Author: News

New York Times Report: Split Sample Positive for Baffert Runners

Split samples taken from Charlatan (Speightstown) and Gamine (Into Mischief) after wins on the Arkansas Derby Day card at Oaklawn Park May 2 confirmed positive results for the local numbing agent Lidocaine, according to a report in New York Times Monday evening. Both horses are trained by Bob Baffert. Charlatan was a six-length victor in a division of the GI Arkansas Derby, while Gamine won an allowance race on the card and has since gone on to a romping victory in the GI Acorn S.

A statement released by attorney Craig Robertson on behalf of Baffert Monday, said it was believed an employee had inadvertently exposed the two horses to Lidocaine while wearing a pain-relieving Salon Pas patch. The statement also noted the trace amounts of the drug would have had no impact on the performances of the two horses.

The Arkansas Racing Commission confirmed in late May that two horses from the Baffert barn had tested positive for an illegal substance and that the trainer had requested a split sample from each be tested.

Robertson’s complete statement released Monday follows.

Even though Lidocaine is a lawful, widely available therapeutic medication, it was never intentionally administered to either Gamine or Charlatan. When test results indicated that trace amounts of Lidocaine were found in both horses after their respective races on May 2, Bob Baffert and his team were shocked. Leading up to May 2, both horses were healthy and

worked hard to earn their victories that day.

   After investigation, it is our belief that both Gamine and Charlatan were unknowingly and innocently exposed to Lidocaine by one of Bob’s employees. The employee previously

broke his pelvis and had been suffering from back pain over the two days leading up to May 2.

   As a result, he wore a Salon Pas patch on his back that he personally applied. That brand of patch contains small amounts of Lidocaine. It is believed that Lidocaine from that patch was

innocently transferred from the employee’s hands to the horses through the application of tongue ties by the employee that was handling both horses leading up to May 2.

    What I want to make clear are the following three points:

  1. This is a case of innocent exposure and not intentional administration.
  2. The levels of Lidocaine found in both Gamine and Charlatan that day were extremely small–185 picograms for Gamine (in race 7), and 46 picograms for Charlatan (in race 11). A picogram is a trillionth of a gram.
  3. It is our understanding that the trace amounts of Lidocaine found in both Gamine and Charlatan would not have had any effect on either horse–much less a performance-enhancing one. The extreme sensitivity of modern-day testing can now pick up trace levels of innocent contaminants that have no effect on a horse. This is an issue that regulators of horse racing need to account for and address.

   Based on these facts, we intend on defending the cases involving Gamine and Charlatan before the Arkansas Racing Commission.

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Racially Charged VanMeter Posts Prompt Outrage

Dozens of angry industry members took to social media Monday morning after a racially charged social media post by a prominent Thoroughbred consignor surfaced on Twitter. By the end of the day, The Jockey Club, Keeneland, Fasig-Tipton, the Stronach Group and the NTRA had issued statements denouncing the posts.

Tom VanMeter, who owns and operates VanMeter Sales, a leading consignor based in Lexington, Kentucky, posted two comments in response to a question posted on Facebook by farm manager Donnie Snellings, asking people to repost his post if they planned to boycott the NFL season. Some fans pledged to boycott the NFL in 2016 after Colin Kaepernick first sat down, and then kneeled on the sidelines during the playing of the national anthem in protest of police brutality and racial inequality in the United States.

The question of the boycott was raised again when the NFL, after the nationwide protests and outrage in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, reversed its policy on allowing players to kneel before the game.

VanMeter’s first reply contained an abbreviation of the “N-word,” when he referred to the NFL as the “n-word football league,” and he later posted, “Put em back in their cage!!!”

Official industry reaction was swift. The Jockey Club posted the following statement on their Twitter feed. “OwnerView, jointly owned by The Jockey Club and TOBA, has suspended the account privileges of Tom VanMeter pending further review, based upon offensive content posted on social media under the same name. There is no place in racing or our society for racially hateful language.”

OwnerView is an owner platform which helps promote racehorse ownership along with industry providers. VanMeter’s profile has been taken down from the site.

Fasig-Tipton also denounced the comments in a statement.

“Fasig-Tipton does not generally comment on social media postings made by third parties, other than to make clear that this comment was not made by an employee or representative of Fasig-Tipton and does not reflect Fasig-Tipton’s values,” the statement read. “We do not condone or support any statements or actions that do not promote a more diverse and inclusive environment for industry participants.”

Keeneland issued similar sentiments.

“Keeneland condemns Tom VanMeter’s post,” the sales and racing company said in an emailed statement. “There is no place for racism in our sport or our society and his words are antithetical to Keeneland’s values of respect, community and equality. Our industry must deal honestly and directly with our lack of diversity and look hard at its underlying causes. It is not only the right thing to do, it is critical for the future of the sport we love.”

“At Keeneland, we have begun the process of reviewing our internal culture, structures and practices to try and build a better, more diverse and equitable Keeneland family. We do not believe there are easy answers to these complex and systemic challenges and everything is on the table as we move forward.”

The NTRA’s Alex Waldrop Tweeted, “The racist remarks and views posted on social media on an account belonging to Tom VanMeter have no place in society, let alone the horse racing industry. The NTRA no longer will accept financial contributions of any kind from him or others who share his views.”

The Stronach Group, which also owns and operates Santa Anita, Gulfstream Park, the Maryland Jockey Club and Golden Gate Fields, Tweeted the following: “The Stronach Group and 1/ST are appalled by Tom VanMeter’s comments. This type of hateful speech does not belong in any civilized society. It is repugnant, divisive and just plain wrong. It will not be tolerated at our tracks as it’s contrary to our mission as we believe strongly in human equality. To be clear, we celebrate our diverse employees, horsemen, guests and community that together make our venues and the sport as a whole, truly special.”

People on social media called for others not to support his consignment. “If you buy a horse from Tom VanMeter in September, you are part of the problem. End of story,” Tweeted owner Robert Masiello.

Denali Stud, where Donnie Snellings serves as farm manager, issued a statement of their own on Twitter. “In light of recent events surrounding racist comments made by a third party on an employee’s private social media account, it should be known that Denali doesn’t condone these comments. They don’t reflect our core values and there is no place for them in our industry or society at large.”

In a letter this morning, the TDN informed VanMeter that it would no longer accept advertising from him out of respect to its staff, readers and fellow advertisers.

A phone call to VanMeter’s cell phone was not returned in time for publication of this story.

The post Racially Charged VanMeter Posts Prompt Outrage appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Indiana Derby Favorite Winning Impression A ‘Dallas Stewart Prototype’

West Point Thoroughbreds president Terry Finley was asked how much he is thinking about the delayed Kentucky Derby with his partnership's 3-year-old gelding Winning Impression, the 3-1 favorite in Wednesday's $300,000, Grade 3 Indiana Derby at Indiana Grand Racing & Casino.

“Sure, yeah, we are,” Finley said of the Arkansas Derby fourth-place finisher. “Especially with Dallas Stewart at the helm and the repertoire he has with these kinds of horses.”

That would be distance-thriving horses who come running late to pick up a good part of the pieces while speedier rivals stagger home. Prime examples: Commanding Curve, second in the 2014 Kentucky Derby at 37-1; Golden Soul, second in the 2013 Kentucky Derby at 34-1; Tale of Verve, second in the 2015 Preakness at 28-1. West Point campaigned Commanding Curve, as well as the Stewart-trained Macho Again, second in the 2008 Preakness at 39-1.

“He reminds us a lot of Commanding Curve — just kind of getting there, getting there,” Finley said.

If Winning Impression wins the 1 1/8-mile Indiana Derby, he'll claim one credential that Commanding Curve never achieved: being a stakes-winner. One thing that helps is Winning Impression has more versatility to stay near the early lead if needed, while Commanding Curve was dependent on a fast pace to set up his closing kick.

“Ever since he went two turns, he's been a very consistent horse — and run with the best,” said Jeff Lifson, West Point's executive vice president for Midwest Operations. “He is a Dallas Stewart prototype: Gets better and better and better. He was never a flashy 2-year-old. As soon as he went two turns, it was like, 'This is what I was meant to do.'

“The fun part is looking at the Thoro-Graph (handicapping) sheets. He has a pattern very similar to Commanding Curve. If the sheets are at all predictive, he's going to run massively big at Indiana — if he's getting better, and he seems to be getting better.”

West Point was a minority partner in Always Dreaming, the Todd Pletcher-trained colt who got really good early in his 3-year-old season, carrying his speed to four impressive victories to start off 2017, capped by the Florida Derby and Kentucky Derby. He was never the same horse after that.

By contrast, Winning Impression is an example of a horse benefiting from the coronavirus forcing the Kentucky Derby to be postponed from May 2 until Sept. 5.

After a pair of fifth-place finishes sprinting last November, Winning Impression promptly won a 1 1/16-mile maiden race in New Orleans. That was followed by a second and third at the Fair Grounds and a disqualification from first to fifth for interference in an Oaklawn Park allowance race. But his team had seen enough to take the next step.

Winning Impression's stakes debut came on May 2 in the Arkansas Derby, in which he finished fourth by a total of nine lengths at 20-1 odds. The first- and third-place finishers that day, Charlatan and Gouverneur Morris are on the shelf and runner-up Basin is going in Keeneland's Blue Grass Stakes on Saturday.

“He's a nice horse,” said the Louisville-based Stewart. “He ran great at Oaklawn — won and got disqualified but he ran terrific. He ran great in the Arkansas Derby, has trained very consistent and this race will tell us a lot where we're at. He's doing well and he needs to run. We'll see where we're at in September, but right now we're just focused on this race. I think he fits real well in there, and we'll take it from there.”

Julien Leparoux, who rode Winning Impression in the Arkansas Derby and once in New Orleans, has the mount. Winning Impression drew post 9 in the field of ten 3-year-olds.

“It's a good race, it's a legitimate race,” Finley said. “There are no superstars in there. But the horses who figure to run well in here are very, very similar to what we are at this point in their careers. If we run well, we'll have a little stronger circle around the first Saturday in September.”

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