Arkansas Suspends Villafranco 30 Days for Caffeine

Trainer Federico Villafranco has been suspended 30 days by the Arkansas Racing Commission after four of his horses tested positive for caffeine in races at Oaklawn Park in early February, according to rulings on the Association of Racing Commissioners International website. The horses have been disqualified.

The caffeine positives were detected in post-race samples collected from Feb. 1-8 involving the horses Millwood, Fayette Warrior, D' Rapper, and Council Rules. Millwood and D' Rapper were winners, and Fayette Warrior and Council Rules ran second. The horses raced for owner Danny Caldwell, and the purses they earned have been redistributed.

Villafranco is suspended from Jan. 22-Feb. 20, according to the ruling, which cited his responsibility as the "absolute insurer of the condition of an entry the trainer enters regardless of the acts of a third party." 

Caffeine is a Class 2 drug with a B Penalty Class, according to ARCI, which considers such medications to have a high potential to affect performance.

Caffeine is found in many products consumed by humans, such as coffee and soda, occurring naturally in some foods and added to others. It is also in some over-the-counter medications.

Villafranco, 56, has won 856 races and $17.4 million in purse money from 3,893 starters over a training career that began in 2004. He trains privately for Caldwell, Oaklawn's leading owner from 2014-17.