Justify allowed to keep Santa Anita Derby after complaint is rejected

Justify, the unbeaten US Triple Crown winner, will not be disqualified from his win in the 2018 Santa Anita Derby following a positive post-race drugs test after stewards on Wednesday dismissed a complaint against the result.

Trained by Bob Baffert for owners including Winstar Farm and the China Horse Club, Justify became embroiled in controversy last year after it emerged he had tested positive for the banned substance scopolamine after his Santa Anita Derby success.

Officials at the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) concluded in 2018 that the failed test was the result of environmental contamination from jimson weed and did not disqualify Justify, who would have been unable to run in the Kentucky Derby if his Santa Anita Derby victory was quashed.

A complaint was lodged last year by the connections of Bolt D’Oro, runner-up to Justify in the $1 million Santa Anita Derby, who argued CHRB rules dictated Justify should be disqualified.

However, following a hearing in October, CHRB stewards elected to dismiss the claims against Justify and stablemate Hoppertunity, who also tested positive for scopolamine, saying the matter had been properly considered by the CHRB at a hearing in August 2018.

In a statement, the stewards said: “After considering the evidence and testimony presented the complaints are both dismissed. The CHRB has already ruled on this matter, in executive session, at the August 23, 2018 CHRB meeting at Del Mar, and voted not to move forward with complaints.”

In their findings published on Wednesday, stewards noted the intention of the CHRB to update its rules around the classification of scopolamine in line with the 2016 Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI) laws so that it did not result in automatic disqualification.

However, stewards added that at the time of the positive tests if a hearing had been held prior to August 2018, when CHRB officials voted to reclassify scopolamine, Justify and Hoppertunity would have lost their races.

“It is the stewards' opinion that if this board of stewards had heard the Justify and Hoppertunity complaints prior to August 23, 2018 both horses would have been disqualified,” they said.

Bob Baffert: 'Justify is a great horse and deserves his undefeated record'

Baffert, who released a statement last month promising to do better after a number of his horses tested positive for banned raceday substances, told the LA Times he was pleased with the result.

He said: “I’m happy with the decision, most importantly for Justify. He's a great horse and deserves his undefeated record.

“As I have said before, 2020 has been a difficult year so I’m happy to put this matter behind me. While I’m grateful for the decision, and believe it was the correct one, it does not alter my commitment to an improved 2021.”

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