Dickinson Given Week's Suspension by NYRA

The New York Racing Association issued a one-week suspension against trainer Michael Dickinson for the finding of flunixin in the post-race test of Lofty Call last summer.

Lofty Call finished third in a race at Belmont July 21 and was disqualified from that finish.

Flunixin is an anti-inflammatory used to treat horses with musculo-sketetal disorders and colic.

The suspension begins Sunday but is unlikely to cause much interruption in Dickinson's operation.

The enigmatic trainer uses the privately owned Tapeta Farm, where the contents of the racing surfaces have long been a closely guarded secret, as his base of operations.

Dickinson has been denied privileges to the grounds of all NYRA tracks, but that ban will not carry over to Tapeta. He runs the bulk of his horses in Maryland and can send an assistant along during the ban.

Dickinson has not run a horse in New York this year and is zero-for-one at the current inner track meeting at Aqueduct.