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Forte reportedly had positive test after Hopeful victory; stewards hearing today
Matt Hegarty | May 10, 2023

Forte, the morning-line Kentucky Derby favorite who was scratched the morning of the race, had a positive drug test after winning the Sept. 5 Hopeful Stakes last year that has yet to be adjudicated, the New York Times reported on Tuesday night.

The report quoted two anonymous sources and said that Forte tested positive for a substance “used to relieve pain and reduce inflammation.” Drugs in wide use in racing that have those effects include regulated painkillers like flunixin and phenylbutazone as well as regulated corticosteroids, such as dexamethasone and betamethasone.

Forte is owned by Mike Repole and trained by Todd Pletcher, one of the most prominent trainers in the U.S.

The report said that a stewards’ hearing to discuss the positive is scheduled for today, eight months after the Hopeful. Brad Maione, a spokesman for the New York Gaming Commission, confirmed that element of the report in response to an inquiry by Daily Racing Form on Wednesday morning. Maione declined to provide details about the violation.

“The trainer’s counsel has sought repeated postponement of the stewards’ hearing, which impeded the stewards from making a determination,” Maione said.

The connections of Forte did not immediately respond to phone calls on Wednesday morning. Pletcher’s attorney, Karen Murphy, also did not respond to a phone call.

The report is sure to generate additional controversy in a sport that has drawn widespread media coverage due to five horse deaths at Churchill Downs in the lead-up to the Kentucky Derby last Saturday and two additional deaths on the Derby undercard. The New York Times report called the positive an instance of “doping,” a highly charged term that is generally defined as a deliberate attempt to improve athletic performance with the administration of illegal drugs.

In addition, the delays in adjudicating the case are sure to lead to criticism of the sport. Despite the positive test eight months ago, Forte made four starts afterwards, winning them all, including his Derby prep, the Florida Derby.

Heightening the interest, Forte was scratched on the morning of the Derby by the state regulatory veterinarian due to lameness in his right front foot. He was then placed on the vet’s list, which will prevent the horse from starting in the second leg of the Triple Crown, the May 20 Preakness Stakes.

In 2020, the U.S. Congress passed legislation creating the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, which was given a broad mandate to enforce safety rules at U.S. tracks and create a national drug-testing program. HISA initially planned to launch both programs by July 1, 2022, but logistical difficulties and litigation filed by prominent horsemen’s groups and other opponents of HISA have delayed the start of the drug-testing program until May 22.

Under HISA’s rules, the adjudication process for positive test results for both regulated medications and prohibited drugs is designed to be completed within a month of a positive test result, even when including appeals of any initial decisions. In addition, the rules call for a horse to be disqualified in the event of any positive test, regardless of fault.

Under HISA’s “anti-doping” program, trainers are handed a “provisional suspension” that prevents them from entering horses while the case is being adjudicated. Under racing’s current system, suspensions are not issued until a ruling from the stewards, and those suspensions can often be stayed pending an appeal of the ruling. Some of those appeals, especially when filed by trainers with deep pockets, can drag on for months and even years.