Zoom Up DQed for Acepromazine, Amoss Fined $1,000

Zoom Up, a promising 3-year-old filly at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, has been disqualified from a Dec. 19 maiden victory at the track after her post-race urine sample showed test results above the permitted level of 2-(1-hydroxyethyl) promazine sulfoxide, a metabolite of acepromazine. The purse is ordered redistributed and her trainer, Tom Amoss, fined $1,000, according to a ruling from Fair Grounds stewards. Acepromazine is a commonly used tranquilizer. Fractious horses and fillies prone to "tying up" are among those often treated with the medication. A 48-hour withdrawal guideline for acepromazine is suggested before racing in many jurisdictions. In the Jan. 21 ruling that appeared on the Association of Racing Commissioners International website, stewards wrote that they considered mitigating factors in assessing a fine. ARCI considers acepromazine to fall in drug class 3 and penalty class B. "We went through everything in the barn, couldn't figure it out," said Amoss said via telephone Jan. 26. "We did not send a split. We accept the test for what it is and accept the punishment." Amoss, the trainer of 2019 Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) winner Serengeti Empress, has won more than 3,800 races and $108 million. He and Brad Cox currently lead the Fair Grounds trainer standings. Zoom Up, a daughter of Upstart owned by Cosmic Racing, followed her Fair Grounds race in December with a two-length allowance optional claiming win there Jan. 18. She twice placed in maiden races in Kentucky last fall.