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Parx Trainer Avoids Active Ban After HIWU Testosterone Ruling
Parx Trainer Avoids Active Ban After HIWU Testosterone Ruling
J. Guadalupe Guerrero has been fined $5,000 after HIWU found two testosterone violations at Parx, but the trainer will serve no active suspension after the period of ineligibility was backdated.
Parx-based trainer J. Guadalupe Guerrero will not serve an active suspension after a Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit decision over testosterone findings in three horses from his yard.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe horse racing case is a significant regulatory update rather than a routine medication notice.
HIWU’s final decision records testosterone findings from hair samples linked to Can’t Stop a Chub, Rock Me Gently and Silver City Kitty, with the ruling ultimately leaving Guerrero with a $5,000 fine and no forward period of ineligibility.
On Monday, it was reported that Guerrero would serve no suspension despite two confirmed anti-doping violations. The official HIWU decision, dated June 3, gives the detail behind that outcome.
How the J. Guadalupe Guerrero Parx case developed
The HIWU’s decision says a post-race hair sample was collected from Can’t Stop a Chub after the mare’s fatality following Race 3 at Parx on July 22, 2025.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAn out-of-competition hair sample was then collected from Rock Me Gently at Parx on August 22, before a post-race hair sample was collected from Silver City Kitty after Race 5 at Parx on September 15.
All three samples returned atypical findings for testosterone. The final decision states that testosterone is a banned substance under the ADMC programme and that there is no threshold for testosterone in hair for female horses.
The case moved forward differently for the three horses. HIWU withdrew the charge relating to Can’t Stop a Chub after deciding it was not comfortably satisfied, on the total evidence, that the mare had been exposed to testosterone after Guerrero claimed her on April 8, 2025.
The decision noted that the four-inch hair sample was not segmentally analysed.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementFor Rock Me Gently and Silver City Kitty, HIWU found violations due to the presence of testosterone in hair samples and determined that both horses were exposed while under Guerrero’s care.
Prescribed gel accepted as source
The central finding in the case was not that Guerrero intentionally administered testosterone to the horses. HIWU accepted, on the balance of probability, that the source was inadvertent transfer from Guerrero’s prescribed testosterone gel during grooming.
The decision records that Guerrero had a diagnosed medical condition and had been prescribed AndroGel 1.62%.
It also says he personally groomed some of the horses involved, had discussed transfer risks with his doctor.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementPlus took precautions including applying the gel at home, washing his hands, using alcohol-based hand rub and wearing gloves when handling horses’ mouths.
HIWU ruled that those facts did not amount to no fault or negligence, but did place the case in the no significant fault or negligence category.
That distinction mattered. It allowed the sanction to be reduced, while still confirming two anti-doping rule violations.
Guerrero received a four-month period of ineligibility for each of the two violations, to be served consecutively for a total of eight months.
However, HIWU backdated the period to September 15, 2025, the sample collection date for Silver City Kitty.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThat means Guerrero will not serve any period of ineligibility going forward. He was fined $2,500 for each violation, making a total fine of $5,000.
Silver City Kitty’s Race 5 result at Parx on September 15, 2025 has been disqualified. With the usual forfeiture consequences for purse money and related rewards.
HIWU also stated that Rock Me Gently and Silver City Kitty had already satisfied re-entry testing requirements and were currently eligible to race.
Parx J. Guadalupe Guerrero – The Key Facts
Trainer: J. Guadalupe Guerrero
Regulator: Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit
Substance: Testosterone
Horses named in the decision: Can’t Stop a Chub, Rock Me Gently, Silver City Kitty
Charge withdrawn: Can’t Stop a Chub
Confirmed violations: Rock Me Gently and Silver City Kitty
Sanction: Two four-month periods of ineligibility, served consecutively and backdated
Active suspension going forward: None
Result disqualified: Silver City Kitty, Race 5 at Parx on September 15, 2025
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