Jeffrey Englehart is cleared of federal clenbuterol violation
New York-based trainer Jeffrey Englehart was cleared of a clenbuterol violation after the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit said Friday it could not have happened on his watch.
“The status of Jeffrey Englehart’s alleged presence violation for clenbuterol (in an unraced colt) was updated from pending to resolved on the HIWU website,” a HIWU written statement said.
Englehart, who has averaged 218 starters and 39 winners per year since he began training in his name in 2013, faced as much as a two-year ban. While he appealed the case brought against him by HIWU, he was not fined or suspended.
The horse in question, an unnamed son of Classic Empire out of Fast Heart, was euthanized after a workout injury at Finger Lakes on Nov. 21. In its posting of the case last month, HIWU said it cited Englehart after a hair sample from the horse tested positive for clenbuterol.
“Englehart requested B-sample analysis and provided a formal explanation to HIWU that he believed that clenbuterol was administered to the horse prior to his becoming the horse’s responsible person,” the HIWU statement said.
Saying the second hair sample was tested at the University of California, Davis, HIWU said, “The results of this analysis indicated that clenbuterol was administered to (the colt) before he became a covered horse and before Mr. Englehart became his trainer. Thus, Mr. Englehart’s explanation was confirmed, and HIWU withdrew the equine anti-doping notice that had been served on him. The case was dropped before a provisional suspension was imposed on Mr. Englehart or a charge letter was served on him.”
Englehart bought the colt for Marcello Rosa at a June sale in Florida. He told Thoroughbred Daily News last month that he thought someone drugged the horse to make him look better in a pre-sale breeze.
Created to treat breathing problems in horses, clenbuterol was banned from racing because it was being abused for its ability to build muscle, according to a paper posted in 2012 at the website for Performance Genetics of Lexington, Ky.