2 more trainers are named in Penn National injections case

Two more trainers have been implicated in an alleged conspiracy at Penn National that involves horses being given joint injections by veterinarian Allen Bonnell within prohibited periods leading into a race.

The Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit published pending violations against Penn National-based trainers Erin Carpio and Fernando Ferreira. HIWU also published additional charges against trainer Joe Miller, who previously had been named and suspended in November 2024. The additional charges were reported previously by Chelsea Hackbarth at Paulick Report.

All of the newly announced charges against trainers based at Penn National involved intra-articular injections being given within 14 days of a race. The newly announced charges all involve races before July 2024, when enforcement of joint-injections rules shifted from HIWU to the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority. HISA officials believe that Dr. Bonnell was conducting joint injections during stand-down periods before races between May 2023 and October 2024.

The charges against Carpio included three instances involving Bejuco, two involving Nazareno, and one each involving Shoyyookh and Sir Steele. The charges against Ferreira include one instance each involving Dance a Little Jig, Nice Weather and Spikes Shirl. Additional charges against Miller include eight separate instances of injections given to Highway Queen.

One of the charges involving the Carpio-trained Nazareno relates to a stakes race, the $50,000 Fabulous Strike Stakes on May 31, 2024. Sent off as the 34-1 longest shot in the field of eight, Nazareno rallied to cross the wire third in the six-furlong race, 4 3/4 lengths behind winner Get Set. Carpio is still allowed to run horses in Pennyslvania, and her most recent start came with Bejuco, who ran sixth in a starter-optional claiming race at Penn National on Thursday.

According to Equibase, Ferreira has not started a horse since Nov. 10, 2023. An April 15 post on Facebook by PSP Tips, an arm of the Pennsylvania State Police, said that he was wanted for 22 charges including rape of a child and statutory sexual assault and that he was believed to have gone out of state.

Highway Queen last raced for Miller on Aug. 28 at Penn National and was taken off track in an equine ambulance, according to the Equibase chart for the race. A death report on her record with The Jockey Club states that she died in 2024.