The Nevada Gaming Commission on Thursday upheld a decision made by the Gaming Control Board in June to fine a trainer whose horses tested positive for illegal substances.
In June, coach Ricardo Castillo Jr. was convicted. fined $100,000 and had his driver’s license suspended for at least 15 years after the state racing director determined that four horses, after blood and urine tests, were determined to be drugged with illegal drugs methamphetamine and amphetamine and two of the horses tested positive for the painkiller, an opiate tramadol.
In their unanimous vote, the commissioners argued that Castillo’s actions posed a danger to other horses and their jockeys in the county fair quarter-horse races in Elko County during the 2024 Labor Day weekend.
After state horse racing director Douglas Ray administered the maximum penalty of $1,000 in fines and a one-year license suspension per incident, the matter was brought before gaming regulators who have the power to impose stiffer penalties.
Castillo, who did not appear at the June hearing, was present with attorney Jennifer Gaynor on Thursday, hoping to get a reduced sentence.
They didn’t succeed.
The four horses won their respective races with Famous Prizes winning the second race, Dr. B won the fifth race and Bnb Hasta La Luna won the seventh race on August 31, 2024 and Bnb Lightning McQueen won the third race on September 2, 2024.
After the races, the winning horses were given drug and urine tests and the test results revealed the doping.
Castillo said he had no idea how the illegal substances found their way into the horses’ systems.
Gambling regulators found no evidence of unusual betting patterns on these races. But in June the control board said the incident constituted animal cruelty and a danger to the horses and their riders.
The doping incidents in Elko turned out to be the second involving county horse racing events in the state and the first time gaming regulators were asked to impose a stiffer penalty in a horse race.
In April, the commission ordered a $5,000 fine and a five-year license suspension for trainer Alvaro Torres after one of his horses won the second race at Elko on Aug. 31, 2024, and tests later showed the horse had cocaine in its system.
Castillo hoped to convince the commissioners to reduce his punishment to the same level as Torres, especially after telling them that the four horses in question are healthy today.
But the commissioners did not budge on a change because the incident involved several horses in different races.
“They didn’t seem to be trying to take advantage of the betting side,” Commissioner Abbi Silver said. “But I’m concerned about the safety side of the horses and the jockeys, and not just those horses, but the people around it. Because of course collisions can happen if there’s a horse that’s going crazy because it’s drugged.”
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