Trainer Jeff Mullins filed a motion in U.S. Superior Court on
Wednesday requesting a stay of a 70-day suspension that he is scheduled
to begin serving June 1, citing violations of his due-process rights by
the California Horse Racing Board.
In the lawsuit, filed in U.S. Superior Court of California in the
County of San Diego, Mullins argued that he should be granted a hearing
in the court before the suspension can begin, so that he can present
evidence that the CHRB’s decision to enforce the suspension earlier this
year violated his rights.
The lawsuit is the latest in a series of maneuvers dating back nearly
five years to July 2006, when a horse trained by Mullins tested
positive for the prohibited painkiller mepivacaine. The CHRB initially
ordered a 90-day suspension, but the penalty was reduced to 20 days and
one year of probation. After another horse trained by Mullins tested
positive for an excessive level of total carbon dioxide during the terms
of the probation, the CHRB ordered that Mullins serve an additional 70
days.
Mullins has argued that the mepivacaine positive was a result of a
contaminated post-race sample, and he also has contended that the
positive for total carbon dioxide was due to naturally elevated levels
in the horse.
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