Trainer Brian Lynch suspended and fined for medication violation

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Trainer Brian Lynch has been suspended 30 days and fined $500 after one of his horses, Into a Hot Spot, tested positive for a Class B medication following a victory in a $20,000 maiden-claiming race on May 16 at Churchill Downs.

According to a Kentucky Horse Racing Commission ruling, Into a Hot Spot tested positive for gabapentin, which is used as an anti-convulsant in humans for neuropathic pain. The 4-year-old gelding was claimed from that race by Steve Asmussen, who in turn lost him in his next start for $30,000 to Jeff Mullins, who remains listed as trainer. All purse money from the May 16 race has been ordered redistributed.

The KHRC ruling states that “due to mitigating circumstances,” Lynch will serve 15 days from Dec. 15-29, with the remaining 15 days probated, pending no further positives for one year.

Lynch, 55, is an Australian native who won his first race in the U.S. in 1993 and has gone on to win 44 graded stakes with such standouts as Oscar Performance, Sugar Swirl, Coffee Clique, Grand Arch, and Heart to Heart. Lynch is based primarily in South Florida in the winter months.