Chief Stipe

Probably hang her out to dry. Did they scratch her horses and not allow her entry to the racecourse on the day that she allegedly presented a fake passport? If not then her defence should be: NZTR have no right to demand her vaccination status outside of their jurisdiction i.e. a particular event; If her passport was fake and did not scan correctly then NZTR failed in their obligations by allowing her to enter the racecourse. I hope she takes them to court and every fair minded person supports her in doing so to put a stop to this nonsense. The irony of it all is according to some reputable science she is less likely to be infectious than those who are vaccinated.

North Canterbury horse trainer Paul Harris charged by Racing Integrity Board over animal welfare concerns 28 Jan, 2022 10:30 AM2 minutes to read Paul Harris says he will fight the charges. Photo / Supplied By Kurt Bayer Reporter A leading New Zealand horse trainer has denied allegations of animal cruelty after the death of one of his racehorses. Canterbury trainer Paul Harris was investigated by the Racing Integrity Board (RIB) after one of his horses died. The Herald understands that the animal had been sick and it's alleged that it had not been properly cared for. An investigator from the RIB visited Harris' stables and property on South Eyre Rd in North Canterbury before Christmas. Mike Clement, chief executive of the RIB, confirmed to the Herald this week that charges have now been laid. "The RIB has investigated an animal welfare matter in the Canterbury region," said Clement, former deputy commissioner of New Zealand Police. "As a result of which, two people have been charged under the racing rules and the matter is awaiting a hearing." Paul Harris Racing is based at South Eyre Rd in North Canterbury. Photo / George Heard A hearing is expected to be held later this year. When approached by the Herald, Harris said he "vehemently" denies the allegations and will be fighting the charge. "They have charged me in relation to allegations over whether I did enough with a sick horse," he said "I vehemently deny this and basically because the matter is with the JCA [Judicial Control Authority] I can't say anything more than that." The Racing Integrity Board, which took over the functions of the Racing Integrity Unit and the Judicial Control Authority for Racing last year, says they encourage anyone to come forward with any concerns over animal welfare. "We would encourage anyone with information about animal welfare concerns to bring them forward to us," Clement said.

Averly Jane DQ'd for Diabetes Drug, Ward Suspended The filly tested positive for Metformin, used to treat diabetes in humans. By Byron King Today, 1:20 PM Kentucky stewards suspended trainer Wesley Ward for 15 days and disqualified multiple stakes winner Averly Jane from her victory in the $150,000 Kentucky Juvenile Stakes April 28 at Churchill Downs after she tested positive for metformin. Metformin is a medication used to control blood sugar and treat diabetes in humans. It was the fourth-most prescribed drug in the United States in 2019. A second-tier drug violation assigned in Class B by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, metformin is less frequently given to equines. It has been used to counteract the effects of equine metabolic syndrome. The ruling, issued by Kentucky stewards Jan. 25 after a hearing Ward said occurred last week, initially called for a 30-day suspension and $500 fine, but 15 days are stayed on the condition that the trainer has no Class A or Class B medication violations in any racing jurisdiction within 365 days. The ruling cited "mitigating circumstances (number of violations in relation to overall record)" in the stewards' decision. According to Ward, who runs a large stable with starts all over North America and Europe, his last medication violation was a methocarbamol violation in 2016. "We don't have medication at the barn at all, so we don't have mess-ups like this—none," said the Kentucky-based trainer. "Everything is administered by the veterinarian, and my veterinarian doesn't even have it on her truck, didn't even know what it was." Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt Wesley Ward Ward said he could think of no explanation for the drug positive other than environmental contamination, mentioning as an example that some backstretch workers will urinate in horse stalls. After making inquiries, he found that none of his staff takes metformin. Ward said his attorney, Darrell Vienna, asked Dr. Richard Sams, professor emeritus at the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences at Ohio State University, to testify at his hearing and Sams told stewards that drug had no performance-enhancing effect on a horse. Ward indicated the drug was found at a trace level. His suspension began Jan. 26 and continues through Feb.9. Averly Jane, a Midshipman filly owned by Hat Creek Racing, was one of the top short-distance 2-year-old fillies of 2021. She crossed the wire first in four of five starts, ending her season with a fifth-place finish in the Nov. 5 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G2T) at Del Mar as the favorite. She took the Kentucky Juvenile Stakes by 3 1/4 lengths over Vodka N Water , who now moves into first and receives the $91,140 winner's share of the purse. As of noon ET Jan. 28, Equibase charts had not been updated to show Averly Jane as disqualified from the Kentucky Juvenile Stakes. Hat Creek Racing is a partnership headed by bloodstock agent Gatewood Bell, the vice president of racing at Keeneland. He was previously a KHRC commissioner. Bell did not respond to a phone message seeking comment on the disqualification. "I just feel terrible for the owners, number one, and my great buddy, Gatewood Bell," Ward said. A multiple Breeders' Cup-winning trainer known for his achievements with 2-year-olds and sprinters, Ward has become one of the most successful American trainers on the international stage, winning numerous stakes at Royal Ascot during that prestigious British meeting. Removing Averly Jane's Kentucky Juvenile Stakes victory from his Equibase statistics, he has won 2,083 races from 9,872 starts in North America, and his horses have made more than $77 million though Jan. 27.

Weirdly one of the charges that Navarro pleaded guilty to was importing mislabelled clenbuterol. That drug can be prescribed by vets to treat bronchial problems in horses. It can't be used in competition BUT it IS detectable.

Oh by the way you do realise how expensive and complicated it is to synthesise a completely new chemical? Then develop a process that is cost effective and repeatable to manufacture it. I might add without anyone knowing.

That's not possible with today's analytical techniques especially when something that shouldn't be there would show up as an anomaly. Again that isn’t possible. Even if it was a chemical or its analog that had never been identified before. I worked on a project to determine the chemical fingerprint of manuka honey. In less than a week of testing the lab had identified a previously unknown molecule. It's chemical make-up was then determined and it was given a unique name derived from the Latin name for Manuka. They called it leptosperin. Now what you are suggesting is that not one blood test returned an abnormality nor that Feds could find a used container anywhere in all their searches. Fishman may be no more than a snake oil salesperson where part of his BS is to say his drugs are undetectable. As I said the guilty plea bargain by Navarro was for essentially being involved in fraud and the relabelling of drugs. That's bollocks. If you change the formula how do you know that you haven't eliminated the efficacy of the key active that supposedly elicits improved performance? Even if the formula was changed the active or its metabolite would still show as an anomaly. Yes it mightn't be identifiable but it would still be an anomaly just like the leptosperin in manuka honey.

No what it does indicate is that either the Feds are inept or these so called PED's are fictitious. From what I've read the cases are all based on witnesses saying they bought something and/or the mis/re-labelling of known substances. Indeed the convictions are not based on proof that drugs were administered but that fraud was committed. As I've said many times before modern testing techniques can identify any chemical or at least anomalies. Don't you think it is strange that with all this testimony that there hasn't been evidential testing of any of the supposed PED's that were sold? Surely there was a mislabelled container around somewhere.

Says it all really expecting NZ to follow the lead of Norway and Sweden. The elite of International Thoroughbred Racing.

Wouldn't NZ do more for horse welfare by fixing the shit tracks?

No @Thomass it is not Fake News it is FACT NEWS.

Voting now open. https://www.allstarmile.com.au/

That's about NZD$10m in stakes. Yep Sweden is setting the trends in international Thoroughbred Racing.

Some perspective on Thoroughbred Racing in Sweden. Svensk Galopp, internationally known as the Swedish Horseracing Authority, is the ruling body of Thoroughbred and Arabian racing in Sweden. We stage approximately 70 race days per annum with over €6 million in prize money on offer. The Swedish racing calendar includes two Group 3 races and 14 Listed races.

Who are the ATC?

Will be interesting to see what happens to turnover.

Ruakaka has probably been impacted more than any other racing club by a combination of Government and NZTR decisions.

Benson's Mate trialled Wednesday at Rangiora. Won its trial and now all clear to race.

Pair Banned 10 Years for Doping Favorite at Newcastle The two men obtained access to a secure area in the stable area. By Chris Cook/Racing Post Today, 1:31 PM Two men have been banned from racing for 10 years over the doping of Ladies First, the 3-2 favorite who was beaten 22 lengths in race at Newcastle in 2018. It emerged at a disciplinary hearing Jan. 27 that the pair, who were employed as maintenance staff by the racecourse, were caught on closed-circuit television footage feeding something to her in the hours before she ran while she was in the racecourse stables. The horse subsequently tested positive for timolol, a beta blocker. The men were named by the British Horseracing Authority as Neil Waggot and Stephen Walker. Neither appeared or was represented at Thursday's hearing and it was said that both had failed to cooperate with the BHA's investigation, although an official had at least one conversation with Waggot and requests for help were repeatedly sent to the last known addresses for both. Great concern was expressed about the security breach by Rory Mac Neice, a solicitor speaking on behalf of Mick Easterby, trainer of Ladies First. "The horse was doped in a secure racecourse stabling area by two people who were given access to that secure area by the racecourse stable manager, when no checks have been made by either the racecourse or the BHA as to who those two men actually were," Mac Neice said. The BHA's investigation showed, Mac Neice said, that Waggot had been taken on to do repair work to the stables, mainly because he was friends with the track's stable manager at the time. Waggot then asked for Walker to be taken on to help him, which was approved even though the stable manager did not know Walker's name but knew him only as "Taff." Neither Waggot nor Walker was paid directly by the racecourse but were paid instead through the stable manager, which Mac Neice described as "a very odd arrangement." 'No one asked any questions of them' Neice said, "Mr. Walker could have been anybody. The racecourse had no real idea who he was and yet the stable manager appears to have organized for him to have access to the most secure area on the racecourse. "There appears to have been no oversight here over these two. No one at the racecourse or at the BHA asked any questions of them. To gain access to Ladies First, all they had to do was walk in and sign a register. "This case identifies a very serious and very significant weakness in the protection offered to horses on the racecourse and that is a matter of very great concern to Mr. Easterby." According to the BHA's barrister, Louis Weston, CCTV footage showed that Waggot and Walker "approached Ladies First and they're seen between them, one to be lookout and one to be acting, to act in a very unusual way. The first thing about it that is unusual is that, although they were employed by the course to carry out repairs and the like to the stables, they had no purpose in going to that horse. "One reaches into his pocket and puts his hand towards the horse's head. We say in that action they were giving the horse Timolol, with the intention of doping the horse." It appears the pair also doped another beaten favorite on the same day, as Weston said CCTV footage showed them approaching Victoriano, who finished sixth in a maiden race. He was not tested on the day but a subsequent hair test showed traces of Timolol. The rules in place in 2018 require a trainer to be punished if one of their horses tests positive for a banned substance but Weston was at pains to say that Easterby had been exonerated by the investigation and was clearly not to blame in any way. Under the current rules, he would not be in breach but the strict liability rules from the time required a nominal penalty. Mac Neice argued that even a nominal penalty could not be justified. "Mr. Easterby had no control over who was allowed into the racecourse stabling area that day," he said. "That control lies with the BHA and to a lesser extent the racecourse. And yet it is perhaps ironic that Mr. Easterby is the one who is now appearing before you. There is a fundamental disconnect between the rules and the responsibility." The panel decided it was obliged to penalize Easterby but fined him just one penny. Philip Curl, the panel chairman said: "We are sorry that the matter has taken as long as it has and at a time when he hasn't been enjoying the best of health. We wish him well for the future." Weston denied that the BHA was to any extent responsible for the security breach, saying: "The BHA is not the employer here. While I understand the concern, to suggest the BHA has to carry out background checks on everyone employed by every racecourse has obvious difficulties. "Mr. Waggot and Mr. Walker had a role that allowed them to do tasks at the stables. It wasn't two punters off the street wandering in. It is a great shame and a great sadness that the human condition ends with some people abusing rights and the privileges they enjoy to do bad things. But that does not always mean that it is the BHA's fault and I'm not here to let it be pinned on the BHA that they are responsible for what Mr. Waggot and Mr. Walker did. They are not." 'It required a great deal of work' Weston also responded to concerns over the delay in bringing the case, which were expressed by Mac Neice and all three members of the panel. "There were other matters and other considerations of a much broader nature that required a great deal of investigation before charges could properly be brought. "I recognize that bringing a case in April 2021, which is when the charges went out, in relation to an event in 2018 is not particularly attractive, but there was an investigation, it did require a great deal of work. I can't reveal the contents of it and I'd invite you to take that on trust. "In the end, it has not gone anywhere and charges were brought reasonably shortly after that. If the delay has caused Mr. Easterby any upset, I'm very sorry for it. I don't actually want to suggest there is a problem of substance. This isn't a case where I would give my client a stern ticking-off, if I was even bold enough ever to do so; I'm not." A spokesman for Arc, which owns Newcastle, said: "Newcastle Racecourse takes all matters of security and integrity very seriously and meets all licensing requirements in that regard. Following this incident in 2018, the individuals concerned were removed from the racecourse as soon as their actions had come to light and the racecourse has provided all relevant information to the BHA, as and when requested. "We look forward to seeing the written summary of the hearing and will work with the relevant bodies to implement any amendments to security procedures that are deemed necessary."

All moot though. Give it I'd say 3 weeks and all racing will stop. All the Jockeys will be in 14 - 24 day isolation. Half of them would have been at Sound Splash.

Obviously can't read the room - the Princess and Chippy signalled it a couple of weeks ago. Regardless no Plan B.

What's worse is they don't actually give a reason why. So one can only conclude they don't have one other than "can't be stuffed".

Well the WRC appear to be onto it.

We've got taller and no one wants a pony anymore.

That actually made me laugh out loud Joe! Hell we had a Jockey that couldn't give our horse a "run" in a trial! "WTF did you do that for?" "Oh the other Jockey's teased me to have a go and the horse was keen". Interesting watching a trainer design another arsehole for a smaller person.

FFS @curious since when has Tim Mills got off his arse and thought or fought about anything? Riccarton is so large you could arrange 100 spectator sized pods within the stands and outside in marques and accommodate 3,000 people!