The filly Gamine, who checked positive for a prohibited compound in Might, did so once again in September after ending up third in the prestigious Kentucky Oaks, according to 2 individuals familiar with the outcomes of the drug test who asked for privacy since they were not authorized to discuss the problem openly.
Gamine is trained by Bob Baffert, a Hall of Famer who is among the most embellished individuals in horse racing, but likewise one who has captured the attention of regulators for many years.
This was Baffert's 28th drug violation, and his third in six months, according to public records assembled by the Association of Racetrack Commissioners International and the Thoroughbred Regulatory Rulings database maintained by the Jockey Club.
In a tweet sent out Thursday, the Kentucky Public Protection Agency acknowledged that a sample had actually returned positive for a "Class C" infraction from the horses tested on the Sept. 4 race card, which was highlighted by the Oaks, a race for 3-year-old fillies that is considered second in prestige in the state to the Kentucky Derby.
" The KHRC is following its regulative procedure in conducting a follow-up examination of this matter," the tweet read, describing the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. "Accordingly, the names involved will be launched at the completion."
Neither Baffert nor his legal representative, W. Craig Robertson, returned telephone call, texts or emails asking for remark.
The day after the Oaks, Baffert won his 6th Derby, with the colt Authentic, and tied Ben Jones for the most victories in the race's history.
Gamine is considered one of the favorites to win the $1 million Filly Mare Sprint race. The performance influenced talk that she may take on males in the Kentucky Derby, however she instead ended up in the Oaks.
In the $6 million Classic, the Baffert students Authentic and Maximum Security are amongst the favorites.
It is unclear if the Kentucky horse racing commission's investigation will be concluded prior to those races. If the positive test is promoted, the owners of Gamine will need to forfeit the $120,000 she earned for completing third in the Oaks. Baffert could face anywhere from absolutely no to 365 days' suspension, depending on how the commission sees his history or whether it figures out that there were reducing circumstances.
It https://shirehorsesofengland.blogspot.com/2020/05/shire-horses-horses.html has been a turbulent year for Baffert.
In May, Gamine and a colt named Charlatan, who won a department of the Arkansas Derby, checked positive for lidocaine, a local numbing agent. The owner of the Gamine was bought to forfeit a $36,000 first-place check won in an allowance race earlier that day, May 2.
In 2015, The New York Times reported that Justify-- also trained by Baffert-- had stopped working a drug test after winning the 2018 Santa Anita Derby, nearly a month prior to the Kentucky Derby. The rule at the time needed that Justify be disqualified, surrendering both his cash prize and his entry into the Kentucky Derby.
California racing officials investigated the failed test for 4 months, allowing Justify to keep completing long enough to win not just the Derby, but likewise the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes to become the 13th Triple Crown winner.
In August 2018, after Justify's breeding rights had actually been cost $60 million, the California Horse Racing Board-- whose chairman at the time, Chuck Winner, had actually previously used Baffert to train his horses-- disposed of the inquiry altogether during an uncommon closed-door session.
The board ruled that Justify's favorable test for the prohibited drug scopolamine had actually been the outcome of "ecological contamination," not deliberate doping.
Next week California regulators will perform a hearing to decide whether to erase Justify's Santa Anita Derby win and force his owners to surrender the $600,000 first-place check. The hearing is part of settlement of a suit brought versus the California Horse Racing Board by the owner of the second-place finisher, Bolt d'Oro.