Monday, January 25, of the New York Racing Association’s hearing against Bob Baffert was not without fireworks, but the proceedings were marked by the arrival of a world-renowned expert on anti-inflammatory drugs. non-steroidal inflammation.
Dr. Pierre-Louis Toutain was called in by attorney Henry Greenberg as the second NYRA witness in as many days, testifying remotely from near Toulouse, France. With a distinct French accent, Toutain was asked by hearing officer and retired New York State Supreme Court Justice O. Peter Sherwood to slow his transfer so the court reporter could get it back. his testimony is correct.
Toutain, a “veterinarian specializing in veterinary pharmacology”, self-identifying as a “veterinarian specializing in veterinary pharmacology”, obtained his degree in Toulouse in 1972; received his PhD in 1986 after developing his thesis on the use of corticosteroids in horses; and is a professor at the Royal Veterinary College at University College London after stints near Paris and in Toulouse. He said he has been teaching and participating in research for 50 years.
Among his other accomplishments, Toutain has served as president of the European Society of Veterinary Medicine and Toxicology; co-founded the European College of Veterinary Medicine and Toxicology and was its president from 2003-09; manufacturing research that he says has been “cited more than a thousand times in the last year alone;” and give presentations to other members of their field in the international arena.
His role in the NYRA-Baffert case was to methodically describe how phenylbutazone, also known as “bute,” betamethasone, and lidocaine was implicated in allegations against the Hall of Fame coach.
After describing bute in general as a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug primarily used to treat inflammation in the musculoskeletal system, Toutain said its intended use was not to mask pain and only should be used to treat inflammation, not to train horses. He says that while some people use it to train horses with low-grade inflammation, it is “an inappropriate use. It should only be used to treat inflammation, not to train horses.”
Brewster protested that Toutain was engaging in a “philosophical discussion,” but he was refuted, and later the specifics became evidence.
Specifically, Tourai chose that in relation to Cruel intentions a Baffert intern tested positive at Del Mar in July 2019, the amount of bute the lab found can affect the performance of horses. He gave testimony similar to Eclair who tested positive a week after Cruel Intention, added to Eclair: “This is a very high concentration. I’m sure of that. This amount achieves the full effect of the drug.”
Part of the NYRA charges against Baffert was essentially a disciplinary/suspension hearing based on an alleged pattern of behavior that included the positives created by drug tests. positive for Cruel Intention, Eclair and the other horses in his care.
Toutain’s opinion suggested that with low lameness, butes could be used to enable horses to operate “at full capacity.” Bute can’t “enhance performance,” he said, but it can “improve performance” by reducing inflammation “because inflammation is painful.”
He said his opinion was based in part on about 700 articles discussing the pharmacological effects of bute and corticosteroids on horses.
Betamethasone, Medina Spirit and Gamine
Betamethasone, a corticosteroid, was found in Medina Spirit’s post-race samples after he finished first in the 2021 Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (G1).
Describing the drug as “very effective,” Toutain said it does not cure, but can mask, an underlying joint condition that causes inflammation. He warned of the potential for serious consequences if misused. “When you have a leg injury, you don’t race,” he said.
Gamine tested positive for 27 picograms per milliliter of blood for betamethasone, which was later confirmed by a separation sample showing higher concentrations. When asked if those amounts are likely to affect GamineTourin’s Performance says: “Yes… If it’s an intra-articular injection, 20 picograms is effective.”
Effect of Lidocaine on racing ability
Toutain concluded his direct testimony discussing the lidocaine positivity found in Quack and Gamine on the Arkansas Derby Day in May 2020.
Explaining that lidocaine blocks pain and does not cure underlying problems, he said it can also be used to cover wounds in horses and could put horses at risk of injury.
According to Toutain, the usual dose is 100 to 200 milligrams and can be detected if injected a day before a race. Charlatan gave a positive result for Gamine with 46 picrogram per milliliter of blood and 185 picogram per milliliter of blood. These amounts will have no pharmacological effect on racing ability, according to Dr. Tourai.
The conversation then revolved around whether a pre-race check could be gambled with using lidocaine to avoid the appearance of a limp.
“That’s exactly why the lidocaine threshold is low,” says Toutain. “It’s to make sure that lidocaine isn’t used within 24 hours before the subject… The duration of action is only one hour.”
The fact that Clark Brewster cross-examined Dr. Toutain on behalf of Baffert did not seek to challenge the main points made more directly than to establish that Toutain was not licensed as a veterinarian in the United States; has not been involved in the development of drug dosing rules in the US; unfamiliar with the specifics of the various regulatory rules for betamethasone in the United States; that Tourin agrees that there is a difference of opinion on the threshold for dosing; whether he knows methylprednisolone is used in topical medications; and the time it took for lidocaine to be obscured by its metabolite in the test, which Toutain said was three hours.
One of the few succinct instances in the entire process was made when Tourtain asked Brewster, “Are you a scientist or a lawyer?”
“I’m a lawyer,” Brewster replied, then Toutain retorted: “So I have to keep it simple,” followed by laughter of goodwill all around.
Goodel continues to be cross-checked
The second day of the hearing began as Rick Goodell, former assistant counsel to the New York State Gaming Commission and former chairman of the Regulatory Attorneys Committee of the International Racing Com Commissioners Association, continued under the supervision of the New York State Gaming Commission. cross-check from Brewster.
He said the NYRA responds to penalties issued by other jurisdictions when jurisdictional rules are inconsistent.
“In New York, the level of Intentional Cruelty wouldn’t be a rule violation (in New York) at the time, but it would be a rule violation in California,” he said.
Goodell admitted Baffert had no Class I violations, the most serious of the five levels issued by ARCI, in recent history; and none of his violations included steroid use. He agrees that there are cases in New York where environmental pollution has been established; that lidocaine, bute and betamethasone are commonly used at racetracks; and Baffert had several clean barn inspections in California.
In the middle of the morning, Sherwood raised her voice to Brewster, advising him that Goodell had said the same things about threshold measurements and withdrawal times at least half a dozen times, saying that asking the question over and over again would make you uncomfortable. Then the judge said they had come nine times.
For the first time in two days, Brewster engaged Sherwood on the NYRA’s authority to charge Baffert, a topic that was discussed at length before the hearing and Sherwood’s verdict.
“I told you, keep going,” Sherwood said. Brewster asked a question, and Sherwood reminded him, “Go on, sir!”
Brewster ended his birth by asserting that New York had taken no prior action on Baffert’s license. Brewster asserts, “That would be the end of it all.”
In diversion, Greenberg suggested that while they were not part of the charges against Baffert, he had two other California averages in 2017 that were noted in the 2019 report Intentions Cruel.
Heleski and Cannizzo Testify
Dr. Camie Heleski, a senior lecturer at the University of Kentucky for the past five and a half years, was called by the prosecution to discuss a social license to conduct activities, which she said was granted to the body. sports or business based on public sentiment, published. perceptions and opinions. In her opinion, the drug-positive substance in Baffert’s warehouse has damaged motorsport’s social license as no one stands out in the sport more than the Hall of Fame coach. .
W. Craig Robertson III handles cross-checking. Among other things, he confirmed that a temporary order has been issued allowing Baffert to race in 2021 at Racecourse Saratoga met the summer after the Kentucky Derby and after Baffert was suspended by the NYRA without due process; and the meeting continued to create processing records; and 10% will oppose racing no matter what efforts are made to maintain its integrity.
Jeffrey Cannizzo was the final witness. He is the senior director of government affairs for the NYRA and a former executive director of the New York Thoroughbred Breeders.
Cannizzo said the NYRA is probably the most heavily regulated organization in the state, overseen by the New York State Gambling Commission, the Franchise Oversight Board, the governor’s office, and the state legislature. state, the New York Comptroller’s Office, the New York Attorney General’s Office, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, and the New York Department of Taxation and Finance.
He explained that the NYRA franchise grants them the exclusive right to conduct Purebred races at three state-owned racetracks and that the sole reason for the existence of the Franchise Oversight Board is to regulate NYRA correction. There are performance standards detailed in the franchise agreement, which can be revoked if the standards are not met as determined at the four annual meetings. He added that all aspects of the NYRA’s business are overseen by the Gaming Commission.
During the cross-examination, Brewster attempted to question Cannizzo about the Baffert team’s opinion that the NYRA had no authority to proceed with the procedure. Sherwood intervened and several more minutes were used to stop the flow of interrogation.
