Tag: The Biz

A Quarter Horse trainer in New Mexico has been suspended for one year and fined $10,000 after one of his trainees returned a positive test for the metabolites of the prescription ADHD medication Ritalin, a Class 1 drug violation.

Class 1 drugs have no generally accepted medical use in the racing horse and their pharmacologic potential for altering the performance of a racing horse is very high.

According to a ruling posted on the Association of Racing Commissioners International website, the New Mexico Horse Racing Commission suspended trainer Cervando Garcia-Solis from (retroactive from summary suspension) September 15, 2022, through September 14, 2023, inclusive.

Garcia-Solis accumulated “6” points in connection with this ruling for a total of “6” points under the multiple medication violation point system. Under the multiple medication violation point system, Garcia-Solis is suspended an additional penalty of 30 days (Sept. 15, 2023, through Oct. 15, 2023) pursuant to section 15.2.6.9 (O)(7) of NMAC.

Garcia-Solis is a multiple stakes-placed trainer with 22 wins from 298 starts in a career stretching back to 2010.

The ruling is in response to Garcia-Solis' trainee Confidential Dash, who won the seventh race, a maiden special weight, at the Downs at Albuquerque on Aug. 27, 2022. The 3-year-old had not finished better than fourth in five previous starts; for his Aug. 27 victory, Confidential Dash paid $27.80.

For his first five career starts, from Aug. 21, 2021, through June 24, 2022, Confidential Dash raced under the name of his breeder, Gregg Sanders, as trainer and co-owner. The Aug. 27, 2022-race was the gelding's first start for Garcia-Solis.

Industrial Laboratories reported findings of both methylphenidate and ritalinic in Confidential Dash's post-race blood sample, also confirmed via split sample. Methylphenidate is the generic name for Ritalin, and ritalinic is a metabolite of the same.

According to the ruling, Ritalin is a zero tolerance drug in New Mexico. It is a stimulant which has the potential to affect performance, and it is not approved by the FDA for use in horses and is not commercially available in the United States.

Confidential Dash was disqualified from his win and all purse monies ordered redistributed. Confidential Dash must pass a commission-approved examination and test clean in blood before becoming eligible to enter another race. He may not be tested until on or after May 14, 2023.

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Hall of Fame trainer Claude “Shug” McGaughey III will serve a 15-day suspension for an acepromazine positive in his trainee Smokin T, who finished second in the $200,000 Audubon S. at Churchill Downs on June 4. McGaughey was also fined $500.

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission published the ruling on Nov. 20, 2022.

Smokin T tested positive for a metabolite of acepromazine: 61.2 ng/ml of 2-(1-hydroxyethyl) promazine sulfoxide. The positive was received from the University of Kentucky Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory, and confirmed by Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory.

KHRC stewards issued McGaughey at 30-day suspension, but 15 of the days were stayed due to mitigating circumstances (number of violations in relation to overall record), pending the trainer does not trigger an additional Class A or B drug ruling against him within one year from the date of the ruling. As a result, McGaughey's suspension will run from Dec. 5 through Dec. 19, inclusive.

Smokin T was disqualified, and purse money ordered redistributed.

Find the full text of the KHRC ruling here.

The post McGaughey To Serve 15-Day Suspension For Kentucky Acepromazine Positive appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Australian jockey Ric McMahon, suspended indefinitely alongside trainer Todd Austin after a morning trackwork photo emerged showing the rider carrying an electrical shock device, has been fined $5,000 after being convicted in Mount Isa Magistrates Court on Monday afternoon.

McMahon pled guilty to one count of possessing a prohibited thing at a licensed venue, according to abc.net.au.

The image was captured at Birdville Racetrack in Queensland on Aug. 30, 2022, by Sharon Chapman, leading Queensland Racing Integrity Commission stewards to immediately suspend both McMahon and Austin.

A QRIC inquiry remains ongoing.

According to practicalpunting.com.au, McMahon spent three years atop the apprentice jockey standings in Brisbane from 2006-2008. However, this isn't the first time McMahon has been in hot water with the QRIC: he was banned six months for a drug offense (methamphetamine) in 2015, and in 2020 McMahon was suspended 15 months after DNA proved he tampered with a urine sample.

Read more at abc.net.au.

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The following is a letter from Logan Freeman, the Maryland Jockey Club turf consultant, on the decision to halt grass racing at Laurel Park after the Sunday, Nov. 20, racing program. It also discusses the condition of the turf course and ongoing improvements and projects.

The turf racing season will come to an end following the race day on Sunday, Nov. 20. This will end what has been a successful 2022 racing season on the turf courses at both Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course. Conditions and management of the turf course went very well this year, and congratulations must be given to Turf Superintendent Tony Gatto, his assistant Eduardo Garcia-Martinez, and the entire turf staff for the high-quality turf conditions provided.

This decision to end the season was not taken lightly, but the time had come to make that decision. This decision to end for the year involved several members of the MJC, myself, and the turf team. We looked at weather, what we are seeing firsthand with current turf conditions, and projects needing to be completed before the ground freezes in making the decision.

The turf course is still in good shape, but recovery of the turf course at Laurel Park has slowed substantially. Seed is no longer germinating in repaired divots, and top growth of the leaf blades has also slowed extensively. The soil profile is cooling each night with overnight temperatures possibly dipping down into the 20s, or low 20s to high teens, early Monday morning.

These low temperatures not only affect the turf itself, but they also affect the time frame in which work can be performed on the turf, in combination with reduced daylight hours. Divot repair, rail movement, and other maintenance practices must be held off until all the frost has left the turf. Walking or driving on frosted turf will result in injury to the (grass) and will delay recovery and conditioning and overall turf quality, not only now but into the spring.

Following the completion of the racing season we will begin a much-anticipated Capex project. Removal of the old irrigation pump station control system and pumps will occur. A new state-of-the-art irrigation pump house control system and pumps will be put in their place. This project will provide us with updated control over the irrigation system from the pump house, which is the heart of the system, and from there we can continue with other improvements in the field.

Winterization of the irrigation system as a whole and large-scale cultural practices on the turf like aerification, compaction-relief techniques, and divot filling will begin as well. All these practices will make us better going forward.

I thank you for your understanding as it has been a great 2022 on the turf and we look to build on this for 2023. We all hate to see turf racing come to an end, but weather and conditions have told us that the time has come to end the season and to quickly complete the work that will benefit us next year before it is simply too cold to do so. We are all excited for a strong 2023.

I hope everyone has a great winter, and we can't wait to see horses running on the turf again in the spring.

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