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Sadler-Trained Flagstaff Disqualified, Purse Monies Redistributed

The John Sadler-trained Flagstaff (Speightstown) has been disqualified from a second-place finish in last September's GII Santa Anita Sprint Championship S. after testing positive for clodronic acid, a bisphosphonate otherwise known as Osphos, according to a steward's ruling from Saturday.

According to the ruling, the $40,000 in prize money earnings awarded to owners Lane's End Racing and Hronis Racing, jockey Victor Espinoza and Sadler will be redistributed.

Currently unclassified, clodronic acid is by default deemed a class 1, penalty A drug, and it's currently in the process of being classified a class 3, category A penalty.

Sadler is currently on a year's probation in accordance with a settlement agreement and mutual release with the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB), as part of which Sadler was fined $15,000 and handed a 60-day suspension–45 days of which were stayed-for three medication violations dating from 2019.

The suspension ran June 29 through June 13 last year. The year-long probation period ends June 28, 2021.

As stated in the agreement, “If John Sadler violates the terms of his probation, the 45 days of stayed suspension shall be imposed following a noticed hearing.”

Sadler's attorney, Darrell Vienna, told the TDN that Flagstaff was given clodronic acid in late 2019 when such administration was legal, and that the positive finding came about as a result of the drug's extended presence–months and sometimes years–in the horse's system “based on current information.”

According to Vienna, a proposed settlement agreement was presented to the CHRB. Vienna said the board rejected that proposal.

No official hearing has been scheduled for this case, according to CHRB spokesperson, Mike Marten.

Flagstaff, winner of this year's GI Churchill Downs S., was second in the GII True North S. at Belmont Park June 4.

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Report: Baffert Trainees Have The Highest Death Rate In California

A total of 74 horses in the care of trainer Bob Baffert have died since the year 2000, according to records compiled by the Washington Post and released in a lengthy article on Friday. When factoring in the number of races run, Baffert trainees have died at the highest rate of the 10 California trainers with the highest number of equine fatalities: 8.30 deaths per 1,000 starters.

(Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, banned from racing at tracks owned by the Stronach Group, including Santa Anita and Golden Gate Fields in California, has a rate of 6.25 deaths per 1,000 starts.)

Baffert faced regulatory scrutiny once for that high death rate, in 2013, when a seventh horse from his barn suddenly dropped dead for no apparent reason. Dr. Rick Arthur, the California Horse Racing Board's equine medical director, opened an official investigation into Baffert's operation.

Washington Post investigative reporter Gus Garcia-Roberts points out that around the time that Arthur was putting together the report on Baffert, a state legislator who formerly worked for Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC) board member Dennis Cardoza (who co-owned a horse trained by Baffert) had filed legislation to put a term limit on the equine medical director position that Arthur was holding.

Baffert is also a board member of the TOC, and his racing stable donated $1,000 to the TOC's political action committee the previous August.

Arthur eventually ruled that while Baffert was treating every horse in his stable with a thyroid medication without veterinary prescription, that was not the cause of the sudden deaths. Arthur's report delivered in November of 2013 indicates he found no explanation for the sudden deaths in Baffert's barn, and that while “something under his control is associated with these fatalities,” regulators cannot act without evidence of rule violations.

Two months after Arthur officially cleared Baffert, the legislation to limit his term died.

CHRB Approves Race Date Shifts For Northern California Fairs

The California Horse Racing Board conducted a meeting by teleconference on Wednesday, June 16. 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 Vice Chair Oscar Gonzales and Commissioners Dennis Alfieri, Damascus Castellanos, Brenda Washington Davis, Wendy Mitchell, and Alex Solis.

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

The Board conditionally approved the license application for the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club to operate a race meet that will open on Friday, July 16, and run through Monday (Labor Day), September 6. Unlike last year when the pandemic prevented the public from attending the races, Del Mar will welcome as many as 15,000 patrons to its racing programs, provided they have reserved seats. Racing is scheduled for three days – Friday, Saturday, and Sunday – for the first two weeks, and then Thursday racing will be added for the following four weeks. The meet will close with a five-day week, Thursday through Labor Day.
As there will not be a State Fair again this year, Fair officials decided not to run any racing programs at Cal Expo in what normally would be a summer race meet in the Capital in conjunction with other Fair activities. Accordingly, Cal Expo arranged to move one of its allocated three weeks of racing to Pleasanton. The Board approved the license application for the California Exposition and State Fair to conduct a fair meet in Pleasanton. The three days of racing will be offered on July 16, 17, and 18.
The Board also approved an agreement between Pleasanton and three horsemen's groups – the Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC), Pacific Coast Quarter Horse Racing Association, and Arabian Racing Association of California – authorizing their racing secretaries to establish conditions on races limiting the administrations of certain medications. Specifically, no horse shall be permitted to race in a stakes race with any race-day medication, which includes the use of furosemide; every horse within the inclosure and any auxiliary training facility is subject to out-of-competition testing; all parties agree to strict limitations on the use of any analgesic and anti-inflammatory medications during racing and training; there are restrictions on intra-articular injections that include a prohibition of a horse racing within 30 days following an intra-articular injection with a corticosteroid into the metacarpophalangeal or metatarsophalangeal joints; and finally, no horse that has been administered nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medication within the previous 48 hours shall participate in a race or recorded work. This agreement will extend to all fair meets in Northern California.
The Board dealt with the remaining two weeks of racing that originally were allocated to Cal Expo by reallocating those weeks to Golden Gate Fields at the request of both parties. The Board first made that reallocation and then approved the license application for Pacific Racing Association II to conduct a race meet at Golden Gate that will commence July 23 and conclude August 1.
The Board also approved agreements between the TOC and the two thoroughbred meets approved Wednesday (Del Mar and Golden Gate) with the same entry conditions as those contained in the fairs agreement.
The Board denied a request by San Luis Rey Downs auxiliary training facility for more time to install sprinklers in some of its barns.
The Board asked management to provide more information about the delay and for progress reports. The matter will be reconsidered at the July 21 meeting.
Executive Director Scott Chaney reported on a significant reduction in equine fatalities in California horse racing, largely due to a multitude of new regulations to protect horses as well as cooperation from stakeholders. He also announced that Dr. Timothy Grande, longtime Official Veterinarian on the Southern California thoroughbred circuit, has been named to the newly created position of CHRB Chief Official Veterinarian with broad responsibilities of oversight throughout the state.
Dr. Rick Arthur gave his final report as equine medical director before retiring at the end of this month. Dr. Jeff Blea will become EMD on July 1. Chairman Ferraro and several other commissioners took the opportunity to thank Dr. Arthur for his service. “During the last 15 years, Dr. Arthur has brought our medical program and our health and safety program light-years ahead of where it was when he started. We truly appreciate what you've done,” said Chairman Ferraro.
Representatives of Arabian racing gave presentations stressing the significance of Arabian racing and pressing for more racing opportunities in the future.

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

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CHRB Meeting Highlights NorCal Race Dates

The June California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) meeting put to bed a problem that has been brewing for a few months in the North of California.

Due to the fallout from COVID-19, and the ongoing issues surrounding stabling and staff accommodation in the north of California, commissioners voted to switch the three-week State Fair–scheduled to run July 14 to Aug. 3 at Cal Expo–to Pleasanton to be run over a shortened window: July 14 through July 20.

Golden Gate Fields has also been allocated an additional two weeks of racing, to be run from July 21 to Aug. 3, with no residual compensation to the State Fair. Golden Gate will now remain open for training and stabling throughout the summer.

Fire plans at San Luis Rey Downs

Back in December of 2017, 46 horses died in the wildfire that engulfed the San Luis Rey Downs training facility.

In the aftermath of the fire, the Stronach Group (TSG), which owns the training center, built new barns kitted out with automatic sprinkler systems and a fire bell.

In order to issue a fire clearance, CHRB mandated TSG to retrofit the existing historic barns with similar sprinkler systems and fire alarms by July 31 of this year.

According to TSG, the COVID-19 pandemic threw a spanner in these works, the contractors responsible for the work either shut down or else short staffed, along with a shortage in necessary supplies.

According to Santa Anita Park general manager, Nate Newby, there are nine or 10 historic barns left to finish, plus additional buildings.

As such, TSG asked for an extension to the deadline, giving them until Jan. 31, 2022, to finish fitting out the historic barns, and until April 30, 2022, to complete the entire project.

Some of the commissioners voiced reservations about granting the extension without conditions attached.

“I'm a little concerned by this, as it's gone on so long,” said CHRB chair Dr. Greg Ferraro.

In the end, the board denied the extension on recommendation of revisiting the issue next month.

In the meantime, TSG must submit to the CHRB a detailed weekly work plan by the end of the month. Ferraro also mentioned that any extension would be incumbent upon TSG providing a progress report, possibly in September.

Fantasy Sports Wagering

One of the items opened a window into the future of wagering in the state. It concerns an intent by the California Association of Racing Fairs (CARF) to start offering fantasy sports wagering at licensed betting locations. At least 19 such facilities are slated to start offering the product, Golden State Fantasy Sports, this summer, barring any legal challenge in the interim.

Golden State Fantasy Sports is described as a “compliment” to the pari-mutuel industry, “and can be integrated into operators' existing infrastructure and tote system.”

Board members and CHRB staff expressed a variety of concerns surrounding these plans, however, many of which revolved around the issue of legality and regulatory oversight.

“It's unclear who would regulate this particular activity, if anyone,” said CHRB executive director, Scott Chaney.

As such, one of the issues raised revolved around the fact that CHRB-licensed pari-mutuel clerks would be the ones processing the bets. Another is that fantasy sports betting might “cannibalize” some of the wagering revenue intended for racing.

Ferraro also questioned how this development might potentially impact any pending legislation concerning legalized sports betting at licensed racetracks.

Chaney said that it's “unclear” how this might affect any such future legislation, and added that the next likely state-wide movement on sports betting would be through referendum.

All this aside, commissioners were largely in favor of the plans, adopting what is best described as a wait-and-see stance.

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