Ruling redistributes Flagstaff's runner-up purse from Santa Anita Sprint Championship

A portion of the purse of the Grade 2 Santa Anita Sprint Championship last September was ordered redistributed by Santa Anita stewards on Saturday after runner-up Flagstaff showed the presence of the banned medication clodronic acid, a bisphosphonate.

Flagstaff earned $40,000, which has been ordered forfeited by owners Hronis Racing and Lane’s End Racing, trainer John Sadler and Victor Espinoza. Flagstaff is demoted to unplaced, according to the ruling.

The revised order of finish places Collusion Illusion, Desert Law, and Giant Expectations in second through fourth in the small field. The race was won by C Z Rocket, who is not involved in the decision.

Clodronic acid is listed as a class 1 medication, and is not allowed to appear in post-race tests. Bisphosphonates are part of a class of drugs used to stimulate the repair of bone material, and have been at the forefront of regulatory discussions nationwide in recent years.

Sadler faces a possible sanction for the positive, but no hearings have been scheduled, stewards said over the weekend.

Flagstaff has won two stakes this year – the Grade 3 Commonwealth Stakes at Keeneland on April 3 and the Grade 1 Churchill Downs Stakes on May 1. On June 6, Flagstaff was second to Firenze Fire in the Grade 2 True North Stakes at Belmont Park.