The California Horse Racing Board voted Sept. 15 to dismiss a complaint against trainer Jeff Metz for a positive bisphosphonate test nearly a year ago in one of his starters at Santa Anita Park, Camino de Estrella. Unlike rulings, complaints have not been adjudicated.
"The Board believed it would be unfair to punish Metz when both testing and investigation revealed that the bisphosphonate administration occurred in 2018, well before Metz ever trained the horse," the CHRB wrote in a release.
The CHRB's acknowledgment of those conditions followed arguments earlier this year from Metz's attorney, Darrell Vienna, who cited studies indicating such drugs can linger in animals' systems for years after treatment. He further referenced a CHRB investigator's report showing a veterinarian treated the horse with the drug years ago before he moved into Metz's care. Multiple trainers have trained the now 7-year-old Camino de Estrella over his 35-race career.
"That's the problem with these bisphosphonates. There really is no way to determine when they were administered," Vienna said. "I think the regulation of bisphosphonates is important, but the science isn't quite ready to keep up with the enforcement."
The complaint, first posted in December, indicated the presence of tiludronic acid (Tildren), one of the first positives reported by a regulator for bisphosphonates after many regulators and sales companies began prohibiting the drugs in 2019. The prohibition came in response to fears the drugs could be used to hide radiographic evidence of sesamoiditis in young horses in sales.
The drug is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in horses aged 4 and older to repair bone damage in horses experiencing navicular disease.
The presence of the Class 1 drug prompted the stewards at Del Mar to ultimately disqualify Camino de Estrella from sixth to last from the third race at Santa Anita Sept. 27. They also ordered the redistribution of the purse. Camino de Estrella had earned $500 for owners Horseplayers Racing Club, Saratoga West, Richard Baker, Jeremy Hodges, Philip Kennedy Jr., and Juan Santos.
Trainer Bill Spawr claimed Camino de Estrella from the Sept. 27 race for $20,000 for a group of owners. He has since raced for Spawr and remains in training.
Another horse in California, the John Sadler-trained Flagstaff, further tested positive for a different bisphosphonate when second in the 2020 Santa Anita Sprint Championship Stakes (G2), also on the same date last fall. No resolution in that complaint has been reached, said Vienna, who also represents Sadler.
The attorney said earlier this year that Sadler had the horse treated with the drug in 2019, as was permitted at the time for an older horse. That treatment came well before the horse raced almost a year ago.
"We're just in the process of developing the Sadler arguments now," Vienna said. "I'm hoping for a similar resolution in that case. Some different facts, but basically, a lot of the same science applies."
According to the CHRB, it dismissed the complaint under Business & Professions Code 19577 (d): "Any recommendation to the board by the executive director to dismiss the matter shall be by mutual agreement with the equine medical director. The authority for the disposition of the matter shall be the responsibility of the board."
Vienna commended the CHRB for dismissing the complaint and its steps under the current board for improved transparency. Still, he noted the public perception challenges presented by publishing complaints before finalized rulings.
"Rather than innocent until proven guilty, it's guilty until proven innocent," he said. "That's a problem. That's gonna continue until perceptions change."
