clenbuterol | Horse Racing Free Tips

Legendary Handicapper, Turf Writer Steve Crist Joins Writers’ Room

Revolutionary handicapper and racing writer Steve Crist has been out of a public eye after retiring five years ago, but still has as much passion and enthusiasm for racing as he's ever had, and Wednesday morning, he joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland for an expansive discussion on a variety of industry issues. Calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week, Crist discussed his increasing involvement in the game from an ownership standpoint, racing's progress on detecting and punishing cheaters, the Bob Baffert saga of 2021 and much more.

Asked for his reaction to the FBI indictments of Jason Servis and Jorge Navarro and the potential enactment of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act, Crist said, “The Servis/Navarro stuff, I think every horseplayer knew that these guys were cheating. This was not exactly something you were shocked to learn; you knew what these guys were doing, with the routine form reversals and the accompanying floods of money on their horses. I'm delighted that racing finally went after actual cheaters, instead of continuing to dither about Lasix and accusing every prominent trainer who wins at 25% of cheating. These are two different things, and I hate to see racing having wasted so much time on issues like Lasix instead of going after real cheaters.”

Crist mainly spent his career as a horseplayer and writer, but now owns a handful of horses, and spoke about how that's changed his perspective on the game.

“I've got to say, it's been more fun than I expected,” he said. “It really is. There's a different kind of enjoyment and a different kind of rooting that goes on when it's your horses, I've thoroughly enjoyed that part of it. But I've also had my eyes even more opened to the fact that it's so difficult for people to stay in this game now. Unless you're a plutocrat or a super trainer, this industry had become very, very hard to make a living in. Our trainer, Phil Gleaves, retired at the end of the Saratoga meeting, in part because it's just so hard to make a go of it as a small stable these days. Hiring help, dealing with workman's comp, and all these other issues have made it really hard for smaller trainers to stay in business. That's not a healthy thing long term for the game. And I don't think we want to end up with 10 super stables and no small outfits in American racing. That's not going to be good.”

Elsewhere on the show, which is also sponsored by West Point Thoroughbreds, Legacy Bloodstock and Woodford Thoroughbreds, Joe Bianca and Bill Finley broke down the ramifications of Bob Baffert's loss in court Tuesday, reacted to the strong handle numbers thus far for 2021 and applauded Gulfstream for its suspensions of trainers for clenbuterol use. Click here to watch the podcast; click here for the audio-only version of find it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

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Keeneland to Review Status of Crichton-Trained Runner for Spinster

Having been suspended at Gulfstream for allegedly violating rules regarding the use of clenbuterol, trainer Rohan Crichton may not be able to run his filly Bajan Girl (Speightstown) in the GI Juddmonte Spinster S. to be run Sunday at Keeneland.

Keeneland released a statement Tuesday indicating that it is considering its options.

“We are in the process of obtaining information regarding the reported suspensions from Gulfstream Park so Keeneland is in a position to make an informed decision about race entries,” it read. “As you know, and as is clear from our actions for 85 years, Keeneland continues to work in furtherance of our mission to perpetuate the best in Thoroughbred racing, which definitely includes fair competition and integrity.”

“Right now she's being trained towards her next start,” Crichton told the Daily Racing Form. “Preferably we'll be able to run her in the Spinster. Our second option is the Beldame. I've been very forthcoming with Keeneland and have asked if they will take my entry. There is also the possibility they would let my owners enter her with one of the other trainers they use in Kentucky.”

The Spinster is a “Win and You're In” race for the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff.

So far as the GII Beldame S. at Belmont, also scheduled to be run Sunday, goes, NYRA spokesman Pat McKenna said the matter is under review.

It was announced last week by Gulfstream that Crichton was among five trainers that were suspended after they were found to be in violation of house rules at the Florida track regarding the use of clenbuterol. The others were Georgina Baxter, Daniel Pita, Peter Walder and Gilberto Zerpa. The finding came after out-of-competition testing, which included hair and blood samples, was performed.

Crichton was suspended by Gulfstream and not by the Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering, which means his status is not clear cut. Unlike a suspension issued by a racing commission, a suspension by one racetrack does not have to be upheld by another. However, as first reported by the Paulick Report, there is a clause in the Keeneland condition book listed under “special notices” that appears to cover the Crichton situation. It reads: “At the discretion of the stewards, and without notice, the entries of any person, or acceptance or transfer of any entries, may be refused.”

Keeneland's barn notes on Sunday and Monday listed Bajan Girl as a probable starter in the Spinster. Tuesday's notes did not include her name among a list of potential starters.

Owned by Robert Slack and Daniel Walters, Bajan Girl was fourth in the Love Sign S. at Colonial Downs in her most recent start and is three-for-13 lifetime.

A native of Jamaica, Crichton was the leading trainer at the 2020 Gulfstream Park West meet. He is 33-for-161 on the year for a winning percentage of 20%.

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Suspended At Gulfstream Park, Trainer Rohan Crichton Hoping To Run Filly In Keeneland’s Spinster

Trainer Rohan Crichton, suspended by Gulfstream Park management for alleged violations of house rules restricting the use of clenbuterol, said he is awaiting word from officials at Keeneland on whether his 4-year-old stakes-placed filly Bajan Girl can enter the Grade 1, $500,000 Juddmonte Spinster Stakes Oct. 10 at the Lexington, Ky., track. The Spinster is a Breeders' Cup Challenge Series Win and You're In race granting a fees-paid berth in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Distaff, to be held at Del Mar on Nov. 6.

“I will run if they let me,” Crichton told the Paulick Report on Tuesday, “but they haven't told me yet if they'll let me.”

The suspension of Crichton, along with trainers Georgina Baxter, Daniel Pita, Peter Walder and Gilberto Zerpa, came on Oct. 1 after horses in their stables had hair and blood samples tested out of competition. Clenbuterol was detected in 12 horses from the five trainers in violation of Gulfstream Park house rules. Horses from five other stables tested clean.

Because Florida does not have a racing commission, many regulations governing the sport are done via a track's house rules. Included in Gulfstream's house rules are the regulations on use of clenbuterol, a bronchodilator that can have anabolic steroidal affects on horses.

Unlike rulings from a racing commission or board of stewards, suspensions under house rules, more accurately called exclusions under a track's private property rights. are not automatically reciprocated from state to state. For example, though trainer Bob Baffert was notified of a two-year suspension by Churchill Downs officials after Medina Spirit's positive test for betamethasone in this year's Kentucky Derby, Baffert has not been denied entries in California.

Keeneland's media notes on Sunday and Monday listed Bajan Girl as “probable” to run in the Spinster, but on Tuesday her name was not on the list of probable starters.

A statement on the matter from Keeneland said: “We are in the process of obtaining information regarding the reported suspensions from Gulfstream Park so Keeneland is in a position to make an informed decision about race entries. As you know, and as is clear from our actions for 85 years, Keeneland continues to work in furtherance of our mission to perpetuate the best in Thoroughbred racing, which definitely includes fair competition and integrity.”

Keeneland's Fall 2021 Condition Book contains a clause under “special notices” stating, “At the discretion of the stewards, and without notice, the entires of any person, or acceptance or transfer of any entries, may be refused.”

A 4-year-old filly by Speightstown owned by Robert Slack and Daniel Walters, Bajan Girl is winless in five starts this year and is 3-for-13 lifetime. Two starts back she finished second in the Grade 3 Molly Pitcher Stakes at Monmouth Park. She most recently breezed a half mile in :47.75 on Oct. 3 at Gulfstream Park.

Entries for the Spinster are taken on Thursday.

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West Virginia Officials Awaiting Split Sample Results On Georgina Baxter-Trained Charles Town Oaks Winner

Georgina Baxter, one of five Florida-based trainers sanctioned on Oct. 1 by Gulfstream Park for violating the track's house rules on clenbuterol, may be in jeopardy of losing her biggest career win after a horse in her care, R Adios Jersey, tested positive for the anti-inflammatory flunixin (trade name Banamine) following the $400,000, Grade 3 Charles Town Oaks in West Virginia on Aug. 27.

West Virginia Racing Commission steward Denver Beckner confirmed the initial finding from Industrial Laboratories in Colorado and said officials are awaiting results of a confirmatory split sample before conducting a hearing to consider possible disqualification of R Adios Jersey and sanctions that could include a fine and/or suspension of Baxter.

R Adios Jersey, a Florida-bred 3-year-old filly by Adios Charlie, is owned by Averill Racing LLC and ATM Racing. Her front-running, 3 1/4-length victory under Paco Lopez was her fourth victory without a defeat. R Adios Jersey earned $230,400 and paid a $12.80 mutuel for the Charles Town Oaks win.

Banamine is a Class 4 drug with a Category C penalty under Association of Racing Commissioners International guidelines. For flunixin, under those guidelines, if the sample tests higher than 5 ng/ml, the recommendation is for a disqualification and loss of purse in the absence of mitigating circumstances. A trainer faces a maximum fine of $1,000 for a first offense in any jurisdiction and a $1,500 fine and 15-day suspension for a second offense in a 365-day period in any jurisdiction, under the ARCI guidelines.

Baxter, a native of England who was a jockey and exercise rider, took over the stable of Ralph Ziadie in 2018 after the latter was denied a license renewal by the Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering because of multiple medication violations. Ralph's son, Kirk Ziadie, who won numerous South Florida training titles during his career, is serving a six-year license suspension for multiple clenbuterol violations that runs through Jan. 10, 2022.

According to the MyFloridaLicense.com website, Baxter has had six complaints filed against her for Class 4 medication violations since August 2018, most recently on Nov. 5, 2020. She served a 25-day suspension earlier last year for three violations that involved impermissible levels of flunixin and phenylbutazone.

According to Equibase, Baxter has won 132 of 502 starts (26%) and her horses have earned $3,999,741.

On Friday, Baxter was one of five trainers suspended by Gulfstream Park for violating the track's house rules concerning clenbuterol. The bronchodilator was detected in 12 horses from five of the 10 stables tested out-of-competition using hair and blood samples. The other trainers sanctioned were Rohan Crichton, Daniel Pita, Peter Walder, and Gilberto Zerpa.

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