Horseman Marc Campbell was as surprised as anyone when a horse he trains tested positive for a prescription medication administered to people that has resulted in a 14-day suspension.

Campbell is the trainer of trotter Freddie, who tested positive for the Class 4 drug Probenecid. Sold commercially as Probalan, Probenecid is a medication that increases uric acid excretion in the urine. The medication is primarily used to treat gout, a type of inflammatory arthritis, and hyperuricemia.

According to Campbell, Freddie was stabled next door to his farm in Winsloe, PEI. The stall was cleaned by a gentleman who was on Probenecid at the time, and that man admitted to urinating in the stall Freddie occupied.

“We have everything from the hospital, the dates the gentleman was on it, how much he was on it and we have a document from a veterinarian that it was very likely and possible that a horse could pick it up from eating hay with urine on it,” Campbell told the Journal Pioneer. “The horse went in the stall, ate the hay or whatever is in there. My vet wrote up a letter stating that this is a great possibility. The horse was Freddie, and the bugger, he’ll eat everything and anything."

One of the top trainers and drivers in Atlantic Canada, Campbell topped the charts for training and driving at both Red Shores properties –- Charlottetown Driving Park and Summerside -- in 2017 en route to his second O'Brien Award of Horsemanship.

The suspension comes during Governor's Plate week at Summerside, with the Governor's Plate final slated for Saturday (July 14). Campbell has won the last two editions of the race and hasn't missed attending the Governor's Plate card in some 20 years admitting, “It’s one of my favourite weeks of the year."