There are now doubts about the legitimacy of Justify's Triple Crown triumph in 2018.
The New York Times reported Wednesday that the colt tested positive for the banned substance scopoloamine after winning the Santa Anita Derby in April of that year, a violation that should have ruled him out of the Kentucky Derby a month later. California horsemen, however, moved slowly in investigating the test; that delay, in turn, allowed Justify to race in, and win, the Ketucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes and become the 13th Triple Crown winner in thoroughbred racing history.
Positive tests for scopolamine had led to other horses being disqualified from races; a DQ in the Santa Anita Derby would have prevented Justify from qualifying for the Kentucky Derby, the Times' Joe Drape reported.
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Rick Baedeker, executive director of the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB), told Drape there wasn't enough time for the board to investigate the test and issue a report before the Kentucky Derby.
"That's impossible. Well, that's not impossible, that would have been careless and reckless for us to tell an investigator what usually takes you two months, you have to get done in five days, eight days. We weren't going to do that," Drape quoted Baedeker as saying.
Drape, citing records and correspondence related to the case, also reported that Dr. Rick Arthur, the CHRB's equine medical director, told Baedeker, board lawyers and the board's chief investigator on April 20, 2018, two days after the board learned of the positive test, that the case "would be handled differently than usual." Arthur called for additional testing and review of data.
Baedeker told Drape it was his belief that Arthur wanted the probe to be thorough. Drape reported that Baedeker was speaking for Arthur.
The CHRB notified Justify's Hall of Fame trainer, Bob Baffert, of the positive test on April 26, 2018, nine days before the Kentucky Derby, Drape reported. Baffert requested that an independent laboratory examine a second blood and urine sample; that sample, sent May 1, also came back positive, but the lab told Baedeker of the results on May 8, three days after Justify won the Kentucky Derby, per Drape's report.
No follow-up was ever done, Drape reported, and the investigation ended abruptly in August 2018 when CHRB commissioners, after listening to Baedeker lay out the evidence in a private session, voted not to open a case against Baffert, who did not respond to requests by the Times for comment. (UPDATE: Baffert told Yahoo Sports' Pat Forde late Wednesday via text that he would make a statement Thursday.)
The CHRB in October 2018 followed through on earlier plans to reduce the penalties for scopolamine from disqualification and purse forfeiture to a fine and possible suspensions, Drape reported.
California trainers have known for some time that Scopolamine is a banned substance, Drape reported. Veterinarians consider it a performance-enhancer; Dr. Rick Sams, the former director of the drug lab for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, told Drape the drug helps improve a horse's breathing and optimize its heart rate. Doctors prescribe scopolamine to humans to treat stomach or intestinal problems, per Drape's report.
Baedeker told Drape that scopolamine also occurs naturally in jimson weed, which springs up where dung is present. A defense could be made that jimson weed got into a horse's feed and hay. Drape's reporting found that the amount of scopolamine in Justify was too high to have been accumulated naturally.
Drape's report also touched on hosemen's longstanding conflicts of interest, including board members having ownership stakes in horses and having working relationships with jockeys and trainers. There is no California law prohibiting such conflicts, Drape reported.
His report noted that Justify's ownership group included "power brokers" in horse racing, in particular WinStar Farm and China Horse Group, but that the documents the Times reviewed showed no evidence the group pressured or interefered with California regulators.
Justify was retired to stud by his owners in July 2018. He is now living in Australia, Drape reported.