Quarter Horse Racing Authorities Voice Concern About ‘Alarming Increase’ In Ephedrine Use, Continuing Hair Testing Program

The following press release was distributed Jan. 24 by the Oklahoma Quarter Horse Racing Association:

It remains the goal of Remington Park and the Oklahoma Quarter Horse Racing Association to provide a race meet of the highest quality and free of any horse racing practices that are corrupt, dishonest, or unprincipled.

Requiring every horse to provide a negative hair test prior to entry not only gives confidence to every owner and fan that the track and horsemen are making every effort to ensure horses are not competing unfairly with an advantage from prohibited substances, but it also protects the welfare of the equine athletes.

The program has proven to be successful. In the previous four years, over 11,000 tests have been collected as a pre-entry requirement. Excluding horses that have been administered a prohibited substance from racing at Remington Park means they are not competing with an unfair advantage; they are not putting the lives of riders at risk, and they are not winning purse money unfairly.

The post-race positives in blood and urine have fallen from thirty-three (33) Class 1 violations at Remington Park in 2017 to only one (1) Class 1 violation in 2021. While hair testing is a great tool, it works best in conjunction with a robust post-race and out of competition testing program. We believe that Oklahoma remains a leader in racing integrity.

Remington Park, OQHRA and participating horsemen have been at the forefront of integrity efforts investing over $3 million in hair testing and out of competition testing to ensure the safety of the horse and fairness for bettors in Oklahoma. Nearly $60 million in purse money has been paid during this time. Stopping horses with an unfair advantage prior to racing means that purse money is awarded to rightful recipients without delays and possible lengthy litigation.

As we move forward, we realize that we must continue to identify substances that are being abused as well as continue to evolve the testing mechanism so that we can better detect prohibited substances. In working with industry leaders in Oklahoma and other states we are very encouraged that Industrial Laboratories can now identify additional prohibited substances in hair. These drugs are and have been prohibited substances for several years.

One substance that has emerged as an abused prohibited substance is ephedrine. We have seen an alarming increase in horses with heart issues and began studying heart rates in horses' pre-race and post-race, which revealed a major welfare issue. Ephedrine is a prohibited substance that has no therapeutic value, is not FDA-approved and should not be used.
In 2022, we will be enforcing positive hair samples on any drug that is prohibited and detected in hair.

Industrial has been instrumental in testing and researching new and existing prohibited substances and we appreciate their cooperation to continue to find ways to protect the integrity of the industry and the welfare of the horse. Remington Park and OQHRA will continue to work with the horsemen, industry leaders and testing laboratories to raise the standard and that “what we already know” is not good enough. The people that continue to find new ways to cheat the system must also know that the resolve for the fairness and safety of our sport will not rest.

For more information on the hair testing requirements or to schedule your horse for testing please visit
https://www.oqhra.com/…/2022-remington-park-hair-testing/ or call (405) 881-5120.

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Gulfstream Park Suspends Five Trainers For Violating Clenbuterol Policy

Gulfstream Park has suspended five trainers for violating the Hallandale Beach, Fla., house rules concerning use of the bronchodilator clenbuterol. The track announced the suspensions after conducting out-of-competition tests, using both blood and hair samples, in 10 different barns – with five of the 10 trainers returning clean tests. A total of 12 horses from the five suspended trainers tested positive for the drug that is designed to treat airway obstruction but can have anabolic steroidal effects.

Suspended were Georgina Baxter, Rohan Crichton, Daniel Pita, Peter Walder and Gilberto Zerpa. The suspensions range from 10 to 40 days depending on the number of violations a trainer and went into effect Oct. 1. Gulfstream did not identify the length of each trainer's suspension. The trainers also have been fined $1,000 per violation, with the money going directly to support Thoroughbred aftercare initiatives.

Gulfstream Park enacted the restriction on clenbuterol as a house rule at the beginning of the 2019/2020 championship meet to further address and implement improved safety, transparency and accountability standards.

“As we have said before, individuals who do not embrace the rules and safety measures that put horse and rider safety above all else will have no place at any 1/ST racetrack,” said Aidan Butler, chief operating officer, 1/ST Racing, which owns Gulfstream Park, Santa Anita, Pimlico, Laurel Park, and Golden Gate Fields.  “At 1/ST we are committed to achieving the highest standard of horse care and safety. We expect that the stakeholders who race and train at our facilities share in that commitment.”

Horses entered by the suspended trainers will be scratched and they will not be permitted to enter any horse they train for any race at 1/ST Racing venues until the completion of the suspension.

On Oct. 1, six horses were listed as stewards scratches, including three trained by Crichton, two by Baxter, and one by Walder.

To return to racing, the horses must also submit to follow up testing and have clean blood and urine samples. The twelve affected horses will be permitted to train as a part of their daily care and exercise routines.

Because of the absence of a racing commission and deregulation imposed by former Gov. Rick Scott, many of the rules that govern Florida racing are done by the racetracks in the way of house rules. It isn't clear if suspensions resulting from violation of house rules are automatically recognized by other racing states. Gulfstream Park did not indicate whether a suspended trainer's horses (those that did not test positive) would be allowed to race under the name of another trainer during the period of suspension.

Additional barns have been tested, with results pending.

Click here for the current Gulfstream Park Condition Book Rules.

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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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The Friday Show Presented By Uptowncharlybrown Stud: FAQs From Readers

Google Analytics confirms something we already knew. May has been a very busy month for horse racing news. With a few days remaining until we turn the calendar page, the Paulick Report has had over 600,000 unique visitors and 1.1 million user sessions since May 1.

Many of those readers have questions.

Such as … “Why haven't you reported on the status of the split sample from Medina Spirit's post-race test from the Kentucky Derby?”  “Why isn't everyone doing hair testing? And our all-time favorite: “Why do you only report negative news?”

Paulick Report editor-in-chief Natalie Voss and publisher Ray Paulick run through some of the most frequently asked questions about how and why we report what we do (and sometimes what we don't or can't).

Joe Nevills then joins Paulick to talk about the Wisconsin connections behind our Star of the Week.

Watch this week's show, presented by Uptowncharlybrown Stud, below:

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