The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Baffert suspended by Arkansas racing officials
LOS ANGELES — Twotime Triple Crown-winning trainer Bob Baffert has been suspended for 15 days by the Arkansas Racing Commission after two of his horses tested positive for a banned substance.
The commission said in a ruling announced Wednesday that the suspension will run from Aug. 1 -15. The Oaklawn Park stewards found Baffert violated Rule 1233, which states that a trainer shall ultimately be responsible for the condition of any horse that is entered regardless of the acts of any third parties.
His horses Charlatan and Gamine each tested positive for lidocaine in two rounds of testing after winning races at the Hot Springs, Arkansas, track on May 2.
In separate rulings, the commission disqualified both horses and stripped them of their purse earnings. Gamine’s forfeited purse was $36,000.
Lidocaine, a widely used anesthetic in racing, is considered a Class 2 drug by the Association of Racing Commissioners International and use of it carries a penalty of a 15- to 60-day suspension and a fine of $500 to $1,000 for a first offense. The drug’s use is regulated because it can act as a masking agent.
The commission did not announce the levels of lidocaine found in either horse. However, Baffert said in a statement earlier this month that the level in Gamine was 185 picograms, while Charlatan had 46 picograms. A picogram is a trillionth of a gram.
Baffert said earlier this month that he believes both horses were “unknowingly and innocently” exposed to lidocaine by one of his stable employees. The employee had broken his pelvis and was suffering from back pain in the days leading up to May 2. He applied a pain relieving patch, which contained small amounts of lidocaine, according to Baffert’s statement.
Baffert said he believes the lidocaine from the patch was inadvertently transferred from the employee’s hands to the horses through the use of tongue ties applied by the employee who handled both animals leading up to their races.