Juan Munoz Cano, a trainer formerly based in Kentucky who moved his operation to Louisiana in 2025, has been issued a 12-year suspension after six of his horses tested positive for the highly regulated bronchial dilator clenbuterol in out-of-competition tests conducted late last year.
Cano has started 154 horses this year at Louisiana tracks, which are not under the jurisdiction of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority. Cano argued at a hearing in late August that that the clenbuterol positives were due to contamination, but a hearing officer rejected that argument after concluding that Cano had offered no evidence to support the theory.
“The fact that contamination of clenbuterol ‘remains an option’ or that ‘results are consistent with possible external contamination’ does not mean that it is likely, or even probable, particularly in light of the evidence that the properties of clenbuterol do not render it readily susceptible to environmental contamination,” the hearing officer, a retired judge named Bernetta D. Bush, wrote in a ruling.
The case underline regulators’ increasing reliance on hair testing for confirmation of certain substances. The Cano case is the third major adjudication by HISA and its enforcement arm, the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit, to use hair testing for a detailed analysis of clenbuterol administrations or exposure.
According to Bush’s report, investigators began looking into Cano’s operation after hair testing of a fatally injured horse he trained tested positive for clenbuterol. The horse, La Burkana, suffered the fatal injury during a race on Oct. 31, 2024, at Churchill Downs in Louisville. Under HISA rules, horses that suffer fatalities are required to be subjected to a battery of tests.
Following the clenbuterol detection, HIWU investigators pulled hair samples and biological samples from five horses under Cano’s care on Nov. 20 and Nov. 21. Investigators pulled another sample from a Cano horse on Jan. 15. All the hair samples tested positive for clenbuterol in varying degrees, according to the report, despite blood and urine samples testing negative.
Hair testing is used to detect violations for a range of drugs because evidence of the drug use shows up in hair strands far longer than other biological samples like blood or urine. Because hair grows at known rates, the dates of administration can be estimated based on the segment of the hair where the evidence of the drug shows up.
Bush ultimately concluded that the hair-sample testing provided conclusive evidence that six of Cano's horses were exposed to clenbuterol while in his care. The evidence was insufficient on a seventh horse, Bush wrote.
Clenbuterol is a powerful bronchial dilator that can have muscle-building effects similar to anabolic steroids when used regularly on a horse. Horses can only be administered the drug under strict requirements to treat a diagnosis of airway disease, and they are required to test clear of the drug in order to return to training or racing.
HISA rules call for a two-year suspension for each clenbuterol violation. In addition to the 12-year suspension, Cano was assessed a $150,000 fine.
A handful of trainers, including Cano, have moved their operations to Louisiana or West Virginia after receiving lengthy suspensions from HISA. Several years ago, a judge stayed the jurisdiction of HISA in those two states in response to a lawsuit filed by tracks, horsemen, and racing commissions, and the legal issues surrounding the case have yet to be resolved.
This year, Cano has won 34 races from 154 starts in Louisiana, a strike rate of 22 percent, with purse earnings of $566,990. In 2024, when he was based in Kentucky, Cano won 24 races from 212 starts for a strike rate of 11 percent, with earnings of $1.03 million. Cano has been training since 2020.
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