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UK Gluck to Develop Biological Passport

The Gluck Equine Research Foundation at the University of Kentucky is developing an equine biological passport with the goal of identifying specific biomarkers that will detect drug use by monitoring changes to peptides and protein abundance, and monitor those biomarkers over time, they announced Monday via press release.

In simple terms, an EBP would track biological changes in horses over time. Just like the one introduced by the World Anti-Doping Agency in 2009, an equine biological passport would use repeated blood samplings and use biomarkers to detect a horse’s reaction to performance-enhancing drugs as an alternative to traditional testing.

“The goals of this program are to elevate equine research at the University of Kentucky, to serve as a platform to impact policy change and drug testing protocol, and further understand the impact of drugs and medications on Thoroughbred racehorses,” said the release.

The release quoted Dr. Scott Stanley, the Director of UK’s Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory.

“In the last few years we have seen too many negative headlines around equine drug use,” said Stanley. “As a research scientist, with 30 years of regulatory drug testing experience, my team and I know this is a problem we cannot currently solve. We know that it takes time to develop new tests for each new emerging drug, so we will always be behind. We know that each horse metabolizes drugs at a different rate, making standard clearance and withdrawal times confusing. In addition, we know that there are environmental factors, human interactions, and hundreds of other variables that can impact our current drug testing procedures. The EBP program is a tool that will enable us to rapidly identify new drugs and measure the physiological effect on the equine athlete. These data will be critical in differentiating between intentional doping and accidental contaminants, which can smear the industry image and damage reputations.”

Stonestreet Farm announced they would be major participants in the funding of the program.

“At Stonestreet. we are proud of our integrity, our commitment to a level playing field and our focus on the health of the horse above all else,” said Stonestreet’s owner, Barbara Banke “An equine biological passport will give us a comprehensive program that provides full transparency for both competition and out-of-competition testing, for every stakeholder. Stonestreet will contribute $100,000 toward this project and I encourage all stakeholders, trainers and owners alike, to consider a tax-deductible gift as an investment in the future of the racing industry.”

The Equine Biological Passport program is an evolving research program, which is designed to expand and to be flexible enough to address new challenges, such as bio-therapeutics. Over the next several years, Gluck said they would continue to validate and refine the EBP program to position it as a future tool for the industry. In addition, it will provide scientific data needed to support changes in rules, and regulations that will allow us to prosecute violators and prevent `at risk’ horses from entering in competitions.

The Jockey Club has also thrown their financial support behind the project. “As part of our mission, The Jockey Club seeks new practices and methods to ensure a level playing field and often look for solutions that may have had success in human sports,” said Matt Iuliano, the Jockey Club’s Executive Vice President and Executive Director, who said they had been financially supporting Stanley’s EBP research for four years. “As such, The Jockey Club has a continuing effort to support research aimed at developing an equine biological passport. The EBP employs new analytical methods to detect the administration of substances that evade traditional drug testing testing. Because these substances cannot be directly tested, they pose a significant risk to health, safety and integrity in our sport. The EBP looks for changes in bio markers which signal when a substance was administered. The EBP is a huge step in rooting out cheaters.”

Gluck’s efforts would not be the first time the concept of a biological passport has been raised in racing.

The TDN’s T.D. Thornton has written several articles about the concept and the need for funding, including this effort at UC Davis in 2016. Stanley headed up that effort and brought his work with him to UK when he moved there in 2019.

“What we budgeted was $250,000 a year for five years to move it forward,” said Stanley. “That pays for personnel, development, computer time, and the data analysis that we need.”

For more information about this project, visit http://gluck.ca.uky.edu/content/equinebiological-passport, or contact Dr. Scott Stanley at scott.stanley2@uky.edu or 859.494.6319. Funding for this project is entirely dependent on private support. For more information on how to support this effort or to make a gift, contact Danielle Jostes at danielle.jostes@uky.edu or 502.641.6906.

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Mehmas Colt A Summer Sale Highlight

An unnamed colt from the first crop of Mehmas (Ire) was the leading flat offering from Monday’s Arqana Summer Sale, with lot 13 hammered down to Nicky Bertran de Balanda for €100,000. Mehmas currently leads the European first-season sires table by winners with nine and he registered his first stakes winner on the weekend when Method (Ire) took the Listed Rose Bowl S. This colt’s dam is a half-sister to the dam of GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner Vale Of York (Ire). De Balanda said, “He’s a lovely colt. His sire was a good juvenile and his offspring seem to be following in his footsteps, with another good winner this weekend. He’ll go into training with Francis-Henri Graffard.”

The Mehmas colt is the first horse consigned by Laura Vanska. A Godolphin Flying Start graduate, Vanska served as an assistant to Nicolas Clement before starting her own breaking and pre-training operation in Chantilly less than two years ago.

“He arrived with us in November and has been working with our other horses,” Vanska said. “He’s a colt that has not stopped improving. We were meant to offer him at the Breeze-Up in May, but for logistical reasons, we waited for this sale. I was confident in his breeze, and thought he wouldn’t disappoint us. I’m really happy for all my team.”

The Summer Sale-typically a two-day affair but this year reduced to one-offered a mix of flat and National Hunt prospects. Leading trade overall was the 3-year-old gelding Prunay (Fr) (Prince Gibraltar {Ire}) (lot 142) a wildcard entry who was third in the G3 Prix Aguado on July 4 on his second start over jumps. He was bought by Toby Jones for €240,000 and is bound for Ireland.

“I’ve bought him for one of my long-standing clients,” Jones said. “He’ll go to Ireland. He really stood out–he’s a good-looking individual and is still a maiden that could go over fences. He really ticks all the boxes.”

The Wertheimer et Frere-bred 3-year-old filly Night And Day (GB) (Sea The Moon {Ger}) also looks bound for the jumping sphere, having been bought by Highflyer Bloodstock for €90,000. Lot 212, whose second dam is the excellent producer Magnificient Style-dam of Group 1 winners Nathaniel (Ire), Playful Act (Ire) and Great Heavens (GB)-was beaten a short head when second at Angers on June 5.

Another 3-year-old filly from the Wertheimer draft that proved popular was Humble (GB) (Cacique {Ire}) (lot 74), a once-raced maiden bought by Arthur Hoyeau for €80,000. She is a half-sister to the G3 Prix Vanteaux winner Platane (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}) and a granddaughter of Gold Round, herself a half-sister to the great Goldikova (Ire).

While 257 horses were catalogued for the Summer Sale just 198 went through the ring. Of those, 152 (76.8%) were sold at an average of €19,030 and a median of €9,000. The aggregate was €2,892,500.

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Nunthorpe Next Port of Call for The Lir Jet

Royal Ascot hero The Lir Jet (Ire) (Prince of Lir {Ire}), second by only a nose in the G2 Prix Robert Papin at Chantilly on Sunday, will make his next start against elders in the G1 Coolmore Nunthorpe S. in August. Originally campaigned by Nick Bell and trained by Michel Bell, the bay sparkled on debut at Yarmouth on June 3 and was subsequently purchased privately by Sheikh Fahad’s Qatar Racing. The acquisition proved a shrewd one, as The Lir Jet captured the G2 Norfolk S. at Royal Ascot on June 19, still in Bell’s care.

Bell said, “He’s back in the yard and seems none the worse for his exertions, thankfully. I’ve just been talking to Sheikh Fahad and I think we’re going to drop back to five furlongs for the Nunthorpe–that’s the thinking at the moment. Oisin [Murphy] is pretty emphatic that he’s better horse over five furlongs and the form book would suggest that, too.”

Facing the best European sprinters in the Nunthorpe, The Lir Jet will fortunately receive a hefty break in the weights.

“If the Battaash (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) we know turns up, he’ll be a worthy favourite, but if we don’t go there you’d be running somewhere carrying penalties, or running over six furlongs in the G1 Prix Morny, which would mean more travelling,” Bell added. “It’s not set in stone, but Sheikh Fahad’s view is you don’t succeed if you don’t try, which is a good attitude to have.”

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Op/Ed: Churchill Must Make Tough Call and Limit Derby to Local Jockeys

With Saratoga, Del Mar and a number of other tracks effectively eliminating jockeys from coming and going due to fears they will spread the coronavirus, attention now turns to Churchill Downs and the GI Kentucky Derby. Churchill Downs President Kevin Flannery and his team are no doubt mulling whether or not they will put similar restrictions in place, effectively allowing only Kentucky-based riders to compete during the five days of racing. It’s not exactly an easy call, but their number one priority has to be safety. And that means following the Saratoga and Del Mar lead, locking out riders from New York, California and elsewhere. That’s the right call.

Only a few weeks ago, this didn’t look like a problem. For the most part, jockeys are young and healthy and there were only a handful of instances where riders had gotten the virus. Those who had were showing little, if any symptoms. That began to change with the news that Luis Saez had the virus. Before it was discovered that he was affected, he crisscrossed the country, riding in New York, Kentucky, Indiana and California. It’s impossible to tell if the presence of Saez, or any other jockey, caused other riders to become sick, but something was definitely going on. Victor Espinoza announced that he had tested positive and so did Flavien Prat and Gerard Melancon. Then it was Florent Geroux. Then came word that 15 jockeys at Del Mar had tested positive, which forced management to cancel racing Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Tracks discovered that allowing jockeys to come and go was an accident waiting to happen. NYRA was among the first to act. Only jockeys that were considered regular members of the Saratoga colony would be permitted to ride and if they left to go elsewhere they could not return before the meet was over. NYRA called it a common-sense approach that prioritized the health and safety of its riding colony. Del Mar enacted similar rules. By having a contained pool of riders that could be monitored daily the risks would be mitigated.

The new rules have already caused some problems for riders. Irad Ortiz, Jr. had to give up the mount on Dr. Post (Quality Road) in the GI TVG.com Haskell S. at Monmouth. It doesn’t appear that Mike Smith will be available to ride Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute) in the GI Personal Ensign S. at Saratoga. It seems unlikely that Luis Saez will sacrifice the remainder of the Saratoga meet to go ride Maximum Security (New Year’s Day) in the Aug. 13 GI Pacific Classic S. at Del Mar.

Being locked out of races like the Derby and the GI Kentucky Oaks would be that much worse. For Manny Franco, who has never ridden in the Derby and has the assignment on possible favorite Tiz the Law (Constitution), it would be devastating to miss the race. The same goes for Tampa Bay Downs regular Samy Camacho, the rider of King Guillermo (Uncle Mo). Riders like Smith, Ortiz, Prat, John Velazquez, Joel Rosario and Javier Castellano are just a few others who might be forced to sit out Derby week at Churchill.

That would be more than unfortunate, but this is the world we live in. Nothing is easy and sacrifices have to be made when it comes to keeping everyone safe.

Dr. Ghazala Sharieff, corporate vice president and chief medical officer at San Diego’s Scripps Health, was talking about the rider situation at Del Mar when interviewed by the TDN, but her words should resonate throughout the sport.

“I get it, people are social,” said Sharieff. “It’s across the board, people feeling like, ‘The county’s opening up, we’re safe.’ But that’s actually the wrong message, and now we’re closing back down again for the same reason–people aren’t being careful. And if [individuals] want to keep racing, they’re going to have to do better.”

She’s right. It’s not just the health concerns. Just imagine the negative publicity racing would receive if a rash of coronavirus positives among jockeys came out of the Kentucky Derby and how that might impact the decision makers who can put a stop to the sport anytime they want.

It also needs to be noted that, after a period when things seemed to be under control, the number of coronavirus cases in Kentucky is rising sharply. On Sunday, the state reported the highest single-day increase in COVID-19 cases and three new deaths. Gov. Andy Beshear announced that there were 979 new cases of coronavirus reported in Kentucky and said it was “by far” the biggest jump in cases experienced so far in the state. There were 208 cases alone reported in Jefferson County, the home of Churchill Downs. The numbers make one wonder if Beshear is having second thoughts about allowing a limited number of spectators to attend the Derby.

“This ought to be a wake-up call for everybody,” Beshear said.

Churchill may not have to make a decision within the next few days, but neither can it wait until the last minute. No matter what they decide, this will be a complicated process and jockeys, trainers and owners will need time to formulate their plans.

Testing procedures and requirements must be set up. What determines who is a “Churchill Downs regular,” which is not a black-and-white issue considering that Churchill will be opening up for a five-day meet preceded by racing at Ellis Park and followed by racing at Kentucky Downs. And what about out-of-town riders who are willing to make sacrifices required of them in order to ride in the Derby? If they are willing to go into quarantine for 10 or 14 days beforehand, why wouldn’t they be allowed to ride during the week at Churchill? That would also likely mean they would have to stay on the sidelines for a period of time before being allowed to return to riding at their regular tracks, but for how long? For someone like Franco, it might be worth the trouble. Whatever they chose, they need to know what their options are.

It’s terrible that we are even debating these points or considering regulations that would keep many of the sport’s best jockeys from participating in the Derby. But theses are not normal times and a Kentucky Derby on Sept. 5 is anything but business as usual. There are plenty of very good riders who call the Kentucky circuit home. Hand the reins to them, and keep everybody safe.

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