For the first time in history, commissioners were asked to increase the penalty against a trainer sought by the state racing steward for the drugging of a horse.
The Nevada Gaming Commission on Thursday revoked the license of a trainer who drugged a horse with cocaine, fined him $5,000 and banned him from participating in any Nevada races for the next five years.
Alvaro Torres, the trainer of a horse named The Saime Pro, will be barred from racing on any track under the jurisdiction of the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
Commissioners voted 4-0 to impose penalties beyond those authorized by State Racing Steward Doug Ray, the first time in history that the commission was asked to intervene with greater penalties as permitted by Nevada gaming regulations.
Torres was not present at the commission meeting in Las Vegas and could not be reached for comment.
Ray determined that in the second race of the Aug. 24 Elko County Fair Board races in Elko, the No. 6 horse trained by Torres won the race and its $7,000 purse. The horse was submitted for drug testing, a routine procedure for the winner.
Test results indicated levels of the forbidden substance cocaine, as well as a major urinary metabolite of cocaine in the post-race urine sample. As a result, the winnings from the horse were redistributed to the next three finishers, and the state steward fined Torres $1,000 and suspended his Nevada horse racing license for 180 days, the maximum extent of the steward’s authority.
But gaming regulations say the steward can appeal to the Control Board and the Commission for a greater penalty.
The Control Board on April 9 recommended that the Commission fine Torres an additional $4,000 and revoke his license immediately and ban him from reapplying for five years.
The Elko County Fair races are among two annual horse racing events authorized and overseen by the Control Board. The other is in Ely for Agricultural District No. 13 in White Pine County.
This year’s White Pine County races are planned for Aug. 15-17 in Ely with Elko County planning six days of racing centered around Labor Day weekend.
Horse races are a part of county fairs and generate tourism revenue for the eastern Nevada rural counties.
In other business, the commission approved licensing for Station Casinos’ first Strip sportsbook and delayed action on a request from a former Nevada Restaurant Services Inc. executive who faced the prospect of being banned from the gaming industry.
Commissioners voted 4-0 to approve Station Casinos’ request to operate sportsbooks at Treasure Island and two Mesquite properties.
The STN Sports system will make its Strip debut with kiosk operations at TI and in Mesquite at the CasaBlanca and Virgin River properties.
Commission Chairwoman Jennifer Togliatti said a request to withdraw an application for key employee licensing for Matthew Galanti was postponed. Galanti was destined to become a general manager for a Dotty’s property but was fired for falsifying employee time clock and mileage records, according to Control Board investigators.
The Control Board voted 2-1 to recommend Galanti be denied licensing, an action that would place him on the “gray list” of denied applicants that would prevent him from being able to work with or for any licensed operator.
Galanti told the Control Board he could not afford legal counsel to guide him through the process of avoiding a denial. Togliatti said the matter would be reviewed at the commission’s June meeting so that Galanti could find legal representation.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
