The Appellate Division of a New York State Supreme Court issued a ruling on June 8 that will count as a victory for embattled trainer Linda Rice. Rice's training license had been revoked for a minimum of three years by the New York State Gaming Commission after a hearing officer concluded she improperly received information from the racing office.
On Thursday, a unanimous decision from a panel of four judges determined that while there was “substantial evidence” to support the commission's position that Rice knew it was wrong to receive this information, the penalty of a three-year license revocation “is so disproportionate to the offense and shockingly unfair as to constitute an abuse of discretion as a matter of law.
“As Supreme Court astutely recognized,” the opinion stated, “NYRA bears much of the responsibility for what happened in this matter by fostering an aptly named 'hustling' process without a defined written rule or diligent oversight.”
The ruling noted in particular discrepancy between the way former senior vice president of racing operations Martin Panza and former racing secretary PJ Campo characterized the seriousness of Rice's receipt of information.
“Not to be overlooked is that petitioner is the only trainer ever disciplined by respondent for this rule violation – a troublesome point given that petitioner is the only female trainer ever to win a training title at a New York track,” the opinion read.
The judges took no issue with the $50,000 fine assigned to Rice by the commission, but remitted her case back to the commission to “reassess the penalty.”
Read the full opinion here.
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