Disqualification

According to the rulings page of the New York State Gaming Commission, trainer Todd Pletcher began serving a 10-day suspension Thursday. The suspension stems from the 2022 GI Hopeful Stakes when the Pletcher-trained Forte (Violence) tested positive for Meloxicam, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory. Pletcher has denied using the medication with Forte. The Gaming Commission also ruled that Forte was officially disqualified from the Hopeful victory. The news from the Gaming Commission led owner Mike Repole to post a long and scathing tweet on X. "The New York State Gaming Commission @NYSGamingComm...

East Coast shipper Reef Runner (The Big Beast) crossed the wire narrowly first in Saturday's GIII Green Flash Handicap at Del Mar, but was disqualified and placed second, as Motorious (GB) (Muhaarar {GB}) was elevated to the victory, completing a three-peat in the 'Win and You're In' qualifier for the GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint over the same course and distance on Nov. 1. It was the 7-year-old gelding's third consecutive win in the race. Reef Runner was one of the first away from his double-digit box, but came over...

The "Heroes Day" program at Caymanas Park on the island of Jamaica had to be called off after the second race Oct. 21 when hooligan racegoers reacted violently to a controversial stewards' disqualification of an odds-on winner by upending garbage bins, hurling debris at horses and jockeys on the track and in the winner's circle, and blocking the tunnel between the paddock and the track. "After an initial announcement that the third event was abandoned, the day's meet was officially called off by the stewards, citing safety concerns," the Jamaican...

After an objection and lengthy look by the stewards, it was 2-year-old colt Chasing Liberty (Constitution--Peaceful, Declaration of War) who was awarded the top prize when Under Whose Radar (Violence) was disqualified for impeding his progress late in the race and placed second in the $1 million National Thoroughbred League Juvenile Sprint at Kentucky Downs on Sunday. Under Whose Radar led out of the gate and continued to make the pace into the lane. As favorite Black Forza (Complexity) tried to overcome a tough beginning, Chasing Liberty flashed his speed...

Irad Ortiz Jr., currently North America's leading jockey based on victories and purse earnings, and first and second in those same categories at the current Saratoga Race Course meet, will serve a three-day suspension Aug. 14-16 stemming from the disqualification of his mount from a win in the seventh race there Aug. 1. Ortiz waived his right to an appeal, according to an Aug. 6 stewards' ruling posted on the New York State Gaming Commission website. The race in which Ortiz got disqualified was a 1 3/16-mile $25,000 starter-allowance. He...

In the latest detour in the exhaustive legal saga stemming from Justify's 2018 GI Santa Anita Derby win, the connections of the horse during his racing career filed a notice last week with the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) requesting that the agency entertain an appeal of a recent board of stewards decision disqualifying the horse from the race and to stay the purse distribution. In response, the CHRB have denied a stay of the stewards' decision but stated that it will "assign a Hearing Officer in this matter where...

The long-standing saga of the 2018 GI Santa Anita Derby may finally be at a close, as the $1-million purse was formally redistributed Saturday, according to a report in Daily Racing Form. Undefeated Triple Crown winner Justify (Scat Daddy) won the 2018 Santa Anita Derby, but later tested positive for scopolamine and Mick Ruis, owner of the second-place finisher Bolt d'Oro (Medaglia d'Oro), persevered with his attempts to have the results overturned. More on the background of his efforts can be found here. This past December, Ruis released a statement...

Three months after a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge ordered the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) to set aside a 2020 stewards' decision and issue a new ruling disqualifying winner Justify from the 2018 GI Santa Anita Derby, a separate settlement has been reached that calls for the CHRB to pay $300,000 to Mick Ruis, the owner of runner-up Bolt d'Oro, and to order a redistribution for the $1-million purse of that stakes. Dick Downey of the Blood-Horse was first to report the settlement on Thursday, citing details made...

In the aftermath of the controversial running of Saturday's Great White Way S. at Aqueduct, in which Brick Ambush (Laoban) crossed the wire second but was disqualified and placed last, outspoken owner Mike Repole has called for the resignation of The Jockey Club's president and CEO Jim Gagliano and its chairman Stuart Janney III. He did so Wednesday in a post to his account on the social media website X. Repole, who did not have a horse in the race, recently announced the formation of The National Thoroughbred Alliance (NTA),...

Following the controversial disqualification of Brick Ambush (Laoban), who crossed the wire second in Saturday's $500,000 Great White Way division of the New York Stallion Series at Aqueduct, owner Dean Reeves said he will appeal the decision of the stewards. In a roughly run race, there was an incident at the quarter-pole where Big Torpedo (Big Brown) and Solo's Fury (Solomini) both checked sharply. Big Torpedo finished fourth and Solo's Fury was last of 12. A strong case can be made that Antonio of Venice (Laoban), the race winner with...

There was fast action and drama galore, and like all the best thrillers, it ended with a plot twist. Caramel Swirl (Union Rags) had been keeping good company in her last two starts, but by the end of a wild running of the GII Gallant Bloom S., her losing streak would be over via the double disqualification of Sterling Silver (Cupid) and Headland (Paynter), both of whom would be placed behind her. Company doesn't come tougher than two Champions, and that is exactly who Caramel Swirl had to contend with...

Colonial Downs may be wrapping up a historic 2023 season with Saturday's GIII New Kent Country Virginia Derby but several firsts paved the way this summer for brighter things to come in New Kent, VA. In addition to hosting its first Grade I races, the Arlington Million and the 'WAYI' Beverly D., Colonial welcomed a new face in the steward's stand. North Carolina native Whitney Verbal joined veterans Jack Houghton and Pat Bovenzi in making the calls Wednesday-Saturday and has been nothing but a welcome breath of fresh air in...