There appears to be a train coming down the tracks with its sights set on running over trainer Per Engblom. That is the only logical stance one can take when looking at the current evidence provided to the general public. More than two years ago, on April 29, 2023, Engblom sent out Mon Amour to victory in an $18,000 race at the Me4adowlands. This was certainly no surprise seeing as the trainer has won 1,361 races since going out on his own in 2019. Following the victory, Mon Amour was selected to submit a post-race blood and urine sample which returned positive results for Meprobamate (Class 2), Oxycodone (Class 1) and Carisoprodol (Class 2). A split sample was also sent to a second lab which confirmed the results. In December 2023 a hearing was held which determined that Engblom "is the absolute insurer of and responsible for the condition of a horse within his care and custody and shall not enter or start a horse that has in its body any drug or substance foreign to the natural horse." This is widely known as the "trainer responsibility rule," which loosely states that anything that happens or occurs with a horse falls under the liability of the listed trainer. Continuing the timeline, on February 15, 2024 Engblom was handed a 380-day suspension and a fine of $6,000. Eleven days later an appeal was filed with the Office of Administrative Law in New Jersey and a stay was granted. A hearing was conducted on October 1, 2024 before Judge Thomas R. Betancourt and a decision was handed down on January 2, 2025 calling the penalty against Engblom "extremely severe" and stating that the "mitigating factors far outweighed the only aggravating fact (the presence of the offending substances)." The initial ruling was affirmed but the suspension was reduced from 380 to 90 days. You can read the entire decision here. Despite the court's ruling, on March 19, 2025 the New Jersey Racing Commission concluded that the appropriate penalty was indeed 380 days and issued a final decision to that effect on April 23, 2025. A stay was then issued as the case awaits a decision by the New Jersey Superior Court Appellate division. "I am the first person to say that we have to have a clean sport, but I also believe that circumstances need to be looked at when things like this happen. The judge even ruled in our favor and still [the commission] changed it," said a frustrated Engblom. "It is very frustrating that we can prove in a court that I'm not at fault and they still don't listen. "It is in the appeal courts right now and I'm not 100% sure when the deal will be done, but I have a good lawyer that works for me, and I hope we can prove once again that I did nothing wrong." Engblom's case is interesting when you consider his overall record. A former assistant trainer to Jimmy Takter, Engblom went out on his own in 2019 and has racked up well over 7,000 starts during those seven years, including over 2,000 races in 2024. During that period his total violations for any improper medication use is just one, the offense listed above. Engblom is currently ranked in the top five in both earnings and wins this year. Just as a means of comparison, seven other trainers appear in the top five on one of the lists, and they have a combined 38 medication infractions between them since 2019. Of course those vary in terms of severity, but it just goes to show that a perfect record is not exactly common at the top of the heap. ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter Winning at a high percentage comes with criticism, and Engblom's career rate of 18.9% puts him firmly under the microscope. "Of course," said Engblom on whether his success rate opens him up for judgement. "And social media has a big part of it; on X, Facebook groups, web pages. Honestly, I don't really care what people think or believe, but some people read and listen to things like that and they really shouldn't." For what it's worth, Engblom is not denying his role as the person ultimately responsible for anything that happens with his horses. He does stop short at taking the blame for what occurred. "I acknowledge that my horse tested positive, but all the evidence we have points to it being a contamination that occurred after the race was contested. I can't say that I'm at fault in any way, shape or form," said Engblom, who remains unsure of his future. "I feel very confident in what I did and what I didn't do, but I don't feel super-confident about what the future will bring. Obviously I'm going to fight as long as I possibly can." Interestingly, Engblom has been allowed to compete at the Meadowlands where President and CEO Jeff Gural has held a tough line on medication offenders. Gural said that he met with Engblom and that his story sounded "plausible" but at some point the situation needs to be settled. "I trust no one. I gave him benefit of doubt but at some point you need to move on," said Gural, who added that he gave the trainer a deadline. "I told him if he isn't able to get the suspension reversed by Dec. 31 he won't be able to race." Just over 11% of Engblom's starts have come at the Meadowlands this year, and while that may not seem like a lot, the timing is key. The 45-year-old has recorded 76% of his races at Yonkers Raceway, Pocono Downs and Harrah's Philadelphia, all tracks which will be closed at the start of 2026. Engblom started 36 horses at the Meadowlands last January. Engblom is certainly hoping his seemingly never-ending nightmare will soon come to an end. While he continues to win races at a high rate without a new infraction on his record and has been earning a good living (his stable is second in earnings at just over $6 million), the uncertainty of his future continues to weigh on him. "It has been two years now and I'm used to the situation," shrugged Engblom. "Of course I have bad days and good days, but it really takes the fun out of it." Often lost in these situations is the horse. Mon Amour raced another 26 times in the Engblom barn in the 10 months following the positive test and has competed 76 times since that fateful April 2023 date. Certainly he seems to have come away unharmed by the presence of 4.9 nanograms of Oxycodone. For reference, 4.9 nanograms is the equivalent of .0000049 miligrams. Think about that when you take a prescribed 10mg tablet to deal with pain. That dose would be 10,000,000 nanograms. Then again, how these medications at any level would impact a horse is somewhat unknown according to the vet we contacted. They added that 4.9 nanograms was unlikely to do any harm, but that doesn't take into account the other medications found in the horse's system. Regardless of your position on Engblom, we can all agree that he deserves clarity from the court in a timely fashion. This situation has gone on long enough and would be over already if the racing commission simply accepted the opinion of a fair and impartial outside entity.