Trainer Stein Angrily Denies Doping Allegations : Doubts Validity of Test Showing Large Amount of Cocaine in Horse’s System

Trainer Roger Stein angrily denied Thursday that he or his barn employees were responsible for one of his horses testing positive for cocaine.

“There’s no basis for this whatsoever,” Stein said. “I’ve never treated a horse with cocaine, nor have I ever known anyone to do so. I didn’t do it, and no one under my hand did it. I don’t know what else to say. I told the stewards that this morning.

“I’ve been training for 10 years and I’ve never had anything like this happen. I thought that in America you were innocent until proven guilty, but in this case it just goes to show you that that’s not so.”

Wednesday afternoon, stewards at Santa Anita ruled that all 58 horses in Stein’s barn were ineligible to race, pending an investigation into why one of them, Emperor’s Turn, had tested positive for a large amount of cocaine after finishing second in a $10,000 claiming race Oct. 23.

After an informal meeting with the board of stewards Thursday morning, Stein voiced doubts about the accuracy and validity of the post-race drug test, questioned why it had taken so long for the results to be made known and said he would have tests of his own conducted.

“This is a very bizarre thing, not just because it was cocaine, or what they claim was cocaine,” said Stein, 34, a former harness-racing trainer. “I’m going to call in a couple of private labs--one that will test the horse’s hair samples--and I’m going to find out for sure if this horse has had (cocaine) in his system or not.”

A formal hearing into the matter will be conducted Monday, the final day of the Oak Tree meeting.

According to steward Pete Pedersen, several people, including Stein, jockey Danny Severson, who rode Emperor’s Turn, and some of Stein’s barn employees will be questioned before a ruling is made.

“It’s not only serious from our point of view, it’s serious from the industry’s point of view, and Roger Stein understands that,” Pedersen said, adding that the trainer “has an excellent record as far as (being free of) violations.”

Asked what penalties, if any, might be imposed, Pedersen replied:

“In the first place, it’s the trainer’s responsibility. That’s the oldest rule in racing. Secondly, we go by precedent or by what other similar instances might have brought in the way of rulings. Third, we go by the person’s record. Then we make the best judgment we can.

“There have been recent rulings that have been quite severe in California, not necessarily in thoroughbreds. Suspensions of 1 or 2 years. There have been some that have been fines, (for) easily explainable mistakes.”

Stein, meanwhile, is hoping for the best but expecting the worst.

“I think the board of stewards knows that I wouldn’t do anything like this,” he said. “The dilemma is just as much theirs as mine, but I’m the one who’s going to get in trouble.

“I don’t think there’s anybody who really thinks I did this. I’ve probably won over a thousand races in my career. You’d think that one of those would have come back positive if I was doing something wrong, don’t you?

“The stewards have been more than fair with me ever since I came into the thoroughbred business, and I’m sure they will be now, although the directives from the California Horse Racing Board are more or less the cards that are in their hand and I’m sure that they’re going to have to play those cards.

“I realize that I am responsible for the condition of the horse, but there’s got to be some limitation placed on that.”

Stein said it was not inconceivable that cocaine might have been given to Emperor’s Turn by an outsider visiting the barn. He said he had fired the horse’s groom on Wednesday because “he had a lot of people around the barn that didn’t belong there.”

“Some people at the barn believe that somebody tampered with the horse, possibly, but no one’s got anything definite,” Stein said. “No one saw anyone go in the horse’s stall.”

Whatever the stewards decide, Stein maintains his innocence.

“I’d never treat any horse with cocaine,” he said. “I’ve never even seen cocaine. I’m just going to go and have my hearing, tell them what I know and then leave it in their hands. I don’t want to spend my life in court, I want to spend it on the race track. That’s the bottom line.”

There are those at Santa Anita who believe Stein had no hand in giving Emperor’s Turn the cocaine. They include Don Dooley, CHRB veterinarian, who said Thursday that use of the drug would have little effect and would be easily detectable.

“It’s a stimulant in horses just like it is in people,” Dooley said. “It might have two possible effects. One is to increase his cardio-respiratory function. The second would be the euphoric effect, making him feel braver, that sort of thing. Other than that, he’s certainly not going to run any faster than he’s already capable of running.”