Harness Racing Communications, a division of the USTA

New Jersey State Police have arrested driver Eric Ledford as well as Ryan Dailey, the assistant trainer for the stable of his father, Seldon Ledford, and others in connection with the seizure of various medications at the Ledford stable in New Jersey.

According to an article in today’s Newark (NJ) Star Ledger, the state police arrested Eric Ledford in the drivers room at the Meadowlands prior to the start of the card on March 31.

Earlier on the 31st, State Police arrested a veterinarian, Dr. John Witmer, and Dailey and his wife, Ardena and executed a search warrant on their homes and vehicles, as well as the Ledford stable. The charges against all four included possession of illegal substances and conspiracy to rig a public contest. No charges have been filed against Seldon Ledford, although the investigation is continuing, said Lt. John Zulawski, who is in charge of the state police horse racing squad.

Troopers seized what the story referred to as “significant quantities” of the drug Aranesp, said state Deputy Attorney General Christine D’Elia. She said they also confiscated suspicious liquids and syringes from Showplace Farms in Englishtown, where Ledford rents stable space.

“They were doping horses with a foreign substance to make them win races,” Zulawski said. “It’s a detriment to the horse racing industry.”

After the raid, the New Jersey Racing Commission scratched all Ledford-trained horses scheduled to compete last night at the Meadowlands, said commission spokesman Paul Loriquet. Authorities also placed all 50 horses he trains on indefinite suspension while the investigation unfolds.

The commission also ordered a necropsy on a horse found dead in Ledford’s stable during the raid, though they said it may have died from causes unrelated to the reason for the raid. Ledford, when reached by the Ledger’s reporter, said his son has nothing to do with training the horses. He also denied his horses have been given Aranesp.

“If they want to they can check every horse under my care and they will not find nothing like that, and that stays in the horse a long time,” Ledford said. He said his earnings have increased significantly since 2005 because, “I got about three times as many horses as I had then.”

Chris McErlean, vice president of operations at the Meadowlands, told the Ledger that the racetrack spends about $2 million annually for the State Police to administer drug tests to horses. “We’re very concerned about the integrity of our sport and we take allegations like this very seriously,” McErlean said. “We will definitely be monitoring this situation.”

As part of that testing policy, the State Police recently began screening for substances that enrich the red blood cells, EPO, which in turn inhibits fatigure. The Ledger described Aranesp as “an extremely potent” type of EPO with long lasting effects. The Ledger said authorities suspect Dailey and his wife, Ardena, administered EPO to horses at Ledford’s stable and then take the animals to the Meadowlands and Freehold Raceway to race.

“With this type of drug you can give it four or five days ahead of time and still have it be potent … up to three weeks,” Deputy Attorney General D’Elia said. “The EPO has detrimental effects, though, and can cause liver damage and coagulation of the blood. It’s pretty cruel to the horses to use it as a performance-enhancing drug.”

The Ledger story said that penalties for all of the charges carry possible incarceration in excess of a year.