Repole promises to fight N.Y. penalties against Forte, Pletcher

Calling the appeal process “Mickey Mouse,” co-owner Mike Repole repeated his promise to fight the New York State Gaming Commission ruling Monday that disqualified Eclipse Award winner Forte as the winner of the 2022 Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes because of a contentious drug test.

“I don’t even know if it’s going to be called a lawsuit,” Repole said Tuesday in an interview that will be posted Friday on Horse Racing Nation’s Ron Flatter Racing Pod. “If the gaming commission is ‘smart,’ they probably should go through a mediation where somebody just hears the case, and somebody can just tell them that they’re foolish and just let it go. If they decide not to, yeah, we’ll go to a higher court.”

Forte DQ, Pletcher suspension, are upheld by N.Y. commission.

Forte tested positive for a trace amount of the pain reliever meloxicam, which is not allowed for racehorses. The announcement of the disqualification came in May, six days after Forte was a veterinary scratch from the Kentucky Derby.

Repole and trainer Todd Pletcher, who was suspended 10 days and fined $1,000, immediately appealed nearly seven months ago. After making their case in July, the officer in charge of their hearing recommended in September that the suspension, fine and disqualification remain in place. The New York commission voted unanimously Monday to accept that recommendation.

“We had a hearing in kangaroo court six, seven months ago,” Repole said. “It’s funny. We knew the outcome before we even presented our case. It’s a Mickey Mouse appeal process. We were hoping, actually, that they would have made a decision earlier so we can decide what our next steps are, but we plan on taking it to the next step.”

Repole said his case gained support when Lisa Lazarus, the CEO of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, said in May that 500 picograms of meloxicam per milliliter in a post-race drug test would not rise to the level of being flagged under HISA rules. Lazarus made the remark in a hypothetical context when Thoroughbred Daily News asked her about Forte.

“This is a non-violation under HISA,” Repole said. “One more time, this is a non-violation. If this is why HISA is here, and this is a non-violation, and it’s a trace amount, it needs to be the same here. We’ll take it further. I’m sure cooler heads will prevail.”

Two months after winning the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, Forte was voted the champion 2-year-old male of 2022. His victory in the Hopeful helped make the case for his Eclipse Award. Still counting that win and his $165,000 first-place money, Forte was retired this fall with a record of 10: 7-1-0 and earnings of $3,029,830, according to Equibase.

The son of Violence co-owned by Repole and Vinnie Viola will begin his breeding career next year at Spendthrift Farm in Kentucky. He carries a stud fee of $50,000.