NYSGC Doubles Rice’s ‘Improper Practices’ Fine to $100K

The New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) on Tuesday fined trainer Linda Rice $100,000 in a re-adjudication of her “improper practices” case that has persisted at the commission level and in the New York courts for more than two years.

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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Satish Seemar Temporarily Suspended By ERA

Trainer Satish Seemar has had his license temporarily suspended by the Emirates Racing Authority Stewards due to circumstances surrounding his association with owner Ramzan Kadyrov.

Kadyrov, the Head of the Chechen Republic, was added to the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office Of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)'s list for his record of serious human rights abuses in 2017. Seemar, who trained the 2018 G1 Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3 victor North America (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) for Kadyrov, was put on the list due to his connection with Kadyrov on Dec. 10, 2020.

“The status of Mr. Seemar's license will be reviewed by the ERA upon the resolution of his status with the United States Government,” the ERA said in a statement.

Seemar's string based out of Zabeel Stables will in the meantime be handled by his assistant, Bhupat Seemar.

“I have been informed by the Emirates Racing Authority that they are suspending my license temporarily, with immediate effect,” Seemar said in statement. “This is due to one of my former clients [Kadyrov] being included on the United States OFAC list. I have been placed on the list due to training the horse.

“The horse in question, North America, is no longer in training at Zabeel Racing Stables, and has been exported from the UAE. My case has been submitted to lawyers in Washington DC and I am confident my name will be removed from the list in the near future.

“Bhupat Seemar will be holding the license until further notice and he and the excellent team at Zabeel Stables will endeavor to uphold the high standards we have maintained throughout the past 30 years.”

OFAC said of Seemar at the time of his designation, that he “has materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial material, or technological support for, or goods and services to or in support of, Kadyrov.”

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