tim sullivan | Horse Racing Free Tips

Dr. Heather Wharton, the veterinarian responsible for injecting WinStar stallion Laoban with a so-called “Black Shot” shortly before his death in 2021, has begun serving a 90-day suspension as part of a negotiated settlement with the Kentucky Board of Veterinary Examiners revealed Tim Sullivan with the LEO Weekly. Per the released report, Wharton is also obligated to pay a $30,000 administrative fine, complete at least four hours of continuing education, and has agreed to accept a written reprimand that will serve as a permanent disciplinary mark on her record.

A report prepared on behalf of North American Specialty Insurance Company described in detail the fatal efforts to spark Laoban's interest in breeding. Wharton injected the stallion with a mixture of four substances–three of them expired–and one intended to treat anemia in baby pigs, not horses. Attorney Harvey Feintuch concluded vitamins intended to be administered intrasmuscularly were instead injected intravenously, that expired Vitamin B12 was administered at five times the recommended dosage, and that expired Vitamin B Complex was administered despite a warning of anaphylactic shock.

WinStar attorney W. Craig Robertson provided a prepared statement from the farm's CEO, Elliott Walden, to Mr. Sullivan, and said no other comment from the farm would be made.

“Laoban's tragic passing has had a profound impact on everyone at our farm,” Walden said. “With more than 20 years of experience in the thoroughbred business, WinStar always has placed the utmost priority on the safety of our horses. We've accepted the board's decision, Dr. Wharton will remain on staff, and we will continue to review treatment protocols. Our commitment to our horses is unwavering, and we will work tirelessly to uphold the highest standards of safety and welfare in our sport.”

WinStar's Dr. Natanya Nieman, interviewed during the initial investigation, told the veterinary examiners board that she was unaware of any other horse at WinStar being treated with the combination of ingredients in the “Black Shot,” and that the farm had changed its protocols since the stallion's death.

“Things are much tighter,” she told St. Clair. “We have written a whole standard operating procedure.”

This story has also been reported by the Blood-Horse.

The post Laoban Vet Begins Death-Related Suspension appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

“First, Bob Baffert said it didn't happen. Now, he says it doesn't matter. He is wrong on both counts.”

So writes Tim Sullivan of the Louisville, Ky.-based Courier-Journal, who was one of a handful of reporters attending a Sunday morning press conference at which Baffert announced the finding of 21 picograms of betamethasone in the post-race sample of his Kentucky Derby winner, Medina Spirit.

Baffert's claim that morning was the the horse had never been treated with betamethasone, and he and his team had no idea how the medication could have been found in Medina Spirit's system.

Two days later, the story has changed. On Tuesday morning, Baffert released a statement (through his attorney Craig Robinson) indicating that Medina Spirit has been treated with a topical medication containing betamethasone for over 3 1/2 weeks. Otomax, the ointment indicated in that statement, was prescribed to help with a skin condition called dermatitis.

“Horse racing must address its regulatory problem when it comes to substances which can innocuously find their way into a horse's system at the picogram (which is a trillionth of a gram) level,” Baffert's statement said. “Medina Spirit earned his Kentucky Derby win and my pharmacologists have told me that 21 picograms of betamethasone would have no effect on the outcome of the race.”

As Sullivan wrote in his commentary Tuesday afternoon, the positive test DID happen, and it DOES matter, despite the claims of the Hall of Fame trainer and his attorney.

Neither the amount of the medication nor the intent with which it was used matter when it comes to disqualification of the horse: if a split sample test confirms the presence of any amount of betamethasone, Kentucky regulations call for both disqualification and loss of purse money.

Sullivan summarized: “Should Medina Spirit's split sample confirm the findings of the first test — as nearly all split samples do — Baffert's best strategy might be to claim mitigating circumstances. Neither ignorance nor carelessness make for much of an excuse, but they sure beat denying what turns out to be true.”

Tag: tim sullivan

Laoban Vet Begins Death-Related Suspension

Commentary: ‘Neither Ignorance Nor Carelessness Make For Much Of An Excuse’