For the second time in three months, gaming regulators have issued greater penalties against a horse trainer than recommended by State Racing Steward for illegal drugs that ran in the countryside in Nevada County Fair.
Nevada Gaming Control Board on Wednesday decided that horse coach Ricardo Castillo would be fined $ 100,000, had his Nevada horse loss recalled and that he would be prohibited to compete in the state for 15 years.
State Horse Racing Steward Doug Ray introduced the maximum penalty of a fine of $ 1,000 and an 180-day suspension against Castillo, the coach of horses BNB Hasta La Luna, famous prices, Dr. B and BNB Lightning McQueen, at competitions run at Elko County Fair.
Castillo appealed the decision, which means that the board could change the penalty determined by the trustee.
Castillo did not attend Wednesday’s meeting, but told the manager that he had no idea how the illegal substances were injected into horses.
According to Steward and Control Board Agent Andrew Olsen, they won the four horses trained by Castillo race August 24, two races on August 31 and September 2, but after the competitions the winners were routinely tested for doping.
Blood and urine tests indicated that the four tested horses tested positively for illegal drugs methamphetamine and amphetamine and two of horses were positive for tramadol.
When discussing the penalties, the board members noted that horses running with illegal drugs in their systems posed a danger to jockeys, horses themselves and other horses in the race, as well as to play on horse racing. Chairman Kirk Hendrick in the control committee said that the injection of illegal drugs into horses constituted the cruelty of the animals.
When he analyzed the penalties, board member George Assad initially proposed a fine of $ 100,000 per race and a five -year ban per race, but in the end, the board compromised with a fine of $ 25,000 per race and a total ban of 15 years.
Price provisions were redistributed to other horses in three of the four races. Olsen said that the Elko Fair Board inadvertently paid the owner of one of the illegally driven horses. That Board conducts recovery of the prize money to redistribute the winning horses.
Olsen said that disciplinary measures would be reported to other states so that they would also probably prohibit Castillo from participating in racing elsewhere.
It was the second time the Nevada authorities acted to increase the penalty in the countryside in Nevada Horse Racing.
The Control Board took similar measures for the first time in State History in April. After a check of the steering board, the Nevada Gaming Commission voted 4-0 to fine coach Alvaro Torres $ 5,000 and to prohibit him from competing in Nevada for five years.
Ray decided that in the second race in August 24 Elko County Fair Board race in Elko, no. The 6 horse trained by Torres, won the race and its $ 7,000 handbag. The horse was submitted for drug testing, a routine procedure for the winner.
Despite some of the horse racing violations reported by the National Board, the Board members previously recommended in the meeting the setting of horse racing in Ely and Elko, a summer tradition for the countryside in Nevada.
The Nevada Gaming Commission is expected to consider the final approval of racing at its June 26th meeting. Approval was recommended for agricultural district no. 13 in ELY August 15-17 and for Elko County Fair Board August 22 to September 1 during Labor Day weekend.
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@ theplayerlounge.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @rickvelotta at X.
