The appellant trainer appealed a 10-year suspension and $40,000 penalty arising from an out-of-competition test on a racehorse that yielded synthetic darbepoetin alfa.
The panel heard and decided only the threshold issue of whether the Certificate of Positive Analysis was valid, with the appellant attacking the chain of custody, laboratory standards compliance, shipping integrity, and the inability to promptly retest residual samples.
The panel held that the screening and confirmatory testing were properly performed, that the absence of a tamper-proof layer on shipment to the confirmatory laboratory did not undermine the reliability of the result, and that no actual or apprehended bias arose from identifying material in shipping documents.
The panel found clear, cogent and convincing evidence that the tested blood sample contained synthetic DPO and upheld the certificate, leaving the remaining issues in the appeal for later hearing.
