Viagra drug in horses : trainer suspended for 16 years

An American quarter horse trainer has been suspended for 16 years after the active ingredient in the erectile dysfunction drug, Viagra, was found in the blood of four horses.

John Stinebaugh, one of the top quarter horse trainers in the US, has also been fined $US40,000 and must forfeit $US8000 in stake winnings.

The Racing Commission adopted new, stricter regulations for medication violations in June 2012 that adhere to ARCI guidelines. Under those regulations, the horses’ owners were also cited. In addition to losing their portion of purse monies, the owners can’t race their horses during the 90-day suspension.

Stinebaugh, who has until Thursday to appeal the ruling, has ranked among the top 10 trainers by earnings nationally, according to the American Quarter Horse Association.

As of Thursday morning, neither Stinebaugh nor any owners had sought a stay from the Racing Commission, Mares said. They can also appeal the sanctions in state district court, and seek injunctions until their cases are adjudicated. In past instances, such stays or injunctions have allowed trainers to continue running their horses for months.

The drug tests were conducted by the Kenneth L. Maddy Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory at the University of California-Davis, the Racing Commission’s official testing lab. That’s the same lab that uncovered the use of dermorphin – an exotic painkiller said to be 40 times more powerful than morphine – on eight horses at Ruidoso Downs in May 2012. Three trainers were given severe sanctions in those cases.

Last April, Stinebaugh was handed a 15-day suspension, fined $500 and forfeited an $8,000 purse by the Racing Commission after a horse under his care tested positive for the drug clenbuterol at Sunland Park in February 2011.

Clenbuterol dilates bronchial tubes and aids respiration, but can also build muscle as a steroid. Citing rampant abuse, the Racing Commission banned clenbuterol in April 2012, but is currently considering allowing specific threshold levels of the drug on race day.

Agencies/Canadajournal