Positive quarantine test

Night Mystery, the Noel-Daley trained horse who had an elevated TCO2 test following a win at the Meadowlands Feb. 25, has tested high once again following a three-day quarantine period March 8-10.



"(Night Mystery) went into the quarantine and the results came out as a high reading," New Jersey Racing Commission deputy director Mike Vukcevich told The Horseman Tuesday morning, March 15. "That means that if it is determined the horse is naturally high there will be no penalty. However, we are currently looking at the sufficiency of the quarantine process and we will present our findings to the judges and they will make a determination if the results of the quarantine are considered valid. They will determine that based upon the facts surrounding the quarantine that the horse is naturally high."



Vukcevich said that although there is no specific timeframe, he expects a determination to be made by the judges within the next five to 10 days.



"There is nothing blatant that stands out in the actual conduct of the quarantine that it was not proper; however we have to look at several factors," Vukcevich added. "We have people to be questioned as to whether or not they saw anything irregular. We have to talk to the security guards, the vets, the lab director concerning the results of the test."



Following the elevated test, Daley's barn at Magical Acres in Chesterfield, N.J. was raided March 2 by the New Jersey State Police, who found syringes, needles and suspected non-FDA approved drugs, which subsequently led to the 43-year-old trainer being arrested. Daley is scheduled to appear in Municipal Court March 16 on those charges.



"That is on a separate track and has nothing to do with this," said Vukcevich of the criminal case pending against Daley, currently the leading trainer at the Meadowlands.

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