Another Horse Running at Santa Anita Turns Up With Positive Cocaine Test

Trainer Laz Barrera, whose son, Albert, ran a horse last week at Santa Anita that tested positive for cocaine, said Thursday that someone would have to be “very stupid” to try to win a race that way.

“They would have to be very stupid . . . to use cocaine,” said the elder Barrera, who is in racing’s Hall of Fame. “Because you know that if you use it, they’re going to pick it up.”

According to the Associated Press, Albert Barrera denied knowledge of how the cocaine got into the system of the horse when he was questioned by a California Horse Racing Board investigator.

The most recent detection is at least the third since a horse trained by Roger Stein tested positive for the drug after a race last October at Santa Anita.

Len Foote, executive secretary of the CHRB, said that the state lab has found two other cocaine positives recently.

Albert Barrera, 34, trains Coastal Commission, a 4-year-old filly who ran next to last after going off as the 2-1 favorite in a race at Santa Anita last Thursday.

A California state investigator said that a search of Albert Barrera’s barn at Santa Anita turned up nothing illegal.