Noda's legal filing is known as an Article 78 review, which pertains to a New York state law by which a petitioner can ask a court to review a decision or action of a state official or administrative agency.

Article 78 filings have a reputation for being costly to litigate and very time consuming, sometimes dragging on for months or even several years in the court system.

Although the two cases are not related, Noda's penalty got handed down during the same Dec. 12 NYSGC meeting as a ruling imposed upon Richie Gazer, the longtime New York Racing Association head clocker who was suspended 30 days and fined $2,500 for “altering a published work of a horse to make the horse eligible to race.”

But taken together, those two same-day adjudications share a commonality in that both decisions by the NYSGC represented a forceful rejection of each hearing officer's months of work in conducting the appeals and writing up the reports.

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 NYRA tracks.

Although such outright rejections are unusual, most racing commissions nationwide are not bound to accept the opinions of hearing officers, who are often attorneys, that they hire to hear appeals.

In both Noda's and Gazer's cases, their respective attorneys had asked the commission for a stay of their penalties pending Article 78 filings. Both were denied last month by the NYSGC.

“I asked the commission for a stay as a courtesy,” Drew Mollica, Noda's attorney, told TDN. “I was denied on Dec. 20. I was in court Dec. 28, and the judge issued a stay. He can continue training. We have filed our Article 78 and we are pursuing a full and fair review of this unjust decision. In this case, the record is clear: There never was, and there is not now, any evidence that Mr. Noda did what they accused him of, and the hearing officer knew that.”

The hearing officer who oversaw Noda's appeal, S. David Devaprasad, wrote in his Nov. 1 report that, “The regulations Respondent is alleged to have violated…are impermissibly vague and [there are no written] standards as to what constitutes the proper or improper use of a crop or whip while training a horse.”

The report continued: “The testimony at the Hearing of the Commission's single eyewitness of the alleged incident was simply not sufficient (nor any more credible than Respondent's testimony in defense) to establish that Respondent engaged in any action detrimental to the best interest of racing generally or was guilty of any improper, corrupt, or fraudulent act or practice…”

Back on Dec. 12 NYSGC chairman Brian O'Dwyer disagreed. In reading Noda's decision into the record, he 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.”

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 officers' recommendations in the two cases.

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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.

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 officers' recommendations not to penalize the two licensees.

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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While neither Noda nor commission steward Braulio Baeza would comment on the fine, the DRF report indicates sources that saw Noda “being overly aggressive on a horse that he was exercising ontrack during a recent morning in Saratoga.”

Noda plans to appeal the penalty with the help of attorney Drew Mollica.

Mollica told DRF: “Mr. Noda vehemently denies any behavior that warrants this kind of fine.”

Read more at the Daily Racing Form.

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According to a report in the Daily Racing Form, which cited multiple sources, Noda was seen being overly aggressive with a horse during morning exercise recently in Saratoga.

When reached by the TDN, Noda declined to comment and referred questions to his attorney, Drew Mollica.

“The commission rendered a fine and the allegation is not clear to me yet,” Mollica said. “I am still investigating, but I have spoken to Mr. Noda and he vehemently denies any actions that could have caused such a sanction. We are in the fact-gathering stage right now and we will defend this vigorously. At no time did he ever do anything to suggests a sanction of this magnitude.”

Noda's lone runner on the Thursday card at Saratoga, A Colt Named Susie (Frost Giant), was scratched, but the DRF reported that had nothing to do with Noda's fine. Rather, the horse was scratched because no one from his stable was present when the track veterinarian showed up to administer Lasix.

The ruling cites three regulations that the stewards used to assess a fine, including Rule 4022.11, which states: “The stewards have power to regulate and control the conduct of all officials and of all owners, trainers, jockeys, grooms and other persons attendant on horses.”

Noda has been training only since 2019, a year in which he won 11 races. He is having the best year of his career this year, with 26 wins from 161 starters for a winning rate of 16%. He is 4-for-30 at the current Saratoga meet.

Wednesday's ruling was the first for Noda since 2019, when he was fined on two separate occasions for minor offenses.

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Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, the Medaglia d'Oro bay, out of the Grade 1-winning Concerto mare Rigoletta, is a half-brother to millionaire 2017 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner Battle of Midway.

Purchased for $900,000 at the 2017 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale, Moretti blossomed last season, posting a record of three wins and three seconds in six starts, including stakes scores in the Flat Out at Belmont Park and Birdstone at Saratoga to go along with a runner-up effort in the Grade 2 Suburban at Belmont.

Pletcher, a five-time Birdstone winner, said Moretti is working well into Thursday's repeat bid, including a five-eighths breeze in 1:01.88 on July 29 on the Spa main track.

“He's doing well. We know he likes the distance,” Pletcher said. “It's just a matter of keeping him happy and fit. He's coming off a couple of solid efforts and we're looking forward to giving it a try again.”

Irad Ortiz, Jr. will be tasked with engineering the title defense from post 4.

“I think the main thing is to get into a comfortable rhythm rather than worry about who's on the lead or stalking,” Pletcher said. “In these types of races, you just want to get into a good rhythm. You don't get many opportunities at this distance, so we'll give it our best shot.”

Flying P Stable's Lone Rock made the grade last out, romping to an 11 1/4-length score in the 12-furlong Grade 2 Brooklyn presented by Northwell Health on Belmont Stakes Day June 5.

Claimed back by trainer Robertino Diodoro for $40,000 out of a winning effort in November at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., Lone Rock captured a 1 1/16-mile optional claimer in February at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., in his next outing.

The 6-year-old Majestic Warrior gelding has made his last four starts at 1 1/2-miles, finishing second in the Temperence Hill in March ahead of an optional claiming score on April 11, both at Oaklawn Park. He returned on short rest to capture the Isaac Murphy Marathon on April 27 at Churchill Downs ahead of an eye-opening effort in the Brooklyn that registered a career-best 100 Beyer Speed Figure.

Lone Rock posted a bullet half-mile on the main track in :46.60 on July 22 and worked an easy half-mile in :52.19 Friday over sloppy going on the Oklahoma training track.

“He's a horse that loves his job and he's training great. He bounced out of that race like it was nothing,” Diodoro said. “On Belmont day, it was a little warm, and to run that far, you'd think it would take a little bit out of him but he's come back like a monster.”

Ramon Vazquez retains the mount from post 3.

Centennial Farms' multiple graded stakes-winner Rocketry has finished third in the last two editions of the Birdstone.

Trained by Jimmy Jerkens, the 7-year-old Hard Spun bay finished off-the-board last out in the Brooklyn and will look to return to the form that saw him capture the 1 5/8-mile Grade 2 Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance in November at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky.

“That one horse [Lone Rock] looks like a standout in that category. If ever he's going to beat horses like that, it's going this distance,” Jerkens said. “That's what happened in Kentucky. The pace was just too sharp for going that far and they came back to him and he went by them in the very end.”

Ricardo Santana, Jr. picks up the mount from post 7.

Lothenbach Stables' Ry's the Guy, sixth last out in the Brooklyn, broke through at stakes level in September, taking the 12-furlong Champions Day Marathon at Churchill Downs.

Trained by Ian Wilkes, the 5-year-old Distorted Humor bay breezed a half-mile in :48.44 Thursday on the Saratoga main track.

“He came out of the last race good and I'm happy with him. It won't be an easy assignment; we'll be facing some of the same horses,” Wilkes said. “He has no problem with the track. He's trained here and got over it fine. His works have been solid. I'm very pleased with his breezes here. We've had a little bit of cool weather and that's helped.”

Ry's the Guy will exit the inside post under Chris Landeros.

Final Turn Racing Stable and Noda Brothers' You're to Blame, runner-up in last year's Birdstone, made an impressive first start Sunday for trainer Orlando Noda with a 9 1/2-length off-the-turf optional claiming romp traveling nine furlongs over a fast main track.

The 7-year-old Distorted Humor bay, a veteran of 37 career starts who captured the 2018 Grade 3 Greenwood Cup at Parx, will exit post 6 under Jose Ortiz.

Rounding out the field are graded-stakes placed He's No Lemon [post 2, Manny Franco], and stakes-placed Shooger Ray Too [post 5, Joel Rosario]

The Birdstone is slated as Race 9 on Thursday's 10-race card. First post is 1:05 p.m. Eastern.

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“It's a big deal,” Ortiz said. “We're happy with where we are and it sets us up for the Belmont meet… It's nice to win and I'm also happy for Irad; he's had a great start of the year. He congratulated me earlier and said he's proud of me, and that means a lot.”

Irad Ortiz currently leads all jockeys in the nation by wins and purse earnings.

“I'm very appreciative; it was a long winter just preparing for this meet,” said Brown, the New York Racing Association's leading trainer for the last six years. “Our program is tailored around NYRA, mostly, just getting the horses ready all winter. After missing a lot of last year, this year's start has been more traditional for us. It feels good and gives us a sense of normalcy to get back on track with how we point our horses to begin their seasons in April in New York.”

Racing on the NYRA circuit now moves to Belmont Park for the 48-day spring/summer meet that runs from Thursday, Apr. 22 through Sunday, July 11.

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Owned by George Hall and SportBLX Thoroughbreds, Max Player breezed five furlongs in 1:01.55 over the Belmont training track.

“We worked him in company head and head with another horse and they went five-eighths in 1:01.2. It was just a maintenance breeze,” said trainer Linda Rice. “It was just a nice comfortable breeze. I feel it was exactly what he needed. He’ll ship up to Saratoga on Wednesday and train there.”

Bred by Hall’s K & G Stables, Max Player, a $150,000 buyback at Keeneland September in 2018, broke his maiden at Parx at second asking last December, following that effort with a fast-finishing, 3 1/4-length victory in the GIII Withers S. Feb. 1. He was trained up to the Belmont and was beaten 5 1/4 lengths into third.

“He trained very well into the Belmont and had improved dramatically up to June when the Belmont ran,” said Rice. “Since then, we’ve been holding steady. I haven’t trained him quite as aggressively because he’s not coming off of a five-month layoff this time.”

The in-form Joel Rosario retains the call this weekend.

In other Travers developments:

–Trainer Orlando Noda has tabbed David Cohen to ride recent Saratoga maiden winner First Line (First Samurai) in the 10-furlong event. Cohen was aboard Golden Ticket (Speightstown) when he dead-heated with Alpha (Bernardini) in the 2012 Travers.

—‘TDN Rising Star‘ Mystic Guide (Ghostzapper) will pass the Travers in favor of the GII Jim Dandy S. Sept. 5. “We’ve been conservative with the horse up to this point and we’ll stay conservative for now,” trainer Mike Stidham said of the Godolphin homebred, third to Travers aspirant Country Grammar (Tonalist) in the GIII Peter Pan S. July 16.

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It’s not hard to understand why. Training for just 16 months, Noda, 31, is in the midst of another strong Saratoga meet. With just six horses under his care at the start of the meet last year, he went three for nine. This year, with 18 horses, he is off to a  four-for-13 start. The latest win came Saturday with Mystery Bank (The Big Mystery). Making his first start for Noda after being trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., he won a maiden special weight on the grass and paid $18.

“We are grateful everything is working out,” Noda said. “We won for owners who have never won before in Saratoga. Everyone is thrilled that we are performing the way we are in Saratoga against the elite.”

Still training primarily claimers, Noda has long thought that First Line could be his breakout horse. He was trained by Brad Cox before he made his first career start and then privately acquired by Noda, who gallops many of his own horses.

“When I got him I knew he could run,” Noda said. “I’m not a light rider and he was putting in some good works for me. He was immature at the beginning but so game when he came to track. He loves to train. I hyped up the horse even before he started in his first race. I had big plans ever since I got him. I’ve been telling people he’s my Derby horse.”

But First Line wasn’t delivering. He was a distant fourth in his debut in January at Aqueduct and was still winless in three starts entering the Saratoga meet. Noda was able to find a nine-furlong maiden race on July 29 for the gelding’s next start and the result was a narrow win by a neck, good for a 90 Beyer Speed Figure.

“He just needed distance.” Noda said. “That made all the difference.”

First Line will now be coming back in 10 days for the Travers and stepping up from a maiden to a Grade I race where the competition will include the leading 3 year-old in training, Tiz the Law (Constitution). Noda said the first goal is to earn enough points to get into the field for the Derby, but he’s not ruling out a victory. He’s so confident in the horse that he said had the maiden race not filled he still would have entered First Line in the Travers.

“I’m entering to win.” he said of the Travers. “He might surprise some people.”

That Noda even has a Travers horse this early in his career is rather remarkable.

He came up under his father, trainer Jose Noda-Fernandez, who raced in Florida and the Mid-Atlantic. His next stop was Ocala, where he worked for several of the top farms there, including Hartley/DeRenzo and Crupi’s New Castle before joining the Mark Casse team. At each stop along the way, Noda tried to learn as much as he could.

“I learned that if you put a foundation into a horse before you work on speed that makes a horse last longer,” Noda said. “A lot of sale babies get pressed too early in their careers before they have really matured. Then they don’t make it past their 3-year-old year. Over all, everyone has their own opinions on how to train a horse. I think less is more as a baby.”

Ready to go out on his own, he joined forces with his brother Jonathan and formed Noda Brothers LLC. For much of 2019 Noda had no outside clients. It was just he and his brother. He started his first horse in March of last year and after 11 losses won his first race last June.

“You have to start as a claiming trainer to get the owners to notice you and give you those pedigree horses that are bound for stakes races,” he said.

During his brief career, Noda has won with 24 of his 126 starters for a wining rate of 19%. He has had only one prior start in a graded race.

It’s not just First Line, Noda can be ambitious when spotting his horses and isn’t afraid to run them at class levels that may seem to be a stretch.

“A lot of handicappers don’t pick me to win because I am always bumping up horses instead of dropping them,” Noda said. “It is an easier game when you can claim for $32,000 and drop them in for $25,000. Do that and you will win a high percentage. As long as the horse is doing good I want to test the waters going up in class.”

As often happens when a new trainer gets off to a fast start, Noda is getting a lot of inquiries from owners looking to give him horses. He said he has been having problems finding help at Saratoga and can’t take on any extra horses right now, but expects to expand his stable once he returns to Belmont. By the end of the year he expects to have about 40 horses. If he can get a big performance out of First Line in either the Travers or the Derby, that number may rise.

“This horse will fight to the end,” Noda said. “We have to test the waters. You never know.”

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Within the first 10 days of the current Saratoga meet, Noda has already won three races from seven starters, which included maiden winner First Line and going-away allowance winner Danny California. Both horses are owned by him and his brother Jonathan under the nom de course Noda Brothers.

“We wanted to put them where they could win,” Noda said. “We all hope for the best. The competition is tough, but you have to place them aggressively. As long as they are training good and eating good, they can run. I would like to accomplish six wins this meet. That's been the goal.”

“We're growing,” he said. “Slowly and surely, I think people are noticing us. People are sending me horses. Everyone thinks that we can claim a horse for $10,000 and become [T Likes to Fight], but it's not that easy. Realistically, it is seven days a week. There is no time off. The horses have to eat and they need beds. We have to do the best possible job and treat every horse as if they are a stakes horse.”

One of the horses that Noda is considering for the stakes level is First Line, who earned a 90 Beyer for his breakthrough score Wednesday in a nine-furlong maiden. The First Samurai gelding, bred in Kentucky by Sather Family, is nominated for the Grade 1, $1 million Runhappy Travers on August 8.

The 3-year-old gelding fought Hometown through the stretch to win his first start by a neck under leading rider Jose Ortiz. Noda said he plans to make a decision by Tuesday, the day before the Travers entry is drawn.

“He came out of that race in good shape,” Noda said. “He fought a mile and an eighth through the wire. As long as he tells me that he's ready to fire, I'm not one to hold back. I'll make a decision the day before entries. I think the horse shows talent. He is game on the track. He has to mature in each race.”

Noda said he may also consider the Grade 2, $150,000 Jim Dandy on September 5 – another race for 3-year-olds going 1 1/8 miles – for First Line.

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