Trainer Jeffrey Poole has been handed a 22-month suspension by a Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit arbitral body for possession of levothyroxine, according to the organization's website.
Poole has also been ordered to pay $8,000 in arbitration costs in addition to a $10,000 fine for the violation.
Levothyroxine, which is commonly mass marketed under the trade name Thyro-L, is a synthetic version of a naturally-occurring hormone called thyroxine, which is produced by the thyroid gland. While there is no FDA-approved, mass-produced version of the substance for horses in the United States, Thyro-L is commonly prescribed by veterinarians to older horses to correct hypothyroidism — a condition in which the thyroid is underactive and the horse has an unusually slow metabolism.
Hypothyroidism isn't common in horses, and it's not a condition that's found in young, fit horses like the population commonly found at the racetrack.
For years, veterinarians have voiced concerns about the potential risks that may come with artificially boosting the metabolism of a horse who doesn't need it. In humans, hyperthyroidism (an overactive thyroid) is associated with increased heart rate and blood pressure, and risk of cardiac arrhythmia. As a result, many state racing commissions cracked down on its use, requiring specific diagnostics or notification of a thyroxine prescription to an active racehorse. Some jurisdictions banned its use in racehorses altogether.
Thyroxine overuse in racehorses first gained attention in 2013 when the Board launched an investigation into the sudden deaths of seven horses trained by Bob Baffert between 2011 and 2013. Baffert told investigators at the time that he had all the horses in his care on thyroxine, which was given as orally in a horse's grain in a similar manner as powdered supplements. At that time, trainers would commonly reach for thyroxine as a way to help get weight off horses, particularly if they'd recently returned from a lay-off.
Still, according to a report published in 2020 by the California Horse Racing Board, there were practitioners and trainers willing to ignore frequent warnings about the risks that could come with overuse.
According to national regulations, Thyro-L is a banned substance and possession of it constitutes a violation. Poole does not appear to have had a horse test positive for the substance, which is difficult to detect in post-race testing since it is a synthetic version of a naturally-occurring hormone.
Poole has saddled runners of 459 races, including 50 winners, per Equibase. He has not started a horse since he was issued a provisional suspension by HIWU in June.
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