One of Maryland's leading trainers, Claudio Gonzalez, has been expelled from Laurel Park according to a story from the Paulick Report Tuesday.
A brief statement from the Maryland Jockey Club reads, “Claudio Gonzalez violated the rules of The Maryland Jockey Club and has been expelled from the grounds.”
While the MJC provided no further information, the Paulick Report article links horses previously trained by Gonzalez to “questionable” homes, saying, “Bev Strauss, founder of MidAtlantic Horse Rescue, told the Paulick Report that a former Gonzalez trainee ended up at a kill pen in Kansas, but added that the filly was able to be pulled and is in a new home. Four other former Gonzalez trainees were re-routed from “questionable” homes to MidAtlantic Horse Rescue, she said.”
“I have the bill of sale for myself, and I have the bill of sale for Laurel Park,” Gonzalez told the Paulick Report in response. “It's not like I sent them. I did nothing wrong.”
The top trainer in Maryland from 2017-2022, Gonzalez has 41 winners from 311 starters this year but has not saddled a starter since Dec. 14.
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