LOS ANGELES — Two-time Triple Crown-winning trainer Bob Baffert has been suspended for 15 days by the Arkansas Racing Commission after two of his horses tested positive for a banned substance.
The commission said Wednesday in a ruling that it found Baffert violated Rule 1233, which states that a trainer shall ultimately be responsible for the condition of any horse that is entered regardless of the acts of any third parties.
His horses Charlatan and Gamine tested positive for lidocaine, a numbing medication, in two rounds of testing. Both won races at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., on May 2.
In separate rulings, the commission disqualified both horses and stripped them of their purse earnings.
Baffert’s suspension runs from Aug. 1 -15.
— By BETH HARRIS