HIWU Alleges Banned Substance, Suspends Ohio Trainer
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Ohio-based trainer John T. Brown will face up to a two-year suspension after the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit alleged one of his runners tested positive for a banned substance.
In a public disclosure posted to its website, HIWU, the enforcement arm of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, said Brown-trained Rollin On Tequila tested positive for the banned substance isoxsuprine after finishing sixth in a May 31 claiming race at JACK Thistledown. Mark Yagour campaigns Ohio-bred Rollin On Tequila.
Brown, who also will face up to a $25,000 fine, has trained horses since 2014 and his runners have career purse earnings in excess of $2 million. As isoxsuprine is a banned substance, HIWU has imposed a provisional (immediate) suspension of Brown. He has a horse entered July 3 at Thistledown but will not be allowed to start that runner, Fleet Run .
In its list of banned substances, HIWU notes that isoxsuprine is a vasodilator that lacks approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration. According to the Mayo Clinic, vasodilators are medications that open (dilate) blood vessels. They affect the muscles in the walls of the arteries and veins, preventing the muscles from tightening and the walls from narrowing. As a result, blood flows more easily through the vessels.
As a non-approved substance, the isoxsuprine finding could result in up to a 14-month suspension of the horse, Rollin On Tequila, who has earnings approaching $75,000 in 39 career starts.
BloodHorse did not have contact information for Brown and could not reach him.
In a finding of lesser concern, HIWU has posted a public disclosure alleging that a runner trained by Ricardo Legall, Merchants of Cool , tested positive for levamisole after a May 28 race at Belmont Park.
Levamisole is listed as a Class B controlled medication substance, which carries recommended sanctions for a first offense of disqualification of the horse, up to a $1,000 fine, and a suspension of 15 days. Campaigned by Honor King, Merchants of Cool finished fifth in that May 28 race.