Trainer Haleem R. Lee, whose stable is based at Parx Racing in Bensalem, Pa., has been suspended for 365 days and fined $10,000 over a positive test in his own “Satchel De Ritches” for the drug tadalafil.
Tadalafil is a vasodilator. According to healthline.com, when sold under the brand name Cialis, it is used for treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) or erectile dysfunction (ED), or both conditions. Sold under the brand name Adcirca, tadalafil is used to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).
Satchel De Ritches won the third race at Parx on April 11, 2023, prior to the implementation of HISA's Anti-Doping and Medication Control Program. As such, the violation falls under the jurisdiction of the Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission.
(HISA classifies tadalafil as a banned substance; had the positive test occurred after the ADMC implementation date of May 22, 2023, Lee would have been subject to an immediate provisional suspension as well as the potential for a two-year ban and $25,000 fine.)
After availing himself of the right to have a split sample tested, which also returned a positive result for tadalafil, Lee and attorney Alan Pincus attended a hearing before the Pennsylvania stewards on July 7. Stewards ruled that Lee be suspended from Aug. 1, 2023, through July 30, 2024, that he pay a $10,000 fine, and that 6 multiple medication violation points be assigned to his record.
Lee has the right to appeal the stewards decision before the commission.
According to Equibase, Lee has been training since 2020, with nearly all of his starts occurring in the state of Pennsylvania with horses he owns under his “Lee Stable” banner. The trainer has sent out 55 winners from 329 starters in his career for earnings of $1,425,716. In 2022, Lee finished among the top 20 trainers at Parx by wins.
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