NYSGC | Horse Racing Free Tips

Quarantine Extended in Belmont’s Barn 15 Until Feb. 26

The period of the quarantine of Barn 15 at Belmont has been extended by two days by the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) and the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) due to another horse in that barn, Willful Desire, developing a fever. The 4-year-old filly, trained by Gustavo Rodriguez, developed a fever on Monday. Nasal swabs and blood samples were immediately sent to Cornell University for analysis, which were returned on Tuesday afternoon as negative for EHV.

In accordance with standard protocols, Barn 15 will remain under quarantine through at least Feb. 26, 21 days from Willful Desire's first symptoms.

Barn 15 was first placed into quarantine on Saturday, Feb. 3 at 3 p.m. when Cure Curls, trained by Danny Gargan, presented acute neurological symptoms and was subsequently euthanized. Cornell University returned a positive test result for EHV on Sunday afternoon. The quarantine procedures are overseen by Dr. Sarah Hinchliffe, the director of NYRA's veterinary department, in consultation with the NYSGC.

The 34 horses stabled in Barn 15, which is also home to stalls for Jim Ryerson along with Gargan and Rodriguez, are monitored throughout the day for fever and other signs of illness.

During the quarantine period, horses stabled in Barn 15 will not be permitted to enter races or train among the general horse population.

Afebrile/asymptomatic horses stabled in Barn 15 will continue to train in isolation from the general horse population throughout the quarantine.

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New York Gaming Commission Issues Update On Great White Way Stakes DQ, But Only Adds To The Confusion

The New York Gaming Commission issued a statement Friday regarding the controversial disqualification of Brick Ambush (Laoban) in the Dec. 16 Great White Way S. at Aqueduct that was meant to bolster the argument that the stewards made the right call, but it included a photo that could be construed as doing the exact opposite.

The TDN and other news outlets received an email from New York Gaming Commission Director of Communications Brad Maione that included six screen shots from the race taken at the point where there was contact and horses were steadied. One of the shots included arrows pointing to four jockeys, Ruben Silvera, Manny Franco, Junior Alvarado and Jose Lezcano. Alvarado was aboard Brick Ambush, who, though disqualified after crossing the wire second and placed last, appeared to be free of the trouble while racing outside and clear of the horses who were bothered. The arrow pointing to what was supposed to be Alvarado's mount was instead The Big Torpedo (Big Brown), who was ridden by Javier Castellano.

When the TDN notified Maione that there was an error concerning the identification of the horses and their riders, he sent a new version of the original statement that fixed the mistake. However, with Alvarado now properly identified, the pictures offered no evidence that he was at fault.

The second version of the statement included the following explanation: “Please note the first screenshot in the previous version incorrectly identified the riders on specific horses. Please disregard those reference screenshots. Corrected versions are attached and included below. The narrative remains unchanged.”

Misidentified image of the Great White Way S. sent to the media | NYSGC

The disqualification set off a controversy that has yet to die down and the consensus in the sport is that, for whatever reason, the stewards simply DQ'd the wrong horse by mistake. Many believe that the horse that caused the bumping and deserved to come down was actually the race winner, Antonio of Venice (Laoban).

The statement made the case that the stewards carefully reviewed the race after the decision was made to disqualify Brick Ambush and that they stood by their decision. The stewards officiating the race were Braulio Baeza, Jr. (N.Y.S. Gaming Commission), Juan Dominguez (The New York Racing Association, Inc.) and Samantha Randazzo (The Jockey Club).

“The three Stewards' attention was focused on the field as it arrived near the quarter-pole, where several horses converged and were in close contact,” the statement read. “As evident in the below/attached screenshots, horse Brick Ambush (#12), ridden by Junior Alvarado, came up on three horses that were crowded together–Antonio of Venice (#1) ridden by Manuel Franco, The Big Torpedo (#7) ridden by Javier Castellano, and Solo's Fury (#11), ridden by Jose Lezcano–and made disruptive contact. The Stewards were concerned that Castellano's contact with the other horses and their riders could have impacted the results of the race.”

According to the statement, the stewards examined six separate camera views of the area of concern and conducted telephone interviews with Franco, Castellano, Lezcano and Alvarado. Castellano told reporters after the race that he attempted to claim foul, but the stewards have said they were unaware that he wanted to file an objection.

“After review of the footage and interviews with the jockeys, the Stewards unanimously concluded that Alvarado's movement of Brick Ambush to the inside at quarter-pole pole caused a chain reaction that impacted the race. Accordingly, the Stewards disqualified Brick Ambush for interference,” the statement continued.

Alvarado was hit with a three-day suspension for careless riding.

“The following morning, all four jockeys were required to participate in a film review of the race and discussed the event with all three Stewards,” the statement continued. “At the conclusion of the review, State Steward Baeza issued a 3-day careless riding suspension to Mr. Alvarado, to be effective January 1 through January 5, 2024. Mr. Alvarado accepted the penalty and declined to appeal.”

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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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Rice Hit With Bute Fine, Suspension; Lodges Appeal Just Before NYSGC To Rule On ‘Improper Practices’

Trainer Linda Rice has been suspended 14 days and fined $2,000 by the New York State Gaming Commission after a filly under her care returned a positive test for the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug phenylbutazone following a 9 1/2-length win as the 4-5 favorite at Aqueduct Racetrack more than eight months ago.

Rice has appealed the Sept. 28 ruling, so she has been granted a stay of those penalties pending a final resolution.

The NYSGC also made it public on Friday that Rice will be appearing before the commission for a separate matter when the board conducts its monthly meeting this coming Tuesday.

Rice's name appears on the just-released agenda for the Oct. 3 meeting for an 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 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.

It was further alleged that Rice had paid racing officials in exchange for the information, a charge she denied. She did, however, admit to routinely giving members of the racing department, as well as the gate crew, Christmas presents.

On June 8, 2023, the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division ruled that the three-year banishment imposed by the NYSGC was “entirely unwarranted.”

Rice's Jan. 21, 2023, bute penalty was triggered by Afleet Arlene (Afleet Alex), who is owned by Winning Move Stable and has been unraced since that victory. A disqualification from the win and a purse redistribution from the $16,000 claimer ($15,400 winning purse) was mandated by the under-appeal ruling.

The ruling stated that the bute finding was “in excess of the quantitative threshold” of 0.3 mcg/ml in plasma.

The relatively long time that the NYSGC's drug-test findings linger behind the scenes prior to a ruling being issued has been an issue of concern in 2023, with some cases still resurfacing even after the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act Authority took over as the sport's nationwide testing entity back on May 22.

Back on May 11, trainer Todd Pletcher was fined $1,000 and suspended 10 days after tests revealed that his trainee Forte (Violence) tested positive for meloxicam following a win in the GI Hopeful S. on Sept. 5, 2022, at Saratoga Race Course.

The length of the delay made headlines because in the interim between the Hopeful S. and the ruling, Forte won the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile, was voted the Eclipse Award champion of his division, had won two other graded stakes, and was the favorite for the GI Kentucky Derby before being scratched the morning of the race with a right front foot bruise.

Another Pletcher trainee, Capensis (Tapit), triggered a bute finding in a Saratoga post-race test on July 30, 2022, but that ruling (14-day suspension, $2,000 fine) was not made public until 10 ½ months later, on June 11, 2023. Pletcher is currently appealing both cases.

In the ensuing debate over why New York's positives take so long to come to light, regulators have blamed trainers for “repeated procedural delays” in getting split samples tested, while horsemen have accused the commission of needlessly dragging out the process and not being responsive or timely in responding to scheduling requests.

At the May 22, 2023, NYSGC meeting, it was disclosed that three outstanding, pre-HISA Thoroughbred drug positives remained unadjudicated by the commission and were still lingering at various stages in the regulatory process.

When commissioner John Crotty asked what the timeline was for resolving those cases, NYSGC chairman Brian O'Dwyer told him that in light of the scrutiny related to the Forte delay, he suspected that the commission “will be very, very diligent in terms of making sure that those things are adjudicated much more promptly.”

It turns out that Rice's bute finding was one of those then-undisclosed cases. It took more than eight months from the date of the alleged violation until a ruling was issued.

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