GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas (AP) — Trainer Steve Asmussen has appealed a six-month suspension handed down after one of his horses tested positive for a local anesthetic last year.
The Lone Star Park board of stewards on Thursday suspended Asmussen and fined him $1,500 for Timber Trick's positive test for a lidocaine metabolite.
Asmussen is based in Texas, which has a zero-tolerance policy on the drug, which is a Class 2 medication violation.
His suspension was set to begin Monday and run through Jan. 15. The trainer filed an appeal, paid the fine and requested a stay of the suspension, according to the Texas Racing Commission.
The commission granted a stay of the suspension, pending the outcome of the appeal.
Asmussen won the Eclipse Award as North America's leading trainer last year, when he won a record 622 races. He trained two-time Horse of the Year Curlin and oversees Preakness-winning filly Rachel Alexandra.
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