california racing

Weekly National Regulatory Rulings, Dec. 12-18

Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country. Among this week's rulings, following a Nov. 22 hearing an independent arbitrator issued trainer Mike Puype a three-month and 17-day suspension (time served) along with a $1,000 fine after two bottles of Isoxsuprine tablets and two containers of Levothyroxine (ThyroL) powder were found in his barn during a routine search on April 24. The Isoxuprine tablets expired in 2012 and 2013, while the Levothyroxine powders expired in 2016...

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“It Sucks, Basically”: NorCal Stakeholders React to Pleasanton News

On Monday, the California Authority of Racing Fairs (CARF) board voted unanimously (with one abstention) to rescind a proposed Golden State Racing meet spanning the first half of next year, essentially leaving Northern California without Thoroughbred racing in 2025 outside of the annual suite of summer fair meets. This means that the Northern Californian horsemen and women have had little time to respond and adapt to a proposal by the Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC) and 1/ST Racing and Gaming--a business entity under The Stronach Group (TSG) umbrella--to maintain a...

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California Mainstay Eddie Truman Passes Aged 77

Eddie Truman, a trainer as renowned for his patience with the Thoroughbred as for a perennially genial disposition, has passed at the age of 77. "A great horseman and an even greater individual," said veteran trainer Gary Stute. "I never heard him say a bad word about anybody--anybody--and on the racetrack, that's few and far," Stute added. "Once you met him, you stayed friends with him. The ultimate honest good person." Over a career spanning nearly 50 years, Truman trained 763 winners and collected $15.7 million in earnings. He had...

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Vet Scratch Data: “I Guess I'm Still Stunned by the Attrition Rate”

Horse racing is a sport genetically programmed in high emotion. It's hardly surprising then that the vet scratch-the ultimate sucker-punch after weeks and months of best laid plans-should prove such a test of nerves. The problem is, diagnosing subtle lameness can be such a subjective venture. And where there's uncertainty, doubt can quickly escalate to condemnation. A recent TDN compendium of data collected from around the country, however, shows that scratched horses run a much higher than average risk of harboring an injury. Numbers from California, Florida, New York, Kentucky...

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Fearful of 'Abyss' Between Cali's North/South Rift, Stronach Group's Butler Renews Call for Negotiations

Although the future of the Golden State Racing (GSR) meet at Pleasanton wasn't officially on Thursday's California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) agenda, the reverberations of dismal betting business through the first five weeks of operation at Northern California's new anchor track became the impassioned focal point of the Nov. 21 meeting. Citing concerns that the autumn Pleasanton meet isn't living up to the hope that the former fairs-season-only track might help fill the NorCal void that occurred when The Stronach Group (TSG) closed Golden Gate Fields back in June, Aidan...

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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...

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Little Red Feather Collecting for Hometown Breeders' Cup

"Boy Trapped in Refrigerator Eats Own Foot." Well, that got your attention, didn't it? Devotees of a certain spoof disaster movie may recall the spinning front-page story--but few will be aware that it may yet, in a roundabout way, lead to genuine headlines at the Breeders' Cup. Bret Jones of Airdrie Stud was at a dinner a few years ago when someone passing behind his seat overheard him saying how much he enjoyed Airplane! "I was in that movie," said Billy Koch. On the face of it, it seemed unlikely....

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Auerbach Launches Bloodstock Consultancy HorsePAUER

Harris Auerbach, a long-time Thoroughbred industry stakeholder who campaigned California's all-time leading sire Unusual Heat, is rolling out a new breeding and sales operation called HorsePAUER Enterprises, the owner of PAUER Consulting said in a release Tuesday. HorsePAUER will operate as a subsidiary of Auerbach's main company and offerings include stakeholder development, breeding stock portfolio management and bloodstock/matings consultations. Auerbach launched PAUER Consulting earlier this year which brought together a wide-array of services under the umbrella of strategy and special projects expertise. PAUER's clients include major universities, charitable organizations and...

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Peter Miller's San Luis Rey Barn Under Equine Herpes Virus Quarantine

One of trainer Peter Miller's barns at the San Luis Rey Downs training center in Southern California has been placed under quarantine, after a horse in his care diagnosed with the equine herpesvirus (EHV-1) was euthanized this week at a veterinary clinic, as first reported by the DRF. California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) equine medical director, Jeff Blea, said Thursday that the quarantine period started Saturday Sept. 21. Blea added that the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) has yet to determine how long the barn will be under...

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Weekly Rulings: Stewards and Commissions Rulings, Sept. 12-18

Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country.   NEW HISA/HIWU STEWARDS RULINGS The following rulings were reported on HISA's "rulings" portal and through the HIWU "pending" and "resolved" cases portals. Resolved ADMC Violations Date: 09/12/2024 Licensee: Robert James Gherardi, trainer Penalty: A fine of $500; imposition of 1.5 Penalty Points. Admission. Explainer: Vet list medication violation for the presence of Firocoxib--controlled medication (Class C)--in a sample taken from Kell's Kiss on 8/6/24. Date: 09/12/2024 Licensee:...

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Santa Anita Park's Autumn Meet Unveils New Wagering Menu

Horseplayers will find a revised wagering menu for this year's 16-day Santa Anita Autumn Meet, which opens Friday, Sept. 27, 1/ST Racing said in a press release on Wednesday. The Pick Six is now has a $2 minimum after previously being a $1 base wager, but will continue to pay out 70 percent of each day's pool to tickets that have all six winners with the remaining 30 percent going to consolation payouts. If there are no tickets with six winners, 70 percent of the pool will carryover to the...

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Weekly Stewards and Commissions Rulings, Sept. 5-11

Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country. NEW HISA/HIWU STEWARDS RULINGS The following rulings were reported on HISA's "rulings" portal and through the HIWU "pending" and "resolved" cases portals. Resolved ADMC Violations Date: 09/10/2024 Licensee: Joe Tye, trainer Penalty: A written Reprimand (per 9/26/23 HISA Guidance). Final decision by HIWU. Explainer: Vets' list medication violation for the presence of Omeprazole (GastroGard)-controlled Medication (Class C)--in a sample taken from Wear the Crown on 7/26/24. Date: 09/10/2024...

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