Phil Aristone, one of the all-time leading trainers at Parx Racing, was suspended 105 days, fined $7,500, and given six penalty points for two horses in his care testing positive for the presence of lamotrigine in post-race testing, according to resolutions posted on the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit website.
Lamotrigine, a Class A controlled medication with HISA-ADMC Rule 3312, is used to treat epilepsy in humans as well as help prevent depression in adults with bipolar disorder. While it is prescribed to humans as an anticonvulsant, it has no recognized use for treatment in horses.
The first horse, Field Letters, ran Aug. 4 in a Penn National Race Course claiming race, where the 8-year-old Field Commission mare finished first by a half-length for owner D and D Stables and was claimed by owner Las Mercedes Stable for $4,000.
The positive finding was posted to the HIWU website Oct. 3, with a resolution coming Dec. 6. This infraction cost Aristone a 30-day suspension to begin Dec. 6, disqualification of the horse, forfeiture of the $6,000 winner's purse, a fine of $2,500, and three penalty points imposed.
The subsequent infraction came a month later when D and D Stables Jewels in the Bay ran first in a Sept. 6 maiden claiming event at Parx. The 4-year-old Bullsbay gelding finished one length ahead of the field and was not claimed that day. In a post-race test, the horse was found to carry lamotrigine in his blood, HIWU posted to their public disclosures Oct. 13.
Jewels in the Bay was claimed in his next start Sept. 18 at Parx for $12,500 by owner Bing Cherry Racing.
For the Sept. 6 infraction, Aristone was given a 45-day suspension to begin Jan. 5, disqualification from the race, return of the $18,480 winner's purse, fined $5,000, and imposed three penalty points in response to Jewels in the Bay's positive test result.
An additional 30-day suspension, to begin Feb. 19, was handed out due to the accumulation of six penalty points; collectively, Aristone will serve a 105-day suspension that will conclude in March.
The Parx-based trainer's violations fall under the "admission" tab of the HIWU website. No supporting HIWU documents have yet been posted to the website.
According to Equibase, Aristone's horses have made 12,522 starts with a record of 1,681 firsts, 1,825 seconds, and 1,706 thirds with lifetime earnings of $31,221,454 in a training career dating back to the late 1970s. Twice leading trainer at Parx, he was inducted into the Parx Racing Hall of Fame in 2014.
