Drug Violation

Edited Press Release In advance of the anticipated effective date of HISA's Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program March 27, the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU) calls the Thoroughbred industry's attention to regulations regarding the presence and use of bisphosphonates in covered horses. Bisphosphonates are a class of medication prescribed for managing clinical signs associated with navicular syndrome in horses 4-years-old or above. They also have a history of extra-label use in younger horses. Bisphosphonates may be detected in samples from treated horses for months to years after administration....

The hearing on the motion for a stay to be granted for Bob Baffert's 90-day suspension by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) was held on Thursday, Mar. 16 in the Franklin County (Ky) Circuit Court, with both sides repeating what are now familiar arguments about the initial ruling. Thursday's court hearing was held after the original hearing scheduled on Mar. 2 was postponed when it became apparent that the KHRC would be holding a special meeting two days later to consider and rule on Baffert's request for a stay....

For the third time as many days this week, the nation's third-leading trainer by wins for 2020 has been fined and had a winner disqualified for a Class 4 drug positive. According to a Sept. 2 ruling issued by the Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission, the Robertino Diodoro-trained Erebuni (Ministers Wild Cat) came up positive for dexamethasone in post-race serum testing after winning the 10th race at Will Rogers Downs May 4. The race was a $5,000 NW4L claimer in which the mare was favored at 19-10 odds. Dexamethasone is an...

Three more Joe Sharp horses have been disqualified from purse money for testing positive for the drug levamisole, this time in Kentucky, according to a report in Daily Racing Form. The news comes after nine Sharp horses were DQ'ed for the same drug in Louisiana earlier this year. Sharp previously said that he had five horses test positive for the drug last fall at Churchill and was awaiting word from Churchill stewards on the matter. Levamisole is listed as a Class 2 drug by the Association of Racing Commissioners International,...

Silver Dust (Tapit), who scored in Saturday's GIII Mineshaft S. at Fair Grounds, has been disqualified and placed last for his previous victory, in the GIII Louisiana S. Jan. 18, due to a failed drug test, according to a report in the Daily Racing Form. The Bret Calhoun-trained gray tested positive for levamisole, the same drug that got eight Joe Sharp trainees disqualified from wins at the meet earlier this month. Calhoun is married to Sharp's mother, Sara Escudero, and the two trainers' barns at Fair Grounds are next to...

Marcus Vitali, a Thoroughbred trainer with a lengthy history of medication violations who is currently serving a one-year suspension for interfering with and impeding a 2019 drug investigation at Delaware Park, is attempting to shift his focus to a new business venture in Massachusetts: legal marijuana cultivation. But even before Vitali can take the first municipal step in a state that has one of the most stringent licensure processes in the nation for recreational marijuana cultivation, his litany of racing violations is drawing scrutiny in the local press. According to...