NM Trainer Banned 16 Years for Multiple Drug Violations

Image: 
Description: 

Photo: Rick Samuels

Following several suspensions and fines handed down Nov. 22 by the New Mexico Racing Commission, trainer Aurelio Valdez finds himself suspended through Sept. 24, 2038.

The commission found eight different Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses to which Valdez had administered banned substances. He accumulated 38 points under the commission's multiple medication violation point system.

New Mexico Racing Commission executive director Izzy Trejo said that he anticipates Valdez, who was already under suspension until April 9, 2023, will appeal this latest round of penalties. In addition to the suspensions, Valdez was fined $5,000 per incident for a total of $40,000.

"It's such a shame that the game is played at such a low level that he's played it at here in New Mexico," Trejo said, "and it's our job and duty to eradicate the industry of these kinds of people."

The Class B drug Guanabenz was found in the blood sample taken from four Valdez-trained horses that ran at Albuquerque Downs in August. Guanabenz is used to control high blood pressure but can also serve to control an overexcited horse and allow it to focus better.

Sign up for

The first of the four was Reining Pesos , who won the second race at Albuquerque Downs Aug. 13. Due to prior violations, 180 days were added to the suspension Valdez is currently serving for a stacking violation. Deputy's Echo , who ran second in the fourth race Aug. 20, and El Tarasco 727, a Quarter Horse who finished sixth in the sixth race Aug. 20, were the second and third. The fourth, Royal Queen , came in third in the first race Aug. 26. The last three of these instances carried a one-year banishment plus an additional year due to prior offenses.

All of the horses were disqualified and any purse money is to be returned and redistributed. 

Valdez was initially licensed for the 2013 season but encountered disciplinary issues then and did not train again until 2018. His lifetime record is 29-20-21 in 186 starts. This year, Valdez is 6-1-5 from 40 starts. His career earnings are $578,553, with $207,895 coming in 2022.

Attempts to contact Valdez were unsuccessful.

Should one peruse the list of fines and suspensions listed on the ARCI website and think there are more punishments being handed down from New Mexico than most other states, you would not be wrong. 

Trejo said cleaning up the sport has been a top priority for his administration. The state, he said, had one of the worst racing reputations for integrity in the United States.

Under Trejo's leadership, the commission modified rules. It implemented other rules as well as a tough, out-of-competition program in search of Class A drugs such as growth agents, beta agonists, and cobalt. Horses who test positive for a banned substance are placed on the stewards list for 60 days and cannot return to racing until they have tested clean. 

"As we've increased our out-of-competition testing, we have seen our post-race violation rate drop significantly," Trejo said. "In 2017, when we started to pull data, our positivity rate on post-race, 3.5% of our samples were dirty. And now in the last couple of years, we've dropped that to below 1% to the .8, .9 area."

Another issue the commission has tried to tackle is paper training, where the listed trainer is not the actual trainer but someone who is unlicensed. To address that concern, New Mexico's system penalizes the owner and the horse, preventing it from running until the related case is fully adjudicated. If an owner wants to appeal "for several years and keep dragging it out in court," Trejo said, the horse would be barred until the process is completed.