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Victoria Don Dorrian Named Winner Of 2020 White Horse Award

A hero is a person who is admired for courage, outstanding achievements, and noble qualities. There are heroes throughout the horse racing industry and the Race Track Chaplaincy of America (RTCA) recognizes these selfless servants annually through its RTCA White Horse Awards. This year's honorees are as follows:

White Horse Award – The winner of this year's White Horse Award is Victoria Don Dorrian. On the morning of Sept. 28, 2019, a horse managed to get loose off the backside of Prairie Meadows Racetrack. The horse ran all over the immediate area, into parking lots of local restaurants, gas stations, hotels, etc. All the while Victoria was in a truck pursuing the horse.

Their greatest fear came true as the horse eventually made its way onto the eastbound I-80 interstate, running towards the oncoming traffic. Victoria eventually caught up to the horse in the westbound traffic lane, leapt out of the truck, jumped over a concrete median (never once looking at the traffic coming from behind her), waived the horse down, and eventually captured the horse.

“Victoria showed poise and dedication like all true horsemen in such a situation by being calm and ready to act,” said Jon Moss, Iowa HBPA Executive Director, “even in a dangerous situation. The Iowa HBPA who nominated her for the award are immensely proud of her actions and how it demonstrated that horsemen are dedicated to not only their own, but to everyone's horses at the track.”

To see Victoria's story, click here: 2020 RTCA White Horse Award Winner

Community Service Award – The winner of this year's RTCA Community Service Award is Erin Crady, Executive Director of the Thoroughbred Charities of America for her continual support to racetrack Chaplaincies nationwide and beyond.

RTCA Executive Director Dan Waits said: “TCA helps so many non-profit organizations in the thoroughbred industry to improve the lives of horses and those who take care of them. Erin has always been an advocate of the Chaplaincy and partners with our National office and several local Chaplaincies to get backstretch and farm employees the help they need. RTCA is privileged to honor her in this way.”

Due to COVID-19, the traditional White Horse Awards ceremony will not be possible, however, RTCA will be honoring this year's recipients through various channels of communications, including social media.

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Prairie Meadows Stewards Hand Down One-Year Ban To Trainer Robert Roe

Trainer Robert Roe has been banned from racing for one year and fined $1,000, reports the Thoroughbred Daily News. The ban was handed down by stewards at Prairie Meadows Racetrack after Roe admitted to accidentally spilling a banned substance into an equine feed supplement, and his trainee Candy My Boy subsequently tested positive.

The horse returned positive tests for active ingredients in a natural substance marketed as kratom after finishing second in races on Sept. 20 and Sept. 28. During a hearing on Oct. 22, Roe testified that he had purchased the substance for himself. He said he was aware he'd spilled the kratom into the joint supplement, but did not believe he'd spilled enough to affect the horse.

Candy My Boy was put on the vet's list for 180 days, and disqualified from both second-place finishes.

While not illegal in the United States, drugabuse.gov reports that kratom contains “compounds that can have psychotropic (mind-altering) effects (…) Kratom can cause effects similar to both opioids and stimulants (…) When kratom is taken in small amounts, users report increased energy, sociability, and alertness instead of sedation.”

Read more at the Thoroughbred Daily News.

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Iowa Trainer Testifies He ‘Accidentally Spilled’ Class 1 Substance Into Feed

A Prairie Meadows-based Thoroughbred who twice ran second within eight days while carrying a Class 1, Penalty A substance that humans consume to produce psychoactive effects has earned its trainer a one-year suspension and a $1,000 fine.

According to an Iowa Racing Commission ruling dated Oct. 23, trainer Robert Roe “did not dispute the findings, nor did he deny he has to be penalized” after the Sept. 20 and 28 blood and urine samples for Candy My Boy (Candy Ride {Arg}) both came back positive for the banned substances mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine, which have no acceptable allowable levels in a racehorse by Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI) standards.

Instead, Roe argued at an Oct. 22 stewards’ hearing that he legally purchased a substance marketed as kratom and took it for his own personal use, but inadvertently dropped some into a preparation that ended up in the feed of his $5,000 claimer.

“Mr. Roe testified it was a contamination when he accidentally spilled some into a joint supplement he feeds his horse,” the ruling states. “He did not think he had spilled enough into it that it would affect the horse. He did not speak with his personal veterinarian, nor the state veterinarian to get their opinion, nor did he throw out the contaminated joint supplement. During the hearing he acknowledged he should have just thrown the contaminated supplement out.”

According to the ruling, Roe testified that the substances are misclassified by the ARCI, and that kratom “should not be a Category 1, Penalty A.” It was not immediately clear whether Roe (3-2-1 from 17 starters in 2020) intends to appeal his suspension and fine.

According to the website drugabuse.gov, kratom is a tropical tree native to Southeast Asia, “with leaves that contain compounds that can have psychotropic (mind-altering) effects…. Kratom can cause effects similar to both opioids and stimulants…. When kratom is taken in small amounts, users report increased energy, sociability, and alertness instead of sedation.”

It is not illegal to possess kratom in the United States, but the Drug Enforcement Agency lists it as a “drug of concern” with potential for abuse in humans.

The most recent–and perhaps only other–known penalty for kratom in North American racing was in 2017 when the New York State Gaming Commission indefinitely suspended a harness owner/trainer/driver for racing four horses at Monticello Raceway on it (two won and another was second).

Candy My Boy, a 7-year-old gelding with a 6-for-47 lifetime record, was competing at the “non-winners in six months” level when he ran second at 16-1 and 7-1 odds in his two September races while positive for the substances.

The ARCI guidelines for a Penalty A are a minimum one-year suspension and a fine of $10,000 or 10% of total purse (greater of the two) absent mitigating circumstances. According to the ruling, the stewards are considering the positives in the two races to “be a single violation, as both tests occurred prior to notifying Mr. Roe.”

Candy My Boy has been ordered disqualified from Race 9 on Sept. 20 and from Race 1 on Sept. 28. Owner Brett Marceau has been stripped of the purse winnings, which will be redistributed.

The post Iowa Trainer Testifies He ‘Accidentally Spilled’ Class 1 Substance Into Feed appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Veteran Conditioner Jon Arnett Registers Career Win No. 2,000

Danny Stafford's Downtowner won a $15,000 claiming race Friday night at Prairie Meadows in Altoona, Iowa, giving veteran conditioner Jon Arnett career win No. 2,000.

Ridden by Leandro Goncalves, Downtowner was sent off the 9-5 favorite and won easily by 10 1/4 lengths.

Arnett has been training on the Midwest and Southwest circuits since 1979 and his 2,000th victory came with his 12,050th start. His best year came in 1979 when he scored 139 wins and his horses earned $1,620,045. Horses he's saddled have won $21.3 million during his career.

Arnett is the son of the late Bob E. Arnett, who also trained in the Midwest and Southwest and compiled 2,431 career victories before retiring in 2014.

Arnett has trained a number of stakes winners, including City Sage, who earned $315,006 for him, and Shock Hazard, a three-time stakes winner at Prairie Meadows.

Downtowner, win No. 2,000 for Jon Arnett, in the Prairie Meadows winner's circle

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