Suspension

Between April 15 and May 8 this year, 23 horses trained by Richard Baltas were allegedly administered a substance on race-day in violation of the California Horse Racing Board's (CHRB) rules, according to a complaint dated Tuesday, June 21. The complaint states that surveillance video caught Baltas's employees allegedly administering the substance on the days they were entered to race. In California, trainers face tight restrictions about what medications and supplements can be given to a horse within 48 hours of a race. Baltas has been ordered to appear at...

Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. Was handed a five-day suspension Wednesday by the Royal Ascot stewards for his ride aboard Love Reigns (Ire) (US Navy Flag) in the GII Queen Mary S. earlier in the day. According to the Ascot Stewards' Report posted on the British Horseracing Authority's website, Ortiz allowed his mount "to drift left-handed without sufficient correction." The incident occurred a sixteenth of a mile into the race when Ortiz allowed the Wesley Ward-trained filly to drift, impeding three others.  The stewards' report noted that Omniqueen (GB) (Tasleet) {GB})...

Trainer Brad Cox has been suspended 10 days and fined $500 by the Churchill Downs stewards for a phenylbutazone overage detected in the runner-up of the 2021 GII Stephen Foster S. According to a ruling dated May 15 and posted to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) website Tuesday, the Class C positive was present in the post-race testing of MGSW Warrior's Charge (Munnings) at a level of 2.51 micrograms per milliliter of blood when he ran second at 7-1 in last year's edition of the Foster. Cox's suspension is...

Trainer Fabrice Vermeulen's appeal was denied by a judge in the administrative court of Amiens and his six-month suspension began on Thursday, the Jour de Galop reported on Friday evening. The trainer was attempting to deny the decision of the France Galop appeals committee, who handed down a six-month ban for alleged ownership record falsifications. As a result, Vermeulen's six-month suspension, of which three months was suspended for five years, started on Thursday, Apr. 28 and will last through Thursday, July 28, 2022. Final declarations from Vermeulen's yard will be...

Trainer Mike Miceli has been suspended 30 days and fined $2,500 by the New York Gaming Commission for failing to follow Commission rules pertaining to the horse Cover Photo after a win in a $10,000 claiming race Mar. 13 at Aqueduct. The horse raced within 14 days of receiving a joint injection, which violates Commission rules. Cover Photo was not disqualified from her victory. Miceli will begin his suspension May 8 and, according to the DRF, bloodstock agent Joe Brocklebank will take over in his absence, granted he passes his trainer's...

Judge O. Peter Sherwood, the retired New York Supreme Court justice who served as the hearing officer in NYRA's dispute with Bob Baffert, has issued his report, recommending that Baffert receive a two-year suspension. "NYRA has reasonably concluded that it will not condone Baffert's reckless practices, outrageous behavior and substance violations, each of which compromises the integrity of the sport," Sherwood wrote. "I conclude that NYRA has reasonably determined that he should be excluded from the Racetracks for a lengthy period." The report has been sent to a three-person panel...

Sir Mark Todd, who had been placed in an interim suspension by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) on Feb. 16, received a four-month suspension, with two months deferred, following a BHA independent disciplinary panel hearing on Thursday. Todd had been charged with conduct prejudicial to the reputation of racing in February, after a video emerged on social media of him striking a horse with a branch in August of 2020. The 65-year-old had been knighted in 2013 for his services to equestrian sport. Although Todd issued an apology, his licence...

Citing Section 910 of the New York Racing, Pari-Mutuel Wagering and Breeding Law, the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) has announced that it will honor the 90-day suspension handed down to trainer Bob Baffert and that the conditioner is "prohibited from participating in any New York State horse racing activity through at least July 2, 2022." Section 910 reads: "§ 910. Reciprocity of licenses. All license denials, suspensions and revocations imposed by the pertinent racing and gambling authorities of other jurisdictions, including states, United States territories, and Canadian provinces...

Officials at 1/ST, the consumer-facing brand of The Stronach Group--parent company of a portfolio of several California racetracks and/or training facilities--have issued a statement in the aftermath of the 90-day suspension handed down to trainer Bob Baffert. The statement, in its entirety, reads: "The California Horse Racing Board announced on Saturday, Apr. 2 that "[trainer Bob Baffert is now suspended pursuant to CHRB Rule 1484]."  California has thus reciprocated the suspension against Bob Baffert imposed by the Kentucky Racing Commission, which will begin on Apr. 4, 2022. Because of the...

Following an incident in which a 1-20 shot he trained and owned was pulled up and eased shortly after the start of a March 10 maiden claimer at Turf Paradise, stewards at that track have hit trainer Juan Silva with a 180-day suspension and a $2,625 fine. The stewards have forwarded the ruling to the Director of the Arizona Department of Racing with a recommendation that further action be taken "up to and including revocation of Silva's license." Silva was charged with "conducting business in a manner detrimental to the...

With the clock ticking toward the Apr. 4 deadline for trainer Bob Baffert's looming 90-day suspension, a Kentucky Court of Appeals judge now wants to figure out whether the original venue chosen for legal action last month by the owner and trainer of disqualified 2021 GI Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit constitutes the correct county-level court. Dick Downey of the Blood-Horse first reported on the judge's order requesting briefs from the movants (Baffert and Zedan) and the respondent (the KHRC) covering just that single issue to be filed with the...

Mychel Sanchez's 60-day suspension for betting against himself is about to end, but that doesn't mean the jockey will be back in action any time soon. After being suspended for 60 days by the Pennsylvania Racing Commission, Sanchez is eligible to ride Tuesday, but Parx management did not allow trainers to name him on horses on Wednesday when entries were taken for next Tuesday's card. "We tried to name him on horses for Tuesday after his suspension ends and they would not accept anyone naming him on a horse," said...