Rick Arthur | Horse Racing Free Tips

Report: Baffert Trainees Have The Highest Death Rate In California

A total of 74 horses in the care of trainer Bob Baffert have died since the year 2000, according to records compiled by the Washington Post and released in a lengthy article on Friday. When factoring in the number of races run, Baffert trainees have died at the highest rate of the 10 California trainers with the highest number of equine fatalities: 8.30 deaths per 1,000 starters.

(Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, banned from racing at tracks owned by the Stronach Group, including Santa Anita and Golden Gate Fields in California, has a rate of 6.25 deaths per 1,000 starts.)

Baffert faced regulatory scrutiny once for that high death rate, in 2013, when a seventh horse from his barn suddenly dropped dead for no apparent reason. Dr. Rick Arthur, the California Horse Racing Board's equine medical director, opened an official investigation into Baffert's operation.

Washington Post investigative reporter Gus Garcia-Roberts points out that around the time that Arthur was putting together the report on Baffert, a state legislator who formerly worked for Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC) board member Dennis Cardoza (who co-owned a horse trained by Baffert) had filed legislation to put a term limit on the equine medical director position that Arthur was holding.

Baffert is also a board member of the TOC, and his racing stable donated $1,000 to the TOC's political action committee the previous August.

Arthur eventually ruled that while Baffert was treating every horse in his stable with a thyroid medication without veterinary prescription, that was not the cause of the sudden deaths. Arthur's report delivered in November of 2013 indicates he found no explanation for the sudden deaths in Baffert's barn, and that while “something under his control is associated with these fatalities,” regulators cannot act without evidence of rule violations.

Two months after Arthur officially cleared Baffert, the legislation to limit his term died.

McAnally Runner Tests Positive For CBD

The Ron McAnally trained Roses and Candy has tested positive for 7-Carboxy-Cannabidiol, a metabolite of cannabidiol, after a win at Del Mar on Nov. 22 last year, according to a complaint filed by the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) Monday.

Because CBD is currently unclassified in California, a positive finding is by default a class 1, category A drug violation, requiring that the horse is disqualified and purse monies forfeited. Under CHRB rules, such a violation can also lead to a minimum one-year suspension or a maximum three-year suspension, with a maximum fine of $25,000 or 25% of the purse.

However, according to CHRB spokesperson Mike Marten, agency staff will recommend to the stewards that they treat the positive as a lower class 3 category B penalty. That's because the CHRB is in the process of making CBD a class 3, category B drug through a proposed rulemaking change.

A class 3 substance potentially requires the disqualification of the horse and the redistribution of the purse, along with a fine of no more than $10,000 and a minimum 30-day suspension for the first offense, absent mitigating circumstances.

According to McAnally's long-time assistant, Dan Landers, the finding is potentially a result of cross-contamination. When details of the positive emerged last year, Roses and Candy's jockey, Geovanni Franco, approached him to explain that he used CBD himself, Landers said.

“He came to me and he told me he'd used it on himself,” said Landers. “My best advice for him was to tell the investigator what he'd told me, which he did.”

Landers added: “We went upside down trying to find where this came from, and [Franco] was the only source that did say they'd used it, and that says a lot about him–he's an honest guy. I appreciated his honesty on that. He didn't have to say anything.”

Marten also pointed to the veteran trainer's fine regulatory record in California.

“McAnally has never had anything worse in his whole career than a class 4” drug positive in California, said Marten.

According to Landers, the barn's last positive in California was in 1996.

In 1994, McAnally was among five trainers whose horses tested positive for scopolamine. After a lengthy investigation, his fine was overturned, but the horse in question was disqualified and the purse money rescinded.

As CBD use in humans has sky-rocketed in recent years, the eyes of the regulatory world have turned to the inevitable spill-over into equine competition. Last December, the CHRB sent a notification to California-based trainers warning them of CDB use in horses and the possible consequences.

“My recommendation to the horsemen is do not use this product on a racehorse that is going to be subject to testing, which is basically all of them,” CHRB equine medical director Rick Arthur told the TDN at the time. “The risk is so out of proportion to the reward that it would be foolish to use this product on a racehorse.”

While derived from both marijuana and industrial hemp plants, CBD is non-intoxicating. Nevertheless, while CBD products are required to contain less than 0.3% THC, lack of regulatory oversight means that some CBD products contain much more THC than that. The ARCI designates a CBD product with more than 0.3% THC as a class 1, category A substance.

The purported benefits from CBD use in horses include treatment of inflammation, ulcers, laminitis, colic, and decreased anxiety. However, “None of these claims are substantiated with independent, peer reviewed research in the horse,” according to a Racing Medication & Testing Consortium (RMTC) cannabidiol bulletin from 2019.

Among some of the findings in published literature, CBD has been shown to help ameliorate the pain of osteoarthritis in dogs and ease anxiety in humans. One recent study out of Colorado found a potential correlation between CBD use in dogs and reduced seizure frequency.

Experts point to the wild west nature of the CBD market at present, however, with much variability in purity, strength, and safety of these products. A recent study out of Europe found that more than two-thirds of the 14 CBD products tested contained concentrations that differed by more than 10% from the label. As such, in its 2019 bulletin the RMTC offers no recommended withdrawal times.

McAnally, owner Deborah McAnally and Franco are scheduled to appear before the stewards at Santa Anita on May 22.

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Cal Trainers Warned Off CBD Use in Horses

The Cannabidiol (CBD) market is growing faster than a garden weed, and as the vast roots of this multi-billion dollar industry reach further into everyday life, it’s hardly surprising that the racing industry has had to take accommodating actions.

This can be evinced in a California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) notification sent to trainers Friday, warning that use of these CBD products can lead to a positive “for CBD and/or CBD metabolites in blood and urine,” and that, because CBD is currently unclassified in California, a positive would by default result in a class 1, category A drug violation.

“My recommendation to the horsemen is do not use this product on a racehorse that is going to be subject to testing, which is basically all of them,” CHRB equine medical director Rick Arthur told the TDN. “The risk is so out of proportion to the reward that it would be foolish to use this product on a racehorse.”

Under CHRB rules, a class 1, category A violation can lead to a minimum one-year suspension or a maximum three-year suspension. It can also result in a minimum fine of $10,000 or 10% of the gross purse, or a maximum fine of $25,000 or 25% of the purse.

The Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI) currently classifies CBD as a lower class 3 category B penalty. The CHRB will likely begin the process of updating the state’s rules to align with the ARCI’s CBD classification early next year, but because of California’s “very cumbersome administrative law process,” the formal adoption of those rules could take another year, Arthur warned.

Until then, a CBD positive will remain a class 1, class A penalty. Still, the stewards have the authority to “modify the penalty out of any sense of fairness,” Arthur said, pointing to language pertaining to “mitigating circumstances” in the rules.

“I suspect that the ARCI has a penalty category B is a [possible] mitigating circumstance,” he added. “But that’s not up to me, that’s up to the stewards.”

Arthur declined to comment if Friday’s notification was sent as a result of any recent CBD positive finding awaiting adjudication, but he added that up to this point in California, there has been no formal complaint filed for a positive finding of either CBD or Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the compound in cannabis that creates a psychoactive “high.”

“This has always surprised me because marijuana is commonly used on the backside,” Arthur said.

While derived from both marijuana and industrial hemp plants, CBD is not responsible for any psychoactive effect. Nevertheless, while CBD products are required to contain less than 0.3% THC, lack of regulatory oversight means that some CBD products contain much more THC than that. The ARCI designates a CBD product with more than 0.3% THC as a class 1, category A substance.

In terms of its potential performance enhancing effects–a loaded term with all sorts of broadly applicable connotations–the U.S. Equestrian Federation (USEF) Equine Drugs and Medications Rules prohibit CBD and CBD metabolites in competition.

“CBD, both natural and synthetic forms, are likely to affect the performance of a horse due to its reported anxiolytic effects,” the federation wrote last year. Anxiolytic effects are those related to anxiety and stress reduction. “This substance is no different than legitimate therapeutics that effect mentation and behavior in horses.”

According to Mary Scollay, RMTC executive director and chief operating officer, there are any number of studies currently underway, including on horses, digging down into what medical properties CBD actually has.

“As it stands right now, there is no scientific basis for use in the horse,” said Scollay. As the scientific literature continues to pour in, “we might have to revisit the classification,” she said, but added that she wouldn’t expect any such reclassification “to change much.”

Experts point to the wild west nature of the CBD market at present, with much variability in purity, strength, and safety of these products. A recent study out of Europe found that more than two-thirds of the 14 CBD products tested contained concentrations that differed by more than 10% from the label. As such, in its bulletin the RMTC offers no recommended withdrawal times.

“Bad guidance is worse than no guidance,” said Scollay.

The CHRB notification to trainers states how CBD and its metabolites can be detectable for 72-96 hours after ingestion by the horse, though it provides no indication of dose. According to Arthur, the 72-96 hour designation comes from a study that will be ready for publication early next year.

Arthur said that he is unaware of how widely used CBD products are on the backstretch. Scollay said that when she was working as Kentucky Horse Racing Commission equine medical director, CBD products were starting to become aggressively marketed,” and I was getting lots of calls, people were asking lots of questions about it.”

Scollay warned, too, of the increasing popularity of horse bedding made from hemp plants, and the residual risk of contamination.

“The question there is of the potential for exposure, and is that sufficient to generate a positive CBD test?” Scollay said. “I have heard that at least one project has indicated that that is the case.”

“The all-natural aspect of it, some people equate that to benign,” Scollay said, of CBD products in general, “and that’s not a logical leap.”

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Thyroxine In SoCal: Nearly 300 Scrips This Year, Over Half for Two Trainers

Despite an advisory designed to eliminate stable-wide usage of thyroxine that has been in effect since the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) investigated seven sudden deaths of horses trained by Bob Baffert in 2013 and found that all of them had been administered that drug “more as a supplement than a medication,” the use of thyroxine in Southern California remains astoundingly high.

In introducing a new rule proposal on Thursday to curb thyroxine use “to the point that it really will not be used any longer within CHRB facilities,” CHRB equine medical director Rick Arthur, DVM, revealed that between January and the first week of October this year, “veterinarians reporting to the official veterinarians on just the Southern California Thoroughbred circuit and their auxiliary training centers have reported 256 prescriptions for thyroxine between January 2020 and the first week of October.”

Arthur added that there have been 31 additional thyroxine prescriptions logged since that report was compiled a month ago, then tacked on this stunner: “Over half of the prescriptions are for just two trainers, and 80% of the thyroxine has been prescribed by just three veterinarians.”

Arthur did not name the trainers or veterinarians involved, nor did CHRB board members inquire as to who they were during the public portion of the Nov. 19 meeting.

“Hypothyroidism is rare in horses and especially so in young racehorses, to the extent that it’s virtually non-existent,” Arthur said.

“Nevertheless, thyroid hormones, primarily levo-thyroxine, are commonly prescribed,” Arthur continued. “Thyroxine has been associated with cardiac arrhythmias and atrial fibrillation in humans, and anecdotally similar cardiac arrhythmias and atrial fibrillation have been reported in horses. While we cannot assert a cause-and-effect relationship, one sudden death already in 2020 occurred five days after the horse was prescribed thyroxine.”

Arthur said that “the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) and Racing Medication and Testing Consortium (RMTC) issued a thyroxine advisory [in August], noting the practice of prescribing levothyroxine to racehorses has drawn scrutiny and raised questions about the legitimacy of its use in horses engaged in training and racing.”

Arthur also explained how “the New York Gaming Commission has already required a similar restriction at New York tracks [and] The Stronach Group has imposed similar restrictions at their Maryland and Florida tracks as a matter of policy.”

The CHRB proposal, which advanced to the 45-day public commentary period after a 7-0 vote, largely mirrors policies the above-mentioned jurisdictions have crafted.

According to the CHRB’s information packet for the thyroxine agenda item, “the adoption of Rule 1866.4 would require a TRH-response test to be performed be a Board-licensed veterinarian, a positive hypothyroidism test be obtained, and the positive result indicating hypothyroidism be submitted to the official veterinarian or equine medical director for review and approval of a thyroxine prescription.

“Following approval of the prescription, the thyroxine prescription cannot exceed 90 calendar days without further re-authorization from the official veterinarian or equine medical director, and a horse administered thyroxine is ineligible to start in a race for 30 calendar days of last administration.”

Back in 2013, the CHRB’s compilation of Sudden Death Reports stated that although “the blanket prescribing of thyroxine to all horses in Baffert’s barn does appear unusual” the cluster of seven sudden deaths of horses “remains unexplained [and] there is no evidence whatsoever CHRB rules or regulations have been violated or any illicit activity played a part.”

The investigation of those deaths did, however, led to the CHRB’s 2014 advisory that is still in effect requiring a specific diagnosis and other prescribing, reporting and labeling restrictions for thyroxine and any other thyroid hormones or analogs.

“This proposed regulation addresses an issue that’s frustrated me for almost the whole time I’ve been equine medical director,” Arthur said.

MMV Coming to CA

In other medication-related news, the CHRB Thursday voted 7-0 to adopt the Multiple Medication Violations (MMV) program used in other jurisdictions. It will establish a points system by which enhanced penalties are imposed, whereby the number of points assigned to a trainer depends on the class and number of violations committed.

The number of points accumulated determines the length of the suspension, and the class of violation determines the length of time before the points expire. The new MMV rule will go into effect once it is certified by the state’s Office of Administrative Law.

2021 NorCal Dates

Few people are looking to relive the pandemic-skewed racing season known as 2020. But to come up with a workable version of a 2021 Northern California calendar that satisfies most stakeholders, the CHRB voted 7-0 Thursday to try again with a template for next year that nearly matches the dates that were allotted–but not entirely run–this year.

Health-related cancellations during 2020 caused the Santa Rosa, Ferndale and Fresno meets to get transferred to Golden Gate Fields, while Pleasanton ran an extended meet that included Sacramento’s dates.

Back at the October meeting, the CHRB had assigned a Dec. 23, 2020-June 16, 2021 block to Golden Gate Fields, leaving the second half of 2021 dates in the region to be determined later.

Commissioners on Thursday recognized there is not much clarity involving how COVID-19 might impact the racing schedule seven months from now. After brief debate about tabling the region’s dates allotment because of all the unknowns, the board opted to move forward as if there will be no interruptions, with the backup plan of reconsidering each meet’s allotment at a later date if needed.

“We’ll put it in place so people can make plans as if it is going to be normal, and then adjust accordingly. That’s kind of how we all have to live our lives right now,” said commissioner Wendy Mitchell.

Prior to the vote, CHRB executive director Scott Chaney said that after conferring with stakeholders to try and craft a schedule, “The two real sort of bones of contention seem to be Santa Rosa preferring to [add in] a week earlier, which obviously would cut a week into Sacramento. And [also] if part of Ferndale should run overlapped with Golden Gate Fields.”

CHRB vice chair Oscar Gonzales said that to the first point, Santa Rosa officials have indicated that they are willing to compromise and race just two weeks as proposed, so long as for 2022, the CHRB will give Santa Rosa special consideration to host the three-week meet it prefers.

As for Ferndale, its desire not to have any overlapping dates with Golden Gate Fields wasn’t able to be completely worked out. The fair meet and the commercial track will go head-to-head during the second of Ferndale’s two-weeks, a setup that was last in effect in 2018. In 2019, the two venues had conflicting meets for the entire two-week period.

Based on those considerations, the CHRB ended up approving the following 2021 NorCal schedule (per custom, the calendar is allocated in blocks of dates, not actual race days):

Golden Gate Fields (GGF): Dec. 23, 2020-June 16, 2021

Pleasanton: June 16-July 13

Sacramento: July 14-Aug. 3

Santa Rosa: Aug. 4-17

Ferndale: Aug. 18-31

GGF: Aug. 25-Oct. 5

Fresno: Oct. 6-19

GGF: Oct. 20-Dec. 21

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