Cox handed 10-day suspension for medication overage

Brad Cox, who was voted the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer the past two years, has been suspended for 10 days by stewards in Kentucky after his horse Warrior’s Charge tested positive for a prohibited amount of the regulated painkiller phenylbutazone after finishing second in the Grade 1 Stephen Foster Stakes at Churchill Downs last summer, according to a stewards’ ruling posted Monday.

The ruling said that Cox waived his right to a formal hearing, usually an indication that the trainer does not intend to appeal the ruling. The suspension will run from May 23 to June 1. During the suspension, Cox will not be able to enter any of his horses without transferring them to “persons acceptable to the stewards.”

Cox did not immediately respond to a request for comment. He told the Thoroughbred Daily News via text message that he did not plan to appeal.

Warrior’s Charge finished second in the Stephen Foster at odds of 7.20-1 but has been disqualified, forfeiting the $115,200 share of the purse.

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The stewards’ ruling said that the post-race blood sample from Warrior’s Charge contained 2.51 micrograms of phenylbutazone per milliliter of blood. The raceday limit in Kentucky 0.3 micrograms per milliliter.

Cox had three runners in the Kentucky Derby on May 7, with Tawny Port finishing the best of the trio in seventh. None of his 3-year-olds were entered for this weekend’s Preakness Stakes. The Belmont Stakes is scheduled for June 11 this year.

Last year, Cox ran second in the Kentucky Derby with Mandaloun, but the horse is currently considered the winner after Medina Spirit was disqualified following a post-race test for the regulated corticosteroid betamethasone, an anti-inflammatory. That decision is being appealed.

Cox won 269 races from 1,025 starts last year for total earnings of $31.83 million, a record.

On Wednesday night, Churchill Downs released a statement referring to the positive test and the suspension and said that it was “in the process of reviewing the facts involved in this matter and will make further comment and take further action when we are prepared to do so.”

Last year, Churchill Downs banned the Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, trainer of Medina Spirit, for two years, citing his history of medication violations. That history included an earlier positive test for betamethasone after the Baffert-trained Gamine finished third in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks, held in September of 2020 at Churchill. Gamine was disqualified but Baffert was not suspended.

Baffert has sued Churchill Downs, claiming that the two-year suspension violated his due-process rights.