Tag: dr. will farmer

Additional Testing, Surveillance Among Breeders’ Cup’s Health And Safety Protocols

The Breeders' Cup will once again conduct the 2021 World Championships under industry-leading equine safety and integrity protocols. Breeders' Cup always strives to conduct best-in-class racing under the safest possible conditions to the benefit of horses, riders, participants, fans and bettors. Additionally, health and safety protocols will be in place to mitigate the risks associated with COVID-19 during the World Championships taking place Nov. 5 and 6 at Del Mar.

Additional resources detailing Breeders' Cup's health and safety protocols for the 2021 World Championships can be found here.

EQUINE SAFETY, TESTING AND SECURITY

Breeders' Cup observes the most stringent medication practices and restrictions, pre- and post-race testing protocols, equine security and surveillance measures, veterinary exam requirements, injury management protocols and racing surface testing in the industry.

All Breeders' Cup runners are subject to:

  • Randomized out-of-competition (OOC) testing, which began around the world in June and concluded on Monday, November 1, resulting in the collection of over 300 blood and hair samples;
  • Expanded veterinary scrutiny in-stall and during training at Del Mar, Santa Anita and San Luis Rey Training Center;
  • Mandatory trot up observations of every horse prior to being permitted to enter a racing surface;
  • Comprehensive veterinary exams including diagnostics, if required, beginning Monday, October 25;
  • Surveillance following a mandatory equine security check-in on Tuesday, November 2;
  • An additional round of testing for performance enhancing medications and prohibited substances on all horses entered in a Championship race starting Tuesday, November 2, along with additional randomized onsite testing over the following days for a total of approximately 500 blood, hair and urine samples collected from all Breeders' Cup runners prior to the World Championships; and
  • Extensive post-race testing of the first four finishers as well as any other runner that did not perform as expected and others designated by the Stewards.

The Breeders' Cup's world-class veterinary team led by Dr. Will Farmer and Dr. Deborah Lamparater will work in conjunction with CHRB Equine Medical Director Dr. Jeff Blea and other official veterinarians to oversee and implement the comprehensive veterinary exam protocols. These include observing all potential Breeders' Cup runners in the stabling area, on the track and in their stalls leading up to the event in addition to a mandatory pre-race evaluation on Tuesday, Nov. 2 to ensure every runner is fit to race.

Moving forward, Breeders' Cup eagerly awaits the full implementation of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act in July 2022. The new Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority will ensure consistent, transparent and expeditious processes for testing, adjudication and the enforcement of uniform equine safety standards under the oversight of the Federal Trade Commission.

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TRACK SURFACE SAFETY

Breeders' Cup has once again retained world-renowned racing surface experts, including Racetrack Safety Program Director Mick Peterson, Del Mar turf course superintendent Leif Dickinson and Del Mar racetrack superintendent Dennis Moore, to oversee testing and track maintenance in conjunction with Del Mar's expert racing surface team. Together, they will ensure consistency in both surfaces, measuring moisture content and footing across the surfaces and providing participants with real-time updates on track and turf conditions.

COVID-19 MITIGATION

The Breeders' Cup and Del Mar Racetrack have worked closely with local public health officials and infectious disease experts to implement health and safety protocols that will be in place to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 during the World Championships. The health and safety of fans, participants, athletes and the local community is Breeders' Cup's top priority.

Breeders' Cup and Del Mar have consulted with top experts to ensure the protocols in place are effective in mitigating the risk of COVID-19. Breeders' Cup works closely with Dr. Richard Greenberg – former Chief of Infectious Disease of the University of Kentucky and former employee of the Center for Disease Control – and Del Mar has been working closely with its medical advisor – Scripps Health's Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ghazala Sharieff – and San Diego County public health officials, including Public Health Officer Dr. Wilma Wooten and Chief Resiliency Officer Gary Johnston.

Protocols for attending the 2021 World Championships include:

  • Unvaccinated individuals must wear face coverings indoors and outdoors when in close proximity to others. Face coverings should fully cover the mouth and nose and fit snugly against the sides of the face so there are no gaps.
  • Guests entering the facility or placing a bet are to practice physical distancing.
  • Guests are to refrain from congregating inside the grandstand and follow all posted signage and floor decals as well as any direction from Del Mar Thoroughbred Club & Breeders' Cup staff.
  • Del Mar Thoroughbred Club & Breeders' Cup staff have implemented enhanced cleaning and sanitization procedures throughout the facility.
  • Hand-sanitizing stations have been placed throughout the grandstand and additional staff will be on-site for cleaning high-touch areas.
  • Media and guests with tickets located on the 6th Floor (Il Palio Restaurant and Skyroom Suite Dining) will be required to show proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 or proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within the previous 72 hours.

ABOUT BREEDERS' CUP

Breeders' Cup Limited administers the Breeders' Cup World Championships, Thoroughbred horse racing's year-end Championships, as well as the Breeders' Cup Challenge qualifying series, which provides automatic starting positions into the Championships races. The Breeders' Cup is also a founding member of the Thoroughbred Safety Coalition, an organization composed of industry leaders committed to advancing safety measures in Thoroughbred racing and improving the well-being of equine and human athletes.

The 2021 Breeders' Cup World Championships, consisting of 14 Championship races, is scheduled to be held on November 5-6 at Del Mar racetrack in Del Mar, California. The event will be televised live by the NBC Sports Group. Breeders' Cup press releases appear on the Breeders' Cup website, breederscup.com. You can also follow the Breeders' Cup on social media.

The post Additional Testing, Surveillance Among Breeders’ Cup’s Health And Safety Protocols appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Breeders’ Cup Outlines Championships Protocols

The Breeders' Cup outlines health and safety protocols for the 2021 World Championships, which take place Nov. 5-6 at Del Mar.

EQUINE SAFETY, TESTING AND SECURITY

All Breeders' Cup runners are subject to:

  • Randomized out-of-competition (OOC) testing (beginning internationally in June and concluded Nov. 1, resulting in the collection of over 300 blood and hair samples
  • Expanded veterinary scrutiny in-stall and during training at Del Mar, Santa Anita and San Luis Rey Training Center
  • Mandatory trot up observations of every horse prior to being permitted to enter a racing surface
  • Comprehensive veterinary exams including diagnostics, if required, beginning Oct. 25
  • Surveillance following a mandatory equine security check-in Nov. 2
  • An additional round of testing for performance enhancing medications and prohibited substances on all horses entered starting Nov. 2, along with additional randomized onsite testing over the following days for a total of approximately 500 blood, hair and urine samples collected from all Breeders' Cup runners prior to the World Championships
  • Extensive post-race testing of the first four finishers as well as any other runner that did not perform as expected and others designated by the Stewards.

The Breeders' Cup's veterinary team includes Dr. Will Farmer, Dr. Deborah Lamparater and CHRB Equine Medical Director Dr. Jeff Blea. Veterinary protocols include observing all potential Breeders' Cup runners in the stabling area, on the track and in their stalls leading up to the event in addition to a mandatory pre-race evaluation Nov. 2 to ensure every runner is fit to race.

TRACK SURFACE SAFETY

Breeders' Cup has retained a panel of racing surface experts, including Racetrack Safety Program Director Mick Peterson, Del Mar turf course superintendent Leif Dickinson and Del Mar racetrack superintendent Dennis Moore, to oversee testing and track maintenance in conjunction with Del Mar's racing surface team. Together, they will ensure consistency in both surfaces, measuring moisture content and footing across the surfaces and providing participants with real-time updates on track and turf conditions.

COVID-19 MITIGATION

The Breeders' Cup and Del Mar have worked closely with local public health officials and infectious disease experts to implement health and safety protocols to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 during the World Championships. Among the experts enlisted to provide effective protocols have been set in place include Dr. Richard Greenberg–former Chief of Infectious Disease of the University of Kentucky and former employee of the Center for Disease Control; Scripps Health's Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ghazala Sharieff; Public Health Officer Dr. Wilma Wooten and Chief Resiliency Officer Gary Johnston.

Protocols for attending this year's event include:

  • Unvaccinated individuals must wear face coverings indoors and outdoors when in close proximity to others. Face coverings should fully cover the mouth and nose and fit snugly against the sides of the face so there are no gaps.
  • Guests entering the facility or placing a bet are to practice physical distancing.
  • Guests are to refrain from congregating inside the grandstand and follow all posted signage and floor decals as well as any direction from Del Mar Thoroughbred Club and Breeders' Cup staff.
  • Del Mar Thoroughbred Club and Breeders' Cup staff have implemented enhanced cleaning and sanitization procedures throughout the facility.
  • Hand-sanitizing stations have been placed throughout the grandstand and additional staff will be on-site for cleaning high-touch areas.
  • Media and guests with tickets located on the 6th Floor (Il Palio Restaurant and Skyroom Suite Dining) will be required to show proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 or proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within the previous 72 hours.

For complete resources detailing Breeders' Cup's health and safety protocols for the 2021 World Championships, click here.

The post Breeders’ Cup Outlines Championships Protocols appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Stewards Hand Groom Suspension Related To Compounded Clenbuterol, No Action Taken Against Trainer

A Jan. 29 suspension of Danny Gibson, a licensed groom at Fair Grounds in New Orleans, La., may have gone largely unnoticed by many, but it was part of a larger case involving a compounded drug. The week before stewards suspended Gibson for the remainder of the 2020-21 meet, the track's senior director of racing, Jason Boulet, was approached by a trainer who remains unidentified – both to the stewards and to the commission. The trainer, who does not stable at Fair Grounds, told Boulet he was approached by Gibson, who has worked as both a groom and hotwalker, and asked whether he wanted to purchase two items. Gibson showed him a bridle and a liquid in a white plastic bottle which contained clenbuterol, according to its labeling.

The trainer paid $150 for the items but then began to have second thoughts, wondering whether he could face consequences for buying them. The trainer brought the items to Boulet and identified Gibson.

When questioned by the stewards, Gibson admitted he had stolen both objects from tack rooms in other barns. The bridle came from the barn of Brendan Walsh, and the medication came from the barn of Chris Hartman. A stewards hearing was conducted and the ruling against Gibson was issued.

The plastic bottle did not bear the standard blue and white labeling of the FDA-approved form of clenbuterol sold as Ventipulmin Syrup, which can run close to $300 for a 330-milliliter bottle. Instead, it had one small sticker on it with the contact information for a Dr. Michael Stevens out of Edmond, Okla. The sticker included instructions for use, and the patient name “Smoking Memo.” It appeared that the bottle contained a compounded substance.

Compounded drugs are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration, and there are limited circumstances in which a drug may be legally compounded. Accepted circumstances include making a drug with a different route of administration (flavoring a medication for easier dosing, for example), providing emergency supply during a supply chain compromise, or making the drug in a different concentration from its mass manufactured version.

Louisiana has a rule on the books about compounded drugs. Title 35, Chapter 17 Section 1707 of the state's administrative code reads, “Any substance or material for human or animal use, ingestion, or injection, or for testing purposes that is not formally approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration is prohibited.”

The rule does not outline possible penalties or detail whether stewards may take mitigating circumstances into effect when considering a potential violation of section 1707.

When questioned by stewards, Hartman explained that the medication had been prescribed for an unnamed offspring of Smoking Memo while the horse was training in Oklahoma. The horse had suffered a knee injury necessitating a lay-off and subsequently been loaded on a trailer along with Fair Grounds shippers, along with all its equipment and the bottle. The horse was offloaded along the route to the racetrack, but the bottle was left on the van and ended up in Hartman's tack room, according to the trainer, who has made 73 starts at the track's current meet and is 15th in the trainer standings.

According to stewards' notes obtained by public record request, the stewards did not make further inquiries of Hartman and did not conduct any searches of his barn or person to verify whether any other compounded drugs were present. As of March 5, they indicated they considered the matter closed and planned no further inquiries.

Subsequent testing on the bottle by the Louisiana State University's Equine Medication Surveillance Laboratory indicated that there were no other drugs detected in the bottle besides clenbuterol. While the bottle was not labeled with a concentration, the strength of FDA-approved Ventipulmin is 72.5 micrograms per milliliter. LSU's testing showed the sample in the Gibson case contained a similar, if slightly higher concentration of about 85 micrograms per milliliter.

Churchill Downs, Inc., which owns Fair Grounds, conducted its own investigation into the incident. Dr. Will Farmer, equine medical director for CDI, indicated the ownership group had evicted Gibson from the Fair Grounds property and placed him on a no-entry list for all CDI properties. With regard to Hartman, Farmer said the track would defer to the stewards' decision not to pursue further action.

“Fair Grounds Race Course is fully committed to the safety of our human and equine athletes and the integrity of our sport,” read a statement from Farmer. “We are aware of the Louisiana Racing Commission's findings of a questionably compounded product that was uncovered on our backside and believe this activity jeopardizes the wellbeing of the horses and fairness in our sport and should not be tolerated. We have long advocated for strict regulations with respect to the use of medications to ensure that competitors are fit to race and the races are conducted fairly and with transparency.

“Circumstances like this are among the many reasons we herald the recently-passed Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act which will serve as a vehicle to establish and implement uniform medication rules and operational standards that will codify the culture of safety and integrity of which we are so firmly committed.”

Multiple calls to Hartman for comment were unreturned at press time.

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Racing Officials Accreditation Program, University Of Louisville Announce Online Continuing Education Course

The Racing Officials Accreditation Program (ROAP) and the University of Louisville are pleased to announce a 16-hour continuing education course will be held live online Monday, Dec. 14 and Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020. Both sessions begin at 8:00 AM ET and finish each day at 5:00 PM ET.

Speakers during the live online sessions include:

Alex Waldrop – CEO and President of the NTRA

Dr. Sarah Memmi – University of Louisville

Peter J Sacopulos – Sacopulos, Johnson, & Sacopulos

Dr. Will Farmer – Churchill Downs Equine Medical Director

Barbara Borden – Chief State Steward, Kentucky Racing Commission

Hugh Gallaher – Safety Steward, NYRA

Michele Kopiec – United States Trotting Association

TC Lane – United States Trotting Association

Jenn Daniels – Standardbred Transition Alliance

Tom Sage – Executive Director, Nebraska Racing Commission

Registration is now open at the UofL Equine Payment Portal, https://louisville.edu/business/payments/equine. The cost is $80 prior to December 8, 2020 and increases to $110 afterwards. Registration closes Friday, Dec. 11, 2020. A link for the event will be sent to all registered participants.

Participants will need to have access to a computer with Windows 10, reliable high-speed internet, a webcam, and a microphone. Please avoid Chromebooks/Chrome OS, iPads. Google Chrome is the browser of choice; the second choice is Firefox. There will be a call-in number as well if sound or microphones are an issue.

Please contact Alyssa Carwile at contactus@horseracingofficials.com or (859) 224-2702 for more details.

The mission of ROAP is to accredit and provide continuing education to all racing officials, stewards and judges in the horse racing industry. By doing so ROAP is enhancing the image and upholding the integrity of horse racing at all levels.

ROAP, which receives primary funding from The Jockey Club and is based in its Kentucky office, is a 501(c)(6) organization whose board of directors is made up of representatives from 17 industry organizations and 10 at-large representatives. Stewards and judges receive their accreditation and continuing education credits through this program. The website address for ROAP is horseracingofficials.com.

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