Daughter defends trainer Ron Ellis after suspension announced

By Christine Oser 

Trainer Ron Ellis received the maximum penalty Dec. 17 of a 60-day suspension and a $10,000 fine from the California Horse Racing Board for Masochistic’s positive drug test following 2016 Breeders’ Cup Sprint, in which he finished second. The horse was disqualified for the finding of stanozolol, a Class 3 drug.

Ellis’ daughter, Elizabeth Talamo, also the wife of jockey Joe Talamo, took to Twitter on New Years Day to defend her father.

“Stanozolol can be given legally to horses in California with the recommended withdrawal time of 60 days,” Elizabeth Talamo wrote. “My dad’s horse was given the steroid 68 days before the Breeders’ Cup. He used the steroid to help Masochistic maintain weight during his training. It wasn’t hidden. It was fully disclosed to the state veterinarian.”

Talamo also mentioned three pre-raced tests were performed. While each test showed a decrease of stanozolol, the tests also revealed that Masochistic was metabolizing the steroid below the average rate. Talamo said the latter part of the test results never reached her dad.

“Sadly, there are some bad guys in racing – but I can wholeheartedly say, he is not one of them,” Talamo said in her statement. “In his thirty-five plus years of training, he has a near-perfect record. Even a former assistant posted, ‘I worked with Ellis for four years and I can’t emphasize enough how conservative we were with medication. When you’re testing to those low levels on legal meds you’re getting carried away.’”

Ellis fought the two-month suspension, which forces his stable to disband, because it could put his employees out of a job. His horses will be dispersed, but the trainer plans to come back in March.

Talamo’s full statement can be read below: