Commissioners uphold $100K fine against Nevada horse trainer

The Nevada Gaming Commission on Thursday upheld a decision reached by the Gaming Control Board in June to fine a trainer whose horses tested positive for illegal substances.

In June, trainer Ricardo Castillo Jr. was fined $100,000 and had his license revoked for at least 15 years after the state’s racing steward determined that four horses, after blood and urine tests, were determined to be drugged with illegal narcotics methamphetamine and amphetamine and two of the horses tested positive for Tramadol, an opioid pain medication.

In their unanimous vote, commissioners maintained that Castillo’s actions presented a danger to other horses and their jockeys in the county fair quarter-horse races in Elko County over the Labor Day weekend in 2024.

After state Horse Racing Steward Douglas Ray administered the maximum penalty of a $1,000 fine and license suspension for one year per incident, the matter was brought to gaming regulators who have the authority to impose more severe penalties.

Castillo, who didn’t appear in the June hearing, was present with attorney Jennifer Gaynor on Thursday, hoping to get a reduction in the penalty.

They didn’t succeed.

The four horses won their respective races with Famous Prizes winning the second race, Dr. B winning the fifth race and Bnb Hasta La Luna winning the seventh race on Aug. 31, 2024, and Bnb Lightning McQueen winning the third race on Sept. 2, 2024.

After the races, the winning horses were administered 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.

Gaming regulators found no evidence of unusual betting patterns on those races. But in June, Control Board members said the incident constituted cruelty to animals and a danger to the horses and their riders.

The doping incidents in Elko turned out to be the second one involving county fair horse-racing events in the state and the first time gaming regulators were asked to impose a heftier penalty in a horse race.

In April, the commission ordered a fine of $5,000 and a five-year licensing ban for trainer Alvaro Torres after one of his horses won the second race at Elko on Aug. 31, 2024, and tests later revealed the horse had cocaine in its system.

Castillo was hoping to convince commissioners to reduce his penalty to the same level as Torres, especially after telling them that the four horses in question are healthy today.

But commissioners didn’t budge on a change because the incident involved multiple horses in different races.

“They didn’t seem to be trying to benefit on the betting side of it,” Commissioner Abbi Silver said. “But I’m concerned with the safety side of it to the horses and to the jockeys, and not only for those horses, but the ones that surround it. Because obviously, collisions can happen if there’s a horse that’s going nuts because it’s drugged.”

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.