The Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit has lifted a provisional suspension of trainer Jorge Duarte Jr. that was based on a positive for methamphetamine in a horse he trains for Richard Santulli’s Colts Neck Stables, according to the trainer and public documents.
HIWU lifted the suspension after Duarte provided the agency with “relevant and meaningful information regarding the likely source of unintentional transfer or contamination,” according to a notice sent by HIWU to the trainer. Duarte provided the notice to Daily Racing Form.
Duarte began his suspension Sept. 6, but he was allowed to run horses he had already entered in races until Sept. 10. The suspension was lifted on Sept. 20, according to the HIWU letter. Technically, Duarte had served 15 days of the 60-day suspension when it was lifted.
Happy Cat, a horse trained by Duarte, tested positive for methamphetamine after a race May 22 at Delaware Park. Duarte shipped Happy Cat in for the race from a private training center in New Jersey.
Duarte conducted his own investigation into the source of the positive and said he landed on a freelance hotwalker he hired at Delaware Park to care for the horse. His staff at his own operation all tested negative for methamphetamine, he said. The same hotwalker worked for a different trainer who, Duarte said, had a horse test positive for methamphetamine the next day.
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The regulation of human drugs of abuse is problematic in racing and other sports due to the high probability of contamination and the powerful impact that use of the drug could have on a performance athlete. Although methamphetamine is a banned drug under HIWU’s rules, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, which devises the rules enforced by HIWU, has submitted new regulations regarding human drugs of abuse that would limit suspensions for those drugs to 60 days provided the “finding was the result of inadvertent transfer.”
Duarte, a former jockey and assistant trainer who has attended accreditation programs for racing officials, provided the materials he sent to HIWU to argue for the lifting of the suspension. The materials include the veterinary records Duarte has submitted to HIWU, photographs of signs he has placed in his barn alerting workers to the need to keep stalls clean and for the workers to wash their hands, and certifications of his attendance in continuing education seminars and HISA webinars.
“I can say that we try to do it the right way, but the horse racing industry is hard right now,” Duarte said. “You have to get the help and unfortunately we know that there’s drug use on our backstretches, just like any other industry.”
Since submitting the new rule on drug abuse for approval to the Federal Trade Commission, HISA has announced that it will not prosecute the cases until the FTC decides whether to approve, modify, or reject the rule. At that time, Duarte will be required to participate in the adjudication of the positive.
Although he started a handful of horses in both 2015 and 2018, Duarte has trained full time since 2019. For his career, Duarte has won 135 races from 769 starts for total purse earnings of $6.9 million.
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