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Linda Rice Will Continue To Train After Court Grants Temporary Restraining Order

The County of Schenectady Supreme Court has granted a temporary restraining order to Linda Rice, just two days after the New York State Gaming Commission officially issued the order to revoke her training license for three years, reports the Daily Racing Form. As a result, Rice will be allowed to continue to train horses in the state of New York.

Andrew Turro, Rice's attorney, had argued that without injunctive relief, “Rice's training business, the result of a very successful 34-year career, will be irreversibly destroyed before the court can hear this case and determine Ms. Rice's application for a stay/preliminary injunction.”

Regarding Wednesday's decision, Turro told DRF: “The court's order restores Ms. Rice's ability to get back to racing and training immediately. We also look forward to challenging the commission's order in the court and ultimately vindicating Ms. Rice's rights.”

Licensees in New York are entitled to appeal a finding of a hearing officer to the appropriate court, and it is common for stays of suspensions to be issued while the appeals process plays out.

Rice had seen her license revoked officially on June 7, two weeks after the NYSGC voted to uphold a hearing officer's recommendation that Rice's license be revoked with the condition she could not reapply for licensure for at least three years. She had also been ordered to pay a fine of $50,000 and was to be denied all access to New York gaming commission-sanctioned properties.

Rice is accused of receiving information from the racing office about which horses were entered in which races prior to the official close of entries. The alleged information exchange took place over a period of 2011 and 2014, and the commission first brought a complaint against Rice in 2019. A series of hearing dates took place in late 2020, during which the commission and Rice's attorney presented information to a hearing officer along with numerous volumes of data and interview transcripts.

Baffert, Zedan File Suit Against Kentucky Commission Over Extra Testing In Medina Spirit Saga

Medina Spirit trainer Bob Baffert and owner Amr Zedan have filed a civil suit against the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) in Franklin Circuit Court demanding more testing of the post-race samples taken from the colt after the Kentucky Derby. The suit, filed June 7, seeks temporary and permanent injunctions against the KHRC from “violating the plaintiffs' substantive and procedural due process rights with regard to the analysis of the split biological urine sample” in the case.

Eight days after the Kentucky Derby, Baffert publicly announced he had been informed an initial post-race test on Medina Spirit had revealed the presence of the corticosteroid betamethasone. At the time, Baffert said the horse had never been treated with betamethasone, which comes in multiple forms. Two days later after the ensuing media storm, Baffert announced Medina Spirit had been treated with Otomax, a topical cream approved for use in dogs in the process of trying to clear up a sizable patch of skin irritation.

A split sample test has confirmed the presence of betamethasone, but the KHRC has yet to issue a stewards' ruling regarding the potential disqualification of the horse and/or fines and suspensions for Baffert. In acknowledging the positive split sample, attorneys for Zedan and Baffert last week acknowledged they were going to conduct further testing on samples from Medina Spirit.

The lawsuit reveals that the attorneys had made a number of demands regarding the testing of that split sample. The purpose of split sample testing is to confirm or refute the original finding from the initial post-race test in the same medium (blood or urine), but attorneys for Baffert and Zedan demanded that both mediums be tested. They also demanded that both mediums be tested for other compounds present in Otomax, including the anti-fungal clotrimazole and the anti-bacterial gentamicin, as well as the specific chemical form of betamethasone used in the topical application – betamethasone valerate.

Learn more about split sample testing here.

The KHRC declined those requests, which exceed the typical battery of tests for split sample testing. It did agree to send the remnants of the original samples to a laboratory chosen by Zedan and Baffert so that additional testing could be performed at the owner and trainer's expense. The lawsuit claims the testing samples arrived damaged, and that the KHRC is now reluctant to send the horse's split urine sample, which has not been tested, to another laboratory.

“There currently sits in the KHRC freezer an unopened, untested and hopefully pristine split sample of Medina Spirit's urine,” reads the suit. “Given the foregoing, the plantiffs requested that the urine be immediately shipped to the agreed upon lab for testing for all the compounds in Otomax. The KHRC has refused this reasonable request and indicated it has no intention of allowing that urine split sample to be tested in any way.”

The complaint also puts forth the theory by attorneys for Baffert and Zedan that the classification of betamethasone in KHRC regulations is intended to refer only to the FDA-approved injectable form of betamethasone, known by the trade name BetaVet. The commission's current classification guidelines refer to the drug betamethasone, not to BetaVet. The plaintiffs claim the existing regulations do not “discuss or include any reference to the use of betamethasone as a component of a topical ointment or cream.”

KHRC regulations do not appear to discriminate between topical versus injected products or between brand name products in its current drug classification guidelines. Its withdrawal guidelines, which “shall provide certain mandatory treatment requirements, guidance, and advice” do make specific reference to injected forms of betamethasone.

The KHRC has not yet filed a response in the case. A hearing for the temporary injunction will take place before Circuit Court Judge Thomas Wingate on Friday morning.

Read a copy of the civil complaint here.

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Meadowlands Sponsoring Race Announcer Workshop On July 10

Meadowlands Racing and Entertainment is sponsoring a Race Announcer Workshop on Saturday, July 10, 2021.

The workshop, open to all ages, will be conducted by Meadowlands announcer Ken Warkentin, who has called over 200,000 Standardbred and Thoroughbred races, including 21 Hambletonians. Warkentin, who started calling races at age 16, has been on racing broadcast teams for CBS, NBC and ESPN. He provides voice overs for a variety of outlets and has a website, http://www.kenvoice.com/.

The day's events will start at 8 a.m. at the track and wrap up with students who wish to do so calling one of the non-betting, non-purse races for 2-year-olds that will start at 9 a.m. If the number of students who want to call a race exceeds the number of races that day, a random draw will be held to match a student with a race.

Tuition is $25. Tuition will take the form of a tax deductible donation to the Harness Horse Youth Foundation. Class size is limited to 30.

For more information or to sign up, contact Matt Zuccarello via phone or e-mail at 516-314-0478 and e-mail at mzuccarello25@gmail.com

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Penn National Joins HeadCheck Jockey Health System, Moving Toward Uniform Mid-Atlantic Protocols

Penn National Race Course announced a new partnership with software company HeadCheck Health, Inc. ('HeadCheck') that will equip all staff with a customized system for optimizing concussion and injury management for jockeys within and between racetracks.

Horse racing is a sport that comes with an inherent risk for jockeys. The industry also faces challenges in implementing concussion and injury protocols. There are different resources available at each track, no national overseeing body to mandate requirements, independent state commissions and rules, and a transitory workforce of jockeys.

Since 2019, HeadCheck has worked with various industry stakeholders, customizing the platform to solve many of these issues. Though the program took a backseat to challenges related to COVID-19, it's been quietly continuing to adapt the system to be ready for expansion.

The journey so far has been marked by impressive collaboration and hard work between Dr. Kelly Ryan and the sports medicine team at MedStar Health, Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, Maryland Jockey Club, and Delaware Jockeys Health and Welfare Benefit Board.

“The implementation of the HeadCheck program by racetracks in the region is an important step toward protecting the health of jockeys,” said Aaron Gryder, Vice President, Industry Relations, 1/ST RACING. “As a retired jockey myself, I see the HeadCheck program as a key solution for elevating the standard of care by creating consistent medical and head-health monitoring for our athletes.”

HeadCheck is a secure HIPAA compliant system that will improve track management by allowing clear and immediate communication of suspected injuries and jockey health status. This program will help ensure nothing slips through the cracks and all jockeys receive appropriate care before returning to ride.

“We are proud to be joining this initiative and committed to the health and safety of our jockeys,” said Eric Johnston, Director of Racing Operations at Penn National Race Course.

HeadCheck's goals align with the industry's: provide a comprehensive system that will save time, reduce the risk of non-compliance to concussion and injury protocols, and improve outcomes for injured riders.

To learn more, visit headcheckhealth.com or contact Eric VanderHelm directly at evanderhelm@headcheckhealth.com or (604) 373-0035.

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