Lukas Argues Drug Threshold Levels

Bob Baffert has been placed the squarely in the cross hairs over Medina Spirit (Protonico)'s Betamethasone positive following last week's GI Kentucky Derby and amid the chorus of criticism, admonishment and outright verbal assault, a fellow Hall of Famer took up the mantle of defense for his beleaguered colleague.

“Unfortunately, it is the story of this Preakness,” said D. Wayne Lukas, who has won the second jewel of the Triple Crown six times. “Racing doesn't deserve to get the black eye for something this minor. Now, if there is an all-out performance- enhancing drug, that's obviously different. But that just wasn't the case in this instance.”

Lukas, who created his own stir earlier this week with a statement made in defense of Baffert when he suggested a test at this level should be thrown out, underscored what he felt was the central idea lost in the dissemination of his comment making its way through social media.

“The thresholds are so low now that [trainers] are all fair game,” he explained. “I'm here looking at my horses and think I could be next. It could be any one of them in the Preakness or any of these races the way the thresholds are set.”

In regards to the ensuing media nightmare ignited by this week's revelation, Lukas argues that many outside of the industry might not fully understand the facts in a case like the latest to take the nation by storm.

“The average fan following the news doesn't really get the scale of a picogram,” he said. “They think it's a blatant violation and that the horse had something in his system that enhanced his performance. And we can't explain that to everyone, so racing overall gets a black eye.”

He continued, “Testing is so sophisticated and sensitive nowadays that even a negligible level could fail. The drug thresholds have just gotten lower and lower and I really think we've legislated ourselves into a hole here. I really think we've painted ourselves into a corner with what I believe to be, in many cases, unrealistic levels.”

“Trainers have become so conscious of what we're giving to our horses,” he said. “I know that certain eye ointments have substances that would cause a violation. You have to be very careful what's on the label these days. Even then, with everything we feed them and everything we put on them now you are scrutinized pretty intensely.”

A trainer for over five decades, Lukas said he takes a basic approach in his own operation, while trying to navigate the razor-edge balance between maintaining optimal health in his animals while steering clear of a much-dreaded raceday positive.

“Part of the issue is that the withdrawal times we are given are often very limited,” he said. They're not always accurate or don't take into account all the factors. They tell us the withdrawal time is four days and somebody still gets a positive test even though they withdrew at six days. So, what I do is I just double it. If they tell us there is a four-day withdrawal, I automatically double it, so that's eight days on our books. You have to go beyond what they tell you because there are a lot of inaccuracies in that regard. There have been a lot of positives of late where trainers followed the guidelines they were given and still got a positive.”

And as the sport continues to regain its footing after its latest assault, Lukas offered a pragmatic approach to maintaining the health of sport.

“I hope the Horse Racing Integrity Act takes a realistic approach and sets the thresholds at a reasonable level and in a uniform way, so we're not failing for topical dressings and eye ointments, as in the case this week. Bob is under the gun right now, but it could have been any one of us.”

 

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IHRB Given Greater Authority For Testing

The Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board can gain access to and test-by blood, hair or urine sample–every Thoroughbred in the country, on licensed or unlicensed premises, without notice after being granted Authorised Officer status by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

The announcement was part of a wide range of new measures and funding unveiled on Friday as part of Irish racing's anti-doping strategy. These also include the announcement of the planned development of a whole-of-life Thoroughbred traceability system, including 30-day foal notifications; the issuing of e-passports, beginning with the 2021 foal crop; and funding for installation of CCTV cameras in the stable yards at every racecourse. The IHRB has, additionally, committed to increased transparency and consistency around reports into testing, and will release a twice-yearly activity report.

“Integrity around anti-doping is a top priority for the Irish racing and breeding industry,” said Brian Kavanagh, chief executive of Horse Racing Ireland. “People who set out to intentionally break the rules and use prohibited substances will be identified and prosecuted. They have no place in Ireland's world-renowned racing industry and all industry bodies are committed to zero tolerance in this area.”

“We know from the number of tests performed each year, and from the variety of testing methods used, that Ireland has a robust system which operates at or above agreed global standards,” Kavanagh continued. “Additionally, there is a stringent range of penalties that can be applied by the IHRB, which can go up to a lifetime ban for horses deliberately administered a substance prohibited at all times.

“In 2021, in excess of 4000 samples will be taken from racehorses in Ireland by the IHRB, and in the region of 25% will be out of competition tests or tests taken before horses come under the care of a licensed trainer. All samples are tested in an internationally accredited reference laboratory. In addition, approximately a further 600 samples will be taken from horses for sale at public auction.

“However, this is an area that we can never be complacent about and Horse Racing Ireland has been working with the IHRB to bring about further improvements to the systems this year. Our efforts and investment remain focused on ensuring that Ireland's €2-billion equine industry, an industry that employs thousands of people and encourages significant foreign direct investment, operates one of the most comprehensive systems of testing of any racing or breeding jurisdiction in the world. This is as it should be, given the importance of the industry and the value of trade in Irish horses.”

Denis Egan, chief executive of the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board, said, “The Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board welcome the continuous support of Horse Racing Ireland and obviously share the goals of HRI, and everyone in the racing and breeding industry, to continue towards delivering a gold standard in equine anti-doping systems.

“Anti-doping never stands still. Our strategy has always been to take the right sample from the right horse at the right time. This has been one of the main drivers of a greater move towards out-of-competition testing, which in 2019 represented 18% of all samples taken–up from 7% in 2016. In percentage terms the total number of runners tested in Ireland–at 10%–is comparable to other jurisdictions.

“The appointment of IHRB officials as Authorised Officers will give the IHRB powers to access any Thoroughbred which is bred to race, at any time. No racing authority has greater powers when it comes to inspections and sampling, and this will further enhance our ability to deliver an equine anti-doping programme that is one of the best in the world.”

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‘A Monumental Step In The Right Direction’: Tygart Hopes USADA Can Help Reform Horse Racing

There has been a recent spike in discussion following passage of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) by Congress  last week. Some may be skeptical on whether the creation of a national Authority truly will have an impact on the regulation of medication and safety policies in American racing, but Travis Tygart, CEO of the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), believes USADA's involvement could be just what the industry needs, according to columnist Dan Wolken in USA Today.

“I think it should be night and day because the current system is a myriad, a patchwork of different rules and regulations and it's not applied evenly across any of the 38 different racing jurisdictions,” Tygart told Wolken. “Our hope is to absolutely professionalize it and give those in the sport confidence that it works and that there is no choice other than to win the right way, which is clean and ultimately that's going to benefit the sport itself as well as the health of the animal.”

Two scandals within the racing industry this year involving Bob Baffert's four separate medication violations and the FBI probe that led to 27 people being indicted for illegally conspiring to dope racehorses have amplified the need for intervention from the government and the USADA. Wolken wrote. An independent oversight program can eliminate the conflicts of interest within the current state horse racing boards, which are typically occupied by people with financial interests in racing or involvement in some way.

“it created a perfect storm where there's no other solution,” Tygart said. “The status quo is unacceptable and this is a monumental step in the right direction.

“There's a lot of money being made under the status quo and we saw that when we took over the Olympic world as well,” Tygart told Wolken. “So are we going to be able to get people off their little fiefs that are churning money? Let's hope they come along and get on board, but if they are earning that money the wrong way they're going to get sanctioned and that's the way it ought to be.”

Read more at usatoday.com.

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