A trainer in Nevada has been fined $100,000 by the Nevada Gaming Control Board and banned from horse racing for 15 years following shocking revelations by investigators.
According to the NGCB, the trainer in question, Ricardo Castillo, has been tied to doping at least four of his winning horses, all of which tested positive for methamphetamine at the Elko County Fairgrounds last summer.
Trainer Says His Impeccable Track Record Is Proof Enough
The NGCB intervened in the case following a previous decision by the Board of Stewards, which Castillo has appealed, as he was barred from reapplying for his license for four years and imposed a fine of $4,000.
The NGCB’s ruling, however, is effectively worse than the previous measure levied against the trainer, which compounds matters.
State Horse Racing Steward Doug Ray spoke during the meeting on Wednesday, when Castillo was issued his latest penalty, and said that the level of violations detected last year was unprecedented during his time in the sport, for over 35 years now.
Ray was not necessarily only speaking about Castillo in this case. He was adamant, though, and argued that horses that have been doped with “those types of drugs” simply could not race or be part of the sport.
Castillo’s case was difficult to argue as well. Ray did offer the trainer a chance to defend himself and explain how the horses ended up drugged, but Castillo simply evoked his track record, which indicated that he has never been fined in his career.
Ray acknowledged that there could have been some accidental “cross-contamination,” or that someone could have doped the horses, but the fact that the horses in question raced on different days indicated intention.
Board Convinced of Castillo’s Culpability
Another aspect of the case also proved rather suspicious – there was no really big money involved in winning. The horses that won: Bnb Hasta La Luna, Famous Prizes, Dr. B, and Bnb Lightning McQueen, accumulated combined winnings of $17,700, so it wasn’t immediately clear why the trainer had decided to – if true – dope his horses.
In fact, there was no suspicious betting activity flagged with these horses either, nor were any of the horses injured, meaning that there weren’t any outside prop bets placed to generate an unexpected outcome.
Board Chair Kirk Hendrick was unapologetic in Castillo’s case, however, arguing that he found the trainer guilty and upheld the previous ruling, with the board backing the tougher penalty.
“This is a very dangerous activity. It endangered the animals, riders, and other horses. It endangered those who want to wager on the races and believe Nevada is providing a fair and open competition out in Elko,” he concluded.