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Drafted’s Owners Appeal $26,000 Forego Purse Disqualification Over HISA Riding Crop Infraction

The owners of Forego (G1) fifth-place finisher Drafted have filed an appeal of a Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority decision that would see the gelding lose his $26,000 share of the $600,000 purse because his jockey incurred a riding crop infraction under HISA rules, Daily Racing Form reports.

Drafted's jockey in the Forego, won by Cody's Wish August 27 at Saratoga, was Luis Rodriguez Castro, who New York Racing Association steward Brook Hawkins determined struck the Field Commission gelding 10 times with his crop during the seven-furlong race. Under HISA rules, a jockey is limited to six strikes with the crop.

When a jockey uses the crop from 10 to 13 times, the penalty for the rider is a $500 fine or a jockey's share of the purse, whichever is greater, and a three-day suspension, which Castro received and did not appeal. His mount is disqualified, ordered unplaced in the order of finish, and the purse money is redistributed to those who finished behind that horse.

According to the Equibase chart for the Forego, Drafted finishing 1 3/4 lengths ahead of sixth-place finisher Three Two Zone. Kneedeepinsnow was seventh. Sixth place was worth $17,000 and seventh $14,000.

Co-owner Thomas E. O'Keefe filed the appeal with HISA on Friday on behalf of himself and fellow owners Truls Engebretsen of Dublin Fjord LLC, William Nichols of Racepoint Stables, and Kevin D. Hilbert, contending that they are being forced to forfeit Drafted's share of the purse without due process, according to Drew Mollica, attorney for the owners, who are seeking a stay of the purse redistribution.

“We challenge it on the constitutionality under the Fifth and 14th Amendments of the Constitution where they're taking our money without due process,” Mollica told the Form.

Eight-year-old Drafted, a graded stakes winner and earner of more than $1 million, is trained by David Duggan.

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

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New Mexico Racing Commission Doing Its Own Investigation Of Jockeys After WaPo Story On Bush Racing

The New Mexico Racing Commission is conducting its own investigation into jockeys accused of participating in unsanctioned racing. In early August, the Washington Post published an investigative feature detailing the horrors of bush racing at a track in Georgia, where the Post reported horses were given injections immediately before races, horses ran with no pre-race examinations by veterinarians, illegal betting took place, and jockeys openly carried buzzers.

Some investigative work was done by representatives of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and later by Post reporters directly. PETA has since called for sanctions on what the organization claims are licensed jockeys documented participating in bush races at the Georgia facility.

PETA has alleged it has identified riders Bryan Candanosa, Alex Carrillo, Eduardo Nicasio, and Rodrigo Vallejo as riding at bush tracks while carrying electric shock devices known as buzzers.

NMRC executive director Izzy Trejo told the Paulick Report Sept. 1 that the commission is conducting its own investigation into the allegations, but proof of participation is limited.

“We are currently doing our own investigation after finding that the pictures utilized by PETA in the Washington Post article were merely photos taken from Facebook pages and not much more information than that,” said Trejo. “Although they do have a video that we need to look at.

“The jockeys in question did ride at Ruidoso a week and a half ago and we had an enforcement team there to scrutinize the jockeys with metal detection wands, as well as the pony people, the assistant starters, the valets, the jockey quarters, and the starting gate itself (all the nooks and crannies). Nothing was found but we will continue to investigate these suspect jockeys.”

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New Historical Horse Racing Gaming Hall Opens In Southeastern Kentucky

The Mint Gaming Hall Cumberland officially opened Thursday, Sept. 1 in Williamsburg, Ky., right off Exit 11 on Interstate 75, bringing historical horse racing gaming to southeastern Kentucky.

The venture is the sister project of Cumberland Run harness track, which is being built in nearby Corbin. The Mint Gaming Hall Cumberland and Cumberland Run are co-owned by a group headed by Kentucky Downs' managing partners Ron Winchell and Marc Falcone with the Keeneland Association as a minority partner.

“This is another part of our commitment to Kentucky and to Kentucky horse racing, tourism and economic development,” Winchell said. “The Mint Gaming Hall has created jobs and will provide entertainment options, especially in the evening for visitors enjoying the area's outdoor beauty and recreation during the day. It also will provide strong purse funding for Cumberland Run, which is an important step in bringing back Kentucky's standardbred industry to national prominence.”

The Mint Gaming Hall Cumberland opened with 450 HHR gaming terminals. It has the same local-time hours as the other “The Mint” properties in Franklin and Bowling Green: opening at 9 a.m. Eastern and closing the following morning at 5 a.m., with the exception of being open around-the-clock Thursday until 5 a.m. Monday.

The Mint Gaming Hall Cumberland features the Midnight Bourbon Bar and has live entertainment. The property is offering a variety of local food options until The Backyard Race and Sports Grill opens in mid-September. When open, The Backyard will offer both restaurant and patio dining. Simulcast wagering on horse racing is available and sports are shown on a variety of large televisions.

“The Mint Gaming Hall Bowling Green has been wildly successful since opening late last year, and we used that as our blue print in Williamsburg,” said Henry Graffeo, general manager of The Mint Gaming Hall Cumberland. “Our goal is to build a facility that serves a variety of interests, from gaming, to live music entertainment, to betting horses and watching sports. We think The Mint Gaming Hall Cumberland is an ideal addition to southeastern Kentucky, complementing existing enterprises and providing another lure to the local area. We're thrilled with how the community has embraced us, even before we opened.”

Cumberland Run's 2022 harness dates will be held for the second year at The Red Mile in Lexington while the Corbin track is being built. The meet begins in late October.

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Pearce Handed 1,950-Day Suspension After Six Out-Of-Competition Positives

In a ruling dated Aug. 29, officials in Pennsylvania suspended Parx trainer Penny Pearce a total of 1,950 days and fined her $23,500 after six of her horses were found positive for clenbuterol on out-of-competition tests (OOCT).

The penalties stem from a June 22 inspection of Pearce's barn at Parx, when samples were pulled from her horses. A search also revealed hypodermic needles, syringes, and unnamed injectable substances, according to the ruling.

The clenbuterol positives came from Mischievous Jones, Musamaha, Relativlea, Call Me GQ, Market Maven, and an unnamed horse.

Pearce claimed Mischievous Jones in the gelding's maiden victory at Parx on June 15 on behalf of JKX Racing. That horse has not run since.

Musamaha was claimed by Pearce on May 25 from a maiden claiming race at Parx, where she finished fourth, and saddled by Pearce in her maiden victory June 28 at Parx. There, Musamaha was claimed by trainer Michael Pino for Bing Cherry Racing.

Relativlea ran for Pearce at Parx on June 11 and then debuted for trainer Bobbi Anne Hawthorne in a claiming race on July 11. Her owner of record for both starts was Edward Ridge.

Call Me GQ won a Parx claiming race for Pearce and owner JKX Racing on June 13, and was then saddled by Hawthorne on behalf of JKX on July 12. By his most recent race — another claimer on Aug. 31 — he was in the barn of Kim Graci.

Market Maven's last start was in last year's Grade 2 Wood Memorial, where Pearce saddled him for owner Gregory Gordon.

Each OOCT positive was assigned a separate and escalating suspension, with the first being 30 days, the second 60 days, etc. since stewards considered that multiple positives were an “aggravating circumstance.” They used the same system for fines for each positive, with the first being assigned a $2,500 fine, the second $5,000 and so on.

Pearce was suspended another 60 days for the presence of the needles, syringes, and injectables.

The suspension is scheduled to begin Sept. 11, 2022 and conclude Jan. 12, 2028. The fines are due on Sept. 11.

Alan Pincus, attorney for Pearce, told the Paulick Report she plans to appeal. Pincus declined further comment.

She will also have the right to request a stay of suspension while the appeals process plays out.

In June last year, this publication reported that former trainer Ramon Preciado, who had his owner and trainer licenses revoked in Pennsylvania, had been licensed as a groom and was working for Pearce. State stewards ordered Preciado's licenses revoked in December 2016 after one of his runners was positive in a post-race test for clenbuterol. They rejected his application for a stable employee license in 2018, but granted him one in 2021.

Pearce had been on track to log one of her most successful years as a trainer since taking out her license in 2012, with 23 winners from 84 starts thus far, making for a 27% win percentage. In 2021, she finished the year with 23% wins and stable earnings of $1,048,481. Her runners have brought in $738,149 so far this year.

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