Diodoro Resurfaces At Lone Star Park

High-profile trainer Robertino Diodoro, who is serving a provisional suspension from the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) after the banned substance levothyroxine was found in his barn at Oaklawn Park, has entered a horse for the April 18 card at Lone Star Park. On opening night, he has entered Master of Disguise (Mastery) in a maiden special weight race with a purse of $33,000.

Diodoro is eligible to race in Texas because the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) does not have jurisdiction in that state.

Diodoro did not return a phone call from the TDN, but it appears that he will be busy at the Lone Star meet, which concludes on July 14. Diodoro has been allotted 50 stalls, which appears to be the maximum amount allowed by the track's racing department. He has not started a horse since April 3 at Turf Paradise. He was able to run in Arizona after his suspension was announced because the horses had been entered before Diodoro was notified of the violation

Diodoro was provisionally suspended by HIWU on March 29. Though he has been summarily suspended the case must still be reviewed by HIWU's Internal Adjunction Panel. Diodoro also has the option of trying to contest the suspension in court.

Levothyroxine is a thyroid medication. According to the National Library of Medicine the use of thyroid hormones for doping to enhance performance in human sports has long been controversial. There have been claims of abuse of these drugs, but they have not been prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

The Texas Racing Commission interpreted its state racing rules and concluded that only the racing commission can legally oversee racing in the state and therefore would not allow HISA to come into Texas. Because they are not under HISA's jurisdiction, Lone Star Park and Sam Houston cannot send their simulcast signal out of state.

Diodoro was the leading trainer in 2023 at Oaklawn Park and is currently still in second place in this year's Oaklawn standings. Training since 1995, Diodoro has 3,184 career wins and a winning rate of 21 percent.

A similar scenario is playing out in Louisiana, where trainer Jonathan Wong has begun racing. Wong received a two-year suspension from HIWU after he had a horse test positive for Metformin, a drug that is commonly used by humans to combat type 2 diabetes. Like Texas, Louisiana racing is not under HISA's control. Wong has started eight horses in Louisiana with no winners. He has four horses entered at Evangeline Downs next week and another Saturday night.

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HIWU Hits Diodoro With Provisional Suspension

Top trainer Robertino Diodoro has been provisionally suspended by the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) after he was allegedly found to possess the banned substance Levothyroxine.

Levothyroxine is a thyroid medication. According to the National Library of Medicine the use of thyroid hormones for doping to enhance performance in human sports has long been controversial. There have been claims of abuse of these drugs, but they have not been prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Diodoro declined to comment and referred questions to his lawyer, John Holleman. At deadline for this story, Holleman had not returned a phone call from the TDN seeking comment.

Horses that were entered by Diodoro before he was notified of the suspension are being allowed to run, but he will not be allowed to enter horses thereafter. Diodoro will not be allowed to saddle those horses or visit the paddock.

Diodoro's upcoming entries include the GII Fantasy S. at Oaklawn, a prep for the GI Kentucky Oaks. His stable will send out longshot Midshipman's Dance (Midshipman).

In the cases where a horse tests positive for a banned medication, HIWU has put off enforcing the suspension until the results of the B sample have been returned. But since Diodoro's suspension does not involve a failed drug test, his suspension will go into effect after his horses that have already been entered have run.

According to the HIWU website investigators found the drug to be in Diodoro's possession on March 13. The notice of his suspension was posted to the HIWU website Friday. HIWU spokesperson Alexa Ravit said she could not disclose why HIWU investigators undertook a search that allegedly led to the finding of the drug.

Diodoro faces a suspension of up to two years.

Diodoro was the leading trainer in 2023 at Oaklawn Park and is currently in second in this year's Oaklawn standings. Training since 1995, Diodoro has 3,184 career wins and a winning rate of 21 percent.

Diodoro was suspended for the first 15 days of the current Oaklawn meet after a horse he ran at the 2022-2023 meet had a carbon dioxide (TCO2) finding above the permitted limit.

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Weekly Stewards and Commissions Rulings, Jan. 16-22

Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country.

Among this week's rulings, trainer Daniel Kenney has been banned18 months and fined $12,500 for possession of the thyroid drug, Levothyroxine, which HISA has listed a banned substance. Kenney's ban began on Oct. 5, 2023.

In a brief explainer on the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit's (HIWU) website, HIWU Investigators allegedly found the Levothyroxine—otherwise known as Thyro-L—in one of Kenney's tack rooms at Arapahoe Park in Aurora, Colorado on Aug. 25, 2023.

The case was resolved without a hearing after Kenney admitted to the possession error, according to HIWU.

In a curious chain of developments, possible sanctions have been issued against trainer Joel Gonzales, after the horse Desert Danger returned a Phenylbutazone (bute) overage, from a sample dated Dec. 6, 2023.

Originally, charges were filed against Patricio Venzor, who is listed as Desert Danger's owner on Equibase. The charges were recently withdrawn against Venzor, though there's currently no explainer on the withdrawal of the charges on the HIWU website.

On Jan. 22 this year, HIWU filed new charges for Desert Danger's Phenylbutazone overage against trainer Joel Gonzales. On Equibase, Desert Danger's trainer is listed as trainer Andres Gonzalez.

When asked about these developments, a HIWU spokesperson wrote in an email that Venzor was listed in the HISA portal as the horse's “Responsible Person” at the time of the phenylbutazone positive.

“Following the service of the Charge letter, HIWU was able to get in touch with all the relevant parties in this case and determined that Joel Gonzalez was the appropriate Responsible Person. There was no intention to specifically pursue a violation against Desert Danger's owner, which remains Venzor,” the HIWU spokesperson wrote.

The spokesperson added that “it is the responsibility of the owner and/or trainer connected with a Covered Horse to ensure that the information associated with the horse is up to date in the HISA portal. In this vein, Covered Persons must contact HIWU as soon as possible should they receive a Notice or Charge that they believe was sent in error.”

NEW HISA/HIWU STEWARDS RULINGS

The following rulings were reported on HISA's “rulings” portal and through the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit's (HIWU) “pending” and “resolved” cases portals.

Resolved ADMC Violations

Date: 12/27/2023

Licensee: John Kimmel, trainer

Penalty: A fine of $3,000; imposition of 3 Penalty Points. Admission.

Explainer: A possible violation of Rule 3314—Use or Attempted Use of a Controlled Medication Substance or a Controlled Medication Method—on the horse, Im Just Kiddin. This was also a possible violation of Rule 4222—Intra-Articular Injections Within Seven (7) Days of Timed and Reported Workout.

Date: 12/06/2023

Licensee: Gerald Brooks, trainer

Penalty: Disqualification of Covered Horse's Race results, including forfeiture of all purses and other compensation, prizes, trophies, points, and rankings and repayment or surrender (as applicable); a fine of $500; imposition of 1.5 Penalty Points. Admission.

Explainer: For the presence of Phenylbutazone—Controlled Medication (Class C)—in a sample taken from Jareth, who won at Turfway Park on 12/06/23. This was a possible violation of Rule 3312—Presence of Controlled Medication Substance and/or its Metabolites or Markers (Post-Race/Vets' List).

Date: 08/25/2023

Licensee: Daniel Kenney, trainer

Penalty: 18-month period of Ineligibility, beginning on October 5, 2023; a fine of $12,500. Admission.

Explainer: For the possible possession of Levothyroxine (Thyro-L). This was a possible violation of Rule 3214(a)–Possession of Banned Substances.

Pending ADMC Violations

Date: 01/05/2024

Licensee: Carlos Gonzalez, trainer

Penalty: Pending

Alleged violation: Pre-workout intra-articular injection violation

Explainer: A possible violation of Rule 3314—Use or Attempted Use of a Controlled Medication Substance or a Controlled Medication Method—on the horse, Suertuda. This is also a possible violation of Rule 4222—Intra-Articular Injections Within Seven (7) Days of Timed and Reported Workout.

Date: 11/09/2023

Licensee: George Weaver, trainer

Penalty: Pending

Alleged violation: Medication violation

Explainer: For the presence of Dantrolene—Controlled Medication (Class C)—in a sample taken from Typhoon Fury, who won at Aqueduct on 11/09/23. This is a possible violation of Rule 3312—Presence of Controlled Medication Substance and/or its Metabolites or Markers (Post-Race/Vets' List).

Date: 12/24/2023

Licensee: David Geofroy (listed as the horse's owner on Equibase)

Penalty: Pending

Alleged violation: Medication violation

Explainer: For the presence of 5-Hydroxy Dantrolene—Controlled Medication (Class C)—in a sample taken from Typhoon Fury. This is a possible violation of Rule 3312—Presence of Controlled Medication Substance and/or its Metabolites or Markers (Post-Race/Vets' List).

Date: 12/09/2023

Licensee: Salvador Naranjo, trainer

Penalty: Pending

Alleged Violation: Medication violation

Explainer: For the potential breach of Rule 4221—Alkalinization or use/administration of an Alkalinizing Agent (TCO2)—on Fever, who finished fifth at Los Alamitos on 12/9/2023. This is also a possible violation of Rule 3313—Use of a Controlled Method During the Race Period.

Date: 12/06/2023

Licensee: Joel Gonzales, trainer (Desert Danger's trainer is listed on Equibase as Andres Gonzalez)

Penalty: Pending

Alleged violation: Medication violation

Explainer: For the presence of Phenylbutazone—Controlled Medication (Class C)—in a sample taken from Desert Danger. This was a possible violation of Rule 3312—Presence of Controlled Medication Substance and/or its Metabolites or Markers (Post-Race/Vets' List).

Violations of Crop Rule

One important note: HISA's whip use limit is restricted to six strikes during a race.

Santa Anita

Santiago Gonzalez – violation date Jan 20; $250 fine and one-day suspension, 7 strikes

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HIWU Suspends Trainer Jeffrey Poole For 22 Months

After a hearing before an arbitral body, trainer Jeffrey Poole has been hit with a 22-month suspension by the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) after it was alleged that Poole possessed the banned substance Levothyroxine. He was also fined $10,000 and ordered to make a payment of $8,000 to cover arbitration costs.

Poole did not have a horse test positive for the substance.

Levothyroxine, commonly known by the trade name Thyro-L, is a synthetic version of the naturally-occurring hormone thyroxine.

Thyroxine is produced by the thyroid and works with the brain to control metabolism. It can be prescribed to older horses to correct hypothyroidism, a condition in which the thyroid is underactive and the horse has an unusually slow metabolism. However, its use has raised concerns about potential risks that may come with artificially boosting the metabolism of a horse who doesn't need it and its use has been banned in some jurisdictions. Thyroxine overuse in racehorses was in the news in 2013 when the California Horse Racing Board launched an investigation into the sudden deaths of seven horses trained by Bob Baffert. Baffert told investigators at the time that he had horses in his care on thyroxine.

Once Poole was found to be in possession of the substance on June 2, he was provisionally banned by HIWU. His suspension was the first handed down by HIWU since it took over drug testing and the enforcement of penalties and suspensions on May 22. Poole's case is also the first to go through the arbitration process. Cases involving Anti-Doping Rules violations cases are heard by an Arbitral Body known as JAMS. Founded in 1979, JAMS describes itself as “the world's largest private alternative dispute resolution (ADR) provider.”

Trainers who have been charged with violations on the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority's list of banned substances face suspensions of up to two years. The 22-month suspension is the longest suspension handed out by HISA/HIWU thus far.

According to Equibase, Poole has been training off and on since 1989. He is 50-for-459 during his career and 3-for-41 in 2023. According to the Jockey Club's Thoroughbred Regulatory Ruling's website, Poole has no prior suspensions or fines on his record.

When reached by the TDN Poole declined to comment. At deadline for this story, his attorney Brad Beilly had not returned a hone calling seeking a comment.

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