News | Horse Racing Free Tips

Art Collector on List of Horses Provisionally Suspended by HISA for Violating Intra-Articular Injection Rule

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) has issued a new list of horses that have been provisionally suspended for violating the rules regarding intra-articular injections and it includes Grade I winner Art Collector (Bernardini).

The Paulick Report was first with the story.

Under new rules put in place by HISA that went into effect in May, horses who have had an intra-articular injection are prohibited from running within 14 days of the injection and cannot have a published workout within seven days of the injection. Art Collector, who is trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, was injected on June 21. According to Equibase, he had a five-furlong workout at Saratoga on June 26. With the violation, Art Collector was placed on the provisionally suspended list, which requires that he not race or work out for 30 days.

He will come off the provisionally suspended list on July 21.

The HISA rules covering inter-articular injections have gone through several revisions. Originally, any trainer found to violate the rule was subject to a 60-day suspension but that was dropped when HISA determined many of the offenses were caused by confusion and that many trainers did not understand the new rules. Those rules were tweaked during the time that Art Collector had the injection and the workout. In addition to the horse being put on a suspended list, Mott has received a warning letter. Still new rules went into place on July 16. Under this set of guidelines, any trainer who violates the rules will receive a $3,000 fine for the first offense. However, the horse in question is not provisionally suspended.

After declining to publish the list of the first batch of horses that had violated the rule, HISA reversed course and published a list the next day of 19 horses who were in violation of the rule. Those horses should not have been allowed to race while on the suspension list but nine of them did and three won their next start.

The new list contains 15 names. As was the case with the first list of names that was revealed, HISA did not enforce its own rules. None of the horses on the list should have been allowed to race while suspended, but six made it into the starting gate. In the case of Celtic Treasure (Treasure Beach {GB}), he was injected on June 12 and raced twice before his suspension ended on July 12. In another case, To Kalon (Ghostzapper) ran in a race just three days after having the injection.

With Art Collector coming off the list on Friday, he should be ready to return to the races at Saratoga quickly and could point for races like the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup. Another option might be the GII Charles Town Classic, a race he won in 2022 and 2021. He last ran on May 5 at Churchill Downs, where he finished second in the GII Alysheba S. The biggest win of his career came in January when he won the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream.

The post Art Collector on List of Horses Provisionally Suspended by HISA for Violating Intra-Articular Injection Rule appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Pennsylvania Trainer Suspended 15 Days For Pre-HISA Cobalt Positive

Trainer James E. Nicholson Jr. has been suspended 15 days by stewards in Pennsylvania after his runner Rockin Cowboy tested positive for cobalt.

The 10-year-old gelding won the fourth race, a $5,000 claimer, at Parx on April 19 and was later disqualified. Nicholson waived his right to a split sample testing and to an appeal. He was also fined $500 and assigned four multiple medication violation penalty points.

Nicholson's suspension will begin July 20 and run through Aug. 3.

The cobalt positive came from a race that took place prior to the implementation of national medication regulation and testing under the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority and its enforcement arm, the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit. HISA/HIWU regulations state that the presence of cobalt constitutes an anti-doping violation. It results in a provisional suspension while the case is pending and may carry as much as a two-year suspension and a fine as high as $25,000.

Cobalt is a mineral found in small amounts in horses' diets. It's considered normal to find some cobalt in a horse's blood, but excessive amounts are regulated in many states, as they're believed to come about from administration of drugs or supplements aimed at improving performance. (The concentration found in Rockin Cowboy was not listed in rulings from the Pennsylvania stewards.) For many years, regulators and horsemen believed it could be given in excess and have a performance-enhancing impact by boosting red blood cell production, based on its action in human athletes. More recently, studies have indicated it may behave differently in horses and may not have the same effects on performance or endurance.

According to Equibase, Nicholson has saddled 64 starters so far this year, with five winners.

The post Pennsylvania Trainer Suspended 15 Days For Pre-HISA Cobalt Positive appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Jackson: Stronach Decision On Golden Gate Fields Has A Real Human Toll

The following open letter was submitted to the California Horse Racing Board in the wake of an announcement by The Stronach Group that it will close Golden Gate Fields at the end of this year. It has been edited.

As I'm sure you're aware now, The Stronach Group intends to close GGF as of the 10^th of Dec. I have to wonder who can intervene on the part of all the trainers, grooms, hot walkers, exercise rider, jockeys, owners, breeders, hay growers, grain manufacturers, vendors, small businesses, etc. that are going to be devastatingly impacted by this decision.

As I'm also sure you're aware, many of the backstretch workers have only provisional licenses that allow them to work at the track but have no work permit to allow them to work outside the track. This closure is going to throw many people out on the street without work, without the possibility to work and without a place to live.

The horses we have raised to race in Northern California are not of the quality to compete successfully in Southern California, as is the intended plan by Stronach Group to see them all move to Santa Anita and bulk up their horse population. That isn't going to happen. Horses and trainers are leaving the state by the droves as it is. Trying to improve racing in SoCal by destroying any competition in NorCal, just doesn't add up.

I don't know where to turn but this travesty is just eating away at my heart and I'm hoping since you allocate the dates for race meets, maybe you have some suggestions. I realize as a private corporation, Stronach Group doesn't have to open their books to the public. But as recently as this spring, Craig Fravel, CEO of 1/ST Racing, speaking to a group of TOC members at GGF, told us that GGF makes a better profit than Santa Anita and is basically supporting them.

Since the mission statement of CHRB is to ensure the integrity, viability, and safety of the California horse racing industry by regulating pari-mutuel wagering for the protection of the public, promoting horse racing, breeding, and wagering opportunities, and fostering safe racing through the development and enforcement of track safety standards and regulations for the health and welfare of all participants, it would appear that this sort of reckless decision-making by Stronach Group is certainly under your jurisdiction [and impacts] the welfare of all participants.

I am sincerely hoping when you make your decisions for race dates you take all the human toll into consideration and at least force the Stronach Group to be transparent in their decision-making, process and provide you with evidence that this plan to destroy NorCal racing is based on what is best for the industry as a whole.

–Ellen Jackson
Owner/breeder/trainer
Vacaville, Calif.

If you would like to submit a letter to the editor, please write to info at paulickreport.com and include contact information where you may be reached if editorial staff have any questions.

The post Jackson: Stronach Decision On Golden Gate Fields Has A Real Human Toll appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Mage To Go In Haskell

The connections of GI Kentucky Derby winner Mage (Good Magic) may have waited until the 11th hour to make their schedule known, but in the end they gave Monmouth Park the answer everyone there was hoping for. Mage will be starting in Saturday's $1-million GI Haskell S.

The decision was not revealed until about 4:30 ET Thursday when trainer Gustavo Delgado, Sr. tweeted the following: “After much consideration and planning Mage's summer goal of getting to the G1 Travers; we have decided to have a prep run in the G1 Haskell this weekend.”

The other option, the connections had been saying for a couple of weeks, was to pass both the Haskell and the GII Jim Dandy S. and go into the GI Travers S. after a series of works. Watching Mage train, they decided a race in the Haskell was the best way to fulfill the goal of winning the Travers.

“Since the day after the Preakness, we have been targeting the Travers as our summer jewel,” said co-owner Ramiro Restrepo. “And we've identified the Haskell as the best route to get him ready for the Travers. We look forward to competing in our fourth consecutive Grade I and putting forth a quality effort.”

Mage hasn't run since finishing third in the GI Preakness S.

The Haskell had already lined up a strong field before the confirmation that Mage would be running, but the race is now shaping up to be one of the strongest Haskells in years.

“We have the Derby winner,” said racing secretary John Heims. “We have Bob Baffert's 'A' horse in Arabian Knight [Uncle Mo]. We have Tapit Trice [Tapit], a Grade I winner who was third in the Belmont. We have Geaux Rocket Ride [Candy Ride {Arg}], who is from the barn of Hall of Famer trainer Dick Mandella, who has been pointing to this race for some time. We have Extra Anejo [Into Mischief], Salute the Stars [Candy Ride {Arg}]. We had a very good race and I think with the addition of Mage it's a great race.”

The field for the Haskell will be drawn Wednesday at noon.

The post Mage To Go In Haskell appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post