If there's one thing even non-racing fans know about, it's the Kentucky Derby and the road to the elusive Triple Crown. And Justify, in 2018 won that Triple Crown, becoming the 13th horse to do so in 100 years, and the first to do so without racing as a two-year-old. (The Triple Crown races are only for three-year-olds.)
The story is a thunderclap over a sport already reeling over horse fatalities. And even though the most recent Del Mar meet was concluded with no horse fatalities, the story will now follow the sport as administered in California for some time.
The simple timeline to understand is that after the Santa Anita Derby on April 7, 2018, Justify, who won the race, tested positive for scopolamine, a banned substance. Winning the race meant Justify had met the points and money won criteria to be in the Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday in May, May 5th. Without the Santa Anita victory the horse wouldn't qualify for entry in the world's most famous race.
The testing lab sent notice on April 18th that there was a positive test for scopolamine. Word of the positive result reached Justify's trainer Bob Baffert on April 26th. The testing for a second sample was requested by Baffert, as is his right to a second opinion. The results came back May 8th, confirming the first results, but three days after the victory in the Kentucky Derby.
What is laid out so well in Mr. Drape's story is that the first positive results were not publicly announced, and in wasn't until August 23rd that the Commissioner of the California Horse Racing Board announced there was a positive test, and a confirming positive second test. The protocol for that announcement was revised and the matter was not pursued. The goal posts were moved.
Mr. Drape points out in succinct wording what is true of most racing jurisdictions, they are "uniquely insular." In California's case, the chairman of the Racing Commission has an interest in horses trained by Bob Baffert. Other board members "employ trainers and jockey they regulate."
The story is well worth reading for anyone who ever tries to play the game of horse racing. The ripple effect of Justify's positive testing will be a tsunami to the breeding rights value, since currently the breeders collect $150,000 for each of his three-a-day tricks. The $60 million paid for these rights has already been recouped, and the horse still has a lot of loving left in him.
If you follow racing, and what is great TV coverage for a sport that is attended by so few, (Other than Del Mar and Saratora meets) The FoxSports2 show is sponsored by Run Happy, a Breeders' Cup sprint champion who is currently being bred by Claiborne farm, a storied farm with a rich history. The Run Happy people help sponsor this year's Travers to the point of having the race named "The Run Happy Travers." There were even infield signs put up like billboards on the turf course to remind anyone watching that this was "The Run Happy Stakes."
The jockeys protested the appearance of he signs on the basis that the horses were not used to seeing them in any workouts, etc, on the track. The signs were quickly pushed down by the maintenance crew before the race. Ogden Nash's, "I think that I shall never see/A billboard lovely as a tree." came to mind,.
But the advertising for Run Happy is omnipresent. I hate to think where the show would be without Claiborne footing some of the bill. If you know nothing else about Run Happy from the ads you know they use the fact that the horse ran "drug free." Put that in your breeding shed.
Racing has always had governance overlapping with ownership. In California's case, the role of the conflicted governance is likely to become a huge issue. For years in New York you can always point to the Board of Trustees for the New York Racing Association (NYRA) and see names of prominent owners amongst the Trustees. The people who own some of the best horse race them at facilities they have oversight of. The current alignment of NYRA calls them members of the Board of Directors. They are not, however racing officials.
It is probably hard to get qualified people involved in the sport without a smudge of conflict of interest. It's where that conflict lies. Little League teams wind up being coached by parents with kids on the teams. It becomes a matter of who can provide coverage for all that is involved in running the sport.
Is the dreaded asterisk deserved on Justify's achievements? In 1968 when Dancer's Image won the Kentucky Derby they were disqualified after the race after testing positive for butazolidan, a drug now permitted. Forward Pass was post-race declared the winner after the Derby. Forward Pass won the Preakness, and if he ran better and won the Belmont, he would have earned the Fickle Finger of Fate, the asterisk.
Forward Pass didn't win the Belmont,and the fight for the purse distribution of the 1968 Derby took decades and vast legal fees. Clearly, any retroactive disqualification of Justify at this point would keep this story alive well past the 2024 election. Yes, 2024. The one without Trump in it.
Up to now, I only ever associated scopolomine with "truth serum" administered by Nazis in war movies when they wanted a reluctant prisoner to talk. "Ve haf vays."
Wikipedia does mention that aspect of the drug's use, but mentions more its therapeutic effects for treating nausea and vomiting caused by motion sickness. According to a vet interviewed by Mr. Drape, Dr. Rick Sams, scopolamine in horses "is a bronchodilator, expanding airways and optimizing a horse's hear rate, making the horse more efficient."
False positive results apparently can occur when testing for scopolomine because the straw eaten by horses in California might contain jimson weed, which contains the substance. It is however thought that the level found in Justify was extraordinarily high, and would preclude environmental contamination of the straw.
Will they take down the 13th Triple Crown sign in Belmont's infield now? Will the parking guideposts by the Oklahoma training track in Saratoga that denote the Triple Crown winners now have Justify's sign yanked up? Spray painted over? You can't hold your breath that long.
Does Bob Baffert enjoy Favorite Son status in California amongst the ruling bodies? Harry Truman said if you want a friend in Washington, you should get a dog.
If Joe Drape wants a friend in California, he should get a horse.
http://www.onofframp.blogspot.con
...on other horse news, I heard that Leslie's Lady, the daughter of American Pharoah went for a record $8.2 million dollars...drugs not included. - Jose
ReplyDeleteSome senator asked about the price. Yeah, unless you have a drug plan, drugs are never included. Do horses have a copay?
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