Moreau suspended for class 1 positive

Harness racing trainer Richard Moreau has been suspended indefinitely after North America Cup show finisher Funtime Bayama tested positive for darbepoetin alfa (DPO).

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) report, issued last night (Jul. 23), reported the Certificate of Analysis from the out-of-competition test collected from the gelding on Jun. 10. Five days later, Funtime Bayama finished third in the North America Cup, earning $108,000, and was sold the following week to new connections.

DPO is a class 1 drug listed as a blood doping agent under the Uniform Classification Guidelines for Foreign Substances document administered by the Association of Racing Commissioners International. AGCO rules classify DPO as a prohibited performance-enhancing non-therapeutic substance, which carries a minimum penalty of a 10-year suspension and $40,000 in fines. The most recent harness racing suspension for erythropoietin, of which DPO is a re-engineered form, that of Jacques Primeau, resulted in a 20-year suspension.

Currently, Moreau is suspended under rule 6.01, conduct prejudicial to the best interests of racing, pending inspection of the test. All horses under Moreau, Canada’s 10-time Trainer of the Year, have been ordered to be transferred.

Moreau did not respond to a request for comment. He later posted on Facebook, saying “for all of you who know me, obviously I didn’t do it, but life goes on.”

by Nicholas Barnsdale, for Harnesslink