The Biz | Horse Racing Free Tips

Two-Day Festival Planned Around Aug. 27 Charles Town Classic

Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races is pleased to announce its 2021 Charles Town Classic will feature two days of fun and excitement on Friday, Aug. 27 and Saturday, Aug. 28. Horse racing and festival fans, beer and wine enthusiasts, foodies, table gamers, slot players and anyone seeking a weekend getaway are invited to attend a brand-new entertainment experience honoring a long-time racing tradition in West Virginia at the world-class resort destination conveniently located just a one-hour drive from the Baltimore and DC beltways.

Friday's schedule will showcase nine marquee race stakes with total purses exceeding $2 million, including the $800,000 Grade 2 Charles Town Classic which features some of the country's top horses, jockeys and trainers, as well as the Grade 3 $400,000 Charles Town Oaks. Horse racing fans of all ages and experience levels can enjoy the races which start at 5 p.m., with the Charles Town Classic itself scheduled for approximately 10:15 p.m.

Incorporating colorful, Instagram-worthy décor, in between races on Friday the event offers a variety of promotions and giveaways as well as live entertainment from 4-11 p.m. and a disc jockey spinning all evening. To add to the excitement, guests can play lawn games out on the apron, have a laugh with Emcee Brian Thomas the Mini Entertainer and interact with talented street artists. To drive home the event's theme there will also be trivia contests on horse racing, with free slot play up for grabs for winners.

Dining options include any of the Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races' 7 different indoor restaurants ranging from delectable Italian eats and burgers to sweet and savory desserts at The Eatery, authentic Hong Kong cuisine at 9 Dragons, award-winning wings at the Skybox Sports Bar or entrees cooked-to-perfection at Final Cut Steakhouse.

For expedited dining, visit one of West Virginia's favorite visiting food trucks out on the apron for delicious eats like nachos and tacos from Roaming Coyote or smoked BBQ from Hog-It-Up BBQ. Libation enthusiasts will also be excited to visit the Charles Town Classic's beer and wine garden to enjoy a fresh pour of craft beer, wine or the event's signature cocktail, a Charles Town-cello, shaken up by celebrity Chef Fabio Viviani, best-known for his participation in Bravo's Top Chef seasons 5 and 8.

Live bands return Saturday starting at 4 p.m., and patrons are invited back to the casino to carry on the festivities. Those with a flair for creativity can participate in a West Virginia-themed hat contest from 4-8 p.m., with cash prizes for winners.

Guests can also join the mychoice rewards program at no cost. New members will receive $10 in free slot play and an additional $10 when they provide a valid email address. From 8 a.m. to midnight, mychoice members who earn 15 tier credits can win up to $1,000 in free slot play in the Charles Town Classic Swipe & Win Kiosk Game. For those who enjoy table games, play and earn entries all day Saturday to be one of five winners to win up to $1,000 mycash at 9 p.m.

Charles Town Classic attendance is free, and fun is mandatory. For additional information regarding the event, visit www.hollywoodcasinocharlestown.com/charles-town-classic and follow the casino on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for updates.

Fun at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races begins long before the 2021 Charles Town Classic. Every Friday and Saturday during the month of August guests can win their share of a racehorse or up to $100,000 cash by using their mychoice rewards card. Winners are announced every hour between 5:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.

The post Two-Day Festival Planned Around Aug. 27 Charles Town Classic appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Veterinarian Changes Plea, Agrees To Forfeit Over $1 Million Plus Restitution In Federal Case

Dr. Kristian Rhein, longtime racetrack veterinarian, entered a guilty plea Aug. 3 to one felony count of drug adulteration and misbranding in U.S. District Court. Rhein told Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil that he marketed and sold adulterated and misbranded drugs, specifically SGF-1000, to trainers for the purpose of enhancing performance. Rhein also admitted that he modified veterinary records to conceal administration of SGF-1000, as well as the administration of clenbuterol, which he said was not always given with a valid prescription.

As part of his plea agreement with prosecutors, Rhein has agreed to forfeit $1,021,800 of the proceeds he generated from the illegal drug sales, and to further pay over $700,000 in restitution to the victims of his crimes. Prosecutors did not specify who the victims would be for the purposes of restitution, only that a sealed list would be filed along with sentencing recommendations. Vyskocil also clarified with prosecutors that the restitution amount owed by Rhein could lessen if additional defendants are found or plead guilty.

Sentencing will take place at a later date, but the charge Rhein pleaded to carries a maximum recommended prison sentence of three years, with an additional possible sentence of one year of supervised probation. Vyskocil made clear to Rhein that she could decide to impose a higher sentence if she chose. Rhein could also face fines of $10,000, twice the gross gain of his scheme, or twice the losses to others as the result of his crimes, whichever amount is greatest.

Rhein specifically mentioned that he conspired with trainer Jason Servis to administer and conceal the administration of SGF-1000. Prosecutors revealed they had evidence collected from wire taps stating that SGF-1000 was untestable and demonstrating that trainers described anecdotal impacts of the drug on their horses' performance. Further, prosecutors had archived information showing that after drug makers realized there was regulatory scrutiny of SGF-1000, they changed their marketing to stop referring to it as a performance enhancer and vasodilator, and to begin referring to it as a homeopathic treatment. Prior to this change, the drug was also advertised to contain various growth factors, but that was also modified to evade scrutiny.

Read more about the evolution in the marketing of SGF-1000 in this Paulick Report feature published during the week of the indictments.

Intercepted phone calls also allegedly contain discussions between Rhein and others about SGF-1000 being undetectable on post-race drug testing. Indeed, prosecutors say, based on the evidence they collected about the drug's use, it was not showing up on post-race tests.

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Prosecutors also revealed they had evidence showing the shipment of SGF-1000 from an overseas manufacturer to MediVet Equine, a Nicholasville, Ky.-based company which claimed to be the originator of SGF-1000. Michael Kegley, Jr., former director of sales for MediVet Equine, changed his plea to guilty in late July 2021.

Also during Tuesday's hearing, prosecutors revealed they believed between $26 and $65 million in purses was collected by Servis while using drugs given by Rhein on their horses. They did not specify which horses or which races they were referring to. Rhein stated that the dates of his drug adulteration and misbranding stretched from December 2016 until March 2020.

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Attorneys For Servis Say FBI Misled Court On Wiretaps, Want Evidence Suppressed

Attorneys for indicted trainer Jason Servis filed a motion on Monday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York asking Judge Mary K. Vyskocil to suppress evidence obtained through Title III wiretaps on the telephones of Servis, trainer Jorge Navarro and veterinarian Kristian Rhein in connection with the March 2020 federal indictments of more than two dozen people alleged to be involved in a multi-state racehorse doping scheme.

Attorneys Rita Glavin and Michael Considine said in court filings that the FBI in seeking the wiretaps made “material misstatements and omissions” that were “deliberate or reckless” in seeking the wiretap on Servis authorized on April 30, 2019, and extended three times. The attorneys said the wiretap resulted in the “interception of thousands of communications” of Servis, one of several trainers indicted in the federal investigation that began in 2017.

First, the attorneys state, the FBI chose not to inform the court that no horses under Servis' care failed any post-race drug tests during the span of the investigation. “By contrast,” they wrote, “horses trained by Thoroughbred horse trainer Bob Baffert (who has never been criminally charged) have failed numerous post-race drug tests in the last several years, most recently failing a post-race drug test for the 2021 disqualified Kentucky Derby winner, 'Medina Spirit.'” (Editor's Note: A hearing has yet to be conducted on Medina Spirit's positive drug test and he has not been disqualified from the Derby.)

Secondly, the attorneys allege, FBI agents consistently misstated the nature of two drugs mentioned in connection with Servis: SGF-1000, a product marketed by Kentucky-based Medivet Equine, and the bronchodilator clenbuterol.

“SGF-1000 was repeatedly tested prior to the wiretap and found to contain no performance enhancing substances,” the attorneys claim, citing a number of emails between different parties and the Hong Kong Jockey Club, whose lab apparently tested the substance that is said to contain sheep collagen as a primary ingredient. Despite that, the attorneys wrote, an FBI agent seeking the original wiretap or extensions “repeatedly described SGF-1000 to the court as a 'growth factor' and 'performance enhancing substance.'”

The attorneys' memorandum in support of the motion to suppress also quotes from intercepted comments by Rhein (a part owner of Medivet) that SGF-1000 does not contain any illegal substances. “Everything we've done is by the letter of the law,” Rhein told Servis in one conversation.

On Tuesday, Rhein pleaded guilty in federal court to administering and distributing adulterated and misbranded drugs and faces three years in prison.

“In its zeal to secure and maintain the wiretap,” the attorneys claim, “the government also misled the issuing courts about clenbuterol, wrongfully characterizing it as a performance-enhancing drug that was banned by various state regulators. In fact, clenbuterol was expressly permitted in the jurisdictions Mr. Servis' horses raced. “Although local rules of the relevant jurisdictions provide that a horse cannot race when clenbuterol is present within their system above a certain threshold at the time of a race, none of Mr. Servis' horses failed a single post-race test during the period of the government's investigation. The government withheld this fact from the issuing courts as well,” the attorneys wrote.

Their final argument claims that the FBI “misled the court about the necessity for a wiretap of Mr. Servis' phone in its requirement to explain that 'normal investigative procedures have been tried and have failed or reasonably appear to be unlikely to succeed if tried or to be too dangerous.' … The government failed to take even the most basic of investigative steps with respect to Mr. Servis, and instead ran to the District Court for a wiretap as essentially its first investigative step.”

The motion also seeks suppression of evidence from wiretaps on the phones of Rhein and Navarro, the latter of whom has asked the court for a hearing to change his “not guilty” plea.

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California Safety Initiatives Contribute To 50 Percent Decline In Equine Fatalities

California horse racing experienced a 50-percent decline in equine fatalities over the last two fiscal years, largely due to steps taken by the California Horse Racing Board and a team effort with the entire California horse racing industry. After 144 horses died in FY 2018-19 from racing or training injuries or other causes while stabled at facilities under the CHRB's jurisdiction, the number dropped to 72 in FY 2020-21, down by half.

This progress did not come about suddenly. The list of safety initiatives on the CHRB website dates back decades. Previous racing commissioners demonstrated a strong commitment to racing safety. Racetrack owners and management have provided leadership and resources. Horsemen's groups have provided encouragement and support with the cooperation of owners, trainers, jockeys, veterinarians, and other stakeholders in the industry.

While the numbers of equine fatalities have been trending downward since 2005, the last fiscal year marked the most significant improvement in a single year with a 40-percent decline. Continuing the actions of previous Boards, which included establishing an entry review panel for Santa Anita at the direction of Governor Gavin Newsom, the current commissioners expanded the review panel program to all tracks to make certain that entered horses are fit to compete.

Dr. Greg Ferraro, chairman, recalls setting the course for the Board at the first meeting he chaired on November 22, 2019: “I stated that our primary focus would be the health and safety of horses and riders. We've come a long way in fulfilling that promise, and I assure everyone that we will remain committed to that effort with new policies and regulations.”

Over the last 19 months, Chairman Ferraro, Vice Chairman Oscar Gonzales, and Commissioners Dennis Alfieri, Wendy Mitchell, and Alex Solis, later joined by Commissioners Damascus Castellanos and Brenda Davis, have taken more than 40 regulatory actions intended to either directly or indirectly protect horses, thereby reducing fatalities and protecting riders. Among the more significant actions, the commissioners:

Adopted rules limiting the use of the riding crop, which at the time were the strictest rules in the nation, while enhancing penalties for violation of those rules.
Required trainers to participate in a full postmortem examination review to make them aware of the nature of the injuries and to discuss ways to prevent such injuries in the future. This has helped lead to a culture change in the California horse racing industry whereby participants are placing a higher priority on the protection of horses.
Allowed Official Veterinarians to require diagnostic imaging prior to removing horses from the restrictive Veterinarian's List and permitting them to train or compete.
Prohibited or severely restricted the use of bisphosphonates, thyroxine, extracorporeal shockwave therapy, and intra-articular injections prior to workouts and racing.
Took significant steps to make veterinary treatments transparent to authorities and in certain cases new owners.

Furthermore, the CHRB recently created the new position of Chief Official Veterinarian and named Dr. Timothy Grande, longtime Official Veterinarian on the Southern California thoroughbred circuit, to meet the broad responsibilities of overseeing veterinarians, veterinary procedures, and practices throughout the state. The CHRB also appointed Dr. Jeff Blea to the role of Equine Medical Director, who will bring new ideas, perspective, and energy to this important position.

Executive Director Scott Chaney is excited with the direction the CHRB has charted: “I took this job a year-and-a-half ago because I recognized this Board's and the Administration's commitment to real, significant, long-term reform in the arena of animal welfare. It has been gratifying to be a part of this sea change in racing, and the results are undeniable. We clearly have more work to do, but with this reform-minded Board, dedicated staff, and committed stakeholders, the future is bright.”

Reform efforts continue in all areas of animal welfare with specific emphasis on standardizing and utilizing algorithms to identify high risk horses, completing race-day medication prohibition, applying a science-based approach to making track surfaces safer, and exploring other ways to reduce and eliminate human and equine injuries.

Details on all Board actions are available in press releases on the CHRB website.

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