Baltas hearing pushed back until at least July 31

Trainer Richard Baltas, who faces a potential fine or suspension after horses in his care were allegedly administered unpermitted substances in the spring, will not face a hearing with stewards at Los Alamitos on Friday on the matter after the trainer’s lawyer asked for a postponement.

Attorney Darrell Vienna, a retired Southern California trainer, said on Monday that he has received a 30-day continuance in the case from Los Alamitos stewards. A new hearing has not been scheduled, and will not be heard earlier than July 31 at Del Mar.

In a complaint issued on June 21, the California Horse Racing Board alleged that unpermitted substances were administered to 23 horses in Baltas’s care on race days at Santa Anita between April 15 and May 8.

“I didn’t receive the full complaint until seven days before the hearing,” Vienna said. “In order to prepare an adequate defense, I need time.”

The postponement of the hearing casts doubt on whether Baltas will be permitted to start horses in his name when the Del Mar summer meeting begins on July 22.

In early May, Baltas was banned from entering horses at Santa Anita and other tracks owned by 1/ST racing, notably Golden Gate Fields in Northern California.

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In the days that followed, several prominent horses trained by Baltas were transferred to other Santa Anita-based trainers, while a majority went under the care of trainer George Papaprodromou, an arrangement that continues.

Baltas has not had any starters at the current Los Alamitos meeting, which began on Saturday and continues through July 10.

Del Mar track president Josh Rubinstein did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment on Monday regarding Baltas’s status for the Del Mar summer meeting.

In its complaint, the racing board said video surveillance of Baltas’s stable showed substances administered to the horses by the trainer’s employees.

Tests taken at the University of California-Davis, the state’s official testing laboratory, revealed the presence of higenamine and paenol, 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.

In its complaint, the board cited Baltas for 23 violations of administering unpermitted medications to a horse within 48 hours of a race, of failing to be responsible for a horse’s condition entered to race, and conduct detrimental to horse racing.

On May 8, a Baltas-trained horse was withdrawn at Santa Anita after officials became aware the gelding had been administered a substance within the preceding 24 hours, a source said at the time.

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

Baltas, 61, won 24 races at Santa Anita from the start of the track’s winter-spring meeting on Dec. 26 through May 7. At the time, he ranked fifth in the trainer standings. This year, Baltas has won five stakes – four at Santa Anita and one at Sunland Park in New Mexico.

Last summer at Del Mar, Baltas finished tied for fifth in the trainer standings with 14 wins, 12 less than leader Peter Miller.