Dr. Steven Barker

by Bill Finley and Dan Ross The Louisiana Racing Commission has put in place what it is calling "Active Emergency Rules of Racing," to go into effect on June 8. These new regulations have raised the permissible dosage and shrunk the allowable withdrawal times for several medications, most notably the bronchodilator Clenbuterol and corticosteroid Depo-Medrol. The decision by the Louisiana Racing Commission--which has already garnered significant push-back from within and without the industry--was done in an attempt to make the sport safer, the Commission's Executive Director Stephen Landry told the...

The Schenectady Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order Thursday that put a halt on the New York Gaming Commission's efforts to disqualify Forte (Violence) from his win in the 2022 GI Hopeful S. at Saratoga and suspend trainer Todd Pletcher. Acting on behalf of Pletcher and owners Mike Repole and Vinnie Viola, attorney Drew Mollica filed an Article 78 appeal. Article 78 appeals are lawsuits mainly used to challenge an action, or inaction, by agencies of New York State and local governments. The New York Gaming Commission has alleged...

Forte (Violence) has been disqualified from the Sept. 5, 2022 GI Hopeful S. due to the presence of meloxicam in his system, according to the horse's owner, Mike Repole; his trainer, Todd Pletcher; and their lawyer, Karen Murphy, who held a phone conference Thursday afternoon to address the suspension. Meloxicam is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, widely prescribed to treat osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, and is sold under the brand name Mobic. It is not one of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatories that is approved in the United States for the treatment of...

Scientifically-based screening levels and transparency in how policy is made were among key items addressed in the Kent Stirling Memorial Medication Panel, held during Wednesday's second day of the National Horsemen's Benevolent & Protective Association conference at the Hotel Monteleone. The National HBPA has long advocated for scientifically-developed screening and threshold levels used to determine if a positive finding is a legitimate rules violation, or if a negligible amount was inadvertently transferred to a horse or by contamination with no pharmacological impact on the animal's performance. The topic comes to...