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Trainer John Ortiz Suspended 15 Days For Clenbuterol Positive At Ellis Park

Trainer John Alexander Ortiz has been issued a $500 fine and a 30-day suspension by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, with 15 days stayed, after his trainee Woopigsooie tested positive for clenbuterol at Ellis Park on July 2, 2020.

Woopigsooie finished third in that day's second race, and post-race testing showed a clenbuterol level of 236 picograms per milliliter in the urine, according to findings confirmed by the UIC Analytical Forensic Testing Laboratory.

Since this was Ortiz' first medication violation as a trainer, stewards stayed 15 of the 30 suspension days, pending he has no additional Class A or B medication violations over the next year.

Ortiz will serve his 15-day suspension from Dec. 20, 2020, through Jan. 3, 2021.

Woopigsooie, a 3-year-old son of Secret Circle, was disqualified from his third-place finish in the $16,000 claimer, and all purse money was forfeited.

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Kentucky Advances Clenbuterol Regulations; Turfway Switches Weekly Race Days

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) advanced a proposal Dec. 8 that will create a set of new regulations designed to curb clenbuterol’s off-label abuse as a lean muscle mass builder.

The move is part of a trend this year among North American racing jurisdictions aiming to eliminate clenbuterol’s misuse as a performance enhancer while putting in place restrictions that will still allow the drug to be prescribed for its intended purpose as a bronchodilator to treat airway disease.

The new Kentucky rules on clenbuterol will require 1) A specific diagnosis for its prescription that must be filed with the KHRC within 24 hours of dispensing the drug; 2) The horse to be placed of the veterinarian’s restricted list for 21 days; 3) Proof via blood and urine testing that the horse’s system is clear of clenbuterol prior to being removed from the list and allowed to compete.

The regulatory switch will align Kentucky with a clenbuterol model rule enacted by the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium on Aug. 24. The Kentucky Equine Drug Research Council (EDRC), which serves as an advisory board to the KHRC, advanced its approval of these new clenbuterol guidelines at a Dec. 1 meeting.

The existing clenbuterol standard in Kentucky is a withdrawal time of 14 days.

One commissioner argued to no avail against advancing the new set of clenbuterol rules prior to the remaining KHRC members passing the initiative by a voice vote.

That lone dissenter was Alan Leavitt, a decades-long Standardbred owner and breeder and member of the Harness Racing Museum Hall of Fame.

“This is a case of punishing harness racing for the sins of the Quarter Horse people and the Thoroughbred people,” Leavitt said prior to the vote. He lamented the practice of trainers of those breeds “hammering a horse with clenbuterol” to gain muscle-building akin to steroids that give a horse a performance advantage and claimed that it has been “documented in harness racing with no incidences of abusing it.”

Leavitt echoed an argument voiced last week by Andy Roberts, DVM, who represents Standardbred interests on the EDRC, that harness horses should be treated differently than Thoroughbreds when it comes to clenbuterol because of the near-weekly frequently that Standardbreds generally race.

“I’m opposed to this, and I wish the do-gooders would just leave us alone because we don’t abuse clenbuterol, and it’s very helpful to keep our horses very safe,” Leavitt said.

Commissioner Foster Northrop, DVM, whose practice primarily focuses on Thoroughbreds, disagreed with Leavitt’s logic while urging passage of the new regulations.

“Any drug out there that has an ability to be misused and overused and to give a benefit that the drug wasn’t originally meant for needs stricter guidance than what we have now presently on clenbuterol,” Northrop said.

“The Quarter Horse crowd showed how easily it could be abused. And I know in the sales rings it’s being abused and in racing it’s being abused,” Northrop continued. “I can’t speak on the Standardbred side of it, but any drug like this…certain factions of people will find a way to abuse it.”

“We typically use it for horses that bleed,” Northrop said. “Horses that bleed automatically need a minimum of 21 days off. And this is when this product is very effective. We’re not putting the trainers in jail for using it the way it was meant to be used…. Everybody wants a level playing field. I think this rule is going to move us closer to having a more level field for all participants, and I’m [on the backstretch] every day of my life.

Commissioner Kenneth Jackson, an attorney specializing in equine law who represents harness racing interests in connection with the Kentucky Standardbred Development Fund and Kentucky Standardbred Breeders’ Incentive Fund, also urged for the KHRC to pass the new regulations.

“We’ve got to try to clean up what’s out there. We’ve got to try to get some consistency in the way we look at these animals. And I believe that this is not an issue that impacts the masses that would detrimentally affect the Standardbreds,” Jackson said.

On Jan. 1, the California Horse Racing Board enacted a clenbuterol rule that requires a prescription for appropriate usage plus a stint on the vet’s list until the drug clears.

On May 1, the Canadian Pari-Mutuel Agency started banning clenbuterol 28 days out from race day at tracks country-wide. On Oct. 22, the Maryland Racing Commission advanced a rule proposal similar to California’s, and the New York State Gaming Commission did the same Nov. 30.

In addition, more restrictive clenbuterol “house rules” are in effect at Gulfstream Park and soon will be during the Oaklawn Park race meet.

New Schedule at Turfway

A Friday-through-Sunday schedule is out at Turfway Park for the winter/spring 2021 meet that runs from January through March, replaced by a new Thursday-through-Saturday weekly slate.

The KHRC unanimously approved the calendar amendment during Tuesday’s meeting, which does not change the initially granted number of 39 dates. In the KHRC meeting packet for this agenda item, the reason Turfway cited for the change was “a temporary hold on its 2021 construction schedule.”

Churchill Downs, Inc., the gaming corporation that owns Turfway, had announced back on Oct. 29 that it was stopping construction on Turfway’s planned new grandstand and historical horse racing (HHR) gaming facility until the state of Kentucky clears up the ambiguity surrounding the apparent illegality of HHR, which contributes tens of millions of dollars annually to purses in the state.

The old grandstand has already been torn down and Turfway will be conducting a no-spectator meet with temporary structures for racing officials. No Turfway executives elaborated on the stalled construction during Tuesday’s meeting, nor did any commissioners address that topic.

Post time will be 6:15 p.m. nightly. A Wednesday, Jan. 6, program is an exception to the new calendar, and Turfway retains the right to run “optional” dates on other Wednesdays (it had previously been granted optional Thursdays).

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Fatal Injury Mars Opening Night Of Tapeta Era At Turfway Park

Turfway Park in Florence, Ky., ushered in a new era on Tuesday with the opening night of its first race meet since the installation of the Tapeta Footings synthetic track, but a second-race incident showed that even the safest of surfaces cannot prevent all injuries or fatalities.

In that race, the 3-year-old gelding Dream High was pulled up by jockey Deshawn Parker midway down the backstretch of the 6 1/2-furlong sprint while trailing the field. The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission confirmed Wednesday morning that Dream High was euthanized because of the injuries he sustained.

“It was an open fracture and very serious,” said equine medical director Dr. Bruce Howard. The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission conducts necropsy reports on all racing fatalities.

Dream High was making his fourth start since debuting at Indiana Grand Sept. 24 for trainer Randy Klopp, who co-owned the Honor Code gelding with Spiess Stable LLC. He was carrying a $30,000 tag in the maiden claiming event. The gelding was coming off a second-place finish at Indiana Grand on Nov. 5 in a $25,000 maiden claiming event.

A $370,000 weanling purchase by Mayberry Farms at the 2017 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, Dream High was produced from the Unbridled's Song mare, Ecology, who was a non-winner in two starts as a 3-year-old. Dream High recorded six workouts for trainer Peter Eurton at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif., from Jan. 18-March 28, then surfaced at the Thoroughbred Center in Lexington, Ky., where he was credited with two workouts in late June and early July. He then was entered to sell at the July 13 Fasig-Tipton July Horses of Racing Age Sale but was bought back by his consignor for $10,000. He began working again in late July, recording five breezes at Indiana Grand prior to his Sept. 24 racing debut there. He has no recorded workouts since then, according to Equibase, the industry's official data base.

Churchill Downs Inc., which purchased Turfway Park in October 2019, invested $5.6 million to install Tapeta Footings – a mixture of silica sand, wax and fibers.– as a replacement for Polytrack, which has a similar composition. The latter was installed in 2005, when Turfway became the first North American track to race over synthetics since Remington Park in Oklahoma City, Okla., opened in 1988 with Equitrack, a sand and oil-based polymer surface. That track was removed after several years.

Tapeta is now in place at Presque Isle Downs in Pennsylvania (installed in 2007), Golden Gate Fields in Northern California (2007) and Woodbine in Ontario, Canada (2015). Tapeta Park in Tasmania, and British tracks Wolverhampton and Newcastle also have Tapeta surfaces, as do several major training centers.

The other remaining synthetic racetrack in North America is the Polytrack installed at Arlington Park in 2007. Keeneland, Del Mar and Santa Anita installed, and then removed, synthetic racing surfaces.

According to The Jockey Club's Equine Injury Database, which monitors and analyzes racing fatalities at North American tracks, the Tapeta surfaces at Presque Isle, Golden Gate and Woodbine have produced fewer fatalities per 1,000 starts, on average, than the aggregate of all tracks. Golden Gate, for example, had 0.64 deaths per thousand starts in 2019, compared to an overall North American fatality rate of 1.53. Woodbine had 1.32 per thousand for 2019. Presque Isle in 2018 (the most recent year available) had 0.34 deaths per thousand.

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21-Day Vet’s List Stint Recommended for Clenbuterol in KY

The Kentucky Equine Drug Research Council (EDRC), which serves as an advisory board to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC), advanced a Dec. 1 recommendation to that full board that would require any horse who receives clenbuterol to be restricted via the veterinarian’s list for 21 days and then test clear of that substance prior to being removed from the list and allowed to compete.

Kentucky’s current clenbuterol regulation requires a prescription that must be filed with the KHRC within 24 hours of dispensing the drug and a withdrawal time of 14 days, according to Bruce Howard, DVM, who serves as the equine medical director for the KHRC.

Howard explained prior to the vote that the switch would align Kentucky with a clenbuterol model rule enacted by the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium on Aug. 24.

Within the past year, a number of racing jurisdictions have tightened clenbuterol restrictions based on evidence showing the medication has been widely abused for its repartitioning effect that promotes lean muscle mass. Originally, clenbuterol was developed and is still prescribed as a potent bronchodilator that effectively treats respiratory issues.

On Jan. 1, the California Horse Racing Board enacted a clenbuterol rule that requires a prescription for appropriate usage plus a stint on the vet’s list until the drug clears. On May 1, the Canadian Pari-Mutuel Agency started banning clenbuterol 28 days out from race day at tracks country-wide. On Oct. 22, the Maryland Racing Commission advanced a rule proposal similar to California’s, and the New York State Gaming Commission did the same Nov. 30.

In addition, more restrictive “house rules” will be in effect at Gulfstream Park and Oaklawn Park during their race meets, and racing commissions in Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey and Virginia are also expected to clamp down on clenbuterol abuse by changing or writing new regulations.

“The KHRC office has received concerns and comments from numerous trainers and owners who feel that clenbuterol is being misused,” Howard said. “They’re concerned that clenbuterol is being used for the anabolic-type [steroid] effect rather than the therapeutic effect prescribed. There have been instances where veterinary records show clenbuterol is being dispensed to numerous horses in a barn, and in some cases the entire stable.

“The KHRC staff would propose that horses being prescribed clenbuterol for medically therapeutic purposes be placed on the veterinarian’s list for 21 days, with blood and urine testing negative for clenbuterol required for being removed from the veterinarian’s list,” Howard continued.

The clenbuterol proposal was the only item on Tuesday’s EDRC agenda, and it drew little discussion among board members, who had already broached the subject during a September meeting.

However, Andy Roberts, DVM, who represents Standardbred interests on the EDRC, again voiced concerns he raised in September about the need to treat harness horses differently than Thoroughbreds when it comes to clenbuterol because of how frequently Standardbreds race.

“I don’t want to diminish the concerns about clenbuterol because I think that it’s not illegitimate to want to control its administration to legitimate therapeutic purposes,” Roberts said. “However, I think the Standardbreds are taking it really quite strongly in the shorts on this one, because our horses race almost every week. There’s almost no opportunity to put the horses on clenbuterol already.”

Roberts noted that several states have shorter withdrawal times for Standardbreds on clenbuterol, and he said that Kentucky’s current 14-day standard backed by out-of-competition (OOC) testing protocols should be enough to catch abusers. He added that recent OOC testing at The Red Mile did not result in any clenbuterol positives

“That’s because you’ve taken the drug out of my hands on a therapeutic basis,” Roberts added.

Howard disagreed that tightening clenbuterol further would be harmful to Standardbreds.

“If a horse is severely ill enough that you feel you need to prescribe this drug, we’re trying not to take this out of your hands for therapeutic purposes,” Howard said. “I think this is a compromise to try and get away from the anabolic effect but still leave it in the hands of the private veterinarians…. I think it’s the perception of this anabolic-type effect or repartitioning effect that is what’s got everyone up in arms. When trainers are looking for that type of effect, that’s where the misuse or abuse of this drug takes place.”

Roberts countered: “First of all, it’s not an anabolic effect. It’s a repartitioning effect. And I know that’s splitting hairs, but it is not the same. Second, that repartitioning effect [has been shown in published studies] to last 11 days. So [the repartitioning effect] is gone before the drug is gone.”

Roberts warned fellow EDRC members about the danger of recommending rules based largely upon speculation that wrongdoing is occurring, adding that he already believes Standardbred trainers are withholding legitimate clenbuterol administration out of fears of triggering a positive.

“People would rather leave horses sick and end up with pleuropneumonia than treat them with clenbuterol. That means we are over-regulating,” Roberts said.

The board briefly debated a suggestion to have different rules for each breed, but KHRC executive director Marc Guilfoil said that was not how the KHRC operates on issues like this one.

“No, this is an all-encompassing rule in Kentucky. One racing commission, [all] breeds. It would encompass the Standardbred horses the same as it would Thoroughbreds,” Guilfoil said.

The EDRC passed the measure by voice vote, with Roberts the lone dissenter.

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