Suspension, Fine for Trainer Norris Upheld

A three-year suspension and $15,000 fine imposed upon trainer Mike Norris for multiple drug violations in Indiana last year have been upheld by an administrative law judge.



Norris was summarily suspended by stewards last Aug. 26 after tests on five horses he trained at Indiana Grand Racing & Casino last May and June tested positive for the corticosteroid hydrocortisone succinate (trade name Solu-Cortef). An additional horse trained by Norris tested positive for triamcinolone acetonide, according to the report filed by administrative law judge Bernard Pylitt.



Hydrocortisone succinate and triamcinolone acetonide are Class 4 substances on the Association of Racing Commissioners' Uniform Classification Guidelines for Foreign Substances.



All of the horses that tested positive have been disqualified and any purses forfeited. According to the report, the IHRC staff was notified on Aug. 8, 11, 12, 2014, of the Hydrocortisone succinate positives that occurred from May 28-June 20. The report from testing laboratory LGC Sport Science of Lexington said the levels of the drug present in the tests indicated they were administered on race day. On Sept. 25, 2014, the commission staff received notification of the triamcinolone acetonide positive in another of Norris' horses.



LGC laboratory director Rick Sams said at the time and reiterated during Pylitt's hearing that  a finding above 250 picograms per milliliter in the blood is indicative of administration within 24 hours of the time of sample collection. The report said the five Norris samples in question all tested above that 250 pg/ml level. At least two of the tests were more than 10 times over that 250 pg/ml level. (Related story)



Like most U.S. jurisdictions, the only medication permitted to be administered in Indiana 24 hours before a race is fuerosemide.



During the hearing, Scot Waterman, a consulting veterinarian to the commission, testified that Solu-Cortef had a calming effect on horses, noting that "it provides sort of a temporary euphoria" and would help take the edge off a horse prior to a race.



Pylitt said that during the hearing, Norris "was sending text messages, was rude, disrespectful, and disrupted other witnesses' testimony by making outbursts on numerous occasions. He was warned by his counsel and Pylitt to refrain."



Pylitt's report said that throughout the investigation and in the hearing Norris had provided conflicting information about the positives. The trainer initially said he did not know how the drugs were given the horses and then suggested that the likely source was a combination of Wind Aid and Solu-Cortef the horses were administered to treat hives. Norris also suggested the possibility that the horses could have tested positive after ingesting urine-soaked hay.

Norris said in a deposition in the case that he should receive no suspension and a $500 fine for each of the five horses testing positive for the Solu-Cortef. In his proposed findings of fact, Norris recommended that the five positives be treated as one positive with no suspension and a $1,000 fine. Norris recommended he receive a 30-day suspension and no fine for the triamcinolone acetonide positive.



Also, according to Pylitt's report, Norris contended that if the test samples had been tested sooner and he was notified of the results, he could have changed procedures within his stable.

Pylitt's recommendation that Norris' suspension and fine remain unchanged will be considered by the IHRC.