On Wednesday the Ontario Racing Commission released its reasons for decision on the positive test for the horse Taylorlane Fancy, trained by Gordon McDonnell.

The Judges at Windsor Raceway were notified on February 22, 2012 of a positive certificate of analysis issued by Maxxam Labs for the drug Ethylglucuronide (a metabolite of Ethanol- a class 2 positive) for the horse “Taylorlane Fancy” which raced in the 2nd race on Feb. 14, 2012 at Windsor Raceway and finished second. Taylorlane Fancy is owned by Dr. Reg Westgarth and trained by Gordon McDonnell.

Investigator Tom Miller of the ORC interviewed Mr. McDonnell and provided an investigative report File #12-144 dated March 13, 2012.

A Hearing was held by the Judges at Windsor Raceway on March 28 at 5:30 p.m. Gord McDonnell attended and was represented by OHHA general manager Brian Tropea.

Mr. McDonnell admitted treating the horse with Clotol, an anti-bleeding medication that up until January 1, 2012 had been administered by ORC commission veterinarians in the paddock on race day. The practice was discontinued primarily because of the perceptions raised by having ORC commission veterinarians treating horses in the paddock. The industry was notified via a notice on Standardbred Canada that the practice of ORC vets treating horses would end on January 1, 2012. It was also noted in that release that n-butyl alcohol (Clotol) was a legal medication, however it also noted that it should be administered under the direction of an ORC licensed veterinarian and caution used. That notification noted that Clotol was a 7% solution and was no longer commercially available. N-butyl alcohol was being produced by independent compounders and a small pharmaceutical company and that the solution being distributed was a 14% solution.

The CPMA issued a notice to the industry on January 16, 2012 and emailed to various industry participants on January 19, 2012 that they would begin testing for Ethanol, a class 2 drug effective February 13, 2012. A previous notice in 2008 listed Ethanol as a prohibited substance. It would appear that no notification of the decision to test for ethanol appeared on the Standardbred Canada website but was noted by the HBPA. On February 24 a notice was issued by the ORC which appeared on Standardbred Canada reminding the industry that testing for ethanol had begun on February 13, 2012. Two positive tests had been received; one at Windsor on February 14.

Investigator Miller noted on his report that some time after the positive tests had been received CPMA was notified by a pharmaceutical company that Ethanol was used as a preservative in some of their products including N-butyl alcohol. This was confirmed by Dr. Adam Chambers. This was the pharmacy that supplied the product that Mr. McDonnell used. A notice was then issued by the ORC on March 2, 2012 that was carried on the Standardbred Canada website that some forms of N-Butyl Alcohol contained ethanol and that main supplier had chosen to increase the solution strength to 14%.

Documentation and testimony was provided by Mr. McDonnell that he purchased and used the medication from and under the direction of a licensed ORC veterinarian. Windsor Commission Veterinarian Dr. Paul Branton offered support for Mr. McDonnell’s position. The facts are that Mr. McDonnell purchased the n-butyl alcohol from the Beiderman Equine Clinic and administered the medication himself prior to leaving the farm. His testimony was that Dr. Beiderman and the horse’s owner retired veterinarian Dr. Reg Westgarth had advised him on the proper use of n-butyl alcohol.

The Judges in reaching their decision took in the following mitigating circumstances.

1. N-butyl alcohol was administered by ORC commission veterinarians up until January 1, 2012. It was noted the industry was advised that it was still a legal medication.

2. It would appear that the use of ethanol as preservative in this medication was unknown prior to the recording of this positive test.

3. That Mr. McDonnell did avail himself by seeking and using a product under the advice of a licensed ORC veterinarian.

4. That a breakdown in communicating notice to the industry via the most commonly used mechanism (that of the Standardbred Canada website) had occurred with most of the advisory notices coming after the discovery of the positive test.

5. Mr. McDonnell has a relatively clean record having one positive test in 1992.

The Judges were aware that a source of ethanol positives may be the use of over the counter alcohol products such as vodka or similar product. Mr. McDonnell denied the use of vodka and no evidence was provided that vodka could have been the source of the positive. Further research may reveal a quantitative difference in the ethanol levels between n-butyl alcohol and other forms of available alcohol.

The Judges note that this is an absolute liability offence and as such the rules of racing dictate that the horse Taylorlane Fancy is disqualified from second and the purse money returned and redistributed. Also under rules of racing the horse Taylorlane Fancy is and has already been suspended for 90 days for having participated with a prohibited substance.

The Judges have also noted that Ethanol is a class two drug violation which would carry a recommended penalty of $5,000 and a one year full suspension. The Judges have also referenced other positive tests of a similar nature that included mitigating circumstances which resulted in reduced or no penalty being applied.

It is therefore the decision of the Windsor Judges that no penalty be applied to Gordon McDonnell and have issued ORC ruling SB43652 to that effect.

(with files from ORC)