Anticipation for the 2024 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve is ramping up as the calendar nears March, and all eyes will be on Hot Springs, Ark., Saturday, Feb. 24 for the 64th running of the Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park.
Month: February 2024
Stewards and Commissions Rulings – Feb. 13 – Feb. 19
Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country.
Among this week's rulings, trainer Gerald Brooks has been suspended seven days for a post-race gabapentin positive dating from Sept. 4. The case was resolved without a hearing.
Gabapentin is a Class B controlled drug under HISA, and used as an anti-seizure medicine in humans. Brooks was cited in January for a post-race phenylbutazone positive.
NEW HISA/HIWU STEWARDS RULINGS
The following rulings were reported on HISA's “rulings” portal and through the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit's (HIWU) “pending” and “resolved” cases portals.
RESOLVED ADMC VIOLATIONS
Resolution Date: 02/20/2024
Licensee: Gerard Ochoa, trainer
Penalty: Disqualification of Covered Horse's Race results, including forfeiture of all purses and other compensation, prizes, trophies, points, and rankings and repayment or surrender (as applicable); a fine of $500; imposition of 1.5 Penalty Points. Admission.
Explainer: For the presence of Phenylbutazone–Controlled Medication (Class C)–in a sample taken from Unxpected Tiger, who finished second at Tampa Bay on 12/31/23. This was a possible violation of Rule 3312–Presence of Controlled Medication Substance and/or its Metabolites or Markers (Post-Race/Vets' List).
Resolution Date: 02/20/2024
Licensee: Anthony Carango, trainer
Penalty: Disqualification of Covered Horse's Race results, including forfeiture of all purses and other compensation, prizes, trophies, points, and rankings and repayment or surrender (as applicable); a fine of $500; imposition of 1.5 Penalty Points. Final decision by HIWU.
Explainer: For the presence of Glycopyrrolate–Controlled Medication (Class C)–in a sample taken from Esor, who finished second at Parx Racing on 12/19/23. This was a possible violation of Rule 3312–Presence of Controlled Medication Substance and/or its Metabolites or Markers (Post-Race/Vets' List).
Resolution Date: 02/19/2024
Licensee: Richard Dutrow, trainer
Penalty: A fine of $500; imposition of 1.5 Penalty Points. Admission.
Explainer: For the presence of Phenylbutazone–Controlled Medication (Class C)–in an out-of-competition sample taken from Cage Match on 1/12/24. This was a possible violation of Rule 3312–Presence of Controlled Medication Substance and/or its Metabolites or Markers (Post-Race/Vets' List).
Resolution Date: 02/19/2024
Licensee: Arnold Torres, trainer
Penalty: A fine of $500; imposition of 1.5 Penalty Points. Admission.
Explainer: For the presence of Triamcinolone–Controlled Medication (Class C)–in an out-of-competition sample taken from Its Thievery on 1/12/24. This was a possible violation of Rule 3312–Presence of Controlled Medication Substance and/or its Metabolites or Markers (Post-Race/Vets' List).
Resolution Date: 02/19/2024
Licensee: Robert Dibona, trainer
Penalty: A fine of $3,000; imposition of 3 Penalty Points. Admission.
Explainer: A possible violation of Rule 3314–Use or Attempted Use of a Controlled Medication Substance or a Controlled Medication Method–on the horse, Surrogate. This was also a possible violation of Rule 4222–Intra-Articular Injections Within Seven (7) Days of Timed and Reported Workout.
Resolution Date: 02/15/2024
Licensee: Gustavo Delgado, trainer
Penalty: A fine of $3,000; imposition of 3 Penalty Points. Admission.
Explainer: A possible violation of Rule 3314–Use or Attempted Use of a Controlled Medication Substance or a Controlled Medication Method–on the horse, Ocean Vision. This was also a possible violation of Rule 4222–Intra-Articular Injections Within Seven (7) Days of Timed and Reported Workout.
Resolution Date: 02/15/2024
Licensee: Gerald Brooks, trainer
Penalty: 7-day period of Ineligibility, beginning on February 16, 2024; Disqualification of Covered Horse's Race results, including forfeiture of all purses and other compensation, prizes, trophies, points, and rankings and repayment or surrender (as applicable); a fine of $1,000; imposition of 2 Penalty Points. Admission.
Explainer: For the presence of Gabapentin–Controlled Medication (Class B)–in a sample taken from Breezy Connection, who finished second at Timonium on 09/04/23. This was a possible violation of Rule 3312–Presence of Controlled Medication Substance and/or its Metabolites or Markers (Post-Race/Vets' List).
Pending ADMC Violations
Date: 01/07/2024
Licensee: Erin Carpio, trainer
Penalty: Pending
Alleged violation: Out-of-competition medication violation
Explainer: For the presence of Acepromazine–Controlled Medication (Class B)–in a sample taken from Nazareno on 1/7/24. This is a possible violation of Rule 3312—Presence of Controlled Medication Substance and/or its Metabolites or Markers (Post-Race/Vets' List).
Date: 11/11/2023
Licensee: James Watkins, trainer
Penalty: Pending
Alleged violation: Medication violation
Explainer: For the presence of Xylazine–Controlled Medication (Class B)–in a sample taken from Dennis's Pride, who finished fifth at Fanduel Sportsbook and Horse Racing on 11/11/23. This is a possible violation of Rule 3312–Presence of Controlled Medication Substance and/or its Metabolites or Markers (Post-Race/Vets' List).
VIOLATIONS OF CROP RULE
One important note: HISA's whip use limit is restricted to six strikes during a race.
AQUEDUCT
Dylan Scott Thomas – violation date Feb 16; $250 fine and one-day suspension
GOLDEN GATE FIELDS
Catalino Martinez – violation date Feb 16; $250 fine and one-day suspension, 8 strikes
SANTA ANITA
Juan Hernandez – violation date Feb 18; $250 fine and one-day suspension, 8 strikes
Santiago Gonzalez – violation date Feb 18; $250 fine and one-day suspension, 7 strikes
OTHER KEY RULINGS
The TDN also publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky.
Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public (or not) and where.
CALIFORNIA
Track: Santa Anita
Date: 02/16/2024
Licensee: Diego Herrera, jockey
Penalty: Three-day suspension
Violation: Careless riding
Explainer: Jockey Diego Herrera, who rode Zzyzx in the third race at Santa Anita Park on February 15, 2024, is suspended for 3 racing days (February 23, 24 and 25, 2024) for crossing over without sufficient clearance going into the first turn, causing interference; a violation of California Horse Racing Board rule #1699 (Riding Rules – careless riding).
Track: Santa Anita
Date: 02/17/2024
Licensee: Kyle Frey, jockey
Penalty: Three-day suspension
Violation: Careless riding
Explainer: Jockey Kyle Frey, who rode Ghostly Act in the first race at Santa Anita Park on February 16, 2024, is suspended for 3 racing days (February 24, 25 and March 1, 2024) for failure to make the proper effort to maintain a straight course in the stretch, causing interference, resulting in the disqualification of his mount from second to fourth; a violation of California Horse Racing Board rule #1699 (Riding Rules-careless riding).
Track: Santa Anita
Date: 02/18/2024
Licensee: Joel Rosario, jockey
Penalty: One-day suspension
Violation: Participated in designated races out of state
Explainer: Jockey Joel Rosario is suspended for 1 additional racing day (February 25, 2024) pursuant California Horse Racing Board rule #1766(g) (Designated Races–participated in designated races out of state on February 18, 2024).
The post Stewards and Commissions Rulings – Feb. 13 – Feb. 19 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.
Bettors-Vs.-Baffert Suit Transferred to Kentucky
A New Jersey federal judge's order on Tuesday transferred a class-action lawsuit brought by a group of bettors against trainer Bob Baffert to the Western District of Kentucky, meaning that the nearly three-year-old case will now go before its third different court since 2021.
The original federal lawsuit was filed in California. In it, a group of horseplayers alleged they were cheated out of their property by Baffert when his betamethasone-positive trainee, Medina Spirit, crossed the finish wire first in the GI Kentucky Derby and purportedly prevented the plaintiffs from cashing winning tickets on the runner-up.
Baffert has denied those allegations, asked for the case to be dismissed, and has stated in court documents that the plaintiffs have twisted their case so far from reality that their alleged misstatements amount to libel.
Back on Dec. 22, 2023, the judge handling the case in United States District Court (District of New Jersey) ordered both sides to file letters by Jan. 15, 2024, “if either party wishes to explain why this case should NOT be transferred back to the Central District of California.”
But after receiving written rationale from both parties, the judge on Feb. 20 instead mandated that Kentucky was now the proper jurisdiction for the case.
“[B]alancing all the factors, this case should be transferred to the Western District of Kentucky,” U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz wrote in his 30-page order.
“This case, simply put, has virtually nothing to do with New Jersey,” the order continued. “And the remoteness from New Jersey is to the point that personal jurisdiction is questionable here–with implications for both cost [and] the certainty of being able to enforce any eventual judgment.
“It is true that the Plaintiffs chose to bring suit in New Jersey [after originally filing in California],” the judge wrote. “But that is less meaningful than is typically the case. This is a putative nationwide class action that has little to do with the state.”
Kentucky, the judge wrote, “is where the claim arose” based on being the host state for the horse race in question.
“And the federal court in Kentucky has recently resolved a case that is factually similar to this one and involves the Defendants in this case,” the order continued.
The original version of the suit that just got transferred was led by Michael Beychok, the winner of the 2012 National Horseplayers Championship. It was filed in California four days after Baffert's May 9, 2021, disclosure that Medina Spirit had tested positive for betamethasone after winning the May 1 Derby.
It wasn't until Aug. 22, 2023, that the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission's disqualification of Medina Spirit from the 2021 Derby-which also affirmed the elevation of runner-up Mandaloun as the official winner-was sustained after a long appeals process.
The more than 30 class members of the Beychok suit chose the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) Act as a tool to try and collect damages from Baffert, plus his incorporated racing stable. The plaintiffs also sought an order from the judge stating that Baffert must divest himself from the sport.
RICO is a sweeping 1970 federal statute initially designed to combat the Mafia. But in a legal sense, it has long since lost its “organized crime” stigma. RICO today is rarely used to go after stereotypical “godfather” figures. Instead, RICO has evolved as a civil litigation component, and is most often asserted by purported victims of white-collar crimes, such as mail and wire fraud.
The Beychok class-action complaint was withdrawn from the California federal court on July 22, 2021. One day later, an amended version of it resurfaced in New Jersey.
The New Jersey complaint from July 23, 2021, alleged that “[Baffert's] multiple and repeated acts of doping and entering horses into Thoroughbred races, including the Kentucky Derby, constituted racketeering activity.”
The separate Kentucky case to which Farbiarz alluded was a different class-action lawsuit initiated against Baffert by another group of horseplayers who alleged negligence, breach of contract, and unjust enrichment because their losing pari-mutuel bets on the 2021 Derby also weren't honored as winners. It was dismissed by a federal judge in Kentucky on July 20, 2023, for failure to state a claim.
Farbiarz explained the significance of that dismissed Kentucky case in his order.
'[T]he Western District of Kentucky has already resolved, on the merits, a case that is closely similar to this one,” Farbiarz wrote.
“There are, in short, fundamental similarities between the Kentucky case and this lawsuit,” Farbiarz continued. “Given the work that has already been invested in the Kentucky case, it would save a good deal of judicial time if this case were sent to Kentucky.
“And returning to the same decision-maker is not just a matter of efficiency,” the New Jersey transfer order summed up. “Having the same court handle both cases would help ensure that like cases-and these are very much like cases-are treated alike. That is a fundamental goal of our justice system.”
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Delaware Approves 2024 Dates, Releases Stakes Schedule
The Delaware Thoroughbred Racing Commission (DTRC) approved the 2024 Delaware Park live racing dates, punctuated by a $2.75 million stakes schedule. The 87th live racing season–featuring 75 days beginning on Wednesday, May 15 and concluding Saturday, Oct. 12–will be highlighted by the $500,000 GII Delaware H. July 7.
For the first time since 2009, the Delaware H. will be run on a Sunday, highlighting a festival weekend of racing that includes the $250,000 GIII Robert G. Dick S. on the July 7 undercard. The $300,000 GII Delaware Oaks will kick off the weekend July 6.
“We want to carry the positive momentum established last year into this upcoming season,” said Chief Financial Officer Kevin DeLucia. “The horsemen, commission and management have continued working together to ensure competitive, fair and safe racing. We have also been aggressively expanding our wagering menu and finding the right niches to make our signal attractive on the national landscape. It will be challenging to keep moving the needle in a positive direction in the highly competitive Mid-Atlantic market, but our team is eager for the opportunity.”
Total live racing handle increased 7.0%, to $152.3 million for the 85-day meet in 2023 from $142.3 million for the 87-day meet in 2022. The daily average handle increased 9.6%, to $1.8 million in 2023 from $1.6 million in 2022.
Live racing will be conducted on a Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday weekly format for the majority of the 2024 meet. Nine Friday cards will be added to the schedule: June 7, June 14, Aug. 2, Aug. 9, Sept. 13, Sept. 20, Sept. 27, Oct. 4 and Oct. 11.
Live racing is not scheduled on Thursday, July 11. Daily first race post time is set for 12:30 p.m.
For the complete 2024 stakes schedule, click here.
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