Arapahoe Park's top trainer is facing charges related to 10 drug positives and possession of 30 items of contraband, according to evidence presented before a hearing officer last week.
Stetson Mitchell had been summarily suspended at the end of last year's Arapahoe meet in October after a search of his barn and vehicles on Oct. 4 turned up multiple syringes, needles, and injectable products. The drug positives include one for albuterol from a horse named Pow Pow in July and nine for a metabolite of ethyl alcohol.
The positive tests for metabolites of alcohol were confirmed near the end of the meet in the days or weeks before the Oct. 4 barn search, according to testimony from state employees.
Richard Thomas, who was an investigator for the state's Division of Racing during last year's Arapahoe meet, said that in interviews with Mitchell after the albuterol positive, Mitchell could not explain how albuterol could have appeared in Pow Pow. Thomas said Mitchell told him Pow Pow was only receiving furosemide, phenylbutazone, and a silver oxide inhaler ahead of his race in July. Mitchell has two prior drug positives for albuterol, both in Nebraska in 2020.
Thomas said he was told by a former employee of Mitchell's that Mitchell and his wife had ordered the employee to give shots to horses in the Mitchell barn, and that the couple were injecting horses with 60 ccs of Absolut vodka ahead of races. Thomas later learned that testing for alcohol or its metabolites is not part of the standard post-race testing in Colorado. State officials asked Industrial Labs to test over 60 remnants of post-race samples it had from Mitchell horses over the course of the meet. Because cleared sample remnants are destroyed 30 days after testing is complete, the lab only had 18 sample remnants for Mitchell's horses available; nine of those turned out to be positive.
While witnesses were uncertain what, if any, impact vodka could have on a horse's performance, it has been found in racehorses before. In 2010, a trio of trainers had horses test positive for a metabolite of ethyl alcohol, and earlier this year a New Zealand harness trainer was banned for a decade when he admitted to injecting horses with vodka and milkshaking.
No vodka of any brand was found during the search of Mitchell's barns and vehicles.
Some of the prohibited items were found in vehicles, while others were hidden on the purlins or support beams of roofs of Mitchell's barns or hay sheds. One group of loaded syringes and needles came from a truck that was being used by one of Mitchell's grooms at the time. The groom told investigators the labeled syringes, which were grouped together in a bag, were for the treatment of equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM) in a pony horse she owned and were appropriately prescribed a veterinarian. She testified that those items were returned to her at the end of the search.
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If you appreciate our work, you can support us by subscribing to our Patreon stream. Learn more.The syringes and bottles were tested. Some contained prescription therapeutic medications like albuterol, flunixin, methocarbamol, and guaifenesin, while others contained vitamins or amino acids common in supplements.
Colorado regulation prohibits any non-veterinarian from using or possessing injectable products, needles, or syringes on the racetrack.
At the time of the barn search in October, Mitchell told the Paulick Report he suspected the items had been planted by disgruntled ex-employees. During the hearing, his attorney questioned witnesses about Mitchell's relationship with former friend and employee Mark Jondle, who first reported the vodka administration to the state investigator. Several people remembered that the two had fallen out over disputes regarding payment for Jondle's work for Mitchell and that Jondle remained upset with Mitchell throughout the 2022 Arapahoe Park season.
Numerous former employees, clients, and veterinarians testified on Mitchell's behalf to indicate they'd never witnessed him administer illegal substances or direct any employee to do so.
According to Colorado codes, the presence of albuterol carries a B penalty, which carries a minimum fine of $2,500 and 180 days' suspension for the first offense. Alcohol and its metabolites are not specifically listed in the Association of Racing Commissioners International classification or in the Colorado codes.
Because Colorado stewards are only in-state over the summer, the hearing officer will be the one to determine Mitchell's guilt and recommend any penalties. Both sides agreed to submit closing arguments to the hearing officer by early April, and she is expected to issue a decision afterwards. If Mitchell chooses to appeal, he will be able to take his case to the commission. Mitchell has not started a horse since being summarily suspended.
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