The Texas Racing Commission (TxRC) will conduct Friday's GII Sam Houston Futurity, a Quarter Horse event held at Sam Houston Race Park, as a non-wagering event after a number of the qualifiers tested positive for Clenbuterol and/or Albuterol in advance of the race. Participants will compete for purse money only and future entries from those trainers whose horses tested positive will not be accepted.
Both Clenbuterol and Albuterol are prohibited in Texas.
Two separate testing methods were conducted with post-race blood and urine samples drawn May 7 and 8, the qualifying nights, and hair test samples pulled on the qualifiers May 15. All post-race samples were negative for the 10 qualifying participants prior to entry day (May 21) for the Sam Houston Futurity. However, the TxRC informed Sam Houston May 26 that six of the 10 horses returned positive results from the hair samples for either Clenbuterol and/or Albuterol. Two of the tests were negative and two were inconclusive. A second hair sample was taken the same day for the eight horses who tested positive or inconclusive.
Effective immediately, Sam Houston will not accept future entries from those trainers whose horses tested positive. Entries have already been accepted through Thursday, June 3. Further disciplinary actions may be pursued, pending actions of the TxRC and the results of second hair test samples.
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