Pena Suspended

[Elgin]

Controversial harness trainer Lou Pena will be suspended indefinitely later this afternoon by the New York State Racing & Wagering Board, according to a source. The board plans to announce that Pena is being cited with roughly 1,700 drug violations, the source said. Sources tell Harness Racing Update that through the cooperation of the New Jersey Racing Commission, New York authorities were able to obtain Pena

[KEVS]

1700 Hundred times.  What was his Vet bill.  It's about time.
 

[Elgin]

Pena Suspended In N.Y.
After 1,700 Drug Violations

The New York State Racing and Wagering Board, after a
comprehensive and groundbreaking investigation with assistance
from racing officials from New Jersey, has suspended
harness trainer Luis (Lou) Pena immediately and indefinitely
for illegally drugging horses in nearly 700 races in New York
State and amassing more than 1,700 equine drug violations.
In addition to the immediate suspension, Pena faces a
possible revocation of his license to participate in New York
State and substantial fines (up to $25,000 per violation). The
Board

[Headpole Dave]

I thought harness racing was cleaner now?

[Elgin]

Charged With 1,719 Doping Violations, Pena
Suspended Indefinitely
By Bill Finley

Lou Pena has been charged with 1,719 drug violations
involving nearly 700 races by the New York State Racing
and Wagering Board, which suspended the trainer indefinitely
yesterday.
In what could result in the
most severe penalty ever
handed to a trainer in the
history of either thoroughbred
or standarbred racing,
Pena is also facing the possibility
of $42.5 million in
fines and his owners may
have to forfeit the purses
they earned in the races
that are in question.
The staggering penalties
were announced yesterday
by the New York racing authorities,
which acted in
concert with the New Jersey
Racing Commission.
The NJRC was able to obtain
Pena

[Elgin]

Trainer suspended for drugged horses
By ERIK KRISS
Last Updated: 12:22 AM, May 25, 2012
Posted: 12:11 AM, May 25, 2012


ALBANY

[Elgin]

Trainer Accused of Doping in 675 Harness Races
By WALT BOGDANICH
Published: May 24, 2012

In what officials called one of the most sweeping and unusual enforcement actions in the history of horse racing, New York State accused a prominent horse trainer on Thursday of illegally drugging horses in 675 harness races over a 28-month period in the state.
The trainer, Luis Pena, was suspended pending a hearing later this month and faces fines of up to $25,000 per violation for administering 14 different drugs, including pain medicine and anti-inflammatory drugs, in the hours before races when those drugs cannot be used.
The investigation, which is continuing, could lead to the recovery of $2.5 million in prize money won with horses that regulators say were illegally drugged.

[AmyHollar]

Pena said he told the Racing and Wagering Board,

[Headpole Dave]

Not to beat a dead horse, but you told me the other day Amy that harness racing is cleaner than ever. How do you feel about Mr Clean here?

With almost nothing financially going into testing part, it's open season. Clearly they wanted Pena gone, but if you think he's the only one..... Coleman was busted this year as well. Will Burke or Brainard be next? Will everyone's vet records be pulled now? I bet there are some nervous trainers this morning in the New York area.

[CyberChamp]

They've got nothing on him. 

Some of the results date pretty far back. Did they just discover this or were they holding back? (I assume the former.)

I can see someone disputing 1, 10, maybe 100 of these charges...but 1700? Heck, he served more juice than Tropicana.

[Elgin]

I'll Have Another trainer Doug O'Neill suspended 45 days for milkshaking violation
Suspension won't start until after Belmont Stakes
Y JERRY BOSSERT / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Friday, May 25, 2012, 12:09 AM
   
Doug O'Neill (c.) celebrates Kentucky Derby win, and has a relatively happy birthday Thursday as he avoids 180-day ban for milkshaking, being hit with 45 days.

Doug O'Neill, the trainer of Triple Crown hopeful I

[Elgin]

Former leading trainer at Meadowlands Racetrack suspended
THURSDAY MAY 24, 2012, 6:27 PM
BY JOHN BRENNAN
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

Lou Pena, the leading trainer at the Meadowlands Racetrack in 2010 and 2011, was suspended Thursday by the New York State Racing and Wagering Board, which alleged he had raced illegally drugged harness horses 675 times in the last three years.
Pena already has been barred from racing at the Meadowlands oval by new operator Jeff Gural, who did not offer a specific reason when he imposed the ban at the end of last year. A legal challenge filed by Pena was dropped in January, two weeks after a judge denied a request for a preliminary injunction.
The New York racing board stated in its Notice of Suspension, which was effective immediately, that Pena

[AmyHollar]

Not to beat a dead horse, but you told me the other day Amy that harness racing is cleaner than ever. How do you feel about Mr Clean here?

There is a whole other thread with my feelings on the matter........and I stand by my previous statement.

I'm done defending for a while.......I have 15 waiting for me at the barn.........some of them need their SMZ's......one is on clenbuteral...........should run a couple jugs and possibly block some feet...........all part of their proper care after they are done jogging, swimming or training today.

If my veterinarian records are confiscated so be it............they are professionals with extensive training...........I respect their opinions.

[Elgin]

May 25, 6:03 AM EDT

Trainer O'Neill suspended by Calif. racing board
By BETH HARRIS
AP Racing Writer
 
Despite vigorously denying he gave one of his horses an illegal performance-enhancing mixture, trainer Doug O'Neill was suspended 45 days - a ban that won't take effect until after his superstar colt, I'll Have Another, tries to win the Triple Crown.
After a nearly two-year legal battle, California racing officials agreed with O'Neill but still found fault because of a rule that says trainers are ultimately responsible for horses in their care.
The ruling Thursday doesn't prevent O'Neill from saddling his Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner in the Belmont Stakes on June 9.
The suspension and $15,000 fine - which O'Neill can appeal - come in the final weeks of I'll Have Another's attempt to become horse racing's 12th Triple Crown winner and first since Affirmed 34 years ago. The colt trained by O'Neill won the Derby on May 5 and took the Preakness on Saturday.
"I plan on examining and reviewing all of my options following the Belmont Stakes, but right now I plan on staying focused on preparing for and winning the Triple Crown," O'Neill said in a statement.
The seven-member California Horse Racing Board met in closed session Thursday at Betfair Hollywood Park in Inglewood, Calif., to consider the recommended decision of a hearing officer in O'Neill's case. The board agreed with the officer's recommendations, which included the maximum punishment and fine for the trainer, who turned 44 on Thursday.
While elevated carbon dioxide is associated with "milkshaking," the officer agreed with O'Neill that his horse Argenta had not been fed a mixture of bicarbonate of soda, sugar and electrolytes that enhances performance and combats fatigue. The officer did not indicate what might have caused the overage.
"I'm gratified that the CHRB found that I did not "milkshake" a horse or engage in any intentional conduct that would result in an elevated TC02 level," O'Neill said.
The penalty comes at a time when racing is under heavy scrutiny for the way horses are prepared for their races.
O'Neill said he spent $250,000 defending himself.
"I know I didn't milkshake a horse. None of us around the barn milkshaked any horses," O'Neill said Wednesday. "You got to have rules and I respect rules, but when you get faulty science involved, it costs a lot of money unfortunately, but you've got to fight it and that's what we're doing."
O'Neill was originally suspended 180 days by the racing board after Argenta tested in excess of the permitted level of TCO2 - a Class 3 violation - after finishing eighth in a race at Del Mar on Aug. 25, 2010. The horse is co-owned by Mark Verge, the CEO of Santa Anita race track and O'Neill's childhood friend.
But the hearing officer recommended that 135 days be stayed as long as O'Neill doesn't have any Class 1, 2 or 3 medication violations in any state during an 18-month period.
It was O'Neill's third total carbon dioxide violation in California and fourth in his career. In 2010, he was suspended and fined for a similar offense involving one of his horses that ran in the Illinois Derby at Hawthorne Race Course in suburban Chicago.
The officer found there were no suspicious betting patterns in the 2010 race and that there was no evidence of any intentional acts on the part of O'Neill in connection with the incident.
However before the hearing, the parties had stipulated that the Ken Maddy Laboratory at UC Davis detected an excess level of TCO2 in the horse's blood sample, and CHRB Rule 1887 states a trainer is ultimately responsible for the condition of a horse, so O'Neill was punished.
CHRB executive director Kirk Breed will decide when O'Neill's suspension will begin, but it will be no sooner than July 1.
The Jockey Club has said that elevated total carbon dioxide levels, regardless of cause, are violations of the rules and penalties for excessive TCO2 are severe. It urges trainers and their veterinarians to work closely to identify any procedure or practices that may elevate such levels in horses.

[dnnj1]

Not to beat a dead horse, but you told me the other day Amy that harness racing is cleaner than ever. How do you feel about Mr Clean here?

With almost nothing financially going into testing part, it's open season. Clearly they wanted Pena gone, but if you think he's the only one..... Coleman was busted this year as well. Will Burke or Brainard be next? Will everyone's vet records be pulled now? I bet there are some nervous trainers this morning in the New York area.

You do realize all of these medications are legal therapeutic medicines?  I dislike Pena as much as the next guy but this is pretty stupid. Unless they can prove that he masked the tests so he can give these medicines inside the window than they have nothing.  Everyone is a bit confused by calling these positives