N.J. racetrack probes rise, as more horses test positive for banned substances – New Jersey Monitor

The variety of horses that examined constructive for banned substances greater than doubled prior to now yr at New Jersey’s three horse racing tracks, state police information reveals.

The New Jersey State Police’s racetrack unit performed 51 barn searches within the 2021 fiscal yr on the Meadowlands Racetrack, Freehold Raceway, and Monmouth Park, up from simply 20 the yr earlier than, state information reveals.

The state Lawyer Common’s Workplace, which oversees the unit, attributed the bounce to improved lab testing that resulted in additional positives.

The upswing comes as consideration grows on the game of horse racing and its persistent issues with horse doping.

Each state traditionally has set its personal anti-doping guidelines and penalties, however Congress in December 2020 handed a legislation to create a federal Horseracing Integrity and Security Authority. The authority is setting nationwide requirements for rules, testing, and enforcement and can start implementing them July 1.

In New Jersey, racetrack unit investigators reply after horses have examined constructive, post-race, for prohibited substances, mentioned Leland Moore, a spokesman for the Lawyer Common’s Workplace.

They report outcomes to the New Jersey Racing Fee, which then takes regulatory motion in opposition to a licensee — usually the horse’s coach — if investigators discovered banned substances or objects throughout their search or in any other case decided the fee’s guidelines have been damaged, Moore mentioned.

Penalties vary from fines to license suspensions, relying on what drug the horse examined constructive for and the coach’s violation historical past, amongst different issues, he added.

The unit’s and fee’s work “is integral to defending race horses from abuse and preserving the integrity of the game,” Moore mentioned.

The Lawyer Common’s Workplace declined to make Judith Nason, the fee’s govt director, out there for questions. Messages left for remark on the three racetracks weren’t returned.

Horse racing is a giant enterprise in New Jersey, though it took a major hit through the pandemic.

The state’s three racetracks held 2,103 races in 2020 and wagers topped $547 million, based on the fee’s 2020 annual report, its most up-to-date. Betting in 2020 fell by practically half from 2019, when about $1 billion was wagered on greater than 2,000 races, based on the fee’s 2019 annual report.