110 times with 22 wins, 27 seconds and 27 thirds and purse earnings of $803,615. He won or placed in 51 stakes, retired in 1961 as Maryland's all-time leading money winner and the second-richest gelding in history.
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West Virginia Breeders Classics Publishes Racing History
Carol Holden, President of the West Virginia Breeders Classics Ltd., announced Tuesday that the organization has published “The History of the West Virginia Breeders Classics – 1987 to Present.” Holden was co-founder of the West Virginia Breeders Classics along with her partner, the late Sam Huff.
The 8 ½ by 11 inch, 430-page book contains full-color images of the winners of each of the 36 years of races and will be available for the first time at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races on Charles Town Classic and Oaks night, Friday, August 25.
The book's author, Charles Town resident Bob O'Connor, will be on hand that evening to autograph each book.
The race itself was the brainchild of NFL Hall of Famer and West Virginia native Sam Huff, who starred as an all-pro linebacker for the New York Giants and Washington Redskins. Huff was a horse breeder and established the event to promote West Virginia and the thoroughbred horse racing industry in the state.
Sam passed away in 2021. The featured race of the evening is now named in his honor. The new book is also dedicated to Huff.
Readers of the book will find out how the inaugural races were funded and learn more about those who made that first race possible in 1987. The book also identifies important individuals along the way who have continued to champion the event and keep it going at a high level.
The book explains which horses are eligible for racing on the card, which owners, trainers, breeders, and jockeys have the most WVBC wins under their belts, and tells of the economic importance of the race to the thoroughbred horse racing industry in West Virginia.
Readers will also learn more about the local elections in 1996 which allowed for video lottery at the Hollywood Casino, an effort that saved the horse racing industry at Charles Town. Another article included in the book reviews the first thirty years of the race and how the races went from the hatching of an idea to its tremendous success today.
Every edition of the WVBC but one has been held at Charles Town, with the race moved just once in 1995 to Mountaineer Park.
The West Virginia Breeders Classics races this fall will be held on Saturday, October 14. This year will be the 37″ running of what has become the single richest night of racing for West Virginia-breds.
The book sells for $44.95 plus West Virginia sales tax. The book will also be available at the WVBC annual featured event on October 14.
It is the intent of the WVBC to update the book each year to include the racing photos and information from that year's racing card.
For additional information, please contact the WVBC office at 304-725-0709.
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