Nevada Revokes the License of Trainer Who Drugged Horse

A trainer in Nevada had his license revoked for five years after regulators understood that he had been drugging his horse for years.

Torres Gave Cocaine to His Horse

The Nevada regulators understood that Alvaro Torres, a professional horse trainer whose horses have participated in a variety of high-profile races, had used drugs to make them perform better.

Shortly after one of his horses, The Saime Pro, won the second race of the Elko Country Fair, the animal was submitted for a routine drug test. It was then that racing authorities found traces of cocaine in its urine.

The $7K in victory money was therefore redistributed. Alvaro Torres, on the other hand, was slapped with a $1,000 fine and had his license suspended for 180 days. This was notably the highest penalty the state racing steward, Doug Ray, could hand.

However, both Ray and the Nevada Gaming Control Board believed that this wasn’t enough.

An Unacceptable Offense

Earlier this week, the NGCB proposed to fine Torres $5,000 and revoke his license for five years. This was notably the first time a horseracing steward has ever appealed for a greater penalty, even though horseracing stewards have been able to do so for over 30 years.

Torres’ violation was slammed as outrageous by NGCB member George Assad, who was astounded by the idea of risking a horse’s life by drugging it with cocaine.

That’s just unacceptable. I have no tolerance for people who abuse animals like that.

George Assad

Chair Kirk Hendrick was even more concerned by the fact that Torres was able to obtain cocaine in the first place. He implied that this may warrant further investigation into the matter.

Torres’ License Was Revoked

Yesterday, the Nevada Gaming Commission held a meeting during which it voted 4-0 to impose the penalty proposed by the NGCB, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

As a result, Torres will be unable to participate in racing on any track under the jurisdiction of the Nevada Gaming Control Board.

Torres himself did not attend the NGC meeting. He also refused requests to comment on the matter.