Horse Owner Suspended From Prairie Meadows For One Year

DES MOINES, IA — The Board of Stewards at Prairie Meadows Racetrack in Altoona ruled this week that an owner and trainer whose horse tested positive for an illegal substance in the fall will be banned from the facility for a year. The owner agreed to the decision, while maintaining he did not administer an illegal substance to his horse and did not tell anyone else to do so.

Charlton Hunt is the owner and trainer of Marys Ice Dancer, a three-year-old filly that finished second in the seventh race on Sept. 24. A standard post-race test was positive for the stimulant Aminorex in the horse's system. The substance violates Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission racing rules.

Aminorex also has been linked in cases at other racetracks — some going back a decade — to a deworming medication that is allowed for use. Some prior rulings banning horses or imposing penalties for positive test results have been overturned at other tracks due to the connection with those medications.

Regarding the Prairie Meadows action, the board said its ruling is the final decision on the matter. The board cited reports of positive test results from two independent laboratories, the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at Iowa State University and the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory, in reaching its decision.

Hunt "believes the post-race positive was due to some type of contamination," the board noted in its ruling.

As a result of the ban, Hunt acknowledged the violation and agreed to the suspension from the county-owned racetrack through Oct. 14, 2018. He forfeited winnings from the Sept. 24 race and was ordered to pay a $1,000 administrative penalty to the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission.

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