D'Amato Hit With Meth Positive, But Lawyer Confident He Will Be Exonerated

According to a posting on the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit's (HIWU) website, top California trainer Phil D'Amato has had a horse test positive for the banned substance methamphetamine. The 4-year-old filly Thebestisyettobe (Ire) (Elzaam {Aus}) tested positive following an Aug. 1 workout at Los Alamitos.

Before HIWU/HISA made changes to its rules regarding its Anti-Doping Medication and Control program, D'Amato would have been facing a suspension of up two years. Over time and in the face of criticism that it was charging trainers who had horses test positive for drugs like methamphetamine but did nothing wrong, HISA/HIWU has amended its rules. Only recently it largely abandoned the idea of provisional suspensions, which meant that a trainer could be charged and suspended before the case had been fully adjudicated. Its critics called it a matter of “guilty until proven innocent.”

D'Amato and lawyer Drew Mollica decided to leave nothing to chance and Mollica said that the trainer has spent thousands of dollars doing his own investigation, which also involved Mollica devoting over 100 hours to the case.

“When we found out in September that the horse had allegedly tested positive, we worked tirelessly and we found the source and provided all the information we compiled and sent it to HIWU and worked with them,” Mollica said.  “We spent tens of thousands of dollars and this took up hundreds of hours. We tested every employee, traced everything back, and we found the source.

“We also sent them documentation to show that since the inception of HISA/HIWU, Phil has had monthly meetings with his staff regarding protocols,” said Mollica. “Subsequent to this happening he has put up cameras at his Los Alamitos location. We provided them with expert opinions and provided them with all the history of Phil's due diligence. We worked with HIWU/HISA. I am glad they have taken the draconian and unconstitutional provisional suspension off the table. The horsemen's advisory group got that done. The other way, the old way, he's out the gate and that's not fair.”

With provisional suspensions, for the most part, no longer being implemented in cases like thesel, D'Amato has been able to train since the meth positive. But Mollica said he could still eventually be handed a 60-day suspension.

“We feel Mr. D'Amato should be found to have no fault as he did everything humanly possible to protect horses in his care from human contamination,” Mollica said. “We feel he should not be punished at all. He did get a charge letter. I know they're working to change the rules. But we feel whatever the rules are, he is not at all at fault and should not be penalized.”

Mollica believes that HISA/HIWU must do more when it comes to horses testing positive for illicit human drugs and find a solution where trainers can be exonerated when the facts point to a positive being a matter of human contamination.

“We will continue to work with HIWU regarding this issue, but remain steadfast in our belief Mr. D'Amato bears no fault and should not be sanctioned for what we all know are trace findings of illicit human drugs which have no effect on a racehorse and no trainer would ever administer,” Mollica said. “In the final analysis the scourge of Methamphetamine is a reality not only on the backstretch of racetracks but in society.

“The scourge of methamphetamine at the levels they test for, no matter what you do, will never go away,” said Mollica.  “As for the industry, there's no way to trace amounts of illicit drugs, which are prevalent everywhere in society and at the racetrack, won't keep coming up. You can't blame someone for lightning hitting a tree.”