Linda Rice, who broke the single-season record for wins on the New York Racing Association circuit last year, has dropped her appeal of a 14-day suspension issued by the New York State Gaming Commission early last year and will serve the days beginning March 3, Rice said Friday. Rice was issued the suspension by the NYSGC after a horse she trained, Afleet Arlene, tested positive for the regulated painkiller phenylbutazone following a race on Jan. 21, 2023. Two weeks earlier, another horse trained by Rice, Winter Pool, tested positive for the same drug. Rice served a 10-day suspension for the Winter Pool violation without appealing, but she appealed the 14-day suspension for Afleet Arlene.  Rice said she decided to drop the appeal after reviewing the facts of the case and determining that there may have been some “confusion” about new rules regarding both the administration of phenylbutazone and new testing levels that had been put in place at the time the violations occurred. :: Bet with the Best! Get FREE All-Access PPs and Weekly Cashback when you wager on DRF Bets. “The first one, it was our mistake, a barn mistake,” Rice said. “So I had no problem taking that. But at the time I didn’t know why the second one happened, but it turns out there were a couple new rules in play that I think both the training and veterinary community didn’t have figured out yet.” Phenylbutazone is not allowed to be administered within 48 hours of a race under NYSGC rules. The NYSGC at the time also had recently put in place new rules and testing procedures designed to limit “stacking” of regulated painkillers, to enforce a rule allowing only one painkiller to be administered within a week of a race. Rice said she that during her suspension she will transfer her horses to her nephew, Adam Rice, who trained her stable during the 10-day suspension she served last year. She said she will spend the suspension in Ocala, Fla., preparing young horses.  :: Get the Inside Track with the FREE DRF Morning Line Email Newsletter. Subscribe now.  The suspension will start one day after the Gotham Stakes, a prep for the Kentucky Derby. Rice is pointing El Grande O to the race. The two phenylbutazone cases were adjudicated by the New York State Gaming Commission because both occurred prior to the advent of the jurisdiction of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority over drug testing and enforcement. HISA’s jurisdiction began in May 2023.  :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.