Trainer Toby Keeton faces sweeping penalties after 23 medication violations tied to banned substances during the 2024 Lone Star Park meet.

© Jack Coady Photogrpahy

GRANDE PRAIRIE, TX–APRIL 1, 2026–Trainer Toby Keeton has been handed a 16-year suspension and fined $80,000 by the Texas Racing Commission following multiple serious medication violations.

In a ruling dated March 26, 2026, regulators found that 22 horses under Keeton’s care tested positive for the Class 1A substance carmoterol during the 2024 Lone Star Park fall meet, while a 23rd horse tested positive for d-methamphetamine, also a Class 1A substance. Carmoterol, an unapproved beta-2 agonist with potent, long-acting effects, is strictly prohibited in racing.

The suspension is retroactive to Jan. 30, 2025, and will run through Jan. 29, 2041. All 23 horses were disqualified, with purse money ordered returned.

The ruling followed a three-day hearing in February, with final arguments submitted March 11. Under Texas law, possession of prohibited substances with intent to affect a race constitutes a third-degree felony, and beta-agonists are banned at all times under commission rules.

Keeton, who has not started a horse since December 2024, is one of several prominent trainers facing sanctions tied to carmoterol positives nationwide. His suspension has already been reciprocated in New Mexico.

The case also casts a shadow over major 2024 performances in New Mexico. Separately, Keeton has filed an ongoing civil lawsuit in that state alleging regulatory misconduct related to testing procedures and records access. No rulings have been issued there regarding the affected races.

For a list of the disqualified horses, see related story in the Paulick Report.