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Amid Repairs, New Date for Racing at Laurel Now Dec. 16

The new date for the resumption of racing at Laurel Park has now been pegged as Thursday, Dec. 16, with timed workouts expected to resume Friday, Dec. 10.

Both targets are pending a satisfactory safety review of the extensive base and cushion work now being done on the troubled main dirt surface at Maryland's most heavily used Thoroughbred venue.

With the exception of light training that continues to take place around cordoned-off areas of the dug-up oval, Laurel has been closed for racing and timed works since Nov. 28.

Seven Laurel horses have died since Nov. 6, and eight total have perished this autumn, all after sustaining fractures while racing or training over a completely new multi-million-dollar surface that had been installed over the summer.

Executives from The Stronach Group (TSG), which owns Laurel, were called before the Maryland Racing Commission (MRC) on Tuesday to explain the repair process and to face verbal grilling about why the problems escalated in the first place.

“There are seams that are being made in the base during starts and stops,” Mike Rogers, the president of TSG's racing division, said during the Dec. 7 meeting. “So our working theory is that some moisture got into [a seam in the homestretch] before it was able to cure, and it caused a slight depression.”

Rogers said that part of the repair job has been fixed, and now a consensus plan among “experts” hired by both the track and the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (MTHA) is underway to “add body to the cushion” by working sand into the mix.

John Passero, who years ago was Laurel's superintendent, has been retained by the MTHA as a consultant. He told the commission that the game plan outlined by Rogers should put the track in the “right direction” to resume racing and full training.

“All that happened was, as they started withdrawing water from the track, the cushion failed to do its job,” Passero said. “That was the long and short of it.”

Passero continued: “What's happening now is they're putting body back into the cushion, which [is] a little bit of a coarser sand that you can walk across the top of that will stop the horses from hitting the hardpan hard. That's the whole thing in a nutshell, and that's what they're aiming for now. The quicker you get that washed, clean sand into the track, the better off it's going to be.”

As expected, TSG officials faced considerable verbal blowback from commissioners. The key points revolved around the perception that TSG's reliance on scientific methods is occurring at the expense of not listening to the experienced opinions of riders and trainers. Commissioners also wanted to know what “measurable objectives” will be used to ensure safety moving forward.

Audio difficulties with the meeting's internet feed rendered large portions of the testimony unlistenable, and commissioners did not always identify themselves when speaking, making direct attributions difficult.

“We are all in this together,” said MRC chairman Michael Algeo. “The industry depends upon racing. We don't–need–negative–stuff,” he stressed, accentuating those final few words to make his point.

“This commission has an obligation, irrespective of our desire to be collaborative, to do what we think is right, irrespective of everybody's else's opinion,” Algeo said. “We have to act. Because at the end of the day, it's our obligation to [put] safety first. Safety, safety, safety.”

“Nobody's excluding anybody here,” Algeo continued. “It's a collaborative approach. I think we need both [science and experience]. No one's rejecting science. But when you have the science and something's not working, then you've got to scratch your head and go, 'Houston, we have a problem.'”

The cluster of fatalities is the latest safety blow at Laurel. The main track was in such bad shape last spring that Laurel ceased racing on Apr. 11 to begin an emergency overhaul of the main track, which got rebuilt from the base up over the course of four months while the race meet shifted to TSG's other track in the state, Pimlico Race Course.

Rogers said that, “Feedback from the trainers and the riders is critical. We welcome it, and we take it serious.”

But TSG's chief operations officer, Aidan Butler, said that ultimately, track executives have to take responsibility for the decisions that get made.

“There are always some people who want the track slower, some people who want the track faster,” Butler said. “We're all aware of that. But I believe…the maintenance routine that was done on the track this year was the same as last year and the year before…. Because of the complete change of the surface it just didn't react the way it should have done.”

The commission will meet again Dec. 14 to decide whether or not the final approval for the resumption of racing will be granted.

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HISA to Take Over OOC Testing in July 2022, Race-Day Testing Start of 2023

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) announced the proposed implementation date of the Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) program Tuesday, saying out-of-competition testing would be administered, under HISA's jurisdiction, beginning with the program's effective date in July 2022. Race-day testing would remain under the jurisdiction of state regulators until the beginning of 2023 at which point this would transition to HISA's jurisdiction.

The proposed structure was announced by HISA Board Chair Charles Scheeler at the Global Symposium on Racing, hosted by the University of Arizona. Scheeler addressed the industry event along with Adolpho Birch, Chair of the Anti-Doping and Medication Control standing committee, and Susan Stover, Chair of the Racetrack Safety standing committee. The event marked the first time HISA officials addressed public audiences on the proposed rules and progress to date.

HISA and USADA developed the Anti-Doping and Medication Control approach in response to extensive feedback from regulators and other industry stakeholders. Specifically, HISA says, the phased approach would allow:

• A less disruptive transition to race-day testing from the middle of the racing season to the beginning of a new season
• State Racing Commissions to synchronize budget cycles more easily
• Laboratories more time to adapt to new standards
• Greater opportunities for additional education on the new procedures and protocols for covered persons
• More thorough testing and implementation of needed new technology solutions

“We have heard consistent feedback from stakeholders across the industry about the need for a phased implementation timeline for the Anti-Doping and Medication Control program. We agree with the feedback and believe the proposed phased approach will create a more efficient and effective program,” said HISA Board Chair Charles Scheeler. “The timeline will give all parties involved an opportunity to adapt to the new rules and will ultimately lead to greater confidence in the system, all while still ensuring continuity in the testing of equine athletes.”

As announced Monday, the Racetrack Safety proposed rules have been submitted to the FTC for review, public comment and approval with an effective date of July 1, 2022. Draft Anti-Doping and Medication Control rules will be submitted later in December, before the new year.

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Medina Spirit: The Public, Mainstream Media Reacts

The death of Medina Spirit (Protonico) following a workout Monday at Santa Anita has resulted in a predictable backlash, with at least two media outlets calling for the sport to be banned and readers of some of the nation's most prominent newspapers posting numerous vitriolic comments online.

Here is a sampling of what has been written and said about horse racing following Monday's shocking news:

The New York Post led the charge with Maureen Callahan writing a column with the headline “Medina Spirit's shocking death is yet another reason we should end horse racing.”

“Can you imagine any sport in which human athletes routinely died on the field, in competition, and we simply removed the bodies and kept going? Or one in which aged-out players weren't retired but sent to the slaughterhouse, as about 13,000 Thoroughbreds are annually?” Callahan writes.

She concludes: “The circus is dead. Dogfighting is almost completely eradicated. What will it take for us to save the racehorse?”

Writing for the website Deadspin, Sam Fels authored a story with the headline “Horse racing should be put out of its misery.”

The stories ran some 21 months after the Washington Post published an editorial in March, 2020 calling for the sport to be banned. “No other accepted sport exploits defenseless animals as gambling chips,” the editorial read. “No other accepted sport tolerates the cruelties that routinely result in the injury and death of these magnificent animals. The rot in horse racing goes deep. It is a sport that has outlived its time.”

The editorial appeared shortly after trainers Jason Servis, Jorge Navarro and 25 others were indicted for allegedly taking part in a scheme to dope horses with performance-enhancing drugs.

The coverage in the Washington Post, which has been highly critical of the sport, of Medina Spirit's death was straightforward, but the story evoked a strong response from readers. As of Tuesday afternoon, 616 comments on the story were posted online, and the overwhelming majority of them were unforgiving toward a sport that is clearly dealing with serious public perception problems.

“Horse racing is not a legitimate sport any more than cock fighting or dog fighting is. Just put an end to this,” wrote Avian_Donn.

“Horse racing is as evil as bullfighting,” reader Turqoises wrote.

There were a few favorable comments.

“These comments are ridiculous,” Velvet2 wrote. “Most likely he either had an aortic rupture (the wobbling before he collapsed points to this) or he had a faulty heart valve that stressed his heart, leading it to enlarge and beat irregularly, and then just stop (what seems to have happened to Swale). Neither of these possibilities have anything to do with man-made abuse.”

The story in the New York Times, another media outlet whose coverage of the sport has been overwhelmingly negative, elicited 170 comments.

“It's so sad what trainers and owners do to these beautiful horses to make money from them,” read a post from Ms. Pea. “It's no secret that long-term use of steroids can damage the heart. This whole 'sport' should be banned. It's despicable.”

Leo Moon wrote: “This young horse is dead because he was abused and drugged to make humans rich and satisfy their need for entertainment. It is despicable that this continues in this day and time. This was 100% preventable. We need to go after the Kentucky Derby the way the circus protesters have gone after Ringling Brothers.”

There were 132 comments attached to the Wall Street Journal's coverage of Medina Spirit's death. The Journal attracts a more conservative audience than the Washington Post and the New York Times, so it was no surprise that the comments were, generally less harsh. “I can't believe what I'm reading here,” reader Micheal Trian posted. “I can't believe how 'woke' we have become. I can't believe the Left, using their wacky liberals, has destroyed The Sport of Kings.”

But plenty of Journal readers took the sport to task.

“Inhumane sport… needs to be banned,” wrote srikanth iyer. “The enormous amount of money spent to sustain this ludicrous business can be better spent elsewhere.”

Les Utley wrote: “WHEN is this going to stop? How many horses have to die at Santa Anita and at other tracks before something is done? Drugging, overdosing and pushing these horses beyond their bodily limits is sickening and immoral–all for the amusement of the elites and the gamblers. Despicable.”

Many of the comments posted on Twitter were from horse racing insiders, but several touched upon the reaction of the general public.

“The @TODAYshow posted an article on Medina Spirit & within 30 minutes had 161 comments” wrote Leah Alessandroni. “I read them all. 160 are anti-racing. 1 was pro. That's just a tiny snapshot, the same responses are happening all over social media. TB industry needs to decide if it wants to live or die.”

“As expected, Medina Spirit's death made the national, nightly news,” read a tweet from WelbourneStud. “Who else out there is already fielding a bunch of texts/social media messages from non-horse racing friends asking what is going on with BB, Santa Anita, and horse racing?”

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Feds: Fishman Still Selling PEDs Even as Trial Date Looms

An employee of Florida veterinarian Seth Fishman last week permitted Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents to search her workplace, and the inside tip has allegedly yielded evidence that Fishman is still selling purportedly performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) while awaiting an expected January start to his trail in the international racehorse doping conspiracy case.

“Remarkably, despite having been arrested in October 2019 and indicted in 2020 in connection with his sale of misbranded and adulterated drugs designed to be 'untestable' by various antidoping authorities, Fishman apparently persists in touting the efficacy of his drugs in evading antidoping testing regimes, labeling his new batches of HP Bleeder so as to indicate to his clientele that they contain no known 'testable' ingredients,'” stated a Dec. 6 court filing by the prosecution that asked a judge to consider revoking the bail terms of Fishman's pretrial release.

Fishman is charged with two felony counts related to drug alteration, misbranding, and conspiring to defraud the government. His case is being heard in United States District Court (Southern District of New York).

According to the filing, in the course of proffering an unnamed potential trial witness who has been a “long-time employee of Fishman's illegal drug distribution business” (variously operating under the names Equestology, Camelology, Equi-Tech and other monikers), the government was informed on Nov. 9 by “Employee-1” that Fishman's business “continued to operate in a purportedly limited” capacity.

“More specifically, Employee-1 informed the Government, in substance and in part, that Fishman's business was creating 'energy drinks' for foreign distribution and that Employee-1 remained tasked, by Fishman, with continuing to create a 'bleeder' paste (itself a drug containing active pharmaceutical ingredients), which Employee-1 also described as being for foreign distribution,” the filing stated.

“As charged in the Indictment, Fishman's drug operation is not registered or licensed with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to create, manufacture, and distribute drugs, including the 'bleeder' paste reportedly in continued production,” the filing stated.

After initially providing this information, Employee-1 and her attorney consented for FBI agents to accompany her to where she works for Fishman on Dec. 3.

“At that time, the FBI agents (accompanied throughout by Employee-1) discovered that Fishman is continuing to produce and distribute not only the paste identified by Employee-1 and the purported 'energy drinks,' but additional injectable, misbranded and adulterated PEDs, including the injectable drugs 'HP Bleeder' and 'PSDS: Pain Shot DS.'

“Labeling on certain of the vials discovered during this consent search reflect that Fishman continues to create and distribute these drugs today, including 'date of manufacture' markings reflecting activity even into 2021,” the filing stated.

The filing stated that “shipping material for 'E.G.H.' appears to be recently created packaging for equine growth hormone, a substance that, like HP Bleeder and various pain shots, were also sold by Fishman during and as part of the charged conspiracies.”

In asking the judge to consider revoking Fishman's bail, the filing stated that, “In addition to constituting evidence of the charged offenses and reflecting continued violation of federal law, the recent search reflects Fishman's failure to comply with the most basic term of his pretrial release, namely that he not 'violate federal, state, or local law while on release.'

“The drugs found in Fishman's offices continue to be manufactured through the same unregistered, unlicensed business that forms the basis of the charged offense, and include the drug 'HP Bleeder' previously obtained from multiple searches of premises controlled by Jorge Navarro, Lisa Giannelli, Christopher Oakes, as well as [other defendants],” the filing stated.

“As such, there is ample basis for a finding of probable cause that Fishman has flagrantly violated the terms of his pretrial release by committing an ongoing federal crime,” the filing stated.

The judge in the case immediately ordered a Dec. 20 hearing on the bail revocation request.

Fishman's attorney, Maurice Sercarz, told TDN in an email that “We will vigorously oppose any effort by the Government to modify Dr. Fishman's bail on the theory that he has engaged in continuing criminal conduct.”

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