Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer has been fined $1,000 in an agreement with the California Horse Racing Board following a finding of scopolamine in a post-race urine sample taken from one of his horses last year.
Dixie Crisp, who won the eighth race at Bay Meadows Feb. 19, 2007, was found to have scopolamine in its system following a test sample screened by the Maddy Laboratory at the University of California-Davis. It is a Class 3 violation.
Scopolamine is an anti-cholinergic drug that is also the toxic agent in Jimsonweed, a poisonous plant of the Datura species found in California and much of the United States, according to the CHRB.
Dixie Crisp was disqualified in an earlier ruling by stewards, who ordered a redistribution of the purse.
The CHRB also announced that stewards at Golden Gate Fields disqualified Halo’s Angel from a second-place finish in the sixth race at the San Mateo County Fair Aug. 13, 2008, after the Maddy Laboratory reported the sample collected from Halo’s Angel contained trenbolone, a prohibited Class 3 substance.
Iowa State University confirmed the presence of trenbolone in the split sample, according to the CHRB. Trenbolone is an anabolic steroid used in livestock to promote appetite and muscle growth. Trenbolone was one of a number of anabolic steroids reclassified from Class 4 to Class 3 substances as of July 1, 2008.
The stewards have scheduled a hearing for Jeff Bonde, the trainer of Halo’s Angel, Jan. 2, 2009.
Jerry Hollendorfer
Anne M. Eberhardt