She will go down in history not for races won, but for the one she lost.
Life At Ten, the Todd Pletcher trainee who ran eleventh, and last, in
the Nov. 4 Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic at Churchill Downs, has
returned from a layoff and is gearing up for a 2011 campaign. Expected
to start sometime this March with the April 15 Apple Blossom Handicap at
Oaklawn Park serving as a potential goal, she remains at the center of a
lengthy investigation by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. And
although the organization next meets Feb. 9, no timetable has been
announced for when the industry can expect a report on the post-race
controversy surrounding the now 6-year-old mare.
"She's definitely free to go on and run," said Lisa Underwood, executive
director of the KHRC. "That doesn't impact the investigation at all."
It has been exactly eighty days since Life At Ten, a multiple Grade 1
stakes winner owned by Candy and Eddie DeBartolo of San Francisco 49ers
fame, was sent off as the 7-2 second choice in the $2 million Ladies'
Classic. Then she lost contact with the field and trailed along
throughout the race's 1 1/8 miles, spiking a fever the following day and
exhibiting an unusually high white blood-cell count, usually a sign of
infection. Pletcher also reported that Life At Ten may have had an
adverse reaction to the anti-bleeder medication Lasix, as she exhibited
muscle cramping when she returned to the barn.
Now her connections say she's fully recovered.
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