by Frank Angst
Trainer Richard Dutrow Jr. faces a 15-day suspension from Kentucky stewards for a clenbuterol positive a horse he trains received following a May 2 race at Churchill Downs. Dutrow saddled Big Brown to win the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) the next day at the same track.
The stewards said the Dutrow-trained Salute the Count tested positive for excessive clenbuterol, a bronchodilator the state lists as a Class B drug. Kentucky Chief Steward John Veitch said Dutrow has expressed interest in appealing the ruling and will have ten days to make such a motion.
Trainers often appeal suspensions to affect the timing of the penalty. Dutrow waived his right to a hearing and told the New York Times that he was responsible.
“I was there all week and am responsible,” Dutrow told the newspaper. “I use that medication on many of my horses and only once can ever remember having a problem with it.”
Veitch said the 15-day suspension is standard for first-time offenders. While Dutrow has several drug positives in other states, he has no prior offense in Kentucky.
The penalty also calls for Salute the Count’s purse money to be returned. The eight-year-old gelding finished second in the $126,400 Aegon Turf Sprint Stakes (G3) and had earned $24,521 for owners Michael Dubb and Robert Joscelyn. Atticus Kristy had finished third in the Aegon Turf Sprint and will be placed second.
Salute the Count finished second in the Jaipur Stakes (G3) on June 15 at Belmont Park.
As a Class B drug, clenbuterol is believed to have legitimate therapeutic use in horses but only is permitted at trace levels on race day because it has a high potential to influence performance. The permitted level is 25 picograms per milometer of serum. The Kentucky Horse Racing Authority advises clenbuterol not be administered within 72 hours of a race.
Different states have different withdrawal times and threshold levels for clenbuterol.
In April 2004, Dutrow was fined $1,000 and suspended for one month when Starship Smokester tested positive for clenbuterol in a race at Aqueduct.
Frank Angst is a senior staff writer of Thoroughbred Times