Less than three weeks after the announcement by Woodbine Entertainment and The Meadowlands that they would be forming a partnership to promote racing integrity and accountability, and before a final version of the initiative has been officially formalized, we may have our first victim. On Monday (1/22) at The Meadows in the third race, Tj Blast, a 5-year-old gelding trained by Ron Burke for owners Burke Racing Stable, Weaver Bruscemi, Larry Karr and Donald Emond, was scratched due to a failed pre race test. According to co-owner Mark Weaver, it was due to a high blood gas level (TCO2). Weaver wrote the following on Facebook: “I'll put it out here if this involves Ronnie's positive at The Meadows today. He had a high blood gas on a horse today. (He has never had one in 40k starts and commissions are well aware that he isn't one that flirts with the threshold the way some do). As of a couple years ago this would've been a $250 fine and that's it but today I believe it's a 30 day suspension and potentially we have to switch trainers on over 100 stake horses because of the new rule put in place by WEG. We don't know how he tested high and are looking into it but at this time it's mind boggling. I know Ronnie wouldn't intentionally do it especially with all the repercussions that come with it. I’ll try and post anything new that happens as I figure it's better that way then to have false info out there.” While I had no intention of broaching the subject of the new rules – which cover 30 stakes races at Mohawk, The Meadowlands, Tioga and Vernon – until they were set in stone, with the leading trainer in the sport potentially involved, it accelerates the timeframe for discussion. When reviewing all of the information available via press releases and on social media by WEG Chairman Clay Horner, the only viable conclusion is that if the infraction is upheld by the Pennsylvania Racing Commission, Burke will be forced to remove himself as the trainer of record on any stakes horses he was prepping for races at the above tracks. Of course we are way ahead of ourselves as Burke hasn’t even had a hearing yet and if charged would have every right to appeal the findings. With the Burke situation bringing the new integrity rules to the forefront more quickly than expected, it made sense to reach out to architect Clay Horner to explore what revisions have been made since the initial release on January 5 and when the final version would be released to the Standardbred community. “Every day as it brings new input and new news causes us to consider and tests things against what we are proposing to do,” said Horner. “It is taking a little longer than I would have hoped, but the effort is to get it polished and drive-worthy when we release something. I don’t really have a handle on it (when the rules will be released) because obviously there are a bunch of folks that need to sign off at WEG and at The Meadowlands. It will be as soon as possible, but I can’t commit to a particular time.” Assuming no further adjustments are made, the modifications include placing trainers into one of two classification levels – High Risk & Low Risk. Generally a high risk trainer will be one with a poor overall record when it comes to recent violations and a low risk trainer will have few or no infractions on their record. According to Horner, distinctions will be made when the rules are complete and there won’t be substantial gray area. Should a low risk trainer receive a medication positive, the consequences would focus on the horse in question and the trainer exclusively. The horse would be unable to participate in stakes events at the listed tracks and the trainer would also be barred from competition in those races for a period of time. Owners of horses under the affected trainer’s care will be permitted to move them into a new barn completely unaffiliated with the original trainer and any horses owned by that trainer will still be allowed to compete under the new conditioner. Owners with trainers that fall into the high risk category will lose a percentage of the purse money equal to the amount of the horse they own should their trainer receive a positive test. So if trainer “A” is high risk and one of his horses comes up with a positive, the owners of that horse will be subject to a reduction in purse money of all stakes at the participating tracks equal to their share of the horse. Those withheld funds would be distributed to the second through fifth-place finishers in the race on a 50%-25%-15%-10% scale. “We’ve gone to the classification of trainer proposal to distinguish and provide additional comfort to those owners who said, ‘My trainer would not have been considered a high risk trainer and I had no reason to think he was. I shouldn’t be knocked out of these events or suffer any purse consequences due to an unexpected positive,’” said Horner. “We are seeing already that horses are moving from higher risk trainers to lower risk trainer and that is the fundamental principle behind the rule,” said Horner, who added that he’s heard from trainers who have received new stakes horses as a result of owners looking to be more cautious with their trainer selections. The trainer classification system is not the only new wrinkle being written into the Integrity rules. An exceptional circumstances clause will be added to provide owners/trainers with a final opportunity to appeal a decision. The original rule removed all discretionary decisions, but Horner said that owners felt strongly about having a chance to plead their case. “We heard overwhelmingly from all constitutes, and I understand why given their investment and experience, regardless of what decisions the commissions make, they absolutely wanted for us to have the power under the conditions that they have agreed to by staking the horse, to make exemptions in cases of extraordinary circumstances,” said Horner. “But don’t think the extraordinary circumstances are an everyday event.” With regard to how an appeal might work, Horner said the process would be “fair” and as it relates to WEG would be handled “by a truly independent person or a group of people”. “The revisions are designed to stay true to the original goals of maintaining integrity while at the same time affording all owners added security against the unknown factors,” said Horner, who reiterated his previous comments about how infrequently he expects the rules to even come into play. “I think it will happen once or twice a year. Prior experience tells us this will be an extremely remote event.” Horner was also very impressed with the commitment shown by owners to make the changes work. “In terms of all the people that I’ve spoken to over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been really impressed by their principles in terms on them being prepared to say that they understand the changes we are contemplating and that they are prepared to unreservedly sign on,” said Horner. “Everyone I spoke to was prepared to say, ‘I’m prepared to do my part for better integrity and I realize that any situation where you are making a change, by definition, everybody has the potential for greater risk, and with the appropriate safeguards and protection for the innocent people, I’m on board.” After a near 90-minute conversation, I couldn’t help but notice Horner’s clear passion for the initiative and love for the sport in general. He genuinely came off as a man trying his best to move the industry in a positive direction. Time will tell whether the initiative brings positive change. Horner simply wants those in the industry to come away feeling it is equitable for all involved. “At the end of the day, what I hope people will say is that they think it is fair given the issues and challenges that there are and that we listened to people.”