Trainer Richard Baltas faces 1-year suspension, $10,000 fine
The California Horse Racing Board has suspended trainer Richard Baltas for 365 days and fined him $10,000 for administering prohibited substances to horses on race day.
The stewards' ruling, dated Dec. 2 and numbered DFTD010 (2022), cites Baltas for violating California Horse Racing Board Rule 1902 (conduct detrimental to horse racing) and Rule 1843.5 (medication, drug, and other substances permitted after entry in a race). It cites 21 counts of "oral administrations of 'X-Treme Air Boost' and other substances on race day" between April 15, 2022 and May 8, 2022 at Santa Anita Park.
On June 21, Baltas had received a complaint from the CHRB, claiming video surveillance of his barn had shown members of his staff administring race-day substances to horses under their care during that time period.
Baltas has not started a horse in California since May 8. On May 12, he was temporarily suspended by Santa Anita via its own "in-house" action. He had attempted to enter horses at Los Alamitos in June, though stewards denied his entries under CHRB Rules 1542 and 1580, which give stewards discretion as to which entries they accept. Baltas has made eight starts between Kentucky and Texas since then, with his most recent coming July 16 at Lone Star when Disappearing Act finished second in the Wasted Tears Stakes.
Steve Anderson of Daily Racing Form reported that Baltas plans to appeal the suspension.
The June 21 complaint against Baltas by the CHRB stated that analysis by a UC Davis lab of the substances being given to horses in Baltas's barn included Higenamine and Paenol. Higenimine, a stimulant, is banned for use in human athletes. The World Anti-Doping Agency states "it is used as a substitute for Dimethylamylamine (DMAA) and ephedrine", two other stimulants. Paenol, a compound derived from peonies that appears in some traditional Chinese medicines, may have anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects.
According to the website of Winners Equine Products, which produces the X-Treme Air Boost product cited in the ruling, it contains a "proprietary blend of herbs", though the label does not list what is in the supplement beyond a proprietary blend that it calls "X-Tremea" and Yunnan Baiyao. Yunnan Baiyao, a Chinese alternative medicine marketed as an anti-bleeding medication, is itself another proprietary substance with trade secret protection in China as a traditional medicine.
On the website where Winners Equine Products sells X-Treme Air Boost, it states directions to "give one tube 4-6 hours pre-event", though states in a footnote that the word "refers to sport horses, not racing". However, the marketing also refers to giving other products in its line before breezes or two-minute miles, suggesting that it is being marketed in the racing industry as well.