Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Eric Reed was suspended five calendar days and fined $1,000 by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission after Golden Text, a horse who had been in his stable, tested positive for phenylbutazone in a race this month at Turfway Park.
Reed said he would not appeal the ruling that disqualified Golden Text as the winner of a 1 1/16-mile, $28,000 claiming race Jan. 19.
“I waived my rights because I know I gave the horse bute paste,” Reed told Horse Racing Nation on Sunday morning. “I apologize to my friend Jim Willoughby, who owns the horse and had the win taken away. I also apologize to the racing industry.” Reed said KHRC chief steward Barbara Borden called him Friday night to break the news about the drug test that Golden Text failed.
“I used a bute paste instead of the injection because he’s the kind of horse who fights you every time you give him a shot,” Reed said.
Borden had not responded to a text Sunday morning from HRN.
Golden Text led from gate to wire to earn $21,000 in purse money, which Willoughby will have to forfeit. Steve Robbins then paid $15,000 for the 4-year-old Danza gelding, who had been put in for a tag by Willoughby. Golden Text was transferred from Reed to trainer Matthew Sims.
Reed said he since has learned that oral forms of bute take longer to pass through a horse’s system than an injection.
“It doesn’t get into the system quick enough,” Reed said, “so it stays longer than the injectable. ... We followed the guidelines and rules, but now we know it takes longer for the paste to get through a horse’s system. I’ve learned my lesson. I will never use them again.”
Bute, an anti-inflammatory drug, is legal under KHRC rules as long as it is out of a horse’s system on race day. Guidelines issued by the KHRC advised horsemen to give “intravenous only” doses of bute to horses no fewer than 48 hours before a race. It did not offer any specific guidance for topical applications.
Reed said the $1,000 fine could have gone as low as $500 and as high as $1,500, and the suspension could have been as many as 15 days. He added he was given calendar days rather than racing days, and he expected to miss only two cards next month at Turfway. Reed was waiting for confirmation that he would serve his suspension Feb. 10-14 and be eligible to race again starting Feb. 15.
