Cibelli Wins Her First Race After 60-Day Ban

Trainer Jane Cibelli, who recently completed a 60-day suspension for a medication violation at Tampa Bay Downs, won her first race of the season at Gulfstream Park Dec. 19 after getting permission to race at the Hallandale Beach, Fla., track.

The Cibelli-trained Dudeman won the day's first race, a $47,000 maiden special weight for 2-year-olds.

The Florida Division of  Pari-Mutuel Wagering on Sept. 20 issued a consent order that suspended Cibelli for 60 days.

The suspension followed an investigation of a highly publicized incident in Cibelli's barn at Tampa Bay  Downs last Jan. 27. Veterinarian Orlando Paraliticci was observed administering an injection to a Cibelli-trained horse less than 24 hours before it was scheduled to race at the Oldsmar, Fla. track.

Cibelli was not present during the incident, nor were any of her assistants. Paraliticci accepted a 90-day Florida DPMW suspension for the incident.

On  Sept. 25, Tampa Bay Downs announced that it would not allow Cibelli to have any stalls or allow her to  enter any horses from other training sites during its 2013-14 meet.

http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/80896/suspension-track-sanctions-for-cibelli

Cibelli then applied for stalls at Gulfstream, but was not given any. Gulfstream officials did not give her an explanation for that decision, she said in a phone interview the evening of Dec. 19.

She has 35 horses stabled at Palm Beach Downs in Delray  Beach, Fla. She said she expects that her horses will race mostly at Gulfstream this winter.

"It was an awful, awful experience and I just want to move on," Cibelli said of her suspension. "In the order, I was not found guilty of any wrongdoing. But it is the trainer's ultimate responsibility."

Cibelli has raced horses frequently at Gulfstream in recent years.

In her first race back on Dec. 15, she sent out Over and Back to a second-place finish in a $25,000 claiming race for 3-year-olds.

On Dec. 19, Goodwood Racing's colt Dudeman won his career debut at 23-1 odds. He beat H Town Brown by 2 1/4 lengths and won in 1:23.98 for seven furlongs under Joe Rocco Jr.

Dudeman is a son of Rockport Harbor out of the Capote mare Attitude. He was bred in Kentucky by Sun Valley Farm.

Cibelli's next entrant at Gulfstream is to be Purple Egg. He is scheduled to run Dec. 22 in the Harlan's Holiday Stakes at 1 1/16 miles for 3-year-olds and up.

The recent suspension was the first in the career of Cibelli, who began training in the United States in 1987. She is a native of Great Britain.

The incident attracted considerable attention partly because of Cibelli's  record as a high percentage trainer. She finished fourth in wins at Tampa Bay Downs in 2012-13 with 27 victories from 88 starts, a 30% strike rate.