A Board of Stewards has ordered that the $1.9 million purse from the 2008 All American Futurity, at Ruidoso Downs on September 1, be redistributed because the winner of the race, Stolis Winner, tested positive for caffeine.

The three stewards handed down penalties on Stolis Winner’s trainer, Heath Taylor, following a hearing Thursday, January 8 at Sunland Park, NM. Taylor also was fined $1,500 and suspended for six months. But the case is far from over and a final decision isn’t likely to come for months.

Taylor, who testified at the hearing, has maintained he is innocent of any wrongdoing. His attorney, Billy Blackburn, immediately filed the paperwork for an appeal of the stewards’ decision and the case will now likely be referred to a hearing officer for more extensive testimony. Blackburn also is seeking a stay of the penalties imposed on Taylor, which if granted, will allow the trainer to continue to race horses in New Mexico and other states.

Blackburn and Taylor contend that the urine and blood samples taken from Stolis Winner after the race could have been contaminated by a variety of food items and liquids (i.e. soft drinks) that contained high amounts of caffeine and were present in the area of the test barn at Ruidoso Downs on Labor Day.

Bred and owned by former AQHA president Jerry Windham, Stolis Winner’s $1,000,000 winner’s purse from the All American Futurity, as well as winnings from the G1 Rainbow and Heritage Place futurities, put him within striking distance of Refrigerator’s all-time earning’s record of $2,2126,309.

Jet Black Patriot, a $50,000 trial supplement trained by Eric Curtis for Janelle and Richard Simon, finished second in the All American, after battling Stolis Winner all the way.