Forte, the morning-line Kentucky Derby favorite who was scratched the morning of the race, had a positive drug test after winning the Sept. 5 Hopeful Stakes last year that has yet to be fully adjudicated, officials confirmed on Wednesday. The positive test was first reported by the New York Times, which quoted two anonymous sources and said that Forte tested positive for a substance “used to relieve pain and reduce inflammation.” Drugs in wide use in racing that have those effects include regulated painkillers like flunixin and phenylbutazone as well as regulated corticosteroids, such as dexamethasone and betamethasone. On Wednesday, Todd Pletcher, the horse’s trainer, appeared before the stewards for the first hearing in the matter, Brad Maione, a spokesman for the New York Gaming Commission, confirmed. Maione would not provide additional details about the positive test. “Today’s meeting was simply an opportunity for the licensee to tell the stewards the licensee’s side of the story, a standard step in the investigative process,” Maione said. “The three stewards will consider the evidence and the information involved in the matter, and then the state steward will determine whether to issue a ruling for a violation.” Forte is owned by Mike Repole and St. Elias Stable, both longtime clients of Pletcher. Earlier on Wednesday, Maione had said that the adjudication in the case had been delayed because of difficulty in finding a “capable laboratory” to conduct the split-sample confirmation testing. In addition, Pletcher’s legal counsel had “sought repeated postponement of the stewards’ hearing, which impeded the stewards from making a determination,” Maione said. :: Take your handicapping to the next level and play with FREE DRF Past Performances - Formulator or Classic.  The connections of Forte did not respond to phone calls on Wednesday morning. Pletcher’s attorney, Karen Murphy, also did not respond to a phone call. The report is sure to generate additional controversy in a sport that has drawn widespread media coverage due to five horse deaths at Churchill Downs in the lead-up to last Saturday’s Kentucky Derby and two additional deaths on the Derby undercard. The New York Times report called the positive an instance of “doping,” a highly charged term that is generally defined as a deliberate attempt to improve athletic performance with the administration of illegal drugs. The delays in adjudicating the case are sure to lead to added criticism of the sport. Despite the positive test eight months ago, Forte made four starts afterwards, winning them all, including his Derby prep, the Florida Derby. Heightening the interest, Forte was scratched on the morning of the Derby by the Kentucky state regulatory veterinarian due to lameness in his right front foot. He was then placed on the vet’s list, which will prevent the horse from starting in the second leg of the Triple Crown, the May 20 Preakness Stakes. In 2020, the U.S. Congress passed legislation creating the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, which was given a broad mandate to enforce safety rules at U.S. tracks and create a national drug testing program. HISA initially planned to launch both programs by July 1, 2022, but logistical difficulties and litigation filed by prominent horsemen’s groups and other opponents of HISA have delayed the start of the drug testing program until May 22. Under HISA’s rules, the adjudication process for positive tests for both regulated medications and prohibited drugs is designed to be completed within a month of a positive test result, even when including appeals of any initial decisions. In addition, the rules call for a horse to be disqualified in the event of any positive test, regardless of fault. :: Get Daily Racing Form Past Performances – the exclusive home of Beyer Speed Figures Under HISA’s “anti-doping” program, which applies to substances that are not allowed in a horse’s system, trainers are handed a “provisional suspension” that prevents them from entering horses while the case is being adjudicated. Under racing’s current system, suspensions are not issued until a ruling from the stewards, and those suspensions can often be stayed pending an appeal of the ruling. Some of those appeals, especially when filed by trainers with deep pockets, can drag on for months and even years. Also under HISA’s rules, a trainer with a positive test for a “controlled medication” – a substance that has a recognized therapeutic use in horses but is regulated to prevent abuse – a suspension is not issued until a hearing has taken place. In any case, because the positive occurred prior to the advent of HISA’s jurisdiction over drug testing and adjudications, Forte’s positive test will continue to be adjudicated by the New York Gaming Commission until it is complete, under the rules in place at the time the race occurred. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.