It keeps getting better.... and then there was Asmussen

[Drvmb1ggl3]

Steve Asmussen joins the list of high profile trainers with recent drug positives, this time for Lidocaine.
Honestly, I think all this may end up being the best thing that ever happened to US racing and be the impetus to clean up med rules and bring them in line with the rest of the world. A bit embarrassing for Jess Jackson though after last week’s comments in front of Congressmen.

From the Daily Racing Form.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - In another blow to racing’s image after a rocky Triple Crown season, Steve Asmussen and Rick Dutrow, two of the most successful trainers in North America, have both been notified of positive tests for illegal raceday medications in horses under their care.
Asmussen was to be served notice Thursday by the Texas Racing Commission for a lidocaine positive on Timber Trick after the filly won May 10 at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Tex., Karen Murphy, a New York-based attorney who is representing Asmussen, said on Wednesday.

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Asmussen and Dutrow train arguably the two best horses in North America: Asmussen trains Curlin, the 2007 Horse of the Year and the winner of his last five races, and Dutrow trains Big Brown, winner of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness. The positives came just days after Larry Jones, the trainer of the Kentucky Oaks winner Proud Spell, was informed by Delaware racing officials that one of his horses also tested positive for clenbuterol.
The violations come at a time when racing is under intense scrutiny that began after the filly Eight Belles, trained by Jones, broke down and was euthanized after finishing second to Big Brown in the Kentucky Derby. A highly publicized Congressional hearing into drug and safety-related issues in horse racing was held last week in Washington, where Jess Jackson, the majority owner of Curlin, asked a House subcommittee to support major reforms, including the banning of anabolic steroids and all nontherapeutic drugs.

Murphy said Wednesday that Texas officials had declined to give her some critical information concerning the case of Timber Trick, a 3-year-old filly owned by the Gainesway Stable of Graham Beck. Murphy said quantification of the positive has not been revealed to her or Asmussen, and that an attempt to have a split sample tested at a laboratory of choice was denied.
Texas has a zero-tolerance policy for performance-enhancing drugs and other medications, and Murphy said she suspects the amount of lidocaine detected was very small. She said she welcomed the upcoming legal challenge and would “fight it to the very end.”
Timber Trick, making her sixth career start in maiden special weight company, won May 10 by seven lengths as the even-money favorite. The filly since has raced once more, finishing second in a June 6 allowance at Lone Star.

Lidocaine is a local anesthetic with a high potential to enhance performance because it can deaden pain in a horse’s legs. The drug is delivered by injection and is widely used for therapeutic purposes in equine medicine, although it is prohibited on race day. It is a Class 2 drug with the Association of Racing Commissioners International and carries stringent penalties that vary depending on jurisdiction. The recommended penalty in most states is a six-month suspension for the trainer.
Jean Cook, a public information officer with the Texas Racing Commission, did not return a phone call Wednesday but said earlier this week that, in accordance with state law, she could neither confirm nor deny that an investigation has been undertaken.

Asmussen, 42, has been at the forefront of American racing and leads the country in wins and earnings this year. In 2004, he set a North American record for wins with 555, and he has been a finalist for the Eclipse Award as top trainer in three of the past four years. He is the trainer of Curlin, a 4-year-old colt who has earned more than $9.3 million and is fast approaching the earnings record of nearly $10 million. For the second half of 2008, Asmussen has designed a possible grass campaign for Curlin, culminating with the prestigious Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in France in October.

This is not the first medication positive for Asmussen. He served a six-month suspension from July 2006 to January 2007, stemming from a positive test for mepivacaine, a local anesthetic and also a Class 2 drug, taken from the filly No End in Sight after a March 2006 race at Evangeline Downs in Louisiana. Concurrently, Asmussen served a six-month suspension stemming from a New Mexico positive for acepromazine, a widely used sedative designated as a Class 3 drug by the racing commissioners’ group.

[Texarkana]

My theory is that the “high profile” trainers were inspired by the MA high schoolers and made a bad test pact.

[DickHertz]

Big barns get bad tests all the time because the people that work in the barn make a mistake. :winkgrin:

[QHJockee]

Let’s not be quick to place blame on the trainer…don’t forget that vets can often be the culprit…I’ll leave it at that. For those of you who care, if there are any out there, PM me and I’ll elaborate.

[Chiniko]

Asmussen has a huge operation and many many assistants and formen. The bad test happened in Texas if I am not wrong though I could be. Although trainer responsibility leaves him dangling legally, he likely wasn’t even present in the state when the bad test occurred. Barns like his are dependant on his people being dependable and honest. If they screwed up fess up and scratch. Why risk this sort of crap for the person who puts alot of money in your pocket.

[Texarkana]

Yeah, bad tests happen in big barns all the time. Yeah, Asmussen probably wasn’t even around. But I think the timing of this completely sucks.

And you know, a bad clen test I can deal with. It’s a drug that does have therapeutic applications. But a positive for lidocaine? C’mon now. “Gee, sorry boss, I was spraying Solarcaine on my sunburn and got some on the horse…” There are very few good excuses for why a horse should be around lidocaine pre-race or why it should even be a regular drug in the barn.

Even if Asmussen never even saw the horse in question, it still sucks. Kinda like his mepivacaine overage in LA…

[Chiniko]

If the guy’s not there, the horse is sick. Still scratched.
I’ve had friends get a procaine test without a single horse in the barn receiving it… accidents do happen.
My former boss got a bad test because the assistant at the off meet was unaware that the dentist had heavily sedated a horse that was in to do it;s teeth. Completely irresponsible of the assistant and the dentist. But the responsible party is the trainer who wasn’t even present. Just hired a dumb ass, drunk to run a big barn.

[miss_critic]

Is this just for Texas?

[DickHertz]

My post was complete sarcasm as the “dutrow” thread was full of the big barn theory.

My take is, sure, most big barns will get a Ventipulmin positive at some point, but when you are Rick Dutrow and you’ve had several high Lasix positives and another Clen Buterol positive in the past, you’re simply a cheater to me.

Asmussen has also had a bad test in the past for another local, mepivicaine (sp?)

[DickHertz]

[QUOTE=miss_critic;3316673]
Is this just for Texas?[/QUOTE]

Suspensions carry over from one jurisdiction to the other in most cases…just about the only time they all actually work together.

[Drvmb1ggl3]

@miss_critic;3316673

Is this just for Texas?

No.
I imagine Asmussen will keep this tied up on appeals long enough to steer Curlin into the history books and then let Blasi take over for the winter.

[Chiniko]

[QUOTE=DickHertz;3316675]
My post was complete sarcasm as the “dutrow” thread was full of the big barn theory.

My take is, sure, most big barns will get a Ventipulmin positive at some point, but when you are Rick Dutrow and you’ve had several high Lasix positives and another Clen Buterol positive in the past, you’re simply a cheater to me.

Asmussen has also had a bad test in the past for another local, mepivicaine (sp?)[/QUOTE]

Show me anywhere where there has ever been a high lasix “positive.” That test is not quantative. I promise you that!

You know a common use of mepivicane can be for injecting the airway mechanism on horses with breathing problems. Yes that is also cheating, but not going to cause a horse to break one off

[DickHertz]

From ESPN.com (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=3378296)

"Dutrow’s ARCI rap sheet contains 72 entries, including fines and suspensions in Maryland, California, New York, Florida, Delaware and New Jersey.

Several of those are for his own personal conduct; many involve marijuana. Others include: an alleged attempt to pass forged checks in Maryland; an attempt to provide a false urine sample “by means of an apparatus concealed on his person”; and a failure to report on a New York license application a 1991 criminal conviction in Nevada.

And he’s been fined or suspended at least once every year since 2000 for doping issues. In 2000, a barn search in New York produced “an injectible vitamin which is forbidden.” In '01, a horse had excessive Lasix – an anti-bleeding medication – in its system. In '02, Dutrow “failed to follow Lasix procedures.” In '03, a horse tested positive for Mepivacaine. From '04 through an '08 fine in Florida, there were citations regarding Lasix, Clenbuterol, Phenylbutazone and Oxyphenbutazone.

He served a 60-day suspension in 2005 after two of his horses tested positive for banned substances and for a claiming violation. Then, in 2007, he served an additional 14-day suspension and was fined $25,000 for violating conditions of his suspension by having contact with his stable."

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If anyone is wondering what this means "attempt to provide a false urine sample “by means of an apparatus concealed on his person” …go to this link. http://www.whizzinator.com/

And NYRA just grants him stalls. What a model person for the racing industry. No wonder the sport is nearly on life support.

[Chiniko]

Following lasix procedures in different jurisdictions can be very different. Some places have a state or commision vet that gives the “legal” amount. I’ve topped up horses before or after they gace the 5cc dose. Never an overage. Ask any vet

[DickHertz]

[QUOTE=Chiniko;3316699]
Following lasix procedures in different jurisdictions can be very different. Some places have a state or commision vet that gives the “legal” amount. I’ve topped up horses before or after they gace the 5cc dose. Never an overage. Ask any vet[/QUOTE]

So toting a needle in to give your horse more lasix is legal? Where do race? Alaska?

[DickHertz]

Article on Asmussen’s past positives (http://www.dallasobserver.com/2007-06-28/news/dark-horse/full)

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There had always been whispers about Steve Asmussen, but nobody had really paid attention. The 22 drug positives on his record, the suspensions in Louisiana and Texas and New Mexico—these things were all part of the public record, but they weren’t widely known. A year before the Preakness, Asmussen had been hit with one of the stiffest doping penalties in recent memory by the Louisiana Racing Commission, which determined that a horse in his care had run on a banned substance called mepivacaine. If used improperly, the drug, which is a nerve blocker, can allow a horse to run on a damaged leg. In this case, the racing commission determined that Asmussen’s horse had been given 750 times the legal limit of the drug. The horse had pulled up badly during the race and labored to finish.

At a hearing to discuss the suspension, Asmussen said he had no idea how the drug ended up in the horse’s system. He had ordered a cortisone shot for the horse’s knee just seven days before the race, but on race day, the horse had appeared to be fine. It is purely speculation, but entirely possible considering the horse’s history, that it was given mepivacaine to allow it to run on a bad knee. If this is true, it put everyone in the race in serious danger. If the horse’s knee were to blow out, any horse near it would be likely to trip and fall, setting off a chain reaction that could prove disastrous and even fatal to any number of horses and riders.

He did admit that he had ordered two other drugs that were illegal on race day—one to increase endurance and another to reduce bleeding in the lungs. The horse had also been given Lasix, a legal anti-bleeding medication that most horses run on. Perhaps the vets had made a mistake, injecting mepivacaine when they meant to administer another drug.

The vets said this would be impossible. Mepivacaine was injected directly into the joint. The other illegal drugs, which they insisted they hadn’t given, were shot into the jugular. If mepivacaine were injected into the jugular it would bring a horse to its knees.

A groom testified that he had left the horse alone for eight to nine minutes, leaving the door open for sabotage. Considering that there is no security or video cameras at Evangeline Downs, and the total domination Asmussen has had there, sabotage is a possibility, says Steven Barker, the lab director on the case.

It wasn’t the first time Asmussen had used this defense to explain a drug positive. In 1999 and 2001 he had been before the very same commission for doping violations, one involving a drug called ketorolac, an anti-inflammatory, and another for clenbuterol, which clears breathing passages. In 2004, he was brought before the Texas Racing Commission for another clenbuterol positive, for which he was fined $20,000 and suspended 15 days.

That same year, he had three other positives, in Louisiana, New Mexico and Texas for a sedative called acepromazine. Even as he stood before the Louisiana Racing Commission, he was facing a six-month suspension in New Mexico for another acepromazine positive.

Despite testimony from the chair of the American Association of Equine Practitioners, who said Asmussen had an impeccable reputation as a trainer who did things “on the up and up,” and that a mistake like this could only be the result of an accident, which was understandable considering the thousands of races Asmussen ran every year, the Louisiana Racing Commission gave him the maximum suspension. For six months, he would be banned from every track in America.

The suspension made headlines here and there but hardly made a splash beyond the horse racing world. Even among fairly knowledgeable race fans, Asmussen’s rap as a cheater was mostly unknown.

Then he won the Preakness. He wasn’t just a trainer who won a lot of no-name races any more. He had just won a classic. “I’ll tell you what I said to my wife when he won,” said a nationally known vet who asked not to be identified. “I said, ‘Goddammit, a known cheater just won the Preakness.’” Like Barry Bonds chasing Hank Aaron’s hallowed home run record, Asmussen had tainted one of the sport’s most storied events.

Shortly after the Derby, HBO’s Real Sports ran a segment on doping, which it called horse racing’s dirty little secret. The segment focused heavily on Asmussen. At one point, a reporter asked him if he knew how many drug positives he had on his record.

“No,” Asmussen answered sharply.

“You don’t know?”

“No.”

The reporter asked Asmussen if he could explain how one of his horses had tested positive for 750 times the legal limit of a drug banned on race days.

Asmussen rolled his eyes, which were flashing with anger.

“How do you explain that?”

“Well, I don’t explain that,” he said, his voice cracking. “Like I said, they proved that it was in the horse. You think that there would be the possibility that somebody would like to see me get in trouble for the success that I’ve had?”

He seemed to be suggesting that someone had set him up.

“Are you suggesting…?”

Asmussen cut him off.

“No. No, I’m not. I’m responsible. But you’re suggesting that I knowingly gave, what, 750 times the limit of a drug that is so easily detectable. I mean…I’m not that ignorant.”

The minute the interview was over he called Darren Rogers, the PR man at Lone Star Park, and said: “They got me.”

Asmussen was right. In the interview, he comes across as defensive and argumentative. It also seems highly unlikely that Asmussen, who is known for having a Rain Man-like memory, didn’t know how many positives he had on his record.

For many viewers, it was the first time they had ever even heard of Steve Asmussen. In the following days, both The Washington Post and The New York Times did similar stories. Like it or not, Asmussen had become the poster boy for horse racing’s drug problem.

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[Chiniko]

Read that list many of them aren’t even drug related

[DickHertz]

[QUOTE=Chiniko;3316719]
Read that list many of them aren’t even drug related[/QUOTE]

Is that really you, Rick Dutrow? Welcome to COTH. So, how is Big Brown doing?

[ArtilleryHill]

The Rap Sheet

Let me begin by saying that I think there’s never a good reason for using lidocaine or mepivicaine on a racehorse at the track. Now: for clarification on Dutrow’s rap sheet, DRF’s Steve Crist has a good piece in his blog at

http://cristblog.drf.com/crist/

The entry includes the full sheet, which makes for interesting reading. Here are the highlights in Crist’s entry:

1. Only 59 “rulings” appear to be listed as opposed to the 72 in the header.

2. Many of them are duplicative or are the second or third iteration of a single ruling following a modification or appeal.

3. Some of them are not “rulings against” Dutrow at all, such as the four in which racing commissions ruled he was “restored to good standing” after paying fines or restitution.

4. Many of them do not have anything to do with administering illegal medication, and are for such common infractions as failing to have foal papers on file, providing the correct owners’ colors to the jockey room, or failure to follow entry and scratch procedures. Eight of them involve his personal marijuana use and posession more than 15 years ago.

It appears the correct number of medication rulings is 13, not 72: six Bute overages, four Lasix overages, two for clenbuterol, and the mepivicaine positive (two horses, one case) for which he was suspended 90 days in 2005. This is not a record worthy of consideration for the Exemplar Of Racing Award, but it’s also not 72 cases of doping horses.

[DickHertz]

You could almost do the 12 days of Christmas with the list. 6 bute overages, 4 lasix violations, 2 clen buterols, 1 whizzenator.