Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country.The following rulings were reported on HISA's “rulings” portal and through the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit's (HIWU) “pending” and “resolved” cases portals.Among this week's rulings, trainer Eusebio Juarez-Ruffino has been banned 30 months and fined $25,000 after his trainee, Desoto's War, tested positive for the banned antiarrhythmic, Sparteine, after winning at Will Rogers on April 28, 2025.Juarez-Ruffino is currently serving a 24 month ban for a possession of a banned substance charge. When that suspension ends on Oct. 8, 2027, the latest charge will commence.According to the written ruling by arbitrator Hugh Fraser, Juarez-Ruffino denied administering Sparteine intentionally, and argued instead the positive of an “exceedingly low” concentration of the substance was a result of hay the horse had eaten contaminated by wildflowers.Juarez-Ruffino contended that the presence of Sparteine is “consistent with unintentional oral ingestion through contaminated forage, including Scotch Broom and members of the Wild Indigo family,” according to the ruling.“Over the past one hundred plus years, no Lab, State Regulator or competition testing entity has ever found a thoroughbred racehorse 'positive' for Sparteine. The only prior incidents of an AAF for Sparteine in a competition animal arose from two show horses in Portugal,” according to the final ruling's account of the trainer's legal arguments.In June of 2025, HIWU investigators met with and asked Juarez-Ruffino for a list of hay and supplements he used for analysis. Juarez-Ruffino supplied the investigators with 11 different products that had been administered to Desoto's War either just before or at the time of the race.All of these products, according to the written ruling, yielded negative results for Sparteine, under laboratory analysis. The trainer reportedly failed to provide any additional information or evidence to explain the Sparteine source.According to testimony provided by veterinarian and pharmacology professor Dr. Lara Maxwell, the inadvertent contamination argument was “unlikely,” and in the absence of the source of the alleged contamination, “there is no scientific or technical evidence” to establish the validity of these claims, the ruling states.Ultimately, Fraser sided with the prosecution, and denied Juarez-Ruffino's request for lessened no fault or no significant fault sanctions.While the arbitrator's ruling in Juarez-Ruffino's case is available on the HIWU website, no such detailed document is currently available to explain the 90-month ban and $62,500 fine issued to Shannon Simpson, other than a short summary detailing how the trainer was allegedly found in possession of a banned Pitcher Plant Extract substance on Feb. 5, 2025. Simpson's ban started on August 11.Resolved ADMC ViolationsDates: 08/10/2026Licensee: Eusebio Juarez Ruffino, trainerPenalty: 30-month period of Ineligibility for Covered Person, beginning on October 8, 2027; 60-day period of Ineligibility for the Covered Horse, beginning on August 5, 2025; Disqualification of Covered Horse's Race results, including forfeiture of all purses and other compensation, prizes, trophies, points, and rankings and repayment or surrender (as applicable); a fine of $25,000.Explainer: Medication violation for the presence of Sparteine–a banned Antiarrhythmic–in a sample taken from Desoto's War, who won at Will Rogers on 4/28/25.Dates: 08/10/2026Licensee: Shannon Simpson, trainerPenalty: 90-month period of Ineligibility for Covered Person, beginning on August 11, 2026; a fine of $62,500.Explainer: Violation for the possession of Pitcher Plant Extract–Adenosine Triphosphate (“ATP”), metabolase, Pengamine 250, Aminotonic–for an event dated 2/5/25. This is a violation of Rule 3214(a), possession of banned substances.Dates: 08/07/2026Licensee: Jorge Rosales, trainerPenalty: A fine of $500; imposition of 1.5 Penalty Points.Explainer: Vet's list medication violations for the presence of Betamethasone–a class C controlled substance–in a sample taken from Great Runner on 6/29/26.Dates: 08/07/2026Licensee: Jose A. Navarro, trainerPenalty: A fine of $500; imposition of 1.5 Penalty Points.Explainer: Vet's list medication violations for the presence of Phenylbutazone–a class C controlled substance–in a sample taken from Dewey Lake on 6/29/26.Dates: 08/06/2026Licensee: Sergio Donjuan, trainerPenalty: 7-day period of Ineligibility for Covered Person, beginning on August 7, 2026; Disqualification of Covered Horse's Race results, including forfeiture of all purses and other compensation, prizes, trophies, points, and rankings and repayment or surrender (as applicable); a fine of $1,000; imposition of 2 Penalty Points.Explainer: Medication violations for the presence of Lidocaine–a class B controlled substance–in a sample taken from Coda Mia, who won at Belterra Park on 6/18/26.Dates: 08/05/2026Licensee: Casey Schleis, trainerPenalty: Disqualification of Covered Horse's Race results, including forfeiture of all purses and other compensation, prizes, trophies, points, and rankings and repayment or surrender (as applicable); a fine of $500; imposition of 1.5 Penalty Points.Explainer: Medication violation for the presence of Methocarbamol–a class C controlled substance–in a sample taken from Triple Up, who finished second at Prairie Meadows on 6/19/26.Dates: 08/05/2026Licensee: Michael S. Zalalas, trainerPenalty: Disqualification of Covered Horse's Race results, including forfeiture of all purses and other compensation, prizes, trophies, points, and rankings and repayment or surrender (as applicable); a fine of $500; imposition of 1.5 Penalty Points.Explainer: Medication violation for the presence of Flunixin–a class C controlled substance–in a sample taken from Majestic Rain, who finished second at Penn National on 5/8/26.Dates: 08/05/2026Licensee: Johnathan Feron, trainerPenalty: A fine of $500; imposition of 1.5 Penalty Points.Explainer: Vets' list medication violation for the presence of Dantrolene–a class C controlled substance–in a sample taken from Wine Empire on 6/21/26.Pending ADMC Violations08/12/2026, John Steve Cannon, trainer: Pending medication violation for the presence of Lidocaine–a class B controlled substance–in a sample taken from Coasting By, who finished third at Thistledown on 7/13/26.08/12/2026, Joe Toye, trainer: Pending vets' list medication violation for the presence of Cannabidiol (CBD)–a class B controlled substance–in a sample taken from Gypsy Lynn on 7/6/26.08/11/2026, Antonio Arriaga, trainer: Pending vets' list medication violation for the presence of Acepromazine–a class B controlled substance–in a sample taken from Leper King on 7/15/26.08/10/2026, Ruben Fuentes, trainer: Pending medication violation for the presence of Phenylbutazone–a class C controlled substance–in a sample taken from Facenda, who finished second at Canterbury Park on 7/4/26.08/06/2026, Patrick Clay, trainer: Pending medication violation for the presence of Methamphetamine–a banned substance–in a sample taken from El Jefe Cobb, who finished fifth at Fairmount Park on 5/12/26.Crop ViolationsAlbuquerque DownsOscar Ceballos–reporting date August 8; $250 fine, one-day suspensionColonial DownsJeiron B. Rodriguez–reporting date August 9; $500 fine, one-day suspensionSamuel D. Marin–reporting date August 8; $500 fine, one-day suspensionNomar A. Bueno–reporting date August 7; $250 fine, one-day suspensionDelaware ParkLeonardo C. Alvarez–reporting date August 11; $28 fine, one-day suspensionPaul A. L. Obregon–reporting date August 6; $500 fine, one-day suspension, on appealEdwin Gonzalez— reporting date August 6; $1,000 fine, four-day suspension, on appealDel MarAntonio Fresu–reporting date August 11; $1,000 fine, two-day suspension, on appeal stay requestedEllis ParkGerardo A. Corrales–reporting date August 8; $500 fine, one-day suspensionSummer L. Pauly–reporting date August 8; $750 fine, three-day suspensionThistledownJose A. Bracho–reporting date August 10; $500 fine, two-day suspensionThe post Weekly National Rulings: Aug. 6-12; Trainers Juarez-Ruffino Banned 30 Months, Simpson 90 Months appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.