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Rice Plans Court Appeal to Keep Training

The previously levied three-year license revocation and $50,000 fine against trainer Linda Rice went into effect Monday, the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) announced. According to published reports, Rice will request a temporary restraining order to try and get the revocation stayed pending a court review of the NYSGC's ruling.

On May 17, Rice had her training license revoked for a period of “no less than three years” and got fined $50,000 when NYSGC members voted 5-0 to agree with a hearing officer that Rice's years-long pattern of seeking and obtaining confidential pre-entry information from New York Racing Association (NYRA) racing office workers was “intentional, serious and extensive, and that her actions constituted improper and corrupt conduct…inconsistent with and detrimental to the best interests of horse racing.”

Rice had testified during eight days of NYSGC hearings late in 2020 that she had handed over cash gifts amounting to thousands of dollars at a time to NYRA racing office employees between 2011 and 2015.

But the veteran conditioner, who has been training since 1987 and owns seven NYRA training titles, also testified that she did not expect any special favors in return for that money, and that any entry-related information she did receive from NYRA employees was a type of disclosure that was routinely divulged to other trainers.

Rice's lone trainee entered to race June 7 was scratched at Finger Lakes.

Ironically–considering the circumstances of Rice's case–that entrant was named Inside Info (Mission Impazible).

Rice's attorney, Andrew Turro, did not respond to TDN queries prior to deadline for this story. But he told The Blood-Horse that a stay will likely be filed in Schenectady Supreme Court and that she will fight the case until all of her legal avenues of appeal have been exhausted.

“We are very troubled by the commission's determination with respect to the racing office information issue because it is incorrect in a number of material respects,” Turro told The Blood-Horse. “We will seek judicial review of the order as soon as humanly possible and we expect to be heard in court this week on a stay application.”

Rice has six horses total entered to race at both Belmont Park and Finger Lakes later this week.

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Rice License Revocation Goes Into Effect June 7

Top New York trainer Linda Rice saw her license revoked officially by the state's gaming commission June 7, two weeks after a hearing officer's recommendations in her long-running case were made public. Rice was accused of receiving information from the racing office about which horses were entered in which races prior to the official close of entries. The alleged information exchange took place over a period of 2011 and 2014, and the commission first brought a complaint against Rice in 2019. A series of hearing dates took place in late 2020, during which the commission and Rice's attorney presented information to a hearing officer along with numerous volumes of data and interview transcripts.

At a regularly scheduled meeting two weeks ago, the gaming commission voted to uphold that hearing officer's recommendation that Rice's license be revoked with the condition she could not reapply for licensure for at least three years. She has also been ordered to pay a fine of $50,000 and is denied all access to New York gaming commission-sanctioned properties.

Rice's lone entry on June 7, Inside Info in the eighth race at Finger Lakes, was a stewards' scratch.

The commission had alleged that Rice “received regular, continual and improper access to confidential names and other information,” and that she “paid substantial sums of money to NYRA racing officials” to get this information. The hearing officer agreed that Rice improperly solicited and received non-public information but dismissed the charge relating to the trainer allegedly paying substantial sums of money in exchange for the information.

“We are gratified that the commission dismissed the bribery charges against Ms. Rice as they had no merit whatsoever,” said Rice's attorney, Andrew Turro. “Nonetheless, we are troubled by the Commission's determination with respect to the racing information issue because it is incorrect in a number of material respects. We will seek judicial review of the order as soon as possible and expect to be heard in court this week on a stay application.”

Licensees in New York are entitled to appeal a finding of a hearing officer to the appropriate court, and it's common for stays of suspensions or other penalties to be issued while the appeals process plays out.

The post Rice License Revocation Goes Into Effect June 7 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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California Horse Racing Board Will Not Suspend Baffert’s License Without Due Process

The California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) is aware of the situation surrounding Bob Baffert and the alleged positive relative to the Kentucky Derby.

Racetracks in Kentucky and New York have temporarily precluded Mr. Baffert from entering horses and/or using stalls. To date, the regulatory bodies in those two states – the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and the New York State Gaming Commission – have not taken any action against Mr. Baffert's license. They face the same issue the CHRB does in that regulators cannot suspend or revoke occupational licenses without a hearing and due process. Should any regulatory body take action against any licensee, we would reciprocate that action in California.

Further, Noodles, a 2-year-old unraced colt in Mr. Baffert's care, suffered a non-racing or training-related death this weekend at Los Alamitos. That fatality will be posted on the CHRB website today, as is the practice, with the note: “Respiratory – Pneumonia (pending).” A necropsy will be performed and a fatality review conducted pursuant to the law and CHRB regulations.

The post California Horse Racing Board Will Not Suspend Baffert’s License Without Due Process appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Linda Rice Plans Appeal Of Three-Year License Revocation

Trainer Linda Rice told the Daily Racing Form Thursday that plans to appeal the three-year license revocation and $50,000 fine handed down by the New York State Gaming Commission on Monday for “actions inconsistent with and detrimental to the best interest of racing generally and corrupt and improper acts and practices in relation to racing.”

Rice's license will not officially be suspended until findings and an order have been served, typically within 10 business days of the determination. Meanwhile, Rice ran two horses at Finger Lakes on Wednesday, had three horses entered Thursday at Belmont Park, and has horses entered in three races Friday, five races on Saturday, and three races Sunday at Belmont.

Attorney Andrew Turro will represent Rice in her appeal process.

The NYSGC first launched an investigation into Rice's operation in early 2018, on the claim that she traded money for information from the racing office. That information, such as which horses were likely to enter races before the race had closed, could have given her a competitive advantage.

The investigation uncovered evidence that between 2011 and 2015, Rice received faxes and emails from former entry clerks Jose Morales and Matt Salvato, giving her the names and past performance records of horses prior to draw time. Senior racing office management has said the names of trainers and horses in a given race are not to be released until after a race is drawn (with stakes races being the exception).

An eight-day hearing was conducted at the end of 2020, and the hearing officer submitted a final report to the NYSGC on April 13, 2021. The report concluded that Rice's misconduct – which involved receiving and requesting confidential entry information in overnight races – was intentional, serious and extensive. It also concludes that her actions constituted improper and corrupt conduct in relation to racing in violation of NYCRR 4042.1 and were inconsistent with and detrimental to the best interests of horse racing.

Rice has saddled the winners of 2,107 races from 11,384 starters over a career dating back to 1987, according to Equibase. Her top trainees include millionaires La Verdad and Palace, as well as Grade 1 winners Voodoo Song, City Zip, and Tenski.

The post Linda Rice Plans Appeal Of Three-Year License Revocation appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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