Mullins hearing postponed

A hearing to determine whether trainer Jeff Mullins should face additional penalties for a 2008 medication violation was pushed back to Aug. 13 on Wednesday at the request of his counsel, according to Mullins's lawyer, James Maniscalco.

Hearing officer Steffan Imhoff granted the request and also agreed to move the location of the hearing to Del Mar racetrack in La Jolla, Calif., Maniscalco said on Wednesday.

The California Horse Racing Board was scheduled on Wednesday to consider whether to add 70 days to a 30-day suspension Mullins is currently serving due to an August 2008 incident in which a horse he trained tested positive for alkalinizing agents. The positive occurred while Mullins was operating under a 12-month probationary period imposed by the racing board after another horse Mullins trained tested positive for the banned painkiller mepivacaine in 2006.

Mullins served 20 days of a 90-day suspension for the mepivacaine positive. Under the terms of the probation, the racing board could add as many as 70 days to any other suspension he received as a result of an another medication violation within 12 months of serving those days.

Late last week, Mullins received a stay of the 30-day suspension from a Superior Court Judge, but the judge on Tuesday declined to extend the suspension on Tuesday. As a result, Mullins is currently serving out the remainder of the 30-day suspension, to end on June 13.