Baffert fined, Brinkerhoff suspended for medication violations

Trainers Bob Baffert and Val Brinkerhoff were sanctioned by Del Mar stewards Sunday for medication violations involving their runners in the last 16 months.

Baffert was fined $2,500 after Merneith tested positive for the prohibited medication dextromethorphan, a Class 4 drug, in a post-race test taken after a second-place finish in the fourth race at Del Mar on July 25.

Brinkerhoff has been suspended 45 days and fined $3,000 after Girl Can Partie tested positive for the prohibited medication metaproterenol, a bronchodilator similar to clenbuterol which is a Class 3 drug, after winning the seventh race at Del Mar on Aug. 1, 2019. The suspension runs from Dec. 7 to Jan. 21, according a ruling issued Sunday. During that time, Brinkerhoff cannot attend the races or be present in the stables.

The sanction included a penalty for possession of a syringe found in an inspection of Brinkerhoff’s truck. Brinkerhoff said in a text message Sunday that the syringe was needed as a precaution for colic during a two-day trip while transporting a horse from Emerald Downs to Del Mar in August 2019.

Brinkerhoff said he does not plan an appeal.

Brinkerhoff was also given two official warnings for incidents in August 2019 in which his horses tested positive for the prohibited steroid testosterone after a race or in out-of-competition testing. The warnings were part of negotiated agreements between Brinkerhoff and the California Horse Racing Board, according to rulings published Sunday.

Jockeys Irad Ortiz and Eswan Flores have been given three-day suspensions for riding infractions at Del Mar on Saturday.

Ortiz was cited for his winning ride on Fluffy Socks in the Grade 3 Jimmy Durante Stakes for 2-year-olds fillies. Fluffy Socks drifted out on the turn, causing Consternation to be checked. In a ruling issued Sunday, the Del Mar stewards faulted Ortiz for altering course without sufficient clearance.

The suspension covers racing on Dec. 6 and Dec. 10-11. Through Sunday, Ortiz led all riders in the nation in purse earnings.

Flores was given a three-day suspension on the same racing days for using his whip more than twice in succession in Saturday’s sixth race on Big Bad Gary, who was last of 11 in a $14,000 to $16,000 claimer. Flores was cited for his fifth such violation in the last 60 days.