Two of the leading harness racing trainers in North America were charged with allowing horses to compete with the Class 2 drug Glaucine in their system.
In a development that will send shockwaves through an already reeling industry in North America, Ron Burkeand Julie Miller have both had horses under their care return positives for Glaucine from races they competed in at a New York racetrack.
Ron Burke has been the dominant trainer on the North American scene for several years now on a money won basis, and these charges have the potential to derail the biggest training operation in harness racing.
Harnessracing.com has received correspondence from attorney Howard Taylor, also a Standardbred owner, regarding a report published Thursday on Harnesslink.com regarding alleged positive tests incurred by trainers Ron Burke and Julie Miller in New York. While Taylor did not identify any trainer by name, he said he has been retained by several trainers whose horses recently had positive tests in New York.
Authorities in New York have been trying for some time to establish a test for Glaucine and it was only recently that the laboratories successfully established such a test.
The Bulgarian pharmaceutical company Sopharma sells glaucine in a tablet form, where a single dose contains 40 mg and the half-life is indicated to be 6–8 hours.
When ingested orally Glaucine has been shown to increase airway conductance in humans, and has been investigated as a treatment for asthma.
Another one of Glaucine’s chief functions is to regulate the formation of fat tissue in the body.
The positives returned today have the potential to be very embarrassing to The New Meadowlands Racetrack where Burke and Miller regularly compete.Â
While Jeff Gural has single-handedly taken on what he refers to as the drug cheats in the industry, Mr Gural has horses in training with Julie Miller.
His response to the alleged drug infractions will be watched with interest by industry observers.
