Trainer James “Jimmy” Baker has been fined $500 and suspended for 30 days due to a positive test for Metformin, according to a ruling by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission dated Feb. 26, 2022.
According to medlineplus.gov, metformin (a Class B drug) is used to treat type 2 diabetes by decreasing the amount of glucose absorbed from food and the amount of glucose made by the liver; it also increases the body's response to insulin. Metformin has been examined in several studies regarding equine metabolic syndrome.
Baker trainee Fed Money, winner of the 10th race at Churchill Downs on Nov. 4, 2021, has been disqualified with all purse monies forfeited.
Due to mitigating circumstances (number of violations in relation to overall record), 15 days of Baker's suspension were stayed on the condition that no Class A or Class B medication violation occurs in any racing jurisdiction within 365 days from the date of this ruling.
A trainer since 1989, Baker has had only two published medication rulings on thoroughbredrulings.com. Those were both for methocarbamol (a muscle relaxant), one in Louisiana in 2016 and the other in Kentucky in 2017.
Baker's suspension is to be served from March 1, 2022 through March 15, 2022.
Trainer Wesley Ward recently received a similar fine and suspension for a Metformin positive in an April 2021 race, in a ruling dated late January of 2022.
The post Trainer Jimmy Baker Fined, Suspended 15 Days Over Diabetes Drug Positive appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
