Racing’s Slow Regulatory Process

One trainer didn’t received sanctions for a June 2013 drug violation until October. A Blood-Horse writer takes a look.
Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

Within one week following a June 13, 2013, race at Belmont Park, the New York State Gaming Commission (NYGSC) Equine Drug Testing Program had determined a horse had tested positive for a non-therapeutic drug with a high potential to affect race performance.

The horse in question, Wind of Bosphorus, trained by Doug O'Neill, finished second in that race at Belmont. O'Neill said he was informed of the positive within three weeks of the race.

The drug, a sedative, is in the highest penalty class (Class A) of the Association of Racing Commissioners' International Uniform Classification Guidelines for Foreign Substances and would seemingly call for swift, decisive action. That wasn't the case.

Sanctions in the case, a $10,000 fine and 45-day suspension, weren't announced until early October 2014. The suspension issued by the NYSGC was not scheduled to begin until Nov. 3, 2014, more than 16 months after the race in question. The sanctions were not handed down by the NYSGC; they were the result of a negotiated agreement

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.

Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

Written by:

Frank Angst is a staff writer for The Blood-Horse magazine. An American Horse Publications three-time winner in best news story category, Angst has covered horse racing for more than a decade. Angst spent ten years at Thoroughbred Times, where he earned awards as that magazine’s senior writer and helped launch Thoroughbred Times TODAY. Besides covering horse racing, Angst enjoys handicapping. Angst has written about sports for more than 20 years, including several seasons covering a nationally ranked Marshall Thundering Herd football team.

Leave a Reply

Related Articles

Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with

FREE weekly newsletters from TheHorse.com

Sponsored Content

Weekly Poll

sponsored by:

How much time do you usually spend grooming your horse?
439 votes · 439 answers

Readers’ Most Popular

Sign In

Don’t have an account? Register for a FREE account here.

Need to update your account?

You need to be logged in to fill out this form

Create a free account with TheHorse.com!