Month: October 2023

The traditional end of season race, the Tour de Fort, closed things out in a very non-traditional fashion at the Fort Erie Race Track on Oct. 17, with a stunning 40-length lead vanishing completely down the final stretch.

The Tour de Fort, run at the unorthodox two-mile and seventy yard length, always proves a tricky one for riders and horses alike, but jockey Sofia Vives made the right call when she let Glitter Bay run out to an enormous lead early on.

“Our goal was to sit behind and see if she'd settle,” said Vives after the race, but clearly Glitter Bay had other plans, and decided to run way out in front for the first mile. However, coming down the last few yards, a late charge from Trish the Dish narrowed what looked like a runaway win down to little more than inches at the wire.

“At the quarter poll when I picked up her head she really fired. For two-miles, I thought she should be wearing down but she was game, and when she heard the screaming down the stretch, she was game to win,” said Vives.

The dramatic Tour de Fort closed out a banner season in Fort Erie, where wagering for the 2023 meet topped $46.7 million, which is up 39 percent over the previous season. On-track wagering reached $1.9 million for the season, a 3 percent increase over 2022. The track's signature race, the Prince of Wales Stakes, raked in a record-setting $1.05 million, with total wagering for that card reaching $3.48 million.

Alongside the wagering numbers which climbed steadily all year, the track also packed in the crowds for its popular wiener dog and basset hound races, entertained plenty of music fans during the Tuesday night concert series, and delighted throngs of costumed kids at the brand new Track-O-Lantern event, where ghouls, goblins, and superheroes spent the afternoon trick or treating around the facility.

“We went through more than 4,000 pieces of candy in two hours,” noted James Culic, the track's marketing manager. “The number of kids who came out to trick or treat was overwhelming but after a few emergency runs to Sobeys for more candy, we made sure every Batman, Pikachu, and Minecrafter left with a full bag.”

Live racing will return to the Fort Erie Race Track on May 28, 2024.

The post Fort Erie Wagering Up 39 Percent In 2023; Dramatic Tour De Fort Closes Out Season appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

As part of the ongoing process to update the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority's (HISA) Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program rules based on feedback from horsemen, the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU) conducted an internal review of the Limit of Detection in blood for metformin at its six accredited laboratories. Metformin is a banned substance and a commonly used prescription drug that treats diabetes.

Following this review, which was conducted in collaboration with the laboratories, it was determined that not all applied the same Limit of Detection in analyzing samples for the presence of metformin. HIWU has since met with all six laboratories to establish an updated, uniform Limit of Detection.

To preserve fairness in the adjudication of all reported Adverse Analytical Findings, i.e., positive test results, HIWU has lifted the Provisional Suspensions and will be withdrawing the Equine Anti-Doping Charge letters from trainers Guadalupe Munoz Elizondo and Javier Morzan due to their Covered Horses testing positive for Metformin at levels in blood that would not have been reported as Adverse Analytical Findings under the updated Limit of Detection.

Javier Morzan trainee Lady Liv tested positive for metformin after finishing third in a starter optional claiming race at Delaware Park on June 24; Guadalupe Munoz Elizondo trianee Quinton's Charmer tested positive for metformin 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).

All laboratories contracted with HIWU to test samples in the United States are accredited by the Racing Medication & Testing Consortium. The HISA Equine Analytical Laboratory Accreditation standards are currently in development, and HIWU expects that the transition will continue through 2024. Presently, there are efforts to harmonize testing sensitivity across the laboratories through an external quality assurance program that includes single- and double-blind quality assurance samples and a passed sample exchange program. Additionally, substances will continue to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis to ensure that all laboratories contracted by HIWU report uniform results for the same substances present at the same levels in different samples.

The review of and update to Metformin's Limit of Detection in blood represents progress from previous state-based regulatory structures in which laboratories historically operated independently of each other, resulting in substances being controlled differently depending on the laboratory conducting the testing. HISA's national structure enables HIWU to oversee all testing across the country and facilitate uniform enforcement of the ADMC rules. HIWU is committed to the harmonization of its laboratories and continues to work with them to reach this goal.

The post HIWU Lifts Two Metformin Suspensions After Laboratories Found To Have Applied Different Limits Of Detection appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post