Baltas set to return after year-long suspension

Trainer Richard Baltas, who completed a one-year suspension earlier this month for violations related to the administration of raceday supplements in the spring of 2022, will have his first starter since July 2022 at Santa Anita on Sunday.

Baltas, who is in the process of reforming his stable, runs Flavius and Hurricane Cloud in the first race, at a mile on turf for $40,000 claimers.

“It’s the first time I’ve had a few starters in a while,” Baltas said on Thursday. “It feels good to be back and it feels right.”

:: Access morning workout reports straight from the tracks and get an edge with DRF Clocker Reports

Baltas, among the leading trainers in Southern California in the years prior to his suspension, said he currently has 25 horses in training at San Luis Rey Downs training center in San Diego county. Some of the runners are scheduled to be moved to Santa Anita this weekend, he said.

Baltas was sanctioned by the California Horse Racing Board after backstretch surveillance cameras in the Santa Anita stable area caught one of his employees administering an herbal supplement to one of the stable’s runners hours before the horse was scheduled to start.

California trainers are under severe restrictions regarding medications and supplements that can be administered within 48 and 24 hours of a race. A review of video surveillance of his stable in April and May of 2022 led to a racing board complaint alleging that unpermitted substances were administered in more than 20 instances.

Baltas did not have any runners at California tracks beginning in mid-May of 2022 at the insistence of track and regulatory officials, but did have a small number of runners at tracks in other states until mid-July of 2022.

The one-year suspension was accompanied by a $10,000 fine.

Many of the Baltas-trained runners were sent to other trainers in Southern California.

Flavius was previously trained by Baltas in early 2022, and had seven starts this year for George Papaprodromou, who gained a significant number of former Baltas-trained horses.

Flavius is co-owned by the Abbondanza Racing partnership, which supported Baltas in the past. Hurricane Cloud, also previously trained by Papaprodromou, is owned by Triple H Racing.

Flavius and Hurricane Cloud were second and fourth in a $40,000 claimer at Del Mar on Nov. 19.

“I think they’re in the right spot,” Baltas said. “They’re in good shape and they’ve been training well.”

Baltas said he plans to be more active in January.

“A lot of the horses I do know,” he said.

Baltas said his reformed stables includes A G Bullet, the winner of the Lady of Shamrock Stakes for 3-year-old fillies on turf last February for Papaprodromou. A G Bullet is nearing a return to racing for owners Calvin Nguyen and Joey Tran, two previous clients of Baltas.

Baltas, 62, has had one of the most successful stables in California in recent years. At the 2021-2022 Santa Anita winter-spring meeting, Baltas ranked fifth in the trainer’s standings and had five stakes before he was banned from starting horses.

In his career, Baltas has won 722 races with runners who have earned more than $44 million. He had his best year in 2019, winning 91 races with runners who earned more than $7.34 million.

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.