Los Alamitos stewards scratch three Barocio horses amid concern about illegal substance

Three horses trained by Librado Barocio were ordered scratched by Los Alamitos stewards on Saturday and Sunday over concern that one of them, Dick Best, who was entered in Saturday’s $100,000 Bertrando Stakes, was administered an illegal substance before he was scheduled to race.

Barocio strongly denied any wrongdoing in a phone interview on Sunday and said that the scratch stemmed from a misunderstanding between a groom that works for his stable and a security officer in the test barn on Saturday.

On Saturday, the stewards said that Dick Best was withdrawn for precautionary reasons, and that the matter had been turned over to California Horse Racing Board investigators. They declined further comment.

Barocio said that Dick Best, as well as two of his runners withdrawn on Sunday – Wine and Whisky from the fourth race, and Sunrise Journey from the ninth race – are scheduled to undergo testing this weekend. He said he met with track stewards and Jeff Blea, California’s equine medical director, on Sunday to discuss the matter.

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“They wanted to test the horses to make sure everything was copacetic,” Barocio said. “They said it was a precautionary measure.”

On Saturday, Dick Best’s groom walked into the gelding’s stall in the holding barn when a security guard confronted the groom, Barocio said. Barocio said the groom was attending to the gelding’s feet when approached.

“My guy went in there to make sure everything was okay,” Barocio said. “There was a disagreement over what was happening. They said it was an attempt to do something.

“He had nothing on him.”

Barocio, 60, said he is hopeful the tests will be completed in time this week for him to start horses on Saturday and Sunday, the next two days of racing at the Los Alamitos daytime meeting.

“We don’t give horses anything,” he said.

“It’s a sad statement that I’m guilty until proven innocent. I’m above board. You can test my horses. There will be nothing coming back. I know there is nothing in there. The bad thing is the collateral damage. They’re going to think I’m a crook and a cheater.”

Barocio has not had a medication violation since he was fined $500 in 2022 for working a horse at Santa Anita that had been treated with the analgesic bute. The medication is not permitted to be administered for workouts.

Barocio began training in 1999 but did not have more than six winners in a year until he had 12 wins in 2022. His stable has grown in prominence in Southern California in the last two years, winning a career-high 24 races in 2023.

This year, Barocio has won 16 races from 92 starters. On May 5, Barocio won his first graded stakes with Visually in the Grade 3 Senorita Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at a mile on turf at Santa Anita.

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