By: Jim Dunleavy
A Pennsylvania Racing Commission ruling dated Sept. 22 has ordered the purse of the $200,000 Pennsylvania Governor’s Cup at Penn National on June 3 redistributed after a split sample from the winner, Richard’s Boy, confirmed the presence of methamphetamine in his system.
Bold Thunder finished first by a head over Richard’s Boy in the five-furlong turf sprint but was disqualified and placed second for ducking out and bothering Richard’s Boy in midstretch. Richard’s Boy was awarded the victory and earned $114,800.
Richard’s Boy, who is owned by Rockingham Ranch and based with trainer Peter Miller in California, subsequently tested positive for methamphetamine.
Miller elected to have a split sample tested, and on Sept. 15 the Animal Forensic Toxicology Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Chicago confirmed the presence of methamphetamine in the sample.
Richard’s Boy has been disqualified from the purse money in the Governor’s Cup, and the purse has been redistributed with Bold Thunder named the winner. Rainbow Heir ($39,600) is now second, Oak Bluffs ($22,680) third, Take Cover ($13,280) fourth, Heiko ($7,640) fifth, and Awesome Ghost ($2,000) sixth.
The Pennsylvania Racing Commission states that “the liability for this positive is under investigation.”
Miller said he has hired people to conduct an independent investigation and that he believes the positive test is the result of environmental contamination.
“We are probably not going to appeal the purse,” Miller said. “The test is positive, and that’s that. The money is gone, I just want to be exonerated.
“I want to unequivocally say I did not authorize anyone to administer an illegal drug to my horse, and I have never even stepped foot in the great state of Pennsylvania.”
Miller, 50, has won 849 races since he began training in 1987.
