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Minimum Fine for Mandella’s 4C Positive in San Simeon

Trainer Richard Mandella has been fined $500 by the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) for a Class 4 and Penalty Category C methocarbamol positive that turned up in the post-race test of Jolie Olimpica (Brz) (Drosselmeyer) after the MGSW mare ran third in the GIII San Simeon S. at Santa Anita Mar. 13.

The stewards' ruling was issued May 29. According to the original May 7 complaint, split-sample blood testing had confirmed the presence of the skeletal muscle relaxant.

Methocarbamol's 4C categorization is on the least-severe side of the scale on the Uniform Classification Guidelines for Foreign Substances list published by the Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI).

Mandella, a Hall-of-Fame conditioner who has been training since 1974, shows three other low-category medication fines of $500 each in the ARCI's rulings database: One for phenylbutazone and flunixin in 2018 at Santa Anita, one for methocarbamol at Santa Anita in 2011, and one for naproxen at Arlington Park in 2007.

In California, a trainer's first violation within a 365-day period for a Category C drug violation can result in a minimum fine of $500 to a maximum fine of $1,000 (absent mitigating circumstances).

CHRB spokesperson Mike Marten confirmed that Mandella paid the fine the day after the ruling was issued.

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HISA Board Chair: We Will Be Tough

Addressing the media Wednesday through a Zoom call, Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Authority Chair Charles Scheeler said that the authority will go to great lengths to clean up the sport and its efforts will include increased out-of-competition testing and investigative work that goes beyond the standard methods of drug testing.

When asked whether or not rules and penalties under the authority may be stricter than they are currently with state racing commissions, Scheeler replied: “It's certainly a possibility in some areas.”

He continued: “We need to make it so there is a sufficient deterrent so that the people who would violate these rules will think twice or three times and ultimately won't do it. My firm belief is that no matter how robust the drug testing system is it's not going to be sufficient in and of itself to deter the sort of doping that we want to deter. What we want to add in a very powerful way is an investigative unit to enforce the anti-doping rules. You see in sports that the greatest deterrents all came out of non-test cases, like Balco and Biogenesis and the recent work of Five Stones in horse racing. We intend to have a vigorous component to follow up on the rumors or the syringe that is found in the stall. What you have to come up with is comprehensive package that will significantly decrease usage. Some folks just look at it as, not if I should play fair or not, but through a very cold blooded cost-benefit situation. The costs have to be greater than the rewards.”

To achieve those goals, out-of-competition testing will be increased under the authority.

“There is definitely going to be more emphasis on out-of-competition testing,” Scheeler said. “I would not necessarily assume that it will happen at the expense of after-competition testing, which will remain in a fully robust form.”

During the 30-minute session with the media, Scheeler touched on a number of subjects:

(*) He said that racing will become more popular with the general public once the sport has been cleaned up.

“A cleaner and fairer sport is also going to be a more popular sport,” he said. “Quite frankly, one of the reasons horse racing has lost popularity is that many have been turned off by the fact that you have so many horses breaking down during the course of a racing season. It is our job to make racing safer for the horses and for the jockeys. It is our premise that if we do so then horse racing will have chance to regain some of the popularity it used to enjoy. It is essential for the long term viability and popularity of the sport that we show we are doing whatever we can to make this sports safer for the participants.”

(*) Lawsuits questioning the constitutionality of HISA are pending and could delay the implementation of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act. Scheeler said those lawsuits have not kept the authority from moving forward. HISA is supposed to go into effect July 1, 2022.

“The lawsuits are not stopping the work from going forward,” Scheeler said. “We have started our work and we fully intend to meet the deadlines that are set forth in the act. Not only do we need to be up and running by July, 2022 but also we have to get a whole slew of proposed rules to the Federal Trade Commission so they can provide the public with an opportunity for review and for comment. We have every intention of being up and running in July, 2022 and meeting the deadlines in the act.”

(*) Scheeler cited the ongoing story with Medina Spirit (Protonico) as an example of what's wrong with the current system of policing the sport and enforcing the rules.

“I do think that the situation with Medina Spirit is instructive in a couple of areas,” he said. “One of the problems is that you have different types of penalties in different states for betamethasone and we really need to have a uniform system. It is very confusing to the public that certain levels of different medications are allowed in some jurisdictions and not in others. In this era, horses travel and compete in any number of jurisdictions. What we will bring to the table that will be very helpful in this type of situation is a system whereby the public is going to know what the rules are and that they are going to be the same in every Triple Crown race. The tolerances will be the same, the permitted substances will be the same and that there will also be testing in the same fashion. If there is a sanction it will be applicable across the board and not at some racetracks and not others. What this particular situation really speaks to is importance of having a uniform results management and enforcement structure.”

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Churchill Bans Baffert for Two Years

Churchill Downs Incorporated has suspended Bob Baffert for two years effective immediately through the conclusion of the Churchill 2023 spring meet. The suspension prohibits Baffert, or any trainer directly or indirectly employed by Bob Baffert Racing Stables, from entering horses in races or applying for stall occupancy at all CDI-owned racetracks. This decision follows the confirmation by attorneys represening Bob Baffert of the presence of betamethasone, a prohibited race-day substance, in Medina Spirit's (Protonico) bloodstream on the day of the 147th running of the GI Kentucky Derby in violation of the Commonwealth of Kentucky's equine medication protocols and CDI's terms and conditions for racing.

“CDI has consistently advocated for strict medication regulations so that we can confidently ensure that horses are fit to race and the races are conducted fairly,” said Bill Carstanjen, CEO of CDI. “Reckless practices and substance violations that jeopardize the safety of our equine and human athletes or compromise the integrity of our sport are not acceptable and as a company we must take measures to demonstrate that they will not be tolerated. Mr. Baffert's record of testing failures threatens public confidence in thoroughbred racing and the reputation of the Kentucky Derby. Given these repeated failures over the last year, including the increasingly extraordinary explanations, we firmly believe that asserting our rights to impose these measures is our duty and responsibility.”

CDI reserves the right to extend Baffert's suspension if there are additional violations in any racing jurisdiction.

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission has the sole authority to disqualify Medina Spirt as the winner of Kentucky Derby 147.

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Married NY Jockeys on Way to Mutuel Uncoupling

Two months after costing New York an estimated $4.2 million in lost handle revenue during the first quarter of 2021, a bill to eliminate an antiquated state requirement that same-race mounts of married jockeys be coupled in pari-mutuel wagering has passed both the Assembly and Senate.

The New York Senate unanimously passed Bill No. A7024 June 1 by a 63-0 margin. The Assembly had passed it 147-0 on May 5.

The measure, if signed into law by the governor, would take effect immediately. It now charges racetrack operators with the responsibility for “adequately” informing the public about jockey and trainer family relations that could be perceived as conflicts of interest.

The decades-old rule was a focal point of intense scrutiny earlier this year because it affected recently married jockeys Trevor McCarthy and Katie Davis. Together, they had moved their tack from Maryland to New York after being married in December.

But when they began competing in common races at Aqueduct, it triggered the application of little-used state rule 4025.10 (f), which states, “All horses trained or ridden by a spouse, parent, issue or member of a jockey's household shall be coupled in the betting with any horse ridden by such jockey.” That meant on 41 occasions between Jan. 1 and Mar. 21, McCarthy and Davis's mounts in common races at Aqueduct necessitated a 1 and 1A coupling.

Although it's impossible to project the precise amount of handle that evaporates when a track loses a betting interest by forcing two independently owned and trained horses into a single mutuel coupling, a rough estimate of lost betting handle can be derived by multiplying Aqueduct's winter/spring per-entrant rounded handle of $103,000 by 41 to get the $4.2 million estimate.

The rule was widely criticized as being outdated and sexist, and during the first three months of 2021 it caused confusion among bettors, plus reams of bad press for Aqueduct (whose officials stated there was nothing they could do to change the law) and the New York State Gaming Commission (which did not address the controversy during any open, public meetings).

By February, Davis was claiming that Aqueduct racing office workers were pressuring trainers into not naming her on mounts, an allegation that a track spokesperson denied. She switched to accepting mounts in Maryland Apr. 8 while McCarthy continued to ride in New York.

On May 9, Davis announced on Twitter that she and McCarthy are expecting a child and she has not ridden in a race since that date. Shortly thereafter, the couple relocated to California, and McCarthy began riding at Santa Anita as of May 28.

The bill amends the state's racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law by adding a new section that reads:

“Notwithstanding any law, rule or regulation to the contrary, all horses trained or ridden by a spouse, parent, issue or member of a jockey's household shall not be coupled in the betting with any horse ridden by such jockey. The racetrack operator shall take such actions as are necessary to inform the public adequately with regard to the relationship between any such jockey or trainer.”

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