Two More Trainers Have Licenses Suspended in Alleged Horse Doping

Two more quarter horse trainers have had their licenses suspended by the Los Alamitos Board of Stewards for alleged horse doping at the track, California Horse Racing Board member Jim Parrish said Thursday.

Steve Rothblum and Alvin Caddin were suspended after their horses tested positive for the narcotic, hydromorphone. The Stewards reached their decision Wednesday.

Rothblum’s Via Beaux was third in a June 27 race. He was suspended for 90 days effective July 10 through Oct. 7 and was fined $1,000.

Caddin had two horses test positive for hydromorphone: Oughtado, who raced June 27, and Miz Chic, who won a race July 2.

Caddin received a 180-day suspension and a $1,500 fine.

Both were cited under the trainers’ insurer rule, which says a trainer is responsible for the condition of his horse. The CHRB does not try to determine how the illegal substance entered a horse, but is only interested that there was a banned substance present in a horse’s system.

Thursday’s announcement brings to four the number of Los Alamitos trainers suspended this week. Leroy McKellips and Ronald D. Jackson earlier had their licenses suspended for hydromorphone discovered in their horses June 27.

“This has caused a bit of tension in the stables,” trainer Lee Gladd said. “It isn’t good for racing at all.”

But Parrish says the doping investigations are not over with at Los Alamitos.

“This isn’t the end,” Parrish said. “There are more investigations going on. By Monday, there should be additional decisions handed down in connection with Los Alamitos.”

Some trainers have criticized the CHRB’s testing methods as leading to the doping scandal.

“I think they have a poor system,” trainer Russell Harris said. “They’re more concerned with hiring more investigators than doing the tests all the time. If people knew there would be a test after each race, you wouldn’t need all these investigators.”