Disqualification | Horse Racing Free Tips

You Be The Judge: Did Delta Stewards Make The Right Call?

If a horse clips heels and a jockey falls during the running of a race, even when, as in the following case, both horse and rider walk away with no more than bumps and bruises, stewards are often called upon to adjudicate the outcome.

During Monday's fourth race at Delta Downs in Vinton, La., stewards made the call to disqualify the winner, Miss Nitap (7), for interference in mid-stretch after a claim of foul from the rider of the second-place finisher, K R Lucky Day (6). Miss Nitap was placed second, while K R Lucky Day was moved up to first.

The race chart is available here.

A head-on replay of the stretch run shows Mrs. Judy (5), inside K R Lucky Day at the eighth pole, darted across several paths to bump K R Lucky Day from the inside and impede the path of oncoming rival Birdie Call (8). Birdie Call subsequently clipped heels and stumbled, losing rider Daniel Flores in the process. The incident looks ugly on video, but both Birdie Call and Flores walked off the track under their own power. Flores took off the rest of his mounts for the day, complaining of minor pain in his left arm and shoulder.

Stewards may yet impose sanctions on the rider of Mrs. Judy, Gerard Melancon, as well as the rider of Miss Nitap, Thomas Pompell, but those sanctions will not affect bettors whose wagering dollars rode on the outcome of this race.

Did the Delta Downs stewards make the right call here? You be the judge!

The post You Be The Judge: Did Delta Stewards Make The Right Call? appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Gosden Feels ‘Let Down’ By BHA After Positive Test Leads To Disqualification

British trainer John Gosden is feeling let down by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) after his disqualification from the Group 2 British Champions Long Distance Cup in October. The BHA ordered the disqualification following the discovery of the anti-inflammatory Triamcinolone Acetonide (TCA) in a pre-race sample of Royal Line, according to the Racing Post, which led to the horse being stripped of his third place finish in the race.

There is a mandatory 14-day stand-down period for TCA, but the BHA has warned that that stand-down period may be shorter than the actual withdrawal period. Gosden's Royal Line received 15 milligrams of Adcortyl, containing TCA, in both hind fetlocks to reduce inflammation 17 days prior to the race, which was confirmed by vet reports. Gosden accepted the results of the positive test, but wanted to make it clear there was no foul play involved.

“I'm very conservative with my use of any medication and the horse's welfare is paramount,” Gosden told racingpost.com. “I followed all guidelines and advice and the negative publicity from this matter reflects badly on the trainer, the highly respected Newmarket Equine Hospital practice and inevitably damages the image of racing. I feel exceptionally let down by this process.”

Gosden proposed that the BHA give more help on the matter and attempt to educate other horsemen to avoid more situations such as this one. He was fined £1,000 (about US$1,200) and his horse was disqualified.

Disqualified For Trimming Whiskers? New Rule For International Competition

The international governing body for equestrian sport has banned horse owners from trimming the whiskers of horses that compete in international competition in 2021.

The rule was passed at the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) general assembly in the veterinary regulations session. Beginning in July 2021, any horse that has had his whiskers removed will be disqualified from FEI-sanctioned events unless a vet deems the whisker removal necessary.

The exact wording of the rule reads: “if the horse's sensory hairs have been clipped and/or shaven or in any other way removed unless individual sensory hairs have been removed by a veterinarian to prevent pain or discomfort for the horse.” The measure was passed unanimously.

The FEI veterinary committee believes a horse that has had his whiskers trimmed has a reduction in sensory ability. This ruling aligns the organization's rules with legislation in multiple other national federations, including Germany, France and Switzerland.

The US Equestrian Federation is concerned about the subjectivity of the clipping of sensory hairs, which they feel may lead to irregular enforcement at competitions. One specific concern raised by the Federation is the length of the sensory hair around the eyes, which could possibly become trapped in the blinkers on the bridle of driving horses. The Federation asked that the changes be removed and addressed when a complete review of the veterinary rules are conducted.

CHRB to Seek DQ of Justify from 2018 SA Derby

The win by scopolamine-positive Justify in the 2018 running of the GI Santa Anita Derby is now going to come under official administrative scrutiny by the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB). But Bob Baffert, the trainer of the eventual undefeated Triple Crown winner, will not have a CHRB complaint lodged against him “due to substantial evidence that the scopolamine resulted from environmental contamination from jimson weed,” the CHRB stated in a Wednesday press release.

As part of a negotiated settlement stemming from a lawsuit filed against the CHRB by the owner/trainer of Bolt d’Oro, the runner-up horse in the 2018 Santa Anita Derby, the CHRB voted during a closed session Aug. 20 to reverse its previous course of no action and to proceed with a complaint seeking the disqualification of Justify and the redistribution of the purse from that stakes.

The CHRB has set a Sep. 20 stewards’ hearing date at Santa Anita Park to begin the complaint adjudication process. Left unanswered at this point–and possibly unanswerable at all–is what might happen to Justify’s subsequent Triple Crown race victories if Justify gets DQ’d from the Santa Anita Derby. Had Justify not finished among the top two finishers in that GI Kentucky Derby points-qualifying race at Santa Anita Apr. 7, 2018, he would not have made the cutoff for entry into the Kentucky Derby. And if he doesn’t get to enter and win the Derby, he certainly wouldn’t have been in the running for the Triple Crown. With regard to that question of eligibility, CHRB spokesperson Mike Marten wrote in an email: “In California, eligibility is determined at the time of the race. In this case, however, the [Kentucky Horse Racing Commission] would be in the best position to make [any Kentucky Derby eligibility] determination. The CHRB is not seeking any disqualification beyond the Santa Anita Derby.”

Darrell Vienna, the attorney for plaintiff Mick Ruis (Ruis Racing LLC), told TDN that he is pleased with the CHRB’s executive session vote to move ahead with a hearing. He added that seeking punishment for Baffert or having Justify stripped of his status as a Triple Crown winner was never the intent of his client’s litigation.

“This is what we’ve been fighting for,” Vienna said. “We had never sought to have [the CHRB] file a complaint against Mr. Baffert for anything. We just weren’t privy to those facts.

What we were privy to is the fact that the horse tested positive for a Class 3/Penalty B substance, which requires automatic disqualification.”

Vienna has consistently cited CHRB rule 1859.5, which requires forfeiture of the purse and disqualification of a horse that tests positive for a class 1-3 prohibited substance regardless of the trainer’s responsibility.

“The key terms [of the settlement agreement] were simply that there would be a complaint filed and a hearing with regard to the potential forfeiture and disqualification of the winner,” Vienna said. “All we were ever asking for was a hearing. We weren’t asking for an outcome. We were asking for a process.”

TDN reached Baffert on his mobile phone Wednesday, but he didn’t want to speak about the CHRB’s decision, deferring to his attorney for comment.

“Craig Robertson III, the lawyer who represents Baffert, said “We’re very disappointed and surprised at the action that the CHRB is taking. We don’t think that it has any legal basis whatsoever, and we intend on fully fighting it. We’re contemplating those options right now. There are a number of different avenues that could be pursued, including the courts. But we haven’t made a final decision in terms of which avenue we’re going to pursue.”

Although Justify has been the focal point of the case since the story of his post-race positive test (and the CHRB’s alleged dragging-out over how to handle the results) belatedly broke in September 2019, another Baffert trainee, Hoppertunity, is also going to be the subject of a CHRB hearing over his own scopolamine positive.

“The CHRB is seeking the disqualification of Hoppertunity, winner of the [GIII] Tokyo City Cup S. at Santa Anita on April 8, 2018, and the redistribution of that purse based on laboratory findings that his post-race sample for that race tested positive for scopolamine,” the CHRB release stated. “While not the subject of current litigation, this medication positive was similar to the one involving Justify.”

Baffert has consistently denied that he has ever intentionally administered scopolamine to any of his horses.

A CHRB supporting document emailed to TDN by Marten stated: “The decision to file a complaint against a trainer for a medication positive is discretionary for the CHRB…In certain instances, where environmental contamination occurred, the CHRB has chosen not to file such complaints. Examples of medications often associated with environmental contamination where the CHRB has elected not to file trainer complaints are scopolamine and zilpatero..”

“We determined that the cause of the positives in the Justify and Hoppertunity matters were environmental contamination,” the release continued. “In the last few months, the CHRB did file several trainer complaints alleging scopolamine positives in post-race samples, but recommended, and the stewards issued, warnings based on those violations. Given that the Justify and Hoppertunity positives occurred over two years ago and at most the CHRB would only seek a warning, the CHRB chooses not to file complaints against Mr. Baffert in these matters.”

TDN asked Marten to clarify whether the CHRB’s executive-session votes on these matters were unanimous. He replied via email that “Any action by the Board in closed session requires at least four approvals. As for the breakdown of the voting among the six commissioners, we will need to check with counsel to determine whether that is public information.”

TDN also wanted to know if the CHRB would have undertaken a review of the Justify case had it not been for the pending litigation. Marten wrote back that “The CHRB cannot speculate on a hypothetical question about what the commissioners might have done.”

On July 24, when news broke that Ruis reached an agreement in principle with the CHRB regarding a settlement of his pending litigation in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Vienna told TDN that the agreement would be “in exchange for the dismissal of the entire litigation,” including any possible damages.

Court records indicate that on Aug. 4, both parties jointly petitioned the court to have an upcoming Sep. 4 hearing continued to a future date “because the parties are currently engaged in settlement negotiations.” That request was granted, and the judge in the case set the next court date for Feb. 5, 2021.

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