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After Hair Test Drug Discoveries, Only Three Runners Contest Quarter Horse Futurity At Sam Houston

Friday night's $731,650 finals of the Sam Houston Futurity for 2-year-old Quarter Horses saw its field of 10 reduced to just three runners following the revelation that the prohibited drugs clenbuterol or albuterol were detected in hair samples in six entrants and two other test samples were considered inconclusive.

Juan Diaz Jr. trained the top two finishers in the race, Bh Inxs and Hock It To You, while Roberto Madrigal trained the third-place finisher, Lucky Dice.

Officials at Sam Houston Race Park in Houston, Texas, announced on Thursday, a day after the Paulick Report first reported the hair test findings, that the Futurity would be contested as a non-wagering event.

Apollitical Crystal, the fastest qualifier, was listed on the Equibase chart as a “trainer” scratch, while three other finalists trained by Adrian Huitron (El Gansito, Dr Toola and Coronas Candy Man) were listed as “veterinarian” scratches. The other “veterinarian” scratches were Mr de Capi (trained by Angel Sanchez), Hes Tempting Gl (Jose Garcia) and Dealalicious (Rodolfo Sanchez).

On Thursday, Sam Houston officials released the following statement:

The Texas Racing Commission (TxRC) performed two separate testing methods on the qualifiers for the Sam Houston Futurity.

· Post-race Blood and Urine samples on the qualifying nights (May 7 and May 8)

· Hair Test samples on May 15th

Throughout this time period, all qualifiers were required to remain on Sam Houston Race Park (SHRP) property until the conclusion of the finals. TxRC staff notified SHRP that all post-race samples were negative for the ten qualifying participants prior to entry day on May 21 for the Sam Houston Futurity Finals.

On Wednesday, May 26, TxRC staff informed Sam Houston Race Park of the following results from the hair testing performed on May 15:

· Six (6) positive results for either Clenbuterol and or Albuterol (both prohibited in Texas)

· Two (2) results were deemed inconclusive

· Two (2) results were negative

A second hair sample was taken on May 26 of those horses who tested positive or inconclusive.

Based on this information, and to protect the interest of the wagering public, Sam Houston Race Park will conduct the running of this race as a NON-WAGERING event and those Sam Houston Futurity participants will compete for purse money only.

Effective immediately and until further notice, Sam Houston Race Park will stop accepting future entries from those trainers whose horses tested positive. Entries have already been accepted through Thursday, June 3, 2021.

Sam Houston Race Park reserves the right to issue further disciplinary actions against the trainers of these horses, pending actions of the Texas Racing Commission, including the results of second hair test samples if applicable.

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Sadler Faces Class 1 Drug Complaint After Flagstaff Tests Positive For Bisphosphonate

The California Horse Racing Board has filed a complaint against trainer John Sadler after graded stakes winner Flagstaff tested positive for clodronic acid, a bisphosphonate sold under the brand name Osphos, following a second-place finish in the Grade 2 Santa Anita Sprint Championship Stakes Sept. 27, 2020, at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif. A split sample confirmed the presence of the drug.

Flagstaff, a now 7-year-old gelding by Speightstown, is owned by Lane's End Racing and Hronis Racing LLC. He recently scored his first G1 victory in the Churchill Downs Stakes on Kentucky Derby day at Churchill Downs.

Because clodronic acid is not included on the CHRB's current list of prohibited substances, under the regulatory body's rules it automatically falls under the most severe drug category, Class 1. A medication classification proposal working its way through the CHRB's approval process recommends classifying clodronate (clodronic acid) as Class 3, but in the A penalty category.

Proposed amendments for medication violations require a one-year suspension absent mitigating circumstances along with a minimum fine of $10,000 for Category A penalties. Owners face loss of purse and potential placement of a horse on the vet's list for up to 90 days.

Complicating Sadler's status is the fact he is on probation as part of a settlement agreement issued in June 2020 for three medication violations from April and May 2019. Sadler received a 60-day suspension, but 45 days of the ban were stayed provided he have no Class 1, 2 or 3 violations during a probationary period that ends June 28, 2021.

Bisphosphonates are a class of drug approved by the FDA in 2014 and prescribed to prevent bone loss in people and to treat navicular syndrome in horses, a common cause of forelimb lameness. The drug is not approved for horses less than four years old.

Equine surgeon Dr. Larry Bramlage of Rood & Riddle warned about the use of bisphosphonates Osphos and Tildren in young horses during a client education seminar in 2018, saying the drug can have unintended, detrimental side effects. Many racing states moved to ban the drugs.

The CHRB banned bisphosphonates effective July 1, 2020, saying that any horse administered the drug in the previous six months – effectively a cutoff date of Jan. 1, 2020 – was prohibited from stabling on CHRB regulated grounds.

Sadler referred questions to attorney Darrell Vienna, who said Flagstaff was legally treated with Osphos on an unspecified date “late in 2019” when Flagstaff was 5 years old.

Vienna cited the extended half life of Osphos as an explanation for the positive test, saying it can linger in a horse's system for many months or even longer than a year.

Sadler, whose best horses include 3-year-old filly champion Stellar Wind and Horse of the Year Accelerate, is the trainer of this year's G1 Santa Anita Derby winner Rock Your World, a prospective starter in the G1 Belmont Stakes on June 5.

The complaint against Sadler was ordered on April 28 but not published on the CHRB's website until Wednesday, May 26. No hearing date has been set at this time.

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Clenbuterol Or Albuterol Found In Hair Tests In Six Of 10 Finalists For Friday’s $731,650 Sam Houston Futurity

Hair testing that detected the presence of clenbuterol or albuterol in a majority of the finalists in Friday night's $731,650 Sam Houston Futurity for 2-year-old Quarter Horses at Sam Houston Race Park in Houston, Texas, has cast a cloud of uncertainty over the Grade 2 race, the Paulick Report has learned.

Six of the 10 runners that qualified in the May 7-8 trials were found to have either clenbuterol or albuterol from hair samples that were taken May 15, a source with knowledge of the testing procedures told the Paulick Report. Two other horses' sample sizes were insufficient and two of the 10 tested clean, the source said. The test results by individual horses in the rich Futurity was not disclosed.

A second sample was taken from eight of the 10 horses (excluding the two that tested clean) on Wednesday, May 26, for re-testing.

Both clenbuterol and albuterol – classified by the Texas Racing Commission as Class 3 drugs with a severe Category A penalty – are prohibited in Texas for use in race horses of all breeds, in accordance with 16 TAC 319.3. Though they are bronchodilators designed to treat airway disease, both drugs can be misused for their steroidal effects that can increase lean muscle mass.

The decision to supplement plasma and urine testing with hair testing for the Sam Houston Futurity finalists was driven by the Texas Racing Commission, the source said. Robert Elrod, a spokesperson for the Texas Racing Commission, said he could not comment on the situation “because it is an open investigation.”

Track officials are said to be considering their options for the race, which is funded largely through a series of five nominations and sustaining payments that began in December 2019. The winner is slated to earn $292,660.

There are no also eligibles for the race, though positive drug tests are mentioned in the nomination form, which states: “Should a horse be disqualified for a positive drug test report or ineligibility of the horse according to the conditions of the race (i.e., age, breed, ringer, etc.) the next fastest qualifier shall assume the disqualified horse's position in the final.”

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Pennsylvania: New Clenbuterol Restrictions And Illegal Drugs Found In Barn Searches

At its virtual meeting May 25, the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission unanimously approved new restrictions on clenbuterol use. While previously the drug carried a 2 picogram per milliliter threshold, any detectable level of the medication will be considered a violation if the administration does not meet certain requirements. Administrations must come as the result of a prescription made for a specific horse for a specific diagnosis and the prescribing veterinarian must report the horse's identity and diagnosis to the commission. The prescribing veterinarian may be asked for a copy of the prescription also. Trainers must also report the administration to the commission.

Treatment periods for clenbuterol may run no more than 30 days, and horses will go on the veterinarian's list after treatment. They may be required to pass a drug test for clenbuterol before being allowed to enter a race. The idea of the new regulations, according to executive director Tom Chuckas, is not to ban the substance's use in all racing horses but to prevent it being in horses' system at race time.

The new regulations will apply to Thoroughbreds only.

Representatives of both the Pennsylvania Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association and Pennsylvania HBPA expressed support for the new measures, as did the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association.

Samuel Beegle, president of the Pennsylvania Harness Horsemen's Association, sounded less enthusiastic.

“I think you're digging a hole for yourself,” was Beegle's only comment to the commission prior to the vote.

Clenbuterol, commonly known by its trade name of Ventipulmin syrup, is an effective treatment for common respiratory ailments in the horse but can also have anabolic steroid-like effects.

Also at Tuesday's meeting, Chuckas revealed that barn searches had resumed at Parx after being significantly reduced during COVID-19, and produced some disturbing results during a series of raids last weekend.

“We did six total barn searches, six tack room searches,” he said. “In addition to that, we looked at five grooms' quarters and five external tack rooms. We did 66 out-of-competition tests. In our enforcement action, I can say without getting into too much detail, a significant amount of contraband was discovered dealing with medications, either unlabeled, compounded, or expired.

“I regret to say that there were contraband items that have no business on the backside, like needles and syringes and some other things that we discovered. Be advised, many of these carry an active investigation … so I'm somewhat confined in what I can share. The fact of the matter is Parx is the first step in this process … moving forward I think it's fair to say the other tracks will receive the same enforcement action.”

There were 25 scratches from Tuesday's card at Parx, including nine stewards' scratches, though it remains clear if those are connected to the results of the raids, which Thoroughbred Daily News reports took place over the weekend. Trainer Richard Vega saw all three of his entries scratched by stewards. Vega trains horses for Dun Roamin Farm, which is the nom de course for Pennsylvania Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association president Sal DeBunda. DeBunda was the only commissioner not appearing on the meeting Tuesday.

According to laws passed in 2015, Thoroughbred horsemen and breeders' representatives on the commission hold veto power on the hiring of a director, adoption of regulations including medication rules, and approval or denial of licenses to operate race meetings.

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