PA coach Taylor’s ban increased to eight years

Pennsylvania-based trainer Joe Taylor, who appealed against the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit’s six-year ban and $50,000 fine after two of his runners tested positive for banned substances, has been given a harsher punishment by an arbitrator. His ban will now last eight years and his fine will be $100,000, according to posts on the HIWU website.

A full report from the referee was not immediately posted on the HIWU website.

Taylor said referee Jeffrey Benz had given him a two-year suspension for each violation, a total of four. The Taylor-trained Noble American And Cajun cousin who both took second place Parx Race Last June, all tested positive for methylphenidate and clenbuterol.

Methylphenidate, often known by the brand name Ritalin, is a stimulant used in humans to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Clenbuterol is a beta-2 agonist and bronchodilator that is abused in horses for its muscle-building properties.

Taylor claims he was the victim of manipulation of the two horses. Last summer, he said he was going through a bitter divorce.

According to Taylor, Benz stated that he felt Taylor was using his wife as a safety net in case he received a positive result, which he said contradicted the evidence.

Taylor said he could appeal again, but considered it a “waste of time.”

“Nobody tells them, nobody monitors them, what they can and cannot do,” Taylor said.