February, 2022 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Report: Investigation Reveals Former NYRA Steward Engaged In ‘Favoritism,’ Failed To Keep Records Of His Actions

A steward for the New York Racing Association from 2014 through 2019, and employed by the New York State Gaming Commission in other roles since 1986, Stephen Lewandowski has been revealed as the subject of a state investigation that indicated he engaged in “favoritism” and “inconsistent application of policies,” reports the Albany Times-Union. The report, by a New York inspector general, was released as part of a pledge of Gov. Kathy Hochul's administration to be more transparent.

The inspector general's investigation, conducted in 2018, stemmed from a complaint filed by an unnamed owner who claimed Lewandowski had been withholding the purse money his horse had won. Then–acting Gaming Commission Inspector General Lisa Lee discovered the owner and his trainer had been in a dispute about training/veterinary fees, and that Lewandowski had withheld the purse money for more than a year without either notifying other Gaming Commission officials or filing a suspension of the owner.

Lewandowski's colleagues also told investigators that he was “arrogant, condescending, intimidating and disrespectful” and acted like “God at the track.”

The investigative report concluded: “Lewandowski's fitness to represent the commission as a steward should be reconsidered given his actions against licensees who have not been suspended or revoked, his lack of understanding as to his role vis-a-vis the Division of Horse Racing and Pari-Mutuel Wagering and the commission as a whole, as well as his lack of record-keeping related to actions taken.”

However, Lewandowski kept his job for seven months after the date of the report, at which point he retired voluntarily. Contacted by the Times-Union, Lewandowski said he was completely unaware of the inspector general's findings.

Recently, Lewandowski has been in the news for his ardent support of embattled Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert during a suspension hearing called by the New York Racing Association.

Under questioning from Baffert's attorneys, Lewandowski said he had no dealings with Baffert on any integrity or rule violation issues in his time serving as a steward in the state. Lewandowski said he called Baffert sometime after he was suspended by NYRA to offer his support.

“I feel like he's been unfairly taken advantage of,” Lewandowski said. “He's never had any problems in New York.”

On cross examination, NYRA attorney Henry Greenberg questioned that point by Lewandowski, bringing up the controversy about Baffert's non-coupled entry in the 2018 Belmont Stakes. Baffert saddled both Triple Crown winner Justify in that race as well as Restoring Hope, who was piloted by Florent Geroux. Mike Repole, co-owner of Vino Rosso and Noble Indy, would later complain to New York Post writer Tom Pedulla that Geroux put in a “reckless” ride aboard Restoring Hope, possibly in an attempt to block some of Justify's competitors.

Headlines in the Post questioned officials' decision not to launch an investigation into the race. Lewandowski said that he eventually spoke to Repole but also that he did not recall Repole's complaint. He said he did not speak to Baffert about the incident, and said he did not recall subsequent media coverage questioning the stewards' lack of investigation. He also said he did not recall eventually reversing course and speaking to Geroux, nor did he recall a meeting with the other stewards, who Greenberg suggested disagreed with each other on the best way to handle the situation.

Then, Greenberg asked Lewandowski about his support of Rick Dutrow, who was suspended 10 years and fined $50,000 after one of his horses tested positive for butorphanol and three hypodermic needles were discovered in a desk drawer in Dutrow's office. Following his retirement in 2019, Lewandowski wrote a letter to the Gaming Commission and to the Queens County District Attorney saying that Braulio Baeza Jr., then a NYRA steward, told him the syringes were planted.

Baeza later denied he told Lewandowski this. Baeza is the new state steward who holds Lewandowski's former job.

As to the dispute in stories between himself and Baeza, Lewandowski let loose.

“Braulio Baeza, one of us is lying. It's either Braulio Baeza or me. Are you accusing me of lying?” yelled Lewandowski during Baffert's hearing. “One of us is lying. Why would Braulio Baeza speak to me about Rick Dutrow, who he had nothing to do with. One of us is lying. And I'm not accusing anybody. But it's either him or me. And believe me, he said it to more than one person.

“…Are you calling me a liar, sir? Are you calling me a liar? I am not a liar … I thought Braulio Baeza was a good man. One of us had the information to help a man who was wiped out.

Mary-Courtney Gaddini Named TOBA’s Membership Manager

The Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association announced Tuesday that Mary-Courtney Gaddini has joined the association as its Membership Manager.

Mary-Courtney was most recently the Marketing Coordinator at the United States Pony Club. Born and raised in San Francisco, Mary-Courtney has been an equestrian since she was six years old. She is a graduate of Asbury University and previously worked in the foaling division at several Thoroughbred farms in Central Kentucky

Mary-Courtney will manage all aspects of TOBA's membership program and Owners Concierge and will assist with the association's seminars, clinics and special events.

“I am thrilled to enter the Thoroughbred racing industry with TOBA and look forward to meeting and interacting with all of our current and prospective members,” said Mary-Courtney.

“Mary-Courtney's experience and commitment to client services will add tremendous value to the entire TOBA membership and we're excited to welcome her to our team,” said Dan Metzger, president of TOBA.

TOBA, based in Lexington, Ky., was formed in 1961 and is a national trade organization of leading Thoroughbred owners and breeders. TOBA's mission is to improve the economics, integrity and pleasure of the sport on behalf of Thoroughbred owners and breeders. Projects managed by TOBA include the American Graded Stakes Committee, Claiming Crown, Ownership Seminars, Breeding, Conformation & Pedigree Clinics, US-Bred, TOBA Owners Concierge, OwnerView and the Sales Integrity Program. TOBA provides international representation for U.S. owners and breeders on the International Grading and Race Planning Advisory Committee, International Cataloguing Standards Committee and International Thoroughbred Breeders Federation. Thoroughbred Charities of America (TCA) is the charitable arm of TOBA. TOBA Media Properties, a subsidiary of TOBA, is the co-owner the BloodHorse LLC. TOBA is represented on the board of directors of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association and the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium as founding members.

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Jordan Fishman Sentenced To 15 Months In Prison On Federal Doping Case

Dr. Jordan Fishman, one of the defendants in the March 2020 federal indictment of individuals connected with an alleged racehorse doping ring, has been sentenced to a term of 15 months in prison.

U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil ordered Fishman surrender himself by May 9 to begin his sentence and ruled he will be on supervised release for one year after completing his term.

Fishman entered a guilty plea to one count of adulteration or misbranding. He had also been charged with conspiracy to commit drug adulteration and misbranding and conspiracy to defraud the United States by the misbranding of drugs.

Fishman is no relation to recently-convicted former veterinarian and Equestology owner Dr. Seth Fishman, although he did supply ingredients to Equestology. While Seth Fishman had a degree in veterinary medicine, Jordan Fishman holds a PhD in biochemistry and carcinogenesis/toxicology, hence they are both known as “Dr. Fishman.”

In presentencing reports filed with the court, Fishman's counsel suggested that he should be given probation. His attorneys say that Fishman's company, 21^st Century Biochemicals, works with a range of companies and according to its website, it makes custom peptides, custom antibodies, and offers a variety of testing services. Equestology was between 3 and 6 percent of Jordan Fishman's gross revenue, according to his attorney. Fishman's counsel also indicated 21^st Century Biochemicals had been key to fighting the COVID-19 pandemic as it has designed peptides to help in ongoing research of new virus variants.

“Jordan is a hard-working, kind, and caring individual with zero history of crime,” read the defense report. “He does not live in a mansion or lead an opulent life. (Again, the parties agree the intended loss amount here was less than $150,000.) Instead, he lives in a small, unfinished two-bedroom apartment and is responsible for taking care of his parents, including his father, who has lung cancer.”

The defense also characterized prison as unreasonably risky to Fishman, as COVID-19 infections are known to spread more rapidly in a mass housing environment, and indicated Fishman has health concerns, including a high body mass index, which make him more susceptible to serious disease.

The prosecutors' report emphasized Fishman's knowledge that the substances he produced for Seth Fishman were used as performance-enhancing substances for horses, and that what he was doing was against federal law.

At Seth Fishman's request, prosecutors say Jordan Fishman made injectable products to act as blood builders and pain blocks, among other things. Jordan Fishman sold the products to Seth Fishman for considerably less than Seth Fishman charged his customers, and Jordan Fishman is not believed to have been consumer-facing in any way. They say he did give Seth Fishman useful intel as the latter built his business, however.

“Jordan Fishman went beyond merely taking direction from Seth Fishman,” wrote prosecutors. “The defendant kept Seth Fishman apprised of developments with respect to the testability of drugs and potential formulations for novel adulterated and misbranded performance-enhancing drugs.”

Attorneys for the government attached a number of exhibits showing intercepted emails between the two Fishmans, but those documents were filed under seal, with only selected excerpts included in the public-facing report.

Jordan Fishman apparently weighed in on which types of drugs he thought could impact a horse's performance, as well as how likely they were to be detected.

“Just a heads up,” he wrote in one email. “The German Sports Authority requested a quote through our European distributor for several versions of EMP1. I wanted you to know that this may be on people's radar by now since it is being resurrected by them. In a paper they published in 2011 they say they can detect it for perhaps several days.”

In a text message exchange, Seth and Jordan Fishman discussed the activity of human athletes using doping agents, including the “stupidity” of those who purchased GNRH (which Jordan Fishman made for Seth), over the internet instead of hiring their own supplier.

“In a call approximately one month later, on April 3, 2019, Seth Fishman further explicated the performance-enhancing qualities of vasodilators like Viagra, which Jordan Fishman had been (and continued to) manufacture at Seth Fishman's behest,” the report read. “In another call, the two discussed using and designing vasodilators specifically in connection with a race, estimating the length of a contemplated race in order to determine how long the vasodilator would have to last.”

“…at the outset of a discussion regarding the potency of a particular new drug in which the defendant discussed designing the drug to be many times more powerful than morphine, Jordan Fishman cautioned Seth Fishman: '[Y]ou are going to be taking chances with these animals. You know?'”

In 2017, Seth Fishman warned Jordan that agents with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had approached an employee of his and indicated they had fielded complaints about Seth Fishman's business. Seth instructed Jordan to tell the FDA that Seth's clients were “predominantly overseas royalty” and “[a]s far as you know [Equestology's] clients are UAE royalty” and “as far as you know my research and production is for overseas clients that work with the ruling sheiks.”

Prosecutors had tried to get Seth Fishman's bail revoked shortly before his trial when they learned he had continued making products after his arrest, in what they asserted could be a violation of his bail conditions. Seth Fishman's attorneys argued that since the products in question were made for sale overseas only, they were not a violation of federal laws.

The government advocated for a sentence of 12 to 18 months in prison.

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Royal Patronage Camp Leaning Toward The Derby

Highclere Thoroughbred Racing's Royal Patronage (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), who won the G3 Acomb S. and G2 Royal Lodge S. in succession in August and September, respectively, has developed well this winter and is likely to try the G1 Cazoo Derby route, according to co-trainer Charlie Johnston. Eighth in the G1 Vertem Futurity Trophy S. on Oct. 23 where he picked up an injury, the bay has been recuperating, but looks more of a “mile-and-a-quarter-plus” horse to Johnston and his co-trainer father Mark. Originally, the training duo had pencilled in a start in the G1 QIPCO 2000 Guineas for the colt.

“We've had lots of excited Highclere owners coming here at regular intervals to see Royal Patronage, who seems to have wintered very well, but it is still very much the early days of his preparation for the season ahead,” said Charlie Johnston. “We won't see him before the Guineas at the absolute earliest and I think we're starting now to lean towards the route of starting in the [G2] Dante [S.] with a Derby run in mind. He's certainly the flagbearer [for the yard] in the 3-year-old division.

“It always sticks in my head that dad has always said the best trial for the Derby is the Guineas and I think, probably going into the winter, we thought we had that as the favourite place for him to start this year.

“Only when we start to do some faster work with him in March will we get a better handle on what distance is going to be optimum for him this season but looking at him, the physical shape and size of the horse now, he's starting to scream a mile-and-a-quarter-plus.”

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