Jeff Mullins is under investigation by New York racing officials after giving one of his horses a substance before a weekend stakes race. The California-based trainer said Monday it was an "honest mistake."
Gato Go Win wasn't allowed to run in the $200,000 Bay Shore at Aqueduct on Saturday. New York Racing Association security officers said they saw Mullins giving a medication labeled as a cough remedy to the horse in the detention barn. Horses are kept there under secure conditions before a race.
Mullins later saddled I Want Revenge to victory in the $750,000 Wood Memorial, making the colt a favorite for the Kentucky Derby on May 2.
New York racing rules allow antibiotics, vitamins, electrolytes and other food supplements as long as they are administered orally and do not contain any other drug or act like a drug. But medication may not be given to a horse while it is in the detention barn, and that's why Mullins could face sanctions.
The story was first reported by The Thoroughbred Times.
The pumplike syringe and substance, labeled Air Power, were confiscated, according to Joe Mahoney, spokesman for the New York State Racing and Wagering Board.
"It's clear to everyone involved at this point that the items should not have been allowed into the barn," he said Monday.
Mahoney said the investigation was in its early stages, with the board awaiting laboratory tests and a report by the Aqueduct stewards.
"We're going to be very, very thorough," he said.
Mullins told The Associated Press by phone on Monday that he has used the over-the-counter cough formula for 30 years, and that it's available for $12 a bottle at tack stores. He said he administered it orally.
"I think it was an oversight on their part and a mistake on my part. It was an honest mistake," he said. "They let me use a nasal ointment which clears the sinuses. I use it on everything."
Mullins said he willingly gave security officers the bottle.
"I think they're testing the bottle of Air Power to see if there's anything else in it. I know they won't find anything," he said.
Mullins said his belongings were scrutinized when he arrived at the barn.
"The thing that bothers me the most is the security went through everything I brought in before I went in," he said.
"They go through everything thoroughly. If it wasn't allowed, why didn't they tell me then? Why don't they say, 'Hey, wait a minute. You can't use that?'"
Mullins trains mostly in California, where he has a history of medication violations. Medication rules vary from state to state, although the racing industry is attempting to establish uniform rules.
"I don't run in New York and I'm not going to run in New York much more, maybe the Belmont (Stakes)," he said.
Mahoney said there was no reason to scratch I Want Revenge because there was no incident involving the colt, who was under watch in the same security barn before the Wood Memorial.
"We made sure that horse was tested after the race," he said.
Last year, Mullins was suspended for 20 days by the California Horse Racing Board for use of the anesthetic mepivacaine. In August, a CHRB complaint said another of his horses exceeded the carbon dioxide limit in a pre-race blood test at Del Mar.
In 2005, Mullins' barn was put under 24-hour surveillance for 30 days after one of his horses tested positive for an excessive amount of sodium bicarbonate. The milkshakelike mixture is suspected of masking drugs and keeps horses from tiring quickly.
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