Taylor's eight-year suspension upheld by arbitrator

Joseph Taylor, the Pennsylvania-based trainer who was suspended eight years by racing regulators last week, was handed the penalty after an arbitrator ruled there was no evidence to support his contention that his ex-wife or stepson sabotaged his operation, according to newly posted documents from the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit.

The arbitrator, Jeffrey Benz, wrote in his ruling that Taylor’s assertions were “based purely on speculation and his personal assertions of innocence,” and he noted that Taylor had testified that he had four closed-circuit cameras in his barn that did not back up his story.

Taylor was initially suspended in 2023 after two of his horses tested positive for two banned substances each after second-place finishes at Parx racetrack outside Philadelphia within three days last summer. On appeal, he said that he was going through a “contentious divorce” at the time, and he said that his ex-wife and her stepson had “threatened his business.”

“There was no evidence that she was seen in or near Mr. Taylor’s stall, or near the horses in question, at any operative time, or that she was known to have been carrying prohibited substances,” Benz wrote in the final ruling, which was posted late on Monday.

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Taylor’s ex-wife testified during the arbitration hearing, according to the ruling, and she said that she had not threatened him during the divorce proceeding.

Banned substances carry a recommended penalty of two years suspension for each positive. Taylor’s horses each tested positive for methylphenidate, the stimulant marketed as Ritalin, and clenbuterol, the bronchial dilator that can have muscle-building properties when abused.

Taylor was the leading trainer at Parx racetrack in 2019, when he won 103 races from 467 starts at the track. He began training in 2017. His wins and purse earnings began declining sharply after his breakout year.

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