N.Y. commission is scheduled to rule on Forte drug DQ

Fifteen months after the race was run, the appeal of Forte’s drug disqualification from a Grade 1 victory at Saratoga is scheduled to get a ruling Monday from the New York State Gaming Commission.

Trainer Todd Pletcher appealed the stewards’ May 11 finding that Forte tested positive for 500 picograms of meloxicam, a pain reliever that is not allowed for racehorses. The commission demoted Forte from first to last place in the Sept. 5, 2022, running of the Hopeful Stakes in which the first-place prize was $165,000. Pletcher was given a 10-day suspension and a $1,000 fine.

Flashback: Forte is DQ’d from Hopeful after positive drug test.

The DQ, suspension and fine were put on hold when Pletcher appealed, telling BloodHorse that Forte “has never been prescribed or administered meloxicam.” The appeal process called for a hearing officer to handle the case and make a recommended ruling that the commission can accept or reject when it meets Monday at 1 p.m. EST in New York.

A spokesperson for the commission would not divulge the details of what will be considered Monday, saying, “By law, adjudicatory material cannot be released until after the matter at hand has been formally acted upon by the commission, after which it becomes subject to FOIL (New York’s freedom-of-information law). In other words, we expect that it will be subject to FOIL after Monday’s commission meeting.”

Pletcher’s attorney Karen Murphy could not be reached Friday.

The case came up 11 days before federal medication regulations took effect May 22. Without referencing Forte directly, Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority CEO Lisa Lazarus told Thoroughbred Daily News that 500 picograms of meloxicam “would be below our screening limit and would not ever be notified as a positive under HISA.”

Mike Repole and Vinnie Viola own Forte. Repole told BloodHorse if the commission were to turn down Pletcher’s appeal, he would take the case to court.

Forte, who was voted the 2022 champion juvenile male four months before the drug positive was revealed, was retired Oct. 19 to begin a breeding career at Spendthrift Farm. Not counting the Hopeful, the 3-year-old Violence colt won three Grade 1 races, the Breeders’ Futurity and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile in 2022 and the Florida Derby in 2023.

Injuries marred Forte’s 2023 season. A bruised hoof led to his being scratched on race day from the Kentucky Derby, where he was the morning-line and futures favorite. A pesky quarter crack kept him out of the Breeders’ Cup Classic and hastened his retirement.

According to Equibase, which counts the Hopeful victory, Forte finished his racing career with a record of 10: 7-1-0 and earnings of $3,029,830.