Trainer John Martin hit with six-month medication suspension

Northern California trainer John Martin has been suspended six months and fined $20,000 after three of his runners tested positive for the banned medication ergoloid mesylates at the Big Fresno Fair in 2018 and at Golden Gate Fields in March.

Martin was suspended for a year, but six months of the penalty will be stayed provided he has no serious medication violations during a one-year probation period, according to a statement issued by the California Horse Racing Board on Tuesday.

The penalties were part of a stipulated agreement between Martin, 60, and the racing board, the statement said. The suspension begins on Thursday and runs through March 30. The probationary period runs for a year, beginning March 31, 2020.

The medication was found in post-race urine tests taken from two horses that ran at the Big Fresno Fair on Oct. 4, 2018 – Ruled by Girls, who was third in the fifth race, and Ralph Jacobs, the winner of the seventh race as well as from Ground Rules, who was third in the first race at Golden Gate Fields on March 21.

As part of an investigation into the positive tests, racing board investigators found three improperly labeled bottles of medication, the racing board’s statement said.

The medication involved is listed by the Association of Racing Commissioners International as a Class 2 medication.

Dr. Mary Scollay, the executive director of the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium, said on Wednesday that she is not aware of any other positive tests for ergoloid mesylates.

Scollay said that because that class of drugs has similarities to ergonovine - which has been used in the past as an adjunct bleeding medication because of its potential to impact vascular constriction – horsemen or veterinarians could come to the conclusion that the drugs could mitigate bleeding in the lungs.

She added that because ergoloid mesylates also can have psychoactive effects, they warrant a much higher classification rating than ergonovine.

Martin has won 49 races this year, including the Alcatraz Stakes for 3-year-olds on turf at Golden Gate Fields in May. He trained Mended, who won the 2017 Claiming Crown Grass Slipper at Gulfstream Park, the last victory in a 10-race winning streak. Mended was later second in the Grade 2 La Canada Stakes at Santa Anita in early 2018.

At the Golden Gate Fields August-September meeting that ended on Sunday, Martin finished tied for seventh in standings with seven wins.

- additional reporting by Matt Hegarty