The New York Racing Association will announce today that the trainer Jeff Mullins will be barred from its racetracks for six months for giving one of his horses an unknown substance in the Aqueduct monitoring barn in April and repeatedly lying about it. The association has also made it clear that, in contrast to past practices among trainers, Mullins cannot transfer his horses to an employee, relative or business associate to get around the suspension in order to run in New York.

        The aggressive punishment of Mullins in New York comes at a time when horse racing is under intense scrutiny for its use of illegal drugs, overuse of legal medications and lax oversight, all of which many veterinarians believe are part of the reason the United States has the world’s worst mortality rate for thoroughbreds. Racing officials acknowledged they were trying to send a message, especially in light of Mullins’s public remarks in the wake of the incident and his cavalier attitude during two days of testimony at an administrative hearing.

     “You cannot surreptitiously bring contraband into our security barn and then lie about it,” said Neil Getnick, whose law firm, Getnick & Getnick, serves as the racing association’s independent integrity counsel.

      The punishment will extend only so far, however. Mullins, one of the most successful trainers in the country — and one of the most notorious for his many medication violations — is free to run in any other racing jurisdiction during the ban. That includes Santa Anita in California, where he intends to run a horse next week at the Breeders’ Cup, one of racing’s richest events.

     The origins of Mullins’s punishment go back to April 4, when he was caught giving what he said was a cough remedy to Gato Go Win with a dose syringe in the Aqueduct security barn. No medications are allowed in the barn, except for an anti-bleeding drug that can be administered only by a state veterinarian. The horse was scratched, but later that day, Mullins won the Wood Memorial with I Want Revenge.

     Two days later, Mullins said that security personnel searched his bucket, where the substance and a syringe were in plain sight with soap and a sponge. Mullins, who is based in California, said he did not know of New York’s strict rules despite having items seized on two previous dates when his horses ran in New York.

     “Once I carried it through, I thought it was O.K.,” Mullins told The New York Times for an article plublished April 7.  “They watched me put it in the back of his mouth. They let me put nasal ointment in his nose, too.”

     On April 19, the New York State Racing and Wagering Board suspended Mullins for seven days and fined him $2,500. Mullins maintained that he did not break any rules, but accepted the punishment.

     New York racing officials were troubled, however, by Mullins’s conflicting assertions. His buckets had been thoroughly searched, according to transcripts of sworn testimony taken on May 14 and June 24 that were obtained by The New York Times.

     When investigators first discovered the syringe and the substance, which Mullins said was the over-the-counter cough remedy Air Power, in the security barn, for example, Mullins told them that his groom, Reuben Julius, had carried them in. When Julius challenged the trainer’s assertion before investigators, Mullins admitted that he, indeed, had brought in the syringe.

     Throughout his testimony, Mullins was at odds with other witnesses, including a Getnick & Getnick investigator, Erskine Rivers, and Sgt. Robert Cokinos of the New York Racing Association security force, as well as himself.

     Mullins said he prepared Air Power and a syringe in “front of two guys who should have stopped me.” Rivers, however, testified that this was not the case, and that he first saw the syringe after Mullins lowered his hand down from Gato Go Win’s head after Mullins had administered the substance in the back of the horse’s stall. He then saw Mullins shake the syringe into the straw, and kick the straw around for a short time.

Mullins then threw the syringe into a bucket of water, according to Rivers, and drew water in and out to rinse it and preclude any positive test of liquid that may have remained in the syringe.

 AS EASY AS 1-2-3

    According to Marcus Hersh (DRF), Hawthorne Race Course has become the latest participant in 123 Racing, a Philadelphia Park-hubbed multi-race wager developed by an Australian company and offered to limited markets in the United States.

     Hawthorne began offering the 123 wager Wednesday, and the bet will be based at Hawthorne each Wednesday and Thursday this fall, while rotating to races at Philadelphia Park and Mountaineer Park on other days. Thoroughbred tracks offering the 123 include Hawthorne, Philadelphia, Canterbury, Presque Isle, and Mountaineer.

    The 123 has a $2 base amount, and requires a player to select one or more horses in a designated series of races. If a selected horse finishes in the top three, the player is awarded the horse’s $2 win, place, and show payoffs as points.

     At the end of the sequence, the payoffs are totaled, and the player with the most points wins. A lone winner receives 60 percent of the pool, with 30 percent for the second-highest total, and 10 percent for third. Payoff are split differently for ties. Pools are averaging $600 to $1,200 right now, according to Hawthorne officials. Takeout for the bet is 35 percent, and the bet is treated like a simulcast wager.

DEWEY’S ANALYSIS

      There are only a handful of graded stakes races on the national scene this week. The biggest purse is at Woodbine in Toronto, the $250,000 Princess Elizabeth purse for 2-year-old fillies. It’s a good betting race. Having been at Woodbine, I can tell you the racing is high-caliber, the purses sizeable and the track is beautiful. Let’s take a look at the Princess Elizabeth.

Woodbine
6^th-1 1/16-miles
The Princess Elizabeth $250,000

    It’s difficult to win at Woodbine on the front end around two-turns, yet  two of the favorites on the morning line – Honey Crisp and Silent Whisper -  appear to need that tactic to win.  Milford Bay is another front runner, as is Resentless and Barracks Road. That leaves me with the 5-2 favorite Ernfold and 8-1 Moment of Majesty. Ernfold is coming out of the Grade III Natalma, while Moment of Majesty just broke her maiden. Since this is a ROI (return on investment) value-based site, I’m giving the nod to the well-bred Moment of Majesty to upset Ernfold with Honey Crisp right there.

    The Value Play:  Moments of Majesty (fifth) (Ernfold (third $2.30), Honey Crisp (fourth), Resentless (second $4.10. $2.30))

 Oak Tree at Santa Anita
3^rd – The Jack Goodman
6-furlongs – $58,000

       A really good sprint; a case can be made for any of the six runners,  Minesweeper is undefeated, Bob Baffert has two entries, as does John Sadler – the race is loaded. One of these sprinters could turn out to be a star. I have the feeling Hurricane Ike will be overlooked. Ike is coming out of two Grade I races and at one time was considered a budding supper star. I’m willing to give him another chance at what should be square odds.

The Value Play:  Hurricane Ike (second $4.20) (Macias (first $4.60, $2.80), Privilaged (third), Our Minsesweeper (fourth))

 Golden Gate Fields
3^rd- Maiden Special Weight
6-furlongs $28,000

     It’s hard to get a price on a Russell Baze mount, but today we might. With most of the money expected to go on Hutch, Crocodile could leave the gate at decent odds. Let’s hope so since that’s my choice to upset Hutch. Steve Sherman could saddle the top two.

The Value Play:  Crocodile (first $6.60, $3.40, $2.60)) (Hutch (second $2.60, $2.20), Stevie’s Storm (fifth), Vadertore (third $2.80))

  7^th – Allowance/claiming
6-furlongs $29,000

    Sourdough Sam is the horse to beat. Notice all the trouble he was in last out. However, these are 2-year-olds and just because he ran big last time with loads of trouble to overcome, doesn’t mean he will duplicate the effort. Craig Dollase sends Majestic Peak in from his win at Fairplex and Greg Gilchrist has Streakin’ Mohican breaking from the rail. Mohican was beaten soundly by Sourdough Sam when favored on September 19^th. Mohican may be ready to turn the tables. It looks like that maiden race and his subsequent solid work pattern has him ready. Plus, Gilchrist is terrific with young sprinters.

 The Value Play:  Streakin’ Mohican (seventh) (Sourdough Sam (first $3.40, $2.40, $2.20), Majestic Peak (fourth), Very Fair (third $3.40))

 Golden Gate Pick-Three
$1.00 wager

 4^th – Vindictive Cat, Chars Problem, Extravagant, Le Grand Amour (first $19.80, $7.80, $4.20))

5^th – Arden Park (scratched), Dixie Passion (fourth)

6^th – Gearing Up, Then Play On, Tapadero (first $3.60, $2.60, $2.40)

 $24.00 wager

 Golden Gate Fields
Spot Play

 9^th – Suspect (scratched)as key in exotics with Cousin Bruno (first $5.60, $3.60, $2.60), Hi Card Jackpot (fourth) and Mawenzi (sixth).

Dewey Forget contributed to the blog