Chip Woolley, trainer of Mine That Bird, suspended for six months

Trainer Bennie “Chip” Woolley, the small-time trainer who hit it big when Mine That Bird won the 2009 Kentucky Derby, has been suspended for 180 days by stewards at Turf Paradise racetrack for possession of a needle and syringe, according to a ruling provided by the state’s Department of Racing.

The 180-day suspension is the highest penalty that stewards can assign, and the ruling requests that the Department of Racing take additional action “due to the severity of this violation which calls into question the honesty and integrity of horse racing in Arizona.”

According to an official with knowledge of the case, a regulatory veterinarian observed an employee of Woolley administering an injection to a horse on Feb. 8, leading to the scratch of four horses trained by Woolley entered that day and a summary suspension from the stewards. It is illegal for a trainer or any other stable staff other than licensed veterinarians to possess hypodermic needles in all U.S. racing jurisdictions.

Woolley, 58, did not respond to a message left on his cell phone early on Friday.

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The ruling says that Woolley appeared before the stewards for a hearing on Feb. 15 “with counsel.” The ruling itself was signed by Turf Paradise’s three stewards the same day.

Woolley was an obscure trainer based in the Southwest before Mine That Bird propelled him to stardom with a 50-1 win in the Derby. Last year, horses trained by Woolley made more starts than in any other year of his career, but his win rate was 10 percent and his total purse earnings, from 280 starts, was $617,950, an average of $2,207 a start.