2 trainers are the 1st to admit they violated federal drug rules

Two trainers accused of medication violations under new federal guidelines have accepted fines, suspensions and disqualifications after admitting their guilt to the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit, the medication watchdog for the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority.

Doug Nunn was suspended 30 calendar days that began Saturday as a result of his violation of rules that prevent a horse from getting “intra-articular injections within 14 days of a post time,” according to what was posted Tuesday on the HIWU website. Nunn also was fined $5,000, and 7-year-old gelding Smithwick’s Spice went from victory to last place in a June 9 allowance race at Delaware Park.

Ricardo Legall was given a seven-day suspension that was scheduled to run from Thursday last week to Wednesday this week. Also fined $1,500, Legall admitted he was responsible for Merchants of Cool testing positive for levamisole, an anti-worm medicine that can act as a stimulant, and dimethyl sulfoxide, an anti-inflammatory that smells like garlic and potentially can take blood pressure to a dangerous low. The 6-year-old gelding was demoted from fifth to last in a May 28 claiming race at Belmont Park.

These were the first cases to be settled since HIWU began its enforcement this spring of HISA’s anti-drug and medication-control program. After a one-week false start in March that was called back by a court order, HIWU has been on the job uninterrupted since May 22. Twenty other cases brought against trainers are still pending, according to the HIWU website.