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Identifier, Owner And Trainer Issued Fines, Other Sanctions For New Mexico Horse Mix-Up

Over a year after the incident, the New Mexico Racing Commission has handed down sanctions in a case of horse misidentification during the 2020 Downs at Albuquerque meet, according to rulings posted on the Association of Racing Commissioners International website.

The horse identifier in the paddock at Albuquerque failed to catch the mix-up, as did the private veterinarian who treated the horse with furosemide on race-day. (Note: New Mexico still permits private veterinarians in the stalls for furosemide shots on race-day.)

For their roles in the mix-up, horse identifier Kenneth Mike LaRue was fined $5,000 and is unable to be licensed as a racing official in New Mexico; trainer Sherry Armstrong was fined $2,000 and suspended 15 days from Dec. 15-30; and owner Tom McKenna of Judge Lanier Racing was fined $2,000.

Previously owned by Judge Lanier Racing before being entered into a ThoroughbredAuctions.com dispersal sale, McCirca and McMissy are both bred by McKenna Thoroughbreds and sired by McKenna's Justice. Armstrong told the Paulick Report that the pair had been sent to her with nametags on their halters, apparently having been inadvertently swapped.

Armstrong sent out the filly she believed to be named McCirca for two races at Albuquerque on Aug. 22, 2020, and Sept. 16, 2020. Armstrong said she learned shortly after the Sept. 16 race that McCirca was actually another 4-year-old filly named McMissy.

One major difference between the two fillies: McCirca is a bay, while McMissy is chestnut.

The Judge Lanier Racing LLC Dispersal of Race Horses was held online Sept. 16, 2020, through Sept. 23, 2020.

McMissy, who was ordered disqualified from her sixth and last-place finishes in the Aug. 22 and Sept. 16 races, respectively, has since run twice for new owner Dylan Pyle and trainer Guadalupe Munoz, Jr. at Zia Park, on Nov. 4, 2020 and Dec. 22, 2020. The filly did not threaten in either race. Equibase does not list the starts in August and September on her past performances.

McCirca, now racing for owner/trainer Ruben Leyba, ran at Albuquerque on Aug. 29, 2021, finishing seventh in what was actually her first race since March 8, 2020. She raced again on Sept. 14, 2021, again finishing seventh, and again on Nov. 21, 2021, in which she lost her rider at the start and walked off the track.

Another New Mexico-based trainer, Justin Evans, was suspended 15 days and fined $5,000 for mixing up two horses from his stable entered in the same race at Albuquerque on Aug. 14, 2021. Evans criticized the equipment given to the horse identifier and the process used to confirm the identity of horses as they come into the paddock. The identifier received a $1,000 fine for the error involving the Evans horses.

“The thing the commission would like to see is all the racing officials that work in the state of New Mexico get some education on how to do their jobs right, and not be so lazy,” Izzy Trejo, executive director of the NMRC, told bloodhorse.com. “That's basically why these mistakes happen because people cut corners and they're lazy. I hate to be so blunt.”

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Another Case Of Mistaken Identity Alleged At Albuquerque

Two Thoroughbreds previously owned by Judge Lanier Racing apparently were inadvertently switched last year before a pair of races at the Downs at Albuquerque in New Mexico and the track's horse identifier failed to catch the error. One year later, their Equibase statistical data has not been corrected, though the New Mexico Racing Commission is now looking into the matter.

Trainer Sherry Armstrong sent out a filly she believed to be named McCirca for two races at Albuquerque on Aug. 22, 2020, and Sept. 16, 2020. Armstrong said she learned shortly after the Sept. 16 race that McCirca was actually another 4-year-old filly named McMissy, also owned by Judge Lanier Racing. Both were bred by McKenna Thoroughbreds and sired by McKenna's Justice.

One major difference between the two fillies: McCirca is a bay, while McMissy is chestnut.

Both horses were part of the Judge Lanier Racing LLC Dispersal of Race Horses held online Sept. 16, 2020, through Sept. 23, 2020, conducted by ThoroughbredAuctions.com. The stable, owned by Tom and Sandy McKenna and named after Tom's grandfather, Judge C.M. Lanier, has been a leading owner in New Mexico.

The auction company was alerted to the mixup and posted the following correction on McMissy's catalogue page: “IMPORTANT UPDATE: Due to a paddock identification error, McMissy ran 8/22/20 and 9/16/21 at The Downs at Albuquerque, not McCirca. McCirca was not at the racetrack on those dates and did not race.”[

A similar message was on McCirca's page.

“I basically had nothing to do with it,” Armstrong said. “Judge Lanier sent me horses with tags on their halters. I never saw the papers. I didn't know anything about it until they went to sell them and Sandy said, 'This is a big mess.'”

Armstrong said the filly she saddled did have a microchip for identification purposes but said “our identifier is not the best.” However, Armstrong admitted, “I know it's the trainer's ultimate responsibility.”

It wasn't just the trainer or Albuquerque's horse identifier who failed to properly identify the horse. The private veterinarian who treated the horse with furosemide on race-day apparently didn't check the ID, either. (Note: New Mexico still permits private veterinarians in the stalls for furosemide shots on race-day.)

McMissy ran twice at Zia Park after the mixup, but his past performance lines for the Nov. 4, 2020, and Dec. 22, 2020, races did not include the races from Albququerque that were credited to McCirca.

McCirca ran at Albuquerque on Aug. 29, 2021, and again on Sept. 14, 2021, in what was actually her first race since March 8, 2020. However, her past performance lines include the two races at Albuquerque that should have been credited to McMissy.

Izzy Trejo, executive director of the New Mexico Racing Commission, said he had only recently been alerted to the alleged mixup and that the commission will be examining video of the races and conducting interviews to determine whether proper protocols were followed. Don Cook, the general manager at the Downs at Albuquerque, told the Paulick Report he was unaware of the mistaken identities.

Another New Mexico-based trainer, Justin Evans, was suspended 15 days and fined $5,000 for mixing up two horses from his stable entered in the same race at Albuquerque on Aug. 14. Evans criticized the equipment given to the horse identifier and the process used to confirm the identity of horses as they come into the paddock. The identifier received a $1,000 fine for the error involving the Evans horses.

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Special Financing Program Offered For Judge Lanier Racing Online Dispersal

Tom and Sandy McKenna will offer an innovative financing package for 42 horses offered without reserve in their Judge Lanier Racing Complete Dispersal. The financing is a modified run-out agreement between the buyer and Judge Lanier Racing.

The McKennas created the “COVID-19 Financing” package to help owners and trainers buy horses in the current industry conditions.

Eligible horses must bring a final bid of $5,000 or more. The buyer will pay 20 percent down. The balance is paid on a “run out” basis from the winnings of the horse after purchase, divided 50-50 between buyer and seller until balance due is paid.

The auction will be an internet-only auction, with bidding opening Sept. 16, and closing Sept. 23 at ThoroughbredAuctions.com

Judge Lanier Racing Stables has been a perennial leading owner of race horses in New Mexico. Since 2005 the stable has had earnings of $9,380,211. Their 2019 earnings of $1,595,458 were the highest yet for the stable.

Prospective buyers will need to go to the auction website, and create an account. They will then need to request a bidder's number in order to bid. Please visit the website at ThoroughbredAuctions.com for more information or email info@thoroughbredauctions.com.

ThoroughbredAuctions.com leads the industry with twice as many horses cataloged and four times as many sold than all other online Thoroughbred Auctions in North America combined. The company just completed the largest online Thoroughbred Auction ever held in North America with 98 horses cataloged. That brings the total number of Thoroughbreds sold at ThoroughbredAuctions.com to 288 from 369 cataloged in seven auctions since February of 2019.

The ThoroughbredAuctions.com team produces North America's leading online auctions for horses. The management team pioneered internet auctions for horses and has produced more than 80 Internet Auctions since 2012 boasting a high seller of $226,000.

Owners Tim and Cathy Jennings are the industry's most experienced show horse auction managers. Their team managed more than 380 live horse auctions selling over 80,000 horses since 1978. Tim's previous firm, Professional Auction Services, was the largest show horse auction company in the world, by number of horses sold for 15 years.

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