A week after the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority said it would delay issuing sanctions against horsemen for violating a prohibition related to intra-articular injections prior to workouts, the organization released a list of 19 horses provisionally suspended 30 days for alleged violations under this rule.
“Covered Horses found to have had an intra-articular injection within seven days of a timed and reported workout are currently ineligible to race or breeze for 30 days from the date of injection(s) in order to protect the horse’s health,” said HISA in a statement released July 7. “However, they are still able to jog and gallop in this timeframe. A list of Covered Horses to whom this applies, current through July 3, is now posted to HIWU’s website and will be updated regularly.
“HISA will continue to apply its rules equally and justly to all racing participants and will continue to work to ensure racing participants are adequately informed of HISA’s rules and how to ensure compliance.”
HIWU is the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit, which is the arm of HISA responsible for the implementation and enforcement of its Anti-Doping and Medication Control program. HIWU is the entity that published the list of the suspended horses. The horses were suspended for violations of Rule 3314 and Rule 4222. Rule 3314 polices the use of controlled medication substances and methods by requiring that their administration is backed by a justifiable and demonstrable medical need. Rule 4222 prohibits intra-articular injections on race day, within 14 days prior to the post time of a race, and within seven days prior to any timed and reported workout.
A lack of clarity about Rule 4222 is what prompted HISA to announce June 30 that it would not impose a 60-day suspension on horsemen in association with violating this rule. HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus said earlier the Authority would spend the first couple of weeks in July ensuring that horsemen thoroughly understood this rule with the intent to impose sanctions after July 15.
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Covered horses that are determined to be ineligible are not permitted to participate in timed or reported workouts or race, according to HIWU documentation and as noted in HISA’s July 7 statement.
Of the 19 horses listed as provisionally suspended through dates ranging from June 21 through July 17, 18 horses showed multiple published works on Equibase and or racing starts within their periods of ineligibility. Three of the suspended horses—Borgobythesea , Let’s Go Mark , and Trust Me —all won races during their ineligibility.
Horses Provisionally Suspended Under ADMC Program
Trust Me wins a June 16 allowance optional claimer at Gulfstream Park
HISA director of communications Mandy Minger told BloodHorse that HIWU had not anticipated the large volume of violations related to this rule and, given the newness of the ADMC program, processed the cases and sent out notifications as quickly as it could.
“The horsemen continued to train and race their horses prior to receiving any notification, therefore, (horses and trainers) will not receive any penalties,” said Minger, adding that the horses that raced and won would not face disqualifications. “HISA is reviewing the rule and procedures and will make an announcement prior to July 15 on the status of the rule and related procedures subsequent to July 15. Additionally, there were numerous other potential ADMC violations that needed to be investigated and/or processed, creating a much larger than expected workload. HISA and HIWU’s top priority is the safety and welfare of each horse and measures have been taken to address these operational concerns.”
The ineligible horses listed by HIWU are stabled with 17 different trainers. Two of the horses have not made their first starts yet, so a trainer of record is not immediately available. The trainers represented by these horses include Victor Carrasco, Norm Casse, Brian Cook, Joseph Davis, John Ennis, Adan Farias, David Fawkes, Adriel Gonzalez, Monica McGoey, Carlos Munoz, Pedro Nazario, Betty Ott, Todd Pletcher, Linda Rice, Joe Sharp, Jack Sisterson, and Michael Stidham.
