Rivera banned six years for banned substances
A man who was found on the backstretch of Mahoning Valley Racecourse in Youngstown, Ohio, with three banned substances in his possession has been suspended six years by the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit, according to a ruling posted on the HIWU website.
The man, who was identified as Gabriel Hilardo Rivera, was observed hiding a “black tackle box” behind the tire of a vehicle on Mahoning Valley’s backstretch by HIWU investigators on March 27. The tackle box contained “various injectable medications, needles, and syringes,” the investigators said in a report.
The substances in the box included three products available at compounding pharmacies. One of the products was pitcher-plant extract, which is marketed as a pain reliever and is specifically banned by HIWU. The others were two formulations also marketed as pain relievers that are banned by HIWU because they are “foreign-made pharmacological substances not approved for use in the United States.”
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Rivera did not respond to HIWU’s notices informing him of the charges or his right to a hearing. In addition to the six-year ban, he was fined $75,000.
Tanya Boulmetis, a deputy director of the Ohio State Racing Commission, said that she would need additional information other than a name to verify a licensee in the commission’s database. Only licensed personnel are allowed to be on the backstretch grounds of racetracks.
Alexa Ravit, a spokesperson for HIWU, said on Tuesday that Rivera did not register as a “covered person” when HIWU’s overseer, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, began requiring registrations in 2022. She said that Rivera was subject to HISA’s jurisdiction under rules that give HISA authority over any individual “involved in the care, treatment, training, or racing” of racehorses.
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