Report: Forte Failed Drug Test After 2022 Hopeful

Forte, last year's champion 2-year-old male, failed a drug test after winning the 2022 Hopeful Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course, the New York Times reports, citing two unnamed sources. According to the New York Times story, the horse tested positive for medication that relieves pain and inflammation, though the specific medication was not noted. Some nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications are permitted for therapeutic use in horse racing but there are restrictions on their use before racing. The finding has not been called at the regulatory level. A stewards' hearing took place May 10 "regarding an alleged medication violation of a horse that raced in New York on September 5, 2022," New York State Gaming Commission director of communications Brad Maione wrote in an email. Forte races for Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable and is trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher. Regulators consider trainers ultimately responsible for the condition of their horses. "In this case, this matter likely would have been adjudicated months ago but for the repeated procedural delays sought by the trainer's counsel," Maione wrote to BloodHorse. According to Maione, a split sample was also positive. Pletcher's counsel, Karen Murphy, and the Violence colt's connections did not respond to requests from the New York Times for comment, nor did Murphy reply with comment to BloodHorse. NYSGC online records indicate four New York trainers have been sanctioned this year for race-day NSAIDs positives from their horses. They each received $1,000 fines, suspensions for 10 calendar days, and their horses were disqualified. Those decisions followed a review by track stewards, which has now taken place. Maione called the stewards' hearing, "simply an opportunity for the licensee to tell the Stewards the licensee's side of the story—a standard step in an investigative process. The three stewards will consider the evidence and information involved in the matter, and then the state steward will determine whether to issue a ruling for a violation." If and when a ruling is issued, it will be published online on the commission website. On Sept. 5 of last year, Forte was a three-length winner of the Hopeful, one of the most prestigious races for 2-year-olds in North America. Gulfport crossed the wire second, Blazing Sevens was third, and Mo Strike fourth. Those horses could be elevated in the order of finish if the stewards order a disqualification and place Forte last. The race was worth $300,000, with $165,000 awarded to the winner. A Hopeful victory is typically even more valuable to a colt's eventual stallion career. Following the Hopeful, Forte won the Breeders' Futurity (G1) and Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) at Keeneland before being honored this winter with an Eclipse Award. Pletcher also won an Eclipse Award as outstanding trainer, his eighth. This year, Forte is 2-for-2, having won the Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) and Florida Derby (G1). He was scratched from the Kentucky Derby (G1) as the morning-line favorite due to what his connections said was a bruised right front foot. He currently is on the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission veterinarian's list, a listing of horses ineligible to run for a period of time, as the result of his scratch by a regulatory veterinarian on the morning of the May 6 Kentucky Derby. His connections had hoped to run him in the May 20 Preakness Stakes (G1), though barring a change to his status with the KHRC before the Preakness, he would be ineligible to compete. While he will come off the veterinarian's list on the date of the Preakness, the protocols being followed by the KHRC require an observed workout and a blood test after the horse comes off the 14-day stay on this prohibited-from-running list. Other states honor such lists via reciprocity. Forte was one of a half-dozen Derby competitors on the veterinarian's list in advance of the Derby for unspecified reasons. Horses can be placed on the list for a variety of reasons, ranging from unsoundness to veterinary treatments. He first appeared on the May 4 edition of the Kentucky vet's list, which said he went on the list April 22. He did not appear on the April 25 edition of the Kentucky veterinarian's list.