Biancone hearing scheduled

A hearing has been scheduled in regard to a search of the Keeneland barns of trainer Patrick Biancone, Kentucky state steward John Veitch said Thursday, although Veitch said he was not at liberty to name the time or location of the hearing.

Biancone's three barns at Keeneland were searched June 22, and an anonymous source close to the investigation has told Daily Racing Form that cobra venom, a painkiller forbidden by racing, was found in a refrigerator in a tack room. Biancone, 55, has not been penalized while the racing authority investigation continues, and he is still overseeing his large stable.

Veitch said some details of the hearing will be made available "after the case is fully adjudicated" but that he has been ordered by Lisa Underwood, the executive director of the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority, not to release any specifics about the hearing. He said Underwood informed him that "because of the seriousness of this case," she is following the letter of the law, and that state regulations dictate that details of stewards' hearings not be made public until after the fact. Veitch would only say only that the Biancone hearing is scheduled to be held "fairly soon."

Biancone, who currently is based primarily at Saratoga, was scheduled to be in Chicago on Saturday to run Stream Cat in the Arlington Million and Lady of Venice in the Beverly D.

Biancone's veterinarian, Dr. Rod Stewart, also is under investigation in the case.