Report: California trainer Ellis suspended for Breeders' Cup violation

Trainer Ron Ellis was suspended 60 days and fined $10,000 in a California Horse Racing Board decision stemming from the 2016 Breeders’ Cup, The Blood-Horse reported Sunday.

Ellis was the trainer for Masochistic, who was disqualified from a second-place finish after a post-race drug violation. An anabolic steroid administered to Masochistic had trouble clearing the horse’s blood before the race, resulting in what Ellis called an “unfortunate event” after the disqualification was announced last year.

"The medication was administered on the recommendation of my veterinarian for the therapeutic purposes of recovering from bleeding and weight loss stemming from his Aug. 27 race at Del Mar,” Ellis said at the time. “Unfortunately the medication that was given intramuscular 68 days before the Breeders Cup lingered in his system."

His suspension will run from Jan. 1 to March 1, according to The Blood-Horse.

Masochistic is now trained by Bob Baffert. The 7-year-old could return in the Grade 3 Midnight Lute Stakes at Santa Anita before the New Year.