Penn trainer Graci accepts lifetime ban for medication violations
Kimberly Graci, a trainer based at Penn National who has racked up more than 600 wins in her career, has accepted a lifetime ban from racing as part of an agreed order to resolve charges that she violated rules on starting horses within a mandated stand-down time after they had received intra-articular injections of regulated medications.
Graci, who earned more than $1 million in purses each year from 2017 to 2019, is the second trainer involved in an investigation at Penn National to agree to a lifetime ban related to the charges. As part of the order, 14 horses trained by Graci were disqualified from races that occurred from July to September of last year.
“Ms. Graci acknowledges that she has reviewed the evidence against her that supports the charges with her counsel and that her interests are best served by accepting the penalty offered by the authority,” the order states.
Graci is one of 13 trainers based at Penn National who have been charged with violating the stand-down periods. The trainers were all associated with the veterinary practice of Dr. Allen Bonnell, who was summarily suspended in November after investigators began collecting evidence that he hid hundreds of intra-articular corticosteroid injections from regulators in coordination with the trainers.
Late in March, the trainer Bonnie Lucas accepted a lifetime ban from the sport, also as part of an agreed order with HISA. A number of other trainers facing similar charges have accepted 30- to 60-day suspensions from the Horseracing Integrity and Wagering Unit, which administers HISA’s Anti-Doping and Medication Control program.
Graci, who has not started a horse since late October, agreed to waive her right to appeal as part of the order. The order also states that the HISA agreement does not preclude the further adjudication of charges made against her by HIWU, which could include fines.
According to regulatory veterinarians and HISA, corticosteroids can mask pain and interfere with pre-race or pre-workout inspections for soundness. Persistent use of the drugs can also lead to deleterious effects on joint structures, according to scientific studies.
According to HISA, 100 “unique” horses were administered the injections by Bonnell and raced or breezed within the stand-down periods, for a total of at least 200 documented injections in violation of the rules. Of those horses, 30 percent never raced again, HISA alleged, and 10 percent were observed as being lame post-race. Three of those horses were euthanized as a “direct result of injuries sustained in those races,” HISA said.
Graci began training in 2000, but her career did not take off until 2010. Over her career she amassed 682 wins from 4,257 starts, with total purse earnings of $10.2 million.
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