California Horse Racing Board | Horse Racing Free Tips

CHRB Settlement: John Sadler Fined $5,000 Over 2020 Bisphosphonate Positive

Trainer John Sadler has been fined $5,000 by the California Horse Racing Board, according to a ruling published on Friday, relating to his trainee Flagstaff testing positive for clodronic acid, a bisphosphonate sold under the brand name Osphos, in a post-race sample after finishing second in the Grade 2 Santa Anita Sprint Championship Stakes on Sept. 27, 2020, at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif.

Bisphosphonates are a class of drug approved by the FDA in 2014 and prescribed to prevent bone loss in people and to treat navicular syndrome in horses, a common cause of forelimb lameness. The drug is not approved for horses less than four years old.

Equine surgeon Dr. Larry Bramlage of Rood & Riddle warned about the use of bisphosphonates Osphos and Tildren in young horses during a client education seminar in 2018, saying the drug can have unintended, detrimental side effects. Many racing states moved to ban the drugs.

The CHRB banned bisphosphonates effective July 1, 2020, saying that any horse administered the drug in the previous six months – effectively a cutoff date of Jan. 1, 2020 – was prohibited from stabling on CHRB regulated grounds.

When the positive test was first made public in May, Sadler's attorney Darrell Vienna said Flagstaff was legally treated with Osphos on an unspecified date “late in 2019,” when Flagstaff was 5 years old. Vienna cited the extended half life of Osphos as an explanation for the positive test, saying it can linger in a horse's system for many months or even longer than a year.

Flagstaff was ordered unplaced in the Santa Anita Sprint Championship by a ruling released on June 19, 2021.

Friday's ruling specifies that Sadler entered into a settlement agreement with the CHRB, and that the fine is for violation of rule #1867.1(b), which states: “No licensee shall bring into a CHRB enclosure a horse known to have been administered a bisphosphonate within the previous six months.”

At the time the positive was announced, clodronic acid was not included on the CHRB's current list of prohibited substances, so under the regulatory body's rules it automatically falls under the most severe drug category, Class 1. Today, current CHRB regulations list bisphosphonates as Drug Class C, Penalty Category A.

Penalty Category A requires a one-year suspension, absent mitigating circumstances, along with a minimum fine of $10,000, again absent mitigating circumstances. Owners face loss of purse and potential placement of a horse on the vet's list for up to 90 days.

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Trainer Herbertson Enters No Contest Plea In Sexual Assault Case

Trainer Ari Herbertson has entered a plea of no contest in Alameda Superior Court to one count of sexual penetration by a foreign object in connection with an assault case brought against him in 2020.

Herbertson, of El Sobrante, Calif., was charged with four felonies in February of last year after an assault that took place near Golden Gate Fields. Herbertson was arrested at the racetrack after law enforcement indicated a DNA match to Herbertson had been made in the case.

Herbertson did not saddle any more runners after his 2020 arrest, though he did resume training this year. He has not had any more starters at Golden Gate Fields. His training license with the California Horse Racing Board remains active and does not expire until the end of this year.

“We cannot just suspend someone's license based on arrest or allegation,” said CHRB spokesman Mike Marten. “When a criminal investigation is taking place, especially on an incident that occurs off the track, we do not interfere with the local investigation and prosecution but assist in any way we can. We monitor the process, as we did in this case from the beginning, and if and when there is a conviction, we obtain the appropriate documents and determine whether we can file a complaint alleging a rule violation, which we are doing now. In other words, we cannot just take someone's license without a hearing and the criminal part always goes before the administrative one.”

Herbertson started 59 runners in 2021 and 25 in 2020 at Fresno, Emerald Downs, and Turf Paradise.

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Peter Miller Taking ‘Temporary Hiatus’ From Training

When Nov. 29 rolls around, trainer Peter Miller, one of the most numerically powerful stables on the Southern California circuit, will embark upon a temporary hiatus from training to spend “more time with his family, focus on overall health and wellness, and pursue other interests,” according to press release issued Thursday evening.

While Miller's assistant, Ruben Alvarado, is expected to take over the everyday running of the barn, Miller will take on an advisory position and maintain his role as an owner, the release states.

“I have been working virtually every day on the backstretch of a racetrack since the day after I graduated from high school in 1984. On that day, I was lucky enough to be hired by the great Hall of Fame trainer Charlie Wittingham. I am and forever will be grateful for all that he taught me,” Miller wrote in his press release.

Miller continued: “Throughout my career I have derived great joy in the pursuit of my passion as a trainer. Managing a large stable is a 24 hour, 365-day a year endeavor. The effort to compete at the highest level of my profession has taken its toll on my family and my health and I believe this decision is best for me, my family and our future.”

Miller told the TDN that he's currently unsure of how long the hiatus may last.

“I am grateful to all of my clients and my talented hard-working team. I am completely indebted to them for the successes we have shared. My extremely capable and long-time assistant Ruben Alvarado will be taking the reins and I will continue to act as an advisor/racing manager to my owners and my assistants as well as staying involved as an owner myself,” he wrote.

For the past three years–and in light of the 2019 Santa Anita welfare crisis–the state's regulatory agency has markedly tightened the rules surrounding equine safety, placing an emphasis on the role of trainer responsibility.

As such, speculation had been mounting for some time that Miller has been the target of increased regulatory scrutiny due to five horses in his care suffering catastrophic injuries during 2021–the highest number of any single trainer in California this year.

“Of the 72 [equine] fatalities during the past fiscal years, all but 14 were one-off events for trainers. Of those 14 trainers, 12 had two [fatalities], one had three, and one had four,” said California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) executive director, Scott Chaney, during an October Medication, Safety, and Welfare Committee meeting, when explaining a proposal to potentially penalize trainers for multiple equine fatalities.

The CHRB has also issued Miller three Class 4 medication violations this current calendar year.

Miller addressed these rumors in the press release, stating that his decision has not been triggered by any outside regulatory pressure. Miller wrote, “I know that there may be some speculation related to this decision; however, I want to make it very clear that it is not a result of any regulatory action, secret agreement or hidden agenda of any kind. This is strictly a personal decision.

“My love for horses lured me to the racetrack as a teenager and held me there for the next 38 years. I trust that it will bring me back after this hiatus.”

The TDN asked the CHRB for comment, and they did not respond in time for publication of this story. The Stronach Group replied that they had nothing to add as of right now.

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CHRB: Balch Building Accident Prevention Task Force, Breeders’ Cup Investigation Ongoing

The California Horse Racing Board conducted a meeting by teleconference on Wednesday, Nov. 17. The public participated by dialing into the teleconference and/or listening through the audio webcast link on the CHRB website. Chairman Gregory Ferraro chaired the meeting, joined by Commissioners Dennis Alfieri, Brenda Washington Davis, Wendy Mitchell, and Alex Solis.

The full audio of this entire Board meeting is available on the CHRB Website (www.chrb.ca.gov) under the Webcast link.

In brief:

· Alan Balch, the executive with California Thoroughbred Trainers who is spearheading the formation of a broadly based industry committee designed to develop regulations and procedures to further decrease equine injuries, reported there is widespread interest among all elements of California horse racing. He said the full committee and the smaller steering committee are in the process of being formed. Balch promised to give the Board reports every one or two months.

“I hope to have something very concrete by February,” he added.

· The Board approved two license applications for racing at Los Alamitos. The traditional night Quarter Horse meet conducted by the Los Alamitos Quarter Horse Racing Association will open Dec. 26, 2021, and run through Dec. 18, 2022. More immediately, a short, daytime Thoroughbred meet conducted by the Los Alamitos Horse Racing Association will run from Dec. 3 through Dec. 12.

· Pertaining to those two meets at Los Alamitos, the Board approved agreements between the meet operators and the horsemen's groups for those two breeds allowing the racing secretaries to set entry conditions limiting certain medications and procedures.

· The Board approved the license application for Watch and Wager LLC to conduct a harness meet at Cal Expo that will open Dec. 26, 2021, and run through May 1, 2022. General Manager Chris Schick said they will offer an expanded stakes schedule for this meet.

· The Board approved an amended license for NYRAbets, LLC, to provide Advance Deposit Wagering services, necessary because of a partial ownership change. NYRAbets President Tony Allevato reported that Fox Sports has acquired a minority interest of 25 percent in the company.

· CHRB Executive Director Scott Chaney reported on the Breeders' Cup that was run at Del Mar on Friday, Nov. 5, and Saturday, Nov. 6.

“Much of the press has centered on a premature scratch in the Juvenile Turf race, which was the last race on Friday's card,” said Chaney. “The CHRB is conducting an investigation, which will determine whether any regulations were violated and will offer suggestions with respect to how such mistakes can be avoided in the future. I also expect to convene a meeting of the Parimutuel Committee to determine if our rules relating to wagering can be improved or updated.

“On a more positive note, the Breeders' Cup achieved another record handle, which seems to be the case when it comes to California, but more importantly all races on both days, including undercard races, were conducted without Lasix or any other medication, and were completed without significant injury. Our restrictive crop rule was also in effect for the event, as it is on every racing day in California.”

· Public comments made during the meeting can be accessed through the meeting audio archive on the CHRB website.

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