Report: Diodoro is suspended for total carbon dioxide overage

Arkansas stewards suspended trainer Robertino Diodoro for 30 days after a horse he trained tested for an excessive level of total carbon dioxide in the blood, Daily Racing Form reported.

According to the report, Diodoro declined to appeal; he will serve 15 days of the suspension when the 2023-2024 Oaklawn meeting begins in December. The rest of the suspension will be stayed unless he has a Class A or B medication violation in the next year.

The violation was found after Aristocracy finished sixth in the Bath House Row Stakes on April 22, the report says. The 3-year-old colt was found to have 42.3 millimoles per liter of blood of total carbon dioxide, according to the report. Total carbon dioxide levels in excess of 37.0 millimoles per liter of blood are a violation in Arkansas.

A millimole is defined as one thousandth of a mole, which is a unit used to measure the amount of any substance.

Diodoro told DRF on Monday that he did not administer any substances to Aristocracy that would boost his total carbon dioxide. He said he accepted the penalty to "move on."

"We’ve had the same program for a long time, haven’t changed anything in 10 years," Diodoro told DRF. "I could drag my feet and try to figure out the 10 ways this could happen, all the possibilities, but I’m not one to do that."

A total carbon dioxide level above 37 milliloles can unnaturally improve a horse’s ability to process lactic acid in the blood, according to the report. The level can be boosted by administering a solution with bicarbonates and vitamins in a process called "milkshaking."

Diodoro led all trainers at the recently concluded Oaklawn meet with 61 wins. He was third in earnings, at $2,926,834.