All three Southwest undercard black-type events have also been moved to Feb. 3. They include the Martha Washington S. for 3-year-old fillies offering points on a 20-10-6-4-2 basis toward the GI Kentucky Oaks, as well as the American Beauty S. for filles and mares three and up and the King Cotton S. for horses three and up.

“The Southwest and Martha Washington are important preps for our 3-year-old stakes program,” said Oaklawn President Louis Cella. “They are also important points races for the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks. It is important for our horsemen to have ample opportunities to train their horses properly for the races. Not only has this winter weather forced us to cancel racing, but our horsemen have also missed some training days.”

The Southwest will join three other 20-point Derby preps also scheduled for Feb. 3: the GIII Withers S. at Aqueduct, the GIII Robert B. Lewis S. at Santa Anita, and the GIII Holy Bull S. at Gulfstream. The entire Southwest card will be drawn Sunday, Jan. 28 with the same races originally listed in the condition book for Jan. 27.

The GIII Bayakoa S., originally scheduled for Feb. 3, has been bumped back to Feb. 2 to accommodate the new schedule. In addition, the listed Fifth Season S., originally set for this Saturday, Jan. 20, will now be run Jan. 27. It will be redrawn.

Live racing at Oaklawn is scheduled to resume next Friday, Jan. 26 with a first post at 12:30 p.m. CST.

The post Oaklawn Shuffles Cards Due to Cancellations; Southwest Now Scheduled Feb. 3 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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“We are excited to have James Lages as the state steward of Arkansas,” Arkansas Racing Commission chairman Alex Lieblong said. “He brings a wealth of experience to the position, including having the insight only a former rider could have. His knowledge will be invaluable as we continue to work with Oaklawn to make Arkansas one of the strongest racing jurisdictions in the country.”

Lages is currently serving as state steward at Indiana Grand. He has also held the state steward position at Gulfstream Park, Pompano-Isle Casino, Colonial Downs, Monmouth Park, Delaware Park, Calder Racecourse and Fairmount Park. Lages began his career in racing as a multiple-stakes winning jockey and has held various positions as a racing official, including Patrol Judge, Paddock Judge and Claims Clerk. He was the Clerk of Scales at Monmouth Park for 11 seasons.

“I'm excited, it's an honor to be appointed State Steward of Arkansas,” Lages said. “Oaklawn has a rich racing history, great horsemen and a great future. I've already had a really warm welcome. I'm looking forward to the meet.”

Oaklawn has named longtime steward Rick Brasher as association steward for the upcoming live meet.

“Oaklawn is very happy to have Rick Brasher as our association steward,” vice president of racing Jason Milligan said. “He has a lot of experience, comes highly recommended and is well-respected by many of our horsemen that have worked with him at other tracks. As a former trainer, he brings a lot of valuable knowledge to the stewards' stand.”

Brasher, a Texas native, is currently a state steward in Oklahoma, working primarily at Will Rogers Downs, where he is chief steward, and Fair Meadows. He has also been a state steward in Texas, working at Sam Houston, Retama and Lone Star Park, in Louisiana at Evangeline Downs and in Wyoming at Wyoming Downs. He has been an association steward at Fair Grounds. Prior to his 20-year career as a steward, he was a trainer and worked as a starter at Retama.

“It's just an honor to work at Oaklawn,” Brasher said. “I'm really looking forward to it. When I was a trainer, it was always my favorite place to race. I have a lot of fond memories there and I'm looking forward to getting back to Hot Springs.”

The post Lages Named State Steward At Oaklawn; Brasher Association Steward appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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I think it is an important point to make, as it is not the same as what Jason Servis was using. Also, the positive test for Gamine in the Oaks was within the rules–she received the Beta Vet 18 days before the race, which had a 14-day suggested withdrawal time. Gamine did not clear the medication within that withdrawal time, which happens occasionally.

Finally, perhaps not everyone knows that the Arkansas Racing Commission vacated the disqualifications for Gamine and Charlatan, restoring the purse money, because of problems with the testing. Several other horses that day turned up positive for lidocaine. Baffert and several other trainers, I believe, paid fines as absolute insurers, but there were no further penalties because of problems with the testing.

For the six months after Gamine's Oaks, which was an explainable violation, Baffert had no further positives until the Derby, where the tests are still ongoing as to which beta variant tested positive.

Actually, if the first Saturday in May hadn't been the first day of the month, it would not have been five in one year. Since May 1 there have been no further positives, making it basically one in the last year.

I feel as if the media has used incomplete information to blacken racing's reputation, and hope you feel the same way. I believe that it was the fungus cream that tested, as Baffert knew from Gamine's experience not to trust a withdrawal time for Beta Vet, and he certainly knew it would test. Medina Spirit' s performance was not enhanced in any way. The Derby winner was not doped!

I do hope as one of the most-read and -trusted publications that you can help to get the difference between banned substances and overages of permitted medications

made clear to the general public and media. Racing doesn't deserve this black eye.

Yours truly,

Cynthia McGinnes

The post Letter to the Editor: Cynthia McGinnes appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Conducted by Industrial Labs, the presence of Clenbuterol and other beta2-agonist will be determined through blood, urine and hair follicle testing.

“Banning the use of Clenbuterol and other beta2-agonists further proves our commitment to the safety and integrity of our racing program,” said Oaklawn President Louis Cella. “Every decision we make is to enhance the experience of our horsemen and fans at Oaklawn. When we say “Racing First,' we lead by example.”

Oaklawn's 2021-2022 season runs from Friday, Dec. 3 to Sunday, May 8. The schedule features a total of 36 stakes worth $12,300,000, highlighted by the $1.25 million Arkansas Derby (G1) and three $1 million stakes races – $1 million Rebel Stakes (G2), $1 million Oaklawn Handicap (G2) and $1 million Apple Blossom Handicap (G1). All allowance races will be worth a minimum of $100,000 as part of the richest purse structure in Oaklawn's 118-year history.

The post Oaklawn Renews Commitment To Clenbuterol-Free Racing appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Conducted by Industrial Labs, the presence of Clenbuterol and other beta2-agonist will be determined through blood, urine and hair follicle testing.

“Banning the use of Clenbuterol and other beta2-agonists further proves our commitment to the safety and integrity of our racing program,” said Oaklawn President Louis Cella. “Every decision we make is to enhance the experience of our horsemen and fans at Oaklawn. When we say “Racing First,' we lead by example.”

Oaklawn's 2021-2022 season runs from Friday, Dec. 3 to Sunday, May 8.

The post Oaklawn Extends Clenbuterol Ban to 120 Days Before Race appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Those disqualifications were appealed, as was a 15-day suspension given Baffert by the Oaklawn board of stewards. Earlier this week after a two-day hearing, the Arkansas Racing Commission voted unanimously to restore the horses' wins, eliminate Baffert's suspension and instead fine him $5,000 for each positive.

Paulick Report editor-in-chief Natalie Voss, who viewed the 15-hour proceedings online and reported on the commissioners' vote, joins Ray Paulick in this week's Friday Show to discuss the case and the challenges made by the Hall of Fame trainer and his attorneys to the drug testing process and stewards' rulings.

Bloodstock editor Joe Nevills then joins Ray to highlight our Star of the Week as well as make his Toast to Vino Rosso and one of the first-crop foals sired by the Breeders' Cup Classic-winning son of Curlin.

The post The Friday Show: Adding An Asterisk To An Arkansas Derby Winner appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The third ruling had been a 15-day suspension for Baffert as a result of the two positives. That suspension was also rescinded and replaced with one $5,000 fine per positive.

“We're not here to question anyone's integrity,” said commission chair Alex Lieblong. “We get rules thrown at us and those are the rules.

“We're all under the microscope because whatever we come up with, it will be controversial. That's the state of the game right now. I know it's not healthy, but like I say the federal government sounds like they're riding to the rescue to straighten it all out.”

Tuesday's decision by the commission is appealable.

Although Baffert's legal team had said Monday he likely would not take the witness stand, he did so on Tuesday. Baffert recounted his distress over the unexpected positives.

“I feel like we run a pretty tight ship and I'm very proud of my operation,” he said. “We all know we can't keep anything like [lidocaine in the barn.] California is pretty strict. Everything is labeled. There is no lidocaine in the barn … my vets don't even carry lidocaine.”

Initially, Baffert had attributed the horses' positives to an over-the-counter pain patch being used by his longtime assistant, Jimmy Barnes. Later though, he said he heard one of Charlatan's competitors also had levels of lidocaine in a post-race test, although those levels were within legal limits.

“It's one of those things where I don't know if we'll ever know what happened but those horses I feel were contaminated that day,” he said. “Jimmy didn't wear the patches the day of the race. He had no reason to lie to me; he actually didn't have to say anything. It's been very emotional. Those horses ran so hard and for something like this to happen, it's tough.”

Baffert was also asked about the post-race positive Gamine picked up in Kentucky for betamethasone after the Kentucky Oaks later in the year. He said in that case, he was advised to give the drug no more than 14 days prior to racing and actually gave it as part of a hock injection 18 days out even though he said the filly wasn't lame. He didn't appeal a stewards' ruling on that positive.

“I don't think they have the science right,” he said. “I think the trainers are lab rats. With the atmosphere that's going on in racing, they test us harder than Olympians.”

Monday's testimony had focused primarily on errors by Truesdail Laboratories, which was contracted to perform post-race drug testing for Arkansas in 2020. Truesdail lost two accreditations in the spring, making it ineligible to continue testing for Arkansas, so it began sending samples on to Industrial Laboratories. Baffert's attorneys raised questions about the chain of custody of the post-race samples from the two horses, which were shipped from the track to Truesdail, logged into the computer system, and sent on to Industrial for testing. The samples from Charlatan were also marked by the track as coming from a colt, but marked by Truesdail as coming from a gelding. On Tuesday, Baffert's lawyers pointed out that it was curious then that Industrial didn't find anything strange about the sample besides lidocaine, since it certainly would have contained more testosterone from an intact colt than the lab should have expected to find in a gelding.

One expert witness testifying on Baffert's behalf also raised questions about the relative amounts of lidocaine and lidocaine metabolites in Gamine's sample, which could have indicated Gamine had an exposure to lidocaine within minutes of the sample being taken. This was not true of Charlatan's sample, however. Nadal, another Baffert trainee who won the other division of the Arkansas Derby that day, did not have any lidocaine in his system.

Most witnesses agreed that lidocaine probably isn't something trainers turn to in order to get an edge because of how easily it's detected.

Byron Freeland, counsel for the commission, argued that regardless of how or why the lidocaine got into the horses' systems, it was found in levels elevated above the regulatory threshold and due to the absolute insurer rule, Baffert was responsible for those findings. He also stressed that the sample cups and vials of urine and blood were still sealed when they arrived at Industrial for testing and at the University of California-Davis for split sample testing. That split sample testing also revealed elevated levels of lidocaine.

The post Arkansas Commission Upholds Stewards’ Rulings But Rescinds DQs, Suspension For Baffert appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The two horses testing positive for the Class B substance were Charlatan, winner of the G1 Arkansas Derby on May 2, and Gamine, winner of an allowance race on the same card.

After news of the positives was leaked last year, Baffert's attorney Craig Robertson said both Gamine and Charlatan were exposed to the lidocaine from a patch worn by a member of the trainer's staff suffering back pain while tending to the horses at Oaklawn.

Jimmy Barnes, assistant trainer for Baffert, saddled the horses at Oaklawn in the trainer's absence. He suffered a fractured pelvis in September 2017.

Both Gamine and Charlatan were disqualified from their victories, and Baffert was suspended for 15 days.

Read more at the Daily Racing Form.

The post Arkansas: Baffert’s Lidocaine Hearings Scheduled For April 19, 20 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The move comes as 1/ST Racing announced that Gulfstream Park stakes races in 2021 will be run under the same condition. Churchill Downs, Keeneland, Del Mar, The Stronach Group, NYRA and others in the Thoroughbred Safety Coalition have called for gradual partial phaseout of the anti-bleeding medication pre-race over recent years. Several tracks carded races in 2020 with the new 24-hour Lasix administration time for 2-year-old races, and the second part of the phaseout calls for the same rule to apply to stakes races in 2021.

Ultimately, coalition organizers have said, they hope the new rules will give trainers a chance to see whether young racehorses really need the drug and to reduce the number of severe bleeders entering the gene pool. A multi-jurisdictional study is underway to study the prevalence of exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage in 2-year-olds under the new rules.

Read more at the Daily Racing Form

The post Arkansas Derby Preps Can Be Lasix-Free After State Signs Off On Revised Rule appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Four of Villafranco's trainees, two winners and two second-place finishers, returned positives for caffeine in their post-race test results on dates from Feb. 1 through Feb. 8, 2020. The four horses — Millwood, D'Rapper, Fayette Warrior, and Council Rules — were all disqualified from their placings with purse monies forfeited.

Villafranco was suspended under the “absolute insurer rule,” with his suspension scheduled to run from Jan. 22 through Feb. 20, 2021.

Read more at the Thoroughbred Daily News.

The post Trainer Federico Villafranco Suspended Through First 30 Days Of Oaklawn Meet For Caffeine Positives appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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