ALBUQUERQUE, NM—JUNE 23, 2015—According to an article published today in the Albuquerque Journal, the New Mexico Racing Commission stewards suspended trainer Lillian N. Silva for a year and fined her $5,000 after a horse under her care tested positive for more than double the legal amount of the drug Clenbuterol following a Nov. 3 race at Zia Park in Hobbs, according to rulings recently posted on the commission’s website.

The violation, Silva’s third within 365 days, also cost Carlos J. Sosa, owner of the horse Silver Stone Bay, the second-place purse money. Post-race testing showed the horse’s urine was well above the commission’s legal threshold of 140 picograms per milliliter.

Clenbuterol, a drug that dilates bronchial tubes and is an effective treatment for respiratory disease, mimics muscle-building anabolic steroids in higher doses.

Silva’s latest suspension runs from Monday through June 21, 2016, records show.

In a second matter, stewards suspended trainer Tony M. Gallegos for 365 days and fined him $5,000 after one of his horses tested positive for Clenbuterol after winning a Sept. 17 race at the Downs at Albuquerque. According to commission records, this was Gallegos’ third rules infraction in the preceding year.

Post-race testing showed the Gallegos’ trained horse, Genuine Kiss, owned by Pedro Carrillo Gomez, had nearly three times the legal limit. Gomez, also was fined $5,000 and forfeits the purse money for that race.

New Mexico Racing Commission rulings are available online at www.nmrc.state.nm.us.