A state court in Tallahassee, Fla., on Sept. 11 dismissed trainer Kirk Ziadie’s appeal of a 60-day suspension and $1,000 fine by the Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering for a violation of medication rules. Ziadie had requested the dismissal, according to documents filed with the First District Court of Appeal.
Ziadie had not served any days of his suspension during his appeal. Thus, his 60-day suspension began Sept. 11, said Florida DPMW spokeswoman Alexis Lambert.
In a separate development, Calder Race Course on Aug. 21 barred Ziadie from training and from being on its property. On Aug. 22, Ziadie told The Blood-Horse that Calder officials did not provide a reason for their decision.
“(Ziadie’s) exclusion here is indefinite,” a Calder official said on Sept. 18. “This action in the case in Tallahassee is unrelated.”
The Florida DPMW case “was dismissed upon Kirk’s request,” said Carl Lida, an attorney who is representing Ziadie in that case and in the situation at Calder.
Lida declined further comment.
However, it appears that Ziadie’s withdrawal of his appeal against the Florida DPMW will allow him to complete the 60-day suspension during a period when Calder is not permitting him to enter horses.
Tampa Bay Downs, where Ziadie has a large stable each season, opens its 2009-10 meet Dec. 12.
Ziadie has won four Calder training titles. Through Aug. 21, he was third in Calder’s 2009 trainer standings with 25 wins. Since then, Blood-Horse has not found any entries for Ziadie at other tracks.
The Florida DPMW issued its penalties against Ziadie on June 18. He filed his appeal with the state court on June 26. The court on July 8 put a stay on the suspension pending its final disposition of Ziadie’s appeal. That disposition came Sept. 11.
The Florida DPMW based its June18 ruling on its review of a case in which one of Ziadie’s horses tested positive for a race-day banned tranquilizer after a race at Gulfstream Park on March 19, 2007.
The review covered just that race in which Not Acclaim, trained by Ziadie, won and later tested positive for Acepromazine, a Class 3 tranquilizer that is banned on race days.
But the DPMW ruling listed 12 previous medication violations against Ziadie, totaling $4,850 in fines, and one 15-day suspension. It did not list dates for those penalties.