Hearing Officer Recommends Asmussen 30-Day Suspension

A Kentucky hearing officer has recommended trainer Steve Asmussen be suspended for 30 days following two drug positives from 2018.

Eden Davis Stephens issued the recommended order, obtained by BloodHorse after an open records request, on Oct. 28. The recommendation is under consideration by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, which is not bound by its terms.

Thousand Percent  and Boldor  tested above the permitted threshold for a metabolite of Acepromazine, a sedative, in June 2018 at Churchill Downs and October 2018 at Keeneland after winning their respective races.

Stewards conducted a hearing in September 2019 and issued rulings about two months later. Purse forfeitures and fines of $1,000 and $2,500 were ordered, and Asmussen was given a suspension of 30 days concurrent in each case, and an extra 30 days in the second one suspended for a year contingent on no class A or class B violations. The suspension was stayed pending appeal.

Stephens' recommendation affirms the stewards' findings and proposes the same penalties.

Hearing officer Jim Howard conducted an appeal hearing in August 2021, but he and the Public Protection Cabinet, which appointed Howard, parted ways before his recommendation. Stephens was appointed to succeed Howard and issued her recommendation based on the existing record.

Stephens was also appointed to succeed Clay Patrick after he heard an appeal of Medina Spirit's disqualification from the 2021 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1), then recused himself. She will make a recommendation based on the existing record.