By Sue Finley
Trainer Raymond Handal has been provisionally suspended by the Horse Racing Welfare and Integrity Unit after his horse Barrage (War Dancer) returned a positive test for the banned substance Zeranol after finishing second in an optional claiming allowance at Belmont May 28.
Handal's provisional suspension starts July 1. Under the regulations, Handal has the right to request a provisional hearing and the analysis of the B sample, but must do so by July 5.
The ruling was posted on the HIWU website Saturday morning. No further details were given.
Zeranol is a synthetic nonsteroidal estrogen, approved for use to promote growth in livestock, including beef cattle. It is sold under the brand name Ralgro by Merck Animal Health in the U.S. It is used to increase weight gain and improve feed efficiency. According to the U. S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), zeranol is banned in humans due to its presumed anabolic effect, and appears on the World Anti-Doping Agency's prohibited list.
Handal has won 28 of 130 races in 2023, good for a win percentage of 22%, and his horses have earned just over $1.5 million. He is currently seventh in the Belmont Park leading trainer standings, with 12 wins from 42 starts.
“NYRA has been alerted via HIWU that a horse under the care of trainer Ray Handal has tested positive for the banned substance Zeranol,” said NYRA Vice President of Communications Patrick McKenna. “According to HISA rules, Handal is now under a provisional suspension nationally and cannot participate at NYRA tracks effective today.”
Handal's suspension comes under HISA rule 3212–Presence of a Banned Substance and/or its Metabolites or Markers.
A first-offense violation of rule 3212 carries up to two years suspension and up to $25,000 or 25% of the total purse (whichever is greater), and payment of some or all of the adjudication costs and HIWU's legal costs.
Handal had two horses entered at Belmont Park Saturday; Certified Loverboy (Mendelssohn) in the fifth race and Daddy Knows (Scat Daddy) in the seventh. He had also entered Promiseher America (American Pharoah) in the GIII Delaware Oaks. Those horses have been scratched.
Handal has engaged attorney Clark Brewster to represent him. Brewster provided the TDN with the notification from the Kenneth L Maddy Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory at U.C. Davis that was sent to HIWU with the finding.
“Urine sample (number identified) taken on May 28, 2023 at NYRA-Belmont was found to contain Zeranol as an Adverse Analytical Finding and Zearalenone as an Atypical Finding,” the lab reported.
“The test that was came from U.C Davis showed Zearalenone,” said Brewster. “Zearalenone is from mycotoxins in feed–corn and beet pulp. There are very well published articles on this. And so the Zeranol is a metabolite of the Zearelenone. It self-proves where it came from. If they hadn't told us that there was Zearalenone in it, you might want to question where the Zeranol came from, but they were kind enough to point out at U.C. Davis that the parent, Zearalenone is present.”
Brewster said Handal's horse feed contains beet pulp, a frequent source of mycotoxins.
According to the National Institutes of Health: “Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites of filamentous fungi and represent one of the most common groups of food contaminants with low molecular weight. These toxins are considered common and can affect the food chain at various stages of production, harvesting, storage and processing. Zearalenone is one of over 400 detected mycotoxins and produced by fungi of the genus Fusarium; it mainly has estrogenic effects on various organisms. Contaminated products can lead to huge economic losses and pose risks to animals and humans.”
Said Brewster, “So the lab was very candid and gave the right information. The only way you can get Zearalenone is from mycotoxins, from mold. Unfortunately, you get Zeranol from it, and it's prohibited, even though it comes from a substance that's not regulated at all. This is the kind of thing that HIWU and HISA are going to have to work through. The solution to this very clearly is that if they've got the parent, which comes from mycotoxins showing up in the sample, end of story.”
Brewster said he didn't understand why further questions weren't asked after the finding.
“What happened is patently unfair,” said Brewster. “Once they find the Zearalenone, automatically, you would expect to find its metabolite, which they did, and that metabolite is completely answerable. The fact that this prompted a summary suspension is just awful. Somebody somewhere along the way needed to look at the data and say the answer to the question is that it came from this parent, which came from a mycotoxin. They summarily suspended him. They call it a provisional suspension, automatically, without even an opportunity of an explanation or for somebody within the chemistry or toxicology side to say, `wait a minute, this doesn't equate here.' I just found out about this yesterday afternoon, but we sent the articles showing this and said, `hey, let's give us a hearing.' It has to be set within three days, so hopefully, we'll have a hearing Monday or Wednesday.”
“This was sudden, abrupt and disruptive,” Brewster concluded. “It's crazy. I hope there will be good will and an exchange of information, working these kind of nicks out, because he's devastated. This is a guy who has never had any issues at all. He's a young, hard-working guy.”
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