Report: Dutrow facing suspension

Jun 25, 2008 - 11:19 AM NEW YORK (Ticker) -- Big Brown trainer Rick Dutrow is facing suspension after one of his horses tested positive for twice the allowable level of a metabolism-accelerating medication, according to an article in the New York Times on Wednesday.

Salute the Count tested positive for clenbuterol - a medication which helps burn fat and promote muscle growth - after finishing second in the Grade III Aegon Turf Sprint at Churchill Downs just one day before Big Brown won the Kentucky Derby.

According to the Times, the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority will announce the penalty Wednesday, suspending Dutrow for 15 days and demanding he repay the $20,000 in purse earnings. Dutrow has 10 days to appeal the decision.

"(Dutrow) waived his right to a formal hearing, and more or less accepted responsibility," John Veitch, the chief state steward for the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority, told the newspaper. "He told us that he uses clenbuterol on a regular basis with his horses."

Clenbuterol is approved for horses but it is illegal to administer it on race day However, states vary the length of time that it can be administered. In New York, it cannot be used within 96 hours of race day while in Kentucky, the limitation is just 72 hours.

Dutrow has been fined or suspended at least once every year since 200 for medication violations and admitted responsibility for the positive test of Salute the Count, who has won 11 times in 41 career starts.

"I was there all week and am responsible," Dutrow told the Times. "I use that medication on many of my horses and only once can ever remember having a problem with it."

Dutrow admitted using steroids on Big Brown, who won both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, but supported co-president of International Equine Acquisitions Holdings Michael Iavarone's recent decision to stop using the drugs on Big Brown as well as more than 50 horses owned by the stable.