Trainer Eric Kruljac suspended 15 days for carbon dioxide overage

ARCADIA, Calif. – Trainer Eric Kruljac has been suspended 15 days and fined $3,000 after one of his starters at Santa Anita in February tested in excess of the permitted level of total carbon dioxide, according to a ruling released on Sunday by the board of stewards.

The penalties were part of a stipulated agreement between the California Horse Racing Board and Kruljac, the ruling stated.

Kruljac, 65, was suspended 30 days, but 15 days of the penalty have been stayed provided Kruljac does not have any violations for medications in classes 1, 2, or 3 in the next year. The 15-day suspension runs from Sunday through May 27.

The overage was found in a post-race test taken from Fortune of War, who finished seventh in the third race on Feb. 10, an optional claimer. The test showed the presence of 40.8 millimoles per liter of total carbon dioxide, above the permitted level of 37 millimoles.

During the suspension, Kruljac cannot enter horses and is not allowed on racetrack property. Kruljac won the Grade 1 Test Stakes at Saratoga in 2005 with Leave Me Alone.

Owner and trainer Lance Hellum has been suspended seven days and fined $500 for a physical altercation in the stable area that occurred in February, according to a ruling issued on Sunday.

Hellum, 58, was ordered to undergo anger management counseling. The suspension runs from May 21 through May 27. Hellum is winless with three starters this year, his first runners since 2015.