Trainer Jose Corrales has been suspended for two years and fined $10,000 by the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit after an arbitrator found him responsible for a nikethamide positive in Curlene's Spirit following her victory in a claiming race Feb. 20 at Laurel Park.
The filly has been disqualified, forfeiting $20,700 in earnings for her then-owners Barak Farm and Sharon Dodgen.
Nikethamide is a stimulant and a banned substance under the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority's Anti-Doping and Medication Control Program.
In a document posted recently on the HIWU website, Corrales denied administering the substance or directing anyone else to do so. He said his Laurel barn is accessible to anyone on the grounds at Laurel Park, leading him to conclude it must have come from a contaminated product or another form of third-party contamination.
Curlene's Spirit also has a pending controlled medication violation for caffeine from the same date.
Investigators searched his feed and supplements and found no banned substances.
Arbitrator John Wendt rejected the trainer's defense, ruling that the positive constituted a strict liability offense and that Corrales failed to establish how the substance entered the horse's system, a requirement for reducing the penalty.
Corrales and his attorney Richard Hackerman have requested a jury trial.
The Maryland-based Corrales, has won 727 Thoroughbred races as a trainer, including a pair of graded contests with Something Awesome in 2018. His horses have made 4,997 starts and earned more than $20 million on the racetrack.
He previously won more than 1,000 races as a jockey in the United States.
