California Judge to Allow Justify Hearing to go Forward

Attorneys for owner-trainer Mick Ruis said Oct. 15 that a scheduled California Horse Racing Board hearing on Justify 's post-race test after the 2018 Santa Anita Derby (G1) will go forward after a judge denied a legal effort to halt the hearing.

On Oct. 13 the connections of Justify filed a writ of mandate in California Superior Court for the county of Los Angeles, Central District, seeking to prevent the scheduled Oct. 29 CHRB hearing; arguing that the regulator has no authority or basis to reopen the closed matter looking into Justify 's post-race drug test after his Santa Anita Derby win.

On Thursday attorneys for Ruis said Judge James Chalfant had denied the application, clearing the way for a hearing before the board of stewards on the potential disqualification of Justify, who went on to sweep the Triple Crown and retire undefeated.

Attorney Carlo Fisco, who appeared at the hearing along with attorney Darrell Vienna on behalf of Ruis Racing, said the CHRB attorney made a convincing case for why the hearing should be held as scheduled.

"Let me commend the attorney for the CHRB, Robert Petersen, who did an excellent job in alerting the court to the legal and factual flaws in petitioners' arguments," Fisco said. Vienna added, "We are pleased that Judge Chalfant saw through this flimsy attempt to delay or avoid a long overdue and proper treatment of the positive tests involving these two horses."

Craig Robertson, an attorney for Justify's trainer Bob Baffert, and Amanda Groves, an attorney for owners WinStar Farm, China Horse Club, Head of Plains Partners, Starlight Racing, and jockey Mike Smith, noted that while the judge took no action to halt the Oct. 29 hearing, he also didn't rule on the merits of the case.

"He did rule that the hearing on the 29th could go forward, and that it needed to go forward, before the Courts could get involved," Robertson said. "As such, we will proceed with the hearing on the 29th and see what ruling the stewards make before deciding next steps."

After Justify's victory in the Santa Anita Derby April 7, 2018, the CHRB lab, the Maddy Equine Analytical Chemistry Lab at University of California-Davis, reported his sample contained scopolamine. But the CHRB opted not to call a positive based on that finding, following the recommendation of its equine medical director, Dr. Rick Arthur, that the scopolamine in the sample was caused by environmental contamination. 

Ruis filed a lawsuit in January claiming the CHRB failed to follow through on its regulatory duties when no action was taken against Justify following the lab's post-race finding for scopolamine, which is used to treat mild colic and spasms but also can show up as a result of environmental contamination when horses eat jimson weed.

On July 24, attorneys for Ruis said that as part of a preliminary agreement to settle his litigation, the CHRB had agreed to file a complaint against the connections of Justify and conduct a purse disqualification hearing—currently scheduled Oct. 29.

The filing on behalf of the Justify connections had argued that Arthur correctly determined the cause of the scopolamine to be environmental because atropine was found in the tests as well. Arthur has said the atropine, also found in jimson weed, indicates environmental contamination. The filing argued, too, that CHRB rules at the time would not authorize disqualification for a scopolamine finding.

Ruis' attorneys argue that even if the scopolamine in Justify's system was caused by environmental contamination, a hearing still should have been conducted to consider forfeiture of the purse. In the release, the attorneys contend that CHRB rules require forfeiture of purse and disqualification of a horse who tests positive for a Class 1, 2, or 3 prohibited substance regardless of the trainer's responsibility. 

The hearing also will look at Hoppertunity , who had scopolamine in his post-race test after winning the 2018 Tokyo City Cup Stakes (G3) at Santa Anita Park one day after the Santa Anita Derby. Like the Justify situation, the CHRB didn't call a positive because it attributed the test result to environmental contamination.

Hoppertunity also is trained by Baffert, who has said that neither horse was administered scopolamine.