HIWU Suspends Owner/Trainer Valery Until 2033

Florida-based owner/trainer Paul Valery has been suspended by the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit until May 13, 2033, for a series of infractions involving his horses and controlled and banned medications, including steroids. He was also assessed $75,500 in fines from five resolutions dated Nov. 15. Valery's infractions involved the now-disqualified horses Quincy Cafe and Pure Speight, both suspended from racing through March 2025. Between the two horses, Valery was sanctioned for the presence or markers of the following substances: prasterone, gamma-aminobutyric acid, formestane, and 4-hydroxytestosterone. Additionally, he was cited for rule violations for three prohibited controlled medication substances during a race period. Valery is 4-for-27 this year, but with no starts since the spring after HIWU provisionally suspended him. He is 12-for-56 over his career as a North American trainer. Valery's biggest win as a trainer and owner came in 2019 at Gulfstream Park when The Brother Slew (VEN) upset the $300,000 Clasico Internacional del Caribe Stakes. Valery, from Venezuela, described that moment through an interpreter as "the best thing that ever happened in my life." (Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated Valery's suspension was to run until May 2030.)