Hepton Violation Clarified Horse Was Given ‘Bute’ Dose Too Close To Next Post Time

Prominent Spokane thoroughbred owner and trainer Fred Hepton was suspended last week for a phenylbutazone violation at Portland Meadows, but not because his horse was over-medicated.

Urine and blood tests showed that the horse received the “bute,” an anti-inflammatory medication, within 24 hours of a race.

Hepton is serving a 30-day suspension.

When his appeal was turned down, Hepton was fined $250 for violating the 24-hour rule. When he failed to pay the fine in a “timely manner,” papers from the Oregon Racing Commission indicate, he was suspended.

Hepton paid the fine last week. His license will be reinstated next month.

The Washington Horse Racing Commission has a reciprocal agreement to honor rulings in Oregon.

Hepton said he has trained the horse, Spokane Charlie, for six years. He said he followed the same pattern of administering the drug by mixing it with the horse’s feed.

The horse, he said, may have finished his feed the morning of the race, which would account for the traces of bute in his blood plasma.

In its written order mailed to Hepton, the Oregon commission wrote that Spokane Charlie tested well below the allowable level of bute. A story last week erroneously indicated that Hepton’s horse was over the limit.

However, in Oregon, a horse must receive the medication at least 24 hours prior to scheduled post time.

The Spokane horseman said Oregon is the only racing state that “tests that way.

“In Washington, you’re either over or under the limit, and that’s it,” Hepton said.

He said he feels he did nothing wrong.

Carol Morgan, a staff member with the Oregon commission in Portland, said Thursday that tests used in Oregon are consistent within the racing industry.

“The test is the same. Results may be interpreted differently (from state to state),” she said. “Every state has little tweaks in its regulations. It’s the trainer’s responsibility to understand what those are.”