Coach Shug McGaughey was suspended by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and fined $500 for an overdose of acepromazine in smoke who is second in Audubon Shares on June 4 in Churchill Downs.
In accordance with the superintendent’s judgment, McGaughey waives his right to a formal hearing.
While the suspension was originally listed as 30 days, it will be reduced to 15 days due to the limited number of infractions the Hall of Fame coach has made over a long career, as long as he doesn’t infringe. class A or B drugs in the next year.
McGaughey will be suspended from December 5 to 19, according to the ruling.
Acepromazine is a sedative that is considered a Class B violation by the International Association of Racing Commissioners when found to be in excess of the posted limits. In Kentucky, the threshold for the drug is 10 nanograms per milliliter. Smokin’ T’s post-race urine test showed 2-1-(hydroxyethyl) promazine sulfoxide (HEPS) at 61.2 nanograms.
Smokin’ T was removed from his runner-up in Audubon and the funds in the wallet were redistributed by KHRC.
McGaughey has won more than 2,200 races in his career and ranks 10th on the all-time earning list with $165.2 million.
In a career that began in 1978, McGaughey had only three drug offenses, the other two occurring in 1983 and 2020.
