Trainer Gonzalez Gets 36 Months Added to Suspension

Southwestern trainer Jose Roberto Gonzalez Sr., already serving an 18-month suspension, has received an additional 36 months for a second violation involving the banned bronchodilator albuterol. Gonzalez initially was sanctioned after an out-of-competition hair sample collected July 23, 2025, from the then-6-year-old gelding Discovery N Sight at Albuquerque Downs revealed the presence of albuterol. The trainer agreed to the violation and accepted the consequences of the positive test. He received an 18-month suspension that began Jan. 3 and runs through July 2, 2027. He also was fined $12,500. Discovery N Sight was banned from competition and training for 60 days, which has already been served, but cannot return to competition until he tests clear for all banned substances. Other out-of-competition samples taken earlier at Albuquerque Downs in the then-5-year-old gelding Ol' McClintock would also reveal albuterol in a hair sample and another banned substance, testosterone, in a blood sample. Gonzalez also admitted to these violations and accepted the consequences for them. These additional violations added 36 months to his suspension, a term that begins July 2, 2027, and runs through July 2, 2030. He has received an additional $25,000 in fines. Ol' McClintock was ruled ineligible from competition and training starting April 22, 2025, the day of his sample collection. He also cannot return to competition after his ineligibility ends in late June without first testing negative for all banned substances.