In one of the first high-profile New York rulings of the fall, the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit has suspended trainer Domenick Schettino and stripped Thatsthefactjack of a May 16 claiming victory at Aqueduct Racetrack after the gelding returned a post-race positive for the corticosteroid dexamethasone.
According to the ruling posted Sept. 4 on HIWU's public case database, Schettino was charged under Rule 3312 for the presence of a controlled medication and its metabolites in a post-race sample from Thatsthefactjack, with dexamethasone identified as the prohibited substance. The case is listed as “resolved” after an admission of a controlled medication rule violation and acceptance of the consequences, and HIWU imposed a seven-day suspension beginning Sept. 5, a $1,000 fine, and 1.5 penalty points on Schettino's record. Under HISA's framework, controlled medications like dexamethasone can be used therapeutically but are tightly regulated around race day, and positives linked to race-period administration typically draw shorter bans and modest fines compared with findings for banned substances.
The sanctions reach beyond the trainer's ledger. HIWU's notice specifies that owners Michael Imperio and Elizabeth Loftus must forfeit the $19,800 purse Thatsthefactjack earned in the six-furlong, $20,000 claiming race on May 16 at Aqueduct, a contest restricted to horses entered for that claiming price. With Thatsthefactjack disqualified, runner-up Midnightloveaffair is elevated to official winner, and the purse distribution will be recalculated accordingly. As is customary in medication disqualifications, wagering results from the race remain unchanged, meaning bettors who cashed or tore up tickets that afternoon will not see retroactive adjustments to payoffs, even though the past-performance line for Thatsthefactjack now shows a disqualification instead of a win.
The use of dexamethasone has been a recurring flashpoint as HISA's Anti-Doping and Medication Control program settles into its second year. Recent national-rulings summaries have highlighted other dexamethasone positives, such as the case involving Glacial Power at Belterra Park, where the Thoroughbred Daily News described the drug as a “class C controlled substance” and outlined similar sanctions involving disqualification, purse forfeiture, and penalty points. Educational resources aimed at owners note that this tier of controlled medication violation typically results in a fine and 1.5 penalty points, along with loss of the horse's race result and any associated purses, trophies, and rankings, mirroring the outcome in the Schettino case. Broader testing statistics released by independent industry analysts suggest that controlled medications and banned substances together represent a minority of samples, but they still account for a meaningful share of adverse findings, underscoring the enforcement pressure trainers face around withdrawal times and treatment decisions.
HIWU's case-search page lists Schettino as a covered person with multiple entries, including the resolved matter involving Thatsthefactjack, signaling that regulators are tracking his record across more than one event. For a seven-day suspension, the practical disruption for owners in the barn can be sharp but short-lived: guidance for racehorse owners explains that when a trainer is ruled off, horses under that trainer's care cannot breeze or race until their training is formally transferred to another licensed trainer recognized by HISA, although physical relocation of the horses is generally required only when a suspension exceeds 30 days. In the near term, that means Imperio, Loftus, and other clients must navigate paperwork and possibly short-term training arrangements while the suspension runs, all against the backdrop of a New York circuit where claiming horses like Thatsthefactjack often run back on relatively quick schedules.
From a handicapper's vantage point, the ruling changes the record but not the way Thatsthefactjack actually performed on May 16. The gelding still showed up with enough speed and form to cross the wire first in a six-furlong claimer, but players poring over past performances will now see a disqualification rather than a clear-cut win, and the medication overage invites questions about how much therapeutic help the horse may have been getting around race day. More broadly, the case is another reminder that HISA-era results are not always set in stone the day they are run: bettors and owners alike have to live with the possibility that a race can be rewritten months later if a lab finding pushes a horse over the regulatory line. For Schettino, the immediate hit is limited to a week on the sidelines and a dent in his standings, but the penalty points and public posting of the case mean that future infractions could carry steeper consequences—and that New York players will be watching his barn with a more critical eye whenever his runners head back to the Aqueduct starting gate.
