Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story included a photo of Scootaloo with a different owner and before he was trained by Angel Quiroz. BloodHorse regrets the mistake.
Fair Hill-based trainer Angel Quiroz has been provisionally suspended Sept. 1 by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority following two positive out-of-competition test results for the banned bronchodilator albuterol. These come after an earlier albuterol finding.
Quiroz is one of two trainers, along with Ernesto Ochoa, being investigated by HISA (specifically its enforcement arm, the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit) into the performances of at least five horses that were stabled at Fair Hill Training Center ahead of their races Aug. 9. A dramatic turnaround in the horses' form that produced two wins at Saratoga Race Course and two at Monmouth Park, along with some questionable betting patterns associated with those races, prompted the investigation.
READ: HISA Investigating Multiple Races at Monmouth, Saratoga
The two recently tested horses are the 5-year-old mare Scootaloo and the 4-year-old colt Tepeyac, who both raced Aug. 9 for Quiroz. Tepeyac won a claiming race at Monmouth Park, while Scootaloo finished fourth in a claiming race at Saratoga. An out-of-competition sample was taken from Scootaloo Aug. 10 while stabled at Saratoga, and the sample from Tepeyac was collected Aug. 13 at Fair Hill.
Quiroz has now been charged with three alleged albuterol violations since July 10, when the drug was detected in a blood sample taken from 4-year-old filly Bonita Rough prior to a Vet's List workout at Fair Hill. Bonita Rough was provisionally suspended from training or racing because of the positive test result, but Quiroz then worked her July 29 at Fair Hill. He was subsequently notified Aug. 28 of an additional alleged rule violation for working Bonita Rough while she was suspended.
Albuterol administered by any route other than inhalation is considered a banned substance because the drug has been abused as a way to build muscle mass and, consequently, is an Anti-Doping and Medication Control Program violation at any concentration.
For all three alleged violations, HIWU noted that no prescription or treatment for any of the horses was listed in the HISA portal.
According to HISA's notice of the provisional suspension, Quiroz told HIWU investigators that Bonita Rough received an inhalation albuterol treatment while at Gulfstream Park. The trainer said his veterinarian had prescribed the treatment for another horse, but informed him that he could "use it on Bonita Rough if needed," per HISA's description in the provisional suspension documents. Quiroz did not provide any statement or documentation from his vet to support this claim, and the treatment was not recorded in the HISA portal.
The provisional suspension remains in effect until a hearing is conducted.
