Tag: Parx

Vazquez Remains Eligible to Race at NYRA Tracks…For Now

Trainer Juan Vazquez has been granted a stay of a recent suspension handed down by the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission, which will allow him to continue to race at the NYRA tracks for the time being. He has three horses entered on Thursday's card at Aqueduct.

However, NYRA issued a statement Saturday in which it said it will consider filing charges against Vazquez, which could lead to his being banned.

Vazquez received two consecutive 15-day suspensions after two of his horses tested positive for the dewormer levamisole in races at Parx. One, Hollywood Talent (Talent Search), tested positive after winning the GIII Turf Monster S. at odds of 108-1.

Because NYRA is affiliated with the state of New York, a court ruled in the Bob Baffert matter that it cannot ban trainers without adequate due process. Since the court decision, it has gone ahead with a hearing for Baffert and another, for Marcus Vitali, is scheduled for next month.

“Since Juan Vazquez was granted a stay of the Pennsylvania suspension, he retains his license to participate in New York,” the statement read. “In the July decision, and in subsequent rulings, the court was clear that NYRA is required to provide adequate due process prior to revoking privileges to participate at NYRA tracks. To refuse entries or prohibit Mr. Vazquez from accessing the property, for example, are actions that NYRA could take against a licensed trainer only after he is provided satisfactory due process. That process is deliberative and not immediate, which is why Juan Vazquez is permitted to participate at NYRA while he appeals his suspension in Pennsylvania. Any suspension handed down in Pennsylvania will be reciprocally implemented in New York and Vazquez will be suspended from participating in all racing activities at NYRA tracks for the duration of the suspension. NYRA is gathering information that could inform a statement of charges and subsequent hearing, should that be required.”

Vazquez has numerous suspensions and violations on his record. In one ruling, issued in 2017 in Pennsylvania, it was noted that Vazquez had eight drug positives during a 23-month period.

Vazquez has maintained a stable at Parx and in New York this year. He is just 2-for-22 (9%) at Parx while going 7-for-30 (23%) at the Big A.

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No Longer Allowed to Race at NYRA, 10-year-old Sent to Parx

Backsideofthemoon (Malibu Moon) has lived on the Belmont backstretch since 2015, but that changed Tuesday when a van picked him up to take him to Parx. It's not where owner Charlie Halas or trainer Pat Reynolds want him to be, but they didn't have much choice in the matter. Even though he finished third in a stakes race, the Queens County S., in his most recent start, Backsideofthemoon is no longer allowed to race or stable at the NYRA tracks because he has turned 10 years old.

“I was emotional having to walk that horse to the chute to get him on the van and I was pissed,” Reynolds said.

Halas claimed Backsideofthemoon for $62,500 out of a Feb. 8 optional claimer last year at Aqueduct. It was the second time he had claimed the horse. Though it is always risky to claim a 9-year-old, particularly one for $62,500, Halas had no reason to believe that his horse was 11 months removed from being ineligible to race at the NYRA tracks. In April, two months after the claim, NYRA announced a new rule that prohibited horses

10 or older from running at its tracks.

“[Halas] loves the horse but he never would have taken him for $62,500 if he knew he couldn't run him here,” Reynolds said. “They make stuff up as the go along here in New York. He claimed the horse and then they come up with the rule that a 10-year-old can't run here. He thought he might be grandfathered in because he had him before the rule was made.”

Backsidfeofthemoon was 0-for-10 in 2021, but still managed to earn $93,800. He finished in the money in three of his last four starts, all of them at the allowance or stakes level. He concluded his 8-year-old campaign with a win in the 2020 Queen's County.

Reynolds said he understands why NYRA put the rule in place, but says an exception should have been made for a horse who is still competitive at the stakes level.

“I understand their point,” he said. “They don't want to be scraping 10-year-olds off the racetrack and have PETA jumping up and down saying 'I told you so,'” the trainer said. “I understand the rule, but in the case of this horse we feel a little slighted. He just ran third in the Queen's County, which shows that he still has some life in him. He has run 94 and 95 Beyers in his last two starts.”

According to the rules, Backsideoftheoon should have vacated his stall at Belmont by Jan. 1, but Reynolds managed to milk out a few more days in New York for him. He's worked him twice this year, most recently on Tuesday prior to his ship when he went four furlongs in :51.90 over the Belmont training track.

Knowing that NYRA wasn't about to let the horse stay at Belmont much longer, Reynolds sent him to Parx where there are no rules that prohibit a 10-year-old from racing. Backsideofthemoon was entered in an allowance there next Tuesday. He will race one more time for Reynolds and then will be turned over to trainer Michael Aro.

“This is such a shame,” Reynolds said. “He's been consistent, is sound and is easy to train. The horse is doing really well right now.”

When asked for comment, NYRA spokesman Pat McKenna provided the following statement: “Horses 10 years of age or older are ineligible to be stabled or compete in races at Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course. This NYRA rule was implemented in April to enhance equine safety and remains in place today.”

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New NYRA Rule Forces 10-Year-Old Backsideofthemoon Off Grounds; Trainer To Continue Racing Gelding At Parx

A regulation implemented by the New York Racing Association last April has required 10-year-old Backsideofthemoon to be moved off the grounds, reports the Daily Racing Form. The rule forbids horses age 10 and old from training or racing at Saratoga, Belmont, or Aqueduct.

Trainer Patrick Reynolds believes the gelding is still sound and fit enough to race, so his career will continue at Parx Racing in Bensalem, Pa. Backsideofthemoon was entered in a race on Monday, Jan. 24, but track conditions forced the cancellation of that card.

Instead, Backsideofthemoon worked at Belmont Park on Jan. 26 and was shipped to Parx late in the morning. He will be trained by Michael Aro at Parx, a trainer with whom Reynolds has a working relationship.

The Parx racing office plans to bring the race back next week.

Backsideofthemoon is a multiple stakes-winning, graded stakes-placed son of Malibu Moon. His record stands at 8-10-10 from 57 starts with earnings of $816,016.

Read more at the Daily Racing Form.

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Sanchez Suspended, Gambling an Outlet for Depression

Jockey Mychel Sanchez, who has been suspended 60 days by the Pennsylvania Racing Commission for betting on horses other than the ones he rode, is not a cheat or a race-fixer, his attorney told the TDN Friday. Rather, said lawyer Alan Pincus, Sanchez was dealing with a serious case of depression and took to gambling as an outlet. Pincus said that in all instances Sanchez tried his best to win the races in question, whether he had bet against his own horse or not.

“It was clear he was giving his best effort,” Pincus said. “He was not fixing races. He won several of the races in which he bet against his horses. The horse paid $37 in one race, $27 in another. He was just doing something crazy that only a psychiatrist can explain.”

With Sanchez's main track, Parx, dark Friday, the jockey was listed on two mounts at Laurel. After the Maryland Racing Commission learned of the Pennsylvania suspension, Sanchez was taken of his mounts. The Maryland Jockey Club and 1/ST RACING issued a statement later in the day in which it said Sanchez has been banned indefinitely.

“After learning of the serious allegations of illegal wagering on the part of jockey Mychel Sanchez, effective immediately 1/ST RACING will institute an indefinite ban against him from training or racing at any 1/ST RACING venue,” read a statement issued by 1/ST RACING. “Any decision regarding Sanchez's reinstatement will be made at a later time. 1/ST RACING stands on the principles of integrity and accountability, and we believe there is no place in our sport for this kind of unethical and illegal activity.”

Tom Chuckas, the director of the Thoroughbred division of the Pennsylvania Racing Commission, was not available to the media. A call to his office went to voice mail and no one returned the call from the TDN seeking comment. There was nothing related to Sanchez's suspension on the page on the Pennsylvania Racing Commission's website listing rulings. An official ruling will likely be issued following a regularly scheduled commission meeting next week.

Should Chuckas ever make himself available, he will likely be asked to explain what appears to be a serious offense resulted in a suspension of just 60 days.

“Mychal is a straight shooter and he has worked hard and with skill and talent has risen to a very strong position,” Pincus said. “He is the sole support for his family both here and in Venezuela and life, on the surface, was great for him. But, he was feeling depressed. And he was not doing anything to deal with it. He was just turning inward. He turned to gambling on the races for a very short period of time. I'm not a psychiatrist, but he was doing this to numb the pain.”

Pincus said that Sanchez opened a TVG account in his own name and began betting Dec. 23 and made his last bets Jan. 3. He went six for 28 during that period. During that time, he also rode at Aqueduct and at Laurel. Pincus said he was not sure whether or not Sanchez also bet against his mounts in New York and Maryland or just at Parx. If he bet against himself in New York or in Maryland, he could face additional penalties from those states.

“We will look into this,” said J. Michael Hopkins, the executive director of the Maryland Racing Commission. “But right now he's suspended in Pennsylvania, so there's no need to be in a rush because he doesn't ride here regularly. But we will definitely take a look at it.”

TVG employees noticed that the jockey had been betting against his own horses and notified the appropriate racing commissions.

Having, through his lawyer, admitted that he bet against his own horses, Sanchez will not fight the suspension.

“He was suspended 60 days starting [Friday] to the 21st of March,” Pincus said. “Obviously, it was warranted. We are not going to appeal this.”

Pincus said that Sanchez has already enrolled in a problem gambling program and has also sought out psychiatric help.

“He just did something because of a mental problem,” Pincus said. “People are responsible for their own actions, but he has to be viewed with sympathy.”

Sanchez began riding in the U.S. in 2013 and was the leading rider at Parx in 2020. According to Equibase, he's won 940 races from 6,097 mounts.

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