Three leading trainers have 171 Quarter Horses placed on Remington Park stewards' list
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Remington Park stewards on Wednesday placed 171 Quarter Horses from three leading trainers on a stewards’ list, leaving them unable to race, after horses from those stables were vanned off following major stakes in March and last Saturday.
According to a statement from the Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission, the horses were put on the stewards’ list after track stewards reviewed “evidence, reports, video recordings, veterinary opinions, and other information concerning horses that appeared in extreme distress after racing.”
According to commission documents, 52 horses trained by Josue Jacob Garcia, 57 trained by Leonardo Alcala, and 62 trained by Jed Vane have been placed on the stewards’ list.
Vane trains Kiss Me Ina Flash, who was vanned from near the winner’s circle to the stables after winning the $435,395 Oklahoma Futurity on March 21. Garcia trains West Texas Royalty, who was vanned off after winning the $217,910 Remington Park Oklahoma-Bred Derby last Saturday.
Jay W and Cyber Command, who finished fifth and sixth in the Remington Park Oklahoma-Bred Derby for Alcala, were listed as vanned off, according to the official race chart. Cyber Command was the 4-5 favorite and was beaten 1 1/4 lengths.
Through Wednesday, Alcala led all trainers at the meeting with 25 wins from 83 starters. Garcia was second with 20 wins from 50 runners, while Vane ranked fifth with 12 winners from 53 starters.
In a statement, the racing commission said the stewards “found an abnormal and materially elevated pattern of severe post-race distress among the affected horses, including repeated incidents in which horses were unable to safely leave the track under their own power and required transport from the racing surface.”
The statement indicated that the stewards sought the opinions of three veterinarians “who concluded that the condition shown by the horses was extreme, unusual, not a normal post-race recovery pattern, materially adverse to equine welfare, and inconsistent with the safe and humane participation of such horses in racing absent further investigation and clearance.”
In their decisions, the stewards emphasized that the placement of the horses on the stewards’ list is temporary.
Under the directives issued by Remington Park stewards Glen Murphy, Don Rausch and Jeff Williams, the 171 horses will be subject to mandatory pre-race and out-of-competition testing, as well as veterinary examinations before being removed from the list, according to documents issued on Wednesday.
But the timing of the decisions may have ramifications of whether many of the horses involved can run in major stakes in coming weeks.
Time trials for the Heritage Place Derby, Futurity and Oaks are scheduled for May 7-10 with finals on May 30. Entries for those time trials will be taken from April 29 to May 2.
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