ARCADIA, Calif. – California trainer Ron Ellis is disbanding his stable this weekend in advance of the start of a 60-day suspension that begins on Monday. Ellis was suspended because a horse he trained, Masochistic, tested positive for a steroid after finishing second in the 2016 Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Santa Anita. Ellis has approximately 25 horses at Santa Anita, according to track officials. Ellis said on Friday that some of his horses will be transferred to Southern California trainers Blake Heap, Brian Koriner, and Gerard Piccioni, while others will be sent out of state. In a stewards ruling adopted by the California Horse Racing Board and issued Dec. 17, Ellis was suspended from Monday through March 1 and fined $10,000 after Masochistic tested positive for the steroid stanozolol. Ellis said he discussed filing an appeal of the ruling with attorneys, who told him he might win a reversal in court, but would be unlikely to be granted a stay of Monday’s start of the suspension. “That was the important thing,” Ellis said of the stay. Terms of the suspension require Ellis to forfeit his stalls at Santa Anita and remove from the stables all “signage, colors, advertisements, training-related equipment tack, office equipment and any other property,” according to the ruling. The ruling stated Ellis could not transfer the horses in his care to a family member, or any licensee who has been an employee of his stable in the last year. While suspended, Ellis cannot attend the races or be in the stables. He said on Friday that the terms of the ruling were harsh, considering he had no major medication violations since he began training in 1980. “I feel a little betrayed by the industry, to be honest,” Ellis said. “After 37 years, I feel like I’m being treated like a criminal.” Ellis has served on the board of directors for the California Thoroughbred Trainers association and the Thoroughbred Owners of California. “I’ve tried to give back,” he said. Ellis also works as a commentator on TVG, but plans to give up that job during the suspension. The ban from attending the races would prevent Ellis from working for TVG at the track, and he will not work in the TVG studio in the Los Angeles area as a commentator. He said he discussed the issue with TVG executives and was not opposed to taking a hiatus. “I think it’s the right thing for them to do,” he said. Ellis plans to begin training again in early March. “Everyone likes a comeback story,” he said. “It’s certainly put me in a hole.” Masochistic was disqualified from the purse of the $1,365,000 BC Sprint in late 2016, forcing owners Will Shamlian and Samantha Siegel to forfeit a $255,000 prize. Before the BC Sprint, Masochistic underwent three pre-race medication tests that are part of the Breeders’ Cup’s protocol. The tests revealed the presence of stanozolol. Ellis said that Masochistic was administered stanozolol in an effort to add weight, with the expectations that the medication would not be in the horse’s system for the BC Sprint. Steroids are not allowed to appear at any level in post-race tests in California. Masochistic was transferred to trainer Bob Baffert earlier this year. Masochistic, a 7-year-old gelding, was entered for Saturday’s Grade 3 Midnight Lute Stakes at Santa Anita. Ellis, 57, has won 1,138 races in his career, which began in 1980 at the age of 20. He trained Declan’s Moon, the champion 2-year-old male of 2004, and Rail Trip, the winner of the Grade 1 Hollywood Gold Cup in 2009.