Quarter Horse trainer Bassett banned 10 years for frog juice

Cross-posted the Paulick Report

Racehorses are testing positive for dermorphin at tracks around the U.S. Dermorphin is made from the secretions of the Waxy Monkey Tree Frog (pictured here) and said to be up to 40 times more powerful than morphine. A synthetic version is now turning up. Image by Afulki on Flickriver.

RAY PAULICK reports:

John H. Bassett, a past American Quarter Horse Association champion trainer and two-time winner of the sport’s premier event, the All-American Futurity, has been suspended a total of 10 years and fined $10,000 after two horses in his care tested positive for the prohibited

Class 1 drug dermorphin. The drug, said to be 40 times more powerful than morphine, is widely known as frog juice because it is derived, in its natural form, from secretions of South American tree frogs.

Vince Mares, director of the New Mexico Racing Commission, confirmed Bassett’s suspension and fine, which was handed out Saturday after a stewards hearing at Zia Park. The penalties (five-year suspension and $5,000 fine for each violation) are the maximum permitted under New Mexico law at the time of the infractions. The New Mexico legislature has since passed stricter penalty guidelines for horseracing medication violations.

Fifteen dermorphin positives were detected from horses racing in Oklahoma this spring, though no complaints have been filed or individuals named in those cases. Louisiana has reported 11 dermorphin positives and Nebraska one. According to sources, dermorphin has been detected in at least one horse competing in Texas, but the racing commission there has not confirmed any findings. Industrial Labs in Colorado and Louisiana State University laboratory were involved in the Oklahoma and Louisiana cases that were believed to involve a synthetic form of the drug. Truesdail in California detected the Nebraska dermorphin. Continue reading >>

Will Bassett appeal, win and go back to business as usual? Why are these people not arrested on drugs charges? Not sure how that would work, but still… Or for race fixing? The betting public are being defrauded. I do know that works. –Editor