Winner of Nevada horse race tested positive for cocaine

A horse that won at the Elko County Fair Board races in August was drugged with cocaine, and the Nevada Gaming Control Board on Wednesday voted to recommend revoking the racing license of the horse’s trainer and fine him $5,000.

The Nevada Gaming Commission on April 24 will consider penalties greater than can be imposed by the contracted state horse-racing steward, Doug Ray.

Ray determined that in the second race of the Aug. 24 event in Elko County, the No. 6 horse, named The Saime Pro, trained by Alvaro Torres, won the race and its $7,000 purse. The horse was submitted for drug testing, a routine procedure for the winner.

Test results indicated levels of the forbidden substance cocaine, as well as a major urinary metabolite of cocaine in the post-race urine sample. As a result, the winnings from the horse were redistributed, and the state steward fined Torres $1,000 and suspended his Nevada horseracing license for 180 days, the maximum extent of the steward’s authority.

But gaming regulations say the steward can appeal to the Control Board and the Commission for a greater penalty.

The regulation enabling the steward to appeal for a greater penalty has been in place for at least 30 years and Deputy Attorney General John Micheala said the Wednesday hearing was the first time a steward had ever appealed to use it.

The Control Board recommended that the Commission fine Torres an additional $4,000 and revoke his license immediately and ban him from reapplying for five years.

Torres did not attend Wednesday’s hearing and could not be reached for comment. He also did not appear for an earlier evidentiary hearing on the matter.

His license was due to expire Dec. 31, but the board’s recommended action would immediately put Torres on a “gray list” of industry participants banned for a lengthy period of time, but still able to reapply.

Control Board members were clearly upset with the case when deliberating.

“This is outrageous,” board member George Assad said. “Drugging a horse with cocaine, he could have killed the horse. That’s just unacceptable. I have no tolerance for people who abuse animals like that. So I’m looking to impose the maximum fine and suspension possible.”

Chairman Kirk Hendrick hinted there could be other investigations coming from the matter.

“There is doping that happens in horse racing but there are penalties for it and Mr. Torres should face those penalties,” Hendrick said. “There are also instances where illegal drugs are obtained. I don’t know how Mr. Torres obtained cocaine, but you’re not supposed to be in possession of cocaine, so that could be actually a matter to be turned over to the law enforcement authorities in the jurisdiction of how he obtained and administered cocaine to this poor animal.”

Senior Deputy Attorney General John Micheala, who presented the case, said the Association of Racing Commissioners International considers the administration of cocaine to a horse to be a Category A offense. The organization’s recommendation for a first offense is a one-to-three-year suspension and the greater of a $10,000 fine or 10 percent of the total purse.

Category A offenses are the most serious felonies within Nevada and can include prison sentences, significant fines and restitution to victims.

“The purse in this instance was $7,000,” Micheala said. “However, given Nevada’s low purse amounts, the state steward and board of stewards usually do not follow ARCI recommendations for fine amounts.”

Control Board officials also disclosed that the Control Board and Commission may consider a second doping offense similar to Wednesday’s case in May.

The Elko County Fair races are among two annual horseracing events authorized and overseen by the Control Board. The other is in Ely for Agricultural District No. 13 in White Pine County.

This year’s White Pine County races are planned for Aug. 15-17 in Ely with Elko County planning six days of racing centered around the Labor Day weekend.

Horse races are a part of county fairs and generate tourism revenue for the eastern Nevada rural counties.

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