Milton Pineda suspended 12 years, fined $100K by Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit

California trainer Milton Pineda has been suspended 12 years and fined $100,000 for eight medications violations found in his runners from early June to early July, according to a recent ruling published by the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit.

The sanction is the most severe penalty enacted by HIWU since the organization began issuing penalties for medication violations earlier this year.

Pineda’s eight violations were found in horses who raced at Santa Anita and Los Alamitos. The horses tested positive for the banned substance diisopropylamine, a vasodilator.

The recommended penalty for such a violation is two years for each positive. Pineda was sanctioned with 18-month suspensions and $12,500 fines for each infraction.

The suspension period was retroactive to July 6 and ends on July 5, 2035.

The positives were found in three runners who raced at Santa Anita - Bella Renella, who won on June 2 and June 18; Flatterwithjewels, who was second on June 9; and Big Splash, a winner on June 10.

The other positives were found in four winners at Los Alamitos – Chollima on June 23, Catbernay on July 1, Keep Your Coil on July 2, and Wegonahavagoodtime on July 4.

The purses involving those horses’ performances - totaling $109,920 - were ordered redistributed by HIWU.

Three California trainers had positives for diisopropylamine earlier this year, including Lorenzo Ruiz and Reed Saldana.

Ruiz was recently suspended 4 1/2 years and fined $37,500 for three positives, according to a recent ruling published by HIWU.

Saldana had a single positive in June. A decision has not been announced on his case.

Saldana said earlier this year that the positive was caused by an over-the-counter B-15 supplement with pangamic acid as an active ingredient. Diisopropylamine is “an active component of many formulations of pangamic acid,” according to a study published on the National Library of Medicine’s website.

Pineda had a 30-horse stable in training when he was provisionally suspended in early July. At the time, he said he had recently acquired five horses from prominent California owner and breeder Nick Alexander.

Pineda has won 104 races in California, including mixed breed and Quarter Horse races. He often raced at the nighttime meeting of Quarter Horses and lower-level Thoroughbreds at Los Alamitos.

Pineda has won 48 Thoroughbred races, including the El Dorado Shooter Stakes at Golden Gate Fields in February with See Through It.

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