Todd Pletcher, the New York-based Hall of Fame trainer, has been suspended 14 days by the New York State Gaming Commission for an overage of the regulated anti-inflammatory drug phenylbutazone, the second suspension of the trainer handed down by New York regulators in the past month. Pletcher has appealed the suspension and been granted a stay, according to a ruling posted Sunday by the gaming commission. Pletcher also has appealed a 10-day suspension from the commission that was handed down May 11 for a positive of the regulated medication meloxicam in the horse Forte – last year’s 2-year-old champion and the second-place finisher in last weekend’s Belmont Stakes – after winning a stakes at Saratoga in September of last year. According to the ruling, the Pletcher-trained Capensis tested over the permissible level allowed for phenylbutazone after finishing sixth in a race July 10 of last year at Saratoga. Phenylbutazone, also known as Bute, is one of the most commonly administered medications in racing, but its use is regulated due to its pain-killing properties and its potential to interfere with pre-race soundness exams. Pletcher also was fined $2,000, and the horse was disqualified. In addition to the two New York adjudications, Pletcher also is facing three potential sanctions for positives of regulated medications in Florida over the past seven months, according to records of the Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering. Those cases have yet to be heard by stewards. Last month, Pletcher also told Daily Racing Form that a horse he trains, Mind Control, tested positive for a regulated medication after winning the Parx Dirt Mile Stakes on Sept. 24. A hearing in that case also is pending. Pletcher said he could not identify the substance involved in that case. A phenylbutazone positive would not normally draw a 14-day suspension, but stewards often take into account positives from a trainer within the past 365 days when handing out sanctions. Pletcher and his attorneys have said that the meloxicam positive in Forte could only be due to contamination, and that the horse was never administered the substance, which is a common ingredient in human medicines but rarely used in racing. Lisa Lazarus, chief executive officer of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, which took over Thoroughbred racing’s drug-testing and enforcement on May 22, said last month that the concentration of meloxicam that was said to be in Forte’s post-race sample by his attorney would not have triggered a positive under HISA’s rules. Pletcher is Thoroughbred racing’s all-time earnings leader, and he was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame in 2021. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.