VENOMOUS CONFESSION BY VEITCH ABOUT ALYDAR
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.
Copyright © 2008, The Paulick Report Visit the Paulick Report for all the latest news throughout the racing world.
Sign up for our Email Flashes to get the latest news, analysis and commentary from Ray Paulick
Tags: als, alydar, biotoxins, bob watt, carbidopa-Levodopa, cobra venom, cobratoxin, dr. charles allen, dr. churck allen, drugs in racing, harvie wilkinson, john veitch, Keeneland, kentucky horse racing commission, lou gehrig's disease, Mary Scollay, mike meuser, mythical echo, mythical elmo, parkinson's, patrick biancone, Paulick Report, r.t.h., Ray Paulick, rodney stewart
December 3rd, 2008 at 3:46 pm
[...] MADELEINE PICKENS: A PLAN FOR ALL HORSES VENOMOUS CONFESSION BY VEITCH ABOUT ALYDAR [...]
December 3rd, 2008 at 4:08 pm
Poor Alydar. Used as a guinea pig by his trainer; later tortured and then murdered by his owner. There were other drugs that could have relieved his pain - why let a vet experiment on him? I would hope to read that Mr. Veitch now regrets that decision, but the statement you quote reeks of self-justification
December 3rd, 2008 at 5:09 pm
Is any human being reading this nauseating vomit and saying, “OH MY GOD!”??????
This is disgusting. Will Veitch be tossed any time soon from racing(retired or not)? Legal, illegal…please, you creeps and users and abusers of animals and jocks just keep singing and slinking from one poorly regulated track to the next. You all are below the quality of garbage. At least it can be composted.
December 3rd, 2008 at 6:42 pm
Sorry, but your recent front page, amplified photo of Dutrow was uglier than the current “Venom” photo.
The rationale is that you can’t blame a snake for being venomous. That’s the way Mother Nature made him.
But humans have the prerogative and the responsibility of free will - and afterwards, if they heedlessly venture into the poisonous behavior of the reptiles, all is lost.
December 3rd, 2008 at 10:05 pm
The racing and breeding industry is rotten to the core and terminal. Any sense of shame is gone. Miscreants come back and do business as usual, some hiding behind their sons or lawyers, some abusers receiving awards and honors.
It is time to create a new racing circuit for ethical sportsmen who choose to race horses without chemicals and breed those able to perform clean, where veterinarians remember and honor their oath and where quality, transparency, accountability, ethical treatment of horses and genuine performances are always the rules.
December 4th, 2008 at 11:39 am
I just looked at the early poll results for today and see that a majority (so far) believes Stewart’s 5 year suspension is just about right.
Did these “let’s not be mean to Stewart” voters read this blog article? Did they read that prior to coming to the US to drug horses, his license to practice medicine on “competition animals” was suspended in Australia - no doubt for similar offenses. He’s a young guy and he’s already been caught in illicit drugging activities of some sort on two continents. Why would anyone want him back in racing 5 years from now?
The penalties imposed on Biancone’s vet may seem harsh by racing’s standards, but it’s pretty clear that racing’s standards aren’t very high.
December 4th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
Noelle…A point of clarification. Dr. Stewart had his license suspended in Australia as a result of the ruling in Kentucky. As he explained it, there is no racetrack licensing in Australia of veterinarians so it is left up to a veterinary board, which acted on the Kentucky ruling. In the U.S., he is simply unable to practice on licensed racetracks and training facilities.
December 4th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
Certain trainers want vets like Stewart. Water seeks its own level. Stewart will find another country where he will have a successful practice until he blows it again.
Questions for Ray, the legal beagle:
Did the state of KY and NY (where allegedly Stewart was heading with the venom) investigate his past and still give him a veterinary license and license to practice at racetracks?
Did Biancone who was booted out of France and Hong Kong racing know about Stewart’s past? Water seeks its own level.
Who were Stewart other clients? Were they investigated?
When will racing be policed by an independant agency since racing should not and cannot police itself?
What needs to happen for the FBI to get involved?
Vet names should be disclosed in PPs until racing bans all drugs on race day, until funding for tests, labs, number of tests performed, security, surveillance is adequate and fines, suspensions are feared and life-time bans are international.
Talking about security: Churchill Downs has reduced security in its barn area as a cost cutting measure though security is crucial to protect horses and the integrity of racing. I am certain that the genial CD executives did so after they drastically cut down on their own expensive dinners, junkets, meetings at resorts and use of private jets.
December 4th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Ray, thank you for clearing an important point with Noelle. Forget my questions. Feel free to remove them as they are not justified based on your clarification.
December 4th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
Why haven’t the two unknown substances been tested? Why would a vet have anything that he/she didn’t use on an animal or move something that he/she had no use for? Who in their right mind, let alone a vet, would even accept, let alone keep, a vial of some thing from some guy that supposedly stops bleeding?
The drugs and thugs march briskly along, despite public black eyes and fan outcry.
December 4th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
Sorry Ray & Joe, for creating the confusion.
Now that I’m clear on the circumstances of Stewart’s Australia license situation, I can better understand the sympathetic votes.
December 4th, 2008 at 5:16 pm
All I would like to add is…”Geeze, I wish I could say I couldn’t recall” when the IRS comes to call at my shack.
Scum is scum and that this system continually allows wiggle room for miscreants does no service to the industry or more importantly, the horses and those that ride them or bet on them.
Biancone and Stewart should be banned for life with no intermediaries functioning for them over the 4-board fence, backside, auction house or privately owned shed.
December 4th, 2008 at 6:09 pm
Joe - I’m sure Biancone probably DID know about Stewart’s background - which is exactly why they worked so well together! Add my voice to the crowd of those who are mystified as to how Biancone is still allowed to train racehorses in any jurisdiction or country. France started the problem by booting him out oh-so-quietly and discreetly. At least in Hong Kong the reasons were very public. I don’t think there’s any place left for him but America, where he was obviously welcomed with open arms.
http://www.gallopfrance.com
December 4th, 2008 at 7:53 pm
please why do we all look at Biancome in amazement.Kicked out of two continents.Comes to USA .Keeneland help him get licence and bend over backwards for him and promote him.Look what he does for them.He’s French for Gods sake.He cant help it.Stewart from Australia.No medication there to race.That is why you have to have all the fancy stuff,to stay ahead of the test.simple.