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Post by Athena (In Memory) on Feb 21, 2020 20:11:00 GMT -5
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Post by Twinkle (My Sweet Angel) on Feb 24, 2020 10:41:19 GMT -5
Mommy was devastated when she found this out. She was a HUGE A.P. Indy fan! I do believe that Seattle Slew, A.P. Indy & Rags to Riches are the only 3 generations of horses ever to win the Belmont. She loved him & was a big fan of many of his descendants. He lived a good, full life to age 31. He died peacefully. He is a legend & legends never die! You can't ask for more than that!
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Post by Athena (In Memory) on Feb 28, 2020 18:51:28 GMT -5
New rules enacted by the California Horse Racing Board will strictly limit what medications horses can be administered after entries are taken for races, according to a Daily Racing Form report.
The changes, which were announced late Thursday, will eliminate the administration of phenylbutazone, flunixin, non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, ketoprofen, amino acid solutions and electrolyte solutions.
Updates were scheduled to go into effect for entries beginning on Sunday. Officials have indicated, however, that the draw may be postponed.
Trainers were notified of the changes Thursday night via a text message that read in part, “Horses entered to race shall only be given water, hay, and grain until post time” and that “no drugs, medications, or substances shall be administered to a horse after it is deemed entered to race.”
The CHRB's statement also said that, "These changes were adopted on an emergency basis at the January 22 Board meeting pending adoption of permanent regulations at the February 20 Board meeting. The texts of these emergency and permanent regulations were posted on the CHRB website and contained in meeting packages throughout the months-long regulatory processes.
"The CHRB received no communications regarding 1843.5 during the public notice periods for both the emergency and permanent rules, and there were no comments during public hearings prior to approvals."
The changes have left horsemen frustrated and more than a bit confused, said trainer Eoin Harty, president of the California Thoroughbred Trainers.
“We were blindsided by this,” Harty told DRF. “How are you going to fill your races?”
Harty called for a 30-day moratorium on implementation to allow trainers time to understand the rules and alter procedures within their stables, adding, “I would think we need to take a step back and look at this for 30 days.”
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Post by Athena (In Memory) on Feb 28, 2020 18:54:35 GMT -5
I don't know what's confusing. You can't dope your horses anymore.
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Post by Twinkle (My Sweet Angel) on Feb 29, 2020 14:07:03 GMT -5
I don't understand what is so confusing either. I guess these trainers are so used to doping their horses that they cannot imagine not doing so.
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Post by Athena (In Memory) on Mar 2, 2020 13:20:40 GMT -5
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Post by Athena (In Memory) on Mar 9, 2020 11:54:47 GMT -5
A Sad Day for Racing ... but it has saved horse lives:
From February of 2018 to February of 2020, trainer Jorge Navarro entered horses in approximately 1,480 races. And during that span, it turns out he was doing so under the watchful eyes of federal agents.
In a bombshell indictment handed down Monday by the U.S. District Attorney’s Office of Southern New York, the leading conditioner, who has saddled Grade 1 winners such as X Y Jet and Sharp Azteca, was said to be the ringleader in a “widespread scheme.” Navarro is accused of concealing the purchase and use of performance-enhancing drugs along with trafficking agents to mask their use in horses, including the Group 1 winner X Y Jet. Referred to in the indictment as the “Navarro Doping Program,” it tied in fellow trainer Jason Servis, who counts champion 3-year-old Maximum Security among his runners.
Veterinarians Erica Garcia, Seth Fishman and Gregory Skelton were each named as defendants who aided Navarro in manufacturing and administrating “at Navarro’s discretion,” according to the indictment. Four others are said to have manufactured and illegally shipped PEDs “for Navarro’s benefit.” “In many cases,” the indictment reads,” the customized PEDs were designed to be untestable.” According to documents, Fishman was paid “tens of thousands of dollars” by Navarro for blood-building PEDs; drugs that increased a horse’s “V02 Max” levels, or breathing; and a shot referred to as “Frozen Pain.” Navarro once sent text messages, documents show, requesting “1000 pills asap.” Navarro is also tied into a scheme by harness trainer Nick Surick, who allegedly provided Navarro a substance referred to as “red acid,” which the indictment says reduces joint inflammation.
Another harness trainer, Chris Oakes, is said to have developed a PED known as “drench” and supplied to Navarro. It is “designed to rapidly increase a racehorse’s performance during a race and be undetectable in drug tests.” Navarro, who according to Equibase has won 1,225 races, used straw purchasers and false names to ship the PEDs, according to federal investigators, as well as “bodies of horses that have died on the property of Navarro or his co-conspirators.” Surick once stated on an intercepted call regarding Navarro that, “You know how many f------ horses he f------ killed and broke down that I made disappear? You know how much trouble he could get in…if they found out…the six horses we killed?” X Y Jet, the multiple stakes winner for Navarro who won the 2019 Dubai Golden Shaheen (G1), was said to be on PEDs when winning that race. On Feb. 13, 2019, just more than a month before the Golden Shaheen, Oakes visited Navarro’s barn to administer a drug. Navarro told Oakes that if “if they stop you,” to tell track officials he’s an owner visiting the horse. Once in Dubai, Navarro allegedly administered X Y Jet a substance called “monkey" and told a co-conspirator that, “I gave it to him through 50 injections. I gave it to him through the mouth.” Fishman congratulated Navarro via text message after the Golden Shaheen, to which Navarro replied: “u are a big part of it.”
X Y Jet died in January at age 8 of a heart attack. He was owned by California-based Rockingham Ranch, Gelfenstein Farm and David Bernsen. Nanoosh, another horse co-owned by Rockingham Ranch, was mentioned in a May 29, 2019, conference call “with the operators of a racing stable in California,” according to the indictment. Nanoosh’s poor performance of late came up, at which point Navarro was asked if the trainer was giving the horse “all the s---.” Navarro responded: “He gets everything.” Rockingham Ranch has campaigned, among others, Eclipse Award-winning sprinters Roy H and Stormy Liberal.
Navarro, in his mid-40s, ended Todd Pletcher’s 15-year run of Championship Meet titles last year at Gulfstream Park while in Dubai. With 31 victories thus far in the 2019-2020 meet, he left the weekend seven behind Pletcher and in fourth overall. Navarro stables horses at Gulfstream Park West (formerly known as Calder) and Palm Meadows Training Center, where Federal Bureau of Investigation agents were said to have been present Monday before documents were unsealed.
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Post by Twinkle (My Sweet Angel) on Mar 10, 2020 7:55:55 GMT -5
Mommy & I are just completely heartsick, disgusted & angry over this. I cannot believe the magnitude of this with 27 people involved! I just think of the poor horses unwillingly involved. I wonder how many they actually killed & how they suffered! Mommy is a huge X Y Jet fan. I guess we know now what brought on his heart attack. Thank you Athena for posting this. Mommy was super busy at work yesterday & had not heard about this until she saw your post. We will be closely following this.
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Post by Twinkle (My Sweet Angel) on Mar 10, 2020 9:22:10 GMT -5
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Post by Athena (In Memory) on Mar 10, 2020 13:17:08 GMT -5
Yes, we saw that, too. Do you think this may extend to Santa Anita and all the breakdowns there?
Maybe that's the reason the California trainers are so "confused" that their racing committee brought down new rules regarding doping.
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Post by Twinkle (My Sweet Angel) on Mar 10, 2020 13:56:07 GMT -5
It would not surprise me at all if this doping scandal just might have something to do with all of those horses breaking down at Santa Anita. I also would not be surprised if the Stronach Group is involved in this or if they are involved in some other kind of corruption that is causing these breakdowns. There has been so many scandals in horse racing in the last few years that I do not trust hardly any owners, trainers, etc anymore. I am so glad this has finally come to light.
I saw this in the Miami Herald:
The arrests came during raids at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach and Palm Meadows Training Center in Boynton Beach on Monday. Both facilities, and Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, are owned by the Stronach Group, which hasn’t been connected to any of the alleged wrongdoing.
The company issued a statement Monday, saying it complied fully with the search warrants carried out by federal authorities.
The news hit hard in a sport already reeling from other forms of competitive gambling and a rash of breakdowns — or horse deaths — last year, primarily at Santa Anita.
“There is no room in our sport for anyone who does not prioritize the health and well-being of horses and riders,” the Stronach Group said in a statement. “As this matter is under federal investigation we will not be commenting further at this time.”
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Post by Athena (In Memory) on Mar 11, 2020 10:52:57 GMT -5
That's why they need to eliminate all drugs while the horse is racing. If a horse needs to be medicated for an injury he has to be taken out of training , whether it be for a month, months, or a year. When he comes back to racing his system needs to be clear of drugs.
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Post by Athena (In Memory) on Mar 11, 2020 13:08:24 GMT -5
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Post by Twinkle (My Sweet Angel) on Mar 15, 2020 10:02:52 GMT -5
Harness trainer Rene Allard has joined the long list of those indicted for their role in a massive horse doping scheme that has rocked Thoroughbred and harness racing. The number of individuals who are known to have been involved is now 29.
Allard was not among the original list of names of those who were indicted that was released Monday by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. Allard is second in the current trainer’s standings at Yonkers Raceway, behind only Richard Banca, who has also been indicted as part of the doping probe undertaken by the FBI.
According to a source, Allard was arrested earlier this week while vacationing in Las Vegas. He is being charged with “misbranding” drugs, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
During its investigation of Allard and others, the FBI intercepted a disturbing phone conversation between Ross Cohen and Louis Grasso, who were among those indicted Monday, discussing the deaths of horses who were given illegal drugs by Allard. It reads (exactly): Cohen: What’s going on with the Allard death camp? Grasso: (Laughter) well I didn’t get anymore emergency calls yesterday so I am assuming… Cohen: Assuming the number stopped at 7? Grasso: Well yeah Cohen” How many died? Grasso: Three Cohen. Jeez. What were you thinking? Grasso: Three or two maybe. The pair continue to discuss the situation before wrapping up: Grasso: …One of them just died on the table they just cut him open and poof it died. Cohen: Holy f–k did they do an autopsy? Grasso: Their heart rate was like triple they were breathing real heavy their membranes were going f-ing purple.
The legal documents obtained by the TDN include the deposition of FBI agent Bruce Turpin. Turpin states that Allard stabled at a training center run by Banca in Middletown, NY and that his barn was raided on or about Mar. 9. There, they found multiple empty syringes, the drug Glycopyrrolate, epinephrine and vials labeled “Thymosine Beta” and “for research purposes only.” The court filings also include the text of an intercepted text message from Allard to Grasso, which read: “I need 3 bottles of red acid to go to Canada Thursday.” According to the FBI, red acid is administered to mask physical injuries in racehorses, thereby increasing the risk of injury while racing.
Allard and Baca share more than the fact they have both been indicted and that they trained at the same facility. They have been battling it out on the racetrack at Yonkers, where Banca has 42 winners this year, one more than Allard. The 10th leading trainer at Yonkers, Nick Surick, has also been indicted. Surick is the leading trainer at Freehold Raceway. In a January, 19, 2020 press release written by the Standardbred Owners Association of New York, Allard discussed why he had been so successful on the young year. “We’re only racing about half the barn right now and the ones that we’re racing are in good spots, so it helps,” Allard said. “When you’re only racing half the barn, it’s easier to keep a higher average,” Allard said. “I have approximately 30 horses who are going to qualify between now and the middle of February. I’m very happy with the start of the year so far. During the Yonkers break, we kept them fit and trained and as soon as they opened, we were ready to go.”
Allard becomes the fourth harness trainer tied up in the scandal who was previously banned at the Meadowlands by track owner Jeff Gural, joining a list that also includes Chris Oakes, Chris Marino and Banca.
According to Harness Racing Update, Allard had a horse racing at Woodbine test positive for codeine and morphine and was handed a one-year suspension and a $5,000 fine. He led all trainers in wins in 2019 at Pocono Downs.
Allard is the owner of Thoroughbred Legendary Jack, who is entered in Saturday’s sixth race at Parx for trainer Silvio Martin.
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Post by Athena (In Memory) on Mar 20, 2020 13:23:21 GMT -5
Didn't realize the harness trainers and vets were in on it, too. And all they give them is 1-yr. suspension and a $5,000 fine? All their licenses should be revoked and they should be thrown in jail. And if the lives of these horses don't mean anything to the authorities, then remember that all the people betting against the doped-up winning horses are being swindled. The owners aren't innocent, either. Even if they are the most dumbest owners in the world they need to get with it and be much more involved in their horses' welfare. Fining the owners will make them more attentive. If the horse is insured, the insurance company should autopsy the horse (with an insurance co. vet) instead of just paying out.
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