Trainer Patricia Farro has been fined and suspended for four years after two of her horses tested positive for cobalt salts.
Farro was given two consecutive two-year sentences after a pair of positives for cobalt salts. She was also fined a total of $50,000. The suspensions were published on the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit site on Thursday. The disciplinary action was previously reported by Matt Hegarty of Daily Racing Form.
Cobalt salts are a banned substance under HIWU rules. According to the banned substances list, cobalt is used for erythropoiesis: to encourage the creation of new red blood cells, and thus prevent a horse from getting fatigued.
Farro was suspended for two years beginning April 1 after Deplane, a 5-year-old gelding by He’s Had Enough, tested positive for cobalt salts after winning a conditioned claiming race at Parx on Feb. 6. The second two-year suspension, slated to begin April 1, 2026, related to Knockout Win, a 4-year-old son of Winchill who tested positive for cobalt salts after winning a maiden claiming race at Parx on Feb. 28. The resolution published by HIWU mandated disqualification of each horse, though the race charts still reflected Deplane and Knockout Win as the winners of these races.
Farro has run horses, mainly in the mid-Atlantic, since 1995. Across over 14,000 starts, her horses have won 1,983 races and taken in purse earnings of $49.9 million. Her most successful year was 2015, with 167 wins and $5.2 million in earnings. In 2023 her barn has 29 wins for $1.01 million in purses, and she had won five of 19 starts in 2024 before being suspended.
Both Deplane and Knockout Win were declared ineligible for six months after their respective races as well. However, both have continued to race through the late winter and sprint. Deplane wheeled back at Parx on Feb. 14, eight days after the start in question, and has raced three times since at Charles Town. Knockout Win has raced once snce the start in question, also at Charles Town. Both have most recently raced for trainers other than Farro. Due to ongoing litigation, West Virginia is not currently covered under Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority regulations.