Cash, Greenhill Receive 20-Day Suspensions, $500 Fines

Stewards in Kentucky suspended trainers Norman "Lynn" Cash and Jeff Greenhill 20 days apiece and fined them $500 each after horses trained by them tested positive for Class A drugs more commonly used among humans. 

The Cash-trained and co-owned Matt's Honey  tested positive for methamphetamine after finishing third in the third race at Churchill Downs Nov. 5, 2021, while the Greenhill-trained De Bolt Light , owned by Ronald B. DeWolf Trust, showed the presence of desmethylvenlafaxine in her urine after finishing fifth in the third race at Turfway Park Jan. 15. Both horses were disqualified, and a claim for De Bolt Light was voided.

Desmethylvenlafaxine is a frequently prescribed anti-depressant, and methamphetamine, or meth, is an illegal stimulant that has contributed to wide-ranging drug abuse problems.

Greenhill said he believes his horse's test result was a contamination positive. He further expressed frustration that the miniscule level at which medication was detected, noting in the split sample it registered at 7 nanograms or seven billionths of a gram. 

Class A violations are typically reserved for performance-altering medications, though occasionally, more benign, difficult-to-classify drugs are placed in that category.

"The case is clear—I didn't do it," he said. "The case is also very clear that it would not have affected the horse in any way."

Cash could not be reached for comment.

Cash's suspension is to run Aug. 27-Sept. 15, and Greenhill's from Aug. 12-31.