SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher has been issued a 15-day suspension by the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission after a horse he trained tested positive for hydrochlorothiazide after winning a $200,000 stakes race at Parx racetrack last year, according to a ruling posted on the commission’s website. Mind Control, who won the Parx Dirt Mile Stakes on Sept. 24 last year, was disqualified as a result of the positive test. Hydrochlorothiazide is used to treat hypertension in humans, and it has been used off-label in horses to treat potassium imbalances. Both the initial sample and a split sample tested positive for the substance. Pletcher had acknowledged earlier this year that he was facing a potential sanction from Mind Control’s Dirt Mile. On Friday, he said that his attorney had filed an appeal of the penalty, which will likely result in a stay. The penalty was initially scheduled to begin on Aug. 30 and run through Sept. 13. “We’ve appealed, and hopefully we will get a favorable outcome,” Pletcher said. Pletcher was issued a 10-day suspension earlier this year due to a positive for meloxicam, a regulated drug that can act as an anti-inflammatory, after his Forte won the Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga last September. Meloxicam is an ingredient in a number of human medications. Under rules that went into effect on May 22 under the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, the positive test would not have triggered an adjudication, according to HISA officials. Pletcher appealed that penalty and was granted a stay. The appeals hearing was conducted last month. Forte, the champion 2-year-old colt of 2022 who was this year’s Kentucky Derby favorite prior to being scratched the morning of the race, is the morning-line favorite in Saturday’s Grade 1 Travers Stakes. He was second in the Belmont Stakes and first in the Jim Dandy, a prep for the Travers, in his most recent start. Shortly after the Forte penalty was issued, the New York State Gaming Commission issued an additional 14-day suspension after one of Pletcher’s horses had an overage for the regulated medication phenylbutazone after a race at Saratoga on June 30 last year. Pletcher appealed that penalty as well and was granted a stay. The length of the penalty was based in part on the prior medication positive in Forte. All of the positive tests occurred prior to the May 22 advent of the Anti-Doping and Medication Control program administered by HISA. Adjudications and penalties differ significantly under the ADMC system compared to the state-by-state rules that the scheme replaced. State regulatory bodies remain responsible for adjudicating any cases that arose from positives in races prior to the May 22 date. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.