Split Samples for Baffert Horses Come Back Positive

The Arkansas Racing Commission has received split samples that match the findings of failed post-race drug tests for two horses trained by Bob Baffert that won races on this year's Arkansas Derby Day card at Oaklawn Park. 

Through an attorney, the Racing Hall of Fame trainer said July 6 that he will contest the findings for lidocaine in both 3-year-old colt Charlatan, who won a division of the Arkansas Derby (G1), and 3-year-old filly Gamine, who won an allowance race on that May 2 card.

Typically after a split sample confirms an original test finding, the racing stewards conduct a hearing. BloodHorse reached out to the Arkansas Racing Commission July 6 but did not get an immediate response on if that hearing has been scheduled yet or the exact process in Arkansas.

BloodHorse reported the problems with the initial post-race tests May 26, but stewards and regulators do not begin the process of calling a positive until a split sample confirms the initial test. In a statement issued Monday, Baffert's Lexington-based attorney Craig Robertson III said the positives in both horses were for lidocaine, which is allowed, and regulated, in the racing environment as a therapeutic.

Guidelines for the lidocaine threshold—the permitted level on race day—in Arkansas match the guidance provided by the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium: 20 picograms per milliliter in plasma or serum. The local anesthetic calls for a withdrawal guideline of 72 hours, to ensure it doesn't impact racing. Robertson, noting that testing levels are at very small levels, said Gamine tested at 185 picograms and Charlatan at 46 picograms. 

Robertson plans to argue that neither horse was administered lidocaine and the positive tests are a result of contamination linked to one of the workers at the barn.

"Even though lidocaine is a lawful, widely available therapeutic medication, it was never intentionally administered to either Gamine or Charlatan. When test results indicated that trace amounts of lidocaine were found in both horses after their respective races on May 2, Bob Baffert and his team were shocked. Leading up to May 2, both horses were healthy and worked hard to earn their victories that day," Robertson said. "After investigation, it is our belief that both Gamine and Charlatan were unknowingly and innocently exposed to lidocaine by one of Bob's employees.  

"The employee previously broke his pelvis and had been suffering from back pain over the two days leading up to May 2. As a result, he wore a Salonpas patch on his back that he personally applied. That brand of patch contains small amounts of lidocaine. It is believed that lidocaine from that patch was innocently transferred from the employee's hands to the horses through the application of tongue ties by the employee that was handling both horses leading up to May 2."

Under the Association of Racing Commissioners International's Uniform Classification Guidelines for Foreign Substances and Recommended Penalties Model Rule lidocaine is a Class 2 violation calling for a Class B penalty—both second-highest on the scales. If the regulator determines a violation, the guidelines call for a trainer suspension of at least 15 days and a fine of at least $500. The horse owners would be facing disqualification of their horses and loss of purse money.

The Arkansas Derby win is the first stakes win for Charlatan, a son of Speightstown  campaigned by SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Stonestreet Stables, Fred Hertrich III, John Fielding, and Golconda Stables. The race also earned Charlatan 100 qualifying points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, the points system used by Churchill Downs to determine the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) field should more than 20 horses be entered.

An ankle injury knocked Charlatan off the Derby trail in June. 

Churchill Downs recognizes disqualifications as they are reported by Equibase, which updates its information when a state regulator forwards papers on a disqualification. When such a disqualification occurs, which potentially could be impacted by any appeals of such a decision, Churchill updates its point standings—removing points from the disqualified horse and redistributing those points to the runners who are moved up.

For the Arkansas Derby, Churchill awarded points to the top four finishers: 100-40-20-10. Basin, the runner-up to Charlatan who currently has 50 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, is scheduled to start in the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (G2) July 11. Current third-place finisher, Gouverneur Morris, is off the Derby trail after a diagnosis of colitis in June. Fourth-place finisher Winning Impression has just those 10 points from the Arkansas Derby and has been entered in the July 8 Indiana Derby (G3). Fifth-place Anneau d'Or has 22 points and currently is ranked 20th on the list.

Gamine, campaigned by Michael Lund Petersen, followed her May 2 allowance-level win with an easy victory in her stakes debut: the Longines Acorn Stakes (G1) June 20 at Belmont Park. 

While both horses tested well above the threshold—Gamine was more than nine-times over the limit and Charlatan more than twice the limit—Robertson said the levels are still very small and he'll argue that neither horse was affected by the lidocaine in their system.

"The extreme sensitivity of modern day testing can now pick up trace levels of innocent contaminants that have no effect on a horse," Robertson said. "This is an issue that regulators of horse racing need to account for and address."