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Suspended NYRA Clocker Denied Stay, Claims Absence Will ‘Harm’ Horsemen

Richie Gazer, the longtime NYRA head clocker who is set to begin a 30-day suspension and pay a $2,500 fine for “altering a published work of a horse to make the horse eligible to race,” has been denied a stay of his penalties by the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) while he seeks to elevate the case to the state court level.

Gazer's attorney, Karen Murphy, confirmed the NYSGC's denial to TDN on Friday afternoon, shortly after the commission emailed her the decision stating the stay would not be granted. She said at this point, Gazer has exhausted all his commission-level appeals.

“This is a purely vindictive response. I am actually shocked by the whole thing,” Murphy said.

In making the case for a stay to be granted, Murphy had written to the commission that Gazer's “absence from his duties as the Head Clocker for the significant suspension imposed will be harmful to all NY horsemen and horsewomen whose horses rely on his daily services.”

On Dec. 12, the NYSGC voted unanimously to uphold Gazer's commission-level appeal of penalties by rejecting a hearing officer's recommendation that the case be dismissed.

Instead, the commissioners imposed the original penalties that had been handed down earlier in the year by Braulio Baeza, Jr., the NYSGC state steward at the three New York Racing Association (NYRA) tracks.

Gazer's penalty stems from a May 19, 2022, stewards' ruling in which he changed a published five-furlong work by subsequently substituting the correct four-furlong split from within that longer work.

The purpose of providing the half-mile timing was to make a horse eligible to come off NYRA's “poor performance” list, which is governed by a seldom-triggered rule that does not allow for a workout farther than four furlongs.

“The decision to issue the penalty [is] without precedent and lacking strong basis to affirm the decision…” hearing officer Dayrel Sewell wrote in his Oct. 21 report that recommended vacating Gazer's penalty. “Respondent has a spotless 40-year track record, and there is no evidence of corruption or favoritism towards a trainer(s) during his employment as head clocker.

“Although there is no regulation [specific to what Gazer was accused of doing], the Stewards have discretion on how to handle this, but the discretion must be proportionate to the harm and there must be boundaries to the practice of discretion,” the hearing officer summed up.

The commissioners' outright rejection of the hearing officer's months of work in conducting the hearing and writing up the report is somewhat unusual. But in most state jurisdictions, racing commissioners are not bound to accept the opinions of the hearing officers, who are often attorneys, that they hire to hear appeals.

An exasperated Gazer has called the entire ordeal “a joke.” On Dec. 18, TDN's Bill Finley editorialized that the decision by the NYSGC to penalize the clocker was a “disgrace” that bucked common sense.

Murphy told TDN on Dec. 30 that Gazer is still clocking horses, and that he has yet to be informed when his suspension is supposed to start.

“He's at work and he'll be able work until [Baeza] sets the [dates for the] suspension down,” Murphy said. “But am I going to be able to get into court and get an injunction to stop that suspension? I think that's probably a hope that is beyond our reach at this point.”

Murphy explained that Gazer's court appeal involves a type of filing known as Article 78, which is a New York law by which a petitioner asks a court to review a decision or action of a state official or administrative agency to determine whether such action was unlawful.

Murphy added though, that petitioners have to weigh whether going through the courts is worth it, because Article 78 cases are expensive to litigate and often languish in the court system for months or even years.

TDN asked Patrick McKenna, NYRA's vice president of communications, if there was anything trainers needed to know about the morning clocking routine given Gazer's pending suspension and the in-limbo court appeal.

“Richie Gazer is a deeply experienced professional whose presence and skills as a clocker would absolutely be missed at Belmont Park should the NYSGC suspension take effect,” McKenna wrote in an email. “That said, NYRA does have the necessary staff in place to adequately cover his duties.”

Back on Dec. 12, NYSGC chairman Brian O'Dwyer said during the meeting that, “The commission reviewed the entire record [and] established the violation as a matter of fact…. And in particular, found that the conduct was improper in relation to commission rule 4042.1(f).”

That rule prohibits “improper, corrupt or fraudulent” acts or practices in relation to racing or conspiring or assisting others in such acts or practices.

Along with O'Dwyer, NYSGC commissioners John Crotty, Peter Moschetti, Jr., Christopher Riano, Marissa Shorenstein and Jerry Skurnik all voted in favor of rejecting the hearing officer's recommendations not to penalize Gazer.

The outcome of their vote, which had taken place at some point prior to the open, public meeting, was simply read into the record, and the commissioners did not debate any specifics or discuss findings during the Dec. 12 meeting itself.

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Trainer, Clocker Stunned as NYSGC Rejects Advice of from Hearing Appeal Officers

by T.D. Thornton & Bill Finley

The New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) on Monday adjudicated two unrelated penalty appeals by a clocker and a trainer by flat-out rejecting two separate hearing officers' recommendations that those cases be dismissed without penalization.

In both instances, the commissioners voted unanimously to impose the original penalties that had been handed down by Braulio Baeza, Jr., the NYSGC state steward at the three New York Racing Association (NYRA) tracks.

Monday's vote means trainer Orlando Noda now must pay a fine of $5,000, serve a 90-day suspension, and complete an anger management course prior to being reinstated for “for striking a horse excessively while working the horse out at Saratoga Race Course on Aug. 5, 2021,” according to the NYSGC.

And Richard Gazer, a longtime NYRA clocker, has been fined $2,500 and suspended 30 days “for altering a published work of a horse to make the horse eligible to race,” the NYSGC ruled.

The outright rejections of the officers' combined days of conducting the hearings and their months spent writing up the reports is somewhat unusual. But in a number of jurisdictions, racing commissioners are not bound to accept the opinions of the officers they hire to hear appeals.

Drew Mollica, who represents Noda, told TDN in a phone interview he was stunned by the NYSGC's decision.

“This is crazy. I was just telling my colleagues, 'I win, but I lose,'” Mollica said.

“This is madness. The hearing officer is the one who heard the evidence. On what basis, what evidence, did the commission use to overturn the hearing officer's recommendation?” Mollica asked rhetorically.

Noda, who has been training since 2019, is also licensed as an exercise rider.

In his reading into the record of the decision, NYSGC chairman Brian O'Dwyer said that, “The commission duly deliberated and considered this matter, and determined by a 6-0 vote to reject the hearing officer's report and recommendations. In doing that, commissioners reviewed the entire record, and established by a preponderance of evidence that Noda's conduct was improper and detrimental to the best interest of racing, and determined that the appropriate penalty was that which was given by the stewards.”

Mollica said he will confer with Noda about using “every legal remedy at his disposal” to fight the commission's order, “because the hearing officer vindicated him and found that he did nothing wrong.”

Gazer's penalty stems from a May 19, 2022, ruling in which the commission stated he “alter[ed] a horse's workout time while training at Belmont Park.”

The horse in question, Papi On Ice (Keen Ice), was initially credited with a five-furlong work in 1:04.60. The work was later changed to a half-mile in :51.33.

Because Papi On Ice had been beaten more than 25 lengths in a previous start, that result triggered a precautionary placement on NYRA's “poor performance” list. In order to get off that list, a horse must work a half-mile in :53 or faster. But the rule does not allow for a workout farther than a half mile.

Because Papi On Ice's workout was initially published as a five-furlong move, the racing office would not accept the colt's entry for a race.

Gazer told DRF.com back in May that the time of the work was not changed, but that the distance was shortened to comply with NYRA's rule. He did not time Papi On Ice himself, but a subordinate clocker told him the horse did work a properly timed half mile as part of the longer five-eighths breeze.

“This is a joke. It really is,” Gazer told TDN Dec. 12. “I've been doing this for 40 years. The horse was on the other training track, went a half-mile, and galloped out five-eighths and the trainer, Randi Persaud, wanted the five-eighths time. But they have that rule where he had to have a half-mile workout. It's a stupid rule. They called me up and I said I would change it. It was no big deal. It was either :51 for the half or 1:04 and something for five-eighths.”

Gazer continued: “We had a seven-hour hearing, [the hearing officer] recommended that they drop all the charges. And then they do this. It doesn't make any sense.”

Chairman O'Dwyer said Monday that the commissioners saw it differently.

“The commission reviewed the entire record [and] established the violation as a matter of fact,” O'Dwyer said. “And in particular, found that the conduct was improper in relation to commission rule 4042.1(f).”

That rule prohibits “improper, corrupt or fraudulent” acts or practices in relation to racing or conspiring or assisting others in such acts or practices.

The commissioners did not debate or discuss the details of the two cases during the open, public meeting, which is standard for the way the NYSGC usually issues appeal outcomes after a hearing officer issues a report.

Based on past practice, the NYSGC generally receives such reports and takes its vote on the hearing officer's recommendation at some point before the meeting, and the chairman then reads the results into the record when the meeting goes into session, explaining the vote in one or two sentences.

Karen Murphy, an attorney who represents Gazer, told TDN in an email that, “In the 30 years that I have been practicing before the Gaming Commission (and its predecessor) this has never happened….The decision in this matter was dependent on the credibility of the proffered witnesses. In recommending that all the charges be dismissed, including a 'fraudulent, corrupt act' charge, the designated Hearing Officer made a determination in favor of Mr. Gazer's credibility. Today, the Commission rejected that credibility [and] did so without giving any specific reasons or findings…”

Murphy added that the NYSGC's ruling against her client amounted to a failure of the open-government test, “and in doing so abjectly failed in its obligations under law to Mr. Gazer. We look forward to righting this wrong.”

The penalties for Noda and Gazer will go into effect within a few days upon formal issuance of the commission's findings and order.

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NYRA Racing Secretary Doleshel to Appeal Fine

Keith Doleshel, fined $2,000 by the New York Gaming Commission for “failing to conduct business in a professional manner,” will appeal that ruling before the commission, and has retained attorney Drew Mollica to represent him, according to Mollica.

The ruling stemmed from an incident at Saratoga in which an unauthorized agent was allowed to claim a horse this past summer. The New York State rules of racing require that an individual be licensed with the Gaming Commission and registered with The Jockey Club. After the claim, NYRA officials informed the Gaming Commission of the error, and Doleshel was fined on October 20.

The fine was one of four levied upon NYRA employees this year: Doleshel was fined $2,000 in April after a horse not fully registered as a New York-bred competed in two New York-bred races; NYRA Senior Vice President of Racing Frank Gabriel was fined $4,000 for failure to follow proper claiming protocol, and clocker Richie Gazer was fined $2,500 for reporting the half-mile time of a five-furlong workout.

“Keith Doleshel is a valued employee who conducts himself with a high degree of professionalism at all times,” said NYRA's Vice President of Communications Pat McKenna. “He has every right to appeal this decision, and NYRA continues to question the rationale for issuing significant financial penalties for alleged errors that are inadvertent and administrative or clerical in nature.”

“Anyone who knows Mr. Doleshel during his tenure at NYRA knows that he always conducts business in a professional manner,” said Mollica, “and he denies that he has not done so in this case. He has never been able to confront this charge, because he has never been told what he did wrong. As such, the scarlet letter of unprofessionalism cannot stand and we must appeal.”

“Mr. Doleshel had a competent person acting as the claims clerk,” said Mollica. “A mistake may have been made in the office or by The Jockey Club, but it had nothing to do with him acting unprofessionally.”

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Trainer Tannuzzo Gets 27-Month Prison Sentence in Doping Case

The barred Thoroughbred trainer Michael Tannuzzo, 50, was sentenced to 27 months in a federal prison on Monday as part of plea agreement in which he had previously copped guilty to one felony count of drug adulteration and misbranding with the intent to defraud or mislead.

Tannuzzo, a native of Brooklyn and Queens who had 11 horses racing at Aqueduct at the time of his Mar. 9, 2020, arrest, made headlines 24 hours later by steadfastly declaring his innocence and maintaining that the New York State Gaming Commission shouldn't have suspended his license after learning he had been booked by the feds on felony charges related to equine drugging conspiracies.

Tannuzzo told Daily Racing Form at that time that he was being targeted because his “best friend” was the trainer and high-profile defendant Jorge Navarro. His conspiracy charges were related to Tannuzzo picking up a package of a purported performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) from Navarro's residence and delivering it to him at Monmouth Park. Tannuzzo said that equated to “guilt by association.”

But since Tannuzzo made those initial statements in the press nearly three years ago, Navarro has long since admitted to doping his horses, changed his own plea to guilty, and is currently serving a five-year prison sentence.

Tannuzzo was also ordered to pay $15,893, representing the value of “forfeitable property,” or the drugs in this case.

The Blood-Horse first reported Tannuzzo's prison sentence, citing a source who was present in the courtroom. The online docket for this case was not updated prior to deadline for this story, which is not unusual for court actions that occur late in the afternoon.

According to a sentencing submission filed by prosecutors, Tannuzzo “distributed, procured, and administered PEDs to dope racehorses and corruptly improve their race performance. Tannuzzo collaborated with convicted co-defendant Jorge Navarro in furtherance of Navarro's doping program.

“Not content to assist, Tannuzzo personally procured PEDs from multiple sources to administer to horses he controlled. Tannuzzo was involved in the offense conduct for approximately one year. In that time, Tannuzzo engaged in repeated efforts to dope horses under his care. Tannuzzo also displayed deep knowledge of the extent of Navarro's doping program and took steps to facilitate it.”

The submission continued, “Notwithstanding these efforts, Tannuzzo has repeatedly downplayed the fact and extent of his criminal conduct. Tannuzzo's minimization originated with his post-arrest statements to the press and extended to his allocution during the change of plea hearing. But the defendant cannot reasonably dispute the facts supporting his conviction: Tannuzzo obtained, and assisted others in obtaining, unapproved, untested, novel PEDs intended for administration on horses in violation of racing rules, despite the inherent risks of subjecting animals to unnecessary and unknown medications.”

The government had requested a sentence “at the low end of the Stipulated Guidelines Range of 30 to 36 months' imprisonment.” Tannuzzo's lawyer, in his own sentencing submission, had asked for probation or home confinement.

According to a trove of wiretapped calls that federal prosecutors had intended to use as evidence had the case gone to trial, on Mar. 3, 2019, Navarro and Tannuzzo discussed modeling a doping program based on one Navarro had used on his elite-level stakes sprinter, X Y Jet. A key takeaway from this discussion is that neither trainer seemed sure of the name of the substance that would be administered.

Navarro: What I'm going to do is tap his ankles, put him in a series every week with SGF. I'm just trying [to get] my vet to give me a good price, man, because I want to [expletive] tap every week.

Tannuzzo: You're going to tap him every week?

Navarro: Yeah, with SGF. That's what I did with X Y Jet. I'm going to call my vet up north, my surgeon, to see how he did it to X Y Jet and that's it. Don't worry man, you're in good hands. Don't worry.

Tannuzzo: You're talking about the HGF, not the SGF.

Navarro: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever. The SGF whatever. The thing that you sent me in the syringe.

Tannuzzo: Yeah.

Within 10 months of that conversation, X Y Jet would die suddenly under Navarro's care, allegedly from cardiac distress that has never been fully documented or explained.

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