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$2-Million Juvenile Purchase Muth Has Just Four Rivals In Sunday’s Best Pal

When you put up $2-million to buy a 2-year-old in training, you're obviously taking a big swing. But then Amr F. Zedan, the 48-year-old billionaire, Saudi Arabian businessman and serial venture capital investor has been to the plate for big swings before.

The young horse we're focusing on here is the 2-year-old colt named Muth, a bay son of Good Magic out of the Uncle Mo mare Hoppa. The $2-million price was reached at the March Ocala Breeders' Sale in Florida and the colt – properly owned by Zedan Racing Stables – found a home in Southern California with trainer Bob Baffert.

The conditioner, who has worked his exceptional horse training skills with many a young runner, got Muth to the races for the first time on June 18 at Santa Anita and the result was what you'd expect for a 3-10 first-time starter: an 8 1/2-length victory over straight maidens going five furlongs in a rapid :57.20 for the distance. He was handled by top rider Juan Hernandez and won “geared down” according to the chart.

Now comes swing No. 2 for the youngster as he steps into graded stakes company for the first time Sunday in Del Mar's 53rd edition of the $200,000, Grade 3 Best Pal Stakes for juveniles taking on four rivals going six furlongs. He'll partner once again with Hernandez and Baffert has put a series of solid recent works into his charge in anticipation of this move up.

Del Mar's morning line maker Jon White has no doubts about Muth: He'll be 3-5 and beat him if you can on the program Sunday.

Here's the from-the-rail-out lineup – with riders and morning line odds — for the dash, which will go as Race 4 on the 10-race card:

Great Friends Stables or Davis' Raging Torrent (Antonio Fresu, 15-1); William Peeples' Tranche (Edwin Maldonado, 4-1); Reddam Racing's Who Is Pavel Mario Gutierrez, 30-1); Muth, and SF Racing, Starlight Racing and Madaket Racing's Prince of Monaco (Flavien Prat, 9/5).

The chief treat to the top one also is trained by Baffert in Prince of Monaco. He, too, was a galloping winner in his debut, scoring by eight at Los Alamitos on July 9. He gets the saddle services of Prat, a seven-time leading rider at Del Mar who has come in from his regular gig at Saratoga for the program and has been named on six different horses over the course of the afternoon.

First post for Sunday's card is at 2 p.m.

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TOBA Announces Finalists, Winners Of National And State Awards

The Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association announced winners, finalists and official sponsors for the 38th annual TOBA National Awards.

The TOBA National Awards will consist of two days of presentations. The National Awards Dinner will be held on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023, at Fasig-Tipton in Lexington, Ky., and the National Awards Luncheon that honors breeders from 20 states and Canada will be held on Friday, Sept. 8, 2023 at WinStar Farm.

The finalists for the National Owner of the Year are Peter M. Brant, Godolphin, Hronis Racing, Klaravich Stables, and Winchell Thoroughbreds. The three finalists for the National Breeder of the Year are Godolphin, Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings LLC., and Summer Wind Equine.

Other TOBA national award winners include Dreaming of Julia, dam of Malathaat, who has been named as the National Broodmare of the Year; Hronis Racing, Siena Farm, Summer Wind Equine, West Point Thoroughbreds & Woodford Racing who will be presented with the Cot Campbell Partnership of the Year Award; Invaluable, who will be honored as Claiming Crown Horse of the Year, presented by the National HBPA, and Michael Blowen who will be presented with the Dr. J. David Richardson Industry Service Award.

The Rood & Riddle Sport Horse of the Year will go to Satins Angel, owned by Alexa Lee while Greg Goodman will receive the Robert N. Clay Award, which recognizes a member of the Thoroughbred community who has made an outstanding contribution to preserving land for equine use.

In addition to the winners announced today, three awards will be announced live at the dinner on Saturday evening. The three awards that will be announced live are the National Owner of the Year, National Breeder of the Year and Small Breeder of the Year.

A complete list of state winners is as follows:

State Breeders of the Year:

Arkansas: John E. Anthony Arizona: Marvin Fleming California: Nick Alexander

Canada: Adena Springs and Mr. and Mrs. R.J. Bennett

Florida: Arindel Indiana: Greg Justice Iowa: Allen Poindexter Kentucky: Godolphin

Louisiana: Allied Racing Stables LLC Maryland: Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Bowman Minnesota: Lothenbach Stables, Inc.

New Jersey: Christine Connelly

New Mexico: Robert M. and DelRae Driggers New York: Chester and Mary Broman

North Carolina: Nancy Shuford Oregon: Lisa Baze

Pennsylvania: Elizabeth M. Merryman South Carolina: Franklin G. Smith Sr. Texas: Ronald (posthumously) and Margaret Ellerbee

Virginia: Amy Moore Washington: John Parker

TOBA National Awards sponsors are Platinum level sponsors Jackson Family Wines and FanDuel. Gold level sponsors The Jockey Club & BloodHorse, NTRA, Castle & Key Distillery, and WinStar Farm. Silver level sponsors National HBPA, Stoll Keenon Ogden, Godolphin and White Birch Farm.

“We are honored to celebrate the outstanding accomplishments of the finalists and winners at the 2022 TOBA National Awards,” said Dan Metzger, president of TOBA. “They have distinguished themselves in Thoroughbred racing and breeding and we look forward to a wonderful weekend at WinStar Farm and Fasig-Tipton.”

The emcee of the TOBA National Awards Dinner will be Jesse Ullery of Fasig-Tipton. There will be a silent auction which will open the week of the event and close on Saturday night, as well as a live auction during the awards dinner ceremony.

Tickets are available to the public for both the luncheon and the dinner, with a discounted price for TOBA members. Registration for both events is due by August 19 and available online here: www.toba.org/awards.

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HIWU Arbitral Body Hands Trainer 22-Month Suspension For Possession Of Levothyroxine

Trainer Jeffrey Poole has been handed a 22-month suspension by a Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit arbitral body for possession of levothyroxine, according to the organization's website.

Poole has also been ordered to pay $8,000 in arbitration costs in addition to a $10,000 fine for the violation.

Levothyroxine, which is commonly mass marketed under the trade name Thyro-L, is a synthetic version of a naturally-occurring hormone called thyroxine, which is produced by the thyroid gland. While there is no FDA-approved, mass-produced version of the substance for horses in the United States, Thyro-L is commonly prescribed by veterinarians to older horses to correct hypothyroidism — a condition in which the thyroid is underactive and the horse has an unusually slow metabolism.

Hypothyroidism isn't common in horses, and it's not a condition that's found in young, fit horses like the population commonly found at the racetrack.

For years, veterinarians have voiced concerns about the potential risks that may come with artificially boosting the metabolism of a horse who doesn't need it. In humans, hyperthyroidism (an overactive thyroid) is associated with increased heart rate and blood pressure, and risk of cardiac arrhythmia. As a result, many state racing commissions cracked down on its use, requiring specific diagnostics or notification of a thyroxine prescription to an active racehorse. Some jurisdictions banned its use in racehorses altogether.

Thyroxine overuse in racehorses first gained attention in 2013 when the Board launched an investigation into the sudden deaths of seven horses trained by Bob Baffert between 2011 and 2013. Baffert told investigators at the time that he had all the horses in his care on thyroxine, which was given as orally in a horse's grain in a similar manner as powdered supplements. At that time, trainers would commonly reach for thyroxine as a way to help get weight off horses, particularly if they'd recently returned from a lay-off.

Still, according to a report published in 2020 by the California Horse Racing Board, there were practitioners and trainers willing to ignore frequent warnings about the risks that could come with overuse.

According to national regulations, Thyro-L is a banned substance and possession of it constitutes a violation. Poole does not appear to have had a horse test positive for the substance, which is difficult to detect in post-race testing since it is a synthetic version of a naturally-occurring hormone.

Poole has saddled runners of 459 races, including 50 winners, per Equibase. He has not started a horse since he was issued a provisional suspension by HIWU in June.

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HIWU Suspends Trainer Jeffrey Poole For 22 Months

After a hearing before an arbitral body, trainer Jeffrey Poole has been hit with a 22-month suspension by the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) after it was alleged that Poole possessed the banned substance Levothyroxine. He was also fined $10,000 and ordered to make a payment of $8,000 to cover arbitration costs.

Poole did not have a horse test positive for the substance.

Levothyroxine, commonly known by the trade name Thyro-L, is a synthetic version of the naturally-occurring hormone thyroxine.

Thyroxine is produced by the thyroid and works with the brain to control metabolism. It can be prescribed to older horses to correct hypothyroidism, a condition in which the thyroid is underactive and the horse has an unusually slow metabolism. However, its use has raised concerns about potential risks that may come with artificially boosting the metabolism of a horse who doesn't need it and its use has been banned in some jurisdictions. Thyroxine overuse in racehorses was in the news in 2013 when the California Horse Racing Board launched an investigation into the sudden deaths of seven horses trained by Bob Baffert. Baffert told investigators at the time that he had horses in his care on thyroxine.

Once Poole was found to be in possession of the substance on June 2, he was provisionally banned by HIWU. His suspension was the first handed down by HIWU since it took over drug testing and the enforcement of penalties and suspensions on May 22. Poole's case is also the first to go through the arbitration process. Cases involving Anti-Doping Rules violations cases are heard by an Arbitral Body known as JAMS. Founded in 1979, JAMS describes itself as “the world's largest private alternative dispute resolution (ADR) provider.”

Trainers who have been charged with violations on the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority's list of banned substances face suspensions of up to two years. The 22-month suspension is the longest suspension handed out by HISA/HIWU thus far.

According to Equibase, Poole has been training off and on since 1989. He is 50-for-459 during his career and 3-for-41 in 2023. According to the Jockey Club's Thoroughbred Regulatory Ruling's website, Poole has no prior suspensions or fines on his record.

When reached by the TDN Poole declined to comment. At deadline for this story, his attorney Brad Beilly had not returned a hone calling seeking a comment.

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