Page 232 - September 2019

ALL AMERICAN UPDATE
Wood suspension leads to All American trial drama and
a reversal of course by the New Mexico Racing Commission. by Jennifer Hancock
American Quarter Horse racing’s
current leading trainer, Trey Wood, was summarily suspended by New Mexico Racing Commission stewards on August 9 after one of Wood’s horses tested positive for albuterol, a Class 3 prohibited substance.
The suspension was issued on the same day Wood entered 31 horses in the All American Futurity trials, which were held August 16-17 at Ruidoso Downs.
The suspension was a result of Gold Heart Eagle V (One Famous Eagle-Ladys Heart Of
Gold, Strawfly Special) testing positive for albuterol after winning the fourth race on July 27 at Ruidoso Downs. The 2-year-old colt, who is owned by Valeriano Racing Stables LLC, has made two starts with a first and a second-place finish.
At the time of the ruling, Wood led all Quarter Horse trainers with earnings of $2,503,076 from 339 starts. The Ruidoso stewards announced that the horses Wood entered in the Futurity trials would be ineligible to race, which prompted a mass exodos from
the barn of All American Derby hopefuls, which entered their trials at a later time.
A few days after the initial announcement that Wood’s entries would be scratched, which was followed by the immediate fury of the affected owners who threatened legal action, the New Mexico Racing Commission reversed course and allowed the horses to be transferred to new trainers.
Ismael “Izzy” Trejo, the Executive Director of the New Mexico Racing Commission, distributed the following letter explaining the decision.
August 13, 2019
To the racing community,
We understand that the decision regarding the transferring of several horses to new trainers previously trained by Trey Wood may be seen as an unpopular one in the world
of public opinion, but what people must understand is that the New Mexico Racing Commission as a governing agency is tasked to regulate the New Mexico horse racing industry in a fair and equitable manner with
the best interest of horsemen, breeders and race track managements at heart. We take that responsibility seriously.
When rendering the decision, the NMRC and its legal counsel took a hard line look at the facts surrounding the matter, including the timing of when the lab results were sent to the NMRC offices from Industrial Laboratories.
When reviewing the timeline in regards to Mr. Wood’s notification of the violation
(August 9, 2019) and the time the results arrived at the NMRC offices (August 7, 2019), it was clear that in the spirit of fairness, the decision to allow the transferring of horses to new trainers was the right decision.
Sincerely,
Ismael “Izzy” Trejo
Executive Director
Under Association of Racing Commissioners International guidelines, albuterol is a Class 3 drug with a Class A penalty. In 2019, the New Mexico Racing Commission made albuterol a “zero tolerance” drug as it is similar to clenbuterol and acts as a bronchodilator as therapeutic treatment for airway obstruction. Both drugs also can have steroidal effects.
Trejo’s reference to the Commission’s ruling being unpopular could be due in part to the racing public’s fatigue with the use of illegal drugs and medications in the sport.
In 2018, Wood also received a suspension for an albuterol positive at Remington Park, and his father, Blane Wood, assumed training duty for the suspended trainer’s barn. Blane also won the 2018 All American Futurity
and was awarded the Blane Schvaneveldt Champion Trainer Award, which is presented by the American Quarter Horse Association.
Jeff True, president and general manager of Ruidoso Downs, said the track “participates, assists, collaborates and works well with
the New Mexico Racing Commission. We continue to look for ways to keep drugs out of the horses instead of cleaning up the mess afterwards. Prevention is a whole lot better than enforcement and punishment.”
When asked about the repeat offense of the same substance, True quickly pointed out that the “significant difference is albuterol is now banned. Trey is now a habitual offender and should be treated accordingly.”
This is the reason that Ruidoso excluded Blane Wood, Paul Leal and others associated with the barn from the track and the horses were not allowed to be transferred to those individuals for training.
While the track has been criticized for allowing the majority of the horses, more than 25 total, to remained stalled in the same barn with J.J. Gonzales as their trainer, True emphasized that all Wood signage has been removed from the barn and the lack
of available space prevented the horses from physically transferring to a new barn area.
True also pointed out that if the positive
test results had been reported in a more timely manner, the same result – the horses being transferred to a new trainer prior to entering the trials instead of after entries were taken – would have occurred and that given the unfortunate timing issue, the New Mexico Racing Commission’s reversal appears to be the most fair and equitable solution. There are currently no rules in place that prohibits the track from allowing the horses to be transferred in the manner that took place, but the track does have some latitude under private property rights to block individuals from the grounds, which Ruidoso used as mentioned above.
“Horse safety and welfare, rider safety, player and race integrity are in the forefront of my mind when I make these decisions,” True stated. “It’s obvious to me that no one is immune from the temptation.”
This is a developing story, and due process, including appeals and any legal proceedings, might shed additional facts and information.
230 SPEEDHORSE, September 2019