An arbitrator appointed by the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit has handed down a 24-year suspension and more than $300,000 in fines to a longtime Illinois veterinarian for nine violations that were described as a “flagrant disregard” for the sport’s medication rules.
Dr. Donald McCrosky, who is described in a hearing report as having practiced veterinary medicine for 58 years, was handed the penalties following a Jan. 14 hearing in which he faced charges including possession of banned substances, trafficking banned substances, and tampering. McCrosky has practiced at Fairmount Park in Collinsville, Ill., for more than 40 years, the hearing report said, and his wife owns horses that race there.
During the hearing, McCrosky admitted to using testosterone, a banned anabolic steroid that was found among other banned substances during a search of his vehicle in April of last year. But he claimed that the other banned substances were intended for horses not based at the racetrack, and he provided testimony justifying his repossession of substances seized as evidence and his sale of two loaded syringes to a trainer based at Fairmount that contained two banned substances.
The hearing officer, Hugh L. Fraser, a retired judge, pointedly rejected McCrosky’s explanations in his report. He ruled that McCrosky should face “maximum allowable fines” and consecutive suspensions for the nine violations.
“The actions of Dr. McCrosky were not due to innocent misinterpretation of the rules or a misunderstanding of his obligations,” Fraser wrote. “In committing these nine Anti-Doping Rule Violations, Dr. McCrosky acted with intent, and with a flagrant disregard for the ADMC Program Rules and for their overarching objectives of horse welfare and the integrity of the Thoroughbred racing industry.”
McCrosky had been suspended twice before by HIWU, once in March of 2024 for “disruptive and offensive conduct” and again in May of that year for violating the terms of his suspension.
The tampering charge was based on McCrosky removing two seized items from evidence bags after being repeatedly told by HIWU investigators that he could not take them. McCrosky was also charged with “interfering” with the investigation for providing “false representations” to HIWU investigators regarding the castration of a horse that tested positive for testosterone.
The hearing report says that the trafficking charge was based on McCrosky’s sale of two loaded syringes to trainer Isidro Castro in the parking lot of a local business in the summer of 2025. Though McCrosky said the syringes contained banamine, a regulated painkiller, and aspirin, the syringes were later revealed to contain glaucine, a banned cough suppressant, and testosterone. One of the syringes was labeled “A” and the other labeled “B.”
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.