Report: Kentucky stewards vacate rulings against Sharp

Kentucky racing stewards vacated five rulings issued against trainer Joe Sharp because of positives for levamisole at Churchill Downs in November 2019, BloodHorse reported.

Sharp said he had used a deworming product that contained levamisole, and Kentucky fined him $500 and suspended him for 30 days, according to the report. Sharp appealed the penalties.

Kentucky stewards wrote that the rulings were vacated because of the "declassification of levamisole in August 2015 by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission," according to the report.

Sharp told BloodHorse that the action does not change disqualifications of his horses. Affected owners chose to accept the loss of purse to maintain conditions and avoid eligibility complications during appeal.

Sharp's attorney, Clark Brewster, told BloodHorse that the KHRC's actions against the trainer never should have occurred. Sharp's owners lost purse money, he said, and some disqualified horses were transferred from the trainer, including Bruce Lunsford's Art Collector.