Indiana bars veterinarian four years for supplying drug

The Indiana Horse Racing Commission has issued a four-year suspension to a veterinarian who gave an illegal drug to a Standardbred trainer and has also issued its first-ever penalties under the commission’s out-of-competition testing program.

The veterinarian who was suspended, Jerrilee Cave, provided a Standardbred trainer at Hoosier Park with a syringe loaded with an anti-hemorrhaging drug marketed as Clotol, the commission said in a release. The horse who was administered the drug died immediately after it was administered, the commission said.

“We have always taken very seriously any intentional violations of race day medication rules,” said Joe Gorajec, the executive director of the commission, in a release. “The death of the horse was certainly an aggravating factor in determining the penalty.”

The penalty was approved by the commission at a meeting on Wednesday. In addition, the commission approved a 3 1/2-year suspension for the trainer Jesus Gonzales and an 18-month suspension for trainer James Garrison after Quarter Horses trained by the two men tested positive for zilpaterol, a feed additive that can act like a steroid. The horses tested positive after the commission took samples from the horses at a training center outside of Indianapolis in May 2011.