R Adios Jersey DQ'd in Charles Town Oaks, Baxter Fined

Stewards at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races disqualified R Adios Jersey  from her victory in the Aug. 27 Charles Town Oaks (G3) after tests showed the presence of flunixin in her system, according to a Feb. 10 ruling.

Trainer Georgina Baxter was also fined $1,000 for the Class 4 drug violation, a classification in which therapeutic medications are commonly listed. These drugs are considered to have less potential to affect performance than those in Class 3, 2, and 1. Flunixin is in the C Penalty class.

Flunixin is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory more commonly known by its brand name Banamine. The ruling stated that both the initial sample and a split sample showed flunixin above the permissible level at the time of testing.

In issuing their sanctions, stewards cited mitigating factors in their decision, one factor of which was Baxter's acknowledged treatment with "flunixin or ketophen and thought the treatment was done within the withdrawal guidelines and dosing specifications," the ruling said.

Though stewards wrote that Florida-based Baxter did not have have "any violations in this class category in the last 365 days" as a mitigating factor in their decision, she was one of five trainers suspended in October by Gulfstream Park in violation of its house rules prohibiting the use of clenbuterol. That medication can be used therapeutically to assist horses with respiratory difficulties, but its use has been restricted in many jurisdictions due to muscle development properties. 

In 2020, Baxter was also given a 25-day suspension in Florida for three medication violations.

The disqualification of R Adios Jersey results in the forfeiture of $230,400 in purse money the filly earned in the $400,000 race for owners Averill Racing and ATM Racing. Initial runner-up Pauline's Pearl , beaten 3 1/4 lengths by frontrunning 5-1 shot R Adios Jersey, is now the winner of the Charles Town Oaks, with Allworthy  elevated to second and Caramel Swirl  third.

Appeals of rulings are permitted within 20 days of their receipt, stewards wrote in the ruling, which appears on the Association of Racing Commissioners International website.

R Adios Jersey has crossed the finish line first in all six of her career starts. Last out, she won the Dec. 11 FTBOA City of Ocala Florida Sire Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs.