Woodbine: No action needed in Weekend Romance case

The Woodbine stewards ruled Friday that no action will be taken regarding Weekend Romance’s half-length victory in the July 23 Passing Mood Stakes after her post-race blood and urine tests came back negative.

Weekend Romance was treated with Butazolidin and acepromazine by veterinarian Dr. Jenny Creer in the tunnel on the way to the test barn after the Passing Mood Stakes when the filly began showing signs of distress and was unable to walk. A horse ambulance transported Weekend Romance to the test barn where blood and urine samples were taken.

If Weekend Romance’s tests had come back positive, she would have been disqualified as a matter of routine. Any mitigating circumstances could then have been taken into account if the interests of Weekend Romance chose to appeal.

The stewards ruling said that “Weekend Romance was in distress and suffering from heat stroke due to heavy exertion and a possible injury to the right hind leg following the race. A decision had to be made quickly and veterinarian Jennifer Creer proceeded with what she determined as a necesssary procedure to ensure the well-being of the animal.”

The scope of the hearing on Friday morning did not include an explanation of why the medications did not show up in the post-race testing. When asked how this was possible, several veterinarians said that the medications might not have had time to metabolize in the short time before the blood tests were taken.

Weekend Romance is trained by Catherine Day Phillips and owned by Rocco d’Alimonte and Frank Annecchini.