HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Gulfstream Park issued a press release late Friday announcing the suspensions of five trainers found to have been in violation of the racetrack’s clenbuterol restrictions. Gulfstream Park enacted the rule at the beginning of the 2020/2021 Championship meet to “further address and implement improved safety, transparency, and accountability standards.” Although the names of the suspended trainers were not announced in the release, an official for 1/ST Racing, which owns and operates Gulfstream Park, informed Daily Racing Form they were Georgina Baxter, Rohan Crichton, Daniel Pita, Peter Walder, and Gilberto Zerpa. A total of 10 barns at Gulfstream Park underwent standard out-of-competition testing. Five trainers returned clean samples while the five suspended trainers had a total of 12 positives. Both hair and blood samples were taken. The suspensions are being handled under house rules and in no part involve the state, according to Steve DiMauro, one of the two stewards who represent Gulfstream Park. Under Gulfstream’s house rules, horses cannot receive clenbuterol without a diagnosis of lower airway disease and a prescription from an attending veterinarian. Any diagnosis and prescription has to be approved by the track’s senior veterinarian, and any administration of the drug without that approval is treated as a violation. In addition, any administration of clenbuterol has to be communicated to the senior veterinarian on every day it is used. Clenbuterol is effective at treating lower airway disease, but the drug can also have muscle-building impacts when used regularly. The Thoroughbred racing industry has been cracking down on its misuse for more than a decade, and over the past several years, many state racing commissions have adopted the same regulations that Gulfstream uses as a house rule. “As we have said before, individuals who do not embrace the rules and safety measures that put horse and rider safety above all else will have no place at a 1/ST racetrack,” said Aiden Butler, chief operating officer at 1/ST Racing. We collectively as an industry have to clean this sport up. We will not have people skirting the rules. This is not the last you’ve seen of this. If people here continue to try to cheat the sport, they are going to continue to pay the price.”     :: Get Daily Racing Form Past Performances – the exclusive home of Beyer Speed Figures.  The suspended trainers will not be permitted to enter any horses they train for any race at 1/ST Racing tracks until the completion of the suspensions. The suspensions range from 10 to 40 days depending upon the number of violations each individual trainer received and are effective as of Oct. 1. Each trainer has also been fined $1,000 per violation, the money to go to support Thoroughbred aftercare initiatives. - additional reporty by Matt Hegarty