Mr Gavin van Zyl - Forward Spell DISQUALIFIED

The horse in question won 4.5 Lengths after being gambled of the boards (11/2 into 5/2 according to Formgrids), fails a Bob Hope test and the trainer only gets fined R17,000? Is there a reason why? Did the STIPES investigate the betting activity? A quick look on GOOGLE at DEXAMETHASONE says it's a steroid the helps with inflammation/ pain on joints... I think in cases like this the public need to see the notes of the inquiry (if there even is one)

Thoughts?


GREYVILLE RACECOURSE - RACE 5 - 14.05.2022

Rule 73.2.4 – For, as the Trainer responsible for the horse FORWARD SPELL, from which a specimen was taken after it won the above race, disclosed upon analysis the presence of DEXAMETHASONE, which is a prohibited substance. Fined R17 000 and in terms of Rule 72.3.2 the horse was disqualified from the Race and the provisions of Rule 67.7.8 shall apply

This is why in SA racing, you can do all the form studying you want, but the horse's prep decides when the horse will win or not.

Bob,have you ever seen our stipes investigate betting activity?
Make R100 000 on the punt and pay R17 000 fine.

That's my intention of this thread Durbs.

Not to roast GVN as this is probably j"ust medication"

But us DUMBOS can only think the worse if we don't see the findings and the reasoning why the fine is pitiful..

Compare it with NEL'S 100K fine

I backed Forward Spell that day. It was not supposed to open that price. It had Gauteng form.

When American outlets carry articles, it will tell you if the drug is not allowed to be in its body/blood on race day and if its a prescribed drug that it allowed by a veterinarian and how many days prior its needs to be administered. It will also note if the drug is not allowed at all which will be a serious offence.

To me, it looks like a prescribed drug that will still in the system that did not metabolise in time.

Naresh , thanks as always for the post

The notice does say it's a prohibited substance

.....I have known Gavin van Zyl for 45 years....never known him to be a gambler....Dexamethazone is a very common anti inflammatory administered by local vets.....in fact I would say that it is the most used and also most fined substance here.....the problem is that vets seldom get the timing of when the drug is no longer detected....seen many GVZ horses shorten and run big races as Gavin is a better judge of readiness than most others and accordingly gives the connections confidence to have a bet. I do not believe that he nor any other conditioners also fined for this substance were intentionally using it to pull off a betting coup....as it does very little to make a horse run any faster....it is used to reduce inflammation in joints and is one of the faster acting drugs for this purpose... and is only prohibited ....like many other substances...in racing....but not prohibited for medical treatment by a certified vet....:dry: .

Muhtiman wrote:

......as it does very little to make a horse run any faster....it is used to reduce inflammation in joints and is one of the faster acting drugs for this purpose... and is only prohibited ....like many other substances...in racing....but not prohibited for medical treatment by a certified vet....:dry: .

an anti inflammatory will reduce inflammation and swelling and helps relieve pain, in which case the horse WILL run closer to its ability, which means he will run faster with it than without it

.....point taken .....yet most inflammatory medications with analgesic properties are prescribed and administered long before race days and it would be foolish for any conditioner to even "work" a horse while medicated as if you do you can cause irreparable damage to the injury....for this reason these forms of medication are prohibited....however when the injury has been addressed and medication is discontinued the analgesic effects are no longer there.... yet due to the steroidal nature of this particular drug the metabolites can still be detected....this is not the 1st time GVZ has gotten a big fine for "medication" as when he 1st started out he got into trouble for a vet injecting directly into a joint incorrectly and the medication was retained in the horses system beyond the normal metabolic period .... he has since been very practical about medication..... yet, still at the mercy of "the Vets" advice....FFS I have seen vets in that region bombing horses with really harsh sh!t that is totally banned here....and telling the trainers it would be OK to work them in a day or two but wait a week or two before you race them.....:S

.....this site has covered these issues many times before and have taken the liberty of c&p another very informed posters remarks....

The steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (people this has nothing to do with anabolic steroids), are mostly cortisone based, and cannot mask pain enough for an injured horse to work again.

There is a very strict procedure regarding the administration of these high schedule drugs, with the cortisone based anti-inflammatory drugs being a schedule 4. The drugs must be administered by a veterinary surgeon, and recorded in a NHRA register. These high schedule drugs are not simply available over the counter. You can't just go and buy a bottle of pain masking drugs anywhere. And vets will not just inject without checking the horse first.

Top human athletes have their "soundness maintained" by specialist sport medicine doctors. They are treated in exactly the same way as performance horses. Time and rest will heal nearly every injury, but some anti-inflammatory medication will speed up the healing. With the advent of specific Cox 2 drugs now, the side effects are greatly reduced, and the positive effects are specifically targeted towards the problem areas. Ask any owner if they would prefer to pay keep for a horse resting for 6 months, while waiting for a non-career threatening injury to heal, or if they would prefer a shorter rest period, where therapeutic drugs have been used to assist with the healing of the injury....

Running today...Race 8...no 3...

.....interesting....now a maiden in open company....:S

....wonder if the MR was adjusted accordingly....