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Baffert’s Appeal Hearing Over Medina Spirit Disqualification Pushed To Aug. 22

As Bob Baffert nears the end of a 90-day suspension issued by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, the trainer's pending appeal hearing in the Medina Spirit case has been delayed. According to bloodhorse.com, Baffert attorney Craig Robertson said the postponement from June 28 to Aug. 22 was a “mutual decision by all sides.”

The KHRC disqualified Medina Spirit from his win in the 2021 Kentucky Derby due to a post-race finding of betamethasone. The decision included the 90-day suspension for Baffert and a $7,500 fine.

The KHRC suspension differs from Baffert's two-year ban from all Churchill Downs, Inc. properties, which is being contested in court.

Since Baffert's suspension will be up in early July, the primary relief sought in the appeal hearing is to reverse the disqualification, Robertson said.

The appeal of the stewards' decision will be open to the public, per Kristin Voskuhl, Kentucky's Public Protection Cabinet's executive director of communications.

Speakers Confirmed For Racing And Gaming Conference At Saratoga

More than 50 experts from across the country are confirmed to speak at the Racing and Gaming Conference at Saratoga (RGCS), which takes place Aug. 15-17 at the Saratoga Hilton in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

The three-day RGCS will bring together gaming and racing industry leaders, academics, elected officials, lawyers, regulators, and racing patrons to examine the trends, challenges and critical issues facing the racing and gaming industries. Confirmed speakers included:

Senator Joe Addabbo, New York State Senate, Chairman of the New York State Racing, Gaming and Wagering Committee
Joseph Appelbaum, President, New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association
Joe Asher, President Sports Betting, IGT
Dallas Baker, Head of Business Development, BetMakers US
Jordon Bender, Senior Equity Research Analyst, JMP Securities
Patrick Brown, Brown & Weinraub PLLC, and Organizing Director, Racing and Gaming Conference at Saratoga
Andrew Collier, Deputy Commissioner, Vermont Department of Liquor and Lottery
John Coppola, Executive Director, New York Association of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Providers Inc.
Brad Cummings, Founder and CEO, EQL Games
Lloyd Danzig, Managing Partner, Sharp Alpha Advisors
David Donovan, President, New York State Broadcasters Association
Jessica Feil, Vice President Regulatory Affairs and Compliance, OpenBet
Brad Fischer, Senior Associate, Orrick
Michele Fischer, Vice President, SIS Content Services
Alan Foreman, Chairman and CEO, Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association Inc.
Simon Fraser, Senior Vice President of International, 1/ST Technology
Kurt Freedlund, President, KDF Consulting and Solutions, former General Counsel Georgia and Illinois Lotteries
Samuel Gerrity, CEO, Saratoga Casino Hotel
Howard Glaser, Global Head of Government Affairs and Legislative Counsel, Light and Wonder
Jeffrey Gural, Chairman, American Racing and Entertainment and Owner of Tioga Downs Casino Resort
Paul Hannon, Senior Vice President Corporate Development, PointsBet USA
Daniel Hartman, Director, Colorado Division of Gaming
Dr. Patricia Hogan, VMD, ACVS, Hogan Equine
David Isaacson, Senior Vice President, Spectrum Gaming Capital
Kevin Jones, Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Legal Officer, Genting Americas
Michael Kane, President and Executive Director, New York State Gaming Association
Adrian King, Co-Leader of the firm's Gaming Team and State Attorney General Team, Ballard Spahr
Melanie Iacour, Associate, Saiber LLC's Gaming Law and Administrative & Regulatory, former attorney for New York State Gaming Commission
Lisa Lazarus, CEO, Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority
Troy Levy, CEO, Tropical Racing Inc., Founder and Vice President Game of Silks
Bennett Liebman, Government Lawyer in Residence at Albany Law School
Edward Martin, President and CEO, Association of Racing Commissioners International
Daniel Nissanoff, Founder and CEO, Game of Silks
David O'Rourke, President and CEO, New York Racing Association
John Pappas, State Advocacy Director, iDEA Growth
William J. Pascrell lll, Partner, Princeton Public Affairs Group
Honorable David Paterson, Former Governor of New York, Senior Vice President and Senior Advisor, Las Vegas Sands Corporation
Michael Pollock, Managing Director, Spectrum Gaming Group
Assemblyman Gary Pretlow, New York State Assembly, Chairman of the Committee on Racing and Wagering
Thomas Rooney, Former Congressman, President and CEO, National Thoroughbred Racing Association
May Scheve Reardon, Executive Director, Missouri Lottery
Douglas Reed, former Director, University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program
Louis S. Rogacki, AAG, Deputy Director, New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement
Richard Schosberg, Thoroughbred Horse Trainer, NYTHA Board Member, TAA Board Member
Daniel Shapiro, Senior Vice President, Chief Development Officer, Caesars Digital
John Signor, President and CEO, Capital Off Track Betting
Karl Sleight, Member, Harris Beach
Katherine Spilde, Professor, San Diego State University
Carter Vance, General Counsel, Jackpocket
Natalie Voss, Editor-In-Chief, Paulick Report
Daniel Wallach, Founder, Wallach Legal
Marlene Warner, Executive Director, The Massachusetts Council on Gaming and Health
Joseph Weinert, Executive VP, Spectrum Gaming Group
Robert Williams, Executive Director, New York State Gaming Commission
Chris Wittstruck, Equine Attorney, Director Standardbred Owners' Association of New York

The speakers will be participating in a wide-ranging RGCS agenda that covers topics including:

Responsible Gaming: Are Programs and Funding Keeping Pace with Industry Growth?
State Lotteries – Finding Avenues for Growth
Sports Betting: What's Next?
Downstate Casino Expansion: What to Expect
Online Casinos: How Legalization Will Play Out
The Rise (or Scourge) of Unregulated Gaming Machines
M&A Investment Trends in Sports Betting and Online Gaming
Gaming Regulation in the Digital Age: Are “Analog” Regulations and Regulators Sufficient to Police the Digital Gaming Market?
The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act and the Future of Racing
Horse Racing, NFTs, and the Metaverse
Aftercare for Race Horses: Who Pays?
Fixed Odds and the Future of Horse Betting

The RGCS will host two exclusive networking events – a Welcome Cocktail Party on Monday night and an evening of charity gaming at historic Canfield Casino on Tuesday evening – as well as an afternoon of racing at the historic Saratoga Race Course on Wednesday. The conference is jointly produced by Tinhorn Productions and Spectrum Gaming Group.

To register, view the RGCS agenda, and reserve a room at the host hotel, visit racingandgamingsaratoga.com.

The post Speakers Confirmed For Racing And Gaming Conference At Saratoga appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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CHRB Charges Richard Baltas With Having 23 Horses Improperly Administered Race-Day Substance

Trainer Richard Baltas has been charged with 23 counts of violating California Horse Racing Board rules prohibiting administration of race-day substances from April 15 and May 8, 2022. CHRB stewards also cited violations of the absolute insurer and conduct detrimental to horse racing rules in their complaint posted on the CHRB website on Tuesday.

According to the complaint, surveillance videos documented employees of the Baltas stable administering substances to horses on days they were entered to race on 23 occasions. The complaint states the substance was analyzed by the University of California, Davis, which reported the presence of Higenamine and Paeonol.

Higenamine is a dietary supplement that is prohibited in human athletes by the World Anti-Doping Agency as a B2-agonist. It can occur naturally in a Chinese herb. Paeonol is another natural product that has been used in humans to treat inflammation. Neither is on the list of prohibited substances of the Association of Racing Commissioners International, but CHRB rules prohibit the administration of dietary supplements on race day.

Baltas was banned from participating at tracks owned by The Stronach Group after one of his entries, Noble Reflection, was a late stewards scratch on Santa Anita's 10th race on May 8. The CHRB said at the time it was investigating the circumstances surrounding the scratch, presumably by reviewing videos of the Baltas barn captured by one of the 1,000 state-of-the-art surveillance cameras that were installed throughout the Santa Anita stable area in 2016.

Santa Anita's state-of-the-art barn surveillance system

Although the Stronach Group ban was not a regulatory action that prevented Baltas from racing elsewhere, most of the horses from his large stable have been dispersed to other trainers. Since May 8, Baltas has had six starters at Churchill Downs and one at Lone Star Park.

Since taking out his trainer's license in 1991, Baltas has won 722 races from 4,265 starters for earnings of $43,7 million. He's won seven Grade 1 races among 50 graded stakes throughout his career.

Baltas has been ordered to appear before the board of stewards at Los Alamitos racetrack on July 1 at 10 a.m. PT.

The post CHRB Charges Richard Baltas With Having 23 Horses Improperly Administered Race-Day Substance appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Experts Question Dr. George Maylin’s Study Of Medina Spirit Samples

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission's hearing on the disqualification of Medina Spirit from the 2021 Kentucky Derby is due to begin on June 28, according to bloodhorse.com. In preparation, a pair of reports were entered into the court records which question the findings of testing requested by trainer Bob Baffert's attorneys in an attempt to prove that the betamethasone in Medina Spirit's system is the result of a topical ointment Otomax, rather than an injection.

Baffert's attorneys commissioned Dr. George Maylin, director of the New York Equine Drug Testing and Research Laboratory, to perform a study. Maylin studied the post-race samples of Medina Spirit and performed a separate study with two Thoroughbreds, concluding that the substance in the colt's system was betamethasone valerate, an ingredient found in Otomax.

However, at least two experts have written reports questioning the validity of Maylin's work.

Dr. Mark Papich, a professor of clinical pharmacology at the North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine and a former president of the American College of Veterinary Clinical Pharmacology, questioned both the completeness and conclusions of Maylin's research. Papich also argued that whether or not the route of administration (i.e., topical ointment or injection) makes a difference in potency or systemic effect is unknown because the issue has not been studied in horses.

Papich also defines several deficiencies in Maylin's description of the experiment testing topical administration of Otomax, especially focusing on Maylin's failure to reveal the amount of betamethasone valerate detected.

In addition, Dr. Heather Knych, section head of the Kenneth L. Maddy Equine Analytical Pharcology Laboratory at the School of Veterinary Medicine at UC Davis, reports that that there are no published, peer-reviewed scientific studies describing the minimum effective blood concentration of betamethasone in horses.