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 Marcus Vitali has been suspended seven days and fined $1,000 after the Vitali-trained Freedom Empire tested positive for the class C controlled substances Ibuprofen and Flunixin after winning at Turf Paradise on April 24 this year. The suspension started Sept. 23.
Vitali has a long checkered regulatory history involving numerous suspensions and medication violations during a training career dating back to 1989. With the advent of HISA, trainers were given a blank slate, their pre-HISA history essentially expunged for regulatory purposes.
Vitali also has a pending medication violation after his trainee Yankee Dollar, who finished second in the Illini Princess Handicap at Hawthorne on June 15, tested positive for Acepromazine, a class B controlled and ubiquitously used sedative across U.S. backstretches.
Resolved ADMC Violations
Date: 09/22/2025
Licensee: Jose Miguel Jimenez, trainer
Penalty: 7-day period of Ineligibility for Covered Person, beginning on September 23, 2025; Disqualification of Covered Horse's Race results, including forfeiture of all purses and other compensation, prizes, trophies, points, and rankings and repayment or surrender (as applicable); a fine of $1,000; imposition of 2 Penalty Points. Admission.
Explainer: Medication violation for the presence of Lidocaine-a class B controlled substance-in a sample taken from Into Inspiration, who finished second at Finger Lakes on 7/28/25.
Date: 09/22/2025
Licensee: Michael V. Pino, trainer
Penalty: A written Reprimand (per 9/26/23 HISA Guidance). Final decision of HIWU.
Explainer: Vets' list medication violation for the presence of Omeprazole (Gastrogard)-a class C controlled substance-in a sample taken from Et's Moon Maiden on 8/8/25.
Date: 09/22/2025
Licensee: Daniel Siculietano, trainer
Penalty: 7 Disqualification of Covered Horse's Race results, including forfeiture of all purses and other compensation, prizes, trophies, points, and rankings and repayment or surrender (as applicable); a fine of $500; imposition of 1.5 Penalty Points. Admission.
Explainer: Medication violation for the presence of Triamcinolone-a Class C controlled substance-in a sample taken from Emirates Honor, who won at Monmouth Park on 7/11/25.
Date: 09/22/2025
Licensee: Marcus Vitali, trainer
Penalty: 7-day period of Ineligibility for Covered Person, beginning on September 23, 2025; Disqualification of Covered Horse's Race results, including forfeiture of all purses and other compensation, prizes, trophies, points, and rankings and repayment or surrender (as applicable); a fine of $1,000; imposition of 1.5 Penalty Points. Admission.
Explainer: Medication violation for the presence of Ibuprofen and Flunixin-both Class C controlled substances-in a sample taken from Freedom Empire, who won at Turf Paradise on 4/24/25.
Date: 09/19/2025
Licensee: Rasheed Pinnock, trainer
Penalty: A fine of $500; imposition of 1.5 Penalty Points. Admission.
Explainer: Vets' list medication violation for the presence of Dantrolene-a class B controlled substance-in a sample taken from Catalierra on 8/17/25.
Date: 09/17/2025
Licensee: Rogelio Labra, trainer
Penalty: A fine of $500; imposition of 1.5 Penalty Points. Final decision by HIWU.
Explainer: Medication violation for the presence of Acepromazine-a Class B controlled substance-in a sample taken from Gold Dart, who finished fifth at Colonial Downs on 3/15/25.
Date: 09/17/2025
Licensee: Christopher Keller, trainer
Penalty: 15-day period of Ineligibility for Covered Person, beginning on September 18, 2025; Disqualification of Covered Horse's Race results, including forfeiture of all purses and other compensation, prizes, trophies, points, and rankings and repayment or surrender (as applicable); a fine of $1,500 ($1,000 for the Class B Controlled Medication Substance and $500 for the Class C Controlled Medication Substance); imposition of 3.5 Penalty Points (2 Penalty Points for the Class B Controlled Medication Substance and 1.5 Penalty Points for the Class C Controlled Medication Substance). Final decision of internal adjudication panel.
Explainer: Medication violation for the presence of Acepromazine and Flunixin-Class B and C controlled substances respectively-in a sample taken from Gold Dart, who finished fifth at Colonial Downs on 3/15/25.
Pending ADMC Violations
09/18/2025, Adam Kitchingman, trainer: Pending vets' list medication violation for the presence of Diclofenac-a class C controlled substance-in a sample taken from Gigi's Girl on 8/18/25.
09/18/2025, Graham Motion, trainer: Pending vets' list medication violation for the presence of Glycopyrrolate-a class C controlled substance-in a sample taken from Regal Kingdom on 8/18/25.
Violations of Crop Rule
Hawthorne
Ademar Santos – violation date Sept. 18; $500 fine, one-day suspension
Los Alamitos
Damien Diaz Cruz – violation date Sept. 20; $250 fine, one-day suspension
Thistledown
Luis Batista – violation date Sept. 18; $750 fine, three-day suspension
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