Louisville Courier-Journal, KY
07-05-07
Biancone horse's drug test probed
Post-race sample spurs investigation
By Jennie Rees
Churchill Downs stewards acknowledged one of trainer Patrick Biancone's
horses showed the presence of a prohibited substance in a post-race drug test.
But they declined further comment yesterday, citing an investigation that's
included Kentucky Horse Racing Authority personnel searching the trainer's three
barns and his veterinarian's truck at Keeneland on June 22. The authority
previously had said the investigation involved "horse medication" but had not
acknowledged a positive finding in a post-race test.
When a horse is tested after a race, including all winners and at least one other
horse, the urine and blood samples taken are divided in two. In Kentucky, the
first goes to Iowa State University's laboratory. If there is a finding of an illegal
drug or medication, the other sample, known as the "split," is sent to a second
lab for confirmation testing. If it also comes back positive, stewards conduct a
hearing with the trainer and mete out any sanctions.
Kentucky chief state steward John Veitch said the split sample has not been
tested. He said it will be sent out tomorrow, citing delays caused by the weekend
and yesterday's holiday.
In Kentucky, the horse and race in question are made public when stewards
determine after a hearing -- or if the subject waives the right to a hearing -- that a
rules violation has occurred. The stewards then can issue sanctions or refer the
case to the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority.
Biancone has declined comment. He had 75 horses stabled at Keeneland at the
time of the search, though he's now in the process of shipping some of them to
Saratoga.
Stewards also declined comment on a Daily Racing Form online report that said
one of the materials confiscated in the barn search was cobra venom, barred by
state regulation from racetrack grounds. Snake venom can deaden joint or nerve
pain.
Drf.com reported Biancone's barns were searched after one of his horses tested
positive for a derivative of caffeine and a derivative of an inhalant, which are
prohibited from being in a horse's system during a race.
Speaking of procedure and not specifics to Biancone, Veitch said split samples
are used only in post-race tests.