Oaklawn trainer Juarez is suspended 2 years for banned substance

Oaklawn trainer Eusebio Juarez was suspended for two years by the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare unit for possession of diisopropylamine, a banned substance.

He also was fined $10,000 and ordered to pay $8,000 toward arbitration costs, according to the HIWU website. The suspension was reported earlier by BloodHorse.

Diisopropylamine is used to dilate blood vessels and is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The substance was found in two syringes in Juarez's truck at Oaklawn on Jan. 29, according to an arbitration decision. Juarez said he didn't know how the syringes got in his vehicle and that he didn't know what they contained. He said his truck had been repaired recently and that the substance could have come from there. He also said his wife and son both drive the vehicle.

The case eventually went to arbitration, and the panel recommended the suspension, fines and cost sharing as "full and final resolution" of the case.