Champion horse trainer settles drug-test dispute with Downs

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This article was published 27/09/2024 (346 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

He won’t be taking a victory lap but a Hall of Fame horseman has struck a deal with Manitoba’s racing regulator to settle a bitter legal battle and clear the way for his return to the track.

Jerry Gourneau, a five-time trainer of the year at Assiniboia Downs, was suspended in July for six months and slapped with a $10,000 fine after four of his horses tested positive for prohibited levels of dexamethasone, which is a legal steroid that treats inflammation, allergies and adrenal insufficiency.

It’s believed to be the stiffest horse racing sanction ever handed down by the Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Authority of Manitoba.

Gourneau, 62, filed an immediate appeal, claiming innocence. The matter was originally set for hearing in late August but pushed back to Oct. 10 as negotiations between his lawyer and the LGCA continued. They have now culminated in a reduction to 96 days time served and a $2,500 financial penalty.

The case may be closed, but the hard feelings remain.

“The way they (LGCA) treated me was wrong,” Gourneau told the Free Press on Friday. “It was beyond prejudicial.”

Gourneau estimates the lost summer of racing cost him at least $300,000, in addition to his character taking a hit by allegations of cheating.

“No trainer at Assiniboia Downs has ever had four trainer titles in a row. And I would have had five in a row if this hadn’t happened,” he said. “They took away my livelihood. They cost us a lot of money.”

Although dexamethasone is a legal medication, no trace of it should be found in the system provided it was administered at the acceptable dosage and time range, which is 48 hours or more before a race. Dr. Cyndi Kasper, the licensed veterinarian in charge at the track, has stated it was given to the affected horses 58 hours before they went to post and was done by the book.

That had Gourneau wondering if someone potentially snuck into his barn — there are no cameras present — and tampered with the horses.

“I’ve had a target on my back,” he said, claiming his tires were even slashed earlier this week when he went to Assiniboia Downs to collect some items.

Gourneau and his lawyer, David Wolfe Walker, were planning to challenge the accuracy of the testing done by Racing Forensics Inc., which is the laboratory that processed the horses’ urine samples. They requested a second batch of tests to be done but were told it wasn’t possible.

Three of Gourneau’s horses to test positive won their respective races — Woke Joke on June 5, She’s My Priority on June 10 and Mister K on June 12 — and were retroactively disqualified. The other thoroughbred, Golden Diversion, finished second in a race on June 4, a ruling which has also now been voided.

“They can label me however they want. But there’s no way, no how dexamethasone would improve the ability of any horse whatsoever,” said Gourneau.

“It’s a therapeutic drug. If it were enhancing the ability of any single horse, it wouldn’t be a controlled substance. It would be a banned substance.”

The positive tests wreaked havoc on the race card for several days. All of Gourneau’s horses — a stable of more than 50 — were scratched while additional investigation was done. That left races with as few as two horses, because this was occurring at the same time multiple horses on the grounds were in temporary quarantine after the detection of a rare virus in one.

As well, his entire stable of horses had to be transferred to another trainer.

The LGCA only offered a general comment on the matter, and the specific compliance order against Gourneau has not been made public. However, they made it clear the responsibility ultimately rests with the trainer, which is why he faced an uphill battle on appeal.

“The LGCA’s rules of thoroughbred racing state that a trainer is responsible for the condition of a horse that is under their care and is entered in a race,” Lisa Hansen, a communications analyst with the organization, said in a statement.

“This responsibility includes if a foreign or prohibited substance is found in the horse through drug testing, whether or not the horse’s intake of the substance was known to the trainer.”

Gourneau, who hails from the Turtle Mountain Chippewa Reservation in North Dakota and is a member of the North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame, has won 740 career races at the Downs with purse winnings of nearly US$6 million combined.

“We are pleased to see this outstanding matter concluded. The situation and circumstances clouded part of what was ultimately a very successful racing season,” Downs CEO Darren Dunn said.

“We look forward to the return of our multi-champion trainer who has carved out a historic legacy at Assiniboia Downs over the years.”

A return is not guaranteed. Gourneau is now considering a potential lawsuit against the province, saying other trainers who have had similar issues in the past were not given nearly the same degree of sanctions.

“This should have been a minor infraction,” he said. “But they had it in their mind that no matter, that I was guilty.”

Although there’s no longer any obstacles in his way, Gourneau said a return to the Downs for the 2025 season is far from a certainty.

“No. Not unless things are changed,” he said, noting he may stay south of the border or perhaps retire from the sport entirely. He believes an overhaul of the LGCA and more transparency are needed.

“This has damaged my legacy.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X: @mikemcintyrewpg