A panel of New York turf writers, broadcasters, handicappers, racing analysts and photographers will vote on each division and for the New York-bred Horse of the Year. The winners will be announced at the NYTB Awards Dinner sponsored by the New York Thoroughbred Breeding & Development Fund on Monday, May 13 from 6-9 p.m. ET. at Sacred Saratoga on the property of GMP Farm in Schuylerville. Former jockey and NYRA TV personality Richard Migliore will again serve as host.

“Our organization is excited to celebrate this year's nominees. All are deserving and represent the best in New York breeding and racing. This year's awards will be a special night at an exciting new location,” said NYTB President Dr. Scott Ahlschwede, D.V.M.

Tickets are available–$150 for NYTB Members and $175 for non-members–for purchase by clicking here or by calling the NYTB Office at (518) 587-0777.

“The New York-bred Divisional Championship Awards is a special night because it recognizes the very best in Thoroughbred breeding and racing in New York,” said Brian O'Dwyer, Chairman of the New York State Gaming Commission and New York State Thoroughbred Breeding & Development Fund. “On behalf of the New York State Gaming Commission and Thoroughbred Breeding & Development Fund we are proud to work with NYTB and look forward to celebrating the connections of New York-breds who achieved success representing the New York-bred program last year.”

Also to be honored at the Awards Dinner with 2023 awards will be Broodmare of the Year, Champion Steeplechaser, Trainer, Champion Jockey and Outstanding Breeder.

“NYTB's annual awards is our marquee event. This year's nominees are no exception reflecting the quality and strength of the New York-bred program,” said NYTB Executive Director Najja Thompson.

A list of the 2023 New York-bred divisional championship nominees by category follows:

Champion 2-Year-Old Male: Antonio of Venice (Laoban), El Grande O (Take Charge Indy), The Wine Steward (Vino Rosso), Wynstock (Solomini).

Champion 2-Year-Old Filly: Brocknardini (Palace Malice), Caldwell Luvs Gold (Goldencents), Cara's Time (Not This Time), My Mane Squeeze (Audible).

Champion 3-Year-Old Male: Allure of Money (Central Banker), Eye Witness (City of Light), Hejazi (Bernardini), Maker's Candy (Twirling Candy).

Champion 3-Year-Old Filly: Downtown Mischief (Into Mischief), Gambling Girl (Dialed In), Maple Leaf Mel (Cross Traffic), Stonewall Star (Flatter).

Champion Older Dirt Male: Bankit (Central Banker), Dr Ardito (Liam's Map), Sherriff Bianco (Speightster), Straight Arrow (Arrogate).

Champion Older Dirt Female: Classy Edition (Classic Empire), Know It All Audrey (Shackleford), Timeless Journey (Verrazano), Venti Valentine (Firing Line).

Champion Turf Male: City Man (Mucho Macho Man), Red Knight (Pure Prize), Spirit of St Louis (Medaglia d'Oro), Therapist (Freud).

Champion Turf Female: New Ginya (Tonalist), Runaway Rumour (Flintshire {GB}), Silver Skillet (Liam's Map), Whatlovelookslike (English Channel).

Champion Male Sprinter: Bold Journey (Hard Spun), Today's Flavor (Laoban), Rotknee (Runhappy), Thin White Duke (Dominus).

Champion Female Sprinter: Funny How (Overanalyze), Maple Leaf Mel, Rossa Veloce (Girolamo), Sterling Silver (Cupid).

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In 2021, the NYSGC fined Rice $50,000 and revoked her license for three years after investigating claims that Rice received favorable treatment from the New York Racing Association (NYRA) and that the racing office was releasing to her the names and past performances of horses that had already been entered in races, giving her an unfair advantage.

The NYSGC initially had alleged that Rice had paid racing officials in exchange for the information, but that bribery charge–which Rice had denied–was later dismissed by the commission.

On June 8, 2023, the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division ruled that the three-year banishment imposed by the NYSGC was “entirely unwarranted.”

But that same court also upheld the commission's determination that the “improper practices” rule had been violated, and ordered the matter back to the NYSGC to reassess the penalty “with the constraint that any reassessed penalty cannot contain a license revocation.”

At the Oct. 3 monthly meeting, NYSGC chair Brian O'Dwyer read into the record a brief explanation of Rice's revamped penalty.

As per the NYSGC's custom, the commissioners did not discuss or debate the matter in an open-public session prior to voting upon it. Their voting happened prior to the start of the meeting and O'Dwyer only reported a summary of the decision.

“The appellate division agreed with the Commission's findings that trainer Rice had blatantly broke the rules of racing by conspiring with others to choose the optimal races for her horses. The appellate division determined, however, that any revocation was unwarranted,” O'Dwyer said.

“We respectfully disagree with that decision, but are constrained by law to follow it. The original fine of $50,000 was predicated on a three-year revocation. Since that is now not extant, we have decided, on the basis of the record, [to] increase the fine to $100,000. And we therefore impose a penalty on trainer Rice of $100,000. The vote was unanimous in that regard,” O'Dwyer said.

Rice did not respond to messages requesting comment prior to deadline for this story, but her attorney, Andrew Turro, indicated to TDN in an email that Rice is ready to move on.

“I'm very, very happy that this is over for Linda and that she can now focus on what she loves and does best,” Turro wrote.

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The proposal that got put into the pipeline by unanimous voice vote after zero discussion among commissioners on Monday would require a trainer's attending veterinarian to conduct the 72-hour fitness exams. These health checks would be in addition to, and would not replace, New York's current rule that requires an exam by the racing association's veterinarian on race day.

“Adding the requirement for an examination by the attending veterinarian provides additional safeguards by ensuring an evaluation by a veterinarian with knowledge of the particular horse, while maintaining the examination by the racing association's veterinarian as an additional level of review,” stated a brief written by NYSGC general counsel Edmund Burns that was included in the informational packet for the June 26 monthly meeting.

“Furthermore, adding the requirement for examinations prior to workouts will implement equivalent protections for training,” Burns wrote.

The proposed new language, which now will get published in the New York State Register for the public's review, takes the form of an amendment to Rule 4007.5, which deals with qualifications to start.

A horse would be prohibited from entry into a race or from performing a workout unless such evaluation results in a determination that the horse is fit.

“The proposal is intended to minimize the risks of injury to horses that are unfit to perform,” Burns wrote. “The proposed rule would require such attending-veterinarian examinations to include, without limitation, a close inspection of the eyes, examination of the legs, and observation of the horse at rest and while in motion.

“Following a determination that the horse is either fit to race or to work out, the attending veterinarian and trainer would be obligated to inform the racing association's veterinarian of any changes in the horse's fitness before race day or the workout” in a to-be-determined manner of reporting, Burns wrote.

According to the text of the proposed rule, the term “workout” would be defined as “an exercise session near full speed or close to full speed.”

Burns wrote that, “While we have no reason to believe that an attending veterinarian would permit a horse under such veterinarian's care to race or participate in a workout if the horse is unfit, staff believes it appropriate to require attending veterinarians to make such representations of fitness explicitly, as a further safeguard to promote the safety and

health of New York's racehorses.”

After the vote, NYSGC chair Brian O'Dwyer noted that NYSGC staffers and the commission's equine medical director, Scott Palmer, “are working on new approaches to minimizing bad outcomes on the track and in training. And I know that they will be coming up with further suggestions in the future if warranted.”

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That disclosure is not only timely because of the HISA Authority's May 22 implementation of the Anti-Doping and Medication Control program. Monday's news of the three additional unadjudicated tests was important because those unresolved cases were made public nearly two weeks after a brouhaha erupted about 2-year-old champion Forte (Violence) having failed a post-win NYSGC drug test at Saratoga Race Course on Sept. 5, 2022.

The finding of meloxicam, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, in Forte's system wasn't the entirety of that controversy. A more concerning aspect of the issue was that Forte's positive was kept from the public for more than nine months, and wasn't revealed until May 9, 2023, when the New York Times first broke the story, citing as sources “two people who are familiar with the matter but are not authorized to speak about it.”

On May 11, the NYSGC formally announced Forte's disqualification from the Hopeful while imposing fine of $1,000 and 10-day suspension upon trainer Todd Pletcher. Those penalties have been appealed, and both the NYSGC and Pletcher's legal team have bickered back and forth, with each side publicly blaming the other for causing extended delays in the process that involved split sample testing and the scheduling of a stewards' hearing.

Williams described the three other currently unadjudicated drug tests as being in the pipeline “at either qualified, accredited, independent laboratories or awaiting determination through a meeting of the stewards.”

Commissioner John Crotty asked Williams, “Do you have a timeline on resolving them?”

Williams was quick to answer: “I don't know the specifics of any of those cases,” he said.

Crotty responded, “Okay…” before NYSGC chairman Brian O'Dwyer interjected.

“I suspect, Mr. Crotty, given the situation, that we will be very, very diligent in terms of making sure that those things are adjudicated much more promptly,” said O'Dwyer, ending that discussion.

Williams noted that the outstanding Thoroughbred drug positives were current through May 19, but that the NYSGC will retain control over any sampling taken through May 21.

The commission will also maintain its testing obligation in harness racing, “as HISA has yet to address that industry,” Williams said. He added that there are two outstanding Standardbred drug tests awaiting adjudication.

Williams said that the Forte controversy has sparked NYSGC changes to the way it will handle any adjudications that remain under the board's control.

“Changes to the split sample procedure have been instituted to reduce the ability of an affected party to game the system,” Williams said.

“Absent extraordinary circumstances, from now on a trainer advised of a positive drug violation will be afforded no more than two weeks to identify and make arrangements for the split sample to be tested,” Williams said.

“Additionally, upon notification of the split sample result being returned, the stewards' meeting must be conducted within three weeks. If a trainer cannot appear within three weeks' time, they will be deemed to have constructively waived their appearance before the stewards, and the matter will proceed,” Williams said.

After Williams finished giving his report, O'Dwyer said that he wanted to express “my thanks and the thanks of the commission members for setting the record straight in regards to the Pletcher matter.”

O'Dwyer continued: “I think it's very important that, and was quite unfortunate, some of the reporting that came out, [and] the board and commission and our staff needs to be commended for the way that they handled it. I understand there were some time differences. But they did everything they could to give Mr. Pletcher considerable due process, and I'm glad that [Williams] was able to correct the record in that regard.”

Pletcher's attorney, Karen Murphy, had given a contrasting synopsis of the delay to TDN back on May 11.

“One point I want to address up front is that the gaming commission has stated now two or three times that we somehow delayed the process,” Murphy said at that time. “That's a little bit shocking to me because it's false. I don't like government regulators to make false statements. [From] day one, we were on this. This delay is wholly on the gaming commission. It's because they weren't prepared to proceed with the case in a professional, orderly manner.”

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Noda's legal filing is known as an Article 78 review, which pertains to a New York state law by which a petitioner can ask a court to review a decision or action of a state official or administrative agency.

Article 78 filings have a reputation for being costly to litigate and very time consuming, sometimes dragging on for months or even several years in the court system.

Although the two cases are not related, Noda's penalty got handed down during the same Dec. 12 NYSGC meeting as a ruling imposed upon Richie Gazer, the longtime New York Racing Association head clocker who was suspended 30 days and fined $2,500 for “altering a published work of a horse to make the horse eligible to race.”

But taken together, those two same-day adjudications share a commonality in that both decisions by the NYSGC represented a forceful rejection of each hearing officer's months of work in conducting the appeals and writing up the reports.

In both instances, the commissioners voted unanimously to impose the original penalties that had been handed down by Braulio Baeza, Jr., the NYSGC state steward at the three NYRA tracks.

Although such outright rejections are unusual, most racing commissions nationwide are not bound to accept the opinions of hearing officers, who are often attorneys, that they hire to hear appeals.

In both Noda's and Gazer's cases, their respective attorneys had asked the commission for a stay of their penalties pending Article 78 filings. Both were denied last month by the NYSGC.

“I asked the commission for a stay as a courtesy,” Drew Mollica, Noda's attorney, told TDN. “I was denied on Dec. 20. I was in court Dec. 28, and the judge issued a stay. He can continue training. We have filed our Article 78 and we are pursuing a full and fair review of this unjust decision. In this case, the record is clear: There never was, and there is not now, any evidence that Mr. Noda did what they accused him of, and the hearing officer knew that.”

The hearing officer who oversaw Noda's appeal, S. David Devaprasad, wrote in his Nov. 1 report that, “The regulations Respondent is alleged to have violated…are impermissibly vague and [there are no written] standards as to what constitutes the proper or improper use of a crop or whip while training a horse.”

The report continued: “The testimony at the Hearing of the Commission's single eyewitness of the alleged incident was simply not sufficient (nor any more credible than Respondent's testimony in defense) to establish that Respondent engaged in any action detrimental to the best interest of racing generally or was guilty of any improper, corrupt, or fraudulent act or practice…”

Back on Dec. 12 NYSGC chairman Brian O'Dwyer disagreed. In reading Noda's decision into the record, he said that, “The commission duly deliberated and considered this matter, and determined by a 6-0 vote to reject the hearing officer's report and recommendations. In doing that, commissioners reviewed the entire record, and established by a preponderance of evidence that Noda's conduct was improper and detrimental to the best interest of racing, and determined that the appropriate penalty was that which was given by the stewards.”

Along with O'Dwyer, NYSGC commissioners John Crotty, Peter Moschetti, Jr., Christopher Riano, Marissa Shorenstein and Jerry Skurnik all voted in favor of rejecting the hearing officers' recommendations in the two cases.

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Gazer's attorney, Karen Murphy, confirmed the NYSGC's denial to TDN on Friday afternoon, shortly after the commission emailed her the decision stating the stay would not be granted. She said at this point, Gazer has exhausted all his commission-level appeals.

“This is a purely vindictive response. I am actually shocked by the whole thing,” Murphy said.

In making the case for a stay to be granted, Murphy had written to the commission that Gazer's “absence from his duties as the Head Clocker for the significant suspension imposed will be harmful to all NY horsemen and horsewomen whose horses rely on his daily services.”

On Dec. 12, the NYSGC voted unanimously to uphold Gazer's commission-level appeal of penalties by rejecting a hearing officer's recommendation that the case be dismissed.

Instead, the commissioners imposed the original penalties that had been handed down earlier in the year by Braulio Baeza, Jr., the NYSGC state steward at the three New York Racing Association (NYRA) tracks.

Gazer's penalty stems from a May 19, 2022, stewards' ruling in which he changed a published five-furlong work by subsequently substituting the correct four-furlong split from within that longer work.

The purpose of providing the half-mile timing was to make a horse eligible to come off NYRA's “poor performance” list, which is governed by a seldom-triggered rule that does not allow for a workout farther than four furlongs.

“The decision to issue the penalty [is] without precedent and lacking strong basis to affirm the decision…” hearing officer Dayrel Sewell wrote in his Oct. 21 report that recommended vacating Gazer's penalty. “Respondent has a spotless 40-year track record, and there is no evidence of corruption or favoritism towards a trainer(s) during his employment as head clocker.

“Although there is no regulation [specific to what Gazer was accused of doing], the Stewards have discretion on how to handle this, but the discretion must be proportionate to the harm and there must be boundaries to the practice of discretion,” the hearing officer summed up.

The commissioners' outright rejection of the hearing officer's months of work in conducting the hearing and writing up the report is somewhat unusual. But in most state jurisdictions, racing commissioners are not bound to accept the opinions of the hearing officers, who are often attorneys, that they hire to hear appeals.

An exasperated Gazer has called the entire ordeal “a joke.” On Dec. 18, TDN's Bill Finley editorialized that the decision by the NYSGC to penalize the clocker was a “disgrace” that bucked common sense.

Murphy told TDN on Dec. 30 that Gazer is still clocking horses, and that he has yet to be informed when his suspension is supposed to start.

“He's at work and he'll be able work until [Baeza] sets the [dates for the] suspension down,” Murphy said. “But am I going to be able to get into court and get an injunction to stop that suspension? I think that's probably a hope that is beyond our reach at this point.”

Murphy explained that Gazer's court appeal involves a type of filing known as Article 78, which is a New York law by which a petitioner asks a court to review a decision or action of a state official or administrative agency to determine whether such action was unlawful.

Murphy added though, that petitioners have to weigh whether going through the courts is worth it, because Article 78 cases are expensive to litigate and often languish in the court system for months or even years.

TDN asked Patrick McKenna, NYRA's vice president of communications, if there was anything trainers needed to know about the morning clocking routine given Gazer's pending suspension and the in-limbo court appeal.

“Richie Gazer is a deeply experienced professional whose presence and skills as a clocker would absolutely be missed at Belmont Park should the NYSGC suspension take effect,” McKenna wrote in an email. “That said, NYRA does have the necessary staff in place to adequately cover his duties.”

Back on Dec. 12, NYSGC chairman Brian O'Dwyer said during the meeting that, “The commission reviewed the entire record [and] established the violation as a matter of fact…. And in particular, found that the conduct was improper in relation to commission rule 4042.1(f).”

That rule prohibits “improper, corrupt or fraudulent” acts or practices in relation to racing or conspiring or assisting others in such acts or practices.

Along with O'Dwyer, NYSGC commissioners John Crotty, Peter Moschetti, Jr., Christopher Riano, Marissa Shorenstein and Jerry Skurnik all voted in favor of rejecting the hearing officer's recommendations not to penalize Gazer.

The outcome of their vote, which had taken place at some point prior to the open, public meeting, was simply read into the record, and the commissioners did not debate any specifics or discuss findings during the Dec. 12 meeting itself.

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The latest chapter is the story of NYRA clocker Richie Gazer.

Back in May, Gazer was handed a 30-day suspension and fined $2,500 “for altering a published work of a horse to make the horse eligible to race.” The horse in question, Papi On Ice (Keen Ice) was originally credited for a five-furlong workout on May 1 in the time of 1:04.60. At the time, the horse was on NYRA's “poor performance” list, the result of his having been eased in a Mar. 19 race and then losing by 26 3/4 lengths in a Apr. 16 race. In order to get off the list and to be able to race again, he needed a published four-furlong workout in:53 or faster. Oddly, the rule, which is a NYRA rule, requires that the work must be at four furlongs and at no other distance. When made aware that the work had to be a half-mile in order for the horse to get off the list, Gazer changed the distance to four furlongs and the time to what was Papi On Ice's split for a half-mile, :51.33. The Gaming Commission then stepped in and cited a rule that prohibits “improper, corrupt or fraudulent acts or practices in relation to racing or conspiring or assisting others in such acts or practices,” pretty harsh language for a case where all the clocker did was shorten the distance of a workout by an eighth of a mile.

Gazer refused to roll over, hired a lawyer and filed an appeal. A seven-hour hearing was held and the hearing officer recommended that the case be thrown out and that Gazer should not be penalized. It appeared that Gazer had won. But the case took a 180-degree turn last week when the Gaming Commission rejected the hearing officer's recommendation and voted 6-0 to uphold the original suspension. Karen Murphy, the lawyer representing Gazer, told the TDN that in the 30 years she has been dealing with New York racing regulators never before had she had a commission reject a decision from a hearing officer. Why even use a hearing officer if you are going to ignore what they have to say?

This all comes down to a matter of common sense. Gazer used his when he approved changing the distance of the workout, which was necessary to allow the horse to race and, otherwise, affected nothing. The rule is in place to keep clockers from playing games, giving a horse a five-furlong workout in 1:03 when they actually went in :58. That's not what happened here.

But common sense is in short supply when it comes to the Gaming Commission. Perhaps by the very letter of the rule, Gazer was guilty of some sort of infraction. The best way to handle this would have been to issue a warning and to tell him not to do it again. Use common sense. Don't fine him, suspend him and try to sully his reputation with outlandish charges of corruption and fraud. Don't go to such great lengths that the commission, by a 6-0 vote, ignored the findings of a hearing officer.

“Everybody is horrified,” Murphy said. “Richard Gazer has been doing this for 40 years and is respected by everyone. You should be pinning a medal on someone like him, not telling the world he is fraudster.”

It's all part of a troubling pattern. Since April, the Gaming Commission and its steward, Braulio Baeza Jr., have sanctioned four NYRA employees a total of five times and levied fines totaling $14,500. In most cases, it was nothing more than a case of the person making an honest mistake.

In June, Frank Gabriel, the New York Racing Association senior vice president of racing operations, was fined $4,000 for “failing to follow proper claiming protocol” resulting in the track stewards voiding the claim of the horse Battalion (Tiznow) on May 28. There was a mixup regarding the claim of the horse. The horse was claimed for $25,000 by trainer Rob Atras, but the claim was not relayed to the clerk of scales, so the horse was not brought to the test barn. That led to the voiding of the claim.

Someone made a mistake. It happens. And never mind that Gabriel had nothing to do with this. Nonetheless, Baeza saw reason to sanction him because, he told the Daily Racing Form, Gabriel was the head of the racing department.

NYRA Racing Secretary Keith Doleshel has been fined twice since April, on one occasion $2,000 for “failing to conduct business in a professional manner.” According to NYRA, here's what happened: “Due to an unintentional administrative error, an unauthorized agent claimed a horse. . . . NYRA subsequently discovered the error and notified the NYSGC of its findings.” A horse was claimed at Saratoga by someone who was not licensed by the Gaming Commission or registered with the Jockey Club. But, again, it was an “unintentional error” committed by someone who has never previously been accused of being unprofessional and the mistake was caught. Doleshel has appealed the ruling through his attorney, Drew Mollica.

As for Gazer, there doesn't appear to be a path whereby the fine and suspension can now be overturned. Murphy says she plans to make the point that the Gaming Commission didn't follow procedure when it comes to transparency. The commissioners did not debate or discuss the details of the case during the open, public meeting, which she says is required.

“The chairman knows nothing about racing and shouldn't have done what he did,” she said of Gaming Commission Chairman Brian O'Dwyer. “We all should be upset about this on legal grounds.”

But that's probably not going to help Gazer. He will have to pay his fine and sit out 30 days, the latest example of an overreach by the New York Gaming Commission and its steward. Someone who has been doing this a long time and has earned a reputation for being a straight shooter, Gazer deserved far better.

The Woodward and Cigar Mile Downgraded

The American Graded Stakes Committee showed some tough love to NYRA last week, downgrading the Woodward S. and the Cigar Mile H., from Grade I races to Grade II's. The move wasn't without controversy. The Woodward is a prestigious race with a long, rich history. Twenty of its winners are in the Hall of Fame. During a seven-year stretch beginning in 1974, the race was won by Forego (four straight), Seattle Slew, Affirmed and Spectacular Bid. This year's Cigar Mile included four Grade I winners, including the winner Mind Control (Stay Thirsty), which made the timing of the downgrade a bit puzzling.

As tough as this may have been for NYRA to swallow, it was the right move. Everyone complains that, considering the declining number in the foal crop and that top horses usually only race four or five times a year, there are too many graded races and too many Grade I's. You can't have it both ways and complain about the Woodward and the Cigar. The committee is to be commended for making some tough decisions. There are still 440 graded races and 97 Grade I's. That's too many.

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The New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) on Monday adjudicated two unrelated penalty appeals by a clocker and a trainer by flat-out rejecting two separate hearing officers' recommendations that those cases be dismissed without penalization.

In both instances, the commissioners voted unanimously to impose the original penalties that had been handed down by Braulio Baeza, Jr., the NYSGC state steward at the three New York Racing Association (NYRA) tracks.

Monday's vote means trainer Orlando Noda now must pay a fine of $5,000, serve a 90-day suspension, and complete an anger management course prior to being reinstated for “for striking a horse excessively while working the horse out at Saratoga Race Course on Aug. 5, 2021,” according to the NYSGC.

And Richard Gazer, a longtime NYRA clocker, has been fined $2,500 and suspended 30 days “for altering a published work of a horse to make the horse eligible to race,” the NYSGC ruled.

The outright rejections of the officers' combined days of conducting the hearings and their months spent writing up the reports is somewhat unusual. But in a number of jurisdictions, racing commissioners are not bound to accept the opinions of the officers they hire to hear appeals.

Drew Mollica, who represents Noda, told TDN in a phone interview he was stunned by the NYSGC's decision.

“This is crazy. I was just telling my colleagues, 'I win, but I lose,'” Mollica said.

“This is madness. The hearing officer is the one who heard the evidence. On what basis, what evidence, did the commission use to overturn the hearing officer's recommendation?” Mollica asked rhetorically.

Noda, who has been training since 2019, is also licensed as an exercise rider.

In his reading into the record of the decision, NYSGC chairman Brian O'Dwyer said that, “The commission duly deliberated and considered this matter, and determined by a 6-0 vote to reject the hearing officer's report and recommendations. In doing that, commissioners reviewed the entire record, and established by a preponderance of evidence that Noda's conduct was improper and detrimental to the best interest of racing, and determined that the appropriate penalty was that which was given by the stewards.”

Mollica said he will confer with Noda about using “every legal remedy at his disposal” to fight the commission's order, “because the hearing officer vindicated him and found that he did nothing wrong.”

Gazer's penalty stems from a May 19, 2022, ruling in which the commission stated he “alter[ed] a horse's workout time while training at Belmont Park.”

The horse in question, Papi On Ice (Keen Ice), was initially credited with a five-furlong work in 1:04.60. The work was later changed to a half-mile in :51.33.

Because Papi On Ice had been beaten more than 25 lengths in a previous start, that result triggered a precautionary placement on NYRA's “poor performance” list. In order to get off that list, a horse must work a half-mile in :53 or faster. But the rule does not allow for a workout farther than a half mile.

Because Papi On Ice's workout was initially published as a five-furlong move, the racing office would not accept the colt's entry for a race.

Gazer told DRF.com back in May that the time of the work was not changed, but that the distance was shortened to comply with NYRA's rule. He did not time Papi On Ice himself, but a subordinate clocker told him the horse did work a properly timed half mile as part of the longer five-eighths breeze.

“This is a joke. It really is,” Gazer told TDN Dec. 12. “I've been doing this for 40 years. The horse was on the other training track, went a half-mile, and galloped out five-eighths and the trainer, Randi Persaud, wanted the five-eighths time. But they have that rule where he had to have a half-mile workout. It's a stupid rule. They called me up and I said I would change it. It was no big deal. It was either :51 for the half or 1:04 and something for five-eighths.”

Gazer continued: “We had a seven-hour hearing, [the hearing officer] recommended that they drop all the charges. And then they do this. It doesn't make any sense.”

Chairman O'Dwyer said Monday that the commissioners saw it differently.

“The commission reviewed the entire record [and] established the violation as a matter of fact,” O'Dwyer said. “And in particular, found that the conduct was improper in relation to commission rule 4042.1(f).”

That rule prohibits “improper, corrupt or fraudulent” acts or practices in relation to racing or conspiring or assisting others in such acts or practices.

Along with O'Dwyer, NYSGC commissioners John Crotty, Peter Moschetti, Jr., Christopher Riano, Marissa Shorenstein and Jerry Skurnik all voted in favor of rejecting the hearing officers' recommendations not to penalize the two licensees.

The commissioners did not debate or discuss the details of the two cases during the open, public meeting, which is standard for the way the NYSGC usually issues appeal outcomes after a hearing officer issues a report.

Based on past practice, the NYSGC  generally receives such reports and takes its vote on the hearing officer's recommendation at some point before the meeting, and the chairman then reads the results into the record when the meeting goes into session, explaining the vote in one or two sentences.

Karen Murphy, an attorney who represents Gazer, told TDN in an email that, “In the 30 years that I have been practicing before the Gaming Commission (and its predecessor) this has never happened….The decision in this matter was dependent on the credibility of the proffered witnesses. In recommending that all the charges be dismissed, including a 'fraudulent, corrupt act' charge, the designated Hearing Officer made a determination in favor of Mr. Gazer's credibility. Today, the Commission rejected that credibility [and] did so without giving any specific reasons or findings…”

Murphy added that the NYSGC's ruling against her client amounted to a failure of the open-government test, “and in doing so abjectly failed in its obligations under law to Mr. Gazer. We look forward to righting this wrong.”

The penalties for Noda and Gazer will go into effect within a few days upon formal issuance of the commission's findings and order.

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