Among the multiple excessive beaters in harness world last week, these: Running Aces, Jul 12: “When Best In Shadow was sent to the test barn, it was noted by the State Vet that several welts appeared on [his] right rear.…
Recent rulings from the stewards at Laurel Park (all emphases mine): “On March 8, stable employee Fernando Garcia’s urine sample tested positive for amphetamine and methamphetamine.” License temporarily suspended. “On March 21, stable employee Emmanuel Sepulveda’s urine sample tested positive…
Recent rulings from the Maryland Racing Commission: “Trainer Darren Ferrell was the trainer of the horse Torrone Hanover in the 4th race at Rosecroft Jan 22. Post-race analysis of urine sample taken from [horse] identified the presence of O-desmethyltramadol, an…
Lasix is clearly one of U.S. Racing’s more controversial subjects. Some in the industry see it as but a performance-enhancer: A diuretic, Lasix helps shed water weight prior to a race – lighter equals faster – and as a system…
From the Thoroughbred Daily News Tuesday (edited for brevity and clarity): “Two racetrack veterinarians who are the principals of Maryland Veterinary Group (MVG) have been served with notices of violations and were given provisional suspensions that started Jan. 12 after…
I received the following in response to our post introducing the doping page: “I’m so happy you’ve decided to post/write about the illegal drugs used in horseracing. I’m a Canadian who has raced Standardbreds as a member of Standardbred Canada…
We’d like to call your attention to a new page on our site: Yes, They Dope Racehorses (under “The Doping” on homepage). To introduce the page, I invited our colleague John Scheib to write a brief primer. John has been…
Recent rulings from the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission (all emphases mine): “On Sep 19, 2025, personnel for the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission were conducting searches at Presque Isle Downs. Owner/Stable Employee Miguel Alberto Olguin was found to be in possession…
Among the many harness rulings last week for drug overages and heavy-handed whipping, there were these: Running Aces, Aug 3: “It was noted by the State Vet that multiple marks were left on the rear of [3-year-old] Braggen Bliss by…
Recent harness rulings… “Matthew Medeiros is fined $250 for failure to report that the horse [9-year-old Cranbourne N] was nerved prior to it being declared to race.” “Larry Stalbaum is fined $250 for failure to report that the horse [9-year-old…
Within the USTA’s “Fines and Suspensions Bulletin” were these: “Investigative barn and truck/trailer searches were conducted on Apr 7 at Rosecroft Raceway. During these searches, a hypodermic needle and syringe containing an unknown liquid was found and confiscated belonging to…
In the 9th at Ruidoso yesterday, three horses had to be carted away by ambulance: Lethal Fast Man, El Cruz de Marzo, and Famous King. Again, that’s three injured/ambulanced (dead?) horses in the same race. What’s more, a few races…
