McGaughey suspended 15 days for acepromazine positive

Claude R. “Shug” McGaughey, a Hall of Fame trainer, has been suspended 15 days for a post-race positive for acepromazine, a regulated tranquilizer, in a horse that finished second in a stakes race at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., this summer, according to a Kentucky stewards ruling.

McGaughey, the trainer for the prestigious Phipps family, among other clients, will serve the suspension from Dec. 5 through Dec. 19. The stewards handed down a 30-day penalty, but the suspension was reduced after McGaughey waived his right to a hearing. The original penalty will be enforced if McGaughey has another positive for a Class A or Class B drug within a year of the ruling being handed down.

According to the ruling, Smokin T tested positive for acepromazine after finishing second in the $200,000 Audubon Stakes at Churchill on June 4. Smokin T was 8-1, and beaten a head by the 40-1 longshot Kiodan. Smokin T was disqualified as a result of the positive, according to the ruling.

McGaughey did not respond to a phone message.

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The ruling noted that the stewards applied mitigating circumstances to the penalty based “on number of violations in relation to overall record.” McGaughey’s last medication violation was in 2020, for the Class 4 drug hydrochlorothiazide, a diuretic that is an ingredient in Naquasone, which is used therapeutically to treat minor inflammation.

Acepromazine is a commonly used medication on the backstretch to calm hyperactive or fractious horses, often administered prior to replacing a horse’s shoes or when performing diagnostics or other health-related procedures. Kentucky regulations advise trainers not to administer the substance within 48 hours of a race.

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