Gamine Tests Positive For Betamethasone In Oaks Post-Race Test; Split Sample Results Still Pending

Shedaresthedevil (center, maroon cap) out-finishes both Swiss Skydiver (left) and Gamine (right) to win the Kentucky Oaks

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert confirmed in a statement released through attorney W. Craig Robertson that top filly Gamine tested positive for betamethasone, a corticosteroid, in post-race testing after a third-place finish as the odds-on favorite in this year’s Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., on Sept. 4.

Reports had circulated throughout Thursday that an unidentified sample had tested positive for a Class C medication, but that split sample testing was still pending and therefore, an investigation was still underway. The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission is not permitted to reveal the identity of a horse or connections with a pending positive test until after its investigation is completed.

The New York Times reported Thursday evening, just before Baffert’s statement was released, that Gamine was the source of the positive test, noting it was the second time this year she had tested positive for a “banned substance” – a reference to her disqualification earlier this year from an allowance optional claiming win at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas. After that race, she and G1 Arkansas Derby winner Charlatan, also trained by Baffert, tested positive for lidocaine. Baffert told media this summer he planned to appeal those rulings and attributed the presence of lidocaine to an over-the-counter pain relief patch worn by his assistant trainer. Lidocaine is a regulated therapeutic substance in American racing and is considered by the American Association of Racing Commissioners International to be a Class 2 substance with a Class B penalty.

Baffert’s statement is as follows:

The current reporting on Gamine is inaccurate and needs to be cleared up. First, Betamethasone is a legal, commonly used anti-inflammatory medication. It is not a “banned substance.” Second, the medication was administered to Gamine on Aug. 17 by her veterinarian and on the veterinarian’s recommendation. Importantly, the veterinarian followed established medical and regulatory guidelines in administering the medication. The withdrawal guidelines published by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission recommend that the medication not be given within 14 days of a race. In this instance, as an additional layer of protection, Gamine’s veterinarian last treated her with betamethasone 18 days before the Oaks.

Gamine’s test revealed 27 picograms of betamethasone. The current threshold in Kentucky is 10 picograms. The situation with Gamine highlights two issues that are very troubling and must be addressed by the racing industry. First, the thresholds for many lawful medications such as betamethasone are way too low. A picogram is a trillionth of a gram. Twenty-seven picograms is a minuscule amount that would not affect a 1,000-pound animal. The regulations governing racing must be ones that are related to pharmacology in a horse as opposed to how sensitive labs can test. Second, trainers and veterinarians must be able to rely on guidelines given them by racing officials. If they are told by regulators that a medication will clear a horses system in 14 days, they must be able to rely on that information.

Earlier this year, Kentucky pushed back suggested withdrawal guidelines on a number of therapeutic drugs, including intra-articular corticosteroid injections, to 14 days pre-race. It also implemented a ban on stacking of intra-articular corticosteroids.