Amoss fined $2,500 for medication positive

Trainer Tom Amoss was fined $2,500 by Kentucky stewards in January after a horse he trains tested positive for a prohibited amount of the muscle relaxant methocarbamol, the trainer’s third positive in about a year.

According to the Jan. 20 ruling, Notassharpasuthink tested positive for the drug following a third-place finish in the eighth race at Keeneland on Oct. 22, 2011. According to records on a database maintained by the Jockey Club, a horse trained by Amoss also tested positive for methocarbamol following a race at Churchill Downs on May 14. Amoss was fined $250 for the Churchill positive.

The records also state that Amoss was fined $500 by the Louisiana Racing Commission in January last year for a positive test of a Class 4 or Class 5 drug that is not identified. Methocarbamol is a Class 4 drug, meaning it is generally used for therapeutic purposes and has little performance-enhancing effect.

Amoss did not immediately respond to a message left on his cell phone on Wednesday.

Earlier this week, California regulators fined the trainer John Sadler $1,500 after two of his horses tested positive for methocarbamol after races in November at Hollywood Park.