Delaware Upholds Stewards' Ruling on Preciado

The Delaware Thoroughbred Racing Commission Jan. 13 upheld a decision by its board of stewards to suspend trainer Ramon Preciado 21 days and fine him $1,500 for a pair of clenbuterol positives last summer at Delaware Park.

Follwing an Oct. 13 hearing, Delaware stewards ruled Preciado-trained Trouble Kid in the first race Aug. 26 and Jake N Elwood in the third race Sept. 12 both tested positive for clenbuterol following those events. Trouble Kid won his race by nine lengths and Jake N Elwood finished second in his six-furlong allowance event.

In addition to the sanctions against Preciado, both horses will be disqualified. Trouble Kid's owner Barbara Hopkins will forfeit $15,000 in purse money and Jake N Elwood's owner J A G Racing and Jettany Thoroughbred Corp. will forfeit the $14,000 earned.

The full commission, by unamimous vote, upheld its stewards' decision Jan. 13. Preciado's attorney Alan Pincus said the trainer will likely not appeal the sanctions. The suspension is scheduled to begin Thursday, Jan. 14.

Preciado had appealed the stewards' ruling of a 14-day suspension for the second offense because he said the level of clenbuterol in the first positive was so low that it should not have been considered a positive. But Delaware's standard for clenbuterol in blood testing is any level of detection.

Delaware is one of 18 states with the National Uniform Medication Program rules in place on controlled medications. Clenbuterol is one of those controlled substances and a 14-day withdrawal time is recommended for standard dosage. It carries a 140 picogram per milliliter threshold for urine but a "level-of-detection" standard for blood or serum.

Clenbuterol has accepted use as a bronchodilator, but racing has put a 14-day withdrawal time in place because of its potential to deliver anabolic effects when abused.

Steven Barker, chemist for the Louisiana State Racing Commission, told the commission that the "level-of-detection" standard is unfair. He argued that depending on the horse, clenbuterol can be detected at small levels for 14 or more days.

"He had five picograms in that sample," Pincus said. "I'm not aware of any other clenbuterol positive ever being called that low."

But in upholding the stewards' findings and sanctions, the DTRC noted that the limit of detection standard for a blood test for clenbuterol was determined by the Association of Racing Commissioners International and adopted by the DTRC through public rulemaking.

With the two rulings being final, Preciado will be assigned four points on NUMP's multiple medication violations (MMV) list. As a Class B substance, the two points from each clenbuterol positive will remain in place for three years. Under the guidelines, any further violation in a NUMP racing state that has the MMV in place will call for at least a 30-day suspension.

Preciado has won four graded stakes since 2009, most recently sending out undefeated Lucy N Ethel to victory in the Old Hat Stakes (gr. III) Jan. 2 at Gulfstream Park.