Flunixin charge against Clement dropped

An arbitrator has dismissed a controlled-medication charge against trainer Christophe Clement, citing “some doubt about the scientific reliability of the testing” of a sample that indicated an overage of flunixin, a regulated painkiller.

The arbitrator, Edward Weiss, a member of the Internal Adjudication Panel employed by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, wrote that the charge should be dismissed after attorneys raised concerns over a number of lab procedures for the sample and the witness for the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit "did not present evidence sufficient to demonstrate the testing procedures at issues were all certified as fit for purpose.”

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“While IAP Member [Weiss] is comfortably satisfied that there was at least some flunixin present in the covered horse, that is not sufficient given that HIWU was required to first show hat the initial screening was reliable and accurate to justify further testing,” Weiss wrote.

Clement was served with a notice of violation after Gal in a Rush allegedly tested positive for flunixin after running third in the Grade 2 Masters Stakes at Presque Isle Downs on Sept. 20. According to the arbitrator’s report, Miguel Clement, Clement's son and assistant trainer, said that Gal in a Rush was administered flunixin 10 days prior to the race.

The sample was tested by the Pennsylvania Equine Toxicology Laboratory, which is accredited by HISA. According to the lab reports, both the initial sample and the confirmatory sample tested positive above the 4 ng/mL screening limit.

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