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California Horse Racing Board Issues Bisphosphonate Complaint Against Jeff Metz

The California Horse Racing Board issued a complaint against trainer Jeff Metz last week over a finding of bisphosphonates in the Sept. 27, 2020 post-race sample of the gelding Camino De Estrella, reports the Daily Racing Form. The drugs are not yet specifically classified in California, so the positive is being adjudicated under the “prohibited substances” rule with a Class 1, Category A penalty.

However, Metz's attorney Darrell Vienna believes the trainer will be exonerated. Popular at the claim box, Camino de Estrella has been in the care of five different trainers since 2019, including Tim Yakteen, Mark Glatt, Steve Knapp, Metz, and most recently Bill Spawr.

“There is a record of a veterinarian administering the drug when he was not in Mr. Metz's care, in 2019,” Vienna told DRF. “I can say with certainty that Jeff never administered bisphosphonates to that horse. We're confident that the truth will come out, because we think the CHRB already knows the truth.”

Bisphosphonates were approved for equine use in the United States approximately six years ago, to treat horses with symptoms of navicular syndrome, a common, nagging foot pain in older horses. Before the drugs were approved for horses in the U.S., they were used in Europe and veterinarians could legally import them to treat American horses. Having them available to American practitioners who perhaps couldn't previously afford the import process has made a world of difference to mature horses dealing with navicular syndrome – and there are a lot of them. Roughly a third of chronic front leg lamenesses are believed to be related to navicular pain. Generally, bisphosphonates have been safe and effective in the population they're intended for.

Bisphosphonates (sold commercially as Osphos and Tildren) are FDA-approved in horses four years old and up, and are not approved for use in mares who are pregnant or lactating. The reason for those restrictions is unanswered questions about potential side effects. Bisphosphonates do their work by reducing the action of cells called osteoclasts, which clear away damaged bone and make way for osteoblasts to lay down new bone. In a young equine skeleton, this could disrupt the growth cycle.

The CHRB did prohibit the administration of bisphosphonates beginning July 1, 2020, via rule 1867.1, which also prohibits any horse from entering CHRB grounds that has been administered the drug within six months.

Since Camino de Estrella would have been five years old in 2019, administration of a bisphosphonate was legal at that time only if the gelding had a diagnosis of navicular disease.

Vienna argued that “the available science on bisphosphonates clearly demonstrates that the drug can be found more than 2 1/2 years after the drugs have been administered, due to their unique ability to lie dormant in bone but become 'active' in the horse's circulatory system when bone is in need of repair.”

Bisphosphonate Complaint Issued Against Metz By CHRB

A complaint involving a banned bisphosphonate has been lodged by the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) against trainer Jeffrey Metz, summoning him to a stewards' hearing.

According to a CHRB complaint dated Apr. 29, a positive for tiludronic acid was confirmed via split-sample testing from Camino de Estrella (Mineshaft), who finished sixth in the third race Sept. 27, 2020, at Santa Anita.

The now-7-year-old gelding was claimed that day for $20,000, and has finished no better than sixth in four subsequent starts for a four-way partnership that includes trainer Bill Spawr.

The complaint states that, “Tiludronic Acid is considered a prohibited drug substance Class 1 Penalty Category A,” which is the most severe classification.

However, tiludronic acid is not specifically listed as an individual substance on the CHRB's “Classification of Foreign Substances” list, which is modeled after the Uniform Classification Guidelines for Foreign Substances list published by the Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI).

But a separate CHRB rule states that, “Any drug or its metabolite or analogue thereof found to be present in an official test sample that is not classified in Rule 1843.2 of this division shall be classified as a Class 1 substance and a Category 'A' penalty until classified by the Board.”

On July 1, 2020, the CHRB enacted Rule 1867.1, which broadly prohibits the administration of bisphosphonates to any horse within a facility regulated by the CHRB and also prohibits any horse from entering the grounds if it has been administered a bisphosphonate within the prior six months (effectively making the rule retroactive to Jan. 1, 2020).

According to the ARCI's ruling database, Metz has two medication violations within the past five years, one each for Class 3 (xylazine in 2018, fined $250) and Class 4 (triamcinolone acetonide in 2016, fined $300). Both occurred at Emerald Downs, where he has won four training titles, and on both occasions the stewards there cited Metz's lack of a history of medication violations in issuing penalties for those two offenses.

In California, the recommended penalties for first-time Class 1 violations by a trainer call for a minimum one-year suspension and a minimum fine of $10,000, although mitigating circumstances can be taken into consideration.

The complaint states that “the horse shall be disqualified and any purse money forfeited.” The complaint lists the owners of Camino de Estrella at the time of the positive test as Jeffrey West (Saratoga West), Scott Gruender (Horseplayers Racing Club) and Jeremy Hodges.

No date for a stewards' hearing was listed on the complaint.

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After Blip, CHRB Commissioner Mitchell Reappointed

In a session Thursday, the California State Senate voted to reappoint commissioner Wendy Mitchell to the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB).

Mitchell was reappointed by a vote of 23-7, needing 21 votes to succeed.

Thursday's vote follows Mitchell's prior failed bid for reappointment earlier in the month, when, after a period of extensive lobbying on the senate floor, she lost the vote on a 17-20 denial.

Mitchell has served on the CHRB since 2019 and has been principal of WM Consulting Inc. since 2006. Prior to her tenure on the CHRB, Mitchell served on the California Coastal Commission from 2011 to 2016 and the Los Angeles South Valley Area Planning Commission from 2009 to 2011.

The latest iteration of the board, which has undergone a drastic reshuffle in recent years, has been split on a number of recent controversial issues, including whether to grant Los Alamitos a truncated six month license in response to questions raised over its welfare record.

After an extended debate, the board granted the facility its typical 12-month operating license. Mitchell voted with commissioners Oscar Gonzalez and Brenda Washington Davis against issuing the facility a one-year license.

More recently, the panel has been divided over the issue of whether to implement even tighter whip reforms than currently exist in California, with the board eventually voting 4-3 to table the motion for the time being. Again, Mitchell voted with commissioners Gonzalez and Davis against tabling the motion.

A CHRB term lasts four years.

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CHRB Approves Stricter Penalties For Whip Use, Hopes To Have New Rule In Place For Breeders’ Cup

Hoping to have a new rule in place for the 2021 Breeders' Cup at Del Mar in November, the California Horse Racing Board approved on Wednesday new, stricter penalties to impose on jockeys for excessive whip use, reports the Daily Racing Form.

Since Oct. 1, California jockeys have been limited to six underhanded strikes of the whip, and are allowed two strikes before pausing to allow for a response. Stewards have fined jockeys a total of $28,300 since the new rules were implemented, primarily for using the whip more than six times.

In a unanimous vote, the CHRB approved a rule establishing a minimum fine of $500 and possible three-day suspension for excessive whip use. The current rule calls for a maximum fine of $1,000, along with the possible three-day suspension.

The CHRB's new penalty rule will have a 45-day public comment period before coming back for final approval.

“I think this protects the domestic rider,” said CHRB Chairman Gregory Ferraro. “Our concern had been that riders, particularly from foreign countries, could violate the rule and a $500 fine and three-day suspension would be meaningless to them. This allows for considerably more punishment for egregious violations and makes it more fair to our domestic riding colony.”

“This addresses the concern that I had right along, that has been any excessive whipping and putting in-state riders at a disadvantage,” echoed commissioner Oscar Gonzalez. “I believe this measure addresses any concerns I had. I'm hoping this is something we can adopt and have in place by Breeders' Cup.”