Trainer A. C. Avila Suspended, Fined by CHRB

The California Horse Racing Board Feb. 27 slapped trainer A. C. Avila with a 60-day suspension and a $10,000 fine after one of his runners tested in excess of the permitted level of acepromazine last March.

The board issued the penalty—the maximum for a Class 3 drug with a Category B penalty classification under CHRB rules—following a hearing in a closed session Feb. 18. The board, in a closed session Dec. 18, rejected a hearing officer's proposed penalty of 30 days and a $5,000 fine for Avila. 

Avila is the trainer of Masochistic, who in his maiden debut finished fifth in the ninth race at Santa Anita Park March 15. Racing officials questioned the ride of jockey Omar Berrio, and a post-race test on Masochistic showed the elevated level of the tranquilizer. Then, in the gelding's subsequent start May 3 on the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) undercard at Churchill Downs, the son of Sought After won by 14 lengths in a gate-to-wire performance as the 2-1 favorite. The victory raised eyebrows of racing officials in California and in Kentucky, where at least one regular—commissioner Ned Bonnie—called for an investigation. The Blood-Horse reported last May that Bonnie raised concerns particularly into the wagering associated with that race because Churchill may have been used to carry out a possible betting coup. Read that story here.

The CHRB has referred the matter to the stewards at Santa Anita to set the actual days of suspension and payment of fine. The stewards earlier disqualified Masochistic from the March 15 race and ordered the redistribution of the purse, after the test results came in from the Maddy Laboratory at University of California-Davis.