Report: McGaughey serving suspension for rare drug positive

That Shug McGaughey's Gulfstream Park entries were made over the weekend in the name of his assistant, Robert Medina, was the result of an Ohio State Racing Commission ruling against the Hall of Fame trainer.

According to the Daily Racing Form, McGaughey was suspended 15 days after an illegal substance was found in a now-5-year-old mare, Tactical Affair, after her Sept. 9 victory last year at Belterra Park.

McGaughey's term runs through Feb. 20, includes a $500 fine and came with the disqualification of Tactical Affair from her allowance race.

The trainer told Ray Paulick, publisher of Paulick Report, that traces of the Class 4A substance hydrochlorothiazide in Tactical Affair's sample were "a stable mistake."

This is believed to be McGaughey's second suspension, and first since 1983, stemming from a drug positive.

“I'm taking the blame for it and doing my days," McGaughey told Paulick. "Obviously, we weren't trying to give anything to the horse. It's one of those things that happens.”

Hydrochlorothiazide is a diuretic, though Tactical Affair also ran on the permitted anti-bleeding medication Lasix.