The California Horse Racing Board has filed a complaint against trainer Todd Pletcher for an excess level of the Class 3 drug procaine, found in Wait a While after her third-place finish in the Emirates Airline Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1).

The Maddy Laboratory at the University of California detected the violation and the Pennsylvania Equine Research Laboratory confirmed it from the split sample.

Procaine is a local anesthetic found in procaine penicillin G, a commonly administered antibiotic for horses. For that reason, overages for procaine are treated as Class 3 violations rather than the more severe Class 2 penalties like most other local anesthetics.

Hollywood Park stewards have scheduled a December 14 hearing on the disqualification of Wait a White and redistribution of her $213,000 share of the purse.

A hearing has not been scheduled for Pletcher, who said penicillin had been used to treat Wait a While for a fever that developed two days after her victory in the Yellow Ribbon Stakes (G1) on September 27 at Santa Anita Park.

"She did not respond well to other antibiotics. After conferring with our veterinarians we felt that it was in her best interest to treat her with Penicillin," Pletcher said. "We were advised that 14 days was more than ample withdrawal time. She received her last injection of the antibiotic on October 6, 18 days prior to the Breeders’ Cup. Along with our attorney, Neil Papiano we look forward to our hearing with the CHRB so that we can present them with the facts."

In April, Santa Anita Park stewards suspended trainer Brian Koriner for 40 days and fined him $5,000 for a procaine positive. In a stipulated agreement with the CHRB, 35 days of the suspension were stayed, provided that Koriner has no additional Class 1, 2, or 3 violations over a one-year period.

The CHRB also charged trainer Mike Mitchell with a procaine violation in September. A final ruling in that case has not been announced.

Pletcher served a 45-day suspension from late December 2006 to early February 2007 for a Class 2 violation of the local anesthetic mepivacaine. Pletcher disputed the charge even after serving the suspension.