Trainer Steve Asmussen intends to appeal a recent 30-day suspension approved by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission.
Clark Brewster, Asmussen's attorney, told the Daily Racing Form that his client will "file a petition in Franklin Circuit Court in Kentucky seeking an appeal of the suspension."
Asmussen was suspended Jan. 23 after the December recommendation of state hearing officer Eden Davis Stephens following two drug positives from horses Asmussen trained in 2018.
Asmussen trainees Thousand Percent and Boldor tested above the permitted threshold for a metabolite of acepromazine, a sedative, in June 2018 at Churchill Downs and October 2018 at Keeneland after winning their respective races.
Brewster told the DRF he will argue in the petition that the hearing officer who heard an appeal of the initial penalty erred in applying the "wrong burden of proof" in determining her ruling and that Asmussen had followed well-known standards for administering the medication orally. He believes that the KHRC "instead applied guidelines concerning the intravenous administration of the drug, a sedative that is typically used to calm fractious horses or as an adjunct to performing minor medical procedures."
Following a September 2019 hearing, stewards handed down a 30-day suspension concurrent in each case, with an extra 30 days in the second one suspended for a year contingent on no class A or class B violations. Asmussen was also penalized with purse forfeitures and fines of $1,000 and $2,500. The suspension was stayed pending appeal.
