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Rice Attorney’s Motion To Dismiss Denied, Hearing Moves Into Fifth Day

The New York State Gaming Commission rested its case against top trainer Linda Rice Tuesday after a fourth day of testimony reviewing details about the inside information Rice is alleged to have gotten from the racing office between late 2011 and 2015. At the conclusion of the commission's case, Rice counsel Andrew Turro moved to dismiss the commission's charge against her.

Turro argued that the commission failed to adequately prove Rice sought out the information provided to her by former racing office employees Jose Morales and Matt Salvato, and also that there was no specific NYSGC or New York Racing Association rule prohibiting racing office employees from providing trainers with the names of horses entered in a race prior to draw time.

Morales and Salvato have testified they provided, first through fax and later through email, horse names and past performance sheets of entries in races ahead of draw time — something senior racing office management testified is expressly forbidden. They also testified they were provided financial gifts by Rice, which they believed was in consideration for their providing her the information.

Rice is charged under state regulation language prohibiting “actions inconsistent with and detrimental to the best interest of racing generally ad corrupt and improper acts and practices in relation to racing.” During Tuesday's hearing, which consisted entirely of testimony and layers of cross-examination and redirect examination of NYSGC steward Braulio Baeza, Jr., Turro pointed out that NYRA and NYSGC codes do not specifically spell out what sharing of information is or isn't permissible by the racing office.

Rick Goodell, counsel for NYSGC, pointed out that language prohibiting licensees from failing to act “in the best interests of racing” may be broad, but is standard in many places and its legality has been upheld many times. Goodell also told the hearing officer that Rice herself acknowledged having loaned Morales money more than once and that she was not paid back for those loans. Morales and Salvato had indicated in previous testimony that Rice also sent cash or checks in envelopes to members of the racing office staff.

Clark Petschek, hearing officer for the case, denied Turro's motion to dismiss.

Although Turro has yet to make his opening statement in the case, he also seemed to question how beneficial the information was to Rice, pointing out instances where Rice lost races after getting pre-draw information from Morales. It's also true that since entries were still open at the time Morales and Salvato would send information to Rice, horses could come in or out of the race after she got preliminary entries but before draw time. Rick Goodell, counsel for NYSGC, also pointed out instances where Rice's horses had won or otherwise done well in races where Morales's emails showed he sent her information.

Two more days are allotted for the hearing on Nov. 18 and 19, allowing the defense to present its case. It remains unclear when after the conclusion of the hearings Petschek could issue a decision.

See previous coverage of the hearing here and here

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As Linda Rice Hearings Progress, Questions Remain About What’s Normal In The Racing Office

The hearing of trainer Linda Rice wrapped its third day on Nov. 12 with more testimony from New York Racing Association (NYRA) employees about standard operating procedures in the racing office. The hearing is meant to determine what, if any, sanctions await Rice, who is accused of “corrupt and improper acts in relation to racing.” Rice could face suspension or revocation of her license, and fines of up to $25,000 per violation.

Former racing office employee Jose Morales testified last week he provided Rice with horses' names and past performance information via fax and email both for races he was trying to fill and races Rice expressed an interest in. The commission maintains Rice received an unfair advantage by having this information prior to the races being drawn when other trainers did ot, as she had the opportunity to add or remove horses from fields depending upon how the competition was shaping up.

Thursday's proceedings involved the completion of testimony from Martin Panza, senior vice president of racing operations at NYRA, who began testifying last week, and testimony from Chris Camac, assistant racing secretary at Aqueduct. Camac recalled Rice having a reputation for putting horses in races — particularly turf races — and later calling to swap one horse out for another just before draw time. Although other trainers may occasionally do the same, Camac said Rice did so more often than average and was known to turn in her entries somewhat later in the day than other trainers.

Not for the first time, senior racing office officials told a somewhat different story about what goes on in the racing office than employees further down the food chain. Morales and former colleague Matt Salvato said last week they had the impression it was routine in some situations to reveal the names of horses or trainers pre-draw during the process of “hustling” to generate entries for a race with few entries. They also alleged there wasn't an orientation program for new employees emphasizing what information was acceptable to give out and what wasn't, although Morales admitted to hiding his communications with Rice from others.

(Salvato was eventually fired from the racing office when the scheme was uncovered, but testified last week he would provide Rice information she requested if Morales was unavailable.)

Camac and Panza said that while was no formal training program for new racing office employees, employees were well-versed in what they could and couldn't say to trainers.

Camac and Panza were presented Thursday with sworn testimony from trainer David Donk which cast doubt on what information is commonly given out to trainers — even now. Donk was asked about whether trainers were provided with names of horses or trainers in entries pre-draw, and about whether trainers were shown entries after the draw to help them figure out which riders may be available.

Counsel for Rice read part of Donk's statement into the record.

“[Clerks] might show me the computer screen to show me the names of the entered horses but not the PPs … Whenever they hustle a race to try and get it to fill, they will often tell you about the horses in a race to try and make it fill,” the statement read in part. “It is no different today when they're hustling a race. They'll tell you who is in a race to help you make a decision.”

Camac disputed the apparent allegation by Donk that trainers are to this day given information he and Panza had described as confidential.

“I cannot speak for Mr. Donk but I can speak for myself and I tell you, this has not happened in 2019, 2020 for sure because I was here,” he said. “I never saw it. I don't believe it.”

And if he had overheard an employee providing that information?

“I would have taken them to the racing commission myself,” he said. “It's a thing called integrity.”

Panza had stipulated last week that trainers may be given information about what an anonymous competitor in a certain race has done during its last start, or how the pace is shaping up based on current entries, but the actual release of names is not permissible. Panza admitted many savvy trainers can probably guess which horses are likely candidates for a given race without getting confidential information, but said that knowing which were entered and which weren't could still be beneficial. Panza read Donk's statement as a reference to learning which riders were in a race after draw time, not which horses were there before draw time, and stated he was not aware of racing office employees divulging confidential information.

Camac was also confronted about a record produced by Rice's attorneys purporting to show a check made out to him by Rice, which attorney Andrew Turro said was accompanied by a thank you note from Rice. Camac said he had no memory of receiving or cashing such a check or a thank you note.

One witness for the commission, steward Braulio Baeza Jr., was not examined Thursday due to time constraints. He is expected to testify next week. Two days are allotted next week for Rice's attorneys to present their case, with an additional day allowed if needed. A timeline has not been given for a decision after the conclusion of the hearings.

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Rice Hearing Begins With Testimony From Two Former NYRA Employees

The long-awaited hearing by the New York State Gaming Commission into alleged “corrupt and improper acts in relation to racing” by trainer Linda Rice began on Tuesday as counsel for the NYSGC began laying out the case against her. The hearing, which was postponed from March of this year, will determine whether Rice received information from racing office employees in New York from the 2011-12 Aqueduct meet through 2015 to help her place her horses in the most opportune races. Rice is accused of receiving “regular, continual and improper access to the confidential names and other information” of horses entered in races at New York Racing Association tracks, and of paying “substantial sums” of money to racing officials there to induce them to give her that information.

Depending upon the hearing results, a notice from the NYSGC states that her license could be suspended or revoked and she could be fined up to $25,000 for each violation.

Two days have been allocated for the NYSGC to present its case against Rice, with a third day potentially being scheduled for next week. During the following week, Rice's counsel will have up to three days to present their response.

On Tuesday, the hearing officer was presented testimony from three witnesses, two of whom are former employees in the racing office who say they provided Rice the information in question and received money from her.

It seems the allegations against Rice may have surfaced as the result of an unrelated investigation. Martin Panza, senior vide president of racing operations at NYRA, recalled an incident in spring 2014 when an unidentified trainer placed entries for his horses without naming riders on the horses. About five minutes later, the trainer would tell Panza, he got a call from a jockey's agent offering to put his rider on one of the trainer's horses. The timing seemed suspicious to the trainer and to Panza, who launched an investigation. NYRA's information technology department pulled data connecting IP addresses to the 40 or 50 people in the organization who had access to the Jockey Club's InCompass software, which is used to manage entries. Most accounts only were only associated with IP addresses corresponding to NYRA facilities, but Panza recalled one in particular – that of racing office employee and racing official Jose Morales, Jr. — that had “pages” of different IP addresses using it.

Panza testified he then contacted law enforcement, since NYRA didn't have the ability to trace those IP addresses to devices and locations. Police in Queens launched an investigation and several months later, law enforcement, prosecutors, and NYRA investigators spoke with Morales.

Morales testified he had provided his InCompass login information and/or print-offs of race entries to a number of jockey's agents, including Matt Muzikar, Mike Gonzalez (whose license was suspended 10 years by NYSGC), and Bill Castle. Prosecutors were interested in pursuing a criminal case against Morales, and Morales said his attorney at the time convinced him the only way he could avoid jail time was if he turned over additional information. That's when he opened up about his arrangement with Rice.

Morales said he'd known Rice since childhood, as she was friends with his parents. One day after he began working in the racing office, he said Rice called asking for a colleague of Morales who wasn't in, so Rice worked with him to help fill a race.

“I remember the day like it was yesterday,” Morales said. “I guess I was hustling her in the race and I guess she trusted me to see if [her] horse fit, and the horse ran bad and then what happened was, she wasn't really upset … she didn't like it, no one likes it when their horse runs bad … but she called me later to say the horse didn't run any good.

“She said, 'Hey, listen, you can help me, we can help each other, and everything is good.'”

Morales recalled racing office employees being assigned races they needed to “hustle” or push to get filled. Different employees had relationships with different trainers they could call to see if a horse in the barn could be ready for the race. Morales explained that Rice would help him get races filled, and he would fax (or sometimes email) information showing the horses that had been entered in races prior to draw time.

Morales recalled Rice bringing envelopes of cash to him, and to other racing office employees, a few times a year. Morales might get as much as $2,000 in one envelope two or three times a year before he ended his employment in 2014 to pursue a career as a jockey's agent. Morales also borrowed money from Rice several times. According to his testimony, Rice never specifically offered a set amount of money in exchange for certain information, but Morales came to expect he'd get it.

Morales' license application to become a jockey's agent in New York was denied in late 2016. He has reapplied and said the commission has not made a determination on his application. Counsel for Rice questioned whether his testimony this week was designed to sway the commission, and Morales said he had not been offered a deal in exchange for it.

“That was the only reason I even went to the racing office, is I wanted to make contacts and better myself,” Morales said. “Working in the racing office in New York, you can't make a living. It pays $40,000. What are you going to get with $40,000 in New York?”

Although Panza was very clear that racing office employees are instructed not to provide anyone with the identities of horses entered in races prior to their release in the overnights, Morales and former colleague Matt Salvato said they weren't given specific instructions about this, or any other aspect of the information in InCompass.

Salvato admitted to giving Rice information on occasions when Morales had a day off. At first, he said he had no idea he wasn't supposed to release that information. He took one envelope of cash from Rice delivered to him via Morales but when he saw a colleague reject such a payoff, he said he realized there must be something wrong.

Morales said that despite this, he knew what he was doing would be frowned upon – and he knew he needed to keep it a secret.

“My bosses basically told me, 'You've got to be careful,'” said Morales. “They obviously knew something was going on to a point, but it's like they turned a blind eye. They didn't want to know, but they knew.

“I never told anyone directly this was happening. People came to me and I'd deny it. If people knew what was really going on, a lot of the other trainers are going to come and complain.”

Morales said he believed, but has no proof, that other racing office employees were also giving their InCompass logins to people outside the office. Both Morales and Salvato said they did not provide information about horses' identities or past performances to any other trainers prior to draw time.

“Obviously people say you don't feel sorry until you get caught, right?” said Morales, chuckling, when asked about passing information to Rice. “Obviously, looking back, it wasn't the right thing to do. It wasn't fair to the little guy, busting his ass outside in the cold weather. The little guy with two or three horses was trying to win races, too.”

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New York Commission Revokes Groom License For Life After He Let Horse Out Of Stall

At a regularly scheduled meeting Oct. 20, the New York State Gaming Commission unanimously voted to permanently revoke licensing privileges of former racetrack groom Ramzan Antooa of Elmont, N.Y. Antooa was arrested on criminal charges this summer after Belmont Park security personnel witnessed Antooa letting 2-year-old filly Pasta out of her stall at the track, after which she ran loose and fell, sustaining catastrophic injuries.

Antooa was charged earlier this year with burglary and reckless endangerment of property. He faces arraignment in Nassau County Court on Oct. 22.

A hearing officer determined Antooa “lacked the general character and fitness to hold a racing license.”

Also at the Oct. 20 meeting, the commission suspended harness driver Kevin Cummings for an incident on July 18 after which Cummings was charged with “engaging in an indiscriminate, unnecessary, brutal, and excessive use of the whip” while driving Keystone Keen in the tenth race at Buffalo Raceway, resulting in visible welts on the horse.

The commission handed Cummings a six-month suspension with credit for time served and a fine of $2,500 — both increases from the hearing officer's recommendations of a 60-day suspension with credit and a $500 fine.

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