An amendment strengthening the Federal Trade Commission’s rule making and oversight role of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority was included in the $1.7-trillion omnibus government spending bill passed by the House of Representatives on a 225 to 201 vote on Friday, clearing the way for President Joseph Biden to sign the legislation into law and avert a government shutdown at midnight Friday.

The Senate passed the measure on Thursday by a 68-29 margin.

The amendment became necessary after the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court ruling and found the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act – the law creating the Authority – unconstitutional on the grounds that it delegated rule-making authority to a non-governmental agency.

The ruling by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals effectively delayed implementation of the Authority’s Anti-Doping and Medication Control program, that was scheduled to go into effect Jan. 1, 2023. In the wake of the ruling finding the law unconstitutional, the FTC – citing the legal uncertainty – did not approve the regulations submitted by the Authority. It’s unclear at this time how quickly those rules may be re-submitted, and, pending approval, put in place. Racetrack Safety Program rules and enforcement are still in place.

The 2020 law said the FTC could accept or reject regulations proposed by the Authority, but the newly approved amendment broadens that power. It states that the government agency may “abrogate, add to, and modify the rules of the Authority promulgated in accordance with this Act as the Commission finds necessary or appropriate to ensure the fair administration of the Authority, to conform the rules of the Authority to requirements of this Act and Applicable rules approved by the Commission, or otherwise in furtherance of the purposes of this Act.”

Several lawsuits have been filed by horsemen’s organizations and state racing commissions against HISA calling into question the law’s constitutionality. One of them, filed in Kentucky, is currently awaiting a ruling from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals after a lower court found in HISA’s favor.

Lisa Lazarus, CEO of the Authority, issued the following statement in the wake of the House vote: “We are grateful to Congress for their ongoing, bi-partisan efforts to affirm their support for HISA in order to advance safety and integrity in Thoroughbred racing. We at HISA look forward to engaging with all racing participants so that we can work collaboratively towards the smooth and effective implementation of the Racetrack Safety and the Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Programs.”

Shortly after the House voted to approve the government spending bill, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association distributed the following press release in support of HISA: 

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) is joined by leaders throughout the Thoroughbred breeding and racing industry in expressing its strong support for Congress’s reinforcement of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) in the omnibus appropriations bill that was passed by the House today and now heads to President Biden’s desk to be signed.

“On behalf of NTRA members, which include broad representation of every aspect of the Thoroughbred industry, we welcome the successful bipartisan efforts of Congress to reaffirm Congressional support for HISA’s mission,” said NTRA President and CEO Tom Rooney. “HISA is critical to our sport and we look forward to working collaboratively with every industry constituency to continue to support the essential role of HISA going forward. We especially want to thank Congressional leadership in Leader McConnell, Leader Schumer, and Speaker Pelosi, committee leadership in Chairman Pallone, Chairwoman Cantwell, and Rep. Schakowsky, and our longtime champions Reps. Tonko and Barr and Senators Feinstein and Gillibrand. Finally, I thank the many people from far and wide across the industry who advocated for this law with their elected officials.”

Signed into law by President Trump in December 2020, HISA has long had bipartisan support in Congress. The law recognized the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, under the supervision and control of the Federal Trade Commission, to develop and implement national, uniform medication control, anti-doping and racetrack safety programs.

The NTRA, based in Lexington, Ky., and Washington, D.C., is a broad-based coalition of more than 100 horse racing interests and thousands of individual stakeholders consisting of horseplayers, racetrack operators representing nearly 80 percent of the U.S. pari-mutuel handle, more than 30,000 owners, breeders and trainers, and other affiliated horse racing associations, charged with increasing the popularity, welfare and integrity of Thoroughbred racing through consensus-based leadership, legislative advocacy, safety and integrity initiatives, fan engagement and corporate partner development.

Other key leaders and stakeholders in the Thoroughbred industry have issued statements of support:

Craig Fravel, Executive Vice-Chairman, 1/ST  

“The process of ensuring the integrity of our sport and the safety of its participants is an ongoing one and we are grateful to legislative leadership in the House and Senate for agreeing to important clarifications to HISA. Uniform rules, effective and fair enforcement, and public confidence go hand-in-hand and we look forward to full implementation of HISA medication and safety rules and the continued improvement of our sport that is sure to follow.”

Drew Fleming, President & CEO, Breeders’ Cup Limited 

“We very much appreciate the successful bipartisan Congressional efforts to support HISA. Hopefully, this will provide an opportunity for all industry participants to come together and continue to enhance and grow our sport through consistent, balanced, and effective regulation and enforcement.”

Bill Carstanjen, CEO, Churchill Downs Incorporated 

“Churchill Downs Incorporated is grateful for Senator McConnell’s continued commitment to the success of Thoroughbred racing and we appreciate the resulting bipartisan support to pass clarifying language to HISA. CDI believes HISA is a critical vehicle for establishing a comprehensive and consistent regulatory framework to protect the integrity of our sport and the safety and wellbeing of our equine and human athletes. We also believe that HISA’s ultimate success will depend on the Authority working collaboratively and in good faith with various industry groups to ensure widely accepted regulatory principles and an effective implementation.”

Josh Rubinstein, President and COO, Del Mar Thoroughbred Club 

“For many years Del Mar and California’s Thoroughbred racing stakeholders have supported uniform standards and reforms that ensure the integrity of our competition and enhance the safety and wellbeing of both our human and equine athletes. We appreciate the bipartisan support of this measure and want to thank especially the members of our California delegation for their continued support of HISA and our industry.”

John Velazquez, Hall of Fame Jockey, HISA Racetrack Safety Committee Member 

“As a member of HISA’s Racetrack Safety Committee, I want to thank Congress for reaffirming HISA as there is still a lot of work to be done to improve safety for horses and riders. HISA has committed to working closely with the Jockey’s Guild on revisions to the Racetrack Safety rules and I am optimistic that we can make great progress working together.”

Shannon Arvin, President & CEO, Keeneland Association 

“Keeneland has always operated according to what is best for our horses, riders and the sport, which is why we’ve supported the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (the Act) from day one. We appreciate Congress reaffirming its support for a cleaner, safer sport via the uniform rules and enforcement mechanisms brought forth by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority.”

Chauncey Morris, Executive Director, Kentucky Thoroughbred Association 

“Kentucky has over 60,000 people tied to horses and racing. Meaningful and responsible reform that stands the scrutiny of Americans who are largely outside of horse racing is the best way to safeguard the Thoroughbred industry in Kentucky. HISA must accomplish its mission.”

Chris Larmey, Chairman, National Horseplayers Championship Players’ Committee that represents 5,500 NHC Tour Members 

“We thank Congress for its ongoing support of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA), which we believe will lead to a higher degree of safety and welfare for our equine and human athletes and a more level and uniform playing field to wager on a product we can trust.”

David O’Rourke, President & CEO, New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA)

“HISA will achieve the reforms long supported and advanced by NYRA, including a national approach to medication control and the strongest anti-doping authority the sport has ever seen. Horse racing is an engine for economic opportunity that creates and sustains good jobs in every corner of New York State, and the successful implementation of HISA will secure its future in New York and across the country.”

James L. Gagliano, President and COO, The Jockey Club 

“The Jockey Club is extremely appreciative of the efforts Congress is making in support of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act. The Jockey Club has supported nationwide, uniform rules and regulations for Thoroughbred racing for decades through numerous initiatives. HISA is Thoroughbred racing’s best solution to greatly improve regulation of the sport and to help ensure our sport is clean and is safe for our athletes – both equine and human.”

Dan Metzger, President, Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association

“TOBA is grateful to see Congress reiterate its support for HISA in the omnibus appropriations bill. HISA is very important to Thoroughbred owners and breeders to ensure fairness and uniform standards across the country. We remain hopeful the industry will come together to continue to improve Thoroughbred racing and work in collaboration with HISA for future success.”

Trainers, attributable to the following group: Mark Casse, Christophe Clement, Shug McGaughey, Kenny McPeek, Graham Motion, Todd Pletcher, Eric Reed, Dale Romans, John Sadler, Jonathan Thomas, Nick Zito

“As trainers who work and compete across our country, we applaud Congress for their bipartisan affirmation of HISA and the importance of uniform, national rules. The consistency, fairness and efficiencies of uniform rules and enforcement are desperately needed, and we call on our fellow trainers to come together in support of a safer, fairer sport.”

Veterinarians

Dr. Jeff Berk, Equine Veterinarian and AAEP Past President  

“I’d like to thank the efforts of Congress for their continued support of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act. Thoroughbred racing has needed uniform rules and a national safety program to guarantee the sport’s sustainability. As a veterinarian, I’m keenly aware that the Thoroughbred – and human athletes – depend on us to keep them safe and HISA shares that mission.”

L.R. Bramlage DVM MS, Equine Surgeon, Former President AAEP and ACVS

“I practice every day caring for the stars of Thoroughbred racing. I want to thank Congress for reaffirming HISA and recognizing its importance in protecting the safety and welfare of Thoroughbred racehorses. For years we have been quarreling among ourselves trying to find a way to assure integrity in horse racing for our benefit and for the benefit of our fans, with little effect. To not finish this real effort for integrity and uniformity would move us back to square one, again! Many of the loudest voices for fairness, who would benefit the most from uniformity, are sounding off against this effort. It is time we all begin singing from the same hymnal and get this done!”

Sara Langsam VMD, TFB Equine, Belmont/Aqueduct Division

“As a Veterinarian who is at the racetrack daily caring for Thoroughbred racehorses, I want to thank Congress for reaffirming its commitment to HISA so that we can continue the important work of strengthening the industry’s safety and integrity protocols. We have long needed uniformity and a national regulator to harmonize anti-doping and medication control testing. I have been going to racetracks all my life as a fan and now as a Veterinarian and I believe HISA gives us the best opportunity for horseracing to reach its potential and secure its future.”

Federal Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings  has ordered a Jan. 18, 2023, hearing to consider a motion by Bob Baffert for a preliminary injunction to end the ban against the Hall of Fame trainer imposed by Churchill Downs that runs through the 2023 spring-summer meet.

Churchill Downs Inc. CEO Bill Carstanjen banned Baffert for over two years from all of the company’s properties in May 2021, citing private property rights. The ban also prevents Baffert-trained horses from earning qualifying points for the Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby.

The action came after Baffert-trained Medina Spirit tested positive for betamethasone after finishing first in the 2021 Kentucky Derby. It was the second betamethasone positive for a Baffert runner in a major Churchill Downs race, following Gamine’s failed drug test after a third-place finish as the odds-on favorite in the Kentucky Oaks in 2020. Baffert runners failed three other drug tests outside of Kentucky in 2020, including Charlatan in the G1 Arkansas Derby.

Medina Spirit was subsequently disqualified from his Derby win and Baffert was handed a 90-day suspension by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission that he served earlier this year. Amr Zedan, the owner of Medina Spirit, has appealed the disqualification. Medina Spirit died following a workout in December 2021.

The complaint, filed in February 2022 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, is against Churchill Downs Inc., its CEO William Carstanjen, and CDI chairman Alex Rankin. A motion for injunctive relief came soon thereafter. A second motion for a preliminary injunction was filed Dec. 15, and on Tuesday the judge in the case ordered the Jan. 18 hearing at 1 p.m. at the Gene Snyder Courthouse in Louisville, Ky. Defendants have until Jan. 3 to respond to the renewed motion for a preliminary injunction.

“Bob was not afforded a simple conversation before Carstanjen announced a penalthy and lengthy suspension,” said Clark Brewster, attorney for Baffert. “It was unprecedented and from his announcement it was clear he had no basic knowledge of the KHRC rules or the facts which led to the report 21 picogram Beta report.”

In response to a Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that found the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act unconstitutional, Congress has included an amendment in a $1.7 trillion government spending bill that gives the Federal Trade Commission a stronger oversight role of the private, non-governmental Authority the 2020 law created.

The omnibus bill, which exited the Senate and House Appropriations Committees early Tuesday morning, is designed to avert a federal government shutdown at midnight Friday.

The HISA clean-up language is intended to satisfy constitutional challenges stating the federal government may not delegate rule-making authority to a private entity. In the original language, the FTC could accept or reject proposed rules from the Authority, but not amend them.

The proposed amendment to Section 1204(e) of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act of 2020 (15 U.S.C. 30534(e) states that the Federal Trade Commission, “by rule in accordance with section 553 of title 5, United States Code, may abrogate, add to, and modify the rules of the Authority promulgated in accordance with this Act as the Commission finds necessary or appropriate to ensure the fair administration of the Authority, to conform the rules of the Authority to requirements of this Act and applicable rules approved by the Commission, or otherwise in furtherance of the purposes of this Act.”

Opponents of HISA have stated they will file additional lawsuits challenging the law in the event amendments are added to the 2020 law.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) championed the original legislation, which was part of a 2020 government spending bill signed into law by then-President Donald Trump, and pushed for the amendment to be included in the 2022 omnibus bill. A number of other extenders, technical corrections, or proposals unrelated to government spending are in the bill. They include language as diverse as protecting lobster fishing in the North Atlantic,  banning the Chinese-owned TikTok app from government devices, and clarification of the vice president’s role in counting electoral votes.

The bill’s funding of the Department of Agriculture stipulates that the government will not fund inspection of horse meat facilities, essentially continuing the ban on horse slaughter in the U.S.

The National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, which sued to strike down HISA as unconstitutional, issued the following statement from its CEO, Eric J. Hamelback, and general counsel Peter Ecabert.

“By including in this spending bill a so-called ‘fix’ to HISA, Congressional leaders are admitting that the law they added into the 2020 spending bill was unconstitutional, as we told them it was and as the Fifth Circuit ruled. I am disheartened that, once again, legislation governing the horseracing industry was crafted in the dark of night with no public hearings and virtually no industry input. You cannot fix a fundamentally broken law with one sentence. This amendment does not address other substantive issues, nor does it address the funding disaster that remains in the flawed Act. It is clear from the issues raised in the various lawsuits contesting the legal validity of HISA that this one-sentence ‘fix’ does not alleviate the glaring constitutional infirmities this law has created. The constitutional defects still include a non-federal private entity granted the power to levy taxes in violation of Article I, Tenth Amendment violations for anti-commandeering of states powers, Fourth and Seventh Amendment violations for lack of due process, and violations of the Administrative Procedures Act.

“For all the reasons we state above, the Act itself remains unconstitutional by handing the regulation of an entire industry over to an unelected, unaccountable private corporation. This fight is not over, and the National HBPA will go all the way to the Supreme Court if we have to, in order to protect the interests of horsemen across the country.”

The National HBPA and various affiliates have been assisted in their litigation by the Liberty Justice Center, a non-profit, conservative litigation organization that focuses on constitutional issues and what it calls “government overreach.”

Veterinarian Dr. Erica Garcia was sentenced on Dec. 12 to ten months in federal prison after entering a guilty plea to two misdemeanor counts related to the large-scale racehorse doping case that broke in March 2020.

Garcia was ordered to pay a fine of $2,000 and is ordered to surrender to begin her sentence in March 2023. She will serve her time at a facility in Florida. She is also subject to one year supervised release after her sentence is complete.

Garcia entered a guilty plea to two counts of introducing into interstate commerce adulterated and misbranded drugs.

According to documents filed by attorneys for both sides ahead of the sentencing hearing, Garcia worked for Navarro during Florida winters for 11 years until they ceased their professional affiliation in April 2019. She admitted she administered non-FDA approved substances to Navarro’s horses at the behest of Navarro and an unnamed veterinarian from up north.

“He had six or seven horses when I met him,” Garcia wrote in her letter to U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil. “At first impression, I found him to be an ambitious young man hell bent on trying to prove himself. He used to flirt with me while I was tending to my clients in other barns, but I never took him seriously. Then one day I started working for the vet who worked for Jorge which therefore, by default, made me Jorge’s vet too. We got along pretty well. He was very focused and you could tell he really cared. One day he left for a couple of years to try his luck at some of the other tracks.”

Garcia administered red acid, which she purchased from RacehorseMeds, a drug called “monkey” (which she said she thought was a vitamin shot), compounded clenbuterol, and SGF-1000.

Garcia’s defense team summarized the results of testing on some of the substances Garcia admitted to giving to horses.

“Based on information and belief, red acid is an anti-inflammatory containing hyaluronic acid,” read the defense’s pre-sentencing report.

The report also said a test on the substance called “monkey” contained “trace amounts of cobalt.”

Read our previous reporting on cobalt as a performance-enhancer here and here.

In her letter, Garcia summarized the rise and fall of her former client as she saw it.

“He never cut corners on the care of his animals,” Garcia wrote of Navarro. “He studied other leading trainers and tried to incorporate some of their methods into his own training style.

“Then, after a couple of years, things started to change. I think the pressure got to him. He used to say he was going to fire all his clients and go back to training only 20 horses, then 15 new horses would show up in the following week. Around this time, someone introduced him to the standarbred[sic] trainers. They began telling him what to do and tried to convince him to manage his business the way they did. He stopped listening to me as his vet and I could see things were not going in the right direction. I probably should have left then. Stupidly, I stayed.”

“….Time went on and Jorge was no longer the person I had first met. The pressures of the industry were unyielding. The expectation to be the best and to keep improving, growing and winning became very taxing on him.”

Garcia admitted in her letter to the judge that she used SGF-1000 on “another trainer’s horse” but did not name the trainer and also that she continued using red acid after she left Navarro’s employment in April 2019.

Attorneys for both sides attribute the professional split between Garcia and Navarro to a decision by Garcia or someone on her team to report a suspected case of strangles from Navarro’s barn. According to Garcia, Navarro didn’t want the scrutiny this could bring from state animal health officials and did not want to be subjected to a quarantine that would limit training.

There were no strangles outbreaks reported in Florida in April 2019, according to the Equine Disease Communication Center.

Since her arrest, Garcia has been working with small animals, exotic animals, and injured wildlife. She still has her veterinary license in Florida although she is precluded as a condition of bail from working on racehorses and has had her track license revoked.

Prosecutors, who had sought a 24-month prison sentence, concede that their decision to allow her to plead guilty to misdemeanors rather than felony charges means the state veterinary board may use its discretion when it decides whether to revoke her veterinary license.

State licensing boards typically do not consider a licensee’s status until a criminal case against them has fully resolved.

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority’s Anti-Doping and Medication Control regulations will not go into effect on Jan. 1, 2023, after the Federal Trade Commission – the government agency that oversees the Authority – disapproved the HISA medication rules, citing legal uncertainties. Regulators in each racing state will continue to be responsible for medication rules, drug testing, and enforcement.

Legislation that created HISA was ruled unconstitutional last month by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, which reversed a lower court ruling in a lawsuit filed by the National HBPA and various affiliates.

Lisa Lazarus, president and CEO of HISA, said the FTC order does not affect enforcement of the Authority’s racetrack safety program regulations. However, that program will end on Jan. 10, 2023, under a mandate issued in the Fifth Circuit ruling – unless HISA receives a stay in court. In a media call conducted after FTC issued its order, Lazarus also said dues assessments for 2023 anti-doping and medication control would not be collected because the program will not get under way as scheduled.

A second Court of Appeals, the Sixth Circuit in Cincinnati, recently heard arguments in a separate lawsuit seeking to strike down the legislation that created the Authority. Even if that appellate court rules in favor of HISA, it may not compel the FTC to approve the Anti-Doping and Medication Control regulations, since states covered by the Fifth Circuit would have to adhere to that ruling. Enforcement of two disparate appellate court rulings block the national uniform rules the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act was designed to create.

Going forward, HISA’s options are for the Fifth Circuit to re-hear that case, to seek a Supreme Court hearing, or to have legislation passed in Congress that would address the issues raised by the Fifth Circuit. In any case, the FTC will require an additional 60 days for public comment if and when HISA resubmits its medication rules for approval.

Following is the FTC press release:

The Federal Trade Commission has issued an Order disapproving the Anti-Doping and Medication Control proposed rule submitted by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority to its enforcement rule after a public comment period. The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act, which recognized the Authority, includes a requirement that its rules must be submitted for approval to the FTC.

The Commission’s Order explains that its disapproval arises from the legal uncertainty arising from a recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which declared the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act unconstitutional. Because the next steps in the litigation could render the proposed rule unenforceable in the states that make up the circuit and in those that are plaintiffs in litigation, approving the proposed rule would be inconsistent with the Act’s foundational principle that horseracing rules be uniform across the nation. Accordingly, the Commission did not reach the merits of the proposed rule, which the Authority may re-submit if the legal uncertainty is resolved.

The Commission vote to approve the rule modification was 3-0-1, with Commissioner Christine S. Wilson abstaining.

Statement from HISA:

“HISA appreciates the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) decision to deny HISA’s draft Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) rules without prejudice as we actively seek to resolve current legal uncertainties. HISA is eager to launch Thoroughbred racing’s first and long-awaited national, uniform ADMC program and stands ready to do so. We will re-submit the draft ADMC rules to the FTC for their review as soon as these legal uncertainties are resolved, and once approved, we will implement the program through the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU). In the meantime, HIWU will continue to work toward the implementation of a uniform, independent anti-doping and medication control program that is administered consistently and fairly across the United States.”

Statement from Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit Executive Director Ben Mosier:

“As the designated independent enforcement agency of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority’s (HISA) Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program, the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU) has spent the past seven months preparing for the Program’s implementation on January 1, 2023, and stood ready to enforce this national, uniform program on that date pending approval from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Following today’s decision by the FTC to deny HISA’s draft ADMC rules without prejudice due to current legal uncertainties, HIWU will continue its education and outreach efforts to all stakeholders in the Thoroughbred industry. As HISA re-submits the draft ADMC rules for the FTC’s approval, HIWU will use any additional time before implementation as an opportunity to ensure the industry is even more prepared for an efficient rollout of this Program, which will promote fair competition in the sport of Thoroughbred racing and the safety and welfare of our human and equine athletes.”

Statement from National HBPA CEO Eric Hamelback:

“The recent FTC decision is another positive step forward for horsemen in our battle against the unconstitutional takeover of our industry. The strength of our legal arguments led to a unanimous decision in the Fifth Circuit, and now the FTC has done the right thing in declining to defy a federal court that has found HISA unconstitutional. The FTC order is clear: state law continues to govern medication issues until our final victory in this case.”

Statement from Association of Racing Commissioners International: 

“We are pleased that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was responsive to the request last week by the ARCI to not approve the proposed HISA Anti-Doping and Medication Control rules given the serious questions that exist about the constitutionality of the HISA Act.

“The RCI has not taken sides in the litigation, although some member states are actively challenging the constitutionality of the HISA Act.  We believe this Act needs a rewrite in order to work and we stand ready to help in a process to build a consensus as to what modifications must be made in order to achieve the goals articulated by Sen. McConnell, Reps. Barr and Tonko.”

Since the guilty plea of Maximum Security trainer Jason Servis in a federal doping case last week, many in the racing world have questioned whether the colt will be stripped of his win in the 2020 Saudi Cup.

Observers will have to continue waiting for a final conclusion, according to a statement released by the Saudi racing authority’s Twitter account on Dec. 12.

“The Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia continues to monitor developments in the USA with the ultimate aim of concluding an investigation related to the running of the 2020 Saudi Cup.

“Over the coming weeks we will assess our ability to conclude this investigation, which began in March 2020, in a robust and comprehensive fashion.”

After the arrest of Servis and two dozen others in an explosive indictment in March, Saudi officials announced they were withholding the purse from that year’s race, which has been run Feb. 29.

[patreon_text]

Servis had initially entered a plea of not guilty to the charges against him but last week changed his plea to guilty on two charges — one of misbranding and adulterating a substance similar to clenbuterol, and another of misbranding and adulterating a drug called SGF-1000. He was the last remaining defendant from that original indictment who had yet to go to trial, enter a plea of not guilty, or make a deal with prosecutors. Servis had been set to go to trial in January.

Read our previous reporting on SGF-1000 here and here.

Servis was asked last week by U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil about the doping of Maximum Security and admitted that the colt received SGF-1000, as did most horses in his barn, but did not specify when it was administered.

Sentencing for Standardbred trainer and Thoroughbred owner Nick Surick has been delayed until Jan. 19 at 2 p.m. ET after U.S. District Court Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil postponed the original sentencing date of Dec. 15 because of an ongoing jury trial. Proceedings will be at the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Courthouse for the Southern District of New York, 500 Pearl Street in New York.

Surick, 34, was one of more than two dozen trainers, veterinarians, drug manufacturers and distributors arrested in March 2020 on charges of drug misbranding and adulteration that was the focus of an FBI probe into illegal horse doping in several states, including New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and Florida.

Surick, whose 367 victories in 2019 placed him second among all North American trainers, according to the United States Trotting Association, also owned or co-owned Thoroughbreds that were trained by two other confessed horse dopers, Jorge Navarro and Michael Tannuzzo. Navarro is serving five years in federal prison. Tannuzzo was sentenced last month to 27 months in prison.

A third Thoroughbred trainer employed by Surick, Aparna Batula, is serving a 2 ½-year license suspension handed to her by the New Jersey Racing Commission for possession of 83 injectable vials and 36 hypodermic needles discovered in her Monmouth Park tack room. A search was conducted after Sassy Chub, a horse co-owned by Surick, tested positive for dexamethasone after finishing second in a Monmouth Park race on May 19, 2019. An attorney for Batula said the trainer was framed by a disgruntled former employee.

One of the first defendants to cooperate with prosecutors, Surick pleaded guilty in October 2020 to two counts of conspiracy and one count of obstruction. According to his attorney, Timothy M. Donohue, Surick provided “first-hand information” on performance enhancing drug use or distribution by, among others, Navarro, Marcos Zulueta, Michael Tannuzzo, Ross Cohen, Christopher Oakes, Seth Fishman, and Erica Garcia. According to the memorandum,  Surick provided information on potentially illegal conduct by others who had not been charged in the federal indictments.

A cooperation agreement often leads to a reduced sentencing recommendation from the U.S. attorney. However, in a memorandum to Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil, the attorney for Surick said prosecutors have determined that their client is not entitled to a “downward departure,” a legal term for a sentencing that is lower than the minimum suggested by federal guidelines.

Under the original charges, Surick faced up to 20 years in prison. His attorney has asked Vyskocil for a “downward variance” and sentence Surick to 12 months home confinement so that “he will be able to continue operating his fledgling, new business so as to provide a living for himself and his employees.”  The attorney said Surick started a landscaping business that has six employees.

The reason for the government’s decision not to ask Vyskocil for a reduced sentence for Surick isn’t certain, but the sentencing memorandum from his attorney brings up a discrepancy in one element of the information Surick provided the government concerning a Standardbred named Northern Virgin. This was the horse that Surick admitted attempting to hide from racing officials seeking an out-of-competition test sample after it was given an injection of the blood-doping agent EPO that he had received from Navarro. Surick told the government that veterinarian Rebecca Linke administered the EPO shot while he held the horse’s head.

“Critically, it turned out later that Surick’s recollection was wrong,” his attorney wrote. In fact, Linke was not present when the EPO injection was given and apparently produced records to prove that she could not have been there. Linke has entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the government, meaning charges will be dismissed if she complies with the terms of the agreement.

Surick’s government file also includes what appears to be an anonymous submission mailed from Trenton, N.J.,  to Vyskocil attempting to show that Surick is not living up to a statement in the sentencing memorandum that he “immediately surrendered his horse racing licenses and no longer participating in the sport.” Along with a copy of that page of the memorandum is a screenshot from the website theblackbook.com showing that Nicholas K. Surick, agent, paid $60,000 for a filly named Jag Out.

In fact, the screenshot represents a 2015 sale at which Surick purchased the filly  – years before he was indicted. Sources have provided the Paulick Report other instances that can be found at the ongait.com auction website alleging bloodstock purchases by Surick since his March 2020 arrest. A racing license is not required to purchase horses at auction.

CORRECTION: The original version of this article incorrectly stated Jag Out was purchased by Nick Surick in November 2022 from the consignment of David Reid’s Preferred Equine at the Harrisburg Sale operated by USTA president Russell Williams. The purchase of the horse by Surick was at the 2015 sale.

Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association is inviting all horsemen, assistant trainers, and veterinarians to participate in a Zoom webinar that will focus on the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority’s Anti-Doping and Medication Control Program, which is currently scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, 2023.

Mary Scollay, Chief of Science for the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit, will be in person on Wednesday, Dec. 14 at NOON ET in the Belmont Cafe in the Belmont Park grandstand.

HIWU, part of Drug Free Sport International, is responsible for administering the ADMC program. Dr. Scollay will make a presentation and then remain for a question-and-answer session that will also be streamed online.

Even though the question of the constitutionality of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act remains unresolved and is making its way through the courts, it is important to prepare for the ADMC, which includes changes in medication policy and testing procedures.

Horsemen who are not able to attend in person are encouraged to participate in the Zoom session and ask questions via ZOOM.

It is expected the seminar can be used for Continuing Education credits.

Please click here to register for the webinar. Join-in instructions will then be emailed.

Jason Servis, for years one of the top Thoroughbred trainers in the country, pleaded guilty in a New York courtroom Dec. 9 to resolve charges arising from the government’s sweeping investigation into horse doping at racetracks across the country.

Servis, 65, faces four years in prison when he is sentenced May 18, 2023, in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. Servis was one of 31 defendants in the case, which garnered national headlines when prosecutors announced indictments nearly three years ago and cast a black eye on the racing industry.

They had been charged with doping horses with various performance-enhancing drugs that were undetectable by racing regulators. Prosecutors said the use of PEDs by greedy trainers corrupted the sport, cheated the betting public, and endangered horses who were asked to perform beyond their natural capabilities.

Servis was the last defendant facing charges.

He pleaded guilty in connection with his role in the distribution of adulterated and misbranded drugs intended for administration on racehorses he trained.

“Servis’ conduct represents corruption at the highest levels of the racehorse industry,” Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a release. “As a licensed racehorse trainer, Servis was bound to protect the horses under his care and to comply with racing rules designed to ensure the safety and well-being of horses and protect the integrity of the sport.”

Williams added: “Servis abdicated his responsibilities to the animals, to regulators, and to the public. This latest conviction demonstrates the commitment of this Office and of our partners at the FBI to the prosecution and investigation of corruption, fraud, deceit, and endangerment in the racehorse industry.”

“Guilty,” Servis said, as he admitted to a new felony charge of misbranding and adulterating a chemical substance described by prosecutors as similar to the bronchodilator clenbuterol but stronger.

“Guilty,” he said, admitting to another new charge, a misdemeanor, of misbranding and adulterating a compound chemical called SGF-1000.

Servis had been scheduled to go on trial next month on two counts–conspiracy to misbrand and adulterate performance-enhancing drugs and conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. He would have faced 25 years in prison on those two counts if convicted.

As part of the plea deal, prosecutors agreed to dismiss those charges and bring new ones.

Also, as part of the plea deal, Servis agreed to forfeit $311,760 and to pay restitution in the amount of $163,932.

Servis showed up in court in a sports jacket and tie. Racing authorities suspended his trainer’s license after his arrest in March 2020.

At the time of his arrest, prosecutors accused Servis of administering adulterated and misbranded PEDS, including SGF-1000, to “virtually all of the racehorses under his control.”

Those horses included Maximum Security, who finished first in the 2019 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) but was disqualified for interference during the running of the race.

Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil brought up Maximum Security’s name during a portion of the proceeding that required Servis to admit his guilt by allocuting to the charges. 

At that point, Servis attorney Rita Glavin interjected to say that, yes, her client would admit that Maximum Security had been administered SGF-1000 by a veterinarian for his barn.

Among the races that Maximum Security won for Servis was the $20 million Saudi Cup in the Middle East in February 2020, just a month before his arrest.

After a brief back and forth between Glavin and Vyskocil, Servis conceded that fact.

Shortly after Servis’ arrest, Saudi Cup officials announced that the winning purse of the Saudi Cup was being withheld pending an investigation.

Servis told Vyskocil Friday that he would not challenge other statements to other facts in the plea agreement.

For instance, he conceded that he continued using SGF-1000 after New York regulators put out an advisory in September 2019 saying that SGF-1000 was a prohibited substance.

He also conceded that SGF-1000 cost $300 a bottle and that vet bills sent to owners disguised the use of SGF-1000 on his horses as “acupuncture and chiropractic.”

In the case of the clenbuterol-like substance, Servis admitted that on May 8, 2019, he shipped it from his barn at Monmouth to Belmont and hid it in a soda bottle concealed in a bucket of poultice, an herbal anti-inflammatory paste.

In court papers, Glavin argued that Servis was not guilty of the charges against him because prosecutors lacked evidence that SGF-1000 was performance-enhancing or contained growth factors. These considerations would make it a PED.

She also argued that none of Servis’ horses ever tested positive for clenbuterol misuse.

On Friday, Glavin told Vyskocil that she planned to argue before the sentencing that Servis had been repeatedly told by his vet that SGF-1000 was legal to use.

The plea agreement states that Servis’ vet repeatedly assured the trainer that SGF-1000 was “legal and not violative of racing rules as reflected in intercepted calls in June and August of 2019.”

Prosecutors argued in court papers that those who marketed SGF-1000 didn’t understand what it was other than that it was undetectable in tests conducted by racing regulators.

They also contend that SGF-1000 does contain growth factors of a variety that were intentionally difficult to detect.

Williams said Servis ordered hundreds of bottles of the drug “SGF-1000,” which was compounded and manufactured in unregistered facilities.

He said Servis obtained the misbranded version of clenbuterol from convicted co-defendant New Jersey trainer Jorge Navarro. He is serving a five-year prison sentence after pleading guilty a year ago.

Asked Friday by Vyskocil how he was feeling physically, Servis replied, “I’m starting to feel my age.” He said he had a hip replaced eight months ago and has another such surgery scheduled for February. 

With Servis’ plea, 23 of the 31 individuals charged have pleaded guilty. Two were convicted after trial, and two were offered deferred prosecution agreements.

The defendants included 11 Thoroughbred and Standardbred trainers and seven veterinarians.

The Thoroughbred industry’s leading publications are working together to cover this key trial.

Trainer Jason Servis is scheduled to go before federal Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil in New York City on Friday morning at 11 a.m. ET, when he is expected to change his plea from not guilty to guilty in connection with the FBI probe into illegal horse doping that led to more than two dozen arrests of trainers, veterinarians, and drug manufacturers and suppliers in March 2020.

Servis, 65, had been scheduled to go on trial Jan. 9, 2023, at U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. A grand jury indicted Servis with drug adulteration and misbranding conspiracy, along with mail and wire fraud. He is the last of those indicted in a multi-state investigation to have their cases resolved. The U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York prosecuted the cases, securing guilty pleas or jury convictions from the others, with the exception of one deferred prosecution agreement and several who had their charges dropped in a superseding indictment..

Specifically, prosecutors alleged Servis and others – from December 2016 through March 2020 – were “engaged in a corrupt scheme to secretly procure and distribute adulterated and misbranded PEDs and administer them to racehorses in a systematic effort to improve race performance.” The indictment said Servis worked with veterinarians Kristian Rhein and Alexander Chan to have SGF-1000 and clenbuterol illegally administered to his horses, including Grade 1 winners Maximum Security and World of Trouble. (Read about SGF-1000 here.) Maximum Security subsequently was voted an Eclipse Award as champion 3-year-old male of 2019.

The indictment included details of an intercepted phone call between Rhein and Servis after Maximum Security had been tested out of competition prior to a June 16, 2019, race at Monmouth Park. Servis was concerned the horse would test positive for SGF-1000, which had been administered shortly before the drug test sample was taken. Rhein assured Servis he had nothing to worry about, saying “They don’t even have a test for it … There’s no test for it in America.”

Rhein added that SGF-1000 could trigger a false positive for the permitted anti-inflammatory dexamethasone, so Servis arranged to have another veterinarian falsify records to indicate that drug had been administered to Maximum Security.

Rhein was sentenced to three years in federal prison after pleading guilty. Chan, who was scheduled to go on trial with Servis, changed his plea to guilty on Dec. 5 and is awaiting sentencing.

Servis and Navarro discussed their illegal drug use in intercepted telephone conversations and text messages that were included in the federal indictment.

On Feb. 18, 2019, Servis warned Navarro via text message that a racing official was in an area where both men allegedly stored and administered PEDs. If he not been warned by Servis, Navarro said later that day, “He would’ve caught our asses f–king pumping and pumping and fuming every f–king horse (that) runs today.”

On March 5, 2019, Servis told Navarro during an intercepted phone call that “I’ve been using it (SGF-1000) on everything almost.” Navarro responded, “Jay, we’ll sit down and talk about this shit. I don’t want to talk about this shit on the phone, OK?”

Navarro was sentenced to five years in prison.

The son of a jockey and steward at Charles Town and the older brother of Kentucky Derby-winning trainer John Servis, Jason Servis worked as an exercise rider and jockey valet at Monmouth Park before taking out his trainer’s license in 2001. His first graded stakes win came in 2008 and Firenze Fire became his first Grade 1 winner when he took the 2017 Champagne. Servis added five additional Grade 1 wins – three of them by Maximum Security, who finished first in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby but was disqualified for interference. Maximum Security also won the $20-million Saudi Cup less than two weeks before Servis and the others were indicted. Saudi officials withheld the first-place purse from that race.

In the years prior to his indictment, Servis won races at eye-opening rates: 45 percent during Gulfstream Park’s 2018-19 championship meet and 41% at Monmouth Park in 2018. Navarro had similar strike rates at Gulfstream and Monmouth.

Horseplayers and many of his fellow trainers were skeptical of the successes enjoyed by Servis and Navarro, wondering how they did it.

Now they know.

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority’s (HISA) Board of Directors has appointed Dr. Lynn Hovda, Barry Irwin and Dr. Stephen Schumacher to serve as new members of its Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Standing Committee, effective Dec. 1, 2022. The appointments, following recommendations from the HISA Nominating Committee led by Chair Dr. Nancy Cox, fill the vacancies left by the resignations of Jeff Novitzky, Dr. Mary Scollay and Dr. Scott Stanley from the Committee.

Following the submission of the ADMC Prohibited Substances list to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for final review in October, the Committee has transitioned its focus from the drafting of new rules and regulations to advising on the implementation of HISA’s ADMC Program nationwide in 2023. The day-to-day operations and administration of the ADMC Program will be handled by the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU). As previously announced, departing ADMC Standing Committee member Dr. Mary Scollay has been named HIWU’s Chief of Science.

“Both the outgoing and new incoming members of our Committee are deeply committed to HISA’s mission to advance equine safety and strengthen the integrity of racing via a standardized, national anti-doping program,” said Adolpho Birch, ADMC Standing Committee Chair. “We are grateful for the service and time given by each of these individuals. I am confident that HISA will greatly benefit from our new members’ combined decades of experience, leadership and acumen as we continue our process with the FTC and enter into a new robust, uniform era of anti-doping enforcement in 2023.”

Dr. Lynn Hovda, appointed as an industry member representing state racing commissions, is Chief Commission Veterinarian for the Minnesota Racing Commission and practices medicine at the Flying J Veterinary Clinic in Loretto, Minn. Dr. Hovda is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine and sits on committees of the American Quarter Horse Association, Association of Racing Commissioners International, and Racing Medication and Testing Consortium. She previously served on committees of the American Association of Equine Practitioners, American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine, Association of Regulatory Racetrack Veterinarians, and Minnesota Equine Research Council. Dr. Hovda is board certified in large animal internal medicine and received an MS in Veterinary Science from the University of Wisconsin, a DVM in Veterinary Medicine and BS in Veterinary Science from the University of Minnesota and a BS in Pharmacy from North Dakota State University. She has written and edited numerous articles and textbooks, and most recently was the primary editor for “Blackwell’s Five-Minute Veterinary Consult: Equine Toxicology.”

“I am deeply honored to be appointed to this Committee and look forward to using my knowledge in pharmacy and toxicology, as well as my years of experience as a regulatory veterinarian, to provide information and direction as the ADMC is implemented,” said Dr. Hovda.

Barry Irwin, appointed as an industry member representing owners, is owner of the Thoroughbred horse racing stable of Team Valor International in Lake Worth, Fla., and the owner and breeder of 2011 Kentucky Derby and 2013 Dubai World Cup winner, Animal Kingdom. Irwin previously served as president of the Pacifica Thoroughbreds bloodstock agency and Chairman of the Board of The Race for Education, as well as a writer for TheDaily Racing Form, BloodHorse and Thoroughbred of California Magazine. Irwin continues to contribute columns today for BloodHorse, as well as other racing publications including Thoroughbred Racing Commentary and Paulick Report. He is the author of “Derby Innovator: The Making of Animal Kingdom” and “Swaps: The California Comet” of the Thoroughbred Legend books series. Irwin is a longtime member of the Water Hay Oats Alliance (WHOA), which supported the passage of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act in 2020. Irwin attended California State University at Los Angeles and Northridge and is a graduate of Los Angeles City College.

“Having an owner representative from WHOA on the ADMC Standing Committee is an important inclusion by HISA, and I am hopeful of making a valuable contribution to the effort of reaching a level playing field in horse racing,” said Irwin.

Dr. Stephen Schumacher, appointed as an independent member, is Chief Administrator of the United States Equestrian Federation’s Equine Drugs and Medications Program, an Advisory Panel Member at the University of Kentucky Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory, and a List Group Member of the Federation Equestre Internationale. He was previously an Equine Drug Testing Veterinarian for USA Equestrian and an Equine Drug Testing Technician for the American Horse Shows Association. Dr. Schumacher serves on committees of the American Association of Equine Practitioners, Equine Disease Communication Center, National Equine Health Plan, American Horse Council, and Racing Medication Testing Consortium. He received a PhD and DVM from The Ohio State University and a BS in Biology from The Citadel.

“I am honored and excited to be appointed to the ADMC Standing Committee and strongly support the introduction of national, standardized anti-doping rules in horse racing,” said Dr. Schumacher. “These standards will have a positive impact on the welfare of horses and the integrity of the sport.”

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority’s (HISA) Board of Directors has appointed Patrick Reilly to serve as a new member of its Racetrack Safety Standing Committee, effective Dec. 1, 2022. The appointment, following a recommendation from the HISA Nominating Committee led by Chair Dr. Nancy Cox, fills the vacancy left by the resignation of Dr. Peter Hester, who left the Racetrack Safety Standing Committee to join HISA’s staff as National Medical Director.

Reilly, appointed as an independent member, is Chief of Farrier Services at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine’s Department of Clinical Studies—New Bolton Center. He was previously the owner of Reilly Farrier Services and a Resident Farrier at the Rochester Equine Clinic in Rochester, New Hampshire.

Reilly has co-authored works published in Equine Veterinary Journal and the Journal of Equine Veterinary Science and is a graduate of Midwest Farrier School; additionally, he recently obtained a degree in Equine Locomotor Research from the Royal Veterinary College of London.

“Patrick’s background and expertise as a farrier will be invaluable to our committee and will help us guide the implementation and evolution of HISA’s shoeing regulations and other Racetrack Safety rules moving forward,” said Dr. Susan Stover, Racetrack Safety Standing Committee Chair. “We are proud of the progress we’ve made across the industry in the initial months of the Racetrack Safety Program and look forward to working with Patrick to continue to improve upon the Program’s effectiveness to date.”

“I am very happy that HISA has considered a farrier for the Racetrack Safety Committee. Farriers play an important role in the welfare of horses and I am excited that HISA has included the farrier industry in supporting its mission,” said Reilly. “Our goal is to shoe horses as safely as possible and have the rules evenly enforced.”

Trainer Richard Baltas has been suspended 365 days and fined $10,000 by California Horse Racing Board stewards for  “conduct detrimental to racing” and violating medication rules over a 24-day period at Santa Anita Park last spring.

Baltas, who has won 722 races including seven Grade 1 stakes since taking out his trainer’s license in 1991, is alleged to have had prohibited race-day administrations given to his horses on 21 occasions from April 15 through May 8, 2022. The treatments, said to be captured on Santa Anita’s surveillance cameras, allegedly involved “X-Treme Air Boost,” and “other substances,” according to the ruling.

A complaint filed by the CHRB against Baltas last June 21 included an investigation report outlining actions of an assistant trainer who allegedly was seen on video surveillance administering an oral dose of an unknown substance to the horse Noble Reflection on May 8.  A search of the barn uncovered an empty tube of X-Treme Air Boost that allegedly had the horse’s name written on it.

According to the report, Martin Valenzuela, an assistant trainer to Baltas, originally told investigators he did not administer anything to the horse but when informed there was video admitted that he had. Valenzuela told investigators he had been told by Baltas to administer the substance – thought to help control bleeding – between 24 and 48 hours before a race but had forgotten to do so with Noble Reflection and instead gave it on race day. Stewards scratched Noble Reflection from his race May 8.

Video surveillance reviewed by officials allegedly showed similar race-day activity occurred with over 20 Baltas horses over the period in question.

Officials with 1/ST Racing told Baltas he was not welcome to race or breeze horses at any of their facilities, including Santa Anita and San Luis Rey training center where he kept a large part of his stable. Baltas has run a handful of starters in Kentucky and Texas since the ejection, his last runner coming at Lone Star Park in Texas on July 16.

In August, Baltas sued the CHRB after he was denied entries at Los Alamitos in California, saying the regulatory agency deprived him of his due process rights.

The suspension, which will be reciprocated in all North American jurisdictions, runs from Dec. 9, 2022, through Dec. 8, 2023.

The California Horse Racing Board conducted a meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022, at Cal Expo in Sacramento. Chairman Gregory Ferraro chaired the meeting, joined by vice chair Oscar Gonzales and commissioners Damascus Castellanos and Brenda Washington Davis.

The audio of this entire Board meeting is available on the CHRB Website (www.chrb.ca.gov) under the Webcast link. In brief:

• Various speakers addressed the current situation with the Horseracing Safety and Integrity Act/Authority (HISA), given a recent court decision that HISA is unconstitutional. The matter being in legal limbo has caused confusion in some racing jurisdictions, but deputy executive director Cynthia Alameda, consistent with the CHRB advisory issued Nov. 18, said that is not the case in California. “Unless and until a federal court makes a further decision on the case, the CHRB will continue to honor its agreement with HISA and enforce all federal rules,” she said. “The CHRB will continue to negotiate with HISA and its enforcement entity, Drug Free Sports International, on agreements for the upcoming 2023 calendar year, focusing on our shared principle of promoting safety in horse racing.”The CHRB has been enforcing federal safety rules since their introduction on July 1, 2022, and will begin enforcing federal rules on medication and drug testing when they become effective, which is anticipated to be Jan. 1, 2023. CHRB general counsel Amanda Brown pointed out that unless HISA successfully maneuvers to reverse or delay the court decision, it will go into effect on Jan. 10, so the CHRB will be operating under federal rules for at least 10 days. Dr. Jeff Blea, equine medical director, reported that even if the enforcement program reverts back to California rules after Jan. 10, the effect will be minimal in California because “HISA’s safety program and medication rules are not that far different from where California is.” Dr. Blea said that when he attended a recent national conference, he was approached by other veterinarians with numerous questions about how the CHRB regulates medication and drug testing. He said they asked how they could make their programs safer and better in the same way as California. As they did back in May to align California with federal rules governing safety in horse racing, the commissioners voted unanimously to enter into a voluntary agreement, this time to enforce HISA rules on medication and drug testing with an anticipated start date of Jan. 1.

• Dr. Blea also reported on a pilot program currently under way at Los Alamitos Race Course to find a way to proactively identify any problems in the lumbar regions of approximately 20 horses involved in the program. “The issue is lumbar fractures in Quarter Horses,” he explained. The program uses ultrasound combined with physical examinations in an attempt to identify lesions that could lead to catastrophic injuries, He said Dr. Edward Allred, the owner of Los Alamitos, has paid for this program so far, but there will be a need for new funding sources going forward.
• The Board approved an emergency amendment to Rule 1867, Prohibited Veterinary Practices, by clarifying that the use or possession of compounded medications is not a violation of Rule 1867 if done in the approved manner. Clarifying the regulation provides guidance to licensees and prevents misinterpretation by other regulatory agencies.
• The Board renewed licenses for six companies to continue providing account wagering platforms in California (ADW). TVG, Twinspires, NYRAbets, Lien Games, Watchandwager.com, and Game Play Network (GPN) all received two-year licenses with the warning that their renewals in 2024 will require each of them except GPN to have in place procedures for customers to identify alternate selections in the event of scratches in wagers involving four or more legs (Pick ‘n’). GPN does not offer any wagering of that type. The license for Xpressbet will be considered in December. Xpressbet is the one ADW company that already allows for alternate selections.
• The Board approved various agreements between Santa Anita, Golden Gate Fields, and Los Alamitos with their horsemen’s organizations authorizing racing secretaries to establish conditions on races pertaining to medications and procedures.
• The Board approved the license for Los Alamitos Race Course to conduct a Thoroughbred race meet that will operate from Dec. 9-18. This daytime meet will run concurrently with the night Quarter Horse meet.
• The Board also approved the license for the Quarter Horse meet at Los Alamitos that will operate from Dec. 31, 2022, through Dec. 17, 2023.
• The Board approved the license for Pacific Racing Association to conduct a Thoroughbred race meet at Golden Gate Fields that will operate from Dec. 26, 2022, through June 11.
• The Board approved the license for Los Angeles Turf Club to conduct a Thoroughbred race meet at Santa Anita Park that will operate from Dec. 26, 2022, through June 18. The license application was amended to allow for a non-racing day on Dec. 27 and a racing day on Jan. 2. Santa Anita will not race from April 10 through April 21, providing a break for horses and licensees in accordance with CHRB policy.
• Representatives of the newly formed California Horse Power Coalition reported on the Coalition’s mission to preserve and protect California’s equestrian culture by bringing together equine industry leaders, workers, families and fans of the sport to illustrate its significant benefits. The Coalition may approach the CHRB at some time to request assistance in this effort, as well as bring potential policy recommendations to the board for consideration.
• The Board approved distributions by four race-day charity organizations to named beneficiaries, specifically $14,249 by the Pacific Racing Association to nine beneficiaries, $82,134 by the Los Angeles Turf Club to 10 beneficiaries, $4,584 by the Los Alamitos Racing Association to four beneficiaries, and $5,083 by the Los Alamitos Quarter Horse Association to four beneficiaries.

As Jan. 1, 2023, ticks closer, lots of uncertainty remains about the future of the national regulations put in place by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA). The centralized Authority created by the Act was dealt a blow last week when a federal appeals court ruled the group’s governance was unconstitutional.

For now though, there is no order in place shutting down the activities of the Authority and therefore nothing that will halt the upcoming implementation of the anti-doping and medication control rules that will go into effect on New Year’s Day. At that time, all equine samples will be tested by accredited labs and all will be subject to the same battery of tests, unlike the current system, where drug rules vary from state to state and drug testing contracts do, too. Penalties will also be uniform and officials have promised the arbitration and appeals process will be swifter than it currently is through the state system.

The Authority has contracted with the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU), which is a division of Drug-Free Sport International to handle all drug testing and results reporting.

At the recent annual convention of the Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) in San Antonio, representatives of the Authority and HIWU gathered to field questions from veterinarians about those upcoming national rules and drug testing changes.

Whether you’re a horseman or a veterinarian, there are educational resources available to help you better understand regulations here on the HIWU site and here on the Authority’s website.

Here are a few things we learned from that discussion, which included Drs. Sue Stover, chair of Racetrack Safety standing committee, Mary Scollay, chief of science for HIWU, Lisa Fortier, racetrack safety committee member, and Scott Stanley, anti-doping and medication control subcommittee member.

Withdrawal times are a thing of the past. For many years now, trainers and veterinarians have relied on suggested withdrawal times to decide how far ahead of a race they should stop giving a particular drug. The new rules do not include any withdrawal times.

Why not?

The text of the federal law, to which the Authority and HIWU are bound, requires the groups to base their medication rules on international standards for racehorses. Other countries, which base their medication rules on the International Federation of Horseracing Authority’s guidance, do not provide withdrawal times. They instead provide “detection times.”

Detection times are based on the available IFHA standards, which are determined by the European Horseracing Scientific Liaison Committee. If a group of horses in a study are all given a drug and sampled at set time points after that administration, “detection time” is the first time point at which all the horses in that study were negative for the substance.

Scollay clarified that the committee “rarely publishes results” leaving the data behind the IFHA screening limits somewhat unclear for HIWU officials who are nonetheless required by the federal law to adopt those screening limits.

Why does it matter? Scollay noted that many existing administration studies of drugs in horses may be based on small numbers of horses. Everyone recognizes that there is individual variability in drug metabolism, and a lot comes down to the dose given and route of administration.

Detection time should be a starting point for veterinarians and trainers to decide when to withdraw a drug, but they aren’t replacements for withdrawal times. If you use detection times interchangeably with withdrawal, you’re running a higher risk of a drug positive than you were under the old system, because you could be working with a different dose, administration route, or a horse with a different metabolism.

“It’s a big change, but I’m here to tell you, you can do it,” Scollay said.

Previously, withdrawal guidance offered by the Association of Racing Commissioners International or Racing Medication and Testing Consortium looked at these detection time and essentially built in a statistically-calculated cushion to account for these differences.

In many cases, cautious trainers are already building themselves a cushion over the existing withdrawal guidance. One practitioner in the audience stated that although non-steroidal anti-inflammatories may be given up to 48 hours prior to post time, they were on a practical level more often given 52 to 60 hours pre-race since that’s when a practicing vet would be at the barn.

–The change is just as much philosophy as practice.

The detection time system is supposed to make trainers and veterinarians think a little harder.

“You shouldn’t be frightened on these detection times,” said Scollay. “What they’re intended to do is make you say, does this horse really need this medication? If we’re just medicating to keep the trainer happy, maybe we shouldn’t be doing it.

“I think this is going to get us all to revisit our pre-race protocols as far as blanket administrations, every horse in the barn, all 40, 60 of them getting the same pre-race protocol. Maybe they don’t need it. Maybe some of them do but maybe some of them don’t. The changes you’re dealing with are not going to be cataclysmic, but they are going to require you to think.”

–FDA status is going to be key. If a drug isn’t approved by the FDA for use in horses, it’s likely considered to be banned by the Authority. That includes substances like isoxsuprine, whose use in horses was common for a while but which the FDA has recently clarified may not be legally compounded for horses.

–With all medication violations, there is mandatory disqualification. New rules do not allow for any wiggle room on this. Officials do have discretion about how large a fine or suspension may be given to a licensee as a result of a positive test, but there is no mechanism for connections to get out of a disqualification.

–Most substances, but not all, should be stopped by 48 hours pre-race. There are a few exceptions to this, and those drugs are okay up to 24 hours pre-race. They include: altrenogist for fillies, certain ulcer medications, isotonic fluids, vitamins by injection, vaccines, anti-microbials, dewormers, and electrolytes by injection. Electrolytes may be given free choice up until the race, whether as topdressing on feed or in a water bucket (if there is also one bucket of clear water provided to the horse).

–All states have requested an exemption to new furosemide restrictions. That means that all 2-year-olds and all stakes runners (including runners in overnight stakes) may only have furosemide 48 hours pre-race. Three-year-olds and up and non-stakes horses will only be permitted to have it at four hours pre-race.

[patreon_text]

–Post-workout sampling will be happening, but it won’t be quite the same as post-race testing. Horses may be drug tested after a timed work but the rules aren’t exactly the same as a post-race test. Those tests are designed to look for banned substances, local anesthetics, and analgesics (including non-steroidal anti-inflammatories within 48 hours pre-work and corticosteroids within seven days pre-work). Other substances, like dantrolene, furosemide, methocarbamol, etc. are not of concern in post-workout tests.

“This is a safety and welfare initiative so we know we’re not sending horses out who are compromised and can hurt themselves while breezing,” said Scollay.

–Intra-articular corticosteroids will be a 14-day stand-down for racing and for works off the vet’s list. The reason the rules are different with these drugs for races versus works is that committee members feared a 14-day pre-workout prohibition would encourage trainers to walk or jog a horse into a race, and wouldn’t give veterinarians a chance to evaluate a horse’s response to the treatment.

–Will the Authority be sending veterinarians to help with shortages? In the early days of the Authority, there was some discussion suggesting the group would send its own veterinarians to fill shortages in racing states that were strapped. Ann McGovern, director of racetrack safety for the Authority, said that besides the nationwide equine veterinary shortage, they’re running into another logistical problem – licensing.

There are some veterinarians who want to help short-handed tracks, but many are experiencing difficulty getting licensed outside of the states they normally practice in. The Authority is working on a provision for regulatory veterinarians, since they’re not diagnosing, treating, or prescribing and therefore have different roles than most licensed veterinarians.

–There’s still hope a national system for testing will be more efficient. Scollay said trainer Steve Asmussen once told her Gun Runner had been out-of-competition tested 15 times in his career because he participated in so many different stakes with OOCT programs in so many different jurisdictions, and sampling authorities had no way to communicate with each other. There’s hope that while the testing bill will rise for some states, it will be a more efficient process overall.

Editor’s note: This story has been corrected to more accurately reflect the origin of IFHA detection times, and permitted furosemide administration times under the new rules.

Michael Tannuzzo, a New York-based trainer who pleaded guilty in July to one count of drug adulteration and misbranding, on Monday was sentenced to 27 months in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil, according to Matthew Russell Lee writing for Inner City Press, an online publication that covers activities at the Southern District of New York courthouse.

Prosecutors recommended a sentence on the lower end of the sentencing guidelines of 30 to 36 months imprisonment.

In a change of plea hearing, Tannuzzo admitted to connecting an unnamed trainer with co-defendant Ross Cohen for the purpose of helping the trainer procure a performance-enhancing drug. Tannuzzo denied ever doping his own horses, though prosecutors said in their letter to Judge Vyskocil that Tannuzzo sought illegal drugs and advice from convicted trainer Jorge Navarro on how to best use them.

In a hand-written letter to the judge, Tannuzzo apologized for his actions in the case, saying, “I should never have been involved with these people; I should have known better.”

Tannuzzo wrote that he began walking horses at the age of 15 and continued to work with them for the next 35 years.

“Horses saved me from taking the wrong path in life,” he wrote.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled Friday that the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act is “facially unconstitutional,” reversing an earlier ruling from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

“While HISA is disappointed by the Fifth Circuit’s decision, we remain confident in HISA’s constitutionality and will be seeking further review of this case,” said Charles Scheeler, chair of the HISA Board of Directors.” If today’s ruling were to stand, it would not go into effect until Jan. 10, 2023, at the earliest. We are focused on continuing our critical work to protect the safety and integrity of Thoroughbred racing, including the launch of HISA’s Anti-Doping and Medication Control Program on Jan. 1, 2023.”

The appeals court opinion, written by Circuit Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan, gave a brief summary of the challenge against HISA:

"HISA was challenged by various horsemen’s associations, who were later joined by Texas and the state’s racing commission. The plaintiffs argued HISA is facially unconstitutional because it delegates government power to a private entity without sufficient agency supervision. The district court acknowledged that the plaintiffs’ “concerns are legitimate,” that HISA has “unique features,” and that its structure “pushes the boundaries of public-private collaboration.” Nonetheless, the court rejected the private non-delegation challenge, concluding HISA “stays within current constitutional limitations as defined by the Supreme Court and the Fifth Circuit.”"

Duncan’s opinion differs from that of the district court on the grounds that HISA does give government power to a private entity without sufficient government agency supervision.

"A cardinal constitutional principle is that federal power can be wielded only by the federal government. Private entities may do so only if they are subordinate to an agency. [...] But the Authority is not subordinate to the FTC. The reverse is true. The Authority, rather than the FTC, has been given final say over HISA’s programs."While acknowledging the Authority’s “sweeping” power, the district court thought it was balanced by the FTC’s “equally” sweeping oversight. Not so. HISA restricts FTC review of the Authority’s proposed rules. If those rules are “consistent” with HISA’s broad principles, the FTC must approve them. And even if it finds inconsistency, the FTC can only suggest changes. What’s more, the FTC concedes it cannot review the Authority’s policy choices. When the public has disagreed with those policies, the FTC has disclaimed any review and instead told the public to “engag[e] with the Authority.” An agency does not have meaningful oversight if it does not write the rules, cannot change them, and cannot second-guess their substance. As the district court correctly put it: “Only an Act of Congress could permanently amend any Authority rule or divest it of its powers. The FTC may never command the Authority to change its rules or divest it of its powers.” Horsemen’s Benevolent & Protective Ass’n v. Black [Black], No. 5:21-CV-071, 2022 WL 982464, at *69 (N.D. Tex. Mar. 31, 2022). The end result is that Congress has given a private entity the last word over what rules govern our nation’s Thoroughbred horseracing industry."The Constitution forbids that. For good reason, the Constitution vests federal power only in the three branches of the federal  government. Congress defies this basic safeguard by vesting government power in a private entity not accountable to the people. That is what it has done in HISA. The Authority’s power outstrips any private delegation the Supreme Court or our court has allowed. We must therefore declare HISA facially unconstitutional."

The appeals court has remanded the case to the district court for further proceedings. According to Andrew Cohen, a legal analyst and horseman, HISA has a couple options: to either ask the full court of appeals to hear the case, an en banc hearing, or to take the issue to the Supreme Court. In either case HISA would likely need to seek a stay of the mandate.

According to uscourts.gov, federal courts of appeals routinely handle more than 50,000 cases each year. Ten percent or fewer of those decisions are appealed to the Supreme Court, which in turn hears oral arguments in fewer than 100 cases annually. Thus, the vast majority of courts of appeals decisions are final, and they are binding on lower courts within the same circuit.

“I would not be surprised if the full Court of Appeals panel takes the case,” said Cohen. “It’s not uncommon, especially when dealing with the constitutionality of a federal statute.”

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals order is on the lawsuit filed by the National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association and affiliates in Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, Illinois, Louisiana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Washington and HBPA affiliates at Mountaineer Park and Tampa Bay Downs. A separate case is scheduled to be heard by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati on Dec. 7.

The Association of Racing Commissioners International announced that it will hold an emergency meeting of US Racing regulatory agencies on Friday afternoon in light of the appeals court’s decision.

The National HBPA issued the following statement: “It is the duty of the National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association to protect horsemen across the country and that is not a responsibility I take lightly,” said Eric Hamelback, CEO of the NHBPA. “From HISA’s onset, we have thoroughly and fairly examined the HISA corporation’s impact on our industry and its constitutionality. We operated in good faith and did our due diligence to appropriately weigh the pros and cons. We have been saying for years this law and the defined Authority itself are unconstitutional and we are pleased the court has unanimously sided with our position, an outcome many in our industry thought was impossible.

“Today’s unanimous ruling clearly states the entity constructed under HISA is an unconstitutional body and should not hold governing power over our industry, a position we have long supported. On behalf of the NHBPA, I can assure you that we will be following this development closely and support the power reverting back into the hands of the State Racing Commissions. I will keep our members updated as we continue exploring the ruling further as more details come to the surface. We are very appreciative of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals for the thorough analysis and opinion. We also thank the many industry stakeholders who supported us in our effort to ensure that horsemen are not subject to an unconstitutional law.”

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) and Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU) are accepting inquiries from individuals interested in serving on the Internal Adjudication Panel (IAP) established by HISA’s Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program, which goes into effect Jan. 1, 2023.

Under the ADMC Program, members of the IAP will adjudicate Controlled Medication Rule Violations, which are defined in Rule Series 3000: Equine Anti-Doping and Controlled Medication Protocol. They are appointed by mutual agreement of HISA and HIWU for four-year terms and will serve as independent contractors to both entities. The list of IAP members will be published on hiwu.org.

“Racing participants, fans, and bettors deserve a process for adjudicating potential violations of HISA’s medication rules that is uniform, efficient, and fair,” said HISA Chief Executive Officer Lisa Lazarus. “The creation of the IAP will allow us to bring seasoned experts together to ensure each case is handled with the utmost integrity and professionalism.”

“The IAP will play a key role in ensuring that Controlled Medication Rule Violations are adjudicated swiftly and fairly under HISA’s ADMC Program,” said Ben Mosier, executive director for HIWU. “Our goal is to compile a diverse and experienced group to handle these cases and promote the integrity of Thoroughbred racing.”

Interested candidates should have at least five years of experience in hearing equine medication cases, either as stewards or in other regulatory roles in the equine industry. Active state stewards are permitted to serve on the IAP but will be prohibited from participating in cases originating in their state of employment. Those selected as IAP members will receive training on the ADMC Program before they are assigned to cases.

Additional information about requirements for service on the IAP and adjudication procedures for Controlled Medication Rule Violations can be found in the Rule 7000 Series: Arbitration Procedures from HISA’s ADMC Program regulations that were submitted to the Federal Trade Commission.

Those who are interested in applying for the IAP should submit a cover letter, resume, and list of references to info@hiwu.org with a subject line of “Internal Adjudication Panel.”

About the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority

Established when the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act was signed into federal law in 2020, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) is responsible for drafting and enforcing uniform safety and integrity rules in Thoroughbred racing in the U.S. Overseen by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), HISA was created to implement, for the first time, a national, uniform set of rules applicable to every Thoroughbred racing participant and racetrack facility. HISA is composed of two programs: the Racetrack Safety Program, which went into effect on July 1, 2022, and the Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program, which goes into effect January 1, 2023.

About the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit

The Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU) was established in 2022 by Drug Free Sport International to administer the rules and enforcement mechanisms of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority’s (HISA) Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program. The ADMC Program, which will be effective as of January 1, 2023, will create a centralized testing and results management process and apply uniform penalties for violations efficiently and consistently across all American Thoroughbred racing jurisdictions that HISA governs. HIWU will oversee testing, educate stakeholders on the new program, accredit laboratories, investigate potential violations, and prosecute any such violations.

About Drug Free Sport International

Drug Free Sport International is a worldwide leader in the sport drug testing industry. Drug Free Sport International administers comprehensive drug testing programs, manages national and international collections, develops drug testing policies, and provides educational services to a wide range of professional and amateur athletics organizations around the world. Its highly educated, experienced, and diverse staff is committed to quality, technical innovation, and maintaining the most extensive network of highly trained and certified sport drug testing collectors in the industry.

Jorge Navarro, the admitted cheater who last December was sentenced to five years in federal prison for his role in a wide-ranging horse-doping scheme busted by the FBI, appeared to be something of a mentor to fellow Thoroughbred trainer Michael Tannuzzo.

Like mentors often do, Navarro challenged Tannuzzo to be the best he could be. He offered advice on how and when to administer various illegal performance-enhancing drugs to get the best effect and to avoid detection by testing laboratories.

In the end, however, Navarro said it was up to Tannuzzo.

“Grow some balls,” Navarro said to Tannuzzo in a text message after offering to administer clenbuterol to one of Tannuzzo’s horses. “Juice him up.”

“OK,” Tannuzzo responded, according to a pre-sentencing letter submitted by federal prosecutors to Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil, who will determine whether Tannuzzo will go to prison and for how long. Tannuzzo pleaded guilty in July to one count of drug adulteration and misbranding as part of a plea agreement.

At his change of plea hearing (which came after the court denied motions to dismiss and to suppress evidence, and after two other defendants were convicted in a jury trial), Tannuzzo downplayed his own cheating.

“Tannuzzo stated – despite evidence to the contrary – that his conduct consisted of connecting a trainer (“Trainer-1”) with co-defendant Ross Cohen for the purpose of enabling Trainer-1 to purchase ‘Monkey,’ a drug Tannuzzo claimed he ‘never used.’ …

“Tannuzzo selectively admits to certain of his offense conduct, then insists that he did not ever personally administer PEDs to a horse, and that he only ‘banter[ed]’ but did not take ‘actual action.’”

Prosecutors said Tannuzzo’s “narrative … belies the scope and extent of his offense conduct.”

The pre-sentencing letter said Tannuzzo “routinely” obtained blood builders like “Monkey” from Cohen and sought PEDs from Navarro and also assisted in the latter’s doping program.

“Tannuzzo was not merely a spectator to Navarro’s doping,” prosecutors wrote. “Tannuzzo used Navarro to gain insight and access to PEDs beyond those Tannuzzo was independently procuring.”

In one intercepted conversation between Navarro and Tannuzzo, Navarro explained how to administer a product he was told was similar to the blood-doping agent EPO.

“Here is what I want you to do, Mikey,” Navarro said. “Tomorrow, you pull the blood as soon as the vet turns around. This powder you mix it with 2ccs of water. … Alright so you mix and then you give it to the vein, whatever you mix it with 2ccs, 2.5 ccs, 3ccs, doesn’t matter. Alright, so tomorrow is Friday. Saturday I want you to come in and give her a build-up. Monday, I want you to come and give her a build-up. Wednesday, I want you to come and give her a build-up. Okay.

“But this is the generic,” Navarro said, apparently referring to a compounded product. “The real (EPO) you got three days. Alright, that’s why Nick Surick (co-defendant due who also pleaded guilty and is due for sentencing in December) called me, ‘Jorge, I’m in trouble, I did the real one, what do I do?’ I said they can’t pull blood the first three days. The fourth day, they see a cloud, but they don’t know what the fuck it is.”

Navarro was referring to how long after administering the FDA-approved EPO, or erythropoietin, it is detectable in drug tests. Prosecutors said Surick had administered EPO to a racehorse shortly before the New Jersey Racing Commission showed up to take out-of-competition samples for the horse. He then directed his staff to try and hide the horse from regulators.

Prosecutors also said Tannuzzo obtained the adulterated and misbranded drug SGF-1000 from co-defendant Kristian Rhein. In an intercepted conversation with Tannuzzo on June 29, 2019, Rhein explained the potency of the drug and how and when to administer it in advance of a specific race in which a Tannuzzo runner would be entered.

“Pop him with this thing though before he runs,” Rhein said. “You know, three, four days, doesn’t matter. Whatever you want. I mean but just – it doesn’t need anything else.

“Just give it and he will come out of there (like) he was shot out of a fucking gun.”

When the two spoke June 30, 2019, Rhein said an injection could be done three to four days before a race.

“I gave it to him today,” said Tannuzzo. “That’s only six days out.”

According to Equibase, Tannuzzo ran two horses six days later. On July 6, 2019, Flying P Stable’s Rocket Heat finished second at 8-1 odds in the Grade 3, $200,000 Parx Dash. That same day, Flying P Stable’s Rockford finished second as the 8-5 favorite in a $12,500 claiming race at Monmouth Park.

[patreon_text]

“Tannuzzo’s efforts to obtain the aforementioned drugs was not mere ‘banter,’” prosecutors wrote. “The defendant’s self-serving claims in his sentencing submission that he did not ever ‘follow through and dope horses’ in light of his conversations and efforts to obtain PEDs defies common sense.”

The government is recommending a prison sentence of between 30 to 36 months. Sentencing is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET on Monday, Nov. 21, in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, 500 Pearl Street, New York, N.Y.

Joseph Sutton and Louis Linder Jr., respective owner and trainer of Far Mo Power, have sued Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission executive Thomas Chuckas over his decision to deny an appeal hearing to reconsider the horse’s disqualification in a Sept. 24, 2022, stakes at Parx Racing.

Far Mo Power, a 12-1 longshot, finished first by a neck in the $200,000 Parx Dirt Mile Stakes on the Pennsylvania Derby day card at the Bensalem, Pa., track, but was disqualified by stewards for interfering with Mind Control, the 3-5 favorite owned by Red Oak Stable and Madaket Stables and trained by Todd Pletcher. The Equibase chart shows that the two horses were engaged in a tight battle from the quarter pole to the wire, with Mind Control – ridden by John Velazquez – putting his head in front at the furlong pole and Far Mo Power rallying to prevail after drifting out and brushing his rival when hit left-handed with the whip by jockey Dexter Haddock.

According to the complaint filed by attorney Alan Pincus in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, Linder “sought advice from the horseman’s group at Parx as to how to appeal pro se and was given a form prepared by the commission for such appeals.”

The form was notarized on Sept. 26 and submitted to the commission.

On Sept. 30, Chuckas, director of the Pennsylvania commission’s Thoroughbred bureau, issued an order denying a hearing based on the reasoning that Linder “failed to set forth in numbered paragraphs a concise statement of all the factual and legal grounds upon which the hearing was requested.”

The appeal form, on Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission letterhead, had four lines available for the appellant to state reasons for the appeal and suggested a blank paper may be used if more space is needed. Linder wrote “No Foul Occurred” in the space asking for reasons for filing the appeal

“This should appear concise to anyone,” the lawsuit states.

The complaint adds that, “Upon information and belief the commission has never rejected a hearing from anyone who used the commission’s form. Upon information and belief the commission has never rejected a hearing from anyone who failed to use numbered paragraphs.

“In all meaningful ways Linder’s appeal conformed to the relevant rules,” the complaint added, then provided information about a Sept. 29 ruling concerning trainer Juan Vazquez.

In that ruling, the complaint said, “The commission stated in a footnote ‘Appellant’s appeal failed to comply with 179.7(a) (1) of the commission’s regulations in that appellant failed to set forth a statement of all the factual and legal grounds upon which the hearing is requested. Nevertheless, in the interest of fairness, the commission granted the appeal in this matter and conducted a de novo hearing.'”

The complaint then added, “Thus somewhere between Sept. 29 and Sept. 30 the interests of fairness disappeared from the commission and were not considered in denying plaintiffs’ appeal.”

Chuckas’ actions were called “arbitrary and capricious and designed with the specific intent to deprive plaintiffs of their Due Process Rights.”

Plaintiffs are seeking a ruling to the effect that Chuckas deprived them of Due Process, an order requiring the commission to provide a hearing, and costs and disbursements including attorney’s fees.

Two-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Doug O’Neill has been suspended 30 days and fined $10,000 for a medication violation that occurred at Golden Gate Fields in Albany, Calif., on May 1, 2022, when Reddam Racing LLC’s Worse Read Sanchez tested positive for lidocaine after a third-place finish in the Silky Sullivan Stakes.

The stipulated agreement calls for a 60-day suspension, with 30 days to be stayed “for good cause.”

O’Neill posted the following statement to his social media accounts: “Worse Read Sanchez ran at Golden Gate Fields earlier this year, unfortunately there was a transfer of medication from a member of my staff who was prescribed a medication for Shingles. Under the Trainer Absolute Liability Rule, I am liable for this and fully accept the ruling of liability for this unfortunate and unintended contamination.”

O’Neill was suspended 30 days and fined $7,500 in March 2021 for a previous lidocaine positive, with 20 days of that suspension stayed.

Lidocaine, a local anesthetic, is a Class 2 drug with a Category B penalty under California Horse Racing Board rules.

According to the complaint, Worse Read Sanchez was found by the UC Davis laboratory to have 180 picograms per milliliter of 3-Hydroxy Lidocaine in his system. O’Neill requested a split sample be tested by Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory, and that lab confirmed the presence of the drug at time of testing.

The reduction of the suspension from 60 to 30 days – conditioned on there being no further Class 1, Class 2 or Class 3 drug violations during a probationary period from May 1, 2020, through May 1, 2023 – means O’Neill can turn the stable over to an assistant during his absence.

Under CHRB rules, a 60-day suspension would have required O’Neill to transfer his horses to someone other than a family member or employee. In addition, O’Neill would have been required to forfeit all stalls assigned to him and remove all signage, training-related equipment, tack, office equipment and other property. Those sanctions do not reply with 30 days of the original suspension stayed.

Stewards set the days of his suspension from Nov. 21 through Dec. 20, meaning O’Neill will miss the final two weeks of Del Mar’s Bing Crosby season and the six-day Los Alamitos winter Thoroughbred meet.

O’Neill, who has been a licensed trainer since 1988, has won 2,738 races from 17,052 starts. In addition to his two Kentucky Derby victories (I’ll Have Another in 2012 and Nyquist in 2016), O’Neill has saddled five Breeders’ Cup winners.

Stewards in Indiana issued 60-day suspensions and $5,000 fines to two veterinarians on Nov. 7 after determining they violated commission rules prohibiting possession of non-FDA approved drugs.

Drs. Cynthia Loomis and Nicole Wettstein, both practitioners at Equine Medical Associates, were also handed summary suspensions banning them from racetrack grounds.

The rulings also cited both for “possession of non-FDA approved compounds, where there are FDA approved, commercially available medications to appropriately treat a horse; possession of improperly compounded substances which contain non-FDA approved ingredients; and, possession of drugs that do not meet the labeling requirements established in IHRC regulations.”

The rulings both list an infraction date of July 5, 2022. That is one day after Loomis was summarily suspended alongside trainer/owner/agent Marvin Johnson after officials alleged she treated two of his horses on race day. The commission ultimately failed to bring a charge against her regarding that alleged treatment.

When reached by the Paulick Report on Nov. 14, Loomis said that a tack room used by her and Wettstein for medication and equipment storage at Horseshoe Indianapolis was locked up at the time of the alleged infraction related to Johnson. When the commission failed to bring a charge against her related to that case but sought to extend her summary suspension through the end of this year, Loomis went before an administrative law judge in an attempt to lift the summary suspension. On Oct. 15, an administrative law judge found in Loomis’ favor and ended the summary suspension, citing a time limit the commission had to bring a formal charge.

Loomis says it was after this Oct. 15 decision from the administrative law judge that the Indiana commission notified her they intended to unlock and search the storage room.

The November ruling stems from that search, and Loomis says it refers to compounded phenylbutazone paste and powder in that tack room. Loomis said she had the drug in compounded forms because the mass-produced version was on long-term backorder in July.

Compounded versions of mass-produced FDA-approved drugs are considered legal in some circumstances when there is a significant or long-term supply chain disruption of the commercial version of the drug.

She also said investigators found expired isoxsuprine, which was in the storage room awaiting a trip back to her primary base in Kentucky for appropriate disposal.

“It’s absurd, is what it is. It’s just another hoop to jump through,” said Loomis. “This is their last attempt to keep me suspended in some way, to keep me off the grounds through the end of the meet. Which is ridiculous, because I don’t want to go back to Indiana anyway.”

Loomis and Wettstein were both cited since they both have their names on the storage room. Wettstein was served with medication labeling violations on July 15, but then postponed her hearing until October.

Both veterinarians have appealed the ruling.

“It is clear that the IHRC, after having been denied the ability to renew Dr. Loomis’s original summary suspension from July 4, 2022, set a hearing regarding other alleged violations as a way to circumvent the lift of the original summary suspension and re-suspend Loomis,” read the appeal in part. “Dr. Loomis has been and continues to be irreparably harmed because she cannot work in Indiana or in any other jurisdiction and her reputation and excellent veterinarian record have been irreversibly tarnished. To date, the IHRC has not filed an administrative complaint against Dr. Loomis for any alleged infractions which occurred in July of this year.”

Trainer Tom Amoss has been suspended seven calendar days, fined $3,000, and assessed two points on the Association of Racing Commissioners International’s multiple medication violation program for a lidocaine positive for the 3-year-old filly Catwings, winner of the sixth race on June 23, 2022, at Horseshoe Indianapolis in Shelbyville, Ind.

Catwings has been disqualified from the maiden special weight race victory and the purse redistributed. Sammies Samurai, the runner-up will receive first-place money of $20,400 and be declared the winner.

The Indiana Horse Racing Commission ruling, dated Nov. 10, states that Industrial Laboratories in Denver, Colo., detected lidocaine at a concentration of 127 picograms per milliliter in blood serum. According to the ruling, lidocaine and its metabolites are prohibited at levels greater than 20 pg/ml. A picogram is one-trillionth of a gram.

Amoss requested a split sample be tested. UIC Analytical Forensic Testing Laboratory in Chicago, Ill., confirmed the drug’s presence at a concentration in excess of the permitted level. At that point, the ruling states, Amoss waived his right to a formal hearing before the board of stewards.

Lidocaine, a local anesthetic, is a Class 2 drug with a Category B penalty under Association of Racing Commissioners International model rules. The model rules call for a 15-day suspension, absent mitigating circumstances, for a first offense. The ruling did not reference mitigating circumstances, but Amoss said in a comment posted on Twitter that he was “grateful to the stewards for independently recognizing this as a possible cross-contamination, and reducing my suspension from 15 days to 7 days.”

The trainer added, “We will work to ensure this will not happen again.”

According to ThoroughbredRulings.com, this is Amoss’ first medication violation since a betamethasone positive in Kentucky in 2016 resulted in a five-day suspension and $500 fine.

The suspension is to be served Nov. 13-19.

Tomorrow, the Indiana Racing Comm. will announce that my horse, Catwings, tested 60 parts per trillion above the threshold of 20 parts per trillion for permissible medication. I take full responsibility, and I apologize for the mistake. I am grateful to the stewards…

— Tom Amoss Racing (@TomAmossRacing) November 13, 2022

The pleading was first reported by  WNYT, an NBC affiliate in Albany, N.Y.

The harassment plea was reduced from the original charge of criminal obstruction of breathing, a misdemeanor. Brown was arrested the night of Aug. 17 after a female acquaintance of his told police she used a key to enter Brown’s residence and discovered him with another woman. Prosecutors said the victim claims Brown pushed her down a stairway, pinned her to the floor, attempted to choke her, then threw her out of the house.

During an Aug. 18 arraignment, Brown’s attorney told Judge Francine Vero the incident was a “home invasion,” according to the Albany Times-Union.

The guilty plea for harassment comes with a sentence of one year of conditional discharge, meaning if Brown meets the conditions set by the court over the next year he will face no further consequences and the guilty plea will not be on his permanent record. Brown appeared in court with his attorney.

According to published reports, the conditions include evaluation by a certified behavior health professional.

Assistant district attorney Rachael Phelan told the judge the plea reduction was “appropriate” because of “some difficulties that may arise at trial in terms of witness statements and certain evidence,” the Daily Gazette reported.

The victim of the harassment received a two-year order of protection from the court. The woman, who has not been named, is employed by another New York trainer.

Saratoga horse trainer Chad Brown pleads guilty to reduced charge in case against ex-girlfriend https://t.co/Eky74pTlY5

— WNYT NewsChannel 13 (@WNYT) November 14, 2022

In a statement issued to media by his attorney, Matthew Chauvin, Brown stated: “While I’m satisfied to put this unfortunate incident behind me and pleased that as a result I will not have a criminal record, I regret details of my personal life being made public through the media.

“For this, I apologize to my family, friends, clients, and coworkers. I can and will do better in the future. I greatly appreciate all who have supported me throughout this ordeal.”

Brown has not faced any sanctions from racing regulators or individual racetracks over the incident.

The current version of the website features a section dedicated to educational resources about the components of the ADMC Program. The content, which will include bilingual materials, will increase in the weeks and months ahead to assist all stakeholders in the Thoroughbred industry in advance of the ADMC Program’s implementation on Jan. 1, 2023, and beyond. Future website updates will introduce a Prohibited Substances database as a reference tool and a searchable list of sanctions imposed on Covered Persons or Covered Horses for ADMC Program violations.

Viewers will also find information about HIWU’s team and responsibilities as the enforcement agency for HISA’s ADMC Program, answers to frequently asked questions about HIWU, recent HIWU news, and a link to the full ADMC Program regulations submitted for approval to the Federal Trade Commission.

“Our goal is for the HIWU website to serve as a comprehensive and dynamic resource for the Thoroughbred industry so that everyone feels prepared for the ADMC Program, and we are excited for its further expansion,” said Ben Mosier, executive director of HIWU.

In addition to the website, interested parties can now keep up with HIWU via Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Questions may be submitted to info@hiwu.org.

About the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit

The Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU) was established in 2022 by Drug Free Sport International to administer the rules and enforcement mechanisms of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority’s (HISA) Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program. The ADMC Program, which will be effective as of January 1, 2023, will create a centralized testing and results management process and apply uniform penalties for violations efficiently and consistently across all American Thoroughbred racing jurisdictions that HISA governs. HIWU will oversee testing, educate stakeholders on the new program, accredit laboratories, investigate potential violations, and prosecute any such violations.

About Drug Free Sport International

Drug Free Sport International is a worldwide leader in the sport drug testing industry. Drug Free Sport International administers comprehensive drug testing programs, manages national and international collections, develops drug testing policies, and provides educational services to a wide range of professional and amateur athletics organizations around the world. Its highly educated, experienced, and diverse staff is committed to quality, technical innovation, and maintaining the most extensive network of highly trained and certified sport drug testing collectors in the industry.

Members of the Organization of Racing Investigators (ORI) are once again working diligently to provide the highest level of security for the world’s best Thoroughbreds that have assembled for the 2022 Breeders’ Cup.

With a handpicked team of some 30 investigators, the BC Equine Security Team (BCEST) hails from all corners of the United States, and also includes international representation from Canada and Ireland.

Working closely with a local company of security personnel, the BCEST will provide 24-hour round-the-clock care for the horses that will be running on Friday November 4 and Saturday November 5 at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky.

With a wealth of experience in law enforcement, members of the BCEST work for racetrack and state agencies back home. The opportunity to come to the Breeders’ Cup is the chance to ensure that compliance is of the utmost importance.

Not only will members be working closely with the Breeders’ Cup Veterinarian Team to collect samples, ensuring the chain of custody, but they will be onsite to showcase their knowledge and expertise by keeping everyone safe.

“Customer service and experience is so important to us,” said Don Ahrens (Sam Houston Race Park). “Everything we do is for the care of these equine athletes, and making sure everyone is compliant is our top priority.”

Ahrens, along with Mike Kilpack (NTRA), spearhead this operation, having done so for over a decade.

“We are driven to provide the Breeders’ Cup and its fans with all the security that we can muster, said Kilpack. “Each and every member of this team is the best of the best.”

The BCEST assembled on Sunday Night for a ‘Meet and Greet,’ but the planning takes place months in advance.

Picking a group of investigators from across America is no easy task, but Ahrens and Kilpack have a vast set of experiences in their toolkit.

This year, there are several additions to their squad, including a ‘dispatcher’ that will manage the day and night shifts, utilizing camera technology that will monitor the stalls.

As the Breeders’ Cup does every year, a quarantine area for international runners will also be located in the barn area, with restricted access to a select few.

The BCEST 2022 edition also includes over 10 ‘rookie’ members at Keeneland. For their first event, it is up to the senior leadership to get them up to speed as quickly as possible.

Ahrens said, “These folks know their business, and are used to the rigors of investigating in their own locales, so that is incredibly helpful when it comes to training them for an event of this magnitude.”

After an orientation on Monday at the Keeneland Sales Ring, BCEST will officially swing into action on Tuesday. Led by Juan Estrada (Arizona Department of Gaming), the ‘Night Crew’ will acclimatize themselves before their posting begins at 4 p.m. each afternoon.

Both shifts have Saturday after the Breeders’ Cup Classic as their target. Until then, paying attention and monitoring their barns will be the focal point. In other words, the best of the best will protect their counterparts to the fullest extent.

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) has submitted to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) a technical document listing and categorizing 1,365 Prohibited Substances covered by HISA’s anti-doping and medication control (ADMC) rules and further dividing them into subcategories of Banned Substances and Controlled Medications. The document is now subject to final approval by the FTC ahead of the ADMC Program’s Jan. 1, 2023 implementation date.

This technical document was developed by HISA’s ADMC Standing Committee and approved by the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU), which will administer the program. In a memorandum to racing participants (included below), HISA ADMC Committee Chair Adolpho Birch summarized the contents of the document submitted, which underwent several modifications based on substantive feedback from racing participants and experts during a public comment period before submission to the FTC.

“The Prohibited Substances List is the result of extensive consultation with industry and subject matter experts and is informed by established research. Once approved by the FTC, it will serve as the backbone of HISA’s ADMC Program set to take effect in the New Year,” said Birch. “Through our collective efforts led by the ADMC Committee, we are proud to introduce U.S. Thoroughbred racing’s first-ever uniform Prohibited Substances list that will be applied on a national basis to advance integrity, transparency and accountability in the sport.”

“Effective anti-doping programs require clear guidance on prohibited substances, and we are pleased with the document that was submitted to the FTC,” said Ben Mosier, executive director of HIWU. “This list will play a key role in HIWU’s assignment to enforce HISA’s ADMC Program, and we are prepared to take on this critical responsibility on behalf of the Thoroughbred industry.”

In addition to listing and categorizing all prohibited substances covered by the ADMC Program, the document details detection times, screening limits and thresholds. The modified document submitted to the FTC is available on the HISA website.

Memorandum to Racing Participants, from Adolpho Birch, Chair of Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority AntiDoping and Medication Control Committee:

On October 13, 2022, following a public consultation period where substantive feedback was provided to the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA), the HISA Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Committee submitted the “Technical Document – Prohibited Substances” (“Technical Document”) to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for approval. The Technical Document lists all Prohibited Substances covered by the ADMC rules and categorizes them into Banned Substances and Controlled Medications, as well as Specified Substances, which are those that pose a higher risk of being caused by contamination and are therefore subject to more flexible sanctions.

Additionally, the Technical Document sets forth detection times, screening limits, and thresholds for Prohibited Substances. If approved by the FTC, the Technical Document will be a fundamental component of the ADMC Program launching on January 1, 2023 that will be administered by the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (“HIWU”). HIWU will soon begin its educational initiative to explain this Technical Document and how the Program will operate to racing participants. Should you have any questions before then, please direct them to info@hiwu.org.

Set forth below is a summary of the key modifications to the Technical Document from the original version posted for public comment, which were implemented following review and consideration of the feedback submitted to HISA by the ADMC Committee.

1. Anti-Ulcer medications (Cimetidine, Omeprazole, Ranitidine)

The Technical Document reduces the originally proposed 48-hour Restricted Administration Period for anti-ulcer medications to 24-hours. The rationale is that published research demonstrates that withdrawal intervals of greater than 24 hours can pose a health risk to the horse. It is anticipated that the international community will adopt a withdrawal interval strategy similar to the one proposed by HISA in the coming year.

2. NSAIDs (Flunixin, Ketoprofen, Phenylbutazone)

The Technical Document establishes Screening Limits corresponding to a 48-hour Detection Time for three (3) commercially available NSAIDs having FDA-approval for use in the horse. The ADMC Program allows the veterinarian to select one NSAID that can be administered using a withdrawal interval based on the 48-hour Detection Time. All other NSAIDs are then controlled applying the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities’ (IFHA) Detection Times and Screening Limits, and the detection of more than one NSAID in a horse’s sample shall be a violation.

The rationale for this change is twofold: (1) it is consistent in our view with the IFHA’s philosophical approach to NSAIDs; and (2) the overwhelming evidence received from horsemen and other stakeholder groups that enforcing a more restrictive rule would be contrary to the welfare of the horse without achieving any meaningful benefit to integrity.

3. Methocarbamol / Glycopyrrolate

The newly proposed Screening Limits and Detection Times for methocarbamol and glycopyrrolate were determined after reviewing the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium’s administration study involving pharmacokinetic data. The elected Screening Limits and corresponding Detection Times ensure withdrawal intervals of sufficient length to prevent the substances from having potential to impact a horse’s racing performance. These were developed so that better guidance can be provided instead of relying on the laboratory’s limit of detection.

4. Procaine penicillin

HISA has elected to adopt the current Association of Racing Commissioners International controls, which allow for the use of this safe and effective antibiotic up to 48 hours prior to a race, while still effectively controlling against the illicit use of procaine as a local anesthetic.

The $72.5 million dollar 2023 HISA budget will probably fall on the backs of the racetracks and horsemen in most states, according to the President of the Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI).

“Most states did not pay the HISA assessment that was sent in April and given the limitations of state resources it is unrealistic to expect a different result as I am not aware of any states that have told them otherwise,” RCI President Ed Martin said.

Martin said the HISA press release was misleading in that it led readers to believe that the States were automatically on the hook to pay the assessment unless they made a conscious decision to take themselves out.

Only those States making a conscious decision to “opt in” will be responsible for paying the assessment or imposing new fees. Based on the experience with the last round of assessments, only Kentucky, California, Minnesota and Colorado are paying HISA assessments.

HISA made a conscious decision to put the responsibility to pay on the racetracks even though HISA can assess fees directly on all aspects of the industry, including breeders who appear to be absolved of any financial exposure under the funding scheme.

“As everything with HISA is done behind closed doors, I am not aware that this approach was agreed to with the tracks or whether or not they had any input as to how HISA put their program and budget together. You would hope they were in the mix in that they will foot the bills,” Martin said.

Martin also noted that HISA made a conscious decision not to try to utilize significant parts of the existing infrastructure already paid for by the various States, specifically prosecutors and adjudication personnel.

“It is extremely rare for a state racing commission to lose a drug case, so why HISA would not want prosecutors who have never lost a case in the mix totally befuddles me,” he said.

Last December at the University of Arizona’s Racing Symposium, Martin warned that if HISA was not careful in formulating their program, they would risk losing tens of millions of dollars in public funds and resources and the thoroughbred industry would have to pick up a much larger bill.

“The cost of this is totally on HISA. Over the past fifteen months state regulators have met with HISA staff people and occasionally a HISA Board member listened in. Constructive ideas were offered. They listened, smiled, and were appreciative, yet whomever was making the decisions chose to ignore much of what was said, which is their right,” he said.

The ARCI continues to be concerned about the economic impact these new regulatory costs will have on small and midsized venues and those in the industry participating at those levels.

“Many are struggling with today’s economic realities fueled by high inflation, increased borrowing costs, and supply chain and labor availability. To some this is absolutely the worst time to impose additional new costs of this magnitude,” Martin said.

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) on Monday distributed 2023 financial assessments to State Racing Commissions (SRCs) as the Authority prepares to expand its national oversight and rule implementation efforts to anti-doping and medication control on January 1, 2023. HISA’s Racetrack Safety program has been in effect since July 1, 2022.

Each SRC received an assessment that represents the respective state’s total financial obligation for 2023 as outlined by the Authority’s Cost Assessment Methodology rule, which was approved by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

SRCs can reduce their assessment if they enter into an agreement with HISA and the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU). The full HISA budget for 2023 is $72,509,662.  To promote industry collaboration and uniformity, HISA has offered SRCs approximately $23 million in monetary credits against the assessment. These credits are available to SRCs who choose to provide sample collection personnel and investigative services (including stewards involved in investigations) in compliance with the new Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program rules.

In addition, SRCs are no longer responsible for individually paying for investigations, laboratory fees and shipping costs, or any legal expenses associated with prosecuting anti-doping and medication control violations or appeals of those prosecutions, as these are now provided for by HISA, HIWU and the FTC.

The industry will also benefit from further cost reductions in existing and new expenses related to anti-doping and medication control because of economies of scale in contracting costs and other economic efficiencies gained through a unified, national program.

Although the full incremental cost to industry is difficult to calculate with certainty, between the offered credits and relief from existing expenses, it is significantly lower than the official budget indicates.

The main components of the budgets include (pre-credit reductions):

• The ADMC Program that will be administered nationally by HIWU: $58,108,758 (inclusive of all sample collection, laboratory analysis, enforcement, and other program costs);
• HISA’s Racetrack Safety Program: $3,654,830;
• HISA’s technology build and maintenance to support its Programs: $5,466,709;
• Costs associated with HISA’s administration and organizational operations: $5,279,365 (of which $1,800,000 is budgeted for defending against litigation challenging HISA and related expenses)

“The 2023 assessment balances HISA’s commitment to cost efficiency with the fact that the industry has historically underinvested in safety and integrity,” said HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus. “We are focused on leveraging existing state resources for anti-doping as the foundation on which to build a first-class program for the sport. Under HISA and HIWU, Thoroughbred racing, for the first time, will have uniform national standards and rules for safety and medication, more comprehensive forensic testing, expanded and targeted Out of Competition Testing, a highly qualified national investigative team, and a streamlined and efficient adjudication process. I look forward to deepening collaboration with our SRC counterparts and racetracks across the U.S., especially as we expand our jurisdiction to anti-doping and medication control.”

If an SRC opts-out of paying, it becomes the responsibility of the covered racetracks in the state to collect the fees to pay the HISA assessment.  Additionally, if an SRC does not enter into an agreement with HISA and HIWU, it becomes HIWU’s responsibility to assume all sample collection responsibilities in that state.

A statement released Tuesday by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority may put an end to the controversy surrounding this year’s edition of the Grade 2 Lukas Classic at Churchill Downs. Not only was jockey Sonny Leon (Rich Strike) issued a 15-day suspension for his actions after a fight to the finish with eventual winners Tyler Gaffalione and Hot Rod Charlie, it was also later alleged that Hot Rod Charlie’s footwear violated HISA’s horseshoeing rules.

Photos of the race were purported to show a toe grab on Hot Rod Charlie’s front shoe, which would be a violation of HISA regulations. However, HISA’s investigation and independent review have concluded that Hot Rod Charlie was not in violation of the the HISA shoeing rules during the Lukas Classic.

The full statement from HISA is as follows: Last week, HISA received the findings of the investigation undertaken by HISA stewards concerning Hot Rod Charlie’s participation in the Lukas Classic on Oct. 1, 2022 at Churchill Downs. The stewards concluded that Hot Rod Charlie was not in violation of HISA’s horseshoe rules. After an independent review of the documents and related evidence submitted by the stewards, HISA has determined that the investigation was well-conducted and thorough, and agrees with the conclusion of the stewards.

HISA rule 2276 prohibits traction devices in the forelimb, including but not limited to rims, toe grabs, bends, jar calks and stickers. In late July, HISA altered its original traction device ban on both fore and hind limbs to permit either a full outer rim shoe (up to 4 mm in height) or a toe grab (up to 4 mm in height) on the hind limbs for dirt races. Rule 2276 does not say whether violations may result in disqualification.

Prior to the creation of HISA, the Kentucky commission already had a ban on front limb toe grabs.

Hot Rod Charlie’s trainer, Doug O’Neill, denied the allegations with the following statement posted on his Facebook page:

“I would like to address the current story and the photo contained in the article that have surfaced since Saturday's win by Hot Rod Charlie in the Lukas Classic at Churchill Downs.

I swear on a stack of Bibles, that none of the horses in our stable wears toe grabs, and have not for years. I am 100% behind the science and studies that show toe grabs heighten the risk of limb injury, which is why we stopped using shoes with toe grabs long ago.

After seeing the photo, I don't blame Eric Reed for questioning Charlie's shoes. My only thought is that the photo is a weird reflection or is a result of it being altered.”

The summary suspension of veterinarian Dr. Cynthia Loomis has expired after the Indiana Horse Racing Commission failed to take further action against her, according to a ruling by an administrative law judge dated Oct. 15.

Loomis was summarily suspended on July 4 of this year alongside owner/trainer Marvin Johnson. Stewards in Indiana did not specify in their ruling what either was alleged to have done, but Johnson told Thoroughbred Daily News at the time that Loomis was found treating one of his horses at Horseshoe Indianapolis on race day, an allegation Loomis denies.

Summary suspensions are intended to immediately remove a licensee from sanctioned grounds until a hearing can be held to determine whether they violated racing regulations. Loomis appealed the summary suspension, and after she was denied, filed a motion for reconsideration. In that motion, Loomis argued that the summary suspension was amended in July to be given an end date of Oct. 3, which has come and gone. Although she has been told the commission is continuing its investigations, Loomis claims there are no hearings scheduled in the case.

Administrative law judge Michael Buker wrote in his finding that there are circumstances in which a summary suspension may be extended, but that he found Loomis’ case did not meet those legal requirements since there was no indication on Oct. 3 that there were charges pending against her.

Indiana Horse Racing Commission executive director Deena Pittman did not respond to a request for comment at press time. In Buker’s ruling, he wrote that “As a threshold matter, Respondent [Indiana Horse Racing Commission] acknowledges that an Administrative Complaint has not been filed as of Oct. 13, 2022. According to Respondent, the investigation is ongoing because (1) investigators have discovered additional alleged violations requiring further investigation, and (2) Petitioner’s employer has not sufficiently cooperated with Respondent’s investigators.”

Pittman has failed to respond to multiple requests by the Paulick Report in recent weeks for updates on the status of Marvin Johnson’s case.

Last week, Indiana stewards issued a summary suspension of assistant trainer Christy Johnson, who is married to Marvin. Pittman confirmed at that time that Christy’s suspension was related to Marvin’s, but declined to elaborate on what Christy is alleged to have done.

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) has announced the members of its Horsemen’s Advisory Group, who were selected from among the more than 250 applications received from hands-on racing participants from across the country. Starting in November, the Advisory Group will convene on a monthly basis to provide feedback to the Authority’s executive team and Standing Committees on the implementation and evolution of HISA’s Racetrack Safety and Anti-Doping and Medication Control regulations.

Following HISA’s announcement of the Advisory Group’s formation on August 29, HISA chose 19 members who together represent a broad range of views and experience from across the American horseracing community. Included among them are trainers, owners and veterinarians, as well as representatives of racing offices, backstretch employees, farriers and aftercare initiatives. Members will serve between 1–2-year terms to stagger changes in the composition of the group and to maximize the opportunity for participation across the industry in the coming years.

“I want to thank everyone across the horseracing community who expressed interest in joining the Horsemen’s Advisory Group. I am particularly grateful to its distinguished and highly qualified new members who have agreed to collaborate with us on an ongoing basis,” said Lisa Lazarus, HISA CEO. “I know that HISA will benefit immensely from this group’s extensive, hands-on experience in Thoroughbred racing as we continue to work with all industry stakeholders to advance the safety and integrity of our sport.”

The following individuals have been selected to serve as members of the inaugural Horsemen’s Advisory Group:

Mark Casse is a trainer and the founder of Casse Racing based in Ocala, Florida. Mark has been inducted into both the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame and the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame.

Kelsey Danner is a trainer based at Palm Meadows in Boynton Beach, Florida and at Delaware Park.

Tom Drury is a trainer from Louisville, Kentucky and a board member of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association (KTA) and Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders (KTOB).

Linda Gaudet is Vice President of the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association (MTHA), where she has been a member since its inception in 1994. Gaudet will serve as the Horsemen’s Advisory Group’s Backstretch Worker Representative given her history of advocacy on behalf of Backstretch workers.

Rick Gold is chair of the Thoroughbred Owners of California’s Integrity and Safety Committee and a Thoroughbred racehorse owner in California and Australia.

Donnie K Von Hemel is a trainer based in Piedmont, Oklahoma operating Von Hemel Racing, founded by his father Don Von Hemel. Donnie races in, Arkansas, Kentucky and Oklahoma.

Fred Hertrich III is the former chairman of the Breeders’ Cup Board of Directors and proprietor of Watercress Farm in Paris, Kentucky. Fred has been a breeder and owner of standardbred racehorses for the last 35 years and is also the Treasurer of the Hambletonian Society. Fred will be serving as the Advisory Group’s Harness Racing Representative.

David Ingordo is a Thoroughbred racehorse owner and Bloodstock agent.

Frank Jones serves as Vice Chairman of both the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and Kentucky Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association. He is also a Thoroughbred racehorse owner and an avid horseplayer.

Tim Keefe is President of the MTHA and a trainer stabled at Laurel Park in Maryland.

Dr. Sara Langsam is an equine veterinarian with Teigland, Franklin and Brokken DVMs who is based at Belmont Park. She is one of the Advisory Group’s two Veterinarian Representatives.

Ron Moquett is an Oklahoma native and trainer based in Hot Springs, Arkansas. He races in Arkansas, Kentucky, New York and Oklahoma.

Maggi Moss is a former chief Prosecutor from Des Moines, Iowa and a practicing attorney who is also a Thoroughbred owner with horses racing in Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana and New York.

Graham Motion was born in Newmarket, England and is a trainer based in Fair Hill, Maryland and the owner of Herringswell Stables.

Dr. John Piehowicz is an equine veterinarian and founder of Cincinnati Equine, LLC. He will serve as the second Veterinarian Representative.

Tom Robbins is Executive Vice President, Racing and Industry Relations at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club and will be serving as the Advisory Group’s Racing Office Representative.

Rick Schosberg is a trainer and Vice-President of the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association (NYTHA), President of Take2 Second Career Thoroughbreds, and Director on the Board of the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance.

Thomas Trosin is a second-generation Farrier and past President of the American Farriers Association. Thomas has been licensed as a plater in both California and Oklahoma and will serve as the Advisory Group’s Farrier Representative.

Kirk Wycoff is a Thoroughbred racehorse owner and the proprietor of Three Diamonds Farm.

About the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority

Established when the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act was signed into federal law in 2020, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) is responsible for drafting and enforcing uniform safety and integrity rules in thoroughbred racing in the U.S. Overseen by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), HISA was created to implement, for the first time, a national, uniform set of rules applicable to every thoroughbred racing participant and racetrack facility. HISA is comprised of two programs: the Racetrack Safety Program, which went into effect July 1, 2022, and the Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program, which will go into effect in January 2023.

The Racetrack Safety Program includes operational safety rules and national racetrack accreditation standards that seek to enhance equine welfare and minimize equine and jockey injury. The Program expands veterinary oversight, imposes surface maintenance and testing requirements, enhances jockey safety, regulates riding crop use, and implements voided claim rules, among other important measures.

The ADMC Program will create a centralized testing and results management process and apply uniform penalties for integrity violations efficiently and consistently across the United States. These rules and enforcement mechanisms will be administered by a new independent agency, the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU), established by Drug Free Sport International (DFS). HIWU will oversee testing, educate stakeholders on the new system, accredit laboratories, investigate potential integrity violations and prosecute rule breaches.

Indiana stewards have issued a summary suspension to assistant trainer Christy Johnson, three months after suspending her husband, trainer Marvin Johnson.

Deena Pitman, executive director for the Indiana Horse Racing Commission, confirmed the summary suspension of Christy is “related to” the suspension of Marvin but did not comment further on what offenses Christy may have committed. She has a stewards’ hearing scheduled for Friday, Oct. 14.

According to a ruling published on Oct. 4, Christy Johnson was suspended for “actions not in the best interests of racing and which compromise the integrity of operations at a racetrack.” An end date was given for her summary suspension of Dec. 31, 2022.

Marvin Johnson was summarily suspended in early July alongside veterinarian Dr. Cynthia Loomis. The summary suspension rulings published at the time also did not detail the reason for the suspension, but Johnson later told the Thoroughbred Daily News that he had been away from his barn recovering from surgery when Loomis went to the barn and was observed treating a horse on race day in violation of state rules.

Marvin Johnson has been training horses since 1974 and was the top trainer at Horseshoe Indianapolis at the time of his suspension. At the time, his horses were required to be transferred to other trainers and according to sources who spoke with the Paulick Report, would be unable to run for 60 days after the time of the infraction.

Pitman did not provide an update on the case status for Marvin Johnson or Loomis at press time.

As if the Grade 2 Lukas Classic on Oct. 1 at Churchill Downs didn’t have enough controversy with the fighting finish between winner Hot Rod Charlie and jockey Tyler Gaffalione and runner-up Rich Strike and jockey Sonny Leon … there’s more.

On Tuesday, a trainer who had no horse in the Lukas Classic distributed photos to various parties, including the Paulick Report, of Hot Rod Charlie that purported to show a toe grab on a front shoe, which would be a violation of Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority regulations.

The Paulick Report asked a Kentucky-based farrier not involved with either horse to look at the images, and he said they were inconclusive.

Trainer Eric Reed felt otherwise after seeing the photos, telling Horseracingnation �� which first reported the controversy – that Hot Rod Charlie’s opponents had an “unfair disadvantage.”

“It’s very disappointing,” Reed told Paulick Report.

The trainer said owner Richard Dawson was having fellow horse owner Jerry Jamgotchian – no stranger to litigation himself – file a protest on his behalf, but wasn’t sure it had yet been submitted to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission as of late Tuesday afternoon.

HISA rule 2276 prohibits traction devices in the forelimb, including but not limited to rims, toe grabs, bends, jar calks and stickers. In late July, HISA altered its original traction device ban on both fore and hind limbs to permit either a full outer rim shoe (up to 4 mm in height) or a toe grab (up to 4 mm in height) on the hind limbs for dirt races. Rule 2276 does not say whether violations may result in disqualification.

Prior to the creation of HISA, the Kentucky commission already had a ban on front limb toe grabs.

Hot Rod Charlie’s trainer, Doug O’Neill, released the following statement on his Facebook page Tuesday evening:

"I would like to address the current story and the photo contained in the article that have surfaced since Saturday’s win by Hot Rod Charlie in the Lukas Classic at Churchill Downs.

I swear on a stack of Bibles, that none of the horses in our stable wears toe grabs, and have not for years. I am 100% behind the science and studies that show toe grabs heighten the risk of limb injury, which is why we stopped using shoes with toe grabs long ago.

After seeing the photo, I don’t blame Eric Reed for questioning Charlie’s shoes. My only thought is that the photo is a weird reflection or is a result of it being altered."

Hot Rod Charlie has been based at Keeneland the last several months.

Reed was proud of Rich Strike’s effort in his best race since shocking the racing world with an 80-1 upset of the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby.

“He’s getting better, but still has a lot to learn. He’s still green,” the trainer said.

Reed defended jockey Leon’s actions in deep stretch, when head-on video showed him leaning on Hot Rod Charlie and elbowing Gaffalione, at one point losing his balance and falling to his left. Leon claimed the saddle slipped to the left, causing the incident, but stewards suspended him 15 days, saying he “intentionally” tried to interfere with Hot Rod Charlie.

“The saddle did slip,” said Reed. “He rides kind of ugly the way he moves his arms, but it was race riding; he was just trying to win the race.”

Reed said there will not be a change in jockeys for Rich Strike’s next start.

“That’s not going to happen,” he said.

Additional photos of Hot Rod Charlie’s forelimbs from Coady Photography.

The Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU), which was established by Drug Free Sport International to administer the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority’s (HISA) Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program, announced Tuesday that it has named Dr. Mary Scollay as its chief of science.

In this role, which she commences October 10, Scollay will oversee HIWU’s Science Department, including the HISA Equine Analytical Laboratory accreditation program, and education efforts ahead of the ADMC Program launch in January 2023. She will also prioritize research development into Prohibited Substances while engaging with veterinary scientists, pharmacologists, and other experts in the Thoroughbred industry. Additionally, Scollay and her team will manage a Prohibited Substances database that will be available for industry stakeholders to use as a reference tool.

Scollay joins HIWU after serving as the Racing Medication & Testing Consortium’s (RMTC) executive director and chief operating officer for three years. While with the RMTC, she directed the advancement of world-class laboratory drug testing standards, promotion of RMTC-recommended rules and penalties for prohibited substances and therapeutic medications, monitoring of emerging threats to the integrity of racing and the health and welfare of racehorses, and administrative oversight of RMTC-funded research projects and educational programs.

Before leading the RMTC, Scollay spent more than 30 years as a racing regulatory veterinarian, including 11 years as the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission’s equine medical director.

“Dr. Scollay’s extensive experience in the areas of anti-doping rules, testing standards, and veterinary regulation in the Thoroughbred industry will make her a key asset to HIWU,” said Ben Mosier, executive director of HIWU. “We are fortunate to retain her knowledge and skillset as we prepare for the implementation of the ADMC Program on January 1, 2023.”

Named to HISA’s ADMC Standing Committee in May 2021, Scollay has resigned from that responsibility to take on her position with HIWU.

“HISA represents the way forward for Thoroughbred racing, the only way forward,” said Scollay. “I am grateful for the opportunity to continue serving the sport during this transition, and I am committed to working with HIWU to deliver a best-in-class equine anti-doping program to the industry.”

The Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU) was established in 2022 by Drug Free Sport International to administer the rules and enforcement mechanisms of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority’s (HISA) Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program. The ADMC Program, which will be effective as of January 1, 2023, will create a centralized testing and results management process and apply uniform penalties for  violations efficiently and consistently across all American Thoroughbred horse racing jurisdictions that HISA governs.

HIWU will oversee testing, educate stakeholders on the new program, accredit laboratories, investigate potential violations, and prosecute any such violations.

HISA was established when the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act was signed into federal law in 2020 by President Trump and is responsible for drafting and enforcing uniform safety rules and anti-doping and medication control rules in Thoroughbred racing in the U.S. Overseen by the Federal Trade Commission, HISA was created to implement, for the first time, a national, uniform set of rules applicable to every Thoroughbred racing participant and racetrack facility.

HISA is composed of two programs: the Racetrack Safety Program, which went into effect on July 1, 2022; and the ADMC Program, which goes into effect January 1, 2023.

Drug Free Sport International is a worldwide leader in the sport drug testing industry. Drug Free Sport International administers comprehensive drug testing programs, manages national and international collections, develops drug testing policies, and provides educational services to a wide range of professional and amateur athletics organizations around the world. Its highly educated, experienced, and diverse staff is committed to quality, technical innovation, and maintaining the most extensive network of highly trained and certified sport drug testing collectors in the industry.

Journeyman jockey Sonny Leon, whose perfectly timed winning ride aboard Rich Strike in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby brought him national fame, has been suspended 15 days for an ugly incident in deep stretch of the G2 Lukas Classic at Churchill Downs on Oct. 1.

Leon was aboard Rich Strike for trainer Eric Reed and engaged in a battle in the final furlong of the 1 1/8-mile race with Hot Rod Charlie and jockey Tyler Gaffalione to their inside. Rich Strike gained a narrow advantage but drifted out under left-handed encouragement from Leon, who then guided his mount inside to engage Hot Rod Charlie. The two horses brushed repeatedly with Leon thrusting his left elbow toward Gaffalione and Hot Rod Charlie and momentarily losing his balance.

Despite the incident, Hot Rod Charlie came on again to prevail by a head.

The stewards ruling, dated Sunday, Oct. 2., said Leon was suspended for “intentionally attempting to interfere with and impede the progress of a rival by repeatedly making physical contact with another rider in the stretch.”

According to a report in Horseracingnation.com, Leon told Reed after the race that his saddle slipped, causing him to shift to his left side. The stewards apparently didn’t buy the excuse.

Leon will not appeal the suspension, according to Daily Racing Form. The suspension runs on the following days: Oct. 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28 and 29. Leon is currently based at Gulfstream Park.

Owned by RED TR-Racing LLC, Rich Strike came from more than 17 lengths behind to win the Kentucky Derby under Leon, who saved ground and skillfully guided the Keen Ice colt through traffic to a three-quarter length victory over favored Epicenter. The win was Leon’s only graded stakes victory in a North American career that has seen him win 821 races from 5,546 starts, mostly at small tracks in the Midwest.

Video of the incident can be seen below.

Arizona Downs was served with a notice of suspected violation by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority earlier this month after state officials prevented a void claim from going into effect.

According to a notice sent to the track by Authority chair Charles Scheeler on Sept. 12, a horse called Ag Minister was claimed by trainer Justin Evans from the fourth race at Arizona Downs on July 23. The horse cooled out in the test barn and the examining veterinarian determined the horse was lame in its left front leg.

Greg Stiles, who serves as the HISA steward for Arizona Downs, began the process of voiding the claim.

Track safety rules promulgated by the Authority earlier this year make provisions for a claim to be voided if a horse is declared unsound in the test barn, among other circumstances. Prior to the safety rules set forth by the Authority earlier this year, Arizona did not have a void claim rule.

Veterinarians and regulatory specialists generally favor void claim rules because they reduce the incentive for a trainer acting in bad faith to run a horse with a known medical issue in a claiming race with the hope the horse will be claimed. Void claim rules, which have existed for years in other states, are also thought to grant trainers looking to claim horses some confidence they won’t be required to put out money for a horse that may have a limited racing future.

Read our previous reporting on void claim rules and what the national rules mean for states like Arizona here.

According to the Authority’s violation report, Stiles was notified by Arizona chief state steward Jason Hart that the claim would not be voided.

“Hart stated that he had been informed by his supervisors at the Arizona Department of Racing that HISA Rule 2262 would not be enforced by the Arizona stewards,” the report read. “Because Arizona does not have a void claim rule, the claim was not voided and ownership of Ag Minister passed to the claimant.

“Stiles informed general manager of Arizona Downs Mike Weiss about these developments. The Authority has reasonable grounds to believe that Arizona Downs violated or failed to comply with HISA Rule 2262(4).”

A spokesman for the Arizona Department of Gaming confirmed that Ag Minister was inspected at the test barn and determined to be lame. He was put on the veterinarian’s list and has had no timed workouts or races since July 23, according to Equibase.

In that race, Ag Minister was taking a significant step down in price for former trainer and co-owner Kevin Eikleberry. His previous race at Arizona Downs on June 25 was a maiden optional claimer where his claim price was $30,000, and he finished sixth. A month later, in his July 23 start, his claiming price was $3,500.

Max Hartgraves, public information officer for the Department of Gaming, said there had been no other instances so far where a HISA steward had tried to void a claim in Arizona but had that decision reversed by state officials.

Arizona’s Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association affiliate is one of the entities which recently sought to join a federal lawsuit against the Authority. The suit claims the Authority and the Federal Trade Commission have violated two amendments to the U.S. Constitution and other regulations around federal agency policy-making.

“The Department has worked cooperatively with HISA stewards involving rulings where new HISA rules and state rules conflict,” said Hartgraves via email. “The Department has reached out to HISA for additional guidance and opened a new rule-making docket with the Secretary of State’s Office to conform rules and ensure ongoing compliance.”

The federal case against Penn National trainer Murray Rojas has been closed after the U.S. Supreme Court vacated the conviction against her on drug misbranding charges and prosecutors opted not to pursue a second trial.

The Sept. 28 order signed by federal Judge Sylvia H. Rambo called for a second superseding indictment to be dismissed and for the clerk of court to close the case. Rambo was the trial judge in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg.

In July 2017, a jury convicted Rojas on 14 of 21 countsof misbranding prescription drugs brought against her as part of a wide-ranging FBI investigation into corruption at Penn National race course in Grantville, Pa. She was found not guilty on seven counts of wire fraud.

Rojas was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison. Rambo denied a motion to overturn the conviction and the Court of Appeals upheld it.

Last year, however, attorneys for Rojas – with support from the Cato Institute and the American Conservative Union Foundation – petitioned the Supreme Court to hear her case, claiming that the trial judge and appellate court erredin their definition of misbranding in both jury instructions and in the appeal. Specifically, they said, the judge failed to instruct the jury properly on the distinction between “administering” drugs and “dispensing” them and that the government failed to prove that Rojas “dispensed” the drugs to her horses.

The U.S.solicitor general agreed, stating: “The government now acknowledges that a veterinarian who personally injects a drug into an animal under her direct care in the course of her professional practice, without first issuing a written or oral order (i.e., prescription), has not engaged in misbranding under the FDCA (1938 Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act).”

On Nov. 1, 2021, the Supreme Court granted Rojas’ petition to review her case and vacated the judgment against her, remanding it back to District Court. With the government stating it would not pursue a second trial, the case is closed.

Rojas was accused of having veterinarians administer medications to horses within 24 hours of a race in violation of state regulations. Veterinarians who testified in the case say they also falsified dates of the treatments in records submitted to regulators. The practice, according to testimony given during the trial, was widespread at Penn National. Stephanie Beattie, who had been three-time leading trainer there, said she routinely had her horses treated with therapeutic medications on race day, adding “Almost everybody did: 95 to 98 percent. It was a known practice. We wanted to win and they weren’t testing for those drugs at that time.”

Rojas, who began training in 2000 and saddled 785 winners from 4,783 starts, has not saddled a horse in a race since August 2015, when she was indicted. A number of other licensees who were indicted, including racing officials, trainers, and veterinarians, either pleaded guilty or had their cases transferred from federal to state court on reduced charges.

At a regularly-scheduled meeting of the Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission on Sept. 27, commissioners voted to deny an appeal from trainer Juan Vazquez of a suspension that would run through 2025.

The vote was unanimous by the commissioners present, save for one abstention. Commissioner Russell Jones abstained from the vote and also abstained from the commission’s hearing of Vazquez’ appeal, citing potential conflict of interest since the incident in question took place at Parx. The appeal before the commission which concluded on Sept. 13 when both parties submitted post-hearing briefs and closing arguments.

Vazquez saw his owner and trainer licenses suspended this summer after stewards say he “was grossly negligent, cruel and abusive” in the death of runner Shining Colors, who they say he shipped from Belmont Park to Parx without proper care as the horse suffered from a severe case of laminitis. The mare was later euthanized. The suspension is due to run through the remaining balance of both licenses.

When asked whether Vazquez would appeal the decision to the courts, attorney Alan Pincus told the Paulick Report that “nothing has been decided.”

Elsewhere on the agenda, the commission considered and approved a request for an exemption from the upcoming changes to furosemide rules under the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority. Pennsylvania already prohibits same-day furosemide use in 2-year-old races and stakes races, in line with many other racing jurisdictions. Commissioners were told this week that the new national anti-doping and medication rules that are expected to go into effect Jan. 1 will likely prohibit same-day furosemide use in all Thoroughbred races, but that states could ask for a three-year exemption to that rule change. States granted an exemption would continue to proceed under their existing rules, and in that time the Pennsylvania commission plans to study the effect on horses of not giving furosemide on race day.

The request was approved unanimously, with Sal De Bunda abstaining. The commission will file its request with the Authority in the coming days.

In related news, Director of Thoroughbred Racing Tom Chuckas told the commission he expects he will be given the Authority’s assessment of anti-doping and medication control costs on Oct. 1.

Chuckas also provided further details on the enforcement activity conducted on Pennsylvania Derby day. Pennsylvania commission staff received assistance from the Organization of Racing Investigators. The team combined to conduct 138 vehicle searches at the stable gate, finding one trainer with ten loaded syringes and needles that are still being analyzed. One jockey was found with two buzzers and another was found with a small amount of marijuana. One owner was found with a gun and marijuana. Four barns were searched, resulting in the finding that one trainer had loaded syringes and needles, and another had five expired medications.

Three of those findings resulted in summary suspensions from the stewards, which were detailed in this release from ORI earlier this week.

Further, Chuckas made note of the use of the state’s integrity hotline which launched in March. So far it has received 77 calls, resulting in 72 closed cases and five ongoing investigations.

Between Thoroughbred and Standardbred racing this year, Chuckas said the state has pulled 818 out-of-competition drug testing samples.

In May, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) announced that it had selected Drug Free Sport International, a global leader in the sport drug testing industry, to build HISA’s independent Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) enforcement agency through the establishment of the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU).

Following HISA’s submission of the rules for its ADMC Program to the Federal Trade Commission for approval and HIWU’s announcement of key leadership hires in August, HIWU has been focused on five key areas in preparation for the implementation of HISA’s ADMC Program on January 1, 2023:

Expanding the HIWU Team

This summer, HIWU hired Kate Mittelstadt and Michelle Pujals to serve as HIWU’s chief of operations and general counsel, respectively. They both came to us with extensive backgrounds in sports and anti-doping matters, and we are already benefiting from their expertise within our rapidly growing unit. By the end of October, we expect to have a team of at least 20 full-time staff members. That group will include a chief of science, which is a critical leadership role for us. We aim to have approximately 35 full-time staff members by the end of 2022.

The new hires will primarily serve in roles focused on sample collection administration, testing operations, compliance, quality assurance, education and industry outreach, state racing commission relations, collaboration with laboratories, investigations, and technology.

State Racing Commission Outreach

Cooperation with state racing commissions will be central to our success. Since late August, we have initiated conversations with all 22 state racing commissions currently under HISA jurisdiction, with the objective of identifying ways we can best work together to implement the ADMC rules and protocols next year. The meetings have centered on the draft rules, sample collection personnel in the field, and support in the processes that the states may still oversee in consultation with HIWU, as well as enforcement mechanisms. Conversations will continue with state racing commissions in the coming weeks with the goal of reaching cooperative agreements with each.

Sample Collection Procedures

The ADMC Program cannot be effective without sound collection protocols and buy-in from sample collection personnel. Our goal is to maintain as much continuity as possible in terms of current staffing in this area. HIWU is finalizing documents and procedures for a paperless collection system to be used in the field, in nationwide test distribution planning, and for sample collection equipment. We will provide collection personnel across the country with the proper training and support to carry out the ADMC Program’s sample collection regulations.

Accredited Laboratory Outreach

The laboratory accreditation protocols and standards outlined in the ADMC Program represent a comprehensive approach to ensuring sample integrity and accurate results. To ensure uniformity in the application of the new rules, laboratory procedures and testing standards must be harmonized across states and racing jurisdictions. To this end, HIWU is working to identify and build partnerships with the top laboratory facilities in the country to satisfy the sample analysis and reporting requirements of the ADMC Program. To date, we have been in communication with all nine laboratories accredited by the Racing Medication & Testing Consortium regarding the administration of HIWU’s testing regime, and meetings will continue as we work toward the January 1, 2023, implementation date.

Industry Education

HIWU is developing education materials to help ensure all Thoroughbred racing participants, including state racing commissions, owners, jockeys, racetrack personnel, stewards, veterinarians, and other stakeholders, understand the ins and outs of the ADMC Program before it goes into effect. We recognize that robust education efforts that engage all relevant stakeholders will be instrumental in achieving a smooth and successful rollout in the new year. Our education approach will focus on ensuring each group of racing participants is well-versed in the information most relevant to their role in implementing and complying with the ADMC Program.

We are in the process of planning both virtual and in-person education sessions. Additionally, bilingual educational materials will be distributed to all relevant groups and housed on a new HIWU website that will be launched shortly.

As part of our efforts in the aforementioned focus areas, we have been utilizing the extensive knowledge of our five-person Advisory Council. Together, its members bring decades of anti-doping, equine, scientific, investigatory, and legal experience to the table, and their insights have been invaluable as the ADMC Program’s launch date approaches. Besides monthly group calls with the Advisory Council, we have hosted one in-person workshop and intend to organize a second meeting before the end of the year. Additionally, we maintain frequent correspondence with each member individually to utilize respective skillsets.

As you know, this is a critical period for both HIWU and HISA as we prepare to execute the second of the Authority’s two major programs, following the rollout of the Racetrack Safety Program this summer.

I want to thank you for your support of HIWU and our mission to safeguard the integrity of this sport and the well-being of its athletes, both human and equine.

About the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit

The Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU) was established in 2022 by Drug Free Sport International (DFSI) to administer the rules and enforcement mechanisms of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority’s Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program. The ADMC Program, which will be effective as of January 1, 2023, will create a centralized testing and results management process and apply uniform penalties for violations efficiently and consistently across the U.S. HIWU will oversee testing, educate stakeholders on the new program, accredit laboratories, investigate potential violations, and prosecute any such violations.

About the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA)

HISA was established when the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act was signed into federal law in 2020 and is responsible for drafting and enforcing uniform safety, anti-doping and medication control rules in Thoroughbred racing in the U.S. Overseen by the Federal Trade Commission, HISA was created to implement, for the first time, a national, uniform set of rules applicable to every Thoroughbred racing participant and racetrack facility. HISA is composed of two programs: the Racetrack Safety Program, which went into effect on July 1, 2022; and the ADMC Program.

The following press release written  by J.N. Campbell was distributed by the Organization of Racing Investigators

Investigators from multiple jurisdictions assembled the week of Sept. 19 in what amounted to a barnstorming tour across Pennsylvania’s three Thoroughbred tracks, as members of the Organization of Racing Investigators took the stage.

A handpicked team of specialists from Pennsylvania, Texas, California, Arizona, Florida, and Kentucky were onsite at Presque Isle Downs in Erie, Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course in Grantville, and finally at Parx Racing in the Philadelphia area. Jason Klouser, director of enforcement, Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission, led the effort. The capstone to the week was the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby for 3-year-olds, which was part of a blockbuster Sept 25 card at Parx that also included the G1 Cotillion Stakes for fillies of the same age.

By establishing a strong presence, the Racing Integrity Teams at each site protected Thoroughbreds, ensuring that equine safety and integrity were the top priorities. The investigations at Parx produced some important results, after sweeps at the gate and stable areas. The Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission, Bureau of Thoroughbred Horse Racing, issued a series of rulings concerning three individuals.

The first was jockey Edwin Repollet-Rivera, who is alleged to have violated Section 305.273 (h) and 185.2, by possessing an electrical device. The hearing for the rider was Sept. 26, in which he refused to testify, and the summary suspension from Sept. 23 will continue until a full hearing takes place. Under Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority regulations, the jockey faces a 10-year ban.

The second violator was trainer Miguel Penaloza. After an investigation of his barn area, a pair of loaded syringes and a needle were found in his tack room. He is scheduled to appear before the board at 10 a.m. on Tuesday morning, and is in potential violation of 7 PA Code, Section 401.61 and 185.2.

Last but not least, trainer Cesareo Marquez was found to be in possession of multiple loaded needles and syringes, and he also could be in violation of 7 PA Code, Section 401.61 and 185.2. Like Repollet-Rivera, his hearing was also on Monday. With a suspension that started on Sept. 23, the board ruled it will continue as well.

Each of these license holders is denied the privileges of all grounds under the jurisdiction of the Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission. They have the right to appeal these decisions in writing, within 48 hours for rulings that involve entries, qualifications, weights, conditions, or the length or running of a race, and 10 days for all other infractions.

VeterinarianBradley Gordon was summarily suspended Sept. 22 by the Prairie Meadows board of stewards in Altoona, Iowa., for allegedly violating both state of Iowa and Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority regulations.

“On Sept. 22, 2022,” the ruling states, “the board of stewards received a report from the Iowa Racing and Gaming state veterinarians and Prairie Meadows security stating on Sept. 19, 2022, Bradley Gordon, DVM, was found to be in possession of prohibited substances and incomplete and/or falsified log reports submitted to state veterinarians.”

The ruling cites Iowa Code section 491 IAC 6.5(3), stating a licensee “has been involved in any fraudulent or corrupt practices, including, but not limited to: 491 IAC 6.5(3)(i), conduct in Iowa or elsewhere has been dishonest, undesirable, detrimental to, or reflects negatively on, the integrity or best interests of racing and gaming.”

HISA regulations cited by stewards that warranted the summary suspension were: HISA 2230 (e) (pertaining to possession of a syringe); HISA 2251 (b) (submission of veterinary reports on a timely basis); and HISA 2271 (a) (prohibiting “use of physical or veterinary procedures to mask the effects or signs of injury so as to allow training or racing to the detriment of the horse’s health and welfare”).

A hearing date has not yet been set for Gordon. Rick Evans and Cynthia Smith are the state stewards and Rick Sackett the association steward.

Gordon is the second veterinarian summarily suspended by the Prairie Meadows board of stewards this year.

On June 16, the owner-trainer license of Dr. James Hume was summarily suspended after being found to be in possession of multiple injectables, hypodermic needles and syringes on the backside.

An owner-trainer, Hume is also a veterinarian but not licensed as such by the Iowa Racing Commission.  He testified to stewards in a hearing that he “has a veterinarian practice off the grounds and had gone to client’s farm on his way to the racetrack and that was the reason his medical bag was in his vehicle.”

Stewards subsequently suspended Hume for one year, from June 16, 2022, through June 15, 2023.

Sheriff Brown has been disqualified from his narrow victory in the $200,000 Albuquerque Handicap at the Downs at Albuquerque on Sept. 24 after stewards ruled that jockey Oscar Ceballos violated the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority regulations restricting use of the riding crop.

The ruling, dated Sept. 25 and posted on the Association of Racing Commissioners International website, followed a hearing with owner Joseph Robert Peacock of the Peacock Family Holdings L.P. stable. Sheriff Brown, a 6-year-old gelding by Curlin sent off as the 5-2 favorite, was disqualified from first and ordered unplaced after rallying from last, nearly 10 lengths behind, to edge Mine That Star and jockey Joree Scriver by a neck in the 1 1/8-mile contest.

Trainer Todd Fincher said Peacock “absolutely” planned to appeal the disqualification, which cost the owner-breeder $108,000 in what would have been Sheriff Brown’s biggest payday.

Under HISA rules, purse disqualifications do not come into play until the 10th strike. A Class 3 violation of HISA rule 2282 is one to three strikes over the six-strike limit; Class 2 is four to nine strikes over; Class 1 is 10 or more over the limit. Fines and suspensions to jockeys increase according to the level of violation.

“They said he hit the horse a total of 11 times,” Fincher said, “but he’s not really striking the horse as much as flagging or brushing the shoulder. It’s ridiculous in my opinion. If a jockey breaks a rule, the owner shouldn’t have to pay for it. and we’re not even sure he broke a rule.

“The ironic thing is the horse that ran second broke the whip rule, too,” Fincher said.

In fact, three of the other 10 jockeys riding in the Albuquerque Handicap were sanctioned for Class 3 riding crop violations, fined $250 (or 10 percent of the jockey’s share of the purse), and suspended one day. For his Class 2 violation, Ceballos received a three-day suspension and fine of $2,160 (20 percent of his share of the purse). The other were Joree Scriver aboard runner-up Mine That Star, Enrique Garcia aboard fifth-place finisher Tartini, and Alejandro Medellin aboard sixth-place fionisher Zestful.

“Three other jockeys break the rules and we’re the only ones who get penalized like this?” Fincher said. “It’s stupid, asinine, moronic. I’m all for HISA and the medication side of it. The rest of it they’re screwing up pretty good in my opinion.”

Trainer Chris Hartman has been fined $500 for violating a Kentucky Horse Racing Commission regulation prohibiting electronic therapeutic treatments on horses within 24 hours of a race.

The Sept. 14 ruling states that Necker Island, a 5-year-old multiple stakes-winning son of Hard Spun who contested the 2020 Kentucky Derby, was treated with a portable handheld massager inside the 24-hour window for the ninth race at Kentucky Downs in Franklin, Ky., on Sept. 10.

Necker Island was scratched from the race, the Grade 2, $1 million FanDuel Turf Sprint Stakes. The horse has been re-entered on Sept. 17 at Churchill Downs in the $275,000 Louisville Thoroughbred Society Stakes, where he is the 5-2 second choice in the morning line. Necker Island races for The Scherr Boys.

The treatment is in violation of 810 KAR 8:010 Section 3 (7) which states: “Electronic therapeutic treatments, other than nebulization, shall not be administered to a horse within 24 hours prior to post time of a race in which the horse is entered.”

In addition to the Kentucky regulation, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority’s Rule 2271, Section F (Prohibited Practices), prohibits “use of electrical medical therapeutic devices including magnetic wave therapy, laser, electro-magnetic blankets, boots, electro-shock, or any other electrical devices that may produce an analgesic effect within 48 hours of a training activity or of the start of the published post time for which a horse is scheduled to race.”

Contacted by telephone, Hartman declined to comment, stating that the stewards ruling was sufficient in explaining what happened.

Jockey Drayden Van Dyke has been suspended three days and fined $960 for using the riding crop five strikes over the limit aboard Ruis Racing’s Bolt’s Broad in the sixth race at Del Mar racetrack in Del Mar, Calif., on Sept. 9.

Under Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority regulations, penalties for Class 2 riding crop violations (four to nine strikes over the limit of six) also call for the horse to be disqualified from purse earnings.

Mike Marten, spokesperson for the California Horse Racing Board, said any purse disqualification is considered a separate matter and requires a hearing. The owner, trainer, and jockey will be notified of a hearing so they may be present, Marten said, adding the hearing with the connections of Bolt’s Broad will be scheduled “very soon.”

Bolt’s Broad, trained by Shelbe Ruis, finished first by a nose in the one-mile maiden race run on dirt after being transferred from turf because of wet conditions. Last early, the 2-year-old filly from the first crop sired by Bolt d’Oro rallied wide into the stretch under Van Dyke and caught Classymademoiselle and jockey Diego Herrera at the wire.

Winner’s share of the $81,000 purse was $48,000.

Van Dyke appeared to strike Bolt’s Broad six times in the final sixteenth of a mile. The HISA rule, in addition to limiting a jockey to six strikes, also states, “The rider must allow at least two strides for the horse to respond before using the crop again.”

The ruling does not affect pari-mutuel wagering. Bolt’s Broad paid $42.60 to win.

This was Van Dyke’s second HISA riding crop violation since the rules went into effect July 1. He previously was fined $250 and suspended one day for going two strikes over the limit – a Class 3 violation (one to three strikes over the limit) – in a July 29 race at Del Mar.

Van Dyke received three points for the first violation and five for the most recent one. Under HISA’s multiple violations rule, riders may receive an additional seven-day suspension when they have accumulated between 11 and 15 points; 15 days for 16-20 points; and 30 days for 21 or more points. Points expire six months after a Class 3 violation, nine months after a Class 2 and one year after a Class 1 (10 or more strikes over the limit).

Van Dyke’s suspension is scheduled to run Sept. 17, 18 and 22 but he may participate in designated stakes races on those days.

Below is the replay of Bolt’s Broad’s Sept. 9 win.

Former harness trainer Rick Dane has been sentenced to 30 months in prison over his role in the 2020 federal racehorse doping case, reports the Thoroughbred Daily News. He was also ordered to pay a monetary judgement of $33,912.

Dane had previously entered a guilty plea on one felony count, with a second felony charge dropped based on a plea bargain with the prosecution. He is to report to prison on Jan. 9, 2023.

In the original indictment released in March 2020, Dane is characterized as having assisted Seth Fishman in distributing his adulterated and misbranded products. He is specifically alleged to have asked Fishman to provide him with performance-enhancing drugs for trainee Glass Prince in February 2018, and to have asked Lisa Giannelli in 2019 about purchasing and delivering more misbranded and adulterated drugs.

Fishman has been sentenced to 11 years in prison, while Giannelli was sentenced to 3 1/2 years.

The government’s sentencing submission details that Dane “not only purchased performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) and prescription drugs from Giannelli that he was using to dope his horses, the defendant also served as a trusted resource for Giannelli by providing background on potential new clients who could be considered ‘trustworthy.'”

Read more at the Thoroughbred Daily News.

In other news related to the original federal indictment, veterinarian Dr. Erica Garcia agreed to enter a plea of guilty in the case last month. Garcia, who had been facing a felony charge, entered her plea to two misdemeanor counts — one of introducing into interstate commerce adulterated and misbranded drugs and drug adulteration and misbranding, and one count of introducing into interstate commerce adulterated and misbranded drugs. (Despite the similar language, they are two different charges which appear to differ based on the degree of her active involvement in the administration or mailing of drugs.)

According to a document of superseding information, prosecutors allege that Garcia “caused to be mailed in interstate commerce adulterated and misbranded drugs” from April 2019 to November 2019 and did herself introduce and deliver into interstate commerce adulterated and misbranded drugs from 2016 through April 2019. She is also accused of administering adulterated and misbranded drugs to horses at the direction of convicted former trainer Jorge Navarro during this time.

Garcia was ordered to pay a money judgment of $18,276.68.

Sentencing is set for Dec. 12.

According to federal case files, the trial for remaining co-defendants Dr. Alexander Chan and trainer Jason Servis is scheduled to begin Jan. 9, 2023.

Owner-trainer Lance R. Moore’s Jes An Angel, who recorded the fastest time trial and was the morning line favorite for the $3 million All American Futurity at Ruidoso Downs in New Mexico on Sept. 5, was scratched from Quarter Horse racing’s marquee event by order of the stewards on the morning of the race after she was observed allegedly being treated with a nebulizer.

Izzy Trejo, executive director of the New Mexico Racing Commission, said the state’s administrative code prohibits race day use of a “nebulizer or similar device used to administer a drug or other substance.”

Read more about nebulizers here

Trejo said the treatment was observed by an enforcement team from the American Quarter Horse Association on hand for the All American. “We had the luxury of having boots on the ground, which is necessary for this kind of thing to be found,” Trejo said. “They were making their rounds around seven in the morning when they came upon the horse.”

Moore purchased Jes An Angel for $10,000 at the 2021 Heritage Place September Yearling Sale in Oklahoma and paid $50,000 to supplement the daughter of Jess Zoomin to the All American Futurity. Jes An Angel had won five of seven starts, including her Aug. 19 All American trial in which she ran the 440 yards on a sloppy track in 21.257 seconds. Scheduled to break from the number eight post position, Jes An Angel had been installed the 5-2 morning line favorite in the finals.

A Facebook post purported to be from Moore said “politics kept us from running.” Moore said he had purchased a nebulizer and saline solution from a veterinarian at the track and “we had been administering it for over a month every day. We administered it the morning of the race which they say is not allowed the morning of the race however when you read the rule this is not clear. We take full responsibility in  using the saline solution on race day but they pounced on it giving them the opportunity they had been waiting on to keep her from running the race.”

Trejo said the rule is clear.

“We expect people to understand what the rules are,” Trejo said, “especially when you are running for $3 million.”

Trejo said a hearing would be scheduled on the matter.

Moore said he will point Jes An Angel to the Dash for Cash Futurity Trials on Sept. 16 at Lone Star Park.

CORRECTION: Lance R. Moore is the owner and trainer of Jes An Angel, not Carl Moore as originally reported.

Lisa Giannelli was sentenced Sept 8 to 3 1/2 years in prison as part of the federal government’s sweeping investigation into horse doping at racetracks across the country.

Giannelli, 56, was found guilty of peddling illegal performance-enhancing drugs to trainers to dope horses and faced a maximum of five years in prison. Her lawyers appealed for a no-jail sentence of probation.

“This was not a one-time thing,” Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil said in U.S. District Court in New York. “For 18 years, Ms. Giannelli marketed and sold what she knew were illegal and powerful performance-enhancing drugs.”

Vyskocil said that with its verdict the jury had rejected Giannelli’s argument that she didn’t know that what she was doing was illegal when she worked for Equestology, a Florida company owned by veterinarian Seth Fishman.

Giannelli, of Dalton, Del., was also sentenced to two years of supervised release after she gets out of prison. She was also ordered to pay a fine of $100,000 and to forfeit $900,000.

The government’s investigation into the illegal use of PEDs to dope horses led to charges against 31 individuals. Since the charges were announced 30 months ago, Giannelli and Fishman have been convicted by juries, and 22 others have pleaded guilty. Fishman was sentenced in July to an 11-year prison sentence.

Those who have pleaded guilty include trainer Jorge Navarro. He was sentenced to five years in prison.

Trainer Jason Servis was also charged and is awaiting a trial scheduled to begin in New York in January.

Prosecutors said Fishman had designed PEDs to increase a horse’s performance and endurance by building red blood cells and masking pain. The substances were designed to avoid showing up in post-race tests conducted by racing regulators.

At the sentencing, prosecutor Sarah Mortazavi said Giannelli’s actions on behalf of Fishman’s company warranted the maximum sentence.

“Her criminal conduct touched hundreds of trainers and led to the doping of thousands of horses,” she said.

Mortazavi said Giannelli has yet to really accept responsibility for her actions and that it was only after the jury’s verdict that Giannelli offered a “mealy-mouthed explanation for her conduct.”

Giannelli came to court with 13 supporters. Among them was a man she married while under indictment and his mother.

“It was never my intention to break the law,” Giannelli said.

She said that her arrest and conviction have left her life shattered.

“It was never my intention to hurt anyone or to hurt any animal,” Giannelli said. “Everything in my world now is upside down.”

“At this point I wish I had never met Fishman,” she said.

“I thought I was doing good,” she added. “I never knew it was not legal.”

Defense lawyers pleaded for a sentence of probation in court papers that detailed Giannelli’s troubled upbringing and her abusive relationships with men. She said she obtained a license to train horses at harness tracks. She said she met Fishman in 2004 and became his sales representative.

Lawyer Alex Huot said Giannelli was not doing anything she wasn’t instructed to do by the doctor.

“She took Dr. Fishman at his word,” Huot said.

But Vyskocil told Giannelli she should have known better because the conduct she engaged in occurred when she was an adult.

The judge said Equestology’s PEDs were powerful substances that she believed could have and did kill horses.

Vyskocil said that in fashioning the sentence she  took into account Giannelli’s background, her character, and more than 50 letters from Giannelli’s family and friends.

“The letters all reflect that you are a kind person, and have a passion to make things better,” the judge said.

At the end, she told Giannelli that she was sorry for her, for the situation that brought her to court.

“I do believe you are a good person,” the judge said. “You have your whole life ahead of you.”

Giannelli’s surrender date is Jan. 9, 2023.

The Thoroughbred industry’s leading publications are working together to cover this key trial.

The New Mexico Racing Commission is conducting its own investigation into jockeys accused of participating in unsanctioned racing. In early August, the Washington Post published an investigative feature detailing the horrors of bush racing at a track in Georgia, where the Post reported horses were given injections immediately before races, horses ran with no pre-race examinations by veterinarians, illegal betting took place, and jockeys openly carried buzzers.

Some investigative work was done by representatives of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and later by Post reporters directly. PETA has since called for sanctions on what the organization claims are licensed jockeys documented participating in bush races at the Georgia facility.

PETA has alleged it has identified riders Bryan Candanosa, Alex Carrillo, Eduardo Nicasio, and Rodrigo Vallejo as riding at bush tracks while carrying electric shock devices known as buzzers.

NMRC executive director Izzy Trejo told the Paulick Report Sept. 1 that the commission is conducting its own investigation into the allegations, but proof of participation is limited.

“We are currently doing our own investigation after finding that the pictures utilized by PETA in the Washington Post article were merely photos taken from Facebook pages and not much more information than that,” said Trejo. “Although they do have a video that we need to look at.

“The jockeys in question did ride at Ruidoso a week and a half ago and we had an enforcement team there to scrutinize the jockeys with metal detection wands, as well as the pony people, the assistant starters, the valets, the jockey quarters, and the starting gate itself  (all the nooks and crannies). Nothing was found but we will continue to investigate these suspect jockeys.”

Jockey Gerard Melancon was arrested Aug. 26  in the final days of the Evangeline Downs meet in Opelousas, La., on a charge of “unnatural stimulation of horses,” according to the St. Landry Parish sheriff’s office and the Louisiana state police.

Melancon, 55, was arrested by state police and taken to the St. Landry Parish sheriff. A state police public information officer said he could not comment further on the arrest or provide details because there is an “ongoing investigation.” An official with the St. Landry sheriff’s office confirmed the arrest but said the case was in the hands of the state police.

The St. Landry Parish clerk of court said Melancon was released after bail was set at $20,000. A court date has not been scheduled, pending formal charges by the district attorney.

Charles Gardiner, executive director of the Louisiana State Racing Commission and current chair of the Association of Racing Commissioners International, said the investigation is focused on the “possible possession of an electrical device.”

Gardiner said stewards at Evangeline Downs were informed of an incident and contacted state police. The police and stewards will conduct separate investigations, he added. A complicating factor, according to Gardiner, is that the stewards who worked the Evangeline Downs meet that ended on Sunday are not able to convene as a panel more than 48 hours after the conclusion of a meet. Different stewards are working at Louisiana Downs, he said.

Gardiner could not comment further on specifics of the case.

Melancon rode at Evangeline Downs Aug. 24, then was named on mounts Aug. 25-26 but did not ride either card. Following his arrest, Melancon resumed riding Aug. 27-28, closing weekend at the Opelousas track. He is named on horses at Louisiana Downs in Bossier City on Sept. 4.

“My lawyers advised me not to speak particulars,” Melancon said in response to a request for comment. “But I am 100% innocent and overwhelmingly confident the truth will prevail in this matter.”

Under Louisiana state law, Title 4, Amusements and Sports, revised statute 4:175, “unnatural stimulation” of horses can involve giving them illegal drugs or applying or possessing on racetrack grounds “any electrical battery or other apparatus, which might have the effect of unnaturally depressing, stimulating, or exciting any horse during any race.”

The statute also does not allow a jockey to “willfully pull the reins, or do anything whatsoever that has the effect of diminishing the chance of the horse winning any race, whether such action on the part of the jockey is of his own accord, by instructions from the owner of the horse, or as a result of a conspiracy with any other person.”

Melancon has won 5,079 races from 32,444 mounts in a career that dates back to 1984. His mounts have won nearly $90 million in purse money. He finished the Evangeline Downs meet as eighth leading rider, with 29 wins from 180 mounts.

The veteran jockey recently was a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit filed in Louisiana against the newly created Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority. Melancon’s fellow plaintiffs in the suit are the state of Louisiana and its attorney general, Jeff Landry; the Louisiana State Racing Commission; the Louisiana Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association; Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association; and the Jockeys’ Guild Inc., among others.

Melancon, the only individual jockey plaintiff, claims in the suit that he and other riders “will face restrictions from entering races, disqualification, fines, and penalties for violations of arbitrary and capricious rules like HISA’s crop rule, which conflicts with Louisiana’s longstanding rule without any proper justification and jeopardizes jockeys’ ability to competitively ride racehorses.”