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Leading Florida Sire First Dude Passes at 19

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Double Diamond Farm’s First Dude (Stephen Got Even–Run Sarah Run, by Smart Strike) has passed away at the age of 19, according to a release from the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association (FTBOA) Thursday afternoon.

The Florida Stallion of the Year in 2017 and 2018, the leading freshman sire in Florida in 2015, and the state’s leading second-crop sire in 2016, First Dude sired 16 black-type winners, including Shamrock Rose, the 2018 champion female sprinter and winner the GI Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, as well as the GII Lexus Raven Run Stakes.

“He was an integral part of not only our own family,” said Double Diamond’s Donald R. Dizney, “but all of our Double Diamond Farm family: from Jesse Rodriguez, his groom and stallion manager, to our office staff, and the many friends who visited him with peppermints. We all have so many sweet memories of not only his 3-year-old campaign, but of his stallion career as well. We feel today we have lost more than a stallion.”

First Dude campaigned as a homebred for Dizney while under the tutelage of Hall of Famer Bob Baffert. Among his wins were the GI Hollywood Gold Cup Handicap and the GIII Alysheba Stakes, while his five Grade I placings included the Preakness Stakes, the Belmont Stakes, and the Travers Stakes.

The post Leading Florida Sire First Dude Passes at 19 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Trainer Jose Silva Jr. Facing Possible Lifetime Ban, $50,000 Fine

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Leading Canterbury trainer Jose Silva Jr. faces a maximum lifetime ban and $50,000 fine stemming from actions related to a search of his barn earlier this month.

In a notice of violation posted on the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act’s (HISA) rulings website on September 11, Silva was charged with allegedly violating five separate rules related to cooperation during and hinderance of an investigation, as well as failure to respond truthfully to questions.

Silva had until September 18 to respond to the notice, either admitting to the violation or explaining why the charges are incorrect.

According to a HISA spokesperson, Silva has been in contact with the agency’s enforcement attorney. When asked for the trainer’s response, the spokesperson wrote that HISA does not “publicly disclose these communications.”

On September 11, the Minnesota Racing Commission board of stewards suspended Silva pending the results of his hearing with HISA. That hearing has not yet been formally scheduled.

TDN called and text messaged Silva on Thursday. The story will be updated as necessary.

The alleged violations relate to a search by Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) investigators on September 9 and September 10 of Silva’s barn at Canterbury Park, Minnesota.

According to the notice, a “credible witness” allegedly told HIWU investigators of pitcher plant extract (also known as “P Block,” a banned substance) in the trainer’s RV.

The notice states that during the search, HIWU investigators attempted to reach Silva to gain access to his RV, parked on the Canterbury Park backside.

“After stating multiple times that you were on your way to Canterbury Park, you failed to appear in order to grant the investigators access, later explicitly denying the investigators the access to this RV, a place that is used in the care, training, or racing of Covered Horses, as it was located on the backside of Canterbury Park, a Racetrack facility that is used to race Covered Horses,” according to the notice.

“When the search was being conducted, it was communicated to HIWU investigators by a credible witness that you were 15 minutes away from Canterbury at 8:24 pm, 10 minutes away at 8:47 pm, and two hours away and stuck in traffic by the airport at 8:59 pm. During this time, another credible witness saw you and one of your associates enter the Canterbury stable gates around 8:43 pm, explicitly contradicting your statements at 8:47 and 8:59 pm,” the notice states.

The ruling also claims that Silva sent a text message to a HIWU investigator on September 10, in which he explicitly denied investigators access to the RV, “stating that you were out of town and that you did not consent to a search of your RV without a search warrant or subpoena.”

At the same time, another “credible witness” stated that when Silva discovered of the search of his barn, he said he wanted to leave the track, “directly contradicting other statements you made to credible witnesses on the night of the search,” the notice states.

Last year, Silva served a 30-day suspension (beginning April 15) and paid a $2,500 fine after one of his horses tested positive for TCO2.

A leading trainer at Canterbury Park, Silva has won 445 races during his career and won over $7.3 million. This year, he’s won 92 races and won just over $1.2 million in prize money. According to Equibase, he started training in 2018.

The post Trainer Jose Silva Jr. Facing Possible Lifetime Ban, $50,000 Fine appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Leading Florida Sire First Dude Passes at 19

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Double Diamond Farm’s First Dude (Stephen Got Even–Run Sarah Run, by Smart Strike) has passed away at the age of 19, according to a release from the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association (FTBOA) Thursday afternoon.

The Florida Stallion of the Year in 2017 and 2018, the leading freshman sire in Florida in 2015, and the state’s leading second-crop sire in 2016, First Dude sired 16 black-type winners, including Shamrock Rose, the 2018 champion female sprinter and winner the GI Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, as well as the GII Lexus Raven Run Stakes.

“He was an integral part of not only our own family,” said Double Diamond’s Donald R. Dizney, “but all of our Double Diamond Farm family: from Jesse Rodriguez, his groom and stallion manager, to our office staff, and the many friends who visited him with peppermints. We all have so many sweet memories of not only his 3-year-old campaign, but of his stallion career as well. We feel today we have lost more than a stallion.”

First Dude campaigned as a homebred for Dizney while under the tutelage of Hall of Famer Bob Baffert. Among his wins were the GI Hollywood Gold Cup Handicap and the GIII Alysheba Stakes, while his five Grade I placings included the Preakness Stakes, the Belmont Stakes, and the Travers Stakes.

The post Leading Florida Sire First Dude Passes at 19 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Trainer Jose Silva Jr. Facing Possible Lifetime Ban, $50,000 Fine

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Leading Canterbury trainer Jose Silva Jr. faces a maximum lifetime ban and $50,000 fine stemming from actions related to a search of his barn earlier this month.

In a notice of violation posted on the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act’s (HISA) rulings website on September 11, Silva was charged with allegedly violating five separate rules related to cooperation during and hinderance of an investigation, as well as failure to respond truthfully to questions.

Silva had until September 18 to respond to the notice, either admitting to the violation or explaining why the charges are incorrect.

According to a HISA spokesperson, Silva has been in contact with the agency’s enforcement attorney. When asked for the trainer’s response, the spokesperson wrote that HISA does not “publicly disclose these communications.”

On September 11, the Minnesota Racing Commission board of stewards suspended Silva pending the results of his hearing with HISA. That hearing has not yet been formally scheduled.

TDN called and text messaged Silva on Thursday. The story will be updated as necessary.

The alleged violations relate to a search by Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) investigators on September 9 and September 10 of Silva’s barn at Canterbury Park, Minnesota.

According to the notice, a “credible witness” allegedly told HIWU investigators of pitcher plant extract (also known as “P Block,” a banned substance) in the trainer’s RV.

The notice states that during the search, HIWU investigators attempted to reach Silva to gain access to his RV, parked on the Canterbury Park backside.

“After stating multiple times that you were on your way to Canterbury Park, you failed to appear in order to grant the investigators access, later explicitly denying the investigators the access to this RV, a place that is used in the care, training, or racing of Covered Horses, as it was located on the backside of Canterbury Park, a Racetrack facility that is used to race Covered Horses,” according to the notice.

“When the search was being conducted, it was communicated to HIWU investigators by a credible witness that you were 15 minutes away from Canterbury at 8:24 pm, 10 minutes away at 8:47 pm, and two hours away and stuck in traffic by the airport at 8:59 pm. During this time, another credible witness saw you and one of your associates enter the Canterbury stable gates around 8:43 pm, explicitly contradicting your statements at 8:47 and 8:59 pm,” the notice states.

The ruling also claims that Silva sent a text message to a HIWU investigator on September 10, in which he explicitly denied investigators access to the RV, “stating that you were out of town and that you did not consent to a search of your RV without a search warrant or subpoena.”

At the same time, another “credible witness” stated that when Silva discovered of the search of his barn, he said he wanted to leave the track, “directly contradicting other statements you made to credible witnesses on the night of the search,” the notice states.

Last year, Silva served a 30-day suspension (beginning April 15) and paid a $2,500 fine after one of his horses tested positive for TCO2.

A leading trainer at Canterbury Park, Silva has won 445 races during his career and won over $7.3 million. This year, he’s won 92 races and won just over $1.2 million in prize money. According to Equibase, he started training in 2018.

The post Trainer Jose Silva Jr. Facing Possible Lifetime Ban, $50,000 Fine appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.