The Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit has suspended trainer Reed Saldana 24 months with a $25,000 fine after he lost an arbitration over his trainee Ice Queen testing positive for the vasodilator diisopropylamine, according to the public disclosures section of the website for HIWU, the enforcement arm of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA).
Saldana has also been ordered to pay $12,000 toward HIWU's arbitration cost (he was already responsible for his share of the cost), and Ice Queen was disqualified from her third-place finish in a June 16 starter allowance at Santa Anita Park.
The Los Alamitos-based Saldana was notified about the positive test on July 6, the same date on which a provisional suspension was imposed, and he initially opted to waive a B Sample analysis. When changes to the provisional suspension rule were announced on July 28, Saldana took advantage of a second opportunity to have the B sample analyzed; his provisional suspension was lifted on July 29, and reinstated upon confirmation of the positive in the B sample on Aug. 30.
A hearing was held on Nov. 1 in front of arbitrator Jeffrey Benz, Esq. Saldana's arguments included allegations that hand sanitizer containing the prohibited substance was found in the test barn, that there were chain of custody issues during the testing process, and that diisopropylamine is not a vasodilator but is a “secondary amine.”
The trainer also submitted the following statement for consideration: “The evidence HIWU has presented is very lacking. NO integrity, NO security, NO proof that the urine sample actually was collected properly, stored correctly or even transported securely. This urine sample MUST be INADMISSIBLE and case needs to be dismissed, to continue to proceed is just a travesty. We are in a country where we are innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and the evidence shows no proof of guilt. HIWU has failed to demonstrate Burden of Proof in this matter. HIWU has claimed that Diisopropylamine is a vasodilator when in fact by scientific proof it is not, it is an amine. These false claims and misclassification by [the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act] of Diisopropylamine have cost me my livelihood, has caused stress, emotional, monetary and repetitional damage that I can't ever get back, to continue would just be injustice.”
The arbitrator's conclusions countered all of Saldana's claims.
- Hand sanitizer allegation: “Saldana also advanced a theory that hand sanitizer used by the DCO could have caused the positive result found in the Sample because hand sanitizers often contain the prohibited substance found here. He adduced no evidence on this point, and HIWU's evidence to the contrary was compelling. First, the evidence was unrefuted that the hand sanitizer used in the testing barn and all relevant areas for the Sample's journey to the refrigerator and the next day to the laboratory did not contain the Diisopropylamine. Second, the evidence was unrefuted that the DCO did not use hand sanitizer and instead used surgical gloves when collecting samples. Third, HIWU's expert Dr. [Lara] Maxwell testified, on an unrefuted basis, that the active ingredient in hand sanitizer is ethanol and had the horse been contaminated with hand sanitizer not only would it have required a large amount of hand sanitizer to yield the levels of Diisopropylamine found here but ethanol would also have been found in the sample and it was not found here. Accordingly, the Arbitrator finds that hand sanitizer contamination was simply not possible here, and certainly not at all likely.”
- Chain of custody issues: “Saldana argues that alleged errors made in collecting and analyzing Ice Queen's Sample should result in its disqualification. His allegations are vague and unparticularized. The only specific alleged deficiency in the sample collection or custody for Ice Queen was that the Nominated Person was prevented from seeing the collection of Ice Queen's urine. […] There were no irregularities or departures from the relevant standards or procedures with regard to any aspect of Ice Queen's Sample. Contrary to Mr. Saldana's bald assertion that there is “no proof” that the Sample was collected and stored properly and transported securely, the Sample collection was documented, the Sample was sealed and remained sterile and securely locked when not being handled, and the Sample's chain of custody was recorded. Mr. Saldana advanced no evidence to the contrary in his written submissions and did not point to any specific alleged “tampering” in the Sample's chain of custody or otherwise.”
- “Saldana also argued at the hearing that the chain of custody form used for the Samples by HIWU has ambiguous language on it relating to the time when the Sample was received and when it was placed in the refrigerator. […] HIWU could certainly do a better job of ensuring that the written chain of custody documentation is clearer and that the labs are required to uniformly handle chain of custody issues and documentation in the same manner to avoid the issues raised in the prior paragraph. Having said that, Mr. Saldana's obligation was to show that the irregularities in the chain of custody that he claims were present had some effect on the outcome of the testing and he was unable to make that showing.”
- Scientific classification issue: Mr. Saldana's argument that Diisopropylamine is not a vasodilator by virtue of being a secondary amine is false. As explained by Dr. Maxwell, drugs such as Diisopropylamine can be classified both in terms of their chemical structure and their pharmacological or medicinal effects on the body. Diisopropylamine is classified as a secondary amine due to its chemical structure. It is also considered a vasodilator due to its general pharmacological effect, i.e., causing blood vessels or open or dilate. There is nothing inconsistent about the simultaneous application of both categories, which address entirely different properties of Diisopropylamine.”
Saldana's suspension will run from July 6, 2023, the effective date of his provisional suspension, through August 5, 2025 (to reflect that he was not
provisionally suspended for a period of 31 days between July 29 and August 29, 2023). Ice Queen's purse earnings from that race, $4,560, have been ordered forfeit and returned, and the 5-year-old mare will remain ineligible until she undergoes a re-entry test from HIWU with negative findings.
A former jockey, Saldana has posted 88 training victories from 656 starters. His most recent entrant was on July 1, 2023.
The post Trainer Reed Saldana Suspended Two Years, To Pay $37,000 After Losing HIWU Arbitration appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
