The Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission on March 6 rescinded a ruling against trainer Jamie Ness that suspended him six months and fined him $5,000 for a positive drug test from a horse at Parx Racing.
The rescinding of the penalties was first reported by Thoroughbred Daily News.
Ness was penalized Aug. 18, 2022, for bufotenine being found in the blood of Crabs N Beer, who won a starter optional claiming race Feb. 23, 2022.
"We believe common sense and science carries the day...Penalties can be draconian and career-ending and damage careers, and they're hard and they're difficult and we're happy that we made a cogent argument," said Ness' attorney, Drew Mollica. "They did a due diligent investigation. And my client is overjoyed by the what we would call exoneration."
The ruling reads: "The Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI) does not specify a threshold level for the substance bufotenine. Based upon the PSHRC's analysis and investigation, the Commission has determined that the proper procedure would be to utilize the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) recommended residual limit of 10mcg/ml in urine. Based on the IFHA established threshold level, the finding in Sample No. 390762 will not be determined as a positive result. As such, there is no violation of the Commission's Rules of Racing. Therefore, the Parx Board of Stewards Ruling No. 22226PP is hereby RESCINDED."
Mollica said that confidence is not a word equine practitioners use lightly. Despite that, he said heading into the appeals process, he and Ness were "very confident that our scientific arguments are valid."
He added, "We understand how difficult this process is. And we're very happy that we could, after a year, get closure."
Mollica went on to praise the PSHRC for its efforts toward ensuring fairness.
"These types of cases cause lots of problems in this industry," he said. "But I think in this instance, level-headed people, we got it right."
Bufotenine is a hallucinogenic substance, which according to the National Library of Medicine is sold illegally as a street drug by the name of hashish. However, bufotenine is also found naturally in plant material, "mostly seeds of the genus Anadenanthera"; "plant organs of other genera"; toads; and certain types of mushrooms.
Ness is seventh in earnings among trainers this year and third in wins. His highest earning runner so far in 2023 is Repo Rocks, who has won all three of his starts this season including the Toboggan Stakes (G3) at Aqueduct Racetrack.
