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Turf Racing Set For Return At Gulfstream

Turf racing is to return to Gulfstream Park on Thursday, Dec. 1 after a 5 1/2-month absence at the Hallandale Beach, Fla. track.

Gulfstream's turf course and the turf training course at Palm Meadows near Boynton Beach were closed during the summer and fall while 1S/T Racing's Director of Turf Surfaces Leif Dickinson could renovate the surfaces.

Three turf races carded for Gulfstream's turf course on Thursday, Dec. 1, and an additional three are carded for Friday, Dec. 2.

“It appears that Gulfstream has hired the right man for this project,” Joe Orseno, president of the Florida Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, said in the group's November publication. “I walk the turf course regularly and the results are amazing. I hope the horsemen are pleased with the efforts that management has taken to try and give them the best possible turf course to run on.”

The Palm Meadows turf course reopened Nov. 3, with training hours Thursday through Sunday from 10-10:30 a.m. (ET).

To read FTHA's full article, click here.

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Fair Grounds Suspends Turf Racing Until Late December

Fair Grounds, which started its 2022-2023 meet Nov. 18, will not card any races on its Stall-Wilson Turf Course until late December at the earliest, Daily Racing Form reports.

This week, the New Orleans track scrapped plans to have limited racing on the outer portion of the turf course. Track officials said earlier this month the course had been adversely affected by weather-related factors—an extremely rainy period in July and August followed by unusually dry September and October and announced that some problems with the course led to Condition Book 1 revisions that shifted the majority of turf races to the main track.

On Wednesday, Fair Grounds sent a release to horsemen stating “turf racing will be suspended immediately,” the Form reports. Gary Palmisano, Executive Director of Racing for the track's parent company, Churchill Downs Inc., said Thursday morning the decision was made “to halt grass racing until late in December.” He said the course was being managed with the goal of returning it to full use later in the meet, which runs through March 26.

To read the full story at drf.com, click here.

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California Regulators To Continue Honoring Agreement With HISA Until Jan. 10

The California Horse Racing Board conducted a meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022, at Cal Expo in Sacramento. Chairman Gregory Ferraro chaired the meeting, joined by vice chair Oscar Gonzales and commissioners Damascus Castellanos and Brenda Washington Davis.

The audio of this entire Board meeting is available on the CHRB Website (www.chrb.ca.gov) under the Webcast link. In brief:

Various speakers addressed the current situation with the Horseracing Safety and Integrity Act/Authority (HISA), given a recent court decision that HISA is unconstitutional. The matter being in legal limbo has caused confusion in some racing jurisdictions, but deputy executive director Cynthia Alameda, consistent with the CHRB advisory issued Nov. 18, said that is not the case in California. “Unless and until a federal court makes a further decision on the case, the CHRB will continue to honor its agreement with HISA and enforce all federal rules,” she said. “The CHRB will continue to negotiate with HISA and its enforcement entity, Drug Free Sports International, on agreements for the upcoming 2023 calendar year, focusing on our shared principle of promoting safety in horse racing.”
The CHRB has been enforcing federal safety rules since their introduction on July 1, 2022, and will begin enforcing federal rules on medication and drug testing when they become effective, which is anticipated to be Jan. 1, 2023. CHRB general counsel Amanda Brown pointed out that unless HISA successfully maneuvers to reverse or delay the court decision, it will go into effect on Jan. 10, so the CHRB will be operating under federal rules for at least 10 days.

Dr. Jeff Blea, equine medical director, reported that even if the enforcement program reverts back to California rules after Jan. 10, the effect will be minimal in California because “HISA's safety program and medication rules are not that far different from where California is.” Dr. Blea said that when he attended a recent national conference, he was approached by other veterinarians with numerous questions about how the CHRB regulates medication and drug testing. He said they asked how they could make their programs safer and better in the same way as California.

As they did back in May to align California with federal rules governing safety in horse racing, the commissioners voted unanimously to enter into a voluntary agreement, this time to enforce HISA rules on medication and drug testing with an anticipated start date of Jan. 1.

Dr. Blea also reported on a pilot program currently under way at Los Alamitos Race Course to find a way to proactively identify any problems in the lumbar regions of approximately 20 horses involved in the program. “The issue is lumbar fractures in Quarter Horses,” he explained. The program uses ultrasound combined with physical examinations in an attempt to identify lesions that could lead to catastrophic injuries, He said Dr. Edward Allred, the owner of Los Alamitos, has paid for this program so far, but there will be a need for new funding sources going forward.
The Board approved an emergency amendment to Rule 1867, Prohibited Veterinary Practices, by clarifying that the use or possession of compounded medications is not a violation of Rule 1867 if done in the approved manner. Clarifying the regulation provides guidance to licensees and prevents misinterpretation by other regulatory agencies.
The Board renewed licenses for six companies to continue providing account wagering platforms in California (ADW). TVG, Twinspires, NYRAbets, Lien Games, Watchandwager.com, and Game Play Network (GPN) all received two-year licenses with the warning that their renewals in 2024 will require each of them except GPN to have in place procedures for customers to identify alternate selections in the event of scratches in wagers involving four or more legs (Pick 'n'). GPN does not offer any wagering of that type. The license for Xpressbet will be considered in December. Xpressbet is the one ADW company that already allows for alternate selections.
The Board approved various agreements between Santa Anita, Golden Gate Fields, and Los Alamitos with their horsemen's organizations authorizing racing secretaries to establish conditions on races pertaining to medications and procedures.
The Board approved the license for Los Alamitos Race Course to conduct a Thoroughbred race meet that will operate from Dec. 9-18. This daytime meet will run concurrently with the night Quarter Horse meet.
The Board also approved the license for the Quarter Horse meet at Los Alamitos that will operate from Dec. 31, 2022, through Dec. 17, 2023.
The Board approved the license for Pacific Racing Association to conduct a Thoroughbred race meet at Golden Gate Fields that will operate from Dec. 26, 2022, through June 11.
The Board approved the license for Los Angeles Turf Club to conduct a Thoroughbred race meet at Santa Anita Park that will operate from Dec. 26, 2022, through June 18. The license application was amended to allow for a non-racing day on Dec. 27 and a racing day on Jan. 2. Santa Anita will not race from April 10 through April 21, providing a break for horses and licensees in accordance with CHRB policy.
Representatives of the newly formed California Horse Power Coalition reported on the Coalition's mission to preserve and protect California's equestrian culture by bringing together equine industry leaders, workers, families and fans of the sport to illustrate its significant benefits. The Coalition may approach the CHRB at some time to request assistance in this effort, as well as bring potential policy recommendations to the board for consideration.
The Board approved distributions by four race-day charity organizations to named beneficiaries, specifically $14,249 by the Pacific Racing Association to nine beneficiaries, $82,134 by the Los Angeles Turf Club to 10 beneficiaries, $4,584 by the Los Alamitos Racing Association to four beneficiaries, and $5,083 by the Los Alamitos Quarter Horse Association to four beneficiaries.

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New Mexico: Trainer Aurelio Valdez Banned 16 Years, Fined $40,000 For Multiple Drug Violations

Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred trainer Aurelio Valdez has been suspended through Sept. 24, 2038, and fined a total of $40,000 by the New Mexico Racing Commission for a series of drug violations, according to rulings posted to the Association of Racing Commissioners International website on Tuesday.

Eight Valdez trainees which ran at the Downs at Albuquerque in August were found to have Guanabenz in their post-race blood samples. The Class 3, Penalty category B medication is used in humans to treat high blood pressure, but may have long-term sedative and analgesic effects in horses.

The ARCI explains the classification of Class B drugs as follows: “Drugs placed in this class may or may not have an accepted therapeutic use in the horse. Many are drugs that affect the cardiovascular, pulmonary and autonomic nervous systems. They all have the potential of affecting the performance of a racing horse.”

All eight horses were disqualified with purse earnings ordered returned and redistributed; each must pass a commission examination before becoming eligible to enter in another race. The eight horses are as follows:

Reining Pesos, winner of the second race on Aug. 13 (TB)
Oh Gollie, winner of the fifth race on Aug. 13 (QH)
Tobleronne, second-place finisher in the sixth race on Aug. 13 (QH)
Jes Charge N Go, winner of the seventh race on Aug. 13 (QH)
Mr Racy Perry, winner of the tenth race on Aug. 13 (QH)
Deputy's Echo, second-place finisher in the fourth race on Aug. 20 (TB)
El Tarasco 727, sixth-place finisher in the sixth race on Aug. 20 (TB)
Royal Queen, third in the first race on Aug. 26 (TB)

Prior to the aforementioned rulings, Valdez was already serving a suspension until April 9, 2023. The trainer's lifetime Thoroughbred record (2013, 2018-22) is 29-20-21 from 186 starts, with earnings of $578,553. Of that total, $207,895 was earned 2022.

Valdez' lifetime Quarter Horse record (2012-12, 2018-22) is 37-28-25 from 289 starts, with earnings of $722,712. Of that total, $321,756 was earned in 2022.

Valdez has accumulated 38 points under the multiple medication violation point system, extending his suspensions to a total of 16 years. He was also fined $5,000 for each incident, for a total of $40,000.

New Mexico Racing Commission executive director Izzy Trejo told bloodhorse.com he expects Valdez to appeal the penalties.

“It's such a shame that the game is played at such a low level that he's played it at here in New Mexico,” Trejo told bloodhorse.com, “and it's our job and duty to eradicate the industry of these kinds of people.”

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