Downs trainer suspended indefinitely

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This article was published 25/06/2024 (463 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Five-time season-winning Assiniboia Downs trainer Jerry Gourneau has been suspended indefinitely after three horses in his care tested positive for an anti-inflammatory that exceeded the allowable threshold.

The three positive tests were for the legal corticosteroid dexamethasone, which is a commonly used medication in horse racing, but the levels found in the horses’ systems after recent races were outside the acceptable range.

Gourneau declined to comment, preferring to wait until he has his official hearing.

The dominoes began to fall for Gourneau when Golden Diversion tested positive following the 3-year-old gelding’s third-place finish in a race on June 12. That positive test initially led to all of Gourneau’s horses being scratched from the June 18 and 19 race cards.

When two more horses tested positive, Gourneau was suspended on June 21, which required him to leave the Assiniboia Downs grounds. The suspension will remain in place pending the results of four more tests and an official hearing with the Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Authority of Manitoba (LGCA), which governs horse racing in the province.

Dexamethasone can be administered 48 or more hours prior to a race, and both Gourneau and Dr. Cyndi Kasper, the veterinarian in charge of administering the medication, said it was given to the affected horses 58 hours in advance of racing.

“I’ve been doing this for 30 years,” Kasper said. “I can say I’ve never had a bad test. I’m outside withdrawal hours. I’ve done everything by the rulebooks, and I’ve since done the same thing with other horses.”

No other horse at the Downs that received the same pre-race treatment involving dexamethasone has tested positive this year.

Assiniboia Downs CEO Darren Dunn was surprised by the development.

“Jerry has been an important part of our live race program for years,” Dunn said. “This unexpected situation is not reflective of how he has consistently conducted his operations on our property, especially when you reflect on the sheer volume of horses that he runs annually.”

Gourneau previously received a two-day suspension and a $1,000 fine when Witt Sweet Sixteen, owned by Gourneau’s major owner Henry S. Witt, Jr., of Axtell, Texas, tested positive for dexamethasone after winning a race last June. Similar to this year’s infractions, that positive test resulted in the scratching of numerous horses trained by Gourneau.

According to the Downs’ official rule book, a trainer is responsible for the condition and performance of a horse in their care, even if they are unknowingly aware a foreign or prohibited substance has been administered.

In other words, Gourneau is ultimately responsible for the positive tests. Because this is the second time in two years he’s faced the same violation he’s likely to receive a much stiffer penalty, unless his upcoming hearing with the LGCA proves otherwise.

Gourneau was well on his way to recording his fifth straight training title this year with 18 wins to date, nine more than trainer Devon Gittens. The 62-year-old from the Turtle Mountain Chippewa Reservation in Belcourt, N.D., started his racing career as a teenager and has gone on to train numerous stakes winners, including last year’s Manitoba Derby winner, Witt Jr.’s Mano Dura, while compiling a career record of 740-740-709 from 5,175 starts for purse earnings of US$5,978,719.

Now, more than 50 horses from the largest stable on the grounds, most of them owned by Witt, have been transferred to trainer Lee Delaronde.

Delaronde, 53, is from Whitecap Dakota First Nation in Saskatchewan and his official Equibase record goes back to 1998. He’s compiled a record of 43-66-70 from 665 starts since he took out his trainer’s licence. He will now work with Gourneau’s assistant trainer Madison Tirk and the help that is already in place in the Gourneau barn to keep things moving forward for Witt, who is on his way to a sixth straight owner title and seventh overall at the Downs. Delaronde won his first race for Witt Monday night when he saddled Ratliff City to win the second race by 10 lengths.

The scratches of the Gourneau-trained horses combined with the Barn 4 scratches that included the large stables trained by Wendy Anderson and Tom Gardipy, Jr. after the discovery of the rare virus equine infectious anemia in one horse, decimated the racing cards last week and affected the wagering handle.

The situation is now under control following steps taken by Manitoba Jockey Club and government officials.