‘Rising Star’ My Prankster To Stand At West Virginia’s O’Sullivan Farms For 2024

'TDN Rising Star' My Prankster (Into Mischief) has been sold and will stand the 2024 breeding season at O'Sullivan Farms, located in Charles Town, WV.

A $600,000 purchase for Robert & Lawana Low at the Fasig-Tipton Select Yearling Showcase in 2020, My Prankster was trained by Todd Pletcher and broke his maiden by ten lengths in 'Rising Star' style at Saratoga. He retires with three wins in 10 career starts including the GIII Swale S. and with $314,840 in earnings.

My Prankster will join Limehouse, Aldrin, Capo Bastone and Golden Years for the 2024 season.

The post ‘Rising Star’ My Prankster To Stand At West Virginia’s O’Sullivan Farms For 2024 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Vets’ Attorney in Bisphosphonate Suspension Says Drs. Followed the Rules

The attorney for veterinarians Scott Shell and Barbara Hippie, who have been provisionally suspended by the Horse Racing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) for possession of bisphosphonates and two other medications told the TDN Saturday morning that the veterinarians were operating under the rule as published.

“Drs. Shell and Hippie vehemently deny any violation of the veterinary rules as posted pursuant to HISA,” said Drew Mollica by phone Saturday. “We look forward an immediate hearing so that all of the facts may be explored and their good names and reputations restored. Dr. Shell's practice is known for its integrity, and any substances in his possession were used properly, and were in his possession pursuant to the rules.”

Covered horses are defined by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority “any Thoroughbred horse, or any other horse made subject to the Act by election of the applicable State Racing Commission or the breed governing organization for such horse under section 3054(l), during the period: (A) beginning on the date of the horse's first Timed and Reported Workout at a Racetrack that participates in Covered Horseraces or at a training facility; and (B) ending on the date on which the horse is deemed retired.”

Dr. Shell's three-person practice, for which Dr. Hippie works, covers a HISA-covered area in Ohio—Thistledown–as well as West Virginia, where HISA is not in effect.

Drs. Shell and Hippie are charged with violating Rule 3214 (a), which reads:

Rule 3214. Other Anti-Doping Rule Violations Involving Banned Substances or Banned Methods

The following acts and omissions constitute Anti-Doping Rule Violations by the Covered Person(s) in question:

(a) Possession of a Banned Substance or a Banned Method, unless there is compelling justification for such Possession.

Mollica said that there is no violation of the rules for veterinarians possessing the substances to treat non-covered horses on farms or in other situations. “Both Dr. Shell and Hippie will show unequivocally that they were using the medication for the health and safety of non-covered horses. There's not one allegation of any banned substance being used on a covered horse.”

Earlier in September, Shell testified in person before a HIWU-related arbitration panel on behalf of trainer Dennis VanMeter, whose horse, Templement, had tested positive for isoxsuprine and phenylbutazone. VanMeter was facing a possible two-year ban as a result of the isoxsuprine positive alone.

At the hearing, it was established that Templement had been placed into one of trainer John Brown's stalls at Thistledown previously occupied by a pony routinely administered Isoxsuprine.

In the ruling, it notes that Shell “credibly testified that he and veterinarians in his practice had prescribed isoxsuprine to Mr. John Brown's pony Bucky for the last five years for a condition with its feet that would make it lame without medication.”

The arbitrator found the positive a likely instance of environmental contamination, and that VanMeter bore “no fault or negligence” for the isoxsuprine positive.

That hearing was on Sept. 12, a little over two weeks before Shell and his associate, Hippie, were allegedly found in possession of isoxsuprine and other banned substances, including bisphosphonates.

Additional reporting by Dan Ross. 

The post Vets’ Attorney in Bisphosphonate Suspension Says Drs. Followed the Rules appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Sixth Circuit: No Rehearing On HISA Constitutionality Decision

The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled Thursday that it will not grant a full-court rehearing to the losing plaintiffs who contested a three-judge panel's Mar. 3 decision to uphold the constitutionality of the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA).

The case is one of five anti-HISA constitutionality lawsuits currently active in the federal court system. Led by the states of Oklahoma, West Virginia and Louisiana, the plaintiffs collectively petitioned Apr. 17 for a rarely granted “en banc” procedure that asked for a rehearing before all 28 of the Sixth Circuit's judges instead of just the panel of three who had ruled that a change of language in the HISA law was sufficient to alleviate the plaintiffs' concerns over constitutionality.

“The court received a petition for rehearing en banc. The original panel has reviewed the petition for rehearing and concludes that the issues raised in the petition were fully considered upon the original submission and decision of the case. The petition then was circulated to the full court. No judge has requested a vote on the suggestion for rehearing en banc. Therefore, the petition is denied,” the May 18 order stated in its entirety.

A United States Court of Appeals explanatory page about how en banc requests work stated that the granting of that type of rehearing was “rare” at the federal level. The Sixth Circuit took on only seven en banc hearings between January 2018 and September 2021, according to the University of Cincinnati Law Review.

Beyond the above-mentioned states, the plaintiffs include the racing commissions from Oklahoma and West Virginia, plus three Oklahoma tracks (Remington Park, Will Rogers Downs and Fair Meadows), the Oklahoma Quarter Horse Association, the U.S. Trotting Association, and Hanover Shoe Farms, a Pennsylvania Standardbred breeding entity.

The defendants are the United States of America, the HISA Authority, and six individuals acting in their official capacities for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

The underlying lawsuit dates to Apr. 26, 2021, when the plaintiffs sued, alleging that “HISA gives a private corporation broad regulatory authority.”

On June 2, 2022, that claim was dismissed by a judge in U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Kentucky (Lexington) for failure to state a claim of action. The plaintiffs then appealed to the U.S. Sixth Circuit.

In between the filing of that appeal and the Sixth Circuit's decision on it, an updated version of HISA was passed into law Dec. 29, 2022, with the aim of fixing constitutional flaws that a separate Fifth Circuit appeal had identified.

The Mar. 3 order by the Sixth Circuit affirmed the constitutionality of the amended HISA law. On remand from the Fifth Circuit, a United States District Court judge in Texas did the same thing May 4.

In its Apr. 17 rehearing petition, the plaintiffs had stated that parts of the panel's decision were “erroneous, and this Court should rehear the case en banc in order to resolve those questions of exceptional importance.”

Thursday's ruling by the Sixth Circuit disagreed.

The post Sixth Circuit: No Rehearing On HISA Constitutionality Decision appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Sam Ross, Co-Owner of Breeze Easy, Passes Away

Sam Ross, co-owner with Mike Hall of Breeze Easy, LLC, passed  Dec. 22, at the age of 79, in Jupiter, Florida.

Described as “a visionary behind many companies”–all of which were based in his hometown of Parkersburg, West Virginia–Ross sold his SBR group in 2006, but continued to own Woodcraft Supply, LLC, a chain of woodworking specialty related stores which operates in 34 states, and to participate in the oil and gas exploration and production industry. In addition to the sale of SBR, 2006 also marked the formation of the Ross Foundation, which supports charitable efforts in several West Virginia counties.

Ross entered the racing and breeding industry in 2016 when he and business partner, Mike Hall, founded Breeze Easy, LLC.  Quickly becoming a force at the track and in the sale ring–where it is now well represented as both a buyer and seller–Breeze Easy scored a notable racing triumph two years later when the Wesley Ward-trained Shang Shang Shang shipped to Royal Ascot and captured the G2 Norfolk S. The following year, another Ward trainee, Four Wheel Drive, was undefeated in three juvenile outings, culminating in the GII Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint. Other standouts to carry the Breeze Easy colors have been multiple graded stakes wining sprint star, Imprimis; Late Night Pow Wow, a West Virginia-bred, who captured the GIII Barbara Fritchie S. and was Grade I-placed; GIII Marine S. scorer Easy Time; multiple stakes winner and GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf third Outadore; and other stakes winners Curlin's Honor (owned in partnership with John Oxley), Devine Mischief, Curlin's Catch and Karak. Most recently, Boppy O (owned in partnership with John Oxley) captured the 2022 GIII With Anticipation S. at Saratoga.

Ross is survived by his wife, Susan Storck Ross, sons Samuel B. “Tres” Ross, III and Spencer Brownell Ross, and four grandchildren. A “Celebration of Life” ceremony will be held at a later date to be announced.

The post Sam Ross, Co-Owner of Breeze Easy, Passes Away appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights