Tag: The Biz

Following the approval by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) Reference Laboratory Appointment Committee (RLAC), it was announced Monday that the Laboratory of Racing Chemistry, Japan (LRC) has been fully appointed as an IFHA Reference Laboratory. Following its application and a remote assessment that took place in 2021 due to the ongoing travel restrictions imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, LRC was granted provisional appointment as an IFHA Reference Laboratory in July 2021. An on-site assessment took place in June 2022 which resulted in a recommendation that LRC become the sixth appointed IFHA Reference Laboratory.

“I want to commend the Laboratory of Racing Chemistry for its hard work, diligence and patience in becoming an IFHA Reference Laboratory,” said Reference Laboratory Appointment Committee (RLAC) Chair Andrew Harding. “This application commenced prior to the onset of COVID-19, and LRC was markedly professional in responding to the challenges of this process that were additionally brought on by the pandemic. We congratulate them for becoming the sixth IFHA Reference Laboratory.”

The President of the LRC, Dr Toru Anzai remarked: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the members of the RLAC of the IFHA for its continuous efforts to assist the LRC in the application of an IFHA Reference Laboratory. The LRC's successful appointment as an IFHA Reference Laboratory was mainly attributed to its effective teamwork and professional expertise, most importantly tremendous support from the Japan Racing Association (JRA). After becoming the sixth IFHA Reference Laboratory, the LRC will certainly contribute more to the racing industry and work even more closely with the IFHA and the other five IFHA Reference Laboratories in the coming future.”

The LRC, established in 1965, is an internationally accredited horse racing doping control laboratory primarily used to provide professional analytical testing services for the analysis of equine biological samples including urine, blood and hair from horse racing and international equestrian events. LRC is the only equine drug testing laboratory in Japan, and its main role is to uphold the integrity of horse racing in Japan to ensure a level playing field for all stakeholders.

Following its appointment, LRC joins Racing Analytical Services Limited (Australia); Laboratoire Des Courses Hippiques (France); LGC Group, Sport & Specialised Analytical Services (Great Britain); the Hong Kong Jockey Club Racing Laboratory (Hong Kong); and the Kenneth L. Maddy Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory, University of California at Davis (USA) as IFHA Reference Laboratories. As part of the application process, IFHA Reference Laboratories successfully satisfy criteria that include but are not limited to the scale of operations, resourcing, research activity and capability to detect the use of prohibited substances, including the major doping agents (MDAs).

The IFHA Reference Laboratory White Manual with annexes, updated for July 2022, can be found at https://ifhaonline.org/default.asp?section=IABRW&area=13.

The post Japan’s Laboratory Of Racing Chemistry Named Sixth IFHA Reference Lab appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Trainer Peter Miller spoke to the San Diego Union-Tribune ahead of this year's meeting at Del Mar, addressing rumors about his six-month hiatus which began last fall.

Miller had five horses from his stable die in the 11 months ahead of his hiatus, more than any other California trainer, drawing increased scrutiny. He was also sanctioned three times in 2021 for Class 4 medication violations in California, two of them for phenylbutazone overages after timed workouts. At the time of his hiatus, Miller denied that his actions were prompted by actions by or agreements with regulators or racetracks.

Scott Chaney, executive director of the California Horse Racing Board, said a CHRB investigation into those deaths cleared Miller of culpability.

Miller said the deaths were “just freak, random bad luck.”

“All the necropsies showed no negligence in my training of the horses,” Miller told the Union-Tribune.

Chaney also denied rumors that Miller was under increased scrutiny: “That's categorically false, coming from the CHRB standpoint.”

Following his return to training in late May, Miller was suspended seven days and fined $10,000 by CHRB stewards for violating the CHRB's rule prohibiting program training. Program training involves someone behind the scenes making key decisions for a stable while having someone else listed on the official program as the trainer of record.

Many of the horses in Miller's stable were transferred to his longtime assistant, Ruben Alvarado. A CHRB complaint filed on May 23, 2022, alleged that Miller “engaged in behavior consistent with the duties of a trainer at the San Luis Rey Training Center with horses in the barn of trainer Ruben Alvarado,” including “entering horses, conducting endoscopy exams, giving instruction to riders, examining horses, consulting with veterinarians, controlling and accessing bank accounts purported to belong to Ruben Alvarado Racing Stables, assigning jockeys, and creating training charts.”

Thus far in 2022, Miller has run 39 horses in his own name with four winners, nine seconds, and three thirds. All of his California runners have come at either Los Alamitos or Del Mar.

Meanwhile, Santa Anita general manager Nate Newby insists the track is utilizing “the normal review process for all trainers who submit stall apps,” with regards to Miller. When the Union-Tribune asked whether Miller would have been allowed to continue racing at Santa Anita at the time he stepped away, Newby said: “No decisions had been made on our end.”

Read more at the San Diego Union-Tribune.

The post Peter Miller, CHRB Address Rumors After Trainer’s Six-Month Hiatus appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

The Delaware Thoroughbred Racing Commission has issued fines to two different trainers over failure to follow proper medication procedures, according to recent rulings listed on the Association of Racing Commissioners International website.

Trainer Juan Arriagada was fined $1,500 after a routine barn search on June 21, 2022, revealed the presence of thyroxine in an unlabeled container of methocarbamol. The trainer's violation is twofold: there was an unlabeled/mislabeled medication in his barn, and Arriagada did not follow the proper protocol for thyroxine.

Thyroxine is a prohibited substance in Delaware; trainers may not have thyroxine on their premises on the racetrack unless the horse has been diagnosed with hypothyroidism pursuant to a thyroid releasing hormone stimulation test. That test must be submitted to the state veterinarian, and if the state veterinarian approves, the horse may be treated with only FDA approved medications for hypothyroidism prescribed by the veterinarian.

Trainer Benjamin W. Perkins was fined $1,000 when an out-of-competition test revealed the presence of clenbuterol in the unraced 3-year-old St Jude. The colt has been placed on the vet's list, and will be ineligible to race until he completes a timed workout in front of a commission veterinarian and both blood and urine sampling show no detectable clenbuterol.

Delaware's regulations prohibit clenbuterol use in racing and training unless specific conditions are met:

• The prescription for clenbuterol is made for a specific horse based upon a specific diagnosis. The prescription and volume dispensed cannot exceed a treatment period of 30 days.
• The veterinarian must provide a copy of the prescription and diagnosis to the Commission Veterinarian for review and approval. The horse may not receive clenbuterol before this approval is issued.
• Trainers must make daily notification to the Commission Veterinarian of horses in their custody having been administered clenbuterol. Notification shall be made on a form and by a deadline designated by the Commission.
• A horse administered clenbuterol shall be placed in the Commission Veterinarian's list. The horse must meet all conditions for removal from the list including a timed workout and blood and urine sampling. Both samples must have no detectable clenbuterol.

The post Delaware Commission Fines Arriagada, Perkins Over Failure To Follow Proper Medication Procedures appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post