Split sample is positive

According to the New Jersey Racing Commission, the split sample taken from Doggone Incredible after a Dec. 9 race at the Meadowlands has come back positive for lidocaine. The horse trained by Mickey Burke finished second in the race.

Lidocaine is a local anesthetic which can produce pain relief when applied to the skin. Frank Zanzuccki, executive director of the New Jersey Racing Commission, said the sample results showed a “significant amount” of lidocaine.

Burke, who led the country in trainer wins in 2006 with 450, was informed that the horse had tested positive in late December. He then requested that a split sample be tested by an independent lab.

The normal regulatory process for a positive test will get underway very soon. “At this point the judges at the Meadowlands will be setting up a hearing as soon as possible,” said Zanzuccki. “If he’s found in violation, the penalty will then be addressed.”

In the Friday, Jan. 19, edition of the New York Daily News, Burke was quoted as telling writer Dave Little that he was "1,000 percent% innocent of any wrongdoing."

Burke has had previous positive tests. A March 2003 positive for flupenazine was rescinded, but Burke also had positive tests for methocarbamol in Oct. 2000, three for metaproternol in July 1990, and flunixin and phenylbutazone positives in 1989 and 1986, respectively.

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