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Iowa Veterinarian Summarily Suspended For Alleged Possession Of Prohibited Substances

Veterinarian Bradley Gordon was summarily suspended Sept. 22 by the Prairie Meadows board of stewards in Altoona, Iowa., for allegedly violating both state of Iowa and Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority regulations.

“On Sept. 22, 2022,” the ruling states, “the board of stewards received a report from the Iowa Racing and Gaming state veterinarians and Prairie Meadows security stating on Sept. 19, 2022, Bradley Gordon, DVM, was found to be in possession of prohibited substances and incomplete and/or falsified log reports submitted to state veterinarians.”

The ruling cites Iowa Code section 491 IAC 6.5(3), stating a licensee “has been involved in any fraudulent or corrupt practices, including, but not limited to: 491 IAC 6.5(3)(i), conduct in Iowa or elsewhere has been dishonest, undesirable, detrimental to, or reflects negatively on, the integrity or best interests of racing and gaming.”

HISA regulations cited by stewards that warranted the summary suspension were: HISA 2230 (e) (pertaining to possession of a syringe); HISA 2251 (b) (submission of veterinary reports on a timely basis); and HISA 2271 (a) (prohibiting “use of physical or veterinary procedures to mask the effects or signs of injury so as to allow training or racing to the detriment of the horse's health and welfare”).

A hearing date has not yet been set for Gordon. Rick Evans and Cynthia Smith are the state stewards and Rick Sackett the association steward.

Gordon is the second veterinarian summarily suspended by the Prairie Meadows board of stewards this year.

On June 16, the owner-trainer license of Dr. James Hume was summarily suspended after being found to be in possession of multiple injectables, hypodermic needles and syringes on the backside.

An owner-trainer, Hume is also a veterinarian but not licensed as such by the Iowa Racing Commission. He testified to stewards in a hearing that he “has a veterinarian practice off the grounds and had gone to client's farm on his way to the racetrack and that was the reason his medical bag was in his vehicle.”

Stewards subsequently suspended Hume for one year, from June 16, 2022, through June 15, 2023.

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Churchill Completes Purchase Of Ellis Park; ‘Plans To Invest In The Racing Infrastructure’

Churchill Downs Incorporated (“CDI” or “the Company”) (Nasdaq: CHDN) announced Monday that the Company has completed its previously-announced purchase of Ellis Park Racing & Gaming (“Ellis Park”) in Henderson, Ky., for cash consideration of $79 million, subject to certain working capital and other purchase price adjustments.

In acquiring Ellis Park, CDI also assumes the opportunity to construct a track extension facility with historical racing machines in Owensboro, Ky.

“Our team is already hard at work in both Henderson and Owensboro,” said Bill Carstanjen, Chief Executive Officer of CDI. “In the coming days, we look forward to sharing more about our plans to invest in the racing infrastructure at Ellis Park and to drive significant purse improvement through the Owensboro historical racing opportunity.”

CDI's purchase of Ellis Park follows approval of the transaction by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. The transaction was funded with cash on hand and through the Company's existing credit facility.

About Ellis Park

Ellis Park, located north of the Ohio River and just south of Evansville, Indiana, celebrated 100 years of racing this year. In addition to being recognized as the historic home of summer Thoroughbred racing in Kentucky, Ellis Park also features a gaming facility venue with approximately 300 historical racing machines.

About Churchill Downs Incorporated

Churchill Downs Incorporated is an industry-leading racing, online wagering and gaming entertainment company anchored by our iconic flagship event, the Kentucky Derby. We own and operate five gaming entertainment venues with approximately 4,200 historical racing machines in Kentucky. We also own and operate TwinSpires, one of the largest and most profitable online wagering platforms for horse racing in the U.S. and we have eight retail sportsbooks. We are also a leader in brick-and-mortar casino gaming in eight states with approximately 11,800 slot machines and video lottery terminals and 250 table games. www.churchilldownsincorporated.com

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Turf Paradise Making Changes To Improve Track Safety; HISA Promises To Get Involved If Fatality Rate Remains High

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority would “immediately” get involved if, at the start of Arizona's Turf Paradise meet on Nov. 4, the track were to continue to show fatality numbers nearly two times higher than the national average, HISA director of racetrack safety Ann McGovern told the Thoroughbred Daily News.

During an Arizona Racing Commission meeting on Feb. 15, 2022, Arizona Department of Gaming's chief veterinarian Dr. Sue Gale reported that fatality statistics at Turf Paradise in Phoenix were approximately 2.98 per 1,000 starts; the national average for 2020 was 1.41 fatalities per 1,000 starts. A total of 11 horses were fatally injured during morning training, another 18 during racing, and 13 more were lost to other circumstances at Turf Paradise from Oct. 10, 2021, to May 7, 2022.

HISA's currently-enacted racetrack safety program includes stipulations for the racing surface itself, detailing requirements for daily record-keeping and testing methods as well as pre-meet examinations of the base.

To that end, Turf Paradise has hired a new track superintendent in George Lopez, purchased additional track maintenance equipment, and joined forces with the Arizona Horsemen's Benevolent & Protective Association (AZHBPA) to hire noted racetrack expert Steven Wood to oversee operations.

“We've had to make sure the banking is how we want it,” Wood told TDN of the pre-meet preparations. He said the team has also removed material from the existing surface and added new sand and bark (for cushioning).

While the Turf Paradise team is confident these changes will make for a safer meet in 2022-2023, HISA will be able to get involved should those expectations fall short. Exactly what that involvement will look like remains to be seen.

“Getting involved may mean talking to management, talking to the track superintendent, sending Mick [Peterson] to look at the track surface, looking at necropsies, looking at training methods,” McGovern told TDN. “HISA would absolutely react to any track that had numbers as significant as we have seen at Turf Paradise last year.”

Read more at the Thoroughbred Daily News.

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‘Stupid, Asinine, Moronic’: Four HISA Riding Crop Violations In One Race, Including $108,000 DQ

Sheriff Brown has been disqualified from his narrow victory in the $200,000 Albuquerque Handicap at the Downs at Albuquerque on Sept. 24 after stewards ruled that jockey Oscar Ceballos violated the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority regulations restricting use of the riding crop.

The ruling, dated Sept. 25 and posted on the Association of Racing Commissioners International website, followed a hearing with owner Joseph Robert Peacock of the Peacock Family Holdings L.P. stable. Sheriff Brown, a 6-year-old gelding by Curlin sent off as the 5-2 favorite, was disqualified from first and ordered unplaced after rallying from last, nearly 10 lengths behind, to edge Mine That Star and jockey Joree Scriver by a neck in the 1 1/8-mile contest.

Trainer Todd Fincher said Peacock “absolutely” planned to appeal the disqualification, which cost the owner-breeder $108,000 in what would have been Sheriff Brown's biggest payday.

Under HISA rules, purse disqualifications do not come into play until the 10th strike. A Class 3 violation of HISA rule 2282 is one to three strikes over the six-strike limit; Class 2 is four to nine strikes over; Class 1 is 10 or more over the limit. Fines and suspensions to jockeys increase according to the level of violation.

“They said he hit the horse a total of 11 times,” Fincher said, “but he's not really striking the horse as much as flagging or brushing the shoulder. It's ridiculous in my opinion. If a jockey breaks a rule, the owner shouldn't have to pay for it. and we're not even sure he broke a rule.

“The ironic thing is the horse that ran second broke the whip rule, too,” Fincher said.

In fact, three of the other 10 jockeys riding in the Albuquerque Handicap were sanctioned for Class 3 riding crop violations, fined $250 (or 10 percent of the jockey's share of the purse), and suspended one day. For his Class 2 violation, Ceballos received a three-day suspension and fine of $2,160 (20 percent of his share of the purse). The other were Joree Scriver aboard runner-up Mine That Star, Enrique Garcia aboard fifth-place finisher Tartini, and Alejandro Medellin aboard sixth-place fionisher Zestful.

“Three other jockeys break the rules and we're the only ones who get penalized like this?” Fincher said. “It's stupid, asinine, moronic. I'm all for HISA and the medication side of it. The rest of it they're screwing up pretty good in my opinion.”

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