Posts Tagged ‘drugs in horse racing’
Sunday, October 11th, 2009
Three weeks ago, the Paulick Report broke the news of a drug-testing mystery in Pennsylvania involving dozens of positive tests in Thoroughbreds and Standardbreds for a Class 2 prohibited substance called lobeline, used in nicotine patches to help people quit smoking but which traces from the lobelia inflata plant that is indigenous to the northeastern United States. The hearings for trainers who received many of these positive tests—most of which uncovered extremely minute levels of the drug–have been postponed by stewards while Dr. Lawrence Soma researches how lobeline may have found its way into the system of so many horses across the state.
Since then, the Paulick Report has heard of a cluster of positive tests in Pennsylvania for another human drug, the prohibited Class 3 medication bitolterol, which is used in asthma inhalers. These tests also have allegedly been called on quantities in the picogram (one trillionth of a gram) level.
Alan Pincus, an attorney in Pennsylvania, is familiar with Pennsylvania’s equine drug testing laboratory, having represented a dozen trainers who were implicated in a case involving aminorex, a prohibited Class 1 drug. The aminorex charges were eventually dropped by the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission. Pincus has also been contacted by several of the trainers involved in the current lobeline positives.
Pincus wrote the following commentary concerning zero-tolerance regulations, which were written years ago when drug tests were not nearly as sensitive as they are today. — Ray Paulick
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By Alan Pincus
Over the years many people have been injured by the testing procedures of the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission. The problem stems from the way the regulations were written 20 to 30 years ago. In Pennsylvania, the regulations state that no foreign substance shall appear in a post-race test. This is what they call zero tolerance and is true for all but a few drugs (phenylbutazone, etc.), which do have tolerance levels.
At the time the regulations were written the testing was at the nanogram (one partical per billion) level. Any horse found to have an illegal substance most likely had a performance affecting level in its system. Also, the chances were high that the trainer was responsible. Now, they have testing to the picogram level (one partical per trillion). There are 1,000 picograms in a nanogram, so you can conclude that testing today is 1,000 times more sensitive than when the regulations were written.
Over the years as testing became more sensitive, anomalies started to occur as trace levels of drugs were found in horses even though trainers were withdrawing the horses from the drugs per the recommended guidelines. Many people were punished for procaine, isoxsuprine or clenbuterol for no other reason than the fact the withdrawal guidelines did not anticipate testing at such low levels. Also, testing at such low levels started to find positives which were the result of environmental contamination. Almost all cocaine positives are the result of environmental contamination. Many innocent trainers have been punished.
It reached its peak with aminorex, where scores of trainers were subjected to great stress and positive tests of a Class 1 drug. In Canada, the initial penalties for aminorex were three-year suspensions. In Ohio, they were one year.
This scenario is playing out again with lobeline (see the Paulick Report article on the lobeline positives in Pennsylania by clicking here).It is the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission’s failure to admit the trainers are innocent that allows the problem to continue to the next drug.
The testing lab must justify itself. They get newer equipment that tests at lower levels and they find positive tests, which they believe are catching cheaters. They congratulate themselves and leave the trainers to suffer. Only if a large amount of trainers have positives for the same drug do the trainers have any chance at all. Think of what would happen if there were only two or three lobeline positives (there are at least 30). The trainers would already be doing their days.
Making things worse is the fact the trainers of the second- and third-place horses want the winners disqualified and thus the horsemen are not united. In the aminorex cases, the eventual dismissals were only made after Dr. Lawrence Soma agreed that the levels were not performance enhancing. I believe that calling a positive for 7 picograms of any substance is irresponsible as it is inconceivable that it could affect performance. In the modern era of testing, there should be a level for every drug and it should be at the level that affects performance.
If you look at the Class 1 drug positives in Pennsylvania over the last 10 years (notably aminorex and cocaine), you’ll find that over 90% were the result of environmental contamination and the trainers were totally innocent. The commission, which always presumes the trainers were negligent or cheaters, has no concern about the grief trainers go through when they receive a positive test. This is true even when the trainers are eventually cleared.
One thing you can count on no matter how the lobeline issue is resolved is the fact that the Commission will never say they were wrong.
Tags: alan pincus, aminorex, bitolertol, drug testing, drugs in horse racing, equine drug testing, Horse Racing, lobelia inflata, lobeline, nicotine patches, Paulick Report, pennsylvania horse racing commission, Ray Paulick
Posted in Medication, Pennsylvania, drug testing | 37 Comments »
Wednesday, July 8th, 2009
By Ray Paulick
Saturday’s Summit of Speed at Calder Race Course near Miami has attracted some of racing’s most successful trainers, including multiple Eclipse Award winners Todd Pletcher and Bob Baffert. But there’s another name on the program, that of Kirk Ziadie, who has become increasingly familiar to South Florida racing fans and horseplayers who wager on the long Calder meeting.
Some people may in fact be wondering why Ziadie is allowed to start four horses in Saturday’s rich stakes program after being handed a 60-day suspension last month by the Florida Department of Business Regulations Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering following his 13th medication violation in Florida since 2004. (Click here to see the evidence in the case and the ruling against Ziadie for an Acepromazine positive in a horse that won at Gulfstream Park on March 17, 2007.)
Ziadie, 40, is the son of Ralph Ziadie, a Jamaican of Lebanese descent who came to the United States in the late 1970s and, after a few years of running a restaurant and selling cars, has been a fixture on the Miami racing scene. Kirk eventually went to work for his father before taking out his trainer’s license in 2003 and going out on his own. According to an article in a Jamaican newspaper, the two men have not been particularly close.
Like his father, who has won numerous training titles at Calder and is a member of the track’s Hall of Fame, Kirk Ziadie has been very successful at saddling winners. He won his first training title at Calder during the 2006-07 Tropical at Calder meeting where an astounding 53% of his starters were winners. He was leading trainer at Tampa Bay Downs the previous year with a strike rate of 31%.
 But Ziadie (pictured, left) has also compiled a prodigious list of rules violations. Here is what the Association of Racing Commissioners International has on Kirk Ziadie in its database—30 rulings from five states since 2004, most of the fines and suspensions for medication violations (and that doesn’t include the most recent ruling, the 60-day suspension, against him):
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Ruling Number: 426000 Date: 3/25/2009
Issued By: Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering Facility: Unknown
Ruling Type: Unknown
Division: Unknown Breed: Unknown
Drug(s):
Fine Amount: $ 500 Fine Paid: Not Submitted
Suspension Start: 5/2/2009 Suspension End: None
Description: 320-Tampa Bay Downs, Inc. Horse: MIKE’S CLASSIC Drug: Clenbuterol (In Urine 4.5 ng/mL - In Serum 250 pg/mL) Sample # 426000 Lab # A294065-HB and A294065-HU
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Ruling Number: 421937 Date: 9/11/2008
Issued By: Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering Facility: N/A
Ruling Type: Unknown
Division: Unknown Breed: Unknown
Drug(s):
Fine Amount: $ 1000 Fine Paid: Not Submitted
Suspension Start: 11/14/2008 Suspension End: 11/28/2008
Description: 325-Calder Race Course Horse: R SALTY VET Drug: Phenylbutazone Sample # 421937 Lab # A236124-HB HEARING DATE 11/14/2008 FINED $1000.00 AND OCCUPATIONAL LICENSE SUSPENDED FOR 15 DAYS: 12/2 through and including 12/16/2008.
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Ruling Number: 08082 Date: 8/20/2008
Issued By: Minnesota Racing Commission Facility: CANTERBURY PARK
Ruling Type: Positive Drug Test
Division: Horse Breed: Thoroughbred
Drug(s): Dimethylsulfoxide
Fine Amount: $ 200 Fine Paid: Yes
Suspension Start: None Suspension End: None
Description: Trainer Kirk M Ziadie, having responded is hereby assessed a civil penalty of $200 for a medication violation "Dimethylsulfoxide" (DMSO) found in the sample E77027 taken from the horse "Fireonthewire" following the fifth race at Canterbury Park on August 2, 2008. MS 240.24 MRC Rule 7890.0100 Subp. 13C; 7890.0110 Subp. 1.
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Ruling Number: 70-2008 DE Date: 8/6/2008
Issued By: Delaware Racing Commission Facility: DELAWARE PARK
Ruling Type: General Rulings
Division: Horse Breed: Thoroughbred
Drug(s): Unknown
Fine Amount: $ 500 Fine Paid: Not Submitted
Suspension Start: None Suspension End: None
Description: 70-2008 Trainer Kirk Ziadie, DOb 8/22/68, having waived his right to a hearing, is fined the sum of five hundred ($500.00) dollars for entering the horse "STEELIX", which was on the Vets List at Saratoga, necessistating a scratch from the eighth race at Delaware Park on Sunday, July 27, 2008. Refer to D.T.R.C Rules 3.4; and 10.8.1.2. Fine to be paid within 48 hours. Ruling 70-2008
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Ruling Number: 408209 Date: 6/14/2008
Issued By: Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering Facility: N/A
Ruling Type: Unknown
Division: Unknown Breed: Unknown
Drug(s):
Fine Amount: $ 1000 Fine Paid: Not Submitted
Suspension Start: 11/14/2008 Suspension End: 11/28/2008
Description: 325-Calder Race Course Horse: CENZONTLE Drug: Oxyphenbutazone Sample # 408209 Lab # A217496-HB HEARING DATE 11/14/08 FINED $1000 3rd offense within calendar year
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Ruling Number: 408219 Date: 6/14/2008
Issued By: Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering Facility: N/A
Ruling Type: Unknown
Division: Unknown Breed: Unknown
Drug(s):
Fine Amount: $ 1000 Fine Paid: Not Submitted
Suspension Start: 11/14/2008 Suspension End: 11/28/2008
Description: 325-Calder Race Course Horse: ROMAGNOLA Drug: Oxyphenbtazone Sample # 408219 Lab # A217503-HB HEARING DATE 11/14/2008 FINED $1000.00
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Ruling Number: 2008010 Date: 6/12/2008
Issued By: Virginia Racing Commission Facility: COLONIAL DOWNS
Ruling Type: General Rulings
Division: Horse Breed: Thoroughbred
Drug(s):
Fine Amount: $ 500 Fine Paid: Not Submitted
Suspension Start: None Suspension End: None
Description: Having waived his right to legal counsel and a hearing is hereby assessed a fine of $500 for scratching the horse, "BROAD SWORD" from the Seventh race on Tueaday, June 10, 2008 without an excuse satisfactory to the Stewards (the horse ran on June 8, 2008 at Delaware Park). Fine to be paid within 72 hours.
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Ruling Number: 23-2008 Date: 6/3/2008
Issued By: Delaware Racing Commission Facility: DELAWARE PARK
Ruling Type: Failure to Complete Interim License Procedure
Division: Horse Breed: Thoroughbred
Drug(s): Unknown
Fine Amount: $ 500 Fine Paid: Yes
Suspension Start: None Suspension End: None
Description: 23-2008 TRAINER KIRK ZIADIE, DOB 8/22/68, HAVING WAIVED HIS RIGHT TO A HEARING, IS FINED THE SUM OF FIVE HUNDRED ($500.00) DOLLARS FOR FAILING TO SECURE A CURRENT LICENSE AND FAILING TO HAVE WORKMEN’S COMPENSATION ON FILE WITH THE DELAWARE THOROUGHBRED RACING COMMISSION LICENSING OFFICE, NECESSITATING A SCRATCH ON THE HORSE "NAV QUATORZE" IN THE FOURTH RACE ON SATURDAY, MAY 17, 2008. REFER TO D.R.C RULES 7.1.1, 7.3.3, AND 3.4. FINE TO BE PAID WITHIN 48 HOURS. RULING 23-2008
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Ruling Number: 405268 2008004736 Date: 1/5/2008
Issued By: Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering Facility: N/A
Ruling Type: Positive Drug Test
Division: Unknown Breed: Unknown
Drug(s): Phenylbutazone
Fine Amount: $ 500 Fine Paid: Not Submitted
Suspension Start: 1/26/2008 Suspension End: None
Description: 321-Gulfstream Park Horse: FOREIGN RUCKUS Drug: Phenylbutazone Sample # 405268 Lab # A174623-HB Ruling #2008004736 Fine $500.00 Paid 1/27/08 Check #2325 (Total payment $750.00 for Case / Ruling # #2008 00 5198 [Ruling #2008004736], Fine $500.00 and 2007 06 8121 [Ruling #2008004547], Fine $250.00)
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Ruling Number: 401327 2007 06 8121 Date: 12/2/2007
Issued By: Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering Facility: N/A
Ruling Type: Unknown
Division: Unknown Breed: Unknown
Drug(s):
Fine Amount: $ 250 Fine Paid: Not Submitted
Suspension Start: 1/25/2008 Suspension End: None
Description: Bute Overage 323-Tropical At Calder Race Course Sample 401327 Lab# A168394-HU Fine $250 Trainer Kirk Ziaidie, Ruling #2007 06 8121
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Ruling Number: 401327 2008004547 Date: 12/2/2007
Issued By: Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering Facility: N/A
Ruling Type: Positive Drug Test
Division: Unknown Breed: Unknown
Drug(s): Phenylbutazone
Fine Amount: $ 250 Fine Paid: Not Submitted
Suspension Start: 1/25/2008 Suspension End: None
Description: 323-Tropical Park, Inc Horse: REGAL GLORY Drug: Phenylbutazone Sample # 401327 Lab # A168394-HB Ruling #2008004547 Fine $250.00 Paid 1/27/08 Check #2325 (Total payment $750.00 for Case / Ruling # #2008 00 5198 [Ruling #2008004736], Fine $500.00 and 2007 06 8121 [Ruling #2008004547], Fine $250.00)
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Ruling Number: 195855 Date: 10/25/2007
Issued By: Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering Facility: N/A
Ruling Type: Unknown
Division: Unknown Breed: Unknown
Drug(s):
Fine Amount: $ 300 Fine Paid: Not Submitted
Suspension Start: 11/23/2008 Suspension End: 11/28/2008
Description: 323-Tropical Park, Inc @ 325-Calder Race Course Horse: HOLIDAY MOMENT Drug: Clenbuterol Sample # 195855 Lab # A15973-HU Report of Positive Results delivered to the Board of Stewards for possible administrative action on November 16, 2007. HEARING HELD 11/14/08 DID NOT DISPUTE LABORATORY FINDINGS WILL COMPLY WITH THE DECISION OF THE BOARD OF STEWARDS. FINED $300.00 1/20/09 Fine remains unpaid.
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Ruling Number: 320000964 Date: 3/11/2007
Issued By: Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering Facility: N/A
Ruling Type: Unknown
Division: Unknown Breed: Unknown
Drug(s):
Fine Amount: $ 250 Fine Paid: Not Submitted
Suspension Start: 3/24/2007 Suspension End: None
Description: 320-Tampa Bay Downs Expired coggins at race time JS Ruling #320-000964 Fine $250.00 Paid on 04/13/07 Ck # 094554
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Ruling Number: 191546 320000949 Date: 1/6/2007
Issued By: Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering Facility: N/A
Ruling Type: Positive Drug Test
Division: Unknown Breed: Unknown
Drug(s): Clenbuterol
Fine Amount: $ 250 Fine Paid: Not Submitted
Suspension Start: 3/3/2007 Suspension End: None
Description: 320-Tampa Bay Downs Horse: STEELIX Drug: Clenbuterol Sample #191546 Lab #A094103-HU Ruling No. 320-000949 dated 3/3/07. Fine $250.00. Fine paid 3/13/07 with ck#1441.
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Ruling Number: 188427 323000649 Date: 11/26/2006
Issued By: Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering Facility: N/A
Ruling Type: Positive Drug Test
Division: Unknown Breed: Unknown
Drug(s): Phenylbutazone
Fine Amount: $ 1000 Fine Paid: Not Submitted
Suspension Start: 3/23/2007 Suspension End: 4/12/2007
Description: 323-Tropical Park, Inc Horse: PARADISE DANCER Drug: Phenylbutazone Sample #188427 Lab #A085564-HB 04/13/07 Rec’d Ruling # 323-000649 dated 03/28/07, fine of $100.00 Pd 04/12/07.
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Ruling Number: 187661 Date: 10/15/2006
Issued By: Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering Facility: N/A
Ruling Type: Positive Drug Test
Division: Unknown Breed: Unknown
Drug(s): Phenylbutazone
Fine Amount: $ 1000 Fine Paid: Not Submitted
Suspension Start: 11/16/2006 Suspension End: 12/26/2006
Description: 325-Calder Race Course Horse: RGIRLDOESN’TBLUFF Drug: Phenylbutazone Sample #187661 Lab #A075986-HB Rec’d Ruling # 325-000939 dated 11/19/06 fine $1,000.00 Pd 12/26/06.
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Ruling Number: 185092 320000916 Date: 3/18/2006
Issued By: Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering Facility: N/A
Ruling Type: Positive Drug Test
Division: Unknown Breed: Unknown
Drug(s): Oxyphenbutazone Phenylbutazone
Fine Amount: $ 500 Fine Paid: Not Submitted
Suspension Start: 4/22/2006 Suspension End: None
Description: 320-Tampa Bay Downs Horse: RED HEAD CHAMP Drug: Phenylbutazone / Oxyphenbutazone Sample #185092 Lab #A028872-HB Ruling No. 320.000916 dated 4/26/06. Fine $500.00. Fine paid 5/6/06 with check number 232.
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Ruling Number: 320000908 Date: 3/9/2006
Issued By: Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering Facility: N/A
Ruling Type: Unknown
Division: Unknown Breed: Unknown
Drug(s):
Fine Amount: $ 250 Fine Paid: Not Submitted
Suspension Start: 3/19/2006 Suspension End: None
Description: 320-Tampa Bay Downs Late Scratch: (No Offical Foal Certificate) JS Ruling #320-000908 Fine $250.00 Paid 4/1/06, Ck #060931
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Ruling Number: 184323 320000896 Date: 1/30/2006
Issued By: Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering Facility: N/A
Ruling Type: Unknown
Division: Unknown Breed: Unknown
Drug(s):
Fine Amount: $ 250 Fine Paid: Not Submitted
Suspension Start: 3/2/2006 Suspension End: None
Description: 320-Tampa Bay Downs Horse: KING DREAMER Drug: Dimethyl Sulfoxide Sample #184323 Lab #A015171-HU JS Ruling #320-000896 dated 3/2/06 - Fine $250.00 Paid 3/3/06, Ck #3303.
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Ruling Number: 183059 320000895 Date: 1/15/2006
Issued By: Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering Facility: N/A
Ruling Type: Unknown
Division: Unknown Breed: Unknown
Drug(s):
Fine Amount: $ 100 Fine Paid: Not Submitted
Suspension Start: 3/2/2006 Suspension End: None
Description: 320-Tampa Bay Downs Horse: KING DREAMER Drug: Dimethyl Sulfoxide Sample #183059 Lab #A011618-HU JS Ruling #320-000895 dated 3/2/06. Fine $100.00. Fine Paid 3/3/06 with Ck #3303.
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Ruling Number: 320000869 Date: 1/12/2006
Issued By: Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering Facility: N/A
Ruling Type: Unknown
Division: Unknown Breed: Unknown
Drug(s):
Fine Amount: $ 250 Fine Paid: Not Submitted
Suspension Start: 1/23/2006 Suspension End: None
Description: 320-Tampa Bay Downs Late Stratch JS Ruling #320-000869 Fine $250.00 Paid 2/3/06 Ck #087268
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Ruling Number: 320000870 Date: 1/1/2006
Issued By: Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering Facility: N/A
Ruling Type: Unknown
Division: Unknown Breed: Unknown
Drug(s):
Fine Amount: $ 250 Fine Paid: Not Submitted
Suspension Start: 1/23/2006 Suspension End: None
Description: 320-Tampa Bay Downs Late Scratch JS Ruling #320-000870 dated 1/23/06. Fine $250.00 Paid 2/3/06 Ck #087268.
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Ruling Number: 179373 323000607 Date: 12/2/2005
Issued By: Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering Facility: N/A
Ruling Type: Positive Drug Test
Division: Unknown Breed: Unknown
Drug(s): Phenylbutazone
Fine Amount: $ 250 Fine Paid: Not Submitted
Suspension Start: 1/20/2006 Suspension End: None
Description: 323-Tropical Park @ 325-Calder Race Course Inv Diana Neira Horse: FAR WEST Drug: Phenylbutazone Sample #179373 Lab #A001018-HB JS Ruling #323-000607 Fine $250.00 Pd 1/17/06 Ck. #3040
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Ruling Number: *N*10094780 Date: 7/7/2005
Issued By: New Jersey Racing Commission Facility: MONMOUTH PARK
Ruling Type: Unknown
Division: Unknown Breed: Unknown
Drug(s):
Fine Amount: $ 100 Fine Paid: Not Submitted
Suspension Start: None Suspension End: None
Description: FAILED TO HAVE FOAL PAPERS ON FILE.
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Ruling Number: *N*10094102 Date: 6/23/2005
Issued By: New Jersey Racing Commission Facility: MONMOUTH PARK
Ruling Type: Unknown
Division: Unknown Breed: Unknown
Drug(s):
Fine Amount: $ 100 Fine Paid: Not Submitted
Suspension Start: None Suspension End: None
Description: FAILED TO HAVE FOAL PAPERS ON FILE.
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Ruling Number: 173147 325000843 Date: 5/8/2005
Issued By: Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering Facility: N/A
Ruling Type: Positive Drug Test
Division: Unknown Breed: Unknown
Drug(s): Clenbuterol
Fine Amount: $ 300 Fine Paid: Not Submitted
Suspension Start: 7/24/2005 Suspension End: None
Description: 320-Tampa Bay Downs (Raced in Tampa Bay Downs but Stables Horses @ 325-Calder Race Course) Inv Dennis Badillo Horse: DON AGUSTIN Drug: Clenbuterol Cl 3 Sample 173147 Lab #25859M JS Ruling #325-000843 Fine $300.00 Paid 8/23/05, Ck #32157
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Ruling Number: 320000840 Date: 4/22/2005
Issued By: Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering Facility: N/A
Ruling Type: Unknown
Division: Unknown Breed: Unknown
Drug(s):
Fine Amount: $ 100 Fine Paid: Not Submitted
Suspension Start: 4/17/2005 Suspension End: None
Description: 320-Tampa Bay Downs No Foal Certificate At Race Time JS Ruling #320-000840 Fine $100.00. Fine paid 4/17/05.
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Ruling Number: 089809 323000578 Date: 12/3/2004
Issued By: Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering Facility: N/A
Ruling Type: Unknown
Division: Unknown Breed: Unknown
Drug(s):
Fine Amount: $ 500 Fine Paid: Not Submitted
Suspension Start: 11/17/2005 Suspension End: 1/17/2006
Description: 323-Tropical Park Inc Resp Lic #701515 Inv Dennis Badillo Horse: BOLIDO Drug: Glycopyrrolate Cl Sample #089809 Lab #01072M 12/16/04, As per J. Helton all Glycopyrrolate DP have been referred to our Legal Dept. until a final determination has been made. JS Ruling #323-000578 - Fine $500.00 Paid 1/17/06, Ck #3039 - Included in this ruling is Case #2004057550
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Ruling Number: 088845 Date: 10/14/2004
Issued By: Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering Facility: N/A
Ruling Type: Unknown
Division: Unknown Breed: Unknown
Drug(s):
Fine Amount: $ 0 Fine Paid: Not Submitted
Suspension Start: 11/17/2005 Suspension End: 1/17/2006
Description: 325-Calder Race Course Resp Lic #701515 Inv Dennis Badillo Horse: MUSICAL BEAT Drug: Glycopyrrolate Cl 3 Sampe #088845 Lab #94082L 12/07/04, As per J.Helton all Glycopyrrolate Drup Posotives have been referred to our Legal Dept. until a final determination has been made. Rec’d. J/S Ruling 323-000578 dated 11/17/05 fine $500.00 and a 15 days supension, completed 11/14-11/28. Note that the same Ruling also included case # 2004060610, sample # 089809, in which the fine and suspension applied for both violations.
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Ruling Number: 932228 Date: 5/2/2004
Issued By: Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering Facility: Unknown
Ruling Type: Positive Drug Test
Division: Unknown Breed: Unknown
Drug(s): Flunixin
Fine Amount: $ 100 Fine Paid: Not Submitted
Suspension Start: 5/30/2004 Suspension End: None
Description: 320-Tampa Bay Downs Resp Lic #701515 Inv Nicolas Miyar Horse: BRUSHED WITH GLORY Drug: Flunixin Sample #932228 Lab #73783L Ruling #325-000676 issued by Board of Stewards at Calder Race Course on May 30, 2004; respondent fined $100.00. Fine paid June 1, 2004 by Ck. #104.
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By my estimate, Ziadie has paid a total of $13,550 in fines for his violations, which some might equate as the cost of doing business as a horse trainer. However, some horsemen manage to get through an entire career without any fines or suspensions for breaking medication rules.
The current suspension against Ziadie is based on a positive test from March 2007. According to the ruling, at a hearing on the case (in April of 2009), Ziadie admitted to giving Acepromazine to his horses on race day to “settle them at the starting gate.” Ziadie denied giving the Class 3 drug (according to RCI guidelines) to the horse in question, although according to the ruling he admitted his accounting and stable management had been “in chaos” over a period of time. Ziadie said at the April hearing that he had hired a new accountant.
He then asked the presiding officer of the Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering for leniency.
Seriously.
So here we have a trainer, one who has won many races, but who has more than 30 rules violations in less than six years on the job. He is being judged on a positive test for a prohibited substance from two years earlier; since that alleged infraction, he’s had several other fines and suspensions meted out against him—and he is asking for leniency.
Ziadie has also taken his case outside of racing’s regulatory system and has asked for and received a stay of the suspension from a court of appeals while he and an attorney consider an appeal to the ruling. That way, he won’t get shut out of running his horses in Saturday’s Summit of Speed at Calder.
And we wonder, “Why has racing lost its popularity and credibility?”
* * *
As a final note, I wouldn’t be writing about Kirk Ziadie and his record of rules violations if it weren’t for the persistence of a racing fan and horseplayer who brought the case to my attention when the original ruling was handed down a couple of weeks ago. I want to thank him and all the others who help keep the Paulick Report informed through our anonymous tip line about some of the things going on in Thoroughbred racing and breeding that are either ignored or underreported by the mainstream media and trade press.
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Tags: acepromazine, association of racing commissioners international, calder, division of pari-mutuel wagering, drugs in horse racing, drugs in racing, florida department of business regulations, Kirk Ziadie, medication violations, Paulick Report, Ralph Ziadie, Ray Paulick
Posted in Horse Welfare, Medication, Regulatory Issues | 99 Comments »
Wednesday, February 18th, 2009
By Ray Paulick
Whenever I think about horse racing’s crazy-quilt regulatory system that has ruling bodies in 38 different states, I recall the time an official at some racetrack asked Hall of Famer Bill Mott to show his trainer’s license before entering a restricted area. Mott reached into his Wrangler’s and pulled out what appeared to be a full deck of laminated playing cards, held together by a rubber band wrapped around the outside.
“It’s in here somewhere,” Mott said, fumbling through individual licenses for Florida, New York, Kentucky, California, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Texas, Illinois, Delaware, Virginia, Louisiana, and maybe even his home state of South Dakota, among others.
Uniform licensing is a concept the industry has been working on for, oh, 50 years or so. They still haven’t got it figured out. In this regard, owners, trainers and other licensees are subjected to some of the most ridiculous regulatory inefficiencies any industry has ever seen. Why?
I thought about this absurdity as I read the racing industry’s latest “white paper,” this one authored by a well-intentioned group of equine veterinarians at the American Association of Equine Practitioners that suggests we all follow their recommendations, pull together, and work in concert for the overall good of the industry.
The average meaningful life of a Thoroughbred industry white paper is about 10 to 14 days – or at least it used to be. That’s about how long it took for the weekly trade magazines to dutifully detail the highlights, and then mail the magazine to their subscribers. The typical reader reaction was a collective yawn. They know how the industry works … or doesn’t. The lifespan of an industry white paper might be shorter today, given the access to the information on various Web sites.
For those who haven’t seen the AAEP treatise, it’s called “Putting the Horse First: Veterinary Recommendations for the Safety and Welfare of the Thoroughbred Racehorse.” Click here to read the entire nine-page report.
For those who want the abbreviated version, here it is: 1) the AAEP believes it is “imperative that the industry urgently demonstrate an ability to affect sweeping change without government intervention”; 2) we need to hold hands and sit around a campfire singing songs until we can reach agreement on issues related to the welfare of the horse 3) horses should not be permitted to race without at least 10 days between starts; 4) some racing secretaries are evil and racetrack management is increasingly clueless about horses; 5) more study is needed in the areas of racing, training and selling 2-year-olds; 6) adopt new whip rules; 7) keep holding hands and singing campfire songs; 8) it’s no longer acceptable for owners to heartlessly discard ex-racehorses, and it’s imperative that all jurisdictions establish and support rehabilitation, retraining and adoption agencies 9) claiming races need reform, with purses no more than 50% higher than the claiming price, drug testing of all claimed horses, and claims for horses that fail to finish a race being voided; 10) develop and adopt uniform rules, penalties, drug testing protocols, violation reporting procedures (stop me if you’ve heard this one before); and 11) keep singing and holding hands, and will someone please throw some more logs on the fire?
This industry is amazing, if for no other reason than for its ability to clear its throat and harrumph when the situation is dire. Since Eight Belles died on the track at Churchill Downs and we celebrated the highs and lows of Big Brown, an anabolic steroid-pumped Kentucky Derby winner (surely not the only one), we have had more task forces, committees, blue-ribbon panels, and alliances than we’ve mustered up before in this short a time. We’ve had the Jockey Club, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, and now the American Association of Equine Practitioners sounding off (and I know I’m forgetting some of the other alphabet soup orgs).
And still, Bill Mott has a pocketful of racing licenses. If we can’t do the simple things, what makes the AAEP or any other group think we are going to convince 38 state racing commissions that a $12,500 purse is too high for $8,000 claimers, or that a horse needs 10 days off before racing again?
Let’s look at the first premise of the AAEP’s white paper, that we need to “urgently demonstrate an ability” to make change without government intervention. Haven’t we had enough chances to demonstrate our ability to do so? (I enter Bill Mott’s expired trainer’s licenses into evidence.)
Why and how has the AAEP, a group of veterinarians, taken it upon themselves to state that we must do this without government assistance? I suppose if they were involved in the cattle or poultry or peanut business, they’d suggest we would be better off producing meat and other foodstuffs without interference from the United States Department of Agriculture.
The point is, we need government to help us overcome the dysfunctional regulatory structure that has led us to this mess we are in. We just need to be able to be part of the process, and not be in the adversarial role many in this industry are setting us up to be in. If we repeat the mantra that “government is enemy, government is enemy,” how do you think government is going to respond?
So with all due respect to the AAEP and its veterinarians, please stick to what you know best. In fact, this white paper completely ignores what vets know best, which is the care of horses. Nowhere in the white paper are there recommendations on such procedures as pin firing of shins of young horses, or permitting horses to race just days after receiving joint injections. To be fair, AAEP executive director David Foley said further recommendations will be forthcoming, but should those recommendations have come first, so that their own house is in order?
Tell us what you think about the chances the AAEP’s white paper recommendations will ever be implemented. Read the full report. Take our poll on the left-hand column of the Paulick Report home page, and leave your comments in the space provided below.
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Tags: aaep, AAEP white paper, american association of equine practitioners, anabolic steroids, Big Brown, bill mott, claiming races, david foley, drug testing, drugs in horse racing, eight belles, Horse Racing, Jockey Club, National Thoroughbred Racing Association, NTRA, Paulick Report, putting the horse first: veterinary recommendations for the safety and welfare of the thoroughbred racehorse, racing regulations, racing secretaries, Ray Paulick, Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, TOBA, uniform licensing, uniform rules
Posted in Horse Health, Horse Welfare, Industry Organizations, Industry Reform, Medication, Regulatory Issues | 54 Comments »
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