Sharp's levamisole positives in Kentucky dropped

Five positives for the medication levamisole in horses trained by Joe Sharp have been dropped because the medication was declassified in 2015, according to a Kentucky stewards ruling issued on Friday.

The ruling by the stewards acknowledged that levamisole is no longer a regulated substance in Kentucky, an argument that Sharp’s attorney, Clark Brewster, had made when appealing the positives. The horses that tested positive will remain disqualified from their races, but Sharp will avoid penalties.

The positives, which were detected after Sharp’s horses ran at Churchill Downs in November of 2019, occurred at roughly the same time as eight of the trainer’s horses tested positive for the same medication in Louisiana. Sharp was fined $1,000 for each of those positives and the horses in those races were disqualified as well. Louisiana continues to classify levamisole as a regulated medication.

Levamisole is a de-worming product, but trainers have been advised for several years to avoid the medication because of its potential to trigger positives. Sharp has said that he administered the medication to horses in his barn due to an outbreak of worms in the fall of 2019.