equine medication violations

Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country. The following rulings were reported on HISA's "rulings" portal and through the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit's (HIWU) "pending" and "resolved" cases portals. Among this week's rulings, trainer Efren Loza Jr. has been suspended an additional four years and fined a total of $38,000 (including arbitration costs) for a Clenbuterol positive stemming from last September, adding to an 18-month suspension he is already serving, again for a Clenbuterol...

Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country. The following rulings were reported on HISA's "rulings" portal and through the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit's (HIWU) "pending" and "resolved" cases portals. Resolved ADMC Violations Date: 04/22/2025 Licensee: Edwin Alvarez, trainer Penalty: A fine of $500; imposition of 1.5 Penalty Points. Admission. Explainer: Vets' list medication violation for the presence of Methocarbamol--a controlled substance (Class C)--in a sample taken from He'squite Mischief on 3/19/25. Date: 04/21/2025 Licensee:...

Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country. This week's rulings include three lengthy suspensions. Trainer Francisco Ramos has been banned for two years and fined $25,000 after his trainee You're a Dandy (Mizzen Mast) who finished second at Hawthorne Feb. 14, tested positive for the bronchodilator Clenbuterol. According to a final decision by the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU), Ramos apparently requested a B sample analysis but did not pay for it, which meant...

Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country. Among this week's rulings, trainer Carlos Mancilla has been suspended for 15 days for a post-race Gabapentin positive from Sept. 10, and fined $1,000. Gabapentin, a Class B controlled medication, is an anti-seizure medicine for humans that is also used to treat complications from shingles. According to the final ruling by an internal adjudication panel, Mancilla said that the positive probably came about because of the horse, Cara...

Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country. Among the key rulings from the last seven days is the saga surrounding Tankinator (Uncle Lino), a horse at the center of two positives within 17 days. On Oct. 21, Tankinator finished sixth at Delaware Park. Tankinator was claimed out of Webster Gayle's barn that day before running again on Nov. 7 for Bonnie Lucas at Parx Racing. Tankinator was pulled up and vanned off in that race....

When the New York Racing Association (NYRA) barred Hall-of-Fame trainer Bob Baffert back in May over integrity concerns surrounding his five equine drug positives in a one-year span, it was only a matter of time before speculative comparisons began to percolate within the industry along the lines of, "They banned Baffert, but they allow so-and-so to race?" You could have inserted the name of any controversial or rogue trainer of your choice in that above sentence. But it didn't take long for the entries at Saratoga Race Course to supply...