Posts Tagged ‘lawrence soma’
Thursday, December 10th, 2009
By Ray Paulick
In an unprecedented move, the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association’s American Graded Stakes Committee has taken “graded” status away from three races in Pennsylvania that had already been run in 2009 because the Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission failed to follow drug testing protocol required by the TOBA committee. The races in question are the former Grade 2 Pennsylvania Derby and Fitz Dixon Cotillion Stakes at Philadelphia Park and the former Grade 3 Masters Stakes at Presque Isle Downs.
To repeat, these races were advertised and run as American Graded Stakes, and the various trade publications and Thoroughbred industry data bases reported them as being graded after they were run. It was not until the American Graded Stakes Committee met recently that the races were stripped of their graded status.
At first blush, the decision doesn’t seem fair, especially to the owners and breeders of the horses who either won or placed in those stakes. Why should they be punished for something (drug testing protocol) that was completely out of their control?
But, frankly, I like the fact TOBA is flexing whatever muscle it has to strengthen the integrity of the game, to tighten drug and safety rules and create some level of national standards for the best and most important races run in the United States. The committee members should be congratulated for setting these standards (click here to read the American Graded Stakes Committee’s protocol), and, for the first time, showing their commitment to integrity by enforcing them.
Andy Schweigardt, who administers the AGS program for TOBA, said committee members were “disappointed” they had to take such a dramatic step, one that could have had significant economic implications on the horses losing the important status that comes with an American Graded Stakes victory. In this instance, all three winners either previously or subsequently won a graded race of the same or equal standing, so it did not impact them. According to an article at bloodhorse.com, however, three of the horses that placed in the Pennsylvania races lost their standing as “graded stakes placed” or slipped from grade 2-placed to grade 3-placed. So there are some potential economic damages.
Schweigardt said the committee engaged legal counsel prior to the decision to revoke the race grades. In other words, TOBA feels safe in the event of litigation by anyone who might feel they were harmed by the decision. I’m not sure the Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission should have the same comfort level.
What the Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission failed to do is conduct testing for alkalizing agents, commonly known as milkshakes, something that is part of the American Graded Stakes drug-testing protocol.
All racing commissions in states that offer American Graded Stakes are notified of the protocol in advance by Schweigardt, who then follows up in the autumn of the year the races are run by requesting a letter from each racing commission stating their compliance with the protocol. “We hadn’t received (the letter of compliance) from Pennsylvania as of the mid-November deadline,” said Schweigardt. “We got ahold of someone just before Thanksgiving, and he said at the time he couldn’t send the letter because they hadn’t done the testing for alkalizing agents.”
“One of the reasons given was budget constraints,” Schweigardt added, “but the others were philosophical in that they disagreed with us, saying their scientific counsel told them the use of alkalizing agents in Thoroughbreds doesn’t have any affect on performance, therefore it would be a waste of money.” Schweigardt said Dr. Lawrence Soma was the source of the scientific advice to the Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission. Pennsylvania does test for “milkshakes” in Standardbreds.
Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission chair Dr. Corinne Sweeney did not return a phone call from the Paulick Report to discuss the issue and Joe Mushalka, director operations for the commission, said he could not talk about it though said a press release would be released in the next few days.
“TOBA’s decision (to require testing for alkalizing agents) was based on the fact it was important, as seen in California and other states, and by a desire of the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium to put together a model rule on how to go about properly testing and regulating this practice,” Schweigardt said. “And, quite frankly, there was concern from racing fans that this was in their perception a significant performance enhancer in horses.”
The position taken by the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission is ignorant and arrogant and demonstrates some of the ongoing challenges in the scientific community on which the horse industry depends on drug testing and medication issues. Some people and institutions simply think they are smarter or more informed than others, even when their positions fly in the face of industry consensus. The Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission comes out looking like fools in this case and owes an apology to the owners and breeders of the horses that competed in the three races that had their graded stakes status revoked, and to the fans whose confidence in this sport is wavering because of medication and drug testing issues.
This was industry regulation at its worst.
* The American Graded Stakes Standings only includes races in the United States. Additionally, sales stats are only included for horses that were sold.
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Tags: American Graded Stakes Standings, Andy Schweigardt, corinne sweeney, Fitz Dixon Cotillion Stakes, Joe Mushalka, Keeneland, lawrence soma, Masters Stakes, Paulick Report, Pennsylvania Derby, pennsylvania state horse racing commission, Philadelphia park, presque isle downs, Ray Paulick, Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, TOBA
Posted in American Graded Stakes Standings, Keeneland | 33 Comments »
Wednesday, October 14th, 2009
The Paulick Report heard from several officials involved in the regulation of horse racing and drug testing following Monday’s publication of a commentary by attorney Alan Pincus regarding the state of Pennsylvania’s zero-tolerance medication policy. Pincus asserted that ultra-sensitive testing is picking up trace elements of prohibited substances that are so small they are caused by environmental contamination or have no influence on the racing performance of a horse.
The commentary by Pincus was in response to an earlier article published in the Paulick Report concerning a flurry of positive tests in Pennsylvania for lobeline, a medication found in nicotine patches that are used to help people quit smoking. There have been more than 50 positive tests in Pennsylvania for Lobeline, which many believe has resulted from feed contaminated by the lobelia inflate plant that grows wild in many parts of the Midwest and Northeast.
Among those who wrote with a counterpoint to Pincus is Rick Abbott, a former longtime member and chairman of the Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission. Abbott is also a horseman who operates Charlton Bloodstock in Chester County, Pa., with his wife, Dixie. — Ray Paulick
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By Rick Abbott
I recently retired from the Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission (PAHRC) after 13 years as a commissioner and several as chairman. Throughout that time I had many occasions to interact with attorney Alan Pincus, as he is the unofficial house attorney for both the Pennsylvania Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association and the Pennsylvania HBPA when it comes to the defense of drug positives. During my term I cannot recall attorney Pincus winning one case on appeal from a ruling by the Stewards nor, I believe, did he win one of his appeals to Commonwealth Court or the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. He did, however, collect considerable fees in the process.
In the case of clenbuterol, Pennsylvania experienced a rash of positives when the Pennsylvania Equine Testing and Research Laboratory (PETRL) began testing for the drug in plasma in addition to urine. It turned out the drug was being administered at “bridle time” so that it would not have been in the horse long enough to be found in the urine when post race samples were taken. There were over 50 positives for clenbuterol in the week that plasma testing began and, miraculously, none in the week after the positives were called. The positives stopped overnight. All of the cases were adjudicated in favor of the racing commission, even those appealed to Commonwealth Court.
Aminorex presented a thornier problem. The first cases appeared in Canada and then showed up in Ohio. From there they migrated east, first to the Meadows, a harness track near Pittsburgh, and then to Penn National and Philadelphia Park. The problem for the racing commission was that the drug (a powerful stimulant) had not been commercially available for over 20 years and there was no research on its pharmacological effect on the horse. We knew aminorex was a strong “upper” but had no data as to the level at which it would effect a horse’s performance. In fact, the first few trainers who had positives took their days and paid their fines.
After the lab confirmed 30 positives the racing commission met with representatives of the horsemen and asked them to provide samples of any feed supplements they were using in the hope that we could identify the source of the positives. Some provided those samples but the lab was unable to find a source. After another meeting with the horsemen, including attorney Pincus, the racing commission agreed to ask Dr. Lawrence Soma at New Bolton Center to try to determine the level at which aminorex would affect performance.
Originally, Dr. Soma’s attempts to conduct this research were stymied by his inability to obtain the drug so that he could do administration studies. Eventually he was able to obtain some of the drug from the University of Georgia and the studies were performed. The results of those studies showed that the drug was very short acting and would have to have been administered in the post parade to have had a performance enhancing effect. The racing commission was never able to identify the source of the drug.
All of the aminorex cases were dropped and the trainers who had taken their punishment were made whole (including lost purse money). This was done in cooperation with the horsemen, and second-place horses that would have been moved up were awarded first money out of a sense of fairness.
Interestingly, aminorex, while still tested, has disappeared from racing.
Pennsylvania’s testing integrity has never been questioned by anyone but attorney Pincus in his representation of horsemen with positive tests. Commonwealth Court and the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania have consistently upheld the testing and due process procedures of the Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission.
I am sure that the current Commissioners will handle this new rash of positives for lobeline with sensitivity to the rights of the individuals involved, including the rights of the horsemen whose horses finished behind the horses that tested positive. I’m also sure that lobeline will stop appearing in the tests of horses racing in Pennsylvania.
UPDATE: We received the following response from Alan Pincus to the above editorial.
I read the comments by Commissioner Abbott and I think they are illustrative of the problems with supersensitive testing. I’m sure he is a fine man and is loved by his family. However, he is intellectually dishonest in these matters. When it comes to the testing of various drugs including aminorex and lobeline there are only two possible answers. Either a huge number of trainers (30+ aminorex, 50+ lobeline) are purposely or negligently giving the substance to their horses or because of testing to such minute levels some type of innocent environmental contamination is showing up in the samples and the trainers are actually innocent. Commissioner Abbott will not state which one of these choices is the true answer. I challenge Mr. Abbott to state whether these trainers are guilty or innocent.
Let’s look at aminorex for a moment. The trainers all had a confirmed amount of a class 1 drug in their horses. This would call for a suspension from 3 months to a year. The only thing that stopped those suspensions from happening was the sheer volume of positives. Even Mr. Abbott had to admit that punishing these people would be wrong but he will not admit that the problem was caused by his lab and not the trainers. His lack of sensitivity is shown by his statement that the trainers were made whole. Yes, they were not suspended and their owners eventually got their purse money back but they were forced to endure a year with class 1 positives hanging over their heads and the anxiety that comes with it. I assure you, Mr. Abbott, that horsemen are human beings with human feelings.
Abbott states, "Interestingly, aminorex, while still tested, has disappeared from racing." His implication is the trainers have stopped giving it to their horses. The real reason is the lab stopped calling positives for aminorex at such low levels. You will see lobeline positives disappear from racing when they stop calling positives at current low levels also. It will all be done in secret and no admissions will ever be made by the Commission. So, Mr. Abbott, you again have the opportunity to state whether the aminorex trainers were guilty or innocent. Let’s hear your answer.
Tags: alan pincus, aminorex, Charlton Bloodstock, clenbuterol, Dixie Abbott, drug testing, equine drug testing, lawrence soma, lobeline, Paulick Report, Pennsylvania Equine Testing and Research Laboratory, pennsylvania horse racing commission, PETRL, Ray Paulick, Richard Abbott, Rick Abbott
Posted in Medication, Pennsylvania, drug testing | 25 Comments »
Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009
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.
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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
Posted in Medication, Pennsylvania, drug testing | 14 Comments »
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