"Always Open"
Commission does the right thing
7/28/10 by The Watchdog Committee

    On Thursday July 22, 2010, the racing commission put a halt to what was to be a huge injustice for
    trainer Jimmy Viars. Presiding Judge Rich Williams had made the decision to follow through in
    penalizing Viars for what was said to be a blood gas (TC02) offense, even though the testing
    procedure that was done was incomplete.

    Blood gas (TC02) testing in Kentucky is performed prior to the race, in the paddock. If a horse tests
    high, a second sample must be drawn. Its that sample (the second one) that determines if its positive
    and if the horse must be scratched or gets to race. If the second test is high the horse is scratched
    and must qualify before being eligible to race again. If the second test is normal, the horse gets to
    race.

    A number of horses are tested nearly every race day at Thunder Ridge. It's not a big deal to
    horsemen. The state vet comes through, pulls a sample of blood. And it's a "no news is good news"
    kind of thing. Horses very seldom come back high. So trainers are used to having blood pulled and
    then going on about their normal business.

    In Viars' case, it was no different than any other day of racing. His horse (I'm A Royal Wigwam) was in
    to go on Thursday July 15, 2010. That race was tested and awhile later the race was called out to
    post. Viars raced and finished sixth.

    (On this day, Thursday, his horse was not tested a second time, nor was he scratched.)

    The following day around 4pm, nearly 24 hours later, Viars was in the paddock, where Rich Williams
    approached him to tell him that his horse - I'm A Royal Wigwam had to come out of the race on
    Saturday due to his high blood gas test on Thursday. Viars began to ask questions like; What are
    you talking about? Why did he get to race? Aren't you supposed to take a second test? He asked
    many questions.

    One of Rich Williams' answers was that the vet did not notify them (judges) until after the race. And
    the test was high. Again, Viars questioned about the second test. Williams said the horse had to
    come out. And the horse would have to qualify before he could race again. Williams also informed
    Viars that he would have the high test on his record.

    On a later encounter, Associate Judge Lou Haskell attempted to comfort Viars by telling him it was
    no big deal.

    Over the weekend, Viars consulted with another official, expressing his thoughts of contacting the
    racing commission, only to have that official discourage him by saying he'd be "wasting his time".

    Jimmy Viars was not content to settle for the wrongdoing that was about to be handed down to
    him, not to mention that his horse had been scratched and was denied a racing opportunity as a
    result of Judge Williams' decision.

    On Tuesday morning Viars decided to contact the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission.

    Viars spoke to Kentucky Horse Racing Commission's Deputy Executive Marc Guilfoil and explained
    his situation. Guilfoil questioned Viars and told him he was not aware of what was going on, but
    assured him he would talk to Rich Williams and the state vet as they were at the office that day for
    meetings.

    On Thursday morning, Guilfoil contacted Viars to let him know that the TCO2 positive that had been
    filed against him had been put to rest by the racing commission and he could enter his horse to race.

    Kentucky Horse Racing Commission's Equine Medical Director, Dr. Scollay said, "It was not a
    positive. The testing was incomplete." She continued, "Every trainer has the right to due process."

    As for Viars' horse being scratched on Saturday, Dr. Scollay said she didn't believe it had anything
    to do with the blood gas situation. However, Jimmy Viars was told it was the exact reason why his
    horse had to be scratched. Clearly there has been some failure in communication (to say the least)
    along the lines of transferring information from one official to the next.

    After all was said and done, Viars' made the right decision as he will not have a TC02 positive added
    to his record. The only misfortune that came out of this was his horse being scratched. To some
    that's not a big deal, to others it is, and then there are the whispers that say Viars will pay for it in
    the future.

    Maybe those folks are right -- as the last thing that Judge Williams told Viars was, "We'll be
    watching you."


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