Hubbard's Lilly Is First tests positive for clenbuterol

A Quarter Horse co-owned by R.D. Hubbard, the racetrack executive who has been outspoken about medication violations in racing, has tested positive for an excess level of the regulated bronchodilator clenbuterol, according to New Mexico commission officials.

The horse, Lilly Is First, tested positive after winning a May 29 qualifying race for the Mountain Top New Mexico Quarter Horse Futurity at Ruidoso Downs, which is owned by Hubbard. Lilly Is First went on to win the $337,185 Mountain Top on June 13, Hubbard’s 80th birthday. The filly is co-owned by Paul Blanchard and Mike Abraham and trained by Michael Joiner.

According to a racing commission official, the test indicated a 386-picogram level of the drug. The threshold level in New Mexico is 140 picograms, which translates to a 14-day withdrawal period.

A split sample is still in the process of being sent to a referee lab to determine if the level can be verified, according to Vince Mares, the executive director of the New Mexico State Racing Commission.

Quarter Horse racing in New Mexico has been riddled by positive drug tests over the past several years, leading to a crackdown by regulators and racetracks. Last year, Hubbard, a former owner of the now-closed Hollywood Park, implemented house rules at Ruidoso that allowed the track to conduct out-of-competition testing on horses stabled there.

“We simply will not tolerate such illegal behavior,” Hubbard said when announcing the house rule.

Hubbard did not immediately respond to a message left at his office at Ruidoso on Tuesday.

Clenbuterol is a powerful bronchodilator that can be used to build muscle mass if administered regularly to horses. Over the past five years, most racing states, including New Mexico, have tightened restrictions on the use of the drug to keep horsemen from administering clenbuterol on a schedule that would produce the muscle-building effect.

– additional reporting by Steve Andersen