new york state gaming commission | Horse Racing Free Tips

Riding Crop Will Be ‘Theme’ Of New York Commission’s October Meeting

With announcements made by several major racing jurisdictions about the riding crop this month, the New York State Gaming Commission said in its Monday meeting that it will hear industry participants' input on the issue next month, reports the Thoroughbred Daily News.

“I think we all agree that this is a matter that needs to be brought to closure sooner rather than later. Some of us contend that it's been out there too long,” said chairman Barry Sample. “The theme of the October meeting is going to be the crop.”

It will take another meeting beyond October to vote on any proposed whip rule the NYSGC may write, and if passed, the rule must be published in the New York State Register and be sent out for general public comment. The NYSGC will then take a final vote, so implementation would be in 2021 at the earliest.

Read more at the Thoroughbred Daily News.

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NY Commission Inches Closer on Whip Reform

As New York remains well behind other racing states to pass rules on whipping reform, the Sep. 21 meeting of the New York State Gaming Commission marked the fourth consecutive session over a nine-month span that the commission again declined to take up any substantial action on the topic.

The NYSGC did, however, inch forward on the matter by declaring at the end of Monday’s 14-minute meeting that October would be the month in which it sought public commentary from stakeholders.

“I think we all agree that this is a matter that needs to be brought to closure sooner rather than later. Some of us contend that it’s been out there too long,” said NYSGC chairman Barry Sample. “The theme of the October meeting is going to be the crop.”

Commissioner Peter Moschetti agreed: “From my perspective, it is time to move on that issue.” He added that the NYSGC needs to consider “everything from an outright ban, as they did in New Jersey,” where whip use is only permitted in emergency safety situations, to the California, Kentucky, and Maryland models, which have variations about the number of allowable strikes and the manner in which they are delivered.

“I think the time has come. We want to do this. We’ve talked about doing this. Staff has done their work,” Moschetti said.

After soliciting the stakeholders’ commentary, the NYSGC would have to come back at a future meeting to vote on any proposed rule it might craft. If that rule passes the proposal stage, it must be published in the New York State Register and be sent out for a general public comment period. Then commissioners would then come back for a final vote, pushing any implementation into 2021.

The Jockeys’ Guild has largely opposed measures of whip reform that have surfaced in other states. The organization that represents riders across the continent has cited various objections, including concerns that safety would be compromised without whip usage and an argument that the sport’s regulators are waging a crackdown on public perceptions rather than reality. The Guild has also stressed the need for North American uniformity in whip regulation, a request that has not been met by the various state-by-state implementations of the new anti-whipping plans.

“I just ask that [stakeholder input] be done by the end of October. And if people are not available, they’re not available,” Moschetti said.

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Limited Number Of Owners Will Be Allowed To Attend Races At Belmont Park

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) announced Friday that a limited number of licensed owners will be permitted to attend live racing at Belmont Park on the day that their horse is entered to race

To reduce density and adhere to social distancing guidelines, the size of the ownership group will be restricted to 10 individuals per horse.

All owners within the group must be in possession of a valid New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) license. Horses with identical ownership will be limited to 10 total admissions regardless of number of horses running that day.

To align with required health and safety measures implemented in New York to mitigate risk and combat the spread of COVID-19, owners will be subjected to health screening prior to entry, including a temperature check. In addition, owners will be required to practice social distancing and to wear a facial covering at all times while on Belmont Park property.

Owners planning travel to New York from any of the states currently listed on the New York Travel Advisory are subject to a mandatory 14-day quarantine. For additional information on the travel advisory, and a complete list of states included, visit https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/covid-19-travel-advisory.

Owner reservations for race-day admission to Belmont Park should be sent to NYRA's Horsemen's Relations via email at horsemensrelations@nyrainc.com or by phone at 516-488-6008. NYRA will confirm all reservations via email. NYRA cannot consider or accept same day reservations.

The NYRA Office of Horsemen's Relations will begin processing reservations for opening day of the Belmont Park fall meet on Wednesday, September 16 at 10 a.m.

Licensed owners will be permitted within the Belmont Park barn area beginning on Wednesday, September 16. In order to secure access to the barn area, owners must be in possession of a valid NYSGC license and provide NYRA with a negative COVID-19 test.

Owners not previously registered to access the barn area are required to register in advance with racing administrative assistant Zerfana Khan at 718-659-2313 or zkhan@nyrainc.com beginning Wednesday, September 16.

Owners approved to enter the barn area will be required to practice social distancing and to wear a facial covering at all times.

Trainers stabled on NYRA grounds may ship stakes horses to race at facilities outside of New York state. Staff who have traveled with the horse must provide NYRA with a negative COVID-19 test taken upon their return to New York.
Trainers stabled on NYRA grounds may ship horses to run in overnight races at facilities outside of New York state provided that staff does not accompany the horse for the race. The horse may return to NYRA property only if unaccompanied by staff.

Trainers currently stabled off of NYRA grounds [outside of New York state] wishing to run in an overnight race may ship the horse to a trainer stabled at Belmont. Staff cannot accompany the horse into the Belmont barn area. Said trainer will be allowed to saddle the horse in the paddock provided he or she has provided NYRA with a negative COVID-19 test. Trainer is not permitted access to the barn area.

A separate stakes quarantine barn will be established at Barn 16 along with a separate isolated housing cottage for any staff that may accompany horses competing in stakes. A separate training period will be set up for these horses at 10:00 a.m. each day over the Belmont main track so they will train away from the Belmont population.

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NY Commission Again Punts on Whip Rule Reform

For the third consecutive meeting over a seven-month span, the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) Monday again declined to take up any discussion of whip rule reform. Possible changes to whipping rules were initially brought up at the NYSGC’s December 2019 meeting. Since that time, a number of other major racing jurisdictions–including California, Kentucky, Maryland and New Jersey–have all advanced changes in whip rules at the commission level that are designed to be more humane to horses.

Near the conclusion of the 14-minute teleconference meeting July 27, commissioner Peter Moschetti, who was acting as moderator at the request of chairman Barry Sample, cited the voluminous amount of material to review as the reason that the NYSGC needed more time before deliberating any changes to whipping.

“During the middle of the week, staff circulated a lengthy memorandum outlining the various national and regional changes and deliberations relative to the use of the crop,” Moschetti said. “Given the volume of the material circulated, and I think it’s a rather important issue, perhaps it’s best to defer substantive discussion until the August meeting, when we can get into the meat of the memorandum.”

Back in December, NYSGC staffers had been “directed to discuss the proposed California crop use proposal with the NYRA jockey colony and with other leading regulatory jurisdictions and report back at a future commission meeting.”

Despite that directive, whip use did not get brought up the next time the NYSGC met in February for a meeting that lasted six minutes.

At the May NYSGC tele-meeting, Moschetti cited “the length of today’s agenda” [32 minutes] as the reason that the topic of whip rule reform had to be pushed off until the July 27 meeting.

None of the four rule-making issues that the NYSGC did act upon during Monday’s meeting pertained to Thoroughbred racing.

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