PENNSYLVANIA’S DRUG TESTING MYSTERY
By Ray Paulick
Three years ago it was a rash of positive tests for the Class 1 drug aminorex that had regulators and horsemen in Pennsylvania and several other jurisdictions scratching their collective heads. Today, it’s a Class 2 drug called lobeline that is showing up in trace amounts in dozens of tests at the University of Pennsylvania laboratory, and Pennsylvania horsemen are insisting it’s a case of contamination.
The tests have led to purses being frozen in as many as 30 races, according to Todd Mostoller, executive director of the Pennsylvania Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association. A number of trainers and owners are paying for split samples and hiring attorneys to fight pending charges. Winning horses have had their victories put on hold, and horses that finished second behind first-place finishers that tested positive are considered winners, though their owners haven’t received the applicable purse money.
Stewards, meanwhile, have temporarily postponed hearings in some of the cases while Dr. Lawrence Soma at the University of Pennsylvania lab is said to be researching how lobeline–a drug used in nicotine patches to help people quit smoking–is finding its way into blood and urine tests of racehorses.
“I am 100% sure that nobody is treating their horse with lobeline,†Mostoller told the Paulick Report. “We have horsemen I have absolute confidence in that have done nothing wrong, and they’ve had horses test positive. And there are a lot of horsemen out of state who now are scared to death to come here and race.â€
Mostoller and others said they’d heard the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission apparently had received a tip or some undercover evidence suggesting lobeline was being purchased in a powdery form, mixed with water, and then injected in horses to create a respiratory stimulant effect that is very short-lived. One equine medication expert told the Paulick Report lobeline clears the body very quickly and would affect a horse for less than 15 minutes. “You’d almost have to give it in the starting gate,†he said. “It elevates the heart rate for 60 to 90 seconds,†Mostoller said. “It has absolutely no pharmacological effect.
“If that’s what their intelligence is telling them, I’m sure Dr. Soma can get (lobeline powder), duplicate it and see if the results of those tests mirror what the test results have been,†said Mostoller.
Calls to Joseph Mushalko, director of operations for the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission, were not returned, nor was an email to Dr. Soma at the University of Pennsylvania lab. (UPDATE: SEE END OF STORY FOR COMMENT FROM PENNSYLVANIA HORSE RACING COMMISSION.)
The positive tests for lobeline began this spring with standardbred horses and have picked up through the summer with both standardbreds and Thoroughbreds. Most of the tests are measuring between 1.5 and 6 picograms, the Paulick Report was told (a picogram is one-thousandth of a nanogram or one trillionth of a gram), although some have been as high as 100 picograms. There is no threshold level for lobeline in Pennsylvania.
“They are very proud of their instrumentation at the lab and are able to go after extremely low levels of a drug,†the Paulick Report was told by a source familiar with the Pennsylvania lab. “To my knowledge, these cases represent the first time lobeline has been called as a positive anywhere in the U.S.â€
Many horsemen feel lobelia inflata, a plant indigenous to the northeastern United States, has found its way into feed or supplements and is causing the positive drug tests for lobeline. Lobelia inflata, also known as puke weed or Indian tobacco, has been used as an herbal remedy to induce vomiting or treat asthma or other respiratory ailments in humans. But Soma is said to have administered lobelia plants to horses and has been unable to duplicate the test results.
The lobeline positives in Pennsylvania are reminiscent of scopolamine prosecutions in California 15 years ago against Hall of Fame trainers Richard Mandella and Ron McAnally, the late Willard Proctor and Mark Hennig. In those cases, there was strong evidence that hay or straw—even potentially in the state test barn—was contaminated with jimsonweed, which can contain scopolamine. The trainers were eventually absolved of any wrongdoing (after spending thousands of dollars in legal fees), but the owners of the horses that tested positive lost their purse money.
Pennsylvania regulators may not be rushing to prosecute the lobelia cases because of what happened with the positive tests in 2006 for aminorex, a weight-loss stimulant drug that hadn’t been manufactured for nearly 20 years because of dangerous side effects. Positive tests for a metabolite of that drug were found in Ontario, Canada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and even Hong Kong, but the cases were dropped when scientific research determined it may not have been aminorex but a substance found in a deworming product.
“Reputable horsemen were involved then,†Mostoller said. “It’s a very similar situation to what we have now. At first the racing commission was very reluctant to do any research on (lobeline), but reputable horsemen with not even a parking ticket on their records started getting positives. With aminorex, all the trainers were exonerated and the purses were reissued to the original horses.â€
“Everybody should want to know the truth here,†Mostoller said. “Dr. Soma at all times is interested in finding out what is going on, but he was shut down by not being able to send any samples to the Pennsylvania Equine Toxicology Lab to do his research. You would think that as a veterinarian Dr. (Corinne) Sweeney (chairman of the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission) would want to know the truth, too. But they are still calling positives and are still scheduling stewards’ hearings. People are still hiring attorneys, paying for split samples, and having purses held.â€
The Paulick Report will update this story if and when we hear back from the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission or University of Pennsylvania testing laboratory.
UPDATE (9:00 A.M., Wednesday, Sept. 23): Joseph Mushalko of the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission returned a phone call Wednesday morning after this story was published, but could not provide details about the number of cases, from which tracks the positive tests came, or what research is being conducted because all of the cases “are still under investigation.” Mushalko said one case had been adjudicated but is under appeal and that the trainer has received a stay from a 90-day suspension and $1,000 fine. He also confimed that the aminorex cases from 2006 were all dismissed.
Copyright © 2009, The Paulick Report
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Tags: aminorex, corinne sweeney, joe mushalko, lawrence soma, lobeline, Paulick Report, pennsylvania equine toxicology laboratory, pennsylvania horse racing commission, pennsylvania horsemen's benevolent and protective association, Ray Paulick, todd mostoller, university of pennsylvania drug testing laboratory
September 23rd, 2009 at 7:24 am
What next in PA? The creative excuses PA horsemen have made for other incidents in the past have been laughable, so no surprise at this outcry, especailly if the lab can’t recreate the results with “natural” sources. Where are these positives coming from, anyway? Presque, Penn or the PHA?
Let the truth come out.
September 23rd, 2009 at 7:49 am
Ruffian….Because I could not get confirmation from the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission I do not have the specifics on where the positives occurred, but I am told most are concentrated in the western part of the state at Presque Isle Downs, though each Thoroughbred track apparently has had at least one lobeline positive.
September 23rd, 2009 at 7:51 am
they may never know the definitive answer to this one. one possibility: salix’s diuretic properties are diluting tests results that in fact could be much more disturbing than those detailed here. think about the reason such substances are flushed so quickly from the animal’s system.
this story underscores why fans and potential fans are turned off this sport - the perception if not the reality that doping and cheating by use of chemicals - some masked by legal drugs - is ever present . this perception/reality will dog this sport for as long as it exists unless authorities act decisively and soon. banning race-day medication and imposing uniform testing and penalties for violations across all 38 jurisdictions would be a giant step in the right direction.
September 23rd, 2009 at 8:52 am
A major veterinary journal published a peer-reviewed report last year or the year before (briefly summarized in Equus magazine) researching false positives on racetracks. Oct. 2008 Journal of Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics) The report found that increasingly sensitive equipment was picking up atmospheric contamination by human substances, including nicotine and caffeine, ini addition to bute and other equine medications, that were present in dust. The report concluded that a significant number of horses could be testing positive based on barn dust contaminated by humans, rather than being directly contaminated with the drugs themselves. While I am in favor of more comprehensive doping prohibitions, too much is on the line to ignore the possibility that test sensitivity is outstripping reality.
September 23rd, 2009 at 9:22 am
I believe Outwest has hit the point here. Having worked a bit in human drug testing it seems that their exists a little too much zeal (particularly at the university level) for pharmacologists to prove the existence of ‘air’ in air. Certainly crap goes on, but the next thing you’re going to have is positives for Vaseline. The policy of permissive medication started this game and it has devolved into a competition between pharmacuetical companiers and academic labs — the only two groups that have the expense accounts to compete. And yes, both are motivated — they also compete for ‘purses.’
September 23rd, 2009 at 9:46 am
I am a racehorse herbalist and have longed viewed Lobelia inflata as a very useful herbal remedy for the racehorse but have never advised anyone to use it—figuring it would gain them a positive. I am rather surprised that I was wrong in the sense that postives for it has only now come up! It is a very powerful vasodilator and I would far rather use it than clenbuterol. As far as the mentioned scopolamine positives in Calf about 15 years ago, make no mistake about it, it was not straw bedding contamination but actually a common race horse remedy (ASTHMADOR) that was popular on the back-side until the FDA took it off the tack shop’s shelves in the mid-1980s was the real cause. I am sure a lot of it is still floating around the barn area and was being used. Half of asthmador’s formula is made up of jimson weed! Every old groom and trainer has used it at some time in his life. I have!
September 23rd, 2009 at 10:48 am
While I am pleased with the concept of less drugs for the race horses, I do think there has to be rational thinking about thresholds for so many-surely the levels must be taken into account when there are traces of certain elements. To withhold the purse money in these instances of “nanogram” amounts seems unfair!
Especially when those amounts will have no effect on the performance of the horse!
September 23rd, 2009 at 2:55 pm
Look, PA has intelligence that suggests lobeline was being sold in powder form to someone. Just keep following the trail until the truth be known. On the ground surveillance and undercover agents are the best way to help clean -up horse doping and race fixing. The general public has heard enough excuses from the horse racing world. We are the next former well considered sport to go the way of Championship Wrestling.
September 23rd, 2009 at 5:41 pm
When PA was among the early adopters of the more stringent steroid regulations, it was logical to assume that the horsemen would find some other ‘magic potion’ to replace their time-honored shortcuts and quickie fixes, as opposed to rest, rehabilitation and training for fitness. We’ll see what the investigation yields.
September 23rd, 2009 at 10:09 pm
The Millionaire Tour of the Cat was too unsound to race at Finger Lakes and was a vet scratch. That didn’t stop owner/trainer David Jacobson and Presque Isle Downs from racing him a few days later. What was he on to appear sound enough to race a few days later?
As long as abusers continue to be given racing licenses, the very least racetracks should do is honor all vet-scratches nationwide. Does Presque Isle Downs even perform pre-race exams even though lameness is tough to detect on numbed horses?
Tour was claimed and retired that day. Racing failed to protect him and too many other horses. This horse was retired from racing because of donations collected from his fans with the help of Maggi Moss. The safety net protected him from racing at Finger Lakes but it wasn’t there at Presque Isle Downs and Jacobson knew it.
September 24th, 2009 at 7:11 am
Presque isle Downs is turning into a “free for all.” Ask around about the reasons why the last racing sercretary was terminated/resigned. PA has lots of work to do, beyond slots subsidy, to add any value to the horse racing world.
September 24th, 2009 at 7:11 am
Are the scientists able to reproduce the results by having a horse sleep on a bed with two stalks of Indian Tobacco mixed in? I work in the race biz and see or hear about the outrageous stuff some folks try. Hollywood couldn’t make this stuff up so more power to the investigators.
September 26th, 2009 at 9:56 am
I agree with Martha, and I would also suggest, as John Nerud has, the creation of a national racing authority/commission to oversee the problems/issues,violaters, and to make uniform and strict penalties which send the appropriate messages to all. Take the decision making ability away from the petty racetracks and state racing commissions, that generally compromise standards to suit their own petty needs. This is not rocket science - One national agency which will create one uniform set of standards and who has the jurisdiction and the power to mete out punishments for violaters and enforce it.
September 27th, 2009 at 6:42 pm
To all of you cynics:
I happend to be one of the trainers of the 32 positives of this drug Lobeline in PA. Reading some of your comments is so deeply disturbing I couldn’t help but write back. My owner begged to get someone to write about this to let the horseman around the area know something strange is going on. I will not hide my name because I am innocent and have nothing to hide. Just research my record and all the others and you will see this drug positive hits from the smallest trainer who doesn’t believe in using lasix to one of the leading trainers in the area. My horse shipped in from KY the night before. I was with my horse for 4 hours before his race with my 9 year old son. Please know my horses mean everything to me. Ask anyone that knows me and they would tell you not a chance would she ever do this. I don’t argue there is a ‘win at all cost’ problem with some horseman but it is not as common as you all would like to think. Think back all of you and think of a time you may have accused of something you didn’t do and you had to defend yourself. Please try and keep an open mind in this situation. A friend of mine won the 1st race that night and shipped into the same barn I did. The only difference I could come up with is he shipped in his hay bag with the horse from KY and I used the hay that was in the stakes barn. It may be from something entirely different, I don’t know. My split came back 2 picograms ( 1000 picograms is equal to 1 nanogram) I am a true believer in limiting the drugs used in racehorses. I just think that testing has become so sensitive that enviornmental contamination is going to become more prevelant. VERY SCARY FOR THE HORSEMAN. I would swear to you all on a stack of bibles we are all innocent and I hope very soon we will be exonerated. Once again, keep an open mind here and lets find out where it is coming from before you accuse all 32 of us as being cheaters. Why would anyone use this anyways after the first 5,10,15,20,25 positives came back. Think about it.