The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission approved Jan. 23 the recommendation of a state hearing officer to suspend trainer Steve Asmussen 30 days.
Eden Davis Stephens made the recommendation in December following two drug positives from horses Asmussen trained in 2018. Stephens made the recommendation in an Oct. 28 report previously obtained by BloodHorse in an open records request.
According to the Daily Racing Form, the KHRC's decision "could be appealed in civil court" and that the order "did not contain a date for the suspension to start."
Asmussen trainees Thousand Percent and Boldor tested above the permitted threshold for a metabolite of acepromazine, a sedative, in June 2018 at Churchill Downs and October 2018 at Keeneland after winning their respective races.
Following a September 2019 hearing, stewards handed down a 30-day suspension concurrent in each case, with an extra 30 days in the second one suspended for a year contingent on no class A or class B violations. Asmussen was also penalized with purse forfeitures and fines of $1,000 and $2,500. The suspension was stayed pending appeal.
DRF reported the KHRC order indicated Asmussen's attorney, Clark Brewster, "attempted to argue that the acepromazine was administered to the two horses well before their races." But the KHRC "determines that it is irrelevant at what time Mr. Asmussen administered acepromazine to Thousand Percent and Boldor, because Mr. Asmussen did not otherwise follow the commission's guidelines on (intravenous) administration."
