There is a way to stop the insanity that is the current state of horse racing
There has never been a better argument for the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority than the insane events that transpired over the past week.
News broke Thursday that Forte, the 3-1 morning line favorite for last Saturday’s Kentucky Derby before being scratched, was disqualified from his win in last year’s Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga after testing positive for meloxicam, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication not permitted in the treatment of horses.
In addition, Eclipse Award winning trainer Todd Pletcher was fined $1,000 and suspended for 10 days. Pletcher has indicated he will appeal the ruling.
The Hopeful Stakes was run on Sept. 5, 2022.
More than eight months ago.
Ah, but the case wasn’t adjudicated until Wednesday because of — depending on who you believe — requested postponements from Forte’s connections of Pletcher and owners Mike Repole and St. Elias Stable or from the New York State Gaming Commission.
The New York Times broke the news Wednesday of Forte’s positive. Meanwhile, the colt raced in Kentucky and Florida. He won the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity on Oct. 8 and the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on Nov. 4, both at Keeneland. This year, he won the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth and the Grade 1 Florida Derby, both at Gulfstream Park.
Only in horse racing could a party accused of breaking the rules in one state be allowed to compete in another. Only in horse racing could one trainer (Bob Baffert) be suspended two years (by Churchill Downs) after his horse tested positive for an anti-inflammatory while another trainer be suspended 10 days for a similar violation.
It’s little wonder that many in the general public have lost faith, much less interest, in horse racing overall. (This year’s Kentucky Derby television ratings were down 10 percent.) Last week’s events at Churchill Downs with seven equine deaths leading up to the Kentucky Derby, including two on Derby day, turned many off to the sport. Maybe for good.
It’s also one more reason HISA needs to be fully implemented, without delay. Congress established HISA for this very reason, to act as a governmental body over the sport, with higher safety standards and consistent regulations and punishments, plus a speedier process.
For example, under HISA rules, the Forte/Hopeful Stakes case would have been adjudicated within a month of the positive test result. The new rule calls for the horse to be immediately disqualified and the trainer be placed on a “provisional suspension” that prevents the trainer from entering horses in races while the case is being decided.
That’s the opposite of the current rules, which only disqualifies a horse when a final decision is made, after appeal. And trainers like Baffert and Pletcher, with the help of wealthy clients, have the ability to drag out the process for months, if not years.
As well, HISA rules are uniform from state to state. For example, after Forte’s scratch by the state veterinarian on May 6, the colt was placed on the vet list, meaning he can not run in a race for at least 14 days. Because both Maryland and Kentucky operate under HISA rules, Forte is not allowed to run in the Preakness on May 20.
This is not to say that HISA has experienced a smooth rollout since being passed by Congress on Sept. 29, 2020. The Anti-Doping and Medication Control rules were to be in effect for the entire Triple Crown series before being pushed back to a May 22 implementation date.
The stops and starts have only given fuel to HISA critics, who claim there has not been enough transparency and input with regards to decision-making.
The resistance has to stop. The change has to start. Horse racing is a great sport that is flirting with extinction thanks to the bickering, in-fighting and blatant disregard for public perception that the enterprise is little more than animal abuse in the name of profit.
HISA has a chance to change that, if horse racing gives it a chance.
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