Contaminants from stable staff - are racehorses at risk? | Trainer Magazine | European Trainer Article Index

Apr 24

Apr 24 Contaminants from stable staff - are racehorses at risk?

RACEHORSE trainers are responsible for the actions of all members of their teams, and mistakes made by staff can cost the trainer dearly. We are not just talking about a slipping saddle or bad handling of a runner in the paddock that may contribute to certain defeat where victory should have been within grasp. After all, it is part of a racehorse trainer’s job to avoid such mishaps, and the trainer should be able to do so, but what if a post- race test comes up positive as a result of his employees having left traces of drugs on feed and tack, traces that in turn have found their way into the horse’s bloodstream? In such cases, is it fair to declare the trainer liable? In a situation like this – obviously a true nightmare – the worst-case scenario for the trainer is a big fine, suspension, perhaps losing a valuable Group race or even an owner. The worst-case scenario for the staff member, if found out, is losing his or her job and looking for another. Have we had many such cases within the sport over the years in Europe, and how worried should we be about future cases? The question goes to Rupert Arnold, chief executive of the National Trainers ederation in England. “To my knowledge there have been only two such cases in England”, Arnold says. “One was a horse a few years ago, which was shod by a blacksmith who had been applying a cream to treat back or neck stiffness. The explanation put forward was that the horse had licked the blacksmith and the contents of the cream found its way into the horse’s blood, but this was never proved. “My view on this matter is that, although it can happen, I believe it is a fairly theoretical problem. I think more cases would come to light if it were a big problem. Usually, when horses test positive it can be traced back to the feed, or it has been caused by a drug not having been withdrawn within the right timeframe.” Whether cases of horses testing positive for illegal substances as a result of contaminants from stable staff is a bigger problem abroad, such as in North America, also appears to be unclear. “There are stories and rumours of horses that have tested positive for cocaine in America”, Arnold explains, “and one explanation often heard is that many banknotes carry traces of the drug over there.” Should the trainer be held responsible i  a case like this occurs? “Well, there are two ways of looking at that”, Arnolds responds. “Firstly, the trainer is responsible, because under our rules trainers are responsible for any sample taken from a horse in his or her yard. Secondly, under British Rules of Racing, trainers can escape fines if it is reasonable that the cause of the positive test was beyond the trainer’s control. I think this would be a fairly marginal decision but, although the trainer can go unpunished, the horse will be disqualified.” A disqualification of a horse that has won or been placed for prize money is a punishment in itself. It also punishes the owner and jockey, and sometimes the breeder, of the horse in question. These parties will all feel particularly hard done by, if the disqualification comes as a result of contamination from stable staff. Of course, they feel that way in all cases of disqualifications but there can be little doubt that it hits even harder if the villain in the plot turns out to have been a member of the yard’s staff, a person who is often, quite wrongly, seen as a relatively small player of the team. This leads to the valid point that stable staff should never be seen as small players. Indeed, they are very important members of the team. We have all heard the old saying “happy lads, happy horses” and surely, one can assume that it is also always a case of “healthy lads, healthy horses”. It goes without saying that there is precious little a trainer can do to prevent all members of his staff getting involved in drugs, at some point or another. After all, an unsatisfactorily high percentage of the human population does try illegal drugs at least once. What can trainers do, or what are trainers doing, to help combat the drug threat, and prevent it from becoming a bigger problem in our sport? “We are advising trainers in these matters”, Arnold says, “and making sure that all yards have the correct policy in place. Here in England we, and the National Association of Stable Staff, are also working with The Newmarket Racing Partnership, led by Racing Welfare in Newmarket, and addressing such issues.” “Trainers always worry” Luca Cumani, a leading trainer based in Newmarket, says that, although this subject has been discussed among his fellow trainers, the only thing he can do is worry. “Trainers always worry about everything, you know”, Cumani says, “although there is very little a trainer can do, as abuse of drugs is hard to prove. I can’t prevent it from happening, I can’t screen all my staff when they come into work, I can’t force them to shower...” Cumani agrees that a positive test as a result of contaminants from stable staff could become a nightmare. “One can be disqualified from winning a Group One”, he reflects, “and I wish we could be able to prevent it. But, can we? If the whole world can’t solve the problem with drugs, how can racehorse trainers be expected to? “I do not agree that a trainer should be held responsible”, he continues, “simply because it is impossible for us to stop such things from happening.” He also tells us he once put one of his staff through a three- month rehabilitation course. “He was a good man, and I wanted to help him get rid of the problem”, Cumani says, “so we had him on full pay while he was at this course. As far as I know, he has not reoffended.” Cumani sees alcohol as a problem, but also a problem that it is easier to deal with, since it is easier to discover. “If a person misuses alcohol, what normally happens is that he fails to turn up for work in time”, he says, “and after two warnings you may sack him. But it is difficult to sack people and with drugs being so hard to prove one has to be very careful when employing people.” Cumani employs 50 staff and 47 of them are directly involved with the horses, by way of riding out in the mornings and travelling to the races in the afternoons and evenings. “About 50 per cent are from Britain and Ireland”, he says, “and we also have staff from France, Brazil, Eastern Europe and Japan.” One point that strikes here is that of cultural differences. Traditions and attitudes count for a lot in our societies, and attitudes towards drug use/misuse are very different around the world. Add in the factor of language problems, and you will soon see that a racehorse trainer has a lot more to worry about than legs, handicap ratings, changing ground conditions and unpaid trainers’ fees. “Not much evidence” The Chief Executive to the National Association of Stable Staff in England, Jim Cornelius, says that his organisation – a union serving around 8,000 stable staff in England, Scotland and Wales – does not view the staff contaminant issue as a major problem. “Quite frankly, I do not see this as an important matter”, he says. “There have hardly been any cases at all in England. A separate issue is that regarding whether employers have the right to ask for drug testing of staff. We do know that some stable staff lead a lifestyle that is not healthy for them, nor for the workplace and yes, if horses start testing positive to post-race tests as a result of contaminations from staff, I would become concerned, but I have not seen any worrying evidence thus far.” Mark Tompkins, chairman of the Newmarket Trainers’ Association, takes a similar view and tells us that the matter has been discussed among trainers, but also that testing staff for drugs is something one cannot do, “as it would be an intrusion into their privacy”. Tompkins says that he is not particularly worried about this as a problem. “Keeping an eye on your staff is part of my job”, he says. “If a person comes in drunk one morning, you send him home”, he says, but agrees that abuse of drugs can be more difficult to spot. Björn Eklund, Secretary General to the Swedish Jockey Club in Stockholm and a central figure within Scandinavian horseracing, tells us that problems with contamination from stable staff have not occurred in Sweden. “The threshold must be high”, Eklund says, “but my initial reaction to this matter is that if it is, or becomes, a problem, that is more likely to happen in countries with trainers of larger strings, employing a substantial staff force. Our biggest yards in Sweden at the moment house around 40 horses, and the racing community is very transparent, something that clearly has its advantages in matters like these, with drug abuse, alcohol and other security issues.” Perhaps a move towards smaller yards, or smaller units, could be beneficial in many ways but touching too much on this subject would soon lead us into an altogether different debate. “I do not believe trainers should be held responsible in cases where it is clear that a horse has tested positive as a result of circumstances outside of the trainer’s control”, Eklund states. “We had a case last year where it turned out that a trainer had bought contaminated feed. The Jockey Club issued no punishment and the feed suppliers compensated the connections to the equivalent of lost prize money.” Would Swedish law allow for drug testing of stable staff? “Not at all”, Eklund replies, “not carried out by the Jockey Club and hardly by an employer. It would be an infringement of privacy, and the only way one can arrange for a test is to contact the police. The only other scenario I can think of is that we could demand a test in a case where we are supported by the law on protection of animals, but it is farfetched and a route we would not be likely to take. It would be a matter for the police.” Horses tested positive for cocaine Valfredo Valiani, among the top trainers in Italy and a former chairman of the European Trainers’ Federation, explains that “about five or six years ago we did have quite a few such cases in Italy, where horses tested positive for small amounts of cocaine. We, the trainers, called in vets and experts to make enquiries and it soon came to light that the traces of illegal substances must have come from staff. Our attempts at convincing UNIRE that this was indeed the explanation were not successful, but they now concede that this can happen. This has been a bigger problem within trotting in Italy, and we have had no cases in thoroughbred racing over the past few years.” What were the implications for trainers involved? “The horses were disqualified, and the trainers hit with fines of between €3,000 and €6,000, plus suspensions from a month to three months. My personal view on this is that it is difficult to say that the trainer is not responsible, because the trainer must try to do everything to prevent such things, but you can never be sure and it is impossible to monitor staff 24 hours a day.” Valiani, whose staff are mainly Italians, with three Polish members, says that he feels a fine is in order in cases like these, but not a suspension. “I will never forget one day I had a winner in Milan”, he reflects. “After the race a man I had never seen before – probably only a happy gambler who had backed my horse – came up to the winner and patted him. On my way home I thought to myself how easy it would have been for such a person to do or give something to the horse, but it was fine.” On the subject of suspensions in connection with positive tests and otherwise, Valiani makes an interesting observation: “I may be wrong but I believe we are the only profession where, as employers, we can be suspended. Think about it: if a trainer is suspended for three months, in effect all his staff should also be out of work for three months. But that is not possible. He cannot, under Italian law, lay off his staff for three months. That would be illegal, making a suspension virtually impossible, so it’s an absolute ‘catch twenty-two’, don’t you think?” It most certainly seems to be, just like the world’s fight against drugs, an evil that repeatedly raises its ugly head, and always as a result of a combination of pure greed and ignorance. That, as we all know, can be a dangerous mix, and horseracing circles should perhaps be a little bit more aware of that.

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(European Trainer - issue 25 - Spring 2009)

Apr 24 German Racing - an industry in dire straits

Apr 24 Drugs in American racing and the role the vet has to play