The Ohio State Racing Commission April 30 announced a settlement agreement with trainer Tim Hamm over a 2013 medication positive involving the eventual Ohio horse of the year.
The 2-year-old filly Needmore Flattery, who is owned and was bred by Bruce Ryan and Hamm's Blazing Meadows Farm, tested positive for dimethyl sulfoxide, commonly known as DMSO, a therapeutic drug used for inflammation. The positive came after Needmore Flattery won the $100,000 John W. Galbreath Memorial Stakes on Best of Ohio day Oct. 12 at ThistleDown Racino.
Ohio-bred Needmore Flattery, by Flatter , had won her previous five starts in Ohio, four of them stakes. She was voted Ohio horse of the year for 2013.
Stewards last year fined Hamm $1,000 and ordered redistribution of the $60,000 winner's share of the purse. Hamm appealed the ruling and requested a split sample, which confirmed the DMSO positive after testing by the laboratory at Louisiana State University. The first test was performed at the Ohio Department of Agriculture.
According to the settlement agreement, Hamm agreed to pay the fine, return the winner's share of the purse by June 2, and forfeit a $500 bond. After the April 29 OSRC meeting, Hamm confirmed the settlement but noted it also involved DNA testing to confirm the blood was in fact drawn from Needmore Flattery.
Hamm said the blood sample he was sent by OSU was tested at Texas A&M University, which could not confirm the filly's DNA.