France Fines Five For Cobalt

On Monday, the governing body for harness racing in France announced that five trainers had received fines and suspensions for horses racing with excessive amounts of cobalt.

The horses and races involved are as follows:

• Uno De Villeneuve, who finished first in the Prix Scea Beaujeu on July 15 at Feurs and also finished first in the Prix des Bénévoles on July 25 at Bréhal for trainer Salvatore Campolo

• Lover Face, who finished third in the Grand Prix de la Ville de Cabourg on July 22 at Cabourg for trainer Fabrice Souloy

• Aragorn de Buliere, who finished first in the Prix de la Société du Cheval Français on July 31 at Zonza for trainer Xavier Fontaine

• Sud, who finished first in the Prix Muzy Angelin on August 14, 2016 at Zonza for trainer Dominique Raffini

• Avenir Classique, who finished first in the Prix Joseph Aubertin on August 21 at Montier-en-Der for trainer Philippe Bengala

In a decision rendered on December 22, all horses have been disqualified for a period of 12 months. All trainers were fined € 15,000 except Campolo whose fine was doubled to € 30,000. The trainers all received one-year suspensions and bans from racetracks in France until January 2, 2018.

Earlier this year, Souloy had four horses with reported high cobalt levels from races in Europe.