Illinois veterinarian and Thoroughbred breeder Dr. Donald McCrosky has been fined $300,000 and suspended for 24 years in rulings posted Feb. 9 to the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit website.
The sanctions, issued by arbitrator Hugh Fraser in a document dated Feb. 6, are for nine violations of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority's Anti-Doping and Medication Control Program rules. He upheld findings that McCrosky possessed five banned substances discovered during an April 22, 2025, search of his vehicle at Fairmount Park. The arbitrator also took into account McCrosky's admission of administering 1 cc of testosterone to Tigger Attack—a HISA "covered horse" trained by Vance Childers and owned by his wife, Lois—after being advised by a groom that the horse was not eating well. McCrosky bred Tigger Attack.
Fraser further concluded that McCrosky sold two loaded syringes, later confirmed to contain testosterone and glaucine, to Fairmount Park trainer Isidro Castro. The arbitrator called McCrosky's conduct "intentional and egregious."
The veterinarian had been previously suspended for 30 days and fined $2,500 by HIWU in March 2024.
McCrosky submitted that the cumulative penalties ultimately imposed on him were disproportionate and that, with him nearing retirement, such sanctions would effectively end his veterinary career. But Fraser noted that half of McCrosky's practice includes non-covered horses and other animals, which could continue despite these sanctions.
