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Saturday, January 10, 2009
Stolis Winner DQ'd From Futurity Win
By Charles D. Brunt
Journal Staff Writer
Stolis Winner, the 2-year-old brown gelding that won the $1.9 million All American Futurity at Ruidoso Downs this past Labor Day, has been disqualified from the race after testing positive for caffeine.
The ruling, made Thursday by the Sunland Park racetrack's Board of Stewards, also requires forfeiture of the horse's $1 million winnings for redistribution among the race's other nine horses.
Stolis Winner's trainer, Heath M. Taylor of Ledbetter, Texas, has been suspended for six months and fined $1,500, Julian Luna, executive director of the New Mexico Racing Commission, confirmed Friday.
Luna said Taylor has indicated he will appeal the ruling. Phone calls seeking comment from Taylor and Stolis Winner's owner, Jerry Windham of College Station, Texas, were not returned Friday.
Just like the jolt you get from your morning coffee, caffeine can be a psychoactive stimulant for horses. Because of that, New Mexico racing regulations include caffeine — in any amount — in the list of substances considered illegal in horse racing.
Ultimately, the New Mexico Racing Commission, which regulates horse racing at the state's five licensed racetrack/casinos, will decide whether to uphold the ruling made by stewards Ed L'Cuyer, Kenneth Hart and Pat Mackey.
Because the All American Futurity is a high-stakes race, all 10 horses that ran in the race were tested, Luna said. Ruidoso Downs stewards also ordered that three random horses undergo blood tests. Solis Winner was among those three.
Initial testing of Stolis Winner's urine came back "clean," Luna said, so purses were released by the Racing Commission staff.
When Stolis Winner's blood test showed the presence of caffeine, the horse's original urine sample was retested specifically for caffeine, and confirmed the blood test.
Luna said a split sample provided to Stolis Winner's handlers was tested at Louisiana State University, where the caffeine finding was confirmed.
Winnings for the 2008 All American Futurity, billed as "the world's richest quarter horse race," ranged from $1 million for first place to $50,000 for last.
The 2008 futurity's original second-place finisher — a Louisiana-bred black colt named Jet Black Patriot that finished the 440-yard race a half length behind Stolis Winner — now becomes the race's first-place finisher, Luna said.
The new order of finish is: Jet Black Patriot; Jess Zoomin; Calif Fugitive; Jess Significant; This Wager Is Hot; Winners Version; Iamasurebet; Mighty Corona; and Burner On.
Under Thursday's ruling, Stolis Winner is officially listed as "unplaced" in the race.
Ann McGovern, president and general manager of Ruidoso Downs, said Friday the stewards's ruling marks the first time a winning horse in the All American Futurity has been disqualified in the race's 50-year history.
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