Trainer Patrick Biancone was issued a conditional license by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) during a Tuesday meeting, Daily Racing Form first reported. The Frenchman has not held a license in the state of Kentucky since a raid of his Keeneland barn in 2007 led to the discovery of three vials of cobra venom and a subsequent one-year suspension and ban from the state's tracks. Biancone's veterinarian, Dr. Rodney Stewart, was suspended for five years after the same raid. Biancone maintained that the cobra venom was Stewart's.
Biancone's license is dependent upon two conditions:
1. He must never be found to have falsified or misrepresented any document required to be provided to any racing authority in any jurisdiction, including license applications, health or veterinary records.
2. He must not be found in violation of any medication regulation in any jurisdiction relating to Class A or B substances or substances not classified in the regulations of the Commonwealth of Kentucky or by the Association of Racing Commissioners International.
Biancone would permanently lose his license in Kentucky if found to have violated either condition.
A top trainer in Europe in the 1980s, Biancone is best known for conditioning All Along (Fr), 1983's G1 Prix de L'Arc de Triomphe winner and U.S. Horse of the Year who was also inducted into the American Hall of Fame. He spent most of the '90s in Hong Kong, but was suspended in 1999 for medication violations. His best runners in the U.S. include back-to-back GI Beverly D. S. winners Angara (GB) and Gorella (Fr), MGISW and 2004 GI Kentucky Derby runner-up Lion Heart. Biancone has most recently been based in Florida. His 2-year-old trainee Diamond Oops annexed the July 1 Kiss a Native S. at Gulfstream, but was sixth in Saratoga's GII Saratoga Special S. Sunday.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
