Tag: The Biz

Former trainer Marcos Zulueta was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison and one year of supervised release at a hearing in U.S. District Court on Feb. 24. Zulueta, who was part of the March 2020 arrests in connection with a horse doping ring, had entered a guilty plea in October 2021 to one count of drug adulteration and misbranding.

Prosecutors and defense counsel had previously agreed that the maximum range for a prison sentence that would be considered for Zulueta's sentence was 30 to 36 months. Zulueta's attorneys submitted a pre-sentencing report suggesting that the total prison time should be less than that range, but did not outline an alternate desired sentence.

Zulueta had a criminal history which included a DUI charge and two other charges not described in documentation filed with the court.

According to his attorneys, Zulueta, 53, was born into poverty in Cuba and did manual labor and worked with horses there to support his family. He immigrated to the United States in 1994 and continued to support family back home through similar jobs in this country. He began training Thoroughbreds in 2011 and maintained win percentages in the high twenties and low thirties for most of his career, which stopped with his arrest in 2020.

Zulueta's attorneys filed a number of character reference letters on his behalf, some of which came from connections of his in the racing industry, including owner Albert Lupcho, Jr., jockey Frankie Pennington, owner Vivian Hernandez, and veterinarian Dr. Art Stitzer.

“Never once did I have to look at or treat a horse for him due to neglect or poor judgment on his part,” wrote Stitzer. “They were fed well, bed well and happy horses. Marcos also would never allow owners to push his horses if they were not able or ready to compete as many trainers allow their owners to do. Marcos would simply tell them, 'No.' His judgement was always in the best interest of the horse.”

Prosecutors say Zulueta and former trainer Jorge Navarro (who received a five-year federal prison sentence in December after entering a guilty plea) often exchanged performance-enhancing drugs and information about their effects. In the government's pre-sentencing report, prosecutors included a few passages of transcripts from wire taps that had not previously been introduced into the public-facing court file.

Among other things, the intercepted conversations described the trainers' use of liver medication “from Panama” which prosecutors indicated was intended to speed the metabolism of PEDs. The wiretaps also depict Navarro and Zulueta discussing their use of blood builders, including one they refer to as “the Monkey.”

In a conversation from April 2019, Zulueta tells Navarro that he has been told by the unidentified person selling Monkey that “The Monkey is breaking down the horses … it's breaking down … it's breaking down the horses. It's making their blood very thick.”

The two agree that Zulueta could reduce the dose he was giving horses, but Zulueta apparently did not stop using the drug, as he is shown ordering more via text message in subsequent weeks and months.

It's not the only moment in which the pair discussed the welfare implications PEDs could be having for the horses in their care.

This conversation followed Navarro's request of Zulueta that the latter acquire him a bottle of “blocker” to use on X Y Jet ahead of a race in Feb. 2019:

NAVARRO: Do you like—do you like the product, Marcos?
ZULUETA: I love it. I'm doing the tapping seven days prior anymore. I'm tapping two or three days—two or three days before, man.
***
I love it. I love it. I…look, I have horses that are—that are limping.
NAVARRO: Well, I don't have—I don't have limping horses. But have you seen—have you seen the difference, Marcos?
ZULUETA: Of course I'm seeing the difference, man.

In a call from January 2019, the pair also discuss the injection of something they refer to as “the orange stuff” which both had noticed caused profuse sweating in horses after administration. In the same call, Zulueta discussed splitting a dose into an IV administration and one “to the back.”

ZULUETA: You have to be—you have to be careful. What types of steroids are you giving them?
NAVARRO: The—the Benidel [PH]
ZULUETA: No, stop—stop that shit. Stop that shit.
NAVARRO: Yes, but—but—but I have never had a problem, Marcos.
ZULUETA: My horses don't get the tums [PH]. Look, I give them five to the vein, and five to the back.
NAVARRO: Look, uh, when—when do you give them that stuff, eight or four hours prior?
ZULUETA: [OV] Four–
NAVARRO: [OV] – [UI] – the Lasix?
ZULUETA: –Four—four—four with the Lasix

Later, Navarro says “It's fine like that but only when he is racing at home.”

Zulueta also acknowledged the risks involved with drenching horses, the common terminology for delivering substances via a nasogastric tube. Zulueta recalled he had tried performing a drench himself and accidentally sent the liquid into the horse's lungs, nearly killing the animal.

In February 2019, Zulueta and Navarro had a conversation about out-of-competition testing.

According to the prosecutors' report,  Zulueta said:

“'I'm telling you… I'm telling you the truth, to protect you. Everything that is happening… that's to protect you. If they find you with any steroid or anything, like Equipoise, Winstrol or any— any steroid… the minimum is six months' suspension.'

“Navarro then asked, 'So you don't have your horses on thyroid?' Zulueta responded, 'No, I have them. . . but I give to them and then I hide them. I give to them and then I have a guy [PH] to take it. Are you crazy? I have everything, Equipoise… you know I'm a son of a bitch.'

“In a particularly candid conversation between the two, on March 10, 2019, Navarro told Zulueta, 'Marcos, we need to clean up things because they are going to fuck us up. They are going to kick us out of the business if we keep up with the craziness; they are going to kick us out of the business, Marcos.'”

Of course, neither was kicked out of racing until their arrests by federal authorities a year later.

In a supplement to his attorney's pre-sentencing documents, Zulueta included his own note:

“To the court, Kristen, Skylar, my family, friends, myself and everyone else whose trust I broke:

“I am truly sorry for the mistake I made. I take full responsibility and I am ready to pay for what I did. For all my life, I tried to be a good person and do the right thing. For reasons that I can't even remember, I didn't do the right thing and made bad choices.

“I just want to pay for what I did, move on, and put the pieces back together. My whole life I had nothing and never took any shortcuts. I can guarantee that something like this will never happen again. I will work to be a good person and do the right things. Humbly, Marcos Zulueta.”

See the complete pre-sentencing report from prosecutors here.

See the defense's initial pre-sentencing report here.

The post Zulueta Given 33 Months In Prison In Doping Case; New Wiretaps With Navarro Surface appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Roughly ten days after the sad story of Creative Plan was received with shock and disgust by many in the racing world, stewards in Arizona have concluded their investigation.

According to a spokesman for Arizona's racing commission, no action will be taken against licensees involved in the horse's care in his last months of life.

“The stewards interviewed multiple individuals regarding Creative Plan and determined no rule was broken surrounding this case,” wrote Maxwell Hartgraves via email. “That said, the Division of Racing continues to evaluate this matter and find improvements to horse racing in Arizona.”

Creative Plan was euthanized Feb. 11 after a veterinarian determined he had injuries too severe to be rehabilitated.

Creative Plan was claimed in his last start at Turf Paradise on Jan. 7, where veterinarians conducting a pre-race examination noted the horse as “racing sound with a choppy jog.” Curt Ferguson, the trainer who claimed the horse said he came out of the race “obviously lame” but not vanned off, and that the horse's previous trainer acknowledged the horse's condition was not unusual for him following a race. Ferguson gave Creative Plan to an employee, believing the employee would rehabilitate the horse for a racing career. Instead, the employee took the horse to a nearby livestock auction and refused to sell him to a group of aftercare advocates, instead abandoning the horse on site. The underbidder on the horse at that sale was allegedly a dealer who has been known to purchase horses for slaughter.

At the time of his death, the horse had an injury to the suspensory ligament so severe that pastern had dropped considerably. Veterinarians who reviewed a copy of a radiograph taken of the same leg in January also noted multiple chronic areas of damage and injury to the suspensory and to the bones in that leg.

Read our complete reporting on Creative Plan here.

Subsequent to the case, Turf Paradise has re-instituted a policy prohibiting licensees from selling a horse for slaughter.

In a meeting of the Arizona Racing Commission on Feb. 15, commissioners and staff indicated the track could see a few reforms aimed at improving safety, including implementing third-party furosemide administration and unspecified changes to claiming rules. Dr. Sue Gale, one of two veterinarians responsible for examining horses pre-race at Turf Paradise, also requested more help in flagging horses in need of further scrutiny based on identified risk factors.

At the time of that Feb. 15 meeting, the fatality rate for the current Turf Paradise meet was 2.98 per 1,000 starts — more than twice the national average of 1.41 per 1,000 starts in 2020.

The post Arizona Stewards Find No Rule Violations, Take No Action In Creative Plan Case appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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A pair of scratches were necessitated in Sunday's finale at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif. when jockeys Flavien Prat, Drayden Van Dyke, and Ryan Curatolo declined to ride in the six-furlong turf contest for maiden 3-year-old fillies. According to the Daily Racing Form, the jockeys made that decision based on the condition of the turf course.

“To me, it's slippery,” Prat told DRF. “I didn't feel safe riding. I don't know why it is like this. To me, you can't ride properly.”

With holiday racing scheduled for Monday, track maintenance crews went to work late on Sunday and continued early Monday morning. DRF reports that the course was mowed and aerated.

A group of jockeys, track officials, representatives of the California Thoroughbred Trainers Association and of the California Horse Racing Board all walked the course prior to racing, and four races were conducted without incident.

The Jockeys' Guild released the following statement on Thursday:

“Over this past weekend, an issue with the turf course at Santa Anita came to light and brought to the attention of management by the jockey colony. Any safety issues were addressed by management as quickly as possible. After the jockeys walked the turf course on Monday morning, they were confident the situation had been resolved and rode the entire card.

“The turf course at Santa Anita is acknowledged as one of the best in the world and the jockeys appreciate that the management of Santa Anita always makes the safety of the riders and horses their top priority. The jockeys will continue to work with management to resolve any issues that may arise in the future.”

The post Jockeys’ Guild Praises Santa Anita Management’s Quick Action After Riders’ Turf Concerns appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Pursuant to California Horse Racing Board Rule 1846.6, a Postmortem Examination Review (PER) was completed on the sudden death of Medina Spirit, which occurred following a workout at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif. on Dec. 6, 2021.

Based on the forensic examination and the postmortem review on Medina Spirit, the CHRB did not identify any potential CHRB violations that require further investigation.

This process takes place for every fatality occurring at a CHRB regulated facility and is performed by a team consisting of an Official Veterinarian, a safety steward, and a member of the Board of Stewards – in this case, Dr. Alina Vale, David Neusch (safety steward), and Kim Sawyer (steward).

In all cases, the PER panel strives to learn the circumstances surrounding the fatality, which involves reviewing the necropsy report, medical records, and training records in an effort to identify any at-risk factors in preparation for interviews with the trainers, attending veterinarians, and any other licensees deemed appropriate.

A more detailed description is provided in Rule 1846.6.

The PER includes a summary of the necropsy report, which was released in full on Feb. 11, 2022. The necropsy did not determine the definitive cause of death,  however, sudden cardiorespiratory arrest was suspected. Two legal therapeutic medications were found in Medina Spirit's samples, according to the toxicology report: furosemide (Lasix) and omeprazole sulfide (an anti-ulcer medication).

The racing/training history included in the PER indicates that Medina Spirit ran second in the Breeders' Cup Classic on Nov. 6, 2021, and returned to breezing with a three-furlong move on Nov. 26 with the goal of targeting the Saudi Cup. He walked the next day, jogged one day, and then galloped for seven days prior to his final workout. Baffert had planned to work Medina Spirit on Dec. 5, but fog closed the main track to workouts that morning, so the work was pushed to Dec. 6.

“The trainer described the horse as tall with a slight (light) build,” the PER reads. “The trainer explained the horse was remarkable in that he wouldn't blow (breath heavily) nor appear tired after high-speed exercise. The horse routinely wore a tongue tie during high-speed exercise to prevent dorsal displacement of the soft palate, and furosemide was used for timed workouts to prevent exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage. The horse  routinely received GastroGard (omeprazole), vitamins, electrolytes, and Finish First supplements.”

The PER also includes a summary of Medina Spirit's medical history, highlights of which include:

• He underwent entrapped epiglottis release surgery on March 10, 2021, and was treated with “throat spray” through April 24.
• He was on the CHRB vet's list for hock injections with hyaluronic acid and Vetalog (triamcinolone) on April 5, 2021.
• A skin infection prompted the dispensation of topical Otomax (ingredients gentamicin, betamethasone valerate and clotrimazole) on April 9 and April 19, oral griseofulvin (antifungal used to treat ringworm) on April 12, and topical Equishield CK shampoo on April 19.
• Mild hind end weakness was detected on June 21, and a blood titer for Equine Protozoal  Myeloencephalitis (EPM) was submitted, and on June 25 a full body nuclear scintigraphy exam was performed. Based on blood test results, Marquis (ponazuril, EPM treatment) was dispensed on July 2.
• After the Breeders' Cup Classic on Nov. 6, Medina Spirit was diagnosed with a small ulcer along the free border of his soft palate. Throat spray (ingredients include gentamicin, dexamethasone and DMSO) was dispensed.
• Prior to his work on Nov. 26, Medina Spirit received furosemide, then after the work he received a vitamin injection (Vitamin B 12, Vitamin B complex and Vitamin C). On that date, an endoscopic exam revealed the ulcer on his palate had resolved.
• GastroGard was dispensed on Nov. 29 and Dec. 4.
• Medina Spirit received a furosemide injection on Dec. 5, the date his work was cancelled due to fog.
• On the morning of Dec. 6, Medina Spirit received 150 mg of furosemide at 5:15 AM.

The full PER can be seen here: Final Medina Spirit Postmortem Examination Review.

The post Postmortem Review Of Medina Spirit’s Sudden Death Does Not Identify Any CHRB Violations appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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