Delaware Commission Upholds Disqualification Of Dream Marie Over Amicar Positive

The disqualification of Dream Marie from the Obeah Stakes was upheld by a 3-2 vote of the Delaware Thoroughbred Racing Commission during its Nov. 17 meeting, reports The Racing Biz. The Matthew Williams trainee was disqualified from her June 9 victory after testing positive for Aminocaproic acid, or Amicar, which is not allowed in any amount on race day.

Aminocaproic acid is a “Class 4” drug that calls for a “Class C” penalty on the Association of Racing Commissioners International's Uniform Classification Guideline of Foreign Substances and Recommended Penalties.

Williams' legal team contended that the trainer administered Amicar a week out from the race for a workout, and that the amount remaining on race day was too small to have a pharmacological effect. There is no recommended withdrawal time for Amicar.

In addition, the team suggested that the recent dismissal of multiple Amicar rulings in Maryland should play into the Delaware Commission's decision.

Commissioner Henry Decker proposed a “hybrid solution” that would allow Dream Marie to retain her win but redistribute part of the purse money to the other finishers. Chairman Duncan Patterson argued that the “a positive is a positive is a positive,” and that the stewards had been fair.

The Delaware Commission narrowly voted (3-2) to uphold the stewards' decision to disqualify Dream Marie and not to fine Williams.

Read more at The Racing Biz.

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Regulatory Roundup: Jose Delgado, Saffie Joseph Jr., Douglas Nunn, Mario Serey Jr. Sanctioned

Regulators in New Jersey and Maryland have issued a number of rulings in recent months for medication violations involving trainers Jose H. Delgado, Douglas Nunn, Saffie Joseph Jr., and Mario Serey Jr.

Two horses were disqualified from stakes wins for medication violations.

The Critical Way's victory in the June 19 Get Serious Stakes at Monmouth Park was taken away after the 7-year-old gelding tested positive for levamisole. Trainer Jose H. Delgado was given a 15-day suspension from Oct. 11-Oct. 25 and he was fined $500.

The Critical Way, who went on to win two subsequent stakes, including the Grade 3 Parx Dash on Aug. 31, is owned by Randal Gindi's Monster Racing Stables. Gindi in 2017 was fined $5,000 for “conduct detrimental to racing” in connection with a cell phone video in which he Jorge Navarro, his trainer at the time, could be heard joking about giving “juice” to horses and Gindi said he bet on them through a bookmaker Navarro recently pleaded guilty to federal charges of drug adulteration and misbranding.

Delgado was suspended an additional 15 days, from Sept. 26-Oct. 10 and fined $500 for a second incident in New Jersey when Glory Roll tested positive for an overage of phenylbutazone in a post-race sample from a June 13 race in which the mare finished fifth as the 3-2 favorite. Glory Roll is owned by Carole Star Stable.

Trainer Douglas Nunn was suspended 15 days from Oct. 16-30 and fined $500 after Team Effort tested positive for flunixin following a second-place finish in a May 31 Monmouth Park race.Team Effort, owned by Winner Circle Stables LLC, was disqualified from purse money in the race. The horse is entered to race Oct. 15 at Meadowlands with David Nunn as trainer.

Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. was fined $1,000 and the horse Wind of Change was disqualified from his victory at Monmouth Park in the Mr. Prospector Stakes on May 29 after testing positive for aminocaproic acid (better known as Amicar), an adjunct bleeder medication. Wind of Change is owned by Daniel Alonso.

The sanctions against Delgado,  Joseph and Nunn were first reported by Bloodhorse.com.

Earlier this year, trainer Mario Serey Jr. was sanctioned in Maryland for two clenbuterol violations. Amen Corner, second in a May 20 race at Pimlico, was disqualified and placed last after testing positive for the bronchodilator. Family Fortune was disqualified from a May 21 win at Pimlico. Serey owns Amen Corner, while Family Fortune is owned by K12 LLC.

For both violations, Serey was fined $500. He received a 15-day suspension that was stayed, provided he does not pick up another Class 3 violation within a 365-day period. Serey served a 165-day suspension in 2019 after receiving a number of clenbuterol positives in Pennsylvania.

All of the positive tests were reported by Industrial Laboratories of Wheat Ridge, Colo. Industrial replaced Truesdail Laboratories of Irvine, Calif.,  as the official testing lab in a number of states over the past year, including New Jersey and Maryland.

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Maryland Commission Unanimously Decides To Dismiss Amicar Penalties

The Maryland Racing Commission voted unanimously on Thursday to dismiss penalties for five horses found to have the adjunct anti-bleeding medication Amicar in their post-race drug tests, reports The Racing Biz. The MRC made the decision based on advice from the medication committee.

Instead of the typical “Category C” penalty of disqualification and $1,000 fine, the trainers of those five horses were issued a warning. The Commission indicated that regular penalties for Amicar will resume on Aug. 1.

A total of 12 positives for Amicar (seven in harness horses) were returned in the spring after the Maryland Racing Commission changed its testing laboratory from Truesdail Laboratories in Irvine, Calif. to Industrial Laboratories in Wheat Ridge, Colo.

Those positives caused the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association to issue a warning to trainers in late June, stating that utilizing Amicar or similar adjunct medications, for which there are no recommended withdrawal times, “runs the risk of a post-race positive test.”

Though the Thoroughbred trainers were not punished for the positives, the harness cases had already adjudicated with Category C penalties.  MRC chairman Emmitt Davitt said the commission would research how to rescind those penalties issued to harness horsemen.

Around the same time, Thoroughbred trainer Claudio Gonzalez was notified that two of his runners had tested positive for the corticosteroid dexamethasone, and told the Paulick Report he believed the positives were due to the change in labs. Several other trainers were also notified of similar positives, and the MTHA issued another warning to horsemen in early July about dexamethasone usage. The commission will likely consider those positives at its next monthly meeting.

Read more at The Racing Biz.

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Same Rules, New Lab: Maryland’s Leading Trainer Gonzalez Notified Of Two Dexamethasone Positives

Claudio Gonzalez, Maryland's leading trainer for the last four years, scratched all six of his runners entered to race on Sunday, July 4, at Pimlico racetrack in Baltimore, Md., after being notified of two positive tests for the corticosteroid dexamethasone.

Gonzalez said he learned of the positive tests on Saturday, July 3. That night, the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association issued the following advisory to trainers:

“Horsemen are advised of the following regarding the use of dexamethasone, a commonly used corticosteroid with anti-inflammatory properties.

“Dexamethasone has a 72-HOUR withdrawal guideline for intramuscular and intravenous administration of dexamethasone sodium phosphate or oral administration of dexamethasone. The dosing specification is 0.05 milligrams per kilogram regardless of the route of administration.

“Under the Association of Racing Commissioners International Uniform Classification Guidelines and Recommended Penalties Model Rules, dexamethasone is a Class 4 substance in the Class C penalty category. In Maryland, a first offense carries a minimum fine of $1,000 absent mitigating circumstances for a trainer and disqualification of the horse and loss of purse.”

Gonzalez admitted that the veterinarians he employs were giving the anti-inflammatory at 48 hours, but with a lower dose.

“The recommendation is 72 hours and 22 milligrams,” said Gonzalez. (Note:  the .05 milligram per kilogram dosing specification converts to about 22 milligrams for a 1,000-pound horse.) “We go 48 hours and give only 10 (milligrams). We give half at two days. Since 2014, they (the vets) have done the same. They've treated 3,000 horses a year from 2014 and never had one positive in Maryland until now.”

These would be the first medication charges against Gonzalez since he received a warning in 2016 for an overage of the ulcer treatment, omeprazole – the only medication violation on his record at www.thoroughbredrulings.com.

Dexamethasone guidelines in Maryland have not changed recently, according to J. Michael Hopkins, executive director of the Maryland Racing Commission.

What has changed is Maryland's official testing lab. Hopkins said when the contract with Truesdail Laboratories of Irvine, Calif., expired in April 2021, the commission switched to Industrial Laboratories in Wheat Ridge, Colo. No formal announcement or advisory on the change of labs was issued by the commission or Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association.

“They changed the lab,” said Gonzalez. “It can be a big difference.”

Several states have now dropped Truesdail as their official testing laboratory since a 2015 quality control audit by the Indiana Horse Racing Commission found that seven positive tests were missed over a 26-day period, including two for betamethasone. Indiana switched to Industrial, as did the West Virginia Racing Commission. The Arkansas Racing Commission had its testing shifted to Industrial after Truesdail's accreditation was suspended in April 2020 by the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium. Truesdail  has not sought to re-gain its RMTC accreditation.

Shortly after the switch from Truesdail to Industrial, Hopkins said, an unspecified number of positives for Amicar, an adjunct bleeder medication, were called. The Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association then issued the following advisory:

“Effective immediately, horsemen are urged to discontinue the use of any and all adjunct bleeder medications for horses in training, including in particular, aminocaproic acid—commonly called Amicar.

“Amicar and several other adjunct bleeder medications were placed on the Prohibited List in 2013 under the Association of Racing Commissioners International Uniform Classification Guidelines for Foreign Substances and Recommended Penalties Model Code and the National Uniform Medication Program. Aminocaproic acid, for example is a Class 4 substance and penalty Class C.

“It is important to understand that these medications cannot be regulated by withdrawal time guidance and/or a testing threshold and their use, no matter how far in advance of a race, may trigger a positive post-race test.

“Any trainer who chooses to continue the use of these medications for training in the future will run the risk of a post-race positive test.”

Hopkins said he couldn't comment on any specifics involving the Amicar or dexamethasone positives because of ongoing investigations.

Gonzalez is leading the current Laurel and Pimlico meeting with 27 wins from 110 starts, more than doubling the number of wins by his closest pursuers. Gonzalez said he plans to ask for a split sample to confirm the findings by Industrial and fight the charges if a formal complaint is filed against him.

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