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Gamblers Will Be Allowed To Sue Over Money Lost On Historical Horse Racing

Fayette Circuit Court Judge Thomas Travis ruled Tuesday that gamblers will be allowed to sue Keeneland and the Red Mile over financial losses sustained via historical horse racing terminals, reports the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Since a Kentucky Supreme Court ruled in September of 2020 that HHR machines were illegal under existing state statutes (since remedied with new legislation in February of 2021), the lawsuit will be seeking to recover gamblers' losses within the past five years.

Keeneland and Red Mile had filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, but Judge Travis overruled that on Tuesday and ordered the parties to prepare for trial. A pretrial conference is scheduled for July 7.

The lawsuit will also be seeking punitive damages under the Kentucky Consumer Protection Act.

Similar lawsuits have been filed in other counties, according to the report, but this is the first to have been ruled on.

Read more at the Lexington Herald-Leader.

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Judge Orders Specific Additional Testing Of Medina Spirit Split Sample

Judge Thomas Wingate issued a written decision on June 16 regarding plans for the remaining urine sample of Kentucky Derby first place finisher Medina Spirit, reports bloodhorse.com. The decision follows a June 11 hearing in Franklin County Circuit Court, in which Judge Wingate determined that the legal team for Medina Spirit's connections will be permitted to do extra testing on a urine sample (the “split sample”) taken from the colt after the Kentucky Derby and held by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission.

The case is based on the finding of betamethasone in a post-race sample of Medina Spirit, collected immediately after the colt crossed the wire first in the Kentucky Derby.

Counsel for Medina Spirit's trainer Bob Baffert and owner Zedan Stables filed a civil suit against the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission last week demanding their right to test the split urine sample, which sat undisturbed in the commission's freezer. Remnants of the original biologic samples were initially sent to be tested for those ingredients, but they were reportedly damaged before arrival at the plaintiffs' choice of labs.

Judge Wingate ordered Wednesday that the remaining urine sample will be flown to the plaintiffs' choice of lab for testing, that two KHRC representatives travel with the sample, and that plaintiffs will fund the flight. Upon arrival, the KHRC will retain 5 milliliters of the sample, while the remainder will be tested for clotrimazole, gentamicin, and betamethasone valerate.

Those are the three active ingredients in Otomax, a topical cream which attorneys for Baffert and Zedan claim is behind the positive finding of betamethasone in Medina Spirit. Attorneys for Baffert and Zedan went to court to push for the the testing because they believe lab evidence backing up the presence of Otomax's ingredients would prove to be exculpatory or mitigating when Kentucky stewards eventually conduct a hearing on the case.

Jennifer Wolsing, general counsel for the KHRC, declined to speculate on whether a topical administration of betamethasone would require an exoneration in the case or whether it could be considered a “mitigating circumstance” with regards to penalty. She did point to the commission's drug classification guidelines, which make reference to betamethasone without specifying what route of administration would result in a Class C finding. The only question at hand for the June 11 proceeding, she asserted, was what was to be done about further testing of the remaining biological samples.

Remington’s 2021 Stakes Schedule Highlighted By Oklahoma Derby, Springboard Mile

Remington Park's 2021 Thoroughbred Season stakes schedule is punctuated by the Grade 3, $400,000 Oklahoma Derby on Sunday, Sept. 26, and the $400,000 Springboard Mile on Sunday, Dec. 19, the final day of the meet. The season is set to begin on Aug. 20.

The Oklahoma Derby will headline a massive program of stakes races on the final Sunday of September. Among the eight stakes events on that date is the Grade 3, $200,000 Remington Park Oaks for 3-year-old fillies at 1-1/16 miles. The derby and the oaks are the only graded stakes races on the schedule.

The top 2-year-old race of the season, the Springboard Mile, is the main event as the season ends Dec. 19. The $100,000 Trapeze Stakes, for 2-year-old fillies, also at a mile, shares the final program that includes six stakes races.

The stakes schedule has 34 races with purses reaching beyond $3.8 million. The first stakes race takes place on the season's opening night when the $175,000 Governor's Cup Stakes for 3-year-olds-and-up going 1-1/8th miles, is the main event.

The schedule also includes the annual Oklahoma Classics Night on Friday, Oct. 15, featuring races in divisional categories for the top Oklahoma-bred horses. Purses for that night of state-bred competition soar past $1 million.

It is likely that fans will get to see Welder, the three-time Champion Horse of the Meeting, on Oklahoma Classics Night. Welder, a millionaire 8-year-old gray gelding, owned by Ra-Max Farms (Clayton and Toni Rash of Claremore, Okla.) and trained by Teri Luneack, is expected to try to break an all-time record at Remington Park when he races this meet. Only three horses of more than 25,000 thoroughbreds that have raced here since the track opened in 1988 have won as many as 15 races here. Highland Ice and Elegant Exxactsy were joined by Welder when he tied them with his last win here on Dec. 19, 2020.

Oklahoma Classics Night is Friday, Oct. 15, and will feature the following races for Oklahoma-breds:

$175,000 Oklahoma Classics Cup, 3-year-olds-and-up, 1-1/16th miles
$145,000 Oklahoma Classics Distaff, 3-year-olds-and-up, fillies & mares, 1 mile-70 yards
$130,000 Oklahoma Classics Sprint, 3-year-olds-and-up, 6 furlongs
$130,000 Oklahoma Classics Distaff Sprint, 3-year-olds-and-up, fillies & mares, 6 furlongs
$130,000 Oklahoma Classics Turf, 3-year-olds-and-up, 1-1/16th miles, turf
$130,000 Oklahoma Classics Distaff Turf, 3-year-olds-and-up, fillies & mares, 1-1/16th miles, turf
$100,000 Oklahoma Classics Juvenile, 2-year-olds, colts & geldings, 6 furlongs
$100,000 Oklahoma Classics Lassie, 2-year-olds, fillies, 6 furlongs
$40,000 Oklahoma Classics Starter Stakes, 3-year-olds-and-up, 7 furlongs
$40,000 Oklahoma Classics Filly & Mare Starter Stakes, 3-year-olds-and-up, fillies & mares, 7 furlongs

For the entirety of the meet, there are 18 stakes races worth $100,000 or more. There are seven stakes races set for the turf, and 18 stakes races restricted to accredited Oklahoma breds. The remainder of the stakes schedule includes:

Friday, Sept. 10 – $50,000 Oklahoma Stallion Stakes, 3-year-olds, colts & geldings, 7 furlongs
Friday, Sept. 10 – $50,000 Oklahoma Stallion Stakes, 3-year-olds, fillies, 7 furlongs
Friday, Sept. 24 – $70,000 Red Earth Stakes, 3-year-olds-and-up, 7-1/2 furlongs, turf (OK)
Friday, Sept. 24 – $70,000 Bob Barry Memorial, 3-year-olds-and-up, fillies & mares, 7-1/2 furlongs, turf (OK)
Friday, Sept. 24 – $70,000 Remington Park Turf Sprint, 3-year-olds-and-up, 5 furlongs, turf (OK)
Sunday, Sept. 26 – $150,000 David M. Vance Stakes, 3-year-olds-and-up, 6 furlongs
Sunday, Sept. 26 – $100,000 Remington Green Stakes, 3-year-olds-and-up, 1-1/8th miles, turf
Sunday, Sept. 26 – $75,000 Kip Deville Stakes, 2-year-olds, 6 furlongs
Sunday, Sept. 26 – $75,000 Ricks Memorial, 3-year-olds-and-up, fillies & mares, 1-1/16th miles, turf
Sunday, Sept. 26 – $50,000 Flashy Lady Stakes, 3-year-olds-and-up, fillies & mares, 6 furlongs
Sunday, Sept. 26 – $50,000 E.L. Gaylord Memorial, 2-year-olds, fillies, 6-1/2 furlongs
Friday, Oct. 29 – $100,000 Clever Trevor Stakes, 2-year-olds, 7 furlongs
Friday, Nov. 12 – $75,000 Don McNeill Stakes, 2-year-olds, 1 mile (OK)
Friday, Nov. 12 – $75,000 Slide Show Stakes, 2-year-olds, fillies, 1 mile (OK)
Friday, Nov. 12 – $70,000 Silver Goblin Stakes, 3-year-olds-and-up, 6-1/2 furlongs (OK)
Sunday, Dec. 19 – $100,000 She's All In Stakes, 3-year-olds-and-up, fillies & mares, 1 mile-70 yards
Sunday, Dec. 19 – $100,000 Jeffrey A. Hawk Memorial, 3-year-olds-and-up, 1 mile-70 yards
Sunday, Dec. 19 – $70,000 Jim Thorpe Stakes, 3-year-olds, 1 mile (OK)
Sunday, Dec. 19 – $70,000 Useeit Stakes, 3-year-olds, fillies, 1 mile (OK)
(OK) denotes Oklahoma-breds

The Remington Park Thoroughbred runs for 67 dates, Aug. 20 to Dec. 19.

Tracked by more than 167,000 fans on Facebook and 10,400 Twitter followers, Remington Park has provided more than $264 Million to the State of Oklahoma general education fund since the opening of the casino in 2005. Located at the junction of Interstates 35 & 44, in the heart of the Oklahoma City Adventure District, Remington Park features live and simulcast horse racing, and the casino is always open! The 2021 Thoroughbred Season begins Aug. 20. Visit remingtonpark.com for more information.

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Maryland Horse Breeders Association Announces Election Results

The Maryland Horse Breeders Association membership has selected two incumbent members, a 2019 presidential appointee and two new members to the 2021 Board of Directors. Dictated by MHBA bylaws, the annually held election fills five open seats on the board. Those elected will serve for the next three years. Michael J. Harrison DVM, a presidential appointee to the board in 2009 to 2010 who has since served from 2011 to 2016 and as the president of the board from 2018 to 2020, and Christy Holden, a board member for the past three years, are this year's incumbents.

George Adams – The owner and manager of Housatonic Bloodstock, Adams was a presidential appointee to the MHBA board in 2019. A resident of Baltimore City, Adams is an attorney who had been project manager for Country Life Farm and now serves as the director of stallions and breeding for Wasabi Ventures Stables. A member of the MHBA Social Media and Marketing committee from 2017 to 2018, and the MHBA Legislative committee in 2019, Adams is fully invested in the industry with a few of his own breeding and young stock, along with partnerships in nearly 60 horses and interests in a handful of Maryland and Kentucky stallions. He hopes to “continue to strengthen the Breeder and Owner Bonus programs for Maryland-breds [beyond the exciting new Developer category], to incentivize more breeders to foal in Maryland and invest in young Maryland-bred stock, and to support the young quality stallions standing in the state.”

Michael J. Harrison DVM – A practicing equine veterinarian who has owned and operated his family's Willowdale Farm in Butler (Baltimore County) since 1983, Harrison has been elected to his fourth term on the board. Serving as president from 2018 to 2020, he is also chairman of the MHBA Legislative committee and member of the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, American Veterinary Medical Association and American Association of Equine Practitioners. Harrison, who breeds, raises and races his own Thoroughbred stock, believes “the Maryland Thoroughbred breeding industry is the critical foundation supporting Maryland racing, directly providing future racing prospects and validating the entire Thoroughbred industry for the positive impact it creates through job generation and the preservation of open spaces, while supporting agricultural related business, and by ultimately enhancing and improving the quality of life in Maryland.”

Christy Holden – The general manager of Country Life and Merryland Farms, where she has worked since 2004, Holden will serve her second term on the board after first being elected in 2018. With a bachelor's degree in business administration and previous experience in the insurance and fire protection industries, Holden's extensive skillset helps in her role of managing four stallions and overseeing nearly 125 broodmares, 100 young stock and 20 racehorses. A MHBA Annual Yearling Show veteran and 2020 finalist for the Thoroughbred Industry Employee Award for Leadership in Breeding, the Forest Hill (Harford County) resident hopes “to be a voice for farm managers and professionals in the industry who make a living on Maryland farms, and provide ideas for the long-term success and stability of breeding and racing in the state.”

Ann B. Jackson – Owner of Foxharbor Farm in White Hall (Baltimore County) since 1998 with background as a private investor, Jackson will serve her first three-year term on the board. Breeder of 2015 Maryland Hunt Cup winner Raven's Choice, along with stakes winners such as Taco Supream and Artful Splatter, she is a member of the National Steeplechase Association, a past board member of the Steeplechase Owners and Trainers Association and a board member/officer for the Ladew Topiary Gardens. Jackson plans to “promote the breeding of Maryland horses that will race in Maryland and promote second careers of Thoroughbreds after flat racing, as steeplechasers, event horses, show horses, foxhunters, trail horses, etc.”

Adair B. Stifel – Co-owner with her parents of Mantua Farm, which has been in the family since 1934, Stifel will serve on the board for the first time. A land conservation consultant who owns a small herd of broodmares, horses of racing age and young stock, Stifel is involved with the Valleys Planning Council, Maryland Environmental Trust and Land Preservation Trust. Highly dedicated to preserving Maryland's horse industry and green space around the state, Stifel strives to “honor, preserve and ensure the future of Maryland's horse industry by: 1) breeding and training Maryland-breds for first, second and third careers; 2) enhance the sport of steeplechase racing with Maryland-breds; 3) continuing to advocate for private land conservation as a means of supporting Maryland's horse farms.”

Of the five directors whose terms expired this year, David Wade and Kent Murray were ineligible to stand for reelection because of having served six consecutive years as a member of the MHBA Board. Those whose terms have not expired are Richard F. Blue Jr., Ellen M. Charles, Michael D. Golden DVM, Michael Horning, Louis Merryman, Sabrina Moore, A. Leonard Pineau VMD, William Reightler, Thomas J. Rooney and James B. Steele.

The complete elections results, along with Committee presentations and a presentation on the Maryland Horse Library and Education Center project, will be on the agenda at the MHBA Annual General Membership meeting, to be held Monday, June 21, starting at 12 p.m. at the MHBA offices in Reisterstown, Md.

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