The New Mexico Racing Commission handed down sentences related to post-race findings of clenbuterol and albuterol in the state this year.

ALBUQUERQUE, NM—DECEMBER 1, 2020—The New Mexico Racing Commission has doled out several lengthy suspension sentences related to post-race findings of clenbuterol and albuterol in the state this year.

Earlier this month, trainer Humberto Tena was given a 1-½ year suspension and a $15,000 fine after runner True Romance tested positive for clenbuterol after finishing third in the Zia Quarter Horse Futurity Trials on July 10. The suspension is retroactive from July 24 and will continue through Jan. 24, 2022.

Tena was assigned six points on his license under the multiple medication violation point system and has also been fined $15,000. True Romance is raced under the stable name 21 Partnership, identified as Anwar Elias in the Nov. 12 ruling.

In October, trainer Robert Duane Sanderson was also suspended 18 months for a finding of albuterol in trainee Mr. Desert Wrangler after the fourth race at The Downs at Albuquerque on Aug. 23. Sanderson's suspension is retroactive from his summary suspension Sept. 3, 2020 and is set to continue through March 3, 2022. Sanderson was also fined $15,000 and given six MMV points on his license. Mr. Desert Wrangler is owned by Ramon Trejo, who failed to appear before the commission on the matter. New Mexico stewards said last week they had not received notices of appeal from either Sanderson or Tena.

Earlier this year, a clenbuterol finding in Gabbis Mountain triggered a year-long suspension and a $10,000 fine for trainer Janell Sanderson. This is the first year of training for Sanderson, who saddled 25 horses and six winners in 2020. Gabbis Mountain had formerly been one of them for owner Jorge L Fernandez, having won the fifth race on June 5 at Ruidoso by disqualification. Janell Sanderson was also summarily suspended June 12 after the commission alleged she failed to comply with an order for out-of-competition testing for ten horses in her care.

All horses have been disqualified from the affected races and declared unplaced, and purses redistributed.

New Mexico has zero tolerance for clenbuterol and albuterol in both Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds.

Clenbuterol can be prescribed legitimately as a therapeutic medication to treat respiratory illness in horses, but can also be abused for its anabolic-like side effects if given repeatedly over time. Albuterol, well known for its therapeutic use for human breathing conditions, was rumored to have become the choice of trainers looking for the same impacts of clenbuterol after that drug was banned in the state.

Reprinted courtesy PaulickReport.com.