The TDN and other news outlets received an email from New York Gaming Commission Director of Communications Brad Maione that included six screen shots from the race taken at the point where there was contact and horses were steadied. One of the shots included arrows pointing to four jockeys, Ruben Silvera, Manny Franco, Junior Alvarado and Jose Lezcano. Alvarado was aboard Brick Ambush, who, though disqualified after crossing the wire second and placed last, appeared to be free of the trouble while racing outside and clear of the horses who were bothered. The arrow pointing to what was supposed to be Alvarado's mount was instead The Big Torpedo (Big Brown), who was ridden by Javier Castellano.

When the TDN notified Maione that there was an error concerning the identification of the horses and their riders, he sent a new version of the original statement that fixed the mistake. However, with Alvarado now properly identified, the pictures offered no evidence that he was at fault.

The second version of the statement included the following explanation: “Please note the first screenshot in the previous version incorrectly identified the riders on specific horses. Please disregard those reference screenshots. Corrected versions are attached and included below. The narrative remains unchanged.”

Misidentified image of the Great White Way S. sent to the media | NYSGC

The disqualification set off a controversy that has yet to die down and the consensus in the sport is that, for whatever reason, the stewards simply DQ'd the wrong horse by mistake. Many believe that the horse that caused the bumping and deserved to come down was actually the race winner, Antonio of Venice (Laoban).

The statement made the case that the stewards carefully reviewed the race after the decision was made to disqualify Brick Ambush and that they stood by their decision. The stewards officiating the race were Braulio Baeza, Jr. (N.Y.S. Gaming Commission), Juan Dominguez (The New York Racing Association, Inc.) and Samantha Randazzo (The Jockey Club).

“The three Stewards' attention was focused on the field as it arrived near the quarter-pole, where several horses converged and were in close contact,” the statement read. “As evident in the below/attached screenshots, horse Brick Ambush (#12), ridden by Junior Alvarado, came up on three horses that were crowded together–Antonio of Venice (#1) ridden by Manuel Franco, The Big Torpedo (#7) ridden by Javier Castellano, and Solo's Fury (#11), ridden by Jose Lezcano–and made disruptive contact. The Stewards were concerned that Castellano's contact with the other horses and their riders could have impacted the results of the race.”

According to the statement, the stewards examined six separate camera views of the area of concern and conducted telephone interviews with Franco, Castellano, Lezcano and Alvarado. Castellano told reporters after the race that he attempted to claim foul, but the stewards have said they were unaware that he wanted to file an objection.

“After review of the footage and interviews with the jockeys, the Stewards unanimously concluded that Alvarado's movement of Brick Ambush to the inside at quarter-pole pole caused a chain reaction that impacted the race. Accordingly, the Stewards disqualified Brick Ambush for interference,” the statement continued.

Alvarado was hit with a three-day suspension for careless riding.

“The following morning, all four jockeys were required to participate in a film review of the race and discussed the event with all three Stewards,” the statement continued. “At the conclusion of the review, State Steward Baeza issued a 3-day careless riding suspension to Mr. Alvarado, to be effective January 1 through January 5, 2024. Mr. Alvarado accepted the penalty and declined to appeal.”

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What is needed is to look at the Stewards box. Stewards involved should be interviewed, past decisions reviewed and what we need is industry-wide implementation to improve the process. Possibly a fourth person “in the booth” might help when a foul occurs. Evaluation of current requirements, education, improved training, age requirements, cognitive skills, etc.

Whatever blame rests 100% with the stewards in this case!

–Jerry Bilinski DVM, former New York Racing Chairman

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Repole, who did not have a horse in the race, recently announced the formation of The National Thoroughbred Alliance (NTA), an organization he hopes can bring needed change to a sport he has said is rudderless and in steep decline.

“I'm asking for the immediate resignation of both the Chairman/CEO and President of The Jockey Club and I appeal to the board members of The Jockey Club to terminate the operating leadership,” Repole wrote. “The industry needs help, we are in an extreme crisis. Let's take action!!!!!”

Neither Gagliano nor Janney responded to a request for comment at deadline for this story.

The Jockey Club employs Samantha Randazzo, one of the three stewards working at the NYRA tracks. Other than that, it was unclear why Repole placed the blame for controversy on The Jockey Club. He did, however, make it clear that he is frustrated with the organization and labeled it the “old guard.”

In a roughly run race, there was an incident near the quarter pole in which three horses came together, bumped and were steadied. At the time, Brick Ambush was racing well outside of that trio, kept a straight path and did not make contact with another horse. The consensus since the race is that the stewards mistakenly took down the wrong horse.

Race winner Antonio of Venice (Laoban) may have started the pile-up when he came off the rail under Manny Franco after being blocked. It's also possible that the stewards mistook Brick Ambush for Solo's Furry (Solomini), who may have come over a path or two. Brick Ambush was racing outside of Solo's Fury, who was eased after the incident, and the jockeys of both horses wore green silks.

Brick Ambush's owners Dean and Patti Reeves attempted to appeal the decision, but were informed by the New York Gaming Commission that disqualifications are final once the race is made official and cannot be reversed.

The disqualification cost the owners second-place money of $100,000.

Not only did the stewards disqualify Brick Ambush, they handed his jockey, Junior Alvarado, a three-day suspension for careless riding.

“Dean and Patti Reeves are great owners and wonderful people,” Repole wrote. “This sport is very fortunate to have them. The events at Aqueduct last Saturday were brutally unfair to them. Their horse should have been placed first, instead he was disqualified. The bettors, the fans, the trainers, jockeys and owners were blatantly hurt in this situation. With no governing body in place or people policing the sport, they can't even appeal an atrocious ruling.

“The more I dig deeper into this situation, the more I place the blame on the operating leaders, Chairman/CEO and President of The Jockey Club,” Repole wrote. “I have an incredible respect for the great leaders on the board of The Jockey Club. They have great passion for this sport. Let's unite and work together and rebuild The Jockey Club into a trusting organization that can represent and govern this wonderful sport while working with all people associated in the industry to make racing better. We all need to have an immense sense of urgency and we must move quickly.”

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“After receipt of the letter from the NY Gaming commission and further discussion with our attorney Drew Mollica, our trainer Danny Gargan, Patti and I have decided to not to pursue any further action regarding the disqualification of Brick Ambush in the 9th race at Aqueduct on Dec. 16th, 2023.

We maintain our belief that Brick Ambush caused no interference in the race, however, we recognize that all owners who enter a race must adhere to the rules of racing in the State of New York, However it is our hope that by shining light on this unfortunate disqualification we, in someway, help to improve our industry moving forward for the betterment of all of us who love this sport, not only owners, trainers, and jockeys, but those who wager as well.

Patti and I have enjoyed racing in New York, and we value our relationship with everyone at NYRA.

We would like to thank the racing community for all their support and encouragement as a result of this disqualification.”

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Two owners reached out to the Gaming Commission to file an appeal of the stewards' rulings on the race. The first came from Dean Reeves, whose Brick Ambush (Laoban) was disqualified from second and placed last. The disqualification cost the owner $100,000 in purse money. Thomas Albrecht, the managing partner of the group that owns The Big Torpedo (Big Brown) also sought an appeal, asking that the race winner Antonio of Venice (Laoban) be disqualified for interference. The Big Torpedo crossed the wire fourth, but was placed third because of the disqualification of Brick Ambush. That raised the possibility that if Antonio of Venice was not disqualified and Brick Ambush was restored as the official second-place finisher then Big Torpedo would be dropped back to fourth, which would have cost his owners $30,000.

On Tuesday, the Gaming Commission reached out to both owners and essentially ended any hopes they may have had that the order of finish of the race would be changed after their appeals were heard and the stewards were forced to explain a decision for which there doesn't appear to be an explanation. The reason why? According to the Gaming Commission, the decisions of the stewards are final and not subject to appeal.

Here was the Gaming Commission's response to the two owners:

“On December 17, 2023, the New York State Gaming Commission received correspondence from the connections of two horses that participated in the 9th race at Aqueduct Race Course on December 16, 2023. Specifically, the connections and/or their representatives sought to appeal the stewards' disqualification of the horse Brick Ambush and the stewards' declination to find interference by the horse Antonio of Venice. The correspondence collectively states disagreement with the decision of the stewards.”

“The Commission responded to the connections today (attached), advising them that the decisions to disqualify Brick Ambush and to not find interference by Antonio of Venice were judgment calls “based on questions of fact, which the stewards are empowered to make pursuant to Commission Rule 4039.20 (9 NYCRR §4039.20), and the decision(s) (are) therefore not appealable to the Commission, pursuant to Rule 4039.5. New York Courts have long held that stewards' placement decisions are questions of fact that cannot be appealed. See, e.g., In the Matter of the Seventh Race of June 12, 1996 at Belmont Park [May I Inquire] (NYSRWB 1996), confirmed, Matter of Moshera v. Bilinski, 244 A.D.2d 555 (2d Dep't 1995); see also Discenza v. N.Y. Racing Ass'n, 134 Misc. 2d 3, 7-8 (N.Y. Civ. Ct. 1986); Shapiro v. Queens County Jockey Club, 184 Misc. 295, 300 (N.Y. Mun. Ct. 1945). For these reasons, the stewards' decision is final and the New York State Gaming Commission cannot consider your appeal.”

Attorney Drew Mollica, who represents Reeves, ripped into the Gaming Commission over its decision.

“I'm going to do the research of the law but for this commission to stand by that technicality speaks volumes about the level of insensitivity and incompetence that permeates this industry,” he said. “We could still go to court. I'm not so sure the rules actually say that but let me do some research. To stand behind this kind of technicality bypasses the bigger issue. They are saying we can do what we want when we want, and that is farcical and they should be embarrassed.”

The controversy resulted from a pile-up at the quarter-pole, where three horses were involved in a bumping incident that caused each one to steady to varying degrees. Antonio of Venice, who was on the rail, came out and appeared to start a chain reaction that caused The Big Torpedo and Solo's Fury (Solomini) to take up. Solo's Fury was essentially eased after the incident and finished last.

While this was going on, Brick Ambush sat outside the other three horses, never bumped anyone, stayed in the same path and appeared to have nothing to do with the incident. The inquiry was posted shortly after the horses crossed the wire and, briefly, the No. 1, who was Antonio of Venice, was blinking on the toteboard. But after a lengthy review of the race, the stewards did not take down Antonio of Venice, ruling instead that it was Brick Ambush who caused the problems and placing him last. In addition, they gave Brick Ambush's rider Junior Alvarado a three-day suspension for careless riding.

“I felt like I was robbed, like I was mugged,” Reeves said.

On the Stewards' Decisions page on the NYRA website, here is how the stewards described the race and their reasoning for taking down Brick Ambush:  Steward's inquiry. At the 1/4 pole #12 Brick Ambush (Junior Alvarado) came in, causing a chain reaction. The #11 Solo's Fury (Jose Lezcano) pushes down into the #7 The Big Torpedo (Javier Castellano). After reviewing the video and speaking with the riders, the stewards disqualified the #12 Brick Ambush for interference and place him behind the #11 Solo's Fury.”

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Yet, the announcement, as it always seems to do, did not come without a few head-scratching, controversial decisions, many of them leaving tracks to believe they have been treated unfairly. When the list of graded races for 2024 reached the New York Racing Association's executive offices there probably was a sense that they were being picked on. No tracks took it on the chin quite like the NYRA tracks did.

There will be 429 graded races in 2024, 11 fewer than there were this year. Thirty races were downgraded, and that's where NYRA was hit the hardest. Ten of those 30 races are run at NYRA tracks. They include the Carter H. and the Man o'War S., which were two of five races that were Grade I's that have been downgraded to Grade II's for next year. Ten races were downgraded from II's to III's and five of them are NYRA races. Three more NYRA races were dropped from Grade III's to listed races.

Ten races were upgraded, including three on the NYRA schedule.

It wasn't that long ago that the NYRA stakes schedule was the gold standard for the industry. But in 2024, NYRA will present a stakes schedule that looks nothing like what it offered during its glory days. It's not just the Carter and the Man o'War. The five NYRA stakes that have been dropped from Grade II's to Grade III's are the Forty Niner S., the Hill Prince S., the Vosburgh S., the Sheepshead Bay S. and the Prioress S. The Bay Shore S., the Fall Highweight H. and the Schuylerville S. all went from Grade III's to listed.

In 2022, it was announced that the 2023 runnings of the Cigar Mile S. and the Woodward S. were being dropped to Grade II's. Since 2016, NYRA has lost eight Grade I races. The list also includes the Wood Memorial S., the Flower Bowl S., the Beldame S. and the Vosburgh S. With the downgrading of the Carter for next year, there will no longer be any Grade I races run at what are the traditional Aqueduct meets.

Has the graded stakes committee treated NYRA fairly? Even with all the cuts, the answer, for the most part is yes.

A race like the Carter should have been dropped to a Grade II years ago. A quality horse in Vekoma (Candy Ride {Arg}) won the race in 2020, but recent winners (2021) Mischevious Alex (Into Mischief), (2022) Speakers' Corner (Street Sense) and (2023) Doppelganger (Into Mischief) are not Grade I material.

The Wood Memorial, once a premier prep for the GI Kentucky Derby and a Grade I through the 2016 running, has failed to keep up with the other Derby preps. You have to go all the way back to 2000 to find the last Wood winner to win the Derby, which was Fusaichi Pegasus (Mr. Prospector).  Since Funny Cide (Distorted Humor) won the 2003 Derby after finishing second in the Wood, the Wood has produced 41 Derby starters without a top three finish. Tacitus (Tapit) was moved up to third after Maximum Security (New Year's Day) was DQ'd in 2019.

This year's Cigar Mile, won by Hoist The Gold (Mineshaft), was not a Grade I quality race.

The one move by the graded stakes committee that makes no sense is how it has treated the Vosburgh. Named a Grade I in 1991 when it was won by Housebuster (Mt. Livermore), it remained a Grade I until 2019. The 2020 and 2021 runnings were nothing to get excited about, but the 2022 edition was won by Elite Power (Curlin), who would go on to win the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint and be named sprint champion. This year the race was won by Cody's Wish (Curlin), who came back to win the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile and is the favorite to be named 2023 Horse of the Year. How do you take a race won in back-to-back years by Elite Power and Cody's Wish and downgrade it from a Grade II to a Grade III?

NYRA can't afford more of the same in the year's ahead. (How much longer can the historic GI Jockey Club Gold Cup maintain its Grade I status?)The problem with NYRA's stakes program is that it hasn't adapted to the times. There are simply too many stakes races on the schedule. You have a declining foal crop and you have trainers of top horses who are perfectly content to run them four times a year. The inevitable has happened. Field sizes for stakes races keep going down as does the quality, and that's why NYRA keeps getting hit by the graded stakes committee.

It's time for some tough love and to simply eliminate some races. A perfect example is its schedule for older male dirt horses from the late spring to the early fall. You start with the June 10 GI Metropolitan H., followed by the July 8 GII Suburban S., the Aug. 5 GI Whitney, the Sept. 2 GI Jockey Club Gold Cup and the Oct. 1 GII Woodward. That's five races in the same division over less than four months and that doesn't begin to take into account major races for older dirt males run elsewhere. There simply aren't enough quality horses to adequately fill all those races. Yes, the Suburban and the Woodward are historic races, but maybe it is time for them to go. The same goes for a half dozen or so other stakes.

NYRA still has a terrific stakes program, particularly at Saratoga, where the prestige of the races and the purses involved attract the very best horses in the sport. Every Grade I run there is a deserving Grade I. The card offered on the day of the GI Belmont S. is the second best day of racing in the sport, behind only the Breeders' Cup Saturday program. It's just the rest of the year where NYRA needs help.

The Brick Ambush Decision

Put 1,000 racing people in a room and ask them to watch Saturday's running of the Great White Way division of the New York Stallion Series at Aqueduct, and the verdict would be unanimous. All 1,000 would say the stewards got it wrong. In disqualifying Brick Ambush (Laoban) from second, the stewards not only made the wrong call they made a call that defies explanation. Anyone can see that. In no way did this horse bother anyone or have anything to do with the pile-up that resulted near the quarter-pole when three other horses banged into one another.

Yet, the stewards took down Brick Ambush. If you didn't know better, you'd think they didn't even bother to watch the race. It was, simply, a horrendous call, and it cost the horse's owners $100,000.

The stewards are no different than the rest of us. We all make mistakes. But the problem is, who holds them accountable when they do? Who is reviewing them and watching them? Is anyone in a position to fire or demote a steward when it becomes clear they're not up to the job? There doesn't appear to be. Separate from an appeal from owners Dean and Patti Reeves, the New York Gaming Commission needs to conduct a review into this race and any others where the stewards might have made an erroneous decision and decide whether or not the three stewards on duty Saturday need to be sanctioned in some way, even if that means they should be fired.

The disqualification caused a firestorm on X, with the vast majority questioning the stewards call, which seemed so obviously wrong.

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