A lot of the discussion seems to center on what should be the penalty in this case. I am not aware of any trainer previously being caught treating a horse in the detention barn since that program was initiated by NYRA. The best analogy that I can draw was the June 2004 incident in which Ralph Nicks was determined to have administered a shot of a non-performance enhancer on race day (
http://www.racing.state.ny.us/racing/racing.home.htm), an offense that led to his firing as Team Valor's then-private trainer. In those pre-detention barn days, and for that trainer who beforehand had a spotless regulatory record, Nicks was suspended for 15 days and required to pay the then-maximum fine of $5,000.
Compare the Nicks situation with the Mullins incident. In 2009, as opposed to 2004, we have a detention barn, the clear purpose of which is known to even the most casual New York racing observer, let alone the trainer of the favorite for New York's most important Kentucky Derby prep. As opposed to a trainer with a spotless record (Nicks) treating a horse on a sleepy June Wednesday afternoon at Belmont Park, in Mullins, we have a trainer whose lengthy record illustrates complete disdain for the rules (and its fans, if the T.J. Simers quote is believed) treating a horse in a stakes race on the "biggest" day on Aqueduct's racing calendar. And in 2009, in the aftermath of the Eight Belles tragedy, we have a new Chair of the NYSRWB who claims to be putting a premium on "integrity" issues. All of these factors would suggest that Mullins should get a far stiffer penalty than Nicks.
That they chose to hand out a penalty less than what Nicks was given sends a truly regrettable message; that is, that despite racing leaders' professed desire to clean up the sport, it's still business as usual. I agree with those who have argued that, if this is the penalty for violating the terms of the detention barn, then NYRA ought to shut the whole thing down and stop putting the horses and the horsemen through what is an apparently an unimportant, costly incovenience.