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Parx Hall Of Fame Trainer Vega Summarily Suspended After Loaded Syringes Found In Barn

Owner/trainer Ricardo Vega, who trains as Richard Vega Racing Stable, has been summarily suspended after multiple loaded needles and syringes were found in his tack room at Parx. The items were discovered as part of a large-scale raid at the facility last week.

The Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission issued the summary suspension on May 24, following the raid. The next day, three of Vega's horses were stewards' scratches from the May 25 race card at Parx. A board of stewards hearing was held on May 27, where officials voted to uphold the summary suspension issued earlier in the week.

The summary suspension cited two violations of state code — one that prohibits the possession of hypodermic needles, syringes, or injectable substances by non-veterinarians, and another that states “a licensee shall not, alone or in concert with another person, engage in inappropriate, illegal or unethical conduct which violates the Commission's rules and regulations of racing, is inconsistent with the best interests and integrity of racing or otherwise undermines the general public's faith public perception and confidence in the racing industry.”

Vega is denied access to the grounds of Pennsylvania commission-sanctioned tracks in both his capacity as an owner and as a trainer. The May 27 decision to uphold the summary suspension is subject to appeal. Attorney Alan Pincus, who represents Vega, did not respond to calls for comment.

Vega is a member of the Parx Hall of Fame and has trained winners of over 1,100 races to earnings of more than $19.5 million. He took out his trainer's license in 1992 after starting in the business as a hotwalker in Florida in the 1980s and working as an assistant to Al Hinson. He is a graded stakes-placed trainer and is the conditioner of Dulce Realidad, Philadelphia Park's Horse of the Year and Champion Three-Year-Old Filly in 2008 and 1999 Philadelphia Park Claiming Horse of the Year Open Ice Hit. Among other clients, Vega has trained horses for Dun Roamin Farm, the nom de course for Pennsylvania Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association president Sal DeBunda, who represents the THA as a member of the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission.

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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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Search Me? Penn National Assistant Starter’s License Revoked

Stewards at Penn National in Grantville, Pa., have revoked the license of an assistant starter who refused to allow himself or his car to be searched after the Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission said it “executed a search of all Penn National starting gate crew members after receiving intelligence that an assistant starter was providing electrical devices to jockeys.”

The assistant starter, Douglas A. Dietrich, was summarily suspended on Jan. 21, one day after he refused to allow a search, according to the ruling. On Jan. 22, following an emergency hearing and “after considering all testimony and evidence,” the occupational license of Dietrich was revoked.

Stewards found that Dietrich violated 7 PA. Code Section 181.18, 185.1 (c), 185.2, 185.12, 305.32, 305.33, 179.22 and 179.23.

— SECTION 181.18. Search within track premises.

— SECTION 185.1 ( c). General Provisions (c) By acceptance of a license, a licensee consents to search and inspection by the Commission or its agents of the licensee's person, personal property and areas under the licensee's possession, care or control. The licensee explicitly consents to the seizure of any prohibited medication, drugs, paraphernalia or other illegal devices or contraband in accordance with State and Federal law and with the applicable provisions of the act.

— SECTION 185.12. Grounds for refusal, denial, suspension or revocation of license.

— SECTION 185.2. Conduct of licensee. A licensee shall not, alone or in concert with another person, engage in inappropriate, illegal or unethical conduct which violates the Commission's rules and regulations of racing, is inconsistent with the best interests and integrity of racing or otherwise undermines the general public's faith, public perception and confidence in the racing industry.

— SECTION 305.32. Power of the Stewards.

— SECTION 305.33. Disciplinary action.

— SECTION 179.22. General Power of the Judges and Stewards.

— SECTION 179.23. Jurisdiction of Judges and Stewards.

The ruling stated that Dietrich is denied access to all grounds under the jurisdiction of the commission. He has 10 days to appeal the license revocation.

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