Jonathan Wong, a leading trainer at Golden Gate Fields in Northern California, has been issued a two-year suspension by an arbitrator who ruled that Wong’s testimony in a recent hearing over a metformin positive in one of his horses was “untruthful.”

The arbitrator, Nancy Holtz, applied the start of the two-year suspension retroactively to July 1, 2023 when Wong was provisionally suspended due to the first finding of metformin. Holtz also ruled that Wong should be responsible for $8,000 of the costs of arbitration.

Trainer Dan Blacker was suspended 90 days and fined $15,000 by Santa Anita stewards on Sunday for 527 incidents in which horses in his care did not undergo pre-workout veterinary examinations from Jan. 1, 2022 to July 1, 2023.

The suspension is scheduled to run from Feb. 26 through May 25. During that time, Blacker is banned from racetrack property, including access to his stable.

The penalty is one of the more severe sanctions issued by stewards in recent years.

ARCADIA, Calif. - The infield training track at Santa Anita is expected to open by the end of the month, a delay of more than six weeks from the original timeline, officials said on Saturday.

The track was closed in early November to install a synthetic track that was intended to be in use by mid-January.

Track senior vice president and general manager Nate Newby said on Saturday that construction has been delayed by recent wet weather and by the availability of installation crews.

“Everything will be ready in two weeks,” Newby said.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Missed the Cut, the winner of Saturday’s Grade 3 San Marcos Stakes at Santa Anita, has raced in four countries in his 14-race career.

A 5-year-old, Missed the Cut may be back in familiar territory in the spring. Trainer John Sadler said in the winner’s circle on Saturday that Missed the Cut could be sent to England for the prestigious Royal Ascot meeting in June.

Golden Gate Fields has canceled racing for Feb. 19 because of concern over horse availability, track general manager David Duggan said on Sunday.

Golden Gate Fields will have three days of racing next weekend from Friday through Sunday.

“I think four days of racing at this juncture would set us back,” Duggan said. “I think we’d suffer in the long-term.”

The connections of Sam F. Davis Stakes winner No More Time will have plenty of time to figure out their path to try and get to the Kentucky Derby. While nothing is definite on where No More Time will make his next start, trainer Jose D’Angelo said Sunday he would prefer to run the horse just one more time between now and the first Saturday in May.

The Risen Star Stakes, drawn a week in advance Saturday at Fair Grounds, attracted a field of 12, more than befitting the year’s first 105-point qualifying race toward the 150th Kentucky Derby. 

Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., has added two Sunday race dates to its calendar - April 7 and May 5 - to make up for some cards lost to severe winter weather. Oaklawn's meet was originally scheduled to end on Kentucky Derby Day, May 4, but will now end on May 5.

Oaklawn lost four dates to a winter storm in January. The track also had to cancel after the first race in an additional weather-related loss this meet. The situation led to the Southwest Stakes Day card being run a week later than scheduled, on Feb. 3.

The 5-year-old New York-bred mare Vallelujah was found dead in her stall at Belmont Park on Friday, according to a listing on the New York State Gaming Commission website. A necropsy is being performed at Cornell University to try and determine the cause of death.

This death is not believed to be associated with the equine herpesvirus that forced the euthanasia of a horse stabled on Feb. 3. That horse was based in Barn 15. Vallelujah was stabled in barn 62, on the other side of the track.

Breeders’ Cup Classic winner White Abarrio heads the 14 horses expected to start Feb. 24 in the $20 million Saudi Cup, though he is just one leading light in a dazzling lineup.