By: Ron Mitchell
Stoneway Farm’s Dream Dance has been disqualified from her third-place finish in the 2015 Golden Rod Stakes (gr. II) at Churchill Downs and disciplinary action has been taken against her trainer and veterinarian after she tested positive for an overage of phenylbutazone.
According to recent rulings by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, the filly’s trainer, Neil Howard, and veterinarian Dr. John Watt, have each been suspended five days and fined $1,000 for the infraction. Howard’s suspension is scheduled to run Jan. 25-29, with Watt’s from Jan. 27-31.
In announcing the sanctions against Watt, the stewards characterized the overage as a “treatment error.”
A 3-year-old daughter of Afleet Alex  who has placed in two other graded stakes and has a maiden win to her credit, Dream Dance ranked 13th on the most recent “Road to the Kentucky Oaks” leaderboard with six points, including two earned in the Golden Rod.
