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NYRA Urges Courts To Deny Linda Rice’s Stay On Three-Year Ban

The New York Racing Association has filed a “friend of the court” amicus brief asking New York State Supreme Court Justice Mark L. Powers to deny trainer Linda Rice a temporary injunction which would allow her to keep training while she appeals the three-year ban handed down by the New York State Gaming Commission earlier this year, reports the Daily Racing Form.

Rice was granted a preliminary injunction shortly after the license suspension, but is now seeking an injunction that would allow her to continue to train throughout the appeals process.

NYRA argued that it has “a unique and vital interest in ensuring the fairness and integrity of Thoroughbred racing” and that Rice should not be allowed to continue training in order “to protect its investment, brand, and reputation so that patrons have confidence that the sport of horse racing is conducted in an honest, fair, and safe manner.”

Rice is 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.

McPeek Frustrated By ‘Nonsensical’ Denial Of Entries At Saratoga, Seeks Hearing

Though the New York Racing Association and the New York State Gaming Commission officially released Saratoga's Barn 86 from quarantine on Aug. 1, trainer Ken McPeek told bloodhorse.com he was frustrated by his inability to enter horses to race on that date. McPeek and his lawyer, Andrew Mollica, filed a request for a hearing with the NYSGC as to why he was unable to enter horses until Sunday, essentially preventing those horses from racing until Aug. 6.

The quarantine began on July 11, when a filly trained by Jorge Abreu, with whom McPeek shares Barn 86, tested positive for equine herpesvirus. The filly was sent to Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital and is currently recovering. No other horses in the barn showed symptoms during the 21-day quarantine.

Multiple press releases and news reports indicated that the quarantine would be released on Aug. 1, provided there were no additional cases of EHV-1, so McPeek and his owners made plans to be able to race their horses from that date. He attempted to enter one horse for Aug. 1, three for Aug. 4, and three for Aug. 5, but since entries for those cards were taken before Aug. 1, NYSGC steward Braulio Baeza Jr. denied the entries.

Essentially, the quarantine was unnecessarily and inexplicably extended by another five days, McPeek argued.

“I am doing this so that the next time this happens, trainers and owners will not have to go through another situation like this where there are an extra three to five days when their horses cannot run because there is no clarity in New York. I don't want to see anyone else go through this,” McPeek told bloodhorse.com. “Officials need to address some standard operating procedures and protocols for everyone that make sense. To keep horses who have cleared quarantine from not running is nonsensical.

“What's the logic here?” he added. “It's been easier for (trainers) Marcus Vitali and Bob Baffert to run at Saratoga than me.”

No New Cases Of EHV-1 At Saratoga; Quarantine Of Barn 86 Continues Through Aug. 1

As announced previously, the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) and the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) placed Barn 86 at Saratoga Race Course under a precautionary quarantine on Thursday, July 15 due to a positive case of Equine Herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) in that barn.

The unnamed, unraced filly, who is trained by Jorge Abreu, was sent to Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital on Sunday, July 11, after developing a fever. She was then tested for a number of potential ailments, and a positive test for EHV-1 was returned on Thursday, July 15.

Subsequently, the New York State Veterinarian and New York State Equine Medical Director implemented a 21-day quarantine of Barn 86 retroactive to Sunday, July 11. Should there be no additional cases in Barn 86, the quarantine will be lifted on Aug. 1.

The filly began treatment immediately at Rood & Riddle under the care of Dr. Luis Castro. As her condition continued to improve, she was sent to a private farm in Saratoga County on Friday, July 16, where she is currently recovering under veterinary supervision.

The 46 horses stabled in Barn 86, which is home to stalls for Abreu and trainer Kenny McPeek, will continue to be monitored daily for fever and other signs of illness. As of Tuesday, July 20, no horses in Barn 86 have developed a fever or displayed any symptoms of the illness.

During the length of the quarantine period, horses stabled in Barn 86 will not be permitted to enter races or train among the general horse population.

Horses stabled in Barn 86 will have isolated training hours at the Oklahoma Training Track from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. following the conclusion of training for the general horse population.

Overseen by Dr. Anthony Verderosa, the director of NYRA's veterinary department, in consultation with the NYSGC, the quarantine of Barn 86 includes standard safety precautions and biosecurity measures to mitigate risk and prevent further spread of EHV-1.

The post No New Cases Of EHV-1 At Saratoga; Quarantine Of Barn 86 Continues Through Aug. 1 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Saratoga Barn Under Quarantine Due to EHV-1 Positive

Edited Press Release

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) and the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) have placed Barn 86 at Saratoga Race Course under a precautionary quarantine until further notice due to a positive case of Equine Herpesvirus-1 in that barn.

The unnamed, unraced filly, who is trained by Jorge Abreu, was sent to Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital on Sunday, July 11 after developing a fever. She was subsequently tested for a number of potential ailments, and a positive test for EHV-1 was returned on Thursday afternoon. The filly began treatment immediately, and is improving under the care of Dr. Luis Castro, DVM.

Overseen by Dr. Anthony Verderosa, the director of NYRA's veterinary department, in consultation with the NYSGC, the Barn 86 quarantine is effective immediately with standard precautions and biosecurity measures now in place.

The 46 horses stabled in Barn 86, which is home to stalls for Abreu and trainer Kenny McPeek (whose Saratoga string includes champion Swiss Skydiver {Daredevil}), will be monitored daily for fever and other signs of illness.

During the initial quarantine period, these horses will not be permitted to enter races or train among the general horse population. Afebrile/asymptomatic horses stabled in Barn 86 will have isolated training hours at the Oklahoma Training Track following the close of training for the general horse population at 10 a.m.

As of Thursday evening, no additional horses in the quarantined barn have exhibited symptoms.

The post Saratoga Barn Under Quarantine Due to EHV-1 Positive appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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