Report: Trainer Phil Schoenthal will serve 15-day suspension

Trainer Phil Schoenthal will serve a 15-day suspension for a pair of methamphetamine positives from horses he trained.

The Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit announced the positives Tuesday, and Schoenthal already has begun to serve the suspension, according to a report by Sue Finley of Thoroughbred Daily News.

After the positive tests, a groom and an exercise rider both tested positive for methamphetamine, according to Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority CEO Lisa Lazarus. Schoenthal told TDN that, after being informed of the positives, he drafted a manual for his barn staff about how to avoid contamination and then went through the contents with his barn staff at a meeting. HIWU took these risk-mitigation efforts into account when determining the suspension.

The two horses who tested positive were Prodigy Doll, who tested positive for methamphetamine after winning an allowance-optional claiming race at Laurel on Jan. 28, and Determined Driver, whose positive test came after an allowance-optional claiming win Feb. 9.

Prodigy Doll returned to finish third in the Barbara Fritchie (G3) on Feb. 17, and Determined Driver won the Beyond the Wire at Laurel on March 23. She is entered in Saturday's Weber City Miss with Michael Trombetta listed as trainer.