Horsemen sue The Red Mile

Trainers Jan Johnson, Bob McIntosh, Jim Arledge and Joe Seekman have filed a lawsuit against The Red Mile for defamation after initial drug tests done by the track during the 2008 Grand Circuit meet on their horses came up positive, but were later proved negative by additional tests.

Using Elisa screening testing, horses trained by the four men tested positive for erythropoietin (EPO) and/or darbepoetin (DPO) during out-of-competition testing conducted by The Red Mile. The trainers requested samples be tested at Pennsylvania’s Equine Toxicology and Research Laboratory, and those tests came up negative.

The trainers allege the track did not follow Kentucky Horse Racing Commission protocol during the testing procedures. The suit asks for unspecified damages, included the $1,500-per-horse cost of the follow-up testing incurred by the trainers, lost entry fees caused when the horses were not allowed to be entered to race, potential lost purses from those races, and attorneys’ fees.

Although The Red Mile never publicly announced the names of the trainers that had the alleged positive tests in early October, the suit claims the names became known because of leaks by representatives of the track.

Part of the suit alleges the trainers were told “that if they actually requested true confirmatory testing of the split samples they would be punished or sanctioned, including, but not limited to, being banned for life from racing horses trained by them at Red Mile's facilities, having earned purses withheld and having the ... screen results reported to other racetracks as positive tests for EPO, while if they did not attempt to confirm the tests, they would not be further punished, although they would not receive the purses due for the horses with an EPO positive."

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