Posts Tagged ‘bruce levine’
Sunday, July 6th, 2008
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I’m not sure how good of a poker player Ron Geary is, but the owner of Ellis Park was engaged in a high-stakes game with Kentucky horsemen this past week. On the one hand, Geary put up his money to play this game when he bought the track from Churchill Downs two years ago, so if he wants to take his ball and go home because horsemen want a more equitable percentage of dollars bet through account wagering, that’s his right, ultimately.
On the other hand, Geary should feel a responsibility – if not an obligation – to work with the people in Kentucky’s signature industry, and his last-minute decision to close Ellis Park before its scheduled July 4 opening looked an awful like a spoiled child running home to mommy when he couldn’t have his way.
Normally, one might look for leadership from the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority when a dispute like this occurs between racetracks and horsemen. What’s that, you say? There is no Kentucky Horse Racing Authority? Oh, that’s right. In the middle of this Ellis Park crisis, Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear dissolved the regulatory body and replaced it with another regulatory body called the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, which has yet to meet. Of course, it’s the same thing previous governors have done so they can pay off some campaign favors.
(Maybe that’s the real reason so many politically connected people detest the idea of any sort of federal regulation of racing. Governors and friends of governors would lose one of the spoils of victory that comes with the office.)
In his announcement about the formation of the new commission, Beshear issued some gibberish about how important the Thoroughbred industry is to Kentucky. Beshear, a Democrat, had the strong support of the Thoroughbred industry in his 2007 campaign to unseat Republican Gov. Ernie Fletcher, and one of the platforms of his campaign was expansion of the wagering menu at racetracks to include casino gambling. During the general assembly, however, Beshear was quiet as a church mouse on the issue, and the necessary legislation never got out of the starting gate.
Governor Steve’s “rediscovery” of the industry is curious, at best, and his timing to dismantle the old authority is terrible.
Fortunately for Kentucky’s blue-collar horsemen (the tiffany guys all go to Saratoga or Arlington), cooler heads have prevailed. A more equitable split of revenue has been agreed upon, and Ellis Park will open a week late on July 11.
WITH THE TURNING OF THE CALENDAR PAGE, Fasig-Tipton moves closer to its July yearling sale and the first under the new ownership of Synergy Investments. Buyers shouldn’t look for anything new, sale company officials told the Paulick Report, since the deal closed just over a month ago. But a survey we conducted of consignors and buyers showed great enthusiasm for what Fasig-Tipton’s new owners can bring, not just to the company’s sales rings in Lexington, Ky., and Saratoga Springs, NY, but to the industry at large. There also was much speculation that a stronger and more competitive Fasig-Tipton will have a humbling effect on the widely perceived arrogance of Keeneland. SPEAKING OF HUMBLING, this past week’s election results for the Breeders’ Cup board of members and trustees had to be particularly tough on Robert Clay, the owner of Three Chimneys Farm in Midway, Ky. Clay, the vice chairman of the Breeders’ Cup operating board of directors, didn’t receive enough votes from nominators, and will thus be ineligible to run for re-election to that 14 member board when the members and trustees vote on seven open positions this coming Friday. Three other incumbents were voted off the larger board of members and trustees in what is clearly a sea change for the board, a potential scenario discussed at the Paulick Report a few weeks back in a two-part series ( part one, part two). It will be interesting to see who is elected to the operating board of directors. My money is on Hill ‘n’ Dale Farm owner John Sikura to emerge as a powerful voice to represent the “new guard” at the Breeders’ Cup as the battle against the “old guard” Jockey Club types continues to evolve.
THERE WAS PLENTY OF ACTION ON THE RACETRACK THIS WEEK, but the headlines came from two workouts: one by Kentucky Derby-Preakness winner Big Brown, his first since being eased in the Belmont; and the other by Horse of the Year Curlin on the turf at Churchill Downs. Big Brown’s work was slow, but he’s got a month until he is expected to re-emerge in the Haskell Stakes at Monmouth. Curlin’s was more of a test drive for trainer Steve Asmussen to see how well the son of Smart Strike took to the grass. According to Asmussen, Curlin did everything right, and all systems are currently “go” for a turf debut, most likely in Belmont Park’s Man o’ War on July 12. If that goes well, Curlin’s majority owner, Jess Jackson, wants to challenge the world’s best grass runners in France’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. I think Curlin will be up against it in France, but I probably wouldn’t have suggested Christopher Columbus sail west, either. It was a quiet week for Big Brown’s trainer, Rick Dutrow, aside from having Unrequited, a horse he raced twice in three days, be euthanized because of a fractured pelvis. This ordinarily wouldn’t be news, but only two days before the horse was injured at Monmouth Park, Dutrow challenged the media to find the last time he had a horse vanned off the track with an injury. The good news: the mouth that has roared so much this spring is being muzzled. We look for the week ahead to be a No Dutrow Zone.
FINALLY, ON THE MEDICATION FRONT, red-hot trainer Bruce Levine’s horses at Monmouth Park tested negative for blood-doping agents in testing conducted by the New Jersey Racing Commission. Frank Zanzuccki, the executive director of the commission, gave the Paulick Report some background on the regulatory agency’s out-of-competition testing program.
By Ray Paulick
Copyright ©2008, The Paulick Report
Tags: Big Brown, Breeders' Cup, bruce levine, Curlin, ellis park, fasig-tipton, frank zanzuccki, jess jackson, John Sikura, Keeneland, kentucky horse racing authority, kentucky horse racing commission, new jersey racing commission, out of competition testing, Paulick Report, Ray Paulick, rick dutrow, Robert Clay, ron geary, steve asmussen, steve beshear, unrequited
Posted in Big Brown, Breeders' Cup, Curlin, Medication, Thoroughbred Auctions, Week in Review | Comments Off
Friday, July 4th, 2008
The recent out-of-competition blood-doping tests for horses trained by the red-hot Bruce Levine at Monmouth Park were not the first such inquiry in New Jersey and won’t be the last, promises Frank Zanzuccki, the veteran executive director of the New Jersey Racing Commission.
Levine’s horses tested clean for blood-doping agents, better known as erythropoietin, darbepoetin, epogen, or, simply EPO (brand names include Aranesp or Procrit). But Zanzuccki, the “EPO man,” is going to continue his mission to find cheaters in Thoroughbred and Standardbred racing in the Garden State and get rid of them.
Good for him.
Regulations allowing out-of-competition testing went into effect in 2007 prior to the Breeders’ Cup world championships coming to Monmouth Park. Zanzuccki said nearly half of the competitors had blood drawn by regulatory personnel at multiple jurisdictions around the world, with the samples sent to New Jersey and tested for a variety of blood-doping agents at the state laboratory, which is staffed by New Jersey State Police personnel, at the Meadowlands complex. “We have been using the State Police equine lab for the past 30 years,” Zanzuccki told the Paulick Report. That’s about how long Zanzuccki has been at the racing commission, the last 17 years as executive director.
All Breeders’ Cup horses tested, just like Levine’s, came up clean for illegal blood-doping agents, substances that have been especially prevalent in endurance sports like cycling. The blood-doping agents increase the flow of oxygen to the blood and reduce fatigue.
Zancuccki’s EPO stings have produced positive results. Several months ago, six blood samples taken from horses trained by harness horseman Ernest Adam and owned by veterinarian Stephen Slender tested positive for EPO. The horses, which raced at Meadowlands and other tracks in the region, were in training at an off-track site, and the racing commission took samples after acting on information from what Zanzuccki termed “reliable sources.”
“All six samples were confirmed by the University of Pennsylvania for the presence of EPO,” Zanzuccki said. “Those individuals (Adam and Slender), because of the circumstances, were suspended for a period of 15 ½ years, each was fined $56,000 and their licenses were revoked.”
This week, a New Jersey Superior Court denied a stay for emergency relief filed by attorneys for Slender, who hoped to continue to operate his racing stable while the case is on appeal. “Mr. Slender is out of business,” Zanzuccki said. At some point, an administrative officer will hear the appeal and make a recommendation to the racing commission.
A previous operation conducted by the New Jersey State Police raided a different off-site Standardbred training facility run by a leading owner in New Jersey. Vials of blood-doping agents were confiscated and criminal charges were filed. Those individuals are out of racing, too.
Testing of Levine’s horses was “random,” Zanzuccki said, even though Levine was winning at an unusually high percentage (almost 50%).
“We began this testing in October,” Zanzuccki said. “It had primarily been deployed in Standardbred racing because there had been no Thoroughbred racing in New Jersey until recently. There are other trainers on the list to be tested. Levine was a random selection.” Hundreds of samples have been tested so far from at least 15 different harness trainers.
Zanzuccki said the commission does not publicize who it tests and gets the results back quickly from the lab.
“We do not announce for obvious reasons,” he said. “We just show up and notify the trainer why we are there. We go about our business and acquire the sample. (The Levine case) sparked significant interest. I had on my desk the following day phone calls from three or four news organizations.”
Zanzuccki is not aware of any other American states conducting such tests, though the Ontario Racing Commission in Canada began out-of-competition testing in North America.
“This gives us a better opportunity to detect the illegal use of blood-doping agents in horses,” he said. “We’ve determined over a period of time that raceday testing for this type of substance is inadequate and we needed to look at this in a different way. We believe out-of-competition testing gives us the opportunity to better detect this type of substance.”
By Ray Paulick
Copyright ©2008, The Paulick Report
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Tags: aranesp, bruce levine, darbepoetin, epo, epogen, ernest adam, erythropoietin, frank zanzuccki, Horse Racing, monmouth park, new jersey racing commission, new jersey state police, ontario racing commission, out of competition testing, Paulick Report, procrit, Ray Paulick, stephen slender
Posted in Medication, Regulatory Issues | 5 Comments »
Sunday, June 29th, 2008
Two years ago, Deep Impact, a two-time Horse of the Year in Japan, traveled to Paris to take on the world’s best grass runners in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. Thousands of Japanese fans followed the horse to France and bet with such confidence that Deep Impact was the odds-on favorite to win what is arguably Europe’s most prestigious race.
The son of Sunday Silence could do no better than third, however, a stinging loss that paled in comparison to the news that followed days later, when results of a post-race test showed the presence of the prohibited therapeutic medication Ipratropium, which Deep Impact was allowed to take during training in Japan to treat lung congestion. He had subsequently been treated with the drug in France prior to the Arc.
In a country where honor is in abundance, trainer Yasuo Ikee took the fall. He said he thought he was following the withdrawal time guidelines, but accepted full blame and responsibility for the error. There was no appeal. Ikee apologized to French authorities and to Japanese racing fans. He said he would do everything in his power to never make a similar mistake in the future.
A little over a month later, when Deep Impact scored an overpowering victory back home in the Japan Cup, Ikee was nearly moved to tears during a post-race press conference when asked about his experience in France. He continued to apologize for the medication positive, saying that it was by far the lowest point of his professional career. The Japan Cup win lightened the burden he felt over the Arc defeat and the humiliation of the post-race disqualification, but it was clear he continued to carry a large amount of shame and embarrassment over the incident.
I thought of Yasuo Ikee this past week when American racing’s bad boy, Rick Dutrow, reacted like a petulant child when asked about a positive test by one of his horses racing at Churchill Downs the day before he saddled Big Brown to win the Kentucky Derby. “It’s not my fault, though it’s my responsibility,” he was quoted as saying in a press conference that turned bizarre. Dutrow plans to appeal his 15-day suspension, not because he feels the ruling will be overturned but because the system allows him to delay any suspension through the appeals process, and he wants to put off any punishment as long as possible so he can be with his horses. How admirable.
Worse, however, Dutrow said, in effect, “Clenbuterol? It’s no big deal.” He not only refused to accept blame for the positive test, he then started suggesting other past and current trainers were bigger cheaters than he was.
If timing is everything, the news of Dutrow’s bad test couldn’t have come at a worse time for IEAH Stable, the majority owner of Big Brown. Only a few days earlier, the outfit pledged to race its horses drug free beginning Oct. 1. Until then, I guess, it’s “Katy, bar the door!” Dutrow’s clenbuterol positive wasn’t the only time medication was in the news this week. Steve Asmussen, this year’s leading trainer by money and wins and the conditioner of reigning Horse of the Year Curlin, was notified of a positive test for Lidocaine in one of his horses racing in Texas last month. His hearing is scheduled for July 18.
Consider this: the trainers of the 2007 Horse of the Year, the 2008 Kentucky Derby winner and the 2008 Kentucky Oaks winner (Larry Jones) are all facing positive drug tests for horses in their care. Anyone who thinks racing doesn’t have a problem is in serious denial.
Finally, in what could turn out to be the most significant medication story of the week, Monmouth Park’s leading trainer, Bruce Levine, had a surprise visitor on Tuesday when a veterinarian working for the New Jersey Racing Commission took “out-of-competition” blood samples from each of the 41 horses in his barn. The commission will run tests for the blood-doping agent erythropoietin, better known as EPO.No matter how the drug tests turn out (and there is no suggestion that Levine is doing anything illegal while winning at a near 50% clip), New Jersey officials should be commended for conducting out-of-competition testing. It’s the type of activity that could act as a deterrent to other trainers who may be using illegal, performance-enhancing medication.
In other headlines this week, Santa Anita announced its decision to replace the current synthetic surface that had major draining issues earlier this year with Pro-Ride, manufactured by an Australian company. The Paulick Report reported the findings of a California trainers’ survey and injury statistics supporting Santa Anita’s decision to stay with a synthetic surface.
Finally, we reported on the industry’s newest odd couple, Robert Clay of Three Chimneys Farm and the human connections of Big Brown. Clay has spent years crafting an image of integrity and excellence, but he was eager to recruit Big Brown to his stallion barn despite the baggage the colt brings in the form of a co-owner, Michael Iavarone, who greatly enhanced his Wall Street reputation while recruiting owners to the IEAH Stable he runs, and trainer Rick Dutrow, who needs no further introduction at this point.
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By Ray Paulick
Copyright ©2008, The Paulick Report
Tags: Big Brown, Brant Latta, bruce levine, clenbuterol, Curlin, deep impact, disqualification, epo, erythropoietin, horse of the year, Horse Racing, IEAH stable, kentucky derby, kentucky oaks, larry jones, lidocaine, Magna Entertainment, Michael Iavarone, new jersey racing commission, Paulick Report, prix de l'arc de triomphe, pro-ride, Ray Paulick, rick dutrow, Robert Clay, santa anita, steve asmussen, synthetic surface, yasuo ikee
Posted in Week in Review | 4 Comments »
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