The New York State Gaming Commission announced Oct. 3 that it has amended its findings with regard to embattled trainer Linda Rice. After being ordered to reconsider the matter by the Appellate Division of a New York State Supreme Court, the commission decided to fine Rice $100,000 in lieu of the three-year license revocation and $50,000 fine it had initially assigned her.
Rice was found to have received inappropriate insider information from the racing office at New York Racing Association racetracks, enabling her to make decisions about where her horses would be most competitive between 2011 and 2015. The NYSGC issued the original fine and revocation in 2021 after a three-year investigation into a claim that she paid for the insider information.
Rice appealed that decision and received a stay of the revocation. This summer, the appeals court determined both that there was “substantial evidence” to support the commission's claim that Rice knew it was wrong to receive the information, but also that the three-year penalty “is so disproportionate to the offense and shockingly unfair as to constitute an abuse of discretion as a matter of law.”
The matter was remanded to the commission for further consideration. According to a report during a regularly-scheduled meeting of the commission Tuesday, attorneys for both Rice and the commission were asked to submit updated briefs to the commission, which considered them in a special proceeding.
The group was unanimous in its approval of a measure to remove the license revocation rejected by the court and increase the fine instead.
The post After Appellate Court Decision, New York Commission Fines Rice $100,000 For Insider Information Violations appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
