Trainer Aparna Battula suspended after barn search yields syringes, injectable substances

Aparna Battula, a New Jersey trainer who has three wins from 25 starts this year, was summarily suspended on Friday by the state racing commission after investigators found 30 “hypodermic needles and syringes” and more than 80 vials of “injectable substances” during a barn search, according to a ruling.

Battula, who was already serving a 15-day suspension for an overage of a regulated corticosteroid at the time of the summary suspension, will remain barred until the New Jersey Racing Commission can subject the substances found in the vials to testing and then conduct a hearing based on the results, according to the ruling. She was granted a preliminary hearing on Aug. 3-4, the ruling said.

In New Jersey and other racing jurisdictions in the U.S., it is illegal for a trainer to be in possession of hypodermic needles and injectable substances.

Officials for the New Jersey Racing Commission did not immediately phone calls.

The suspension was first reported by the Paulick Report on Friday, the day the ruling was issued.

Sassy Chub, a horse trained by Battula, was disqualified from a second-place finish in an allowance/optional claiming race on May 19 at Monmouth Park after testing positive for a prohibited concentration of dexamethasone, a corticosteroid that is typically injected into joints as an anti-inflammatory. Since the May 19 race, Sassy Chub went on to win a similar allowance/optional claiming race at the track and finish third twice.

Battula had a brief career as a jockey before turning to training in 2015. She has a career record of seven wins from 75 starts.