Trainer Alejandro Murillo Rodriguez has been issued a 365-day suspension and $1,000 fine by the Ohio State Racing Commission's Board of Stewards after one of his trainees tested positive for a metabolite of Nikethamide, according to a ruling posting on the Association of Racing Commissioners International website. The stimulant, classified by the ARCI as the highest-level Class 1, penalty A drug, was originally intended for use to treat overdoses of sedatives, especially barbiturates, but it has since been replaced with safer treatments.
Nikethamide is listed by the World Anti-Doping Agency as a banned substance. Use of Nikethamide, or nicotinic acid diethylamide, was more prevalent in the 1980s. According to the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium, it is considered “very dangerous” in horses since there is a possibility of complications that could result in death, but it is believed to have been a widely abused drug in horse racing in the 1960s and '70s because it quickly metabolized and was difficult to detect in post-race testing.
In South America and Europe, Nikethamide is commonly available in lozenge form as a respiratory stimulant. but the RMTC told bloodhorse.com it is not aware of any U.S. company that manufactures or distributes it for human or veterinary use.
Rodriguez's trainee Two Eagles won Thistledown's eighth race, a $7,500 claiming contest, on June 21, 2022. The 6-year-old was claimed out of that race; while the Horseracing Safety and Integrity Authority has instituted a nationwide Voided Claim rule, it did not go into effect until July 1, 2022. Prior to that in Ohio, a horse was considered claimed as soon as it starts the race, regardless of whether it finishes or tests positive for a prohibited substance.
The trainer's one-year suspension is slated to begin on Aug. 18, 2022, and run through Aug. 17, 2023. Two Eagles was ordered unplaced and disqualified from all purse monies. The case was referred to the OSRC for further action.
Rodriguez has appealed the penalty.
According to Equibase, Rodriguez has been training since 2018 and has saddled 109 winners from 587 starters for earnings of $1,741,044.
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