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New NYSGC Clenbuterol Rules Go Into Effect June 2

The New York State Gaming Commission voted Monday to amend its rules for the use of clenbuterol in New York State to follow the model proposed by the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium (RMTC) and these rules will go into effect state-wide, including at all three New York Racing Association tracks as of June 2, NYRA announced Wednesday.

The full text of the rules for the NYSGC's amendment for the use of clenbuterol in Thoroughbred racing [Rule 4043.12(b)(6)], which includes a requirement for approval from the Commission for any clenbuterol treatment, can be found at https://www.gaming.ny.gov/proposedrules.php.

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New York: Newly-Amended Clenbuterol Rule Goes Into Effect June 2

The New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) voted Monday to amend its rules for the use of clenbuterol in New York State to follow the model proposed by the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium (RMTC). These rules will go into effect state-wide, including at all three New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) tracks – Belmont Park, Saratoga Race Course and Aqueduct Racetrack – as of June 2.

The full text of the rules for the NYSGC's amendment for the use of clenbuterol in thoroughbred racing [Rule 4043.12(b)(6)] can be found at https://www.gaming.ny.gov/proposedrules.php.

As a reminder, as of January 1, the use of Furosemide (Lasix) is prohibited within 48 hours of all stakes races conducted at NYRA tracks, including the Belmont Stakes.

In April of 2019, NYRA led the formation of a coalition of leading racing organizations founded to address race day medication in a uniform and consistent way throughout the sport. The initiative commenced on January 1, 2020, with NYRA prohibiting Lasix in all 2-year-old races at the three NYRA tracks.

Live racing at the 48-day Belmont Park spring/summer meet continues Thursday with a nine-race card. First post is 3:05 p.m. Eastern.

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NYSGC Passes One year on Whip Reform Talk, No Action

The New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) Jan. 26 once again elected not to propose or vote upon any changes to whip use that would be more humane to Thoroughbreds, making it now more than a year since that agency first began discussing how it might address one of the sport's hot-button equine welfare issues the way regulators in other racing states have long since done.

“We have a report that just arrived to us in the last 24 hours on the use of the crop. And staff will be spending time with that report–and the commissioners will be spending time with that report–and hope to address the issues at our next meeting,” NYSGC chairman Barry Sample said at the tail end of Tuesday's teleconference, which included only two other rule-making items: The licensure of veterinary technicians and regulating home-delivery sales of lottery tickets.

Back in December 2019, NYSGC staffers were first directed to discuss crop use among industry stakeholders and report back at a future commission meeting.

Despite that directive, whip use did not get brought up the next time the NYSGC met Feb. 10, 2020, for a meeting that lasted only six minutes (By contrast, most state racing and gaming commission meetings last an hour or more, and it is not uncommon for some to stretch to four or five hours).

At NYSGC's May 19 meeting, commissioner Peter Moschetti cited “the length of today's agenda” (32 minutes) as the reason the topic of whip rule reform had to be pushed off until the summer.

When the board next met July 27 for a meeting that lasted 14 minutes, Moschetti cited the need for the board to review a “lengthy memorandum” that commissioners had just received from its staff on whip use before the NYSGC could deliberate any proposed changes.

When the NYSGC again met for another 14-minute meeting Sept. 21, Sample said, “I think we all agree that [whip reform] 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.”

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

By that time, paradigm-shifting whip reform changes had either already been implemented or were in the process of being codified in California, Kentucky, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware and Ontario. With the exception of California, whose racing commission had started its reform process several years ago, all of the other jurisdictions had taken up the topic around the same time New York first proposed doing so late in 2019.

While New Jersey eventually banned whipping outright starting in 2021, the other jurisdictions generally carved out new rules based on strike limits, and/or the manner (underhanded or overhanded) in which a jockey can whip.

During the Oct. 19 NYSGC meeting, the board heard 2 1/4 hours of pro and con testimony from industry stakeholders about whip reform. But no new regulations were proposed at that time, nor were any measures floated when the board next met Nov. 30 and proposed or passed more than a dozen other racing-related rules.

If the NYSGC decides to advance whip-related rule proposals at its next (yet-to-be-scheduled) meeting, any proposed measures would (assuming passage) have to published in the New York State Register and get sent out for a general public comment period. Then commissioners would then have to come back for a final vote, pushing the effective date for any whip-related reforms in New York into mid-2021 at the earliest.

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Rice Hearings Conclude, But No Ruling Expected Soon

The marathon that has been the hearing regarding trainer Linda Rice and the New York State Gaming Commission came to a close Dec. 9, but it will still be weeks before there is a conclusion in the case. Attorneys from both sides have requested transcripts from the previous six days of testimony and will be given 30 days after receipt of those transcripts to send written closing arguments to hearing officer Clark Petschek. There are numerous and voluminous exhibits in the case submitted by both sides which Petschek also must review before issuing a decision. Petschek did not outline a timeframe for when he may issue a ruling.

The proceedings had sought to determine what, if any, sanctions would be imposed on Rice, who the commission says could have her license suspended or revoked and face fines of up to $25,000 for “actions inconsistent with and detrimental to the best interest of racing generally and corrupt and improper acts and practices in relation to racing.”

Much of Wednesday's testimony was a retread of information previously given by Rice during examination by her attorneys and other witnesses, seeking detail and clarification on the information Rice received from entry clerks between the 2011-12 Aqueduct meet and March 2015. Rice has admitted to receiving faxed and emailed printouts showing names and past performance information for horses before draw time, which the commission believes gave her an unfair advantage over other trainers. Rice contends that it was not unusual for trainers to be shown name or past performance information ahead of draw time in the racing office, or to have the basics of a potential rival's resume described to them on the phone.

Her testimony Wednesday examined a number of daily training logs for horses in her care during the time in question and identified races she had noted as targets for those individuals after the release of the condition book. Rice's attorney took the trainer through the dates and results of a few of those races alongside dates and times of emails she received with entry information from racing clerk Jose Morales. In the cases highlighted by her attorney, Rice had identified several target races for her horses before Morales gave her information and did not change her targets after receiving entry information from Morales.

Although Rice has said previously that she wasn't aware she was breaking any rules, it appears there did come a time when she became concerned that taking the information could get her into trouble. Rick Goodell, counsel for the commission, read into the record a transcript of a 2018 interview he conducted with Rice in which she recalled the moment she began to have concerns about her receipt of information from Morales. Rice recalls that in 2014 Morales told her he was “being watched” and she told Goodell in 2018 her thought was, “Damn, well, they're watching him. Maybe we shouldn't be doing it.”

Goodell also asked Rice whether she revealed to anyone else, other trainers or racing office employees, that she was getting the information from Morales. She answered she had not.

The passing of information from Morales to Rice came out after the racing office and law enforcement near Belmont discovered that Morales had given out his InCompass login information to a number of jockey agents in return for money.

Wednesday's testimony also revealed that Rice had hired rider Israel Rodriguez to ride several races for her when he was an apprentice. Rodriguez would eventually be represented by Morales as agent, although Morales is no longer licensed as a jockey agent in New York. Rice said she had forgotten she had hired Rodriguez, who rode a little more than two dozen races for her before she said he lost his apprentice weight allowance and she determined he was not of a caliber she wanted to work with as a journeyman.

Goodell tried to establish whether Rice believed the information she got through email and fax constituted an unfair advantage over other trainers who weren't privy to the same information. While Rice admitted that it could sometimes be helpful to know which horses were entered in a race in advance of draw time, she was not convinced that other trainers were not receiving similar or comparable information.

“When the article came out in the press about the proceedings, I spoke to other trainers and many of them said they receive information all the time as well,” Rice said.

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