Stewards’ Hearing On Justify’s 2018 Santa Anita Derby Continued To Oct. 29

A stewards' hearing of a complaint seeking disqualification of Justify from the 2018 Santa Anita Derby has been postponed from its original date of Sept. 20 to Oct. 29. A spokesman for the California Horse Racing Board told the Paulick Report Wednesday that parties needed more time to prepare.

The CHRB voted during a closed session Aug. 20 to proceed with the complaint, which seeks disqualification of the horse and redistribution of the purse based on a laboratory finding of scopolamine. The Board determined at that time not to file a complaint against trainer Bob Baffert, citing evidence that the positive was likely a result of environmental contamination from Jimsonweed.

The hearing is part of a settlement agreement between the CHRB and Ruis Racing, owner of Bolt d'Oro, who ran second behind Justify in the Santa Anita Derby. Ruis Racing had sued the CHRB over its handling of the Justify case, which a New York Times story revealed was dismissed behind closed doors with no public announcement of the post-race finding.

Officials have since indicated that other horses also tested positive post-race for scopolamine, supporting their conclusion that Jimsonweed may have appeared in a shipment of hay delivered to the backstretch ahead of the race.

Learn more about Jimsonweed from this informational bulletin distributed by the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium.

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