Baltas attorney argues at hearing trainer should be fined but not suspended

CYPRESS, Calif. - An attorney representing California trainer Richard Baltas argued before a panel of stewards on Wednesday that his client should be fined for violations related to the administration of race-day supplements at Santa Anita in April and May and should not face a formal suspension.

Baltas, one of California’s leading trainers, has not had any starters since video surveillance cameras in the Santa Anita stable area caught one of his employees administering the herbal supplement X-Treme Air Boost to Noble Reflection on the afternoon on May 8, hours before the horse was scheduled to start.

California trainers are under severe restrictions regarding medications and supplements that can be administered to a horse within 48 and 24 hours prior to a race.

A review of video surveillance from Baltas’ stable in April and May led the California Horse Racing Board to file a complaint on June 21, alleging that unpermitted substances were administered to 23 horses in the trainer’s care on race days at Santa Anita between April 15 and May 8.

Wednesday’s four-hour hearing before stewards Grant Baker, Luis Jauregui, and Kim Sawyer was the first day of testimony in a case expected to continue in October. Baltas faces a potential fine and/or suspension for the infractions.

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Attorney Steve Haney, representing Baltas, said the trainer should not be suspended since he is already serving a “de facto suspension.” Baltas has not been allowed to start horses in California since early May by track and regulatory officials.

In his opening statement, Haney argued that the case focused on the stable’s “race day conduct” and that no prohibited substances were found in a test of the supplement given to Noble Reflection, who was scratched on May 8.

“This is not a case where the horses came up dirty, showed a drug or a prohibited substance,” Haney said. “It didn’t happen.”

The supplements X-Treme Air Boost and Cool & Calm were administered to horses in the stable in April and May to prevent bleeding and to aid nervous horses, according to testimony presented on Wednesday.

Tests taken at the University of California-Davis, the state’s official testing laboratory, revealed the presence of higenamine and paenol in X-Treme Air Boost, according to the racing board’s complaint.

According to the United States Anti-Doping Agency’s website, higenamine is a stimulant that has been banned for use in athletes since 2017 by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Paenol is an anti-inflammatory, according to veterinarian websites.

There is “evidence that some [supplements] were administered on race day,” Haney said in his opening statement. “That was negligent and he’s responsible for that.

“He’s learned his lesson.”

Haney recommended to stewards that Baltas be fined “up to $10,000.”

“You don’t have to give him a suspension,” Haney said. “He’s already been suspended.”

Baltas attended Wednesday’s hearing and conferred frequently with Haney, but did not speak on the record. He is expected to testify when the case resumes along with two of his employees and an official from the UC-Davis laboratory that tested the X-Treme Air Boost sample given to Noble Reflection.

Baltas, 61, has developed one of the most prominent stables in Southern California in recent years, frequently participating in the circuit’s leading races.

Baltas ranked fifth in the standings at the Santa Anita winter-spring meeting in early May when he was banned from starting horses. He won five stakes earlier this year.

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In early May, Baltas was banned from working or starting horses at Santa Anita by track management when the allegations surfaced. In late June, days after the Santa Anita winter-spring meeting concluded on June 19, Baltas attempted to enter horses at the Los Angeles County Fair meeting at Los Alamitos, but was denied the opportunity by track stewards.

Among the reasons cited in the decision were racing board rules stating the stewards had the power to refuse an entry “for good cause” and that they “may, without notice, refuse the entries of any person.”

Baltas has filed a lawsuit regarding that decision, but the case has not been completed.

Without the ability to operate his stable, a majority of the Baltas-trained runners were transferred in early May to George Papaprodromou, while a small number were dispersed to other trainers.

Baltas has changed legal counsel in recent months. He was represented by former trainer Darrell Vienna until mid-summer when he hired Haney.