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Santa Anita, Del Mar Join Forces To Expand ‘Ship & Win’ Program

Santa Anita Park and the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club have joined forces to expand upon Del Mar's popular “Ship & Win” program, as out-of-state horses who make their first California-based starts in May and June at Santa Anita will still be eligible for the lucrative purse incentives at Del Mar, beginning with their Summer Meet opener on July 16.

Effective May 1, out-of-state horses can now start up to twice at Santa Anita through closing day of the current 2021 Winter/Spring Meet on June 20 and still be eligible for Del Mar's Ship & Win program bonuses.

“This is a great enticement to out-of-state owners and horsemen to bring their horses here in advance of Del Mar,” said Santa Anita Director of Racing and Racing Secretary Chris Merz. “People around the country know Santa Anita and Del Mar provide world class training and racing opportunities. We've very happy the folks at Del Mar and with the Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC) recognize the importance of this comprehensive approach to attracting new horses.”

Merz also added that any new horses participating in the Del Mar Ship & Win program will also be eligible for the Santa Anita Sunshine Bonus, which will again be offered at the track's upcoming Autumn Meet, which opens Oct. 1.

For additional information, horsemen are encouraged to call the Santa Anita Racing Office at (626) 574-6452.

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Racecourse Manager Certification Program To Launch In June At University Of Kentucky

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, and the Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory (RSTL) announced Friday the dates for the launch of a joint initiative offering a Racecourse Manager Certification from the University of Kentucky.

The initial three-course program, entitled “Turfgrass as an Equine Sports Surface,” is designed for those already engaged in careers with turf surface maintenance. Free online classes will begin June 7 and will be archived. Individuals who complete the video courses and pass a test that requires a $50 fee will receive a certificate of completion from the University of Kentucky. Participating Thoroughbred racetracks that enroll their personnel will receive credit toward future accreditation by the NTRA Safety & Integrity Alliance.

The “Turfgrass as an Equine Sports Surface” courses are:
June 7: Selection of Turf for Climate Zones
June 14: Cultivation of Turf for Compaction and Wear
June 21: Measurement of Turf Condition

The curriculum for the turf management course was developed by Michael “Mick” Peterson, Ph.D., Director of the Racetrack Safety Program at the University of Kentucky and Executive Director of the Racing Surfaces and Testing Laboratory (RSTL). Other participants in the online courses include turf experts:

Mike Boekholder, Boekholder & Associates;
Logan Freeman, Mountain Branch Golf Club, Joppa Maryland;
Michael Goatley, Jr., Ph.D., Professor and Extension Turfgrass Specialist, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University;
Beth Guertal, Ph.D., Professor of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences, Auburn University;
Gregg Munshaw, Ph.D., Director of Agronomy, Mountain View Seeds; and
Geoffrey Rinehart, MS, Turfgrass Management Lecturer, University of Maryland.

Participating experts in equine biomechanics include:

Dr. Sarah Jane Hobbs, University of Central Lancashire;
Alison Northrop, Nottingham Trent University; and
Lars Roepstorff, Swedish University of Agriculture.

Racing industry leaders participating include:

Brian Jabelman, Senior Director of Track Operations, New York Racing Association;
Jim Pendergest, Director of Racing Surfaces, Keeneland Racetrack;
Jamie Richardson, Racetrack Superintendent, Churchill Downs; and
Sean Gault, Equine Racing Specialist, DCS & Associates.

Individuals interested in receiving additional information and pre-enrolling for the online sessions can visit https://www.ntra.com/rmcp/.

“This is exactly the type of collaboration we envisioned when the Racing Surfaces and Testing Laboratory (RSTL) joined forces with the University of Kentucky Ag Equine Programs. The benefits of this interaction are undeniable as we seek to further protect the welfare of the horse and develop the industry's future workforce,” said NTRA President and Chief Executive Officer Alex Waldrop.

“We have assembled a powerhouse line-up of instructors to cover multiple equine disciplines ranging from turf racing to polo to eventing,” said Peterson. “This will be a science-based curriculum for individuals who are serious about their profession and desire to be leaders in their chosen fields. We are starting with a turf curriculum, but future modules will focus on all types of surfaces and will include hands-on training with track maintenance equipment.”

“We are thrilled to see this program get off the ground and appreciate the support of NTRA. Our college has a strong commitment to getting our best information out to those in the real world who can use it,” said Nancy Cox, UK Vice President for Land Grant Engagement and College of Agriculture, Food and Environment Dean.

“The science driving progress on racing safety includes not only the horses and riders themselves, but also clearly the racing surfaces on which they compete. It is exciting to see the optimization and application of knowledge from turfgrass science applied to the management challenges of turf racing,” said James MacLeod, director of UK Ag Equine Programs and Elizabeth A. Knight chair and professor of veterinary science at the Gluck Equine Research Center.

About the Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory
The Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory is a non-profit (501c3) organization that carries out on-site and laboratory testing and data services for surfaces used for horse racing and equine sports. Founded in 2009, the lab is able to compare data from a wide range of surfaces used in the horse racing industry including dirt, turf and synthetic track surfaces. In 2020 the mission of the laboratory was expanded through a major gift which will allow improved on-site testing capabilities and expanded database services. In addition to racetrack testing and the development of tools to improve the consistency of the surfaces, the laboratory works with the University of Kentucky on the study of alternative racetrack surfaces and equipment, and the development and the development and promotion of standards for racetrack surfaces. All of these efforts are focused on increased consistency of racing surfaces as a part of broader efforts for the protection of horses and riders.

About the University of Kentucky Ag Equine Programs
UK Ag Equine Programs serves as the front door to equine work being done at the University of Kentucky, representing the breadth and depth of all things equine in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. It exemplifies the college's long-term commitment to serving the equine industry and horse enthusiasts regionally, nationally and internationally.

About the Equine Sports Turfgrass Alliance
The Equine Sports Turfgrass Alliance, (ESTA) is a recently formed group of university and industry turfgrass experts in partnership with Dr. Mick Peterson. ESTA as an organization is dedicated to conducting research and providing education about turfgrass surfaces for racetrack, eventing, polo and other-use equine surfaces. This education event is their first offering. However, future research and educational opportunities for horse owners, trainers and equine facility managers are currently being developed. It is the goal of ESTA to bring science-backed maintenance practices to the forefront of equine turfgrass systems.

About the NTRA Safety & Integrity Alliance
The NTRA Safety & Integrity Alliance is a standing organization formed in 2008 with the goal of establishing national uniform standards in the areas of safety and integrity. Alliance accreditation standards cover six broad areas: (1) injury reporting and prevention; (2) creating a safer racing environment; (3) aftercare and transition of retired racehorses; (4) uniform medication, testing and penalties; (5) safety research; and (6) wagering security. The standards are revised annually to adopt new and progressively more stringent requirements.

About the NTRA
The NTRA, based in Lexington, Ky., is a broad-based coalition of more than 100 horse racing interests and thousands of individual stakeholders consisting of horseplayers, racetrack operators, owners, breeders, trainers and affiliated horse racing associations, charged with increasing the popularity, welfare and integrity of Thoroughbred racing through consensus-based leadership, legislative advocacy, safety and integrity initiatives, fan engagement and corporate partner development. The NTRA owns and manages the NTRA Safety & Integrity Alliance; NTRA.com; the Eclipse Awards; the National Horseplayers Championship (NHC); NTRA Advantage, a corporate partner sales and sponsorship program; and Horse PAC®, a federal political action committee. NTRA press releases appear on NTRA.com and social media.

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Motion To Dismiss: Feds Say HBPA ‘Jumped The Gun’ With HISA Challenge

Federal attorneys have filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed by the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association in an attempt to put the brakes on the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA), reports the Thoroughbred Daily News, arguing that the HBPA's “complaint questions the validity of a law that currently subjects them to no obligation or penalty.”

The NHBPA and 12 of its state chapters filed suit in March in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, seeking to have HISA and a number of its elements declared unconstitutional. The crux of the suit is that plaintiffs believe HISA delegates legislative authority to a private organization and private individuals in violation of the U.S. Constitution

In the Apr. 30 motion to dismiss, federal attorneys argue: “Plaintiffs jumped the gun bringing this constitutional challenge.”

The filing continued: “Neither the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) nor the [HISA] Authority have even proposed rules that they could endeavor to enact. There has been no proposal for rules regarding permissible and impermissible drugs; no proposal for rules regarding racetrack safety; and no proposals for rules regarding enforcement procedures or penalties…There has not even been a rule crafted to govern how the Authority is to 'propose' any rules to the FTC–which is all fitting, given that HISA is only four months old.”

Read more at the Thoroughbred Daily News.

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New Indictment, Court Documents Reveal More About Drug Makers In Federal Case

Two more people have been indicted as part of an ongoing federal case focusing on adulterated and misbranded performance-enhancing drugs in horse racing. On March 11, a new superseding indictment was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in the case of former pharmacist Scott Mangini, who has since entered a guilty plea to a charge of conspiring to unlawfully distribute adulterated and misbranded drugs with the intent to defraud and mislead. The new indictment also names Carl Garofalo Sr. and veterinarian Dr. Michael Posner.

This is the third version of an indictment for Mangini, who was originally indicted alongside associate Scott Robinson in March 2020 and then was named in a superseding indictment that dropped Robinson. Robinson pleaded guilty to one count of drug adulteration and misbranding conspiracy in September 2020 and was sentenced in March 2021 to 18 months in prison.

According to the indictment, Mangini collaborated with others, including Robinson and Garofalo, to operate a series of online marketplaces which advertised substances designed to enhance performance or serve as copies of prescription drugs. Court documents filed in Mangini's case before his guilty plea detail the tangle of businesses Mangini and his associates created in an attempt to make it harder for consumers and regulators to work out who was behind their various storefronts.

Mangini apparently kept busy with multiple businesses operating on overlapping timeframes. As reported by the Paulick Report in 2016, Mangini was the pharmacist at Ergogenic Labs in Wellington, Fla., before the facility closed following a particularly negative inspection by state health department regulators. Mangini surrendered his license after that state inspection, which highlighted unsanitary facilities and mislabeled product ingredients. According to prosecutors, some of the products Mangini made at Ergogenic were sold to Robinson, who distributed them to the public via HorsePreRace.

During the same time he was working at Erogenic, Mangini, Robinson, and others were also making illegally-compounded ulcer medication under the banner of Horse Gold. Mangini, HorseGold, and HorsePreRace were all recipients of FDA warning letters in 2014 regarding ulcer products called GastroMax3 and Gastrotec which the agency said were illegally compounded. A series of knock-off omeprazole products on the market at the time had remarkably similar logos of a running horse outline with a starburst behind or near the horse.

One document from prosecutors acknowledged the same group was behind various iterations of the ulcer medication and were trying to walk a line between maintaining branding and escaping the notice of state authorities.

In November 2015, Robinson allegedly wrote to someone: “Don't use that artwork for gastromax 3 that my guy sent u – u get us all ****ed – too close-why wouldn't u use original artwork I'm serious-I don't need board of pharmacy seeing that and linking to me.”

According to a press release from Horse Gold in 2011, its ulcer products were carried in racing tack shops around the country and were also donated to aftercare charities.

After Ergogenic shuttered in 2016, prosecutors say Mangini and Robinson stopped working together and Mangini and Garofalo incorporated Pegasis Investment Group, which served as a shell for RacehorseMeds. Garofalo is accused of helping to manufacture and ship “identical drugs to those Mangini had produced while operating Ergogenic” and of enlisting family members to do the same. Documents reveal that one of the people on the government's witness list helped Mangini and Garofalo create a shell company called Diamond Enterprise Group to obscure the identity of the “true manufacturer and shipper of the drugs sold to consumers.” The person identified only as “Witness-1” was paid $1,000 a month and opened bank accounts and multiple mailboxes outside the state of Florida in the company's name to make it appear as though Diamond Enterprise was based elsewhere.

Indeed, it would seem as though the scheme was successful at making it difficult for consumers to figure out how to report a problem with products purchased from one of the companies. A government motion told the story of an unidentified owner whose trainer advised her horse needed ulcer medication and directed the owner to RaceHorseMeds. The owner purchased omeprazole paste from the website without being prompted for a prescription and began giving the paste to her horse. Eight days later, she “observed a serious deterioration in her horse's health, resulting in the horse's hospitalization at an animal hospital.

“Witness-3 attempted to contact the company operating the Racehorsemeds website to find out what was in the product she ordered, but the only person Witness-3 could link to Racehorsemeds was Witness-1.”

Federal regulations require, among other elements of labeling, that the manufacturer of a drug be clearly identified on the label so consumers can report adverse drug reactions if needed.

Prior to entering his guilty plea, Mangini's attorneys had been trading motions with prosecutors about which pieces of evidence would be admissible at his trial. One point of contention was that Mangini was apparently on the radar for U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. The agency seized two packages that were addressed to people other than Mangini – one in 2020 from Wuhan, China, was bound for “Frank Stef” and one in 2018 from Jalisco, Mexico, was addressed to “Michael O'Donnell.” A defense motion sought to have this evidence excluded, pointing out that Mangini was not the addressee on either package but did not explain exactly how he related to either package. The motion did point out that the accusations against Mangini related to his sale of products in the United States, not to his receipt of drugs from foreign countries.

Garofalo, Mangini and Robinson were all longtime owners on the Standardbred racing scene, but Mangini and Garofalo did make a foray into the Thoroughbred world. In late 2015, trainer Maria Borell claimed two horses for their Pegasis Investment Group. One was claimed away and the other was later transferred to trainer Sal Santoro after Borell left Florida. A third Thoroughbred racing for Pegasis Investment Group the following year was trained by Barry Kirkham.

The indictment accuses Posner of allowing Mangini to use his name and veterinary licensing credentials to create prescriptions for horses which neither Posner nor Mangini (who is not a veterinarian) had examined. The March 2021 indictment points to a check to Posner issued by Ergogenic Labs for $243.50, with “March 2016 commissions” written in the memo line.

Mangini and Posner were charged with one count of drug adulteration and misbranding conspiracy, while Mangini and Garofalo were charged in a separate count of drug adulteration and misbranding conspiracy. Garofalo and Posner have entered not guilty pleas.

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