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Ahead Of Trial, Fishman Gives Interview To Post: ‘I Believe I’m Practicing Sound Medicine’

Against the advice of his attorneys, Dr. Seth Fishman gave an extended interview to The Washington Post ahead of the start of his criminal trial in U.S. District Court, which begins Jan. 19. He said, among other things, that he has been unfairly targeted in the case.

Fishman portrayed himself to reporter Gus Garcia-Roberts as an animal lover whose products were therapeutic substances designed to help horses, and that the laws used to indict him are obscure and outdated.

“If I'm providing a safe alternative to what's in use — and will be used unless I provide a safe alternative — I believe I'm practicing sound medicine … And the fact that they may or may not be able to test for it as easily, I don't know how that makes it a crime,” Fishman told the Post, speaking of an EPO mimetic.

Fishman also said he believed he was targeted in the investigation, which many reports have indicated was spearheaded by a private investigative firm hired by The Jockey Club. He claimed that other guilty parties had been “spared” to “create an illusion of reform that can distract from more entrenched corruption.” Fishman claimed his connection to co-defendant Jorge Navarro was fairly tenuous compared to that of other veterinarians, and that two probably spoke for less than a collective hour in the time they knew each other.

Fishman has been involved in a federal case before, when he was called upon to testify against former Standardbred owner and client David H. Brooks. Brooks was indicted in 2007 for fraud, and court records revealed a conversation between Brooks and Fishman in which Brooks asked Fishman to create a pill that would create amnesia in a key witness in the case. An FBI report indicated Fishman had admitted he had sold drugs to Brooks for the purposes of pre-race doping, though Fishman contends that his words were misconstrued.

Fishman, who said he has stage three thyroid cancer, told the Post he's willing to take his chances in the case, though at times he becomes discouraged about his odds of beating the charges against him.

“My number got punched,” Fishman said. “So it's either real corrupt people trying to make an example out of me or God really hates me that much that it's, 'Hey, it's my lottery ticket to die.' ”

Delaware Park Increases Dates, Alters Schedule: Plans To Run 88 Days In 2022

The Delaware Thoroughbred Racing Commission Jan. 18 approved a new-look racing schedule in 2022 for Delaware Park, which will race 88 programs from May 25-Nov. 5.

Kevin DeLucia, senior vice president and chief financial officer for Delaware Park, said the racing association has an agreement with the Delaware Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association on the number of days and the revised calendar. The track will race mostly four days a week on a Wednesday-through-Saturday schedule, with select Fridays dark when the track races three days a week.

Delaware Park in recent years has raced Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

In 2021, Delaware Park raced 77 days and concluded the meet Oct. 30. According to the DTRC annual report for last year, purses paid totaled $17.57 million. Total pari-mutuel handle on the live product was roughly $118 million, and export handle of $114 million was the highest in at least four years.

A 2022 business plan for the track, which late last year was sold to Clairvest Group Inc. and Rubico Gaming LLC, includes an investment of $60,000 in a new inner rail for the turf course and a commitment to help fund at the very least a renovation of the DTRC licensing office located just outside the stable gate adjacent the DTHA office.

In other business, DTHA Executive Director Bessie Gruwell said the number of applications for the Delaware Certified Thoroughbred Program at the conclusion of 2021 was 366, a number expected to grow to perhaps 375 pending outstanding applications. The number is up 35-40 from the final 2020 number, she said.

“The program is still going strong,” Gruwell said.

The DCTP awards purse bonuses in overnight races as well as some Certified-restricted or “waiver” maiden events. Last year four new Certified-restricted stakes were added for a total of eight during the racing season.

Tom LaMarra is managing editor of THA Racing

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California Workers’ Comp Program Launching Mandatory Exercise Rider Certification Exam

Exercise riders in California will need to pass a certification test by March 31 in order to remain eligible for the industry's Post Time workers' compensation program, reports Dan Ross in the Thoroughbred Daily News. Trainers with Post Time insurance will only be able to employ certified exercise riders after that date.

The exam is based on the British National Racing College's jockey fitness test, and consists of seven exercises encompassing upper body, lower body, and cardiovascular exercises, according to TDN. Post Time will give exercise riders a 30-day membership to a 24-Hour Fitness gym to train for the exam, if they so choose.

“Our goal is not to reduce exercise riders, it's to do with reducing the injuries that are a part of their occupation,” Michael Lyon, Post Time's program administrator, told the TDN. “It's our first blush at it, so, there's going to be hiccups and bumps in the road, but we'll handle those as they come. We just want to make the work exercise riders do safer for them.”

Post Time has three funding sources: a stall-per-day fee of $5.10, a per-start fee of $162, and 0.5 percent of money placed on exotic wagers.

The group has seen a 30 percent reduction in claims since May of 2020, due to the implementation of a “Director of Safety” position, which is responsible for establishing and regulating uniform safety standards across California facilities. However, Lyon said that exercise riders account for 40 percent of claims and yet 70 percent of costs, with one policy-limit claim in each of the last three years.

Read more at the Thoroughbred Daily News.

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In-Person Thoroughbred Owner Conference Returns July 25-26 In Saratoga

OwnerView announced Tuesday that registration is open for its in-person Thoroughbred Owner Conference, which will be held at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York, on July 25-26, 2022. This will be the first in-person Thoroughbred Owner Conference since 2019. The 2020 conference, which was scheduled to be held in Saratoga, was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Bringing the owner conference to Saratoga has been a goal of ours for nearly three years, and we cannot wait to finally host our guests at one of racing's most iconic tracks,” said Gary Falter, project manager for OwnerView. “Competing at Saratoga represents the pinnacle for any horse owner, and we thank the New York Racing Association for their continued support as we have worked on making this in-person event a reality.”

The conference will kick off with an opening reception at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame on Sunday, July 24. Panels will be held July 25 and 26 at the track's 1863 Club, with topics ranging from the role of bloodstock agents and advisors to the process of selecting a trainer to safety best practices.

Registration information and the tentative conference schedule can be found at ownerview.com/event/conference. The deadline to register is March 30.

OwnerView is a joint effort spearheaded by The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to encourage ownership of Thoroughbreds and provide accurate information on aspects of ownership such as trainers, public racing syndicates, the process of purchasing and owning a Thoroughbred, racehorse retirement, and owner licensing.

The need for a central resource to encourage Thoroughbred ownership was identified in the comprehensive economic study of the sport that was commissioned by The Jockey Club and conducted by McKinsey & Company in 2011. The OwnerView site was launched in May 2012.

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