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ARCI: Financial Impact, Implementation Details Should Be Known Before Passage Of HISA Bill

Expressing concerns about undefined cost mandates and implementation issues associated with S.4547, the proposed Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act of 2020, the Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI) believes Legislators should require more information about how the legislation will impact individual States before moving forward with the proposal.

“The RCI Board believes there are some very good things in this bill,” said Ed Martin, President of the ARCI. “But there is a huge financial unknown concerning the cost, especially how it will impact smaller and mid-sized racing entities and exactly how this is to be implemented.”

Martin said the ARCI is committed to a smooth transition once the proposal is enacted into law, noting that the legislation addresses issues long advocated by the association, specifically uniform rules and testing. “This legislation accomplishes that and also solves the funding issue that has been an annual headache for every racing commission,” he said.

The ARCI Board met this week and discussed the proposal at length. “There are many questions about how this will work and a general concern about how smaller and midsized racing venues will survive if required to pay additional regulatory expenses,” he said. A staff analysis of the legislation noted at least 35 racing venues in 19 US States that should be monitored to assess the extent to which they will be able to withstand additional financial mandates imposed by the legislation.

The RCI Board felt that there were too many unanswered questions to embrace the legislation at this time although directors from Kentucky spoke in favor, West Virginia against, and some other jurisdictions withheld comment pending direction from their full Commission.

Other than shifting medication rule making authority and in some jurisdictions the responsibility for operating and paying for the enforcement program, the State Racing Commissions are perhaps the entities least impacted by this legislation.

There is a concern that in an attempt to strengthen racing, this bill may reduce racing opportunities in some communities with a ripple effect on local economies, particularly in the agricultural sector.

“The RCI Board believes the sponsors and proponents of this bill should allay those fears by providing details about the anticipated costs associated with the new Authority and the Enforcement Agency as well as state specific operational costs should they assume the entire enforcement program now operated by the State,” Martin said.

Martin said that the statute, when implemented, will be similar in some ways to the system in place for RCI Members in Canada, except that investigations there and adjudications are handled by Provincial Racing Commissions with testing and screening limits handled by a federal agency uniformly.

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Fort Erie Enjoys Increase In Handle At COVID-Free Live Meet

Fort Erie Race Track in Fort Erie, Ontario, may have been closed to fans this year, but the 123rd racing season was still one for the record books. Despite the massive impact of COVID-19 and the many obstacles it presented, Fort Erie Race Track was able to safely operate 39 race days while remaining COVID-free.

“This season we had a backstretch community with close to 500 essential horse people, and more than 100 active staff members, and we were able to complete our meet safely and without any positive COVID-19 cases,” said Tom Valiquette, chief operating and financial officer of the Fort Erie Live Racing Consortium. “It was crucial that we were able to operate this season, and I want to thank all of our community members for working together safely and following our COVID-19 protocols. Through the efforts of every one of our team members, we were able to put on another successful season during one of the most challenging years in our history.”

Despite being closed to fans, Fort Erie saw a record year for wagering, with $40.2 million wagered this season on 39 days, up from $29.9 million last year with 40 days. This includes 15 days this season where more than $1 million was wagered.

Closing day on Tuesday featured the Tour de Fort at two miles and 70 yards on the main track. Auntie Katherine took the lead early on with jockey Emile Ramsammy, and she held on to that position for both laps around the track until she crossed the finish line. Trained by Jennifer Davis for owner Big Boy Racing, Auntie Katherine also won the Puss n Boots Cup and the Molson Cup earlier this season. With four wins from five starts, Auntie Katherine was this year's meet leading horse.

It was a very successful season for jockey Juan Crawford, who claimed the title of leading rider this year with 48 wins. Among his many victories, highlights included the Puss n Boots Cup and the Molson Cup, both with Auntie Katherine.

“I try to make use of every shot that I get, whether it's a long shot or a favorite. I just want to give every horse a fair chance and do my best for the people that I'm riding for,” said Crawford.

Jockey Melanie Pinto was second this year with 37 wins, followed by Kirk Johnson. Julie Mathes finished the season as leading trainer with 29 wins at Fort Erie, and her husband David Mathes took home the title of leading owner.

Fort Erie recently hosted the 85th Prince of Wales Stakes on September 29. The event is the 2nd jewel in the OLG Canadian Triple Crown, won by Mighty Heart, who now holds the first two legs of the series. Trained by Josie Carroll for owner Lawrence Cordes, the one-eyed wonder will be looking to make a run at the Breeders' Stakes at Woodbine on October 24, in his quest to be the first horse to win the OLG Canadian Triple Crown since Wando in 2003.

Looking towards 2021, Fort Erie has applied for 40 race days again next year, operating primarily on Mondays and Tuesdays, beginning June 1 through to October 19. At this time, Fort Erie's Racebook will continue to remain closed due to COVID-19.

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Connections Of Justify, Hoppertunity Seek To Prevent CHRB From Conducting Hearings Into 2018 Scopolamine Positives

The owners of Justify and Hoppertunity, along with trainer Bob Baffert and jockeys Mike Smith and Flavien Prat, have filed filed legal action in Los Angeles Superior Court to prevent the California Horse Racing Board from conducting Oct. 29 disqualification hearings into April 2018 victories by Justify in the Santa Anita Derby and Hoppertunity in the Tokyo City Cup.

The writ of mandate, filed on Oct. 13, claims Aug. 25, 2020, actions by the CHRB to reopen the cases are “void, arbitrary, capricious, unconstitutional, beyond the power of the CHRB, and a prejudicial abuse of discretion.” It alleges the CHRB has violated California Code of Regulations and Government Code as well as the due process rights of the petitioners under the U.S. Constitution.

Justify and Hoppertunity, along with five other unnamed horses, tested positive for scopolamine in 2018. According to the legal filing, the Justify and Hoppertunity cases were investigated by the CHRB's equine medical director, Dr. Rick Arthur, and then-CHRB executive director Rick Baedeker. Both determined the “cluster” of scopolamine positives at Santa Anita in 2018 resulted from hay contaminated with jimson weed, proof of which, the writ of mandate states, is that all horses also indicated the presence of atropine, which it states is a “definitive marker of environmental contamination.”

Arthur and Baedeker recommended to the CHRB members in closed-door executive session that all seven scopolamine cases be dismissed, and the board in place at the time unanimously voted to support that recommendation, according to the action filed Oct. 13. The CHRB has several new members who were not on the regulatory body in 2018.

It wasn't until a September 2019 report in the New York Times that the positive drug tests and decision not to conduct stewards hearings were revealed. Several months later, Mick Ruis, owner of Santa Anita Derby runner-up Bolt d'Oro, filed suit against the CHRB demanding the case against Justify be reopened. Ruis stood to gain $400,000 in purse money (the difference between $600,000 for first and $200,000 for second) and other possible gains if Bolt d'Oro were declared winner of the Grade 1 race.

The Santa Anita Derby win by Justify in his stakes debut earned the Scat Daddy colt 100 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby. He went on to win the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes, then retired to stud undefeated in six starts after being sold to Coolmore Stud for a reported $60 million.

As part of a settlement agreement with Ruis, the CHRB said it would file a complaint against the owners of Justify and conduct a purse disqualification hearing. The CHRB also filed a complaint against the owners of Hoppertunity, though not against the other five unnamed horses testing positive for scopolamine.

The owners of Justify at the time were WinStar Farm LLC, China Horse Club, Head of Plains Partners LLC and Starlight Racing. The owners of Hoppertunity were Michael Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman.

Attorneys for he petitioners contend scopolamine was – at the time of the April 2018 victories by Justify and Hoppertunity – a Class 4 drug with a C penalty classification under Association of Racing Commissioner guidelines. As such, they contend, a positive test for scopolamine would not trigger a disqualification.

They also contend the CHRB did not act in a timely manner in reopening the cases.

The legal action accuses the CHRB of violating its own rules and engaging in “unfair, arbitrary and capricious conduct. Petitioners have been intentionally treated differently from others similarly situated and there is no rational basis for he difference in treatment.”

As a result of the CHRB's actions, the writ of mandate alleges, the connections of Justify and Hoppertunity “have suffered damages, including in the form of reputational harm.”

The petitioners are seeking a writ of mandate from the court ordering the CHRB to dismiss the complaints and cancel all hearings related to Justify and Hoppertunity's positive tests. They are also seeking unspecified damages, along with attorneys' fees and court costs.

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Man o’ War Named Legend Honoree By Canadian Horse Racing Hall Of Fame

In a special online event on Oct. 12, 2020, exactly 100 years to the day after Man o' War and Sir Barton competed in a match race at Windsor's Kenilworth Park, the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame named Man o' War its 2020 Legend Honouree. The announcement was the culmination of a week-long social media campaign celebrating the original Big Red's monumental win which placed an emphatic exclamation mark on his remarkable career.

What some have called 'the greatest day in Canadian horse racing' the Kenilworth Gold Cup took place in Windsor, Ontario, Oct. 12, 1920, when the two biggest names of the day competed in a historic match race.

The immortal Man o' War, holder of more records than any other horse and the leading 3-year-old of 1920 was owned by Samuel D. Riddle of Philadelphia, and Sir Barton, the Canadian-owned champion of the older-horse division and America's first Triple Crown winner in 1919 owned by Commander J. K. L. Ross of Montreal faced off to settle the supremacy of the North American turf.

Man o' War, was the prohibitive 1-20 favorite, with bettors wagering a reported $220,000 on the race organized by the track's operator, Mr. Abe Orpen and considered a major coup in a time Canadian racing needed a boost following the government's wartime ban on betting in 1918 and 1919. It was a highly anticipated event that would become the first horse race filmed from wire to wire, with the footage later shown in movie theaters across the continent.

Originally proposed as a contest that might also feature a third great racehorse of the time, Exterminator, the terms of the race at 1 1/4 miles and a weight-for-age format was not to the liking of Exterminator's owners so he was not entered resulting in a match race between Man o' War and Sir Barton. The two competed for a $75,000, winner-take-all purse with accompanying Gold Cup, designed by Tiffany & Co and valued at $5,000. That same trophy was later donated to Saratoga Race Course by Mrs. Riddle, the wife of Man o' War's owner and is now known as the Man o' War Cup, presented each year to the winner of The Travers Stakes.

Following the race the Canadian Sportsman and Live Stock Journal carried a photo of Man o' War on the cover of its Oct.18, 1920 issue accompanied by a caption reading “MAN O' WAR – Winner of the $75,000 race at Windsor on Tuesday, Oct. 12, defeating Sir Barton in a most decisive manner and showing himself to be a wonder horse”.

Man o' War's race at Kenilworth Park was his final career start and win, something that was repeated by Exterminator and a later “Big Red”, Secretariat who also concluded their careers with wins at Canadian tracks.

The recognition bestowed on Man o' War exactly 100 years to the day after his win on Canadian soil became possible when the Directors of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame expanded eligibility to the Hall to include those who have significantly impacted Canadian racing. Since that decision, such greats as Secretariat, Dahlia and the venerable Dan Patch have all been honoured by the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame.

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