Page 208 - December2022

NEWS BRIEFS
Kentucky Commission Approves New QH Track Ownership
The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission on Oct. 31 voted unanimously to approve new partners in the racetrack and equestrian center to be built in the eastern part of the state. The North Carolina-based Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians will be a financial partner
to Revolutionary Racing Kentucky, while Keeneland Association will also be a partner. The $55 million world-class Quarter Horse track, equestrian center and entertainment complex will be built in Ashland, Kentucky, and is expected to open in 2024. Commissioners also agreed to allow the first week of Quarter Horse racing to take place at The Red Mile in Lexington on April 1-6, 2023, while the track is under construction.
Jockey Hector Aldrete Suspended/Fined
New Mexico Racing Commission issued
a suspension for Jockey Hector Aldrete for 30-days and fined $2,500 for ‘failure to ride out his mount’ at the Downs at Albuquerque on Sept. 18. Racing in the fifth race – an 870-yard allowance, aboard third choice in the field Starlite Eagle (One Famous Eagle-Starlite Delight, Separatist) for owner/trainer Martin Orona Sr., Aldrete stood up approximately 1/16th of a mile before the finish causing the 6-year-old gelding to drop from third place to finish in sixth place. The suspension for Aldrete, who has ridden Quarter Horse earners of over $5.6 million, runs from Oct. 23 through Nov. 22.
Trainer Garcia-Solis Suspended 1 Year, Fined $10,000
Trainer Cervando Garcia-Solis has been suspended for 1 year and fined $10,000 after Confidential Dash tested positive for the ADHD medication Ritalin, a Class 1 drug violation.
The New Mexico Horse Racing Commission suspended Garcia-Solis from Sept. 15, 2022, through Sept. 14, 2023. Under the multiple medication violation point system, Garcia-
Solis received 6 points and has been suspended an additional 30 days from Sept. 15, 2023, through Oct. 15, 2023. Three-year-old gelding Confidential Dash (Tempting Dash-Secret Baby Doll, Raise A Secret) had previously raced under the name of his breeder, trainer and co-owner Gregg Sanders and hadn’t finished better than
fourth in his five starts. Under his first start for trainer Garcia-Solis and owner Jesus Garcia-Solis, Confidential Dash won a maiden race at The Downs at Albuquerque on Aug. 27, where he tested positive for Ritalin, a zero-tolerance drug in New Mexico. Confidential Dash was disqualified, and all purse monies were redistributed.
NY Vet & Racehorse Trainers Sentenced To Prison
Defendants Louis Grasso, a veterinarian, and standardbred trainers Richard Banca
and Rene Allard on Nov. 17 were sentenced
to prison for their roles in distributing adulterated and misbranded drugs in service
of a racehorse doping scheme. Grasso received 50 months, Banca 30 months, and Allard 27 months in prison. The defendants previously pled guilty to felony drug misbranding and adulteration charges. The investigation arose from widespread schemes by racehorse trainers, veterinarians, distributors of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs), and others to manufacture, distribute and receive PEDs
and to secretly administer them to racehorses competing at all levels of horseracing to obtain prize money at the detriment and risk of health and well-being of the racehorses. Through this scheme, Grasso helped corrupt trainers collect over $47 million in ill-gotten purses winnings. Grasso was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $47,656,576. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said, “Illegally doping racehorses
is animal abuse in the service of greed. Such corruption threatens the health of racehorses and undermines the integrity of the sport.
Today, three defendants have been sentenced for their roles in perpetuating, and profiting from, the mistreatment of animals.”
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Strikes Down Federal Horse Racing Rules Act
On Nov. 18, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Congress unconstitutionally gave too much power to a nonprofit authority it created
in 2020 to develop and enforce horseracing
rules, stating that the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) is “facially unconstitutional.” HISA was created to bring uniform policies and enforcement to horseracing amid doping scandals and racetrack horse deaths, but the 5th Circuit ruled in favor of opponents of the act in lawsuits brought by horseracing associations and state officials. Three 5th Circuit judges – Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan, Judge Carolyn Dineen King, and Judge Kurt Engelhardt - agreed with opponents
of the act, including the National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association and similar groups in multiple states, that the setup gave too much power to the nongovernmental authority and too little to the FTC. Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry hailed the ruling on Twitter, calling HISA a “federal takeover of Louisiana horse racing.” The appeals court has remanded the case to the district court for further proceedings.
Texas Racing Commission On HISA Challenge
The state of Texas in February challenged the constitutionality of the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) of 2020, in which Congress delegated legislative and regulatory
206 SPEEDHORSE December 2022
Coady Photography
SPEEDHORSE PHOTO ARCHIVES
Can you identify the horse in this photo? Here’s a hint: She was named Champion Aged Mare in 1980. The answer is on page 209.