Posts Tagged ‘john veitch’

By Ray Paulick

Under questioning by an attorney representing Rodney Stewart, the veterinarian appealing a five-year suspension for his possession of cobra venom and other banned substances at Keeneland in June 2007, John Veitch, chief steward for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and a retired Hall of Fame trainer, admitted that his racing star Alydar was treated with cobra venom after suffering an injury in September of his 3-year-old season.Attorney Mike Meuser asked Veitch about the use of the now-banned substance during an appeal of Stewart’s suspension before racing commission hearing officer Bob Layton on Wednesday in Lexington, Ky. “Did Dr. Charles Allen give cobra venom to Alydar during the time you trained him?” Meuser asked.

“On one occasion,” Veitch confirmed, saying it came after Alydar had fractured the coffin bone in a foot while training up to the 1978 Marlboro Cup Handicap. “It wasn’t effective,” Veitch said. “We would not have run him again if it had worked. We treated him at the time. He was not in training. We experimented with Dr. Chuck Allen, who was an expert on venom. At the time, cobra venom was legal for use in the United States for treating Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS). We tried it and it didn’t work. We didn’t use it as therapy so he could race, but only to see if we could relieve some pain.”

Technically, cobra venom, a powerful blocking agent, is not an illegal substance. It is not approved for use in humans or animals by the FDA and is prohibited in most racing jurisdictions, including Kentucky, which classifies it as a "Class A" drug, one that can be abused as an illegal performance enhancing substance.

Three vials of venom and other prohibited substances were found during a search of three barns on Keeneland property used by trainer Patrick Biancone and in a vehicle registered to Stewart. Most of the substances were found in a soft-sided cooler kept in a refrigerator in Barn 74, located in the barn area  known as the Keeneland training center off Keeneland’s main property across Rice Road. Stewart admitted to officials the substances were his and that he was only using a refrigerator in Biancone’s barn because he and his wife were in the process of moving from Kentucky to New York. Stewart said his wife had packed the bag with medications usually kept in a refrigerator at their rented home, but that he had been living in temporary quarters. He said he wasn’t aware of everything that was in the bag. Biancone was suspended for six months and agreed not to seek reinstatement for another six months. Stewart received a five-year ban. As chief steward of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, Veitch was in charge of the investigation involving the banned substances and the hearing that led to the suspensions.

Bob Watt, an attorney representing the racing commission, called several witnesses in addition to Veitch, including one of the investigators who conducted the search, commission veterinarian Mary Scollay and Keeneland executive Harvie Wilkinson.

Scollay called cobra venom an "exceedingly dangerous" substance that could cause a loss of sensation in a horse’s foot and block pain. She said there is no known test to detect cobra venom in urine or blood.

During cross-examination of Wilkinson, who among other things oversees security at Keeneland, Meuser asked whether Keeneland officials ever sought approval from the racing commission to have the Rice Road training facility recognized as part of Keeneland’s racetrack grounds. Wilkinson said he was not aware that they had sought approval.

The purpose of that question came to light later in the day when Stewart himself was testifying and Meuser asked if he believed Barn 74 was part of the racetrack property. "I thought it was a private barn," Stewart replied.

"I thought it was Patrick’s private barn. He’d always referred to it that way."

Records showed that Stewart had purchased four vials of the cobra venom in July 2006 from BioToxins, a Saint Cloud, Fla., company. The veterinarian testified that he had used one of the vials on a former racehorse that had been rescued from a farm and was being used as a stable pony. The other vials remained in their shrinkwrap packaging. The vials contain a powder which is then mixed in a salilne solution before injection.

Among the other substances seized was a container of Carbidopa-Levodopa, a human medication used to treat Parkinson’s disease. Scollay testified that the drug could act as a stimulant and reduce fatigue in humans. In later testimony, Stewart said he did not use the drug on any horses but did not recall why he had it. Another bottle with an unknown honey-like substance inside was labeled "For Mythical Elmo," according to the testimony, but it was more likely meant for the Biancone-trained filly Mythical Echo. Its contents remain unknown.

Another bottle found was labeled with the lettering "R.T.H.." When asked about the "R.T.H." substance, Stewart said "a fellow from South Africa had given it to me. It was used there to treat bleeding." When pressed he said he had no idea what pharmacological agents were contained in the liquid. .Stewart said he has had his license to practice on "competition animals" (including horses, greyhounds and camels) suspended in Australia, where he earned his veterinary degree in 1997. He is banned from racetracks but is allowed to continue his veterinary practice in the United States.

The hearing will continue Dec. 9. Among the issues to be covered area the contents of Stewart’s personal computer, which has been sent to a business that conducts forensic searches on computer hard drives to extract any  information related to his veterinary practice for a period of time prior to his suspension.

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It’s become something of a tradition in Kentucky politics for newly elected governors to dissolve the regulatory body for horse racing and create their own racing board. It’s something Brereton Jones, Ernie Fletcher and now Steve Beshear have done.

Governors in most other states are content to merely fill racing commissions with their hand-picked appointees as terms expire. In Kentucky, where horse racing is the number one industry and racing commissioners can wield considerable clout, there is more of a sense of urgency by governors and their allies.

The downside to this maneuvering is continuity in the regulation of the sport, and this latest iteration by Gov. Beshear to dissolve the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority and create the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission left no indication as to whether people like John Veitch, the chief steward for racing, and executive director Lisa Underwood have job security in the new regime.

There was good work being done by some members of the KHRA, and we can only hope that it will not go by the wayside. For example, one of the Authority members who was not retained on the new board, Franklin Kling, put considerable time and effort into issues related to wagering security, particularly past-post betting, or perceptions of past-post betting. It is common now, because of delays in communications from wagering hubs to the host track, for odds to change midway through a horse race. Clearly, the tote systems are not on par with the technologies in place for online banking and securities transactions, and there remains the potential for fraud and pool manipulation.

Many horseplayers are concerned that bets are being made after the start of a race, and some racetrack executives privately fear the same thing. There have been instances in Kentucky where that’s happened on simulcast races, and professional horseplayer Mike Maloney was brought in by the Authority to advise them on the issue. The latest example appears to have occurred at Philadelphia Park recently, when the Scientific Games totalizator system malfunctioned, allowing simulcast bettors at Tampa Bay Downs and possibly other locations to place wagers during and after the running of the fourth race June 28.

Kling provided at no cost to the commission information technology personnel from his company to examine the issue of tote communications and past posting, and according to sources there was progress in that area. This is a serious issue that needs attention, and there is no reason to discard the work that Kling and other members of a wagering security committee have done.

Fortunately, the man who advised Gov. Beshear on the appointments to the new commission, Thoroughbred owner-breeder Tracy Farmer, is a sharp and highly ethical individual, knowledgeable about the industry, and perceptive about what the public expects from a regulatory body. Farmer and his wife Carol have been strong supporters of horse rescue and retraining operations, something that many people in the industry have ignored for too long.

The commission includes some members whose background does not appear to have any connection to racing and is probably nothing more than political patronage. However, the retention of attorney Robert Beck as chairman was a wise move, as was the appointment of several people with both knowledge and experience in racing matters.

One example is attorney Ned Bonnie of Louisville, who is an expert in the medication field, having helped develop regulations for the sport horse world. Bonnie has been involved in numerous industry committees and has strong opinions about cleaning up the game. His involvement in the Thoroughbred industry goes back many year and includes a close friendship and association with the late Kent Hollingsworth, the esteemed, longtime editor of Bloodhorse magazine whose "hat, oats and water" mantra Bonnie had emblazoned on a sweatshirt that he frequently wore while jogging.
Farmer appears to have advised Beshear to balance the board with diverse views. Trainer John Ward has fought for tighter restrictions on medications while heading the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association and Frank Jones has been a voice for the Kentucky Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, which tried to keep Kentucky’s permissive medication rules intact. The inclusion of a veterinarian, Foster Northrup, is another move that will diversify the board’s makeup.

The best news came on Wednesday, when the new commissioners were sworn in, and Beck and Farmer indicated that they intend to pursue regulations for anabolic steroids.Steroids have been one of the sport’s dirty little secrets. There will be efforts to keep their use legal in Kentucky, and some veterinarians may say that their use benefits the health and welfare of the horse. But public perception is very important, and right now horse racing is losing that battle in a very big way. It’s time for steroids to be banned: period.

The political tradition by newly elected Kentucky governors to dissolve racing commissions and create new spots for political supporters can lead to problems. Fortunately, the people involved in the process in 2008 have the best interests of racing at heart.

Let’s hope there is a seamless transition. People who regulate Kentucky racing should be looked upon as national leaders. That hasn’t always been the case.

By Ray Paulick

Copyright ©2008, The Paulick Report

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The wise guys are out in force: “Knock me over with a feather,” they are saying in response to the latest news about Rick “No Show” Dutrow, who will be handed a 15-day suspension from the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority, which also will redistribute the $20,000 second-place purse won by Salute the Count in the Aegon Turf Sprint Stakes at Churchill Downs May 2. The former claiming horse owned by Michael Dubb and Robert Joscelyn tested positive for an extremely high level of clenbuterol, a bronchial dilator that has come into vogue as a training aid among many horsemen over the last 10 years but is not permitted on raceday.

The violation came one day before Dutrow-trained Big Brown won the Kentucky Derby.

Why just 15 days for Dutrow, who according to the Association of Racing Commissioners International has at least 72 previous rulings against him for a variety of violations since 1976? The New York Times, which broke the story, quotes former trainer John Veitch, the chief state steward for the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority , as saying 15 days and forfeiture of the purse would be Dutrow’s penalty for a first offense, according to Kentucky rules. Veitch told the paper the level detected (and confirmed by an independent lab of Dutrow’s choosing) was two times that of the legal threshold and the highest he had seen in four years as Kentucky’s top racing official.

First offense?

If I get speeding tickets in 25 states and am then caught in Kentucky going 10 miles over the limit, I hope I can get the same kid-glove treatment and am looked upon as a first-time offender. Somehow, I doubt that will happen. Why, then, is Dutrow’s track record of rules violations in multiple states being ignored in Kentucky?

Larry Jones, the trainer of star-crossed Kentucky Derby runner-up Eight Belles, recently had a positive test for clenbuterol in Delaware on a horse owned by Jim Squires. By all accounts, if confirmed in a split sample, this would be Jones’ first medication violation in 25 years of training. According to Delaware Park stewards, the standard penalty for a first offense would be a $500 fine, forfeiture of purse and a seven-day suspension of the trainer. Not much different than the sanctions that will be imposed on Dutrow.

Considering the number of violations Dutrow has had during his career (including a 2004 case involving clenbuterol in New York), the Kentucky penalty given him would be the proverbial slap on the wrist.

This is the kind of problem that federal lawmakers looked into last week, when Dutrow was among a group of owners, trainers, veterinarians, regulators and racing officials asked to testify before a House of Representatives subcommittee hearing on Thoroughbred racing and breeding. The trainer was the only no show, however, claiming to be ill. During the hearing, House members zeroed in on racing’s inability to enforce national standardized rules and penalties due to the structure that has 38 different state racing commissions regulating the sport and the absence of a league office that other major league sports have.

If the Congressional inquiry made racing industry leaders look impotent then, how do they look now, in the wake of the wrist slap against Dutrow?

This case is only going to further motivate Congress to take action, unless someone in the Thoroughbred industry moves beyond forming committees, making recommendations and pontificating about “consensus building” and the “power of persuasion.”

It is clear the Thoroughbred industry, as presently structured, is incapable of policing itself adequately.

By Ray Paulick

Copyright ©2008, The Paulick Report