HIWU Suspends Cano 12 Years Over Clenbuterol Positives
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Photo: Sean Collins
The Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit has suspended owner/trainer Juan Munoz Cano for a dozen years and fined him $150,000 for six clenbuterol positives from his horses in Kentucky from November 2024-January 2025.
The case had proceeded to the arbitral body, which is administered by Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services. HIWU posted resolutions of the cases Oct. 6 to the HIWU website. Of the six clenbuterol findings, HIWU reported five from out-of-competition testing and one from a postrace test. The arbitral body did find that one clenbuterol finding by HIWU, for Outofnothingatall on Nov. 20, 2024, did not hold up as there was a five-day period from Oct. 21-Nov. 15 (the time of the exposure) during which Cano was not the responsible party for that horse.
The five positives from out-of-competition tests, along with the date of the event, are: Beer With Ice, Jan. 15; Global Sensation , Nov. 21, 2024; True Jedi , Nov. 21, 2024; Protomagic , Nov. 21, 2024; and La Bukana, from Oct. 31, 2024.
READ: Owner/Trainer Cano Now Faces Seven Clenbuterol Charges
The one postrace finding was from Solidify , who finished seventh in a Nov. 20, 2024, claiming race at Churchill Downs. Clenbuterol is a banned substance because of its potential to be abused as an anabolic.
The case involving La Bukana was related to an Oct. 31, 2024, race at Churchill Downs. The filly led early before showing signs of injury in the stretch. She later was euthanized with an injury to her right foreleg, per a stewards' report. The arbitral body's 27-page finding noted that six 1-inch hair samples from La Bukana were collected, and each one tested positive for clenbuterol.
A multiple stakes-placed trainer, Cano, has 129 wins as a trainer from 936 starts made by his horses and stable earnings of $5,020,036. He continues to race in Louisiana, which is not under the jurisdiction of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority due to court injunctions stemming from ongoing lawsuits contesting HISA's constitutionality. HIWU is HISA's enforcement arm.