Clenbuterol

HISA Not Positioned to Police Sales

The case of Jeffrey Englehart, who bought a horse at an OBS 2-Year-Old sale in June who had given Clenbuterol sometime before being purchased by Englehart, has renewed questions about the role of the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) and whether or not it would be in the sport's best interest for it to expand its jurisdiction to cover sales as well as racing. Currently, HISA has no authority over a horse until it has its first recorded public workout, which is when it becomes a "covered" horse....

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The Week in Review: HISA Needs to Expand Oversight to Include 2-Year-Old Sales

The team at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company does everything it can to run a clean sale. Under OBS's conditions of sale, no medication may be administered within 24 hours of a horse's under-tack performance, 10 to 15% of the horses who are going to sell are tested, and in 2019, OBS prohibited the use of bronchodilators like Clenbuterol at all of its sales. It may not be enough. The Jeffrey Englehart story has suggested that may be the case. Englehart bought a Classic Empire colt at the OBS auction...

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HIWU Drops Its Case Against Jeffrey Englehart

Originally charged with administering Clenbuterol to his horse and facing a possible two-year suspension, trainer Jeffrey Englehart was cleared Friday by the Horse Racing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU). The positive was found in an unraced, unnamed horse out of the mare Fast Heart that Englehart purchased for $14,000 at the OBS auction on June 15. He argued that he did not give the horse the drug and that it was had to have been given to the horse prior to his purchase at OBS. Englehart and his attorney requested...

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Letter to the Editor: Nick de Meric

I read the Jan. 31 article regarding Jeffrey Englehart. While sympathetic to Mr. Englehart's situation, it is apparent there are many misconceptions concerning the two-year-old sale process. As a seller of two-year-olds and an executive member of the Ocala Breeders' Sales Board of Directors, I have intimate knowledge of the efforts made by OBS and the policies created for a healthy auction environment. I would like to shed some light on these efforts. Similar to racing, our medication policies have evolved over time creating a safer environment for horses and...

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Facing A Two-Year Suspension For Clenbuterol, Trainer Jeffrey Englehart Says They've Got The Wrong Guy

On the surface, the case against trainer Jeffrey Englehart seems pretty cut and dried. He had a horse test positive for Clenbuterol, the bronchodilator that is on the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit's (HIWU) list of banned substances. Trainers found using banned substances can be suspended for up to two years. But Englehart, who races at the NYRA tracks and at Finger Lakes, is adamant that he never gave the drug to the horse in question. "We don't use Clenbuterol. Period," Englehart said. So is there more to this story?...

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PARX-Based Trainer Joe Taylor Latest to Be Provisionally Suspended by HIWU

According to a posting on the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) website, Parx-based trainer Joe Taylor has been provisionally suspended after two horses he trained allegedly tested positive for banned substances. On June 18, the Taylor-trained Cajun Cousin (Cajun Breeze) allegedly tested positive for Methylphenidate and Clenbuterol, both of which are banned substances. Two days later, Taylor sent out Classy American (Uncle Lino), who tested positive for the same two substances. Classy American finished second in a starter allowance while Cajun Cousin finished second in a $10,000 claimer. Cajun...

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HISA Test Erroneously Adds Horses to Vet's List

A software test by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority inadvertently went live Tuesday morning, causing multiple horses to be erroneously added to HISA's Vet's List for Clenbuterol. The issue was caught and corrected quickly, according to a statement from the Authority. "HISA's horsemen portal experienced a technical error earlier this morning," read the statement released Tuesday afternoon. "An IT team was testing the functionality of vet entries for Clenbuturol and accidentally pushed it to production instead of keeping it in test mode. Since it was dummy/test data, it caused...

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Trainer Mullins Suspended, Fined for Clenbuterol Positive in Del Mar Winner

Trainer Jeff Mullins has been suspended 30 days and fined $1,500 as the result of a "settlement agreement and mutual release" with the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) to adjudicate a clenbuterol positive triggered by one of his winning trainees at Del Mar last summer. The conditions of the agreement call for Mullins to serve 15 days of the suspension, with the remaining 15 days conditionally stayed. The stewards' ruling, dated Jan. 7, stated that Mullins is "placed on probation for ONE YEAR from the date of this ruling and...

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New Jersey Trainer Hit With Two-Year Suspension After Horse Dies of Clenbuterol Overdose

Trainer Cody Axmaker has been handed two consecutive one-year suspensions and fined $5,000 by the New Jersey Racing Commission after a horse he trained named Wishful (Storm Wolf) died on or about May 9 at Monmouth Park due to an apparent overdose of Clenbuterol. He was suspended one year for possessing a prohibited substance in Clenbuterol and a second year for failing "in his duty as trainer to protect and guard the horse Wishful against the administration of the prohibited substance." The suspension is set to begin May 7, 2022...

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Judge: 'Wiretapping Is Appropriate to Investigate Conspiracies'

The judge in the federal doping conspiracy case used words like "frivolous" and "weak" to swat away motions made by seven defendants to suppress wiretap and other electronic evidence in trails that are expected to commence in 2022. The opinion and order filed Dec. 8 by Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil in United States District Court (Southern District of New York) follows a verbal ruling she made Nov. 4 during a status conference that denied all of the related motions made during the late summer by Jason Servis, Seth Fishman, Lisa...

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1/ST Racing COO Aidan Butler Joins Writers' Room

In the news plenty recently for cracking down on clenbuterol violations with out-of-competition testing, suspending a jockey over a suspected betting coup and overseeing the successful installation of a third, synthetic surface at Gulfsteam Park, 1/ST Racing's Chief Operations Officer Aidan Butler is making a name for himself in the industry as a proactive, no-nonsense executive. Wednesday, he joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland as the Green Group Guest of the Week to discuss all of those recent stories, the improved safety record at Santa Anita, long-term plans...

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Aidan Butler Joins the TDN Writers' Room

1/ST Racing COO Aidan Butler joins this week's TDN Writers' Room to discuss Gulfstream's new Tapeta track and the recent Clenbuterol crackdown, plus track safety at Santa Anita.

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