Thursday, July 15, 2010

Horse Racing: Commission upholds Anderson suspension

Horse Racing: Commission upholds Anderson suspension

Horse Racing: Commission upholds Anderson suspension

Posted: 15 Jul 2010 08:17 PM PDT

Nebraska Hall of Fame trainer David Anderson's suspension will remain at three years, following a recent hearing of the state racing commission.

Anderson was suspended by the commission in February and fined $4,000 as a result of positive tests for banned drugs found in two of his horses last summer at Omaha's Horsemen's Park. The positive tests for the pain-killers oxycodone and oxymorphone led to the disqualification of those two horses, the redistribution of purse money and eventually the suspension of Anderson.

Anderson's attorney, Mike Kelley of Omaha, appealed that ruling via a hearing by conference call June 30 with the three-member commission — Dennis Lee of Omaha, Helen Abbott Feller of Wisner and Janell Beveridge of Paxton. Kelley asserted that the 18-month suspensions Anderson received for each positive drug test should run concurrently, and not consecutively.

The state Attorney General's office, which prosecuted the case, once again argued against that point.

Abbott Feller made a motion during the hearing to allow Anderson to serve the suspensions concurrently, which was something she had supported in February. That motion did not receive a second from Lee nor Beveridge.

Lee, who initially had proposed a four-year suspension in February but backed off one year after Abbott Feller had called for a shorter term, then made a motion during the hearing to leave the commission ruling the way it was. Beveridge seconded that motion.

The motion to reconsider Anderson's suspension is on the agenda for the racing commission's meeting Friday at 2 p.m. at the commission office, 5903 Walker Ave. in Lincoln. Lee said after the hearing that it is expected to simply be a formality.

That decision means Anderson's license will remain suspended for three years and he'll be denied access on the grounds of any state racetrack. While his license is suspended, racetracks outside Nebraska also will deny Anderson access.

Anderson had contended in an earlier hearing that he was unaware of the drugs in question and that he did not know how the drugs got into the horses' systems. The trainer is already serving a one-year suspension in Iowa after regulators there heard evidence against him for a similar infraction that occurred last August at Prairie Meadows in suburban Des Moines.

Another topic on the agenda for Friday's commission meeting is the approval of racing officials at Omaha's Horsemen's Park, which begins its four-day live racing meet July 22.

Contact the writer:

444-1350, mike.patterson@owh.com


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