In a First, HIWU Alleges Controlled Substance Violation

The Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit—which went live May 22 in its oversight of anti-doping and medication policies in the sport as an independent entity contracted by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority—continues to break new ground as it posted a public disclosure June 23 noting its first allegation of a violation involving a controlled substance.

In a public disclosure that HIWU lists as pending against trainer Sandino R. Hernandez Jr., the HIWU alleges that Jonas' Dream  after a May 25 win at Gulfstream Park tested positive for the presence of the controlled medication naproxen, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug sold under the names Aleve, Naprosyn, and Anaprox. Naproxen is a Class C (low end of concern) controlled substance, which for a first violation calls for a fine of up to $500 and a disqualification of the horse if found in a post-race sample.

Racing for Amaty Racing Stables, Jonas' Dream posted a half-length victory May 25 in a one-mile maiden special weight race on the Gulfstream dirt to earn $25,800 for his owner.

Initially there was some confusion over the date of the violation as HIWU first listed "June 7," but after questions from BloodHorse it updated the violation date to May 25 and apologized for any confusion.

Reached by phone Friday, Hernandez said he had not been informed of the allegation. 

Controlled medication substances are permitted for use or administration in a covered horse except in close proximity to a race or vets' list workout. They are prohibited from being present in samples collected following those events, although a few have screening limits. In the state-to-state system, these medications often were referred to as therapeutic medications, as they are allowed to be used but are regulated in their use near race day.

This is the fourth public disclosure of an allegation by HIWU but the first involving a controlled substance. The first three public disclosures involved banned substances, which are never allowed in the horse.

In general banned substances are of higher concern than controlled substances. Banned substances are those that have shown the ability to enhance the performance of covered horses, have a detrimental impact on horse welfare, or have masking properties. Substances that have no current approval by any government regulatory authority for veterinary or human use, or are not universally recognized by veterinary authorities for veterinary use, are also considered banned substances.

Because of the greater concern, allegations involving banned substances carry provisional (immediate) suspensions. As the Jonas' Dream finding is for a controlled substance, there is no provisional suspension involved for the trainer, Hernandez. 

HISA/HIWU rules say that if a covered horse is disqualified because of an Anti-Doping and Medication Control rule violation, all purses and prizes are forfeited and will be redistributed to other racing participants accordingly. When possible, purses for the covered horse that is the subject of an alleged violation shall be withheld until a resolution has been reached.

The HISA/HIWU rules note that any adjustment to a disqualified horse's conditions for eligibility will only occur once the violation has been resolved. In other words, until the violation is resolved, the winner remains the winner of the race, and the runner-up remains the runner-up for purposes of the horses' conditions for eligibility in entering another race. If the final decision orders that the winner of the race be disqualified, the disqualified horse shall no longer be considered the winner (and in a maiden race, shall remain a maiden); and the runner-up shall be considered the winner for purposes of its future condition eligibility. 

Based on those rules, it appears that should Jonas' Dream be disqualified, he will again be eligible to race in maiden conditions. A DQ of Jonas' Dream would see Teresa and David Palmer's Sedona Red , who finished second in the May 25 maiden race at Gulfstream, elevated to victory and remain eligible to race in maiden conditions.

HIWU was established in 2022 by Drug Free Sport International to administer the rules and enforcement mechanisms of HISA's ADMC Program. 

Clarification: The third-last paragraph of this story on horses' conditions in these types of cases was updated after HISA clarified a rule listed on its website.